Ivy & Pine Cone Wreath

With Christmas in just a couple of weeks, Channel 4 have gifted us with more Kirstie's Handmade Christmas. One of the features on this week's episode was an ivy wreath. It was made to be hung up horizontally, and was adorned with candles and little paper stars in true Scandinavian style.

I was inspired to make one myself, but opted for one to hang vertically on the door. I ended up with the wreath in the picture above, which I decorated with some ribbon, baubles, and good old pine cones.

Hopefully this will hold together during Christmas--the ivy is remarkably easy to manipulate and holds itself in shape, but last night we had really strong winds (luckily I'd seen the forecast and brought the wreath indoors!) For a first attempt, I'm pleased with how this turned out!

Upcycled Festive Heart Decorations

Yesterday I made these Scandinavian-inspired heart decorations for our Christmas tree. They're very simple to make, and almost completely upcycled!

The method is so easy it's guessable, so I didn't make a proper tutorial, but here's a quick run down.

I used:
Template (from junk mail)
Fabric (old pillowcase)
Filling (from knackered old pillow)
Embroidery thread (from charity shop)

Using the template, I cut out hearts and sewed them right sides together, leaving a gap for turning.

Then I turned them so the right side of the fabric was facing outwards, and stuffed them with filling.

After sewing up the gap, I threaded a darning needle with 5-6 inch lengths of embroidery thread and pushed it through the top of the hearts, tying the ends in a knot to make a loop.

Here they are on our tree! Also seen here are several homemade items I've posted about in the past:
Recycled Magazine Garland
Tin Can Tea Light Holders
Felt Doves and Peace, Hope & Joy Stars Decorations

Pearl & Leather Wrap Bracelet

In my attempt to use up some more from my leather cord stash, I made this pearl and leather wrap bracelet!

With this DIY you can make use of any small beads you have lying around; I went for faux pearls as I had lots of small ones left over from some broken vintage necklaces.

You'll need:

Leather cord (I used 4mm cord)

Small beads

Beading wire

Jewellery wire (I used approx. 1mm wire)

Clasp

Jump rings

Crimps

Tools:

Scissors

Wire cutters

Round nosed pliers

Flat nosed pliers

Crimping pliers (optional--use flat nosed pliers if you don't have crimpers)

Wire-Wrapped Beaded Leather Bracelets

Today I want to share a how-to for these wire-wrapped, beaded leather bracelets.

As I posted previously, I have a ridiculous amount of leather cord, so I used a little of it in this tutorial!

These bracelets would make a nice little gift for anyone, as you can pick colours and beads according to their personal tastes.

Adventures in Leather Cord

When making a costume last year, I ordered some 4mm leather cord for a lace-up detail. When I came to use it, I realised I'd bought the wrong thing for the job.

Ten metres of the wrong thing.

So it has been stashed away in my cupboard for over a year.
After finding it the other day, I decided I ought to do some crafting and use it up!

Having looked for inspiration online, I've seen a lot of bracelets. Mostly they used much thinner cord.
I have my thinking cap on. I'll try to come up with something different.

In the meantime, my next couple of posts will probably be bracelets ;)

Keep an eye on the blog to find out what I end up making. There might be lots of things (I do have ten metres of the stuff, after all...argggggggh!)


Have you ever ordered the wrong thing and only realised when it was too late to send it back? (Or decided to keep it anyway, in case it's useful?) 
What did you do with it in the end?

Easiest Christmas Pine Cone Ornaments

Alright, so I haven't updated here for ages, and it's been even longer since I shared a DIY!
So here I am, with a shiny new tutorial for pine cone baubles!

This how to is ridiculously easy and obvious, and there's a no-sew version, yay!

You'll need:
Pine cones
Ribbon
Drawing pins
Needle and thread to match ribbon (skip this if going for the no-sew option)
Fray stopper/clear nailpolish/glue to stop ribbon fraying
Scissors or pinking shears

Folk Tales of the Sea People

Over at Doing A Thing, I've been sharing a writing and painting project, Folk Tales of the Sea People. Since it's a creative endeavour, I realised, "Why haven't I written about it on Unfortunately Oh?"

What is Folk Tales of the Sea People?
An illustrated collection of Grimm-style fairy stories, presented as though collected from people of the sea by Cadogan Browne, a fictitious explorer of yester-year.

What mythical creatures are in the stories?
Mermaids, Siren, Selkie, Nereids, and more. I borrowed from the folklore of various different countries.

Which age group are the stories suitable for?
It depends on the story. Some, like Yam and the Octopus, are suitable for younger children; others are more suited to older children, teens, young adults and adults.

The Stories:

Preface and Introduction
In which a modern-day professor comments on the fact science has proved that mermaids to not exist, and Cadogan Browne introduces his compilation with insistence that they do.

Halwyn, or A Pinch of Salt
A tale of Selkie-folk in a saltless sea, set upon by a terrible creature--and what they do to defeat him.

A Havsrå's Fortune
The tale of a lonely Havsrå, who has the gift of seeing the future, but is cursed that Human men shall never remember her face.

Yam and the Octopus
A simple story about a nosy boy, and a grumpy octopus.

Golden Scales
In which Glyndwr the Vain learns not to be vain, through rather awful means. (Do note the warning at the beginning of this one.)

The Clam Keeper and the Sailor
A story about a Siren and a Human, who meet on the surface of the sea.

A Pearl For Your Daughter
A cautionary tale about a spoilt young Mermaid.

There are further stories to come, including that of a sea monster, a strange gentleman, sunken treasure, draugs and more. I'll post them all on Doing A Thing, so please follow there to see future posts.
Meanwhile, to see all the stories together, use the Folk Tales of the Sea People tag :)


Well, that's it for now. Sorry my posts here have been so few and far between, and so lacking in tutorials. I've not been particularly crafty recently, and when I have been, my crafting has been things that are fairly obvious (like shortening a skirt). So I've nothing to share!
Still, I'm grateful to everyone who takes a moment to read my posts, and hope you continue to enjoy them. :)