How To Dry Flowers

Dried Flowers have many uses in crafting.  You can dry almost any type of flower.  There are various methods that can be used, but by far the simplest one is to hang the flowers upside down.
remove as many of the leaves from the stems as possible.  Tie three or four stems together using sewing cotton and hang upside down in a dark, dry , warm place.  The flowers will take between a week and three weeks to thoroughly dry.  There may be some fading of the flowers in this process, but that can actually look really nice.
The flowers shown in the first picture are Helichrysum and are paper like in structure.  They hold their shape and colour.  (pick them before the centre of the flower develops)

Hydrangea heads have been used in this pot pourri

(make your own pot pourri tutorial HERE)

flowers that work really well for drying include
Larkspur - blues, pinks and white
Nigella - green seed heads
Opium poppies - blue/grey seed heads
Amaranthus - dark red, green or 'biscuit'
Statice - blue, pink, yellow and white

Writing For Another Blog ~ UK Crafts Forum Blog

The Uk Crafts Forum Blog is a blog that talks about all things craft, crafters and their creations.  I am a regular writer for them and  recent posts that I have written include:
Rag Rugs
Needle Felting
Secret Santa Gifts

Make Lavender Wands

Gabriel's Oboe

This is my favourite piece of music.  Gabriels Oboe by Ennio Morricone.  It was written as the soundtrack for a Robert De Nero film called the mission.

Saying Goodbye

Today I shall say goodbye to a friend.

Pink Rag Rug

This is my latest rag rug is a pink toned rug with accents of lilac, blue, green and orange.
You can find out more about it HERE

The Beach Of My Dreams

My favourite place to be is on a windswept beach.  i love beach combing and always have.  I have memories of being a child on one of my yearly Northumbrian holidays walking along the deserted beaches and seeing a man pulling a cart along collecting driftwood, fishing net and other exciting looking trreasures.

I was hooked on beach treasures from that moment and although I have never owned a cart, I have uindulged the inner beach comber, rescuing druiftwood and rope.

One of the things I treasure is sea glass.  I t's beautiful washed surfaces have taken tears of being shaped by mother natures gentle buffeting.  (the man made attempts are nothing like the real deal)

These pictures are taken from a newspaper article about a beach in California that would be my dream beach.  It was formally a dump where rubbish was left through the 1950's until the 1960's when it was realised that toxins were poisoning the environment, but what began life as unwanted rubbish is now a beautiful glass pebble beach and it attracts tourists to it's glorious sparkling treasure.

Mother nature fought back and won.

It is an offence to remove glass from the beach.

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

I love this mosaic mirror by Funky Mosaics.  it's available from her Folksy Shop 

Denim Rugs

This is another denim rug that I have made from recycled jeans.  This one contains 5 pairs of jeans.
available to purchase HERE

Pebble Boot Trays

Found this great idea for keeping your entrance free of muddy and wet boot marks.
Simply take a baking tray, line with a towel and cover over with pebbles. (obviously don't do this if your pets or children are going to swallow the pebbles)

I think this makes a very stylish shoe stand.

Celebration of Epiphany

Recycling Jeans

My first project of 2012 is well underway.  It began when I was tidying out the cupboards and came accross some old faded outdated jeans.  There was no way I could wear them and they weren't worn out ....... so out came the scissors, the seams and pockets were removed and then I ripped them all up and turned them into this.

 just a bit more to do now.

This rug is available from HERE

Waiting

I am currently waiting for lots of things, including:

felting needles and wool tops (for my new hobby)

books I have ordered

M&S to refund on some trousers that were sent back

A New Year & A New Start

This is my very special memory necklace.  It was created using odd earrings that I have stored in my jewellery box,  It also contains broken necklaces, buttons from my children's clothes and other little trinkets I have stored away.
I have created these memory necklaces for other people using their own special treasures.

Happy new Year