The Luck of the Irish

On a family holiday 15 years ago, we found a craft shop on a highway in Florida (much to my dad's dismay!). They were selling these cross stitch kits by Victoria sampler. They have a collection for the American states and also an International Hearts range, the idea being you collect them as you visit the places (or places that have a particular meaning for you). A few years ago, they discontinued the International Hearts range, so I bought a load of the places that I was most likely to visit as a future investment. A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went to Ireland which meant I could finally stitch this one!

Each heart has pictures that symbolises that country/state - this one has the shamrock, leprechaun, pot of gold and the harp - and each one also has it's own specialty stitch (in this case, the red and green crosses, which is supposed to represent the River Shannon). 

All in all, was a very quick stitch, except I ran out of gold thread so I had to order some more. These kits are also on 18 count evenweave, which means that every cross goes over 9 holes instead of the usual 4. 

While I was ordering the gold thread, I also came across this nice little cross stitch kit - just thought it was cute! I would have loved this as a little girl when I was an aspiring ballerina!

Happy birthday, Louise!

For my friend's birthday this year, I wanted to find something a little bit different to give her as a gift. I couldn't find anything I liked, so I decided to expand my creative horizons and try making a unique photo frame.

It was quite a simple project, in theory! All I did was take a plain wooden photo frame and the embellishments to decorate it with and a glue gun. I found a mixture of purple and pink buttons, some flower buttons and some pink seed beads to decorate the main frame. I bought the wooden scrabble tiles to spell "Friends Forever" or "Forever Friends" depending on how you look at it - part of the design charm ;)

First, I used the glue gun to glue the bead pearl string around the edge of the frame. Then, I made the top left corner button from a large purple button, 3 flower beads and some purple ribbon. Then, I glued that to the frame and glued the letters on. After that, I glued on the buttons and inserted some pearl beads and pink seed beads at random and pressed down to secure. All in all, the project took about an hour, which is pretty good for a first attempt I think! Pretty pleased with how it turned out - hopefully the birthday girl is too (and that the beads have managed to stay on - those seed beads were a bit pesky!!)

The Finished Article - all it needs now is a photo!

My 12th and 13th Love Quilt Squares

Lizzie and I met for a Stitch 'n' Bitch yesterday, which allowed to make great progress on my 13th square. I didn't quite finish it before I went to bed last night, but I had a 5:30am wake up call in the form a cold wet dog nose and seeing as I only had 2 small swirls and the name to finish I figured I might as well finish it now!

This is my 12th square for Chloe D's Disney themed quilt - she loves Toy Story! I found this pattern online. It was easy enough to stitch but the logos on the shirts were patterned to be all orange, but a Google image search says that's not accurate so I adapted it. I finished this square a while ago but forgot to blog it!

Look at that!!

This is my 13th square (the one I've just finished) for Megan T's heart themed quilt. I found this design on Etsy (I think) and it was originally charted in white and shades of green. Megan's favourite colours are pink, purple and blue so I adapted it. You could easily adapt it to any colour scheme - I changed the white for a cream and then used a blue, purple and two shades of pink but it would look good in just about anything I'd say! 

Seeing as I did all the stitches in the left half first and then the right, I was amazed that they all lined up correctly when I finished!!

With the cream and the blue...

...then the light pink...

...then the hot pink...

...and finally with the purple and the name!

This is my last quilt square for the moment, but once I've posted these to headquarters I'll keep checking the website to see if there are any other sign ups I can do. You can see all of my Love Quilt squares by clicking here and you can see the quilts that have been made using my squares by clicking here

Christmas is approaching, so it will soon be time for me to switch my attention back to my Christmas stocking. Yes, I do mean the felt and sequin one I started 3 years ago...I've moved 3 times since then!! This year will be the year it gets finished!! I've also got a couple of stitches I want to do for gifts - watch this space!! 

My Craft Room

It must be the crafter's ultimate dream to have a craft room in their house. I've tried in 4 different houses now - it's not easy!

But, this summer I finally managed it!

Ok, so it doesn't look amazingly organised yet, but I know where everything is! Of course, I'm always adding new supplies to my stash! I'm hoping now to be able to make lots of skirts and dresses using the fabric on the shelves. I made the yellow sundress on the mannequin many years ago - needless to say, it doesn't fit now!! Also, the pole for the mannequin got lost in the last move somehow, so she's pretty short! (No short jokes please! haha)

Currently, I'm working on a heart themed square for a Love Quilt, which I'm hoping I'll be able to finish this weekend, and the Alphabet Adventure Scrapbook is ongoing. I've done the pages for S is for Skiing and Z is for Zoo but I'm not sure if they're finished yet...!!

Scrapbooking: T is for Theatre

So my husband and I have decided to start our own Alphabet Adventure in order to make the most of our weekends together. The plan is to complete a fun activity beginning with each letter of the alphabet.

As you might have noticed, we've gone against the grain and started with T. We got last. I ute tickets for Aladdin the musical in London and it was absolutely incredible! Quite possibly my new favourite musical! (Which is a tie between that, Wicked and Matilda) 

I've just finished the page to go in the Alphabet Adventure themed scrapbook I've been making (turns out that craft is magic medicine for a wisdom tooth extraction if I can stay awake long enough!)

I picked a sunset themed background paper because it reminded me of the backdrop settings from the musical. I printed the photos from my FreePics app on my iPad and stuck them on with transparent photo corners. I made the tag using cream paper and my Sissix machine to cut the tag shape. The black and white letter came as part of a fabric letter set from Hobbycraft. Then I just added a pink flower button, which reminded me of Morroco somehow, and some black ribbon which came off  a Links of London gift box. I arranged some scrabble tile letter embellishments to spell "theatre" and added some diamond gems in the corners. I'm pretty pleased, if I do say so myself! 

Still to come: S is for Skiing, Z is for Zoo and I is for Ireland. 

Did you really think we'd be going in alphabetical order?? 

My 11th Love Quilts Square

This is a space themed square stitched for Brandon. I bought the chart from Cloudsfactory, which is a great website for cross stitch charts and kits - I've saved the link for you in my Suppliers and Inspirations section (right hand side)!

This was a relatively quick stitch and I'm please with how well it turned out. I think it would look even better on the navy fabric as suggested on the chart, but Love Quilt squares have to be stitched in white aida. My friend, Katie, has also done square for this quilt - can't wait to see how both squares look!

Thursday's progress

Friday's progress

Sunday's progress

Monday's progress - now waiting for new threads to arrive

Wednesday - finished!

My next Love Quilts square is a Disney themed one for Chloe, which should look really good when it's finished. I'm also planning on sorting my sewing space over the next few days (which I know I've been saying for a while but I do mean it this time!) 

My 10th Love Quilts Square

Warning: I am more than a little proud of this one. I love it!

This square is for Emily's horse themed quilt. I found the pattern on Pinterest and changed the colours - it was originally in monochrome red, but I've tried to give each horse a life (and name) of their own!

Sweetie

Paddy

Bluebell

Mystic

Blossom

Sherbet

Candy

Braveheart (Born Free)

Noelle

The whole herd!

I had so much fun stitching this pattern and I found myself doing it quite quickly. The thing that's great about this pattern is that you can easily change the colours and make 9 different horses! 

My 11th square is a space themed quilt, although I think I may have said that on my last quilt square blog post before I got sidelined by this charming design! Or, the Toy Story square...

Great British Sewing Bee Alteration Challenge: Pants Edition

Yesterday, it was my friend Jenny's hen do (for which I am honoured to be a bridesmaid 😄)

The day started with a creative knicker making party run by a company called Top Drawer Diva. As Jenny said, it was like a giant Stitch and Bitch!! They came to the hall in Rickmansworth, bringing many pants, trims, ribbons and bows, pins, needles and sewing machines with them. We chose a pair of pants and then chose the trims to decorate. 

The finished article

I started by sewing the white lace along the top with 2 rows of size 3 zig zag stitch. Then I did the same with the lace frills around the legs. It's important to note here that if you do put lace trims on, you should make sure that there's a break between the front and back, rather than sewing it all in one go. This is because you want the pants to stretch when you put them on, and if you see around the legs or waist all in one go you won't get that stretch. That's partly why I only did trims on the front. (That and I ran out of time!) Then, I hand sewed the bows on, making sure they were nice and secure. 

Lace trim sewn on with a zig zag stitch and hand sewn bows.

Feeling the green and pink theme!

In hindsight, the pants do look a little big for me, but I'd rather that than they were too tight! If I'd had more time, I'd have used some of the stencils to make a fabric shape to iron onto the back of my pants  with Wonderweb. Next time! 

If you have lots of trims, bows and ribbons at home and are looking for a quick little sewing project, customising pants might be your thing! Just get some cheap cotton pants from Tesco or Primark or wherever, and off you go. I think out of the 20 or so women who were at the event yesterday, only a couple of them had every used a sewing machine before and we all made fab looking pants - either by using a sewing machine or hand sewing). Probably much cheaper than buying from some stores too! 

If you're looking for a hen do activity, these ladies were great! 

Top Drawer Diva

If you check out their Facebook page, you'll find the rest of the photos from the day!

The rest of the day was dinner and a club in Embankment, and a ride on the carousel! A good time was had by all!!

A Dangerous Trip to Hobbycraft

TGIF !! We had my husband's grandmother for dinner tonight, so I picked her up from her house and drove her to ours on my way home from work.

Had time to squeeze in a feel good trip to Hobbycraft before that though! I needed some stuff for Rainbows (American Independence Day crafts - flag and fireworks pictures) so naturally I ended up browsing the store. Always dangerous but I'm particularly pleased with my purchases today! 

Cross stitch kits - thought the sheep one was cute and I can see it in our conservatory. I like the other one for the bedroom because I like the inspiring quote. And also, she's wearing fairy wings: can't go wrong.

It's a unicorn decopatch figure!!! 

I love this fabric! I got the last metre off the roll to make into a little skirt.

Some good summer holiday projects! 😎😍😄

My 9th Love Quilts Square

I've sewn this for Christopher's superhero quilt. He particularly likes Marvel so I chose a Guardians of the Galaxy themed square. The original design came out a little smaller than I thought so I added a Groot themed border. I was going to add a galaxy above the characters and a few planets, but the galaxy was too big and I think it might look too crowded if I added a load of planets! I hope Christopher likes it!

We are Groot
(L - R) Groot, Rocket Racoon, Peter / Starlord, Gamora, Drax)

I've signed up to do 2 more quilt squares: a space themed square for Brandon and a horse themed square for Emily. 

Doctor Who?

This weekend, we hosted my friend Rachel's hen party. We made it a Doctor Who themed party, so I baked some themed cookies.

I found a bow tie cookie cutter in Hobbycraft which was perfect. I decided to make sugar cookies - first time for everything! - and top with blue icing. The sugar cookies were easy enough to make, but they lost their shape in the oven so it was all down to the icing to bring out the shape. I had some practice on some of the cookies and it seemed like I used half a box of icing sugar to create the right consistency, but I'm pleased with the result! There aren't many left in the tin so I'm guessing our guests enjoyed them!  

Bow ties with white sugar pearls

Stars with white chocolate stars

Ok, so they're hardly a professional job, but they tasted good and I can always practice my icing skills!

Baking Bonanza!

Today, Bren and I hosted a barbecue at home - what better reason to start baking sweet treats?? I was inspired by several "She Who Bakes" videos. I'll try and post the links here.

First, I started with the Crunchie Shortbread Bites. Last time I made these I didn't get to eat many of them - they were a huge hit with Bren though!

I also made Strawberry Diamond Puffs and Blueberry Pinwheel Puffs. 

They all tasted scrummy and seemed to be enjoyed by our guests tonight! 

Strawberry Diamond Puffs

Blueberry Pinwheel Puffs

Crunchie Shortbread Bites

A long overdue update!

Oh my word, the time has literally flown by! This academic year has been so full and intense - I've managed to do plenty of crafty activities but forgot to blog! So, here goes!

Cross stitch

This Love Quilt square was completed for Violet - and seemed to take ages! I needed to buy more of the yellow thread! 

This Love Quit square was stitched for Leah - although the green got very dull after a while, I'm very pleased with how this turned out! 

This Love Quilts square was stitched for Pheobe - I love this one! I downloaded the pattern from Pinterest and added the border myself based on something I found on google images. It looked amazing on the finished quilt 😄

This Love Quilts square was stitched for Travis - this one seemed to be quicker second time round! 

This Love Quilt square was completed for Layton - and seemed to take a lot less time the second time round! 

I made this cute little sheep magnet to match my Wee Hieland Coo magnet. It took me a day and now sits proudly on our fridge 😄

This is a wedding sampler I made for my sister-in-law and her husband. I loved sewing this one, especially when the back stitch enhances all the little details!

I finished this project last week. It was a birthday present from Bren - he's suggested that I hang it in the conservatory! 

Other Sewing Projects

I think this is the third year I've had the Christmas stocking project in my box, although I got loads more done, there's still more to go! I'm optimistic I'll finish in 2017!

However, I did manage to make Bren's felt stocking - which he chose himself in case you were wondering why his is far more simple than mine! I finished Bren's stocking in a few days, and it was hanging on our fireplace by Christmas Eve 😄

Our Wedding

So Bren and I finally got married this March! Seeing as I enjoy craft so much, I decided to make as much as possible. 

I made these Save the Date cards using my die cutting machine and some purple card. I then stuck the shapes down with a glue pen and then added a couple of accept gems - they were tiny and fiddly, but looked awesome! 

Thanks go to Lizzie and Katie - 2 of my bridesmaids - who helped me cut some of these shapes out of an evening!

I made these invitations using a pocket fold, and then printed the different sections onto card, making each piece of card a different size so you could see the titles. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have a picture of the front, but I also used my die cutting machine and cream card. 

Ok, so I didn't strictly make these place names, but I did write them all in my very best handwriting!! 

Deco patch initial letters! Isla bought me these ages ago - seemed like a perfect way to use them!

Decopatch postbox for wedding cards! This didn't take as long as I thought it would. I used a purple patchwork paper for most of the box, and a silver band for the rim. 

I made this table plan the night before the wedding! I bought some large purple card from Hobbycraft, printed the tables onto card and trimmed to size. I used a border cutting die to create the lace edges from Ivory card on the die cutting machine and stuck it behind the table cards. I stuck fabric wire butterflies in the top corners and stuck some more diamond jewels underneath like a butterfly flight path. Looked great on the day! 

What's Next?

I currently have 2 cross stitch projects planned - a Love Quilts square and a surprise gift. I've also started to get back into baking and would like to try some tasty treats that I've seen on Facebook (brilliant source of inspiration!) I'm also loving the return of the Great British Sewing Bee, which always inspired me to get behind the sewing machine again! I'm hoping to make a skirt or dress or two soon... Stay tuned!!!