A is for .....

Aimee...
I special friend of mine has discovered sewing. She is 11 years old and I believe she has quite a talent for hand crafted things... and especially an eye for colour. I have known Aimee for about 2 years and during this time she has made many a gift for friends and family, starting out with precious handsewn toys. She moved on to a simple bed quilt for herself and one of her latest projects are these gorgeous little zip wallets.

When I heard about them I had to order one of my own.. a bargin at twice the price. Excited to see what Aimee would come up with, I asked for a surprise... (sorry Aimee). And this is the precious result. A gorgeous mix of reds, oranges and pinks. Perfect!

Aimee, I am so proud of you and your beautiful creations. I know they are made with care and love and I will treasure it always. This one is going in my knitting bag to hold all my little bits and pieces.

A is for Adam

Adam is the grandson of our fabulous neighbour. Like Aimee, Adam is very clever. Adam has a passion for all things wood crafted. I have it on good authority that Adam's woodcrafting skill is well above his 11 years.

Last year for her 2nd birthday, Adam was commissioned to make Macie a little jigsaw. We were all very much impressed with his skill. Just ahead of Christmas, Adam asked us to 'test' a few puzzles for him. The kids and I were very happy to do so and also got a few extra orders from our little friends. Here are a couple of Adam's Animals.

Keep up your very special talent Adam. We love seeing and hearing about what you have been crafting.

Adam is selling more of his puzzles this weekend (Sunday March 10) at the Managroa School and Country Fair from 10-2pm. Adam's Animal puzzles range from $3-$5.

Adam and Aimee are such inspiring young people. It is so so exciting to see younger generations passionate about hand made things rather than electronic pass times such as play station. I am keeping my fingers crossed that more and more of the next generation are seeing and appreciating handcrafted things and this ignites a crafty flame in them also. A xx

A Few Chrissy Pressies from me too

Phew, Christmas over for another year. Kind of feel bitter sweet about it really. It is such a massive build up, loads of time spent crafting gifts for loved ones, plenty of excitement around the fat dude in red, doses of anticipation from the kiddies. All good fun. My sewing machine in looking forward to a well earned service in the next couple of weeks but I am a little reluctant to give it up...even for a week! The poor ole thing was running red hot the week and a half leading up to Christmas eve starting and completing projects. Like Melissa, I vow to start earlier next year, unlike Melissa, I left all of mine right til the last minute.. nothing like a bit of pressure aye?!

Here are a few things I created for my family..

Baby bunting for Phoenix featuring gorgeous Dinosaur fabric

Funky long shorts for Cullen using Michael Millers Groovy Guitar fabric. I adapted a Burda pattern for these. Have since made a 2nd pair which I added a pair of pockets from some old jeans onto the backside.

A Darth Vadar cape for my gorgeous nephew... Xmas bunting visable there in the background too.

A really really easy little wallet - great for gift cards! Available here... or from Thimbles I believe.

Macie got these wicked shorts on Boxing Day (a great day to sew!) I picked up the fabric from Thimbles and Threads for only $12 a metre. I love them. The pattern is from Clever Charlotte.

I am halfway through another pair for her. These ones have been worn twice already. Uber cute!

I also managed to make several little pairs of dolls nappies with matching elastic wasted skirts for Macie's little friend's, a handful of bibs for the babies in my world, a wicked fabric bowl (pics and tutorial to come), several triangle purses (like Melissa's ones already blogged) which held bubble mixture for the kiddies. My niece was the happy recipient of a shockingly pink journal cover and matching triangle purse that I made long enough to fit a packet of gel pens.

Christmas done for 2011. Its wonderful to see faces when they open a handcrafted gift isn't it.?.

Merry Christmas to all of our followers. Happy New Year and happy sewing for 2012. A xx

Macie's Big Bib

Here is a great gift idea for a new baby or under one in your life.

These bibs are big, bright and beautiful both to use and to gift to others. They are super easy to make.
Here is a little tutorial:

Materials needed:
A couple of fat quarters (two bibs to a fat quarter)
Sweatshirting/polar fleece/terry towelling (for the back)
Co ordinating cotton
Velcro
A template of a favourite shaped bib would be handy

Step 1 - Make your template
Make an outline of bib onto paper. I added a 1/4 inch seam allowance to my outline. Check that your bib template is even by folding it in half length wise. You may need to adjust it here.

Step 2 - Cut out fabric
Place the bib outline onto your fabric. If you want to speed up this process, place the sweatshirting and the cotton fabrics right sides together. Lay the bib template on top and pin. Cut out both fabrics together.

This means your edges match perfectly and you are also ready to sew the two pieces together.

Step 3 - Sew your bib

Pin your two pieces of fabric to secure and then sew a 1/4 inch seam around the edge leaving a 3-4 inch gap along one side. Clip your curves by cutting into the seam allowance to just shy of the stitching line. Take care not to cut your seam. Leave about 1 inch between each cut. This is important around the neck curve. Turn bib right side out and press. Top stitch around the entire bib using a n1/8 - 1/4 inch width. Make sure you close the hole used to turn bib.

Step 4 - Attach your velcro
Cut two pieces of velcro about 1- 11/2 inches long. Pin one on the top of one side, the other on the bottom of the other. Check that they fit nicely and evenly when you close the bib. Sew in place.

Your bib is done.

Have fun with fabrics, add some extra sewing lines to secure or add decoration. Here are a few I made for a little girl born just recently.

Have fun creating, A xx

Its Birthday Week!

Its birthday week in our house. Macie and I celebrate our birthdays 8 days apart. Its a special time for us because Macie was born on my Grandad's birthday. Grandad had passed away while I was pregnant with her and he knew that his fifth Great Grandchild was due close to his birthday. For my whole life the 6th and 14th of October have been special.

For her birthday this year we decided to go with a butterfly theme. Macie, mad on butterflies, made this an easy choice. She received the butterfly wings and dress (previously blogged), a cool butterfly hoodie and we borrowed more wings from kindy so that all her little friends could be beautiful butterflies too.

We have been lucky to go to a few other crafty birthday parties recently and in the little party bags were gorgeous hand made gifts. Personal one, well thought out. With butterflies being the theme, I decided to make little stuffed butterflies that hang from a clip. Macie's little friends could attach it to their bags, belts, baby prams, where ever they choose.
I found a little template for a butterfly in Amy Bulters Little Stitches for Little Ones. The $2 shop had lots of clips to choose and I have 2 boxes of scraps perfect for this project. I just added a tiny strap to hang the clip from. Check out the results.

Zipper Critters

We are smack in the middle of birthday season. Lots of our wee friends are turning 5, 2 or 3. Its special. And birthdays are a great excuse to sew sew sew. One of my favourite little person's gift is a Zipper Critter.

A year or so ago, my Mum was gifted a pattern. Knowing that it would be right up my alley, she lent it to me.

Zipper Critters are a wonderful way to use up scraps to make a super special gift. I have made the little dog and cat that hang from a clip. Oscar's was my first creation and I believe it went down a treat. Last week, a little friend of Cullen's turned 5. He was visiting from overseas and instead of trying to work out what to buy him I decided to give him some spending money while he was here. Money fits perfectly in the mouths of these little critters. He told me he would hang it from his bag when he started school so he could remember which bag was his.
Our local $2 shop sells these little clips, four for $2.50. They are plastic not metal but definately do the trick.

You can use anything to create these colourful little guys. Old buttons, old zips or cheap ones from op shops. The ears have pipe cleaners in them to make them bend. Am thinking it might be a great pass the parcel prize for another up coming birthday..... pretty neat eh? A xx