This is a how to (of sorts) for the camera lamp I made last week.

The response to the camera lamp has absolutely overwhelmed me. The post has been picked up by a number of makery, photography, DIYery sites & while I’ve been sleeping I’ve been getting heaps & heaps of lovely emails from all around the place.

The enthusiasm from other people was infectious & I spent a couple of hours with the guys at Calmatronics who were also enthusiastic & fabulously helpful too. They offered a couple of suggestions as to how it could be done & I purchased parts from them to have the light wired professionally.

BUT…

Electicity = potential danger (& in Australia you’re not allowed to do any of your own electrical)

So…

This how to shows how I prepared the camera body for the professional wiring of the lamp. It outlines the options you have for powering the lamp and the parts you’d need to provide to your electrician.

If you live elsewhere & the safety standards differ to Australian regulations then Google is your friend.

Finally, thanks so much for keeping me wanting to make stuff, try harder & do more. It’s most excellent. x

Have I helped you out?
You could buy me a coffee if you like…

Thanks.

I got kind of excited about the yarn bowl I made last week & thought you guys might like to have a go at a simple speedy one yourselves.

You might also need to visit my previous tute on drawstring bags to make sense of the top casing but it really is a very simple project. It took me far longer to write the how to than it took to make.

It’s totally faker crochet! If you are a purist…power to you. Hook yourself some little caps for soap.

I confess I find the gifting of handmade items something of a challenge. It’s one thing to give something you’ve painstakingly hooked, or stitched, or knitted, or sewn to someone else who makes things & appreciates them. It’s quite another to gift the same items to folk who’ve no idea of the time involved. Faker or not – it’s all the same to them. So…at this time of year when you’re crafting to give I heartily recommend the faker route.  

I got lucky at the oppy a couple of weeks ago & picked up a set of 6 crochet coasters which were a bit stained & yick. I slung them in the washing machine & stared at them for a while & wondered if a soap cosy might be just the ticket? Loofah & soap in one…yep! Time to have a crack folks.

Five minutes flat per soap…maybe less.

Ambient light in 5 minutes flat!

The jar lights I made created quite a bit of interest.

The benefit of using LED lights over tealights is safety & if you’re having an outdoor party you don’t need to worry about weather as the light would of course be protected by the lid of the jar.

Edit: I used large jars which were purchased very cheaply from a homewares store but used kitchen jars would work too. If you want uniformity with the the lids then perhaps a coat of paint?

The LED battery operated lights that I used were purchased from Bunnings. They are OSRAM brand “Dot-it” lights. They are around the $10 mark but they do just go on & on & on. I’ve also seen them at lighting shops.

I’m seriously considering setting up something in the garden similar to this brilliant piece of garden art…

freshly installed
& 3 months later

which was inspired by Margie’s project here.

Of course, you don’t really need a how to…it’s a speed demon type project. Forge ahead, have a crack & you can’t really go wrong.

& because I wanted to try out the embed feature through Google Docs…

you just need to click the little icon in the top right (open in new window) if you want to print the pdf.

If you liked this idea you might also like the wrapped tealights.

for anyone…anytime.

It doesn’t rely on tension, hook size, type of yarn blah de blah.

You just need to worry about making sure the rectangle of fabric measures…

circumference x head height = super cute ‘x’ stitch beanie

I was lucky enough to have recipients easily lassoed by the measuring tape but if you’re making for a gift you might like to refer to this excellent size chart found via google this afternoon. Thanks Bev.

I knew the heart wasn’t going to fly so The Big Girl & I went for something très sophistiqué. The kid hasn’t taken the beanie off since it was gifted. Both The Little Guy & The Date think it’s fabulous (& those fellas are a tough craft audience).

There’s a pdf here if that helps you out.

It goes without saying that you don’t have to be able to crochet to make this beanie. You could follow the same formula & use some lovely wool jersey & the machine. That’d make it super quick.