Lots to do!!!

 

Hello everyone, just wanted to let you know that I do not have a posting for Tutorial Wednesday as I am trying to get on top of all the sewing I have cut out and ready to hit the machine.

I currently have a 10% off sale happening over at my Made It store to try and clear out a few things before uploading new items.

Promise I will be back to normal next Monday.  Have a great week!!!!

Linkup Party Likes #19

 

Hello all, how was your weekend?  Did anyone grab a bargain in the Black Friday and Cyber Sales? Hope all in the USA had a lovely Thanks Giving too!!!

We went camping over the weekend and it was Ethan’s first time.  We only went for 2 nights and it rain most of the Saturday but all in all it was a lovely weekend catching up with friends and family.  Oh and the boy’s had fun 4wd.

Before we left I managed to whip up another nappy wallet that is to be part of a great charity auction over at Lace & Dryde for the pretty and the punk facebook page.

I also finished a new trolley cover too.  I am hoping to have a few more done over the next week to upload to my Made It store.  Think I might have to have a sale first before uploading new stock, so stay tuned.

Now for the linkup parties.  A lot of people are getting in the Christmas spirit and coming up with some wonderful ideas.

I love the fabric La La Bliss has used to make this great little apron:

And who doesn’t  love to bake a few yummy treats for the Christmas table.  Echoes of Laughter has shared a great Sugar Cookie recipe:

Echoes of Laughter also have this great Peppermint Foot Soak gift idea as well.  I just love this and will be making some for myself lol:

 

How about something for the man of the house.  Here is a Manly Hand Scrub you can make yourself over at Paper Turtle:

Don’t have a wreath for you door this.  Well why not make one yourself.  The Kurtz Corner has used tulle for this lovely wreath:

And here’s another great wreath over at Saved by Love Creations using a couple of t-shirts, awesome:

Need some gift tags for your Christmas presents, well Persona Designs have some great Be Merry holiday gift tags for you to download:

And finally here is one you could make for Christmas but I am going to bake this one for morning tea in our camp oven when we go camping next.  You can find the recipe for these yummy cinnamon rolls over at June Cleaver Nirvana:

So hungry now, must be lunchtime.  Have a great day!!!!

Support Handmade this Christmas

Don’t forget that Bits & Bobs 4 Bubs has some great stocking fillers too!!!!

Support Handmade this Christmas

Rosie & Scarlet have some great stocking fillers!!!!

What's on the Menu

 

With all this lovely warm weather we are having and the fact that it doesn’t get dark till 7pm, Hubby and I decided we wanted to try and have more bbq dinners.
One of my favourite things as a kid and still now is a good old skewer with lots of meat and veggies on it.

You can put anything on a skewer, mushrooms, onion, capsicum, pineapple, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, haloumi cheese, eggplant, chicken, beef, pork or lamb.
And don’t for get to add some yummy marinade. What do you like to put on your bbq skewers?

Support Handmade this Christmas

My Little Hero has some great super hero gift ideas for the little man about the house this Christmas.

I found it at the library

Do remember your favourite dress from when you were a little girl. You know the one that you wanted to wear everyday and sat in front of the washing machine and waited for it to be washed and hung up to dry so you can wear it again.

Both my girls are like that.  They just love their fairy dresses, and what little girl doesn’t. 

Well while searching the library catalogues I came across this book ‘The Little Best Dress’ by Simon Henry and just had to see what it was about.

Now if you are thinking of making a flower girls dress or just something special for you little girl, then this is the book for you.

The author Simon Henry has been designing and making couture wedding gowns, formal wear and tailored day wear for over 30 years.

In this book Simon takes you through every step for making a beautiful fitted dress.

The book is broken down into 3 parts, the first section being about getting started, equipment and material, sewing techniques that has very well photographed step by step instructions on sewing straight lines, sewing around curves, gathers and pleats, darts and seam finishes.  It also explains how to do hems, fastenings, underskirts and accessories for the dresses.

Part 2 is about making the blocks as in the body, skirt and sleeves.  Part 3 discus basic shapes for dresses, choosing your fabric then it goes into the sewing of a few different types of dresses using the same basic pattern. 

Now this book does not come with any paper patterns, it is written so that you can follow step by step and design and create the pattern yourself.

So if you are feeling like a challenge, this book is for you. 

Happy Reading

PS my favourite is the silver dress

Support Handmade

 

Looking for some great gift ideas for Christmas, well why not checkout these great stores over at Made It.

Checkout these great gift ideas from Tantrum!

Tutorial Wednesday

 

The girls have fallen in love with the hibiscus flower after we had a little holiday up at Noosa.  The units that we stayed at used the hibiscus as there logo and they were planted all around the grounds.

Of course when we returned home and went to buy some new plants for our front garden, they had to have their own hibiscus plant.

Then I remembered that I had picked up a pink sarong from the charity shop for 50 cents ages ago.

Originally when I picked it up I thought I would just make a pretty dress for Miss J as pink is her favourite colour.  But as soon as Grace spotted the hibiscus well I wasn’t going to get away with just making something for just one of them.

So to put the thinking cap on.  It had already been cut  for some reason so it was not big enough for 2 dress in the pattern I had in mind.  Then the light bulb went off and I decided to make them a dress each using the ‘Pillowcase style’ that I had made when participating in a charity drive making dresses for “Dress a Girl Around The World”.

Its such an easy pattern that even a beginner can make them.  You can find all the details for dress sizes here and the instructions here.

To get the two dresses out of the sarong I just folded it in half length ways and then measured and cut it in half.

As it was already hemmed on 3 sides I just overlocked (you can over edge/zigzag) along the one side, folded together, pinned and overlocked the two sides together on both dresses.

For the arm holes I measured 3 inches in across the top and then 4 inches down along the side and using a bread plate I marked and cut the arm holes.

To gather the top of the dress, I folded down about 1 inch across the top and sewed. I did this for both the front and back of the dress.  Then with a 7 inch length of elastic, I used a pin to push it throw the hem and sewed on both ends.

Then using bias tape for the straps I pinned and sewed that along the armholes.

And here they are.  My girls will not stand still for pictures, they insist on running around for some reason.  Love the purple boots Miss G.

At least I know the dresses will survive them playing in them.

HHmmm what else could I make from a sarong?

Happy Sewing!!

Out in the Garden

 

I know this weekly post is suppose to be about the veggie garden really but I have been a bit slack and haven’t been in there as it is getting really hot very early these days.

I have some Black Russian Tomatoes that really need to be replanted and it looks like we might be in for some rain this afternoon so I think I might make an effort and get stuck in tomorrow morning.

Recently I introduced the Jolly Jumper or (jelly jumper as Grace calls it) to Ethan. Both the girls loved the jolly jumper, especially Grace as we had bought the swing set for both of them at Christmas and I was able to hang the jumper from it so that she could play outside with Jorja.

She would stay in that thing till she fell asleep.  She loves being outside.  Ethan loves it too and has really gotten the hang of jumping up and down.

And when mummy is on the computer or trying to do a quick spot of sewing well it just comes in a little bit handy.

But mostly he can play outside with his big sisters too.

Gotta love the outdoors!!!!

Linkup Party Likes #18

 

Wow had a very busy weekend with family.  We celebrated my nephew’s 2nd birthday and and managed to convince Daddy to go shopping over the weekend.  It was  a hot one.

I was hoping to get my accessory feet for my overlocker this week that have been on order since I bought my machine over 3 weeks ago. It came with 5 extra feet and a free lesson with the purchase and I want to have a play around with them all before I book.  Not happy but what can you do. 

There is a lot happening in the world of linkup parties.  I have noticed that a few Christmas ideas are starting to pop up along with some lovely things for Thanks Giving.

So what has caught my eye over the last week.  First one that caught, well my daughters eye actually when she was standing watching what mummy was doing, was this pretty pink knit dropped waist dress.  Of course she has put her order in for this one lol, you can find the tutorial over at Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom :

 

Then I was informed that I had to make one of these cute crocodiles for Ethan to play with that we found over at My Life in Namibia:

 

I just love all the different takes on felt flowers that have been popping up around the place, like this one by Inspirations by D:

:

 

Why not make a cute little tie beanie out of Christmas material for your little one or as a gift.  Found this a great tutorial for one over at Blooms and Bugs:

 

My favourite upcycle this week is this adorable little dress from a jumper tutorial over at Baby Making Machine:

 

A Creative Princess has made this cute little ribbon turkey for thanks giving out of an embroidery hoop:

 

I really need to get organised and start writing my Christmas cards out.  It has been a few years since I actually made all my own cards. Just love this card and tag that Alderberry Hill has created:

 

Brown Paper Packages has this great idea for an advent calendar using toilet paper rolls:

 

Can’t wait to see what you all get up to this week.  Have a great day!!!

I found it at the library

I recently borrowed this book ‘Stitch by Stitch, Learning to Sew One Project at a Time’ by Deborah Moebes which I thought would be really good for those of you out there who are or consider themselves beginners.

The first thing that grabbed my attention about this book was the fact that the patterns, stitch guides etc from the book are on a CD.  As I have mentioned before I love this idea as you don’t have to worry about trying to scan your book to get the template for the applique designs or that you might rip your tissue paper pattern. 

The author Deborah Moebes taught sewing classes at public schools, designs children’s clothing and now owns Whipstitch Lounge, a popular sewing destination in Atlanta.  She also has a blog and an online fabric shop at etsy.

The book is split into 2 parts, the first is about getting started, where Deborah shows you what tools to invest in, getting to know your machine and understanding fabric.

Part 2 is the lessons and Deborah has 11 projects for you to tackle from Home Decor and Personal Style (napkins, placemats, tote) to Sewing Clothes (wrap skirt, a-line skirt cap sleeved blouse).

Each project has a technique for you to learn like mitered corners, bias bound edges, zippers and darts on clothing.

I love the way this book is laid out and it has lovely pictures and clear instructions for each step of the project.

So if you are a beginner or not you will love creating the projects in this book.

Is it are your local library?

Happy Reading!!!!