Graphic Baby Quilt...

Hey,

So far I have been to the gym twice this week and my butt has been kicked - BIG TIME!!

Anyway, remember how I can actually sew and make things other than cards?

One of my London based work colleagues has been a great friend to me since I started my job and when I heard that He and his wife were expecting I thought it would be nice to make a baby quilt for them.

Jim is a designer...so this means he is fussy, he had seen my quilt (FYI, still not 'quilted') and told me that he wanted something similar.

So I hunted for a Moda charm pack that was girly, but graphic. I decided to add pink and grey solid squares because the prints are quite full on.

The backing I found in my fave quilt store in NYC, it was on mega sale and was a lucky find as it is normally $29 a yard - NO!

This quilt came together in 4hrs - honest from start to finish, I had planned to do it over the course of 2 days, but once I got into my groove I just kept going.

There was a small panic (aka hissy fit) when I realised I didn't have any binding for the edge of the quilt. A massive hunt through my sewing boxes ensued and I found an ancient reel of pink spotty binding (from Amsterdam), which meant the swearing could be now kept to a minimum.

Here are the work in progress / finished shots that I shared on Instagram over the course of the day I was sewing the quilt...with a lot of moaning as I loathe and detest pinning...

The creative process + my beloved Sewing Machine

This was the first time I abandoned my usual method of adding the trim and I am glad that I did, I think my improvised method was much neater and quicker.

I am still in shock at how easy this was, it's a record for me and I am SO happy with the end result, as were Jim and his wife.

See I do, do other things with my time ;)

Cx

CASology: Cut

Hey,

So I am doing pretty good following my operation. I am able to move around and do normal stuff.  A bit stiff and no lifting, housework etc, but all good.

It has been lovely having my Ma here for a week.

This week's CASology cue card -

..Inspired me a lot.

Cut means a couple of different things to me - die-cutting paper and cutting fabric for sewing.

I decided to combine die-cutting and fabric and broke out some ANCIENT adhesive fabric paper that I bought years ago and have never ever used.

I die-cut it using one of my fave Sizzix border dies and added a few stitches to hold it firmly in place. You can just about see the stitches, so here is a close-up.

As I used fabric and stitching I thought that the sentiment from a Freebie set I have would be appropriate.

I love the simplicity of the card and the bright colours make it pop. I really must remember to stamp my sentiments in coordinating colours more often.

Cx

Cake and quilts...

Hey,

Hope you all had a great weekend.

I thought today I would share a card I made using some of my colouring from The Daily Marker colouring challenge last month.

It's been a 'let's eat cake' kind of weekend..we went to afternoon tea at a friend's house to meet her new Daughter - who is GORGEOUS!!

I managed to FINALLY finish her baby quilt -

I choose the Parisian Pooch fabric, because my friend and her Husband are big fans of Paris and I like all the baby quilts to have a touch of the parents incorporated.

Finishing this quilt gave me a new found love for my amazing sewing machine and it's super fast speed - meaning I got this bad boy done in under 3hrs...

This was an adventure for me, as I used flannel for the first time, it's a beast to sew, but gives superb results..

Back to my card :) The stamp is a freebie from a UK magazine, I love it, so pretty and versatile. I die-cut it using my new Gina Marie stitched scallop dies and the sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp and Hero Arts for Stamptember 2014. The best bit for me is the ancient paper from a dodgy craft expo that JT and I attended way back in 2012, it came in a huge pack and I am still working my way through it.

I am happy with the finished card and the baby quilt..

Cx

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015 - My April Tags...

Hey,

So I was a bit nervous about this month's tag..it looked complex.

I LOVED making these, they were fun and meant I got to get my sewing machine out!

I made a mistake with the first tag (Birthday Wishes) too close and too heavy handed with the spritzer...

You know I have this only one new product per tag rule..well I broke that this month, my new products are - the kraft tags, crinkle ribbon and the word dies. Sometimes a girl has just gotta spend :)

I adore the word dies and think that they will be getting a lot of use.

I was a bit concerned that my stamps wouldn't work as well as the TH ones, but I think it all turned out just fine - even with an oops :)

Here are some individual photos of my tags -

Birthday Wishes..blue slodge - oops..

    

Hello Love..much better spritz splatter here..

   

What did I use?

INKS/PENS: MFT Hybrid ink (perfect for colouring and watercolouring), Picked Raspberry, Pumice Stone and Evergreen Bough Distress Inks, Hero Arts Green Neon Ink. Peacock Feathers and Worn Lipstick Distress Marker,
PAPERS: #8 Kraft tag, Distress watercolour cardstock, black scrap paper from my stash
TOOLS: Distress Marker Spritzer, Paper Distresser, Craft knife, Ranger Heat Tool, ATG, xyron, Ink applicator, Aquabrush, Singer Sewing Machine
STAMPS: Bee Happy by Hero Arts (from Darnell last year!)
DIES: Sizzix / TH Adventure Words Block, Winnie & Walter Birthday die (The Big, The Bold   and Wplus9 Hello die
MISC: Crinkle Ribbon, water mister, t-ruler, metal ruler

These tags have been a lesson in trusting myself - good to see that stepping out of my comfort zone every now and then works.

I've decided that I am going to mount them to cards and use them for a couple of special birthday's that are coming up.

Cx

WOYWW #304...Calmer times..

Hey,

Happy WOYWW and welcome to April everyone.

As you can see my desk is much calmer this week..

I'm happy to be joining Julia and the gang for another fun WOYWW - the day where we all join up at Julia's blog Stamping Ground for a global desk nosy. Join in the fun...

My desk is calm, because I was away in Providence, because I went to a Jenn Shurkus loft art retreat. It was AWESOME. I met so many great and talented crafters - including Kymona. I earnt a whole host of new techniques and discovered some fun products too.

I'll be showing the 15 cards we made on Friday - crazy fun times.

I've labelled my desk for you. The new MFT hybrid ink was purchased at the retreat..it is really great and works so well with my Promarkers. I am colouring some digital stamps for a friends birthday gift.

I wanted to show you the lavender sachets I made for Jenn, I know a few of you mentioned that you would like to see them -

Lavender Sachets

Wrapped and ready to go

I loved making them - easy and fun. They smell so lovely..next time I'm going to put some of the Lavender heads in the bag.

Final piece of show and tell this week is the card I made to go with the gift. Jenn loves nautical items - 

I love American Crafts patterned card blanks, they make things come alive. I am also loving the reasonably new rounded rectangle stitched dies by MFT.

Hope you have a lovely day, see you for a nose later.

Cx

WOYWW #274...sick as a dog...

Meh..I am a bad patient. I have had a rotten cold, that has turned into a chest infection..so I am moaning and blah.

Anyway onto happier things - WOYWW..yep one whole entire week has passed and it is time to join Julia and the gang over at Julia's blog Stamping Ground for the weekly desk nose.

So my desk is quiet after an action packed weekend of crafting..there was supposed to be sewing done, but I realised I was missing the right coloured threads. On my desk you can see, my most fave thing - my notebook..if I lose him I will literally die, new stamps, stencils and embossing folders that were on sale and are mini and perfect for OWH. T-rule..I love this newish addition to my kit, cards for posting, a distress ink blending tool that should have been put away, a try out of new sparkle embossing powder - more practice needed and ME!

Here is a pic of what I should have been sewing..Ma bought me x2 new tops, but because of my large boobies, they didn't fit, so cue modify / enlarge mode - cut out x3 panels (sides and back) and insert contrasting lace..

Refashioned top

Just need the right colour thread now.

To finish up this week here is a Thank you card, made for the Mr & Mrs at the second wedding. The lettering is a Tim Holtz Sizzix die and all the papers are scraps - yay me!

Wedding Thanks

Their colours were red, white and black and I love that giant red pearl!

Happy WOYWW everyone see you in the comment zone later :)

Cx

CAS-ual Fridays...Eat Cake!

Happy Friday to you all!!

It's an eat cake kind of day today :)

I thought I would enter CAS-ual Friday's #134 again, as this is the last challenge of theirs for 2014 it makes sense to join in a few times :)

The challenge is a Tic-Tac-Toe one..

This time I went with Chevrons, White and Twine.

I used the same Bo Bunny stamp set for the Chevron and the eat cake stamp is by Hampton to fit their iPress..not sure if these are selling so well, hence me getting a set of 3 for $1. I used some red and white bakers twine to add some colour. There is a little touch of glitterglue too :)

I have a recepient in mind already, so that makes the card a winner for me.

Have a great weekend..I will mainly be sewing (once again leaving things to the last minute..)

Cx

Its a handbag...

Yes, the loveliness you see in the main photo today is indeed a handbag - sorry about the photo, but the bag is so squishy!

So? I hear you ask..well it was made from scratch by my fair hands!!

It was supposed to be this -

But the faux leather that I started with was way too soft for this, so I modified the pattern a bit!

The tutorial came from Sew4Home and is part of their series in conjunction with Fabric.com, which is where I got my fabric from.

What did I use -
Outer - Bijoux Faux Leather Checks in black.
Lining / Pocket / False bottom - indoor/outdoor fabric in black and yellow polka dots.
Threads - by Wimsew - Lemon for the lining and pocket. Black everywhere else.

What did I change -
I added a strap
Turned one of the bag handle straps into a buttonhole holder (?!)
I didn't pinch in the top.

I love it, it's so me, I love how squashy it is and I've decided that the shape I have ended up with is much more practical for my uses and this is what I will be doing with the next one but I will be making it deeper.

Here are a couple more photos for you -

Inside my bag

Close-up - showing the gorgeous fabric

I have some stiffer faux leather in Metallic bronze (swoon), time for another pattern methinks!

I loved the tutorial, it was really easy to follow and taught me a new trick (how to accurately box corners). The tutorial also included a faux bottom for the inside of the bag. I usually ignore these, but this time I did it and I made mine using a piece of recycled plastic covered in fabric, which I can remove if I want the bag to be less rigid. I also got to try out the buttonhole function on my new machine...it rocks, as always!

I made this about 3 months ago..but haven't had the right light for taking the photos and now the weather has improved I can finally rock my bag :)

Cx

Have machine...will quilt (part 3) - Finished Quilt 1

FINALLY!!!!!

I spent the majority of Sunday getting the quilt for my Parents finished.

It is amazing, I love it, but not enough to believe it warranted all the hard work! I believe I am going to stick to cards and clothes!

I followed this superb tutorial and there isn't really that much I would do differently.

It's far to painful to get into the detail of the pinning, the cutting, the ironing, the turning and the sheer physical pain of quilting it together...did I mention the pinning?!

Here are a few more photos that document the latter stages..including my furry helpers!

Archie helping Mummy, by sleeping on the Quilt!

The trim all pinned onto the nicely furry Quilt - thanks Archie!

Boscat and the finished Quilt...2 mins later she was on it!

If you are interested you can view the earlier stages here and here.

It has been handed over to my folks, who love it, so that almost makes it alright!

Thing is I can't quite say never again, as Quilt number 2 needs to be finished...sometime between now and retirement!

Cx

WOYWW #245....aaaaaaaaaaaargh

Honestly!

Do you ever get the feeling that you have bitten off more than you can chew?!

Well before I get into that, let's talk about WOYWW shall we..WOYWW is where us crazy crafters link up via our wonderful hostess Julia's blog Stamping Ground..we nose at desks, make friends and share our brand of crazy. Join in why don't you!

My desk / craft space is mental right now...you can see my plastic box of Papermania paper flowers - there are 2 pink ones on my desk, a stack of digi stamps and papers and glitterglue left over from some stuff I have been making, a heart punch and some remnants from the heart punching, my new purple pencil, my glasses, zebra print scissors (by Fiskars), my mouse and a big stack of goodies that arrived from JT tonight with a VDay card from her - love JT, she rocks.

The ongoing quilt project (aka #wtfwasIthinking) is gathering pace, as I am now actually doing the quilting part and I HATE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!! Ha ha sorry to all you quilters out there but I am SO not cut out to be a quilter, such a shame, as it would seem I can make pretty quilts.

I am midway through making a top..it's simple, but I lost focus....

Top that I am working on

I have a million cards to finish kicking around all over the place and there are lots of yummy challenges I want to enter - aaaaaaaaaaaargh!

My new job is super busy and very rewarding, so now because I need a break when I get home, I am joining the cats and becoming a late night crafter..

Despite all the moaning I am rather happy right now!

Thrilled to be going home in 2 short weeks and (sorry Julia) I got a free room in AC, so Hubby and I are popping there for a quick weekend beforehand!

So thrilled that I made you lovely WOYWWers this beauty...a little Valentine's card from me to you

Valentine's Card for the WOYWW Posse

Big fat kisses to you all (see told you I was happy).

Cx

Have machine...will quilt (part 2)

Hey,

Hope you all had a nice weekend..Hubby and I managed to catch a bit of a cold on Friday, so spent the weekend napping, watching films and doing very little. We ventured out for Brunch on Sunday with JT's folks and I hit the sewing room, but that was the extent of our weekend!

I gave you a sneak preview of my pattern and the squares I had chosen last year.

I have made dozens of baby quilts, but using a very easy and 'non' quilt like method.

As I mentioned last year, I am quite fortunate that the lovely Kristin at Write it Down created a wonderful tutorial which I am semi following..semi because I am adding 2.5 inch strips around my squares. I am modifying it in this way, as I want them to be bigger, but the charm packs are quite expensive..

Today's main photo is of one of the completed quilt tops..

I am SO pleased...they are perfect and it has all been very easy to do..the pinning and ironing is TEDIOUS, but the end result is worth it.

Here are a few more photos of both quilt tops.

Blue quilt top - just needs one more set of strips

Grey quilt top - in progress, you can see one strip pinned to the top and the next 3 sewn together and ironed ready to add

Grey quilt top - this is a close-up, so you can see the detail of the strips

See I do make things other than cards :)

Cx

WOYWW #241...Making it yourself!

Happy WOYWW everyone!!

This is my last day of freedom before I go back to work - boo! I have had such fun!

But before we get on to that, let's talk about WOYWW...hosted by the lovely Julia over at Stamping Ground, you can find out more about the weekly desk nose if you go over to her blog.

So I've been busy during my week off, I have been sewing, popped to Atlantic City for one night of madness, made some cards and made the beauty you see on my desk this week! My parents kindly sent me LOTS of new shiny Promarkers for Christmas and I need more storage than what I have. I looked around for something ready made but the $60 - $70 dollars to fit them all made my eyes water.

Then I saw this idea on Pinterest -

Cue x2 trips to Target for $1 pen pots and a rifle through my stuff to find the hot glue gun and voila! Promarker storage....
Best bit about it is that I got to choose how wide / high I make it and if I need more space, well I just buy more pots and glue them on! It cost me $25 to make and about 45 minutes. I did have a more uniform design in mind, but I got carried away after the first trip and had to glue what I'd found together..hence the random pattern, but I love it, as it's unique and mine.

On my travels I also stumbled across this set of lovely notecards ($4 for 12) in TJMaxx and I couldn't resist them, I am about to modify one of the innards to use as a Thank You card.

Notecards

Today I am going to continue sewing together my quilts, I am aiming to have both tops complete by next week (ambitious or stupid?)

Cx

WOYWW #240..Leisure time

Hey there,

It is indeed that time of the week again where we join our wonderful host Julia for WOYWW. Pop over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground to find out all about WOYWW and join in the fun.

Leisure time I hear you ask? Well for me it is, I am sitting about waiting for my next job to start...which gives me time to focus on all the sewing projects that I have in my head. I have been busy cutting patterns, pinning squares together for a quilt and will start sewing tomorrow. It also means I get to stay in and avoid the horrid NYC weather (-14 with a real feel of -24 anyone?!...brr).

On to my desk..this week its rather busy..there are some Stamping Bella stamps that I have already coloured, some new teacup stamps, that I am going to watercolour - hence the box of Gelatos and an aquabrush. My glasses and a pencil.

At the back of my desk you can see a card that I have finished using a Stamping Bella image. Here is the close-up..can you spot the error?

Stamping Bella 'Vienna and her Vespa'

Now before Christmas I showed you the little advent calendar bags I had made for Hubby..I can't remember if I ever showed you a photo of it all hung up? Well here it is. He loved it and it was fun every day watching him open it.

Advent Calendar for Hubby

Finally before this post gets too epic, here is a photo of Hubby in his Pig Apron that I made him on Sunday! He asked for an apron and then decided he wanted a diagram of pig cuts on it!! His wish is my command :)

Hubby and the Pig Apron and a close-up of the diagram

Happy WOYWW everyone.

Cx

A year early...

Hey,

I thought I would post a 'non card' project...I am always referencing these other things I do..but always forget to take photos!!

Anyway, a couple of years ago when our nephew Otis was 10 months old, I made him an advent calendar to use for Dec 2012 (and many years after that hopefully).

He used it for the first time last year and loved it.

Otis and his advent calendar

So as we now have a niece (Florence) who is Otis' baby sister I thought she should get the same treatment...however this time I learnt some lessons.

1 - do not make the calendar in a rush
2 - do not buy a kit to cheat that ends up being the same amount of work
3 - plan it out better and simplify it

The main photo is the finished calendar. I am very pleased, it has come out beautifully.

How did I do it?
- 2 pieces of plain duck cloth (calico) for the base
- 24 coloured squares (+ 8 extra for the name)
- Felt letters and shapes as required
- Iron-on numbers.

I cut the coloured squares first - 32 in total incl the ones for Florence's name - they measure 7x7 (inches) and I used pinking shears to cut them out. The coloured squares are actually napkins that I bought on sale (8 for $4). I bought napkins instead of actual fat quarters as each napkin is the same size as a fat quarter, so I got a lot of variety in colour and a lot of fabric for a lot less money.

I pinned all the squares to the duck cloth (tedious) - before cutting it, as I wasn't sure how much I would need - being as I decided not to stick to conventional ways of doing things... Cut away the excess and then I stitched all the letters and the stars to the squares, before sewing all the squares to the duck cloth
I used two pieces of the the cloth, as I felt it wasn't substantial enough, but you don't need to do this.

Then I used a decorative stitch to create a border - love this Daisy Chain stitch on my new machine.

The numbers were cut using the Silhouette Portrait and I went off piste here and used iron-on glitter material that is meant to be used in a Cricut...one digital die-cutter is much the same as another...

Iron-on  numbers were the best thing about this calendar, super easy to make and use, will be using more iron-on stuff!

I decided against adding a hanging tab...why? Because I am lazy..

Florence won't get to use it until Dec 2014, but no doubt she will enjoy her's as much as her big Brother enjoys his.

Next project for Florence will be bunting as Otis already has some..

All the Christmas prep has been done, Hubby is working from home and we are playing non-Christmas music, the fur children are asleep on the bed and all the presents are wrapped.

Happy Christmas everyone..see you later in the week.

Cx

Have machine...will quilt..

Image from Kristen @ write it down.

So since I got my new machine, I have been itching to make my first BIG quilt..I have made many baby quilts, but never a bed sized one (gulp...am I mad?!)

I stumbled across a website called Missouri Star Quilt Co. Their website is gorgeous and introduced me to Moda fabrics (yums).

I have decided to be overly ambitious and make 2 quilts...one for me, one for my Mum and Dad...(once again am I mad?!). I am not completely crazy though and have decided to follow this wonderful tutorial at Write It Down...makes it all look nice and easy.

As I am being ambitious, I decided to introduce plain squares into the quilt, this makes it a bit cheaper to make.

I have settled on American Basics by Windham Fabrics -

This colourway will be the quilt for my Mum and Dad and I am going to use plain Navy squares and hopefully a spotty backing...but lets not get carried away with thinking about the backing just yet...

For my quilt I will be using Comma by Moda Fabrics and mixing it up with Silent Film solids by Kona

The main photo is of a finished quilt that I am 'roughly' aiming for and here is a photo of the pattern I have created for the quilts....an x means a patterned square and my quilts will be approx 45 x 70 inches.

I am hoping it will all go smoothly and that shortly after Christmas I will be able to show you at least 1 completed quilt.....stay tuned...

Cx