The Story of the Macrame Jar Project

The second project that was included in my Makers' Box was a hanging macrame jar kit. To be completely honest, macrame was one of those terms that I've heard of before but didn't actually know what it meant. A quick trip to Wikipedia informs me that it's a form of textile-making using cords tied into a series of elaborate knots that's used as a decorative or hanging item most commonly.

Now that I had that straightened out I could better visualise where I was heading with this project. The item that I would be hoping to hang was this glass jar which comes with it's own snugly fitting glass lid. I say hoping because at first glance of the instructions I was wondering if I would be able to master this retro craftform! But I figured I could just tackle one step at a time, so lets start with something I know.

What I know is that I always want to add my own little special touches to these projects. So whilst the glass jar and lid was nice, it was made spectacular by the addition of some bright pink paint. Seriously, all I did was pour in some rather thin running paint, swirl it around a bit and then wait for it to dry. But it looks so much cooler don't you think?!

When it came time for the macrame bit I needn't have worried. I had it all spread over my kitchen table when my Mum came to stay. She's a crafty type person herself and curiosity had her investigating what exactly all these cords and instruction book etc were about. Once she saw the word macrame I could see her eyes light up with recognition. "I haven't done this in years, I wonder if I still know how?" she exclaimed as she quickly set up her own experimental knot-tying station. Let's just say that by the time I got home from running an errand, my macrame project was done! ;-)

It'a little uneven and the knots are a little wonky, but I'm thinking that adds to the handmade charm of it all. The bright pink paint complements the neon green cords and I love the overall appeal of it. Very retro isn't it? It looks perfectly at home hanging next to a framed vintage Sassafras Lass print above Moriah's bed. And as for the possibilities of what I'm going to store in this - well, they're endless. Small toys is what Moriah will fill it with, she's got a Squinkies collection that's looking for a new place of residence. Or I'm thinking of reclaiming it either for my craft room to fill with embellishments, or to turn it into an air planter and hang it in the kitchen.

I'm really enjoying my Makers' Box subscription - both this macrame jar project and the clay cloud magnets that I shared earlier in the month have been really fun and super-cool. Mikaela is up on the Makers' Collective blog sharing an insight into the latest project kit too. And if you want all the information about how to sign up for a subscription for yourself then you'll find that over here.

Happy Making!
xx

Rainbow Christmas Bag Tutorial

Because I'm a sucker for a personal request!
So when I was asked on Instagram if I could do a tutorial on how I made my rainbow Christmas bags which I blogged about here, I didn't even contemplate saying no :-)

So it turns out these are really simple. Here's a look into what I did.

I start off gathering all my supplies together right at the beginning. I decide on a colour scheme that will blend nicely together, in this case greens and blues, and choose some mists that will work. It doesn't matter to me that they're all different brands! I also have a paint palette filled with water as well as a water misting bottle, and of course a paintbrush and my plain calico bag.

I dampen my entire calico bag with the water in the misting bottle - just spray it all over so it's nice and moist. I'm aiming for an ombre effect with my colours so I start with the lightest (lime green) and make it even more dilute by mixing it with more water. I paint some haphazard brush strokes across the top. Then I paint a bit of the lime green straight from the bottle so it's a touch darker.

I then move onto the next colour (aqua) and repeat a similar process. There's no right or wrong to this, I just slosh it on however I feel like. Sometimes I mix the mist with water, sometimes I paint straight from the water. Sometimes I drag the brush all across the length of the bag, sometimes I just paint a section. Just have fun with it!

I keep on going with the other colours until the whole bag is covered. I do like to finish at the bottom with a really bold dark colour though, and paint it quite heavily to create this dramatic effect.

After it's done drying (whether you have the patience to let it air dry or whether you speed it up with a heat gun) you'll find that the colours have blended nicely and have lightened up a bit. Now I like to spread on some glitter glue with a palette knife. You can be as scant or liberal as you want...... I love my glitter so I've added quite a bit to these bags. I've gone with a couple of different colours too just to make it more interesting.

The last addition to the bags was to stamp a simple pattern of crosses with Color Theory Ink. I just rolled them on in sections, again with no particular systematic approach... just wherever I had a little gap that seemed to need filling ;-)

The tags I made up as I went along. On some scraps of watercolour paper I splashed on some of the mists at the same time as I was painting the bags. I would just wipe my brush on the paper after I finished each colour on the bag. That way I didn't waste any of the mist and I knew the colours would match!

When dry I punched out the tag shape and added a simple (glittery!) letter.

Despite the non-committal face ... trust me.. the girls loved opening their bags on Christmas morning!
Hope you all had a marvellous Christmas celebrating the joyous season with friends and family.

xx

A Rainbow of Christmas Calico Bags

Despite how many times I pin "pretty packaging" projects to my Pinterest board and swear to myself that I'm going to do something fabulous with this year's Christmas wrapping when it comes time to do it I just want a quick and simple approach!

I like to also use the opportunity to get rid of all the excess packaging and bags and paper that have been accumulated during the year, so I came up with a plan to reuse lots of the plain calico bags that Studio Calico (used to) send their embellishments in.

These are perfect for wrapping clothes and soft toys and other more malleable presents and so I've ended up doing a couple for each of the girls.

I made no secret of what I was doing and throughout the process the girls watched me create these. We don't 'do' Santa in our house - all of their Christmas presents come from us, so they obviously know that I have to wrap them. In fact, I even let them be a part of this process by encouraging them to suggest what colour schemes they would like for their bags. And the addition of glitter was Moriah's idea!

Initially I thought I might just leave it with the plain colours, but debated in my head about more detail with stamps (I briefly flirted with the idea of embroidery but that seemed more time consuming than it's worth!) Ultimately I settled with some simple coloured stamping. 

I think this blue/green one is my favourite. Reminds me of a tropical ocean - and the glitter makes me think of mermaids ;-)

This one I'll call my summer sunset.

Similar colour scheme here but with a bit more pink focus. Moriah also specifically requested a touch of gold so I experimented with a stripe of gold acrylic paint mixed in amongst the waterpainted other colours. It obviously doesn't blend as well and I found that I had to apply quite a good amount to get it to spread on the calico. But it works well enough as a whole.

And of course we couldn't go past some purple for Moriah's other bag. It's her absolute favourite favourite FAVOURITE colour!

Tied up tightly with string so there will be no peeking until Christmas Day - which is just around the corner hey? Therefore I better wish you all a very Merry Christmas in case I don't see you beforehand! Enjoy yourself :-)

The Story of the Forks... and a winner!!

Thanks everyone for your interest in my latest giveaway - a seat in the upcoming BPC "Grammar-Free Journaling" Class. I've combined all the entries from my blog and my facebook and then let random.org choose a winner.

A great big congratulations goes to.....
RUTH BONSER!!
Yay! Please get in contact with me via email and I'll hook you up with a code to get free access to the class :-)

For everyone else, don't forget that if you sign up for the class and use the code:
GOGRAMMAR
You'll get $7 off the full price. But hurry, because the offer ends on the first day of class which is the 24th of July. I can't wait! 

And just because a post feels empty without some kind of photo or project I thought I'd very randomly share this wooden cutlery set I altered back when I was a Guest Designer for American Crafts. 

A very simple project, mainly consisting of dipping cutlery in paint and then covering them with glitter! But really... messy painty glittery projects are quite possibly the best kind ;-)

My girls quickly claimed these after I was finished photographing them, and have been using them for afternoon tea parties ever since. I have to admit, I love it when my kids enjoy what I make.