Strawberry Tea Cosy

by Katya Frankel

Would you like a nice cup of tea and a sit down? One of the most individual designs of tea cosy, this strawberry themed pot cover is sure to be a talking point at any tea party. The design suggests both a feeling of warmth and intimacy as well as light humour.

Difficulty level
Intermediate

Sizes
S (M, L): to fit 2 (4, 6) cup teapot

Materials
Small amounts of worsted or DK weight yarn in red, yellow, and green. Some possibilities: Rowan Handknit DK Cotton or Soft Baby Wool Mix, Knit Picks Swish Superwash or Wool of the Andes.

US 6 [4 mm] double pointed needles

Stitch markers

Gauge
20 sts and 27 rows = 4" [10 cm] in stockinette

Pattern
Side (make 2)
With 2 double pointed needles and red, CO 32 (40, 48) sts. K 3 rows. Work 5 rows stockinette, beg with a WS row.
Next row (RS): (K7 red, k1 yellow) 4 (5, 6) times.
Work 4 (6, 8) rows stockinette with red.
Next row (WS): P3 red, p1 yellow, (p7 red, p1 yellow) 3 (4, 5) times, p4 red.
Work 4 (6, 8) rows stockinette with red.
Next row (RS): (K7 red, k1 yellow) 4 (5, 6) times.
Work 4 (6, 8) rows stockinette with red.
Next row (WS): P3 red, p1 yellow, (p7 red, p1 yellow) 3 (4, 5) times, p4 red.
Set piece aside and make second side.

Top
Distribute sts of both sides evenly on 3 or 4 double pointed needles and join for working in the round. Place a marker at the beg of the rnd.

Rnds 1-4: K.
Rnd 5: (K7 red, k1 green) around.
Rnd 6: (K4 red, k2tog green, k2 green) around--56 (70, 84) sts.
Rnd 7: (K4 red, k3 green) 8 (10, 12) times.
Rnd 8: (K2 red, k2tog green, k3 green) around--48 (60, 72) sts.
Rnd 9: (K1 red, k5 green) around.
Break red and work with green only from this point on.
Rnd 10: (K2tog, k4) around--40 (50, 60) sts.
Rnd 11: K.
Rnd 12: (K2tog, k3) around--32 (40, 48) sts.
Rnd 13: K.
Rnd 14: (K2tog, k2) around--24 (30, 36) sts.
Rnd 15: K.
Rnd 16: (K2tog, k1) around--16 (20, 24) sts.
Rnd 17: K2tog around--8 (10, 12) sts.
Rnd 18: K2tog around--4 (5, 6) sts.

Stalk
Work i-cord on rem sts for about 1" [2.5 cm]. Fasten off.

Finishing
Seam sides together, leaving spaces for spout and handle open. Weave in ends.

About the designer
I am a freelance knitwear designer and have been enjoying my work with a passion for about 20 years. In particular I like the opportunity to be creative and work with novel ideas/themes, translating them into patterns. Email.

MagKnits...

Chocolate Fudge for Christmas

Home-made Fudge is a luscious addition to any Christmas, either as a gift for a sweet toothed friend or family member or just for the family to eat at Christmas time. Everyone will think you are really good cook to make your own fudge, it will be your secret of how easy it is to make this scrummy chocolate fudge.
Younger Children will need help to melt the chocolate.

To make chocolate fudge you will need...
?300g of good Dark Chocolate with a high coco percentage (70% or 80% coco content) The fudge will not work with other chocolate.
400g tin of Condensed milk.

Remember to wash your hands and clean the work surfaces before you begin.

Method...
Break up the chocolate into a microwavable dish. Microwave the Chocolate for 1 minute and stir, repeat again. If the chocolate has still not melted microwave for an extra 20 seconds and stir. Repeat the 20 seconds until the chocolate has melted being careful not to over cook the chocolate.

Then add the tin of condensed milk to the chocolate, stir in well. You will feel the mixture thicken.

Pour into a tin foil lined tin, spread evenly and smooth the top. Allow to cool for a couple of hours.

Take the fudge out of the tin and peel off the tin foil. Cut in to small mouth sized chunks.

Your chocolate fudge is now ready to eat or put into a little box if you are giving it as a gift.

One batch is enough to make two gifts.

Christmas Crafts for everyone to make...

Art Clay Silver Tech Heart Pendant

Roll out a thick sheet of metal clay (approximately 3/8" thick).

Press a computer circuit board onto the clay to make a texture. Use ACS Pure Balm to prevent the clay from sticking to the board.

Use a small circle cutter to cut out a circle for the middle of the heart. Use a heart shaped cutter to cut the outside shape with the cut circle centered in the middle.

Slide a head pin vertically up through the bottom of the heart and out through the top. Twist the head pin to widen the hole a bit. Remove the head pin.

Let the heart dry.

Lightly sand the edges with a Glass file, Sanding Blocks or Sanding Pads

Fire the heart at 800°C for 5 minutes in kiln, 5 minutes on a Gas Hob or 2 minutes with a Gas Torch.

After firing, burnish the piece with a brass brush. Follow with a burnishing tool to polish the edges and the high spots for a brighter shine.

Thread the head pin up through the heart. Use a needle to widen the hole if necessary. This will compress and burnish the hole. Place a bead in the center of the heart and thread the head pin through the bead and up through the top of the heart. Use pliers to make a loop for hanging. Twist the wire a few times and clip off the excess wire.

Hang the heart from a chain.


All that you need to create this unique Pendant is available Here..

For more information on using, drying and firing Art Clay please take a look the Resources Page

Four Frugal Craft Ideas For The Summer

By: Andy Spinks

Beach Memories
Who can resist picking up shells, rocks, and all those shiny colorful goodies that have washed up during a walk along a beach? Once home, though, the treasured memories usually dry out, lose their original luster, or may not make it home at all. With this project, your beachcombing efforts can be kept sparkling and create a long lasting summer memento.
Fill a canning jar with a layer of sand and wedge larger shells or driftwood in this layer of sand, and then add the smaller shells. Fill the jar with seawater, screw the lid on tightly, and wrap in a towel to prevent breakage.
Place the jar in a water filled cooking pot. Heat until the water in the pot boils, then simmer for 15 minutes (this will kill any algae). Carefully remove the jar from the cooking pot (parents only) and cool. Label the jar and enjoy for many years.

Chalk Art
One of summer's perks is that young artists now have the time and the weather to allow them to take advantage of those big canvases for their drawings. Here are some ways these young artists can decorate sidewalks, driveways, and walkways.
Draw a map of the neighborhood area around your home, with roads, houses and parks. Then populate the chalk neighborhood with toy cars and figures.
Trace around a friend's body, and then draw in hair, eyes and clothing.
Outline a large “color by number” dinosaur, favorite zoo animal or cartoon character, and let you friends color in different sections.
Copy a favorite comic strip in the sidewalk squares (a panel in each square), or invent an original strip of your own.

Box Of Treasures
This treasure box, organized around the idea that anything goes, should have ample room for plastic bags of beach findings, photos, coins, drawings, movie ticket stubs or even a small diary.
Find a sturdy cardboard box (one with a lid), which can labeled with the treasure hunters name and the date. As treasures are discovered, place them inside or, glue them onto the outside of the box. To give the box a durable finish, brush on a coat of white glue thinned with water or cover with contact paper.

Catching The Breeze
This project, with its long blow-in-the-breeze tail, will make any craft maker feel like they’ve sprouted wings.

MATERIALS
2 large plastic cups
Clear, flat trash bag
Dowel or stick
2 rubber bands
Masking tape
Hole punch
Scissors

1. Cut the bottoms from both cups. Lay the trash bag flat and roll its sealed, bottom end around the outside of one cup, 1 inch below the cup's rim. Tape in place.
2. Feed the trash bag through the bottom of the second cup, then pull the cup firmly over the first so the rims are aligned.
3. Using the scissors, cut fringes on the tail of the trash bag. Punch two holes through both of the cups (on opposite sides of the cup), just below the rims.
4. Push the dowel or stick through the two holes, wrapping a rubber band around it on each side of the cup to hold it in place.
5. Catch as much breeze as you can!

Andy Spinks is co-owner of The Clay Store -
http://www.theclaystore.com. The Clay Store offers a large selection of
Polymer Clay Supplies and
Polymer Clay Tutorials.
Article Source: The FREE Article Distribution Center

Learn How to Knit with Easy Beginner Instructions

By: Chris Robertson

As a beginner in knitting, you're probably curious about the basics in knitting before you take lessons. Knitting provides a hobby that's fun, requires self-discipline and steadfastness, and allows you to feel a sense of achievement when your knitting project is complete.

Knitting Defined

Knitting is a craft in which two needles along with thread or yarn are used to create fabric pieces or garments by creating loops in the yarn. Knitting can be used to create many types of fabric, from framed knitting artwork to sweaters, afghan quilts, throws, blankets, mittens, or even bedroom slippers.

The very basic type of knitting is called the knit stitch. With the knit stitch, you'll slip the needle through the loop from front to back. Then, loop the yarn around the needle and put the stitch through onto the second needle. Another common type of knitting is the purl stitch, which is handled in an opposite manner than the knit stitch. When learning how to knit through paid or free knitting lessons for beginners, you'll learn these basics first.

A completed fabric that has been knitted is characterized by rows of stitches that resemble loops and flat rows alternated.

Why Learn How to Knit?

Knitting has been around for thousands of years, and probably always will be. So, why knit by hand when you can easily buy finished fabrics in the marketplace? There are many reasons to learn how to knit and to also teach your daughter to knit.

One, knitting gives you a sense of accomplishment. When you complete a beautiful knitted piece that can be framed as a home decor piece, you'll be proud to hang it on your wall. When you complete a lovely, warm sweater made with your own hands, you can proudly wear it and explain that you knitted it yourself.

Two, learning how to knit requires self-discipline and steadfastness. You must work on it consistently to complete a project. Your child can also learn to set goals, stick with something until the end, and accomplish something special through knitting.

Three, knitted items make excellent gifts. When your friend or loved one becomes an expectant mother, you can immediately begin knitting a blanket for the baby. Or, knit slippers for your family members as Christmas gifts. Giving something you knitted with your own hands makes a very special gift from the heart.

Where to Learn

Learning how to knit is easy today with so many online resources. There are online paid or free knitting lessons for beginners as well as advanced knitting instructions. You can opt to learn from an individual locally, but this can cost quite a bit of time and money. Learning how to knit online enables you to learn from your own home during your spare time. It's also very affordable.

Some things you'll learn through online knitting lessons include what tools and supplies are needed, how to cast on, how to know knits from purls, how to create patterns and designs, how to block and sew your work together, how to care for knitted garments, and other valuable knitting skills.

With free knitting lessons for beginners or advanced knitting instructions, you might also benefit and save money with the free knitting patterns provided at some knitting websites. Learning how to knit will give you a skill that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies.
For tips/information, click here: how to knit
Visit Majon's Crafts and Hobbies directory.

Dyeing Pasta for Craft Projects

Kids love to play with pasta! Who knew something so simple and inexpensive could be so interesting to young children.

Dried pasta comes in a variety of sizes and shapes. If you don't already have some in your kitchen cupboard, you can find a variety of different pastas to choose from in the bulk section of your grocery store. Let your child go with you to pick it out.

Pasta can be used for a variety of craft projects, and it is very easy to dye. It takes only a few minutes to dye the pasta, and a couple of hours for it to dry.

To dye the pasta all you need is:

- Pasta in different shapes and sizes
- Food coloring
- Rubbing alcohol
- Several small bowls

Pour approximately 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol into each bowl. Add 10 or so drops of food coloring into each bowl, one bowl for each color. Drop the pasta into the bowl and stir gently with a spoon for a few seconds. Remove the pasta from the bowl and allow to dry for several hours on a paper plate. The colors will brighten as the pasta dries.

Your kids will enjoy playing with their colorful pasta. They can use it to create macaroni necklaces or they can glue pieces of pasta onto a sheet of paper for a creative work of art.

Children as young as two years old will enjoy counting and sorting the pasta into different piles. Have them separate the pasta by color or shape. They will have fun moving the pieces of pasta from bowl to bowl.


Photo of dyed pasta shapes:
http://www.crafty-moms.com/kids_crafts/dyeing-pasta.shtml


Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For
scrapbooking, card making, gift-giving ideas, and more family
memory-making activities, visit http://www.crafty-moms.com

Making a Textured Pendant

For this project you will need the following:
1.5mm Spacer
Acrylic Roller
Suitable Work Surface
Non stick Baking Paper
Mini Cookie Cutter or Craft Knife for cutting out a shape
Texture Mats or similar
Stainless Steel Mesh for firing on a Gas Hob or a Ceramic Firing Brick for use with a Gas Torch
Stainless Steel Brush
Stainless Steel Burnisher
Art Clay 650 Silver Paste ? small amount
Sanding Pads or Needle Files
Necklace, Ribbon or Leather Thong
Small bowl with some water and a paintbrush
Art Clay 650 7g Slow Dry

1. Using the spacers as a guide, roll out your clay to an even thickness between 2 sheets of baking paper. Use the paintbrush and water to help keep the clay moisturised whilst working with it and to smooth out any cracks that may appear.

2. Apply a texture from your texture mats or anything else that you may be using.

3. Cut out your desired shape using the mini cookie cutters or a craft knife. For the design above, I used mini heart cookie cutters, to cut out a smaller heart shape from the larger one. I then used a little paste to stick the smaller shape (texture side down) onto the larger heart shape. If you are making a design that is different to the one shown in the pattern, remember to make a hole for a jumpring.

4. Dry your piece using the oven, warming tray, hairdryer or heat gun. To find appropriate drying times please look at Drying Schedule for Art Clay resources page

5. Once dry, use your sanding pads or needle files and smooth out any sharp edges and corners. Now is also the time to carve in any patterns or designs you would like.

6. Your piece can now be fired using your preferred method. For a firing schedule please look at Firing Schedule for Art Clay resources page

7. After your piece has been fired and cooled, brush with a Stainless Steel Brush to bring out the beautiful Silver colour.

8. You can now use your Burnisher to create a mirror finish to your pendant. Add a necklace, ribbon or leather thong to complete your unique creation.

9. Enjoy!! All that you need to create a unique Textured Pendant is available in The Webshop

For more information on using, drying and firing Art Clay please take a look at the Resources Page