Little Cards.

 I have been meaning to post these photos forever. My amazing next door neighbour made this birthday card for me. I have a sheet of similar tiny stickers and never dreamt of making little cards from them. I think it's inspired.

Lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

How to Washi Tape a Foxy Wall Sticker.

 I have been wanting to wallpaper my bedroom for quite some time but have been extremely lacking in motivation and perhaps most importantly, skill. I was browsing pinterest the other day and came across some great inspiration from here and here. I had a play around and then came up with this method. I hope you like it.

 Cut out your template (I folded an A4 piece of paper in half to make sure it was symmetrical) and blue tack it to the wall.

 Snip enough washi tape to have a slight overlap at either end of the head.

 Overlap the next piece of tape to make a reasonably tidy corner.

 Tape around the whole head cutting and measuring as you go.

 Cut two pieces of tape for the snout bringing them up on an angle roughly to where the snout ends.

 Finish off the snout (I wish I could stop writing the word snout) by using tape to bridge the cheek to the snout (there it is again), creating two triangles.

Cut 4 pieces of tape of the same length for the ears, using them to make two triangles, one on either side of the head (you know how ears are).

 Well, hello Mr. Fox!

 And Mr. Bear.

 For other shapes I found it really useful to google origami patterns and take the shapes from there.

I found it much easier even if I wasn't taping around the shape, to stick it up on the wall as a reference.

Have lots of fun and please tell me if you make any amazing washi tape wall shapes/animals.... My next challenges are paper crane and paper plane outlines. Wahoo, life is for the living (and playing with sticky tape)

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Washi Tape and Baby Rabbits.

 Sooo, today's project.... attaching little legs to little beds for the maternity ward.

Any excuse to use washi tape.
Lots of love,
Kate xxooxx.

p.s. Thank you so much for your books suggestions - I love them and don't be shy to keep the coming....

Washi Tape Wooden Jewellery - a Tutorial

 Okay - first of all, the hexagon and cloud came from Spotlight - however, you can google Kasiercraft Wooden Flourishes and purchase them online in your own country - washi tape can be found by the truckload on etsy.com - have a good look around as there is such a wonderful selection.

Secondly, hole drilling - Jonno drilled mine for me but said that you could get a hand drill inexpensively from a hardware store. Good advice methinks.

So, drill your holes first - I am joining this hexagon up with two others so I have three holes in this one.

Grab your first roll of washi tape and apply a strip to your shape.

 Cut to fit so that there is about 1-2mm overlap.

 Fold around the edge making sure that it doesn't jut over the other side.

 Line up your next washi tape pattern so that it sits snugly next to the first. Repeat as with the first piece of tape.

 Continue with different patterns until the shape is covered.

 Then using a pin, gently prick the tape covering the hole until you can smooth the washi tape back to the edges of the hole.

 Et voila!

 The cloud shape is a little different. Cut enough tape so that the front and back can be covered with the same strip.

 Bring it around to the back.

 And snip once both sides are covered.

 Trim the excess tape until there is 1-2mm left, following the shape of your cloud. Snip into the v so that it folds neatly around the curves.

 At the point where the straight edge and curved edge meet, cut the tape so that first one side can be tucked under and then the other side over.

 Like that! 

 Paint with Mod Podge (or similar) to seal the washi tape and then allow to dry.

 Paint the edges carefully with acrylic paint. I like doing this after I have sealed the washi tape as then any splodges or streaks wipe off easily.

 Attach your jewellery findings and thread and start posing for photos.

Here are my three hexagons all joined up together. Note where the holes are drilled if you are after a similar effect.

I hope this tutorial made sense, please leave any questions in the comments below and I will answer them in the same section.

Lots and lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Tea and Painting.

 Mum and I are certainly making the most of each other while she is visiting. Today we had a lovely cup of tea with Stef (Happy Birthday Steffi wah-wah) and I gave her a new cover for her tablet. I really can't stop the crochet at the moment.

 We have also been spending lots of time painting together which has been so special. Mum is full of such wonderful tips and is so good at sharing her paints with me - a very good play-mate to have. You can see more of what we have been up to over at Mum's blog.

 This just seems to be so much more satisfying than hanging out the washing.

 Watercolour lucky stars. So busy we have been with all of the star making (imagine Yoda voice).

And of course the tea drinking.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.

Washi Tape, Scrabble and Blackboards.

 This weekend was pretty special. Lots of little things that added up to wonderful. The boys and I went to the library on Saturday morning (I really should have taken a photo of our book stacks for this post) and then Stef came around in the afternoon with a 10th birthday present for Archie. 

The present of course was amazing - if you are needing presents for 10 year old boys, you can't beat a tin full of science experiment cards AND a mini book-sized pool table. The boys played with it all weekend. However, what really impressed me was the wrapping. Archie knows and understands me well, see how carefully the paper was removed....

 Washi tape wizardry.

 Later on our neighbours came over for a curry and scrabble night. Jonno had to show us his letters as he came up with a new chicken flavoured fizzy drink which he is sure will be a big hit.

 During the early hours of Sunday morning, I dreamt that I was painting a big old Victorian house. And so upon waking and in a decorating kind of mood, I finally painted the blackboard wall I have had earmarked for quite some time. Hugo helped too.

 And did the final coat this morning (nothing in this photo is actually touching the wall and it was dry by the time I pushed everything back). I can't wait to season it (you rub chalk sideways over the whole wall and then wipe it off) and then be able to draw all over it. A pretty good transformation for $25.

 I think it is going to be a great background for photography too so I am really excited.

Those colours are doing it for me.

Lots of love, Kate xxx.

p.s. Jonno and I saw Iron Man 3 yesterday afternoon and it was insanely good - my favourite so far and hysterically funny. I hooted loudly and often.

Hexie Crafting.

 Today's photos (apart from the final two) have been taken by my big boy Archie who is almost 10. I was blown away when he showed them to me and also very greatful as it not only saved me a job but added a whole new dimension!

 Over the past couple of weeks I have slowly reorganised my studio and now that it is very neat, it looks very boring. So I have decided to work on a few small projects for it.

This morning I cut out washi paper hexagons and glued them to a cork board. The gluing wasn't perfect but the beauty of this project is that you then get to put photos and thumb tacks over the imperfections...

 Archie made a fortune teller for me. Very handy and great choice of paper.

 Here is Archie in my new little crafting booth. He is the first one to use it so v. exciting. How great is the internet for origami patterns by the way.

Cosy. By the way, I have decided to leave the hexies there as I will be adding a few other bits and pieces to it.

Lots of love,

Kate xxooxx.