Finally here is a mock up of my stall. All of that sewing was worth it in the end. I think it looks great.

A few more crafty makes. I really like making Union Jack cushions. They are fab and look so pretty. The little hamper consists of a diary £1 from pound shop. Notebook 50p, candle from Ikea £1.50 and a pair of sunglasses £1, Primark during the summer. I have made a case for the books & glasses and painted a photo frame from Ikea which was also about 90p. The basket is from a charity shop and cost 50p. I sprayed it white.

Pretty things I made today

So I have made this today from Sainsburys Tea Towels which cost £3.33 for 5 in the sale, some old ribbon and a 69p Ikea cushion.

The ubiquitious hearts must come to the party (Fayre). I have made some cinnamon & Lavender ones. The twine is simple garden twine. I am really gearing up for the stall. I am sure I don't have enough stuff. I can always sell hubs if I run out!!

Phew I am busy today.

Now these bags look a little like they have been made with fabric from a well known lady who charges an absolute fortune for her stuff. CK anyone? In fact they are from a duvet cover from Lidl. A single one for 8.99 which will give me about 5 bags plus a pretty laundry bag from the pillow case. Not bad eh?

A Sunday Afternoon Bag from Scraps

So I decided to use up some scraps to make this lovely bag. As I have probably bored you all senseless with this whole project, I perhaps shouldn't mention that it's for the Christmas Fayre. I haven't got a clue what to charge either.

A matching basket thingy for the Mat

I needed something to go with the Mat, so I decided on a basket. I made this using the same theory as my handbags. I may have been a bit over confident though as it's not as stiff as I'd hoped. I sewed some corners up the sides to give it a bit of shape, but if I made this again I would use stiff interfacing.

A Changing Mat

It's a beautiful day today and I am sewing. So I am very much at peace with the world. I decided to make a changing mat to sell on my craft stall. You often get one with those huge 'Changing Holdalls'. I don't care for those much. I would prefer to buy a bigger handbag of my choice and throw stuff in. Thats why this mat will be great. It's small, portable and is terribly pretty. Well I like it anyway. Very stylish and a great pressie for a Mum to be.

Apologies for the book cover tute

being in the wrong order as you scroll down. I just hope everyone sees part 1,2 & 3...x

Book cover Tutorial part 3

When you have finished you will have a crumpled mess.


Once ironed, it will look like this.

Turn the book backwards to get the front & back hard covers into your sleeve.

And Enjoy!!!

Book Cover Tutorial part 2

Right, now you have pinned, you can sew. Sew a cm all round.

But leave a gap at the top or bottom of the spine as picture to turn it all inside out.

Trim corners. I also trimmed the edges as far as my pinking shears would let me. This reduces bulk when it's all done.

Start pulling it all out and you will be really pleased.

A book cover tutorial Part 1

Measure your book/diary spine as well. Allow 2cm top & bottom and 2.5cm either side. I am using poly cotton, so if you are using heavier fabric adjust your seam allowance a bit. You are cutting out the cover, a lining and two side flaps to hold the book in place. The side flaps should be 3/4 of the width of the cover when the book is closed. They should end up looking like

This.


You want your flaps to look nice, so hem them. I ironed them first and used a zig zag stitch to stop fraying.

Once, hemmed, put your book cover fabric down flat, patterned side up. Lay your two side flaps on top with the hem side showing, patterned side down.

Then put your lining face down/patterned (if you are using a patterned one) side down. Then pin all around. I have lifted the corner so you can see clearly whats underneath. Obviously I put this back down before pinning.

I have been incredibly busy today, making things for a craft fayre I will be attending. I finally managed to make a Union Jack cushion. I have found a shop called the fabric warehouse. They have a remnant box in there where everything is £1. I was soooooo excited when I found this cream & blue jaquard (I think)? For £2 I have a rather large cushion. The stuffing is a £1.29 pillow from Ikea, which I visited yesterday. Ikea is a fab shop and their fabric collection is stunning & cheap. To get the pillow to fit the cushion cover, I ripped a hole in the corner, shoved all of the stuffing back, sewed a seam down the side and trimmed with pinking shears, then I did the same at the bottom. This has given me a really plump cushion.

I also made some camera cases, sunglass cases and notebook/diary covers. I am all sewn out.

What a lovely set

Remember that post where I painted a rose. Well, today I found the most gawjus set in a charity shop. I wasn't going to buy it but when I asked hubs did he think that I should, he just nodded and gave me the money. Bless that man, I truly love him.

I got 2 tureens, 1 gravy boat, a serving plate, and 6 dinner plates, six dessert plates and 5 sideplates. It's really really beautiful and I intend to use it for special occasions. It cost £20 and I think was worth every penny. My roasts will look lush with this.

Wow - I have not posted for ages!!

Well, my daughter has been unwell (all the way through the Summer Hols) and we have only just got back to normal.

I have a glut of apples and several Marrows. Eeeeeek, what to do with them.

My Father reckons that marrow is best diced, olive oil, ginger & a bit of soy sauce.

I reckon parboiled and let off with butter & pepper.

Even better, stuffed with stuff.

Well a lovely day had by all

This is not a crafting post. We have had some bad luck recently as a family. Firstly our family holiday was cancelled. Sadly our daughter who is only 2 was admitted to hospital and after 4 days of the pros saying it was swine flu, had a burst appendix. So I haven't been able to blog. She is recovering well and we had a lovely family day visiting my parents today. I was lucky enough to get my camera back from the repair shop and took some nice photographs of things in their garden. I thought I would share as it sort of sums up Summer for me.

Knights & Princess's

Well, the children are to go to a Knights & princess party tomorrow, so it was up to me to make some costumes. My little one is only 2 so she can wear just a hat. So I made one with a huge bit of card, stuck on a bit of pretty fabric for the veil and put a bit of marabou round the bottom.

For the knights costume, I made a patchwork of yellow/blue to make a tabbard and just sewed the sides & shoulders. For the helmet, I duck taped a big bit of cut card and drew some airholes on it.

Ok, there seems to be a problem with putting in pics right now, but I have to show you something. I am fed up with the thought of paying for vintage roses, so I decided to paint one using watercolours. Since I seem to have been able to do it, Yayyyy, I will not have to buy any wallpaper as I will do me own.

Only joking. I googled 'rose template' and started from there.

http://www.deltazeta.org/Content/NavigationMenu/AboutDeltaZeta/DeltaZetaVisualStandards/DZ_rose_blk.jpg

I think it's worked out rather well.

This beautiful light was £16.oo down from £50.00 from Britsh home stores. Since I needed 3 for my new hallway. I reckon I got a bargain. They have 70% off lighting at the mo'. I got these cheaper as they were discontinued.

It's too hot to make or craft anything today so I have just set up our new garden set from Tescos, half price at £50 including parasol. This isn't the right parasol as we already had one, but I thought it was a fairly cheap deal.

I shall be languishing on these seats later with a huge glass of vino.

Finishing Dolly Topper

Ok, lets start with hair, I used some pale yellow wool for this, but usually try to match it with whom the card is for. For darker skins I use darker fimo/wool as well. Cut several 5/6" strips until you have it as thick as you would like. Then tie a piece round the centre and knot as in the pic. I then put it on the fimo head to gauge where I want the bunches to be. Then tie two more bits to make bunches. Trim and attach to fimo face with glue or DS tape

To make her dress, I cut a piece of card and covered it with an old bit of floral fabric. DS tape is best for this. Once it's covered turn it over on the back and stick some DS tape along the sides & bottom.

To make the arms & legs, I used a bit of silk curtain cord. Tie knots in it to make the hands & feet then cut to size. Attach to the back of the dress. Turn over and you have your card dolly. I use padded foam squares to attach the face to the card as it brings the doll up to the same level as the dress. Ds tape is also good for attaching the whole thing as it's very very strong and this doll is relatively heavy.

I would say this cost around 15 p to make.

Isn't she fab!

Making Fimo Faces for card topping Dollys

I like 3D cards so this is great way to make faces for a Dolly topper. Fimo polymer clay is usually around the £1.50 mark, and I can get around 20 faces from one small block. This makes is a very cheap way to get a really interesting topper for your card. Firstly, you need to pull of a bit and sort of pinch, roll and pull it about in your hands until it warms up and becomes plyable. I have put the three stages on here, rather than take 3 pictures. Then, you need to put it on a flat surface and squash it into a circle. Now for the really technical part. I use an old pen lid half pushed into the bottom of the circle for the smiley mouth. A weeny piece of fimo for the nose and a skewer to poke 2 holes for the eyes. Then you stick it on a baking tray/dish/pyrex and bake it in the oven for 30 minutes at Gas 1/130c. When it comes out it's hard and you can use glue or DS tape to apply to card.

This is the finished face. Up close, it looks a little ropey but that's because it's magnified. On the card it will look perfect.

I will be back tomorrow with making the rest of my Dolly Topper.

I know it's another bag, but I am obsessed with these.....

at the moment.

They are just sooooo pretty.

Fathers Day

I would love to report that I made a beautiful card.

I didn't. Instead this year I ordered one from moonpig. I don't like buying cards as I usually make them, but this one was quite lovely and did something with photography that I couldn't even begin to do. It was a picture of a blackboard outside a pub, alongside the pub's board for direction. You could put a name on both.

Sadly crafting has had to stop for a while. I am just too busy. Hopefully, I will be back over this weekend with some tips.

And yet, another bag, this time from the curtain fabric

You will remember the stripey fabric that I used for the curtains in Max's room. Well this is what I did with the leftovers. I am thrilled with it.

Another bag

I made another bag today using the same method as the first one. However, they say practice makes perfect and instead of using one whole panel of fabric. I put 2/3's PF and 1/3 hard brown linen. I also added iron on interface to the PF to give it a bit of a stiffen. The one I used is much harder than the one used previously and this bag stands up by itself.

Then I sewed the different fabrics together and used as though it were one whole bit. This gives the bag a different slant and if I am honest, I prefer it. I can't remember what the linen is called but any fabric shop will know. It's almost like sacking but finer.

Gorgeous Burger Recipe with Apple & Carrot Coleslaw

Not strictly crafting as we all know it, but these were so lovely I just have to share this recipe with someone. I found it in a newspaper today and thought I would give it a go. I have never made burgers before and Wow, wish I had made these. I hate coleslaw but like carrot/apple and mayonnaise separately. I loved it. More to the point, my children ate the burgers!!! At £1.60 for 450g of minced turkey, it was a cheap but nutritious dinner too as I got 8 burgers out of the pack.


450g minced turkey
1 egg
Breadcrumbs (optional but I had a load in the freezer, so used em. About 3 heaped dessertspoons)
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp brown sauce (HP)
1 tbsp English mustard
1 medium red onion

Finely chop red onion and sweat in a pan for 3/4 mins. Leave to cool. The recipe calls for rapeseed oil, but I didn't have any so used Clover!!!

Add turkey and all of the other stuff in a bowl and mix.

Cover with clingfilm and leave for an hour. Then shape into burgers and chill (that's not you chilling by the way, tis' the burgers) for about 10 mins. You can grease a tray/pirex and sling em on that.

Heat frying pan with oil (again it says rapeseed, but I used veg oil) and cook until brown on either side or however you would normally cook your burgers.

Coleslaw

Peel & grate 2 medium carrots

Grate one apple (I used a braeburn)

Put some fresh coriander leaves in it and season. I put a ton of black pepper in it.

Then put as much mayonnaise/salad cream in it until it looks like you want it to look.

Serve with buttered French bread or potato wedges.

I promise it's really nice. You can pretty much change this to whatever you want as well.