Two Crafty Brownies

Make a Little Fabric Covered Notebook

Hello lovelies! How are you doing? We are good here in Two Crafty Brownieland. I so enjoyed Lu’s post about kindness. I really do believe kindness is the key to everything, and we can't begin to be kind to others until we have learned to be kind to ourselves. Are you kind to yourselves, darlings? I try, but I forget now and then, so it's good to be reminded. Thanks, Lu!!

Recently, I have become obsessed with making notebooks. Lu and I often ponder over the fact that we can't just stick to one craft. It is simultaneously a blessing and a curse! I guess we just love making things……

I've spoken before of Creativebug, where I learned to draft my own patterns? Well, they have some courses on book binding that I started to watch, and before very long…… I was hooked! Oh my goodness, a whole world of book cloth, altering old books, making your own junk journals……. I just had to give it a go. I made myself a Christmas round up journal, and I love, love love it!

I decided to make some little notebooks, inspired by Wainwright Bookbinding, who make gorgeous little personalised ones, like the one top left, in African print!! It's so easy and satisfying that I thought I'd share what I had learned with you. To be sure, it would be far easier to go out and buy a notebook, but what's the fun in that?

Little A6 Fabric Notebook

What you need is

A sheet of A4 card
6 sheets of A4 paper
Fabric for the cover
Paper to line the inside cover
Something sharp like an awl or needle
Waxed linen thread (but you could use any string or yarn that you fancy)
A needle to fit your thread
PVA glue
Double sided tape
Scissors
A ruler
Cutting mat and rotary cutter help but are not essential
Bone folder, but a ruler will do
An old book/magazine to rest on

What you do is

Cut your A4 card in half. These two pieces, folded in half will make the covers for two little notebooks. For an A5 cover, just fold the A4 in half and use. Here I'm making little A6 notebooks.

Cut your fabric so it's about an inch, or 2cm bigger than your card all round.
Brush the outside of your card with PVA, starting in the centre, and lay your card, glue side down onto the wrong side of your fabric. Smooth it all over with your hands, or bone folder/ruler to get rid of any air bubbles.

Cut the corners of the fabric off a couple of mm away from the corner.
I tried various ways to fold the corners…..what worked best was cutting a little slit into the corner, parallel with the shortest edge. You should be able to see what I mean if you look HARD at the picture above.....

Put more PVA along both short edges and fold the fabric over, pressing it down well at the long edge. You will have a little triangle of fabric, you can snip that off to make the corner neater. This is tricky to explain, I'm sure Lu has glazed over already, but if you try it, it'll make sense.

Glue and fold the long edges. While the cover is damp, fold it in half and check for any wrinkles or bubbles and smooth them out.

Leave the cover, folded in half under something heavy to dry overnight. Meanwhile you can prepare your papers. The bundles of paper that make up the pages in a book are called signatures. Books have varying numbers of signatures, we will just be making one.

Fold all your A4 sheets in half. Use a ruler or bone folder to really flatten the fold and break the fibres down. Fold and refold each sheet backwards and forwards around 5 times. You can then easily tear them in half. You should have 12 A5 size sheets. They will be the same size as your cover, so you will need to trim the long edge so they sit nicely inside. Fold each one in half again, and arrange them inside each other. You'll see that the short edges aren't lined up straight…….put the bundle inside your cover to see how much you need to cut off, and trim again.

Once the cover is dry, we will want to stick some paper to the inside to cover the raw fabric edges. You can use the same paper as your signature, or a contrasting paper.

Start with an A5 size, fold it in half and put it in the cover to see how much to trim off. Once you're happy with the size, apply double sided tape around the edges of the outside of this paper. It's easiest to do two sides, take off the tape backing and then apply tape to the other two sides. I would also put a strip along the inside spine of the cover.

Line up your paper and stick down, again smoothing out any bubbles. It's best if your cover is completely flat so as to allow room to fold.

Phew!! We are now ready to assemble our notebook. Take one of your pages to use as a template. Mark three points along the centrefold, one right in the middle and the other two around a half inch down from the edge, or whatever you prefer. Poke a hole through at your marks. Make sure you put an old magazine or book underneath so you don't make holes in something precious!

Use this sheet to make the holes in your cover and your signature. I also ran my needle through the holes to make sure they were big enough.

To sew the book together, thread your needle, you'll need about twice the height of the spine plus a little more. Sew through the middle hole, from inside to out. Then back through one of the holes near the edge. Then sew back through the centre hole, making sure not to sew through your thread. To the other hole and then pass the needle around the thread at the centre and tie tightly, having checked that your stitches are tight.

Cut the thread and admire your gorgeous little book!!

I'm making various different ones to gift through the year. I'd love to give one to one  of you, our lovely readers, we so appreciate you coming to see us here in our little crafty space! Just comment below, tell me whether you make any gifts to give away, and whether you are more a pink or blue person. I'll pull names out of a hat next Thursday!

Well, darlings, that's all from me. Have a lovely day, and do remember to be kind to yourselves!

Jenny xxx

Kindness: Lucy's Word For 2017

Hello! I’m feeling ever so positive about 2017 lovelies!

My word for 2016 was ‘Clarity’. You can read my blog post all about it here. I wanted to spend the year trying not to feel so overwhelmed, being able to put things into perspective, to see through the fog of that to-do list and to have clearer boundaries.....

To some extent I achieved this and I feel really good about that. At points I did see that there was just too much going on, I was saying yes far too often. So I said ‘no’ to some things that were taking up a lot of my time and preventing me from working towards my goals. After I got over feeling a little bit guilty, it felt great! Prioritising space and time to build our business was fantastic. I am looking back on a year where Jenny and I have made many significant steps forward and now we can review what we have done, how it went, where we are at now, what we want for Two Crafty Brownies going forward and importantly too, what we want for ourselves.

2016 was interesting wasn’t it? Like Jenny, in her lovely post last week , I have heard many people expressing that they want to see the back of 2016 and that 2017 has to be a better year. So much happened in our world didn’t it? We were often shaken by political and world events. So much loss, tragedy and conflict……..

Personally, 2016 was at points happy, fulfilling and sometimes even ‘jump up and down’ exciting. But it was also difficult and so so tiring. I suppose that is life isn’t it? Ups and downs…..Although I managed to say ‘no’ a great deal more, I did end the year absolutely exhausted and this exhaustion slowly gave way to illness over the Christmas break. I’ve thought a lot about this and I’ve realised that I still have a tendency to say ‘yes’, but to myself. Yes, you should be cooking more interesting meals, reading more to the kids or doing more at home to top up their learning at school, yes you should be seeing your friends more, reading more novels, learning more skills for the business, earning more, eating more healthily, exercising more, helping the world more…….Oh My Goodness! This list could and does go on and on…...I should be doing more, I should be achieving more, I am not doing enough. I am not enough. This is a message I have been telling myself for years. I hide it well, but to those who know me well, they see it and they tell me, “Be Kind To Yourself Lu”.

So friends, my word for 2017 is KINDNESS. I CHOOSE KINDNESS. Excuse the capitals, but I am shouting this from the rooftops! I am singing it from the branches!

KINDNESS and LOVE are the answers. Not just towards myself, although this is where I need to start. Kindness and love are what YOU need too and I am sending so much your way right now. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening - big love to YOU!

Kindness and love are what the world needs. Just imagine where we would be if people could just stop and see that? I know there are so so many kind, loving people out there - hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions and I am lucky enough to have some of those in my life - both real and those I have never met! I understand too that this is not simple. We live in a very complicated world. But if we did simplify issues sometimes, if we did look at things in terms of kindness and love, wouldn’t we be able to prevent conflict? I for one would love to see more empathy and humanity, especially in those who hold responsible, powerful and influential positions. We have had a few role models who have achieved this recently but a few is not enough! I am not going to get on this soap box I see before me, because this will not be a blog post but a rant and perhaps a book too, with lots of volumes!

I am choosing kindness. For me, this means that…

I am going to do the things I love to do and I am going to believe that I can do them! This point encompasses so much. This is the root of everything. This is about my wish list - all those things I would love to do for me and for or with others. This is about believing in myself. I have so many dreams and ideas and I am going to start to work towards some of them. I don’t want to be the one who stands in the way of my dreams. If I have a go, some of them might come to fruition. If something doesn’t work out (I do not like the word ‘failure’!), I will give myself a pat on the back for trying, work out why and move on to the next thing.

I am going to try and get ahead of myself, to tick things off the list ahead of schedule wherever possible, so that I do not do things with a sense of panic. I like to do things thoroughly and that means giving myself enough time to do them.

I am going to play, have fun and lark about - even if I have to schedule it in! Tee hee!

I am going to stop at points during the day, week, month and throughout the year to really SEE what I have done and take moments to be proud and grateful.

And the message that I am going to give myself? You have done enough. YOU ARE ENOUGH.

Well lovelies, I started by saying how positive I feel and I am going to end by reiterating that. I am really really looking forward to 2017! Have a fabulous weekend. I am going off to have some organised fun!

All the love and kindness, Lu xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny's 2016 round up, and a new word!

Hello to you, all of our lovely readers! I hope 2017 has started well for you……… I was certainly glad to see the back of 2016. What a turbulent year it was! Big shocking things happened in the world, and at times it felt all turned upside down.

I have to confess, I'm not big on new year resolutions. I do like to reflect back on the past year…..and think about what could be better next time. I try to choose a guiding word for the year ahead, and I like to set some intentions.

So what of 2016? At the start of the year, we had just been writing this blog for a couple of months. We were new on social media, and were just finding our feet as a new venture. Fitting in our weekly meetings, writing the blog, posting regularly on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at times felt overwhelming. We achieved a lot in this year, and it was wonderful. I am so proud of what Lu and I have built. To some extent, though, Two Crafty Brownies took over my life, and I maybe lost sight of who I was a little. So this post is about the things that stood out for me personally…….

I started sewing my own clothes

some from self drafted patterns.....

I took up crochet

and managed to make some christmas presents......

Even though I long for the countryside, I looked for beauty in my city...

I designed some images for our biz......

and then we got side tracked into tie dye....

After growing my hair for two years, I cut it off and felt so happy.....

I baked

and baked

My oldest went off to university

I signed up for an online painting course and in the process realised I had become stuck in a silly place.

I made presents for friends....

and some things for myself

My intentions for this year are simple........plan ahead, be better organised, keep making! Writing this post the day before it's due, I realise - there's still work to do!

My word for last year was 'grow'. I wrote about it here. I have been waiting for this year's word to come to me, and over the past couple of weeks, it has.

My word for this year is 'dare'. Dare to ask for help when I need to. Dare to believe I can do things I've only dreamed of. Dare to live my best life. Push myself a bit further than I usually would.

Let's see how it goes!

Are you doing anything differently this year, darlings? Do tell in the comments below.

Much love,

Jenny xxxxx

 

Cloud and Raindrops Wall Hanging Tutorial: #BeInspired with Cass Art.

Happy New Year lovelies!

How are you all doing? Do you feel rested or do you need a holiday? I'm in the 'Please can I have one more week' camp. Unfortunately, I was poorly throughout the Christmas and New Year break, so I am glad to be done with it and move on into January, which for me is a month of clearing out the Christmas clutter and planning for the year ahead. Although I am not putting everything away. I want to keep some of the pretty and the magic so my wreath and the fairy lights are staying!

This time last year, Jenny and I wrote about our 'Word For the Year' here and here, and in a couple of weeks I will be talking about the word(s) I have chosen for 2017. This post however is all about a new collaboration with Cass Art. Needless to say, Jenny and I were so excited when Cass Art approached us and asked us if we would like to take the Cass Art Challenge and join their '#Be Inspired' campaign. This campaign is all about finding out what inspires what we do and what we use in our creative process. We waited eagerly for our first package of craft goodies and when it came the packaging and the contents were pleasing indeed!.....

In fact, I was so taken, you could say 'inspired', by the shiny blue and interestingly textured packaging that I created a 'Happy New Year' sign with it....

Now on to the contents. You may remember that I am a big fan of air drying clay with a few tutorials already posted here, here and here. However, there were a few extra items that I have not worked with before. In addition to the air drying clay, the package contained some marbling clay in Sodalite Blue and Verona Red , a glossy effect varnish and a special rolling pin with changeable thickness bands. I pondered on the contents for a while as I wanted to do something very different from my previous projects and eventually the image of a cloud with raindrops came to mind. Perhaps it was the fact that there were lots of grey skies and some rain over the Christmas break or even that I felt a little bit low because I was ill, but the image of a stormy marbled cloud with raindrops wouldn't leave my mind, so I got making! And do you know, when I had finished it cheered me up lots and lots!

To make your own Cloud and Raindrops wall hanging, you need:

Air drying clay

Air drying marbling clay in blue

Non stick rolling pin with adjustable thickness rings

Glossy effect varnish

Plastic tray 

Template - Download Cloud and Raindrops Wall Hanging

Craft knife (to cut the clay) - you could use special clay cutting tools such as these, but I used what I had to hand.

Cup of water

Cocktail stick

Cling film

A nail file

Thread

What you do is:

Break off a chunk from the white air drying clay and knead in your hand slightly. Using your hands, roll into a snake shape on the tray. Do the same with the blue marbling clay using much less than the white.

Wrap the blue length and around the white and roll further still using your hands, lengthening as you go.

Fold in half lengthways and twist together. Roll again as before. Do this perhaps one or more times until the blue clay is well incorporated into the white.

Now using the rolling pin with the 2.5mm thickness rings attached, roll out your clay. This bit is exciting (well I think so!) as you reveal the marbled effect. If you feel that it isn't marbled enough, repeat the rolling out into a snake and twisting. Do you see my swirly, stormy cloud appearing already?

Cut out the cloud template and one raindrop. Although there are 7 raindrops on the template, you only need one. Place the cloud onto the rolled out clay and cut around using a craft knife.

Poke holes into the clay using a cocktail stick at the points indicated on the template.

Peel off the cloud carefully from the tray and smooth out any rough edges using your finger dipped into a little bit of water. Place onto clingfilm to dry. Cut out and make holes in the raindrops in the same way.

Follow drying times on the manufacturers packaging, turning the clay after about 12 hours. It took about 36 hours for my clay to dry.

Tip: My cloud started to warp slightly as it dried, so when it was almost dry but still damp, I placed a book carefully on top to flatten it.

When fully dry, smooth out any more rough edges with a nail file.

Using the brush that comes with it, apply a layer of the gloss varnish to the upper surface of the cloud. I hadn't worked with this before and I found it slightly tricky - it has a very thick and sticky consistency. I worked from left to right covering the cloud, quickly but steadily. It did not dry in approximately 2 hours as the packaging suggests. Perhaps this is because I gave it a thick coating. I left it for about 2 days! Before this, when I touched it, it left a finger print mark.

When both the cloud and raindrops are fully dry,  cut some lengths of thread. Using the holes you have made (you may need to poke them again with the cocktail stick to clear the varnish out of them), attach the raindrops at different lengths with the thread, ensuring the knots in the thread are placed at the back hidden behind the cloud. Now thread 3 more identical lengths as desired through the 3 holes at the top of the cloud. Tah-dah!..........

I have decided to hang it on my pegboard above my desk. I love it! 

There were bits and pieces of clay left over and I also had a go with the red marbling clay. I decided to make some heart rings and a necklace too! For the heart rings, I used a sugar paste cutter to cut out a heart shape, allowed them to dry and then attached ring findings using epoxy jewellery glue and for the necklace, I pressed the pendant into the clay, cut around the shape made using a craft knife, allowed it to dry and attached it to the pendant also using epoxy jewellery glue. I really love the marbled effect on these projects!

This tutorial may inspire you to reach for some air drying clay and have go at marbling yourself. I do hope so! Let me know if you have a go!

Have a fab weekend lovelies! See you back here very soon!

Love always,

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PS - We were sent the materials for this project free of charge by Cass Art as part of their #Be Inspired campaign. Any opinions expressed are my own.