Handy Hint: Machine Sewing Oilcloth
Machine stitching oilcloth can be tricky as the coated side of the fabric can stick to the metal foot making the stitches uneven. Here’s a quick tip that I learnt from a Martha Stewart tutorial, if you don’t have a plastic/teflon foot (the professional solution!) you can adapt the metal foot by adding a layer of plain old masking tape to the underside. This allows the fabric to slide smoothly under the foot. Nifty eh? It also helps to mask off the plastic areas of the sewing machine under the oilcloth fabric to allow for a smoother glide, you can either do this with strips of masking tape or use…
DIY Bunting from Map Paper
Whether you have some amazing paper that you need to find a use for or have lots of scraps that you can’t bear to through away, bunting is such a cute thing to create and even more so if you can personalise it. We needed something for our market stall to tell people who we are and I found an old atlas that was falling apart in amongst my things and inspiration struck! You will need: Thick paper (I used the pages of an atlas) Scissors Spray adhesive Ribbon Silk pins Sewing machine 1. First thing I did was create a template onto plain paper to the size of the…
DIY Super Simple Valentine’s Day Card
It’s fair to say I’ve been neglecting the blog a bit recently as I’ve been busy preparing for my first ever craft market stall! My friend Nat and I will be at Altrincham market on Sunday 23rd February selling jewellery and handmade gifts so if you’re local come and say hi! Despite the fact that pretty much all of my free time has been taken up with making bits and pieces to try and sell, I couldn’t let Valentine’s Day pass without one more make! It’s the night before I know but, let’s face it, not everyone is organised and sometimes you need a last minute fix that still says…
DIY Despicable Me Minion Cake
This weekend I was enlisted to help my best friend decorate a cake for her 4 year old’s birthday party. At first he wanted a Hot Wheels Transporter cake (a bit ambitious) so he settled for wanting a minion, Despicable Me is great right? Rosie baked the cakes in advance, the minion is made up of 5 stacked cakes baked in 20cm sandwich tins with jam and buttercream in between each. We then dowelled these to keep them steady. The dome of the cake was baked in a pyrex bowl, unfortunately we didn’t have a 20cm hemisphere tin which would have been perfect for the job. Next, we put on…
Valentine’s Day Cupcake Decoration Ideas
Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is the first gift giving occasion of the new year and it’s just around the corner. Homemade gifts always mean that little bit more (unless my boyfriend is reading this, in which case nothing means more than Mulberry!) and if you’re struggling to think of the perfect gift for a partner or a friend, cupcakes are a great way to go. I spent my weekend playing around with various options for creating some Valentine’s cupcake decoration ideas to share with you. 1. Piped Buttercream Roses This one’s lovely and simple, with a closed star nozzle, starting from the centre of the cupcake, pipe…
DIY 2014 Diary With Free Printable
I’m happy to report that I’ve recently graduated from Damask Love’s Bookbinding University! I’m completely in love with Amber’s blog and when I read her posts on step by step DIY bookbinding you would not believe how excited I was! Breaking it down, I’m obsessed with books. My dream home will (WILL because it’s gonna happen) have a library in it, like the one in Candleshoe if you’ve seen it (awesome film) or maybe Bedknobs and Broomsticks. It will definitely have the sliding ladders anyway. I have boxes and boxes of books and a huge pile of notebooks which date back at least 10 years and I still haven’t written…
Fabric Crush: Chevrons
January is rubbish right? By this time of the month my money is gone and I’m clinging on until payday! This lack of spare cash makes my heart hurt when I see beautiful fabrics that I need in my life right now, like this one from Riley Blake Designs. Chevrons are going to be huge this year, you’ll see that lovely zigzag pattern on everything from clothing to interior design. They’re quite Scandinavian in style and there’s something nice and neat about a geometric print. I’ve got a real thing for grey at the minute, I’ve got a grey front door, my entire living room is grey and my new…
DIY Smock Dress Sewing Pattern – Free Download!
I posted a while ago about the smock dress that I made a while ago from my own pattern, despite some trepidation I thought that I’d share it and add it to the blog as a free download, there still aren’t many smock dress sewing patterns out there and it’s one of the key shapes of the summer (not to mention it’s lovely and slouchy and hides a multitude of sins!). This is the first pattern I’ve ever drafted up in downloadable format so it’s pretty basic – be kind! You can download the pattern here: Smock Dress Sewing Pattern Free Download PLEASE NOTE: When you print; make sure that…
Glitter and Washi Tape Decorative Pegs
Having recently converted our box room into a craft room (I can’t really call it a sewing room anymore as I do so much other stuff in here), I’m still looking for cute ways to decorate it. This make was done with items I already had in the house, I didn’t need to buy anything new at all which makes a nice change! This idea is definitely not a new one so I can’t take any credit but it’s so effective and useful that it’s worth sharing! I got these postcards from Ikea a while ago in a pack of five, only two made it into a frame and these…
Wander and Hunt DIY Statement Gem Necklace Kit
I’ve seen the Wander and Hunt DIY kits feature on a few blogs and when I checked out their site I was really impressed with the projects they have. The Wander and Hunt DIY Statement Gem Necklace Kit is a collaboration with blogger SwellMayde. Statement gem necklaces are having their moment but I liked the idea of having one that I’d made myself and that I was unlikely to bump into anyone else wearing. There’s the option to buy the kit with or without jewellery pliers, I didn’t have any (I’ve never made any jewellery before) so I opted for them to be included. Whilst the kit contains almost everything…
