Crafty Mermaid

I just came across this on IndieFixx . And just YUM! Its by Abigail Halpin . I can't seem to buy it in her etsy shop though :(

It seems this weekend (being Anzac day and all and therefore super busy when the shops opened on Saturday and Sunday) I couldn't find dish cloths that I wanted for love nor money. So I used up some of my yarn stash (cotton yarn) and crocheted a dishcloth. A rather enjoyable way to pass the evening actually! I also repurposed a previously crocheted facecloth .

Tiger Eye beads in Wellington have a lucky dip selection of glass beads at $12 for 100grams. Here's what I got this weekend for $12! What a haul!

This was my first attempt at making marshmallow. I made Apricot Marshmallows from the Edmonds cookery book , a New Zealand staple! But it really didn't turn out as expected. It was more of a mousse than a marshmallow and even with my seriously sweet tooth, I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Though it did go OK with some of the cookies!

This little inquisitive creature finally got itself finished last night. Thankfully a few months before the arrival of the baby who's to be its parent :) Its made from a torn cotton jumper my friend gave me at Christmas (pre-torn), left over wool and silk yarn and pillow stuffing. I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I originally tried to sew it on my machine but it was having none of it; either in zig zag or normal stitch mode. I then hand stitched it using a blanket stitch and normal thread but it didn't look finished so I ended up blanket stitching it around the seams with the yarn. I'm a lot happier with it now and think I can leave it in peace! This was the pig before I put on the yarn... outside eating the lettuce :P

In Dublin many of the cafes have a series of postcards of local artists' work. I pocketed a few of these the last time I was at home and made them into decoupage (standy-outy) cards recently. I had three postcards of each and used the foam stuff to fit around windows to make them stand up from each of the layers. The cards tend to be a bit abstract so can only be given to a select audience!

I went on a tour of the South Island in New Zealand over Christmas this year and visited the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers . Fox was amazing and myself and my friend even went on to the ice for a walk (with a qualified guide of course!). I picked up a few interesting and flat pebbles on the way home to remind myself of a truly magical Christmas Eve. These are the cards I've been making from it. The paper is from wrapping paper someone gave me at some stage and the cards are from a set of pastel cards and envelopes I bought about two years ago.

I haven't downloaded photos from my camera in a while so there'll be a gut of craft posts! This is a Valentine's Day card I made for my boyfriend this year. I relaly like the paper as its got metallic fibers in it which reflected the sticker. I used gold card and a small tag with the same punch and used the foam stuff for around windows to make it stick out from the card.

I've gotten a little obsessed with marshmallows lately and decided it was high time to make my own. This obsession even required me to purchase a candy thermometer! Very fancy, I know. You may not be able to talk to me after this! :) All the ingredients lined up ready to go! (Lots and lots of sugar) The Marshmallows in the tray. The cut up marshmallows - yum! And the cutting of the yumminess. These aren't my favourite marshmallows ever but that hasn't stopped me thinking about the next batch - I think I just over did it on the vanilla essence. Also the receipe called for light corn syrup. This is Golden Syrup in NZ - but I'm not sure about the light bit. I don't think there's another option and the marshmallows before the colouring were quite beige rather than white. I used the receipe at the food network which I got via Twig and Thistle .