Tuesday 25 December 2012

Pre Festive Preparations

Hi everyone, I have started writing this post at two minutes to midnight on Christmas eve, having just finished all my Christmas chores and preparation. I thought I had done it all last week but then when I started thinking about it there was this and that needing to be picked up from the shops, a few cards I had forgotten and calls needing to be made and so forth! Oooh! It's just turned midnight! Merry Christmas everyone!

Anyway I thought I could jot down some of the things I did on the lead up to Christmas so you can all see how unprepared I was and maybe as a reminder for myself to get started with my preparations FAR EARLIER! July should just about do it!

Back in October my partner and I had a conversation where we agreed we would sit down and work out our Christmas list so that we would know what we needed to buy for each person, work out a budget, and most importantly I could work out what I was making for whom! We never got around to it in the end so I started working in November on some handmade gifts for some of our friends and family, and left the rest until later, as one does!

Here are a few of the things I made...

These guys were fun to decorate!
A boy's stripey scarf
Two little girls rainbow scarves
One of many kinds of biscotti!
Monster hat and scarf set. GRRR!
Man hat in manly colours!
girly owl softie
Ladybird Beanie - Cute!
This took ages! A rainbow capelet. Worth it though!
My Christmas cake! The first year I made one.
A rainbow bracelet for a cupcake fan!
Mince pies on Christmas eve!
Converse booties - a Christmas commission!
rainbow set for a one year old tot! small is always sweet!
When I look at it like that it seems I didn't do too badly really! It has been exhausting though and next year I have promised myself to pick a couple of patterns which I can mass produce and start in at least September making them! Famous last words I know!

We shopped for the other items and gifts we needed last weekend and cleaned our home from top to bottom this weekend so we can laze around at Christmas without guilt! I now feel prepared but I'm not looking forward to waking up in the morning in time to put the bird in the oven! Better get some sleep! 

I hope Santa brings all of you what you asked for and you have a great Christmas break with your families or relaxing with a break from work. See you in the New Year!

Friday 21 December 2012

Pinspiration

Well we spent ages updating our blog and making it really pretty for you to see when you visit, and then ran out of steam when it came to writing a post! Sorry about that everyone!

We haven't done much pinning for a while either so I sat down and started searching for a few of the things which have piqued my interest over the last few months...

I love the colours on this one!


I have been looking for some cowl patterns to crochet and started one, but am not sure of how it is looking. So one of my searches was on crochet cowls and I added a few of these to our crochet board.

OMG how cute!

I then remembered that yarn bombing was coming up a lot recently and I have been given permission by my boyfriend Mr D to yarn bomb his big office chair! I now need to work out how to do it and what colours I want to use etc. and so far I haven't got a clue! So... I have started a yarn bombing board on pinterest and will be doing a bit of googling on techniques.

Making trees even more beautiful! Who would have thought it could be done!
This is the kind of thing I want to do to my office chair!


Whilst I was looking at yarn bombing I found a few links to Freeform Crochet images. These things can be amazing! I really want to learn how to do this now too! Maybe I will try a flowery cushion cover or something. I think a few youtube tutorials may be a good idea on this before I get started!



Towards the end of my pottering around on the web I stumbled across this GLORIOUS ta-dah! project unveiling on Memerose's blog. It is so beautiful. Oh no! I feel another blanket coming on and I still have two to finish! Must be strong! I did a bit of digging and the pattern for the tiny hexagons (only two rounds) is on BunnyMummy's blog and is really well photographed at all stages. Very tempting!

memerose's masterpiece!
So now I am bursting with inspiration but find myself running short of evening with which to put it into practice! Ah well it is the weekend now and then Christmas! I am a lucky thing and have the middle days off too so I am sure to find time for a bit of hooky!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and have lots of crafty times! Us birds will be back with some snapshots of our Christmas makes and hopefully our lovely festive dinners from the big day! As if you wont all have seen enough of that kind of thing by then!

Friday 9 November 2012

What we've been up to - Instagram Version!

For those of you that don't follow us on Instagram, here's a preview of our latest pictures showing what we've been up to.

If you don't have a smart phone then you can still look at our photos from your computer as Instragram have now launched on the web too - Have a peek here



If you do have the Instagram app and want to follow us, our username is @twobirdscraft

Monday 29 October 2012

Pretties are ready!

This weekend we have been busy making lots of pretty jewellery and accessory items for our Etsy Shop. Take a look and see if there is anything you fancy!

We worked with a great variety of charms, cabochons and more to create bracelets, necklaces, stitch markers and more. There are some really pretty flowers, beads and charms in all kinds of styles so there should be something for everyone.

Oh and we also made a few crochet headbands for babies and toddlers. More of these to come as soon as we have another weekend to work on them!

If you follow us on instagram, twitter or facebook you can follow our progress as we make more pretty things! Your comments are as always very much appreciated!











Monday 24 September 2012

Looking for feedback!

Hello everyone!

Sorry we've been a bit quiet on the blog front again, holidays and little people's birthdays have got in the way and we've been neglecting this part of the web but hopefully you've still been following our posts on Instagram and Facebook!

We have recently been thinking up some new products and our latest have been crochet stitch markers, but with a twist...
We've made a set of 5 stitch markers in pretty complementing colours that can also be worn on a necklace/brooch/keyring. You can buy these from our Etsy shop here:



Anyway..as mentioned at the top of the post. We want to hear from fellow crafty bloggers what you think of these beauties!

So, if you would like to review a stitch marker set for us, please e-mail us at twobirdscraft@gmail.com or comment below and we'll get in touch!

Please note this is for bloggers in the UK only!

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Getting ready for winter

Hello!

We are still here, crafting away incase you were wondering where we'd disappeared to!

We're both working on larger projects at the moment so that's why our Instagram feed has been a bit quieter than usual!

Both birds are happily hooking cosy blankets in preparation for the winter! And both, funnily enough, are patterns from our favourite craft blogger - Attic 24!

The pink bird is speeding through a colourful ripple blanket. The pattern for this can be found here: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/neat-ripple-pattern.html/

Meanwhile the purple bird is also taking a colourful route but is working on Lucy's Granny Stripe pattern: http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/granny-stripe.html/

So, once we've finished our blankets, or need a break from the looooong rows, we'll be back to business creating some smaller items for the shop.

As always, we love to hear from you so please let us know what you've been making recently - see the contact us page for various methods of getting in touch!

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Crochet Critters!

Hi Everyone!

For the last week or so we have been busy experiencing the world of Amigurumi! The pink bird has her young relatives coming to visit soon and realised she hadn't made them many presents yet! So here are a few things we have tried...

Meet Poppy the little Amigurumi Doll...

She is really cute and cuddly with black button eyes and a little pink handbag!






And here she is being chased by a little green monster!...

goodness me! This is a scary looking chap! And now our friends all like him so much they have asked for their own. He now has a little red brother...

We are now also working on a blue one for Mr Pink bird who wanted his own little guy!





These little critters seem to be popular so there will be some appearing in our Etsy shop soon in an array of colours!

If you have been making any amigurumi creatures let us know! There are lots of patterns out there and once you get a bit more comfortable you can try your own versions.


Lots of love,

TBC xx

Saturday 9 June 2012

Making Crochet while the Sun Doesn't Shine!

Hello everybody!

We have been a little quiet for the last few weeks as you will have seen. This is in part due to the purple bird's return to work after her super lovely maternity leave. Because of this and a decision to spend more time making things rather than writing about what we want to make, we have chosen to limit our posts to more sporadic stories of what we have been doing over a period of time. This should mean that they will make better and more colourful reading, and that we are not bombarding you all with every thought running through our heads. After all we have Twitter for that!

So, what have we been up to since we last wrote?

First of all you may remember a few weeks back we ran a competition to win one of our bunting necklaces. We announced the winner on Instagram and Twitter and are pleased to say she received her necklace just in time for the Jubilee celebrations at the weekend. God bless Royal Mail who managed a next day delivery!

We have been making and experimenting lots over the last few weeks. Here some of our creations below. You may have seen a few snapshots if you follow us on Facebook or Instagram. Some have been added to our Etsy shop today and more will be added soon. The photographing process is more time consuming than we would have thought but once we get used to it I think we will get things clearer and quicker.


Love Heart Doily
Scrumptious Scrubbies!
Sold in packs of 4
Rainbow Hearts...
Lots of Jewellery and Accessories for our Etsy Shop!














No need to add anything further here really is there! We are running this offer until further notice. Take a look and see if there is anything you fancy.

The pink bird has had this week off work. Today is her last day of official holiday (Boohoo!) and she has been trying to make it count with more making and some time to update a few things online. In a way all this bad weather has been good from a crafting point of view but our tans are fading and tempers fraying. Hopefully the sun will come out in time for us to go back to work next week!

We were recently asked by a friend to make a raffle prize for an outdoor playgroup that she is involved in. The playgroup is run in Ivybridge, Devon and encourages kids to have fun outdoors whatever the weather! They had a coffee morning on Thursday which we are pleased to say went really well and they managed to raise a total just short of £400 which is brilliant! If you're local and fancy attending, their first group is on the 25th of June. You can find more information here - https://www.facebook.com/BluebellsOutdoorWoodlandPlaygroup
Also, the purple bird bought some raffle tickets and won a Build-A-Bear voucher which she is very much looking forward to spending with her little chick! :-D

Just before all the rain we managed a few outdoor activities. First of all there was a lovely walk with a group of friends at Becky falls in South Devon. It is so beautiful there and we took a few snaps to show you here.

Babbling Brooks
Slightly concerned looking little chick!
Pretty Pathways
Waterfalls

Pretty pink flowers...

...and yellow ones!

A beautiful end to the walk
it was all too much for little chick!











































We also snuck in some gardening at the Purple Bird's nest as her lawn had gotten a little out of hand and needed some serious strimming! Mr Pink Bird came too and did all the hard work whilst we entertained the little chick and then planted some pretty flowers. That is our favourite kind of gardening. There should be some pictures of this coming on Instagram once the flowers settle into their new pots.

There was lots going on around our towns for the Jubilee and we attended a few places and watched lots of Royalty TV. We have topped up our patriocity full to the brim now so that should hold us for a few more years!


Well that's everything we have been doing recently. Well, the parts you might be interested in anyway! There was more but we thought you could do without hearing about things like putting up shelves and hanging pictures etc! We're off to bake a cake now... Lemon Drizzle - of course! What else?!

TBC x


Friday 25 May 2012

Freebie Friday: Competition - Win a Jubilee Bunting necklace!

To celebrate the upcoming Jubilee, we are giving away one of our new bunting necklaces.

You could be the proud owner of the beauty below in time for next week's festivities..


To win this necklace, all you have to do is suggest what you'd like to see us to make next!

You can send us a comment below this post, Tweet us or send a message on Facebook to enter.
You can also e-mail us at twobirdscraft@gmail.com with your suggestions

The best suggestion will then be picked and we will contact the winner to send them their prize!

We will take on board all your ideas and try to make the things you all want to see!

Good luck everyone!


Terms and conditions:
More than one entry is permitted. The winner will need to have an Etsy account although no payment will need to be made. Entrants must be in the UK to win the necklace. Closing Date for Entries: Weds 30th May 2012.