Wedding Belle

My beautiful daughter on her Wedding Day. We will be sharing some DIY Wedding ideas over the next couple of weeks. Staring with this very simple idea of sharing a history of both family Weddings.

Yes it does mean that you have to get out all the old embarrassing wedding albums and laughing your way through those stylised 80's shots or is that just me?

The only ones that looked truly stylish were my grandparents generation. Which lead me to the conclusion that you need to wait roughly 50 to 70 years to appreciate these photo's. Each photo was photocopied (the originals are just too precious) and placed into various size vases and recycled coffe/pasta jars. The vases/jars were then filled with shredded celophane, this helps keep the photo close to the glass surface so eliminates distortion.

The photo's were then displayed at the reception with scattered rose petals and candles. It really created lots of discussion, laughs and a fair helping of nostalgia and helped creat a sense of history for the newly weds.

Non fattening Easter Eggs

I have been lucky enough to find some really cute patterns lately and just in time for Easter. I often find seasonal patterns at the last minute and don’t have time to make them.

I found this pattern for material eggs from Retro –mama. It is a free pattern and so simple to make. Got to love that!

I used a couple of charm packs that I had stashed away and two charm squares makes one egg. I think I have to face facts and acknowledge that I am not the best stuffer around. I always seem to end up a bit lumpy and lopsided. Well I think I found a solution at least for eggs. When i had finished sewing them up I wet them in a bowl of water and shook them around in two plastic strainers that I attached together with a rubber band and well shook the crap  life out of them and wallah some nice shaped eggs.

I also made these felted eggs with some supplies I found at Spotlight i can’t remember where I saw the demo for them (sorry to that person) I read it late one night a couple of weeks ago so had to do them from memory and this is where I got the sieve idea from.

The bag I have the eggs in is from make life sweet blog. They have a club called the label crew which i joined and each month I am sent a pattern and some custom labels.

And with all the shaking to reshape the eggs I figure they are doubly good as you are exercising as you go.

Happy Easter if I don’t get back to blogland before then.

Annie

Not sure where February Went????

Hi Well I’m really not sure where February went and as for March I’m just catching up.

Not alot of sewing to report I have started some hexagons as an ongoing see where it leads type of project and I did find some cute doll patterns at Bit of Whimsy Dolls and at the moment they are having a 20% of sale when you enter the code: Spring2011 at checkout.

I have made Butterbean and Jean.

The other thing I have been experimenting with has been Soy Candles. Soy candles are both good for the environment and us so make sense to me. At the moment I am doing lots of test burns for fragrance and colour. I am doing this in conjunction with a friend and we are calling them Polka Dot Candles you can find us on facebook but I’m not sure how to link. We will have container candles, tea-lights and melts for sale but that is a bit down the track. With lots more testing to be done.

I will try to keep up with blogging and sewing and fit candlemaking and work in somewhere.

Best wishes Annie

Nearly forgot

Hi I nearly forgot my most important finish for this month. I have mentioned it in previous posts but forgot to post a photo.  I think the thing I love most about this quilt is that with the hand quilting it is really soft and cuddly. I made another one last year and machine quilted that one and although they were identical the machine quilted one was much stiffer, not quite the right word but I’m sure you know what I mean.

I can just imagine Immi cuddled up on the lounge with it as she grows. A lovely image!

The other photo I have is not craft related but just very beautiful and was captured in our garden last Thursday. This butterfly had just emerged from it’s cocoon on our potted orange tree.

I’m not much of a photographer, I only have the camera on my phone but I was so happy to see this. Do you get excited by stuff like that? I hope so.

Love Annie

Just so Sweet

Hi I want to start this post by congratulating all the craft bloggers and the craft community in general for so generously supporting the Qld Flood Disaster, almost $100.000.00 to aid flood affected people.

I love reading blogs and am always inspired by what other people are doing and quite often overwhelmed by their work load and creativity and sometimes I feel just plain overwhelmed.

I am sure that most of the time this is my place to just talk to myself as I don’t get many comments back and that is fine as I understand I never have anything that earth shattering to say but if you do drop by and read could you please just sometimes leave a comment because when you do I walk around with a silly grin for awhile.

Ok now down to business I found a great  little dress pattern through a link on 2 Giggle Boxes blog. The dress is called strangely enough “Sweet Little Dress Pattern” by Leila and Ben. I purchased the pattern in sizes ranging from 3mths to 5yrs, I hope Immi likes it.

These are the 3 I have made so far and then someone came up with the idea of matching headbands which of cause no self respecting 6mth old can do with out! Well the dress takes less than an hour to make but the headbands because I had to make them up as I go (please don’t laugh I am strictly a follow the pattern type of girl and not so good at that) took me hours and many prototypes to come up with the “simple little number you see above!

I also found another dress pattern really a girl can’t have too many dresses called “The Perfect Day” by Cuddles*n*Chaos  again a beautifully written and constructed pattern that is a print at home PDF.

It takes took me longer than the other dress but this could say more about my sewing skills than the pattern. I also used it as an opportunity to learn to make some continuous binding. I just typed continuous binding into google and looked at several youtube videos. I didn’t save the links but if you want to have a go I’m sure you can find a tutorial on the net to help you. This is not hard and a relatively small piece of fabric gives you a lot of binding.

Happy sewing, crocheting, knitting whatever you’re doing

Annie

PS Don’t forget OPAM is open for 2011 see sidebar

Let them eat cake

This is my first attempted at a cake stand that I found on Cindy's blog. This blog is full of clever handmade gifts that really would suit everyone.

Cindy’s blog gives clear concise instructions with lots of pictures to guide those of us that find written instructions a challenge.lol

I picked up these plates on sale and the hardware is pretty cheap so all up it probably came in at under $10. I can’t wait to try out more I think I would like to pick up some antique (old) bits and bobs to dress it up a bit, the possibilities are endless.

Imagine one using cute fairy plates to dress up a little girls party table, (sorry Sarah, i wish I had thought of that one earlier) or super hero plates for a little boy, oh my imagination is going wild.

I needed my DH help as no-one in their right mind would let me near a power tool or saw for that matter, but I’m sure most people could manage but it was fun to do something like this together.

I am pleased to also announce that I have finished the hand quilting on Imogen’s mini Dresden quilt (no photo’s yet) and should get to the binding tomorrow fingers crossed.

Well I still have another set of plates to experiment with so…………….

Bye for now Annie

Sushi

Ok so there is nothing remotely resembling sewing going on here today but my girls decided we would have sushi for lunch! It was just the 3 of us +Imogen home and i had to have some blood tests so they took over the kitchen.

I have only attempted sushi making on one other occasion and with only moderate success, but i had received a sushi making kit for Christmas and the girls were keen and I was hungry so really a match made in heaven.

I think I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think we can say success all round. This little gadget is amazing and it all took less than about 20min from start to finish.

Thanks girls love you.

PS Sewing tomorrow