Dear Diary by Parkin: Kite D.I.Y.

 

Hello Parkin fans! 

This weeks Dear Diary is going to be a little different. As you may know, (should know more like!) I am a fan of kites and have been amassing a vast and exciting collection. As fun as it is to spend time on my favourite kite forum and receive special kite-based packages in the post, sometimes you just want to get your hands dirty. This, apparently, is what compels Vicky to take my friends to pieces or to stab hair into their head over and over but quite frankly I don't think there is ever an excuse for that. Anyway, as I was saying, sometimes you just want to get involved in your favourite hobby and today I have decided to show you my super-secret special kite making technique. It's easy I promise. Even Big Ol' Bossypants can do it!

D.I.Y. - Easy Summer Headband!

I thought it might be nice to make a bright summer headband for Clem to complement her beautiful bold hair and came up with this easy D.I.Y. It doesn't take long and you only need a few supplies so if you'd like to have a go, read on!

Here are the supplies you will need:

Small scraps of fabric. You will not need anymore than 1" by 1" of each, unlike in the picture!

A small piece of felt

Needle and thread

Embroidery floss or beads

A small piece of dolly velcro (optional)

43cm of ribbon of your choice. I chose 9mm velvet ribbon. *You will need to add enough extra length to tie ribbon in a bow at the back of your Blythe's head if not using the dolly velco option.*

To start with make this shape by folding the ribbon back on itself. Do this slightly off-centre. This forms the bow and you can make it as big or as small as you'd like.

Stitch folds in place and you should end up with something that looks like this.

Using fabric glue attach a piece of the felt to each of the scrap pieces of fabric and wait to dry.

Once dried, cut out two small circles. One should be larger than the other. Cut towards the centre all around the edge of the larger circle. Use the embroidery floss to add french knots to the smaller circle of sew beads on instead. You could do a combination of the two perhaps! Then attach the two circles together with the smaller on top.

Glue or stitch the 'flower' to the centre of the bow you made using the ribbon. My flower has a real homemade look (and a slight touch of the ugly, but I have developed a soft spot for it!) but you can go as neat or as 'rustic' as you prefer. Try adding a button or a fancy bead if you want to miss out a few steps. If you are adding the velcro attach it now. All that's left is to pick one of your Blythe's to wear it!

D.I.Y. Easy Highlights Tutorial

I thought it would be fun to be able to change up my Blythes hair as easy as it is with Odeco's without having to faff around with unscrewing and soaking things. Clip in hair pieces seemed like the answer and I had just the bits lying around.

All you need is a small amount of leftover saran or nylon, a hair clip and some pva or similar. I only had fabric glue but that seems to be holding up very well. I would also recommend these hair grips as they are doll sized!

Next you need to wrap the hair around your finger so it's in half and place a clip across as in the picture. Please excuse the E.T. finger!

Next you want to pull the tail through the loop created by your finger and pull tight so the hair is now attached to the grip.

Now tie a knot with the hair near the top of the grip to secure the hair better and glue the hair to stop it coming undone. 

After it has dried you can clip it on the doll you want and cut to length!

D.I.Y. Cushions!

So here is my first tutorial! I have been looking forward to doing something like this ever since I started my blog. I'm going to show you how to make your own seat pads, like the yellow gingham one above, which are both cute and practical!

I find they are really helpful for keeping my dolls on their seats as they give a bit of traction. Not the sexiest word ever but I've found them really useful and hope you do too.

What you need:

Make-up pads
Fabric scraps of your choice
A compass and a ruler
Scissors
Fray check
Needle and thread
A piece of thin card (I used a bit off a cereal packet)
Fabric glue

I dare say you could get away with not needing all the bits and bobs in the list but have a read through and see what you think.

First you want to place your make-up pad on your fabric scrap and draw a circle around it about 1.5cm larger to act as a seam allowance would. Cut it out and it should look like the picture above.

Next you want to create two smaller circles. Measure the diameter of your make-up pad and cut out a circle of the cardboard to the same size. Then cut a slightly smaller circle (by about 2mm) out of the fabric you would like to use on the base of your cushion. 

 Fray check the sides of the fabric circle and leave to dry.

Next you should use a running stitch around the top of the large fabric circle you cut out at the beginning. Use stitches between 2-3mm for a neat look. You should then place your make-up pad on to the fabric circle and then place your piece of cardboard on top of that. Pull the thread taut to gather.

You now want to use the fabric glue as shown in the picture. Be sure not to get too close to the outer edge as you don't want it to ooze out. Place your backing fabric on top and carefully press down. 

I wish I had used a thicker fabric as you can sort of see the gathers through my selection which was a light weight cotton.

Finally you should whip stitch around the edge to secure the fabric in place that little extra. It is also neater.

Now you have your own cute little cushion like the one Ren is sitting on in his lovely green chair at the top of this post! Hope you have fun!