Easter: Egg blowing and Decorating tips

A great way to entertain the kids and create Easter gifts for the Grandparents is decorate eggs at home. This ticks all the boxes for kids of various ages. You have the messy bit of blowing out the raw egg, best done by the adult, and the fun of painting or dyeing the shell with your own designs.

You will need:

Eggs
Craft knife
Bowl
Wooden skewer or a long needle

Blowing the Egg:

Gently twist the point of your craft knife into the end of the egg, pushing slightly, until it pierces. You need to be careful not to push too hard which could damage the body of the shell.

Do the same on the other end but widen the hole with your knife. Make it large enough to just insert the skewer or needle. Jiggle the skewer inside to break up the yolk; this makes it come out easier in the next stage.

Place your mouth over the end with the smaller hole, holding it above a bowl; gently blow into the egg. It won't come out all at once but after a few blows the insides will loosen and blow out easily. If there is any stuck, use the skewer to loosen and try again.

Once you've gotten the liquid egg out of the shell rinse using warm water. Hold the larger hole under the tap and shake it around a little with the water in and blow out again.

Leave them to dry thoroughly and decorate however you prefer.

Decoration options:

There are some fab ideas from the Readers Digest on this link: www.rd.com/slideshows/unique-egg-decorating-ideas

Paint with Blackboard paint and use chalk to decorate, wipe off & re-do
Glitter glue and washi tape are great quick fixes
Use melted wax & a toothpick to decorate the shell before dipping in dye leaving the area under the wax bare.

 

SIO Tips no. 74 - Sew and Sew: Keeping it trim!

Getting to the end stages of a project is exciting but it is important to take the time to finish things off properly so your work looks polished no matter what you are making, whether you are sewing up a new dress or making a soft toy.

My number one tip is to trim your seam allowances after sewing, making sure to snip around corners and curves as you go. Press the seams out once you've finished trimming so that the fabric doesn't bunch up or look bulky when you turn it the right way out.

This makes the most of your careful pattern cutting and gives you professional results every time.

Be My Valentine

Get back to the true meaning of Valentine's Day and show your loved one that you care; not with big expensive gestures but with a little effort put into making a card by hand.

You don't have to be super creative or great at drawing to make this cute little origami Heart box.
I found the link on Pinterest ages ago and bookmarked the tutorial page, planning to find the two colour stiff paper in the meantime. What I ended up with was some thin red card, which was a little too thick to get really neat folds but I used the back of a spoon to make the folds crisp and jazzed up one side of the card with angled stripes to make it a little more masculine. (This one will be presented to my hubby in the morning).

Follow the instructions to make your own in the video on this link: www.origamispirit.com/2012/01/unique-ways-to-keep-romance-alive-part-1-of-3/ 

It's deceptively simple and perfect for those who are new to origami - decorate your own paper to make it really special and leave your loved one a message inside this Valentines day.

I cut a square of white paper to fit neatly inside to write my note on. The red of this card is great but I think it looks nice to have the contrasting bottom colour.

The main thing is to have fun and be a bit silly.
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

SIO Tips no. 73 - Sew & Sew: Using your pins

One nifty trick has seen me through many sewing projects (thanks Mum!); it's very simple and makes sewing using a machine so much easier.

When sewing by hand most people pin their project together with the pins pointing away from them running parallel to the edge of the fabric. This can mean they get in the way when machine sewing and slows the whole process down. 

Try pinning at right angles to the fabric edge instead, this means that you can sew right over the pins and pull them all out easily once you're done. 

Make sure the heads of the pins are on the outside so that they don't go under the foot of the machine, you only want to sew across the thinnest part.

SIO Tips no. 72 - Binding off

When you are ready to cast off; loosely knit the first two stitches of the row, then pass the first over the second leaving one stitch on your right needle. Loosely knit the next stitch and pass the previous one over it, again leaving just one stitch on your needle. Do this all the way across. When you get to the end cut the yarn, leaving about 8 inches of tail, and pull the end through the remaining stitch. Weave the tail in across the back of your knitting using a blunt yarn needle, doubling back to secure it.