Hoppy Easter!

Easter is one of my fave times of the year.....

Why??

Well I always tell myself to go easy on the chocolate and then of course do the opposite and gobble it all up! A Lindt rabbit has already met its demise and it's only Easter Saturday.... *sigh*

Anyways today I have been making some last minute little bunny softies for my niece and nepheww. I had the rabbit shapes cut out ages ago to make some beanie bags but I didn't like them so instead I have stuffed three, one for each kiddo. The big orange check is for my eldest nephew and the two smaller ones are for the twinnies. The little bunnies are only about 10-15cm tall.

I tried using some ribbon to tie around their necks but it just didn't suit and I was getting frustrated. So instead I cut up a couple of strips of fabric and used that instead! Gives them that cute shabby chic look and finishes them off too. 

We know all bunnies have cute fluffy white tails and these are no exception! Look at their cute little bums. Last minute gifts are better than nothing!

Below I have done part 2 of the beanie/hat stand tutorial. It turned out pretty good and I am more than happy with it. Click HERE for Part 1.

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Mini Tutorial - Part 2

Hat & Beanie Stand

So the last step that we had was covering the ball with white paper and allowing it to dry fully. I left mine to dry overnight and pretty much up until about 2pm the next day as thats when I got time to start working on it again! However it was completely dry in the morning. 

 I only did one layer of white paper but you can see how once it's dry the newspaper is very hard to see. You could leave your ball like this but I do give it a coat of white paint later on. 

The next step is the make a decent sized hole in the ball to sit on your stand. Now my stand had quite a thick pole which I wasn't anticipating before starting this project but you just adapt this bit to suit what you have. You have a thick pole then make a decent sized hole...you have a thin pole then you have to becareful not to make the hole too big.

I started my hole by finding most dodgy part of my paper mache and pushing an old set of scissors into it and twisting it around. I think I made my hole about 5-6cm deep?? Then I used a couple of paint brush ends, going up in size after each one to make the hole bigger. The paper around the hole will start to crinkle and tear but thats ok as mine got 'sucked in' to the hole when I pushed the ball into the stand. 

So...put some glue into the hole. I just used an all rounder craft glue. Then press the ball onto the stand, working your way slowly down by twisting and pushing. You can see in the picture below how I meant the ripped paper got 'sucked' into the hole when I pushed the ball onto the base.

I gave my ball about two light coast of white paint and let that dry. It didn't really look too different to when I started but it just helped the base and ball blend together. 

Here is my glorious stand in action! Doesn't it look pretty!?! I think the white helps make the items pop and stand out. Obviously if it was a white beanie then it might not be as effective.

Here is a close up of the beanie stand with a clip. I should be able to use this for headbands as well. Yippee!

Hope you all have a great Easter and that the Easter bunny is kind to you.

TTFN xx

Busy B....

So I have been a little slack and didn't blog when I said I was going to blog..Ooopssie! But I am here blogging now!

Well BB had the market night and it wasn't too bad sales wise. The bunny clips were the most popular especially since it's leading up to Easter. I even have a cute piccie of Miss Grace (3 weeks old) at her first footy match wearing one of her bunnie clips. 

Isn't she just too cute!?!?

Anywho I've had a packed out weekend so I've got started on quite afew orders today as well as re-living my school days and doing some paper mache. Ah dear...I remember I used to LOVE paper mache at school but not so much now. I'm actually attemping to make a hat/beanie/headband stand which I will discuss below in a mini tutorial. 

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Mini Tutorial - Part 1
Beanie & Hat Stand

After doing research on the interwebs I have come up with a little tutorial of my own on how to make a beanie/hat/headband stand or display for taking photos or for market stalls. My photos are very basic as I didn't take too many photos along the way but I think my instructions will be pretty simple to follow if you'd like to make one too!

Materials (for Part 1):
-Wooden paper towel holder (you could make your own or find something else similar if you want)
-White paint (I just used acrylic el cheapo paint)
-Styrofoam ball (I used 150mm/15cm)
-Newspaper & Plain white paper torn into pieces of various sizes
-Homemade Paper Mache paste (will discuss this below or you could use watered down PVA)
- Old plastic wine cup, glass cup, egg cup etc

To start with I took my wooden stand and checked it for any rough areas. There was some bits that I thought could be smoother so I took a little piece of sandpaper I had handy and gave it a quick rub.

I then took my paint brush and my white paint and started covering the wooden stand! The above picture I had already given it one light coat. The paint that I had was thin because it was crappy quality but it didn't bother me. I think overall I gave my stand about 3 coats? I let it dry completely between coats as this makes the paint adhere better. 

Next I am onto the styrofoam ball. I could have left it the way that it was but I thought it looked a little too...hmm what's the word...Raw?? Unfinished?? Something along those lines. So I decided to paper mache it. Glorious glorious paper mache. How I was wrong. 

I started by making a paper mache paste from water and flour. I remember doing this as a kid when making assignments for school. Remember doing the typical exploding volcano assignment?? I think instead of mine exploding it actually opened up and had the different layers of a volcano. Anyway....

If you want to make your own paste then just google paper mache cooking paste. I made mine by boiling about 3 cups of water in a saucepan and then adding in a mixture of 3/4cup plain flour and 3/4cup of water. Mine went really lumpy because I 1)forgot to sift the flour beforehand and 2)not boiling enough water to begin with. So I added some more tap water to my mixture as I left the temperature between high and medium. stir...stir...stir...stir until you are happy and have a reasonably smooth consistancy. Now you have to let it cool. I went off and did some sewing in this time. 

So now I have my pot of 'glue', my ball to cover and my torn up pieces of paper. To start with it's best to let afew piece of paper soak on top of the glue mixture so they get nice and sticky. I also have an old plastic wine cup which I balanced my ball ontop of so it was off the table and easy for me to work with. You could use a glass or egg cup etc.

I find it a little hard to explain how to paper mache as I just winged it basically. Although because you do have a solid base you don't really need a lot of paper layers compared to if you are making a figure or Pinata! So I did one layer of newspaper and then did one layer of white printing paper. I know you can still see the newspaper through it a little bit but it looks better once the paper is dry and plus I'll be painting it too.

Unforunately this is where this tutorial ends for now! The ball is still drying in one spot as it wasn't exposed to the sun or any light when I left it outside. Looks like I might need to finish this off tomorrow now!

Stay tuned for part 2! *Edit* Click HERE for Part 2.

TTFN xx