Hamma Bead Gift Tags

We are pushing the boat out this Christmas and making Hamma Bead gift tags for all of the pressies. Everyone has a theme, Panda's for Betty, Cat's for Biba, Star Wars for Ethan and Harry Potter for Kelli...

What do you think?

Our Hamma Beads are from Craft Merrily

How To Make A Lightweight Rag Quilt

I don't ever profess to be handy in the crafting department but I've been blown away by the feedback I've had since posting a picture of the rough and ready lightweight rag quilt that I made for Biba at the weekend.

Here's how I made it!

I already had a backing sheet that I wanted to use, so that became my basic size guide.

I roughly cut up my fabric pieces so that they were random depths and then simply stitched them together leaving the hem on the top side (so that the fabric will fray over time).

When I'd sewn together enough strips to cover my backing sheet, I put the good sides together and stitched almost all the way around to create the quilt. Leaving just enough space to allow me to turn it to the right side out.

When I'd turned it, I closed up the hole and that's it. One lightweight rag quilt.

I was planning on using a layer of quilt wadding but I didn't have any in and madam wasn't giving in with her moaning!

From start to finished quilt in less than 2 hours.

How To Make A Hama Beads Pac Man Ghost

There's nothing quite like relaxing around the table with your girls and a tub of Hama Beads for company and last night I excelled myself (honestly I did) when I made a set of Hama Beads Pac Man Ghosts.

On reflection, 16-bit animation characters are just perfect for Hama Beads creations and I'll quite probably have worked my way through most of my favourite old school classics before the holiday is over. So be prepared.

Want to make your own Pac Man Hama Beads Ghosts? Here's How!

1. Start with a standard square peg board and create the outline of your ghost.

2. Add in the eyes.

3. Fill in the background.

4. Iron and leave to cool.

That's it. Simple! Once I'd worked the pattern out I made three ghosts in around 15 minutes (and with the help on the kitten who really wanted to join in).

We buy our Hama Beads from CrafyMerrily.co.uk. They always have a great selection of kits and tutorials available.

If you enjoyed this post you might like, How to Make a Hama Beads Bowl and Hama Beads Jewellery Kit reviewed.

Britain's Next Top Model and Sticker Fun

This week has without a doubt been the week of DinoBoy! He has for a long time been jealous of the money that the girls ability to make money but at 8 he has been too lazy to do anything about it.

A few weeks ago he asked me if I would help him to earn some money - as he wanted to boost his bank balance. In truth it was dwindling thanks to the Victorian Owl and Giant Turtle shell that are now taking pride of place in his bedroom.

So I called the girls agent - put his paperwork in place and he got a call for the M&S casting the following week. They saw over 130 boys at the casting and DinoBoy walked it. We were surprised but thrilled for him. 

Then this week, ModelGirl was called in for a back to school campaign. Her agent mentioned to the client that they should see FunnyGirl and DinoBoy too - as they would be with me after school anyway. They weren't convinced but he went along anyway.

The casting went well. FunnyGirl was funny and ModelGirl did what she does best. DinoBoy was just himself really.

So when the phone call came the following day - I was shocked beyond belief at who they had chosen. Yep DinoBoy! It seems that the little fella really is Britain's Next Top Model!

So moving swiftly on to something fun and funky. 

As you know I am doing a big search for good pressies for kids under £10. I have some great things that I know will have you full of inspiration but before I get my bargain head on I had to show you this.

It's a really nifty bit of kit, that will bring you hours of interrupted fun (well it would me anyway). The Sticker Kit from Cox & Cox allows you to turn anything into a sticker - and I do mean anything. Fabric, flowers, photographs and sketches. You can use them to personalise just about anything and it comes with 7m of removable adhesive tape.

£25 from the delightful site Cox & Cox