A few weeks ago I started a fun little series on my You Tube channel with Christmas gift ideas. I am showing one idea a week. We are already up to Gift idea no. 5 a cute mini photo album.
Anyone can make this project it's super fun to make and easy. You watch my first video showing what the project is here:
If you want to know how to make this fun little project you can watch here:
Please feel free to use these images for your own projects. Just click to open the image , then right click and save image. These images are my own personal property so please do not sell them digitally but by all means use them in your personal projects and projects to sell.
I hope you enjoy this fun little project and tutorial. Thank you so much! To stay up to datejoin my mailing list here . You'll receive discounts, news on new products and sales, freebies and tutorials.
It has been a long time since I posted anything, times has flown by! I hope this post finds everyone well and happy!
Finally I have prepared my first online course! In this course you will realise a beautiful needlebooks completely hand sewn. This video course will teach you how to make these wonderful needlebook from scratch. You will learn how to:
-collage your fabrics -how I approach colour and texture -how to create your base with invisible stitches -further embellishing your pieces with laces and embroidery -how to construct the needlebook -ideas for future projects using similar techniques.
No sewing machine is required, just a needle and thread.
Both
beginners and advanced sewers will enjoy this course, you can make the
needle books as simple or as embellished as you like.
This
course is nearly 3 hours and has been divided into segments of
approximately 30 mins (give or take) so you can easily complete this
project at your leisure. Picking it up and putting it down as time
permits.
A couple of weeks ago Gina from the Rebookery posted a video on you Tube that was fantastic. Basically she takes old books and alters them to become a planner. I found it to be the best idea ever. I've struggle with using a diary, it's so boring! I've tried bullet journaling but failed miserably as it took to much time and was too precise! Here is Gina's first video ( she has others which you can pop over and watch):
Gina's idea really clicked with me as it's super simple and you can be so imprecise! This means it's also super fast to do! Let's face it, most of us don't have time to be messing about measuring, drawing up tables, dividing pages with a ruler and so on!
I also made a video to show how I set mine up:
The other cool thing about this planner is that you can also use it as a planner come art journal come memory keeping journal. Which is perfect - you have everything in one spot! Yay! So really it's a planner journal not just a planner.
When I watched the video I just had to go out to the thrift store and find a book the right size to alter. Of course I couldn't buy one but bought three so I would have a choice. By the afternoon half the pages were torn out and the planner was on it's way!
Mine is quite different to Gina's as far as style is concerned but the idea is the same. I did decide to cover my journal with a fabric slip cover which also gives me 2 extra pockets.
Finally a way to keep track of the must dos and appointments combined with a little bit of fun memory keeping. Perfect for those of us who don't really journal on a daily basis but would like to keep some memories!
I made a couple of craft with me videos and updates as well. You can watch them here if you're interested.
So much fun! Make sure you check Gina's channel out she's super fun and creative!
Would love to hear your thoughts about this great idea! Thanks for reading, best wishes Rachel
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Before I left Italy for Oz I decided to make myself a travel journal. I was totally inspired to do this by Mary Ann Moss and her 'A Ticket to Venice' course. Click here to go to here courses page. In the course she also shared how she prepared for her trip which was very helpful.
I shared a video on You tube showing how I prepared for my trip to Oz. You can watch it here:
I thought I would do some journaling when I was there but decided it would be better to it when I came home once I'd printed my photos.
In order not to forget what we did I took very quick notes about each day which makes things very easy.
I have now printed all of my photos and am slowly working on my journal which is a lot of fun.
Hopefully it will be completed in a timely fashion and there will be some more journaling process videos!
Thank you so much for stopping by!
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Lately I've been enjoying using up my old book pages to create ephemera. It's super fun and relaxing AND a great way to give those old pages a new life!
I made several different types of pockets and tuck spots!
Lots of different sized tags!
And really easy, no template required, envelopes.
They all add that special touch to a journal.
I made a few videos whilst I was making these to show my process. So pop over to You Tube and have a look if you'd like to see how.
This video shows some of the first tags I made
There are several 'craft with me' videos where you can see my process. Here are a couple:
Have a watch if you're interested and I hope they inspire!
Have a great day, best wishes Rachel
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Returning to my fabric Christmas book, I mentioned I also made a mini notebook with old book pages.
These notebooks are so cute and also make for great little gifts! I made this one with antique book pages which is a great way to recycle and give them a new life!
It's so much fun mixing materials, I love the texture it creates.
If you would like to see how to make these, watch the video below:
Thank you so much
Rachel
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Recently I finally decided to start working on one of my ideas for my fabric covered ring binders. I have several that I use for my Etsy store but I had been wanting to use one for my recipes.
This is an example of what they look like covered, this one is available in my store here.
They look really great all in a row!
My recipes are mixed, some from my mum, some from my mother in law and many from Pinterest or around the web. They were all just shoved in the cupboard in a great mess. It was impossible to find anything! Does anyone else have that problem??
I could have left it simple like this!
Since I've been working with paper lately I decided to get on with it and do something a little more fancy and fun!
I really had no idea how to go about this and was really feeling perplexed! So I thought why not approach it in steps. First I chose papers I liked and some digital kits!
Then I tuned to my You Tube friends for help. Best thing I ever did, they came up with so many ideas. I had to write them down in a notebook!
The video is here:
Due to all of the advice and encouragement from these wonderful ladies I've made a start on my recipe binder. Now there are no more loose print outs flying around the cupboard so that's a plus! I have a way to go and am still figuring it out as I go but am very pleased with progress so far!
Progress video here:
Here are some photos of a couple of pages.
I was thinking this is a lovely recipe binder that will be my daughter's one day!
Thanks for reading, best wishes Rachel To stay up to datejoin my mailing list here . You'll receive discounts, news on new products and sales, freebies and tutorials.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Have you ever heard of Marna Lunt? She's a wonderful sewer and embroiderer from Northern England, she makes the most incredible lampshades and lanterns. I took a few of her online courses which I just loved. You can see them here .
I follow her on Instagram where she announced her new embroidery project Threaduary would start in February. Of course I had to pop over to her blog (being a huge fan) and see what it was about!
Basically it's a project anyone can participate in where you do some stitching (embroidery) everyday and post it on Instagram, being sure to #threaduary .
Marna is amazing and has been embroidering the most amazing flowers EVERYDAY! My goodness I really don't know how she does it! Seriously hop on over to her instagram to have a little look!
Anyway I thought I'd share the various stages of what I'm working on in my efforts to participate! To be honest I have not been able to stitch everyday like Marna. Where does she find the time and energy?????
My beginnings - layering antique hemp and linen scraps on a scrap piece of batting!
I think I stared at it for a few days (already putting me behind schedule) thinking what I should do! Then I thought I'd better start putting some stitches on it and started rows and rows of slow stitching!
Then a light bulb lit up and I decided to do something floral. Please note I always start with incredibly vague ideas! No planning happens over here!
First I thought I'd embroider some flowers and then stitch them on, but then changed my mind, of course! I cut them out and pinned them on my background along with flowers and leaves cut from an old French fabric I have.
I started to embroider the flowers, I want my stitches to be fairly random and not too regular. This is quite a challenge as it comes naturally to place each stitch next to the other in an orderly fashion!
I'm using mixed threads - Dmc, antique perle, DMC Alsace threads, Appleton wools and so on. Just whatever takes my fancy at the time!
This is where I'm at right now. Who knows how long it will take? Especially considering I have no clear direction!
Mum asked 'what are you going to make it into?' Goodness, who knows??? I'll have to see when it's finished! Any suggestions????
Don't forget to read more on Marna's blog and let me know if you decide to do some 'thread therapy' each day like Marna!
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Today I'm thrilled to post my first ever tutorial! I've been wanting to do one of these for a long time now and have finally taken the plunge with this one! Hopefully there will be many more to come!!! It's a very simple tutorial using one my fabric kits recently listed in my shop (here). I thought it would be cool to give some ideas as to what to do with it! So here goes!
In the kit you will find: - one larger piece, beige with white spots - around 15 scrap pieces - felt bunny cut out (it's been handcut not with a diecut) - 5 handcut felt flowers
You will need: - batting (optional) - co-ordinating cotton fabric if you want to line your end product and/or add handles - zipper if you want to make a zipper pouch or small bag - embroidery floss in various colours - off white cotton thread - pins and embroidery needles - scissors + usual sewing notions - sewing machine
How to: Cut a piece of batting to your desired size. Mine measured approximately 26cm x 17.5cm (10'' x 7''). Choose what fabrics you would like to use and randomly lay them on one piece of batting.
Pin or baste in place:
For your backing piece - or prepare a second one in the same way you did the first or take a larger piece and place a few fabrics as I did.
Machine quilt both pieces. I did this randomly, I didn't draw any lines I just went along randomly with the machine in rows. Be careful to catch the edges of the fabrics so they don't lift.
The front and back will look like this:
Place the felt bunny on your front piece and applique it with small stitches using a same colour cotton thread:
Place the felt flowers and put a small stitch with cotton thread to hold them:
Embroidery- center of the flowers : 4 strands of DMC moline thread , French knot. The leaves are single daisy stitches here and there. Please note I didn't draw my embroidery on, I just placed the stitches randomly. Tail : stem is backstitch, leaves are single daisy stitches, berries French knots.
I made my little project into a zipper pouch, which I love, love, love!
I haven't included the making up of the pouch on the tutorial as the kit could be adpted to so many different projects.
You could also make it into many other items, here are some ideas: - fabric basket - easter egg hunt basket/tote (I have a pattern here to which this kit could be adapted) - sweet little wall art - book cover
And the list goes on!
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