Reusable flat packed wooden Christmas trees!

I always wanted to buy a small tree that I could use over and over again, without having to buy a plastic or real tree, which would not easily fit in my small home. I could not seem to find anything suitable at a reasonable price, so I thought I would create my own, and share the idea in my shop, here.

If you are looking for an alternative to a real or plastic christmas tree then this could be it! These locally made laser cut plywood Christmas trees are designed to be decorated and used year after year. Small enough to fit on a table or counter top you can decorate these trees with small decorations and lights to create a festive atmosphere. You could even paint the tree to fit in with your festive colour scheme.

The trees are supplied flat packed and can be disassembled easily and stored away for use next year and many years to come. They are very easy to slot together and directions will be provided.

 

Handmade Terrarium

Last november I did a great terrarium workshop with Loof Terrariums where I learnt how to plant up a lovely teardrop shaped terrarium. I was really pleased with it but I wondered if it would be possible to make my own glass shell instead of using a ready made one (also they're quite expensive and not sure about where they come from, ethically etc). I vaguely remember doing some soldering at school a long time ago! I did learn how to cut glass when I did my Fused Glass houseplants panel, so I was confident about cutting the glass. I bought a template from Etsy as I didn't want to spend ages figuring out the shape, it wasn't very expensive. 

After I had cut out all the glass panels (it helps if you have quite a few to do and then you can use the glass more economically) I wrapped the copper tape around all of the edges. This is what will hold the construction together once soldered. as this is what the solder sticks to. After that it was a matter of soldering it all together. I had already practiced on a cube shaped terrarium, this one has a lot more pieces so it took a while to get them all correct. I watched some helpful videos on youtube beforehand. 

After cleaning and polishing it was the fun part- adding the plants! I bought one of these and the other 2 were from splitting up plants I already had. I bought the pebbles, moss and charcoal from etsy as well, in a kit. Really pleased with the result and I have another one to plant up too.

Half constructed

Fully constructed and half soldered

Fully soldered

Nice and polished

Planted up and added seaside pebbles

Owls Woodland Quilted Panel

I was asked by a friend to create this Owls Woodland Quilted Panel for a family expecting a new baby. So the panel features an owl for each member of their family. I wanted it to be gender neutral so I used a woodland type of colour palette using lots of different bits of fabric and felt.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out and so are the family I hope!
These are the same owls I designed for a nursery hanging mobile, see it here.

 

Traditional Christmas Wreath Workshop

Yesterday I took part in a Traditional Christmas Wreath workshop in Frome, hosted by Grace from Bramble & Wild, a lovely Artisan florist in Frome. I'm really pleased with the result although it was surprisingly hard work!! My wreath features Blue Spruce and some other Christmas Tree bits, Cypress fronds, Juniper, Dries Lotus pods, mini pumpkin things (can't remember what they're called, possibly Pompelos?!) and dried green oranges. Oh and Pine cones. Hopefully now I can make wreaths of my own without supervision but that will have to wait until next year!

Fused Glass Houseplants Panel

My fused Glass Cactus/houseplant creation! as it was raining a lot last week on my Cornwall break I did a glass workshop instead! So happy with the result! After sketching my idea I cut out the pieces of glass for the plants, before arranging them carefully on the clear glass ready to go in the kiln. The whole thing took just over 2 hours at a lovely glass workshop called Beau Nidol in Bude, Cornwall.

Giant Granny Square rug

I got a 3kg ball of Woolly Mahoosive Mammoth yarn for Christmas, so I Crocheted this Giant Granny Square rug. It was fun and it didn't take a huge amount of time, because the yarn is so huge!

I used almost all of the 3kg on this rug, and a 40mm giant crochet hook. The rug turned out about 85cm square, the colour is Mushroom pink.

Macrame Plant Hangers

Last summer I learned how to make a macrame plant hanger, so I made lots of them for christmas gifts. I think my favourite is the top one, I'll have to try to recreate it for myself! They're not very difficult once you get the hang of it.

 

 

 

 

Christmas Characters in tiny jars

I bought these tiny jars a while ago and I couldn't think what to do with them, and then I got the idea to put some tiny characters inside of them and make them into christmas tree decorations. (They are very small, the jar opening is about 10mm) I think that next time if I made more I would use jars with a larger opening! That is why the snowman has somewhat stumpy arms haha! 

I made the characters out of white Milliput and then I painted them. Milliput is ideal because it's air drying so it would dry in the bottom of the jars to create the snow, and its super hard so it is easy to paint.

 

  

 

Polar Bear Felted Christmas Jumper

I thought I'd share with you my hand decorated Christmas Jumper which I made for this Christmas. I wasn't going to make one this year but I remembered I had some soft white wool fluff, and I found the perfect jumper in a charity shop so this is what I created!

I drew out the polar bear shape and then resized it and cut it out of white normal felt. Then I needlefelted on some layers of white fluff onto the flat felt until the bear reached the right thickness. I was able to create some depth to the legs and ears when the felt was thick enough. I added a simple black bead for an eye and some brown wool for a nose. Quite simple and hopefully tasteful!

(Apologies for the images, my house is very dark! )