Sock Monkeys

I have been making Sock Monkeys of late.

What is a sock monkey you may ask, well funnily enough it is a monkey made from a sock - well, 2 socks actually.

If you google "Sock Monkey Pattern" you will get loads of free designs to make your own.

I bought a pack of 5 socks for £2.00 in Primark, just the regular ladies ankle socks are fine, you don't need extra long ones or anything.

So, basically, from the first sock you make the body and legs, by sewing the legs in place (I used a sewing machine for this part), turning it right way in and stuffing it before sewing up it's crotch (Ouch!!!)

From the other sock you cut a tail, two ears, two arms and a snout. Hem them, sew them, stuff them and sew them into place. A couple of buttons for eyes and your Sock Monkey is born !

Then of course you have to name them, just take a look at your finished monkey and see what name suits them.

Meet Zen & Lori...

And this is Pablo.

Where did you get that hat?

When I was at my friend George's having a play day when she showed me the most gorgeous chenille crochet hat she had made.

Ooooo, I thought, I could do one of those.

First issue, I couldn't find any chunky chenille wool, second issue, not having a pattern I couldn't do the hat like she had, no matter what I tried, they all ended up looking like tea cosies !!

Well, I thought, I am gonna make a hat of some description, so decided on trying to recreate one of my most favourite hats which is actually a sun hat I got in Greece around 8 years ago. It is such a comfy hat to wear, although too summery for our cold winters here in the UK.

Using that style I came up with these...

The first one I made in Grey, a lovely chunky wool called Pampas by Wendy. It took two balls, with a little left over for decoration.

I added a double layered "flower" with a button centre.

I think it suits my daughter Shona better than it suits my Dad !!

The second one I made was with the most gorgeous random colour wool called "Indi", it is around £4 for a small ball, (it took 3 balls) but it is so gorgeous and colourful.

The button I used in the centre of this one is a loud, funky, glittery gold one :)

Lovely & cosy for the winter :)

Poppy

I did this a little while ago for my Dad's (Daddy L) birthday, but I came across a photo of it and thought I would share :)


Daddy L loves poppies, he is a photographer and adores photographing flowers, especially poppies. So I thought I would try and do him a poppy picture with a difference for his special day.


I took two pieces of clear glass and found a nice simple poppy picture on the internet. I put one piece of glass on top of the picture and traced the poppy onto it, then coloured it in with glass paint.




Next I put it into the kiln to fuse the two pieces together.


Stupidly, however, I forgot to put the fine details on first so of course they ended up on the back once it was finished !! However I was still moderately pleased with the result. I could have turned it around but the top side was beautifully smooth and the underneath rather rough.


Next I found a pretty background image on the internet and cut it to fit the fused poppy tile, I put a piece of bright red card in a beautiful black wooden frame and glued the poppy tile in place.



Ta da, a 3D picture for Daddy L :)

A few Christmassy Gifts

Been trying and trying to get a bowl designed and in the kiln, but it is so damn cold out there, I just can't stay long enough. So instead I have been just doing some odd little bits in the small kiln.

I made these the other day with a lovely glass I got given, I didn't know what it was compatible with so I just had to use it on it's own, so made these little 'snowflakes' for my Mum's Christmas Tree.

The glass has a lovely irridescent sheen to it, almost like a rainbow has kissed it.

I also made some Cufflinks for a male family member.

And a couple of rings for the ladies :)

Spoon Rests

This week I have been mainly messing about with recycled glass.

I melted a Mateus Rosé single serve bottle, which when melted flat made a fabulous little spoon rest, alas I forgot to take a photograph, so in the interests of research I will have to drink some more :)

As it has been way too cold to cut a lot of glass and form it into anything arty, I thought I would just fill up the kiln with bits and bobs and make some spoon rests.

Here are the results....

A Jägermeister bottle.

A Coca Cola bottle.

A beer bottle.

A regular sized Jam Jar.

And a Marmite Jar.