I am thinking of making!...

With Christmas coming, as well as gifts, I am also thinking of making decorations to add to the ones I have made previously...

http://imadeitforyou.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/christmas.html

I have been wondering for some time what to do with some moose-print fabric I have left-over from a cushion I made...http://imadeitforyou.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/luvly-scandinavian-inspired-cushion.html

As well as the fabric, below, I also have some lovely moose ribbon which I bought a while ago from www.Dawanda.com...

I love hearts and I made this heart garland, below, last year with reindeer fabric http://imadeitforyou.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/christmas.html
I am thinking about using the left over moose fabric I have to make some individual hearts to hang on furniture etc at Christmas time!  They may also make nice 'Christmas Favours' if hung on the back of the chair at dinner time or placed at the table setting of each family member/guest!

I will let you know how I get on!!

More Christmas gifts in the making...lavender bags

I always think lavender bags make lovely little 'token gifts' or can be a 'little something extra' to put alongside another gift!!

I have started to make some in preparation for Christmas! 

My colour theme is purple with a little green too! I am just sewing them at the moment and will fill them with lavender and finish them off nearer the time!

Handprint family art!

My brother has delegated me the job of organising a birthday gift for my sister-in-law from their two children, a three year-old and a ten week old baby!!

I thought a family hand-print painting would be a lovely idea and would be a cute keep-sake!I searched the internet for inspiration and found some great ideas!...

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-73557025/stock-photo-hand-prints-of-whole-family-also-available-as-vector.html

http://www.millybee.com/mummy-daddy-p-110.html

http://www.giftsthatgive.com/catalog/product/quickview/id/3982/

http://www.playpennies.com/hand-print-family-portrait-54045

This is probably my favourite though...

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?start=85&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1024&bih=571&tbm=isch&tbnid=ypFaXF0wj71DQM:&imgrefurl=http://gifts.redenvelope.com/gifts/family-handprint-frame-30002402&imgurl=http://a1128.g.akamai.net/7/1128/497/0001/image.proflowers.com/is/image/ProvideCommerce/HD_11_GEN_FR313855_BF_W1_RC&w=304&h=400&ei=HR5IUI7YMfKb1AWkyYCQAg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=110&sig=117127852902867119137&page=5&tbnh=120&tbnw=106&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:85,i:34&tx=75&ty=87

Whilst I was looking, I also came across this fantastic blog dedicated to handprint art!

http://funhandprintart.blogspot.co.uk/

Sunday drive in the Yorkshire Dales

It was a lovely sun-shiney day on Sunday so after a lovely roast dinner in a local cafe, we headed for a drive in the Yorkshire Dales!

We passed through one of my favourite villages, the village of Langcliffe with it's pretty houses and lovely church! 

Driving up out of the village is one of my favourite views...

I made a cushion for you!

Thinking of Christmas already and with a three week holiday to South Africa before then, I thought it was time to start thinking about gifts I might want to make for people for Christmas!

I know some people appreciate handmade presents more than others and my Mum is one person who loves to receive something lovingly made by hand!

As I have now mastered the art of sewing in zips (http://imadeitforyou.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/i-made-cushion-for-you.html), I decided to make a cushion as a gift for my Mum for Christmas!

I bought a lovely green/turquoise fabric from a local fabric shop which I decided I wanted to base my cushion round.  After deciding to applique the word "Mum" onto the cushion in pink fabric, the dilemma was deciding whether to applique plain or patterned letters and bright or muted tones of pink!!

These were my options....

I think I actually preferred the brighter shade of pink with the white spots for the letters:

But I finally decided my Mum would probably prefer the more muted shades of pale pink which also matched the ribbon I had perfectly!!

And this was the finished result....

I just need to decide whether to finish it off by sewing on some buttons??...

I placed some on to see how they would look but I think I am going to wait until nearer the time to make a final decision...

Gift wrapping...I made some gift bows!

My niece has recently just turned three!! Happy Birthday to you!!!

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, her favourite colour is red!!!

So...I made sure I got some red and white spotty wrapping paper to wrap her pressies...the complete 'Little Miss' collection of books and an Early Learning Centre hairdressing carry case!

I also made some matching bows from ribbon which i made in to loops and secured with a button!!!

The presents looked complete presented in a Minnie Mouse gift bag!!!

There are lots of web-sites out there with inspiration for wrapping pressies, my favourites include...

http://olderandwisor.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Kraft%20Krush

http://www.marthastewart.com/856471/20-years-living-best-christmas-wrapping-and-packaging-ideas/@center/856383/20-years-christmas-martha-stewart-living#/185594

http://oursuburbanfarm.com/2011/12/christmas-craftiness.html

I made a cushion for you!!!

My three year old niece's favourite colour is red!!!!

As long as it is red she is happy!!!!

I have made her this cushion from red and white spotty fleece!

It's the first time I have managed to insert a zip without having to ask for help so I'm quite pleased!!...thanks to http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2011/02/add-a-zipper-to-your-pillow/ who have a great zipper tutorial!

I had also just received the fabric I had ordered from Spoonflower (www.spoonflower.com) so I could make some 'handmade by labels'

I have added one to the back of the cushion...it's not quite straight but I really couldn't be bothered to re-do it!!!

I made an Owl for you!!!

My three year-old niece loved a softie owl in a shop a few weeks ago!...it was just a touch too expensive for an everyday treat though so I promised here I would try and make her one!!!

This is my version of it...

Made from bits of cheap fleece I bought in a local general store!

I find the colours a bit garish but they are similar to the one she loved so much in the shop!!!!

She did point out though that it only had two flowers on it and not three like the one in shop and suggested I take it back to remedy it!!!!

Red and white spotty apron!

I made a baking apron for my niece who will be three on the first of September!

We went to a nearby fabric shop for her to choose some fabric for it - no surprises it was red - her favourite colour - with white spots!  I made a mock pattern out of a piece of newspaper before setting to and making it!!  I added a couple of matching red with white spots buttons to give a bit more interest!!  She loves it!!!

Here it is modelled by one of her favourite softies!!



New additon to the family equals time for a new project!

I have a new nephew!!!...big smiles!!!  I now have to attempt to make a soft book for my nephew similar to the one I made my niece  approximately two years ago...

It was the first thing I had ever made with the sewing machine my sister had just bought me for Christmas and at the time I was thrilled with the result!  It basically spells out the name of my niece in pictures with a page per letter!  Now I look at it and am thinking I could do even better for this second attempt!

My nephew is called William - to be known as Billy!  I have decided to go with Billy for the purpose of the book!..now I just have to think about how I am going to picturise each letter, preferably making it as interactive as possible!!!!

Am thinking...

B...Bear or Bee or Bird.  The bear would be made out of fur to make it nice and tactile...currently I am unsure of the inter-activty of the other two!

I...Igloo or ice-cream...the igloo would have an open-able door with a penguin peeking out and the ice-cream would have a chocolate flake attached to a ribbon which could be put in the ice-cream

L...Lion.  Perhaps peeking out of some leaves which could be opened up!

L...Lamb.  With some dangly legs and possibly a bell!

Y...Yawn.  A boy in bed yawning - a hand would be attached to a piece of ribbon attached to the top of the page and my nephew could put the hand over the yawn!

Just thoughts!!

Will see what happens!.................

Silk Cushion

I made this cushion as a gift for a friend - it's made from a lovely silk off-cut!

I embroidered the hearts on my sewing maching and then hand-sewed the sequins and beads on!

It's dual sided so hopefully if one side doesn't appeal the other will!!!

Finally I wrapped it up...aiming for a vintage look with brown paper, ribbon and hearts!

Am hoping my friend likes her gift!!

Applique Ballerina Canvas Picture!

Inspired by the lovely applique picture (below) by  http://countrykittyland.blogspot.com/, I decided to make one of my own for my two-and-a-half year old niece.



The theme was pink (to match her new bedroom) and ballerinas (to match her latest craze!!).  Nit Wit Collections http://www.nitwitcollections.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=882 had a cute ballerina which I based my picture on!

I have just discovered 'bondaweb' which makes the whole process of applique far easier as it allows you to affix the applique pieces to the fabric before you sew round them!! - I have saved sooooo much time!!!

Above:  Applique pieces bond-a-webbed to the background fabric

Above: The bond-a-webbed fabric made sewing around the figure so much easier!

Inspired by http://nicety.livejournal.com/968976.html#cutid1 (below) ....

...I added a piece of chiffon type fabric to give a 3D effect for the ballerina skirt and added rose buds to the skirt and hair!

Below:  The fabric around the ballerina looked abit bare so I edged to corners with ribbons and buttons to complete the picture!

The picture has been mounted on a really cheap canvas and I'm really pleased with it!!