• vintage pincushion
    crafts - handmade - swap

    Vintage pincushion

    June 25, 2012 - By 

    A few weeks ago, in a bid to boost my flagging crafting mojo, I signed up to participate in a pincushion swap, hosted by the House of Pinheiro, as I love pincushions and think you can never have too many. I really wanted to combine my love of all things vintage with sewing so this post is called vintage pincushion or how to make a pincushion from a vintage egg cup. Easy vintage pincushion The only rule of the swap was that you needed to make the item yourself and use fabrics and notions from your stash. This wasn’t a…

  • crafts - handmade - Uncategorized

    Things to do with washi tape

    June 22, 2012 - By 

    I’ve become quite addicted to washi tape. I haven’t managed to find much around, apart from the rolls I bought in Cath Kidston ages ago, but I did find a couple of different patterned ones whilst on holiday in Devon. I’ve been slowly putting it around the house. There are lots of different ways to use it. Before Pinterest I used it to keep some of my favourite pictures in my trusty Moleskine for inspiration. It’s perfect for decorating tea light candles. How about pretty washi tape bunting. It also looks great on display, how about this cute washi tape…

  • baking - crafts - handmade - London - Royal crafts

    A card fit for a Queen

    June 5, 2012 - By 

    One of my favourite press cuttings, yes I’m old, is of me and my school friends with a card we made and sent to Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer when they got married in 1981. Hey, we got our picture in the paper, my first taste of ‘fame’! Also in the family archive is a photograph of me and my sister sitting on the front wall of our old house. The wall had been painted for the Queen’s Jubilee in 1977 and my mum had stuck a poster up in the front window for the Royal Wedding. We were…

  • crafts - handmade - sewing

    Cross stitch pendant

    June 4, 2012 - By 

    I’ve seen a couple of cross stitch pendants and thought they looked fun to stitch. The only place I could find them was from the workroom, a Canadian sewing shop, so I duly ordered a couple and waited for them to arrive. I was really pleased with the laser cut cross stitch pendants, both wooden, one with a scalloped edge and one circular, which measure just over 2″.   I wanted to stitch something to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee so I found some free Jubilee motifs from CrossStitcher. The motifs included a union flag (which I stitched for the God…

  • baking - crafts - Dunelm Mill Blogger - handmade - sewing

    Home furnishings and more

    May 17, 2012 - By 

    A while ago I was contacted about becoming a product tester for Dunelm Mill, the home wares and interiors company with stores across the UK. There are two stores within easy reach of where we live in London but you can also see their extensive range online and there really is something for everyone! They sent me a couple of items to review and I love both of them. Firstly, a craft book from the very talented Melly & Me: Sewn Toy Tales. Based on an Australian blog I’ve read for years, this book contains 12 fun characters to make…

  • crafts - handmade - sewing

    Portrait of a modern family

    May 7, 2012 - By 

    Time for the May PinAddicts Pinterest Challenge. The idea is to choose something from your Pinterest boards to create and link up each month. Ages ago I pinned this: Source: meggielynne.tumblr.com via Jenny on Pinterest So simple but really effective and a great portrait of a modern family. So I traced round our hands on a piece of paper and then transferred it onto a piece of linen. I chose four different colours of embroidery thread and traced each hand print using running stitch.   I’m not quite sure where I’m going to put it so for now it’s framed…

  • embroidered handprint
    crafts - Father's Day - handmade - sewing - toddler

    Father’s Day preparations

    April 27, 2012 - By 

    Is it too early to be thinking about Fathers Day presents? I have all the important dates in my calendar but rarely have time to get crafty with the kids. This year Father’s Day will be different though – I keep telling myself so. I have plenty of ideas ‘pinned’ on Pinterest and I also have time if I start now. Father’s Day preparations I’m addicted to hand prints so made this last night, a simple embroidered hand print of the toddler. I was going to frame it in a vintage frame I found in a charity shop but the…

  • crafts - handmade - Kids crafts - toddler - tutorial

    How to paint with corks

    April 26, 2012 - By 

    I often blog about painting as the toddler absolutely loves getting messy. He knows where the craft cupboard is and will point and say ‘paint’ over and over again until I give in. We always start off by aiming to do a ‘proper’ piece of art with a theme, like handprints or painting with corks (his current favourite). It often descends into total chaos where he forgets about the piece of paper and just uses the tablecloth. We usually have plenty of corks lying around and I now have extended family giving me bags of them as they know how…

  • crafts - handmade

    What do I make?

    April 10, 2012 - By 

    In a desperate attempt to tidy the lounge I’ve been looking at my craft stash. Despite all my posts about parenting I spend a lot of time sewing which I never get a chance to blog about. For a long time my monthly indulgence has been Mollie Makes for the beautiful photography, inspiration and patterns. Who can forget my favourite ever pattern for felt biscuits? The paper copies do take up a lot of room but the cover gifts always tempt me to buy them, rather than the sensible digital copy which takes up no space. Looking through my collection…