Rasa Pelham Arty Love, Crafts!, Crochet, Knitting, Let's Celebrate!, Paper Crafts, Sewing

Rainbow bunting project

Since sharing about this exciting project we thought we would give you more information.

For those who have not heard, here is where you can read how our idea came about. Essentially our idea is simple. We want to bring joy to the community and shift focus from being anxious, scared, or bored to a more positive perspective. We hope you can join us and make some triangle flags to be joined together so we can put them in our windows. We hope this will bring smiles to people who passes our cafe while we are on quarantine. The more bunting the larger the smiles and we have plenty of space in our windows!

When we reopen again we are going to use the same bunting to decorate our ceiling. We are planning on a fun fair style celebration with stalls selling handmade goods, fun activities for kids, and much more. So while we wait, we need to prepare for this exciting event. Which is why we would love to see your handmade touch on our opening deco.

The address to either post or drop off your handmade flags is:

  • 5 The Crescent
  • MK42 0UJ
  • SHORSTSTOWN

The flags can be made up from any material, as long as it can be stitched together onto our binding. For more ideas keep on reading! The possibilities are limitless! Although there are two rules to keep it neat:

  1. The flags need to be rainbow coloured. We felt it is essential this project is as cheerful as it can be. Plus, rainbow means hope, and thats what we need right now!
  2. All flags need to be roughly the same size. Each side should be approximately 15cm/6inch long.

PAPER FLAGS

Paper is the easiest way to make flags! It also makes a good template for making fabric flags. Paper can be painted, printed, cut, glued, and even stitched! The options are limitless and doesn’t require much skill therefore kids can be involved too!

FABRIC FLAGS

Fabric flags require slightly more skill and work compared to paper ones. However this is a more traditional material to use for the bunting. The key is to find a good method to finish off the flag edges. Our method is as follows:

  1. Cut out two flags from your chosen fabric, leaving a 1cm seam allowance on two edges
  2. Pin those two flags together leaving “wrong side” out
  3. Stitch the two edges of the flag where you left the seam allowance
  4. Invert the finished flag and iron to press it down

Of course some fabrics do not require such edge finishing (felt for example) and if you use serrated scissors to cut the triangles out then you won’t need to do any stitching.

Finished flags can me embroidered (for embroidery stitch inspiration go here), appliquéd, dyed, and/or printed. Edges can be further decorated with various trims.

KNITTED FLAGS

Knitted flags are fun and very good for meditation ;-). But seriously, knitting is so much fun! If you don’t know how, I think this is good time to start and this project is quite simple to begin with!

There are many knit stitch patterns out there to create different textures, but we will go with the most basic one, called Garter stitch pattern. All you need to know is a knit stitch with this one!

  • Cast on 30 stitches
  • row 1: slip 1 stitch, knit 29 stitches
  • row 2: slip 1 stitch, knit 27 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 3: slip 1 stitch, knit 26 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 4: slip 1 stitch, knit 25 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 5: slip 1 stitch, knit 24 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 6: slip 1 stitch, knit 23 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 7: slip 1 stitch, knit 22 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 8: slip 1 stitch, knit 21 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 9: slip 1 stitch, knit 20 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 10: slip 1 stitch, knit 19 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 11: slip 1 stitch, knit 18 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 12: slip 1 stitch, knit 17 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 13: slip 1 stitch, knit 16 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 14: slip 1 stitch, knit 15 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 15: slip 1 stitch, knit 14 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 16: slip 1 stitch, knit 13 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 17: slip 1 stitch, knit 12 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 18: slip 1 stitch, knit 11 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 19: slip 1 stitch, knit 10 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 20: slip 1 stitch, knit 9 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 21: slip 1 stitch, knit 8 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 22: slip 1 stitch, knit 7 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 23: slip 1 stitch, knit 6 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 24: slip 1 stitch, knit 5 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 25: slip 1 stitch, knit 4 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 26: slip 1 stitch, knit 3 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 27: slip 1 stitch, knit 2 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 28: slip 1 stitch, knit 1 stitches, knit 2 together
  • row 29: slip 1 stitch, knit 2 together
  • row 30: knit 2 together

When knitting you can also play with different colours if you want to create all sorts of patterns. Finished knitted bunting can be embroidered or decorated in other ways (like here with a mini bell)

CROCHET FLAGS

Crocheted flags can be equally fun. It all depends what you prefer. Some people swear by only knitting, some are totally in love with crochet. I love both! I think crochet is good for lace work or other intricate patterns. For this pattern I will keep it simple. Only double crochet stitch is used here!

  • row 1: work 22 chain stitches
  • row 2: dc (double crochet) 22 (stitches)
  • row 3: dc 20, skipping 1st and 22nd stitch (row 2)
  • row 4: dc 18, skipping 1st and 20th stitch (row 3)
  • row 5: dc 16, skipping 1st and 18th stitch (row 4)
  • row 6: dc 14, skipping 1st and 16th stitch (row 5)
  • row 7: dc 12, skipping 1st and 14th stitch (row 6)
  • row 8: dc 10, skipping 1st and 12th stitch (row 7)
  • row 9: dc 8, skipping 1st and 10th stitch (row 8)
  • row 10: dc 6, skipping 1st and 8th stitch (row 9)
  • row 11: dc 4, skipping 1st and 6th stitch (row 10)
  • row 12: dc 2, skipping 1st and 4th stitch (row 11)

Again, I just wanted mention again, there are so many lacy crochet pattern patterns out there! This triangle stitch pattern is my fave! I even think that it might be unique to me as I never came across anybody doing it! My source was an old book of trims, I just adapted it into a pattern.

All flags you make will be joined into one big bunting using our black binding material. I thought it will blend in well with black ceilings :-).

We really really look forward to your creations (and I am really getting excited about this!). And of course I am very very thankful to everyone who may participate or even consider participating!

Rasa xoxo

Rasa Pelham Crafts!, For little ones :), Kids Activities, Paper Crafts, Sweet Treats

Woven Easter baskets

The first week after closing the cafe doors has been both overwhelming and relaxing at the same time for us. But we finally are getting into a routine! We are learning to work while with kids, to take turns in our responsibilities, work as a team, but most importantly we are learning how to slow down. Which is particularly hard for us as we have too many ideas (translated into jobs) all in one go. So we are kinda glad (although very very sorry to people who has been effected by the epidemic) that we now have an opportunity to pause, revisit the company ethos, finish all the unfinished jobs to do with cafe fit out, and create a better running system for when we reopen.

Meanwhile… I wanted to say that we had a few kids craft workshops planned for Easter and now this is no longer happening we thought to share some DIY ideas here. This basket will come in very useful for an Easter egg hunt either indoors or in your back garden. This craft is more suitable for school age kids, but younger ones can help with cutting the strips and decorating.

To make some woven baskets you will need:

  • A4 card (can be cereal box cutout, old kids artwork, or anything else from recycling)
  • scissors
  • glue (can be super glue, PVA, double sided tape, hot glue, or staples)

Begin by cutting the card lengthwise into 2-3cm wide strips.

Glue two strips together to make one long strip for the basket handle.

Arrange 10 strips ready to be woven (inc the long one you just made) as in the pic below.

Weave those strips together to create a bottom part of the basket.

Fold all the ends upwards to create basket walls.

Using more strips weave around into the basket walls. Use glue (we used double sided tape) as needed to make the weave more secure.

Continue viewing 1-2 more rows while adding more of ready cut strips.

Tidy up the ends (except the long strips) by either folding them in or trimming them. Make sure to use more glue to secure edging in straight line.

Finish the basket by glueing two long strips together to make a handle.

If you don’t have any chocolate eggs in the house, or just want to have a go baking and decorating with kids then check out this post on how to make these Kids art Easter biscuits. We used a shortbread recipe this year as we were short of actual eggs!

Happy Easer egg hunt 😉

Rasa xoxo

Rasa Pelham Budget £, Date night in, Let's Celebrate!, Lunch or Dinner, Paper Crafts

Date night in: paper and pen games

Me and Joni have not gone out for ages. When you got kids it’s just not easy. Everyone who have young kids I am sure can relate how difficult it is to find a babysitter! And when you do find a babysitter this once in the while outgoing can cost you at least £40. Am I right or am I wrong?
Recently Joni had an idea to have date nights in. And that changed the dating game completely! We set to have the date night in every Friday and we reduced the amount of tasks we need to do that day so we are free. This gives me something to look forward every week! Since the Valentines day is coming up I though I will share how we do these night ins ;-).
Me and Joni take turns who organises the date. If any money spend we budget into our own budgets. This time it was my turn therefore I could share the preview with you. I picked games theme and this is often what we like to do on our dates. We (I mean me) get a bit competitive sometimes!

Since I decided to do paper and pen games this time round I used craft brown paper for the table layout. To be honest I don’t even have that many dining table setup props! This is why I mostly used what I already have. Kitchen towels instead of napkins for instance was one of those replacements when I did not want to buy something I may not use again.
First I rolled brown craft paper out on the table and drew what is needed using permanent oil pen. I am sure you can use any other pen you like. I was tempted to use metallic pens and I used black marker pens before. I used plates and cutlery to trace out the table layout. I wrote out the menu here as well.

I decided to play battleships for the night. So I did make a grid so we did not need to do that on the date.

Next I arranged some items related to games such as dices, pens and books (for protecting the battleships). Candles and some leafy twigs were not related but pretty and I could not help myself.

The date night was a complete success. Joni was very very surprised! I did not want to spend too much time in the kitchen so I used the take away to order some of the food. I made the dessert and rice myself. So I only spend £20 (half of the price to compare how much we would have spend if we went out).

And do you know who won the battleships this time? It’s Joni. I may not want to play this game again ( ha ha).

Happy Valentines day everyone and don’t forget the dates does not have to be spend with you husband or boyfriend. I am sure your BFF would appreciate this kind of date too ;-).
Rasa xoxo

Rasa Pelham Arty Love, Christmas waiting, Crafts!, For little ones :), Paper Crafts, Pretty patterns for crafts

Origami advent calendar

So here it is, our advent calendar for this year :). Very very simple to make and I have already received many compliments from friends! I simply used some pattern designs that I created for watercolour challenge few months ago and it brighten up our living room already. Yey!
Each package contain origami idea which is great for me (I love learning something new!) and great with involving kids. I am planning to either teach Lukas how to make stuff by folding paper (for easy ones) or let him decorate completed origami item. I am also considering not to be stuck with using only paper. The possibilities are endless, regular blanket could turn into star for all you know. For those who are following me on social media be prepared for daily dosage of origami!

You ready to make your own origami advent for this year? Then let’s crack on!
You will need:

  • A4 or square size patterned paper, either printouts or shop bought gift wrapping paper
  • number tags
  • origami idea “ribbons”
  • scissors
  • treats to add into the packages (optional and we decided to go without this year)
  • a hanger
  • string or slim ribbon

First, cut out all the tags and origami idea “ribbons”.

Make all the packages for every 24 days. Begin with folding in corners (1.), then fold in the sides and insert all the contents (2.). Finally fold in the pointy corners once again on both sides (3) and secure it using double sided tape. Use a string or a ribbon to wrap the package like a gift (4.). Don’t forget to insert the tag before tying the knot.

Once all the packages are complete, then all you need to do is tie them on the hanger and hang it on the wall.

Happy Christmas waiting!
Rasa xoxo

Rasa Pelham Crafts!, Let's Celebrate!, Paper Crafts

Make your own triangle garlands

As a follow up from a previous post here is what we had as a decoration for Tomas’s birthday last month. These triangle garlands fitted really well with our “cheerful, exciting and bold” theme. If you would like to make these for your next party (does not have to be kids party at all) then you are in luck, I am sharing how I made mine (along with the struggles I had too). 

So first I cut some card/paper into triangles. I used the same technique to cut it as I used to make confetti just on a bigger scale of course! I was not bothered about being precise, the important thing is to be fast as there are quite a lot of them to cut in order to make an impact. Having done this myself however I do not recommend choosing different thickness paper/card (will tell you why later).

Next up is stitching all the triangles together and this is where I struggled the most. You see the different thickness paper/card can really confuse the sewing machine (unless my machine is not very good… hmm). It stitched either tight or loose or was cutting the thread in the middle of the job, it was really really frustrating for me. So if you can avoid it, please do! I think this project could be relatively quick otherwise.

And there we are, its done! I hung mine from the light fitting in the centre to different corners of the room. I am sure you can hang from corner to corner too!

Hope I inspired you xx
Rasa

Rasa Pelham Inspiration, Paper Crafts, Pretty patterns for crafts

Forest in patterns

I have been so busy this year that I forgot when was the last time I have been creative. So no wonder when we went on holiday and walked around in the forest in Lithuania I was amazed once again how beautiful nature is! After taking detailed pictures of fern, moss, wild blueberry bushes and pine bark all I wanted is to create, create and create. So I did what I do best (I believe) is to make patters inspired by woodland of course!

First I used watercolour to make these backgrounds. It was hard to begin with (It’s been sooo long since I touched any paint), but the more relaxed I got I was able to produce decent textures. I used to dislike water colour when I was a kid as it is difficult to control the colour merging with each other accidentally.  But I fell in love with it when I went to art college as I realised you need to treat water colour completely differently. You need to be free with it. It is very therapeutic if you try ;-).

Once the water colour dried I cut it into shapes and mix and matched with the other backgrounds I created earlier.

I love how this bark pattern turned out, its not exactly like a bark, but it is very pretty to me :-).

Hope this post got you inspired, you are welcome to use these patterns I created anywhere you like (I am thinking to use it for my desktop if you ask me)
Rasa xoxo

Rasa Pelham Let's Celebrate!, Paper Crafts, Pets, Updates

Leia's birthday celebrations!

Leia's Birthday CelebrationsYesterday Princess Leia turned 1 years old (Yey!), which makes her and an adult cat now (even though she still acts like a teenager). I decided to celebrate it today however, because Saturday is the day when I am mostly free! I made her a “cake” out of tuna decorated with the treats (because she just would not enjoy a regular birthday cake) and tried placing a tiara on her head…Leia's Birthday CelebrationsTo be completely honest after seeing this a while ago I had a specific image in my head how I would celebrate Leia’s birthday. However I later realised that Leia is a cat and would not voluntarily wear a hat or eat a sweet cake (I don’t even think this would be safe for her to eat). But since she is a Princess I thought I could at least make her wear a tiara. Initially I thought I could crochet it, but then I shouted to myself “whom am I kidding?”. This much effort for crocheted tiara would most likely go to waist! Thats when I made a tiara out of paper. Leia's Birthday CelebrationsAs suspected Princess Leia did not like her crown :-(.Leia's Birthday CelebrationsBut we made her wear it anyways 😀Leia's Birthday CelebrationsFancy making tiara for your own cat? here is the drawing. All you need to do is cut it out and staple both ends together for the size you need ;-). Kitten's tiaraWell… At least Leia liked her birthday “cake”!Leia's Birthday CelebrationsI hope you have been entertained 🙂
Rasa xoxo

Rasa Pelham Gift Giving, Paper Crafts

Creative ways to say "I love you"

Creative ways to say "I love you"It’s a last day of the month and you know whats happening in February?! Valentines day is going to be super special this year as this is going to be my first Valentines day after getting married. So I thought I will start getting ready early this year. I thought I would share some of my thoughts on potential thoughtful and creative gifts for your significant other. Hope you will like them!
First I am very proud to announce that we have a new craft kit in our shop! With the contents of this box you can not only enjoy some biscuits but also make four custom message heart magnets to convey a special sentiment. It’s like love heart candies that can be stuck onto your fridge (please don’t try to eat them). Let us know what you think!If making hearts is not your thing, than you can always buy ready made hearts! My friend and fellow blogger Jacolien crochets really cute ones and sells them on their own or attached to a ready made card. Check out her Etsy shop!Creative ways to say "I love you"I also could not help but share about this gift that Joni left me a few weeks ago. It is one of those thoughtful/creative gifts when you know that person well. Joni knew that Lithuanians (in olden days not now) often wear these flower garlands on their heads. So here we are, he got me a cactus with a wreath of dainty pink flowers around it’s head! I was super impressed! Creative ways to say "I love you"And if baking is what you enjoy most then these Graham Cracker Conversation Hearts (we call them digestives over here) will steal your heart! The recepie can be found here. To be honest I fell in love with that blog in general!GrahamCrackerConversationHearts3Have a lovely weekend!
Rasa xoxo

Rasa Pelham Gift Giving, Paper Crafts

Pleated gift wrapping

Pleated Gift Wrapping DIYFinally almost all gifts are wrapped! If you are still working on your gift wrapping load,  then this is another gift packaging idea to get excited about. I love how pleated gift wrapping makes the gift look more interesting, however this technique does use up quite a lot of wrapping paper. So be warned! Pleated Gift Wrapping DIY1. To begin, pleat the wrapping paper while still on the roll (you want to make sure you have enough of paper left for the whole gift and the pleats before cutting it off). If you don’t know how the pleats work, all you need to do is fold a straight line in and next one out. Repeat this as many times as you want until you find you have enough of pleats.
2. Place a gift upside down onto the pleated gift wrapping paper. Measure how much more of paper you will need for the gift and then cut it off from the roll.
3. Wrap the gift as you would normally do. Secure the ends by inserting double sided tape (this tape is great, because it’s hidden so no loose tape on the show!!)
4. If you want you can cut into the pleats to create variety of “trims”. But this is completely optional, pleats are pretty by itself anyway! Pleated Gift Wrapping DIYThe gift then can be styled with the gift tag which can be attached with washi tape.Pleated Gift Wrapping DIYAlternatively you can tie a ribbon or even attach a ribbon flower (click here to see how you can make one).Pleated Gift Wrapping DIYPleated Gift Wrapping DIYPleated Gift Wrapping DIYMost importantly, have fun 😉
Rasa xoxo

Rasa Pelham Gift Giving, Paper Crafts

Cut-out paper layered gift wrapping

Cut-out paper layered gift packaging ideaMy Sunday has been spend on the gift wrapping. Which I love most when it comes to gift giving! Fortunately this year my family have expanded so I have even more gifts to give. So here is my another idea on gift wrapping. It includes layering like many others I have done in the past ;-). Cut-out paper layered gift packaging ideaTo begin you will need wrapping paper in two colours (one of them can be a sheet of colour paper), Sellotape, double-sided tape, scissors, pencil, scalpel and cutting mat.
1. Cover the gift with the piece of paper and secure it on with the Sellotape.
2. Measure enough of wrapping paper for the second layer (this one has to cover all around the gift). Mark the outskirts of the gift itself using the pencil.
3. Inside the marked area draw what you would like to cut out. I used star cookie cutter to draw lots of stars! But you can also draw other shapes as well as the letters to complete the words and phrases ;-). Cut-out paper layered gift packaging idea4. Cut out what you have drawn!Cut-out paper layered gift packaging idea5. Wrap the cut out paper around the gift, making sure the cut-outs cover the other paper layer. Cut-out paper layered gift packaging ideaCut-out paper layered gift packaging ideaFinish off the gift with some washi tape, ribbon or a matching gift tag!Cut-out paper layered gift packaging idea Cut-out paper layered gift packaging idea Cut-out paper layered gift packaging ideaHappy gift packaging!
Rasa xoxo