DIY Pusheen Plush

I love Pusheen - everyone's favourite fat grey cat has pretty much become the Garfield of the internet, and the little cutie is everywhere, even in our Facebook comment boxes. I couldn't find a plush version here in South Africa, so I decided to make my own.

This is a SUPER simple project, and is great for beginners - and if you are terrified of sewing and don't even want to try, try using fabric glue to convert this to a no-sew project!

Let me know if you also love Pusheen, and which Pusheen comic is your favourite!

LDP x

DIY 90s Tattoo Choker

These choker necklaces were very popular in the 90s, and have crept back into fashion again. I vividly remember how desperately I begged my mom to buy them for me when I was little, and honestly, now that I'm older, they're just as cool. They're super simple to make, so why not create your own instead of buying one? Watch the video for full instructions!

LDP x

DIY Zip Earphones

I know that everyone is sick and tired of tangled earphones. Somehow, whenever those sneaky cables are hidden from sight, they contort into the kind of knots they don't even teach in boy scouts. So, here's the simplest fix for the age-old issue: say no to tangled earphones by attaching a zip to keep them neat and un-knotted.

I know, I know. It's literally so simple it hardly deserves a DIY. Just stitch the fabric edge of the zip around the earphone cable and voilà. No more tangled earphones! And plus, they look pretty cool, too.

 Let me know below if you're also sick and tired of your earphone cables looking like a Houdini-level challenge, and tell me if this life hack helps you solve that problem!

LDP x

DIY Sock Rhino

After recently revamping my sock sloth tutorial and turning it into a video, I decided another sock creature was in order. Living in South Africa, rhino conservation is a cause that has become very important to our country. 22 September saw the celebration of World Rhino Day, and the awareness posts floating around my Facebook news feed added to the inspiration to create this little cuddly friend.

This little rhino is a cute addition to any collection of sock creatures, and an adorable reminder to support rhino conservation - don't let the only rhinos left be plush toys.

If you make your own version, be sure to share it with me!

LDP x

DIY Scratch-Off Globe

I love travelling, and I've been fortunate enough to see a fair few countries in my life. However, as any sufferer of wanderlust will know, seeing a few only makes one want to see more - there's a whole world out there just waiting to be explored!
The idea is to scratch off each country after you visit it, and eventually, one day, scratch it all off. It's a fun craft for any traveller, or a great gift for the wanderlustful.

Let me know if you enjoy this tutorial, and if you make your own! What is your favourite place that you have ever been?

LDP x

DIY Photo Pocket Cushion

Instagram has become something of an integral piece in the lives of many, whether we like it or not. Whether it's photos of our pets, our meals or, in my case, our crafts, somehow, little square-cropped photos with vintage-style filters just get us going. However, yanking these pictures from their digital realm make for a cute, fun style, reminiscent of Polaroid pictures. Rather than simply tacking these to walls and notice boards, I thought of what other fun ways could be created to display these lovely photos, and I came up with my photo pocket pillow!

I used fabric and clear vinyl to create a cushion cover that offered spaces to add your own photos. What's great is that this makes the cushion cover customisable, and it can be changed as frequently as you like. Sick of one of your pictures? Just pick a new one! These also make lovely gifts, as they can be personalised with photos of special memories shared with the receiver of the cushion.

Instead of my usual photo-and-writing tutorials, I decided to try something different: a video! Sorry if it's not perfect, but it's my first attempt at a DIY on this platform.

 

Let me know what you think of the video, and if you give this project a try!

LDP

DIY: Recycled Book Planters

This tutorial came complete with a mild existential crisis. I've wanted to make a craft project with books for ages now, however the thought of slicing up a tiny universe for my own selfish needs has always been too traumatic for me to bear. I eventually convinced myself that my charity shop book discoveries were only going to sit on a shelf until someone else threw them away if I didn't buy them and use them, so why not turn them into something beautiful?

What you'll need:

• Old books (preferably hard cover)
• Wood glue
• A piece of a plastic bag (like a zip-lock bag)
• A craft knife

1. Start by smearing wood glue along the sides of the book, to secure the pages together. If you plan on using more than one book for the planter, glue them together without putting glue in the area you intend to cut, as this will make it more difficult to cut through.
   
2. Mark the area you intend to cut out, where your plant will go.
   
3. Use a craft knife to cut out the marked area. It may be hard to cut through the cover of the book initially, but just keep going - it'll slice through eventually. :)
   
4. Once the area is as deep as you want it to be, glue the piece of plastic bag into the cut area, and trim the edges to be level with the cover of the book. This will stop water and dirt leaking into the book once your plant is inside.
   
5. Put your plant into the book, and look after it as your new pot plant.
   

Do you have any indoor plants? Let me know. I'm fairly obsessed with having tiny succulents on my windowsill at the moment.

LDP

DIY: Doctor Who Tardis Sneakers

I remember never understanding the Doctor Who obsession so many seemed to harbour. I remember being unphased by blue Police telephone boxes and not knowing why bowties were cool. I remember being able to walk past statues without casting a second glance, as opposed to carefully staring at them, reluctant to blink.
That was before I actually got around to watching Doctor Who.

At some point during the course of last year, I ended up binge-watching the entirety of the new Doctor Who (I admit that classic Who remains too vast for me to watch all of it). After watching the series, I was besotted, and I am now eagerly anticipation the release of season 8. To celebrate my new-found addiction, I made myself a pair of Ten-esque Chucks, decorating the sides with tiny painted Tardises.

What you'll need to make your own:

• A pair of Converse (or the cheaper, knock-off kind, like I used)
• Small scraps of leather or leather-look vinyl 
• Acrylic paints
• Podge
• Some fabric glue (I use Tacky Glue) and thread for attaching the Tardises to the sneakers

1. Cut out your basic Tardis shape from your leather/imitation leather
2. If your leather is a dark colour, start by painting a light colour as a base coat. 
3. Build up various shades of blue until you are happy with the colour of your Tardis.
4. Using a darker blue, paint on a grid to show the panels of the Tardis door, and use black to paint a rectangle at the top to create the "Police Box" sign.
5. Use white paint to create tiny blocks in the top two panels of the door, on both visible sides, as well as the notice on the door, and the words "Police Box". I used a toothpick and pin to do this painting.
6. Use a layer Podge to seal and protect the paint.
7. Glue the tiny Tardises onto the sneakers using fabric glue, and then stitch around the edges to secure them.

I also added the words "Don't Blink" at the back, using acrylic paint, however this started chipping off of the rubber soles - though it still looked cool for a while. :)

Do you watch Doctor Who? Are you as obsessed with the show as I now am? Who was your favourite Doctor? I'm very excited to see what Capaldi brings in August!

Thanks for reading,

LDP 

DIY: Grumpy Cat Bauble Ornament

Yes, yet another Grumpy Cat project. Although I’ve already made a Grumpy Cat brooch, as well as a Grumpy Cat Christmas sweater, I thought another project to protest festive cheer would be great to remove any remaining joy from the Christmas decorating.  If you want to ensure that your festive season is the grumpiest ever, or even just want to have a year-round reminder of Tardar Sauce’s eternal grumpiness, revamp a boring bauble to look like the internet’s favourite Grumpy Cat.

What you’ll need:
·         An old, plain round bauble ornament
·         Air-drying clay (I used paper clay)
·         Acrylic paints
·         A small scrap of white chenille wool
·         Miniature white pompom

What to do:

1.       Shape an ear, muzzle and Santa hat onto your bauble using the clay. Make the clay as flat as possible against the round surface of the bauble. Allow the clay to dry on the bauble, and once dry, slide the pieces off and re-attach them using some tacky glue.
2.       Paint your bauble a beige/cream colour, and paint the ear brown and hat red. Paint the muzzle area white.
3.       Using a photo of Grumpy Cat as a reference, paint the eye patches, eyes, nose and mouth.
4.       Glue a small piece chenille wool around the base of the Santa hat, and add the pompom to the tip of the hat.

And you’re done! Simply hang your grumpy ornament wherever you think it will remove the most joy and cheer. 

This project is also posted over on Cut Out+ Keep. 

Thanks for reading!

LDP x

DIY: Grumpy Cat Christmas Sweater

For most, Christmas is a joyful season, filled with, I don't know, joyful stuff. However, for others, Christmas carols and flashing fairy lights fast become hard to tolerate, with fruitcake leaving only a sour taste in one's mouth. If you're one of the latter, spread your disdain for the season by coming as close to Christmas spirit as you dare and donning a traditionally ugly Christmas sweater, featuring the face of the internet's beloved Grumpy Cat. Perfect for glaring at Mariah Carey-blaring speakers in.

What you'll need:

• Felt in Grumpy Cat-esque shades (cream, dark brown, white, light blue, and a tiny scrap of pink)
• A small scrap of white fleece
• An old sweater that you're willing to sacrifice for your hatred of the season

What to do:

1. Cut out the basic shape of the face from cream felt and the shape of the eye patches from brown felt. Sew the eye patches onto the face.
2. Cut out the muzzle area from white felt and stitch it onto the face.
3. Cut out the nose from pink felt. Attach onto muzzle.
4. Cut out two eyes from light blue felt and stitch onto the face.
5. Stitch on two black felt pupils and stitch a grumpy mouth with pink cotton.
6. Cut out an ear from brown felt and stitch it onto the head.
   
   
   
7. Cut out a red hat shape and stitch it onto the other side of the head. Add an extra flap to the top of the hat to create the point.
8. Stitch on a strip of white fleece to the bottom of the Santa hat.
9. Cut out a circle of white fleece and sew tacking stitches around the edge.
10. Pull the tacking stitches tight to create a more spherical shape.
11. Attach to point of Santa hat.
12. Sew your Grumpy Cat onto your old sweater and spread the disdain for the season!

As usual, this project is also posted over on Cut Out + Keep.

Hope you've all had a fun festive season, and expect a few more Christmassy crafts over the next few days - starting the 2014 decorating early, remember? Nothing to do with my laziness about posting. Nothing at all. *mumbles*

LDP x

Eraser Stamps

For a while now, I've wanted to create a shirt with a goldfish on it. I've thought long and hard about it, and I decided that I wanted a pattern made up of a number of goldfish. But how would I get all of the little goldfish the same? A stamp, of course! But where the hell do you get a goldfish stamp?
Well, if you're me, you make one.

After consulting my mother, in all of her infinite crafting wisdom gained from years of being an art teacher, she recommended that I craft a stamp from an eraser, as it was the simplest way of doing it. And, so, I did.
Here's how:

What you'll need:

• Eraser
• Cutting knife

What to do:

1. Draw your desired image onto the eraser.
2. Use the knife to cut the outline of your design into the eraser (vertically), and then cut into the eraser horizontally, cutting away the edges to leave only the design.
3. Ensure that your edges are defined and that your shape is cut out properly.
4. Use your new stamp to create your own designs.

This method of stamp-making should work for just about any design, so you can go wild with what you choose. Hopefully I'll get to use my goldfish stamp for the top I want to make soon, but unfortunately it's back to university after the weekend, so painting won't be happening in the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you have a go at making your own stamps. 

LDP

x

Mercat Brooch

A few months ago, I was browsing through the blog Tails of a Mermaid. Run by Natalie Roos, a fellow South African, it is testament to Natalie's obsessive love of good food, exciting lifestyles and, above all: cats.

As usual, The Muses tend to strike from the strangest of places, and I couldn't avoid the temptation to create something combining the title of her blog with her ailurophilia. And thus, the mercat brooch was born.

Here's how to make your own:

What you'll need:

• Felt (scraps will be enough)
• Acrylic and fabric paint
• Brooch pin

What to do:

1. Cut out two of your cat shapes and two of your tail shapes. I didn't make a pattern for this, as it's very simple - just cut out the basic outlines.
2. Start painting your felt pieces. Be sure to concentrate more on the front, as the back won't be seen. Add the face detail to the cat body piece, and consider using metallic paint for the tail (I mixed light blue, light green and silver paint to get the colour for my tail).
3. Add some glue to stick together the cat body piece and the tail piece. Repeat with back pieces. Add a line of small stitches to secure.
4. Add a button (I used a starfish-shaped one) and some paws. Glue on, and secure with a few stitches.
5. Attach the brooch pin to the back piece of the cat.
6. Attach the two pieces together, using cotton that matches the pieces.

I mailed off this little kitty to Natalie as an early birthday present in July, and I think she liked it, which was a wonderful feeling. Somehow, giving away the things I make to people who appreciate them is a far better feeling than keeping them hoarded up in my cupboard back at home.

This project is also available over on Cut Out + Keep. 

I'd love to see your version of this project if you give it a go, so be sure to comment if you make one. :) 

Thanks for reading, and apologies for my irresponsible hiatus. 

LDP x

Stormtrooper Cut-Out Shirt

Just before our university vacation, I thought about making a Star Wars cut-out shirt of some sort - I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I thought that doing a Darth Vader cut-out on a black shirt and a Stormtrooper cut-out on a white shirt would be pretty cool. I didn't get around to the idea straight away because I had to finish my exams, and I had so many other crafty endeavours to pursue that is got a bit lost in my messy mind. I also didn't have any nice t-shirts I wanted to cut up, so I decided to leave the whole project for another time.

Now, my dad doesn't live in the same city as I do, but he always calls on the last day of my school or university holidays and asks if I'm ready and the general parent-y questionings. And somehow, every time, when he asks what I've been up to over my break, my usual answer is, "Well, not much for the last <length of entire holiday>, but today I started making-" and I proceed to ramble on about some craft or another that I've just fallen in love with. Over the last few holidays, I've tried my best to keep busy from the beginning, and although I did pretty well at crafting right from the beginning of my holiday this time, I knew I couldn't let the vac slip away before I'd finished this shirt I had stuck in my head.

I rifled through my craft cupboard (which is actually my normal cupboard, but it's just filled with craft supplies instead of things that would usually occupy a cupboard, such as clothing and sanity and such) and found an oversized t-shirt I'd bought forever ago with some craft or another in mind but never got around to using. I cut up the shirt a bit, removing the sleeves and neck to make it more comfortable. I stitched down the raw edges and used that as my shirt to do my Stormtrooper cut-out on.

What you need to make your own:

• A white t-shirt
• A pair of scissors
• A printer or a good eye for drawing 

How to make it:

1. Print out the template you want to use. I printed mine on two pieces and sellotaped them together. You can find the one I used here (though I take no credit for creating it - I just found it online).
2. Cut the template to A4 size if necessary, and laminate it. Cut out the parts of the template that will be cut out on the shirt.
3. Tape your laminated cut-out onto your shirt, and trace the cut-out areas with a tailor's pen.
4. Cut out the traced template on the shirt.

And you're done! I found that I had to be very careful with which areas I cut out, so make sure the gaps you leave aren't too massive, or the soft t-shirting fabric will sag down when you wear it. 

This is a very simple but effective project, and I'd love to see if you make one of your own! Please leave a comment below and send me a picture if you do!

LDP 

x

Sheldon the Dinosaur Plush DIY

For about a year now, my friends and I have adored the Sheldon the Dinosaur comic by Amburgered. Sheldon is a tiny dinosaur who thinks that he is a turtle, and uses an acorn for a shell. Whenever I know one of my very close friends, Abi, is feeling down, I make a point of finding a recent Sheldon comic and sending it to her to cheer her up.

I decided that, because of this love Abi and I share for Sheldon, I ought to make Abi a little Sheldon of her own.

If you want to make your own, here's how to do it:

1. Download the pattern here.
2. Sew your four leg pieces to the leg holes on the inside body.
3. Sew the dart at the back of the inside body.
4. Sew the two outside body pieces to either side of the inside body piece.
5. Sew around the neck and head area and at the back, bottom area, making sure to leave a space for turning and stuffing.
6. Turn the body right-side out. Put the safety eyes in on the face and stuff. Close your stuffing hole.
7. Cut out your upper shell pattern.
8. Hand-stitch your shell (right sides together) as close to the edge as possible. Add in a small scrap of felt in the centre of the shell as the acorn stalk.
9. Stitch the upper shell to the shell base and stuff it.
10. Paint small Xs onto the shell.
11. Stitch the complete shell to the back of the body.
12. Take your own little Sheldon on adventures with you! 

I'd love to know if you also read the Sheldon comics, or see if you make a Sheldon of your own, so please leave your comments below!

Thanks for reading!

LDP x

Humans vs Zombies Sock Bandolier

My university is hosting a game of Humans vs Zombies in August, and since I'm only in first year, this will be my first time playing the game. I'm resigned to the fact that I'm not athletic enough to survive very long, and our game won't be using guns, so balls of socks are the only way to ward off the zombies. I decided that the best way for me to survive would be to ensure that I have socks within reaching distance at all times for protection, so I figured that the best way to do that would be to make a sock bandolier.

Want to make your own? Here's how I did it:

What you'll need:

• Nylon-like strap 
• Elastic (mine was 2cm wide)

What to do:

1. Start by deciding how long you want the strap to be by wrapping it around your body as you will wear it. Cut the strap and use a candle to burn the ends to stop fraying.
2. Sellotape the two ends of your strap together.
3. Stitch ends together and remove sellotape.
4. Stitch ends together and remove sellotape.
5. Mark along your strap and elastic where it will be stitched down. I marked my strap into 8cm spaces, with 1cm in between each space, and my elastic into 11cm spaces, also with 1cm between each space.
6. Stitch down the elastic to the strap at each 1cm gap, forming loops for socks with the elastic.
7. Stitch down a 13cm strip of elastic to the bottom of the strap in the centre of each 8cm space.
8. Flip each strip up over the main elastic and stitch it into the centre.

Fill it up with socks and be prepared for the impending zombie apocalypse! 

I'm simultaneously nervous and overwhelmingly excited for this game of HvZ - as I said, it's my first time playing, but I've no doubt it will be awesome.

Let me know if you make your own sock bandolier, and if you've ever played HvZ before and if you have any tips for my first game!

Thanks for reading.LDP x 

Live Slow, Die Whenever

For ages now, I've wanted a fox scarf. No, not a fox stole; there's something painfully morbid about having a dead animal wrapped around your throat. A fox scarf. I remember seeing the Lazy Oaf fox scarf a few years back (though it doesn't seem to be available any more) and absolutely setting my heart on it, loving the way it managed to be cute while still being slightly macabre. I remember it being out of my budget (everything is out of my budget) and reminding myself to make one in the future.

Fox scarves! Fox scarves everywhere!

1. Donna Wilson
2. Boondock Studios
3. BeeLicious Crafts
4. Lazy Oaf
5. Eugenia Kim
6. Prudent Baby (This one's a DIY!)

Although I do still want to make a fox scarf at some point or another, I decided to add a twist to this style. So, since we've established that my sloth obsession is no secret, I might as well carry on flaunting it, right? So much for "The first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem".

What you'll need to make your own sloth scarf:

• Fur fabric
• Felt
• Safety eyes and nose
• Paint 

Steps:

1. Cut one long strip of your fluffy fabric , about 32-35 cm wide. I made mine as long as I could, using the entire length of the fabric. Make it shorter or wider to your own liking. Cut out a piece of fluffy fabric the size you want the head to be. Repeat this shape on another piece of fluffy fabric, then cut out a piece of felt for the face.
2. Paint the face using acrylic and fabric paints.
3. Ensure that the safety eyes and nose fit appropriately on the sloth's face.
   
   
4.  Sew the two fluffy head pieces together, then turn right-side-out.
5.  Place the head where you want it to be on the scarf.
6.  Sew the face and head onto the scarf, and add the safety eyes and nose. Sew down the length of the scarf and close the ends, sewing foot shapes at each end. Leave a section in the middle open to turn it right-side-out, then turn and close.

Aaaaaaand you're done! Wear your scarf on any lazy day you choose. 

I actually wore this scarf to my first exam on Wednesday, because the exam hall we write in is freezing. He kept my neck super cosy while I concentrated on Linguistics. 

I also posted this scarf with one of my outfits on Chictopia, which you can see here. 

In other news, I am this week's featured member on my favourite website, Cut Out + Keep! Click here to read the interview. 

Thanks so much for reading!

LDP x

Map Backpack

For most of last term, I was lugging my university books around in a shoulder bag that just didn't suit academia - it was cute, but definitely not built to handle the battering of books which it received. Over my brief vacation at home, I decided that it was a better idea to invest in a backpack - but instead of finding one I liked only to meet someone else with one identical, I opted, as usual, for a DIY.

While the lovely Annika was moving house this week, I provided a guest post for her blog on how to make your very own map backpack.

I've received loads of compliments on it already, and I've only been back for a week, so I'm incredibly happy with how this turned out!

I'd love to see your version if you try out this DIY.

LDP
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