Category Archives: Handmade Monday

Needlefelt Cup Cakes for Handmade Monday

Hello, and welcome to another Handmade Monday. It’s hard to believe that three weeks today we will be wondering what to do to make the turkey leftovers exciting! I’ve been reading through last December’s posts , and realising how great the whole blog thing is. If I wasn’t writing this, how would I remember last year’s early snow? Those photos are making me envious of the snow I hear has fallen in the North of England and Scotland over the last couple of days. Can it really be a year since the Mad French Cat came to stay at my Mum’s, to keep us entertained with his funny little ways? And I was SO organised last year! Making Christmas cards and Mincemeat, wrapping presents… At the moment my sole piece of preparation is a Christmas Cake in a bag…

Never mind, the time has not been wasted, and I’ve always liked a challenge!

My latest piece of news is the opening of a new shop in a Market town not too far away from where I live which is starting craft courses in the New Year. I’ll be there with my felting needles among other craft tutors, and you can find out more here. I’m off there on Thursday to promote the beginners’ class, a Needlefelt Cup Cake Pincushion, which you may have read about here before, but it’s always a good introduction.

And it’s surprising how yummy they look!

So it’s a short post this Handmade Monday, I need to be consulting the gospel according to St Delia for a bit of seasonal advice, and catching up. Do pay a call over on 1st Unique Gifts where Wendy has made a gathering place for all the Handmade Monday-ers!

A Pick’n’Mix Handmade Monday…

Hello, Good Morning and Happy Monday! I hope the sun is shining where you are. It’s a perfect Autumnal morning here, bright low sun, and frostiness. The weekend’s strong winds have subsided, and now the last few leaves have been whipped off the cherry trees, the sun can stream in through the french doors unhindered.

I must admit to being very, very tired! There are times when the only way to have a bit of fun and life is to ignore all the ‘management’ advice about M.E., go for it, and pick up the pieces afterwards, which may take a while…

However, enough of all that…

Would you like to see some pictures? I’ve got lots, but I’ll try not to go over the top! If you want to find out more about any of the lovelies that you see, click on Pick ‘n’ Mix Makers Market in the side bar for the details.

My stall will look very familiar since I’ve featured most of my makes on here at some time…

But here are some of the rest…

We were next door to a lady selling beautiful glass pieces, but can you see who is modelling in the background?

…and I discovered she too was a member of the Dachshund fan club, and I met Monty!

Always a popular theme!

I suffered some serious yarn love looking at these…

…aren’t they gorgeous? I wish I suited a hat!

I did buy some lovely raspberry yarn from High Fibre, which I will show you when I have knitted it up, and some jolly Christmas cards from Gabriella, whose whole stall was an explosion of Jolliness!

(and where you will also find dachshunds!)

If you want to see the whole thing from another angle, pop over to Purple Podded Peas where Celia Hart has posted the day from her perspective…

The only new make I have to show you is the Robin brooch. I made one for Kit and one for me to show where we belonged…

but if I’d made lots I think I would have sold them! I sold all the robin baubles very quickly, I think that thanks to the Kirsty Allsop effect, everyone wants a needlefelted robin this Christmas!

(and that gorgeous necklace is a Silver Pebble creation, created for Kit from the contents of her granny’s button box!)

I had enquiries about the robin baubles before the weekend and will be making more for Folksy but if you’d like some you’d better let me know…

I must stop chatting, I have two men in the garden erecting scaffolding and I’m on tea duty. Do visit Wendy over on 1st Unique Gifts to find the Linky to all the other participants of Handmade Monday.

See you soon…x

Needlefelted Robins for Handmade Monday

It’s the final run down to the Pick’n’Mix Maker’s Market in the lovely market town of Holt, Norfolk on the 26th November which is NEXT WEEKEND!!! (Aaaah! Speak severely to self….’Calm down, dear!’)

Actually I am looking forward to it, panic aside, because I will see so many friends, especially Emma of Silver Pebble, Celia of Purple Podded Peas, Gabriella of Moobaacluck, Tracey and Craig of Faded Splendour, and the hostess with the mostess, Lisa of Bobobun. And there will be Daisy Boo’s Kitchen…and CAKE…and lots of other lovely stalls!

So as, much to my delight, my little Carol Singing Mice sold almost immediately I have made another group, and they are just waiting to collect their song sheets and bell…

…and I have been making more needlefelted robins, this time to hang on the Christmas tree…

Despite my efforts to remained focussed I did get somewhat side tracked by discovering the delights of the ‘hexipuff’. It came at me from two different directions, firstly in Vanessa’s post on ‘Do You Mind If I Knit’, and then on the UKHandmade website. Isn’t this pretty?

Such a brilliant way of using leftover sock yarn! These are my first efforts…

…and the lovely thing is that UK Handmade are collecting donated hexipuffs to make a quilt to raise funds for charity, and you can find out all about it here.

I think I qualify to enter Handmade Monday this week! If you drop over to Wendy’s Blog on 1st Unique Gifts you’ll find plenty more to see.

See you soon! x

A Hearty Handmade Monday!

Happy Monday! The beginning of another week, and I think now, like it or not, we have to admit that Christmas is coming. 41 days! oo-er!

Have you started the Christmas shopping yet? I’ve been so busy thinking about having things on my stall for the Pick’n’Mix Makers Market I just haven’t had a thought about actually buying things myself! I’m sure I’ll find the answer to several pressie dilemmas on the other stalls there. If you want to see just what’s coming up, have a look at this post about the June Market.

So what have I been making this week? There’s been more of the same with the baubles and the dolly peg dolls, which have already started to sell so I need to keep up, but the new thing was in response to a remark about the Duck I made for the Auction for Team Hannah (where you can bid for him!)…

…and his jolly heart shaped balloon.

So I’ve made some more. With spots!

It reminds me of the film Up…

I really love all those cheerful colours.

I would like to put these for sale on Folksy, the problem being the infinite variety, it would take so long to list them. I’m really not good at churning out masses of things all the same. I suppose if I listed them by the main colour, people could take pot luck on the spots, I don’t know…. What do you think?

I just think they look so jolly. Would be fun in a nice shiny green pot plant!

If you like Handmade Monday, go over to see Wendy of 1st Unique Gifts, where lots of other creative people have links to what they’ve been up to.

I must get back to my felting needle, see you soon x

P.S. To those of you who have been missing Higgins, he’s fine and full of mischief as ever. If you need a little mini dachshund fix, you can find a post he wrote a while ago just here!

Dolly Peg Dolls for Handmade Monday

It’s Handmade Monday again, isn’t it scary how the weeks fly by? Even though I’ve spent time having fun with two small boys last week, I still have a few handmade things to share with you, as I’m still beavering away making for the Pick’n’Mix Makers Market in just over 3 weeks time.

I really, really don’t like it when the clocks go back. I’m sitting here looking at the gloom outside, and it isn’t half past four yet! a few people suggested that the extra hour in bed is a compensation, but it only happens the once and not in a house where the body clocks of children and animals are still running on the old time. So it was out of bed at 6.30 for CeeBeebies and Henry/Higgins breakfast!

Added to which the boys went home this morning so it’s very quiet as well as gloomy so I have been SO appreciative of all the lovely links for Reasons to be Cheerful, thank you very much. And if you are feeling a bit like me, pay a few bloggy visits and say hello!

Anyway, this week we went to a windswept beach to do a bit of charging about…

To a mini funfair to do a bit of flying around…

To the cinema for some 3D magic…

… to Bewilderwood for some Halloween spookiness…

Topped off with a trip to Norwich Castle for some more half term fun.

And I bet you’re wondering where the dolly pegs come in!

Well they’re here…

Happy little ladies decorated with needlefelt and yarn, crochet fleece and buttons.

I’ve had such fun making them, and although they’re perfect for hanging on the Christmas tree, they could keep you company all year round, hanging on a door knob, a pin board, or the dressing table mirror.

So they might be hanging around, but I haven’t been!

As usual there is a link to Wendy of 1st Unique Gifts, who kindly hosts Handmade Monday each week, and there you can visit all the other makers to see what they’ve been up to! Have fun, and see you soon x

Needlefelting by the Fire

Here in North Norfolk we seem to be clinging on to our Indian Summer, although it’s been good to light the woodburner once the sun goes down. It’s very poignant, I’m very much a Spring person, and struggle a bit with approaching Winter and I’m finding capturing little moments with the camera a really good way of being more positive about the clocks going back next weekend.

It does mean that sometimes I have to be a bit adventurous to get the shot I want. The Silent Sunday picture this week involved clambering round quite a lot of mud and through dead stalks to get at that last surviving sunflower. Higgins thought I’d gone quite mad and dug all four little legs firmly in the ground when I tried to tow him behind me, so I had to do it with a dachshund tucked under one arm into the bargain!

I’ve been needlefelting this week. With the Pick’n’Mix Market just a short month away I’ve been working on more Christmas decorations making Sputnik Baubles and I’ve had lots of fun with the colours. I said in a previous post I’m working on all-year-round colours, rather than a traditional palette, and I’ve been surprised how jolly and clown like my creations are becoming…

…and you can sort of imagine them orbiting Planet Penny can’t you?

(Now I’m feeling ashamed because I realise just how long I’ve had those wooden hangers waiting for me to creatively cover them!)

After last week’s Handmade Monday I had interest expressed in a tutorial for the Crochet Fairy Lights which you will now find here. I’d love to see if you make them!

And talking of Handmade Monday please make a trip over to 1st Unique Gifts to say hello to Wendy and to find out what other exciting bits of making have been going on over the week.

Finally thanks to everyone who took part in the Reasons to be Cheerful Linky. I hope that now you know about it you’ll be looking for your own little sparks of happiness to share for for the next one which is scheduled for Thursday. When clocks go back next weekend, we’ll need all the cheering up we can get!

See you soon x