Matchbox make over - 50 makes for Christmas 5/50

The Washi tapes were out for the T light up-cycle so it seemed like a good idea to do this little make at the same time.

Matchbox makeover

I was inspired by this post for chalkboard style personalised matchboxes that I saw on Pinterest from Lia Griffith's blog, I know nothing like what I have done! This required sticky labels that I don't have and as I am trying to use up things that I already I have opted for the Washi tape; plus they co-ordinate with the up-cycled T lights.

T lights and matches for Christmas

I started with the red tape on the ends as this is a little thinner and I wanted to make sure that the "mechanism" of opening and closing the box is not impeded by applying the tape.

Using red Washi tape on the end

I applied the Grey tape to the body of the box, unfortunately the design does allow the original print to show through a little.

Grey Snowflake tape 

In an attempt to disguise this and to give it a little definition I put some of the red tape on to make it look like a gift box tied up with ribbon.

Looking like a gift wrapped box

They will be going inside the Bonne Maman jam jar along with the T lights to be part of someone's Christmas gift but I think I will be making one for myself too.

Bonne Maman Jam Jar to Christmas gift

As with the T lights this is not restricted to being a Christmas project and would look just as nice with some vibrant summer colours and could be handy for lighting the BBQ, you are only limited by your imagination and your craft supplies!

So that is 5 makes out of my 50 makes for Christmas done or 10% already completed.  I like this long approach to getting things done, it means I can give my attention to some of the things that wouldn't necessarily get done in the rush to the big day.

WIP no1 - Rag Rug

As promised I am starting the new year with a review of my work in progress (WIP) projects, the first thing I am looking at is a project I have the items for but have not yet started, it is a rag rug, I have always liked the idea of these, their origins based in necessity and they embrace the frugal mentality of make do and mend which is a mind set I need to tap into.

I was inspired by a visit we  made a couple of years ago to Blists Hill Victorian Town  where one of the custodians was making one of theses and it seemed relatively simple to do. This could be because she was very experienced and made it look very easy!

The thread is a small narrow oblong of fabric cut using the gauge to ensure uniformity, it is laid into the latch hook, this is pushed into the hole in the hessian and out the other side then released so that the thread is either side of hessian strand.  I understand that the key to getting it right is to ensure that you pack the treads in tightly as they work together to hold each other in place.

I brought a 2nd hand  kit from e-bay it was almost the same price as just the latch hook and came with a set of instructions, a cutting gauge and one piece of hessian. On reading the instructions I found that you need two pieces of hessian one to hook the threads into and one for the backing, I have since acquired some more hessian.

The only thing that is missing now is the actual thread, I will be making this from old T shirt fabric so I have been pouncing on anything the family have discarded. I am not sure how far my little stash will go so the next step is to cut some strips and have a practice, this will give me an idea of how far one T shirt will go and give me an opportunity to practice the technique.  I was eyeing up a couple of the discarded T-shirts and wondering why I had passed them over for this project when I realised one had a big oily cooking stain on the front and the other had a string of holes on the arm, making them perfect for this project.

As always I have done some research on Pinterest, there are many different techniques and ideas for making rag rugs if you are thinking of having a go from the "tufting" method that I am going to try to creating a long plait of fabric coiled and sewn together.

I will keep you updated with how things are progressing, in the mean time if you have any experience of rag rug making and can offer any advice I would love to hear from you.