a handmade Christmas- fabric coasters

I love the idea of only giving handmade presents for Christmas. Sewing gifts is one of my favourite things to do and seems to dominate this blog. I hardly have anything I've sewn for myself! Instead I have lots of pics and memories of people enjoying the things I've made them so that's pretty nice. :)

Anyway, this year I'm not sure I'll have time to make everyone something, however if the little market stall I'm preparing for isn't a roaring success I should have some things left to give to family and friends. Sweet!

One thing I'd like to make alongside cushion covers and wall hangings are sets of quilted coasters. I have seen some gorgeous ones out there and they seem pretty easy to make. With my growing obsession with fabrics it also provides an opportunity to use all those pretty pieces in a lovely way.

I got the idea for making fabric coasters from Amy of Nana Company. She makes the most amazing patchwork and embroidered things, they're so beautiful. Check out her blog for pics and pretty things to buy.

Amy has made some lovely eating mats and coasters using pretty combinations of fabrics, patchwork and embroidery. Sigh, if only I was this talented!

Here are some mats and coasters I like best from Amy:



 

I love the floral prints and the complimentary ric rac detail. So sweet! I doubt I could make some as nice as these but they provide a good source of inspiration!

Here are some more cute coasters by Anna from Noodlehead. I like the quilting detail on these and the lovely fabric combinations. Recently I bought one of Anna's runaround bag pattern that i'm looking forward to sewing up. Check out her blog if you haven't already, she has free tutorials and lots of inspiration to enjoy!

 So I think I'm ready to give it a go, the hard part will be choosing which fabrics to go for first.

 Thanks for the inspiration ladies!

xx

Universal craft blog directory- CraftyRie

Through twitter today I found a link to a lovely post by fellow Aussie Rie. She has started up a big craft blog directory for crafty people to share their blog and spread the love of creating around. I thought it was a great idea as I'm always keen to check out new blogs and now they'll be a convenient place to do this!

I'm going to add my blog to the list and if you have a crafty blog (ie make things create things or buy lots of crafty thing!) you can add yours too! Just click on the link below or find it in my side bar.

Happy craft-sharing!

Book- Sew what you love- by Tanya Whelan

Today I discovered the work of a fabric designer/writer Tanya Whelan of Grand Revivial Designs. I stumbled upon her while looking up pictures of fabric on Pinterest, and didn't even realise she was the creator of one of my favourite fabric ranges called 'Deliah'.

She has a new book coming out in December called 'Sew what you love' It looks like it has some really pretty and easy projects like summer dresses and purses. Right up my alley of course. :)

Sew what you love, Tanya Whelan

If you want to pre order it you can do so through Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Might make a lovely Christmas present for someone special. :)

xx

Pretty on Pinterest

Time for another posy of pretty pictures from Pinterest (try saying that after a few wines!) 

Frilly apron

Sunday crossbow

Carma

Carma

Happy loves rosie

Nana Company

I adore the blue wallpaper with what looks like giant white doilies. The mint polka dot skirt is so gorgeous and effortless... I like the ric rac detail and the floral fabric of the coasters. So cute and retro looking! I'd happily have a house full of these things..... Might need a bigger house first.

Happy Monday!

Inspiration needed today!

I am feeling a little sad today because I have just finished reading an article I found on Handmadeology called 5 real dangers of quitting your day job by Jacqueline of Jacqueline Jewelry.

Basically, Jacqueline outlines the reality of working full time on your online business and highlights the many pitfalls of trying to do this. Phrases from the article that have contributed to me feeling like my little craft business dream is a total waste of time include: 'Earnings are not consistent' 'Money is not made by perusing. It is made by doing something concrete and having people buy something' 'You do not hear about the millions who failed' and finally 'Depression and poor motivation are serious issues with quitting your day job'.

Yipppeeee!!! Dire or what? I can only laugh really and take it as the reality check most people need when thinking about chucking it all in for the idealistic dream of being a full time, financially stable creative artist. I thanked Jacqueline for the healthy dose of reailty because I will take on board what she has said. I have being saying for a while now that it's best for me not to have high expectations and put pressure on myself, and to just focus on the part which I love the most- making and giving. That's all I can do I guess!

Now- to cheer myself up I'm going to delve into Pinterest and share some nice things with you.

lovely Kidson fabric



cutie Animal Alphabet by Paola Zakimi



super cute baby fox- Graham Ten

naw. Kitties always cheer me up!

beautiful Salzburg, Vienna. Lovely memories. Sunsufer tumblr

a lovely walk would be nice. A cottage in the woods tumblr



inspiring words. :)

Ok, I'm feeling much better now!

What cheers you up?

xx

finding success later in life.

Yesterday I read an inspiring article about finding success later in life written by Candice Chung. The article discusses the idea that despite occurances throughout history of genius presenting itself at a young age (think Mozart, Picasso etc) it isn't always the case, and that there isn't actually a link between age and peak creativity.

This spells hope for me and other 30 something 'late bloomers' as Candice describes. The article assures us that perhaps like Vivienne Westwood (started working full time in fashion at 30) and Jane Austin (published her first book at 35) our best work may be ahead of us.

This gave me a huge amount of reassurance as it really does seem like everyone glorified in popular culture and media at the moment are strapping lads and lasses in their late teens and early to mid 20s. Candice says the belief that you 'either have to excel early or not at all' doesn't actually exist, and it's just our assumption based on what we've seen in history. Some of those amazing artists, composers and directors seem to hit their stride at an age where some of us are still grappling with 'Will this 8th glass of beer/wine/vodka be a good or a bad idea?'

For me, I'm just grateful I discovered my passion for sewing at all. For a while there I felt there was a big gaping hole in my creative life and I tried many different things to try and fill it. Sewing and crafts have definitely been the best fit for me and I look forward to seeing where this passion will take me. Fun places I imagine.
 
One of the best things I took from the article was this wonderful quote from Candace that I would like to print and read regularly. I think they are words to craft by so hopefully you like them too:

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

xx

tutorials from Pinterest

Once again I find myself trawling through countless pages of inspring goodies on Pinterest. It makes me giddy with excitement like the proverbial kid in a candy/toy store. It's becoming an obsession!

This week I discovered the pins of Laura Caamano Puente. You can see her boards and pins once you've signed up for Pinterest. She has a stupendous collection of gorgeous things and lots of sewing and craft tutorials she has found or repinned from the boards of others. I found her because she repinned my sewing tutorial for making a mini zippered coin purse.

Here are a few tutorials I found on Laura's board "tutoriales" that I thought were cute and would like to try.

Pleated Tote bag tutorial- by Laura from thimble

Baby shoes from Colourful Creative Ideas

Linen flowers from the Brides Cafe

Crochet flower tutorial from the Yvestown blog



DIY lampshade tutorial from Teeny blessings

Pinterest really is a wonderful source of inspiration. Check it out and see what makes you go crazy!

xx

crafty tutorials wish list

I've been pretty busy lately so (sadly) I haven't had much time to do crafting and sewing. I still have many project 'wants' on my to do list so I thought I'd share some that jumped out at me this week:

Crochet heart tutorial

Little Birdie Secrets shares a cute tutorial for crochet hearts that I can't wait to try. They have even included a video clip which I think will help a lot! I like how the crochet heart is used to make this beautiful card. Love!

Embroidery hoop art with puffies

Fantastic Toys Embroidery Hoop art

Over on the Fantastic Toys blog Timothy did a little review of a product called 'puffies' which are cute little puffed fabric stickers used mostly in scrapbooking. Tim decided to use them with some embroidery hoops to make gorgeous little artworks! I love this idea and would like to try it if I can get my hands on some of these puffies! I love the little Parisian ones below. So cute!

Fantastic toys Parisian embroidery hoop art

Timothy also shares a tutorial and pattern for making sweet little puffy cupcakes. They would make great little gifts or party decorations I think. Check out the Fantastic Toys Etsy store for more kawaii things to make you smile!



Fantastic Toys- cucpake tutorial

Vintage inspired skirt tutorial

Noodlehead- Vintage inspired skirt

Anna from Noodlehead shares a cute vintage inspired skirt tutorial on the Craferthours blog as part of skirt week 2011. The tutorial has good pictures and instructions and no zippers! :)

Kimono baby shoes

Nifty Thrifty Things- Kimono baby shoes

Vanessa from Nifty Thrifty Things shared a post with some pictures of these adorable kimono baby shoes she made. I love the fabric and style so much! She got the pattern and tutorial from Homespun Threads who have a wonderful collection of tutorials and patterns along with other sewing inspiration. Crafty people are so generous!

Now, to find a spare 20 hours to make all of these....

x



new addiction- Pinterest

Sigh.... just when I thought I was fresh out of ways to waste time on the internet I discover Pinterest. This is a wonderful site where you have your own virutal pinboard to curate and showcase the things you love and are inspired by. I could easily spend a day looking at it so I have to be quite disciplined! (slowly back away from the pretty pictures...... )

This site appeals to me because I am quite a visual/kinaesthetic type person. I can work most things out through looking/waching and playing. It's probably why I like crafts and sewing so much, but have trouble tackling patterns ("Can't you just show me how to do it?!?!?!?") There is an endless supply of beautiful images from fashion, food and homewares, craft and sewing projects, beautiful stationary, cute animals and photography of stunning places and spaces. Sensory overload!!

Here are some things I found appealing on Pinterest this week with links to their original source.


Lorajean's magazine, lace and doilies table setting




This is Glamerous




from Faktory Girl

from Fairytales are true

tiny white daisies on tumblr

From Anthonyyy

If you want to have your own Pinterest account, you need to request an invitation first, then you can follow other people's boards and pins and re-pin things you like. You can also use the pinterest tool on your favourites bar to pin anything to your boards that you discover during your internet wanderings. Yay!
If you have a Pinterest account you can follow my pins using the link on the sidebar. I'd love to follow you too!

Happy time wasting!

xx