Short but Sweet: Homemade Irish Cream

Skip to My Lou has a great recipe online for some Homemade Irish Cream. What a great gift idea!

Image Source: Skip to My Lou

Another cushion: Argyle

Loving this argyle cushion I spotted courtesy of Craftzine originally blogged at Bugs and Fishes.

Once again, you can make it yourself! This one is made out of felted jumpers/sweaters, but you can use any felt. Get Laura's how to at Bugs and Fishes.

Gosh, I love Dana from Made's gorgeous faux chevron cushion! What a great idea. Head over to the tutorial and you can make your own, too. At the moment, Dana is Celebrating Yellow, so make sure to check it out!

Image Source: Dana at Made

Video: On Handwork

Making something from hand is such a rewarding experience, be it sewing, knitting, crochet, needlework, workwork or any other number of handiwork crafts.

I found this video really interesting, and how Renate talks about knitting being a form of meditation rang true with me. I know anytime I am crafting, I am lost in my own little world, and it does feel very meditation like. I also liked the importance she placed on handicrafts within our busy, modern (often cold) world.


Video Source: Fibercraft Studios on YouTube, via Craftzine

Crafters, and others interested in any kind of handmade skill, do yourself a favour and watch this great video.

Guess what? Crochet!

My very first foundation chain :) Wobbly and bumpy. But I did it!

It took me a while to figure out how to do it from the booklet...but all of a sudden I realised what I was doing wrong, which mainly had to do with how I was holding the yarn.

The ones since have been much neater and more even. I'm still proud of this one the most though!

Crochet?

I have gotten my hands on the first issue of a serial crochet how to...and I am looking forward to taking the plunge and figuring it out. I have to go and see what other issues I can pick up now so I don't miss out on anything!

It's something I've always wanted to learn how to do. Years ago, when I was still a child, my grandmother did show me how to crochet two knitted squares together. I remember the occasion like it was yesterday, but do not remember the technique at all. Typical! I do remember how to knit though, simple garter stitch and stocking stitch, and that is due to her guidance.

I would just love to be able to crochet something like this, that I blogged here:

Photo Source: The Coveted

Or this that I blogged just recently:

Or this:

Image Source: Crochet Me

Maybe one day. Now, step one: figure out some BASICS. Any tips?

Busy Tempest Bee!

Apologies to my regular followers, I have been a little off the bloggy radar recently.

Life has had me run off my feet, and to be honest in the next couple of weeks, it is only going to get busier. I've managed to get some crafty stuff done, mainly to add to our Etsy shop, so I am eager to have some time to do some purely recreational stuff again soon. Soonish.

There is so much to do at the moment, I have resorted to using a list. One of the items on said list is to write a more specific list in a certain category. Cuckoo, I know. But for me, lists help me get stuff done...and make the anxiety over GETTING it done a little less.

For me, there is nothing like the satisfaction of crossing things off a big list!

Just out of curiosity, I'm wondering how you guys get organised or deal with competing demands and many tasks/stress. Please share!

Photo: A monster for a monster lovin' kid!

Photo - hard at work :)

Feedback from our Crap I've Made giveaway winner!

We were so thrilled to receive a wonderful testimonial from our Crap I've Made giveaway winner yesterday.

"I received the package and my kids went crazy! My little boy had this cute little turtle hat that he wore when he was a newborn that I really loved. When he put his dinosaur hat on, it brought back some really sweet memories. Thanks so much! I didn’t expect to have crayons in the crayon roll. Now I can boast being the only one I know with crayons from Australia. I also loved how the roll matched the hat. It even smelled good when I opened the package. Thank you again for your generosity".

- Linda Leary, USA

Thanks so much for taking the time to write to us, Linda! We love hearing what people think of our products! We also super duper thrilled to know that your kids loved it!