Elastic bookmark

Helloooo!

As you might have seen from our Instagram, Issy and I just came back from a lovely trip to Granada, where, although beautiful, it rained every single day. Not what we were expecting for southern Spain. But now on to our post. Now, I I know that in these long winter evenings, we all like to read a nice book. And so, I designed this easy bookmark tutorial. The good thing is that the elastic goes around the book, so the bookmark won't fall out.

Also if you need any good book recommendations, please check out Kiki's blog, which posts great book reviews >> http://teenagereadsxo.blogspot.co.uk

You will need:

- two types of fabric

- elastic

- card

- scissors

- a sewing machine

- any ~embellishments~ you want

Steps:

1) Cut a rectangle out of paper, 16cm x 6cm, then pin it to both pieces of fabric together. Cut around, so you end up with two identical rectangles of fabric.

2) Add any embellishments that you want. I made this for a friend, so I put a felt L on mine.

3) Now cut out a 15cm x 5cm piece of card, which will go inside the bookmark to stiffen it.

4) Place you two pieces of fabric right sides facing inwards. Snip a pice of elastic long enough to go halfway around a book. Then lay it inbetween the two pieces of fabric, with a bit poking out at each end. Sew three sides of the fabric together, leaving one short side open. Make sure the elastic is now firmly sewn in on one end.

5) Turn your fabric inside out, so the right sides now face out. Slide in the cardboard.

6) Finally, place the other end of the elastic into the bookmark, and sew up the end.

By Annie

One year Birthday!

Hi guys!

I'm really happy to announce that it's our one year anniversary for our blog! It has really been a great year. I mean, we began from nothing and now we have way over a thousand views. We have also created our Instagram page so don't forget to check that out at cheekymonkeydiy.

I'm also really happy that we have (tried) to keep posting consistently, even if there are gaps sometimes. We have lots of posts planning coming up such as:

Making sock monkeys

Reviews of different craft books

How to use a sewing machine (in case some of our readers don't know how)

Making your own washi tape

How to make a tote bag

I'm also going to try to keep the posts more conversational, like a normal blog, and they might not all be DIYs, but they could also be other things, e.g. Ways to store washi tape.

Anyway, thanks to all our readers and followers for their support.

By Annie

PS: you can now pin all our pictures if you want to save them for later

Making a reusable calendar- A cautionary tale for crafters

Hello there,

Today I have faced what I can only call a tragedy in my life, so I will do something I do not normally do. I shall tell you a story. Here goes:

Once there was a fair maiden who lived in a faraway land. One day she decided to partake in the novel idea of making a whiteboard calendar. She prepared it lovingly, using the local tradition of 'washi tape', and by the end of this task she was very pleased with her work. Carefully she carried it over to the laminator, and put it in gently. But then, with a horrible roaring and slashing, the little calendar was cut into threads. For this was no laminator, but instead, a shredder. The little maiden cried her eyes out, but there was no more she could do. The calendar she had cherished was damaged beyond repair.

That my friends, is the true story of what happened to me this morning. So unfortunately there is no end picture in this tutorial, however I will put one in as soon as I make another calendar. Here is a picture of the last stage I got to anyway, so it should give you some idea of what it will look like:

You will need:

- A laminator (make sure it is one first)

- A laminating pouch

- A sheet of paper

- Pens

- Washi tape

- A ruler

Steps:

1) Collect your equipment, then turn on your laminator, so it will be heated by the time you need to use it.

2) Draw put a grid on the page, five columns high and seven rows across. For an a4 sheet of paper, my boxes were 3cm x 3.5cm. Put strips of thin washi tape along the lines inside, to mark out the boxes.

3) Write 1- 31 in the boxes, like in a normal calendar. Put a strip of tape across the top of the grid, and draw a line on it where each box begins. Each month work out what day of the week the first is on then write that day on the first section of the tape. Write the rest of the days of the week on the tape chronologically from there. 

4) Then put a rectangle made of tape at the top of the page. I cut each piece of tape in half width-ways for this, so the box will be big enough. This will be to write the name of each month in. I also made an 'important dates' section next to this, so I can see what is coming up at a glance.

5) (I have no picture of this step, as you will understand if you have read above) Put your calendar in the laminating pouch so no paper is poking out the edges, then gently slide it into the machine. It will do most of the moving of the paper, so don't push it, as that could cause wrinkles in the calendar. Once it comes out the end, gently tug it free, then wait for it to cool before using your new calendar. Please use only whiteboard pens with it.

By Annie

Paint marker mugs

Hey Guys!

If you are stuck for ideas for last-minute Christmas gifts, I have a winner right here. Everybody uses mugs, and you can easily customise this present to the likes of whoever the recipient is. E.g. Their favourite movies, TVs programs, bands, jokes etc.

You will need:

- Paint markers. Don't use sharpies!!! I tried that, but it all washed off after once in the dishwasher :( . Mine are from Amazon, and they come with 12 colours. They seem good.

- A mug. It doesn't really matter what sort of quality. I just got mine for £2

Steps:

1) Get your equipment ready. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit for all our American readers). With the pens, you may have to shake them a bit, then press the nib up and down a few times before ink starts to come out.

2) Start drawing your designs. I would suggest relatively simple ones, as the nibs are quite thick, about the same as that of a felt tip pen.

3) Place your mug in the oven for 30 mins. When finished, wait a while for it to cool down before you take it out. Then, you can start using your new mug.

By Annie

PS: Here is a picture of some shaved alpacas. I just thought you might like to see that.

Washi tape Christmas tree cards

Hi guys!

Are you not at all arty (like me!) but you still want to make nice, handmade cards for people? Don't want to spend hours copying out finicky patterns? Well, you've come to the right place. These cards take almost no time to make, and they use items you probably allready have.

You will need:

- two pieces of a4 paper. I used the brown for outside, and normal white paper on the inside.

- washi tape, the more designs the better

- scissors

Steps:

1) Collect your materials. Fold both pieces of paper in half, and put the white one in the brown one.

2) Get two short pieces of greenish-coloured tape, and stick them horizontally at the bottom. You could cut each piece, but I like to rip them, as it makes it look more handmade.

3) Get another strip of tape, and put it vertically on top of the two previous ones. Then, keep adding more tape, making each piece shorter until you get to the top. I have a nice gold sparkly tape that I put as the top, as it's similar to the star on a Christmas tree.

Now you've finished, and you can write a nice message inside, and give it to somebody who I'm sure will appreciate your handmade card.

By Annie

Super Easy Stickers!

Hi guys, it's Issy here. Sorry I haven't been on the blog for a while - things have been a bit busy! But on this peaceful Sunday afternoon in November, I have decided to show you how to make stickers which everyone will love. While stickers in shops are lovely, sometimes it's nice to have homemade ones - and trust me, these are VERY easy.

You will need:

-some plain white sticky labels that you get on rolls/sheets

-pens/pencils (for outlines)

-colours: pencil/watercolour/pen/crayon etc.

-scissors

That's everything! You probably already have all of these in your homes, but if you don't, they are all in abundance in many shops.

Step 1:

Keeping the label on its roll/sheet, draw different things (literally anything) onto it - for this, I like to use a thin black pen, and I make my sketches quite simple, almost like cartoons. Fit as many as you can on the label (your drawings can be any size), but make sure they're not touching, as you want them to end up as separate stickers.

Step 2:

Add some colour to them! Fill in that star, add some green to your tree - make them come to life! There is no wrong way to do this, of course, and you don't have to use any colour if you don't want to; you could have some lovely black and white ones instead.

Step 3:

Simply cut around your drawings, still keeping the label on its roll/sheet. I like to give my stickers smooth, rounded edges, but you can cut yours however you like.

Step 4:

Now that your stickers are all separated, start sticking! Just peel off the back and paste them wherever you want. I'm sure others would really appreciate them if you slipped them into envelopes along with letters, for them to stick down. Who wouldn't like homemade stickers?

I think these stickers are great, because they're so simple to make, they look great, and you can get loads of stickers out of just one label!

If you enjoyed reading this article/making your stickers, we would really love it if you shared this page's link with your friends and family. 

Thanks for reading!

Issy

Pom Pom garlands

Hi Guys!

Yesterday I decided to make some Pom Pom garlands, to replace the paper ones in my room, as it's getting a little colder, and these just seem more cosy and cute. I'm very proud of mine, as they look like they could have come from Oliver Bonas, especially with those colours! It may seem quite painstaking making a lot of Pom Poms, but it doesn't actually take too long, and I just did mine while watching TV.

You will need:

- wool, I would use three or more colours

- a fork (or a Pom Pom maker, if you have one)

- scissors

Step 1) make all your Pom Poms in the usual way* . I made twelve, three for each colour. Trim them to make sure there are no extra long pieces of yarn poking out.

Step 2) Now cut another piece of wool, about 15 cm longer than you want your garland to be. At regular intervals, tie the string around a Pom Pom. Make sure to pull these tight, so no Pom Poms fall off. 

You can now hang up your garland, and make your surroundings a little bit happier. : )

By Annie

* here is a good online tutorial, if you don't know how to make them. http://www.instructables.com/id/Create-Yarn-Pom-Poms-Using-a-Fork/