Bailey Bear

A few days ago, I showed you some 'flat bears' that were getting ready to be made.  Well, I finished off seven out of nine bears for the Street Stall, and didn't sell one! (Not to worry, I've already sent one off to a brand-new nephew who was born on Sunday!)

I think they are just so cute, and once I got on a roll, they weren't too difficult at all to make.  The pattern is available from here, and it includes links to Wendi's amazing tutorial videos about how to do every technique to make one yourself - from cutting out the pattern to embroidering the face and sewing him up!

Aren't they cute?!

Stocking Stuffer Stall Today!

Thank you to everyone who has been reading along with the blog! We had the first street stall today - a stocking stuffer stall at my church with money going towards the African Famine appeal through Australian Lutheran World Service.


Here's some pictures of the tables set up:

I was really excited when I saw how it all looked - this is what I had imagined!  I had some girlfriends come and help out as well, and we raised about $450 today.   I am really thrilled!


Many thanks to the people who contributed ideas and donated goods to be sold as well!

Now, I get to catch up on sleep and cleaning my house.  And then onto Christmas sewing!


Blessings!

Mod Podge Decorative Tiles

I've been making some more decorative tiles and thought I'd share a few more pictures in this tutorial.

Items needed:

• Mod Podge (available from art and craft stores, online, Spotlight, Lincraft, etc)
• Tile (or a surface to stick paper onto)
• Photo or paper to stick
• Sponge brush
• Flat container

First of all, make sure your tiles are clean and dry.  I am using 15x15cm recycled tiles that I picked up at a scrap yard.

You can print your own design or use photos for this project.  I printed in black ink on scrapbooking paper, and also printed in colour on photo paper.

Pour a small amount of Mod Podge into the flat container.  Using the sponge brush, cover the tile in a layer of Mod Podge.  This acts as the glue to stick your paper to the tile.

Carefully place your design onto the tile.  I cut mine so that there was a white border all around.

Allow to dry for about 30 minutes.  Using the sponge brush, paint another layer of Mod Podge over the top of the picture. It will appear cloudy at first, but it dries clear.This is the sealer which will protect your picture. If you would like a 'canvas' appearance, allow this coat to dry and then brush on another coat in the opposite direction.

Allow to dry completely.  Display either with a plate stand or attach a ribbon hanger to the back of the tile.

Stencilled bibs

Here's a cool, easy gift that you can make with no sewing at all!


You need:

• Freezer paper (this is available from some quilting shops or online.  It is sold like cling wrap in the USA, but not widely available in Australia)
• Fabric to paint on (I've used plastic-backed bibs from Target & K-mart)
• Fabric paints (I've used paints mixed with textile medium by Jo Sonja)
• Sponge brush/stencil brush
• Iron
• Pencil
• Craft knife & cutting board

First of all, draw or trace your design on the paper side of the freezer paper. Cut it out with a craft knife.

Then, using a warm iron, fix the freezer paper stencil onto your fabric.  Place the stencil waxy side down and cover with a cloth (to protect your iron), and then press until the paper has adhered to the cloth.


Mix your paints and using a sponge brush, paint onto the stencil.

Allow the paint to dry, and then carefully peel away the stencil to reveal your design! (This is the exciting part!)

Iron over the design to fix your fabric paint.

Kid's Apron

I'm so excited that something worked the first time I made it!  I whipped up (over several hours!) this kid's apron last night and I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  My biggest challenge was turning the tie (which is one long sausage of fabric) inside out... but I finally sourced the right tool for the job and that made such a difference!  I'd like to post a tutorial, but I didn't take photos of the steps along the way, so I'll have to catch up on this one later!

Ribbon Ring

Kids love to dance, and it's so much fun to have something to dance with! Shakers or bells are great, and one thing my oldest child had fun with was some cardboard tubes with ribbons sticky-taped to them.


I was thinking about making ribbon sticks, but with two boys I know that sticks usually turn into hitting each other over the head.  So these ribbon rings are a great alternative - chunky enough for chubby hands to hold, and good fun when the music is turned up loud!

Start with a wooden curtain ring wrapped with satin ribbon (secure the ribbon with hot glue), and then tie with ribbon streamers.  Use a candle flame to singe the ends of the ribbon so that they don't fray.  Dance!

Decorated Tiles

I'm really excited about sharing today's stocking stuffer with you.  It's a decorated tile that I made using a plain 15x15cm tile, some scrapbooking paper that I ran through my printer, and the wonder-of-all-wonder products, Mod Podge!  (This is another one of those things that I've had in my craft stash for years and have never used until now!)


The longest part of making these tiles was the design process... not my strength at all.  But putting it all together doesn't take long!  Hopefully I can get a chance to make a few more this week and show you how it's done (I've just been out to our recycling centre at the tip and picked up a stack more tiles for next-to-nothing!).

Have a great start to the week!

Bottle Gift Bag Refashion

On my list of things to make for the street stall were bottle gift bags.  And then last weekend in a seconds shop, I happened across a whole stack of new calico wine bottle bags that had been screen-printed with a logo.  I thought that if I could refashion the bag I might save myself a bit of time... (insert positive thinking here.)

Anyway, after hours trying to figure out the best way to 'makeover' the bag and cover up the printed logo, this is the best I could come up with.  It's not what I had originally planned, but it does the trick.  I still might try and embellish it with something Christmassy... any ideas would be welcome!

Candy Cane Reindeer

Today's idea is super-simple!  These cute candy cane reindeer are made using pipe cleaners (now known as 'chenille sticks') for antlers, two goggle-eyes and a small pom pom for a nose.  They're quick and easy to make, and they look very cute!

More ornaments!

Here's another type of tree ornament that has been in the making until today! It's like a 'double-stuffed-yo-yo', and instructions to make it can be found here.


I'm hoping for a super-productive night of sewing so that I can share some more projects - especially some gift ideas - with you over the next week!


Hope your Christmas countdown is going well!  It really is a crazy season, isn't it!?  (Especially trying to find a parking space at the shopping centre!)

Raggy tree ornament

Here's a quick idea to make a tree ornament with some scrap fabric and a styrofoam ball!  Just cut fabric into small squares (about 4x4cm) and use a skewer or embossing tool to poke into the styrofoam ball.  Keep going until the ball is covered.  Attach a ribbon and hang!


You can find another example and some more instructions here.

Felt Christmas Tree

Here are some instructions to make this cute felt Christmas Tree!

What you need:
Coloured felt
Felt scraps
Embroidery thread
Polyester stuffing
Cardboard


1. Cut the felt into a cone shape with two straight edges and one curved edge.  My tree has sides measuring 22cm.  Cut the felt scraps into small circles about 1cm in diameter.

2. Attach the felt dots onto the tree body using a small cross stitch.  Make sure you secure the threads on the wrong side of the felt.  Decorate your tree as much as you like!

3. Pin the two long sides together (inside out) and sew either by machine or hand.  Turn the tree the right way out.

4. Cut a felt circle and two cardboard circles for the base of the tree.  An easy way to do this is to fill the tree with stuffing, and then find a cup that matches the size of the base of the tree.  Trace around the cup to get the right size circle.  Whip stitch the base to the tree, inserting the cardboard to create a firm base for the tree to stand on (see picture).

5. Finish sewing up the base and you're done!

Sock Bunny

The week really has been all about stockings, so I thought it only right to try and make one more day of it.  Last night, I researched as much as I could and then ended up making my own pattern anyway - for a sock bunny!


Earlier this year, I bought a 'mystery pack' of kids socks, and got 10 pairs of girls socks... which was lovely, except that I have boys.  It seems I continually need to learn the lesson that mystery packs will never be what I want them to be!  But, it means that I have resources at the ready for some sock bunnies, which make great baby toys, because there are no little pieces that could come off, and ears make great things to suck on!

I'm interested in your thoughts before I go ahead and make more... it's a big deal to me to cut up a perfectly good sock! :)

Stockings Galore!

Yesterday I showed you the felt stockings that I was making, and I've spent all day today finishing them off!  I've added a felt star with iron-on interfacing, and my little stockings are going to be sold on the stall filled with a mini bottle of bubbles! (The perfect way to keep kids amused at Christmas when they're on the edge of a meltdown!)

Hope you're having a great day!

Rose Petal Ornament

Here's what you'll need to make this beautiful ornament:

• Styrofoam ball (I used a 70mm ball)
• Artificial rose petals
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• 2 sewing pins
• 30-35cm satin ribbon

First, glue one petal to the styrofoam ball.  This will be the top centre of the flower.

Start attaching rose petals, overlapping them as you move the ball around.  Try and work in circles, starting from the top and moving downwards.

 

Ensure that the petal at the base of the ball is glued in place completely.

Attach the ribbon using two sewing pins.  Put them in place and try hanging the ball to ensure you have the ribbon centred.  When you are happy with its placement, put some hot glue over the pins and ribbon to stick them in place.

Cut a small slit in an extra petal and thread the ribbon through it, pushing the petal right down onto the ball to hide the pins.  Glue in place.

Glue gun goodness

I'm getting to know my glue gun.  I purchased it about 15 years ago, and never really used it until now!  I have already learned a few things - it is hot, it leaves stringy bits of glue like spiderwebs everywhere, and you need to keep loading little glue sticks otherwise it won't work any more.  And it can use up lots of glue sticks quite quickly!


Anyway, here's a simple stocking stuffer that I made today using my hot glue gun:

With lots of different projects on the go, I have pins and needles everywhere. This is a very lovely way of keeping them close to where I need them!


Instructions for how to make them can be found here.

Little Monster Kits

A few days ago I wrote about where this whole idea started - mini tubs of Play-Doh.  And thinking about these mini tubs of Play-Doh made me start thinking about Christmas presents and little gifts for 'stocking stuffers', and that turned into a fundraising idea, and that turned into this blog.  And so, here is the idea of how to use the Play-Doh - Little Monster Kits!

Knowing how much kids love creating, I thought that if I packaged together a few elements they could spend hours during summer holidays inventing little monsters.  Here's a few I prepared earlier:

So tell me, what do you think?!

Time to craft

My little man turns one today!  What a year it's been - that strange tension between some days that never seemed to end, and the fact that weeks and months fly past.  (It always seems to me that weekends go the fastest!)

With two boys under three, I don't get a lot of time to sit down and make craft happen.  Even setting up the sewing machine seems to take too much effort most days, and yet I find myself itching to do something!  One of the things I've learned about being a mum is that working on a project where you can see progress helps prevent the days from turning into one long washing/cooking/cleaning marathon.

Especially with the warmer weather, my boys love playing outside.  And I need to sit out there somewhere to supervise ("Joel, don't eat that sand/rock/stick", "Liam, don't throw sand/rocks/sticks at your brother!").  I enjoy having something small that I can easily pick up and put down, and so preparing some Christmas ornaments for the street stall is a great project to have!

Here's what I've been working on:

 Just a sweet, simple heart decoration that I can sew by hand as I soak up the sunshine.  Sounds like a great life, doesn't it?!