Knitted Cable Cup Cozy

Link to the Instructions- http://hisgloryhandknits.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/free-pattern-tea-cup-cozy.html


This easy cable cup cozy really is very easy to make. I'm going to give it a 5 star rating as the instruction were easy to follow and I think the end result looks great, however it did take me a while to make but that because I'm a bit slow at knitting. Below is a picture of mine, I did make a little mistake near the start of the pattern but that's because I have learnt you shouldn't mix knitting with drinking wine haha.

Wine Bottle Cork Apple Stamp

 
The link to the instructions - http://www.creativejewishmom.com/2011/09/wine-cork-stamp-rosh-hashana-cards.html

These cork stamps are simple to make and the end results look really great, I'm going to give it a 5 star rating because I'm just so impressed with how it turned out and you can use the stamps on anything, I decided to make wrapping paper as you can see below, it's such a nice and simple idea to do with your wine bottle corks, I LOVE it.

Crochet Mug Cozy

  
The link to the Instructions - http://tutusandteaparties.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/mug-cozy-free-crochet-pattern.html

This Mug cozy is amazing, it's really simple to make and it looks awesome which is why I'm giving it a 5 star rating. It doesn't take very long to make and the instructions are easy to follow. Below is a picture of the one I made.

 

Crochet Heart For You

Here's the Link - http://cornflowerbluestudio.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/how-to-crochet-heart-photo-tutorial.html

These instructions were really great to follow; I liked the step-by-step picture guide. Im going to give this a 4 star rating as my first time round I had a little trouble with the tension, but once I got it down these little hearts are great to make and quick. You can also experiment with the patter once you have the basic idea to make bigger or smaller hearts. Here's one I made, I gave it to my partner as a wallet treasure, I would rather he carried that around than a picture of me yuk haha, which is why it looks a bit squished.

 

The Best Crochet Handband

The link to the Instructions - http://creativeyarn.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/simple-crochet-headband.html
 


I LOVE this project which is why I’m giving it a massive 5 star rating. The instructions are easy to follow the end result looks fantastic and they only take about 1 hour to make, which makes them nice handmade present, I’ve already made 3 of them. This is by far my fav thing to make at the moment great project. This is one of the one's I made.

Knitted Cup Cozy

 Here's the link to the instructions - http://www.simplynotable.com/2011/button-up-your-cup-new-and-improved/

I just love how these cup cozies look, I think they are fab, however as I had only just got back into knitting I found it quite difficult especially as I was trying to do the pattern without the decrease as I was making it for a different type of cup as suggested. It was also my first time doing a cable stitch which was exciting but difficult. I’m going to give it a 3 star rating because of the difficultly I had trying to follow the pattern without the decrease, but I'm sure with practise my cup cozy will turn out like the ones above. Below is my attempt. 

Cozy Cowl

Link to the Instructions: http://sarahclements.com/2011/03/27/knitting/free-knitting-pattern-easy-cowl/

This was a great project to get me back into knitting. The instructions were easy to follow, but I amended them slightly so that I knitted 4 and purled 4 instead of 2, just because I found counting to 4 in my head easier than 2 (crazy I know). I also made it slightly longer than 30cm to around 40cm as it fitted better around my neck. The project took a while to complete but it was great to get my confidence back in knitting which is why I’m giving it a 4 star rating. Below is a picture of the one I made.

Pretty Plaits

This Brilliant hair style doesn’t come with any instruction, which was a bit of a pain but I wanted to give it ago and I love doing fancy plaits in my lovely friend’s hair. To attempt this you need to be able to do a French plait and I put in a fishtail plait just for fun. Below is what mine turned out and I love it. I would also like to say a massive thank you to my lovely friend Emma for being my model xx

 

Potty Paper Pots

Instructions to Make Item - http://www.niftythriftythings.com/2011/02/its-in-news.html

I think this newspaper pot looks brilliant and its eco-friendly. I’m going to give the project a 4 star rating because I love the way it looks, it recycles old newspapers and its really fun to do on a sunny afternoon. However, I’m going to lower the overall rating to a 2 star rating because the items that I made didn’t turn out how it looks above. I found the instruction on the website a bit confusing and not very clear on what to do which is why I attempted the project twice. The first time round I still had the string attached, as it doesn’t say when to take it out. The second time round I didn’t use string and used lots of paperclips, which made the project very tricky, I also did it with extra-long bits of newspaper, attaching two bits with sticky tape and it resulted in it looking like a vase. Below are some pictures of what I made.

This isn’t a great Picture of my first attempt (top right corner) but it’s all I have at the moment.

This is my second attempt

Pop Up Happy Birthday Card

Here is the link to the instructions - http://ohhappyday.com/2011/05/diy-pop-up-cards/

This was a really nice project that me and my partner did it together (he did the cutting, I did the sticking) we found it really enjoyable and the overall result looks brilliant. I’m going to give it a 5 star rating just because of how easy, fun and timeless it was. The only thing I noticed is that the written instructions lack a little depth; however the step-by-step pictures make up for this. Another plus is that the design is really versatile and below you can see how we changed our card.

Picture above is the front of the card

Waves In Hair

Here is the link for the video instructions - http://www.ohsoprettythediaries.com/2012/02/tutorial-get-perfect-waves-in-under-10.html

I’m going to give this hair classic a 5 star rating. The video instructions are easy to follow and it only takes about 10 minutes, which is perfect for those early morning work starts. Occasionally, I don’t end up with perfect waves, as in the picture above, but more of a messy bed wave look which I still think looks fab.

Stellated Dodecahedrons

Link to the instructions- http://www.minieco.co.uk/great-stellated-dodecahedron/#

This looks brilliant and when I was printing the sheets out for the pattern I didn’t think it would be very difficult. Oh how I was wrong, I'm going to give it a star rating of 3 because I think it looks brilliant and even though I have found it difficult I have enjoyed the challenge. For me, the most difficult bit was the sticking of the triangle and then what to do to make it into a sphere of spikes, my first attempt broke, oops, my second attempt is shown below and finally third time lucky, it all came together, as you can see in the picture below. This project was good; it’s nice to challenge yourself once in a while.  

2nd attempt-                                                                                        3rd attempt - 

                                              

Nail News

 

This was a quirky little project which I enjoyed. I’m going to give it a 4 star rating because the instructions were easy to follow and were aided by the step by step pictures. I didn’t have any alcohol rub but just used some whisky that we had lying around the house and that worked just as well. Rubbing and pressing the newspaper onto the nail was a little bit of trial and error as 3 seconds didn’t seem long enough and 5 seconds would start to disturb the nail varnish.  Overall, I thought this was a fun idea and felt groovy with my newspaper nails. 

Here’s the link- http://loveisthethingwithwings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/newspaper-nails.html

This is what my nails turned out like-

Diamonds Are For Ever

These paper diamonds are a nice little time buster. I am going to give it a 4 star rating because I found the sticking the most fiddly bit as the flaps are a little small (but you could always print the pattern out bigger). The last flap was a bit tricky to stick into place because I didn’t want to squish the diamond. You also need access to a printer for the pattern, I was lucky enough to use my partner’s printer. Overall, I like them and have made a few, lets’ face it, it’s the closes I’m gonna get to a diamond for a long while Haha.  

Here’s the link- http://www.minieco.co.uk/3d-paper-diamonds/#

Below are the few that I made. (coming soon)

Spiral Knot Bracelet

http://www.minieco.co.uk/macrame-half-knot-spiral-washer-wingnut-bracelet/#

I really enjoyed making this bracelet, it was quick and easy, which is nice for an amateur like me. I found the instructions really easy to follow and it really did only take 10 minutes to make.

I don’t have any criticisms, which is why this crafty creation is getting a massive 5 star rating. The pattern is versatile, I made a key-ring and I made the bracelet without the bolts like in the top picture. Above is the link to the website to make this brilliant bracelet. Below are pictures of the items I made.