Tutorials

I thought I would share a really easy Christmas decoration with you that you can make either on your own or with your children.  It takes about 20 minutes and really is a simple make.

Here is Robbie




Click on the template then right click and save to your computer then resize to your preferred size robin and print off.


You will need :
  •  The template or make one of your own.
  •  Brown Felt or colour of your choice depending on what you would like your robbin to look like
  •  Fabric for his tummy I have chosen red polka dot you could also use red felt
  •  Thread in the colours you would like I have used brown for around the outer edge and white for securing his tummy and for the white dot in his eye.
  • Ribbon 
  • Stuffing you dont need anything fancy even scraps of felt or fabric will do the job nicely.
  • Sewing kit, scissors, needles, pins etc
 How to make:

 1. Using the template cut out all the pieces you will need it should look like thi, you do not have to use fabric as your tummy piece another piece of felt or fabric will work just as well.
2. First of all you will need to sew all the bits and bobs on to one side of the large circles. 
So to start off  you will need to sew his tummy on, I  pinned my tummy to the circle and stitched across the the top securing the tummy in place. 
 Stich across the top so it looks like this 
3. Then sew all the other bits and bobs on here is a piccy of all the bits you need to sew on before you stich your button onto the wing. I used white to stitch the eye in place creating a cute little eye you could use a small button.
Once you have stiched all of your bits and bobs on sew the Button on to the wing, you do not have to do this if you prefer to leave it off.
4.   Now take the back piece and starting from just above the eye blanket stitch or running stictch if its easier around the the circle shape of his body remembering to stop once inch from where you started. 
5. Then sew in your ribbon 
6. next you need to stuff your robbin, you can use stuffing or felt remnants or fabric material anything that will make him a bit puffy.
7.  Continue to sew to close the whole and finish off.
8. You should now have some thing that resmbles a little robin to hang on your tree.
  The brilliant thing about robbie is you can use different materials or different colour felt to create the same little bird the options are open, you could also make a little garland of robbies :)
I hope you find this tutorial useful if you do decide to use my template or make one of these robins then please send me the link as I would love to see and also mention my blog as the place you got the template from.

Thank you

Dazie



HOW TO PUT A IMAGE ON CANDLES

As seen on CraftGossip.com


f people ask me how I do my candles and last year a did a tutorial for a forum so this year I thought I would share it here with you so you can get a idea of how its done.  
There are however lots of tutes on Utube that may be of help.  Also practising first helps you find your way of doing it successfully. 

You will need
  • Heat Gun
  • Grease proof Paper
  • Tissue Paper the same colour as your candle
  • pro markers
  • ink to stamp your image
  • a stamp of your choice
  • scissors


Stamp your image on to your tissue paper carefully and then colour with your pro markers very carefully 
Next cut around your image leaving a tiny edge around it.

 Next place your image onto the candle in the specific place that you want it, usually if you gently rub over it the image will stay in place by itself.
next place the grease proof paper over the top place your fingers on the image to keep it in place as you are wrapping the grease proof paper around.  you will need  a large piece of grease proof paper so that you can grab it on the other side and hold. tight.
 I slide my fingers down both sides making sure that the image is nice and flat and in the right place then grab the grease proof paper on the other side
See how the image is flat agains the candle and how I am holding the paper tight.
 Now using you heat gun start heating the image through the paper, do not stay in the same spot I work in small circular movements from one side to the other making sure I get all the image do not go too close to the candle as the heat will intensify.
You will see a change happening under the paper as the wax melts keep moving dont stay in the same spot, its almost like little droplets of water coming through the paper.  The whole process is no longer than a minute depending on the size of candle you are using.

Once I am sure my image is in place I always roll it on the table so that it evens it all out.

Then I gently peel away the grease proof paper 

There will be little bits of melted wax on the candle but these can either be smoothed out by using your finger or gently brushed off.

And here is the end result once you have made your finishing touches 


You can also use rub ons to decorate candles or decorated vellum but obviouslly with vellum it must be removed before burning and you MUST put a warning on candles about how to use them safely.  You can also use gems to decorate and ribbon to pretty it up a bit.

I hope this tutorial is of use to some of you that have always wanted to have ago

Dazie
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