How To: Tassel Banner

Hey Peeps!

This post is a "How to" make your own tassel bunting! I wanted to make one of these for my last market but just didn't get time. Since then I've had these two plastic tablecloths sitting in my craft room annoying me so I bit the bullet and made my banner! 

Now I read ALOT of other tassel bunting/banner tutorials which I looked up on Pinterest and alot of them use tissue paper which makes it a little easier when figuring out size etc. Now you can use tissue paper and apply the same techniques but I would imagine you'd have to be more delicate in some steps. Plus because I will want to use mine numerous times and make it 'weather proof' I thought making it with a plastic tablecloth the next best option. 

So sit back...relax...and enjoy! I hope it comes in handy for you one day too!

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HOW TO: TASSEL BANNER

Materials:

Two or more plastic tablecloths (I got mine for $1.80 each at an el cheapo shop)

Scissors

Ruler

Glue (Any glue should be fine for this)

String (I used gardeners twine)

Step 1:

This is what my tablecloths looked like after trying to fold them back up. I give my attempt a 5/10. 

Take your tablecloth and fold it in half andf then in half again. This way it'll give you four layers at a time to work with. Plus your pieces will be more even in the end. From top to bottom measured around 65cm.

Now that you have your nice folded and flat layers you'll want to cut them into big strips. As you can see I have a ruler sitting on the left edge and cut up the dotted line. My pieces were about 32/33/34cm wide. 

Step 2:
Where you have folded your tablecloth there will be  a looped edge. Make sure you cut this open on both ends before continuing. I almost forgot a couple of times!

You should have a nice bunch of four pieces after cutting your first section. Now put this aside and cut up the rest of your tablecloths. 

Step 3:
Take one of your pieces and fold it in half so it is half the LENGTH. This means you'll still have a piece 30-ish cm wide and now about 33cm in height. 

Starting on the edge where the two ends meet cut into your piece. Make sure you stop cutting about an inch away from the folded edge. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH!

Step 4:
Take your sliced up piece and unfold it so you have the solid piece running down the middle and the tassel pieces either side. 

Now fold this piece in half so the ends are touching. You may need to untangle the tassel pieces as you complete this part.

Now fold it in half again....

Keep going until you have it nicely folded like mine below. 

Step 5:
Now this step can get a little tricky but gets easier with practice. If you are using tissue paper I would warn you now so be very careful!

Your need to twist the middle section nice a tight. I tried to twist mine reasonably tight as they do come undone a little bit in the next couple of steps. If you are using tissue paper I would think it would stay in the twisted form a bit better than the plastic. 

Let the twist loop back on itself and glue this in place. 

I gave mine a little extra twist when I had the glue on as it was easier than trying to get the glue in at the beginning. I also used a little clip to just hold it in place while the glue dried. You could use pegs for this if you don't have any clips. 

Just make sure you don't glue the hole shut otherwise you'll have issues.
 

Here are all my lovely pink tassels made! I could have made more out of the table cloth but I was happy with my 12. 

Step 6:
I made this step up myself as I thought it gives the tassels a finished look and a little extra durability.

The picture below shows one already wrapped but I basically found a strip that was closest to the loop and easy to wrap around the twist join. 

Wrap...wrap...wrap and then secure with some glue. Voila! A beautiful finished tassel ready to be hung!

I noticed after threading on a couple of tassels my string was fraying on the end so I did the old shoelace trick and wrapped some sticky tape around the end. 

In other tutorials I have seen people just thread the tassels on and let them hang freely which would be fine for a birthday party/baby shower etc. But since mine is going to be used outside where it could be windy I have knotted my tassels in place about 15cm apart. 

All done! I can't wait to use it at my next market!

TTFN xx

 

Market finds

Hey peeps!

Once again I am sick with a cold, sinus, cough type of thing. Fingers crossed it doesn't get as bad as last time as I would really prefer to stay off the antibiotics if possible. Hate that stuff. 

Anyways, I got to use my tote on the weekend!!! Cobbity markets were on and of course I went out there to have a look even though I didn't really want or need anything. My bag was great!!! I had it sitting on my arm most of the time and I totally forgot it was there. Sometimes I had to even check I still had it and didn't drop it somewhere haha. So while I only got a little bit of lace and a choccie brownie at Cobbity it was still a great debut by my first tote. 

Actually I do lie. I did get someone else but it was in a separate bag so it didn't squish everything. I got this awesome stand...thing. I thought it would come in handy when doing another market stall. I'm not sure what for exactly but I'll work out something. Plus it was at a bargain basement price of.....*drum roll*......$1.00!!!

I don't think there is any risk of me using it for food. I suppose people would normally use it for cakes or nuts or lollies or something??? But since someone has painted over it then I dare say it may not be too safe or hygienic to be dishing up sweets on it. 

Last but not least is this little dude. I have been working on this pattern for the last couple of weeks and it's a lot harder designing something on the computer then bloody hand drawing it! I am hoping to make a dog and cat range but I need to design the kitties nose since I couldn't get the right shape on the computer. I think I'll be calling the dog range 'Woofers' to go along the same lines of my Hooties.

Hope everyone had a great week!!

TTFN xx

This little piggy went to market.

Hello Hello!

I know I haven't updated for a while but I a) have been very busy and b) been very sick.

It's been a week since I did my first market so I thought I better blog about it!

For those of you who don't know it was at Oran Park Town which is a new estate being built around my area. It's really nice and open while all the land is still vacant but I can imagine what it'll be like in 5 years time!

Any who we got there just after 8am, got allocated out spot and started setting up. We were very lucky for it to be a nice and fine day except that when you're setting up a stall and a gazebo...you get quite hot. Not the mention already having a fever from battling a sinus and chest infection. 

I was lucky that I was able to arrange everything to fit in the two tables. I didn't have space or time to do a practice run in the days leading up so I was praying that everything looked alright in the end...which I think it did. It took us just under 2 hours to set everything up so I kinda rushed my photos as I wanted to take them before the market officially opened at 10am. 

Here are some piccies from the day!

My stall was 95% set up here but was looking a little bit bare at the front since I didn't get a garland made in time.

So I improvised with one of the crappy table clothes and just 'drapped' it at the front. It doesn't look overly crash hot but it was going to do for the day. Next time I am going to get some organza or chiffon and do the same.....but better. 
 

This was how I hung my hair clip and headband organisers. It worked out pretty good in the end except people didn't really know what they were. 
 

My lovely hot air balloons flying high above every ones heads! The three looked lovely but I think I needed more to make a better impact. 

The yummy cupcakes on the cake stand that I made from a plate, cup and upside down bowl! Looked pretty awesome considering the materials only cost $7.50. Hoping to make another if I am lucky enough to find a second lot of supplies. 
 

Here are some piccies of the area. We were in a park called the 'Temporary Park' haha. I suppose Oran Park Town Park sounds a bit confusing. You can see a couple of the other stall holders that were there on the day too. Plus we had some nice music from a couple of dudes called the Moonshiners..I think? 
 

Overall I had a great day and it was a good trial run for my first market. It wasn't overly busy but still busy enough for me to talk to people and do sales and catch up with some friends. I'm gathering lots and lots of info from other markets in the area now I have the confidence. Fingers crossed you'll be seeing another markets post in the near future!

Hope you all had a great weekend and a happy mother's day!

TTFN xxx

P.S I am 99% healed from my infections. Finally! After the market I was bed bound for about 3 days and had no energy to do anything apart from sleep, watch TV and play some Candy Crush.

Big News!

Hey Hey!

If you haven't been keeping up with my posts of FB then you wouldn't know that NEXT weekend I am doing a market!! I am so excited yet so so nervous. I have been using any spare time I have to make stock and I still have ALOT more that I want to do but we'll see about that.You can find all the info below :)

So since I am doing a market and it's outside I was wondering if I could risk it without cover....since I don't want to get anything ruined I searched and searched and compared and searched the net for marquees. I finally found one and my boyfriend was able to pick it up, saving on postage (score)! Here it is in it's first test run. Overall it was pretty easy to put up and even easier to take down. The worst bit was trying to refold the roof to go back in the carry bag. 

I love love love my marquee! I keep calling it a tent when it's not a tent....

So what else I have been up to apart from stressing myself over making enough stock?? Well I went and bought some chalkboard paint from Aldi the other week and finally got the use it on Tuesday. 

And here is my little sign/chalkboard that I haven't quite worked out how I am going to use it. I barely had to use any paint and did two thick coats. I highly recommend it!

Last but not least I went down to Kiama for their seaside markets last weekend as I'd never been and I just wanted to scope out other peoples stalls and how they do their layout. I must say it was pretty useless on that front as everything people had done didn't really help me or I had already thought of it and there wasn't anything overly exciting for me to buy :( But! I did get some nice piccies and it was a great day. 

You can't go to Kiama without visiting the blowhole either. She sure was a blowin' last weekend!

Hope you all have a great weekend whatever you get up to!!

TTFN xx

Bargain Buys...

Hello Hello!!

So sorry I haven't blogged in a while but I have been pretty busy the last 2 weeks with a whole lot of stuff. Firstly I hope everyone had a great Easter. My weekend didn't turn out the way I had planned to so there was a lot of wasted time but it also meant a lot of relaxing time too, which is nice. 

I do have some exciting news. I could be doing my first market soon!! Why am I so hesitant?? Well...I kinda don't know if I have been accepted yet and the markets are only 2 weekends away. Eek! So I am just thinking in my head that I'll be doing it and have been making some stock as well as researching display techniques. I am still totally undecided on the layout and colours but it'll all come together in the end...hopefully. 

You've all seen the little beanie stand that I've made but since then I've acquired some more display stands!

First of all I was in Sam's Warehouse just browsing the stock. Although I do think I was looking for something specific at the time but I can't remember now. Anyway I saw this little stand on a bottom shelf and there was no price tag or a label on the shelf. So I carried it around the shop looking for whatever it was I was looking for and got the counter and told the girl this didn't have a tag on it. To my luck she said that I can have it for FREE because their brushes come packaged on these and they don't use it.

I couldn't believe my luck! I was tempted to ask her for another one but since it's kinda bulky and can't be folded up I thought I would stick with the one and see how it goes. I plan on using it for hair ties. Exhibit A.

Then the other day I found out Reverse Garbage is still up and running in Sydney. I wanted to go there ages ago but I thought they had closed down. Turns out I was wrong! I had seen on their website that they had mannequins of all sorts and then I spotted the child ones. PERFECT! I could see in the picture that the smallest ones were $10..eh not too bad. I could afford to buy one and use that. 

So we got there yesterday and I spotted a pile of them. Got one down and it looked more of an older toddler size form but thats all I can find so I pretty chuffed with that. Went up to the counter to ask how much they are......

Get this...

$5!!!! I couldn't believe my luck. I was going back to get another one for that price! One my second travels I had another gander through the body bits and pieces and found a smaller form again!! Probably around a size 0 -size 1? The smaller one has been bashed around a bit and needs a clean but I was happy to take it!

You can see the size difference between the two in this pic. I was so happy to find the smaller one as I might be able to use it to display some singlets :) Below is a pic of the larger form with a girls size 2 stretchy shirt and a boys size 4 top.

 

So thats just a small update of whats going on at BBHQ. I've started on a couple more hot air balloons which I hope to finish soon :)

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