Jumper upcycling…you might warm to...

I had this favourite cashmere jumper; it was a bit baggy and shapeless, but I loved it because it was a present from my husband before he went to Afghanistan the first time.

The jumper was the thing I'd reach for when the kids were finally in bed, and I had a bit of time on my own in front of the telly with my granny squares.
I think I wore it nearly every night for those 6 months. Funny how it became such a comfort, but it did. And it was a long six months.

Anyway, probably because I wore it endlessly, it started slowly falling apart - under the arms, then an elbow, then a random hole. Eventually I just left it in the drawer, until it was time for my old friend to become something else - and no, not a rabbit, though obviously that did cross my mind! No, I wanted to make the jumper into a useful thing, and so settled on a hot water bottle cover, because I  love a hottie; and the one I'd been using has a football on the front.
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Hand up here, because I nicked this idea from a lovely friend who used to blog, and made one out of an old cashmere scarf she'd picked up in a charity shop. It was woven rather than knitted cashmere, and possibly easier to work with, but after a few hot washes my jumper shrank quite nicely to tiny, tight proportions. So small in fact, that I was worried there mightn't be enough jumper to make the cover! In the end I opened up the non-holey sleeve.

Then I just drew around the bottle on some newspaper, added a centimetre with a ruler at points round my drawing, and joined the dots. Once I'd cut it out, I folded it lengthways to make sure it was as symmetrical as possible, snipping off any extra bits.

I cut a whole one out from the sleeve, then used the ribbing at the bottom of the jumper to cut two overlapping pieces. The top section is just over a third of the bottle, the bottom piece makes up the rest + an extra 6cm for the overlap.

Then pinned it inside out, making sure when I turned it back the top section covered the bottom, rather than the other way round - I say that, because I often forget to check…
Didn't take long to sew round, and I'm by no means a ninja with a sewing machine. I added a zigzag row to neaten the seams and stop any fraying.

Finished off with two shell buttons that fasten with loops.

It's not perfect, a bit lumpy in places, but I'm really pleased with the end result, and a rather fitting, comfy reincarnation, don't you think?

Also, a pretty easy bit of upcycling, especially when you consider this one costs £109! £109!!

Worth digging out those old jumpers?

Hedwig owl costume

I was up really late last night finishing off, but it was worth it, because today I've been basking in the warm glow of being the best mummy Ever!

Obviously it won't last, so I'm enjoying the moment...

I'm not going to pretend the costume's quick to make, but it is straightforward, so if you're not in a rush and would like to have a go, here's a little run through.

You'll need an old sheet, a balloon, glue and lots of newspaper.

Cut a head-sized hole in the middle of the sheet and slip it on.
Get them to hold up their arms and cut to fit. You'll end up with a sort of circle. It doesn't matter if it looks a bit rough - all adds to the feathery effect!

I pinned and machined a row of stitches down each side, to give the wings more definition, but the costume would work just fine without this.

Zig-zag the wing edges, then make a paper template for the feathers, and cut plenty out of the remains of the sheet, plus any other fabric scraps you like. Quite time-consuming this part, but it makes a big difference I think. Once you've got a decent pile, start sticking them on the wings. We used ordinary PVA craft glue.

The head can take a while too, though this is the most fun part - certainly for the kids. Good old papier mache! Make sure the balloon is as big as possible and that you've torn up lots of newspaper, then get sticking with some runny glue (watered down PVA).
Use a brush to spread the glue all over the top of the newspaper pieces too, so they're nice and smooth. Check you've covered the whole balloon. The ears are scrunched up bits of newspaper, covered in more gluey paper.
For a sturdy head, best to let it dry between layers - this is when you need a bit of patience.
We did three layers altogether.

Paint it white, pop the balloon and cut the paper carefully at the bottom until it fits (a slit at the back helps)

Work out where the eye holes should be, then draw big owl eyes. Make a beak out of cereal box card, bend to give it a ridge down the middle - then, below the eyes, cut an upside down v, the same width as the beak. Feed it through the v, keeping it angled down. Sellotape in place inside. Make a mouth hole under the beak if you want.

Cut out smaller feather shaped pieces from the sheet and snip them in half. It looks good if the first row hangs over the edge a little, then just keep going round.

We cut a few little bits to go round the eyes, but it's totally up to you how much you decorate the mask.

Finally, tie some string through holes in an envelope addressed to Harry Potter.

I was kind of hoping to take another picture, but the snowy owl I picked up this afternoon was muddy and quite dishevelled with a few tomato ketchup splodges down the front….still, no matter, because Hedwig won a prize! Hallelujah!

She was so excited as we walked to the car.

'I'm not going to wear this again Mummy - next time I'm going to be something EVEN BETTER!'

Yeah....I know...

Giving a hoot about dressing-up days

I'd hazard a guess that for many parents, events like World Book Day are less about the joy of reading, and more about the angst of finding a 'favourite character' costume for the kids to wear to school. And preferably not Harry Potter or Hermione…though you can't knock the quick-delve-in-the-drawers-or-dressing-up-box option.
In my daughter's class last World Book Day there were nine Harry Potters and 4 Matildas (blue dress and a hair band) - I know this, because she was one of them.

On the whole, I tend to stubbornly steer clear of competitive dressing-up - apart from possibly Mr Twit's Beard a few years ago. I did get quite carried away with Mr Twit's Beard!

But then the other day, I got one of those forlorn looks from my daughter that just made me sort of crumple inside.
Her class had to dress up in something purple for a special party at her new school - I was chuffed to bits to find a purple cardy and a dress with purplish flowers.
She wasn't so chuffed…especially when she saw her friends glammed up in sparkly lycra, Strictly style. That's when I got the look.
The best dressed prize went to an impressive bunch of grapes.

BAsically I was shamed into action. So, when a letter came home about the school's book week with a dressing-up day thrown in for good measure, I thought I'd pull out all the stops.
By the way, don't be worrying you've inadvertently missed something: the official World Book Day isn't for months - this just seems to be a warm up!

Anyway, we settled on Hedwig, Harry Potter's snowy owl - somewhat random, and a rather liberal interpretation of the 'favourite character' theme, but it fitted with my 'make stuff for school rule', which is, only things I've already got at home are allowed. Definitely no buying.

I had a sheet, a balloon and plenty of newspaper.

The dressing-up day is tomorrow and I still haven't finished ….if it works out I'll post a pic!

Flamingos flock to the Zoo

I haven't rolled up to the zoo for a while, so, time I think for a bit of pink! Bring on the flamingos!

As well as an egg box, you'll need:
ice-cream carton lid
orange pipe cleaner (20cm/8" long)
2 pink feathers
green, yellow and blue paper (or plain paper to paint)
PVA craft glue
glue stick
sticky tape
pink paint (red and white)
craft scissors
nail scissors
small ball of plasticine
black felt tip pen

We had a bit of a pipe cleaner quandary, because (as we found out) flamingos have pink legs - but the pink pipe cleaner didn't look quite right with the pink paint we used, so we opted for orange instead.

1. Cut out an egg cup for the body and push the bottom of the cup up with your thumbs to make it more dome-shaped. Paint pink, plus both sides of part of the egg box lid, for the head and neck (pull off any label - doesn't need to be a big piece)

2. Draw your flamingo's head and neck - sort of like an S shape - wider and straighter where it joins the body (but make sure this bit is no bigger than the height of your egg cup body) and long enough here so there's enough to push through a slot. (See picture below)

3. Make this vertical slot in the middle of one side. Draw a pencil line where you want it - put a ball of plasticine behind, so there's something to push against.
Use the nail scissors to make a hole on the line (keep them closed, press down and twist slightly from side to side). Once you've made the hole cut along the line, making sure it's the right size for the bottom of the neck. Wiggle the scissors in and out of the slot to make it easier to push the neck into place.
Leave out for now though, while you finish the body.

4. Fold the pipe cleaner in half and attach under the egg cup body with sticky tape.

5. Glue on two feathers either side of the body, and draw eyes and a beak with a fine black pen before slotting the head back in.

6. For the watery setting, take some blue paper, draw around the lid, cut out, then press this bit of paper into the edges of the lid top, before cutting along your creased line (see first pic) - this helps get a good fit.

7. For younger makers or if you'd like to simplify your watery scene, glue the blue paper to the lid now and jump to step 11, OR, if you want more detail, leave the blue piece to one side and cut a sandy yellow piece to fit the lid in the same way as you've just done for the blue water. Glue the yellow piece in place on the lid (a glue stick is great for this)

8. About two thirds of the way along your blue piece, cut a wavy line. We drew around this wavy line on some pale blue paper (see second pic -white paper would be great too). Make a few waves if you like, about a cm or so wide. Or you could paint waves on instead.

9. Before sticking the water down, cut a 4cm (11/2in.) strip of green paper, long enough to go around one end of the lid. Draw a pencil line along the strip, about a cm from the bottom edge and fold along the line. Cut a zigzag fringe of grass along the wider top part, up to the fold. It looks good if the grass is uneven and different heights. Add a few yellow rush grass tops if you want, with snips of yellow paper or yellow paint.

10. Make a few snips below the fold, this will make it easier to press the grass around one end of the lid, especially in the corners (pic 4). Glue the grass in place then  glue the water and waves on top. Add a few cut out circles where you want your flamingo to stand, giving a kind of ripple effect. (Or paint them on)

11. Poke a hole through the middle of the ripple circles with the nail scissors (best done by an adult as the plastic is tough). Keep the hole small or your flamingo will wobble.

Bend the pipe cleaner over when you're happy with the leg length and sellotape underneath. Cut the other leg so it's a similar length and fold the very end of the sharp tip over. Strike a flamingo pose!

Many more projects like this in my craft books, 'Make Your Own Zoo' and 'Make Your Own Farm Animals'

Loom band loopy

Now I realise not everyone will know the joys of loom bands…. but for those who do, this may ring true….

I'd like to meet the Loom Band guy and shake him by the hand,

then cuff him with a fishtail chain made from those stretchy bands...

Yes, I KNOW they help kids concentrate and weave stuff on a loom,

but I'm sick of finding hoards of them in every single room.

They've turned up in the cat's food dish and on the loo brush doofer,

and if my lot want any more they'll find them in the hoover.



Linking up with Prose for Thought

Invisible detail

It's the detail you can't see that often makes a picture stand out.

I love this one, not just for the setting, or the lucky break I got with the kids (wouldn't have been able to get them to stand like that if I tried..), but for the stories it tells; the happy thoughts captured in the sky, the sea and the sweep of sand at Rhossili Bay.

When I look I see a favourite place, family time, harmony, space to think, shell seeking, paddling, rock pool exploring, no school, no work, sand gardens, smooth stones, paragliders, fish and chips, wild garlic...

I want to go again - why don't we do it more often? All too few and far between, these family days out.

Seeing the kids together, but also standing apart: close yet independent; so different - the boy with the ball; the fearless girl and the strong-willed one wearing that green jacket he refused to take off for the best part of a year.

The more you look…..memories set off others, like ripples fanning out from a pebble dropped in a rock pool.

The Gallery theme this week is Detail

Easy Elderflower Cordial

Making elderflower cordial reminds me a bit of the 'flower soup' the kids used to give me - you know, mixed up water, petals and stalks, and the odd, suspicious-looking black speck with legs...
The elderflower version is obviously way more appealing; but it is just about as easy to make as flower soup.

I saw loads of elderflower on the drive back from Norwich, waving at me from the roadside, so I took the youngest foraging when we got home, and we managed to fill a bag in minutes.
Best to pick it when it's fresh and bursting with that distinctive elderflower aroma - late May early June is the time in the South, but the season can go on till July if you live further North.

It took me a little longer to get some citric acid. I’m sure it used to be easier to find - the places I tried in town didn’t have any, so I bought a bag online, misjudged the quantity (again), and now appear to have enough to go into production! Personally I don’t like too much of a citric acid taste, but I wasn’t won over by the cordial without it either. So I’ve done a bit of fiddle-faddling with the basic recipe.  I’ve also reduced the amount of sugar - there’s a scary amount of sugar in cordial, a whole kilo in this one usually, and though I kind of knew that, it’s different seeing a mountain of sugar piled high in a bowl, before you pour in the boiling water and it ‘disappears’.

So for mine you'll need:

about 30 flower heads
4 lemons
1.5 litres boiling water
750g sugar
40g citric acid

Put the sugar in a heatproof bowl, pour over the boiling water and stir until it dissolves.

When cool, grate in the zest of the lemons, then slice them up and tip in with the citric acid. (I like to squeeze in the juice of half of one of the lemons)

Add the flower heads (after a decent shake) and give it all a good stir.

Cover with a clean cloth and leave to steep for 48 hours.

Drain through a clean muslin, and funnel into sterilised bottles (to sterilise, rinse in the dishwasher or wash the bottles in warm, soapy water, put them on a baking tray and pop in the oven set at 120 degrees C for about 20 minutes. Steep the lids in a cup of boiling water for 5 minutes)

Store in a cool, dark place, and the cordial should last a few weeks. You can freeze it too, in plastic bottles. 
Dilute with still or sparkling water.

It can be pretty expensive to buy, so why not have a go at making your own elderflower soup?

Linking up with Country Kids from Coombe Mill