Birdbox Nightlight DIY

I’ve been looking for a nice night light for Amelie’s room and it seems to me that there isn’t a huge range of nice lamps out there if you’re on a budget. So I thought I’d have a go at bashing my own one together…using a bird box, light bulb, and my dad – to tell me what to do. He tried to show me how to wire a plug (I really should know by now). But I wasn’t really listening because my brain was thinking how to break a birdbox in two in order to get a light bulb inside, so I still don’t know.

Heres what you need:

• Plain bird box
• low energy light bulb, fixture & lead*
• Acrylic Paint
• Strong Glue (like araldite)
• 4 screws
• drill

*If you don’t have my dad to hand, your local electrical shop will be able to point you in the right direction for the bits you’ll need.

1) First, take the base off the box. You should be able to snap this off, they’re not usually that strong, but if you can’t get a little hacksaw on it. Then take your light fitting (do make sure its low energy, a standard bulb would get too hot) and align it in the centre of the base and check the top of the box fits back on, then glue the fitting in place. NB…This was the moment I realised my light was too TALL for my box. Maybe do measuring BEFORE buying. But its okay, I made provisions (read on if you make the same mistake!).

 

2) Paint the box and the base

 

3) Glue on some warm-toned fabric to the inside of the box, behind the hole if you want a softer light.

4. Now you need to screw the top to the base so that the bulb is concealed but accessible so that you can change it. My images show a gap due to my error, but there shouldn’t be a gap! To cover the gap I cut some plastic (or lolly sticks) to size, glued in place and painted them.

 

5. Drill a hole in the back if you want the option of hanging the box

And you’re all done!! Fab. Much cheaper and, er, chirpier (sorry) than buying a fancy one.

 I’m really happy with how this turns out. I originally made this light without the fabric lining – but I think it makes a real difference. Plus Amelie spent a good half an hour stuffing pom poms and hair clips into it when I put it on her shelf. Not ideal!

Tia x

 

A little girl’s rucksack

My little girl LOVES bags. And lip balm. And anything on the planet that is pink. How has this happened? I didn’t do it! We made some adorable strawberry bags in the spring and she loves hers, but she needs more space to stuff her “treasure” in, so I decided to make her a little rucksack that she can carry around.

I used 2 fat quarters of contrasting fabric and some thick fusible interfacing to make the bag. I wasn’t following a pattern so this is definitely not the “official” way to make a rucksack but I have outlined the process I took below. I guessed my way along but it did the job!

~ How its Made ~

1. I began by cutting 4 domes of fabric, 2 from lining and two from outer. I attached interfacing to the outer piece and then adhered the two together with bondaweb.

2. To make a pocket, I sewed two rectangles of the contrasting fabrics together, pressed and sewed a fancy stitch along the top. This was sewn onto one of the dome pieces.

 

3.  I sewed a zip onto two strips of fabric, pressed and top stitched.

4.  I sewed on strips of outer fabric (Strengthened with interfacing) onto each end of the zip piece to create one long strip that was equal to the circumference of the bag. I flipped this round and sewed equal sized lining strips on the other side of the zip to neaten the interior.

 

5. This strip was then pinned all along the edge of the pocketed side of the bag, right sides together. I sewed the two ends of the strip together.

 

 6. For the straps, I made two strips from lining fabric, strengthened with fusible fleece, and attached some canvas strap to each end. I pinned these onto the reverse of the bag.

 

7. Tucking and pinning the straps out of the way in the middle, I then sewed the back of the bag on in the same way as the front (NB – it is important to open the zip before starting this in order to turn the bag the right way out!)

 

Then I turned the right way out voila – it actually looks like a rucksack!!

We went straight to the park with the new bag and it promptly got filled (I mean, totally FILLED) with twigs and acorns and leaves and the odd lollipop stick. I sat and had a cup of tea whilst all this took place so already the bag is a big win!

Tia xx

 

 

Applique Skirt and Braces DIY

We are big fans of the clothing range Little Bird here at Little Button Diaries. So much so that we would happily buy the entire range every time a new season comes out. After I spotted this adorable skirt with braces in the latest collection, I decided I wanted to try to make my own variation in blue, to fit with my Little Button’s wardrobe.

For this project you will need:

• Half a metre of lining fabric
• Half a metre of cord fabric
• Matching sewing thread
• Elastic
• Two buttons
• Bondaweb
• Scraps for fabric for appliqué

1. Begin by measuring your child’s waist. Next, measure from their waist down to their knees. Make a note of these measurements.

2. Cut your cord and lining fabric out into two rectangles. For the width of the fabric, use the waist measurement plus half the waist again. For the length of the material use the other measurement and add on three inches.

3. Next make the waistband. I tried a new type of waistband for me, one which has an elastic back panel and a flat front panel. This is made up of two tubes of fabric, one with elastic in, which are then sewn together. Cut two lengths of fabric that are 3 inches wide. For the length you need to cut it half the waist measurement of your child and add on five inches.

4. Press both tubes wrong sides together and sew one along the long edge with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

5. Next, cut your elastic. The measurement for this is the total length of the front panel plus an inch. Thread your elastic through the tube and gather the tube to fit the elastic. Sew in place at both ends with a zig zag stitch.

6. Turn the raw edges of each of the tubes under and sew the two pieces together at each end by tucking the elastic piece inside the flat piece.

7. To make the skirt, fold your cord material right sides together and sew in place with a half-inch seam allowance. Repeat with the lining fabric and press the seams out. Next, turn your cord material the right way out and tuck your lining fabric inside the cord material, making sure your side seams and the top of the skirt are aligned. Pin in place. Add gathering stitches along the top. Tia explains how to do this in this tutorial.

8. Attach your waistband to the skirt. Pin the waistband onto the top of the skirt, right sides together to hide the raw edges, and sew in place. Use a straight stitch for the front panel and a zig-zag stitch for the elastic back section.

9. Try on and pin the hemline. I wanted my lining to show so I turned the hem up twice (to hide the edges) and sewed. To make the hem less bulky, I cut off the front material then turned the lining fabric over twice to conceal the edges.

10. To make the braces, cut a length of cord material 3 inches wide. I cut one long piece of fabric and then cut that into the two braces. You want them to reach from the back of the skirt, cross over the shoulders and secure at the front.  Sew with a half-inch seam and press the seams out. Turn the braces the right way out and press flat. Using safety pins, pin to the front and back of skirt, crossing the braces over at the back.

11. Now it’s time to try it on your Little Button, and if necessary to adjust the length of the hem and braces.

12. Once you are happy with the fit of the braces, sew in place using a zig zag stitch at the back and attach two buttons at the front.

13. The finishing touch is to applique a design on the front corner of the skirt. For this, draw your design onto paper, pin onto your fabric and cut out. Iron Bondaweb onto the back of your fabric and press it onto your skirt. Finally sew in place using blanket stitch.

I was really pleased with how the finished skirt came out. My Little Button test-drove it at the park along with a Zara shirt and it remained intact, with the braces on the shoulders. Result!

~ Laura xx ~

Peek-a-Boo Wooden Puzzle

My Little Button is at an age where wooden puzzles have suddenly become fascinating to her. Her Grandpa and I simultaneously came up with a craft project idea based on her new-found love, to create a customised ‘peek-a-boo’ family puzzle. Grandpa did the hard work of constructing the puzzle, and I added the decoration – so the instructions below are a team effort!

 

For this project you will need:

• Sheet of 400mm x 300mm x 18mm thick MDF
• MDF sealer and primer
• 3mm plywood for backing
• 5 x 4mm Interscrews
• Foam protector sheet cut to size of backing
• Photographs of family members
• Wood paint in white
• Acrylic paints in black and eight colours of your choice (I used red, pink, purple, brown, yellow, orange, green & blue)
• Double-sided sticky tape

1. First design the layout of the puzzle by drawing a selection of geometric shapes onto paper. Most of these were straightforward but I used this link to help me form an oval. When you are happy with the plan, fix the paper to a sheet of MDF, then cut out the shapes using a scroll-saw.

2. Begin by drilling small pilot holes in each of the shapes and threading the narrow saw blade through. I was able to cut out the puzzle pieces leaving the holes, which would become their matching “homes”. I had to be very accurate as the shapes would have to fit the holes in each orientation – the sides and angles of each polygon for example had to be exactly the same on all faces.

3. Next drill a 9mm hole in the centre of each piece. In these holes fit and glue a length of dowel to act as a handle. Make sure the dowel is a tight fit, which little fingers would not be able to remove!

4. Add a coat of MDF sealer and one of primer to the board so it is ready for decoration. Then cut a piece of 3mm plywood to form a back panel … otherwise the shapes would just fall through.

5. To attach the backing I’ve used 5 x 4mm Interscrews. This allows the back to be removed and the pictures updated as and when. Finally, attach some foam protector sheet to avoid scratching the furniture.

6. To decorate, take the shapes out and paint the whole board with white wood paint. Then paint the top of each shape with a different coloured acrylic paint. I decided to not paint the sides so they could still easily slot into the base. If you find the pieces are too snug in their holes, you can use sandpaper to smooth the edges.

  

7. To create the black dots on the puzzle board you need a pencil with a rubber on the end and black acrylic paint. Dip the pencil into the paint and stamp it onto the board. Fill in any gaps in the dots with a fine paintbrush. It’s a really easy and effective way to print.

8. Measure the size of each shape and print out a photo of your nearest and dearest – one for each shape. You want to be able to see as much of each face as possible when you lift your shapes.

 

9. Unscrew the back of the puzzle. Using double-sided sticky tape, attach the photos to the back board, positioning them under each space. The nice thing about this puzzle is you can change the pictures as often as you like. Changing the order will keep your Little Buttons on their tiny toes, and adding in new people is another challenge for them.

10. Screw the puzzle back together and get playing.

I’m so pleased with the reaction from my Little Button with this project. She actually squealed when she realised there was ‘Dada’ under one of the shapes. The puzzle is great as she can learn her family members, shapes and basic colours at the same time.

~ Laura (& Grandpa Alf) xx ~

NB – Obviously with anything involving proper paint, sawing and big shed skills, make sure you keep your Little Buttons well out of the way. This project produced a lot of dust when we constructed the puzzle so it’s best for little ones to steer clear.

Nap Time Crafts: Vegetable Printing Wrapping Paper

This is a quick and easy craft to which can add a personalised touch to wrapping and use up vegetables. We steered away from the potato to try different garden vegetables so we could experiment with design and texture. You can also get your little ones involved in the printing too.

For this project you will need:

• Vegetables (we used an onion, peppers and carrots)
• Acrylic Paint
• Sponge
• Brown packing paper

For Kids printing:

• Baby-friendly paint

1. Begin by cutting a large piece of packing paper. We made ours a lot bigger than our present in case we made any mistakes.

2. Chop your vegetables leaving enough of a handle so you can stamp with it. We sliced the onion, carrot and pepper horizontally near the top.

 

3. Using the sponge, dab the paint onto the vegetable to coat it. Then get stamping. We did one row of stamping then reapplied more paint. We experimented with different colours and veg to create a repeating pattern.

 

4. To get your little ones involve swap acrylic paint for baby-friendly paint and let them get stuck in. Their design may be more abstract but they’ll enjoy getting messy!

5. When you’re paper is full up leave to dry. We then wrapped our present with string and used a few sprigs of lavender from the garden to finish.

~ Laura & Tia xx ~

A Dinky Dinosaur Tag Toy

My dear friend Esther recently gave birth to a beautiful son, and I wanted to greet his arrival with a handmade present – so I decided to make him this dinky dinosaur tag toy. I adapted the look and pattern from one I remember seeing in a craft magazine ages ago (sorry, I can’t remember which magazine!).

For this project you will need:

• 3 different thicknesses of ribbon (20cm long each)
• Bells or rattle
• Green fabric (I used large pieces of scraps)
• Black embroidery thread
• Toy stuffing

1. Begin by cutting out your pattern. You need to cut two body pieces, four leg pieces and one tummy piece.

2. Next cut your spikes. Cut two of your thickest ribbons 10cm long. Cut two of your medium size ribbon 7.5cm long and four pieces of your thinnest ribbon 5cm long.

3. Pin the ribbons onto one of the body pieces with the largest ones at the top and getting progressively thinner. Space them out as evenly as you can. Point the ribbons downward so when you turn the dinosaur the right way out, they are sticking up. Next, pin the other body piece of fabric on top right sides together. Sew with a quarter-inch seam allowance starting at the tail and ending at the neck.

4. Make small cuts in the corners to ease them out. Turn the body the right way out.

5. Pin the tummy piece to the bottom of the body pieces and sew, leaving a 5cm gap so the dinosaur can be stuffed. Make small snips along the seam on any curves.

6. To make the legs, begin by folding and pinning each leg right sides together. Sew around the curved edges leaving a small gap for turning. Next, fold each corner of the leg diagonally and sew across. This gives a base to the legs so the dinosaur will stand up. Repeat with the other three legs and turn them the right way out.

 

7. To get the positioning even, sew the legs into place before stuffing. Then stuff the body and legs of the dinosaur and add any bells/rattles into the middle of the body. Sew up the holes using white thread and slip stitch.

8. Embroider on a cheeky face. Use French knots for the eyes and backstitch for the smile.

Roar-tastic!

 ~ Laura xx ~

How to Make a Retro Telephone Soft Toy

My toddler is a little bit obsessed with our retro red telephone at the moment. She wanders over to it, picks up the handset, says ‘hello’ then wanders off. So I thought I’d make a matching telephone toy for her room so she can catch up with all her chums and hopefully leave our real telephone in working order.

For this project you will need:

• Red ric rac – 50 cm
• Red material for phone receiver and red circle (40cm x 35cm)
• White material (60cm x 30cm)
• Scrap of red felt
• White felt (30cm x 15cm)
• Red and white thread
• Rattle/bells
• Toy stuffing
• Small piece of velcro

1. Using the template above cut out your pattern pieces. Using the red fabric, cut out two phone handset shapes and one red circle. Using the white fabric, cut a front and a back piece for the phone’s main body. Finally, cut two dials out of white felt, slightly smaller than the red circle, and a stopper out of a scrap of red felt.

 

2. Pin the handset pieces right sides together. Pin the ric rac into the bottom right-hand corner in between the two pieces of material. Sew with a 0.5-inch seam allowance leaving a two-inch gap to turn the fabric out. Snip the corners and turn the handset the right way out.

3. Pin the red circle on the right side of one of the pieces of white phone fabric, about two-thirds of the way down, and centred horizontally. Sew with red thread as close to the edge as you can.

4. Pin the two pieces of phone body fabric right sides together. Pin the other end of the ric rac into the bottom right-hand corner of the fabric. Make sure the phone handset and the rest of the ric rac is tucked out of the way, inside the phone, so they don’t get caught when sewing. Start at the bottom of the phone and sew with a 0.5-inch seam allowance. Leave a 3-inch gap at the bottom, snip the corners and turn it all the right way out.

5. Stuff the phone handset and body of the telephone with toy stuffing so it is nice and cuddly.  Add bells to the body of the phone for a ‘ringing’ effect, pushing them into the centre. Sew up the gaps of the phone and handset using a slip stitch with white thread.

6. Using bondaweb, iron the two white dial pieces together. This is to make them stronger. Cut 11 number holes out of your white dial, each around the size of a 5p piece, using a small pair of sharp scissors. Using backstitch, hand sew the red stopper piece onto the white dial.

7. In the centre of the white dialling part, cut a line about one cm long. Pin the dial piece onto the red circle on the front of the phone.

8. Pin the red button over the white dial piece and sew in place. Check the dial can turn with ease; if it can’t, make the hole a little bigger.

9. Finally, add a little piece of velcro to both the handset and the body of the phone, so that your Little Button can hang up when she’s finished her call. Happy dialling!

 

~ Laura xx ~

 

Nap Time Crafts: Sun Print Notebook

 

Before the summer is out I wanted to try making something with sunography paper. This is paper that is bleached in the sun and leaves a print of what you placed on top. I decided to rope my Little Button and her Grandpa in for this craft project and turn the results into a ‘back to school’-style notebook that would remind me of summer.

My Little Button and her Grandpa went on a nature walk around his garden looking for suitable flowers and leaves to place on the paper to make the print.

Once they had collected the flowers we flattened them in between two books and then carefully arranged them onto the paper.

We left the paper in direct sunlight for 10 minutes.  We then removed the leaves and rinsed the paper under a cold tap until the water ran clear, then left it to dry.

Here’s what I learnt from this type of printing:

• Once you’ve picked your flowers/leaves, flatten them between two books. This will give a much clearer and more defined print on the sun paper.
• Any trace of wind in the air will move the leaves and disrupt the printing process. I learnt this the hard way after leaving it alone and coming back to discover the leaves on the floor!
• The longer you leave the print paper in the sun the stronger the image will be. The brand I used recommended 10 minutes.
• Direct sunlight worked best, not shade.

To make a notebook

You will need:

• Your sun print
• Thick card for front cover
• Neon embroidery thread
• Paper for pages

 

1. Begin by cutting out your sun print panel. Fold your front cover card in half and position the panel on the front. Attach using a small amount of glue in the centre.

   

2. Stitch round the sun print panel in neon thread using a sewing machine.

3. Arrange your paper for the pages and fold in half. Straighten up the edges with a craft knife and cut so the papers are 1cm smaller than the front cover on all sides.

   

4. To bind the pages and front cover together, make three holes equal distance apart on the middle pages  through to the spine of the cover with a needle. Then start your thread from the middle hole on the middle pages and thread up to the top hole on the spine. Then thread back down to the middle hole on the inside and down to the lower hole on the outside. Keep repeating this process of sewing from the middle out to the spine and going up and down the spine. This will securely attach the spine to the pages. End with the thread on the inside and tie a knot in the thread.

 

Fingers crossed for a sunny September!

~ Laura xx ~

Deliciously Cute Ice Cream Purses

Our latest Hobbycraft project is now on their website, and we think its pretty…erm… cool! With the summer in full swing we wanted to make a little purse to keep our ice cream change in, and to remind us of those summer nights once the sun has long gone. For the full tutorial of how to make your own, pop on over to Hobbycraft.

~ Laura & Tia xx ~

Charming Brighton: Make Some Shrink Jewellery

Be of where you live to your jewellery with these super easy shrink plastic charms. Hop over to www.brightonmums.com to see how we made them.

 

 Tia & Laura x