39 Valentine gifts to make and give.

I’m a bit in two minds about Valentine’s Day. Some of me sits on the “It’s a created day that is all about retailers and spending money” and the other side of me feels it’s great to be reminded to tell the people we love….that we love them in a more intentional way.

This year I feel more of the second…. hence the post….. but have tried to make it a little more creative (rather than spendy) because self created things almost always* help communicate the love better.

Ideas For Creative Dates

1. Ice skating date in a Jar. Image from The Gunny Sack.

2. Hot Chocolate in a Jar (stay in) Date. Image from the Wintrop Chronicles.

3. Spar in a Jar. Image from The Gunny Sack.

Super Lovey- Dovey

4. 52 things I love about you in a jar. Image from The Gunny Sack.

5. Love Potion No. 9. Image from Shaken Together Life.

6. A little envelope of notes for your loved one. Image from Oh hello friend.

7. Sharpie Mug. Image Sister’s Suitcase.

For the Kids

8. Love Lead pencils. Image from The Gunny Sack.

9. Robot Valentine’s. Image from Lisa Storms.

10. Monster Pencils. Image by the 36th Avenue.

11. Don’t ever change…. Image from Jac & Lyn Murphy.

12. Burst My Bubble Valentine’s. Image from The Gunny Sack.

13. I’m Bananas for you and You’re Grrrrrreat. Image from Lisa Storm.

14. Arrow pencils and printables. Image from Design. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

15. Origami Heart Wrapped lolly Pop. Image A Kiss Of Colour.

Ideas to Bake

16. Nutella Love Letter Pancakes. Image by Kitchen Simplicity.

17. Sparkly Cookies. Image from The Gunny Sack.

18. Valentine snack mix. Image by Glorious Treats.

19. The Nutella/Espresso cup cake.Image from mandy Ash Craft.

20. Valentine’s cookies. Image Wedding Chicks.

21. Heart shaped pies. Image Babble.

22. Red Velvet Cupcakes in a Jar. Image My Baking Addiction.

23. Strawberry and Cream scones. Image Sanae Ishida.

Countdowns to Valentine’s Day (or count on….) 

24. The Valentine tree. Image from Simple as that blog.

25. Cute countdown. Image by Dear lizzy.

26. Bit late for this year….. A countdown to the day. Image from THe House Of Smiths.

27. 14 acts of love. Image from Make and takes.

28. Countdown to kisses. Image from the Olds family

29. DIY printable calendar. Image from Paige of Style.

30. Just one of the activities in the 14 days of love. Image from Pink Pistachio.

Cards

31. I love you this much. Image from Day in my life.

32. Sewn hearts card. Image from The creative Place.

33. Birthday candle card. Image from Real Simple.

Everything else.

34. Mini polaroid Magnets. Image from Ambrosia Girl.

35. Valentines “fortune’ cookies”. Image from Design. Wash.Rinse. Repeat.

36. Message in a bottle. Image from Oh hello friend.

37. Wall heart. Image Oleander and Palm.

38. Washi banner. Image: Fancy Little Things.

39. Printable PDF. Image from The girl creative.

* Yes if you have asked for something specifically ….or have been promised something and you receive a sweet handmade gift, you won’t feel the love!

Advent 2011 page now available.

Rocks for advent? all the details by clicking on the photo.

Some of you may have noticed a new page below my header…. and not a moment too soon. (like everything I do).

I have collated our advent calendar activities, readings and adventures for you to share and use.

We went with the ‘December is very busy’ approach and although we had a parcel for each day in December we planned from the start to open more than one each day and include some of our communities activities within the calendar.

It worked pretty well…..and included NO LOLLIES but ROCKS!

More advent ideas can be found here if this one doesn’t float your boat.

Yes! This is the week to be finalising your advent plans, if you haven’t already.

Painted rocks for advent.

The other half of a GIANT list of fete and fair tutorials and printables…. (Part 2)

Oh, I bet you thought this was never coming!

You can find the first half of the giant list of fete and fair tutorials and printables here, along with the criteria I used to decide on what was included and what I left out.

If you still want more ideas you can see some past items we have made (although not all have accompanying tutorials)

Enjoy.

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1. The Scrapbooking Jar by Crate Paper Blog
2.  Chalkboard Serving Platter by Wit and Whistle.
3. Knitted Snake by Purl Bee 
4.  Paper Fortune Cookies by design wash rinse repeat.
5.  Pebble Mat by Junk Hippie 
6.  Clay bird ornament by JessicaJane Handmade.
7.  Owl cushion by button bird designs.
8.  Pillowcase shopping bag by Grow Mama.
9.  Mouse Ornaments by Family Fun 
10. Crocheted Washcloths by Purl Bee 
11. Monster Bags by harrysdesk 
12.  Pram cards by The Pleated Poppy
13.  Salt dough Christmas Ornaments by Oleander and Palm 
14. Rice filled heating Owls for children by Just another Hang Up.
15.  Beaded Heart Wand by First Palette
16. Circle Zip Earbud Pouch by dog under my desk
17.  Tea Bag gift Tag by The Studio Of Mae.
18. Cardboard Horses by Design Sponge
19. Mooshy Belly Bunny by Chez Beeper Bebe 
20. Felt Crowns by hellobee
21. Easy Drawstring Bag by Purl Bee 
22. Recycled Book Bird Decoration by Under the Table and Dreaming
23. Present Cards by Craft and Creativity
24. Babies Triange Dress by Purl Bee 
25. Monster Slime by all things simple 
26. DIY ice cream sundae box by family bits.
27. Monster bibs by stubbornly crafty.
28. Cloud and rain mobile by dailylike recipe?
29. Bunting by the yvestown blog.
30. Lunchsacks by All people quilt.

Enjoy….and let me know if you think you might make anything.

Facebook Friday

A quick and easy idea…… Thanks Curbly.

Monster tutorial

The Blanket Monster. ‘Blanket’
Use me for a library bag, PJ bag, music bag, laptop bag…. things I haven’t thought of….bag.

Tutorial for A4 size monster…..

What you will need.

• a zipper (approx 49cm)
• 15cm x 100cm mouth fabric (red)
• 10cm x 50cm teeth fabric (white)
• an old blanket or bedspread with tasselled edge.
• small amount of fabric for eyeballs.
• 2 buttons.
• thread
• thick thread for sewing o the eyes.

How to make it.

MOUTH:

1.Cut 2 rectangles 49cm x 13cm for the mouth (red)

2. Fold each piece in half length-wise and iron.

3. Pin folded edge of red moth rectangle to zipper on either side.

Machine the folded edge to either side of the zipper….. but not too close.

Press.

hint: The further your fabric from the zipper the less likely it is to get caught when opening and closing….and exposes the zipper more, which is what we want in this case.

TEETH:

1. Cut 4 (or more) 8cm x 8cm squares for the teeth.

2. Fold in half diagonally and iron…..

….. fold in half diagonally and iron again.

TEETH!

3. Position the teeth (point down and cut edge matching the cut edge of the red) along the cut edge of the mouth (red) pieces. (I did 5cm from each end for the top, and 12cm from each end for the bottom)

ARMS:

1. Cut 2 rectangles 25cm x 14cm along the fringed edge. The measurements include the fringe.

2. With right sides together, machine down the non fringed edge with 1.5cm seam allowance.

3. Turn back to right sides… forming a cylinder like shape. Press with the seam down the middle of the arm. (this reduces the bulk in sewing it together later).

BODY (Part1) :

1. Cut 1 rectangle 49cm x 51cm. (blanket fabric)
2. Cut another rectangle 49cm x 20cm.
3. Machine (with right sides together) the rectangles on either side of the mouth piece along the 49cm edges.

4. Iron so that the teeth head toward the zipper ( press seams away from mouth on the wrong side)…..

EYES:

Cut 2 circles (black and white).

2. Position them on the smaller rectangle above the mouth.

3. With a needle and thick thread position and sew on the eyes.

BODY (Part2): 

1. Position the monsters arms where you would like them. Position them with the fringing toward the middle and with the seam facing up.

2. With right sides together and zipper open about 10cm, line up the cut edges of the triangles to form a large rectangle. Pin.

3. Machine the sides together. Stitch the seam again where the arms are positioned to reinforce them.

LEGS:

1. Along the bottom edge create the legs by measuring across 12cm from each side seam and putting a pin….then up into the monster 12cm and placing a pin.

2. With a ruler join up the dots and cut through both layers of blanket to create the leg shape. Machine together along the newly cut line. Seam allowance 1.5cm.

HORNS:

1. Now for the top (horns). Coming diagonally down from the top corners about 3cm and put a dot ( don’t come lower than your eyes) draw a line from one dot to the other using a ruler. This is your machining line.
2. Machine.

FINISHING OFF:

1. Trim excess fabric from the corners being careful not the cut your stitching.
2. Turn your monster inside out through the zipper hole.
3. Push the horns and legs out with the end of your scissors to get a nice point.
4. Press

5. Enjoy and love your monster.

Half a GIANT list of fete and fair tutorials and printables.. (Part 1)

Often we are keen to help with school or church fetes but are not sure where to start.

So, I have put together a giant list of fete and fair tutorials from around the blogging world.

So many clever people out there!

For me…. what makes a great craft to make for a fete or fair, is one that is inexpensive to make and buy , fun, quick to make, fairly easy to put together, and something people would want to hand there money over for.

All the images below are by the original tutorial writers. If you want to try one… just click on the creators name and it will take you straight there.

Stay tuned for the next instalment.

Let me know what you think.

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1.  Bunting Cards (tiny party invite) by The Pleated Poppy.
2.  Tissue Paper Pom Poms by diy Wedding 
3.  DIY sugar body scrub by Craftiness is not an option.
4.  Waterproof shower caps by Smashed Peas and Carrots.
5.  Felt Tissue Pouches by My Growing Home
6.  Simple Shopping Bags by The Purl Bee
7.  House pillows by Craft and Creativity.
8.  Beaded Heart Wand by First Palette.
9.  3D Owl printables by Craft and Creativity.
10.  Any colour chalk board paint by Salt Tree.
11.  Angel placecard by Allsorts.
12.  Covered Mouse pads by Coming Home To Roost.
13.  Fairies in a Jar by Organised Chaos.
14.  Paper Decoration Star by Craft and Creativity.
15.  Button Thumbtacks by FellowFellow 
16. Reindeer Gift Tag Printable by Eatdrinkchic.
17. Knitted Mini Stockings by Little Cotton Rabbits.
18.  Edible Teabag Cookie (Gluten Dairy and Sugar free)  by Whatever’s left 
19.  Wooden Fork Dolls by Craft and Creativity.
20.  Spray Painted Animals on lids by Pysselbolaget
21.  Fabric Covered Lights by Rebeccasdiy.
22.  Time for tea Soap by Cumbersome. 
23.  Owl iphone case by handmade. 
24.  Tea bag gift Tag by the studio of Mae 
25.  Monogram bags by zszywka
26.  Plush Monsters by Blueberry Moon.
27.  Plush Penguin by Purl Bee.
28.  Felt ball garland by The SoHo
29. Lavender Satchels by Purl Bee 
30. Chalk Paint Cheese Tray by Wit & Whistle

“I hacked an Ikea cupboard and you can too” photo tutorial.

Has everyone one in Sydney received there Ikea catalogue in the post?

Exciting times!

This is the first time in 7 years since we have had one delivered, so it’s all pretty amazing.

I love seeing how ideas are styled together more than I like buying things…. which is great and very cheap enjoyment.

Before the catalogue arrived, however, I did purchase ANEBODA, for a linen cupboard.

The beauty of the Aneboda is the $89 price tag, the down side (and the thing that has meant I haven’t purchased it before now) is the ugly see-through plastic panels on the doors.

No doubt this keeps the price low, but ….really…. this is the best option?

Anyway….

I decided to hack the cupboard so I could enjoy it both for it’s price and it’s appearance.

…. and I’ve included a quick tutorial so you can too. There is no sewing required!

What you will need 

• glue gun and glue
• cardboard (I used the box the flat pack came in)
• about 1/2 m of fabric. (if it is wide enough) otherwise approx 2m of fabric

How to do it.

1. Measure carefully the plastic section of the cupboard door you want to cover. Using the cardboard that the cupboard came in cut 2 rectangles the same size as your measurements minus .5cm in the length and width of each piece.

2. Lay the cardboard pieces down on ironed fabric. I choose stripes….. (I purchased this from Ikea too) and cut around the cardboard leaving about 5cm turnover on all sides. If you are using a changing stripe (like this) or a fabric with a large and obvious repeat…. this is the time to make sure the pieces are cut with this in mind.

3. Using a glue gun (or similar) pull the fabric tightly around the cardboard and glue down. Do this to both sides.

4. Again using the glue gun…. glue panel straight onto the plastic panel in the door.

close up.

5. Repeat for other door panel.

6. Wha-la. Enjoy your much more spunky cupboard for about $5 extra.

 

Pharaoh’s Bib: a DIY photo tutorial

Hatshesup costume  from last year.

It is my habit to only make one costume a year for book week and for all the rest to come from our dress-up box…. or someone else’s.

This keeps the cost and stress down, and helps the kids get creative about which character they want to be.

Last year it was the  11 year old (now 12) who got a special costume made.

I though, just in time for this year I would share a tutorial of how I made the bib.

If you want to create one and don’t sew, you can follow the along, but just use cardboard as the base and instead of stitching the finishes on, use glue. If you do it this way there is no need for lining or binding and would be much less time consuming.

So with no further chatter……..

The Pharaoh Bib Tutorial

What you will need

• Cardboard or paper to make pattern
• base fabric ( I used blue velvet) a rich colour is best
• lining fabric (I used gold satin)
• bias binding (again gold)
• Iron-on stiff interfacing
• Large gold sequins
• Gold wool
• Gold thread
• Gold fabric paint tube
• Contrasting fabric to reverse applique (I used a gold silk)
• pencil, scissors, sewing machine and thread.

How to do it.

The pattern 

1. Start with a rectangle approx 42cm x 18cm

2. Using the measurements given create this shape (It is half of the bib…. doing it this way means you get a symmetrical result) Click on the image to enlarge.

3. Folding your base fabric in half and placing the fold on the edge marked “place on the fold” cut the basic shape.

4. Cut another of these pattern pieces in the same way for both your lining and interfacing. You should now have 3 different coloured fabrics (base, lining and interfacing) all the same shape.

5. Back on your pattern piece sketch out an idea of how you will lay on your ‘design’. Egyptian patterns are very repetitive and tend to follow the shape of the item. Start about 1.5cm in from the edge (this is where your bias will be sewn) and create a design that works towards the centre. Make sure you leave some of your background fabric to show through.

6. Put your lining to one side and just work with your base cloth (blue) and your interfacing now.

Iron the interfacing to your base cloth (wrong side of base fabric to shiny side of interfacing) using a dry iron.

 

7. Transfer your design onto the interfacing.

8. Sew your sequins and stitching on in the design you have chosen. (glue if you like it will be much quicker)

9. Place your other gold fabric behind the area you want to reverse applique ( have it show through) Sew, with a machine, the shape you have designed from the right side of your bib. Do this to both sides of your bib to keep it symmetrical.

10. On the decorated side of your bib lift the base fabric away from the gold fabric you have just sewn on. Carefully cut away the base fabric very close to your machine stitching.

It should look like this…..
Now do the other side.

11. Paint your reverse appliqued sections and allow to dry.

12. With right sides together lay your lining onto your bib. Stitch the straight edge with 1cm seam allowance.

13. Turn bib so that the wrong sides are together. Give it a really good press with the iron. Be careful of the sequins as they can melt! Best to iron from the lining side.

Pin lining and base bib together at neck edge and outside edge.

14. Machine your bias binding around the outside edge. Do the same with the neck edge leaving 15-20cm at the beginning and end of the neck edge. This will be your tie to secure it around the neck. Fold over to encase the cut edges (trim if you need to)  and pin.

15. Using slip stitch, hand sew the bias binding down on the lining side. Tie a knot in the neck edge bias strings to secure.

16. Now, if my directions are clear, you will have your own unique version of this.

To complete the costume use the fabric and decorations you have left over to make a headband and armbands. Strips which velcro together. Wear over a long thin white dress (or a white sheet worn in a cylinder shape) with a straight black wig and go nuts with the eye make-up.

Time to “Walk like an Egyptian”

Let me know how you go. I’d love to see your creations.

 

How Pinteresting ….. book week costumes?

I love this idea! Image from Disney family fun.

As there were no current takers for the interactive Pinteresting series I decided to pre-empt the upcoming book week celebrations, with a collection of 50+ ideas for costumes.

In the collection I have made sure there are lots of simple “last minute’ ones and many ‘no sew’ ideas.

50+ book week costume ideas.

I have tried to be fairly generic, and stuck to books over movies.

This years theme is “Champions read” and parades are approaching fast (August 18-24)

Let me know what you think….. and if you use any for your children.

This ‘cut-out doll’ idea I love……. but I am not sure I will be able to persuade one of my two to do it.

We will see.

For some ideas from past years, you can see them here and here and here.

Lots of these costumes we still have and are happy to lend, if you live close.

We love a good dress up at our house!

A mini harrysdesk feature.

Image by Ben Adams via Style me Pretty. The girls.

 

Last year I played a small roll in a very beautifully personal and stylishly fun wedding. I made a maid of honour dress for the lovely Cathy and this week it was included in a DIY wedding feature.

The inspirational blog, Style Me Pretty, gives lots of photos of beautiful wedding and events from all over the world. Taire had a vision in her mind and managed on a small budget to bring together a gorgeous look. After speaking to some of the guests afterwards, as expected of this talented girl, felt as good as it looked.

Clicking on the top image will take you through to a more complete set of images and a beautiful piece written by Taire about their day. Above all she wanted her wedding to be God honouring, a great day for everyone (young and old) and a joyful.

My contribution was very small, but I was so excited to be included in such a beautiful day.

Image by Ben Adams. Cathy’s dress and purse.