Chair

When we first moved into our house the previous owner had left a lot of old furniture to help us as we were first time buyers. This was very nice of them, but a lot of their items needed a facelift. The first thing I set my eyes on were the dining chairs.

They are pretty good chairs and we had a table and no chairs, but the table is bright orange and these didn't really match. So I waited until we picked our colour theme and then purchased some fabric to match. It was the same fabric that I used for the kitchen blind.

For the woodwork I used some left over paint that we had used on a feature wall. At first I sanded down the wood and then I applied a couple of coats of the paint. They look so much better I think and I have had many compliments which is lovely.

It was the first time I had attempted anything like this, but it really was nowhere as difficult as I thought it would be. Anyone can give it a go!

Roman Blinds

When we moved into our house, we straight away set about making it into a home. One of the things we did was removed all the horrible moldy blinds and went on the hunt for some shiny new ones. But even our favorite yellow and blue home store had got a little pricey for our current cash flow. So I set about making our own. I only wanted two, one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom. The bedroom one needed to have some sort of blackout properties so we could get a decent nights sleep.

I found some gorgeous black and white thick striped fabric for our kitchen which went with our newly painted grey cupboards and a plain black for the bottom of the blind. I also found some plain white blackout fabric for the bedroom; and because that wasn't the prettiest I made it double layered with a plain white cotton for the front of the blind to make it look a little softer and nicer.

The pattern I got from Kirstie Allsopp's Homemade Home book. Her's is for a linen blind but the basic principles are the same. But there are so many free designs all over the internet. It is just a case of finding one that you understand and get along with.

In the Bedroom

This is the bedroom blind down, with the lights off and on, I made the sides slightly too wide so that as little light could get in as possible. Annoyingly my bottom baton is ever so slightly bent in the middle so light gets in underneath. Ya can't win them all!

When the blind is open (yes I know I need a proper securing method than just the window handle) the double layered look gives the soft front piece the chance to just flow and ruffle softly giving a less uniform look the creases and I like how it does this. Goes well with my floaty curtains.

In the Kitchen

The kitchen blind folds up a lot shorter than the bedroom one. This is because the kitchen is a rather dark room and I wanted as much light to come in as possible. Over time the blind has learnt where its folds are and now automatically folds without us having to touch up the folds like you can see in this photo which I took when I first made the blind. It gives us a lovely nice big window to look out of while my mans making me dinner!

I really like the stripe at the bottom, it gives it a different look, and also hides the muckiness that could be there from the splash back from doing the washing up!

 It is very rewarding making something for your house that you use every day. I am so very pleased with myself for making them.

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Fabric Baskets

One of my most favourite rooms in our house is my craft room. It was just our spare room, but it is now a great place for me to have as a space to do all my various bits and pieces. Sewing, knitting, whatever!

As anyone who does these kinds of things knows, there are lots of little bits and pieces that you accumulate over time, which you need to do various things, and these things need storage. So, for my haberdashery section I purchased three of Ikea's lovely CD racks and then I have made some of my own little fabric baskets to keep all my little bits in them.

So what do you need?
*Some Fabric of your choice, I just used Calico as its plain and quite thick
*Corresponding Threads
*Sewing Machine, or if you don't have one a strong will to sew by hand so many baskets
*Scissors or cutting device!

Recipe:
1. These are so easy to make, you just need to measure the space that you want to fill. Make a pattern for the base by measuring the width and depth of your space and adding a seam allowance all the way around the outside. This is your base. Then the outside of the basket, I just had one large rectangle of fabric which started at one corner and goes all the way around the base and back around to that corner. Add your seam allowance for the two adjoining sides and the base adjourning side, and then at the top I folded mine over by an inch and a half to make a kind of handle to pull the basket out easily, plus a small seam to stop it fraying. When you have made your pattern cut out your fabric.

2. Take your big long rectangle, and with the wrong side facing down fold over and seam the one long edge towards the right side. If you have picked a fabric that is only one sided then be aware that the fold will show the back of the pattern which is why I picked such a basic fabric. You could however back the fabric to have a snazzy fold.

3. Next you will need to put the two short sides together with the original fold seam for the top edge facing the opposite way. Then sew all down that seam.

4. Then take a corner of your bottom piece and pin it inside the corner of the bottom of your rectangle (which now looks more like a hoop of fabric) The seam on the bottom should be on the same side as the side seam. Then pin your bottom to your rectangle all the way around the bottom. The corners wont be perfect, but they will look about right on the other side. Then sew all together.

5. When you have done, tie off your ends and turn your basket inside out. Fold over your top flap and you are done! So simple really when you think about it.

Then you can put whatever you want into your basket and store, store, store!!

I would love to see anything that you guys have made, if you would be so lovely as to share with me. Please comment with a link!

Thank you
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Garland

Okay, this doesn't necessarily have to be a Christmas garland, it could be adapted for any need, but mine is for Christmas so it is going in my Christmas week of ideas.

What you need:
* Polymer clay such as Fimo or Primo!
* Cutting devices and/or cookie cutters
* Beads
* Threads or yarns
* Sharpie

What you need to do:
1. Follow the instructions on the polymer clay, with both Fimo or Primo I just warmed up the clay in small pieces, rolled them out and then cut out stars with a small cookie cutter.

2. Lay the pieces out on a piece of foil an using a cocktail stick/knitting needle or something similar poke through some holes big enough for the yarn you are using. Bake your pieces when you are satisfied with them following the instructions on the packet.

3. Then take your thread and your beads and weave your design.

4. Then take your Sharpie and write your message across your shapes (if you want to add a message, they also look really cute without writing). Give it a coat of clear nail varnish or special varnish and dry.

Then you are done! Add it to your tree or some where that needs a little sparkle and shine. You could also make little individual ones for the tree as little decorations.

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Meditation Cushion

Recently I have been looking into meditation and mindfulness. After a very tough year I am looking into ways to help myself and this seems to be a great way. Now I am not going to tell you all about it, but I do like to be fully prepared when I try new things. So.. I thought I should fashion myself a comfortable cushion to be able to sit and spend a good amount of time on.

I have seen many around but they are so expensive. So I dived into my stash and spent some time working out the maths and got my large fabric scissors out. Excitingly it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I received a new sewing machine, so I got to try that out on this, it was very good!

I used yellows, oranges, blacks and greens and when I had patched together my top I used a pom pom edging between the top and the sides. To make it more comfy and less like a bean bag I used a 1 inch thick wadding under the top and embroidered basic stitches to give it a more ethnic and colourful look. I even found some mirrors to sew on which had a beautiful gold embroidered edge.

I filled the cushion with both cushion filling and bean bag beans to give stability and comfort. It has worked out well even if I say so myself! I think I may make a few more.

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Woven Placemat

This week I made a loom! It was really easy to do and got me so excited to create some of my own woven pieces! My frame is 16 x 11inches so I thought that would be the perfect size for a place mat. So I gathered my equipment and went to work.

I took some cream and beige cotton embroidery threads and tied it to one of the nails in the corner. I then went up and down the loom hooking the thread around each nail at the top and bottom until I got to the end and I tied it off. Make sure you keep it very tight to make the weave tight.

Then take yarns, threads, jerseys, whatever you want to use and go for it, weaving in and out of the embroidery threads, and when you get to the end of the row go back the opposite way! The great thing is that every single one is unique and special!

I went for blacks, greys, creams and greens and even incorporated some jersey yarn that I bought from my local haberdashery. The end product is beautiful, even if I say so myself!

Net Curtain

I have been useless with this blog lately. But I have managed to take some time to fill you in on some things that I have been doing lately. Most recently I have produced a net curtain to hide the outside world without making my room dark. It was so simple and I found the most beautiful net fabric from Ikea and it is only £1.50 a meter! Magic! I also got myself a tension rod and all you need is to hem the edges and make a loop at the top and voila! Simple, but very effective!

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Blanket Box

Living in this apartment is sometimes hard due to a lack of space and me having a lot of craft stuff (I can't stop!!). So I decided to purchase a blanket box to keep all our linens in.
I first looked around for a lovely vintage piece, but I could not find one that I liked. So I settled on this cheap little number.

I wanted to paint it but there was no need to spend a ridiculous amount on paint, all I used was one small tester of this paint. I even did two coats with it. Though I will say I did not do the top! Then I had some left over 2 inch wadding and I cut out two rectangles the same size as the top and put them one on top of the other.I took the same fabric that I used on the inside of my pouffe and cut a rectangle the same size as the top but with a two inch border all around, then I picked out this gorgeous fabric and cut out the same sized rectangle. I purchased some white upholstery nails from B&Q and then folding the fabric under, so it doesn't leave a raw edge I hammered in my nails roughly an inch apart all the way around making sure the fabric is tight, but not too tight.

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Apron

Yes! I have actually made one of my sewing makes. Okay it is basic, and it doesn't look like it will last forever, but it was handmade by myself!!

I used a heavy navy cotton, some red ribbon and a patch pocket of red and white stripe fabric that I had in my stash. It is such an simple make. I got the idea here, the Purl Bee are great at simple and easy designs that can be made even by beginners.

Have you made anything lately? X

Pouffe!

This week I turned my hand to some sewing. After purchasing a new sofa, we needed somewhere to put our feet up after a long day. So I researched some footstools and pouffes and came across this pattern which was so easy to make. I purchased my fabric from Ikea, a great linen/cotton mix in a stone colour with amazing boat sketches on it. But next I might make a floral number.

To make it you need:
* for the main fabric, use a piece of hard wearing a durable fabric (or just pretty, this is a replaceable cover)
* for base fabric, use a strong calico
* for lining fabric, use a piece of lightweight cotton fabric or calico, make it lighter than the outer layer so it doesn't show through
* pattern paper
* 40cm (16inch) zip
* polystyrene beads
* some kind of funnel
* sewing machine and cottons

What you need to do:
1. Using the pattern paper, draw out a circle with a diameter of 42cm. You will also need a rectangle sized 90 x 136cm (36 x 53 1/2inches).

2. Using your pattern, take your circle and cut out one circle in your main fabric, two in your base fabric, and two in your liner fabric. Then using the rectangle cut out one of each of the main fabric and lining fabric.

3. Making the base: take your two circles in the base fabric and your zip. Fold each circle in half down the middle and pin the folded edge to the long edge of the zip. Then machine stitch around 3mm from the zip teeth to fix the zip to the fabric.

4. Side pieces: taking the rectangle, put the two short sides right side together and pin. Then, with the sewing machine, stitch together leaving a 1cm seam allowance. Do this for both the lining and the main fabric.

5. Stitching the top pieces to the side piece: with the fabric inside out pin the top to the side all the way around leaving a 1cm seam allowance. When this is done, machine sew along the pin line and if needed make some tiny pleats along the way.

6. Do as above for the base too. There will be more fabric on the base as there is a zip in the centre so it may take a little more work when pinning to get the circle in the correct location.

7. Making the liner: machine stitch the top and bottom to the side pieces as in number 5, but with one circle leave a 15cm gap un-stitched.

8. When all sewing is done turn all the pieces the right side out. Put the liner into the cover piece (makes life much easier later on!) then take your beans and without getting them in every nook and crevice in the room get them into the lining. When the lining is as full as it can get stop filling and sew up the hole in the liner. Zip up the base of the bean bag and turn the right side up.

I then suggest that you make a cup of tea, put on a film and then put your feet up!

Alternatives
Other things you can do is make the bean bag any size, bigger or smaller, taller or shorter. Mine is just the right size for me to put my feet up at the sofa, but a child would probably find it a little tall. You could put handles or a pocket on the outside of it to keep remote controls or toys in it. But what I like about this is that if the bag splits, your not going to get a snow scene on the living room floor! The liner keeps it contained, and if you get bored you can make a new cover! Fabulous!

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Crochet Basket

Recently I have been noticing that there have been some crochet containers and boxes popping up in the shops. For example these, these or these, which are all a bit boring and quite expensive. So when I have a gap in my new bookcase to fill, and could do with some kind of basket to put my current project in, what more can I do but make my own basket?!

So I went to my inspiration finder (Pinterest) and found a gorgeous basket pattern. I love the colours with the ombre effect! But I decided to go for a simple black and white colour scheme. I used Patons Fab Big yarns and size 10 crochet hook for my basket. It is brilliant! I am hooked and I am going to make lots of them, maybe even a big one to put me in! Woo!

What would you keep in your basket? X

One year on

I can't believe that it has been over a year since I started doing this blog. I started it as a reason for doing all the little bits a pieces that I do. But there was another reason too; to gain confidence. This past year has been a tough one for me, and as silly as it sounds, my craft has done a good job at keeping me going, and so has this blog. I have decided to keep going and through doing it, test myself to do things that I wouldn't normally do. I love One sheepish girls blogging for confidence series and I am taking it as inspiration. This next year I am going to challenge myself to as many new things as I can that I wouldn't normally do. I have sort of being doing this so far this year, I gave a crochet lesson in public. I found that lots of people came and asked what we were doing and genuinely seemed interested in it. The cafe we were in even said they should start up a knitting/crochet knit and natter night. I improved my baking skills, tried new things. Became the soup dragon and perfected my soup making abilities. Tried lots of new crafting skills including embroidery, and started a big project (no it's not finished yet) with my crochet skills. I thank you all for continuing to read my blog, and hope that you carry on. :)

Here are some of my favourite projects from this past year

Crochet bag

Bracelets

Embroidered frame

Owl Fascinator

Purse

Crochet Slippers

Crochet Snood

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