Thursday 4 December 2014

Decorated Pegs Tutorial

 Hello and hope your first Thursday in December is going well :) Can you believe it is Christmas month, woohooo!!! Time to go mad and do LOTS of Christmas crafting ;)
Lately I am a bit addicted to decorating pegs. My local hardware shop are probably wondering why I'm buying so many clothes pegs (pins) in this weather!! ;) Today I am guest posting over at my sister Emily's blog The Nest, as part of a Craft Advent. Here is a step by step tutorial of some decorated pegs (pins), it is a photo heavy post. Be warned!!

What you will need

For dying the pegs
Clothes pegs (pins)
Food colouring (the liquid one is best)
Vinegar
Boiling water
An old jar or container to withstand boiling water
GLOVES! (especially if you do not like the inked finger-nail look ;) )

For decorating the pegs
Hot glue gun
Decorating embellishments or buttons, glitter, ribbon, washi tape etc.





Step 1
Take apart all the pegs (pins).

Step 2
Make sure you are working on an old work surface, or else cover up the counter. Place one tablespoon of vinegar and 2-3 tablespoons of food colouring into the jar, give it a stir and then add boiling water.

Step 3
Carefully place all your pegs into the jars, any splashes can stain your or your furniture and burn, so beware!!

Step 4
After a few hours (or a few minutes depending on how well the colour took to your pegs!) place the pegs to dry on some kitchen paper.

It is worth noting that the food colour does not always take well to the peg, or come out the colour it is supposed to. The sample of pegs drying above was (left) brown and (right)  purple. They ended up as green (left) and pink (right). If you are not too concerned for the colours, it is a bit of fun waiting to see what colour they turn out. Also note that when the pegs are dry the colour may be slightly different.
This is how the red food colouring turned out.

Step 5
When your pegs are dry, if you like, match them up to a similar colour shaded peg. Assemble the peg back together, mind your fingers and nails!! ;)
The spring in the picture below was stretched too much when taking it apart, so to remedy it you can switch sides for the 'arms' of the spring, so it will be a tighter fit.



Step 6
Be prepared! Heat your glue gun and have as much of your embellishment in place.






Step 7
For my felt star, I was able to place the glue in the middle and it stuck the star and teddy bear. Press down on your embellishment for a few minutes, to ensure it is stuck!

Step 8
Voila! 

Step 9
Now you need to make an army of them ;)




Step 10
I designed and printed some slips to attach them to and placed them in a cellophane bag - perfect for gifting someone this Christmas!
Enjoy :)

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and give it a go yourself! It is great fun and very easy to do. Please leave a link in the comment if you get to do them this winter, I would love to see how they turned out!!

Why not pop over and see what other craft projects have happened so far this advent?! Have a wonderful day :)
Eithne 





Monday 1 December 2014

Christmas but not a card - Eclectic Ellapu

Hello! Can you believe it is December already? Woohoo!!! This year I am hoping to create a scrapbook on a daily basis for December. I will keep you posted on my progress. We are decorating our tree today, and can't wait for all the lights to sparkle! :)

Today I am showing a decorated peg I have recently become addicted to. I will have a tutorial later in the week, so please stop by. For now here are some photos for my project for the challenge over at Eclectic Ellapu. The theme this month is 'Christmas but not a card'.




Having liked this little fella so much I decided to make an army!!



If you are crafting something Christmassy (but not a card!) why not pop over and enter the challenge?

Hope you are having a wonderful day and enjoying the first day of December.
Happy Crafting,
Eithne