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

Sloths: A Revolution

So, a good while back, I posted a couple of sloth craft tutorials: my sloth scarf and my ever-popular sock sloth. Since then, sewing sloths became something of a hobby, and I made a fair few.

Something else I haven't mentioned here, is that I also started my own Etsy shop, where all of these sloths are available for sale!

Anyway, the real point of this post is that, well, I made a video. Since I was little, I've been fascinated by stop-motion animation - a career at Aardman was always my dream job - and because I now had all these sloths sitting around... Well, why not make a little film?

I hope you enjoy it! Please like and leave a comment if it made your day a bit more slothy.

LDP

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: 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

Moustachioed Goat

Over my last six weeks at university, I have been watching a lot of the show Community. And by "a lot", I mean unhealthy dosage a lot. Now, for those of you who don't know the show, the second episode of the first season ends with two of the main characters rapping in Spanish. I can guarantee that if you haven't seen it, you cannot possibly conceive how incredibly awesome it is. Therefore, if you haven't seen it, you should watch it here. And if you have seen it, then I've no doubt you'll watch it anyway.

Now, because of this Community-obsessed state in which I've been wallowing, I, naturally, took it upon myself to make something Community-related. This is a bit difficult, considering that the show has actors rather than animated characters which would be easier to convert into crafts. So, I made a goat with a moustache.

Unfortunately Cameron Diaz was unavailable, so I made his moustache out of felt, just like the rest of his body.

It was pretty simple to make this cute little guy, but if you'd like to make your own, you can find a full tutorial, as usual, over on Cut Out + Keep.

In other university-related news, I essentially abandoned my photography project thanks to a to-do list constantly clawing at my sanity. I'm now at home for vac, and I'm only returning to Grahamstown next Sunday, so I'm enjoying some crafting time while I can before the work starts up again - which is going to be fairly soon, as I still have vac homework to get done.

LDP
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