Make Your Own Tassel Garland!

Have you spotted all those amazing colourful garlands?...like everywhere?!? :O :D Well I have been lusting after them forever and finally decided to make one. I photographed the process and I'll link below where I got my supplies so you guys can make one too!

Here is my amazing new garland which is now hanging beautifully in the doorway of HOW HQ! I purchased 3 different colours of tassels to do my garland. The tassels were £1.00 per 5. I bought 5 packs, one for the garland pictured above and 2 packs for a garland I was making for my sons birthday :)

The tassels arrive in packets like this and require a little assembly. I found these ones on ebay here

To make the tassels you need to first separate all the layers. There was 5 tassels in every pack and these were quite fiddly to separate but if you go slow it's all good :D 

Once you have separated them open one out like the above or so it somewhat resembles a face hugger :D :D :D 

Start by folding the tassel like so....

Until it is about 1/4" wide

Next twist the middle like this. By folding it first it makes the overall tassel neater and easier to twist. 

Fold it in half and this gives us the loop to hang our tassel

To secure wrap one of the strands around the top and secure with a spot of glue. Repeat this until all of your tassels are done and thread onto string. My pack came with the string so I didn't require any extra bits and bobs. It was such a simple project to make but was a little time consuming. Here is the finished result...

I'm so happy with how it came out and think it looks pretty good against our sprinkle wall! :D
It seems Dinah wasn't to impressed though :( 

I'd love to see your garlands if you decide to make one :)

I hope you enjoyed this super quick make! I'm hoping to share a few more over December if I get a chance to finish the posts! :D  

Hope you have a magical week!

Simple Ombre Nail Tutorial

Over the past few months Iv'e been getting a lot of requests for a nail tutorial. Many of you have spotted my nails over on our Instagram and Facebook pages so I thought the time had come to finally get around to sharing it with you! :D 

This is my go to manicure for a quick and cute polish. It dries really quickly and is super simple to do. So let's get started shall we...

So to do this nail tutorial you basically need two colours of nail polish. One darker and one lighter works best. I'm using a lilac and a dark blue. You will also need some sponge (!) I cut a sponge into 1cm x 2cm pieces. 

Apply your nail polish like so! I do a lighter colour first and then the darker colour at the tip. This doesn't have to be neat just as long as it's on your nails! :D 

Dab it with a sponge to blend. Now if you're careful with this you shouldn't get any on your fingers. But if you do a Q-tip and some nail polish remover will do the trick! Repeat this method over all nails doing one finger at a time. 

Once you have done one coat like this, go back and do a second coat and seal with a clear varnish.

Next apply a glittery varnish for instant sparkle! Now you could just finish here or why not add one of your favourite Rockin Claws nail transfers?

I'm going to try out our new mandala Rockin Claws!

and here's how it came out! Our Rockin Claws come with full instructions on the reverse so follow the packing to apply these. :) <3 font="" nbsp="">The mandala would have probably looked better on a lighter base but I actually love the effect!

Be sure to check out our full range of Rockin Claws here

If you do decide to try out I'd love to see your pictures so be sure to tag us on social media! 

Have a great rest of the week Wonderlanders!

Make Your Own Childrens Belt

Yesterday I dusted off my sewing machine in order to make some things for our boys that have been on the list to do for quite some time now. Top of my list was to make a belt. Here is the completed belt....

Isn't it great?! To make one of these you will need:
-1m 1" printed grosgrain ribbon (I found mine here)
-1m of 2mm thick coordinating webbing, 1" (I found mine here)
-Coordinating thread
-Belt Buckle (I found mine here)

I managed to source all of these supplies from eBay but you should also find them at your local craft store/habadashery. So let's get started!

1.  First we need to secure the ribbon to the webbing. Hold this in place and sew using a topstitch close to the edge.

2.  See down both sides of the ribbon to secure.

3. Next we need to attach the belt buckle to the webbing...

4. Follow the instructions on your manufacturers packaging to attach the belt. Mine didn't come with any instructions so this is how I done mine... Insert the webbing through the little space near the teeth. I folded mine over so it would give the buckle something sturdy to sink the teeth into!

5. Next I covered up the buckle with a piece of felt and hammered the teeth down to secure. Test it by pulling it! It shouldn't come loose at all!

6. Lastly you need to finish off the other end of the webbing. To do this I used a little fray check along the edge. But also sewed a little box with a cross in it just in case!

And we are finished! Whoooo hoooo!

I'm planing to make loads more of these for my little ones! If you make one using my instructions be sure to tag @ or # houseofwonderland as i would love to see how it turned out!

Have a magical week!

My favourite Harry Potter makes!

My son, Joshua has recently gotten into Harry Potter, and he has gone HP mad! His birthday is coming up in March and when I asked him what he wanted he made a list of only HP stuff! So the DIY in me began to search the internet to find a couple of goodies to make him. I came across some awesome finds so I'll share a few with you below... Firstly here are the piece's I made him....

The first thing I made him was a golden stitch! This was a super quick project and very simple to do. I used scrap cotton yarn to make mine and I found the pattern for it here.

After this quick make I decided on something a little more challenging... A Mandrake! This one took me a grand total of 17 failed attempts to get it right! But I think it was well worth it as Josh is going to adore it! You can find the pattern to make your own right here.

After crocheting the mandrake I wanted another quick project (are you noticing a pattern here yet? :D) So I decided to make a childrens sized Griffindor scarf. I made this in about 30 minutes (over 5,500 sts in 30 minutes! Pretty sweet right?) on my Prym knitting mill midi. If you haven't tried the knitting mills out before I totally recommend them! They are great if you want to create something quickly and require pretty much no knowledge to do! I have done 2 brief posts before on the larger prym knitting mill before here and here. Maybe I should do a tutorial on it? Anyway, I knitted 13 blocks of colour and each block is about 20 rounds if you would like to replicate it. 

Once I had finished making the scarf I also found a house elf pattern by the same person who wrote the madrake pattern. I was a little hesitant as the mandrake took me 17 attempts! :D But decided to give it ago anyway! This one was much simpler and I managed to finish him in just over a week. You can grab the pattern for this one here.

As well as the ones I made I found some more amazing patterns which I will list below. I won't be making them for Joshua's birthday but I think I'll try and get through as many as I can for his Christmas! 

Squarks the Phoenix, available via Ravelry
Doll sized sorting hat, available via Etsy
Fluffy the 3 headed dog, available via Etsy
Ipad cosy, available via Ravelry
Muggle Mitts, available via Ravelry
Dumbledores Army Armband, available via Ravelry
Wand, available via Ravelry 
The Gamekeeper, available via Ravelry
Monster book, available via Ravelry

Have you seen or found any awesome HP makes? Let me know but commenting below :)

Pom Pom Bag Charm

Have you seen all these adorable pom pom bag charms about lately? They remind me of an old Juicy Couture handbag I used to own!  As soon as I saw them I pretty much decided I had to have one! But of course I had to DIY it! 

I had already found the most adorable fluffy pom poms at Wool Warehouse! WW stocks a range of faux fur pom poms in various colours, the hardest part of this tutorial is choosing which colour to make! I finally settled on the Lion brand - Mink coloured pom pom (£1.49). It measures a fantastic 7cm in size so won't get lost on your bag or key chain! 

The pom poms come with a loop of elastic attached.  For this make I simply cut it off! 

As for the findings I had a check around the house for various bits to reuse! So the keyring was from a broken keyring and the chain from an old necklace I had lying around! But basically all you need is a keyring, 2 jump rings and a small length of chain. 

To fix the chain to your pom pom I sewed like crazy just using a standard needle and length of thread! I sewed mine in white thread but you can't see the stitches at all due to it's fluffyness! See..........................

And taaaa daahhhh! you have one super awesome fuzzy keyring! Ideal for tormenting kitties with, adding to your favourite handbag or simply accessorizing your boring keys! 

If you make one please share your photos to our social media pages and either tag us or use the hashtag #houseofwonderland :)

Have a fuzzy filled evening! 

BRRR! Quick Crochet Cowl Pattern

The last few weeks have been so cold here in Berwick Upon Tweed and they don't seem to be warming up any time soon.  So I thought I would whip up myself a toasty new cowl to keep me cozy.  I ordered a ton of new yarn! :D (way more than needed to make a single cowl but who's counting right?! :D) My favourite online yarn shop is Wool Warehouse where I purchased this bargain chunky yarn...

This is the Robin Super Chunky. At just £1.99 a ball it's a complete steal! I purchased just one 100 gram ball of this stuff in Claret colour, but Wool Warehouse also stock 11 other colours of this stuff! You can find it here.  In one evening I had finished making and here is the result...

Fancy making your own? You will need...
-A 15mm crochet hook
-1 ball of Robin Super Chunky in your favourite colour
-Needle
-Scissors

Terms (in American terms):
CH - Chain
SC - Single Crochet
DC - Double Crochet
SL ST - Slip sitich
ST - Stitch

Note:
This pattern uses cross over cable stitch. To do this you need to work over your 3DC (as created in the instructions) and make your stitch into the skipped stitch. DC as normal but ensure it's a loose st to the same height as your DCs

1. CH 36 stitches. SL ST to first CH ensuring not to twist. (36)
2. CH1 (counts as a st), Make 1SC in every st around. SL ST to join (36)
3. CH3 (counts as a st), *Skip the first st. 3DC, Make a cross over cable stitch (see notes)* Repeat this until you reach the end of your row. The last set of stitches should have 2DC instead of 3. Sl st to the top of your CH3 to join (36)
4-9. Repeat step 3
10. CH1 (counts as a st), Make 1SC in every st around. SL ST to join (36) Fasten off and weave in all ends. 

And your done! Time to snuggle into your brand new super easy and super quick cowl! :)

If you do choose to make this feel free to share your cowl on our social media pages or tag us! We love to see your makes! 

Happy crocheting! 

Quick Make! Crochet Heart Tree Decorations

I know it has been aggggggggggges since we released a new crochet pattern.  This was pretty much down to our recent relocation as well as illness but we have been working on something special! All will be revealed soon! ...but in the meantime here is a quick festive make for your tree or to gift to family and friends...

So here is what we are going to be making....

Aren't they just adorable? So to make your very own you will need:

-A 4mm crochet hook
-Scraps of Red and Cream DK weight yarn
-Needle
-Scissors

Terms:
MC - Magic Circle
CH - Chain
SC - Single Crochet
HDC - Half Double Crochet
DC - Double Crochet
TR - Treble Crochet
SL ST - Slip sitich

*note- I didn't use and stuffing in my hearts.  I left long tails and used them to pad my hearts.  But of course do whatever is best for you :)

1.  Make a MC and CH2.  Into the circle work 3TR, 4DC, 1TR, 4DC, 3TR, CH2 and SL ST.  Pull tightly to close the ring.
2.  CH1. Make a SC in your first TR from the previous row. 3HDC into the next st, 2HDC in the next st, 4SC, 2HDC in the next st, 4SC, 2HDC into the next st, 3HDC in to the next st and finally 1SC in the last st.  SL ST to the base to join.  Fasten off leaving a long tail.
3.  You will need to make 2 hearts to make this decoration.  Once you have two use the contrasting yarn to embroider snowflakes, stars and long stitches.  Fasten off leaving long tails.
4.  Hold two hearts together (with right sides facing out) and with one of the long tails sew the hearts together though the back loops using a whip stitch.  Stuff will polyfil or push in all of your long ends to pad.  
5.  Make the loop with one of your long tails knotting inside the heart and fastening off to secure. Taaa dahhhh we are all done! Time to go hang up these bad boys...

I hope you enjoy making up these heart Christmas tree decorations! Please feel free to share your heart decorations on any of our social media pages :) Wouldn't these look amazzzzzzzzzzing in rainbow colours???

Easter Weekend...

So how was your Easter weekend?  It was a busy one here at HOW HQ! We had Easter egg hunts, a spring clean, family visits and getting your orders done.  As well as that we managed to get a new crochet pattern up just for you.  This is another FREE one (Don't say we aren't good to you!)  Inspired by all the delicious food we consumed over the past week I give to you.... 

....the macaroon necklace.  This super quick statement necklace is the perfect way to update your wardrobe for summer.  Whip up a fresh batch in assorted colours using your yarn scraps.  These could also be used to make a macaroon collar, bracelet or brooch.  The possibilities are endless! So head over to our Craftsy store now and download your free printable PDF pattern.  

All of our downloadable patterns are super simple and are written in US crochet terms.  All of our patterns are also on 1 sheet of A4 paper where possible to save paper & ink! :)

Can't crochet and need your very own macaroon accessories? Then get in touch right here and we shall sort you out :) If you do make these send us over a picture as we love to see your creations :)

Have a glitter filled day Wonderlanders!
Tess x