All about sewing...

Don't you ever get moments where inspiration just comes to you naturally?
I felt like this today ~ and took myself to the craft store in the next village near where I live, which is an Aladdin's cave of fabrics for all sorts of occasions. This company has been running for 40 years since  it opened in 1971, a good three years before I was even born!
 
I always love coming here, although the last time I set foot in the shop was for a job interview 2 years ago to work as a sales assistant. Needless to say I never got the job!!

I came out with some GORGEOUS fabric ~in saying that, I haven't sewn in a long time!!     Well, I spotted some skulls fabric which immediately reminded me of my sister who is into such things!!

I bought half a metre :

To be honest, I am a novice at sewing, and here is what I ended up making.....(like I said,  the cushion has it's imperfections. Oh well , practice makes perfect as they say!!)

I used a cushion blank, and inserted it inside the cushion cover which I had made from two squares of the fabric sewn onto an  8 " zip.    Then I added a cute gothic charm onto the zip as a finishing touch.....et voila!!!!

Easy peasy!!

I am planning on making a similar cushion very soon, only with a French design (Paris-themed fabic finished off with a small Eiffel tower charm on the zip!!)~ since I am a Francophile at heart..

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My very first cushion:

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What will you create today?   Can any of you come up with ideas on what I should make with this satin feel material? The most inspiring idea will win a prize from my own craft box!!  Feel free to add comments below!!

Here's some I made earlier!

My local Dunelm Mill store has introduced a new craft range recently and I was happy to see a much larger choice of beads/jewellery making supplies than was there before.

Bead Cafe bugle beads & heart charms

Mixed beads bracelet made from crackle glass beads/millefiori beads etc.

Spacers, faux pearl & shell beads were used.

Celestial surprise!

**Craft Giveaway**

I have been doing a clearout of my craft cupboard and found lots of stuff I no longer use or need.

Just leave a comment under this post for a chance of winning the following pictured items:

Cupcakes Stickers/Xmas glitter/Merry go round 3D sticker/12 m metallic craft cord

Best of luck!!
And , keep a look out for more future giveaways!!

Crafting for relaxation....

There is nothing quite like having a couple of hours to yourself and to be able to sit down and craft in peace and quiet.    My favourite craft is cardmaking!!     Here are some of my recent makes:

Forever friends are my favourite cute characters!

I used a wooden Santa embellishment on this one.

Lovely!

Bear on a sleigh.

And a notecard

French-themed

Earrings galore!!!

Sorry for not updating in a while.  I have been busy....making earrings!!

Crackle glass beads & seed beads were the main materials

Blue/copper crackle glass beads the focal point of this pair.

Millefiori beads are stunning when put together with rhinestone spacers & plastic pearl beads.

Simple yet pretty design!

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It's been a while since I have made cards, so when I came across this cardmaking kit whilst out shopping yesterday, I just had to buy it!!     With it being a fraction of the original rrp, I was delighted and it was brand new!

So, it's always worth your while looking at charity shops...you never know what treasures you might find!!

With Christmas and the festive preparations fast approaching (slightly more than 16 weeks), it is time to make cards..... how many of you actually make your own cards?!

Here's some I made earlier:

I love cute designs especially Forever Friends!

The caption says 'Happy Christmas' in Chinese.

I used a Rudolph chipboard embellishment as the main piece.

Rudolph reappears!

And summer is over...well, almost!

It is time to think of the upcoming autumn/winter months now and now is the perfect time to knit.
I learnt the basics of knitting when I was in P.5 (year 5 of Primary school), they called it 'Needlework' back then...here is a scarf I recently made. 

I used PomPom turquoise wool bought from a discount store, I find such stores can sometimes stock quite high quality makes of wool....and they are easier on the pocket too!

My own personalised fabric labels

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, here is another project I have started:

I used purple glittered double knitting wool and a K2P2 pattern to create the 'ribbed' effect as you can see...watch this space for the end result!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Papercraft competition results:

I am pleased to announce that the winner of the papercraft competition (13th July) is

V. Griffiths from Northants.  Many congratulations Virginia - your prize is winging it's way to you shortly!!

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*****PAPERCRAFTS GIVEAWAY*****

I haven't done any crafting today. So I went and decluttered my cardmaking cupboard.

I bought these on ebay a year ago and never got round to using them.
So, I have a challenge for you.   Simply click on the following link and fill in the poll to be in with a chance of winning the above cute items!

Click here for competition

The winner will receive the following brand new items: 

Cupcakes embellishments/stickers

Smirk Clear stamps - sports themed

Gem embellishments

Pack of Smirk paper strips/backing paper 

Best of luck to you!