Lavendar Bath Salts

This is a really simple Christmas gift, bag up some balt salts, i bought generic ones from the supermarket, add some dried flowers, add cute labels and your done :)

I used lavender in mine from my cousin's gorgeous Lavendar farm

Washcloth Reindeer!

Holy crap these are cute!!! I know its now post Christmas but i dont like blogging about gifts before i give them, just in case!

I followed the tutorial at Bumble Bee's Craft Den, and they've all got some of my loofah soap inside - love them!

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Caramels

Yum! Super soft caramels for Christmas this year!
I followed this recipe on Giverslog and it worked brilliantly :)

Caramel cooling (its ridiculously hot when your making it!)



All wrapped up in waxed paper






All packaged up!
I had a few odd bags and boxes lying around so i just used what i had

Merry Christmas!

Hope your all having a wonderful day :)

Christmas Tree card

I saw this cute tree card at Crafy Magazine and thought id make some special handmade cards for close family and friends this year



I cut the cards using my silhouette SD and then glued sparkly green card behind - very simple but really nice i think, better than shop bought anyway!

Stamped wrapping paper

I went quite simple with my wrapping this year, red parcel paper and gold stamped snowflakes. I love this stamped wrapping paper over at Craft Magazine so i thought id give it  a go :)

Meringues :)

The fruit tart i made my mum used a lot of egg yolks for the filling so what else are you going to make with a glut of egg whites! Meringues of course, the fact they happen to be one of my dads favourite things (and mine!) is just an added bonus


(Sorry my folks had eaten all the filling before i got back round to photo them! Lucky i prefer them plain isnt it!)

Meringues used to be my nemesis i could not make them to save my life. Then lovely BMs mum bought me this Good Housekeeping recipe book one Christmas and in it was a recipe for Foolproof Meringues. If im honest i probably though 'Foolproof you say? Well i'll show you!' but when i tried them they actually worked! I was overjoyed and i havent really stopped making them since.

I cant find the recipe online anywhere but its basically a cooked meringue. Instead of whisking the egg whites, then adding the sugar, you whisk the whites and sugar all together in a bowl over hot water. It works like a dream for me :)

Corner zip purse with gusset

More zips! Am i getting a bit obsessed...?
Isnt it cute though!

I followed this tutorial at How About Orange. I struggled to get my head around the design at first, until i realised that you covered the raw edges inside with tape. And I missed off the credit card band inside as i didnt think i needed it. It is a bit fiddly to make, with the zips going round the corner, but if you take you time and make sure everything is straight it does work.

Finished Drawstring Bags

I finished off the snake bags i made with some 888 reptile branding!

I used this wonderful iron on Artists Transfer Paper for the images. It gives a great matte finish, so it looks like the images have been printed on rather than transferred, good stuff!

Wide open pouch - Makeup or Wash Bag

Another zippered pouch! I followed the same tutorial as my first ever zip, but got the zip end right this time!

I think this is going to be a gift to someone this Christmas as a makeup bag or washbag :)

Another Dino Hoodie

Another Dino hoodie! The only modification i made was cutting the interfacing smaller than the felt so it didnt show at the edges of the spikes. Cant wait to see my niece in it!

Tiny zipped pouch

Following on from my first ever zip i thought id make another one, a little tiny coin purse this time. I followed this tutorial (but omitted the embellishments) 

I didnt have a zip the right size so i had to cut the one i had and then make a new stop end using superglue. It actually worked quite well.

Its a bit wonky which is an issue i often have with square stuff so i need to get a handle on that, but overall i like it :)

Birthday Fruit Tart

 

It was my mums birthday recently and as she doesnt like cakes but is partial to fuit, custard and pastry i made her this fruit tart instead of a traditonal birthday cake. Its a creme patisserie filling which is delicious and is toppped with peaches, kiwi and strawberries. I used this recipe but must admit i used shop bought pastry!


 

Casually nosey...

 

Christmas Makes

Loads of things i want to make as gifts this year!

Reindeer Flannels by bumble bees craft den


Loofah soap by martha stewart



Candied Pecans bysimplyrecipes


Caramel sticks by givers log


Credit card pouches by how about orange





What are you making/hoping to make this year?

(Crochet edged) Blankets

I loved these crochet edge blankets from Purl Bee the minute i saw them and knew i wanted to make some. That was about 9 month ago and ive finally got round to making some, but not actually crocheting them!

Ive managed to get as far as hemming the fabric (i just cut up a flannel sheet i bought from Tesco)

and sewing on the 'Made by Abi' tags.

Theyre pretty nice like that but i do want to crochet them, i'll post some pictures if i ever find time to do them!!

Drawstring bags (for snakes!)

Now i have been known to complain that there isnt much you can make (crafting wise) for a pet snake. They arent going to appreciate a little knitted jumper and they certainly arent going to be interested in a little patchwork mousey toy (both suggestions that have been rapidly vetoed by lovely BM, with good reason!)

But when a snake came on loan last month (we borrow snakes to breed with our females) i realised i had missed a trick! The excellent reptile shop we use 888 Reptiles, always deliver their snakes in little cloth bags. These are to keep the snake secure and to make them feel safe as they like small dark environments, especially when potentially stressed. So it thought id have a go at making some myself, for our snakes.

And i love how they turned out. I think thinner cord might be better for the next version, to make the top tighter when closed but apart for that theyre perfect :)

I think im going to iron on the snakes names with transfer paper, its important they have their own to avoid any contamination, and make them even cuter!

Dino kids hoodie

I never love being an aunt more than when i get to make stuff for my gorgeous little niece! For (one of her many) christmas presents im making her a dinosaur hoodie. Its my indirect attempt to get her into reptiles from a young age!

I just bought a cheap hoodie from Matalan, some coloured felt and some heavy weight interfacing. I cut the felt into diamonds and ironed on the interfacing. The i pinned the diamonds in place down the midline of the hoodie. I sewed down the middle of the diamonds onto the hoodie, Then i brought the two halves of the diamond together to make a spike. I sewed around the edge of that and it was done :)

So simple and so cute, my favourite kind of make

 

Salt Dough Gift Tags

I loved these salt dough gift tags when i saw them on Pinterest and knew i wanted to try and make some for Christmas this year.

I follow the recipe at More Like Home and they were really easy to make

This is them fresh, still wet. I stamped some of them with ink and a few without to see the difference.

This is them finished, theyre a bit more grainy than i hoped and i totally forgot to add holes to tie them to stuff so i tried them again



This time i used gold and black ink. I decided early on that the gold ink was much nicer so i used that on the majority of them.

I love how they turned out, especially the heart ones. I would definitely make more of those next time.
I'll add them to my gifts when i get round to wrapping any and take some pictures for the blog

Tortellini soup

Yummy tortelini soup :) Roughly based on this recipe from Annie Eat's - you should definitely try it!

Cat and sticker

Printed some Abi Makes stickers yesterday and couldnt resist sticking a few round the house. However the cat doesnt seem that keen on being used as a label display!

Zip Course

After my first ever zip went ok and wasnt as scary as i thought i figured i should probably learn how to do them properly. So i signed up for the zips and buttons course at the Make Lounge.

The course was fab, we learnt normal zips and concealed zips and how to do buttonholes on a fully automated machine - none of which i had ever attempted. Theyre actually really simple, its just confidence and few insider tips and tricks that help you get started. Might even try to make some clothes now i have this new skill....

 

Regular zip front

 

Regular zip reverse

 

Concealed zip front, with concealed zip foot

 

Concealed zip reverse

 

 

 

 

Fingerprint Art continued....

My fingerprint art book has arrived and its even better than i hoped!! I thought it would be interactive but i didnt know it would be a workbook for me to fill in! Its like being back at school (which i loved, im such a geek!!)

These are some of my favourite pages :)

Giraffe print anyone?

Fingerprint monkeys!


Dia de los Meurtos skulls!