CUSTOM DOLLY - Betty Lou for Nikki

There isn't a better feeling out there than making a a keepsake or gift that you know is going to be loved. When Nikki asked me for a 'Nancy Doll' but with purple ribbon and tutu I got excited - I get to make another Nancy. You see, I love making things but I do not have the space or need for a lot of the things I make, so making for others makes me happy.

FABRICS:
Victorian Flock Taffeta Damask
Shimmer Organza
Satin
Polycotton
Felt

Betty Lou sitting up with her tutu on

Betty Lou (and Nancy) is a more expensive handmade doll due to the embroidery. The heavy embroidery on her face meant that I needed to double up my fabric so it didn't pull. There is also an embroidered spider web and black widow (complete with seed beads) on her black Victorian flock dress, and the tutu consisted of doubled up purple satin and organza carefully sewn so it wouldn't fray. Stuffed with hypo-allergenic poly-stuffing.

Betty Lou next to her tutu



[caption id="attachment_116" align="aligncenter" width="645"] Personalisation can make a special handmade dolly into something precious[/caption]

I had seen gothic handmade dolls go for around $120, and although it does take time to embroider I want to maintain affordability. Betty Lou came in at £28.00 personalised.

Betty Lou was a pleasure to make and I'm sure she'll be well loved in her new home.

MESSAGE - POSTS AFTER MIDNIGHT

Another night staring at the bright screen at a time I can only assume is somewhere in the AM - the little clock that usually resides in the bottom right of my screen has decided it isn't paid enough to tell me the time anymore. Ahha! the draft auto-save feature has just informed me that it is 12:45am - I hope my little clock comes back from its holiday soon.

I was a night owl for many years and an insomniac for most of those too. Since having Vincent I have slept much better but every now and again I still end up getting out of bed and watching one of the 'Crime' channels or the Craft Channel 'til three or four in the morning. Not overly brilliant since the alarm goes off at 7:45am. Just to add insult to insomniac injury I appear to have the lurgy, and so does Vincent - Stephen has yet to be infected.

Since I've been offline for quite some time I should let you know what Binky Roo has been up to. A master of creating a million and one things to do and never having the ability to create more than 24 hours in a day that I need to do them all. Some of you know I also write and illustrate children's books. On the cusp of approaching an agent I got side tracked into crafting, not that I have minded but recently I have decided to revisit The Spooky Adventures of Lily Hope and will start illustrating for 'Lily and the Shadow Spider' again in a few weeks. I intend to keep going with both the crafting and the writing/illustrating as I love both.

As Binky Roo Designs I have also complete two CD-Roms for Cupcake Crafting and I'm still expanding their download section. To top that off I've also completed several keepsake gifts and started a new venture.

I've dived into the world of custom dolly making - I have a friend called Bev, weird and wonderful is how I'd describe her. She understand and appreciates the importance of felt zombies, rock concerts, and craft. Some time ago she sent me a link to a website that was having a mad give away - that months give away was a dolly pattern by Dolls and Daydreams. I had a little look before going back to my daily chores. I returned a day or two later and entered to win a vampire sewing pattern ready for Halloween (my favourite holiday of the year). Back on the Dolls and Daydreams website I found myself oohing and ahhing - I could have bought the whole shop of patterns. The dollies and softies are just wonderful and Sarah, the designer of the patterns, has not only designed cute dollies and softies but gothic (friendly gothic) dollies and softies too. I eyed up her Wednesday dolly. I NEEDED HER! However, I had to restrain myself. Let's not get carried away. I am the queen of my own little fads. I become obsessive - in  a non-scary way, but can quickly build up a high star rating on Ebay. So I restrain my purchase of Wednesday but revisit the website regularly, waiting for the day I treat myself.

The day came. I felt like death. A 24 hour virus had hit me. I had been fine one minute, the next I felt like I had been thumped in the stomach and at the same time my eyes felt like they had been staring at a static filled screen for 48 hours. Dizziness took over coupled with nausea - Oh no, I'm not pregnant again!? Negative, thank goodness (we have one and for now he is enough, he is our world). By the time the evening fell upon our house I was feeling so terribly sorry for myself that my finger accidentally hit the purchase button for Wednesday. Several weeks later I own a hand full of Sarah's wonderful patterns and several prototype dollies lie around the house.

[caption id="attachment_109" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Nancy the Gothic Ballerina[/caption]

Nancy was my first real success (minus the fabric used for her skin - not thick enough). Adapted from Sarah's ballerina doll, I made my own Gothic ballerina complete with spider and web embroidery. I had so much fun making her the thought of creating a line of Gothic dollies and softies, as well as cute ones of course, really appealed to me - watch this space! The next project post will be Betty Lou, a custom dolly made for Nikki and her daughter.

In conclusion to what I've been up to since the nasty hackers took over the Binky Roo website, I've opened another door for Binky Roo and its fans, custom orders of fabric dollies, softies, and felties.

Charity is another passion of mine. I support several, one of my favourites being Wild Futures / The Monkey Sanctuary in Looe. In the new year I intend to make a monkey softie and place it on auction to raise money and awareness for Wild Future so do look out for more information about that.

So there you have it. Almost all caught up and back up and running as normal.

Thank you for being so patient

Rachael Gracie

- it's now 1:30am. You may still get the post on Betty Lou yet!

 

FELT CRAFT - Sannie & Danny Felties

My step daughter from a previous marriage just turned 18. Anyone with teenage kids will understand when I say that they really do grow up fast - I remember when she was six and we went shopping for trainers in the local market. I have been blessed with maintaining a lovely friendship with her, one that I will always treasure. So when her 18th was fast approaching I wanted to do something special and I still had felting fever. Stephen suggested a CD with every music track that was number one on her birthday every year. The two felt plushes would represent the artist who was at number one when she was born and the artist who was number one on her 18th birthday.

[caption id="attachment_94" align="aligncenter" width="672"] Sannie and Danny in their presentation box[/caption]

 

In 2012 Danny O'Donoghue of The Script, was at number one with 'Hall of Fame' feat. Will.I.Am.

I wanted to have another go at the bunny, like Celeste, from my Felt Friends from Japan book, but this time I wanted to add a twist by using patterned felt. Have you ever tried to get patterned felt? I could only find animal print and dots. So I took to Ebay. Still, very few options. Then I found the most beautiful paisley design.

 

[caption id="attachment_97" align="aligncenter" width="606"] Danny the Bunny made from paisley felt[/caption]

 

In 1994 Sannie 'Whigfield' Carson was at number one here in the UK with 'Saturday Night'
- oh the memories that song holds, dancing with a group of kids I didn't know at a Folkstone hotel

Since completing another bunny I wanted to create her play-mate, a faun. Using the same patterned felt and the template from Felt Friends From Japan I achieved Danny's little pal. The paisley felt couldn't have worked any better.

 

[caption id="attachment_99" align="aligncenter" width="636"] Sannie the Faun using paisley felt[/caption]

 

Much like Celeste I created a gift/presentation box. Taking the paisley theme that had emerged I made the box following a similar template to that of Celeste's but made the window slightly different and made it more shallow, resting the felt plushes on a sheet of organza.

[caption id="attachment_95" align="aligncenter" width="672"] Sannie and Dannie on their organza[/caption]

Making such a beautiful gift is certainly worth it when it is appreciated. I wouldn't mind making these for myself using the paisley felt too.

Rating:-
Design: Felt Template from Felt Friends from Japan by Naomi Tabatha
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Additional: Making a display box can really set of a 3D gift perfectly and with a 3D felt keepsake the organza roll gives it that professional look. When attaching the heads of both of these little animals, sit it on a flat surface and manipulate the head until it sits comfortably. Check this several times whilst attaching the heads.

 

FELT CRAFT - Bird Hanging Decoration

I moved to East Anglia from the Midlands in 2004. My family remain in the Midlands but I have created my own family here, and have made the most wonderful friends. One special friend came from out of the blue. Stephen teaches a Creative Writing course for a  major university here in East Anglia. In the Winter of 2010, half way through one of the courses, we found out we were expecting our son Vincent. At the same time one of Stephen's students also revealed she was expecting. We became close and shared our pregnancy experiences. I hated the experience of being pregnant but loved the new friendship that developed. In July 2011, a week apart to the day, our babies were born.

[caption id="attachment_87" align="aligncenter" width="610"] Hanging Decoration - Felt Birds and Flowers[/caption]

Since I made Celeste and Millie I was really in the mood to keep the felt crafting going. This time I wanted to make something different. The bird designs came from researching bird felties and taking inspiration from different designs and then incorporating the chosen colour theme (the colours that are in my friend's home) and flowers - designs taken from Felt Friends from Japan book.

[caption id="attachment_88" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Bird and Flower Hanging Decoration[/caption]

The hanging decoration was complete with two cat bells - yes, that's what I said, two cat bells. I couldn't get to my local craft store and it was far too close to my friend's birthday to order online so I improvised and sent Stephen to the local pet store to get three cat collars for Bubbles, Felix, and Syd, and took the bells of two of them. I really worked.

[caption id="attachment_86" align="aligncenter" width="608"] Gift Bag with a friendship quote on the sides[/caption]

Next I wanted to present them in something other than boxes. At this point I had had enough of making boxes, so I made a gift bag with acetate windows, friendship quotes, diamantes, ribbon, and lined with, my never ending supply of Organza.

I love to make for special people and this friend, Helen, is one of the most special people I've ever met!

Rating:-
Design Medium: Felt
Level: Beginner
Additional: Making a gift bag can really set of a 3D gift perfectly

FELT CRAFT - Celeste the Bunny

This is the first night I am sitting here feeling a bit of a chill, a chai latte with cinnamon wouldn’t go a miss but alas a cup of tea will have to do. Today was a bit of an adventure for me. This morning I went to the tattoo parlour where I’m having an old tattoo covered up tomorrow and the opticians to change our contact number. Our landline phone has decided that working with an active wifi is just far too difficult for it. Then onto a meeting point where I met with a friend’s daughter, Rose. It was her 20th birthday at the weekend, my husband has been a friend of her mother’s since well before she had children. Rose had invited us to her birthday bash but we couldn’t make it for lack of a baby sitter. Not wanting to completely let her down I decided to make her something special. She is the daughter of a very special friend therefore deserved it as far as we were concerned.

[caption id="attachment_80" align="aligncenter" width="539"] One eared bunny - Celeste in process[/caption]

Celeste the Bunny was created using one of the best books for crafting that I have come across, Felt Friends from Japan by Naomi Tabatha (watch out for my review). You start off by making the head of the bunny following the steps for the bunny’s faun friend. Their heads are identical. I did, however, decide to sew the eyes on as apposed to sticking them on with glue. The ears were somewhat of a surprise. No stuffing required. I thought they’d be floppy but they weren’t. In fact, to my surprise, they were mouldable. So I curled Celeste’s ears.

[caption id="attachment_77" align="aligncenter" width="596"] Celeste - Profile[/caption]

The body was much more simple. Although at first sight one would think that the body was far too smallbut upon attachment you realise it really works. I didn’t put the neck all the way into the head for attachment because I knew I wanted to add a ribbon to her neck. Celeste stands 9″ tall.

[caption id="attachment_76" align="aligncenter" width="623"] Celest Complete in her box[/caption]

The box, however, is completely my own template although the window in the lid is heavily inspired once again by the gazebo box used in several of my other projects. I chose the backing paper from my favourite download website and changed the colours to suit. The box is put together in the same way as the gazebo box.

[caption id="attachment_79" align="aligncenter" width="617"] Celeste lying on her Organza[/caption]

The box is deep and is lined with organza which Celeste is lying on. The lid is finished with ribbon and diamantes. The whole thing looks so much more special when displayed in such a gift box.

Rating:-
Design: Felt Template from Felt Friends from Japan by Naomi Tabatha
Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Additional: Making a display box can really set of a 3D gift perfectly and with a 3D felt keepsake the organza roll gives it that professional look. Be careful not to make it too deep, this one was.

FELT CRAFT - Millie the Manatee

As most of us British have no problems in complaining about the weather I will not let the side down when I say, IT'S TOO HOT! However, it’s a lovely day for a very special someone who found out today she passed her AS levels (one more year to go!). We are so very proud.

I never really know what to do on these kind of hot days. I mostly want to stay in out of the rays – I’m white than white (the little blimp that spacemen can see walking round on the planet as the sun bounces of my lily white skin) therefore if I emerge from my four walls I’m likely to spontaniously combust. It’s always nice to have a chat with friends in the Summer though. The hot weather giving socialising a more pleasurable accomodation. This project is dedicated to my neighbour and friend, Louise.

I’ve never been a fan of neighbours. My property is quite large for a suberban place. We have a lovely sized front and rear garden and are hidden behind the main stretch of houses (even googlemaps with it’s super fantastic photographic view of every street cannot see my house). We are up a longish drive whereby there are two properties, mine and Lou’s. However, the driveway belongs to us giving our neighbours access only. Over the years the battles we’ve had with neighbours regarding the use of the drive had become boring and frustrating, the previous neighbour blocking us in nearly every night whilst I was heavily pregnant (couldn’t even fit our motorbike between the vehicles). When the new neighbours moved in Stephen and I were on pins again. As it turned out we have super duper neighbours who I’ve told can never ever move – we’re now good friends and our babies play together.

[caption id="attachment_68" align="aligncenter" width="674"] Milli the Manatee in her box[/caption]

So when it came to Lou’s birthday I couldn’t resist a new challenge. Our Lou loves Manatees -sea cows. And there the challenge begun. I searched for crafted Manatee’s and found a great felt template from craftster.org. There were no instructions so it was a guessing game as to how it was constructed but I got there in the end.I constructed this using the inside out method. First I sewed the fins and lightly stuffed them. I then took the two sides and sewed the top part of the sides together stopping 2/3 of the way to the snout. I then began to attached the belly piece not sewing the tail as I had decided that was were I was going to turn it inside out and stuff at the end. Before reasching the snout I placed the fins in the correct place sealing the stuffed fin as I went along. The snout was a bit complicated but by leaving the third of the top open it allowed me to stitch it as neatly as possible.

[caption id="attachment_69" align="aligncenter" width="672"] Milli the Manatee on her sea of Organza[/caption]

I then turned the manatee the right way and sewed the face details – I’d probably advise getting little black eyes rather than sewing with black thread as I have on this one. Stuffed her up and closed her by the tail.

[caption id="attachment_67" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Milli the Manatee on top of her box[/caption]

Since I loved the box to the wedding gazebo so much I used the same template but changed the backing paper and shrunk it to fit the manatee. I placed in some pale blue fabric and tied a lovely bow around the manatee, finishing the gift.

Rating:-
Design: Felt Template
Level: Beginner/Intermediate (this would be wonderful for beginners had there been instructions)
Additional: Making a display box can really set of a 3D gift perfectly

KEEPSAKES - Cat in a Box

Hello Little Roos,

Stephen and I have never been known as conventional so when it came to our friend’s wedding we weren’t likely to buy them a standard wedding present. This was decided by knowing the interest of the bride and a theme that had developed during the wedding planning.

[caption id="attachment_63" align="aligncenter" width="672"] Cat in a Box - Finished[/caption]

Presenting Lucky and Hope (the names I decided to call the cat and butterfly).

Since the wedding gazebo and the fairy princess castle I wanted a new challenge. I had rediscovered a japanese site that has a section for papercrafting. The Japanese are amazing when it comes to papercrafting but I wasn’t quite prepared for the kinds of websites that have
papercrafting sections. Amazing!

Lucky the cat and Hope the Butterfly can be found at Canon’s Creative Park along with other breeds and some of the most wonderful things I’ve ever seen. I am sure I will be uploading photos of more soon. The Butterfly was slightly adapted (size and without the flower).

[caption id="attachment_64" align="aligncenter" width="651"] Lucky the Cat out of the box[/caption]

First of all I put the cat together using 300gsm white card and experimenting with different glues. However, this is more of a manipulation process and therefore the 300gsm card was far far too heavy. I would recommend 160-200gsm. As for the adhesives, I used double sided tape, superglue (naughty, I know), and craft -acid free- glue in a glue pen form. The double sided tape did not hold so I wouldn’t suggest this one (I also used the mouse tape roller for the fairy princess castle when I ran out of craft glue and that didn’t work either), the superglue was used on the muzzle of the cat as nothing else would work – this was because the weight of the card was so heavy that a craft glue was not strong enough.

[caption id="attachment_62" align="aligncenter" width="622"] Hope the Butterfly sitting next to Lucky the Cat's foot[/caption]

Then I made up the Butterfly using 300gsm white card again. This was great for this particular 3D item. The box is the same one as I used for the wedding gazebo, however I made it slightly taller and sealed the lid closed. I used a different backing paper – gold butterflies – and only had
windows in three of the four walls and a window in the lid. I then used ribbon to decorate the box and added some 3D effect butterflies to the front corners.

[caption id="attachment_61" align="aligncenter" width="672"] Looking down on the Cat in the Box[/caption]

I found a beautiful butterfly on a download site that was part of a card topper kit. I printed off six. Three make up each butterfly and this can be done by sticking one left wing to another right wing.

Rating:-
Design: Original
Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Additional: Take your time. Don’t rush. For this particular gift I didn’t attach the tail to the cat until the end as I altered it so it would lie further round the cat’s feet.

TIP: For the cat use 160-200gsm white card and craft glue in a pen.

KEEPSAKES - BLOSSOM CASTLE

Hello little Roos,

This, for me, was one of the most beautiful models I’ve made or even seen. I made this for a friend who was celebrating her daughter’s first birthday – Made using (and slightly adapting SHHHH!) a template from a digital download site. The template was a simple black line template allowing the user to choose their own backing papers. I am for and against this as I think the ease of use comes from the technical level of the crafter.

[caption id="attachment_56" align="aligncenter" width="511"] Blossom Castle - Finished[/caption]

I chose my backing papers, deciding on cream and blossom for the colours and decorated the finished castle with pearls, blossom gems, ribbon, and glamour dust (the glamour dust was put on before construction).

The base of the castle is a lovely little box but it’s not the easiest box to open since you have several tall towers on the lid, including one which is approx 12 inches.

[caption id="attachment_57" align="aligncenter" width="540"] Detail of Blossom Castle - The pearl gems really bring out the roof of the castle[/caption]

As a designer as well as a crafter and artist I would have preferred the gate towers to be on the lid and the walls to be lower and the gate I would have made less complicated and busy (the latter to I did myself, not for any other reason than finding the pieces obstructive and thus complicated to put together.

I have had wonderful feedback from family and friends regarding this piece and a request from my lovely mother to make her one.

[caption id="attachment_54" align="aligncenter" width="577"] Blossom Castle with the box base[/caption]

Rating:-
Design: Classic
Level: Advanced
Additional: You have to be patient with this one but it’s well worth it.

TIP: Print the matching paper on the reverse of the template too as you can seen inside. This is not suggested by the designer of the template. Only choose two backing papers, for the walls a cream or pale colour with a non intrusive pattern. For the roof and box, a more solid colour with a non intrusive pattern in a pale colour.