Lariath- Live a Little.

As in an earlier post I mentioned that Tim was my VERY shy hamster. Due to his timidness I was struggling to get him out of his cage for taming and exercise etc. Honestly it was taking me up to an hour to try and coax him out of his nest/tube so that I could scoop him up out of the cage. A waste of time for me and a bit stressful for him. To overcome this I decided that a cage door would be so much more efficient to get him out of the bin cage rather than taking the lid of and trying to scoop him up. To do this I used: An old wire cage (that I was never going to use again) Some wire cutters A drill A pen Sandpaper Some wire Part of the old wire cage: Using wire cutters I cut the door off the old wire cage leaving enough wire either side of the door to attach it to the bin cage: I then placed the door onto the bin cage where I wanted the door to be and using a pen marked where to cut the opening for the door and where I needed to drill holes to attach the door wi...

I've always found mug cosies awesome but I've never actually made one myself so I gave it a go with the simplest pattern I could think of. The cosy was easier to make than expected, I should have started making these ages ago! I only used single crochet stitches in rows for the actually cosy and a loop made of slip stitches that goes over the handle and is secured with a button. I used a bit of crochet embroidery for the mouth and strap (the first time I've done crochet embroidery, it's so easy!...and probably addictive....). The eye was the hardest part to get right but saying that it's pretty easy when you know how. I will be making more of these and hopefully post a pattern so watch this space.  Click  Here  for the pattern!  Enjoy this post?

Just a blog to update on a few bits and bobs. Mario Mushroom The first thing I ever crocheted was an Amigurumi Mario mushroom for my lovely friend lilangelsg2  (who also does lots of crafty things check her out!) It took me ages to make as I'd never picked up a crochet hook in my life. Now that I've had a bit more practice I gave it another go and made her a green one....and it's still not perfect. Compare this to my first one and find the pattern  Here .  Recycled Plant Pot A while back I made a  DIY Recycled Plant Pot  to add to the 'recycling' theme of the plant pot I used it to regrow spring onions. It's cheaper than buying more spring onions and saves you just throwing the spring onion ends away. All I did was cut the spring onions and leave about 2 inches at the base  then put them into soil (in my recycled plant pot) and after a few days they start to regrow. Just cut some off when needed, remember not to cut them down too short or else...

Meet Tim my extremely 'Tim'id hamster. I got Tim about a month ago and decided to make him a bin cage so that he had a lot of room to run and a place to burrow (and an excuse to get my craft on). I bought the biggest storage box I could find that was tall enough to fit the 11" wheel in. My boyfriend excited to use his manly drill drilled many many many holes in the box sides and lid.  I bought a small kitchen bin to use as a burrow, the top of the bin was cut off and sanded down to fit comfortably into the cage. So that Tim could reach his burrow I bought him this  Flexible tube . I think these are awesome as they bend to whatever shape you need, can be as long or short as you want and are big enough for Syrian  hamsters to use. The only downside is that they can be a bit tricky to clean due to the ridges but I definitely think it's worth it. Here's the bin/burrow where he's made a nest right at the bottom: I made a sand bath for him out of a...

Money origami makes owing someone money, giving money as a gift, leaving a tip etc slightly more fun. I made these as a gift: The butterflies are so simple to make but look really good. The shirts are slightly more complicated but I wouldn't say they were difficult and neither take long to make. My Mum took the ones I made her into a shop to buy a mirror she wanted... the assistant was very amused. Instructions for butterflies:   http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WipQCf9hgNg (Even though in the video dollar bills are used, it's the same as using pound notes) Instructions for shirts:  http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G_CMmYZv-yA They don't even have to be made out of money; coloured paper looks good: Enjoy this post?

My dad has been using a shot glass as an egg cup for a good few months now...so  I thought I'd buy him a unique egg cup. However the only ones I could find were pretty boring; An excuse to get my craft on. Searching on the internet I found out how to decorate porcelain easily and cheaply: All I used was a sharpie pen which I already had around the house and an oven (which I already had around the house....). I bought 2 plain white porcelain egg cups (they were pretty cheap). I purchased two because I can't draw for toffee, I needed a backup. All I did was grab the egg cup and a sharpie and get drawing. When my 'masterpiece' was finished I put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Voila unique egg cup. As the first one turned out ok(ish) my boyfriend attacked the second one with Johnny Depp characters beause Depp is awesome. 

I made a crochet phone cover ages ago for my old phone and never got round to finishing it off or using it. Now I have one of those MASSIVE phones... small phones seem to have disappeared of the face of the planet...  So instead of throwing the phone cover away I decided I'd see if it came in useful for something. A few days ago I decided I needed a pin cushion because I keep loosing my needles in the sofa, which could end up very painful. It is very frustrating spending half your time looking for things instead of making things. So here is where the crochet phone cover came in handy. Just stuff it sew up the open end and add some cute stuff.... The pattern for the phone cover that I used about a year ago can be found  Here.   Just made it to whatever size I wanted. Instead of the thick strap for the button I made a thin strap just using chain stitches to my desired length and sewed the end on. To make it into a pin cushion as I said all I did was stuff the phon...