Simple Crafts: A Guide for Beginners

Sykes Cottages Simple Crafts A guide for beginners Curious about craft but not sure how to get started? To inspire you to give crafting a go, we asked six bloggers to come up with a craft that's simple to make at home or on holiday. Each are inexpensive to make and require little specialist equipment, making them a wonderful keepsake or thoughtful gift. Upcycled Phone Cosy Contributed by H & Sammy at www.liveitloveitmakeit.com "Everyone has a phone that needs a cosy place to live in and stay protected. “ You Will Need: 3. 1. Take your scrap of denim and draw around the phone you want to make the case for (or a similar one) leaving a 1.5cm distance aróund the phone. 2. Cut out the shape and use it to cut a second piece the same size. Use these denim pieces to cut two more pieces the same size from the felt. Trim away from the edges make them slightly smaller than the denim. denp of the felt to A felt square Scissors A pen 4. Using the phone as reference, 3. Create the front of your phone cosy by trimming away the top of the felt and denim above where you have marked. Cut a small triangle in the centre. mark one of the denim and felt pieces about 0.5 cm from the fop of the phone. Embroidery thread and sewing needle 6. Take your embroidery thread and stitch a line across the top of both the front pièces of your phone cosy. Place both pieces felt side together 8. To finish off and sew all of the layers together. Don't sew too closé to the edge so you can leave space to fray out your edges. Remember; dontsew across the top so that your phone can get in! your cosy, pull at a few of the threads on each edge to give it a worn, distressed look. back A phone to use for size Spiral Earrings Contributed by Erin at www.e-eliseetc.com "The perfect project for beginners, this tutorial shows you how to use basic wirework techniques to create a pretty pair of earrings." You Will Need: 1. First, create the beaded charm for 2. Take your flat nose pliers and 3. Use your pliers to bend the the earrings. Start by cutting a piece of wire approx. 2" long then use your flat nose pliers to bend the end around into a small loop – this will be the centre of your spíral. Sterling silver wire (0.6-0.8mm diameter) clamp the centre loop with one hand then wrap the length of wire around it with the other. After two or three complete wraps you should be left with a small spiral. wire át the end of the spiral at a right angle away from it then thread on the thrée beads. Six beads (4x6mm) A pen -To turn this into a charm, bend the wire to a right angle just above the top of the last bead then use your round nose pliers to create a small hanging loop. Repeat ti to create one for the second earring then set aside. - To make an earring wire, take another 2" length of wire and use round nose pliers to create a loop at one end like the one стeat you to attach the charm. Wire cutters process d in step 4-1 will allow Round nose pliers Flat nose pliers 6. Bend the length of wire around a . Use pliers to carefully open up pen or other round object to create the curved shape, then use flat nose pliers to bėnd the other end of the wire outwards. Repeat this process so that you have two earring wires. If the cut ends of the wire are sharp, you may wish to file them down slightly. the loop on your first earring wire and thread on your charm, then use the pliers to close the loop securing the charm in place. Repeat this for the sécond earring and you're done! A small file (optional) Penguin Finger Puppet Contributed by Kate at www.craftsonsea.co.uk "This penguin finger puppet makes a great gift for kids. Once you've tried one, you'll be ready to try all sorts of fun designs." You Will Need: 1. Draw a template of your penguin 2. Pin the paper templates to the onto a folded piece of paper and cut it out to create two penguin shapes; one for each side of the puppet. Use this to create a template to make sure that the puppet will fit your finger by pinning the sides of the paper template together and placing it on your finger. 3. Take one paper template and draw the white part of the penguin on to it, cut this out to create a template for the penguin's body. Now pin this to your white felt and cut around the paper template to create the white part of your penguin's body. black felt and cut around them to create the front and back of your penguin. Unpin the paper femplate. Felt in black, white and orange Googly eyes 4. Use your orange felt to cut out a 5. Pin the white body onto one of your black shapes and sew into place, then sew on the beak and feet. beak and two feet. Fabric scissors Needle and thread Pins 6. Pin the two sides of your puppet (. Once your penguin is stitched together. Begin stitching from the inside of your puppet to ensure that any knots used to secure your thread will be hidden on the inside of the puppet. Remember, don't sew along the bottom of your puppet - otherwise your finger won't get in! together, fix the googly eyes in place with super glue. Your puppet is now ready to play with! Paper Superglue Fabric Bow Keyring Contributed by Sophie at thethingsshemakes.blogspot.co.uk "A simple, easy and practical 'no-sew' craft that's perfect to make whilst on holiday." You Will Nood: 15om 1. Cut three lengths of fabric 2. For each piece of fabric, neaten 3. Take a length of fabric, raw the edges and provide structure by making a 1cm fold on either síde. Run small dots of glue along the centre of the fabric fő stick thě folds in place. Leave to dry fully. To further bond the fabric, run a hot iron over the seam. edges facing up, and maik the centre with a dot of glue. Bring each end to meet in the centre and hold in place to secure. Allow to dry and do the same with a second piece of fabric. These will be the bows. measuring 15cm x 4cm. Fabric Scissors 4. To create the bow tail, cut 4cm 5. As an optional final detail, create off one end of the remaining length of fabric to make it 11cm long. Keep the bit you cut off, as this will be used to hold the design together. triangular cuts at either end of the täil length of fabric. Run glue across the raw edges to neaten and prevent frayed edges. Fabric Strong Glue Keyring 6. To assemble the bow, layer the . Once dried, add the two fabric bows on fop of the centre of the bow tails. Hold in place by wrapping the final piece of fabric across the centre, leaving a small loop at one side, then fix it in place with keyring to the loop and you're done! Iron glue. Winter Spiced Candles Contributed by Rebecca at www.reallyprettyuseful.co.uk "Scented candles are easy to make at home and are the perfect gift. While you might be worried about making a mess, if you use soy wax, which is natural and chemical free, it's really easy to clean up. You Will Need: 1. To work out how much wax you need for each candle, fill your jar with wax flakes – it should be tightly packed – and double it. 2. Put the wax in a pan and melt gently over a low heat until all flakes have dissolved. Stir to encourage any clumps of wax to break up. Turn the heat off and leave for a minute to cool. Soy wax flakes Essential oils Tabbed votive wicks 3. Add your essential oils. To create the winter spiced' scent, use 18 drops of orange oil, 12 drops of cinnámon and 8 drops of clove. It may smėll strong at first but will fade with the heat of the wax. Give it a stir before using a funnel to pour the wax into jars. 4. Allow the wax to cool and turn slightly opaque before putting in the wick. Once the wax is cloudy and thick, but not set, push the wick to the bottom of the jar and it will stand by itself. Leave your candle to harden ovemight, and trim the wick leaving 1cm above the wax. Pretty jars, votives or small glasses Cleaning Tips If you notice any splashes of wax on your jar or worktop, run the hot tap, soák a cloth and wipe the wax away. Soy wax melts at a lower temperature than paraffin wax so it's much easier to clean. Scissors Funnel 5. Tie the jars with ribbon or twine to give as a gift, or light the candle to fill your home with the wonderful scent you have created. Don't pour leftover wax down the sink or you'll clog the drains. Pour leftover wax into a paper cup to either use again, or pop in the bin! Wooden spoon Saucepan Crochet Tablet Cover Contributed by Kate at www.beakupcrafts.co.uk "Ii you're looking to make a handmade gift for the technology lover in your life, why not try this crochet tablet cover? It's easy to make and once you've mastered the basic crochet stitches, you'll be finished in no time!" You Will Meed: 2. 1. Using A, ch 43. This will form the bottom of the case and measures the length of the tablet 3. Now begin the granny stripes. ch 3, 2 tr into same st Skip 3 and 3 tr into next st. Répeat skipping three stitches and 3tr into next until you get back to the start of the row, ss to join, leaving a gap of three st in between the clusters. Fasten of. htr into the third ch from the hook. htr to end, turn and htr back to the beginning. ss to fasten. Aran/worsted weight yarn in three different colours. This tutorial uses Stylecraft Special Aran in Lavender (A), Camel (B) and Black (C) Crochet hook (4.5mm) 4. Join B. ch 3, 2tr into samę Skip 3 st arid 3tr into next st. Repeat until you get back to the start of the row. Ss to join, leaving a gap of three st in between thě clūsfers. Fasten off. 5. Join C. ch 3, 2 tr into same st Skip 3 st and 3tr into next st. Repeat until you get back to the stait of the row. SS Oween the a gap of three clusters. Fasten off. 6. Repeat steps 3-5 four times, altenating the colour in sequence (. Now it's time to make the flap. Starting at one the cover ină gap space A. tr in each st across. At the end, ch 3. leaving Embroidery Two big buttons thread and needle Darning needle 8. Turn, tr back across to the end. ch 1. 9. Turn, dc across and when you 10. Weave in ends using a daming get to the end ss to the previous fow. Fasten off. needle. UK Crochet stitches terminology ch - chain st - stitch de - double crochet htr - half treble crochet tr - treble crochet ss - slip stitch II.To make the fastening: ch8, 12. Fold the flap down and work then fasten off, leaving long ends for sewing. Count seven stitches along from the edge of the flap, and with the wool ends, sew the chain into place. Skip two spaces then sew the other end to the flap. Repeat on the other side. Weave iri ends. out where the buttons need to be then sew them in place using the embroidery needle and thread. Share photos of your creations with us on D@sykescottages f facebook.com/sykescottages.co.uk - we'd love to see! A SYKES cottages