Crafting Britain

Personalised Hama/Perler Birthday Notebook

2012-03-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

I have had to wait to post this as it is a birthday present for my mother who is... 60 this year. (I may get beaten for divulging that later) : S

     I used a pattern for a dragon which is her Chinese Zodiac and I made it in shades of blue as her birthstone is aquamarine I then did her year of birth in numbers.

     This should hopefully make a present she will treasure as also inside I am goign to add a selection of information from the year she was born for instnace the prices of things back then, the films released that year with poster pictures and details of things invented and world events in that year too. This is to name but a few things I hope to include.

    This item will be avaliable to buy in my Etsy shop soon as just a Hama decorated notebook and I am more than happy to make customised hama designs in the correct animal and birthstone colours for tha same price as it will be listed for : D

See my shop for details or to contact me:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/upcyclingbritain?ref=si_shop

Upcycled Rabbit Sock Dolls

2012-02-28T05:27:00.000-08:00

Cheeky Chappie All Upcycled!

These are sooo cute and fun to make I had some old childrens socks that were going to waste.. and I can't have that now can I?

So as usual I got out my sewing box and went on a sewing mission.

My daughter thinks these are fascinating and ended up with several sock animals of her own.

Far More Fun Than A Limp Sock!

I was making them all for Etsy but then she walks in catches me sewing them and says "Mummy, are these presents for me?" with her little face lighting up I couldn't say no.

You can find a mixture of sock dolls on my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/upcyclingbritain?ref=si_shop

A Cheeky Trio of Socky Triplets

Family Guy Mini Hama/Perler Sprites

2012-02-27T18:20:00.001-08:00

These guys took a while to make! The mini Hama beads are a quarter of the size of normal Hama beads so they need putting on with a tooth pick.
This makes it a very time consuming process but the effect of the beads when they are together is amazing they are far less pixelated than the midi beads and they leave you with a design which is not too massive to handle.
I love these they are the first thing I properly had a go at with the mini beads.

Lois Griffin

It took me the most time to make the patterns using my software. Very much worth it though.

My Husband was tring to keep Brian he is quite the Family Guy fan... just wait till I try out American Dad though then he really won't let me sell them.

Meg Griffin


Brian Griffin

Brian Griffin Close up

I got to a crucial point with Stewie Griffin and then realised that I had run out of black perler beads!!!

The packs contain 2000 beads each and I hadn't realised how quickly I would go through them. So I ordered some more only to find out that there are currently none avaliable to my stockist in the whole of the UK!

...but they will be avaliable in a weeks time THANK GOODNESS.

Stewie, Peter, Chris and a full bodied Brian are the last I need to complete the family. Then of course I must do Quagmire, Cleaveland and Joe. But I have still to make the charts for them.

Original Line Drawing of an Orca on a Plain White Side Plate

2012-02-27T02:39:00.000-08:00

No matter how many pictures you draw there is nothing like looking at a piece of work you have finished and perfected all nice and neat!

This is one of the neatest looking finished products you can get with it's lovely smooth surface and clean lines, I LOVE IT.

This can from a sketch I did originally as a design for a sculpted cake... before my oven thermostat broke leaving me unable to cook victoria sponge cake without turning it into charcoal bricks : (

As with everything else I create these plates are avaliable to buy on my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/upcyclingbritain?ref=si_shop

They are only avaliable in a limited quantity each one of the Orca drawings are drawn by hand, I DO NOT DO PRINTS. I firmly believe that any piece of my artwork should be made by hand not by machine or process. I am all about making each and every item unique and hand made it's far more personal and means you always end up with something that has had time and care taken on it. Each piece is signed and numbered on the back.

Orca Line Drawing on a Side Plate 1/100

Cute Teddy Pin Cushions

2012-02-26T04:31:00.002-08:00

Well it's not the most difficult craft to have made I have to admit!

But it was a nice bit of theraputic hand sewing once I had finished the machine stitching around the three edges. I made a shed load of them out of some spare teddy bear fabric I had lying around and really wanted to get out of the way. Some people just throw away their rubbish... me?
No I have to make something out of it!
Some might say I have issues but I say idle hands are a waste : D

I have some avaliable to buy from my etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/upcyclingbritain?ref=si_shop

Upcycled Teddy Bear Pin Cushions

Hama/Perler Door Hangers

2012-02-25T15:39:00.002-08:00

Well here is the first of my crafty posts!

Hama beads have been a favourite of mine since about... ooh... 12 years ago?

They are clean easy to use and best of all my 3 year old daughter Faith LOVES helping me create things with them! Hours of fun!

I have recently discovered and started working with the mini hama beads which are a whole new skill level! They are a quarter of the size of the midi ones and so need a tooth pick to put them in. But they create much finer detail and you can make items which in midi beads would be far too large to be practical.

The first thing I started off doing was using some computer software I have to convert pictures of favourite characters into pixelated charts. Then I decided... Door hangers!!! Don't ask me why it just came into my head! Check these out below and if you like them they are available to buy on my etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/upcyclingbritain?ref=si_shop

They each take about an hour or so to make that's if I've not got a pair of little hands helping... then it takes a little longer!

Moomin Door Hanger

Cookie Monster Sesame Street Door Hanger

Donatello and Leonardo Ninja Turtle Door Hanger

Raphael and Michelangelo Ninja Turtle Door Hanger

Nintendo Mario Door Hanger

Nintendo Monkey Door Hanger

Nintendo Yoshi Door Hanger

Moss I.T. Crowd Door Hanger


Jack Skellington Nightmare Before Christmas Door Hanger

Crafting, crafting crafting!!! Feb 2012

2012-02-25T11:12:00.004-08:00

I am a crafter living in Britain and I love to make anything I can out of everything I can!
I am particularly passionate about upcycling, making craft items out of items that would usually get thrown away and are work little or nothing on their own.
Here on this blog I am going to detail all the crafts I create. If there are crafts that wow you then please get in contact with me I have a shop on Etsy and am more than happy to customise and create any pieces of art or crafts that you wish, for you to buy! For example I am currently working on an Illustration project for a set of childrens books for a lady in America.