Projects so far

Sunday 27 March 2011

13th Project announcement

I'm a bit earlier than usual. Having lost an hours sleep last night due to the clocks changing (added to a late night anyway), I'm getting a little tired now. So I thought I would get this done before I run the risk of nodding off in front of the telly!


I've found this in the recycle pile and with Mother's day fast approaching next week in the UK I thought I would use it to make a little gift.


A small herb pot

Saturday 26 March 2011

12th project completed - A cute little knitted purse!


Well here it is, a cute little knitted purse made from the crisp multi-pack wrappers. I have kept it very simple as I am no great knitter!

Materials needed:
  • 3 - 4 crisp multi-pack wrappers
  • Left over wool
  • An old button
  • Knitting needles
  • Thread
  • A thick sewing needle with a large eye
  • Normal sewing needle
  • Left over sequins
Instructions:


1. Lay your multi-pack wrappers on a flat surface and cut across them into strips through both layers to make a series of loops.
2. To make the yarn pass one loop through another then back through itself to make a knot. very carefully tighten the knot, continue to add loops in this way to make a long length of 'yarn'. If any break remove them.
3. Cast on 8 stitches and knit approx. 35 rows in stocking stitch.


4. Cast off, you should now have a rectangle of knitted fabric. Weave in any ends and pull straight.
5. Fold the fabric into 3 (two equal and one slightly shorter) and using the wool, stitch together with a chunky buttonhole stitch.
6. Make a button loop, again with buttonhole stitch

7. Add the button and decorate with the sequins. Once the button as been sewn on you can add a sequin to the middle and decorate it how you like!



There we have it a simple but very cute knitted purse. See you tomorrow for next week's project materials!


Sunday 20 March 2011

12th project announcement

Number 12 already I can't believe it.
No Top Gear tonight so the guys are a bit miffed. I have one ear and eye on The Antiques Roadshow as I write this so please excuse any spelling mistakes!


I have spent all day getting ready for the environment showcase on Tuesday. I have printed leaflets and cards and borrowed some display boards from my step-mother - Ta Sue. I just need to think how I am going to display all the pieces I have made so far as part of the challenge......






Anyway back to the matter at hand; we seem to get through an awful amount of crisps in this house. I always end up buying one or two multi-packs a week and always wonder what to do with the outer wrappers. They cannot be recycled locally and take up a lot of space in the bin. So this week I am going to try something with those. I have saved up a few weeks worth now so I should have enough.


Join me late next Saturday night for the finished item.

Saturday 19 March 2011

11th project completed - plastic bottle flower brooches

Good evening all!
Here they are, the 11th project that I have completed in the challenge:


Plastic bottle brooches


These are really good fun and very effective considering they are quite easy to do!


Materials needed:

  • Plastic soda bottles
  • Permanent markers
  • Beads
  • Plastic glue (super glue)
  • Brooch pin
  • Baking Tray
  • Oven
Instructions


1. Wash out and dry your soda bottle, then with a pair of sharp scissors cut the bottom off.


2. Trim around the bottom of the bottle base to make a pleasing flower shape. How you cut around the flower will affect the final shape so it is worth experimenting!


3. Making sure the room is well ventilated, place the flower shapes on an old baking tray and pop in the oven at around 200 degrees Celsius for about 10 minutes. They will shrink to around 3/4 of their size and distorted slightly.



4. Once they have cooled, remove them from the baking tray and decorate as desired. I used permanent marker pens but you could use other types of paint.




5. Puddle some strong plastic glue (super glue) into the centre and fill with small seed beads, leave to dry then shake off any extra beads which have not stuck.

6. Attach your brooch pin, and there you have it - your own recycled brooch!



Join me tomorrow evening to see what is in store for me next week!




Friday 18 March 2011

recycle4real out and about

I will be attending the following event on Tuesday 22nd March and taking some of the items from this challenge and some of my other items made from recycled materials:

Tues 22 Mar
East Hampshire Environment Network Showcase event
Council Chamber, East Hampshire District Council 
7.00pm – 8.30pm (please arrive at 6.45 for coffee
Climate Week is a national occasion taking place from Monday 21st - Sunday 27th March 2011.
It is giving organisations and individuals the opportunity to showcase and celebrate the work which they do to combat climate change.
To celebrate this the East Hampshire Environment Network would like to showcase some of the good work residents
 and organisations in East Hampshire are doing to tackle Climate Change.
Speakers confirmed are:
Ditcham Park School -  Youth Environment Conference
Alton Local Energy Campaign  and the Alton Local Food Initiative
Ecotown and Radian housing
East Hampshire District Council Communications Team

Sunday 13 March 2011

11th Project announcement

Wow it's been a long day! All my emails and orders have been dealt with. The kids, dogs and other half have been fed. The kitchen and bathroom have been cleaned and the house kind of tidied up. I even managed to do a little bit of gardening this morning! So I can now grab a few minutes to share with you the items I want to use for this weeks project.




I have decided to do something with these plastic bottles. My stepson seems to come home with one from college everyday and they soon mount up and take up a lot of the recycling bin. It seems such a waste. I already have a few ideas so I will give them a try and will let you know how I get on.

Saturday 12 March 2011

10th project completed - a scrap fabric and fused plastic brooch

 Well, another project completed. This week I was playing with plastic bags and some fabric scraps. I hope you will like this project, embellished with beads and basic hand stitches it is quite simple and relatively quick!


And here it is:




A fused plastic and fabric brooch




Materials needed:

  1. Some scraps of brightly coloured fabrics
  2. Some coloured plastic carrier bags
  3. 1 tube of multi purpose glue (UHU type)
  4. A small scrap of heavy card
  5. A brooch pin
  6. Bondaweb
  7. Heavy craft wire
  8. Beads
  9. Black Acrylic paint and a paint brush
  10. Two protective sheets of parchment / baking paper or Teflon sheets
  11. Iron and ironing surface
Instructions:


1. Cut enough squares of Bondaweb for the number of different fabrics / plastic bags you have and fuse one to the back of each scrap of fabric. Leave to one side.



2. Taking your carrier bags, cut a large square and fold it in half. In a well ventilated area place it between your two protective sheets and press on a medium heat. If you get any smoke or fumes you have the iron too hot! The bag should melt slightly and shrink, warp and fuse together.

3. Fuse some Bondaweb to the reverse of your fused plastic and leave to one side.


4. Choose a piece of fabric to be your background and place on one piece of protective sheet to protect your ironing surface. Remove the backing paper from the Bondaweb on one of your fused plastic pieces and place on top of your background. Cover with the other parchment / baking paper / Teflon sheet and fuse it to the background.
5. Now cut random shapes from your other scraps and place as desired removing the backing paper as you go. Once you are happy with the design, cover with your protective sheet and iron. All the layers should now be firmly attached.


6. Pick a small section of your created background that you particularly like and start to embellish with simple hand stitches. I used straight and blanket stitch. Couch down a bent wire shape and add some beads to add texture and interest.


7. Trim your piece of work down to an appealing shape for your brooch. Draw around your shape onto a piece of heavy card and cut it out.


8. Paint the back of the card shape - this will be the back of the brooch. Leave to Dry.
9. Once dry, glue your brooch back and front together and again leave to dry.


10. To finish glue the brooch pin to the back of your brooch.

Well there it is, project number 10. I will announce project 11's materials tomorrow evening as usual. See you then!


Sunday 6 March 2011

10th project announcement

Well here we are number 10 already! 


I have been having yet another tidy up in the studio and have found a bag containing some small pieces of fabric and some old carrier bags. I was thinking that I should just get rid of them as they are really too small to do anything with, but the colours are so bright and fun that I can't just throw them away. So instead I will try to use them for this weeks challenge. Killing two birds with one stone as it were!
Here is a picture of the bits and pieces:


Carrier bags and scraps of fabric

Saturday 5 March 2011

9th Project Completed - A polystyrene cup vase!

Well, I have had so much fun this week! 
I know you are going to love this project, it is so easy yet so effective so I will be expecting lots of photos of your efforts after this one to add to the reader's gallery on the website.


Well here we are, my 9th offering to you all is...........



A lovely little vase made from a polystyrene cup and yes it does hold water!

Materials needed:

  1. A used polystyrene cup
  2. A rubber band
  3. A large pot of boiling water on the stove
  4. Something to weigh the cup down (I used an old set of keys)
  5. Water based Acrylic paints

Instructions:



1. Take your rubber band and place it around the cup where you would lie the lip of the vase to start (See the picture above)
2. Put your weights into the cup. I used an old set of keys but you could use stones or anything else that is close to hand just so long as they are heavy and small.
3. Using tongs lower your cup into boiling water, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.


4. After 10 minutes remove carefully from the water and remove the rubber band.


5. Now you are ready to decorate your vase. I painted mine with acrylic paints. Do not use anything solvent based as it may eat into the polystyrene!



Different shapes can be achieved by varying the number and placements of the rubber bands and trimming the lip of the vase into different shapes as shown above.

How much fun was that! Hope you enjoy having a go at this one. They would make lovely little gifts or Charity makes. I also thought that they would be great filled with chocolates or eggs for Easter.