Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Free Tutorial - County Christmas Cushion

Hi folks !
Its beginning to feel a lot like ......
Christmas decoration making time !!! yayy!
Well I'm been super busy with my lovely crochet snowflakes over the past week
(think I may even be able to crochet them in my sleep at this stage!)
and I love them soooo much thought I might just come up with an idea or two
to use them in other festive ways.
I've also been scheming of ways to use the ribbon I received from the lovely people
at Abakhan through the tutorial exchange at Totally Tutorials.

So here's a little tutorial I put together this morning for a


Country Style Mini Pillow Christmas Decoration With Ribbons & Crochet
(he! he! now that's a mouthful !) Its a super easy and fun little project - took me about half an hour


Here's what your going to need -

Some yarn & a crochet hook
Hessian or Burlap 2 pieces - mine were 7in x 9in
Some scraps of Christmas Ribbon
Wadding or stuffing (I used some leftover stuffing from my scatter cushion)
Sewing needle & thread

Lets get started !

2 pieces of hessian (burlap) , mine were 7in wide x  9in high but you can use any size you fancy.

Lay your Christmas ribbon down across one piece in a random pattern, pin it all down when your happy :)
Pin about 4 inches of ribbon in the centre of the top of your burlap (this will be your hanger)
Lay your pieces right sides together and whip out the machine & stitch all round the cushion leaving a 3 inch gap at the bottom for turning out and stuffing.
I like to double stitch (go over it twice) as the weave is so open on the material)
Trim the excess & trim your corners
Now carefully remove all your pins & turn right side out , carefully push out the corners.

Time for some Christmas Stuffing ( he he ! Couldn't resist! )

When your cushion is stuffed , hand sew the opening closed with coordinating thread.
Ahhh! Now we're getting somewhere !
 Next up the mini crochet snowflake...
'Whaaa!!' I hear you cry 'I can't crochet!!!'
Well that's why I'm here ! Its easy!!

Grab a crochet hook & some yarn you only need three stitches to make a snowflake -
Chain (C)
Slip Stitch (SS)
& heres where things get a little hairy! one more simple stitch called
Double Crochet (DC) (UK) or Single Crochet (SC) (USA)

You can learn how to make these 3 stitches HERE, HERE and HERE
Got it ? Great then lets make a mini snowflake! ...

Chain 4 
Join your chain with a slip stitch (ss) to form a loop.
Working into the loop chain 2, 1 Double crochet (US- Single), Chain 3 
2 Double Crochet in the loop (as above) then chain 3 - do this 3 more times 
 then SS into the 2nd chain of your initial ch 2. now you've formed a cute little 5 pointed star shape.
Slip stitch into the closest loop (formed by your chain 3 in the previous round) & do the following-
DC, Chain 3, DC, Chain 5, DC, Chain 3, DC
Now move onto the next loop and do it all again !
DC, Chain 3, DC, Chain 5, DC, Chain 3, DC
Continue in each of the 5 loops ...
SS into the base of your first DC and hey presto ! Your done !!

You can at this point block your crochet snowflake if you like. The difference between blocking & not blocking is demonstrated in the photo of a larger snowflake below - the snowflake on the right has been blocked.

& this is how you do it - pin your snowflake open on a folded towel (I use some foam behind my towel to save the table). Spray with water or a spray starch & then leave to dry. Its a simple as that !


Sew that critter on to the front of your mini cushion & wayyy hey!!
Your done ! Now all you've to do is decide where to hang your creation !
It will look great hanging on a door handle or on a hook and what a lovely Christmas gift it would make !


Thank you for visiting & do come back soon !

Love Siubhan x x x



Monday, November 26, 2012

Snowflake Central !

The CraftLee house has turned into 'Snowflake Central' in preparation for the upcoming Christmas Craft Fairs. I've been busy crocheting away these little lovlies......


Busily blocking and starching .....


So that if we don't get any REAL snow this year at least we'll have some snowy crochet goodness to put us in the mood for some mulled wine & cosy nights by the fire!


Hope your having a lovely week ...


And do pop by again soon !

*Update*
If you would like to find out how to make a simple crochet snowflake have a look at my post here
& I'm delighted that this post was featured by the lovely and talented Sarah at Alderberry Hill



love Siubhan x x x

Monday, November 12, 2012

Scrappy Scatter Cushion

I LOVE Cushions !!
and I HATE waste!
So I am just super thrilled with this little scatter cushion
I made today from some leftover bag-making scraps !


Look at the floor of my sewing space below !
It is covered in half cut-out bags - I've been cutting away all weekend.
As I was cutting out the bags the scraps were piling  up and I thought they looked pretty good together.


The scraps were long triangles and I figured there was SOMETHING I could do with them.
So I sewed them all together,
added a few strips of yummy ribbon and taaa daa!!!!
(yes ANOTHER picture !)


I backed the cushion cover in some lovely velvet remnants I had to hand
and made it a super easy envelope style cover.
The cushion is not a 'regular' size. Its 17in x 11in ,
so I de-constructed an existing cushion pad and sewed up an inner cushion to suit from lining material.

.
This was a great little project - I am ridiculously thrilled with the results (can you tell!)
I will do a tutorial soon ... I promise!
First though I'd better turn my attention back to those bags; they won't sew themselves! !!

Thank you for visiting & please do call again!

Love
Siubhan x x x



Friday, November 9, 2012

Facebook Follow 9th - 11th nov 2012

Whoo Hoo ! I'm a co-host !
To celebrate my friend Rosies new Craftbotic Facebook page and to help her reach her Resolutions in Motion goal, She is holding a one off Facebook Follow Fest.
Who better to link up with, than with some of the first lovely bloggers, and friends to press that like button?


The Rules 


1. Link up your Facebook page for your blog.
2. Like your host's page (She will come and Like yours back)
3. Like the co-hosts below (Yup...then they'll all Like you back too)
4. Feel free to grab a button or tweet and spread the word!

Craftbotic
<div align="center"><a href="http://www.craftbotic.com/2012/11/facebook-follow-fest-your-one-off.html" title="Craftbotic" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg568/CraftboticQ/FacebookFollowFest.png" alt="Craftbotic" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Fabric Kindle Cover - Fail & Finally .......Pass

A cover for the beloved's Kindle ...
It was request submitted by himself about 6 months ago
and like so many other husbandly requests
- it was duly noted and swiftly forgotten.
Skip forward to this woman frantically thinking
'What? oh! what can I make for my Christmas market stall ?'
Ah! 'Kindle Covers' !!!!
I started last night and due to too much enthusiasm and too little actual measuring
I failed miserably! The Kindle didnt even come close to fitting in its cover !


Erm ! Yes ..the beloved may not have been enamored by that PARTICULAR fabric .. ...
Perhaps I was thinking of my market stall ? and NOT the beloved ?
and maybe this epic fail was the universe was trying to tell me a little something !

So I got up this morning determined to make amends and make a new cover,
picked a fabric hubby actually likes
and got busy with the measuring tape
and in no time at all ...success!!

Ladies and Gentlemen - I give you

- The CraftLee Kindle Cover -


Success! how neat is that ?! It has a little fabric tab with velcro to keep it closed.
There's a pocket inside to keep your Kindle sung when your not reading.
There are cute little fabric tabs to hold the Kindle in place when your reading.

Pretty chuffed with myself & it was a super easy sewing project really if your machine can handle a lot of layers.
I'm off now to polish a spot on the mantelpiece for my 'Wife Of the Year Award' !!!

I have some exciting news tomorrow as I'm co-hosting an event with my new pal Rosie over at Craftbotic so stay tuned!

*Update*
This project has been featured ! by the Lovely Lindsey  at here 'Twirl and Take a Bow Party :)

House on the Way



Thank you for visiting & do come back soon !

Love Siubhan x x x 




Monday, November 5, 2012

Just for Me!

Two little projects just for me!
- one completed and one I might just save until Christmas after my day in the vintage market!
I decided that it was time to make myself a lovely bag to advertise my bag making skills ...should I EVER get around to actually selling bags rather than giving them away!
Heres the bag I made MYSELF following a pattern shared by the very generous at Crystelle boutique.
Just click on the links to download the PDF (her instructions are really detailed and lots of photos to help you too)

Isn't it cute! Its made from some really funky dotty vinyl material I found in Hickeys and some odd scraps from my stash - just the thing for keeping the rain off my valuables in the coming winter!

One of my favorite features of this bag are the really nice ties on either end and the two external pockets.


Its lined with some floral French prints from my stash and 'Whats that IN the bag!' I hear you cry!
Well... that's project number two. I really wanted to go to the Knit & Stitch show in The RDS this weekend but I knew I'd spend too much money on fabric and yarn (and probably 100's of other things I cant even imagine!). we also had visitors for the weekend so I went into my local knitting shop and  treated myself !


Six balls of scrummy yummy (& pretty expensive!) Cashmerino from Debbie Bliss. Its probably the most I've ever spent on yarn for one project in one go. I normally buy yarn in the sales or just the cheaper acrylic yarns. I chose the colours to match another bag I own and love but I think they'll go quite well with my new one too.I'm going to crochet a scarf or a cowl - I'm thinking something wavy like my lovely blanket (which I'm still working on !) I've been busy trawling through Ravelry & the Lion Brand Site for free patterns and inspiration.

Off now to invent a fabric cover for the beloveds kindle. If its a success I'll share a tutorial later in the week !

Thank you for visiting & please do come back soon !


Love Siubhan x x x





Friday, November 2, 2012

Featured Finds Friday ! # 1

Hi guys,
I've been thinking of having a feature day on CraftLee on a weekly or fortnightly basis.
Friday seems as good a day as any to start so here we are
- my Very First Featured Finds Friday !
(try saying that very fast 10 times after two glasses of wine!).
My very first Featured Find is a consists of 2 sites that you may, or may not, have heard of
- Totally Tutorials & Abakhan

{source}
I was super thrilled last week when my Flower Brooch Tutorial featured on the fantastic Totally Tutorials blog. It is SO worth a visit, there are tutorials available for every kind of crafty goodness linking back to sooo many interesting and fun blogs out there. Its SUCH a good idea ! Bloggers can submit their tutorials and if they are selected then they will feature on the site and bring lots of new readers to mooch around your blog ! Its also great place to hang out for an inspirational browse !!

Totally Tutorials Blog

& THATS NOT ALL !! There is also an inspired exchange programme where suppliers are matched up with crafters - the crafty folk get supplies to play with & suppliers get fresh new tutorial featuring their product - WIN! WIN!

So the big news this week is *drumroll please!* I have been selected to receive some FREE STUFF!!!
The supplier is a UK based company called Abakhan , they are suppliers of yarn, fabrics, hobby supplies and homewares. They have a lovely website, click on the picture below to get there!


I am hassling my poor postman daily as I await their parcel with my ribbons !!
Ribbons !!! Yayyy!!!
I'm so excited ! and so nervous
- what if my ribbons are icky colours?
What if I jam my hand in the car door and cant get the tutorial done in time ?
what if I cant come up with something to make ? ....
To that end I've been pinning away till my hears content on pinterest this week - I've even made specific board called 'A Ribbon Runs Through it....'
Why not follow along ?


Here's some of my favourite pins thus far ....

marthastewartweddings.com

www.littlebitfunky.com

ohsocrafty.blogspot.com
Who am I kidding - I LOVE all my pins !!

Think I may hear the postman ! Thank you for visiting & please do come back soon !

Love Siubhan x x x





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