Fun things to make with Simbrix this Christmas - Part 2 - Glass markers and table decorations - advanced designs

Fun things to make with Simbrix this Christmas - Part 2 - Glass markers and table decorations - advanced designs

Hello everyone,

Heres part two of the Fun things to make with Simbrix posts, this time I'll be concentrating on a few designs which require a little construction to make them work out.

If you'd like to try your hand at a few easier designs first here's a link to my first post containing a few fun things to make:
Fun things to make with Simbrix this Christmas - Part 1 - Easy designs

First up are some markers to wrap around your wine glasses to help you renember who has which drink.

Flat glass markers

Here are a few examples of shapes which can be used for the flat glass markers, renember each one needs to be different to help tell apart the glasses. They can be different colours for each glass or mix up the shapes for each person.
To attach them to the glass split your finished design in half and reconnect the Simbrix around the stem of the glass. My glasses are standard thin stem glasses, if your wine glasses have thicker stems you may need to make the hole in the middle a little bigger to fit your marker around the glass.

Christmas tree Glass marker

This one is a little complicated to build and the exact number of pieces that you will need will depend on how tall the stem on your glass is. For each piece split it in the middle and re-form it around the stem. It is easier to attach the bottom pieces first and work up. 

For my glass I used:

3 x shape 1 (shape one is the trunk of the tree)

2 x shape 2

3 x shape 3

2 x shape 4

1 x Shape 5

1 x Shape 6

For the green shapes feel free to mix up the greens between the light and dark green to give your tree a more natural feel. Id you'd like to make more than one as a glass marker why not replace a few of the edge Simbrix with other colours so that it looks like your Christmas tree has a few colourful Christmas baubles. 

For special occasions my Mum let me drink my lemonade out of a wine glass. I felt so very grown up with my fizzy pop in a wine glass. However it was revealed to me later that the wine glass was rather small compared to our large tumbler glasses and it served a second purpose of making sure I only had a small glass of lemonade. :) It worked though and in fact I still do it today.

Standing train decoration

 

 

For this design make one copy of the train and three copies of the stand (the shape at the top) Once all of the pieces are made simply slot the stand piece into the gap in each wheel and your train will stand up.

This method can be used for all sorts of standing sculptures just make sure to leave a gap of two Simbrix spaced evenly on your sculpture to fit the stands in.

 

 

3D Christmas tree

This cute little Christmas tree sculpture is made from two pieces of Simbrix sculpture slotted together.

 

Simply build the two pieces as shown above (feel free to mix up the greens on the tree or add bricks of other colours to look like decorations)

Then slot the two pieces of Simbrix together to create the 3D tree.

 

Why not use these to give your favourite toys a Christmas tree. My tree ended up just the right size for the kids room in my dolls house but it could also be used as a mini tree for Barbie sized dolls so they can join in the Christmas fun.

 

Table markers

 

 

This is a little idea for a table marker, it is made to place at the dinner table to remind family, friends and guests where their seat is for their meal.

They can be made plain just like the picture above or made with a letter in the middle to represent the first letter of the name of the person who will be sitting in that place.

 

To put your table marker together build the marker and two stands (the shape on the left), then slot the stands into the gaps in the place marker section. With two stands your place marker should stand firmly without wobbling.

 

 

These colours are only suggestions of course. Why not make each one in the favourite colours of the person who the stand is being made for? Alternatively the stands could be made to match the table decorations or just at random with whatever colours you find fun to use.

 

Anyway I hope everyone has a awesome Christmas, if you get a bag of Simbrix under your Christmas tree have a great time making some fun sculptures!

 

Much love and happy crafting.

Gemma x

For more information about Simbrix here are some links:

A preview of Simbrix - Interconnecting bricks for creative sculptures
Fun things to make with Simbrix
Fun things to make with Simbrix this Christmas - Part 1 - Easy designs

However if you are here for a few christmas cross stitch designs here are some links

Christmas designs
Christmas stocking maze
Christmas bauble collection
Gingerbread people
Colourful Christmas Crackers
Christmas bauble maze
Cute advent calendar motifs
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse - card and bookmark design. 
Pengiun in a Christmas hat
Making friends - Santas Elf making a snowman
Fur topped stocking Christmas card design.
Sprouts! Just say no! Christmas cross stitch design for sprout haters! 

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here. 

Fun things to make with Simbrix this Christmas - Part 1 - Easy designs

Fun things to make with Simbrix this Christmas - Part 1 - Easy designs

Hello Everyone,

This week I got my Christmas present early and it was a big bag of Simbrix, a bead toy where each bead slides together without a need for a peg board or like other bead sets it does not need to be ironed. None of the items I have in the above picture were ironed, they stayed together long enough to put on display and better still can be taken apart again to make brand new designs whenever you like. 

In addition would you believe that all of these designs came from one Crafter kit, I did not need to dip into the collection of Simbrix I already owned. 
If you'd like to visit the Official Simbrix page to find out more heres a link: http://www.simbrix.com/

There is also another blog post to help you create some more difficult items in the above picture such as the train, 3D Christmas tree and glass markers. Find the post at the following link
http://buzybobbins.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/fun-things-to-make-with-simbrix-this_23.html

Without further ado lets get on to a few easy Simbrix designs:

A simple Christmas present with a bow. 

This is a little christmas present, feel free to change up the colours to any ones you like. With 17 colours in each Simbrix set you'll have loads of combinations to add to your decorations. 

 Music Notes

A pair of Christmas Angels

This is a pair of cute angels, feel free to change up the colour of the dresses, hair and skin to make a selection of angels to match the decorations you have. 

Cute little mouse

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse! 

Why not pop this little mouse up on your mantlepiece to keep an eye on the goings on in the house and to wait for Santa to deliver the presents. 

Doctor Who's Sonic screwdriver

This is the Sonic Screwdriver for the 11th Doctor, just the thing to make while waiting for the Doctor Who Christmas special to begin. Watching the Christmas special is quickly becoming a tradition within my family as we follow the adventures of our favorite TV show. 

Snowman snow globe

Heres a super cute little snowman in its scarf sitting inside a snowglobe, it was inspired by one of my Christmas ornaments on my bookshelf. If you like the Snowman can be made separately as a small simple design without the snowglobe.

Pokeball and Great Ball from the Pokemon Series

So how many people are waiting for Christmas to get their copy of the latest Pokemon game - Pokemon Sun/ Moon? I personally can't wait to open this present. I may be a little bit behind my friends but I know I'll be picking Popplio and with that super cute little seal by my side I'm sure I'll catch up in no time!

Simple flower 

With this little flower you can change up the colours in any way you fancy. If a few of these flower patterns are joined together in a rectangle this pattern could be used as a coaster or a place to rest the Christmas sweet bowl. Making a few of these to join up could be a fun project for kids to do together. 

Christmas candle

This is a little candle based on the classic Victorian candle holder design, the holder will also look good in yellow as if it was a brass or cold covered design. 

If you can't get enough Simbrix designs part two of this post for more advanced designs can be found here:
http://buzybobbins.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/fun-things-to-make-with-simbrix-this_23.html

For more information about Simbrix here are some links:

A preview of Simbrix - Interconnecting bricks for creative sculptures
Fun things to make with Simbrix
Fun things to make with Simbrix this Christmas - Part 2 - Glass markers and table decorations - advanced designs

However if you are here for a few christmas cross stitch designs here are some links

Christmas designs
Christmas stocking maze
Christmas bauble collection
Gingerbread people
Colourful Christmas Crackers
Christmas bauble maze
Cute advent calendar motifs
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse - card and bookmark design. 
Pengiun in a Christmas hat
Making friends - Santas Elf making a snowman
Fur topped stocking Christmas card design.
Sprouts! Just say no! Christmas cross stitch design for sprout haters! 

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here. 

Wavy Christmas tree - Simple Christmas card cross stitch design

Wavy Christmas tree - Simple Christmas card cross stitch design

Hello everyone,
I'm still making Christmas Cards and the date for last post in the UK is fast approaching!
I have so many people to sew cards for I should have started in August!

So anyway heres a nice easy design that I'll be getting started on. Its got whole stitches only so theres no slowing down for fractional stitches (and boy do I slow down for those)
Also the design is in one colour only, I havn't provided a colour chart for this one since you could do it in black like this or you could choose a nice Christmas tree green or other festive colour. This design will look AMAZING in variegated cross stitch thread if you have any since the colour change will be really gradual across the whole swirl of the tree.

Much love and happy stitching
Gemma xx

Reference image found listed as public domain on Pixabay:
https://pixabay.com/en/christmas-fir-star-stylised-three-1294204/

For more Christmas cross stitch designs here are some links:

Christmas designs
Christmas stocking maze
Christmas bauble collection
Gingerbread people
Colourful Christmas Crackers
Christmas bauble maze
Cute advent calendar motifs
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse - card and bookmark design.
Pengiun in a Christmas hat
Making friends - Santas Elf making a snowman
Fur topped stocking Christmas card design.
Sprouts! Just say no! Christmas cross stitch design for sprout haters!

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here. 

Purple bauble with hearts Christmas decoration cross stitch design

Purple bauble with hearts Christmas decoration cross stitch design

Colour	Anchor Thread numbers	DMC thread numbers
Black	403	310
Purple	97	554
Blue	140	3755
Yellow	290	444
Red	334	606
Pink	54	956
Green	225	702

Hello everyone,

This is a cute little design for a cross stitched bauble. If you'd like to sew this for a Christmas card then you can leave on the little bow at the top of the design but if you'd like to sew this for your own tree just take the circle and decorations inside to sew on plastic canvas or back your aida with some nice colourful felt.

I decorated a Christmas tree this weekend, it looked so pretty with the baubles and tinsel though my friends and I ended up having a long debate on what order the decorations go on. So is it the tinsel first or the tree lights first? All we managed to figure out is that the baubles go on last else they get hidden by everything else.


The reference image for this cross stitch design was found in the public domain at the following link.
https://pixabay.com/en/holidays-occasions-christmas-1314916/

For a few more Christmas designs here are some links:

Christmas designs

Christmas stocking maze
Christmas bauble collection
Gingerbread people
Colourful Christmas Crackers
Christmas bauble maze
Cute advent calendar motifs
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse - card and bookmark design.
Pengiun in a Christmas hat
Making friends - Santas Elf making a snowman
Fur topped stocking Christmas card design.
Sprouts! Just say no! Christmas cross stitch design for sprout haters!

For a few more posts on Christmas baubles and decorations here are a few 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
How to make a Chain Chomp Christmas bauble

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Simple thick block cross stitch alphabet with whole stitches only

Simple thick block cross stitch alphabet with whole stitches only

Hello everyone,

Today I have a nice easy Alphabet for you, its made to be really bold and clear, when stitched in a nice bright colour it will be great for a children's wall hanging or door sign

I used this font on a design called "Sprouts! Just say no!" because I needed something to really convey the seriousness of the statement.
Here's a link to that design if you'd like to see the font in action: http://buzybobbins.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/sprouts-just-say-no-christmas-cross.html

Alphabets
Blue and green alphabet sampler
Fancy alphabet cross stitch design
Big bold cross stitch alphabet
Easter egg alphabet
Meme caption alphabet
Big backstitch alphabet
Retro styled half and half alphabet
Happy new year, whole stitches single colour Alphabet
Pumpkin themed Halloween Alphabet
Large bubble Alphabet

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here

Christmas Upcycling idea - gift tags from used Christmas crackers

Christmas Upcycling idea - gift tags from used Christmas crackers

Hello everyone,

Today I have been doing a little upcycling. Instead of throwing away some Christmas crackers I decided to use them as gift tags.

The cardboard that crackers are made from is sturdy enough to be used as tags and colourful enough that they make very jolly tags on their own. I used a little star hole punch to create a hole in the top of each tag, a regular hole punch can be used but I just love how festive the Star looks.

Finally I used my favourite Merry Christmas stamp on the back of the tags while leaving enough room to write the name of the person I'm giving the gift to.

On most types of cracker a small piece of string or ribbon is used as decoration so these are perfect for threading through the holes and using to tie your tags to the presents. I used this on a couple of the gift tags below.

These tags are made from scraps of card from three different crackers. By using patterns which compliment each other even a simple shape like the circles I have used here can look like a stylish addition to the basic gift tag shape.

These four gift tags are all made from the same cracker. The cracker was fully patterned so I cut out the best parts of the picture for each tag and didn't need to add any more embellishments. Not bad for something we would normally throw away after finishing off our Christmas pudding.

To cut out my gift tags by using my Fiskars Shape boss set since I found a really useful gift tag shape template. Don't worry if you don't have such a shape cutter. Why not take a gift tag you have and draw around it on the back of the cracker to give you the shape and size and cut them out.

If you'd like to make your own just save those crackers after your Christmas dinner and you'll have a whole lot of pretty coloured card ready to use. The card will have a little curve in it since crackers are bent into a circle but this will be easy to get out by storing the card flat and perhaps putting a heavy book on top to flatten it out. I used my copy of the Encyclopedia of stitches which is a very hefty tome.

If you would like to see any more upcycling ideas 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
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.

Save the date - Wedding invitation card cross stitch design.

Save the date - Wedding invitation card cross stitch design.



Why not choose some thread colours which match the wedding colour scheme for this simple cross stitch?

 

Hello everyone,

 

This week I had the challenge of creating a Save the date cross stitch card design for my friends wedding. The design had to be fairly small and use only a few colours so that it could be sewn quickly. (since there will be many people who will be receiving this card so it will need to be sewn several times)

 

I'm not suggesting thread numbers for this one since each wedding will have a different colour scheme to work from. There's space for 2-3 colours in this design so enough for the main theme colours at least.

 

The last wedding I went to the whole theme was black and white with a little hint of dark blue. Sounds a little boring, I hear you cry! but actually it was so beautiful since most of the black elements were jazzed up on some way with glitter or sparkly black sequins so it looks more classy than monochrome. If your scheme has this element why not try sewing with some metallic thread for a little extra sparkle. :)

 

 

 

For a few more card sized cross stitch designs here are some links

 

Daffodil Spring/ Easter card designs

Cinema themed motif collection

Cute Easter cards with bunnies

Tattoo style dragons

New home card motifs

Blue and green sewn bird

Bright orange and yellow summer sun motif

Bunch of colourful balloons

Two hearts become one

Small backstitch flower motif

 

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.