A very crafty birthday

I was super blessed this year with a wonderful birthday surrounded by all my fabulous friends who have made moving to London the best decision I've ever made. Not only that but everyone absolutely blew me away with all their thoughtful presents and not only that but I hit the craft girl jackpot!

I got the cutest new knitting bag which is exactly what I needed as my other one was bursting it's so full! 

I also got this great little kit for building your own bird feeder which is super handy considering I've and two bags of bird seed in my press for the last two years and should really get it out to the birds....

As readers of this blog will know, I love colouring in and I equally (okay, maybe a little bit more..) love Harry Potter and some genius has combined this two into the Harry Potter colouring book, of which I got not one but two!! I was also given lots of colouring pencils and pens which means I can start colouring straight away! HAPPINESS overload.  

Unfortunately, the lovely woman my mother did home help for passed away earlier this year but she left a legacy of a life of crafting behind her. So much wool, crochet patterns, material that she probably could have had her own shop. One beautiful thing she left behind was this unfinished embroidery project which my mother sent to me. It's such a beautiful pattern and I can't wait to finish it and turn it into a beautiful cushion which will always be a reminder of this awesome woman. 

 

My family and friends also did something wonderful with their present buying - they supported independent artists. The awesome print is from Emily Mc Dowells studio. I love the sentiment of it and it's a mantra I'm going to try and take into my life going forward. I hate getting things wrong though so it may take a while.... 

The calendar below is from the awesome The Native State which not only is one of my favourite instagram accounts to follow but also makes awesome inspirational arts and stationery. Be sure to check them out. If nothing else happens at least I'm going to be inspired next year! :) 

Not only did my friends support independent artists but they became artists and got very creative with their envelopes and cards. This card is probably the greatest card I've ever received. Handmade is the best way. 

And finally the pièce de résistance.....

Meet Phoebe! Although I love my old singer sewing machine, it's impractical if I want to attend workshops or bring it to another workspace as it's so heavy so my wonderful mammy and daddy gifted me with this shiny, new, lovely beast of awesome! I am so excited to get started and finally get making some actual clothes... well trying to, at least. 

As you can tell I am super set up for a crafty year so expect a lot more making and blogging in the New Year. 

Thank you to all my friends who gave me such thoughtful presents, craft related and non-craft related. You are all wonderful people who made me feel so special and loved. xxxx

What's a Pakkekalender?

The making and giving of a Pakkekalender is a tradition which comes from Denmark. It involves making a gift calendar in any form you like but there must be 24 different gifts (whether they be toys, books, little poems, sweets etc.) and you give the whole calendar to someone else on December 1st and they then receive 24 little gifts in the run up to Christmas. Such a sweet idea!

For the next 8 days or so I have the privilege of facilitating workshops for Tiger to tell people about Pakkekalenders and help them to make one. It's been so much fun so far and so wonderful seeing families make something together and how pleased everyone is with their finished product. 

I have been able to make my own Pakkekalender already which was so much fun and made me realise how much I miss making things. 

I choose a red, what and brown theme which was a real challenge for me as there were so many other colours to choose from but it made be really inventive in the different ways I could use the materials and I surprised myself with some of the ideas I came up with!

I would like to give this Pakkekalender away to someone on December 1st so if any of you like the design please let me know by November 22nd and I will fill it with presents tailored to you and send it off to you in time? Just e-mail me at tiddlybobs@gmail.com

And if you're dying of crafting envy and fancy coming along to a workshop to make your own, please find more information here.

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!