New Header

What do you think of the new header?

I'm not quite convinced yet.  Will give it a couple of days and then decide!

Hope that you have a great weekend!

Cathy

Fabulous Friday Finds #2

I seem to spend a LOT of time reading blogs and finding awesome projects that I would just love to attempt but never seem to get around to it.  So rather than starting to think that I am wasting my time (life) looking at all of these wonderful blogs, I thought I could put this time to use and share some of the finds with you all!  I'll try and give you around five great finds each week. 

Again this week we are quite child focused.  I guess one of the hazards of being a stay-at-home Mum.  Your focus is most often on your child(ren)!  Shall we start?

1. Baby Wipes Case

Being almost halfway through our pregnancy, there are a lot of baby-focused tutorials that have really been drawing my attention lately.  This one is a wonderful step by step guide on how to cover a small baby wipes container.  I still use this for my nearly 2 year old so think I will start with one for him!  The tutorial can be found on the Crabtree family Blog and they look just darling!  Can't wait to cover mine...hmmm....think I have some fabric there leftover from the quilt I made him......

2. Pretend and Play Car Carrier Kit

Elizabeth at Twelve Crafts til Christmas has set herself quite a challenge.  For a novice sewer she has put together a series of GREAT tutorials for all of the items you could possibly need to play postman.  I think that I'll have to put this one on my Christmas Present Craft to-do-list!

3.Fabric Dollhouse Tutorial

With another child on the way and a lot of appointments and a hospital stay on the way I am looking for projects that Z can take with him to keep entertained.  The fabric dollhouse tutorial at UK lass in US and also be made as a barn and would be great to keep little fingers busy.  Great job Dawn!

4. Doll Diapers

I have heard that it is a good idea to get your little one a baby of their own when a new baby is going to join the family.  This way he/she can care for their own baby as you are caring for yours.  Over at A Girl and a Glue Gun, Kimbo has a tutorial on making diapers for dolls.  I can see this coming in very helpful as babies go through a lot of nappies and Z is sure to want to help!  There are tutorials for both a sewn and a non-sewn version.

5.  Creative Park by Canon

It is amazing the items that you can download from the Creative Park by Canon webpage and then print out and create.  There are so many choices, it's hard to know where to start!  Think I need to purchase some thicker paper....want to make a dump truck for Z's Birthday.  There is bound to be something to catch your eye!

Well, that's my 5 Fabulous Finds for the week.  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do!  Why not support the creators of these wonderful projects by either following or commenting on their blogs?

If you have a project tutorial that you would like shared, please don't hesitate to contact me!  If there is enough demand, we might even start up a Link Party!

Until next time!  Keep Crafting!

Cathy

Happy Birthday Bunting Banner Tutorial

Well, we are in full-on 2nd Birthday preparation mode here and as such, I decided to make a Happy Birthday Bunting type Banner.  I was going to colour co-ordinate it with the construction party theme but in the end only used one of the colours so that the banner could co-ordinate with future parties without the need to recreate the complete banner.  Although I do love my sewing, it seemed a bit wasteful if I was to make a new banner each year.

Materials:
45cm of 3 different co-ordinating fabrics (bunting base materials)
20cm Felt (for lettering)
4m cord in co-ordinating colour
Co-ordinating thread
Chopstick/turning stick
Masking Tape
Rotary cutter and quilting ruler
Lettering Pattern (Download Here)

Directions:

NOTE: Be sure to read all instructions before proceeding.  If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them.  Just leave a comment or email me!

1. Fold your 3 pieces of base material in half between the selvedge’s (horizontally).

2. Using your rotary cutter, cut along the material in 6” increments.  You should get 7 pieces.

3. With the material still folded in half, and measuring from the fold, cut the material to 8.5” tall (unfolded this would be 17”).  By keeping the fold, you save yourself a row of stitching!

4. Turn the material in half so that the right sides are facing.  You are now getting ready to sew the seams together.  You want to stitch from 1” below the folded seam right down the rest of the long side.  You then need to sew along the bottom of the fabric leaving a 2” gap – this is the gap through which we will turn the fabric right side out.

5. Trim the corners so that you get lovely corners when the fabric is turned right side out.

6. Through the 2” gap in the bottom seam, turn the fabric through.  You may wish to use a chopstick or something similar in the corners to get a nice crisp shape.

Be sure to turn the edges in at the folded edge of the fabric.  This gives you the casing to thread the cord through later.

7. Now that the fabric is turned through, we are going to do some top stitching.  This gives the flags a nice shape and helps it to sit well when hung.

From the folded edge of the flag, sew a seam 1/4” down.

8. Next you want to sew a seam 1” down from the folded edge of the flag, continuing around the remainder of the flag (as per the picture below).

You now have a completed flag base.  Complete steps 4-8 for each of the pieces of fabric.

9. Download the Lettering Template (here).  Cut out each of the letters.

NB: Every letter of the phrase ‘Happy Birthday’ is included in the Word Document.  You do not need to cut out the letters again if they are repeated.  You can reuse the pattern pieces.

NB2: The template is in Microsoft Word Format so that you can add a name or a number (eg 2nd) to the banner, if desired, in the same type.  I have used Arial Black in a 350pt type.  You could choose a different font if you desire.  I chose this font as it is large and quite wide which makes it easier to sew on.

10. Take your piece of felt and pin the letter pattern pieces onto it.  Using sharp fine pointed scissors, cut out each letter.

11. Pin the felt letters onto your flags.  You need to measure 2.5” from the base of the flag to the base of your letter.  For letters that have descenders (the parts of the letter that would be below the line if you were handwriting the letters), you need to measure to the main part of the letter where it would normal sit on a piece of writing paper.

12. Using a co-ordinating thread, sew along the outer edges of the felt letters.  I used the zipper foot on my Brother Sewing machine so that I could get as close to the edge with my stitching as possible.

Trim off any loose stitching threads to neaten the flag – now just to thread them together!

13. Using a thin chopstick, or something similar, masking tape the cord to the end so that you can use it like a needle.

14. Thread the chopstick (or similar item) through the casing that we made at the top of the flag (near the folded edge of the fabric).

 

Repeat with the remaining flags.

15. Your finished Happy Birthday bunting:

 

If you make this project, I would love to see it!  Please email me a photo.  I love to see other peoples interpretation of projects!

In the Meantime, don't forget to Keep on Crafting!

Cathy

Fabulous Friday Finds

I seem to spend a LOT of time reading blogs and finding awesome projects that I would just love to attempt but never seem to get around to it.  So rather than starting to think that I am wasting my time (life) looking at all of these wonderful blogs, I thought I could put this time to use and share some of the finds with you all!  I'll try and give you around five great finds each week.  Shall we start?

1. Make a Bag Sew Along

Who doesn't love a sew along?  Over at the wonderful blog em ay kay ee by Kelly, there is a sew along where you can make a bag with all of the bells and whisles!  It is currently up to week 4 but I'm sure you can catch up!  I have yet to start but I have all of the instructions next to my sewing machine ready and raring to go!

2. On-The-Go Car Activity Mat

I fell in love with this car mat as soon as I saw it and had to make it straight away.  (You can see it on this post).  The project is designed by Lisa Storms and you will find the instructions over at the FiskarsCraft website.

3. Bicycle Bucket Tutorial

This project just hit a cord with me.  As soon as it came up on my laptop's screen I thought...that is just what Z needs for on his toddler trike!  Plus I had just seen some adorable fabric at Spotlight and needed an excuse to purchase it!  Anyway, the amazing Anna over at the Noodlehead blog has created this very practical project.  She has many more tutorials to share at her blog.

4. Diaper Pouch Tutorial

As you may or may not be aware, my husband and I are expecting child #2 this November and due to this the Diaper Pouch looked like a really practical solution when I will have two children in nappies!  This is another project by Anna over at the Noodlehead blog.  Anna, you are awesome!

5.  Oh Little Man!  Toolbelt Tutorial

Z's Birthday is fast approaching.  He is VERY into Bob The Builder so we have decided to throw him a Construction 2nd Birthday Party.  When I saw this tutorial by Nikki over at the Natures Heirloom blog I thought what better gift for the Birthday Boy (and maybe even for in the Pass the Parcel - if time permits)?

Well, that's my 5 Fabulous Finds for the week.  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I do!  Why not support the creators of these wonderful projects by either following or commenting on their blogs?

If you have a project tutorial that you would like shared, please don't hesitate to contact me!  If there is enough demand, we might even start up a Link Party!

Until next time!  Keep Crafting!

Cathy

Oh...What A Ride!

There has been sooooo much happening lately that I often find it hard to take a moment to stop and think!

Firstly, Josh and I are excited to announce that we are pregnant!  Child #2 is on the way! (I am currently at 17 weeks...can't believe we're nearly half way already!)

Secondly, I was out of action for 3 weeks due to that dreaded cold that has been so nice and sharing with most everyone you speak to!

Thirdly, the business is moving premises.  Apparently there was not enough room in the current workshop for growth or to do the current work to be completed.  Due to this, we are moving 200m down the road to a factory that is more than twice the size!

Fourth, and lastly, and I guess it has a little to do with the baby news, I am moving my study/craft room from where it is currently located (soon to be nursery for child #2) to our old bedroom.  It is exciting...both to set up a nursery and a craft room...but there is just so much to do!

The current study/craft room (soon to be nursery) is absolutely overflowing!

And here is my blank canvas...my new creative space:
 

I can't wait to get the room up and running!  It gets a lot of sunshine and natural light into it which is really pleasant this time of year!

On to the creative stuff.  I'll try to keep this short and sweet, otherwise this will be a really really long post!

Car Mat - I have made this for Z's 2nd Birthday which is less than a month away (where has the time gone?).

The instructions can be found over at FiskarCraft.  To go along with this, I have created two templates that will help you cut out the shapes for the four interactive sections.  To download these, click here:  Template 1 and Template 2.  The little man is really into cars at the moment so hopefully it will hit the spot!

Quilt tops:  I have finished two quilt tops, but not actually quilted them....I'm sure that it is on the to-do list...somewhere!

The first is one that I found in a handmade magazine.  I only had to purchase 40cm to make the whole thing!  The remainder is entirely from my stash!  I love using the leftover materials from other projects...it makes craft soooo much cheaper!

The second is the Pinwheel Quilt Along from over at Twiddletails.  Again...I only had to purchase one fabric, but I think it was a few metres as it was the base fabric that I had to purchase.  All of the pinwheels were again, made from the stash!

I have also started a course at The Blanket Box in Newcomb.  Classes are once a month and we are all working on The Farmers Wife Sample Quilt.

So far I have made 6 blocks (I got sick the afternoon of the class so have not had a chance to do much more!), 5 of which are completed (I need to put a handle on the basket).  Here they are:

Lastly, I have had an idea for a weekly/fortnightly feature for on my blog.  I tend to spend a lot of time surfing the internet and searching blogland so though, why not share some of my fabulous finds with you?  So, starting Fridays we will be having 'Fabulous Friday Finds' - stay tuned for it. (Now I just have to remember to do it!)

So, I have not been sitting around doing nothing, just not been up to focusing on writing to you all here!  Finally, a cute little image that I hope leaves you smiling as much as it does me:

In the meantime, Keep Crafting!

Cathy