Shrink plastic

So I tried my hand at a new fun craft, shrink plastic. It was relly fun to work with and even though I'm not 100% happy with the results I'm still satisfied as it was my first time trying this.
I used posca markers and just drew pictures from magazines and books.
One set with a model and makeup theme and another set with a retro sewing theme.
It was really easy to make and not many accessories or tools are needed.
Setting the right temperature and timing in the oven was a bit tricky and also to make them totally flat and nice looking.
I must have looked pretty crazy "cooking" small plastic trinkets in the oven equipped with a spatula and a plate to pick them out to cool off.
I'm thinking of using the sets as small charms on bracelets.
If the pictures look a little shoddy it's because of my old cellphone cam, i really need to buy a new one soon, but that's another story :)

models and make up

retro sewing

I'm starting up my old blog again. I'll just keep it simple and relaxed, writing about ongoing projects and such.

I know I started out making a cat softie from a 70's kit almost two years ago, then somehow it ended up in my box of UFO's. Now that I got some new shelves and rearranged my crafting stash I picked it up again. This time I finished it! :)
Here a pic of how it ended up. It's just the tail that needed to get sewn on in the picture. Now the cat is sitting on the top of my bookshelf giving a nice splash of color to the room.

The (almost) finished project!

Vacation crafts Chi's sweet home purse

I little while ago I received this fantastic and super cute sewing kit which I purchased at a really good price from ShineKidsCrafts on Etsy. This shop has a lot of cute crafts for both kids of most ages and also for childish adults (like me) :). Most of the cute sewing kits there have instructions translated to English but this one had Chinese instructions. (I had no problems translating them however). It was a real pleasure making this cute purse, everything needed was included, even the needle and threads. Here are some pics from making the purse:

Here I have opened the kit and started piecing together the cat.

Little cute Chi before being sewn on the front of the purse.

Almost finished! This has been a perfect quick little vacation craft project.

Finished! Now I will use it to store my nail decorations.^__^

Pink buddy amigurumi

I got a lot of crochet yarns from my fiances mother (Thank you!). And this is the first little creature that I have made out of them. It's loosely base on a bear pattern in a crochet book but I made some changes and It became my pink buddy instead. I added a piece of red shoelace as a long scarf. My next crochet will be a dog I think. But I'm not sure there are so many fun things to make :).

Homemade herb salt

Now is the prime season for harvesting herbs from the garden. My herbs have grown like weeds in the sunny weather and I already have dried herbs from last summer left. I still wanted to not let all the fragrant herbs go to waste so after a little bit of googeling for ideas I decided to try making my own herb salt. I'm very happy with the results, and the were soo easy to make!
Now I have  tasty garlic, carrot and parsley salt, perfect for the garlic lovers and a green aromatic blend of oregano, thymes and chives that goes well with french and mediterranean cooking.
This is how I've done it:
1. Get a bunch of fresh herb of your taste and some coarse salt. I chose Sicilian sea salt.
2. Mix the herbs and salt together in a food processor. I took 50/50 of herbs and salt.
3. When it's totally blended and mushy, spread it on a baking dish and put in the oven in 50 C until totally dry. Stir a few times while drying.
4. When it's totally dry, crush it with a mortar and pestle until it's as fine as you desire.
5. Finished, store in airtight packaging.

Freshly picked herbs

Blended mix of herbs and salt ready for the oven.

Rhubarb pie and continued crafting

Summer is here at last! Recently I brought home this years first rhubarb harvest. They have such a sour fresh taste. I think the sour mixes well with sweet and crispy, like a crumbly rhubarb pie. This is how it turned out. We ate at the summer cabin together with creamy vegan vanilla sauce made from oats. It's like the taste of summer!

Crumbly rhubarb pie

Also I have been pretty busy lately with end of term exams and cat-sitting in my parents home while they are away on holiday. But I have managed to start hand quilting the flowery cat pillow from the seventies. I added some fusible fleece on the back-side and now I'm back stitching the contours.

In the middle of stitching

Flower power cat project

I found this funny 70's project in my stash. It's a cat pillow kit with typical 70's flower motifs. Right now I have been coloring the flowers with fabric markers. Soon I will quilt it and sew the pillow. Here is how far I have come now. I'll post more pictures later when I have worked on in some more.

A little poor quality on this pic as I took it with my phone.

Now the coloring is finished. I like the funky bright colors ^_^.