Tutorial Tuesdays - Teabag Treasures

Teabag Treasures

On Saturday I showed you my teabag treasures HERE.  Today I will be showing you how to make one of these decorated teabags to make your own treasures.  They are pretty straight forward.

Select whatever type of teabags you may have.  There may be some that got forgotten in the back of your cupboards that you can use.

Here are some of the tools that I used for this project.

Take the teabags and make a slit on one side and then cut along the top of the bag. Pour out the contents of the teabag.

Select from a range of things that you might have already or that you want to make, and encouraging word, an image that can go inside the bag.

When you are satisfied with the contents that you have cover the bag in pva glue and coat the back as well.  Allow to dry.  The glue helps the teabag to stiffen and has a leathery type feel.

For the frame of the bag I used quinoa and put a beading of glue then sprinkled the quinoa on to cover all of the glue.

Allow to dry and then add any additional embellishments 

You can either leave the edges as they are or you could put a coat of paint of your choice, alternatively you can rub 'goldfinger metallic finish' to give it a vintage look.

Teabag Treasures

Once complete give it a final coat of pva glue on the front and the back which will act as a sealant.  You could go on to use these bags in your journals, on cards as a gift.

I am looking forward to sharing next weeks recycled project.

Material Mondays - Crochet Neck Warmers

Crochet Neck Warmers

With winter coming up I think about comfort and being warm.  I don't mind the cold weather but I dislike being cold, so you will always see me with hat, scarf, gloves and very thick socks!

I found with scarves lately that depending on what coat you were wearing they would inevitably fall or slide off and you would spend quite a bit of time flinging it over your shoulder........make way for the neck warmer:)

Selection of neck warmers

 These are made with quite thick wool and I have made a few in quite bright colours to pick up my mood on a wet and dreary day 

warming my neck in the studio! - you can forget you have it on!

This is the first one I made, with its winter colours.  Under your coat it definitely provides a seal of warmth that will not be penetrated by the harshest of cold winds.

Neck warmer with woolen button

Here you can see that the neck warmer can be worn in different ways

I made two of the neck warmers with buttons made from wool which meant that if you made them for young children there wouldn't be any problem with swallowing buttons

The wool is also quite soft and you almost can forget you have it on, and you can make different ones to coordinate with your outfits!

If you are considering learning how to crochet, or any other creative activity check out Craftsy online courses, at the moment they are doing a special offer on some of their classes, and they are offering some free mini courses. Click here.

Have a blessed day, see you tomorrow for Tutorial Tuesday.

Recycled Projects - Tea Bag Treasures

I am really excited about these as they came out better than expected.  I called them Teabag treasures.

Having a clear out of my cupboards I found box of teabags that were passed their prime.  I had thought of using the leaves for dying paper in my journal and as I emptied each bag I thought that they would make mini canvases that you could put special messages on.

 Hidden messages, or treasures that could be encouraging and uplifting.

 It reminded me of those people who would find hidden messages in the leaves of the loose tea at the bottom of the cup

 On each bag I placed an encouraging message, a reminder that there is more that the current life we live...

 We only have to be brave enough and get out of our comfort zone and see the special qualities that we possess!

Teabag treasures, what are you doing with the treasures that lay hidden inside of you?

I hope you have a blessed weekend, and allow your creativity to push back the boundaries in order to allow yourself to really soar!

Come back on Tuesday to see how I made the Teabag treasures in Tutorial Tuesday. Do share creative ways in which you have used recycled materials and leave a comment below.

Gratitude's and Celebration - You are Beautiful! - Week 18

Gratitude's and Celebration - Beautiful

You are Beautiful!

Today is a very special day for me.  

My son Sekani turns 18 years old!  

The time has indeed gone quickly and he has grown up so fast.  He has been a joy, obviously mixed with the ups and downs of teenage life!

 My wish has been that he is confident, uses his gifts and talents and steps out boldly into life with enthusiasm and excitement.

He is indeed a beautiful young man.

 Today I am grateful for his life and we celebrate all that he is and all that he is yet to become.

As this week draws to a close can you think of the beautiful things in your life. Do leave a comment and have a blessed weekend!

If you want to see how I made the journal (click here)

Home - Memories of Home

Home - Memories of Home

Welcome to Memories of Home, if you would like to find out more information about the series, Click here

Being in a supportive environment is important to our growth as individuals, not everyone has had that opportunity and as adults we try and create an environment that will nurture and bless our children and indeed ourselves.

Home

Where do you feel at home?  For me it is not in the objects that we surround ourselves with, the ornaments, that rug or the china.  But it is an atmosphere, those familiar aromas, and scents that fill the air.  I remember my mothers perfume, or the bread that she baked, the ginger beer she had forming on the kitchen window ledge.  The feeling of home were all underpinned by a memory of something that we had been doing, sitting around the kitchen table comforted in the warm that our parents unknowingly created in the space that served as our home.

Memories of Home

In my own home I try and pull many things together, finding that balance that allows us all to flourish in the right conditions, giving us all a voice and a place to feel nurtured. 

In that place called home we can reconnect with who we truly are, explore and face new adventures.  Our prayers and thoughts go out to all those in the Philippines who have been affected by the The Typhoon.  If you want to give a donation click on the link here that will take you to the Oxfam site.

I would love to hear what creative ways you have made the space you call home, and I hope you continue to join me on my journey over the weeks, as I share my mixed media houses and look back to the memories of home. I look forward to hearing about some some of your own memories. Blessings and peace to you!

Tutorial Tuesday - A6 Quinoa and Toilet Roll Journal

 Today we focus on the A6 Journal made out of Toilet roll for inner pockets and quinoa for decoration, I showed you on Saturday the journal with lots of pockets for tags, and cards to write on HERE

Because the journal is made pretty much in the same way as the chunky toilet roll journal you can go HERE to get the instructions and what I will show you is how I used the quinoa to decorate the front of the journal.

When you get to this point of making the journal you need to add a larger piece of cardboard covered in your favorite paper, or paint.  You then need to proceed to the next stage with tools that you have in your stash.

So this is what my finished journal looked like.  On the front I used a glue gun to write the words and make the outline around the front and back of the journal. and used a number which had been recycled from scrap paper with paint from other projects.

 Here is a closer look at the glue gun detail.  When applying the glue gun you need to work fast as it dries really quickly.

 These are the tools I used below and will be making a couple a tags but using the same techniques.

 On a couple of pieces of card, stamped and with some hearts punched at the bottom.

 Taking the glue gun on one of the tags I wrote out the word Joy and drew two hearts and on the other one I stuck the number 7 made from recycled paper.

Around the number 7 tag I drew a border around the edge using the  glue gun, and allowed both tags to dry.

Filling the selected spaces with pva glue I got the quinoa ready

 My plain quinoa was passed its' sell by date for consumption, so I thought it would be great to add a bit of texture on some of my pieces.  The one above has a few linseeds in them from an earlier experiment, you can use them in their natural state, or as in the little bags you can colour the quinoa using acrylic paint.

 Pour the quinoa onto the glue and allow to dry.

After they both had dried I used goldfinger metallic paste around the dried glue words and borders and on some of the quinoa in the spaces.

I then attached some ribbon to finish off.

So you can see, we can use the quinoa to add texture within quite a few projects, it is very versatile and holds well once glued.  For a high used journal I would coat the quinoa with an additional layer of pva glue which would seal it.  Looking forward to sharing next weeks recycled project.

Material Mondays - Crochet Baby Hat

Crochet Baby Hat

So I've been out with the crochet needles again, trying my hand at perfecting hats.  This time though on a smaller scale for a baby!

At some point I will follow a pattern....

This one though was done free style, I knew how wide the head should be, so using this as a guide and knowing how I wanted the hat to look I carried on.

The hat with accompanying flower can be worn to the side or to the front, I personally like it worn to the side.  The baby that it is intended for was born last week and I contemplated attempting a pair of booties, got a bit carried away trying to do it without a pattern and ended up with quite a few oddly shaped samples. So for now we will have to do with the hat!

If you are considering learning how to crochet, or any other creative activity check out Craftsy online courses, at the moment they are doing a special offer on some of their classes, and they are offering some free mini courses. Click here.

Have a blessed day, see you tomorrow for Tutorial Tuesday.