on the 3rd day of joyfulness...

dottie angel shared with me

a jumbly bumbly cluster of glee

(skill level : easy peasy with a hint of lemon squeezy)

yes indeedy, another easy peasy one, after all it is the beginning of the week and we would not wish to over do things. as the gleeful season descends upon our nests, i do think hanging little clusters in a jumbly bumbly manner can be most enjoyable. favourite old ornaments from times gone by, mixed in with new ones and a dash of eclecticness in the way of a little happy forsaken soul or two may be just the thing to cheer one up.

this little cluster is called a 'jumbly bumbly' one because quite frankly that is what it is. yes, it is nothing more than a 'jumbly bumbly of things' hung on strings, which in turn has made me joyful.

ingredients:

* ornaments, forsaken little souls, knick knacks, 

(anything you can string and dingle dangle in a jumbly bumbly sort of way)

* yarn, crochet cotton, bakers twine, any thread to dingle dangle things from, 

(but does need to have a little strength to it)

* scissors

* needle

* crochet hook

* button

* cup hook 

recipe:

1. lay out your little collection of goodies and start tying long strings on them.

2. holding one ornament and its string in  your hand, start adding others to your cluster, making sure they lay nicely on top of each other, when you have a nice bunch hanging together and all gaps appear to have been filled in. take all the strings you hold in your hand and knot them together at the top.

3. using more of your string and tucking in the ends at the top, wrap around to keep in place. use your needle and thread to secure your stringy knot and then snip the tail end of your string, carefully avoiding any other strings in the process.

4. i used Mr Hook to crochet a chain, this is not necessary but does give a bit of strength to the whole thing. figure out how long you require your cluster of jumbly bumbly to hang and make a string befitting to that length (remember it is likely to stretch a little, once the chained string takes the weight of the cluster). again use your needle threaded onto one end to attach it securely to your cluster or you could just do some nifty knotting using your boy scout skills.

5. with needle and string, add a button, i also added a felted snowflake, you could add more than one button or indeed go totally joyful and add a bow! gosh yes, some folks do like bows this time of year and this maybe just the moment to introduce one.

6. screw a cup hook into the ceiling (can you tell i live in the US where the ceilings are easy to make a hole in!) if a hole in your ceiling is a no-no then may i suggest dingly dangling your cluster from a little door knob on a cupboard

7. as always, step back and admire your joyful efforts and then wonder to yourself if a 'jumbly bumbly cluster' made on a larger scale, might look rather spiffy and joyful hanging on the front door instead of the usual wreath this gleeful season.

day 4 of joyfulness tomorrow ~ Tif 

on the 2nd day of joyfulness...

dottie angel shared with me

happy hangers of joyfulness

(skill level : easy peasy lemon squeezy)

ah yes, there will be quite a lot of dingly dangly and clustering going on over the next few days, for i do like myself some dingly dangly clustery goodness. this little 'how-to' is as easy peasy as 1,2,3, yes sometimes those are the besty type of all

i do think 'small beings' would greatly enjoy making them. especially if they have taken time to make their own handmade decorations, this would be the perfect way to display their 'joyful' handiwork, perhaps pinned above their beds so they may gaze upon their happy hanger before falling asleep.

ingredients:

* a wooden hanger

(or one who happens to have a coat of crochet)

* fabric strips in happy colours

* bit of lace

* mod podge or needle and thread

* dingly dangly ornaments from your gleeful box

(or handmade lovelies made by 'small beings')

recipe:

1. take your wooden hanger and with strips of fabric start wrapping around the wood. you can keep things in place by using a bit of mod podge on the ends of your strips, or you can use a needle and thread to do a few quick stitches. add a bit of lace to the proceedings, if you so feel inclined.

 if your wooden hanger has a coat of crochet already, you may wish to wrap a bit of fabric around its metal hook, this is easily secured with a knot around the base of the hook

2. start dingly danglying ornaments from your box of glee, you may have to think about balance here, no good hanging a very giant dingly dangly on one side unless you have another to balance it out. this way your hanger will stay straight and things won't fall off one end the moment you hang it up.

3. once your hanger is filled with joyful ornaments, take a look around your nest for a lonely bit of wall, put a pin in it and hang your little hanger of joy, step back, decide if it needs a friend, if so keep on making more.

and voila! easy peasy lemon squeezy

inspiration : 

from a love of covered wooden hangers and needing an excuse to pin them to the wall

day 3 of joyfulness coming monday ~ Tif 

on the 1st day of joyfulness...

dottie angel shared with me

a 'terribly nice' table runner

(skill level : medium peasy plus a little bit)

gosh how i love the english language, how can something be terribly nice ?! it is the same as saying 'horribly lovely', however it is most fitting for our 1st day of joyfulness, for 'terribly nice' sounds so proper and there is nothing quite so proper than a table runner. i did not think i was the table runner sort, however an old english church pew has come to live with us and i do not think one can have a church pew without having a table runner. 

(slippery slope Tif, slippery slope)

now before we begin may i just say several things. 

first thing: 

i forgot some ingredients yesterday, please add to your list * cushion pad * yarn * decorative stickers ... it is highly likely i have forgotten other bits and bobs but it will surely be in your boxes of glee and stashes of crafty goodness. also i forgot to mention in the course of the '12 days of joyfulness' you may indeed see some dodgy artificial lite photos, even a bit of blurriness here and there. (gasp, shock and a bit of horror) yes indeedy, due to the time of year and the time of day (or night) i have been beavering away, i have left my fretting ways behind and relied upon artificial lighting, and by doing so, it all became far more joyful to work on.

second thing: 

today's 'how-to' is the most tricky dicky one of all, the rest i promise will not take as long nor require quite so much thought. i have offered this for day one not to make you fret and pack up your box of glee, muttering and weeping, but because i wish you to have more time to work on it. also more to the point, it is the getting started bit that takes the longest, once you are on the right track and know where you are going it will become most joyful i assure you

third thing:

my table runner is tres lacey, i do understand lace is not every ones cup of tea, so before you think about this not being for you and your craftiness, think about swapping out the lace for pieces of fabric which would be most spiffy me thinks

so with all that being said, here we go...

ingredients:

* several old lace table runners, an old net curtain or a length of linen if you prefer

* embroidery floss

* old napkins and other embroidered pieces which can be cut up

* lengths of narrow lace, ribbon or ric rac (trimmings basically)

* a trusty sewing machine and thread in different colours

* pins and scissors 

* a joyful disposition

recipe:

* start by figuring out the rough length you wish your 'terribly nice' runner to be. you may wish to make it so long it drapes over the edges of your table, you may wish to make it so wide it runs all the way to the sides. if this is the case, really i think you are now working on a 'terribly nice' table cloth, which is 'a-okay' with me, but may take you till next gleeful season to finish. 

* once you have figured the size out, you are going to make your bottom layer (a bit wider than the size you wish for), by laying out overlapping lengths old lace table runners, pieces of a net curtain, and wide strips of lace or indeed just one piece of linen. do not be fretting about 'even ends' to your table runner nor fraying edges. once happy, pin in place and with the help of your trusty sewing machine stitch the pieces together with self coloured thread

* now the base of your table runner has been constructed we are going to be applying some nice layers of patched pieces 'a top'. this is where you will have to be brave and just start chopping and seeing where it leads you. place your chopped pieces down on your bottom layer and rearrange into a pleasing order and pin. stand back and ponder, if you are happy then start stitching them down with your trusty machine, this time you may wish to use some coloured thread. you may also wish to add some more layers of lace on this layer.

* the next layer is the detail layer, you may wish to add little doilies or embroidered pieces to certain sparse areas, also lengths of lace, embroidered ribbon or ric rac even. just keep on patching and piecing, always stepping back to ponder and see the 'whole picture'. continue stitching in place and layering as and where you please (remember it is about what you like and not worrying about what others may think). do not get caught up in trying to make everything straight and even, if you step back and see you stitched something down and no longer like it, then patch over it with something you do like.

* now to the 'cherry on the cake' bit. taking some happy coloured embroidery thread add a bit of hand stitched detailing. perhaps a row of cross stitching, a little bit of running stitch or even our beloved french knots. does not have to be fancy, just a bit of decoration 'tis all.

* if you wish to make this more suited to the season than mine, i would suggest appliqueing some appropriate wording like 'JOY' or 'PEACE' to your 'terribly nice' table runner, if not then hoppity skip this step

* the final step is to fold under the two longest sides of your runner and pin. then add a length of trimming or lace along the shorter ends (once again pin in place). with your trusty sewing machine, stitch around the whole outside edge of the runner. by the time you have done this and with all the layers built up and stitched in place, your spiffy 'terribly nice' table runner will have a 'quilted' effect

* place your table runner upon your table. perhaps add a few tea lights to its spiffiness, for that added bit of sparkliness. wait for admiring comments from your clan, do not tolerate those that push it aside so their laptop will fit better on the table. then again perhaps you should... better pushed aside, than find a laptop upon those peachy french knots

inspiration:

a church pew

(a slippery slope)

she'll be back with the 2nd day of joyfulness on sunday ~ Tif