This has been a great month for some grown up crafting. I’ve cut back on my blogging which means lots more time for making the things that make me happy rather than hours spent staring at my laptop. I completed Wild Olive’s Winter Stitching Club pattern which made a really lovely table mat or wall hanging. I loved stitching each hexagon and making them into puffy hexies. I think my favourites are the embroidered Christmas jumper and quilt. Wild Olive’s Winter Stitching Club I’ve completed some smaller projects too, such as a cute little gingerbread man I bought from Asking…
-
-
September was a pretty busy month for making things. Aside from crafting with the children, which happens pretty much every day, there was also some baking with carrot cakes and a lovely Victoria sponge. There was the finishing off of WIPs and making a start on handmade gifts for Christmas so I thought I would write about my Monthly Makes. The month started with the London-themed ATC I made for a swap. I embroidered a London bus (from a pattern in Annela Hoey’s Little Stitches). I received a lovely ATC from my partner, she created a sandcastle and used a…
-
Last week I signed up for my first Christmas craft swap organised by Laura at Dropstitch. It was the first one I’d seen and swapping parcels of crafty goodness always gets me in the mood for the festive season. The swap was simple – make four oops five (so glad I re-read the instructions!) handmade Christmas ornaments. Felt peppermint Christmas ornaments I had a good look through my craft books and Pinterest boards and found some very cute felt peppermint Christmas ornaments which I knew would be perfect. I love working with felt and the felt version of any Christmas…
-
You all know how much I love sewing with felt so it’s probably no surprise that I have been eagerly awaiting the second book by Laura Howard who blogs at bugsandfishes. Super Cute Felt Animals features 35 bright and appealing animals from the land, sea and air, to make. I packed the book to take with us on our weekend away and I really enjoyed looking through it. As you can see I took enough supplies so I was able to make some animals when the children finally went to sleep. Woodland creatures include a crafty fox and her cute cubs, a…
-
I had a very small splurge in Cath Kidston whilst we were in Marlborough the other week. The shop is in a beautiful historic building on the High Street and I was drooling over the way it was decorated. I really loved the framed vintage fabrics and tea towels in the shop. There was also a display of five vintage bevelled mirrors hung in a row at the top of a wall. It reminded me of the way this blogger has displayed her collection down her staircase, she was clearly trend-setting the whole thing back in 2010! We’re still deciding…
-
In the UK we’ve just seen the longest prolonged heatwave in seven years. In fact yesterday was the hottest day since July 2006. It’s been pretty tough keeping the children happy and out of the sun but we’ve kept busy with lots of crafts. I even managed to sew these fun felt ice lollies, slightly less calories than the ones we have been indulging in! To celebrate Summer I have a fantastic giveaway for all my lovely readers. Today you have the chance to win an amazing £50 Amazon voucher. You can spend it on whatever you wish. You all…
-
I love using felt and I had an idea of creating a no-sew map of Greater London in felt. I was recently sent the two new Scotch Super Glue Precision Applicators from 3M and I thought this would be the perfect project to try them out. I found a map of Greater London showing the 32 London boroughs plus the City of London and printed it out. I then cut out each borough individually to make a paper template, before cutting out each borough from felt sheets. As you can see I ended up grouping some of the boroughs together…
-
It’s been far too long since I made anything with felt but we watched Finding Nemo for the first time this week and thought we could make a related fish craft. This took a little preparation before it all came together. Make your own Finding Nemo You will need: paper plate blue paint and brush orange, white and black felt selection of felt basic sewing kit How to make your own Finding Nemo First paint your paper plate with blue paint and leave to dry. Make up your felt clownfish and stuff lightly. I made two the same so my…
-
It feels like the New Year has brought lots of crafting opportunities with it and the toddler and I have been busy. Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 10th, so we’ve made some fabric fortune cookies that look good enough to eat. They were really quick to make, so perfect for a cold afternoon. Supplies needed to make 5 minute fortune cookies You will need: a 4 inch circle (we drew round a can from the kitchen cupboard on a piece of cardboard) a 5 inch square of felt a 5 inch square of fabric a different fortune,…
