The Cake is a lie... but my companion cube foot stool is.... er not?

Halleluiah IT'S FINALLY FREAKING FINISHED!!!!

 I've been working on this foot stool for jebus only knows how long.... but yesterday I finally finished it. You all have Lewy to thank for it, he came and plopped it down on my lap while I was watching How Clean Is Your House (rather than actually cleaning it like I should but shhhhh!), told me he was sick of looking at it half finished and that I had better finish it off before the end of the day.

Now lucky for my I only had a small bit left to go, otherwise I might have just broken down and cried right there on the lounge with images of lounge room rubbish tips blaring in the background....

And the best thing of all? You can make this thing yourself.... and no it doesnt have to be footstool size!

 To the left here we have the basic pattern you need... I did forget to mention that the whole big square needs to be in dark grey felt or material... but this is pretty much all you need to know. You can re-size this pattern any way you like... make a teeny tiny one... make a gigantic one... make whatever you want out of it!










Steps:

All my pretty pieces, and sewn the hearts and "legs"on

1. Cut out all your pieces. If you're using the pattern I have given you I suggest cutting out the whole big square first, then cutting out the other pieces from inside, will save you having to print the pattern out multiple times. I made my squares about 1.5 feet because after all I did make a foot rest and it would be hard to rest your achy feet on a pillbox.
2. First of all you need to sew the heart shape into the center of the circle shape. Do this until you run out of hearts and circles.
3. You need to attach the purple "legs" (for lack of a better word to call them at the moment" to the top, bottom, and each side of the circle. It should look like you have sewn the circle with the heart on it into the middle of a big plus sign, and do this until you run out of purple pieces and hearts, you should have 6 at the end one for eac
h face of the cube.

Sewing those corners together!

4. Now you can save time by doing this step now, or you can save it for later. If you have a sewing machine handy I suggest you do it now because it really will save some time! Take three pieces of the Corner shape and sew the long sides together, you will get a pyramid shape. Do this until you run out of corner shapes, you should end up with 8 sewn together pieces. Take the light grey rectang
le pieces and sew one end of the short edges together. Now set these pieces aside, because you wont need them until the very end.
5. Take your heart on a plus sign pieces, and you are going to sew them on to each face of the cube. I found that pinning them in place helped me center them better while I was stitching them on. (Let me tell you a sewing machine would have come in soooooo handy at this point, and this is why this darn thing took soooo long to finish!)
6. After you have stitched all the faces on you are ready to make them into a cube. I found that stitching them all together in a big cross shape was more effective than trying to sew them into shape one by one... so you do four long in a row, it doesnt matter which way the row goes, just make sure that your purple "legs" line up and touch each other. Then on the second square of the row you will sew one on the top and one on the bottom of the row so it looks like a cross shape. (not an "X" cross but more of a "t" cross)

My "cross" shape

7. Now stitch all the edges together around the two prongs of the cross to make the cube, this can be a bit tricky if you're using a machine, but its alright if you round the corners a little bit on the cube because they will be covere
d up at the end. Make sure you leave a spot open so you can flip the whole thing inside out (so the seams dont show) and so you can stuff it!
8. Stuff that thing until your hearts content... but please dont over stuff it, just remember it's a COMPANION CUBE not a COMPANION BALL. Then after you're finished stuffing it stitch closed the opening. I found it best to leave one of the corners open to do this step since they are going to be covered up at the end it doesnt really matter if you have a noticeable seam after you close it up.
9. Time to put those corners on! This bit was also a bit tricky, you dont
want to put them on too tight because they are supposed to protrude from the cube a little bit, stitch around 2.5 of the sides then take a small amount of stuffing and cram it into the corner just to make it a bit more "corner-ey". and continue to stitch around the last side, tie off the thread and viola you have just done a corner!

10. Last step! The rectangle pieces you have laying around will go over the purple "legs" and in between the two corner pieces you have done. Stitch around all of the edges you can put a little bit of stuffing in this bit as well if you like but thats up to you. Tie off all your edges and you're finished!

 Now you may have noticed in my "finished" picture up there my rectangles in the middle dont look as though they have seams in the middle. Don't worry I'm not that adapt at sewing by hand... me in all my smartness didnt cut enough of them in the first place, and therefore had to make do with one to cover the whole distance instead of two thats why it looks a little bit stretched... but still I'd rather have one that I made myself than one that I bought from the shops and paid a ridiculous amount of money for.... seriously it couldnt cost them any more to make than it did you right? So why can they charge $50 for it when it barely costs $15 to make? HUGE PRICE MARK UP!!!! and mine looks just as good anyways!

Now so no one sues, all rights to the companion cube are for whoever made the portal game... i dont take credit for coming up with the design or the name or any of that stuff... I do however take credit for the pattern.... because lets face it you would have to be a freaking rocket scientist to come up with that on your own!

Now if you will all excuse me, I'm gonna go and put my feet up, have a nice cup of tea and watch some more bad youtube videos that make me feel guilty for not cleaning or eating the right foods.... and then I'm going to go to work and deal with some screaming children while I can barely breath out my nose due to my allergies not being able to make up their minds if they want to act up or not....

Yes I am in my pajamas.... but it is not even 9am and I will probably stay in them until I have to change clothes for work..... Don't Judge ME!!!! By the way I freaking love my socks, they have pandas on the toes, and the colors are so bright they almost glow in the dark! I just wish they were a little bit warmer, because it was 2 degrees outside this morning.... 2! I'm bloody freezing here!!!

Now that I think about it actually I'm gonna have to hide my pretty and comphy new foot stool.... because lets face it, it's pretty and comphy and the mario mushroom foot stool that I made for Lewy ages ago has gone a bit... er, flat.

 

Which is pretty funny when you think about it because when I first made it it looked like 

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and Lewy squished it with his big man feet!

Cutie Patootie Teddies!

Sorry for the bad quality video! lolz but it's way to early in the morning to care what I look like or sound like at the moment XD here's the link to the free ravelry download! click it now and make this super cute and adorable teddy bear!

Wands and Kitties!

Well things are finally starting to come along nicely with my Harry Potter gift bags.... now that I've actually finished all the bags I've made a startling discovery....

ALL THE STUFF ISN'T GOING TO FIT INSIDE THEM!

lol! But all is good because I will just make it into a couples goodie bag and put two or one of each thing in the bag (Don't worry I'll probably make those as well and they are easy as anything to do!)

We'll start this post off with the details of the magic wands.

I went to the local cheapy shop which is just down the street from me, and since it was Halloween time they had plenty of decorations to snag for a bargain! They had some basic plastic magical wands to use for costumes so I grabbed some of them and since they all looked the same I decided to make them all individual.

First thing is that its alright if you cant find a plastic wand there are heaps of tutorials on google to make them out of plain paper,this one is a good example!


You'll need to have some paper towel or toilet paper handy and some plain white glue that will dry clear. Mix the glue with an equal amount of water and then paint the plastic wand and start sticking on the toilet paper. Once you've covered it all set it aside to dry.
Now I wanted to make mine uniform in color, not identical but similar. So I used some black tissue paper and put a few layers over the paper towel in the same way.
And don't worry about getting it perfect the first time around because at this stage you can always cover up and places you have missed with a scrap of the paper you used on the last layer.

You can make them any way you like, to make each wand unique for myself I wrapped some bits of yarn in interesting patterns around them before I started the paper mache. After you have them looking the way you like then just add any extra details with some paint or a paint pen and cover the whole thing in a layer of glue (don't mix this layer with water though) and it will give the wand a shiny lacquered effect.

Now for the kitties!
 There is a free pattern for these kitties found here! but I'll go ahead and write it down on my own blog. (just giving credit where it's due!)

It makes three separate pieces which will need to be sewn together. I'll be using a yarn needle which you can get from any craft store where yarn is sold.
We'll go through this step by step so it's easier to understand.

The Body:

1. Cast on 24 stitches of any yarn in any color in any type on any size needles. (the finished size of the kitten will depend on what type of yarn you have used and what size needles you need, but as we are stuffing this kitten make sure the knitting is tight so the stuffing doesn't peak through!) 
2. Straight Knit 52 rows 
3. Cast off.

Simple right? But it looks like a square of yarn. Fold it in half length ways, and make a stitch in the yarn to hold the place. Now you will have two more edges, and pull each of those to the middle and make a stitch to hold them in place. You should have four corners now and four openings to sew up. Sew up three of the openings and place some craft stuffing inside to fill out the body before sewing the last opening open.

The Head:

1. Cast on 12 stitches in the same yarn you used for the body.
2. Straight Knit 14 rows
3. Knit 4 more rows but knit two stitches together at the beginning of each row. (this will give the head a tapered effect.)
4. Now Knit 4 more rows but increase one stitch at the beginning of each row. (we're gonna fold the head in half!)
5. Straight Knit 14 rows
6. Cast off.

Now you have a shape that slightly resembles an hour glass right? Good! Fold the shape in half where the cast on and cast off edges are even. Stitch around the head, leaving a small opening to stuff, and be sure to stitch around the ears!
Now pick an end of the body and sew the back of the head to it!

The Tail:

1. Cast on 14 stitches in the same yarn as the body and head.
2. Straight Knit 7 rows.
3. Cast off.

Sew the long edge together and across one of the short ends. You should have a small tube with one end sewn shut. If it is big enough you can stuff the tail, but it is not necessary. Sew the open end to the end of the body.

With some black yarn or thread sew on a little face and some whiskers and VIOLA!!! Your very own easy peasy knitted kitten! 

Easy Peasy Sunglasses Bag

So I really REALLY fell in love with the material I got from Spotlight for the back of my Country Kitchen Apron, and I've been trying to find a use for as much of it as possible.

When I carried my sunnies around with my in my hand bag they always ended up really dusty and needed to be cleaned almost every time I put them on (which isn't a good thing when you're driving!)

So there was a pretty long piece of the material left over, and if I folded it then it was just the right width to hold my sunglasses. So I sewed it together up the sides, and using a pink sheet of felt cut out the same size and sewed up the sides of that to make the inside of the bag.
Next I got a small length of pink ribbon and folded it in half tying the ends in knots so they wouldn't get lost inside the bag if you pulled one side too hard.
I flipped the material inside out so the stitches are on the inside, and slipped the felt inside the material (leave the stitches on the outside).
Stick the ribbon between the two layers all the way around the bag, and then fold over a small lip on the material side of the bag. Sew all the way around the bag leaving just enough of an opening for the ribbon to slide in and out of, leave a gap between the ribbon and stitch the gap closed.

Easy Peasy! Just make sure you don't catch your ribbon in your stitches, then slide your sunnies inside and pull the ribbon tight and VIOLA!!! You have your very own sunglasses bag!

Introducing Sackboys!

So I know lately I've been working on my Harry Potter things, but I have decided to take a little break from all that (we don't want to get bored do we?).

Here we have the marvelous Sackboy from the very fun playstation game Little Big Planet!

This one to the left is the doubled size version.  He's about 1.5 feet tall, and yes I know the photo is not the best, but I couldn't find big enough buttons for his eyes and now he looks creepy.
The photo on the right (the gray one with the play station remote) Is the size of the doll you will get if you follow the pattern given from HERE!  As much work and effort as I put into the double sized version I really do prefer the original one, he's just so much more adorable!

If you are feeling up to the task I will give you the pattern I used to make the big one.

Head
Cast on 24 stitches
purl one row
knit one row
(increase 2, increase 2, knit 2)  to end (gives you 40 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 60 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 80 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, increase 2, knit 4) to end (gives you 100 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2, knit 4) to end (gives you 120 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2, knit 6) to end (gives you 140 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows
(knit 12, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 12) to end (gives you 130 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 12, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 10) to end (gives you 120 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 10, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 10) to end (gives you 110 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 10, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 8) to end (gives you 100 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows (beginning and ending on purl rows)
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 80 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
(purl 2 together, purl 2 together, purl 4) to end (gives you 60 stitches total)
stocking stitch 4 rows
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 40 stitches total)
purl one row
knit 2 together to end (gives you 20 stitches total)
break the yarn off leaving a long tail, using a yarn needle thread yarn through remaining 20 stitches and pull tight, and use tail to stitch up head to neck. Stuff head.

Body
cast on 24 stitches
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
knit 2, (increase 2 x6 times), knit 6, (increase 2 x6 times), knit 4 (gives you 36 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
knit 2, (increase 2, knit 2 x6 times) knit 6, (increase 2, knit 2 x6 times), knit 4 (gives you 48 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, increase 2 x6 times), knit 10, (increase 2, knit 4 x6 times), knit 2 (gives you 60 stitches total)
stocking stitch 26 rows
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 48 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 2) to end (gives you 36 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 24 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(knit 4, knit 2 together, knit 2 together, knit 4) x2 times (gives you 20 stitches total)
cast off
Using the zipper start at the cast off end, sew around the zipper attaching it to either edge making sure that it covers the length of the body (overhang is fine at the top as you can tuck it into the head and you wont see it). Once the zipper is secured sew the body to the head it does not matter which way it faces. Open the zipper and stuff the body, when re-zipping the zipper add some glue to the teeth, this will make sure the zipper cannot be opened again (especially good if you are making this for a child)

Arms (make 2)
cast on 12 stitches
purl one row
increase into every stitch (gives you 24 stitches total)
stocking stitch 27 rows
cast on an extra 6 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows (gives you 36 stitches total)
cast off 6 stitches at the beginning of the next two rows (gives you 24 stitches total)
stocking stitch 4 rows

Fingers
knit 15 work these stitches only 
purl 6 work these stitches only
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
break yarn, leaving a 60cm tail. Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
RING FINGER
knit 3 from left needle and work these  12 only
purl 6 and work these only

knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
MIDDLE FINGER
knit 2 from left needle work these 12 only
purl 6 stitches work these only
knit one row
purl one row
knit one row
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn.
INDEX FINGER
knit 4 from left needle
stocking stitch 4 rows
Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the 6 stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of finger and continue knitting using the tail of yarn. Using the tail, continue to sew the edge of the hand, stuff and close the opening, then sew to the edge of the body. Remember to make sure that you're thumb is pointing out!

Legs (make 2)
cast on 16 stitches
increase into every stitch (gives you 32 stitches total)
purl one row
knit one row
purl one row
(increase 2, knit 2) to end (gives you 48 stitches total)
stocking stitch 7 rows
(knit 2, knit 2 together, knit 2 together) to end (gives you 32 stitches total)
stocking stitch 23 rows
knit 2 together to end (gives you 16 stitches total)
break yarn, leaving a long tail. Using a yarn needle thread the tail through the stitches and pull tight, sew down edge of leg, stuff and close opening and sew to body

Taking a contrast color make some little X's around the bottom of the legs near the feet, around the wrists of the arms, and around the top of the head. Stitch a cute little mouth, and if you can find them use some really large buttons for the eyes. If you cant find large enough buttons you can always cut out circles of felt and use that!

Remember this is the pattern for the large doll. The pattern for the normal size doll can be found by clicking the link above!

Winter Project #1

Introducing the Harley Quinn Beanie!!!!

I got really bored and needed a break from some of my Harry Potter stuff, so I decided to take on a winter project. It is getting quite chilly down here in Aus afterall!

I decided to make a beanie for myself after my favorite character from Batman, Harley Quinn! 

I'm sure that there are a few patterns out there for this type of hat but I didn't use one this time. So here's my free pattern for it!

Step #1 measure around your head.

Step #2 divide that measurement in half (half of the hat will be red, the other half black)

Step #3 get your materials together.

I used two 50g balls each of Moda Vera Blissful of black and red, and one 50g ball of Moda Vera Blissful white, size 2 straight needles, size 4 straight needles, a yarn needle, and a pompom maker called twinkle bee.

The size of the needles will depend on the yarn you are using, but as a general note I would use one size smaller than the recommended size for the yarn, and then use the size recommended for the yarn.

Now the amount of stitches you cast on will depend on what type of yarn you are using, but just cast on enough so that when you stretch it out on the needles it is equal to the measurement of half your head. We will start with the smaller needles, and cast on your stitches, first with red. Continue in stocking stitch for about 6 rows, be sure to stop on the wrong side to change needles.

Change needles to the larger size and continue knitting for approximately 8 rows in stocking stitch.

After you have gotten this far we will start to decrease our stitches. I use the Knit 3 Knit 2 together method for decreasing my stitches. After each row of decreases continue to knit about 4 rows in stocking stitch before decreasing another row.

Once you have knitted to the desired length and have about 8 stitches remaining cut the yarn leaving a long tail, thread this tail through the remaining stitches and pull tight.

Now do the exact same thing with the Black yarn.

The next step is a bit tricky. You need to measure how far down to sew each arm of the beanie. To do this take one of the colors and place it on the side of your head, and pinch down until you have reached your scalp, remove the yarn from your head and move your fingers up approximately 1 inch. Sew the tail of yarn using the yarn needle to this point on half the beanie. Do the same with the other half.

Now using either color thread or remaining yarn sew both halves of the beanie together.

Now we make the pompoms. We will use the pompom maker from the Twinkle Bee set. If you cant get one of these then that is ok just use something small to wrap your yarn around, but be sure that you can tie some yarn around it before you have to cut it otherwise it will be very difficult!

I wrapped my yarn around this pompom maker exactly 100 times. On the large end of the maker.

Make sure when you tie your yarn around the pompom maker that it is very tight, and that you leave a long tail to use to sew the pompoms to the beanie.

On each of the arms of the beanie at the end you will need to sew the pompom using the yarn needle. I turned mine inside out, but with the yarn I used it was quite messy trying to flip it right side out once I had the pompom secured.

After the pompoms have been sewn on, try the hat on to make sure it fits! And Viola!!! You have your very own Harley Quinn beanie! Of course this doesn't have to be just a Harley Quinn beanie, you can use it as a jesters hat, add your own patterns to the knitting, add more arms, use different colors, whatever you like!

The Long Awaited Robes!!!

(Just a disclaimer: This is not my video this is not me! I do not take credit for this work. I do take credit for the Slytherin robe which I made by following the instructions in this video that I found on Youtube)

So now as promised!!!! Here is the video I used to make my Slytherin Cloak for my Harry Potter night costume. Of course in the video they made a Gryffindor robe, the only difference is that instead of using burgundy I used green material.
In the video they used king size sheets, now I don't know about where you guys come from but here in Australia sheet sets do not come that cheap (especially king size ones!), so to save myself some money I just went out to a local craft shop and got a few meters of material, I used silk because I like the way it drapes and feels when you wear it, but you can really use any sort of material you like. You don't even have to make a Hogwarts Robe out of it, you can literally make any sort of robes you like following the simple instructions on the video!
One other little thing I did differently from the video is that I hand sewed the entire robe, I liked to be able to see my stitches and it really gives it that home made look, but you can use a sewing machine it will be a lot faster AND probably make it look a bit more professional.

The photo to the left is my finished product! You can tell from the video that I used different materials they are pretty shiny in the picture, but thats alright, this is a matter of personal tastes and you can use whatever you like!
Just remember when you are measuring your material you want to add a few inches to each measurement, especially if you are using a sewing machine because the foot will take up some of the length. The length of the whole robe is entirely personal. I made mine just long enough to reach the floor, but if you are short like me then there isn't really much you can do about things being too long. And the arms need to come over your hands, i added about 4 extra inches to my measurements so the robe wouldn't be too short when I raised my arms, and remember that they are supposed to be big, so remember to cut them that way! I cut mine like old witches robes where the sleeves kind of fan out, but I only made it subtle.

There are some little embellishments that I chose to use as well on my cloak. I added the hood just like from the video, but I also added a house patch and a clasp to close the robe.

To the left is the clasp I used. Just a simple rope clasp that I got from Spotlight for pretty cheap. Since I was hand sewing everything I thought it would be a bit easier for me to sew each side of the clasp onto a small square of black felt. That way I could just sew around the square instead of trying to make sure I caught all of the details and this way it also gives the clasp a bit more of a larger area, making sure that it holds tight and wont rip your material as easily, this is a good thing to try and do if you have a really long robe just in case you step on it. To the right is my Slytherin House Crest Patch. This one I bought off ebay for about $4 and just ironed it onto the material, but you could always make your own if you choose, there are a few tutorials on youtube that are good, but I wanted to save some time in finishing it.

So there you have it! The long awaited House Robes Blog is finally up and going places! I hope you enjoyed it!!!

Never Leave Home without your Companion Cube!

Now, I know that last blog I promised a flashy new blog all on how to make your own hogwarts robes.... but lets face it I lied....

Not entirely though, I do have the robes sitting here in front of me, however after trying them on again they need a bit of tweaking, and I somehow managed to sew the clasp on WAY to high and now it crushes my windpipe when I close it. So this has to be fixed up, and soon, because its nothing but the best for my readers! See how much I love you? No shoddy photos or half attempted projects here!

Now for the last few days I have been sick with some virus flu type monstrosity... which had my sneezing and coughing and running a temperature, and totally NOT feeling up to sewing minute details onto silk, or using too much effort on anything at all, so I decided to keep myself busy while I was in bed, I would make a Portal themed project!

Introducing the Companion Cube from Portal.... in a handy take it anywhere you freaking feel like it size!

This Image here (with the hand) Is what I have made. The Image on the right is my reference which I got from HERE! It was fairly simply to make, required very little materials, and looks pretty darn awesome if I do say so myself!


So I started off with some of those needlepoint squares, the plastic ones.  As you can see in the next photo (also using my hand as a size reference for you all!) I'm not sure of what the proper name for these little babies are so If you know please comment on it for the other viewers! Then I had some pink yarn, light gray yarn, and dark gray yarn, and a black texter. Following the reference I marked out the pattern for each color, on 6 different squares, and started sewing until my heart was content. I used a large yarn needle that I had to pull through the holes, but don't worry these plastic thingies have plenty of give. It doesn't matter how the back of each square looks, it can be messy it can be neat, as long as you tie off your loose ends when you have finished using a color. I left some long tails of the light and dark gray yarn to stitch up the edges so it wouldn't look so lumpy. And be careful how tight you pull your yarn, even though the plastic has some give it can still break and this would be bad!
 Leave one of the edges open when you are stitching up your sides to finish, and you can put anything you like inside it. I just used some craft stuffing, but you can put anything inside it to make it weighted.

ENJOY!!! and believe me the Hogwarts Robe Tutorial is coming soon. I do apologize once again for delaying it, but as I said I was sick and didn't feel like fixing any of my problems just then.

Don't forget to watch my Deviant Art Page, everything that goes up here also goes up there so it would be a good way to keep track of my entrees!

Le Hufflepuff Bags!

So once again I present to you the Hufflepuff Bag Set (free pattern by clicking here)! I'm still working on the scarves but they will be up soon.

Now you may notice that this set of bags differs a bit from the others, this is because I used two different types of yarn. The black yarn is just a normal 12 ply where the yellow is the very soft baby type yarn used to make blankets or baby clothing....
This made it difficult to do the fringe at the bottom, as every time I tried to pull a bit of yellow yarn through I ended up pulling the fluff off of it and was left with a few threads, so the fringe for the hufflepuff bag is a solid color, and the fringe on the scarves will be the same.  Lately I have also been looking around for some decoration ideas. I have found quite a few! There's the Hogwarts Crest that I have put on the top of my invitational letters, and used GIMP2 to turn it a nice green color to match the ink in the movies. There's the Potion Bottle Labels that I plan on using for my lollies and drink bottles, which will be easily done. I plan on getting a few of the glass water bottles from a cheapy shop and placing a label on it for drinks, and getting a few of the glass jars for the lollies.
There are the Butter beer labels which you can print off for free, and I will also be putting those on some of the water bottles, but I plan on getting some glass beer mugs and placing a label on each one of those as well, as a party favor for my guests.


I do also have my slytherin cloak finished entirely now, but as I am home by myself at the moment and would need someone to model it for me.... well it will just have to wait until some one else gets home, because I highly doubt that any one wants to see it on my puppy! There will be an awesome step by step video for the next blog so stay tuned!

Let there be cake!

What could be more appetizing than a nice gooey slice of chocolate cake? Nothing thats right!
This little beauty was made from felt, hand stitched and fabric paint gooey-ness...

What to do? This one is so simple you dont even need a pattern, cut out two triangles thats the size of the slice you would like, brown for chocolate cake, white for vanilla, pink for strawberry.... or go all out and make a multicolored rainbow cake!

Next, cut a few strips for the layers of your cake long enough to go around the two large edges of your triangles, and then cut a few strips of the "cream" to go between the layers of cake. Sew these strips in a cake/cream pattern until you run out of cake layers.
Next cut an icing layer that is as wide as the short edge of your triangles, and as long as all of your layers once they have been sewn together, this will be the back of your cake icing.
Cut out a number, or numbers from your choice of colors, a strip of white, and a flame shape from some yellow, this will be your candle. The cherry is optional, but its just a red circle and a green strip of felt.
You will also need some ribbons so you can wear it as a hat, or if you just want it as a toy forget the ribbon.. Now for the interesting part: the assembly.
1. Take the ribbons, if you are using it, and sew one end of it to each long edge of the triangle you will put on the bottom of the cake.
2. Make the candle: Sew the flame together and turn it inside out, sew the white strip together and attach the flame to it this will be the candle wick, place the wick and flame inside the number and sew the number together leaving an opening at the bottom to flip it right side out, leave this open.
3. Cut a small opening in the top of the cake and place the open end of the candle into the opening. Sew this shut from the underside of the cake top. 
4. Take the layers and the top part of the cake, sew the layers around the two long edges of the triangle, this will make up your slice.
5. Take the back of the slice and sew across the top of the cake, and down each side of the layers, this will make up the icing.
6. Sew the bottom triangle on, the same way you did the top of the cake, but leave the back edge open so you can flip it right side out.
7. After flipping it right side out, make sure all your points are pointy and then stuff it with craft stuffing until you're hearts content. Then sew up the bottom back edge.
8. Add your details, this means using the fabric paint which will make your cream look a little more creamier, or look like chocolate/caramel sauce drizzled over the top.

To make the cherry, single stitch around the edge of the red circle and pull semi-tight. Add some stuffing and pull the thread tight, add the green strip of felt to the opening and sew shut, then tack it to the top of the cake.

And there you have it, your own personal slice of cake, now you really can have your cake and eat it to!

Nothing better than a birthday!

Alright So I know this has nothing to do with Harry Potter, but I still think its worth an honorable mention. Sunday I am attending a very special little girl's FIRST birthday ever, and I have decided that the whole "eat it or wear it" saying needs to be put into motion.
Since most little ones feel the need to grab handfuls of everything and shove it straight into their mouths (which we dont want her doing to the cake) I have decided to make something she can wear that will look almost as good!
We are talking about the exclusive CAKE HAT!!!! It's a big slice of chocolate cake, with a big dollop of vanilla ice cream melting and oozing down the sides, with a great big #1 candle on top. Mind you it will all be made of felt so she can chew on it 'till her little hearts content and no one will be upset that there is handfuls of real cake missing and smeared all over her face and clothes....
There will be a photo put up as soon as it's finished, and yes I am still on Hiatus from the Harry Potter themed objects until we get settled in and unpacked lolz, this is just being made from some bits and pieces I had laying around.

The Bag Lady...

So I have been working on some House Bags (<-- pattern found at that link) And I must say they are a lot harder than they look. Since I am only a beginner knitter I haven't really figured out how to "work in the round" just yet so I am just straight knitting them and sewing them together after I am finished.

I've started off with the Gryffindor House bag (The first pattern on the link above) and at the moment I am about 1/4 of the way finished with it, it really is a good thing this movie shindig is a few months away at least! I'm sure  I would have been further along with my knitting projects had I not spent so much of my time creating the house elf pattern and trying to perfect it, however since putting the pattern up on my deviant art page it has been added to a few groups which feature various patterns and I have been informed that a few people are actually going to attempt to make one themselves! I'm sure you must all know how good that feels to know that people are attempting to recreate something you have made for them,  I'm just appreciative that people have taken the time to look at it and the fact that they want to try and make it themselves is just the icing on the cake!
My friend Katie (who has admitted to me that she is a horrible sewer) has commissioned me to make her one of her very own, and I have been informed by a few people that I should create two of them and give them to her as a wedding present since she is the biggest Harry Potter Fan Girl that I know (besides myself when it comes to Tom Felton *drools*) I have considered doing this for her however, I'm not sure if I would actually be able to make two of them by the time her wedding comes around since I am still in the middle of searching for a job and having to drive back and forth to interviews all day long... Still it seems like an intriguing idea.

Any ways back to the bag! Yes the bag, I have been using size 4 needles, red and yellow Oki Angora Delux Yarn which is 70% Goat Hair and 30% PAC. and I have discovered that if you intend on using the double needle method as I have decided to do then you cannot just start the pattern from the beginning of each row as I thought, you need to work from the first to last stitch of one row and the last to first stitch of the next row in order to have the pattern turn out right, otherwise it will be very messy and all over the place, trust me I have had to restart it once already because I made this mistake!
That's all for the time being, just thought I would let you all know what I was working on at this particular moment in time, will update you all again once I have finished the first bag and I will be sure to include some photos!!!

The House Elf Correction (my bad!)

So after sewing and falling in love with my house elf plushie doll, I was having trouble figuring out what to make the eyes out of.... I foolishly told all of you to use polymer clay, this was a HUGE mistake! Dont listen to that information what you really needed to do was to make your eyes out of felt. I found a wonderful tutorial on how to make realistic felt eyes on deviant art, This tutorial will help you if you dont know how to make them yourself! I will admit I had no clue how to make them I tried the polymer clay method and it looked atrocious!

I suggest that from now on you just ignore anything I say regarding polymer clay usage unless I put up whole lessons on how I make things using it. For our own good lolz! I also had to make the mouth using felt, it doesnt look that great however, I couldnt find a tutorial on how to make a realistic mouth out of felt.

To top it off I used an old tea towel cut in half and tied at the ends for the clothes. I stitched it in place at the shoulders just to stop it from coming off, and cut another strip off the remaining bit of the tea towel to use as a belt. The good thing about this is that their clothes are supposed to look shabby so it's not that big of a deal for you to use random scraps you have laying around, whether they are a bit dirty or even if they have a hole or stain!
Hope you all have enjoyed this House elf experience! If you make one please let me know how it turns out, and remember you can make and sell as many as you like but please dont try and sell the pattern I made it free for a reason!

Finally Finished the House Elf

Well it's about time right? Yes I know you have all been waiting.... well at least I hope you have been. I have finally finished the pattern and sewn the doll together.


The pattern is available on my deviant art page, I had to scan it and it would not fit on a single page so it is in four parts. Part 1 Part 2  Part 3 Part 4 (sorry its a little scribbled just cut out the pieces around the black line) I hand sew the pieces together so if you do not plan on doing this I would give ample room around the pattern to allow for a machine seam.
The finished product (before the eyes and clothing have been added should look similar to the photo added!

I had to use about 8 sheets of flesh colored felt, where I traced the pattern pieces onto them to save as much space as possible. While the pattern is pretty much self explanatory I will still share a few helpful hints. When working with the hands and arms, the best course of action is to sew the hands and turn them right side out, then sew the arms and attach them to the wrists. The fingers are hard to turn, I suggest using a  pin to coax them up so you don't rip your seams or your felt, or you can try using a small long object that is rounded on the end such as a crochet hook because this will also not poke holes in your material. Leave an opening at the back of the body so you are able to stuff and turn out the rest of the body, stuff it so it is as hard or as soft as you wish and then sew up the back. 
After you have finished the body it's time for the little details such as the knees/toes/elbows. These are quite simple and as the pattern suggests where you should put them (the elbows and knees have been slightly enlarged to stand out (as they do on Dobby the House elf from Harry Potter), and as you can see from the image I have added where to put the toes. The arms will need to be attached separately, this is so they can move freely like a normal doll's arms would move, and this can be achieved by using flesh colored thread and a doll needle (the really long ones you can get from any craft shop)

As for the eyes, I have chosen to use polymer clay. White clay for the eyeball, brown for the iris, and black for the pupil then hot glued them to the face. Then you just take some light pink fabric paint and use it to paint on a mouth, or you can embroidery it if you are good at sewing, take some scrap material or a shabby pillow case and use it for a tunic, you can choose to make a belt if you wish!

And there you have it, a free pattern and instructions on how to make your very own house elf from harry potter! If you have any questions just leave it in the comments and I will try my best to answer it!

Still on the menu so to speak: more golden snitches and mice, as well as some house bags and magic wands!

The House Elf Part 1

Well today I have officially finished the House Elf's head. It took a bit of tweaking but now it looks really good (wont know for sure until I have it fully stuffed though and  I cant do that until after I finish his body). I'm working on his legs now, since they have to be sewn to the body.
I'm using beige thread and a regular sewing needle, poly-fill craft stuffing, and flesh colored felt sheets. I wont put a photo up of just his head though (especially since I haven't figured out what to use to make his eyes yet), I will wait until I have the finished product ready to show you.

I am however despising the fact that I have went over my internet downloads for the month and my net speed has been cut down to dial up speed... I feel like I am living in cave man times! My computer room is a total mess because while I am waiting for pages to load and killing time I am either knitting or sewing away like a tiny little machine, much to the disapproval of my fiance who is constantly trying to clean everything up only to have me come right back in and start "working" on another piece... not to say it isnt tidy, its just organized chaos I know where everything is and its all over the place!

I give it about three or four more days until I will have this little dude finished though. I have used a combination of Dobby and Kreature as references for my house elf, and since we never really saw Winky from the Goblet of Fire book I cannot be sure if a female house elf would look much different from a male. I guess this ones gender will greatly depend on what its eyes and mouth look like... Photos to come soon I hope! And once again remember once I have it up the pattern will be free to any one else who feels like they want to take on the task of creating their own little house elf!