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!!!