Thoughts from the sofa

photo by lovethatcat.com

These past few days I have put creativity on hold and mostly been lying on the sofa doing nothing. Having the Christmas countdown in December meant that I focused on creative stuff almost all the time. Not just creating things but also, thinking, reading and surfing the net for input on new creative ideas. I needed a rest.

Lying there on the sofa I have been thinking about creative things all the same. Not so much in terms of “how about you get out of that sofa and start doing something” as which course I would like next year’s creativity to take and how I could best make time in a busy schedule for doing so.

The exhibition I had last summer taught me that I am not an “exhibition kind of gal”. It is important for me that my creative doings have a goal but I much rather create something for someone than create it for showing it at an exhibition. Coming to terms with that felt very nice and almost relieving so that is one thing I know for sure that I won’t be pursuing next year.

When I did the DIY Christmas count down I tried to use stuff I had lying about at home or could get hold of in the woods or the garden. That is definitely something I would like to explore even further next year. I already have an enormous amount of fabric, yarn, lace, buttons, paint, paper, wire, tin cans and wool but still I go and buy even more at yarn shops, jumble sales or thrift markets. I am thinking that maybe I should put a stop to that in 2011 and just allow myself to use what I have already got. Now that is a challenge eh? Especially when it comes to not buying any more yarn. We are talking HUGE challenge here.

Other things I would like to do more of in the future is free embroidery on clothes (clothes I have already got of course) and wood carving. I would really, really like to try and turn a big wooden log into a statue using a chain saw. We have a chain saw at the country house and one thing on my Christmas wish list this year was that my husband would teach me how to use it. He gave me wood carving knifes last years so I thought it wouldn’t be entirely hopeless…..

I don’t usually give any New Year resolutions but how about I give some this year? OK here goes. In 2011 I will:

Not buy any new yarn – yikes, that’s a tough one.

Focus on making creative stuff using recycled materials – now that’s an easier one.

Embellish my blue velvet “Mao” jacket with some free embroidery

Learn how to knit socks – well only the heel actually. I know the rest. Then knit some using yarn I have already got

Do at least one wood carving project using my knifes

Give the chain saw a try.

Be better prepared fot FeltUnited in october and maybe do a class in felting to celebrate it.

Wow, 2011 will be fun, I can feel it!

You are all very much welcome to tag along!

Take care
Jeanette

Christmas Eve

The count down is over and 23 DIY later Christmas Eve is finally here. I`ve had so much fun these last couple of weeks and thanks to you I`ve had a really creative december. I have no DIY for you today though just a wish. So...

From me
to you

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

Jeanette

DIY 23

Wrist warmers
Almost all of Europe is covered in snow right now. It’s cold, very cold and mittens, warm sweaters and long johns are sold out in all the shops. I bought the last pair of long johns in one of the shops today and believe me there was nearly a fight over them…..It’s even cold indoors. Wrist warmers is a great way of keeping warm when you have to sit still and work at your office and the heater has gone to heater heaven warming the wings of the angels instead of your cold feet.

How about making a pair of wrist warmers? It is fun and fast and makes a nice gift too.

The best of it all is that you get to use the beautiful wool sweater that your husband accidentally machine washed…..or you can use felt like I did. You can embellish it with basically anything that you find beautiful. I used fabric, embroidery yarn, glass beads, vintage lace and did some needle felting too.

This is how you do it:
Cut two pieces of felt that fits around your wrist. Pimp them - get wild and crazy if you like. Sew them together – done!



If you have an old sweater it is even faster. Cut of the last 20 centimeters of the arms of the sweater, embellish – done!

Here is some that I have made.

Have fun

Jeanette

DIY 22 - GUEST APPERANCE

Recycled Christmas tree ornaments from Lili M

Today I have a special treat for you. My dear blogfriend Lili from Lili M is making a guest apperance with a DIY. She is making the most fantastic ornaments from light bulbs. Guess what I will be doing tonight?

Here in LiLi M.'s houshold we love to recycle, now what can we do with light bulbs that don't work anymore?

We'll take the bulbs, some wire, wire cutters, glass paint, relief paint (optional) and paintbrushes.



These are the kind of paints from the craft store I used.



Now this is a great activity to do with kids. I think my daughter was about 10 when she did the bulb on the right. We both painted the bulbs in a transparent paint.



My daughter painted both of these.



You can use other shapes too of course.



When you have finished painting you attach some wire in a loop.





Look here are your recycled Christmas bulbs!

Now this I really have to try out. It came in very handy since my elctrical christmas window lights fell to the floor this morning.....lots of lightbulbs to recycled there.

Thank you so much Lili! I loved it !!!!!
Jeanette

DIY 21

Christmas tree ornaments

Today I wanted to make some Christmas tree Angel ornaments. I used vintage photos - lovely freebies from the talented Teri Karhs at Pringle Hill Studios , paper from a vintage book, card stock and glitter glue. Well you know me, you simply can`t have to much glitter glue in your life!

I cut out a photo with my scissor and also cut out a pair of angel wings using the vintage paper. I glued the wings on the back of the photo and then glued the "angel" on a piece of card stock for stability. Then I cut everything out. Added glitter glue to the wings and a small tread on the back for hanging.

This is the finished ornament.

Once I got started I had so much fun that I just kept going.

If you don`t want to use them as ornaments for your tree they make lovely gift tags or christmas cards instead.

I will finish this DIY with a hot tip. If you want lovely vintage photos then you can hurry over to Lisa Vollrath. For the fifth year in a row Lisa over att Ten two Studios and Go Make Something is counting down the days to Christmas with printable image sheets. They are freebies to use in your own art work! Very generous !!

Take care
Jeanette

DIY 20

Ultra fast Christmas pillows

Have you noticed that the last posts have been fast and easy stuff? I think it’s due to the fact that I sort of woke up yesterday and realized that Christmas is basically just around the corner. I have this red dude breathing down my neck all the time going Ho, ho, ho. It`s strange isn’t it that in beginning of December you think you have all the time in the world until D-day or C-day as it may be. But as the days past you get that sinking feeling in your heart that you won’t get round to Christmas this year either. I thought I had a fabulous plan with this count down DIY thing but I just might have fooled myself a tad about the amount of time I would have on my hands. Remember DIY 5 ? That was a whole day of creative work. Now I am down to the 10 minute stuff. Sorry!

So, do you want to give your living room a ”christmassy” feeling ultra fast? Why not make a few pillows for your sofa? This may not sound so fast to you but if you use the shortcut over some old pillows that you’ve already got and some Christmas table runners from the jumble sale you are done in no time.

This is how you do it.

You need a pillow. I had two red ones that got coffee stains on them last year and was meant for the garbage can but were luckily forgotten on the attic. You also need some table runners, any pattern is OK but I chose some that had Christmas inspired pattern. Add some embroidery yarn and a needle and you are all set.



Place the tablerunner on the pillow.



Stich it on with your embroidery yarn. I used cable stitches. Fast and simple.



Done!


I bet it didn’t take more than 10 minutes. So why not make some more while you are at it.

Jeanette

DIY 19

Reindeer garland
How about another easy, fun and fast peoject?


When I was out at IKEA the other day (yeah, I visit it a lot….) I saw they had reindeer Christmas tree ornaments. Since I have a crush on reindeers I found them extremely cute but I left the shop without them thinking I could make some of my own. Unfortunately I happened to forget that I suck at drawing! But when in need – google! So I googled reindeer template and I didn’t just find a template but also a great blog. Don’t you just love the internet?

Visit the blog here.

This is what I made

I chose some lovely red paper with different patterns.




Traced the template to the paper and cut the reindeers out with a scissor.



Here they are hanging on the wall just waiting to be hung in the Christmas tree.



Have fun!
Jeanette

DIY 18

Button heart

You know the jumble sale findings that I told you about? Here they are, all 800 of them.



Today I managed to use a few while making a heart. Want to know how I did it? Welcome to tag along.

You need: wire, flush cutter, pliers and buttons. Any size and color will do.



Bend the wire in the shape of a heart.



Attach the buttons to the heart by using thin wire or ordinary sewing tread. Work your way around the whole heart.



Done.



Easy, fast and fun!

Enjoy!
Jeanette

DIY 17

The super fast recycled shawl
Do you need to make a Christmas present really quick and don’t have any money? Why not make a recycled shawl.

You need: An old shawl made of 100 % wool, maybe one you have knitted yourself ages ago and never wore or one you bought at the jumble sale last winter. You also need some merino wool but if you are not a felter like me you can use wool yarn in different colors instead or granny squares or other tiny stuff made of wool. The most important thing is to use 100 % wool or it won’t felt.

Spread your shawl out on a synthetic piece of fabric.Make a nice pattern using your wool, yarn or granny squares. I went for a flower pattern using merino wool.



Sprinkle hot soap water over the shawl and “fasten” the wool by using circular movements with your hands.



Roll the shawl and the fabric together and secure it with strings in a few places.
Throw it in the spin dryer for between 3-10 minutes. Check it out often by unrolling it and see if the wool has stuck to the shawl. If you let it stay in the spin dryer for too long you risk having made a kettle holder and not a shawl….


Tadah! Done! Now you can embellish it with some embroidery if you like!



Enjoy!
Jeanette

DIY 16

Christmas mobile
If you live in Sweden and read this post I must tell you at once that I don’t intend to tell you how to make a cell phone – the Swedish word for cell phone being mobile phone. No, I like to tell you how to make something funny or beautiful to hang from your ceiling.

Gingerbread mobile
You need : gingerbreads, wire and string

Make your own gingerbreads or buy them readymade. Make a hole in them before baking or punch a tiny hole in the readymade by using a needle.



Let yourself go wild with the frosting



Make a “wreath” using wire and hang your gingerbreads in strings from it. Use various length on your strings.



Enjoy! ( ….and you can eat it after Christmas if you like)

Flower and tin mobile with glass hearts
Make a wreath of wire. Cover it with scraps of fabric. I used white felt. Decorate it with scraps of tin can and other Christmas ornaments. I use hearts made of glass. Hang an Amaryllis in the middle of the wreath. The good thing about an Amaryllis is that it’s stem is like a vase and you can pour water down it and water it that way.

Hope you like to try it out!

Jeanette

DIY 15

String of lantern lights
As I said in a previous post I really like it when I can make something that turns out less expensive than if I would have to buy it. Especially if I can use stuff that I already have at home. I wanted a “Christmassy” string of lantern lights to hang out on the deck but the ones in the shop were ridiculously expensive. I stood there watching it and thought – hey they look just like paper cups, how about I use those really cheap red paper cups with snowflakes that I bought at IKEA? Said and done! This is how I made it:


You need paper cups, a string of Christmas lights for outdoor use and a scissor.

1. Hang your string of lights where you want it.




2. Cut the paper cups to the size you want using the scissor. If it’s rather small paper cups you don’t need to cut them but if they are sort of Caffe latte paper cups it’s better to shorten them a bit. If they are too tall the cup will “steal” too much light.




3. Punch a hole in the bottom of the cup using your scissor. Don’t make it too wide because then the cup will fall of if it’s windy outside.




4. Place the cup on the string of lights by pushing the tiny little lamp through the hole. You don’t have to place a paper cup over every light. You get a beautiful effect if you have a string of tiny lights in between your lanterns.



5. Light it and enjoy!


Jeanette

DIY 14

Flower arrangements
My favorite things for X-MAS is candles, flowers and most importantly having my loved ones around. I am not very much into an overload of Christmas decorations. Yeah, I know it is a bit contradictive to the fact that I am doing a Christmas DIY with nothing but ….

December is usually a very hectic time for all so a fast way of getting the Christmas spirit going - other than watching Grinchen and eat gingerbread cookie dough, is to buy a bunch of flowers and make some flower arrangement. Why not combine flowers and candles even?

Here is a few examples of what I have made. Very easy to do and fast….

You need:
Moss, hyacinths, box-hedge, oacis ( the green stuff that florists use for their arrangements), candles, wire and a flush-cutter and something to arrange it all in. I used a silver bowl bought at a jumble sale ( of course….)

Cut the oasis so that it fits in the bowl.



Put the candles in the oasis. It is easy to make a hole, just press the candle down in the oasis.

Cover the oasis in moss




Pick the flowers from the hyacinth. Tread them on a piece of wire and make a “wreath. Place it around the candles.

Done

Here are two other arrangements that I made.

Hyacinths in a gravy bowl

Hyacinths in a big glass jar.

I like the way you can see the roots through the glass.
Guess you noticed that I love hyacinths. Just the white ones though.

Enjoy
Jeanette