Something Wicked This Way Comes

It's almost October which means it's Hallowe'en planning time! I absolutely love Hallowe'en though I have to say since moving to London, it's been a bit rubbish. The atmosphere in Ireland is much better around this time and everyone is much more into it! However, that doesn't mean things can't change so consider this weeks Tiddlybits inspiration for the world to get as into Hallowe'en as Ireland is and hopefully there's a few tricks to inspire the Irish readers to up their game too!

An easy one to get started - just pop some fake eyeballs in your flowers and BOOM! Creepy Hallowe'en decor gold! Thanks to Deeds McGoo for pinning this great idea.

Even though I'm posting this in September, I am sure that there will still be some of you who will be in a blind panic on 30th October having not done anything to your house or bought any sweets. NEVER FEAR! Here are 31 quick and easy Hallowee'en hacks - my personal favourite being the the fake teeth napkin holders. 

Another great and simple idea is to turn your wine bottles (or alcohol beverage bottle of choice!) into potion bottles! This excites me no end and you can download free label templates here at Ellinee or create your own if you are feeling super creative. 

I am definitely trying this one from Momtastic Webecoist mainly because I've never photocopied my own face and I'm not sure I can leave my twenties having never done so. There's also several other awesome eco projects to try via that link so do check it out. 

Do I even need to tell you that you should definitely do this one? Creepy as hell! Just make sure you put her away before you go to bed! It's just a doll spray painted white surrounded by white sheets. I couldn't find a tutorial but the link to the original photo I found is here. 

That's my highlights but as usual please find lots more ideas on the Pinterest board and please send pics of your creations to @Tiddlybobs. 

A Recipe for Colouring In

I am firmly aware that I am unable to draw and having a brother who is a graphic designer and a boyfriend who is an illustrator does nothing but confirm that. However, I do still enjoy having a dabble now again and there is nothing more relaxing in this world than colouring in - anyone that says differently is lying. 

I was kindly gifted with a blank recipe book last Christmas and today (Yes, only today!) I decided to start filling it. As I'm just learning to bake I don't have a lot of recipes that I do over and over again or even recipes that turn out the exact same the second time around except for this jam tart recipe. It's super quick and has yet to go wrong so I decided it deserved pride of place as the first recipe to be put in my book. 

The book contains a blank page on one side and lined pages on the other so it's just made for accompanying your recipes with illustrations - well, I thought so anyway. 

I'm pretty pleased with the result considering my drawing skills but besides that, it was super fun and just so relaxing to do! If you haven't done any drawing or colouring in since primary school, I demand that you do so straight away. You'll love it! Can't wait to master more baked goods so that I try out more recipe inspired drawings! 

To peg or not to peg

Sticking with the theme of using stuff you find around your house for your crafting projects, this week's Tiddlybits is all about the weird and wonderful things you can make from clothes pegs. 

First up are these easy to make clothes peg magnets from the Daily Fix and though I love the floral design, the great thing is that you can mix it up with any design you want. I'm seriously considering Harry Potter themed magnets... if only I can get my housemates to agree...

This has been pitched as kid sized for kids but I'm sorry it's way too awesome! I demand you find yourself a larger box and make this adult sized! Genius idea from U Create!

So this blog post is not in english but the pictures are really good so you should be able to follow the tutorial quite easily. It's such a great idea and reminder that peg crafts don't just stop at the wooden bits!

Too many cables? Too little time? This is a genius idea for a pin cable tidy and plus there's a few other ideas if you're looking for more inspiration to support your technical organisation needs.

Okay so this is not a tutorial nor is it credited to anyone as I couldn't find the source but I couldn't resist posting it. It's a Christmas tree made from pegs to hold lollipops! Do you understand how much of that sentence is soooo right?

And on that note, that's it for this weeks Tiddlybits. Please check out the Pinterest board for more clothes peg crafting inspiration!

Bump on a Glued Tin Can

Recently I have got a new desk and I have a load of different projects on the go at once so the need for good organisation is becoming vital. Last weeks Tiddlybits served to inspire you to get busy crafting with tin cans but it's ended up inspiring me to make something of my own. I decided to cover some tin cans in pretty paper and use them to hold all my pens and brushes so they're not cluttering up my desk.

I used the same tutorial as I used for my hair tie and bobby pin holder and even though this time there was less excess paper that needed to be hidden, there was a lot of bubbling of the paper! But progress is progress so hopefully it'll be third time lucky when I try this technique again. Meanwhile enjoy the pictures and please send me pictures of your tin can projects via twitter - @Tiddlybobs. 

Let her try and make a beehive out of me!

You may not be as evil as the Wicked Witch threatening to make a beehive out of your tin man but you can make many other wonderful things with them and this weeks Tiddlybits is all about just that!

This gorgeous planters from Dos Family courtesy of their April Buddy Deer Dot are simply made by painting your tin cans and adding a few drainage holes with a drill in the bottom and voila! Beautiful, unique plant pots.

As you all know I am obsessed with gift wrap and I love this idea from BlingBling of using tin cans as wrapping for biscuits and sweet things. You can find the tutorial here. It's not in the english but the pictures are great so you should be able to follow it without much difficulty. 

This is a great idea from Design Sponge as part of their DIY Wednesday's for making a perpetual calendar from a tin can. You can also store your pens in it so it's perfect if you haven't got much desk space. 

I love, love, love this idea of making a clock from an old tin can. So easy but absolutely brilliant result and I'm definitely making one of these for my desk. You can find the tutorial here on the Kelli's Kitchen blog. 

As we've not got long until the bad weather of Winter is upon us we need to grab a few more evenings in the garden before it's too late and what better way to set the mood then with these fabulous  tin can lanterns? And thanks to this brilliant tutorial from Grow Creative.

And if you're not satisfied with all of that, maybe you could try make your very own Tinman complete with a heart. 

Photo via Barbs Hackleton

For more tin can inspiration please visit my Pinterest board and happy crafting!

If you go down to the woods today...

I have been waiting on my sewing machine being delivered before taking on any sewing projects but I couldn't wait to try this one. I came across this picture tutorial on making a teddy bear from a sock quite a while ago on Pinterest and it's been playing on my mind since. So last night, out came an old pair of socks and my sewing kit. The socks I was working with were a pair of knee high socks so a LOT bigger than the ones in the tutorial and then I messed up cutting out the head so I ended up working with my own imagination to make my own version! 

I'm not too happy with the stitching in places and how visible it is so that's something I will work on when making another one. I also got very impatient when sewing so the gaps between stitches are quite big which I'm sure means that the stuffing will start making an appearance at some point. 

My plan is to redo everything when my sewing machine arrives to prevent the stuffing escaping and to make it neater. I also want to work on my hand stitching to be able to hide the stitches when I have to attach certain bits by hand. 

BUT in saying all of that I absolutely love this little teddy and I'm quite proud that I was able to make it myself! I am very excited to make many more and possibly try this monkey if I'm feeling brave! But first I've got to think of a name for him...

A Stitch in Time

One of my discoveries during my many hours on Pinterest has been Embroidery Art. I am constantly amazed by what people can create with just a needle and thread - the texture, the light and shadow, the beauty! It's outstanding and though I can only hope to achieve half the greatness of these artists I couldn't resist having a go myself. 

Tonight I created this scene based on the Irish Myth of 'The Salmon Of Knowledge' about a boy who gains all the knowledge in the world when he tastes part of the fish known as the salmon of knowledge. 

I must say I'm super pleased with the results for a first try. It's a bit messy and I could have planned the stitches better so the overall effect was more symmetrical but overall I like it. Plus the whole process was really relaxing! Next embroidery project here I come!