Monday 29 April 2013

Simple Baby Card

Crafty things have been sparse in this neck of the woods recently, helping plan a Beaver camp is time consuming! It is now all over (the sun shone and the kids had fun) and I can recover with some time in my craft room :)


One of my friends had a baby on Friday so today's task was a baby card. This is my 'standard' baby card with a few tweaks to make it personal. I love the Penny Black bear stamps, they are perfect for baby cards!

Now to make some invites for my Dad's 60th in June!






Linking to some of these fab linky parties!

Sunday 28 April 2013

17/52

Big E: Doing the Low Ropes course at Scout Camp

Little e: Rediscovered the Brio today and now the living room is covered!
 
Joining up with Jodi again this week for 


"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Off to collapse into bed and recover from camp, hopefully back next week with some crafty/sewing things!



Monday 22 April 2013

An Award!

Last week I had a lovely surprise, I was passed the Leibster blog award by Helen from Grosgrain Green, a super talented lady who makes gorgeous clothes!

Along with the award I was given 10 questions to answer, here goes...!

1. Why did you start sewing/making?

I always fancied making my own clothes (my Grandma was an amazing seamstress and my Mum sews a bit as well) but it was only when I had my daughter 4.5 years ago that I actually bit the bullet and tried my hand at a rather tiny dress pattern. After that I was hooked!

2. What's your favourite part of sewing/making?


The bit in the middle, when you take the pre cut pieces and form them in to a recognisable garment!

3. And least favourite?

Cutting out and finishing/hemming!

4. Who is your muse/style idol/style inspiration/style crush? Can be real or fictional. Famous or civilian.

I don't really have one which I think is one of my problems, I am not a very stylish person but am trying , as I get older, to graduate from jeans and t-shirts...

5. What is your favourite make?

Oooh I'm not sure.... 

I love my Abbey Coat but the fabric was an utter nightmare (Sandra on The Great British Sewing Bee had the same fabric for her jacket, but in red, and I felt her pain as she struggled with fraying, stretching fabric!)

 but think my favourite is the vogue dress I made for little e.

6. And least proud?

I have a peplum top sitting on my dress form which is a disaster. It is a burda pattern and I didn't make a muslin which was a huge mistake. It just does not fit at all and I have no idea where to start in fixing it!

7. What's your sewing/making bete noire? Your biggest challenge, or the thing you've been putting off?

See above....

8. Where do you find inspiration?

Pinterest and other sewing blogs

9. Do you have any other hobbies, other than sewing/making?

I love gardening and reading as well as all things crafty!

10. What is your sewing set up? Do you have a dedicated sewing space? Are you relegated to a corner of the living room?


 I am very very lucky because I have a craft room. In our last house I used the dining room table then when it all got too much for my husband I got a log cabin in the garden. I much prefer being in a room in the house though, handier when I am home alone with the kids!



I hope no one will be offended that I am not passing the award on to particular blogs, you all deserve it!






Saturday 20 April 2013

16/52

Big E: Amused that he had just hit himself in the head when twirling his arm round as fast as possible!

Little e: Gardening (planting sticks) with the hens!

Joining up with Jodi again this week for 

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."

Monday 15 April 2013

Craft Swap!

I took part in The House of Pinheiro's recent Craft Swap, it was my first time taking part in one and it was really quite exciting (maybe I don't get out enough...!).

I was paired with Kate who blogs/blogged here and after a few emails I bit the bullet and got making! The swap was nautical themed and I struggled a little but this is what I came up with...

A rosette corsage
 
Swarovski and Sterling Silver Earrings

A Bow Hairband

Some Nautical Charm stitch markers

I put all these things in a red with white polka dot makeup bag which I forgot to take a photo of then popped it in the post to start it's trip to the other side of the world!

A few days later the postman brought me a rather exciting parcel with an Australian postmark....

In it was a gorgeous pair of fingerless mitts (which have inspired me to start knitting my jumper, more on that another day),


some fab sticky labels to mark pages (it will make a change from using ripped post it notes) and a double ended crochet hook which I am excited to learn how to use!


Thanks Kate for a fab swap :)

Now, off to knit my jumper....



Sunday 14 April 2013

Monday 8 April 2013

DIY Skirt and Hairband

This skirt is not exactly the vibrant colours required of the April stashbusting challenge but it did bust some stash and provide a gorgeous little girl with a handmade birthday pressie!


I bought the fabric two years ago (almost) to make a similar skirt and hair clip. This time I managed to cut the fabric too small so ended up with an almost identical skirt to the last time which was fine, just not the full skirt I had wanted...!


 I also made a fabric flower (using this tutorial), stuck a rosette in the centre then hot glued it to a alice band, simple!







Linking to these fab linky parties!

Saturday 6 April 2013

14/52

Big E - Hiding from Daddy during a game of hide and seek!
little e (who refused to have her hair tied back this morning...) - drawing on a slate she found in the garden.


Joining up with Jodi again this week for 
"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013."
 
 

Tuesday 2 April 2013

New Curtains

Last weekend was spent wrestling what seemed like miles of fabric. The finished product was worth it though!



 I wasn't sure how the wool tartan would be with the velvet (ish) fabric but it turned out great. It was a nerve wracking experience though, the wool tartan is the most expensive fabric I have ever worked with!