Melting Music

I've been wanting to make record bowls for ages and with Christmas looming I decided that they'd make fun presents so actually got my hands on some old records and went for it!

The beauty of these is that they don't have to be perfect, and each bowl is different. They're also embarrassingly easy to make, just pop the oven on a low heat, get a glass bowl, place the record on top with the label in the centre and leave to melt, it only takes about 10 minutes, and it can be moulded slightly when you take it out if you want to make it more 'wibbly'. If you don't like how it sets, stick it back in the oven and have another play.



I love how these turned out, and I also love that they're another no-spend Christmas present to give out! Of course, I proudly showed The Husband and the first thing he said was, 'There's a hole in the bottom'... 'Well they're for trinkets not cereal!' Tch.

Cosy Kindles!

Whoah... I can't believe how long it's been since my last post! Ooops! I blame my broken camera, where's the fun in showing off what I've been making if I can't post photos?! Luckily I seem to have acquired my Mum's camera for a short period so I've been snap happy!

One of my goals for this year was to make at least half of my Christmas presents and I'm pleased to say that I'm well on my way to achieving that, although it may not work out as quite half, it's still plenty!

So my first present is a cosy Kindle pouch for my Mum... and another for me! I haven't actually got a Kindle yet but I've asked for one for Christmas so I thought I'd be prepared!

They have been made out of an old cashmere jumper that's been lying around for a couple of years waiting to be used for something since The Husband stuck it on a hot wash so it shrunk and went a bit felty, which has been great for cutting and sewing!

I'm absolutely not a seamstress and I'm generally pretty scared of sewing machines so I had help from my Mother-in-Law who helped me make little envelope style pouches with some white sheeting as a lining to give it some structure, I did actually do all of the sewing myself which is very obvious when they're inspected as it's all a little wobbly, I just like to think that it shows they've been made with love if not technique!

I got the idea of making little flowers from watching this video, she does waffle on a bit but I got the gist after a couple of minutes so made it up as I went! 

This one is made using the neck of the jumper so it's really thick and gone quite wiggly, which I really like, I like how the ribbing on the flower matches the ribbing on the pouch (which is from the bottom of the jumper!)

This one is just a scrap of leftover fabric which had been cut with pinking shears which has given it a 'ruffled' edge and a little sparkly jewel I had lying around has been sewn in the middle to hide the mess I made when I tried to sew it all nice and tightly together!



 

And to top it off I've even sewn on little snaps to keep them securely closed!

I'm quite impressed with my little Kindle covers, now all I need is a Kindle to go in mine! Hope my Mum likes hers!