Tardis Kindle Cover

I'll start with a confession: I am not a Doctor Who fan.

Now, before you throw the "fake nerd girl" accusation, it is probably worth taking into account that other than about 3 episodes of 4th Doctor, I haven't actually watched Doctor Who (though I do intend to, as soon as I can get a hold of any more recent episodes).

Although not a Doctor Who fan, however, I am an absolute sucker for a challenge. For the last few months/years, and essentially my total time on craft sites, I have seen loads of projects related to this popular show. I know some of the basic story line, and I must admit, this craft-fandom has been slowly but surely dragging me in. So, while I was in a particularly inspirationless state, when a friend suggested I make a Doctor Who-related Kindle cover, I couldn't resist the challenge.

Although I was reasonably happy with how this project eventually turned out, making it was a little bit of a disaster. I initially tried to do the "Police Box" sign and note on the door with a paper-to-fabric transfer stuff on leather, which failed miserably (twice). I eventually resorted to simply Modge Podging the paper onto the vinyl that I made the case out of. On the top right corner of the case, there are a series of puncture marks from where I tried (unsuccessfully) to sew the hem down about three different times before my double needle eventually gave up, and was reduced to four pieces of one double needle. During my first attempt at sewing the hem, I also ended up backstitching over the button, shattering the side of it. So, not my most successful tale of crafting.

Mishaps aside, I've put together a tutorial on how to make your own Tardis Kindle cover.

Here's what you'll need:

• Blue vinyl (it's that faux leather-type stuff)
• Lining fabric
• A print out of the signs
• Modge Podge
• A button
• Elastic
• Some white leather scraps

What to do:

1. Cut out the basic shape of your cover (this will be determined by the size of your gadget). Cut out your signs and Modge Podge them onto some vinyl scraps. Leave to dry, then cut out, leaving a thin border.
2. Cut out 5 squares from the vinyl for the door panels (the 6th will be formed by the sign you Modge Podged) and stick them on, then sew down to secure.
3. Cut out 12 tiny rectangles from white leather scraps, then glue and stitch them down. Also stitch down your "Police Box" sign.
4. Add a thin strip of vinyl down the middle, and sew down to secure.
   
5. Pin your two cover pieces front-to-front and sew them together. Repeat this with your lining fabric.
6. Turn the cover right-side-out.
7. Add the button to the top front, and a piece of elastic to the top back.
8. Insert your lining, and then fold down a hem at the top. Sew down to secure the lining.

And you're done!

(In this photo, you can see on the top right how my needle savaged the vinyl... Eek.)

If you want, you can also find this tutorial over here on Cut Out + Keep.

I have also been making some cushions for my university residence room, but I'll be making a university update post soon!

Thanks for reading!

The Day of the Grumpy Cat

I don't know about anyone else, but I really don't enjoy Sundays. Mondays, I can handle. But Sundays? No. It's a pretty serious dislike: if it were any more serious, there would be a Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats song about it. Every Sunday, I am inevitably miserable about something or another.

In honour of this week's unhappy Sunday, I made myself a Grumpy Cat brooch, based on the meme.

He's pretty simple, made from felt and a little brooch pin. If you want to make your own, here's how:

You'll need:

• Felt in various colours
• A brooch pin

How to do it:

1. Cut out your pieces of felt (I cut up a picture of Mr Grumpy Cat himself as a pattern).
2. Use a bit of glue to attach your ears to the head pieces. Secure with a few stitches.
3. Glue down your eye pieces and muzzle piece, then secure with stitches.
4. Sew on two tiny blue felt pieces for eyes, then stitch on pupils, and a nose and very grumpy mouth.
   
   Set the face aside for now.
5. Sew the legs onto the front of the body.
   
6. Sew the brooch pin onto the back of the body, and sew the two body pieces together, adding stuffing.
7. Sew the two head pieces together, through the neck area, securing the head to the body. Add stuffing and close the head.
   

And then, your grumpy cat brooch is all ready to wear!

If you want to see it elsewhere, this tutorial is also available here on Cut Out + Keep.

Happy grouching. :)

Shell-shocked

My friends often joke that I have mermaid hair, because my hair is long enough to cover my chest. And this suits me just fine, as I love the idea of being a mermaid. On that note, a while ago, I saw a top online (by Wildfox) that had a set of shells over the chest, like a mermaid's shell-bra.

Wildfox "Ariel" Tank

I fell in love with this idea, and, (in a shocking, unexpected plot twist) decided to make my own.

The DIY

I picked up a tank top at Meltz for about R20 (on a buy-two-get-one-free special) and got a purple fabric paint tube at the local craft store, then set about my work.

It was super simple to make.

What you'll need:

• A plain tank top
• A tube of purple (or any colour) fabric paint
• A tailor's pen (if you feel you need one - I always get nervous about doing something directly in permanent paint)

What to do:

1.  Print out shell templates from the internet (it's easiest to google "shell outline" or something to that effect). It's easiest to print out two of the same, rather than just using one. Decide how large you want them to be.
2. Put on your top and decide where you want the shells to be placed.
3. Pull your shirt over a pillow, placing the templates underneath the shirt. Trace over the templates with a tailor's pen.
4. After tracing, take your templates out and put plastic underneath (I just used old plastic filing sleeves).
5. Use the tube of fabric paint to paint over the lines.
6. Follow the packaging instructions to set the paint (often to iron the reverse side).

You can also find the full tutorial here on Cut Out + Keep.

I've been a bit uninspired lately, so this was a lovely, quick project to get me crafting again. :) I'm hoping to get some fabric tomorrow so that I can make cushion covers for my new university residence room (I'm going with a newspaper/typewriter theme).

Please let the fabric shop be open on a Sunday - I need to work to get my mind off of existence.
x

December

So, having only been home for a week after going to Joburg, I've been crazily busy, with Christmas, Boxing Day, a stay at a brand new five-star hotel in town and some year-end crafting.

For the last few days, I've been working on a set of Adventure Time Finn and Jake keyrings and writing a tutorial on them.
If you want to see the tutorial, you can find it here. I had loads of fun making these, and I think they turned out very cute.

I also posted a tutorial for a lace gift bow this week. I made one of these about two years ago when wrapping a friend's birthday gift, and she loved it. I decided that Christmas time would be a good opportunity to post a tutorial on making one of these. :)

This past week has been pretty exciting for me, as I've had three of my projects featured on Cut Out + Keep:
My shark sweatshirt,

my Jake plush,

and my lace Bat glasses.

So, it's been a pretty happy crafting week for me! Though, for what feels like the first time in eons, I'm not working on a craft project. I feel quite lost without a half-finished something lying on my desk (among the chaotic mess). I just need to find a new project to work on, now!

x

Read All About It

When I was working on my galaxy-print collar, I started playing around with other collar ideas, too. I love the look of newsprint, so I desided that newspaper would be a fun idea for a collar, as well as an ideal opportunity to play with some Modge Podge.

Here's my tutorial on how to make this collar. I used faux leather and some newspaper, so the materials aren't particualrly obscure. 

I'm not at home at the moment, so I haven't been crafting, but I have been catching up on posting some tutorials, such as this one on how to make a Jake the Dog plush from Adventure Time (I'll devote a full blog post to him another time).

I also played around with a pair of Bat-symbol lace glasses, because I was bored with the plain old yellow glasses I had lying on my desk as the remnant of some hippie party or another.

I'm still thinking of what I can make as Christmas gifts (I put off gifting until I was sure that the world wouldn't be ending today), so hopefully I can still write a few more tutorials to enter into the Cut Out + Keep Secret Santa Contest.

Good luck with not ending today, world.

Live Every Week Like It's Shark Week

Forever ago, I saw a few shark sweatshirts swimming about the internet, and I couldn't help but want one. As usual, I chose to DIY rather than buy, and I set about making my own version of this cute piece.

I made the grey sweatshirt from scratch, and then added the shark jaw using felt and fleece fabric. Unfortunately I didn't think to take photos while busy with it, but I wrote a vague tutorial on how to make your own over on Cut Out + Keep.

Yesterday, I also finished my first bikini, which I've been working on for, quite literally, about a year. I'm really excited to wear it, but the weather here has been so cold and miserable lately - it's raining right now. Where's summer?

I'm busy working on a plush Jake from Adventure Time and writing a tutorial on how to make your own. I'm quite excited about how he looks so far.

I need to get back to working on Jake's arm now.

Teeny Tiny Yoda

Being on holiday until the beginning of February 2013, I'm trying my best to get as much done and made as possible. I'm terrified that I won't be able to take all of my crafting stuff with me when I go into a university residence next year. I'm also trying to write more tutorials of the things I make, rather than just finishing crafts - it's always fun to share the pattern for something I've enjoyed making.

On that note, here is one of my most recent crafts - a teeny tiny felt Yoda keyring.

It was a pretty quick project to make - it can easily be finished in a single afternoon - and I think he turned out super cute! I hand-stitched the whole thing, so you won't need a sewing machine to make this. I mostly just used scraps of felt, so it's a great stash-buster kind of project that costs almost nothing to make. He's 4.7cm tall.

I drew up the pattern while I was making him, which you can find along with the full tutorial over on my post on Cut Out + Keep. This is a perfect geek-gift, with Christmas so nearby.

I'm thinking of making another slightly larger one as a normal plushie, but I'm not sure I'll have enough green felt, so we'll have to see.

Also: it's already December. I mean, I suppose everyone knows that, but it scarcely feels so. This year has flown by, and the summer weather still seems to be taking its time - it was pretty cold this evening, when it's usually warm by this time of year.