Stuff That's Done and Works in Progress

Hello my pretties,

I have fabulous news, I sold my first Etsy item last week. It was a cute penguin pillow I mention briefly here, when it was still a work in progress.  But this is what it looked like ones I was done.

Say hello to my dog

 

I've been a busy bee for a pass couple weeks.  I'm trying to make an inventory for the Broken Arts Fest that's happening July 15th, where I will be selling stuff.  If I have any readers from the Toronto/Durham area, they should come and visit. It should be a fun time, with lots of live music, vendors and I think there's food too.

I also was busy over the weekend, Taylor Swift was in Toronto and I went to see her with a couple friends, and it was very fun.  My friend Olivia was wearing one of my dresses, which looked awesome on her, and she said that she's been getting compliments for it.

Woot Woot Dress 

One of the better pictures I got of Miss Swift 

So now as the title mentioned there are some works in progress, I'm hoping that I will have them all finished by July. 

This is a coffee cup cozy, to honor the local NHL team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although not the greatest team out there, it has a most loyal fans and I hope I don't get any hate for dissing them.   The cozy still needs work, because the leaf doesn't pop out and it just looks a little off.  But I think I'll redo it but knit it instead of crochet. 

Next is some paper necklaces I've been working on,  probably the most time consuming project I've been working on. Mostly because there are a lot of steps involved like cutting the paper and getting it all ready.  

Before 

After

That's what it looks like once I'm all done, the paper comes from a old mountain biking magazine of my fathers.  So instead of recycling it, I'm repurposing it.  Save the earth and all that.  

This is a picture of some my work space, it's looking a little messy, I know and it has like three projects going on it.   

March of the Penguins 

Lastly here's some picture of some penguin coffee cup cozies I made.  After finished the penguin pillow I felt in a penguin mood and came up with them.  There's going to be a pattern for it soon, I have it written out but some editing is needed at this point.   

So that's all for now, 

Much Love

Zoe

FO Friday

The past week has been pretty exciting,  I finished my entrelac cowl that I started during reading week, I thought it would finish up the red and black yarn that I got last year,  but I still have 1/2 a skeins of each color left.  I got 5 skeins of each color for 5$ at a tent sale, and it's been in 5 projects.

My cowl all finished up

So as mentioned in other posts I did the cowl to go with a hat and mitten set that I did over Christmas break.  I'm looking forward to colder weather where I can wear this without feeling like I'm going to faint from over heating. Oh the wow's of summer.

The whole set

An other finished object I did is a super cute winter bonnet ( the link is to the pattern).  I thought it was so cute but I modified the front band to have a more Celtic cabling feel to it.  

I'm calling this my traveling bonnet, because most of it was done when I was traveling from one place to an other.  I did the band when I was going to North Bay a couple weeks back and did most of the rest on a five hour train ride from Toronto to Ottawa last week.   I makes it sound like a travel a lot but trust me it's not the case. :P

I might have done it a size to big, which is rare for me because I have a really big head,  I find buying hats really difficult, (maybe a reason my I make so many for myself).  But over all I love it, it's so bright but without overpowering. 

View from the back

It's also has a big fluffy pom pom on it!!

A little announcement, I going to be a vendor at a local Fair in July, I'm really pumped, I can't wait to go out and met some lovely people.  There's also an all day concert going on too, so I might find some good bands.

I'll keep you posted on details of that.  

Later Days

  

Tutorial- Paper Lantern

This project is very fun and easy to make, it can be done with kids because the main component is drawing.

Materials:
-Paper, I used a thick tracing paper from my local craft store.
-Drawing implements, pens, markers, crayons, pencils
-Four wooden kebab skewers
-Four Beads
-Ruler
-Scissors
-Hot glue gun

So today the weather was really nice so I toke this project outside, here's all the stuff I'm using to draw my pattern on to the lantern.  I wanted to do some mandala's but I don't know how to do them so I printed some from the internet.  

So I toke my paper and measured out 5 inches because I wanted my lantern to be that high, I marked it with a pencil and cut it out, you make your lantern what ever size you would like.  

So just start drawing, do whatever you want along the paper.  

  

Here's about halfway through 

This is mine ones I was all done, I think it's nice from a distance but up close you can sorta see where I messed up.  From this part be careful not to smudge, especially if you're left handed.      

Now it's time to turn this pretty drawing of yours into a lantern... 

 Plug in your glue gun, so that it can heat up while we work on the next step.

Flip your piece so that your drawing and fold it in half, then unfold it and fold into quarters. 

Take your skewer and measure two inches more then the height of your paper, (one inch for each side of it), and cut there.  I try to score the wood and then snap it, it works for me, but use the system that works for you.

Hopefully by now your hot glue gun is ready, now put some glue into the center of your bead, and then take your skewer and place it in the glue, wiping away excess. Be careful with this, because it's hot.  If you're doing this project with kids, you should do this step.

It will look something like this

Now with your glue gun, you'll place glue on the skewers on the sections that will be in contact with the paper, so leaving the top and bottom inch clear.  Then place into the fold of your lantern.

For the last side glue it as close to the edge as you can than sorta fold the paper on to it, then put glue over this and take the other side and place it over.

 Stand it up and you'll have a nice lantern.

Here's mine:

 

Please keep an eye on your lantern when using it, because you know that paper and fire don't always get along. I use a battery powered tea light, so that is not as much of a problem.

 


Here's a taller one I make last year.

Leave an questions in the comments and I hope you have fun.

Zoe