Day 363-wedding prep

Tonight's craft was extremely practical and timely with the count down to my wedding (only 30 days away!!)

Table numbers, place names and bonbonniere's...

 I decided to combine the place name's and bonbonniere's into one by gifting a "prop stick"with each guests name attached.
First I drew up these little flags on illustrator and added the names.

 next I cut each out with a stanley knife (all 85 of them!!)

 and then folded them in half

 finally attaching them with the glue gun...

 here are just a few of the bonbonniere/ place name's complete, these will sit flat on the centre of each plate (and I thought would act as a good ice breaker for people sitting on the same table who may not know each other as they make for great photos ops)

I used the bird graphic from my "tea towel invite" from day 325 on the table number cards

all this teamed with the table centre pieces from day 327 (and its all starting to get very "matchy matchy")

All I need now is some bunting flags to top off the ultimate in "wedding craft chic"

craft out!!

xxoo

P.S. holy shamizzle only 2 freaking craftastic days to go! I thought it was never going to bloody end!!!

HA HA HA

Day 362-Naughty or Nice

Today I am making a belated christmas present for my lovely friend and neighbour Sarah.

I had this idea to make a "naughty/nice" pillow case, where one side has devil horns positioned where your head lays and the other side has a halo and wings (depending on your mood, you can choose your side to sleep on).

I printed these images below using the digital printer

(I sized them up to fit a real sized head in the centre)

I decided to make this a "european" sized pillow case and add frills around the edge of each

of the printed squares

 ready for testing...

 oh so angelic...

oh so evil...

one more present finished, one more day of craft complete... time for sleep

craft out

xxoo

Day 361-match box masterpiece!!

Tonight the match-box masterpiece is finally complete!!
I started this project back on Day 344, our next door neighbours gave us a matchbox collection that one of their parents had collected over the years and thought we may have a crafty use for it...

I sorted thru the collection choosing the best designs, shapes and colours and arranged them onto a blank white background (that was cut to fit inside this box frame)

 Attaching each one neatly and in straight lines was a challenge! I purchased a few packets of pre cut double sided foam squares for the job. 

My fiancee Andee actually assisted in getting the lines straight by attaching some pieces of string to the frame (like guide ropes) to help.

 the foam squares also lift each box off the base slightly, which adds to the depth of the picture and each little match box casts its own shadow

I love the final result! what an awesome talking point

and what a great way to display a treasured collection of goods (rather than sitting shoved in the back of a cupboard getting old and dusty).

Do you have any collections at home you could turn into artworks?

craft out

xxoo

Day 360-Christmas Ham!

I normally wouldn't put cooking on the blog as a "craft"

 but my christmas ham is the exception to the rule!

This coming from a girl who RARELY ever cooks! 

Its not that I can't cook (in fact I am quite good at it) I just (A) think it is a massive chore and can't be bothered and (B) have an amazing fiancee who enjoys cooking, is an amazing cook and tends to not let me in the kitchen (Hallelujah!) bar this one event... The christmas ham below...

Start with a leg of ham (from the butcher or supermarket) these ham's are already cooked, so essentially what we are doing is marinating it and "double" baking it

 first step is to peel the skin off (but you must keep the layer of fat on) you can use a knife to get this started, but best to then use your hands and slowly rub the fat as you peel the skin back (I know sounds disgusting! but well worth the end result!)

 once the skin is removed you need to score the fat with a sharp knife, the distance between cuts need to be quite wide (approx 5cm)

 next step, using whole dried cloves position these in the centre of each square

 now add your pineapple, evenly spaced with the cloves at the centre of each

use tooth picks to hold these in place for the cooking process

 right the ham is ready, next step the marinade...

I tend to throw the ingredients roughly together based on the size of the ham

-1 cup of brown sugar

-1 cup of honey

-pineapple juice left over from 2 tins of sliced pineapple

-dijorn mustard (3 heaped teaspoons)

heat all these ingredients in a saucepan (do not bring to the boil, just lightly simmer for a few minutes)

you will notice the mustard will separate (see the saucepan below) it doesn't look the best, but it is fine.

 pre-heat the oven to 200degrees, baste the ham with the marinade every 15-20 minutes
I tend to like the outside slightly overcooked/caramelised, so I tend to continue basting the ham and turning the tray around for about 2 hours.

 Voila! christmas ham complete!! 

It also leaves the whole house smelling amazing (and our bellies feeling very full!)

We tend to end up eating ham for the next week or so, using it in various meals such as 

quiche, omelette, sandwiches, pasta carbonara or pea and ham soup.

To keep the ham fresh during this time the trick is to use a "HAMBAG" if you do not have a specific "hambag" then a plain pillowcase (that you do not want to use again as a pillowcase) will do the trick.

You need to soak the pillow case in a bowl of cold water with 2 teaspoons of white vinegar.

You then place the ham inside the hambag (inside the fridge). You will need to re-soak the ham bag in water and vinegar every 2 days to keep the ham fresh.

Craft out

xxoo

Day 359-Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas friends and fans! 

I can't believe the year is nearly over! 

Just 6 short days to go to reach the 365 days of craft goal.

I have to say it has certainly been a challenging year! I feel I have learnt alot (I wouldn't do it again)

 but I do feel very proud to have almost made it! This certainly won't be the end of my crafty journey, you will definitely hear and see more from me in the year/years to come, but a well deserved break from the daily slog is very very much anticipated! With my wedding just 4 weeks away I will be super busy organising table decorations, music, dresses, shoes...no rest for the crafty just yet 

("Bring on the honeymoon I say!")

Today's craft...

Handmade christmas name tags

Craft out

xxoo

Day 358-christmas eve is here!

Today has been super duper hot weather here in Melbourne!! No white christmas for us Aussies!

Andee and I spent the day wrapping pressies, eating, crafting, eating (yep andee even helped me with some craft today).

The craft for today... I finally finished making this doll that I started earlier in the year, my mother in law was in love with it and asked if she could have it and its taken me until christmas to finish the hand sewing (lets face it I have been kinda busy! he he) so no guesses for what is going in her christmas stocking!

 MERRY CRAFTMAS!!

Craft out

xxoo

Day 357-Giant heads

I still have lots of MDF left over from making the bedhead, so tonight I decided to make some "giant MR and MRS" heads and turn them into blackboards...

I started by sketching the shapes in chalk...

 I was much better at the female head sketch, I actually got andee to help me with the male head sketch

(and then stuck a hat on him because he looked like an android)

 next to the power tools! I love using power tools!!! very empowering!

 then base coat

 Tomorrow I will paint that blackboard paint (that is enough for one night, plus there is 2 craft items here, so I figure i can split it over two days).  These really are giant heads, see my feet below...

I thought they might look cool over our bedhead? perhaps we can write each other messages of LOVE...or HATE (the latter rarely happens luckily!!)

its 9pm here and we are off to the shopping centre for some last minute "late night christmas shopping"

we have managed to avoid it for this long (and most of my pressies and handmade OF COURSE!)

but there are always a few little bits and pieces left to get.

craft out

xxoo

Day 356-polish craft

Hello crafters and blog followers!

Tonight my craft is dedicated to the Polish fans and family (Andee my fiancee is Polish hence the connection) my lovely mother and law suggested I whip up some Polish base craft before the end of the year, so here goes...

-first of all I printed out a little map off the internet with the polish eagle on it,

then I cut one out and traced around the map shape onto some MDF

 next I tested out my electric jigsaw skills!!

 and lightly sanded the edges

 to give the decoration an older feel I have used an oil based wood varnish on the top (this slightly stains the paper and makes it look older)

 it is still wet at the moment, tomorrow I will drill a hole thru the top so that I can hang it up

voila! personalised, one off, polish christmas ornament.

sending love to my mother in law, I am looking forward to the Polish feast on christmas eve (Wigilia)

Wesołych Świąt Bożego Narodzenia!

xxoo

craft out

P.S. 10 DAYS TO GO!!!

Day 355-handmade decorations

Tonight I have made another handmade christmas decoration

first I cut the shape out of chipboard with the electric jigsaw

 cut out some pictures from a magazine

 next I glued these pictures on and painted a few extra layers of PVA over the top as a varnish

 final step drill a hole in the centre so there is somewhere to hang the decorations by

I think these looks great!

 Its lovely to have something like this handmade rather than the millions of made in china christmas baubles available at the shops!

Craft out

xxoo