Rag Rug Hand Hooked Turtle Cushion

My daughter is seven so only really gets the minimum of homework at the moment, I'm sure this will all change soon enough. So at the moment homework projects still have the allure of novelty and are generally quite fun.

So I wasn't too phased when she announced, 'I have got to make a turtle for Monday'. So after a little thought we thought that she could make a little rag rug turtle. With great excitement she set about working on her design, and looking for old clothes for materials. The turtle consisted of some old curtains of my mums, an old threadbare tea-towel and a pair of my daughters old PE trousers, which incidentally I had managed to shrink. She set to hooking with gusto for all of about ten minutes before deciding that perhaps, she didn't want to part with her turtle and actually perhaps Mum might be better off finishing it! So there began a new project for me instead and an emergency replacement homework turtle made from felt and a big beach pebble (which again she decided she couldn't part with but after a few tears and some gentle persuading she did actually hand in to the teacher).

After finishing my daughter's simple design, I was at a bit of a loss to what to do with it, it wasn't quite wall hanging material and not really any good as a rug, so I mounted it (Just with hot melt glue) on a pre-bought cushion.

There are loads of tutorials on YouTube on rag rugging. It is a really simple craft, which gives you satisfyingly quick results. As crafts go it is also cheap, just using strips of scrap material and some hessian. The rug hooks are also quite cheap at about £12ish.

The little photo montage below shows you how the design grows from a quick sketch to the finished cushion.

 

Gorgeous Glass Fridge Magnets

These simple fridge magnets make use of all those gorgeous gardening magazines and catalogues.

Such a simple idea using your favourite magazine images and floristry glass nuggets.

The optical properties of the glass nuggets naturally magnify the images behind, making eye-catching almost 3-D pictures. The glass nuggets I used were fractionally larger than a 5pence piece but you can get a range of cabochons and glass nuggets specifically for this sort of use from most good craft shops. I went for the floristry nuggets because I like the unique slightly irregular shapes but you may prefer something a little more symmetrical, I also had some in the cupboard!

1. Using a five pence piece I cut out the images from various magazines and comics.
2. Using watered down PVA or Modge Podge and a paint brush lightly paint the face of the image.
3. Place the glass nugget on the face of the image and push down firmly until the image changes from milky white to a clear picture, carefully squeezing out any air bubbles.
4. Wipe away any excess glue
5. When dry fix magnetic sheet cut to shape (again available from good craft shops).

I made these ones for a craft stall I had back in the summer.

 

For another craft idea using old seed catalogues and magazines see my post on making and Autumn Bounty Bowl