handmade; homemade; crafts

The Beginners Guide to Melt and Pour Soap 1

 in crafts / handmade; homemade; crafts / homemade; crafts  tagged crafts by

Melt and Pour Soup is a fabulous craft material and so easy to use with just a few simple steps and with this beginners guide to melt and pour soap will give you lots of hints and tips for making fabulous soaps. I love that you don’t need to invest in lots of things as most of what you need you will already have in your kitchen and can keep using for both cooking and soapmaking. Unlike traditional soap making you don’t use sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide so there are no caustic substances to worry about and no need to wear masks or gloves.

DIY Hand Sanitiser Label on My Cricut 1

 in crafts / Cricut / handmade; homemade; crafts / Homemade gifts by

I love using brown glass bottles in my home, they are chic, simple and brilliant to personalise which is how this DIY Hand Sanitiser Label came to be made. It seems that hand sanitiser is here for the long term and instead of buying small bottles and being left with lots of plastic wastage, we have moved on to buying a large bottle and decanting it into brown glass jars and small handheld bottles for individuals.

DIY knot headband (Alice band)

 in childrens craft / crafts / handmade; homemade; crafts / Homemade gifts / homemade; crafts / Teen  tagged crafts / teens by

I kept seeing knot headbands or Alice bands everywhere, but they are so expensive and I kept thinking I could make my own. The trend for knot headbands was with us last year and I think that it is here to stay for a while and will look fabulous with chunky knitted jumpers and is perfect for keeping your hair out of your face on windy days.

DIY Bath Oil that Foams 3

 in Beauty DIY's / crafts / handmade; homemade; crafts / Homemade gifts / homemade; crafts by

Our DIY bath oil is made with moisturising rice bran oil which is known for its ability to cleanse, soften, moisturise, soothe, nourish, and smooth the skin. Pour our DIY Foaming Bath Oil into a hot bath and enjoy a fragrant, foaming and skin-softening bath fragranced with essential oils or emulsify by using a scrunchie or sponge in the shower or bath. I made our latest batch with sweet orange essential oil and it is delicious.

DIY Bath Melts that Foam 3

 in Beauty DIY's / crafts / handmade; homemade; crafts / homemade; crafts / Mother's Day Crafts  tagged beauty / Beauty DIY / crafts / handmade / homemade by

DIY Bath Melts that foam is a paid collaborative post with Aromantic Natural Skin Care who are a provider of everything you need to make your own skincare products including fabulous kits like the foaming bath and shower kit I have used to make my foaming Bath Melts. These DIY bath melts are small bars made with moisturising cocoa butter. Toss them into a hot bath to melt, and enjoy a fragrant, foaming and skin-softening bath!

Candle Making for Beginners 1

 in candles / crafts / handmade; homemade; crafts / Homemade gifts / homemade; crafts / tea cup candles / Teen / Upcycling  tagged candles / crafts / handmade / handmade gifts / recycled crafts / upcycling by

I love candles, they bring so much warmth and glowing light especially over our dark winters. However due to my candle addiction I was left with a lot of empty candle jars and rather than keep buying more candles, I decided to have a go at candle making and making my own container jar candles.

Self Promotion – You can buy Christmas Gifts from Me 2

 in handmade; homemade; crafts / made in the Madhouse by

I have been busy making and have lots of new and lovely makes available, so I though I would have a little self promotion, as I can not see me getting these all on the Folksy shop before Christmas, so here they are.  If you are interested in purchasing anything, then please e-mail me or tweet me.  I except payment by paypal. Tea Cup Candles (please click on the image for more details of the scent) large ones are £8.00 plus £3.00 postage and the small ones are £3.25 to £3.20 each.  Each candle is lovingly crafted by myself with 10% fragrance oil added.   They are made with 100% Eco soy wax, […]

Children’s Craft Showcase – Dying fabric with Permanent markers 1

 in childrens craft / childrens craft showcase / dyeing fabric / handmade; homemade; crafts by

Materials Permenant markers Surgical Spirit (from the chemist) Jam Jars Plain Fabric Elastic Band Syringe Method Put your fabric over the jam jar and secure with the elastic band.  Using your pen draw a pattern on the fabric. Circles work best, but any pattern will do.  Leave a gap between the lines for the colour to bleed. Take a syringe and fill with surgical spirit and then drop in to the centre of the fabric. Move the fabric to a blank area and repeat as required. I washed the fabric after we dyed it and some of the colour did come out, but not much and then I heat set it […]

Teachers Gifts 2010

 in childrens craft / handmade; homemade; crafts / school / teacher gifts / Teachers by

Maxi made mugs for his teacher and teaching assistants.  We used porcelain paint from my stash and some 50p mugs from Morrisons,  He used his finger and thumb to make prints on them, which we turned in to pigs, beas, a caterpillar and flowers. Mini and I made lavender bags for his Preschool teacher and the teaching assistants using fabric that Mini and Maxi had previously dyed (tutorial to follow).  Mini picked the ribbon from my stash and sat on my knee to help sew (I use the term help very loosely)! The cards were super easy to make, we punched heart shapes out of tissue paper and used a paper […]

A few of my recent makes

 in hair clips / handmade; homemade; crafts / made in the Madhouse by

A gorgeous table setting mat for children which is washable and backed with towelling, also available in blue – £8.00 plus postage  A selection of girls back to school hair slides and bobbles.  Can be customised, just ask.  Prices from £2.75 to £4.50 A variety of hair grips and clips, made with stunning buttons.  Prices range from £1.50 to £2.75 I have committed (or should that be need committed) to holding a stall on Sunday at the Gala at my SIL and Brothers Social Club – hmm, must get busy making, which wont be easy with the boys at home too!

Children’s Craft Showcase – Fathers Day Cards and Presents

 in art / bookmarks / cards / chick cards / childrens craft / childrens craft showcase / crafting with children challenge / crafts / fathers day / handmade; homemade; crafts / scrap art by

Fathers day will soon be upon us, it is Sunday 20th June this year and I have been busy thinking about cards and gifts for MadDad.  If you are anything like me then you would prefer to give a home made card every time.I have a couple of very simple ideas for you.  

Good enough to Eat Swap

 in good enought to eat swap / handmade; homemade; crafts / sewing by

I took part in the good enough to eat swap, where I was partnered with Gill The Vintage Gardener Gill is a very talented lady and she sent some wonderful things, all tied up with gardening twine A fab lavender heart and marching bookmark Some delicious fabric Two wonderful pot stands, we are using these on the dining table Look at these stunning tags, Gill makes these and sells them at her Folksy Shop I also got this divine pouch filled with more tags, which I adore Plus some lovely stationery (which for some reason blogger wont include the right way up).    

Come over and take a look at TheMadHouse Makes – Blatant Self Publicity!

 in folksy / handmade; homemade; crafts / sewing / shop / thamadhouse makes by

As you know I love to craft and make things, whether that be with the boys or for the boys.  They have certainly brought out the creative side of me. So in order to help fund my fabric addiction and also to try and bring in some extra money (which we sorely need –  £82 for 2 pairs of school shoes!), I have decided to start selling some things that I make. Now I have no idea what will sell, so I am dipping my toe in the water, but I would also like to say that I can make to order should anyone wish. So please take a look and […]

A bit of Making

 in handmade; homemade; crafts / homemade; crafts / sewing / Spring by

I am starting to get my creative mojo back after a nasty bout of Flu and Vertigo and it feels good.  No it actually feels great. Inspired by the signs of new shoots and Spring outside my front door I have made new cushion covers for both the sitting room and the conservatory/playroom. Simple envelope style, in the sitting room from some seconds Laura Ashley picked up last year. Something a little more funcky in the conservatiry, Pop Garden By Heather Baily. I have also been making birthday presents for Maxi’s friends.  Simple personalised purses filled with wooden beads. Sugar cubes, inspired by ……  I can not find the post, so […]

Colour Swap

 in blog swap / Colour Swap / handmade; homemade; crafts / sewing by

I also took part in Dolly Dollops colour swap this month too.  I was paired with Vicki, from Vintage Vicki My colours were pink and green and you can see that Vicky has had a good look at the blog nad realised I am a lover of Hot Pink! What a fantastic parcel indeed, I received some felted soap, which is mine all mine and a bar of chocolate, which I polished off on my own too! Look at this fantastic bunting, isn’t it just brilliant. I have popped it up in the kitchen and I have to say I love it, thank you Vicki. But there was more! Vicki made […]

Flower Swap

 in craft / handmade; homemade; crafts / swaps by

I decided to take part in Sew Scrumptious‘ flower swap, my first real swap and I was very excited to get Kelly at A place of my own.  I love the idea of a swap, it gives you chance to stalk their blog for all the right reasons and put something nice together, that doesn’t have to cost the earth, but has meaning and tend to be based on a theme. I received my parcel from Kelly on Wednesday, but decided to leave it until the evening before opening, as I know my children, they would want to do it all for me and as much as I love them, well I […]

Spiritual Sunday – St Valentines Day

 in baking / children / handmade; homemade; crafts / remeberance sunday / spiritual / valentines by

What are we celebrating today?, Who was valentine? Well wikipedia says He was arrested and imprisoned upon being caught marrying Christian couples and otherwise aiding Christians who were at the time being persecuted by Claudius in Rome. Helping Christians at this time was considered a crime. Claudius took a liking to this prisoner — until Valentinus tried to convert the Emperor — whereupon this priest was condemned to death. He was beaten with clubs and stoned; when that didn’t finish him, he was beheaded outside the Flaminian Gate. MadDad and I have told the boys it is a day for recognising the people you love and for standing up for the […]

More Makes, laptop pouches and valentines hearts

 in childrens craft / childrens craft showcase / crafting with children challenge / geriatric mummy / handmade; homemade; crafts / hearts / laptop cases / sewing / valentines by

I have been wanting to show you a couple more of the things I have been doing with the mini’s this week, but it is so dark, photo’s are not the best. I don’t know about you, but it seems once Johnnie Boden gets a hold of your address, he sends you a million and one catalogues, STOP Johnnie, you must be single handed responsible for the decimation of the rain forest.  Plus the models are so smug with their little snippets of their lives.  I don’t want to know that Verity loves chocolate cake, especially when she looks about a size 2!  I can not bear to throw them in […]

Giving and Receving

 in award / handmade; homemade; crafts / homemade; crafts / sewing / tagged by

I have said it before and I will say it again. The Internet, the WWW, the blogosphere, it has been wonderful to me. It has kept me sane on the dark nights when sleep has refused to blanket me with it warming cocoon, it has kept me company whilst sitting in bed waiting for healing to start and it has made me giggle in my darkest moments.With this is mind, I am always more than happy to give when I can to fellow bloggers.   First off, a small piece of fabric for the lovely Mary Poppins, Mary is making a curtain and this will be used in it, Mary and […]