Happy Birthday BuzyBobbins and blog update

Happy Birthday BuzyBobbins and blog update

Hello everyone, I have some exciting news, About this time four years ago was when I first posted on this blog. Wow its been a long time and I hadn't even noticed.
I'm really glad I'm still able to share cross stitch designs will all of you out there. Feel free to give me a wave or a comment since I don't actually know who is popping past at all.

However with this announcement comes some sad news I'm going to have to slow down my designing and craft posts to give me time to catch up with life and work, by all means don't take this to mean that there will be no more cross stitch designs posted here to share but they may end up being once a week depending on how everything settles out.

Thank you for joining me on this wonderful journey, I have spotted a few of my designs here and there around the internet which makes me glad people are able to use them and it brings enjoyment and allows crafters to enjoy the wonderful and relaxing art of cross stitch.

So heres to cross stitch, crafts, designs and the happier things in life
Gemma x

How to make a Chain Chomp Christmas bauble

How to make a Chain Chomp Christmas bauble

Hello everyone
This week its time for a tutorial on how to make a chain chomp Christmas decoration from an old bauble. I remember being rather scared of these guys back in the N64 days but luckily the chain made them easy to run away from.
While this decoration is made from an old Christmas bauble it can be used on a tree like in the picture above but it can always be used as a fun decoration all year round. I need to get a picture of this guy terrorising my Amiibos.

What you will need:
An old Christmas bauble
A short length of chain (easily found in craft or DIY stores)
A split ring (can be taken from an old keyring if you can't find one)
Acrylic paint in Navy blue, white and black
Paintbrushes
Paint sealant spray (optional)
A pair of pliers
A cup to rest your bauble in

Step 1.
Get your bauble, If is dark blue or white please continue to step 2. If not I recommend Painting your entire bauble white. This is a great way to use a really scuffed or worn bauble since you will be covering it in paint all over so covering all of the scuffed areas.
If your bauble is originally a very dark colour you may need more than one layer of white paint to cover it.
Place your bauble in a cup or hang it up to dry. I found that hanging it up allowed be to paint more of the bauble at once.

Step 2:
Paint the Blue areas of the chain chomp. Leave the area for the mouth and eyes white. If you need to draw on guide lines in pencil.
If your bauble is Dark blue already paint the eyes and mouth on in white.

Step 3:

Using a reference picture use black paint to surround the mouth and eyes. Add the teeth and Pupils. 

Step 4:

Use your pliers to open the end link of your chain then thread it through the hanging loop of the bauble. Use your pliers again to close the loop so the chain is surely fastened to the hanging loop. 

Next add your split ring to the other end of the chain so it looks like this:

 Here I have taken the top off my bauble to make it easier to see. Remember that the top doesn't come off all baubles so don't force it to avoid breaking your bauble. 

Step 5: (optional)

Spray your bauble with paint sealant spray according to the packet instructions.

This is optional but the spray can help keep the paint from scuffing off of your bauble while being displayed or stored. Allow your bauble to dry according to the instructions.

Lastly find a nice place to put your Chain Chomp, it can be hung from the split ring or placed on top of your Christmas tree branches as if waiting for Mario to walk by. 

So I hope you all enjoyed this little tutorial and have fun making your own Chain Chomp decoration. 

For more ideas on how to use your old and worn out Christmas baubles here are some links:

Christmas Bauble Upcycling

Upcycling worn out Christmas Baubles
Spiderman Halloween decoration
How to make a Bloody handprint Halloween decoration from an old Christmas bauble
How to make a dripping bauble Halloween decoration.
Pokemon Gastly Halloween decoration
How to make a Wrapped sweet Christmas decoration.
How to make a Squirtle Squad decoration
How to make a Jake the dog decoration

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

'I love you to the moon and stars and back again' - Heart and stars cross stitch design

'I love you to the moon and stars and back again' - Heart and stars cross stitch design

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	310	403
Blue	3837	112
Pink	956	54
Yellow	444	291

Hello everyone,

This design was partly inspired by my Stepmum saying
'I love you to the moon and stars and back again' to my lovely little Nieces.
For this design I wanted to make this a purely visual representation of the phrase. I may do another with the text included as part of the design but it can be added to this design with a small font.

This is a particularly cute phrase, it brings up loads of lovely images in my mind about beautiful night skies so there will definitely be a few more designs based on this idea.

This is a lovely design of a heart, moon and stars, designed to be the right size for a larger card or a little child friendly motif. I think this one would make a great patch for a child who is mad about space or the night sky.


For more bright and colourful patterns here are some links:

Geometric black and purple cross stitch design
Rainbow coloured Geometric pattern
Pretty circle of Butterflies and Flowers
Wishing well card sized cross stitch design
Primrose Fairy
Question Mark Maze
China blue flower motif
Girl blowing a Dandelion
Cute bird sitting in some bushes
Make a Wish - Dandelion seeds turning into Butterflies
Blue and green sewn bird
Bright orange and yellow summer sun motif
Bunch of colourful balloons

  For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Dinosaur relaxing on a sunny beach cross stitch design

Dinosaur relaxing on a sunny beach cross stitch design

 

 

 

Colour	Used in these areas:	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	Outlines	310	403
Yellow	Sand and sun	973	297
Blue	Sky	3761	928
Green	Dinosaur and leaves	702	226
Red	Dinosaurs shorts and flag on sandcastle	321	9046
Brown	Palm tree trunk	301	1049
Dark brown	Palm tree details and coconuts	433	358

 Hello everyone,
So sometimes I think 'you know what Im going to draw something different' so this week I sketched this dinosaur (only loosly based off a diplodocus) relaxing at the beach and leaning on a palm tree.
The edges of the design are wavy to give the impression of a lovely warm sunny day.

Would you believe we (in the UK) actually had a few sunny days in March? its getting critical, we don't see much sun in our end of the country so people are already breaking out the sun tan lotion, someone even brought a towel into work to sunbathe in the car park. I think I'm going to have to stock up on cool drinks if this continues! but I imagine in a few days time there will be a thunderstorm and everything will cool off again.
Anyone for an ice bucket challenge? Or a barbeque? We got to make the most of unusual sunshine while its here!

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Bunch of balloons - colourful cross stitch design

Bunch of balloons - colourful cross stitch design

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	310	403
Yellow	444	290
Blue	597	1064
Green	703	238
Pink	605	1094
Red	606	334

Hello everyone,
I have a friend who want to stitch something bright and colourful to cheer herself up while the nights are still dark so I drew this design for her. This version of a bunch of balloons pattern is designed to be easy to sew with only whole stitches and no shading.
I would like to bring out another version of this pattern to see what I can come up with when I include some backstitch and half stitches. The version so far is turning out to have many more balloons in it so could be a challenge but I'll save that for another time.
The colours of the balloons can be changed around to whatever takes your fancy or if you have a few odd ends of embroidery thread this will be a great way to use it up.


If you like this design here are a few suggestions of other bright, colourful and fun cross stitch designs:

Pink and purple baby girl birth sampler design
Little Rainbow over the Hills Cross stitch design
Small pink and purple princess castle
Mummy's princess - heart with a crown

Geometric black and purple cross stitch design
Rainbow coloured Geometric pattern
Pretty circle of Butterflies and Flowers
Wishing well card sized cross stitch design
Primrose Fairy
Cute bird sitting in some bushes
Make a Wish - Dandelion seeds turning into Butterflies
Blue and green sewn bird
Bright orange and yellow summer sun motif

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

How to make a Jake the dog decoration from an old Christmas bauble

How to make a Jake the dog decoration from an old Christmas bauble

Hello everyone,
Heres a quick tutorial on how to make a Jake the dog themed decoration.

For those who do not know Jake the dog is a character from Adventure time, he is Finn the humans loyal friend who helps him on his adventures. However Jake tends to be rather lazy which can sometimes get him into more trouble. Luckily for Jake he is a magical dog with amazing stretching, growing and shrinking powers. This is one of the reasons I think Jake looks really good on a  bauble because of his powers he could possibly be a sphere if he wanted to, but then he could also be anything else he wanted also.

Ok so this decoration can be used on a Christmas tree but it does not have to be a soley Christmas decoration. It would look great with a collection of other Adventure time goodies

What you will need:
Gold/ Yellow Christmas bauble
Black and Yellow acrylic paint
Paint sealant spray (optional)

Step 1:

Start by making sure your bauble is clean and free of dust. Dust will definitely get in the way of the painting process but a quick wipe with a cloth usually gets rid of it.

Place your Bauble somewhere secure to begin painting. I find that a small cup or egg cup can work really well to hold a bauble in place.

Next take your black paint and start by drawing the sausage shape which will become Jakes jowls.

Step 2:

Keep your black paint out and fill in an oval shape inbetween the jowls to make the nose and two circles as shown in the picture to make the eyes.
If you are worried about smudging the paint while handing it give the paint a little while to dry before going on to the next step.

Step 3:

In-between the jowls paint on Jakes mouth again in black paint. This is where it would be good to get out some reference pictures if you want to change up the expression but here I just gave him a nice smile.
After that paint a U shape on each side of the Bauble for his ears

Step 4:

Let your black paint dry before this next step.

Take your white paint and paint in side the eyes. Take a look at a reference picture for this, take note that the white areas on Jake are rarely completely circular and the exact shape depends on what direction he is looking in.
Next paint small dots inside the mouth for his teeth. When Jakes mouth is open his top teeth are often visible but you do not see his bottom teeth as often.

Step 5:(optional)
Once your paint has fully dried you can optionally use paint sealant spray according to the packet instructions. This will help stop the paint from chipping off if the bauble is dropped or handled but if its only going to be hanging up you may be fine not using it.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial for more ideas on what to do with old Christmas baubles here are some links

Christmas Bauble Upcycling
Upcycling worn out Christmas Baubles
Spiderman Halloween decoration
How to make a Bloody handprint Halloween decoration from an old Christmas bauble
How to make a dripping bauble Halloween decoration.
Pokemon Gastly Halloween decoration
How to make a Wrapped sweet Christmas decoration.
How to make a Squirtle Squad decoration
How to make a Chain Chomp Christmas bauble

Other Upcycling

Upcycled bunting from left over wrapping paper
How to make wool covered letters - Kids craft

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Unboxing and review of Cutiepies' Hair bows

Unboxing and review of Cutiepies' Hair bows

Hello everyone
This week I gave Chloe (my beautiful niece) her birthday money a little bit early so she could get something nice for her Birthday party. So we searched around on Facebook to find someone who makes things which are lovely for her to wear since I follow loads of crafting pages.
We discovered the page for Cutiepie Hair bows and Chloe fell in love with them and almost immediately, she decided that a new bow was what she wanted to wear for her Birthday party. She ended up stealing my phone to look at all of the pictures of the styles of bows and posts showing available ribbons.

Find their facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/cutiepieshairbowsbelfast/

We ended up ordering a total of 5 ribbons so here is Chloes little review on the pieces she received. Under this will be the grown up stuff like price, postage and ordering written by Gemma

Bow review by Chloe

Hello, My name is Chloe and I am here to tell you all about my new bows which were ordered from Cutie Pies Hair bows

This is the Captain America bow I asked for, I can't believe how cool it is. It includes a big shield and Captain America all over the ribbon. 

Theres a shiny edge on the ribbons which makes the bow all sparkly. 

I got to choose the ribbon, theme and clip for my bows, there was an option to have extra feathers but I decided not to have those. It was great to look through all of the pictures to find ribbons I liked best. 

This is my Spiderman bow. It was so great I got to ask if  Cutiepies' Hair bows had ribbons and decorations based on my favorite heroes. I didn't know if I should go for Hello Kitty though since there's a whole load of Hello Kitty ribbon in the pictures on the page. But my birthday party will be Superheroes do I definitely had to pick Spiderman.

The biggest problem was that I had a hard time picking which one to have but I only had so much birthday money to spend! Theres loads of pictures on the page to look at so I got a few Ideas.

The grown up stuff by Gemma
So of course there are a few things I'd need to mention for the grown ups who may be ordering a bow (or a few bows) I'm going to point out right away that ordering was super easy, as Chloe mentioned before the lovely artist behind  Cutiepies' Hair bows makes it really easy to choose a style of bow, favorite ribbon and type of clip you'd like it on. I just sent a message over the Facebook page and was able to find out what clips were in stock.

I find being able to choose the style of clip very helpful, this allowed me to choose the Barret clip for Chloe which is the type of clip she normally uses for her hair so we don't have to work out how to use a new clip style.
Chloe: Yep, because Gemma's only just figured out how to do my hair in a way that looks nice using my regular clips. :D
Gemma: It would be easier if you stopped wriggling around while I'm putting your hair up you banana :p

I ordered a Jack Skeleton bow for myself though, when I saw it in the Halloween ribbon list I just couldn't resist. 

In addition we had an unusual request of something Halloween themed, well that was unusual since I ordered in March but we wanted to dress as creepy cute dolls for an upcoming fancy dress party. Luckily I got a few pictures from Cutiepies' Hair bows which let Chloe and I pick from the (surprisingly wide) selection of Halloween ribbon and charms still available.

These are the bows we ordered for Halloween, we could order a matching set but in two different colours.

Its not obvious from the pictures I've posted but I must point out that the quality of these bows is amazing. Everything is very well stuck together and none of the items I ordered felt flimsy. Its great that I can give these to Chloe and know its not just to fall apart the first time she wears it. There's a small bit of gluing but this is all well hidden by ribbon or on the back of the bow giving a nice neat finish.
Lastly the clip itself is supported with an extra piece of ribbon which makes it really secure.

Heres a lil pic of the back of the Spiderman bow the black ribbon helps hold the bow on to the clip nicely.

As for the price I'm going to be honest and say that I was pleasantly surprised on this factor. I'm not going to list what I paid since I imagine it varies a little depending on the style of bow/ clip you choose. However I will say that I could have spent the same amount in a clothing shop or even more in a specialty accessory shop for clips which are just the same as all of the others in the store. So to be honest next time I want some bows for a special occasion or as a present I think I'll just come back to Cutiepies' Hair bows for something which is totally unique

Just a small note on postage, my bows came in this neat little box and really clearly labelled so no problems there. The box did not indicate where it came from so this will be really great if you need to order for someone in your house without raising suspicions if its meant to be a surprise. 

So my final verdict is to take a look and see if any of these bows would appeal to you or someone you know, I had a great time ordering and using them and will definitely be back for more. :D

I heartily recommend checking out the Facebook page, there are regular posts including bows and sneak peeks at new ribbons and charms which is a wonderful way to add colour to any Facebook wall. 

Find their Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/cutiepieshairbowsbelfast/

That's all for now, much love and happy crafting from Gemma and Chloe xx

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Zodiac cross stitch design Aries - March 21 - April 19

Zodiac cross stitch design Aries - March 21 - April 19

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	310	403
Red	666	46
Orange	714	314
Yellow	973	297

Aries is a fire sign, so to represent this I made the background look like a collection of small flames all smoldering behind the sign. The Colours used are also all bright and firey this helps to represent the Fire signs tendency to be Enthusiastic to the point where they could burn out of control. So keep an eye on those fire signs! However all that passion can sometimes be channeled into creative pursuits, with the fire signs tendency to be lively and spontaneous it seems like there will never be a dull moment with them around.

I hope this is up in time to be stitched for anyone with a late March Birthday, why not use this design to make a card for a special Aries friend in your life?

For more Zodiac themed cross stitch designs here are some links:

Zodiac cross stitch design Aquarius January 20 - February 18
Zodiac cross stitch designs - Capricorn December 22 - January 19
Zodiac cross stitch -  Pisces February 19 - March 20
Zodiac cross stitch design Aries - March 21 - April 19
Zodiac cross stitch design - Taurus April 20 - May 20
Zodiac cross stitch design Gemini - May 21 - June 20
Zodiac Cancer June 21 - July 22 cross stitch design
Zodiac cross stitch design - Virgo August 23 - September 22
Zodiac cross stitch design Libra - September 23 - October 22
Zodiac Scorpio October 23 - November 21 cross stitch design

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

How to make a simple felt flower Mothers day/ Easter card

How to make a simple felt flower Mothers day/ Easter card

Hello everyone,
Today here is a quick tutorial for a Mothers day card just in case anyone needs something that can be completed before the weekend. Did anyone leave it a little bit late this year?
Don't forget in the UK mothers day is on Sunday March 6th this year.
In the US you have a little more time as Mothers day is not celebrated until the 8th of May, but still don't forget to celebrate your mother or any other wonderful woman in your life.

This bright and colourful card doesn't only have to be for Mothers day, it could also be a lovely Easter card too. This will make a nice change from the typical egg and bunny motifs while still being able to celebrate new life and the beginning of spring which we see around Easter time.

Without further ado lets get this tutorial started shall we?

What you will need:
A blank card and matching envelope (choose any colour you like or have handy)
A green felt tip pen or pencil
Felt in various colours (again choose any colours you like but be sure to include a nice yellow for the center of each flower)
Glue, I used a little PVA glue
Scissors

Step 1:
On the front of your card draw some stems for your flowers. Try not to bunch the lines too close together so there is room for the flower heads.

Here I used little wavy lines for each flower and made all of the stems different heights. Different heights on your flowers is an easy way to space out the flowers a little more and to make the card a little more interesting.

Step 2:

Choose your felt colours to make the flowers. and cut out four or five small petal or teardrop shapes per flower.

Step 3:
Glue your petals around the top of the stems with the points facing towards the top of your green lines.
Do this for each one of your lines.

Step 4:

Lastly cut a small circles of yellow felt and glue them in the middle of each flower.

Once all of the glue is dry you card will now be ready to write a lovely note inside just in time to send to your wonderful Mother. :)

While making your cards remember you can make the stems any shape you like, here are a few examples of other things you can try.
Also you could use any spare green felt to make little leaves if you wanted to.

Thats it for this tutorial. I hope all of the cards get done in time. :D
Much love and happy crafting
Gemma
x

For more ideas on things to make here are some links:

Christmas Bauble Upcycling
Upcycling worn out Christmas Baubles
Spiderman Halloween decoration
How to make a Bloody handprint Halloween decoration from an old Christmas bauble
How to make a dripping bauble Halloween decoration.
Pokemon Gastly Halloween decoration
How to make a Wrapped sweet Christmas decoration.
How to make a Squirtle Squad decoration

Other Upcycling
Upcycled bunting from left over wrapping paper
How to make wool covered letters - Kids craft

Index of Card ideas
How to make a Minion Birthday card

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.