"and a Happy Near Year!"

So that was Christmas.....

I hope you and yours had a fabulously festive time?

We were so busy baking, making and partying that I didn't get a chance to blog about the rest of our '12 Makes of Christmas'. So, here they are...

On the 5th day of Christmas - a Reindeer Head:

We had originally planned to make one of these out of card-board, but when we found this one, beautifully pre-cut, and a bargain price, we thought we'd go for the easy option. It kept the kids entertained for an hour whilst I did some wrapping, etc, and I have to say I love it. He will definitely get carefully packed away for next year.

On the 6th day of Christmas - Snowflake necklaces:

We had a play with some Shrinky paper and made these little snowflake necklaces for the Princess and my nieces. Big hit! Shrinky paper is my new favourite craft activity and will be making more appearances in 2016 I suspect.

On the 7th day of Christmas - Cinnamon Tree Decorations:

I made a whole stash of these little tree decorations, with real cinnamon stick trucks and used them as gift tags on presents. Simple to make, cute and delicious smelling - the perfect Christmas craft in my book.

On the 8th day of Christmas - Mr A's lino-cut Christmas cards:

Yep, even Mr A is a crafter and he designed and printed our family Christmas cards (clever thing).

On the 9th day of Christmas - Christmas Cake

The Princess has been admiring all the sugar-craft Christmas decorations that appeared in our local super-market for the last few weeks. So we made a boiled pineapple fruit cake and decorated it with a her favourite characters, some royal icing and some edible glitter. Yum!

On the 10th day of Christmas - a gingerbread Christmas tree:

My little Superhero has been planning on making a gingerbread Christmas Tree since about September. The royal icing came out again to decorate it, along with some smarties. (We love our sweet treats here at Jumbleberries HQ).

On the 11th day of Christmas - a Christmas Pudding Pinate:

(Apologies for the rubbish picture, but this was the only snap we took before the kids bashed it to pieces!)

We always have a family party on Christmas Eve, and what is a party without a pinate? So we made a Christmas pudding out of papier-mache.

On the 12th day of Christmas - a Poinsettia Party Dress:

This year I thought I would try my hand at making a dress to wear to my works Christmas do. I decided I would break from tradition and steer clear of the LBD, and went in search of a novelty print instead. When I found this amazingly kitsch poinsettia fabric, I knew that I needed a 50s inspired wiggle dress... Unfortunately, I was in such a rush to get it finished in time that I didn't get an opportunity to take any photos of the dress prior to the party. So here is a picture of me, at the do, with my friend Ellie, looking very glamourous in her retro inspired swing dress:

I think you'll agree we are both rocking the vintage vibe.

Looking back, I may not have been that creative for the most part of 2015 but I certainly made up for it in December. I'm now really excited about all the new projects that 2016 will bring.

Happy New Year!

Jumbleberries. xx

On the fourth day of Christmas ..... a table decoration

Yep, more crafting has been happening here at Jumbleberries HQ....

This time the Princess made this cute little pin-art table decoration:

I have to be honest and tell you that it took ages to do and we used a lot of pins and sequins, but I think it looks really effective and will be something that is brought out every year, so I think it was worth it.

How are you decorating your Christmas table this year?

Jumbleberries. xx

On the third day of Christmas ....... homemade Advent Chocolates

Years ago (before children) Mr A and I bought an advent calendar for each other, which, within it's little drawers, contained a beautiful hand-crafted chocolate for each day of advent.

It has been our tradition since then to carefully pack the calendars away until the following December and then re-fill the drawers using shop bought chocolates.

This year, however, I thought it might be fun to have a go at making our own chocolates.

I know we are already a week into advent, but to be honest I haven't really had an opportunity until now, so this is what is on my work-desk this morning:

For added deliciousness I plan to make a variety of flavours so I am making a mixture of white, milk and dark chocolates. 

I've got a selection of ingredients from my baking supplies and am enjoying working out some different flavour combinations.

So far my favourites are; dark chocolate and sour cherries, white chocolate with raspberries and mini marshmallows, milk chocolate with honeycomb and dark chocolate with mixed peel.

I am thoroughly enjoying myself, but I can foresee a problem - how do I only limit myself to one a day?

What's on your work-desk this morning?

Jumbleberries. xx

On the second day of Christmas ... the children made decorations

I am very pleased to tell you that it is not just me that likes crafting here at Jumbleberries HQ - both my Superhero and Princess like to 'make stuff' too.

When they were little I ran a messy-play group with my mum for a number of years, so they really started getting involved with arts and crafts at a young age. I'm really pleased though that their love of being creative has continued even as they have got older (my Superhero will be 11 in February - eek).

The benefits of encouraging pre-school children to be involved in messy-play are well known I think, but I'm not sure older children continue to be encouraged in the some way, the focus moving to more academic subjects.

Obviously encouraging your kids to get involved in craft projects helps build creativity and imagination and gives them experience of thinking 'out-side the box'. Painting, cutting, drawing, sewing and so on, all help with muscle development and dexterity, which in turn aids handwriting skills.

Arts and crafts also helps to build confidence. How many of us crafters have embarked upon a project only to discover that it wasn't really what we saw in our minds eye? So, back to the drawing board we go and perhaps, on occasion, the whole idea is scraped altogether. We learn though that it's not the end of the world - sometime stuff turns out as you expected and sometimes it doesn't - but thats ok.

So when we all needed a bit of quiet time on Saturday afternoon, after a morning of football matches and dance-show rehearsals, I was more than happy when the kids got the hama beads out rather than putting the tele on or playing on the computer.

And this is what they came up with:

Superhero made the Christmas Pudding:

and Princess made the Tree:

I think they are really good considering neither used a template or an example to copy.

What do you think?

Jumbleberries. xx

On the first day of Christmas .....

Things are starting to get very Christmassy here at Jumbleberries HQ. Although we haven't officially put our tree up yet, we are slowly starting to decorate the house. One of the first items to appear was this festive cushion with an appliqued felt poinsettia on the front, that I made over the weekend - what do you think?

I followed this tutorial and other than having to cut out all the petals, it came together really quickly.

I cheated a little by buying a ready made cushion cover. Then I just un-stitched three sides (leaving the zipped edge).

I cut the leaves from different coloured red felt, as I thought it would add depth to the finished flower.

Stitching through the layers of felt was a little difficult, in fact the last two petals I decided to stitch into place by hand, but it was good fun to assemble. I then added some gold coloured sequins to the middle of the flower and then stitched up the 3 edges of the cushion cover.

And I was finished - one festive cushion.

What Christmas themed home decor items have you been making?

Jumbleberries. xx

WOYWW: Autumn Colour

Well, it turns out I am quite obsessed with Autumn leaves at the moment....

The kids and I went for a walk the other day to see what different, interesting leaves we could find and came home with a big bag of them.

It seemed a shame to just throw them away, so I have decided to use them in an Autumn picture.

So this is what is on my work-desk this beautiful Autumn Wednesday:

Lots of gluey fun! I'll let you know how it turns out.

What is on your work-desk today?

Jumbleberries. xx

En Pointe

I have to admit I actually started this project this time last year as a gift for my niece for Xmas. Then, for whatever reason, I didn't get around to finishing it and it got put away, never to see the light of day.

I stumbled across it again however when I was looking through my felt stash for my Autumn Leaves Wreath. I realised that actually there wasn't that much left to do on it, so I thought it was time to get is finished.

Job done really - I got my creative fix for the evening, plus I now have a home-made present all ready for the festive season.

What do you think?

Jumbleberries xx

Turning over a new (Autumn) leaf

So here's the thing - life is hectic.

There is always a club or a dance class or a footie match to go to. A packed lunch to be made, reading to be listened to, homework to be checked......

It's not a complaint as I wouldn't have it any other way, but sometimes, somethings (such as crafting) have to be put on hold for a while.

Of late however, I've been getting a bit twitchy. A bit restless. In need of doing something creative.

Perhaps it's the time of year (how beautiful are those Autumn colours?) thoughts of Halloween and beyond to Christmas - there is lot of inspiration to be had.

So I want to start creating again in whatever form that maybe. No big projects, no long lists, no promises of filling an on-line shop, no craft fairs. Just straight forward crafty fun.

Perhaps I'll only get the chance to do 10 minutes a day. Perhaps projects will take a life time to finish. We'll see. Time will tell.

So I started. Yesterday. Whilst watching Strictly. I cut out some Autumn style leaves from my mountainous stash of felt. And today I stuck them onto a wreath that I had covered in red wool about 3 years ago. It was great, I loved the process. I'm quite pleased with the finished result too.

So this is me, turning over a new leaf. What do you think?

What are you creating at the moment?

Jumbleberries x

Christmas Wish-list Felt Envelope

Today I am joining in with the Bugs & Fishes Christmas Tutorial Link-up where lots of talented crafters are sharing their festive tutorials. Pop over to take a peek - Xmas inspiration a-plenty!

My contribution to the 'party' is my:

  

Felt Christmas Wish-list Envelope Tutorial

 

Fill it with your letter to Santa and then hang it on the foot of your bed.

To make your own version, you will need:

* 3 sheets of felt - one white, one red & one green

* a piece of fabric (I used a red and white polka-dot tea-towel) about A4 size

* a sheet on bonda-web, again about A4 size

* a piece of ribbon

* a couple of buttons

* embroidery thread

* a sheet of paper

 

To start, fold your A4 sheet of paper into 3 equal parts. Measure a strip approx 5cms wide along the long edge of the paper, cut off and discard. Using the paper pattern, cut your sheet of white felt down to size. Fold the felt into 3 sections, as you did with the paper pattern - the middle section is where you are going to add your embellishments.

From the sheet of green felt, cut some lettering to spell out the word 'Santa'.

 

From the rest of your felt, cut out some mini motifs to embellish the front of your envelope. There are obviously lots of different Christmas themed motifs that you could choose but the ones I like are:

* a stamp shape (cut with pinking-shear) decorated with a Christmas bauble shape

* a Santa hat

* 2 holly leaves

* a poinsettia flower shape

 

Add your lettering to the middle section of the white felt, positioning the word in the lower half of the space. I used sticky-backed green felt for my lettering, purely because I had some. If I had used normal felt, I would have blanket-stitched the lettering using white embroidery thread.

Next sew your motifs into place. 

Sew the stamp shape in the top right hand corner of your envelope. You can decorated the middle of the bauble shape with a gold sequin to add some extra sparkle. 

Position the Santa hat above the last 'a', adding a mini pom-pom on the end. 

Create a poinsettia motif, using a 5 petal flower shape, gathering it slightly as you stitch it into place. Highlight the middle with a gold sequin.

Finally sew a loop of ribbon onto the top left corner of the envelope, securing it in place with the two holly leaves and a red button berry.

 

Once all of the embellishments have been stitched into place and the front of your envelope is complete, you can now line the envelope. 

Cut your piece of material to size, making sure that it is slightly larger than your envelope shape. 

Iron your piece of bonda-web to the back of your material. Peeling away the backing paper, iron your piece of material to the back of your envelope. Make sure you iron the material and not the felt or you will melt your envelope!  

 

Using your original paper pattern, cut the top of the template into a curved point. Add a shallow cut-away shape to the bottom of the template.

Pin the paper pattern onto your envelope and trim your felt and material to shape.

Once your envelope has been cut into shape, fold into three sections. Blanket stitch along the two short edges to create the 'pocket' between the middle and bottom sections. Leave the top section free to create the envelope 'flap'

Sew a button to the middle of the back section and cut a small slit in to the envelope 'flap' for a button-hole. You can strengthened the button hole by sewing on a square of green felt, cut with pinking-shears.

And there you have it. All you need to do now is write your Christmas Wish-list, hang your envelope up along-side your stocking on Christmas Eve and sit back and wait for Santa.

Please do let me know if you make your own Christmas Wish-list Envelope - I would love to see your version.

(Please note that this tutorial is for personal use only).

Happy Christmas Crafting!

Jumbleberries xx

Officially the best chocolate brownies in the world, ever!

Here at Jumbleberries HQ we love chocolate brownies. Our favourite recipe is from Hummingbird Barkey, because, quite frankly, they are the best chocolate brownies in the world - at least according to my son. But even though they are super-delish as they are, occasionally I like to add an extra little ingredient to give them a bit of a twist. I've made a Black Forest version (went down a treat at work) and a White Chocolate with Cranberry version (nice but a bit too sweet for me), but as this is part of my 12 Makes of Christmas Series, I thought I would share my Spiced Orange & Dark Chocolate version. Serve them warm with some extra thick double cream and your Christmas house-guests will love you forever!

Spiced Orange Chocolate Brownies

Over a gentle heat melt 175g of butter and 200g of dark chocolate. (I use Sainsburys Basic chocolate and it works a treat.) 

Add 6 cloves to the mixture whilst is it melting. 

Once it has all melted together, take it off the heat and fish out the cloves.

Mix in 325g of caster sugar until the mixture looks a bit like wet sand.

Now stir in 130g of plain flour and mix thoroughly.

Next add the zest of one orange, one teaspoon of dried cinnamon and one teaspoon of dried ginger. Your kitchen will already start to smell like Christmas.

Finally mix in 3 medium sized eggs.

Pour the mixture into a lined, greased cake tin and bake at 170 for around 30 mins.

Enjoy!

Jumbleberries  xx

It's beginning to look a lot like......

... OK perhaps not quite yet, but I've spent all summer dreaming of all the crafty-loveliness I could make for Xmas and then I've realised that it is actually only 12 weeks away - eek! So I am trying really hard to override my 'leave everything to the last-minute' default setting and actually crack on with some of my little ideas.

I'm sure you are very organised and your Xmas crafts are well under way, but I thought I would share my little designs over the coming weeks anyhow - kind-of-a 12 Makes of Christmas sot-of-a-thing - just in case you would like to make some of them too (I'm good like that).

So here is my first one:

Felt Lavender Pillows

This is a really quick & easy, but super cute little pressie idea, perfect for 'Gifts for Teacher' or a little treat for Grandma - or anyone who likes a bit of 'pretty' really.

You'll need some paper, 3 pieces of co-ordinating coloured felt, embroidery thread, some cushion stuffing and some lavender.

Cut yourself 2 heart shapes from the paper, one slightly smaller than the other. Mine measure 10 x 9.5 cm and 8 x 7.5 cm. You'll also need to draw yourself a 5 petal flower shape. Using your paper patterns, cut two of the larger heart shape from your darker coloured felt, one of the smaller heart shape from the lighter coloured felt and 3 of the flower shape from the co-ordinating coloured felt. I also cut a couple of mini leave shapes from a pale green colour.

With all your pieces cut out, you now need to start stitching the flowers and leaves onto the small heart. I stitch up throw the middle of the flower and back through the same hole beneath the flower shape in order to give the petals a slightly 3D effect. Do this for each of the five petals.   

Once all three flowers and the leaves are stitched to the small heart, you now need to blanket stitch this onto one of the larger heart shapes. When this is complete, you then need to blanket-stitch the second large heart onto the first, but leave yourself a little opening in order to stuff the pillow. I use a normal cushion stuffing, and then sprinkle in some dried lavender (home-grown) mixed with a bit of salt, which is supposed to stop the lavender from rotting. Once the pillow is stuffed, close up with gap by continuing to blanket-stitch all the way round.

And there you have it.

The design also works well as a hanging decoration made using Christmas colours. I added a small sequin to the centre of each flower as I think it makes them look like poinsettias. I thought they might look nice hanging on the back of each chair around the Xmas dining table.

What do you think?

Let me know if you have a go yourself, I'd love to see your version.

Happy Christmas Crafting.

Jumbleberries xx 

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Jumbleberries xx

May Day at Burghley

 

 How did you spend your sunny Bank Holiday Monday?

Jumbleberries xx

Jumbleberry Gin

It was my best friends birthday this weekend. As a crafty-type, I do normally try and give her a homemade present. I think she appreciates the effort, even if she is not always over the moon with the actually gift ..... oh how we laughed, when, in the early days of my crafting adventures, I presented her as a house-warming pressie with my original take on a hanging wreath decoration. It become obvious after a minute or two of awkward silence that she thought I'd given her a 'unique', if over-sized, accessory which she would have to wear. I can't describe the relieve on her face when I explained that it was actually for hanging on the wall.....

Anyway, we both love a G&T, so this year I thought it would be fun to make her some fruity flavoured gin. Ideally I would have liked to have used a mix of berries (to truly make some 'jumbleberry' gin), however, being the type of chick that leaves everything to the last minute, I actually only had raspberries to use, but that's ok coz they are my favourite anyway.

I searched the internet for recipes and there are loads to choose from, but in the end I went for a simple mix of a punnet of raspberries, 50g of caster sugar, and enough gin to fill the bottle. I think ideally it should sit for two weeks and then be poured through a coffee filter to remove all the bits, but I must admit I made my version straight in the gin bottle.

Gently shaking the bottle to mix in the sugar, released the berry juice turning the gin pink, which I thought was really pretty. Hopefully my friend will like the end result. And, more importantly, hopefully she'll share some of it with me, tee hee.

Have you ever made any flavoured gin?

Jumbleberries xx

Top Plan

So, hands up if you loved the Great British Sewing Bee?

A TV programme all about sewing, presented by the hilarious Claudia Winkleman, plus some technical expertise provided by the super-handsome (thank-you-very-much) Patrick Grant. What's not to love, right?

I never got on with the GB Bake-off. (I mean, stop crying over soggy-bottomed pastry, there are people starving in the world for goodness-sake!). But I thought the Sewing Bee was fab. I loved the projects the contestants were given but more than that, I really liked the sewers that were chosen to take part. I thought it was a really interesting bunch of people - obviously I appreciate that they had specifically cast a mixed bag of individuals - but to my mind that's what made it all the more interesting.

I think the last 3 deserved their places in the final and to be honest I would have been happy if any one of the three had won. My favourite competitor though had to be Stuart. I loved his creative flare and bravery (the tulip skirt was great, wasn't it?) plus he came across as a really nice person.

I loved Tilly too. From the peach flowers in her hair, to the purple nail varnish, the checked skirt and the bold eyeliner, I loved her quirky personal style. So how happy was I to discover that not only was Tilly a fellow blogger (Tilly and the buttons, if you've not already found it), but that she also sells her patterns on-line. Well I just couldn't resist and I am now the proud owner of her Mathlide Blouse Pattern, which I hope to have a go at over the weekend. I'll let you know how I get on.

What's on your sewing machine at the moment?

Have fun.

Jumbleberries xx

Sweetpea Seedlings

I received a wooden paper potter for Christmas. Have you used one? It's brilliant! Not only is it a fab way of turning recycled newspaper into biodegradable plant pots, but (and more importantly for a mum of two easily bored children) it is a great activity to keep the kids entertained.

Between us we made a whole heap of little newspaper pots which were just the right size to plant our sweetpea seedlings into:

 

When they've grown just a little bit bigger (and the weather has got slightly warmer), we'll be able to plant them straight into the ground. I love Sweetpeas, don't you?

What are you growing this Spring?

Jumbleberries xx

Spring has sprung

(well it has in Market Harborough at least!) and I love it.

I hope the flowers are blooming and the sun is shining where you are too.

Have fun.

Jumbleberries xx

Daffodil Brooch

I've been working on a new corsage design for Spring - a little posy of Daffodils:

 

What do you think?

Jumbleberries xx