Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Flower Hairclip Tutorial




My head is packed full of so many creative ideas and I'm keen to start sharing them with you via my blog so here goes with my first attempt at a tutorial....

This tutorial will show you how to make these cute little hair clips, perfect for a special little girl though due to their small size I would advise they are not suitable for under 3s. Their super easy to make even if you've got very little crochet experience. 

NB: This pattern uses British crochet terms. All crochet terms are written out in full to assist beginners.


Equipment/Materials

. 4mm crochet hook 
. A small amount of double knit yarn in yellow and one other contrasting colour. I used King Cole Bamboo Cotton but any double knit yarn should work.
. Hair clip with cross hole or 2 holes at end - available at craft shops or on ebay - see picutre on right
. Yarn needle for sewing in ends/attaching to clip





Part 1 - Making the Centre of the Flower


 








1. Using yellow, start by making a slip knot.  
 Tip: I leave a long tail approximately 25cm long, this can then be used to attach the flower to the hair clip.

















 2. Chain 5.










 







3. Slip stitch the last chain to the first one to form a circle.
Tip: If you prefer you can use a magic circle instead.











4. double crochet x 10 into the circle made by the chain stitches; slip stitch the last double crochet to the first.








5. Chain 1 then double crochet into the same space as you joined the double crochets from the last round.








6. Chain 3.












 





 7. Counting round the double crochets from the previous round skip one then double crochet into the next double crochet. This will allow the chain 3 from step 6 to create a loop round the edge of your circle.







8. Chain 3, skip one double crochet, double crochet into the next double crochet 3 more times. Then chain 3 again and slip stitch to the first double crochet from step 5.


9. Fasten off the yellow.









You should now have something that looks like this - a circle of double crochets surrounded by 5 chain 3 loops into which you will now work your petals. 





Part 2 - Putting on the Petals

 

The next part of the pattern involves using a different coloured yarn to create the petals that are worked into each of the chain 3 loops around the centre of the flower.







1.  Work a double crochet 'sideways' around one of the double crochets between the chain 3 spaces of the previous round.

Tip: It doesn't matter which double of the 5 double crochets from the previous round you start from. 









It should look something like this.







2. Chain 1, then work 5 treble crochets into the chain 3 space from the previous round, then chain 1.


Tip: Note in this picture I have also begun working the treble crochets over the top of the tale of the purple yarn, this means that once the flower is finished I can just cut of the end of the yarn and don't have to worry about sewing it in.







3. Now repeat steps 1 and 2 a further 4 times as follows:
. Double crochet round the double crochet post from the previous round
. Chain 1
. Work 5 treble crochets into the chain 3 space
. Chain 1














You should be left with something that looks like this. 











4. Now you need to join the end back to the beginning. To do this slip stitch the end to the first double crochet of the round. Finish by fastening off your yarn.


Tip: Sometimes it's a little tricky to slip stitch to the right point at the end of the round as the double crochet is worked sideways and is sometimes twisted, if it doesn't look quite right you can undo the slip stitch and try again but usually when the yarn is fastened off and the end sew in the join looks much neater. 







The end result should look something like this. 


5. Sew in any loose ends and trim the yarn except the long yellow piece from the start of the centre of the flower.










You will then need a hair clip like this one or one with 2 holes at the end, these can be brought quite cheaply on ebay or at craft shops. 

Use the long piece of yellow yarn from the centre to attach the flower to the cross at the top of the clip sewing round in a circle so that the hair clip is evenly attached to all sides of the cross on the clip.






Your hair clip is now complete, the perfect cute accessory for any little girl.  I would advise however that due to their small size these clips would be unsuitable for under 3s. 

I hope you enjoyed my first tutorial, any feedback would be much appreciated and if anything is not clear please do not hesitate to contact me for advice.

Happy crocheting! 

 

Wednesday, 13 August 2014

Apricot and Blueberry Crumble Cake


Feeling a bit sorry for myself the last few days after a car accident last week, though I say just a bit sorry for myself because you only have to watch the news for about 30 seconds at the moment to put your own problems in perspective. I've been confined to the house on some fairly hefty painkillers and resting most of the time but I've been trying to keep myself moving and I've been pottering about a bit so decided I'd try out a new recipe today.  

I happened to have lots of blueberries that needed using up and trying to avoid wastage I found this recipe http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/7037/apricot-and-blueberry-crumble-cake

My first discovery from the recipe is that it tells you to line the baking tray - occasionally I find you can get away without doing this and just grease the tin but it's essential in this recipe and make sure you leave an overhang of paper at either end of the tin as this is the only way I could see to get the cake out of the tin without it crumbling to bits!
This is one of those recipes where it just says "Beat the butter, sugar, four, baking powder, eggs and milk together until creamy," however this always makes me a little nervous shoving everything in together so I went for :
. Cream the butter and sugar until pale
. Beat in the eggs with a little of the flour
. Beat in the rest of the flour and the baking powder
. Add the milk




As soon as I started baking of course my little pup arrived, she insists on sitting right on top of my feet while I'm baking just so she can get to any dropages before I can clear them up! 






The recipe says to half the apricots but I found that cutting them into smaller pieces - about 6ths - enabled them to be spread more evenly across the top of the cake. 

Adding lots of fruit and using a light yogurt makes the cake healthy right...








With the yogurt, fruit and crumble added before baking again.









Once baked I was able to use the excess baking parchment at the sides to lift the cake out to cool, if I hadn't had that I have no idea how I would have got it out of the tin without it falling apart!






The verdict is....   An excellent, easy to make, super yummy recipe perfect enjoyed with a good cup of tea but would also work really well as a dessert served warm with some cream.  I might have to experiment with some different fruit toppings in the future.



Thursday, 24 July 2014

Photo Wall - The Easy Way

Do you ever have those moments when you come across and idea that is so ridiculously clever that you can't believe you didn't think of it before?

I wanted to create a photo wall for my living room but put it off for ages because I couldn't bare the thought of having to fiddle about to line up photos, mark their place, etc. 

Then I came across this brilliant idea...

Arrange the frames in the pattern you want them on the floor, this gives you the opportunity to fiddle around with them as much as you like to get the perfect pattern, then draw round each one on scrap paper, I used newspaper, and mark the location of the hook on the back.  Blue tac the paper in your desired pattern in place on the wall then you can tap the photo hooks in their marked spot onto the wall straight through the newspaper.  Take down the newspaper, hang your photos and....


You have a perfectly arranged photo wall with all your photos where you want them.  I went for a completely random mix of frames in golds, browns and creams because if you start off with lots of frames the same you then have to struggle to find more the same but like this you can add to it for as long as you want.


Then sit back, make a cuppa and look at all the happy memories.  These photos include pictures of a holiday my husband and I had in Syria few years back before all the trouble began there, it feels like a very long time ago now.

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 31 - Monday 3rd March

Lots of fun, cuddles and play with the newest member of the family.

100 Happy Days - Day 30 - Sunday 2nd March - Puppy Day



It was really easy to be happy on Sunday as we picked up this little cutie!  The journy back from Maidenhead with her was suprisingly relaxed and easy and she was soon settling into her new home.

Monday, 3 March 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 29- Sat 1st March

I've been rather busy (you'll see why when I post the next few pics) so I'm getting behind on uploading my photos but I've got them all ready to go and will gradually catch up.

Matt and I spent Saturday walking down Eton highstreet and looking round Winsor castle. We then went out for Neaplese food for dinner which was delicious despite me spending 10 minutes with my mouth on fire and no idea what to do with myself after not making the distinction between the bits of green pepper in the curry and the one very hot chilli. 

Friday, 28 February 2014

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 26

Quite impressesed that I made it to day 26 (with a few gaps) before my happy picture included wine!

Saturday, 22 February 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 25

Not a happy reason to be awake at half past midnight but making the most of the time with some late night crochet.

Friday, 21 February 2014

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 21

Ok so I missed a few days but I have been happy honest! I've just been really busy. I'm starting again from where I left off with a yummy picture of pie and mash! You can't be sad when you're eating pie and mash!

Monday, 10 February 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 20 - Lots of Crochet, lemsip and a soggy run!

Not sure that running in the rain is a recommended treatement for colds but throught I'd try it today anyway.   I also managed to get a lot of crafting done and finished this little guy.  If you'd like to order one you can contact me through my facebook page Happy Geek Creations

100 Happy Days - Day 19

A whole afternoon of board games!

100 Happy Days - Day 18

Love walking along the cliff top on a sunny, windy, winter day. 



Friday, 7 February 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 17 - Wool

A little parcel of a few balls of wool waiting for me when I got home today...

Thursday, 6 February 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 16

Rock Cakes

I just felt like making rock cakes this evening as I haven't had them in a while.  They're something both my Mum and Grandma used to make when I was little so they always taste all yummy and homely to me.  Here's my recipe if you fancy giving them a go:

Ingredients:
125g wholemeal self-raising flour
100g white self-raising flour
If you don’t have any wholemeal self-raising flour you can use all plain, I just find that using some wholemeal flour tastes better (and is a tad healthier)
Pinch of salt
100g unsalted butter or margarine
100g of dried mixed fruit – you can use a pre mixed bag or mix up to your own taste, I find dates are particularly good.
25g castor sugar
25g light brown sugar
1 medium egg
Small amount of egg to mix

Method:
1.       Pre-heat oven to 200°c
2.       Mix flour and salt, rub in margarine
3.       Stir in dried fruit
4.       Mix in egg
5.       Gradually add a small amount of milk at a time and mix until you have a stiff dough,.
6.       Divide into approximately 15 portions on a greased baking tin
7.       Bake for 10-15 minutes

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

100 Happy Days - Day 14 - Happy Place

With so many young people struggling to get on the property ladder these days I feel very blessed to have been able to buy my own house, OK so really the bank own most of it and we owe them a shed load of money but we buy a little bit more of it every month.  Today's happy photo is tucked up in our bedroom and it's where I retreat to if I'm home alone like this evening and I want to get some serious crafting done. 


It might seem a little odd to build my craft area in our bedroom but it made the most sense, hopefully before too long we'll have some children so the spare rooms wont be spare any more and there's not really enough space downstairs so this made sense.  It didn't cost a lot to do, the shelves are from Ikea and there's more of them that you can't see underneath the desk, and the desk is a big piece of MDF painted with some special MDF paint.  My happy little space for whiling away the crafty hours!

Monday, 3 February 2014

100 Happy Days - 12&13

So I was a bit naughty and didn't get round to posting for yesterday, my excuse is that I spent all day looking at the puppy pictures from the day before and being happy!

As for today it's a strange one - tinned peaches and custard - the reason it makes me happy is because my mum used to give it to me when I was little so it tastes all homely and comforting!