Happy New Year

A little Scottish saying for you this Hogmany (New Year's Eve)...

{Lang may yer lum reek!}

A salutation wishing long life and prosperity.

Literally, long may your chimney smoke.

Happy New Year everyone!

A Winner!

Congratulations to Trulyana in London . You've won my little giveaway ! Hope this makes your day. There will be a little parcel in the post to you as soon as the Post Office opens..not sure if it will be Monday or Tuesday.

Hearts and Flowers part 1. - decorate a mug - easy peasy tutorial.

Here's a very simple little project to make a last minute gift for a teacher or auntie. It's lovely for your child to be able to give something which they have made themselves. Fill it with a cellophane bag of choccies tied up with pretty ribbon, and Bob's your Uncle!

Most crafters will probably have a heart and a flower paper punch in their stash. They are very versatile items to own. I'm using Tonic Studio's paper punches for this project. If you don't have any paper punches, then may I suggest that these ones would be good basic punches for you to start off your collection. (And believe me, once you've started your collection - you'll be buying more!!! )

You will need... a willing little helper. This is my sweet and creative 4 year old daughter .

A heart and a flower paper punch...

...and a bunch of other stuff. I have here some Pebeo Porcelaine paint, a sheet of acetate for making a stencil (although you could just as easily use paper for this), an old sponge cut into little blocks for painting, some milk bottle lids for the paint, some masking tape and most importantly, a plain white mug for decorating. I find Tesco's basics range brilliant for this. A straight sided mug is easiest to work with.

{Slight intermission where my daughter discovers building with the foam blocks is fun...I always save any foam from packaging...I think this foam might have come with a laptop computer. }

To start with, I cut a strip of acetate the right size to go around the mug, then after a little help positioning the shapes, my little girl punched them out. OK this was posed, she did need to press with both hands to activate the punch, but she did manage to punch out the shapes all by herself. We alternated heart/ flower/ heart/ flower etc. Now we all know paper punches are wonderful for using with paper to make cards and other paper items, but did you know that using them to create a stencil can be very effective too.

We fastened the punched strip to the mug with masking tape and then my little girl chose some paint. She mixed the colours herself using a cotton bud in the plastic lids.

Using the little pieces of sponge, she dab, dab, dabbed. Then mixed a couple more colours and did the same. We then moved the stencil to the bottom of the mug and repeated the process. Simple!

If you need to tidy up any areas simply moisten a cotton bud with water and clean up the edges a little.

Look what I did mum!

Now, you need to follow your paint's manufacturers instructions for curing and baking in the oven to fix the paint, then it's ready to give.

Of course you don't have to use hearts and flowers, if you have other punches that you would prefer, then go ahead - have fun! Let me know if you try this - I'd love to see the results.

I have another hearts and flowers tutorial coming up in the new year, so keep a look out for it!

It's giveaway time at Doda's

I wanted to share a little giveaway to thank you all for visiting my blog. Your comments always make my day, and I love to make new bloggy friends and visit your blogs too.

If you would like to enter with a chance of winning you can...

1. Leave a comment on this post for one entry to the giveaway. Let me know what country you are from.
2. If you would like a second entry, then if you are already a follower or you become one, post again letting me know.
3. If you post about the giveaway on your blog, then come back and let me know, you can have a third entry.

What you will win is these hand rolled pure Scottish beeswax candles - two pairs of pillars. The aroma of these is so delicious! I made them this afternoon and the scent has pervaded the house! Mmm !
You will also win this charming Alice necklace made from polymer clay. It comes on a silver plated chain in a handmade little gift box.
You will also win this crazy brooch which is perfect for loose weave woolens. Use it to fasten a scarf or a cardi. It is a reminder for you to eat your five fruit and veg a day!
It has a tiny little pea pod, a carrot, an aubergine/eggplant an orange and a tomato. It will certainly be a talking point. This also comes in a handmade little giftbox - one of my matchboxes.

I look forward to reading your posts and checking out where you are all from.

( I will choose a winner on the 24th December, so that gives plenty time for entering.)

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Here is our little house in the Highlands. As you can see, it is rather chilly right now.

Current conditions are freezing fog. I am trying to keep my little girl cosy inside as she is cough, cough, coughing away at the moment.

...and now to warm your heart, a couple of pictures of my two silly girls. I don't really know how Naomi took these photos of herself and her sister, but they are cute aren't they?

...and I showed you these a long time ago, but here is another use for the plastic milk bottle lids I save. These are my pin cushion brooches. Very handy to have when you are sitting doing hand sewing and need somewhere to stick the pins and needles. Have you ever stuck a needle into the arm of your sofa only to forget about it until you prick yourself on it later? Hmm? No? OK! Anyway, they are very handy, and the plastic means that you don't stick yourself right through the brooch with a pin. I was going to list some in my Ebay shop eventually, but because I have been busy with the house at the moment, most crafts have taken a back seat. Although I have started to crochet a blanket in the evenings. I might show you later.
...I'll be back soon with a little giveaway... until then...stay warm and cosy :-)