Canberra February felty FIESTA!

Hello patient Canberra owly friends!
Your prefects are excited to announce that we have the details for our February meeting all locked in!
We're still in the process of finally having our dates and venues for this year secured, so this month we are on the road again!

We'll be meeting at 2pm this Saturday 18 February at Tilley's in Lyneham for a February felty FIESTA!

We love working with felt - it is easy to cut and sew, which makes it super portable and it comes in loads of colours - what's not to love?!

We won't have 'kits' as such, but there will be some felt available for you to buy from us in half or quarter sheets, but we can't guarantee how much or which colours - if you have something in particular in mind it might be safest to bring it along yourself =)
It is available from loads of places including art and craft shops, and both Hobby Sew in Belconnen and Addicted to Fabric carry some lovely all wool felt if either of those are in your neck of the woods.

So now what to make?!
There are LOADS of really ace tutorials out there for crafting with felt - you can make anything from play food to jewellery to super cute sewing accessories.

To help you out we've put together a list of some of our favourites from around the www!

Accessories for you!


Remember the gorgeous brooch Naomi whipped up at our January get together?

You can make your own using this tutorial

And here's a super cute owl ornament (but ace brooch too!) 

Cupcake brooch (not a tute, just a pic)
Raincloud brooch (we LOVE this!)
Robot brooch
Another owl
Heart and kisses
And a whole lot more brooches and pins!



Bits and pieces for your sewing box!

A strawberry needle book
A flower pincushion
A watch pincushion!
Hedgehog pincushion 

Gear for your gadgets!
 ipod/iphone/other gadget covers

Groundhog!
Sheep!
Monogram!

Other cute stuff!


Here's a really cute felt owl mobile pattern (second one down)
A forest of felt hearts
 

(sideways!) Strawberries!
There are loads of tutorials around for felt food - check out these ones George has collected on her pinterest board


Phew! It's going to be tough to choose!


Now - the important things to remember!


Our felty FIESTA is happening at 2pm this Saturday 18 February at Tilley's in Lyneham!

You need to bring:
felt - remember we'll have some available for you to buy, or you can bring along your own
a copy of your tutorial if you need to refer to it for instructions
a needle and thread if there's sewing involved
other things that might be handy are scissors, a pencil and paper if you need to draw a template, toy stuffing if your felt needs to get stuffed (hehe)

And if you're not feeling the felt we'd still love to have you along! Bring your latest crafty project to work on, or just join us for some cake and a chat!
Ooh and don't forget we love show and tell too! If you have any new shiny books/mags/finished projects to show off us we'd be very excited to see them!

Please let us know in the comments if you'll be able to make it - that way we can make sure we've booked for the right numbers! =)
And if you have any questions please get in touch with a comment below (make sure we have your details so we can get back to you!)  or an email!

Looking forward to seeing lots of you on Saturday!

Love Bron, Naomi, and George! xo

Adelaide Owls - Beautiful Brooches

Brrrrr.... it's cold! But that's not news to you Adelaidean Brown Owls. Come and share some warmth and laughter with us this Wednesday night.

Feel like a quick little project to try this week? How about this little beauty?

photo from here

Betz White has made this gorgeous brooch above and you can too!

What to bring:

• Felt scraps - including two pieces measuring at least 14cm x 8cm each
• Sewing needle and threads
• Felt bead if you would like to use that in the centre

What will be provided:

• Fabric glue
• Random buttons to use in centre
• Brooch backs - $0.20 each
  

Where? The Box Factory, Regent Street South, Adelaide.

When? This Wednesday 27th July at 7pm.

What? Bring along the supplies listed above or your own WIP that you would love to work on. Don't forget your show and tell!

Canberra Broochy wrap-up!

We had a wonderful, productive time at the Canberra Brown Owls meet this afternoon, with our clever crafty Owls making all kinds of lovely brooches, like...

a zipper brooch
tutorial here

a felt flower brooch
tutorial here

a layered flower brooch


a frayed flower brooch
tutorial here

and these gathered ribbon and lace brooches
tutorials here and here

Our next meeting is SUNDAY 10th of April - keep an eye out here for more details soon!

Canberra Brown Owls - Accessorise with us!

It's that time again Canberra Brown Owls! This month we are setting ourselves up for a glam autumn wardrobe with brooches...

zipper brooch tutorial here

It’s up to you what you'd like to work with: felt, ribbon, zippers, fabric, ricrac....there are a few links to get you started in the email. I'm already having a tough time narrowing down what I'd like to make; I might have to plan for several!

As always, look for inspiration via google (include "tutorial" in the search terms if you specifically want how-tos) and especially Flickr.

fabric flower brooch tutorial here

We will have a few tools available, like a hot glue gun and an iron and ironing board, but otherwise please BYO all your supplies and instructions. Brooch backs can be found in various sizes from the larger craft chains or from beading stores.

felt flower brooch tutorial here

This month's meet is Saturday 19th March, from 2 to 4 pm, at the Downer Community Centre. Please RSVP in the comments. $5 for hall hire please and a plate to share for afternoon tea if you wish.

See you there!

Bron, Naomi, Michelle and George. xox

Canberra Brown Owls Felt Brooch Frenzy

On a glorious autumn afternoon last Saturday, a parliament of Brown Owls came together to make felt brooches.

Fabulous brooches were created, including flowers, toadstools and matryoshkas (designed by our own Prefect Georgie - link to the tutorial coming soon!). A cloud, cupcake and icecream also made a showing.

Yet again, Canberra's Brown Owls shone in the afternoon tea department, with the centrepiece being a delectable brownie. So our fellow Brown Owls do not miss out on the chance to sample them, here's the recipe!

Chewy chocolate brownies

150 grams unsalted butter

200 g block dark chocolate, chopped

1 ½ cups self raising flour

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup dessicated coconut

1 395 g tin sweetened condensed milk

2 x 50 g packets Rolos

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease a 20cm x 20 cm lamington pan. Line with baking paper.
3. Place flour, brown sugar, and coconut in bowl. Mix well.
4. Melt butter and chopped chocolate in a saucepan on a low heat. Combine well.
5. Add condensed milk and chocolate mixture to the flour, brown sugar and coconut mixture and mix.
6. Spread the mixture into the lamington pan.
7. Cook for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Do not over-cook.
8. Cool slice in pan completely before removing and cutting (if you don’t do this it will fall apart when you cut it up).

Special thanks to Joanne, who made the brownies and kindly gave us her Granma's recipe to share.

- Emma