Sum of their Stories

Blog Move

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 12:57:00 +0000

Just to let you know Sum of their Stories has moved. You can find all the usual craft ideas and inspiration here: Sum of their Stories Redirects are in place but if you have ended up here please click through to the new site for much much more.

A little tribute to Pearl - part 5

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 10:43:00 +0000

The 30th November was my nan Pearl's Birthday so today I'm remembering her by sharing some thing she made that I still have. My nan Pearl was my mum's mum and was a proper maker. She made everything she could and buying from the shops was a last resort for her. I've shared photos of something she made ever year on her birthday since Sum of their Stories began. This year it's a crochet baby blanket she made before I was born.

It's a classic design which people now call the "Call the Midwife" pattern. Call the Midwife is a UK TV show set in the 1950's/60's and the super talented Rebecca from Little Monkeys Crochet saw a baby blanket on the show and couldn't find the pattern so recreated one. You can find her pattern here. The modern versions of the pattern tend to have bigger holes making the flower pattern than mine, I don't know if that's a pattern difference or just the way my nan crocheted.

The blanket my nan made is quite large, it measures 50" x 60" and is finished with a pretty shell border.

It's been used and therefore washed A LOT so it's a little bit matted and bobbly now but a bit of an heirloom.

And just as a final treat for you, here is a photo of me lying on my blanket in 1970!

So today I'm remembering Pearl, my nan who loved to make things and taught me so much. But not how to crochet sadly. She did try but for some reason I was resistant. It wasn't until years later when I learnt from a book that I realised what she was on to. I should have listened to her....she was a wise woman! You can find more photos and stories of the creative woman in my life who inspired Sum of their Stories here.

Handmade Monday #53

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 26 Nov 2017 17:00:00 +0000

Hi and welcome to Handmade Monday.

Handmade Monday is our weekly craft link up, a chance to share our makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.

Have you had a good week? I had fun making muticoloured rainbow pom poms to brighten up some grey crochet hats.

Now let's look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
I love these cute, modern printable tic tac labels from Somewhat Simple.

Did you you see this A-MAZE-ING shed makeover from Decor to Adore?

Christmas is coming - are you even close to ready (I'm SO not) How about making these lovely tree decorations made from old felted jumpers by Pillar Box Blue.

Congratulations to you all, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

If you like to join Handmade Monday regularly do consider joining our super friendly Facebook group.

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

My Favourite Free Crochet Hat Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 22 Nov 2017 10:01:00 +0000

I love a good crocheted winter hat pattern, here are some of my favourites.

What do you call a snug fitting pull on wooly winter hat in your part of the world? Earlier in the year we went to Canada and discovered that there they are called 'toques' or is it 'touques'? I am familiar with the US 'beanie' as that's what we call them here in the UK - unless they have a pom pom on top and then it's called a 'bobble hat'.
Whatever they are called, they are a cold weather essential and they are a lovely thing to knit or crochet. I prefer to crochet hats, anything round is much easier to crochet in my opinion, and with a fairly substantial yarn you can whip one up in an evening.
I thought I'd share a few of my favourite crochet hat patterns, the ones I've actually tried out and had success with.
I LOVE this puff stitch beanie pattern from The Wee House of Crochet.

It is perfect for someone who is a beginner, maybe someone who has only done granny squares up to know. It's a great chance to expand your stitch repertoire but it's still a simple pattern to follow. I made mine in an grey Aran yarn I picked up from Aldi, but any worsted or aran weight would work. Lovely with a pom pom or without.

Doing a rib effect with crochet is actually really easy. This cute Lolly-Poms Easy Ribbed Crochet Beanie from One Dog Woof is a great pattern to practice the technique.

I made this in the same Aldi yarn but again any aran or worsted will work.

As you can see, this is the hat I made the rainbow pom pom for. Find out how to make them (it's easy) here.
The last hat I've made in this grey aran yarn is this V Stitch Beanie from Over the Apple Tree.

Mine looks a slightly different shape to the original pattern but I think that's just the way it's lying on the table. The flower pattern I used is this free one from Mollie Makes Magazine, it's one of my favourites.

This was another 'simple to follow' pattern and I love the little edging which was another new stitch for me to learn. Another of my favourite free crochet hat patterns is this lovely plaid hat from Whistle and Ivy.

I made a version of this for myself last year and it became my go to for every cold day.

The pattern for this is for a worsted / aran weight too but I made mine using DK which is a little thinner and it turned out just fine.
Have you got a fabulous free crochet hat pattern you'd like to share? Add it to the link up below.

An InLinkz Link-up

Rainbow Pom Poms

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 11:13:00 +0000

Rainbow Pom Poms are a brilliant way to use up all the little bits of yarn left over from other projects.

This is easy and quick, let's get stuck straight in! You will need: Sharp Scissors and Yarn, wool whatever you call it you'll need some different bits and pieces in a few bright colours.

This is what I pulled out of my stash. You don't need this much - there is enough here to make about 30 pom poms! Just use up scraps, it doesn't matter what weight the yarn is, if it's fluffy or textured, it all works just fine.

Cut an arm length of one of your yarns. Choose a strong acrylic one (one that doesn't snap when you really pull it) Double it up and lay it between your middle finger.

Now start wrapping your different coloured yarns. Do between 8 and 10 wraps of each then change (1). Just leave the ends dangling. Stop when it looks a bit like photo(2) The more you wrap the fatter the pom pom will be.

Pull the length that you left between your fingers together and knot (3). Pull it as tight as you can then slide the bundle off your fingers (4) Pull the knotted yarn really tight and knot again. Wrap it round the bundle a couple of times and knot again.

Holding the pom pom by the long lengths of yarn cut the loops on both side.

You should have something that looks like this, a bit messy but nearly there.

Now grab your sharp scissors and start to trim. Hold the pom pom over a bin to catch all the little bits.

Trim a bit, give it a shake, fluff it in your hands and them trim a bit more until you are happy with your lovely rainbow pom pom.

I love making pom poms like this, I don't have a fancy plastic pom pom maker and this is SO much quicker than the old cardboard ring method. I know some people think it is wasteful because you trim away a load of yarn but it honestly doesn't seem too too wastful to me. Here is what ended up in my bin after 1 pom pom:

I suppose how big your pom pom ends up depends on how big your hand is, I feel my hand is pretty average grown up lady size and my finished pom poms are about 2.5" (6cm) in diameter.

I LOVE these rainbow pom poms, I'll show you tomorrow what I used this one for. I'll be sharing this project at these link parties

Handmade Monday #52

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 19 Nov 2017 17:00:00 +0000

Hi and welcome to the 52nd Handmade Monday link up here at Sum of their Stories.

Handmade Monday is our weekly craft link up, a chance to share our makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.

Some things are easy to believe and somethings are next to impossible. Can you believe it has been a whole year since I took over the hosting of Handmade Monday from the lovely Vicky of Lucy Blossom Crafts? I know I can't! It's week 52, that's a whole year! (stating the obvious sorry)
I love that we have so many newbies to Handmade Monday who have joined us over the year, and I love that some of you have stuck with us from the days at Handmade Harbour and Lucy Blossom Crafts.
Have you had chance to get your craft on this week. I have had fun with this:

But that's all I'm showing you for now...more later in the week!

Now let's look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
Chas shared this lovely sunflower wreath made from clothes pegs, isn't it pretty?

Chrissie D showed us a beautiful Highland Cattle Cushion she made using an amazing technique called FPP. Isn't it cool?

It seems I am a sucker for a granny square crochet project, I do seem to choose them a lot as my favourites! Take this banner from Made by Demi, so sweet that I just can't help myself!

Congratulations to you all, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Come and pin with me!!! We have a Handmade Monday group Pinterest board and you are welcome to pin your projects there too. Follow me and the board then send me a request letting me know the email address you use for Pinterest.

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspired by - Felt Scrap Garland

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 11:00:00 +0000

Use left over felt scraps to make a upcycled Christmas garland.

This post contains affiliate links, if you click through and make a purchase then the cost to you is the same but Sum of their Stories receives a small commission Today I'm sharing another project inspired by another fantastic blogger - part of my "Inspired by" series. This time it's a lovely felt garland made from felt scraps inspired by one I saw a couple of years ago over at Pillar Box Blue.

What I love about this project is that it uses the teeny tiniest scraps left over from all my recent felted jumper projects. It's super simple. Take little left over bits of felt, cut them into pieces approx 1" square and then thread them up to make a garland. I've been on a bit of a 'felting old jumpers and cardigans' crazy recently and have been making all sorts of things with the felt. I've already shared a few here, some felt flowers & these felt lavender bag houses and I have quite a few more to come. What this has generated is a lot of tiny scraps and I was really pleased to remember this garland idea. It was so quick to make up and saves all the little pieces from the bin. Yay!

I used a Green Pearl Thread and made my garland about 145cm/57" long (plus the tassels) . It actually gets pretty heavy so this feels long enough. I finished the ends of my garland with a few beadsand a tassel made from more of the embroidery thread.

You can see the felt from my felted jumpers and cardigans came out in different thicknesses, that doesn't matter at all for this project. Not all my pieces were perfectly square either, I used every little corner so as to not waste a scrap!

Pillar Box Blue has a lovely bauble idea too along the same lines if you want more options, check out it out here. I wanted something to use up my tiny felt scraps - job done!

Handmade Monday #51

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 17:00:00 +0000

Hi and welcome to another Handmade Monday link up.

Handmade Monday is our weekly craft link up, a chance to share our makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.

Have you had a good week? This is the first Remembrance Sunday in over 15 years that we've not got up early to drop at least one of the kids to a beavers, cubs or scouts Remembrance Day parade or memorial. They have all left scouts now - end of an era!

I took this photo way back in the summer when the road side wild flower planting was at it's best. Poppies really are a beautiful flower aren't they?

Now let's look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
Jo from Three Stories High shared a lovely poncho she made by adapting an old pattern. I think ponchos are always in style, don't you?

Claire from Pillar Box Blue has made a lovely paper envelope advent calendar. They put a little chocolate treat and a cheesy joke in the envelopes each day - what do you put in your advent calendars?

Paper Seedlings shared with us an effective technique to make glossy card look like linen. It's such a lovely effect and I love the way that Linda showed us all her attempts including the ones that didn't work so well.

Congratulations to you all, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Chocolate Chip & Orange Porridge Oat Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 08 Nov 2017 11:00:00 +0000

Mix, bake and cool slightly, these chocolate chip and orange flavour porridge oat cookies can be ready to eat from start to finish in about 30 minutes.

I don't know if a Terry's Chocolate Orange is a specifically British thing or if they are available worldwide but I do know in my family Christmas is not Christmas without a Chocolate Orange. "Don't tap it, Whack it" "One of my 5 a day" and "It's not Terry's it's mine" are all common catch phrases linked to this most Christmassy of treats. So for me chocolate and orange just go together, especially at this time of year and I've been experimenting with a family favourite cookie recipe to give them a chocolate orange twist. You might notice I am calling these cookies too, not biscuits as I should do, being an English girl and all. They are quite cookie like though I think as they are slightly chewy inside.

Chocolate Chip & Orange Porridge Oat Cookies

Makes between 25 and 30 230g Baking Margarine or butter 230g caster sugar 2 eggs 2 tsps orange essence 300g SR flour 150g porridge oats Zest of 1 orange (optional but makes it more orangy) 100g plain chocolate chips 100g milk chocolate chips 100g chocolate for decoration * you can get an easy print version of this recipe with a conversion to cups too here.
Heat the oven to 180 c 350 f gas 4
Beat the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. If you have a lovely food mixer use that (you lucky thing you!) or use an electric hand whisk or a wooden spoon. Beat in the eggs and orange essence. Stir in the flour, porridge oats, chocolate chips and zest if using. Mix until it forms a stiff dough and you can't see the flour anymore. Use a desert spoon to spoon out blobs of mixture and roll them lightly in your hands. Place them on the baking tray and press lightly with a fork to flatten them slightly.

These cookies don't really spread very much as they cook so whatever size/shape you make them now is pretty much how they will end up. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown, then cool on a cooling rack. Melt the remaining chocolate and drizzle over the cookies to finish.

Enjoy! I'll be sharing this recipe at some of these linkups.

Handmade Monday #50

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 05 Nov 2017 17:00:00 +0000

Hi folks and welcome to another Handmade Monday link up.

We had quite a few new bloggers joining us last week for the first time, so if you are a newbie here - WELCOME. If you're not a newbie (and oldbie???!) - you're welcome too!!
Handmade Monday is our weekly craft link up, a chance to share our makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.

How was everyone's week? the big news in our house was that it was our middle son's graduation on Saturday. Actually, I say middle son but then that sounds like we have 3 sons. Oldest son/middle child graduated on Saturday, lots of pomp and ceremony, photo taking and feeling ridiculously proud!

Now let's look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
These little zipper pouches by ChezVies are so pretty and there are links to a couple of different patterns. Elvira also has a great idea for storing scraps of interfacing.

Coloured Buttons has a very simple tutorial for this sweet little felt leaf bag. Perfect for collecting 'stuff' on a nature walk.

Congratulations to you both, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Handmade Monday is all about building a craft community, so please take a few minutes to visit some of the other links, leave a comment, and maybe share your favourites on the social media of your choice if you can.

We have a friendly facebook group for Handmade Mondayers where we share useful things we find, advice etc. You are welcome to join us if you share your projects here at Handmade Monday.

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Knitting Needle Case from a pillowcase

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 01 Nov 2017 11:00:00 +0000

Make a case for all your knitting and crochet needles, hooks and accessories from an old pillowcase.

This post contains affiliate links, if you do decide to click through and make a purchase using these links the cost to you is the same but Sum of their Stories will be paid a small commission.
I have a confession, I find it really hard to walk past a Charity shop (a UK version of a Thrift store) without going in for just a 'quick look'. Last week I was sourcing fancy dress costume elements for a halloween party so I had a good excuse for going in and I fell across this set of 2 quilted pillowcases that were just too pretty to leave behind. (I did get the costumes sorted too)

The patchwork is that printed 'fake' patchwork, but the tops were thick and quilted. The brownish border was a separate piece so I cut that away. The back was in 2 pieces, one big-one small, with ties.

I decided to make a roll up case for knitting needles and crochet hooks with 3 rows of pockets, so there would be room for accessories as well. I used the front of the pillowcase as the main part, the back as 2 pockets and then needed to add in some white and blue fabric from my stash for the lining and the middle pocket.

To make a Knitting needle case like this you will need:

Main case piece - 17" x 20" (44cm x 51cm)

Lining piece - 17" x 20" (44cm x 51cm)

Pocket 1 - 17" x 19" (44cm x 48.5cm)

Pocket 2 - 17" x 12" (44cm x 31cm)

Pocket 3 - 17" x 7.5" (44cm x 20cm)

Ribbon 39" (100 cm)

Thread

A Water-Erasable Fabric Marking Pen

All the pocket here are doubled over, this is because the fabric I had from the back of the pillowcase was very thin. You could make your pockets half the height and just turn a small hem.

Press each of the pocket pieces in half and then arrange then on the lining like this:

Hold the layers in place with a few pins and mark the pocket sections with an erasable pen.

Working from right to left, I marked 3 sections 1.5" wide and then 12 more at 1" wide.

You can see them a little better in this close up.

Stitch over the lines, going back a few stitches at the top end to make sure the stitches don't come undo when your case is in use.

When you get to the last 6 rows on the left side, pin back the top layer and just stitch through the 2 larger pocket layers for 2 rows.

Then replace the smallest pocket layer for the next row. Then pin it out of the way again for the last 2 rows.

This will create some larger pockets on the bottom left, which are useful for tape measures, scissors etc.

Next lay the pocket layered piece and the main piece right sides together. Fold the ribbon almost in half. That sounds a bit odd, fold it in half but unevenly, so one end is about 60cm and one is 40cm. Position the ribbon on the left side of the case, 7" (18cm) from the bottom with the long ends all inside.

Stitch all round the case using a half inch (1.5cm) seam allowance and leaving a 3" gap on the right edge. Be careful not to catch the ribbon in the seams.

Trim the corners and excess seam allowance and then turn right side out.

Press with the iron then top stitch all around to neaten and close the gap you'd left for turning.
You can remove any remaining erasable fabric pens marks just by rubbing then lightly with a damp cloth.

Now just fill the case with all your knitting and crochet bits and pieces, fold the top flap over, roll it all up safely and secure with the ribbon ties.

On reflection I'm not sure I need all 3 pocket layers, so next time I might play around with their depth and maybe only do two. I was guided by the sizes of the pillowcase back fabric on this occasion. The nice thing about making your own is that you can make it any size you like with whatever pockets you like.

I'll be linking this project up with some of these link ups

Handmade Monday #49

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 17:00:00 +0000

Hi, welcome to another Handmade Monday link up.

Handmade Monday is our weekly craft link up, a chance to share our makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.

How was your week? Did the UK folks all remember to change the clocks on Saturday night/Sunday morning? I've only just thought to do the oven & microwave clocks now but that's because no one really looks at them anyway!

We went to a Halloween fancy dress party at the weekend. I like to put costumes together from the Charity shop instead of buying ready made, but the risk is always no one will know who/what you are supposed to be.

Now let's look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
When I was little I LOVED a good twirly skirt, something that would fly out when you spun, and I'm sure I'm not alone! Pam from Threading My Way has a brilliant pattern/tutorial to make one.

Coloured Buttons shared this cute pumpkin trick or treat bag - there's just time to make one if you hurry!

I like the idea of having a nice bag to take out every year. My kids decorated gift bags with cut out paper shapes one year and then went on to use them for the next 6 or 7 years. They did need some sellotape repairs from time to time! It would have been nice to make them something like this.

This needle case from The Crafty Creek is just exquisite. Wow, wow and wow again.

It was done as a Stitch Along from Faby Reilly and all the links etc that you need are in the post. I'm so tempted even though I know I don't really have time.

Congratulations to you all, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Cake International and Stitching, Sewing & Hobbycrafts Upcoming Shows

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 09:39:00 +0000

Something for the UK peeps today - Cake International, the Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts show and Simple Christmas are coming to the NEC Birmingham soon.

I've been attending the Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts show at the NEC Birmingham for the last few years and like to share with you all the lovely things I've seen, but it actually makes sense to talk about it before it happens in case you fancy popping along. Plus I have a fab 2 for 1 ticket offer for you.
The Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts show and Simple Christmas are on from Thursday 2nd November until Sunday 5th and the Cake International show joins them from Friday 3rd, again until the 5th.

The Cake International show sounds amazing, apparently there is going to be a life size wedding dress cake and a War Horse cake on display as well as a Snow White exhibition, loads of competition cakes to see and masses of places to buy up cake decorating and baking supplies. I remember a couple of years ago spending ages looking at all the stunning competition cakes with this Star Wars/Bake Off one being my favourite.

The Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycraft is a mass of loveliness with stalls to buy things that you really "need" coving all types of crafts, as well as workshops and demonstrations. Simply Christmas is a giant Craft Fair, with lots of unique handmade items for sale. As I have the grand total of 1 Christmas gift sorted I am going to take the chance to get my Christmas shopping on! Entry to one show gets you entry to them all, although they are separate shows they all lead in from one to another so you can wander freely between them. You can read my highlights of similar past show here and here to get a feel for what to expect:

Receive 2 for 1 on tickets to Stitching, Sewing & Hobbycrafts with Simply Christmas taking place at the NEC from 2 – 5 November.

To take advantage of this special ticket offer visit www.ichfevents.co.uk and use code OV80 when purchasing or call 01425 277 988 to book.

Terms and conditions for buy one get one free tickets

Phone lines open 9am-5pm Monday –Thursday, 9am-4.30pm Friday.
Standard tariffs apply.
This offer is for advance, 1 day tickets only and is valid until Monday 30 October 2017, it cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.
Children under 16 go free when accompanied by an Adult (otherwise £6).

Handmade Monday #48

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Handmade Monday

Handmade Monday is our weekly craft link up and is a great a place to share your makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.

How was your week? It was our daughter's birthday on Thursday so I had a go at a drip cake.

My ganache was a little bit too runny so it dripped more than it should but at least it didn't all come off. I read up about it first and someone said to put the cake in the fridge for a while before you start dripping. I think that saved it, if I hadn't done that it would have been like a moat of chocolate round the cake and very little up top! The top is just a pile of Revels, Nestle Pick & Mix and some chocolate chips. Yes, there were some left over & yes, we did eat them!

Now let's look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
We had LOADS of great Halloween craft projects shared last week - do pop back and check them out if you are looking for ideas - but as it's all a bit Halloween mad in the shops right now I thought I'd pick some Halloween free features for us this week.

I am a big old scaredy pants when it comes to sewing with delicate fabrics so I was thrilled to read the hints and tips that Caroline from CJ Made shared after a workshop she attended. I may even be brave and try a few out sometime but for now I'm just pinning so I can find it again when I am feeling courageous!

Josie from Sew for Soul shared some lovely candle holders that use 3 techniques that I love all in one project. Book up-cycling, paper napkin/serviette decoupage and stamping.

Plus that is Mr W. Shakespeare and as I grew up in a village just 8 miles from Stratford upon Avon and went to college there I have a special affection for him and his work.

Congratulations to you both, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspired by - Twinkle Star Glasses Case

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 18 Oct 2017 10:28:00 +0000

Today I have another project for you, inspired by another amazing blogger. This time it's a super colourful glasses case totally inspired by the amazing Red Haired Amazona and her fabulous Twinkle Star Hand Mitts pattern.

This post contains affiliate links, if you do decide to click through and make a purchase using these links the cost to you is the same but Sum of their Stories will be paid a small commission. Let me tell you the story..... Back in July some very pretty colourful crochet appeared on Instagram feed of Louise, The Red Haired Amazona (well, I say appeared, her whole feed is pretty and colourful, but this was especially so!) and 'huzzah!' in August Louise publish the free pattern for the most beautiful hand mitts she named Twinkle Star.

I promptly made a pair (which I love and have given to our daughter as she loved them too) and as I was sewing it all up it struck me that they would be a great size for a glasses case.

To make one you will need:

Yarn - about 2oz in total of as many different colours as you like. I used 6 (pink, blue, purple, yellow, dark blue and grey) 4mm crochet hook (I think these are just THE BEST)
Fabric for lining 8.5" x 8" (22cm x 20cm) Matching thread A button
I'm not going to go into great detail about how to make the basic rectangle of crochet as you can find all that over on The Red Haired Amazona. Pop over here and follow the wonderful and VERY detailed how too (honestly I thought I did a lot of photos for a tutorial but I'm a photo lightweight in comparison!)
You can see I mixed the pattern lines up a little for the glasses case. I only did stitches and pattern rows from the original hand mitts pattern, I just mixed them up and did whatever took my fancy in whatever colour came to hand. This is the most brilliant stash buster project! Once my piece of crochet was approx 7" or 18cm I stopped. (it was 8" or 20cm wide) Please excuse these next few terrible photos, it was evening and I was excited to get this finished!

Ahhhh, look at all those ends to sew in!!!
I used all the ends to sew the side seam of the case up so I was sewing them in (aka tidying them up) at the same time. I found it easiest to do the larger bits first, the places where a few rows are the same colour.

Then where there was just one thin row I simple tied the ends and sewed them in, like this:

Sew the bottom up too.

Cut a piece of fabric just a little larger than you crochet has ended up.

Now stitch the side and along the bottom. I used a thread the same colour so I've drawn in some comedy sized stitches to show you where.

Trim the corner seam allowance as shown then slide the lining into the crocheted case.

Fold the top over neatly, tucking the raw edge inside and pin.

Then slip stitch all around the top to attach the lining to the crochet.

Sew a button on the front in the centre and then make a chain loop on the centre of the back. Join the yarn to the centre stitch, chain enough to go round the button fairly tightly (I did 10 chain) and then slip stitch back into the centre stitch. Sew the ends in.

Ta dah! Finished. I think this is one of my favourite makes ever (and yes, I know I say that a lot!)

Out of interest, here are some photos of the Hand mitts that I made first, following the pattern from the Red Haired Amazona properly.

Aren't they pretty?

I made these mostly out of the left overs from the Rainbow Heart Bunting and Carnival Cushion I made ages ago with just a few other little left over bits thrown in.

Do you think you'll try The Red Haired Amazona's gorgeous pattern and make pretty hand mitts for someone this Christmas? Or adapt the idea and make a glasses case? OR you could do a smaller version as a phone case or a bigger one for an ipad .... or wouldn't it make the most lovely little purse, handbag, coaster, cushion...

Handmade Monday #47

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 15 Oct 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Hello everyone and welcome to our weekly craft link up - Handmade Monday.

Handmade Monday is a place to share your makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.
How's the week been for everyone? Any big plans for the week ahead?
I've started to think about ... dare I say it .... Christmas and actually made a first gift. I can't share it here though as the recipient reads the blog now and again!
However I can share a piece of hand lettering I was asked to make as it has now been safely delivered. My first commission! I share my handlettering practice now and again over on Instagram and someone saw it and asked me to do their favourite quote for them.

Enough about me, now it's time to take a look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:

I must have a bit of a thing about acorns, last week I feel in love with some beautiful felt acorns and this week it's these rainbow beauties from AnneMarie's HaakBlog - aren't they pretty?

Two weeks ago Ann from The Apple Street Cottage shared with us her beautiful chest of drawers with napkin decoupaged drawer fronts and then last week we got to see how she did it. I love it when someone shares the issues they face with a project and how they over came them, especially when the results are as beautiful as this.

Congratulations to you both, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Easy DIY Abstract Art

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 09:43:00 +0000

You really don't need lots of mad artistic skills to make a passable piece of abstract art for your home.

This post contains affiliate links. This means if you click through and make a purchase the cost to you will be the same but Sum of their Stories will receive a small commission. Our dining room has needed a something to go on the wall in a big ol' space for the 2 1/2 years since we moved here. I finally found a suitable old canvas in a local charity shop to paint over and last week I got to work. It's really easy and quite a lot of fun to make your own art and if you don't like it or get tired of it after a while you can just paint over it!

To make you own DIY Abstract Art you will need:

A canvas - buy new or pick up one in a charity shop or garage sale maybe Household emulsion paint (latex) Spray and/or acrylic paint in your choice of secondary colours A couple of brushes, nothing special - just use what you have Ideas - pinterest is your friend here, I've a board of ideas to get you started.

I found this red canvas for £4, it's about 24" x 31" (61cm x 79cm) - perfect.

The first thing you want to do is get rid of any colour you don't want.

I wanted our new art to be shades of white & grey with a touch of blue and pink. So I painted the whole canvas with 2 coats of regular household emulsion paint (I believe you call it Latex in the US)

Now you are going to create your masterpiece.

It's all about splodging on layers of paint until you are happy. How you do this will depend on the look you want and the paint you have.

I had a very small bit of spray paint left over from something else in the perfect shade of blue so that's where I started.

It may be hard for you to believe but this is not the final look I was going for!!! My husband pulled a doubtful face at this point, I don't blame him!

You can see I also had a teeny tiny bit of silver spray paint hanging around so I squirted that on too. If I had had more silver I think I would have done much more of that and much less of the blue. But this is ok, because we are working in layers these early stages don't really matter too much. Just keep going!

Next I mixed my grey acrylic paint with the emulsion (latex) and just painting in on randomly. I gave the middle a bit of interest with a band just the grey on it's own and a bit of a line up the right side. I just left a few bits of blue showing properly, but there are a few areas where the white/grey mix is pretty thin and the blue shows through lightly.

Once you have the bare bones like this I'd recommend letting it marinate. You want to leave it to dry anyway, but give yourself a day or so to look at it again with fresh eyes.

I decided this needed to be lighter all over and it needed some proper points of interest.

I added a few areas of pink, a few grey and white lines with the finer brush. It was all very add hock, just a few bits here and there. Stand back every now and again, make a cuppa then return to your art and see what you think it needs more of.

Just keep going with random blocks, lines or even dots and whirls if you like. Stop when you think it's enough.

To finish I used the larger of my brushes, with just the smallest amount of white paint to go over most areas. This softened the whole thing and lightening up some of the areas that felt too dark.

You can see here how the almost dry brush softens the pink area.

This is probably the busiest part of the artwork. Those lines through the white blob were done with the thinner brush and grey paint whilst the white shape underneath was still wet, to give a variable effect.

You can see the almost dry brush effect in this close up too.
And here it is in all it's glory in situ.

I'm sure the light balance is all off in this photo, the sun was streaming in the window - hooray! But it gives you an idea. One day I'm going to paint those wooden chairs white. You can also see my globe makeover and where it lives ....

... and those are my Autumn Apothecary jars on the table

I really enjoyed making my unique piece of abstract art and as a complete bonus, I hardly spent a thing.

The main rule seems to be there are no rules, it's art so you can do what you like.

If you paint a bit and the next day decide you don't like it you can just paint over it. Have fun, I can honestly say it was much easier than I thought it would be to create something that's not embarrassing to hang on the wall. Do you fancy having a go?

Handmade Monday #46

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 08 Oct 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our weekly craft link up Handmade Monday.

Handmade Monday is a great place to share your makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.
I've finally got my Etsy shop up and running after a ridiculous amount of procrastinating. I had this idea that I had to be 'ready' until I realised that I never would be! I have quite a lot more to list but at least it's started now. Feel free to pop by and make it one of your favourites if you'd like to!!!

Now it's time to take a look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
Laurie from My Husband has too many Hobbies showed us how to make these felt acorns - there are plastic Easter eggs under there! Can you believe it?!

Staying with a felt theme, Claire from Pillar Box Blue used her left over scraps from the felted blanket she shared with us a few weeks ago to make pretty flowers for this autumnal denim wreath.

Congratulations to you both, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Handmade Monday is all about building a craft community, please so take a few minutes to visit some of the other links, leave a comment, and maybe share your favourites on the social media of your choice if you can.
A massive thank you to everyone who does participate and takes the time to visit the other Handmade Mondayers and share their projects and ideas.

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

10 ways to make Felt flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 10:00:00 +0000

Simple and beautiful flowers made from felt.

It's really easy to make brooches and corsages from old felted jumpers and cardigans, but with so many different ways to make them it can be confusing. So I've been testing out various methods to see which I like best. This is what I started with, the scissors give some sense of scale, this cardigan had shrunk down pretty small!

I cut the cardigan along the seams so I could see what useable pieces I had.

Then, with the help of my pinterest board, I just started making flowers

The Rolled Rose

This one is fun and fairly difficult to get wrong. Draw around something round, a side plate or lid of something is ideal.

Cut out the circle and the cut a spiral, leaving a bit of a round in the middle. I forgot to photograph this stage so you have to manage with a picture instead!

Now roll the spiral up starting from the thinnest point, the outside of the circle. You can glue every few cms with a hot glue gun or stitch the layers together with thread the same colour.

When you get to the end, the round in the middle forms a nice tidy base. Glue or stitch round it. Then you can add a brooch fastening or glue or stitch it to something else.

Rolled Rose take 2

This rolled rose is the same as the one above except this time it was a little bit smaller and the spiral cut was wiggly.

Simple Embroidery

This time I made 2 flower patterns. The larger is 9.5cm in diameter and the smaller one 6.5cm.

Take a piece of scrap paper and fold it in half.

Fold in in thirds, then mark just over 4.5cm from the point and 2.5 cm on each side.

Draw a curve joining all the points and cut out.

When you open it out you should have a flower shape with 6 petals.

For the smaller flower just make your marks 3.75cm and 2cm from the point respectively.

Cut out 2 large and 1 small flower.

Embroider using 2 strands of embroidery thread as takes you fancy on the petals then use french knots through both layers to join them together. Just don't waste too much time on embroidery that won't be seen on the larger flower underneath.

To finish it off I used the 2nd of the larger flowers and stitched the 2 together using a navy blue sewing thread and an oversew stitch to cover the back neatly and added a brooch pin.

Gathered Rolled Flower

I tried this out to use a long scrap of felted cardigan (the sleeve) than wasn't big enough to make a rolled rose.

I simple cut a length about 5cm at it's widest point by 45cm and made it taper off at one end. Using sewing thread doubled up for strength I stitched a line of running stitch all along one side and pulled it up to gather the strip of felt.

I rolled it up and stitched it together to secure.

I added a leaf shape of green felted jumper to the back of this one to tidy it up, then stitched on a brooch pin.

Button Centre Flower

This flower is made from separate petals so is great for using even the tiniest scraps.

Make yourself a petal template, this photo gives you an idea of the shape you are aiming for.

Cut 6 petals from felt, then pinch each petal in half at the flat end and stitch or glue them together. Then you just attach all the petals to one another in a circle. I didn't seem to take any 'as I go along' photos here but it's pretty self explanatory.

I added a button to cover the small hole left in the centre.

I tidied up the back with a circle of felt and added a broach fastening.

These are the 5 methods of making felt flowers that I've tested so far but there are loads more. I've got a Pinterest Board dedicated to all kind of flower making which you can check out. Plus I've found some more lovely ideas from other websites:

These roses from Pillar Box Blue are also made from old felted knitwear. There are great step by step instructions to show you how to make these.

These loopy flowers from Stamp Talk with Tosh are so much fun, they look really easy to make too.

What about these lovelies from Craft your Happiness? You can make them in just 5 minutes, I love a quick craft don't you?

Just look at these embellished beauties from Sewn Up, so pretty.

Last but by no means least what about this stunning faux succulents vertical hanging wall garden from Julie Measures. Julie has mixed felt and pinecones, what a brilliant and completely mess free idea.

So much choice!

Do you have a favourite?

Handmade Monday #45

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Handmade Monday, our weekly craft link up.

Handmade Monday is the place to share your makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.
How has your week been? We went to a beautiful wedding last weekend and I was lucky enough to be given one of the table flower arrangements to take home and so we've had bunches roses and hydrangeas all round the house for a week now :-)

Now it's time to look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
Vicky Myers has made an amazing shibori quilt which is right up my street. Upcycled, unique and very beautiful.

Caroline from CJ Made shared this beautiful jackt she made for herself with us last week. She managed to make it completely reversible so has two fabulous options. Personally I love the red brocade - isn't just gorgeous?

The Crafty Lumberjacks are getting ready for Halloween by making these luminaries from old jam jars, they have a bit of help in their video tutorial too which is such a fun watch.

Congratulations to you all, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Help !

I've been pinning every post shared to Handmade Monday to our pinterest board, but with so many of you joining us every week now I'm finding it harder and harder to make sure I don't miss anyone out. Some of you have already joined the group board and pin your own project directly which is fantastic. If you haven't and would like to then follow the board and then message me the email address that you use for pinterest and I'll send you an invite.

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Little House Lavender Bags

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 11:31:00 +0000

Use an old sweater and a little embroidery to make pretty little house lavender bags.

With autumn well and truly on us, we've been looking out our warm cosy clothes. Several wool jumpers had got past the repair stage and so I've been experimenting doing a little felting. One cream coloured jumper was a pretty small size to start with but after a hot wash in the machine it shrunk up to next to nothing. This jumper needed to be made into some thing small!

I almost forgot to take a before photo, it did have 2 sleeves! The original jumper was quite fine so the felted material was not especially thick. I had so much fun making some little house shaped scented sachets filled with lavender.

To make your own you will need:

Felt, an old felted jumper/cardigan or shop bought
Scraps of fabric - something with small patterns work best
A length of ribbon about 5.5"/14cm
Embroidery thread and needle
A sewing machine and thread
Scrap paper

First you need to make a house shaped pattern and a roof pattern.

Cut 2 houses from felt and 1 or 2 roofs from patterned fabric. Originally I wanted to have the patterned roof front and back, it's possible but it is tricky to stop the fabric on the back puckering and catching when you stitch. It's your choice, but having tried both ways I'd recommend only putting a fancy roof on the front.
Cut a tiny door from patterned fabric about 3cm x 2cm

Pin the fabric pieces in place then machine stitch the roof onto one felt house piece just along the bottom, and stitch round the door on 3 sides as shown.

Using 2 strands of embroidery thread, stitch a little window and some plant life. I used simple straight stitches, lazy daisy stitches and french knots.

When you are happy with your embroidery, layer the 2 felt house pieces wrong sides facing and pop the ribbon in the top folded in half to form a hanging loop. Pin it all carefully as the felt has a tendency to move once you start stitching. Stitch round all the sides apart from the bottom. Go slow and take care as you sew through the fabric roof, I found it liked crease a little bit and catch on the stitches.

Make a funnel with a piece of scrap paper and use to fill the house with lavender. I found 3 good pinches was about right.

Stitch the bottom of your house closed.

Tidy up the threads, I am a bit obsessive and like to sew the top thread through to the back, knot them and then sew them into the bag. you could just risk it a snip them off.

Now make loads more!!

If you don't want to make your own, these little lavender bag houses are now listed in my brand new Etsy shop.

Handmade Monday #44

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Handmade Monday, our weekly craft link up.

This is the place to share your makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.
As the weather had turned pretty autumnal here (except this weekend, which has been lovely, go figure!) we had been sorting out clothes, getting the warmer, cosy stuff out. We found a few wool jumpers with holes a little past repair so I had a week of felting.
What I learnt was that not all jumper shrink down in the same way, some end up much smaller and thicker than others. It's been fun to see what I get and then think what it can be made into.

I'll share my makes over the next few weeks, mostly bags, broaches etc. I'm trying to use every bit! I only have teeny tiny scrappy pieces left of the thinner cream coloured jumper, I'm wondering if they would make pin cushion stuffing if I chop it up smaller, what do you think?

Now it's time to look at the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
Sticking with the felted jumper theme I just had to pick this lovely patchwork blanket from Pillar Box Blue.

Ginx crafts showed us a beautiful fair isle knitted beret and waistcoat. I love fair isle, makes me think of Neville Longbottom!

Neli Designs took a pretty spring wreath and with minimal spend turned it into a perfect wreath for autumn. Pretty, practical and inexpensive, what's not to like!

Congratulations to you all, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Handmade Monday is all about building a craft community, please so take a few minutes to visit some of the other links, leave a comment, and maybe share your favourites on the social media of your choice if you can.
We have a facebook group where we share useful or interesting things so send a request if you'd like to join us.

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Inspired by - Clasp frame Purse

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 08:17:00 +0000

Today I've got another project I've tried which was inspired by another blogger - sewing a clasp frame purse.

Sewing a purse with a clasp frame always looked kind of complicated to me so I'd never given it a try. Then about 6 months ago the lovely and very talented Anna from Tea and a Sewing Machine shared a tutorial which made it look quite do - able.

I picked up a couple of clasp frames inexpensively from the Stitching, Sewing and Hobbycrafts show in July so I could have a go. Things don't always happen very quickly round here so it wasn't until last weekend that I finally got round to facing my fears and making a purse with a clasp frame. I used some scraps of left over polka dot fabric and an old yellow shirt for the lining. I did a little embroidery on the polka dot fabric first, before making it into the purse.

It's the same style as the embroidery I did earlier in the year on this tote bag.

Then I just followed Anna's instructions to make up the purse and attach the purse frame. It was a bit fiddly but not as complicated as I had feared.

I kept getting my thread caught on the clasp which slowed me down and finishing off the thread was tricky as the clasp was in the way, but I managed.

The inside of my purse is not quite as neat as I might have liked but over all it's pretty cute. Because of the spacing of the holes in the frame my stitches seem large to me and casting off was tricky as the frame is in the way. Any tips - please leave them in the comments!

All in all this was a fun little make, if you fancy having a go I'd say 'go for it!' Head over to Tea and a Sewing Machine for all the details, Anna show how to create your own pattern from whatever sized clasp you have and then breaks it down step by step. Shop this Post: These are affiliate links, so if you make a purchase after clicking through the cost to you will be the same but Sum of their Stories will receive a small commission

Amazon.co.uk Widgets

Handmade Monday #43

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another Handmade Monday, our weekly craft link up.

Handmade Monday is a place to share your makes, bakes and other handmade craft ideas and find some new inspiration.

I've been doing a bit of this and that this week, including making some 'Daisies for Vicky':

Two of my bloggy friends, Lynda's Craft Room and The Wee House of Crochet, are holding a crochetathon in Warrington on 21st October and are asking for donations of squares in this pattern from people who can't go along on the day. It's a fundraiser for Victim Support in memory of their friend Vicky Wynne-Jones. If you are interested in joining in, details about the crocheting can be found on The Wee Hookers facebook page and the page to donate - with a chance to win one of the daisy blankets they are making - is here.

Now here are the features from last weeks Handmade Monday:
I love a beautiful handmade card and Linda from Paper Seedlings often shares a fun new technique. I love how she's given these stamps a bandana look just using a gel pen. She explains it all here.

Julie from Julie's Creative Lifestyle has crocheted some lovely little dishcloths and shared the pattern links to. I must put these on my to do list.

Congratulations to you both, here is a "Yay! I was featured" button for your blog.

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Handmade Monday is all about building a craft community, please so take a few minutes to visit some of the other links, leave a comment, and maybe share your favourites on the social media of your choice if you can.
We have a facebook group where we share useful or interesting things so send a request if you'd like to join us.

The rules for Handmade Monday are simple:

Did you make it? Yes - hooray, we'd love to see it!
Add the link to a specific blog post, not your main site URL.
Link up to 3 posts each week.
Mingle - visit some of the other links - comment - share - let's support one another and grow our craft community.

If you're not sure on anything, more information can be found here.

An InLinkz Link-up

Autumn Apothecary Jars for free

noreply@blogger.com (Sum of their Stories) — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 16:00:00 +0000

Introducing just a little autumn or fall decor into your home for free (or almost free)

Today I'm delighted to be joining a lovely group of creative bloggers to bring you the We are Pinnable Blog Hop - Celebrating Fall. More of that later.

I'm not much of a one for lots of 'changing with the seasons" decor. We have Christmas decorations that go up each year and until recent that was about it. Then I was given a glass jar from Ikea which I assume is supposed to be for spaghetti and thought it might be fun to have a little seasonally changing apothecary style arrangement for the dining table. I sourced a couple more jars very cheaply (charity shop and old sweet jar) and this summer they have looked quite pretty in a floral sort of way.

I was very inspired a couple of weeks ago by Leanne from Faeries and Fauna who had shared a whole load of Autumn/Fall ideas to fill jars like these. Check all those ideas out here.

I wanted to fill my jars for free if possible and I almost managed it!

First I went on a foraging mission. We have a small wood nearby so me and my carrier bag went for a walk. I was hoping for conkers but this wood has no horse chestnut trees apparently. Never mind, what it does has is a whole load of oak trees so there were acorns everywhere. I also found some pine cones, not quite as many as I had hoped but some at least.

Things like this can be full of bugs so I spread them all out on a foil covered baking tray and gave them 30 minutes in a hot oven (200c)

The smell is not as pleasant as you might hope! Not awful but not delightful either.

The green acorns went a little bit brown in the heat and all the cups fell off.

I threw away the ones that had split and, feeling a bit ridiculous (and hoping no one in the family would walk in and see what I was doing) I used my hot glue gun to stick the cups back on to the acorns.

It worked though, they look cute and very Autumnal!

As I didn't manage to collect enough pinecones I just mixed them in with some leafy looking pot pourri I already had. I might go on another pine come quest again later. Next time we have some really windy weather I pop out and see what has fallen.

2 down, 1 to go!
My original idea had been pinecones in the tall jar, conkers in the short fat jar and acorns in the little jar. With slim picking of pinecones and a total lack of conkers it was time for a new idea.
I'd been teaching our middle son to make origami cranes the other day and on the TV show Create it Yourself they had filled a Bell jar with origami shapes, so autumnal geometric origami seemed like a plan.
I used coloured paper from old envelopes, I just trimmed them to squares of various sizes.

I used a whole load of Youtube tutorials, some were easier to make than others. Octahedron, Cube, Paper Diamond (this one is in French and I got in a bit of a hot mess with the glueing but I think that was more me than the tutorial!)& Pyramid. This one is called Diamond and I found the first one was tricky to put the two colours together, but once I got the hang of it, it was super easy and one of my favourites.

My other favourite is this one, the Fox Box. It uses 3 little squares and was really easy.

Once you start looking on YouTube you can find dozens of great tutorials, these are just the few I found with a quick 'geometric origami' search.

So there it is, I managed to fill these 3 jars ALMOST for free!

I'm on the lookout for fancier apothecary jars each time I visit a charity shop as these are pretty basic looking. But we are doing this for free/almost free, using what we have instead of always buying new so for now I'm happy! Update & what can go wrong: I found some conkers, just bunged them in the pinecone/pot pourri jar as they were and a day later this had happened:

Turns out drying these kind of things out in the oven first is really important! Especially if you have jars with lids. I've since dried them in the oven in the same way as the acorns and all is well.

Now it's time to see all the other 'Celebrating Fall' projects and ideas:

Autumn Apothecary Jars for Free from Sum of Their Stories

Celebrating Fall with Centsably Creative

Fall Apple Recipes with Chickery Travels

10 Things I Love for Fall from Sassy Townhouse Living

Turn your Spring Wreath into Fall Wreath by Nelidesign

10 Low Cost Activities for Fall by SnapshotsandSnippets

Celebrate Fall with a Free Cookbook by Ask Dr. Ho
Celebrate Fall with Pumpkin Arrangements and Apple Cream Tarts by Faeries and Fauna
Easy DIY Fall Faux Floral by Jennie Louise Marie

Sum of their Stories

Blog Move

A little tribute to Pearl - part 5

Handmade Monday #53

My Favourite Free Crochet Hat Patterns

Rainbow Pom Poms

Handmade Monday #52

Inspired by - Felt Scrap Garland

Handmade Monday #51

Chocolate Chip & Orange Porridge Oat Cookies

Chocolate Chip & Orange Porridge Oat Cookies

Handmade Monday #50

Knitting Needle Case from a pillowcase

To make a Knitting needle case like this you will need:

Handmade Monday #49

Cake International and Stitching, Sewing & Hobbycrafts Upcoming Shows

Handmade Monday #48

Inspired by - Twinkle Star Glasses Case

To make one you will need:

Handmade Monday #47

Easy DIY Abstract Art

To make you own DIY Abstract Art you will need:

Handmade Monday #46

10 ways to make Felt flowers

The Rolled Rose

Rolled Rose take 2 This rolled rose is the same as the one above except this time it was a little bit smaller and the spiral cut was wiggly.

Simple Embroidery

Gathered Rolled Flower

Button Centre Flower

Just look at these embellished beauties from Sewn Up, so pretty.

Last but by no means least what about this stunning faux succulents vertical hanging wall garden from Julie Measures. Julie has mixed felt and pinecones, what a brilliant and completely mess free idea.

So much choice! Do you have a favourite?

Handmade Monday #45

Little House Lavender Bags

To make your own you will need:

Handmade Monday #44

Inspired by - Clasp frame Purse

Handmade Monday #43

Autumn Apothecary Jars for free

Rolled Rose take 2

This rolled rose is the same as the one above except this time it was a little bit smaller and the spiral cut was wiggly.

So much choice!

Do you have a favourite?