A-tissue (Bless You) Holder

Hello! Although there are definite signs of Spring in the air, it seems to me just about everyone is suffering from a cold at the moment?  However, even if you’re lucky enough to be cold free it’s always good to have a tissue or two on you and this is where a pocket tissue holder comes in very handy- it’s just so much nicer than the packets they're sold in. I must admit they're a little twee but I like that. My Irish Grandma always, and I mean always, had a tissue on her so this post is dedicated to her.

 

These tissue holders are really simple and quick to make, they’re also great for using up scraps as you only need two pieces of fabric approximately 17cm x 14 cm. The pieces can either be the same so that the lining and the outside are identical or you can use two different fabrics as I have done for this tutorial.

The pouches fit up to 6 or 7 of the standard size, folded pocket tissues measuring approximately 10.5cm x 5.5cm. In just 10 simple steps you're ready to pop one in your bag and go...Cut 2 pieces of fabric 17cm X 14cm.

With the right sides facing, pin and sew along both the short edges.

Turn the fabric right sides out and iron the sewn seams open.

With the outer fabric facing up, fold the fabric so that the sewn seams over lap each other by approximately 1cm and pin in place (you should now only see the lining fabric). It should measure approximately 7cm across.

Sew along both ends, first using a straight stitch with a 0.5cm (5mm) seam allowance followed by a zigzag stitch to secure the raw edge and make things a little neater.

Trim all four corners off up to the line of straight stitching.

Pinch all four corners and pin with the seam folded down to the opposite side of the opening i.e. where the edges overlap

Sew a straight line across each pinch corner 1cm (10mm) from the point and trim the excess

Turn the pouch the right way out

Fill with Tissues!

I think they make great, little gifts and are so quick to make you can knock one up for each handbag- because who only has one bag?

I’d love to know your opinion or if you give making one a try. Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin’ Ernest x

Birthday Bunny

I met one of my bestest buddies in the whole world at University and while it's been a year or two (perhaps even more?!) since we graduated and we don't get to see each other as often as I would like, I know she's always there for me.
Last year she and her husband had their first baby, William, who is just incredibly adorable and turns one today!

I wanted to make him something hand-crafted as part of his birthday present. I did this as part of his Christmas persent too, and if I'm honest, it did not go so well. 

I decided to make a themed hat for him- a Christmas pud hat and just made it up as I went along starting from the top. 

 As usual with me, it was a little last minute (I was organising a Christmas Eve wedding to be fair) so by the time I realised it was going to be a bit, i.e. a lot, on the large size I didn't have time to make another so sent it to him anyway. I did feel bad but on the positive side he can now grow into it and can still be wearing it on Christmas 2025. Here's the gorgeous little man himself, modelling said hat!

For his birthday I decided to steer away from clothing and go for a safer option of a toy- a crocheted rabbit. 

I thought to make things a little easier I would use a pattern but not wanting things to be too simple I altered the pattern as I went along.

Lion Brand Yarns (LBY) are a fabulous yarn manufacturer in the US and happily their yarns are easy to get hold of in the UK thanks to the internet, such as from LoveKnitting.com
Having said that, there's nothing like buying yarn in person so last time I was in the US I made a trip to a Micheal's (a nice big tick on my wish list) and bought a few different balls.

The LBY site has a really wonderful selection of patterns, a huge amount of which are completely free when you join up to the LBY Community for free!! 

The best part is the search function as you can filter by craft, wool type, recipient, skill level and more- it's fantastic and definitely worth having a look! Of course being an American company the crochet patterns uses US terminology, something to keep in mind if you're the other side of the Atlantic.

Well for William I found this cute fellow, Boudreaux The Bear, by selecting- "crochet", "for babies/infants", "toys".

The LBY pattern section does have rabbit patterns but for some reason they didn't appeal to me the same way Boudreaux did and I thought with a few adjustments he'd make a nice bunny.
He is crocheted in the round with a stitch marker indicating the start of each round and Martha Stewart Crafts Roving Wool in Fence Post. The instructions say a 6mm hook but I used a 5mm by accident, thankfully gauge isn't important and by the time I realised he was done!

I followed the body instructions almost exactly except I added an extra round of single crochet (US, double crochet in British terms) just to make him ever so slightly longer and leaner.
I added quite a few extra rounds to the head because I thought a rabbit's head needs to be longer than a bears.

For the limbs I used Boudreaux's arm instructions for both the arms and legs but I added 2 rounds of sc before the final 2 round of decreases. 
I had to make up the ears and the tail. 

The tail was simple and made up using only 3 rounds:
Rnd1- I worked 8 sc (sticking with the US terms) into a magic circle.
Rnd2- 2 sc in each sc around
Rnd3- sc2tog around

For the ears I followed the first 4 rounds of the arms.
Rnds 5-8 1 sc in each sc around
Rnd9- sc2tog around
Rnd10- 1 sc2tog and fasten off. This gave the end a point, I flattened each ear and sewed the two sides together as I was sew the end of wool in.
I then attached all the sections together using a plastic needle and the ends of the wool.

All that was left was to sew a little face on. For this I used embroidery cotton, pink for the nose and black for the eyes and mouth.

He ended up being about 30cm tall, the same as Boudreaux. I didn't add a ribbon though as I was worried it may come loose even if sewn on.
Hopefully William likes his new little buddy!

Until next time, craft in earnest! Craftin' Ernest x

Teapot Magnet

I go to a weekly pottery club called "All Fired Up in Monmouthshire", Monmouthshire being my home county. It's great we meet every Thursday during the school term-time as it's held in a local secondary school.
Due to this we have no access to the kiln during the school holidays and to get my clay fix, I use air-drying clay. Obviously it's not quite the same as real clay but it has some great advantages- you don't need access to a kiln, the results can be achieved much quicker and it's great to use with children. Once it's completely dry, it can be painted with most types of paint, for example acrylic, enamel or emulsion- those little tester pots coming in very handy again.

If like me, you have a lot of friends who positively can not live without their daily cup of tea, here's a great little present you can make for them using air-drying clay.

You need air-drying clay of whichever brand you choose, there's quite a few available, here are two examples:

A cookie cutter in the shape of a teapot
A magnet
Glue
A sharp or pointy implement
Paint
Something to roll the clay out, e.g a rolling pin (not used for food) or a chunky knitting needle
Possibly sandpaper/emery board

Mini letter stamps are great but optional
A small oval shape cutter is also very handy but not strictly necessary
Varnish if you desire a shiny finish (nail varnish or watered down PVA both work well)

Roll out a section of clay so it's evenly approximately 5mm (3/16") thick.

Use the teapot cutter to cut out as many teapots as you require.

Using your sharp tool or the oval cutter cut out a shape to create a proper handle, make sure the top and bottom aren't too thin.

Using either the letter stamps or your pointy tool write a tea related slogan into the pot.
For example "Time for a Cuppa" or "Stick the Kettle On". Alternatively if you have a steady hand to can paint this on afterwards or leave it plain even.

Left teapot's slogan done by hand, right side using stamps

Now you just have to leave it somewhere safe to dry. As it's quite thin it shouldn't take too long depending on the conditions. I tend to leave it at least 24 hours and turn it over a couple of times during that time so it dries evenly on both sides.
Once you are happy it's nice and dry if the edges are a little rough, a gentle rub with sandpaper sorts smooths it out.

Left teapot, edges are unsanded. Right teapot sanded

Then it's time to get the paints out. The colour and design can be as simple or bold as you decide but I do like to highlight the lettering. Polka dots always look great and blue and white are a classic choice. Once the paint has dried coat in varnish if required.

All that's needed now is to glue a magnet on the back (making sure it's strong enough to hold the weight of the teapot) and you're done!

If you're giving it as a gift a little personalised tag attached to the handle with a ribbon is a lovely finishing touch in my opinion.

Keep crafting in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x