A handbag!

Hello again
I've finally managed to finish the handbag I feel like I've been making for months. It hasn't been months of course as I only got the template about a month ago but it has taken me longer than I would've liked due to 'life' basically, which isn't such a bad thing. It's for a friend of my daughter's 13th birthday on Thursday, so it's a good job I finally finished it yesterday i.e Tuesday September 27th. It's the first time I've made a handbag and used a Clover template. I'm not that impressed with some of the instructions and the basic way Nancy Zieman has designed the bag, especially the handle attachment and top finishing but you usually have to adapt these things to your own style or what equipment you have handy. Obviously Clover want you to buy all their stuff and I did use their magnetic snap closures and their Shape 'n Create (Bag & Tote stabiliser) but I improvised on things like the sewing ruler and the rotary cutter as I don't have those. I am putting them on my Chistmas list though as they would've made a few things alot easier.

I had quite a bit of learning to do about cutting on the bias and making piping but I got there and it's pretty basic stuff, so hopefully I'll be MUCH quicker next time. Visit Peg Baker's youtube page to learn about how to join the bias strips and there are loads of videos out there explaining about cutting on the bias.

There are several good things I do have to say about the Trace 'n Create California bag collection template though, as it does allow you to make 6 different bag styles and I'm sure once I've made maybe one more, I'll be on a roll and able to adjust per my own specifications. It doesn't mention about the 'bag feet' which were mentioned on the Create and Craft show I watched a few weeks back which inspired me to buy a template. With the Carmel petite bag this is though, I don't think you need feet on it as it's more of a 'hang it over a chair' kind of bag rather than a 'plonk it on the floor' type.

I bought the material from online fabrics (click here) and I found their service to be excellent - I made a query about interfacing and was 'called' about it and they just added it to my order without me having to do anything. For them to actually speak to me was unreal in some respects as everything happens online these days but I loved that. The material was presented brilliantly and the delivery was very fast although it should be at £5.95 but I'd definitely recommend them. I got a fair bit so I'm hoping to make more of these bags, perhaps as Christmas presents.
Anyway, enough of my ramblings, here it is:

Take care out there

New version of napkin box

Hello there
I've finally managed to do a new version of the napkin box I made. Why I've done this and not one of the other three million things I'd like/need to get done, is beyond me as it was hardly urgent but hey, it's done and that's what matters.
I got my inspiration as such from the Cricut magazine, June/July 2011 issue. Maggie Lamarre had a scrap page of hers using a gorgeous deep pink flower she'd made from the Home Accents cartridge which I had loved since seeing the magazine. My flower isn't the same as hers in many ways but she got me started with this particular flower in the first place. I forgot to do the shadow version of the 'hearts' flower which Maggie used, hence mine is so much more intricate and was really quite a challenge to remove off the brand new mat and a few flowers were ruined in the process. I also feel that double sided card would've been easier to cut and appearance wise would've been better but I used the My Mind's Eye 2009 Totally girl pad I have. I did ink the edges but the white background still isn't great- perhaps I should've inked all of the back. Next time maybe. It looks better in real life so I'm more than happy for it to sit on the table.

Take care out there

What's next?

Hello
I have so many projects either on the go or on my 'I want to do' list but here are some photos of what might be one of my next projects. I also have some birthdays coming up, which'll need cards to be made of course but this is something new yet again.

This is what I ordered from Create and Craft last week and actually arrived this week - their orders often take quite a while to get to me.

This is the very first yo-yo I've made. It's quite large being 10cm wide but I had the material handy (I'm sure you recognise it from my previous post) and a bowl close-by to trace around and since it was only meant as a practise; what the heck?! I was inspired on the whole by a Clover show on Create and Craft. They were selling templates to make them but after seeing the demo, I thought "I don't need a template for that" and how right I was. I did a quick search and found Heather Bailey's very clear instructions; click here to see for youself. After spending rather a while looking at her great site which also sells her material, I made this little beauty and put a button from my collection in the middle. There's £5 I saved. I also looked on ebay and got some of the Clover flower yo-yo templates for free postage and cheaper than C&C, so I ordered those. These will be great to go on any bags I make - or any cards or scrap pages I make too.

This is material which I persuaded my mum to let me have. It was the curtains in my grandmas house which was recently sold, so they have huge sentimental value to me. I'd love to use them perhaps on a bag.

Fun and games to be had.

Take care out there.

One thing I've been up to

Hello
I participated in the 'Big Picture Classes' Words to live by free class this summer which overtook my life almost but I loved it. I had varying 'success' but the overall success for me was that I achieved it all. I had to do a scrap page a day, which for a none scrapper was a big task and also design is not my forte so I was so thrilled to get it done. The whole household knew about it of course and even helped with parts of it, which made it even more satisfying.

I've finally finished my home made curtains project which seems to have taken a huge amount of time but considering holidays with loads of things to do and applique of tonnes of butterflies, it hasn't been too bad I suppose. They're made out of old sheets which I dyed. The butterflies are made up of this lovely material which is covered in butterflies, so the perfect choice. They are two tone and very basic in design but they're great for my 'craft room/spare room'. It took quite a while to cut out the butterflies, mostly from my Cricut. Unfortunately I ran out of Bondaweb half way and bought another version of that from Dunelm Mill and it was rubbish, so I had to hand cut alot which was hard work. I also ended up sewing one of the butterflies back to front but I'm going to claim that was done on purpose to challenge people to find it. Things never seem to go all smoothly for me but that's because I'm always trying new things, so my own fault.

Since seeing Chris's mum's tie-backs a month or so ago, I've wanted to make plaited tie-backs for my curtains and I've finally got round to finishing them tonight. They certainly don't stand up to close attention but the overall look is good, so hopefully (once Chris has put the hold back things on the wall) I'll be able to have the curtains in their full glory. They're made out of the same dyed sheet material as the curtains and I managed them with the help of the only instructions I found online. Fairly basic stuff to alot of sewers but when it's the first time you've made them, it can take a while.. oh and there's always life getting in the way!

Take care out there

Give support

I'm posting this especially for Jackie. It's my entry for today's Big Idea Festival word which is 'Give' and I highly doubt Jackie has time to look at such things at the moment. Go here if you want to check out exactly what that is all about.

I haven't known Jackie very long and infact I've probably only met her about four or times maximum but she's a very friendly lady and very artistic and she suffers me well in the crafty class we've both attended.

The photo as ever is poor quality as it's just taken with my phone but it says it all really if you click on it to enlarge it. I thought it was a good image for Jackie as it's elegant, intricate, glittery (essential in making people feel better ), pretty and I hope she likes the colours.

Take care Jackie and let me know if you need lifts to the hospital or cake!

Big picture class

Hi

Wow! Two entries in one day?!! No wonder I've got a tonne and a half of ironing still to do.
I'm not really sure why I'm posting this as I'm not proud of it in some respects but in other ways I'm glad I'm pushing my boundaries as I'm constantly trying new stuff to stretch my limited ability and creative juices. I've entered myself as such in a 'Big Picture' class called 'Big Idea festival'. It's free and basically they provide a word a day to inspire a scrap page or card or whatever project you like really. A designer a day shows their page and then you create something and upload it to that day's gallery for the chance of winning a prize. Yesterday's word was 'share' and I chose to write about my experience that day with my friend Melanie in her back garden discussing Florida amongst other fun stuff. Amy Tan was the designer and she used water colours in her design, so I have recently found a 'colour studio' set of Maggie's in the garage, from years ago, so I used those water colours. They provide a basic layout and you interpret that as suggested by the designer or do your own thing with the word.

The writing on the right looks like a 6 year old did it and my handwriting is always messy but design is definitely not my strong point but I did it, which is the major positive to be drawn out of this. Everyone can complain about results but actually sitting down and doing things is way better than just sitting there saying you can't do things. It's now part of whatever I end up creating with these pages. There is a kit you can get to go with the class but I didn't book on time and it was coming from America so with custom charges and time etc I didn't bother. I was meant to have cut the page down to 6x6 to fit into a mini album but I forgot, so who knows what I'll do with them in the end.
Click here if you fancy a go at this Big idea festival

Take care out there

Last month's craft class challenge

Hi
Long time no blog but there's just no time these days i.e school summer holidays. Despite the fact that I'm not working, I still seem to be very busy and there's never enough time to craft. I've got so many projects on the go or awaiting my time. I mustn't stress though as crafting is meant to be fun but I like to push myself to achieve certain things every day. There's loads of things I've created but there's never enough time to blog about them all - I'd rather be doing craft than writing about it but I also appreciate immensely the people who do fantastic craft work AND blog about it enthusiastically and imaginatively, so I'll do my tiny bit. I mostly write this for my records though, so I can remember past projects and smile.

This entry is focused on the papers which Helen Ding gave us in last month's craft class. We were meant to create a 12x12 scrap page with the papers but we never got time in the class due to the disruption caused by the venue double booking our room and we had to go to Catherine's house instead - thanks again Catherine. I only have a 8x8 scrap book though, so I've created two pages instead of one.
The first one is of Maggie and I at Chester Zoo this year. I found it really hard finding photos which I thought would match the papers; it's much easier the other way around. I'm not convinced at all that I succeeded but at least the photo and memories are filed now regardless.

Maggie chose the sentiment and it was indeed a lovely sunny day.
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The second one took me a while to select photos but I went for the Ventura ones as they were handy in a computer folder. On hindsight I've printed them too small but I did want several on the page and since it's 8x8, it was had to think about how big to have them. The words were cut out on my Cricut after a couple of tries as I hadn't put the settings correctly for the card. They are alot clearer in 'real life'. The layout overwhelms the photos but since time and resources demanded, this is what I ended up with.

The gorgeous scrolled and balloon paper was created by us in the class with this groovy machine which Helen gives clear information about on her page Technique University. Helen also tells you about the other projects we managed to do that night.The ribbon is a Stampin' Up! one and very nice it is too- good quality.