Return to rag rugs

We returned to making rag rugs on Saturday.

The last time we were busy cutting up fabric and hooking and prodding  was in the blissful heat of the summer. I think we should make rag rugs more often as it seems to make the sun shine!

I got some coffee sacks from Brick lane market this time as they are great for the hessian base in which to work your rag rug. Others also used the jute shopping bags to work into, working on hiding a certain logo, how all shopping bags should be...

Some great organised chaos...and fierce concentration, we didn't feel the time flying by.

And there was even more fabric to choose from than last time as clothes and bedsheets are not given away to charity anymore (even friends and families unwanted clothes and bedsheets...I am a magnet for this stuff), they all get recycled into fantastic rag rug creations. 

And the tools with funny names - hooky and proddy - how those words can be interpreted in so many ways.

 

It was great to see the progress on a rag rug from the last session, all that time ago... OK, it wasn't so long ago really.  

New year, new craft

Happy 2011! We started back on a grey Sunday afternoon, but nothing like a bit of making to keep the mind and hands busy. We were using old washed jam jars amongst other glass objects to do some etching, which basically makes a frosty surface to the glass.  This is a very simple way to spruce up some containers or make gifts. 

We started with cutting out our designs on contact paper (like sticky back plastic). Then we stuck these designs onto the glass. 

Next you apply the etching cream evenly with a brush, corrosive stuff this is, so hands definitely protected.

Washed off after a few minutes and voila! A more interesting jar than you started off with. 

It's cold outside!

Nothing like a candle to change the atmosphere in a room. After hunting down some charity shop cups and saucers and any other suitable receptacles, we made them all into container candles!

First you have to stick the wick in the center of the cup. then you pour in the hot wax.

We were using soya wax which is nicer to the environment and it's not as messy. It also throws the scent very well. We were adding seasonal spiced apple and cedar to our melted wax. 

Making sure the wick is centered after the wax is poured is important too, so the candle burns properly. That's where chopsticks come in handy.