....and now for something completely different........

A short while a go a lovely lady approached me for a custom make. Being an avid fan of Harry Potter and needing a cover to go with her kindle she decided to combine the two. The design was up to myself, the only stipluation was that the word "lumos" should appear somewhere on the cover. Designing long distance is not  easy but it is do'able due to the marvels of modern day technology and helped by having a such a nice person to deal with. So there was many a communication whizzing back and forth across the Atlantic.

Suggesting designs......

......and materials.......

.......and then by jove the actual thing!

 




Harry's glasses were the obvious choice, embellished with a little gold thread......

 


....a cosy lining to protect the precious gadget......

........and a button and loop fastening to hold it all in place.

It got me thinking about the last scene of the last HP movie, you know the bit where the three main characters stood in the ruins of Hogwarts. I know for some people it was the end of an era, certainly for those three. I watched it with a tear in my eye.

So a little spark was lit, linking kindle covers to characters or quotes from books, should keep me busy for a bit.

Anyway it's Handmade Monday today and with a bit of luck I might make it over there just in time. I look forward to savouring all of those lovely crafty blogs.

Time for an explanation.....

You could all be forgiven for thinking that my New Years Resolution was....'to stop blogging altogether'....far from it.

A little while before Christmas I was presented with a teaching opportunity which I couldn't resist. Some of you may or may not know I am/was a primary school teacher. And those of you that are/were teachers will either know exactly what I'm talking about or will think I'm utterly bonkers.

Suffice it to say it's mornings only, until July, so I thought I would give it a go and see if I could maintain a burgeoning little sewing business and a teaching career at the same time. The lack of posts will tell you that the answer to that question may be a resounding NO! However I have had a lot of setting up to do and I'm hoping that sewing time which at the moment is at a premium will happily fit into a weekly routine at some stage.  I do miss it so!

Happily though, on Saturday morning I was able to sit down and sew. I'm currently working on a slipcover for an armchair and a few more kindle covers - can the world ever have enough?

I was thrilled with the way the covers sold at Christmas and some of the feedback was just lovely. It's what we need occasionally isn't it.... bit of a boost to make us think we're on the right track.

So forgive me if my posts may be a little spasmodic for a while and I know I've got a lot of catching up to do with your lovely blogs. It's fantastic that I have a couple of new followers too, welcome! Of course that takes me up to the big 100 so I shall be organising a little giveaway some time soon.

As it's Handmade Monday time those wonderful Handmaidens of the Monday variety will have been strutting their stuff again so I shall be keeping a keen eye on Wendy's blog for more gorgeous makes and useful hints and tips this week. Her business continues to go from strength to strength.

So all that remains to be said is a very belated very 'Happy New Year' to you.  Let's hope it's a good one for us all.

Handmade Monday - Christmas Cards

I'm afraid this week was definitely a case of killing two birds with one stone.  I've been very busy with my shops just lately which is FANTASTIC but it has left me with little time to 'playsew', so apologies for the lack of all things 'sewy' recently and today is no different. I had lots of cards to make and Handmade Monday to prepare for. So I'm just going to share a few pictures with you of some of the designs I've made so far....

From quite traditional.......

to a little more clean and simple.....

I love this rustic creamy card stock!

Can you see the sponged edges? I used a cherry red

My 'corner rounder' punch is my most used punch!

........and probably my own personal favourite....just because I had so much fun, masking and sponging.....

Pretty little Poinsettas stamped in a cherry red on a sponged cherry red background

.......stamping and scoring......

Can you see the score lines?

.......and embossing!

Shiny, shiny Christmas!

After a few weeks of a total lack of festive feeling I am now fully in the throes of festiveness.


Even my younger son who hasn't crafted for yonks suddenly got a creative urge over the weekend, I think it's infectious at Christmas isn't it? I love it when this happens, just to see how happy he was snipping and sticking.

Tree is up!

Anyway must press on, although I've got a visit to Wendy's blog first to see what those other Handmade Monday ladies have been up to.  If you fancy a visit to my Folksy or Etsy shops there are still some things left :)

Thank you for coming to say hello and welcome to some new followers, nearly 100, how exciting!

Handmade Monday - Catch up

It's all gone a bit quiet hasn't it? Sorry. It's just that I have been deliciously busy making things! Unfortunately because they're...... ssshhhhh......... top secret surprises for lovely Christmas customers I'm afraid to show you any for fear of spoiling those surprises.

Suffice it to say a young lady will have a lovely new bedroom to look at thanks to her quick thinking mum, a window seat cushion and a roman blind and many customers will have their own personalised Kindle Covers. I'm desperately trying to replenish supplies in my Folksy shop which is not easy a the moment as their system seems to be struggling abit - anyone else having problems?

Day 5 and all going well......

Buds starting to open.....

House is starting to feel a little more Christmassy each day.........

So for now I'll just direct you in the way of Wendy at Handmade Monday who must be dreaming painted plaques at the moment as she is very busy with her elves in her own little Santa workshop.

Handmade Monday - Brown Paper Packages tied up with....

.......ribbon actually.

Last week I was packaging up a bundle of my goodies for a lovely customer when 'eeekkk!' I realised I had run out of my usual packing materials. I think my brain went into overdrive and I scanned around my work area for suitable alternatives, none to be seen, until I spotted my roll of brown wrapping paper.

PING! Light bulb moment. I wonder what would happen if I tried to sew with paper......?

I hastily cut out two rectangles of brown paper, threaded my machine up with black thread and machined two rows around three sides of the rectangle, using uneven stitching, to form a very simple bag.

I trimmed the edges with pinking scissors as a finishing touch. The happy reception this simple little bag got set my mind thinking and so today's Handmade Monday is a 'gift bag' using this technique.

So...... machine two rows around three sides of two rectangular pieces of brown paper, cut to your required size and then trim with pinking scissors...

Don't forget to leave the opening!

Punch two holes in the top.

Thread through a  ribbon.

Tie and  add a colourful gift tag.

You could of course stamp an image onto the bag......

Apologies for poor photos today

.......and experiment with sizes.

Place card envelopes for the Christmas table?

It's a cheap and cheerful way of wrapping and doesn't involve sellotape, which I loathe using.

Of course you don't have to stop with brown paper. If you come back tomorrow I'll show you what else I've been up to using this technique.

But, while your waiting why not visit Wendy and the Handmade Monday team to see what they can tempt you with. This week she's asking how your Christmas preparations are going. My kindle covers have been selling like hotcakes, so I need to replenish stocks but as regards my personal preparations ooooh, best avoid answering that one I think.

A warm welcome to a few new followers I've enjoyed visiting your lovely blogs.
Have a lovely day all x

Handmade Monday - Fabric box

Good morning! My contribution to Handmade Monday today is not going to win any prizes for the most ooooh, ahhhh fabric, although as you know I think hessian is pretty wonderful. Also, for this particular little project I wanted a neutral setting as I wanted my wool to do the singing - does that make sense?

After carting my teetering piles of Granny squares around on Friday in order to take a picture to show the progress of my blanket, dropping them twice, cursing countless times, (you must understand that they are all held in a certain colour sequence for ease of reference for me, I am quite fastidious about this!) I decided I must take matters into hand and make them a proper little home......

.......thus making it easier to transport them and provide a cosy home for squares and balls of wool (or yarn? When did we start calling wool yarn?), which can sit at my feet while I work.

I'm  afraid there's no tutorial today, as time has run away with me, but I can tell you, I measured carefully the size of the box I wanted, (length, width, height), prepared a paper pattern and cut out 4 pieces, one of each of.....

........hessian, lining, interfacing and interlining. Then I sewed them all up at the corners. But it was too floppy for my liking so I added French seams at each corner which seemed to do the trick and provided the soft rigidness that I was after.

Now I really must schedule in some Christmas time this week. I have been diligently trying to ignore it in favour of other sewing projects but it's no use, there are lists to be prepared, cards to make, outings to arrange and a Christmas Cake to bake.

OH came home with this last week, "I bought you this" he declared. So I'll be giving it a go, apologies to all you brilliant bakers out there who may view this as a little bit of a cop out, but I'll try anything once.

And I also read with interest  this post from Craft Blog UK referring to the 'About Me' section of your web page, and decided yes, mine was as dull as dish water, so I've had a bit of a revamp.

And now you know what I'm going to say don't you.......? Well it is the best way to start your week, by paying a visit to Wendy and the wonderful crafters that make up Handmade Monday. This week Wendy has solved a mystery!

Handmade Monday - Wine Bottle Gift Bag Tutorial

Good morning everyone. Bottles are one of the hardest things to wrap aren't they? This year I've made a few of these which instantly transform a lack lustre wrapped bottle into a thing of beauty. I hope you'll  agree. This is what you're aiming for.

These bags have been made with a definite festive feeling, however you could adapt to suit any occasion depending on the fabrics and embellishments you choose.
The gift bag is unlined and held together around the top by a drawstring fastening. This tutorial explains how to make the hessian bag from the photo. Hessian is a little like Marmite, you either love it or hate it, I love it (but incidentally I hate Marmite). I love it's smell, it's texture and it's versatility and it's price!

So let's get started:

You will need:

Fabric main part of bag  40cm x 22cm  (x2)
Fabric strip 44cm x 4cm   (Casing)
Fabric strip 88cm x 3cm (Drawstring)

Take the two main pieces of fabric and finish the edges to neaten them up. I actually didn't do that on this one because I wanted the rough and readiness of fraying hessian, but I did do a picture to show you what I mean.


See the zig-zag, just helps to stop the fraying



Then with right sides together, pin .....

and sew the 2 main pieces together

down each side and across the bottom taking a 1cm seam.......

 and reinforcing the stitching at the corners.

Reinforced stitching at the corners

Turn the bag inside out and press open the seams.

Now you are going to start making the bag look a little more boxy. At one of the corners of the bag, fold it so that the seams are aligned.





Align the seams by pinching the corners




Mark the point at which the width measures 10cm with a pin at each side.





Can you see how the width is 10cm? Mark with a pin





Then stitch from one side to the other.

This is what you should end up with.

Trim off the excess......

...... and turn your bag right side out pushing your finger into the corners to create that boxy shape that you're after. Depending on the type of fabric you're using it may even stand up on it's own now.

Now turn your bag inside out. Turn over approx 1cm around the top of the bag and then a further 2cm. Press in place.

Pin and stitch.

Now you are going to make the casing for the drawstring. Taking the fabric casing strip, fold both long side raw edges into the centre and press. At each end fold in about 5mm and press, to hide the raw edges.

I think I need a new ironing board cover!!

Mark the centre of the front of the bag along the top edge, with a pin. Start to pin the casing around the outside of the bag approx 6cm down from the top finished edge using the centre pin on the top edge as your starting and finishing guide.

Ensure that you start and finish in the centre of the front of the bag as this is where we need the opening to be for the drawstring.

Stitch into place. Don't forget to leave the openings for the drawstring unstitched!

Next make your drawstring. Take your strip. Fold the two long edges into the centre as before with the casing and press  .....

.....but this time, fold in half again and press. Finish off the ends as with the casing. 

Stitch around all edges.

Attach a safety pin to one end of your drawstring .....

.....and slip inside one of the openings of your casing.

Push it inside and work it all the way around the casing until it comes out of the opening on the other side.

Place your wine bottle inside your bag and pull the drawstring around the neck of the bottle. Tie a bow.






Ta Dah!!




...and with added gift tag



You're a genius! You've earned your self a glass of wine, shame you've just wrapped it up!

You'll notice that I have added a gift tag to make things pop a little more.

I have chosen a very plain fabric for both bags but your fabric choice can be as plain or as funky as you choose. Likewise, why not use ribbon for your drawstring if you prefer.

Now Wendy and all the crafters at Handmade Monday have been busy with their makes so that's where I'm off to now with my contribution. Make sure you pay a visit too or even better why not join in?