Ombre Russian Doll Pillow

Hey Guys,

Well the holidays are done and the kids are back to school for the last 2 months of school. I really enjoyed having them home and to be honest I also enjoy sending them back!

Over the holidays I did a few projects but this one comes with a freebie for you.

A few weeks back my friend Cass at Cass Can Sew put a call out for pattern tester for her new appliqué pattern. As soon as I saw they were Russian Dolls, my hand went up immediately.

I made a very simple envelope pillow then I used Heat & Bond Ultra Hold, this stuff is brilliant, you do not need to sew it. In fact if you can't (or don't like to) sew you could buy a cheap pillow and do the appliqué without so much as touching a needle. It just irons on. I have washed it before and it holds up well but do so at your own risk. That said you  could have some fun new pillows in a matter of 15-20 minutes.

The pattern was very easy to work with and Cass has a nested option too. Go and check out all the ideas and download the free pattern here.

For those of you who don't sew, these would make beautiful paper crafts especially cards or wall art and Russian dolls are always a hit at Christmas!  Actually I have another idea I hope to finish using the dolls very soon.

Thanks Cass for trusting me to play with your baby,


Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Hoop Wall art

Morning All,

Elizabeth had been pinning her little heart out prior to me starting on her room. One thing that she pinned a gazillion times was Hoop Art displays. Sadly this one didn't have a link, if you know where it has come from please let me know so I can credit the photo. She loved this one she pinned it 4 times. She told me she wanted it but in green.

Sewing Machine Cover Makeover

I love all those gorgeous quilted sewing machine covers out there, especially the one made by my friend Ros over at Sew Delicious see it here. However I do like that I have a hard cover, since I am banging things around all the time.

So I decided to give mine a little washi treatment.

My Boob Job - I Love it!

Sometimes I think we really need to give our boobs a little makeover....

Obviously a) I personally didn't have a boob job and b) if I did I certainly wouldn't be blogging it.

But remember my boob key holder I had in the entry, I decided I wanted her to have a makeover in black.

So easy I just coloured it in with a black sharpie, and now my boobs are proudly on display in my new craft area.

DIY Delight or disaster? Delight I just love it and I might still be a little high from Sharpie fumes. Plus the look on my kids faces when I told them to check out my boob makeover...priceless. Horror, like I have never before seen on their faces and relief when they realised I was talking about my key holder, seriously as if I meant anything else, I am beyond prude LOL

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Kids, They're Sending Me Insane!!!

Remember how I mentioned Madeleine broke my iPad? Still grieving, but since the broken iPad has a spunky new case I thought the phone should get one too.

Washi iPad Cover

Well, well, havent I been a little MIA lately!

It started with just being crazy busy and then I had technical difficulties, by that I mean I'm technically stupid, paid my water bill twice and didn't pay the ISP. Did not discover this until I had no net and called tech support, furious about being offline. Oops!

DIY Tea Light Holder

You know what I love about crafty people? The way they love to share ideas. This little ripper came from a woman I met at a craft market.

So I was wondering around and out of the corner of my eye I spot a Big Shot out on a table. Of course if you're a regular around the mansion you will know that my Big Shot is my number one crafting tool. I LOVE IT! 

How much do I love it? Well if the house was on fire the kid smart enough to be holding the Big Shot would be on my first to save list!

Anyway, I got to talking with the woman, who really needs to start a blog, and we were talking about the things we've done with our Big Shots. It was like meeting a kindred spirit, we spoent almost an hour chatting. Anyway she told me of these tea lights she made and I asked her if I made it, she would mind if I shared it on my blog. Yay she said yes.

Supplies,

Foil (like the BBQ trays) ( i had a couple of precut squares left over from the computer cupboard)

Big Shot - you can get one here

Flowers

Super Glue

Tea-Light Candle

First cut two flowers from the foil.

Then using a dab of glue, glue the centre of the flowers together. Then I put the tea light in the middle and just started working the foil into petals using my fingers. It was just a little playing until I had the shape the way I liked it. This took less than 10 minutes to make, too easy.

Wait for dark and come on baby, light my fire...or tea light!

Isn't she pretty!

DIY Delight or Disaster? So loving this, delight all the way. I'm thinking next time I am going to emboss the flowers and paint them. Wouldn't they be perfect for Spring or Mothers Day?

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

No Glue Washer Pendants - 10 Minutes And You're Done!!

No Glue Washer Pendants, yes please!

So after I made the tiles and thought I was such genius in the world I had the scraps. I hate wasting the leftovers and as I was packing them away I spotted the washers and thought hmm and so I made 8 washer pendants in around 20 minutes. So actaully 10 minutes per pendant is a lie it's much quicker than that.

Here are my scraps from yesterday (go here if you need to know how I made these)

Cut to size

Stick it on and trim the excess with an exacto knife.

Use up all the scraps.

DIY Delight or Disaster? Well aside from how quick they were to make you can't tell the difference between them and the ones using modpodge and dimensional magic. Absolutely a delight!

No Glue Tile Coasters, 10 Minutes No Drying Time!

That's right NO GLUE tile coasters, feeling like a bit of a genius right now..a lazy one but a genius nonetheless!

Anyway so after my whine fest last week I took a dose of concrete and harden the hell up and told myself just to go and try something. I love all those tile coasters all over pinterest but I read you have to wait a month for them to cure before you can use them...A MONTH!! Seriously who's got time for that? Not me so I have made some that are ready as soon as you're finished and they only take 10 minutes to make, here's how.

Supplies:

• Tiles
• Assorted Scrapbook Paper
• Xyron Sticker Maker
• Xyron Laminate/Permanent Adhesive

Run your paper through the sticker maker.

It's laminated on one side and permanent adhesive on the other side.

Stick on the tile and trim the edges.

Save the left over for another fun idea tomorrow.

10 minutes later cool new tiles that can be used right away, they can also be wiped clean immediately too.

DIY Delight or Disaster? This was just what I needed to get my mojo happening bright and funky but quick and easy. There is practically no room for error, Elizabeth who is 12 can make these with no supervision.

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

A Gift For The Quilter/Sewer- (When you don't know what to get)

My Mum is a quilter. I'm not talking about someone who has made a couple of quilts, I mean someone who lives and breathes quilts! She belongs to so many quilting groups and is out of the house sewing almost every day not including the house she spends at home.

Recently she purchased a new machine, a really fancy pants thing that looks like it could probably cook dinner as well, which would be great because Mum hates to cook with about the same amount of passion as she loves to quilt. Sadly a trait I too inherited.

One Dollar DIY iPod Skin

Hey guys,

I've done the iphone cover, the iphone wallet and the ipad covers here and here and today here is the iPod case, this should tell you that I have too many apple product (although if they want to toss me a couple freebies, I'll be gracious in my acceptance)!

Snow Man Candy Jar

Hi Guys,

Thanks to the lovely Emily at Nap-Time Creations, I'm joining up with a bunch of lovely and talented ladies to bring you a A Crafty Christmas.

I love a good "trash chic" project and Christmas seems to bring it out of me, so I thought why not try and do another trash chic week but make it completely Christmas themed. Let's be honest no matter how many hand made gifts you make Christmas is the one time our hands seem to be forever in our pockets!

This Snow Man candy jar cost me $0 the perfect price (if you don't include the actual candy)

Name Bracelet

Is it vain that I have a stack of stuff with my name on it? Well here is one more which I am totally loving right now. I think they would make a beautiful gift for the upcoming holiday season.

A Yarn Keeper

What every knitter or crocheter needs!

I think it's probably obvious by now that I love to knit, however knitting with toddlers is pure hell. Max loves the yarn and throws it about like a cat. It tangles up at best, at worst he gets the yarn all sticky, so I was going to buy one of these yarn holder keeper things, I saw them priced at $20 and I thought, no I think I can probably make something.

Supplies:

Large Empty Tin (I used a formula can)

Fabric

Trim

Eyelet, grommit thingy (only tech terms here peeps)

Xyron Sticker Maker - click link to read more

First I made the fabric & trim into a sticker, I'm telling you I love this Xyron Sticker Maker

Then stuck them on the tin.

And the lid, then I put the eyelet grommet thing in

Of course I did it upside down....Dang!!

Popped the wool in

Start Knitting, without the ball of wool flying all over the floor!

DIY Delight or Disaster? Man it's awesome, I made it for free saving $20 and it has stopped Max from destroying my wool. Delight!! Also my lot are on school holidays for the next two weeks and we plan on enjoying the sunshine. So apologies in advance if I am a little late in responding to email, but I'm about to get my Spring on!!

Tomorrow I will show you what I have been knitting with that pink wool, stay tuned!

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Be Delighted Every Day, Follow Mellywood's Mansion!

Memory Wire Necklace

It's that time of the month when I get to play with some items from Wholeport. This month they sent me some lovely beads to play with and I made this necklace and earring set.

Using the supplies below:

• Oval Natural Shell Beads (From Wholeport)
• Silver Heart (From Wholeport)
• Memory Wire 
• Seed beads

Memory wire jewelry is so easy it's as simple as stringing the beads. I have to say that I really love the contrast between the shell and the burgundy glass beads, it's really not like anything I have done before.

I was worried that memory wire around the neck would be a little too chokey (not a real word) but it was actually really comfortable.

Whats a necklace with out some earrings, so I made them quite dangly so they will hang almost next to the choker.

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Be Delighted Every Day, Follow Mellywood's Mansion!