Kitty Gardens Makes

Doodle Stitch Along (week 3)

2011-01-23T20:09:00.004Z

Hello again! I was a super lucky girl this Christmas and got lots of really awesome craft books including Amiee Rae's 'Doodle Stitching Motif's' book which I have fallen in love with! However having not done any freehand embroidery before I wanted to get some practise in, and as luck would have Amiee and her friends over at Lark Crafts are doing a doodle stitch along with a magical woodland theme!

Every week there are a few patterns to choose from, I missed week's 1 & 2, but have done both week 3 patterns and will hopefully ctach up. I am stitching mine into squares for a mini-quilt but there are loads of fab examples of what else to do in the flickr group and on Amiee's blog.

Here's my week three!

Scalloped Table Cloth

2011-01-23T19:57:00.003Z

Hello All, have been doing quite a bit of making and sewing this week, but quite a few bits are presents so have to keep them secret for the moment. I did have a go at a really easy technique for scalloping I found in my sister in law to be (the crazy gecko)'s book collection. I plan to make a few more scalloped edged things soon so will make a tutorial to share as I go!

Christmas Blog Update

2010-12-12T21:48:00.004Z

Hello All! It has been a little while in the making, buit I have returned, with a newly edited and decorated blog. There's still a few technical difficulties to overcome, but for now here's a few Christmassy pictures from my house to keep you going!

Present for Lily

2010-09-04T18:37:00.004+01:00

Some of my lovely friends are moving this weekend so fingers crossed it all goes to plan, their new house is gorgeous. My wonderous friend Eartha also has a big work day coming up - am sure she will be wonderful so lots of love for her too xxxxxxxxx

I also spotted the most wonderful felt sewing machine on 'A Beautiul Mess' for sale for $50! Sadly with postage this is a bit much for the UK, so I figured I would recreate one, here's my effort! Will be winging it's way to my pretty niece soon so she can have fun copying her talented mummy (check out *the crazy gecko* for her makes)

That's all for today, off to eat curry! K xx

Ribbon Hair Bands

2010-09-04T18:23:00.008+01:00

Happy Saturday! Have felt wiped out all day but did pop out to get some new buttons and ribbon for a secret project, and while I was there I picked up some extra ribbon and more buttons for these:

If you fancy making your own here are some brief instructions:

Measure your head, mine was 56cm.
Cut your ribbon, I cut 40cm, you could take away 15-18cm from your head measurement for yours, for kids perhaps 10cm.
Cut a piece of elastic, mine was 12cm, you could take away 4-5cm from the remaining distance around your head, 3cm for kids.
Stitch the elastic to the ribbon using a sewing machine, more stitches = stronger join.
Select some felt/some other ribbon/some buttons and hand stitch this over the join to make it neat. My decoration sits behind my ears slightly so is hidden from the front but visible from the sides.
There you have it, a completed headband!

Will share the rest of the buttons later! Kx

Tea & Art

2010-08-30T09:11:00.004+01:00

Hooray it's UK Bank Holiday, does mean I have to go back to work tomorrow after an ultra long 6 weeks of nothingness, fabric and baking but I am kind of ready now! I apologise in advance for my lack of posting for a few days, we have guests and I always get a bit snowed under when going back to work.

Anyway, yesterday we took my lovely mans parents to London to have a look at the BP portrait competition in the National Portrait Gallery and for some lovely food in HIX. Both are highly recommended, will certainly be going back to HIX for some drinks soon, they have an amazing underground bar, really relaxing and serves punch! How fun :)

I really so many of the portraits, these 2 (by Tony Noble and Miriam Escofet) stood out, although I ended up voting for an amazing Oil on Wood by Raphael Rodrigeuz, if I could find a decent picture I would show you it too! Our guests are total tea addicts, so I also made them some tea flavour biscuits, they taste like you have just dunked them in tea and control their withdrawl symptoms pretty well! If you want to make them just whip up any standard shortbread recipe and add the contents of 2-3 teabags when adding the flour! Earl Grey and Chai are amazing, still need to try the rest of my tea collection!

Charity Shop Finds

2010-08-27T21:03:00.002+01:00

Hello all, has a nice last holiday day charity shopping and baking! Black forest cupcakes and new jumpers make me very happy!

Are the stars amazing or what!

Companion Cube Tissue Box Cover

2010-08-26T21:17:00.004+01:00

Happy Thursday everyone, I just had a cool piano lesson and cooked greek style stuffed peppers a la shutterbean (if you like to cook savory you have to read this blog it's amazing). I only have 1 more day of holiday left before we have visitors and then back to work! Summer goes so fast but I am a little stir crazy now, will be nice to be back at work.

Have a few things to share but have not taken pictures yet, although I did get round to photographing this crazy tissue box cover I made for a friend, this is serious nerdcore, if you don't get the joke then don't worry! K xxx

Thrifty Things

2010-08-24T18:05:00.003+01:00

Happy Tuesday! I FINALLY made it to my local market today and bought lots of veg! My car is also better after it's MoT surgery so I am road tripping home tomorrow to get my driving head back on before I have to start the dreaded commute again next week at 'too early to be awake' o'clock :D

I said I would share my yesterday thrifty finds with you all, first up I found some amazing patterns, one for a basic dress and one for.... wait for it.... cullottes!!!! I am tres excited but need to buy suitable fabric first! I also found an amazing teapot, thinking of using it just for hot chocolate, and also a really pretty red throw. I also grabbed some curtain header tape and an old blouse and finally got round to making my sewing room some new curtains (from some lovely fabric my Grandma gave me) as well as another elastic waist skirt :)

My glass jar candle holders should be popping up on oneprettything soon, keep an eye out! K xxx

SPOTTED: Flag Caps

2010-08-23T22:03:00.002+01:00

I am not ashamed to admit I LOVE flags and maps, I get so excited during any occasion where they are all on show (world cup, olympics, eurovision), so I found these bottle caps (found in an Austrian Spa Supermarket) absolutely amazing!!! I would definately end up collecting them if we could get them here! How sad, yet so pretty :)

Old Jar Candle Holders

2010-08-22T21:38:00.003+01:00

I am not normally a horder but for some reason I keep glass jars an it's about time I found some pretty uses for them, so here's the first (of many hopefully), mini lanterns. Jars with many flat sides work best, I bought some picture wire to wrap around for the handles and used some charms from an old bracelet to make them a bit different. Glueing the candles in place also helps when you try to light them!

Jewel Colours

2010-08-21T22:26:00.005+01:00

I normally am pretty colour phobic when it come's to nail varnish but having a slow and relaxing summer has given me some time to play! My lovely friend Stephanie over on Imperfectly Painted has given me lots of ideas, so here are some of the colours I am liking right now :) I am actually pretty unsure about the blue, is it nice, or does it just look like blue tac??

The glasses were from Woolies (I miss you), 6 colours, all jewel like - I believe Whittards do some similar :) They certainly look fun when filled with equally jewel coloured Robinsons Juice!

Oh P.S. just found that OPI has a trying on simulation thing for nails! Doubt the colours match but is pretty fun! I think I get a bit like this in B&Q with the paint swatches :D

Home

2010-08-19T16:44:00.003+01:00

Me and my brother found this amazing photo when looking through old pictures! It's the view out of my parents house at night :)

Competition: Not Just Medical

2010-08-19T16:23:00.001+01:00

Not Just Medical is running a competition for this fab lace dress from Rare, size 10-12! Free entry on her blog, just a leave a comment before next Wednesday - Hope I Win!!!

Edinburgh Dress

2010-08-17T22:28:00.002+01:00

Yawn, almost bedtime :) Been having a busy making day! I also picked up this really amazing plaid fabric (was discussing with my friend and we agree Autumn is our favourite season and doesn't this fabric just seem the epitomy of Autum??). Anyways I copied a dress I own and voila, here is the Edinburgh Dress - really have to name more of my creations :D

How to Make a Skirt from an Old Tee

2010-08-17T22:19:00.003+01:00

Evening all, just thought I would share my projects for the day, I made this jersey skirt from an old mens tee, and now you can do the same! Hope you like, send me a pic if you make it!

SPOTTED: Russian Doll Birth

2010-08-17T07:34:00.003+01:00

Russian Doll Birth T-Shirt can be found here! Hehe

London Fun

2010-08-17T07:14:00.005+01:00

Morning all, my lovely Eartha sent me some of her photos of the weekend so I can now share them here. We also had a bit of a feast on Saturday in honour of Indian Independance Day and cooked a big meal for at a friends house, complete with Bollywood music and Indian Sweets :)

Yesterday Eartha and I went on a shoe mission around London, first to Kate Kanzier in Leather Lane, then off to Covent Garden. We met up with both our lovely menfolk and eventually went to DimT for lunch on the southbank where we had pork balls, so tasty

Boots from New Look, all other shoes are Kate Kanzier, Knitted Dim Sum from The Toki Cafe. Hodge the cat can be found near fleet street, but you will have to hunt him down yourselves from there!

Strawberry & Cream Cupcakes

2010-08-16T20:39:00.003+01:00

Yum!

Lots of New Homes

2010-08-15T08:32:00.005+01:00

Hello all! Happy Sunday, am off to London today to have a curry evening with some lovely peeps and then off to the National Portrait Gallery tomorrow (and also perhaps a quick trip to Kate Kanzier to get some fancy new shoes!!)

Lots of my lovely friends are moving soon (congrats guys!!! lots of housewarmings please!), I was intending to make a new home card but somehow these turned into new address cards, so I figured I would make a set or two! Links below, hope you like!

The tape strips are free from Pugly Pixel, grab some of your own here!

K xxxx

Blue Spot, Orange Spot, Blue Stripe

B&W Birdhouse, B&W Cakes, B&W Gingerbread House

SPOTTED: Cardboard Stampede

2010-08-14T19:20:00.004+01:00

I have decided to add a new blog feature... "SPOTTED", every few days I will share anything cute and original I have found and love with you all. I found this completely randomly on google image search but absolutely love it! It's called 'cardboard stampede' and you can find details on Design Sponge.

K xx

Ebay Love

2010-08-14T18:47:00.008+01:00

Have been having a lot of fun on ebay recently both buying and selling, here's a little summary of some of my favourite purchases from the last few weeks! I have been really bummed out this holiday as a recurring problem with my vision has returned but some lovely visits from my brother and seeing friends as well as my nice man being sweet, as well as my ebay fun, has made it much less frustrating! Am really loving my giant headphones and blue leather sack bag at the moment... more to share very soon

K xx

Blog Redesign

2010-08-14T18:07:00.003+01:00

Hello all, I have been having a play with the blog header and have come up with this! Hope you like! Has been pretty wet and rainy today so finally got round to playing with this Polaroid maker! It's so annoyingly fun, and you still have to wait 2 mins for your pictures to develop!! I took a few of a few recent bits and pieces.

The new header anda few new projects were all made possible by my new toy - a super Epsom scanner/photocopier/printer! It's been working very hard over the past few days, so lots more to share soon...

9 Things About Me & New Dress Idea

2010-08-05T21:13:00.006+01:00

Hello All

So I have been thinking I need to spend a few of my summer holiday days making a dress or two to get over my clothes making anxiety! I have been reading loads of really cool clothing blogs recently (tavi-thenewgirlintown, streetstylelondon etc) as well as frequenting burda style and although I have been looking SO HARD for a pattern I want to make I cannot see past the weird drawings on the front and work out what the dresses might look like in my fabric on my body :S

To cut a long story short it then just hit me that why bother with all the measuring and drawing, why not use something I love and that fits as a base! So here we go, I am going to turn this:

Into a new strappy sleeved slightly bigger skirted dress in a very cute tiny star very dark deminy blue dress with buttons (I have just learned to do buttonholes so am very excited - it's so easy by the way if you have not tried, but use your own manual, much easier to understand than the webvids I viewed).

I have been putting a lot of time into my other creative things recently (work, food, other hobbies) which I don't share so much here and suddenly thought, why not! I should share, so I made a grid of nine things you may not know about me! Do you have a nine things to share?

Click on the image for the bigger version:

K xxx

I Love Summer Pudding

2010-08-04T17:25:00.002+01:00

Got it right this time! So, as well as making odd little chequebook holders I also made my favourite food ever...SUMMER PUDDING!!! It's amazing, if you have not made it look it up NOW although you will have to wait overnight before you can eat it!

Lot's of my family and friends have summer birthdays, so have had loads of fun wrapping, here's my current favourite, the prezzie is a secret though...

My garden even managed to survive our holiday unwatering (must have rained), I love my pretty herbs and my runner beans are so so tall. All for now xxxx

Been too Long

2010-08-04T17:12:00.003+01:00

Hello Lovely People

Sorry it has been way to long, somehow the more free time you have the less you want to do anything, do you find that? Anyway have been meaning to put a few things up but my eyesight is being dodgy (getting better now though) and have been on holiday with my lovely family but now I am back and have lots to share, so here goes....

First off, I made myself a chequebook holder, not exactly that functional but very funtional :P

It has actually been so long I forgot to add the pictures first and have made this post impossible to edit, so more above xxxxx

Lovely Things

2010-06-15T21:18:00.004+01:00

Go England!!! I <3>3 the world cup, it's a good excuse to be mildly patriotic and get together for bbqs (thankyou lovely friends from this weekend xx). Here are some pretty things I found around the house...

I made some more car pincushions, not a patch on the first but still very cute. I then went through my card collection and found these fab ones, are cards not amazing :D

(my soon to be mum and pa in law gave me the card above purely because they saw it and thought of me - how ace - I do love fuzzy felt, have ordered some on ebay so am quite excitied)

And here is my ultimate favourite car boot find, totally random and wonderfully sweet!

Deborah Bag

2010-06-06T17:35:00.005+01:00

Do you remember ages ago waaaaay back in March I gave you a sneak preview of a project I had made? Well I can finally reveal the final photos!

I had no pattern for this, so just kinda made it up as I went along but if you want a tute please ask! It has a cool all the way through pocket on the front I was particularly proud of (go me) xxx

Amazing Cake

2010-06-06T17:28:00.002+01:00

Is this not the most amazing cake ever made??? It was not created by me, but my lovely London friends for my partners birthday (lucky guy). What's even more amazing is it arrived with a massive pork belly (which made the most incredible sandwiches) and a surprise hidden inside!!!

If you can't tell btw this cake it huge, over a foot long and containing 16 eggs. Inside (after baking before someone odd tries this) there is a bottle of something very special hiding, as soon as I steal the pics of the other PC I will show you!

Big Garden Post

2010-06-06T17:17:00.008+01:00

Hello All! Sorry it has been so long, have been having technical (and laziness) difficulties but I have lots to show you as soon as the camera charges! 1st exiciting thing is the garden, I cannot believe how much veg we will hopefully have, although I bet it all fruits whilst we are on holiday!

Firstly an art shot, sorry about the ridiculous number of photos but I am slightly over excitied!!

Above I labelled a picture, doubt it is at all readable but I might try and link to a bigger one if I can (get me trying to be all technical), if not I will email a giant copy if you want it!

Here's the unadulterated version, and a side view below:

An from now on it's individual veggies, fruits and flowers, hope you like xxxx

And here's the garden before we mowed the lawn!

Butterfly Pillow

2010-05-15T09:06:00.003+01:00

Sorry has been ages but have been ultra busy at work, it's all over now for the summer though and I am on half timetable - hooray - so lots more made things arriving soon! Here's my take on Ruffle's and Stuff's 'Butterfly Pillow' to go in my Mutti's loftroom she is making over. Enjoy!

My Talented Mutti

2010-05-07T14:55:00.003+01:00

In the spirit of US Mother's Day I have something very exciting to share with you all, a mirror refurbed by my wonderful Mum!

She found some Laura Ashley papers hiding in her local craft store and has done an amazing job, might have to get her to make me one soon! I would be so proud to be half as good a cook, homemaker, gardener, friend and mother as her, it's really nice to be able to share some of her talents here! Go Mutti! It's all part of her attic room refurb, so more cool things to show you soon!

Planets Garland

2010-05-02T10:43:00.002+01:00

Yet another garland, I have no idea why I made this other than it was a cool idea that I had to try! I am a bit obsessed with felt at the moment as you might have noticed, so I made a more-educationalfun pretty thing!

The names of each of the planets were stitched in embroidery thread on to the coloured circle, I then backed them with balck felt using bondaweb, so very little sewing is needed!

And here is the finished garland! Enjoy!

A Few Things

2010-05-02T10:36:00.003+01:00

Hello all, here are a few little makes for this week. I bought some really thick nice woolen style red fabric from a really nice antiques and crafts place near my parent's house a few weeks ago, as it's so lovely I want to make lots of smaller things from it, so I started with this tiny purse as a gift for a family friend!

I had to iron it a ridiculous amount to get it this flat, I think it's just one of those puffy type things but hey-ho! I also made a coffee cake yesterday and grabbed a couple of charity shop bargins, I have wanted a tiny cross stitch hoop for ages and love the odd shape of this one!

I still only have a tape player in my car, so to keep me sane on the way to work I try anbd listen to stories, I wasn't quite up for this on when driving in the dark, but now it is sunny in the mornings I thought I would give it a try!

Felt Tulip Garland

2010-04-25T20:54:00.004+01:00

Finally finshed a project that has been on my bedside table for a while, a pretty felt tulip garland!

To make your own: Pick your felt colours, I used three layers of felt for each flower, sealing them together with bondaweb before cutting out the flower shapes. I only had enough felt for 4 leaf shapes, but you could do more. Once cut use embroidery thread to sew through the flowers, as they are layered you can hide the thread easily. Tie a small knot and start from the bottom, stitching each shape once at the top to hold it in place. I added small wooden beads for decoration and to help keep the flowers in place. At the top make a loop, hang up and enjoy!

My 'Greenhouse'

2010-04-25T16:12:00.006+01:00

Sorry about the massively long post! I took some (ok lots) of photos of my plants that have currently taken over my house. They seem to have the lounge all to themselves now and have moved into the spare room and sewing room too.

Here's a pretty gherkin spiral to kick things off...

So, this is the lounge, with tomatoes, chillis, gherkins, spring onions, parsely, sage and strawberries on the windowsill. On the table in the middle there are some massive courgettes and far too many aubergines (15, anyone want one??).

Also hiding in the lounge there is red and normal basil...

...and some beetroots, which are starting to form tubers, v exciting.

The strawberries are already starting to crop which is fun, and we have a small courgette going, I hope it stays yellow they always taste more fun!

Here's my pretty beetroots:

I also have some red peppers (just germinated) and some string beans trying to spout whilst being warmed by the fishtank.

Some of my supermarket garlic was spouting so I potted it up too.

Then in the sewing room we have cucumbers, with beautiful yellow tenderills, and an onion (which I thought was off but we planted for an experiment) doing ok in the middle. I also have some gifted radishes from a friend, but the cucumbers are swamping them a bit so might need to move them.

The spare room also has sugarsnap peas and mange tout as well as baby corn and carrots.

I really like the corn, has to be the prettiest after the gherkins I think!

I also have some things outside but enough is enough for now! Back soon with crafts but work is very busy so I am a bit behind on the creative stakes.

Mini Truck Pincushion

2010-04-19T21:22:00.005+01:00

I had a go at using the truck I bought yesterday to make a tiny pincushion, it turned out quite cool I think! For instructions on a larger one have a look at this post on 'Just Something I Made'.

I have linked the little truck up to Sew Dang Cute's Link-Party, check out the other entrants below

UPDATE: I have sold the truck! This is my first sale so very exciting, hopefully there will be a few more when I finally sort out Etsy and the local craft fairs!

Car Boot Haul (yet again)

2010-04-18T16:58:00.003+01:00

It's the last day of my holiday (sob) but I thought I should spend it well and went to the carboot armed with £12, of which I still came back with £1! The fancy wrapping paper was a find in Crawley with a friend but all the rest of the fab stuff is from the boot of Farnborough folks cars. I also found some cool freecycle goodies but the current owners are yet to get back to me (keeping my fingers crossed).

I want to use the truck to make a fun pincushion, a little like those seen on 'Just Something I Made' which I have totally fallen in love with. I had to resist the urge to buy a whole bag of trucks, I also got lots of cool fabric, a new beautiful mixing bowl and some snazzy china teacups!

Surprise in the Post

2010-04-18T16:53:00.004+01:00

What is that on the table next to my flowers?

Lets have a closer look...

Oh wow it's a pot from The Crazo Gecko!

Oh cool it's made from a food tin!

I have to have a go at making those!

x x THANK YOU x x

If you want to make your own check out this tutorial: Funky Felt Tins @ The Crazy Gecko

Garden in the Sun

2010-04-16T17:19:00.002+01:00

Just a few more sunny garden pictures to celebrate my fast ending Easter holiday, 2 more days of relaxing and making and good company to go, fingers crossed for good weather!

Floral Bag for Auntie Laura

2010-04-16T17:15:00.004+01:00

I made another Buttercup Bag (see Made by Rae for the pattern) this time as a birthday gift for my partner's Auntie Laura. Everytime I make one it gets quicker and easier, and you only need 2 fat quaters of fabric, genius!

Custom Front Notebooks

2010-04-16T17:09:00.005+01:00

I was shopping with my brother when I went to visit last week and we were admiring some plain front notebooks which you could draw your own cover on! Instead of buying I decided to make some for him with squared, lined and plain pages. The front was thick card cut 2mm wider than the paper pages on all edges, I then stapled them shut and used bias binding and superglue to make the seams, croc clipping them whilst they dried:

Here's the finished books in a little bag (trying to be pro, or just colourful)

I also used the gift giving excuse to make some Nigella Choc Cookies to take home too, they are simply the best chocolate thing ever and very easy!

For more ideas check out the link below:

Chair Makeover

2010-04-10T22:40:00.006+01:00

I really wanted a couple more chairs for my kitchen table and I found the perfect 2 just round the corner for £10 on Ebay. I was not so keen on the colour so today I painted them red to make them a little more exciting!

I also found this old pinny that really reminded me of some fab fabric I had seen in a Cath Kidston book (see below) which has some amazing ideas for different prints.

Here is the paint:

And here are the finished chairs! The coveres are reversible, so on side is retro and one side is 'cockaleeky' print!

For more ideas check out the link below:

Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes

2010-04-10T22:35:00.003+01:00

Yet more tasty cakes from my new 'Eat Me' book, these are a little complicated to make yet so worth the effort, really tasty! You start by making a simple cupcake base with lemon juice and rind, half fill the cases (these ones are new from JOY in London), bake until just done and then make a dip in the middle and fill with lemon curd. Top with meringue and bake until done!

Amazing Few Days

2010-04-08T22:15:00.005+01:00

LOOK AT THE WEATHER! It has been the most amazing few days, I have had a lovely time with my favourite London people going to museums and shopping (will show exciting purchases in another post) and eating lovely food and today was so sunny and productive!

I felt justified in wearing exciting and impractical clothes to go to the garden centre as it was sunny, so I wore my new London bought shoes and my favourtie straw hat! I went shopping and then bought lots of fruit and made my favourite lunch with some innocent smoothie.

After eating my lunch I did MASSES of gardening, including over an hour weeding, but the results look good so far, lots of blank well turned earth for vegetables in a few weeks time. My blubs all flowered today too! Hooray!

I made some wigwams for some sugarsnap and mangetout I am growing out of old bamboo from my parents garden, I also built a new arch with some clematis (purple haze!) for some more peas, the garden is looking pretty cool now if I do say so myself!

After all that I had a treat (some birthday chocolate from my nice man) and then made an even bigger treat with this crumble cake with apple and blackberry!

Last but not least I went and picked up some paint and undercoat and some amazing cheap chairs from ebay which I plan to makeover, will keep you posted!

Make-up Bag

2010-04-08T22:11:00.002+01:00

A couple of days ago I decided to make something for me to keep, and as I was going to stay with freinds I made a bag to put my facepaint in! It's lined with oilcloth but other than that is very simple indeed! Whilst I was making it my lovely other half stole his camera back from me and took this amazing photo of a jay in our garden, I am so jealous of his photographic skill!

Thai Stir Fry and Round Rice

2010-04-08T22:08:00.003+01:00

Hello all! I am so proud of my neat food I just had to share it, I bought some round kitchen things a while back to make crumpets (which I still need to do) but instead have made lots of round posh food, for some reason pretty food certainly tastes nicer, yum!

Play Oven Gloves and Placemat

2010-04-02T20:14:00.011+01:00

Yet more Good Friday makes (has been a busy day, am finding it tough to do nothing after a hectic week at work)! This is a little request and surprise for my lovely niece (and her creative Mummy) who I keep forgetting to send freezer paper to (I am sorry, will remember this time!). The lucky little girl is getting an amazing homemade play kitchen for her birthday, check out The Crazo Gecko for updates, and I was tasked with making oven gloves! To go with the gloves I had some fun with Amy Butler fabric and made a placemat complete with felt instructions for how to lay the table! I kind of want to keep it but I doubt my dinner will fit on it!

INSTRUCTIONS (more detailed now hopefully)

Both are very easy to make, for the oven mits draw a pattern to match the size of the hand of the child (I had to guess a bit) then cut a front and back (long sausage shapes) the same and 2 ends (U shapes to match the sausage ends). Hem the straight edge of the ends (the flat bit of the U) and place face up on the side that matches/where you would like them, then place the other side face down on top and sew around the whole thing leaving a small (3") gap to turn inside out. Remember to include a ribbon if you want to hang it, turn inside out, sew up the hole and your done!

The placemat has a back (a very old retro teatowel from a carboot sale), sew 2 squares faces together, leave a small gap and turn inside out (then sew up the hole), then use bondaweb/glue to stick down your felt shapes and sew around (I am not very neat but managed to machine stitch this fine). It may be a plan to trace a plate and the cutlery first to get the sizing spot on!

UPDATE: I have entered Sew Dang Cute's Link Party, check out the other submissions below!

UPDATE: I have also entered 'The Idea Room's link-me-up event, check out the other entrants here:

Marmalade Cakes

2010-04-02T15:30:00.003+01:00

I tried out some more baking with my new whisk and made marmalade cakes, which rose a little more than expected hence the dodgy icing on a few! The recipe was modified a bit from my new 'EAT ME' book (see here), it makes a lot more than you would expect from the recipe!

Mod Podge Frame

2010-04-02T14:10:00.003+01:00

Just a quick post of something I forgot about until today! I made this a few weeks ago with a leftover pound store frame, I also made two with map covering which I still cannot get the photo of off of my phone, oh well. They may appear later!

Not very pro but amazingly cheap which makes up for it! UPDATE: The glowing holes in the back of the frame make my Mum look like she has a handle (oh dear sorry Mum)!

Denim Bag with Easter Stuff

2010-04-02T13:54:00.004+01:00

Hooray it is the holidays (for me anyway) so I decided to make something seasonal-ish and used some of my friends old jeans to make a bag! I did not want it to be only for Easter so the egg is removable (attached by safety pin).

I used some of the leftovers of my secret project to make an inside base by sewing it on to a piece of cardboard.

I then decided to make some other Easter goodies to attach to the bag instead of the egg! I was so proud I worked out how to make felt daffodills and was just about to e-mail everyone my cleverness when I notice someone had got there first! If you want a tutorial check out their's it's great!

Sneak Preview

2010-03-28T18:37:00.001+01:00

I have spent a lot of time sewing today and am very excited, but the finsihed product cannot be unvieled yet. Even so here is a sneak preview...do you know what it is yet??!

Mod Podge Jar Lids

2010-03-28T18:34:00.004+01:00

Another Mod Podge make to go with my frames froma couple of days ago. The hardest thing about covering these lids was getting the glass pots label free, the stickers are impossible to remove, it took a lot of windolene to achieve this! I have also made some frames out of maps, they looked aace but I forgot to photograph before I wrapped for a friend but I think I have a photo on my phone so I will rescue it when I can!

Personal Ribbon

2010-03-28T18:29:00.005+01:00

Hello! I am VERY excited about my new personalised ribbon for my makes, do you like? The colour of the writing was described as seafoam so I was expecting a blue but this minty green is even more lovely, hooray! What's even better is I have 26m to play with, so lots of things to make and label! I used them on a mini oven mit as a test (see below), will have to make another as they only really work as a pair, will have to add to my ever growing list.

For my original pan holders/oven mits see my old post!

Lemon Overload

2010-03-26T07:58:00.003Z

Quite often I order my shopping online, this usually means it's a little cheaper and also as we live near the depo so are often the last delivery in our time slot we get 'suprises' (the stuff they have forgotton to give to other people I suspect). This week we got 4 huge bags of lemons, they are currently taking up both draws at the bottom of the fridge.

I asked around for what to do with them and have so far used 10, another 20 to go though so suggestions welcome!

1) Lemon Curd (I made 2 jars) 100g butter, 200g sugar (caster), 4 lemons (rind and juice), 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk.

Melt the butter over a simmering bain marie, then add all other ingrediants and whisk gentley until custard like (takes 10-15 mins). Once done pour into a sterile jar (eg just out the dishwasher but cooled) and stir occasionally as it cools to stop crystals forming! Once cool eat and put in the fridge!

2) Viennese Lemon Swirls. Use a standard biscuit recipe but subsitute 3tbsp of flower for cornflower and add lemon rind and juice of 1-2 lemons (may need to remove some liquid, mine worked as normal though). They will have a very flowery light texture. I made sanwiches of lemon icing (yey more lemons used) for mine, you could make them uber lemony and use cream (yum)!

I got this fab book from my lovely other half for my birthday so expect more cupcake and biscuit posts in the near future! My other birthday books are below, the net is fab for ideas but there is something about books that is very lovely and traditional. I got lots of fab fabirc for my birthday, so cool quilt plans are on the horizon for my Easter holidays. 1 week to go :)

My Green-house

2010-03-26T07:51:00.006Z

My lounge is slowly becoming an extension of my garden. Do you remember my germinating seeds (see here)? Well this is what they look like now!

Here's some new ones too, I made some tiny plant labels to make sure I did not forget which ones are which but it is still a little confusing! Hopefully it will warm up and they can go outside soon.

Alphabet Madness

2010-03-26T07:45:00.003Z

Hello all, sorry it has been ages but have been very busy with work and friends! I have lots to show you though, first of which is some alphabet themed goodies! Do you like my piano, I am a little in love with it even if it is not all beautiful and wooden - one day maybe!

Bunting!

2010-03-19T17:47:00.002Z

Hooray finally back - sorry has been too long but work is getting in the way of fun a bit too much at the moment! I have finally got round to finishing a very exciting project...my bunting! It took lots of new things (freezer paper, fabric paint, bias binding) to get it done but I love it, now just need some more homemade things and a craft fair and I am away (I do get the feeling I have approached the whole selling my stuff idea the wrong way round but nevermind).

I am also soooooo excited as it is my birthday on Monday and my lovely parents have got me my own named ribbon tape and labels which have hopefully arrived! Yeys for self advertisement, but I do think it shows you are proud of what you have made if you put you name on something for all to see!

Oilcloth Pencil Case

2010-02-28T13:15:00.004Z

This weekend me and my nice friend Eartha have made a pencil case (and some secret bunting which will appear once it's finished!). The outer oilcloth is Cath kidston, as is the inner alphabet print but sadly this is now out of stock. I bought some boy friendly alphabet ribbon and have so far only used it on girl things, but it is pretty lovely!

Fabric Covered Bangle

2010-02-24T22:36:00.004Z

Just a very quick post to show you a quick fabric covered bangle I made, if anyone wants to see how then please ask, there are lots of tutorials about for these though! I have also been making a few family gifts but I am waiting for them to wing their way to their new owners before showing pictures :)

I also seem to have worked my poor laptop so hard the Ctrl and Shift keys have fallen off! Will be needing to replace these soon!

Felt Rose and Union Jack Pillow

2010-02-21T21:14:00.003Z

Hello! I have been stuck in bed so I have been passing the time making felt roses (see The Purl Bee for instructions) which I have made into a pillow! I also had a go at making it a friend in the form of a fun Union Jack, it took all of 20 mins, and quite a bit of that was finding the padding I had somehow hidden from myself, see this tutorial if you would like one too!

I tried using the bathroom as a background this time, the colour looks much better - what do you think. Here are the pillows in their new home for comparison, ugly yellowness!

Hooray: Featured on 'One Pretty Thing'

2010-02-20T08:26:00.003Z

My satchel bag tutorial was featured on One Pretty Thing's 'Daily DIY' section yesterday night (afternoon for the site as it is US based), already I have had a few more visitors and some positive feedback so will certainly be making more tutorials soon! Hello to the new readers!

One Pretty Thing's Daily DIY Feb 19th 2010

Enjoy x

Satchel Bag Tutorial

2010-02-18T16:16:00.007Z

I saw a satchel bag in Cath Kidston ages ago which was very expensive but very nice, so I had a go at making one similar today. To make your own you need 2 half yards of your chosen fabric and 1 long or 2 shorter belts (I used 1 for the strap and a smaller one for the buckle).

UPDATE: I have attempted to write a tutorial to show you how to make this bag, it's my first try so please let me know if it works and what you think!

Blue Bag for Eartha

2010-02-15T23:28:00.002Z

My friend helped me pick out some fabric this weekend, so I used some of it to make an impro bag for her! I bought the cotton print fabric ages ago (just a fq) and had meant it to go to her at some point, so it was great to finally use it!

The inside has 2 open pockets for phone and railcards and a zip pocket for other bits and bobs. The other lining fabric is very thick giving the bag a nice structure!

Another Monday 15th post!

2010-02-15T12:07:00.004Z

Lots of posts today! I have been quite rushed recently but it is now half term (hooray) so I am having a pajama day and sorting out my plants and the blog and drinking a lot of tea! I have been experimenting with ginger beer along with a friend recently, the light one at the front is his attempt, it smells nicer than mine but is not as fizzy (not sure if that makes it better as mine hurts when you drink it!). Not exactly pretty looking but good fun, the problem is me and my lovely partner will not be able to get through all this on our own before it goes vinegary, so may have to invent some ginger beer recipes!

I did originally store mine in these beautiful pop top bottles, but the mess that ensues when you open them means I quicky decided to swap them over for a screw top and put the lemonade from the bottle in these instead (so they still feel useful!)! The bigger problem is now I have to drink the lemonade quickly too!

Bath

2010-02-15T12:00:00.004Z

I had the absolute best weekend for ages with lots of my favourite people (minus my lovely family who are equally as amazing) and lots of cider and good food. It is the first time I have been back to my beautiful University city since I was a student 2 years ago, it has changed alot in some places but looks so much better as a result, in others it was the same as always.

One amazing improvement is that I have discovered THE BEST fabric shop I have ever been to in a tiny street which I had no idea existed until this weekend. I only took up sewing once I had left Bath so I probably never noticed it but I was in my element! They also do mail order, but thanksfully (for the sake of my bank balance) do not have a website yet! I splashed out a little on the things below, not cheap but not expensive and so so pretty!

More Carboot Fun & * BURLAP *

2010-02-15T11:53:00.002Z

I forgot to photograph some other bits and pieces I got from the local carboot sale last week, so here they are now! I also have jumped on the bandwagon a little as everyone seems to have it and bought some burlap (jute??? hessian??? no idea what to call it really)! It was not such a random desicion as on carboot day me and my Mum also saw a burlap/jute/hessian pillow with beads in Debenhams for £50!!! It was about 8" by 8", and I feel I must remake said pillow to see how much cheap I can get it, so far I have bought material worth £2, I am aiming for £6 but we shall see, alot of beads were involved!

I also got some very 70s teatowels, random lacey fabric and red ribbony stuff for £2 at the carboot, might be cool for kiddy presents if nothing else, it was nice and bright and I was cold so it felt a good idea to buy at the time !

Valentines Gifts

2010-02-15T11:46:00.003Z

I am so glad Valentines is over, I do love the idea but most blogs seem to become filled with pink and hearts and cupcakes and I feel inspiration withdrawl! I did make my lovely partner a Valentines gift or 2, the edible ones disappeared before photography could take place but luckily I also made him an Eel's arty picture to go above his PC, hooray for boy art! I am actually quite proud, it looks half ok!

Little did I know that he was going to really push the boat out this year (no irony intended, this is an amazing present) and hunted down some Almdudler in London (I am amazed!!!!) and got me 2 cans! Almdudler is one of those holiday things I have not had for ages and ages, it comes from Austria and even there is tough to get hold of sometimes, I am saving mine for a special treat.

Fish Tank, Seedlings and a new Basket

2010-02-07T20:21:00.002Z

This post has been a long time in the making, but finally our new fish tank looks presentable enough to be displayed - so here it is! It's hard to tell the size from the photo but it's 180 litres, (2.5 foot across) and is bowed at the front! My partner is the fishkeeper and he really wanted a well planted tank, it will take a while to look amazing but it will be great when it does!

Conveniantly the top of the fishtank is a balmy 21 degrees 100% of the time, a perfect underheater for our windowsill greenhouses. My Dad advised us on how best to plant out the seeds today and now they are getting nice and toasty, hopefully this will help them germinate nice and slow and strong, or that's the idea anyway! As the fishtank, is, well, wet, we had to devise a washproof labelling system!

Oh forgot to mention I also got this ace basket from the car boot earlier, £4! My Mum was very persausive and made me buy it, not sure I like it at first, but now I am very taken with it, so sorry Mum it will not be turning up filled with Mother's day goodies as suggested this year!

Pillowcase Bag and More Cakes

2010-02-07T19:53:00.001Z

Today my Parents came to visit and to take my brother home, we went to the local car boot sale, great fun and amazingly it starts at the civilised hour of 11am! I got lots of things (will share in next post) but for now here is a bag I made out of a 20p pillowcase! I went for the Monsoon style slight use of sequins as it looked a little too old 70s bedspread for my liking! Not sure I like it still, but nevermind!

Did you spot the ribbon tag? It looks better in real life I think! My brother also helped me make yet more cakes, these are 'Queen Cakes' which are basically very egg heavy cupcakes with raisins and nutmeg, they have stayed so sticky they are great! My bro is a little more handy with a camera than I, I love the arty kettle shot!

Charity Shop Bargins

2010-02-06T16:44:00.001Z

Had a bit of a browse of the local charity shops today, almosts got undercharged in 1 but I spoke up, must have been good karma as I found some very fun stuff! I found some pillowcase fronts (I have only done 1 so far) for 45p, handmade by some lovely person, so I backed this one with a teatowel from ASDA, that makes a total of 95p per pillow, not bad huh!

They also had some really cool individual pie dishes, there may be lots of pie photos to come over the next few weeks!

Hooray for Pies!

Coffee Cakes

2010-02-06T16:38:00.000Z

My brother has come to stay and we have done so much in a tiny time, including making these ace coffee cakes (we have eaten most of them, only 1 made it to the iced-photography stage).

Recipe: 220g self rasing flour, 220g butter, 220 light brown sugar, 4 small or 3 medium eggs and 4 tsps instant coffee dissolved in 4 tbsps hot water and left to cool. Cream butter sugar, slowly add eggs, stir in flour, then cooled coffee and mostly fill cake cases, cook for 25 mins at 180 degrees! Butter ice and eat!

Pinboard Present & Pancakes

2010-02-02T20:58:00.000Z

Twas my lovely friend Eartha's Birthday last weekend and she requested a pinboard to brighten up her house has part of her gift. I had some random primark top fabric that was ideal for this, I had to go and buy a staple gun (something I had wanted for ages) and decided to buy the el-cheapo brand to try out, to my amazement it's really good, I am very glad I did not splash out on a shiny one! I sewed (although you could glue) buttons to the 4 outer crosses for a bit of decoration, the middle I left open for larger items - something I did not do on my own pinboard and now regret a bit! She seemed to like it muchly!

I also tried my hand at making scotch pancakes, they were really tasty and very simple. You need 1 egg, 30g sugar, 1/4 pint of milk and 120g self raising flour. Whizz it with a whisk/processor and ladel onto an oiled pan, medium high heat, flip when the underside becomes golden at the edge and bubbles appear on the top (40 secs - 1 min). I like mine with blackcurrents and icecream!

Bolster Pictures - the better ones!

2010-01-25T18:30:00.000Z

I said I would upload some better photos of the bolster I made once my brother's birthday was over so here they are! The fabric is Cath Kidston (shock horror at the price, but my Dad kindly invested in this too, how sweet!). I managed to get the whole bolster and the window seat cusion out of 1m of expensive fabric and did the piping and underside of the seat cusion in much cheaper rope print (£1 for 2m in a thrifty shop) so it evened out!

I felt terrible cutting up nice fabric, but it is making me more brave, might even try my hand at some curtains!

Felt Roses

2010-01-25T18:20:00.000Z

I was inspired by The Purl Bee's Rose Barettes and made a felt rose decoration. I put it on my new bottle for now but will probably move it to somewhere in my room later as the colours tie in better!

Fishy Melted Crayons

2010-01-24T12:19:00.000Z

I wanted to try my hand at something un-fabric related and saw some really cool remelted crayon ideas on various blogs (see Muffin tin Mom for some good ones, wish I saw this idea before I started). To be honest making them now was a ridiculous idea as all my lovely family members are either too young or much to old to use the crayons at present but nevermind that.

1st I tried the microwave method of melting the crayons - this was unsuccessful in 2 ways, first as the crayons only melted a bit, and second as they ruined the glass jug I melted them in. I then tried a sort of bain marie style thing with crayons in individual paper cups floating in boiling water - it worked a treat! The cups were also disposable so no nasty wax cleaning! The fish mould was from IKEA.

The finished crayons! I made the bags out of the bottom of a sandwich bag and a piece of card folded over and stapled.

More bits and pieces

2010-01-23T21:55:00.001Z

Finally got round to charging the camera battery (hooray) so here's this weeks makes! I am slowly in the process of adding colour to my room and now that my exciting fabric has arrived in the post (after much snow delay) I got round to covering my lamp. I was so happy to discover the width matched almost exactly, I covered up a tiny gap with some velvet ribbon - was meant to be the back but I quite like it on show for now. The lampshade underneath was abandoned in a flat I used to live in, now it has a new lease of life! I am really messy with glue so just stitched the fabric over the frame see below).

I have seen loads of these clip frames around, the best one I think was on U Create, anyway I found a bulldog clip as I was doing a clearout that matched a bargin frame I bought for 50p last week! I have also found an amazing source of print fabric - giant primark tops, £2 for a floral top, by a larger size and you almost have 1m fabric! This is just the end of a sleeve cut and framed.

My new lamp and really ace bottle, now all I need is to find a cork for it!

Not exactly exciting but atleast it makes the desk look less broken!

Finally...some art!

2010-01-23T21:52:00.001Z

Hooray I have finally got round to decorating our very blank and cream walls. We can't do too much as it is a rented house, so fabriccy art to the rescue. The one below is based on a template for a Cath Kidston tablecloth in her 'Make' book, the other two are just ace fabric!

Presents!

2010-01-15T20:57:00.000Z

Have gone home for the weekend to my parents and brother's house and had a chance to take a few pictures of some presents I sent my brother. I made (or tried to make) a new 'cat' version of an old bear he had as a very small child, the pattern turned out slightly giant but not too bad, if a little lumpy! My brother likes it but the real cat hates it and hides under a chair whenever anyone picks it up! I also made some pencil cases, a bit of applique and a bolster and cushion cover for his window seat.

My first attempt at piping. My zipper foot flew off the sewing machine and it's currently missing in action so I had to finish it by hand. Will add a close up later!

Yet Another Snowday

2010-01-13T20:42:00.001Z

Hello all! Was stuck in the house again today, so finished off a few makes (some of which are presents so cannot upload yet). With the leftovers I made a random piece of patchwork but as yet I have no idea what to make with it! I did get the chance to venture out for half an hour and randomly found a really cool £5 table that I have turned into a shoe rack. It's very unfinished (hence no photo yet) and I plan to cover/paint it but need to few days to plan before I do anything!

My lovely other half took me out for an Indian and I was given this amazing origami flower by Yogi, the owner! Isn't it amazing!

Alternative for a New Home Card

2010-01-10T19:57:00.000Z

I made a hanging card type thing for a friend in Europe, they don't have any of the same traditions as the UK regarding new homes that I was aware of, such as burying a coin at the doorway to ensure properity or throwing salt over your shoulder out of the door to signify the removal of bitter experiences from the house! Slightly random I know but on the card I added two pockets, one for salt and one for coins, so I could send some to them!

Windowsill Storage Bags & Tarte Tatin

2010-01-10T17:52:00.000Z

I was getting feb up of my windowsill by my pc looking a state so I made a couple of storage bags today out of some scraps of material and an old flowery scarf! You can kind of see the pattern through. I also tried out making tarte tatin (Heston's Recipe on BBC) which turned out very tasty but not a pretty as I intended!

Little Boats Gift bag

2010-01-09T18:47:00.000Z

Another quick today make, I am getting seriously stir crazy now! The outer fabric is also from *fabulous fabric* (ebay.co.uk). The handles are too wide for my liking but was the first time as sewing rope, not sure my sewing machine appreciated it!

The Owl and Pan Holder

2010-01-09T15:51:00.000Z

Have just made a couple of things at my Mum's request, the owl idea is from 'Make It and Love It' and the oven mit based on one I saw on 'The Idea Room' posted links below:

Oven Mit Idea

Owl Idea

Where I Sew

2010-01-09T11:56:00.000Z

I am rapidly running out of things to do in the house, so seeing as it is never usually this tidy I thought I would take a few photos of where I sew!

The K on my Katherine Bag did not show up so well and the felt was really pretty so I thought I would take a more close up picture:

New Fabric

2010-01-08T19:50:00.000Z

Being stuck in the house is not good for my bank balance, ebay is just too tempting! I have spent some Christmas money on some exciting 1/2 metres of fabric from *all*the*trimmings* (ebay.co.uk) so will be making some nice girly things as soon as the snow melts and the postman arrives! K x

The snow on my house sign

Muffin Treats

2010-01-08T18:11:00.000Z

Just made some muffins using a silicon tin and a book I got for Christmas, I am usually really bad at muffins but managed to get some buttermilk and they have turned out ok, they are honey and lemon flavoured. Will be storing them in a quality street tin under my new 'TREATS' cover. Might have to make it a bit more pretty at some point, K x

Treats tin cover is made to my own pattern using fabric from SKOPOS and brown shades of felt.

Present for Katherine

2010-01-08T17:40:00.000Z

Shhhh, it's not her birthday until February but I could not resist posting a couple of pics of a supercute bag I made for my partners cousin's Birthday. She's 12 so it's a great excuse for me to use all the really amazing bright patterns that I should have grown out of long ago! She's quite a keen reader so will fill with books and send off soon, K x

The K looks like denim in this photo but is actually patterned felt. The birdcage fabric is by Michael Miller and bought from *the fabulous fabric shop* (ebay.co.uk). I ran out of birdcage fabric so the lining is interesting but none the less pretty hopefully!

A few things I have made for my house

2010-01-08T17:33:00.001Z

I had not planned on sharing my sewing ideas at first so I have nelected taking pictures of anything I have made so far, these are all the makes that have remained in my house, not many as you see, it seems much more motivating to make presents!

When we moved into our new house there were pictures hooks everywhere and we own no art, so I eventually got round to making us some. The frame is a bargin from Sainsbury's!

A simple peg bag, the oilcloth is olve green and from Skopos, the inner material from IKEA.

Simple noticeboard made from a pinboard padded and covered.

First Post!

2010-01-08T17:27:00.000Z

Hello to all readers, I cannot imagine there will be many at present but I needed someplace to share my creations so here goes! It has been snowing here for the past few days so have had lots of time to charge the camera and take photos of a few things I have made recently! Hope you enjoy, K x

My poor old car in the snow, we are not used to this down south!