Lizzy Designs

Blogiversary!

2010-12-31T13:55:00.001Z

Hi! Happy New Year's Eve!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas. :)

Today is my blogiversary!

In my last post, I asked if anyone had questions for me, here are the questions I received:

Jenna said: I just want to know who taught you to paint? Did you learn on your own or did you take classes?

Great question, Jenna! I have a lovely friend from my Church who has taught me to paint. I started when I was nine and did it for a few years before having a break. Then, I started again this time last year. We get on really well and have a laugh and a paint. :)

Here's a few of my paintings:

Anonymous said: I was wondering what camera you use, and if you had any tips for photography? Thanks!

I have two cameras, but mainly use a Canon Powershot G10. My other (backup) camera is a Canon Powershot SX100 IS. I really enjoy using the G10, which is basically an SLR but with a smaller processor. I am not sure if you can get different lenses for it, though! It gives you much more control over how the photos come out, and is very good. The only downside is that it doesn't have much zoom. My backup camera (I sound so posh, don't I?!!) has a massive 10x zoom, so I use that if I need zoom. It is a great camera for starting out with, if you seriously want to get good at photography!

Tips for photography? Practise, practise, practise! Try different angles, fiddle around in manual mode, check the instructions book for neat tricks, just get out there and shoot! Another thing, for anything small, always turn the macro mode on!

Another Anonymous said: Happy Blogiversary! Why did you decide, or what inspired you, to start a blog?

Long story short, I had been following other blogs for a while and felt that it would be good to give something back, and contribute to the blog world. Then, on December 31st 2009 (While trying to stay up for the New Year!) I finally started this little blog. :) I am a super-organized person, and have sorted out my tutorials into categories:

I'll be back soon (hopefully) with some more cakes and fabric to show you, as well as a Crafty Review of 2010!

Blogiversary and Snow!

2010-12-03T19:09:00.000Z

Hi again!

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi.

It's my blogiversary in a few weeks!

Remember my first tuto rial?

It seems so long ago. :)

So, as many blogs do for their blogiversaries, I wondered if you had questions you would like to ask me?

They could be craft-related, or simply about me.

Comment below and I will pick some questions to answer!

We've been enjoying a bit of snow here.

I haven't taken any photos of the snow this year, but here's some photos from last year.

No post is complete without photos!

Can you see Mr.Tumnus and Lucy? :)

I might even find a giveaway in the next few weeks... and there might be a another cake tutorial coming soon, but we will have to see! There should be some sewing soon as well.

Bye!

Cake Tutorial!

2010-11-15T19:19:00.001Z

I've felt a bit bad for neglecting my blog lately, and was wondering what I could put up.

Then I remembered that when I made a cake for my brother's birthday, I did step by step photos.

So here's a cake tutorial for you!

Cut the top crust off of your cake and roughly level it. Then, turn it over. (Thanks Al for this tip!)

Sieve some icing sugar and roll out your marzipan. Don't turn it over, just turn it round. Remember to put a bit of icing sugar on your rolling pin.

Use your rolling pin to transfer the marzipan onto your cake.

Trim the edges and brush off any excess icing sugar.

Do the same with your icing.

Now, have some fun with decorating with icing!

I started off by making a cross to make it look like a present cake.

I cut this bit to fold over to make into a bow.

Cinch it in the middle and cut a little strip to go over the top to make it into a realistic bow.

Add some tails.

I then cut some more strips and some circles. I used different icing tips etc, to make the circles.

Now you have a finished cake!

Yum. :)

Bags

2010-10-15T20:59:00.000+01:00

Recently, I've made two more bags.

This one is sewn with a matching lining.

The bright yellow makes me happy. :)

This bag is made very similar to how I make grocery bag holders. (here, here and here)

The only change is that I didn't put a drawstring at the bottom but just sewed it up.

Bags are satisfying and moderately easy to sew.

Go on, give it a go!

I will be back with some tutorials soon, I just need to make the crafts!

Updates

2010-10-13T20:58:00.003+01:00

Hi again!

I just thought I'd let you know that I've been playing around with the blog background and layout, sorry if it caused any problems!

What do y'all think to the new look?

P.S. Scroll down for the latest giveaway!

A giveaway!

2010-10-13T18:55:00.001+01:00

Hello again!

I have another giveaway up for grabs!

The first person to email me at: lizzydesigns1 [at] gmail [dot] com will win:

The best gift I could ever give you!

A Bible...

and... a handmade grocery bag holder!

(If you haven't guessed by now, I like making bag holders!)

The Bible is the single book that has changed my life beyond recognition.

I now have someone to live for...Someone Who died for me!

Even if you don't win the Bible, you can check it out online here.

Get your email in quick!

I'll be back in a few days with some more of my creations.

Bye for now!

More sewing!

2010-10-11T19:20:00.000+01:00

Hello again!

Here's another few projects I've completed recently.

I really enjoyed using my favourite fabrics to make this pot holder.

I simply scrap-pieced some fabric together, chose some backing fabric, sandwiched them with some wadding. Then, I made some binding. My binding tutorial is here. Unusually for me, I hand-stitched some of the binding. A pot holder is basically a mini-quilt which holds pots.

It needed some quilting to complete it, so without hesitation I chose to use embroidery thread. Embroidery thread is amazing.

I also made a tutu out of a net curtain and a belt. Yeah. You did just read that right! I've seen many tutus on blog-land and have really wanted to give it a go for sometime.

To begin with, I cut an ladies size down to size I thought was small enough to fit a child. I then sealed the end of the belt with nail varnish and left it to dry.

Then, I cut lengths of the net curtain and slip-knotted them onto the belt, making sure the slip-knots all faced the same way.

I'm hoping a little girl will enjoy playing with it!

I have one more thing to show you today.

Here's a skirt that I altered from a ladies one size fits all to a child's size.

To do this, I sewed up and down the waistband a few times near to where I wanted to cut it. Do this both sides. This stops the elastic pinging! Cut the waistband and then simply sew up the sides. Finally, I took some fabric off the bottom and re-hemmed it to make it shorter.

Easy!

Chocolate and Raspberry Roulade Recipe

2010-09-29T10:14:00.000+01:00

Occasionally on this here blog, I like to share a recipe or two. This one is too good not to share!

Chocolate and Raspberry Roulade

Trust me, everything went wrong with this because I cannot read recipes (I get slightly dyslexic when reading recipes) but it still turned out delish!

Go on, if I can do it, you definitely can!

Quilted Cushion Cover

2010-09-23T18:37:00.000+01:00

I got lots of sewing done this week! It will take a few blog posts to get through it all.

Here's my first completed project. I was sorting out some fabric and found an old project I started years ago.

All the quilting had been done, it just needed to be sewn together.

To do the quilting, you need one piece of fabric for the front, a piece of wadding the same size and then some backing. Pin together and then sew. Then repeat for the other side of the cushion.

I sewed it right sides together, leaving a gap and then turned it the right way out. Then, I stuffed it with wadding scraps and sewed the hole up.

It's an easy way to brighten up your room!

:)

I'm still here!

2010-09-17T17:19:00.000+01:00

Hi!

I thought I'd just check in and say I am still here!

I had a busy summer but I am back now.

My busy summer included a bit of this:

A gallop along the beach is always fun.

There's a giveaway coming soon (as soon as I can get organised!).

I will also have some projects to show you (when I finish them!).

There might possibly also be a cake decorating tutorial, too, I just have to make the cake first!

At the moment I have a lot of work, so my only crafting opportunity is Saturdays.

I am hoping to finish something, anything (!) this Saturday, so watch this space!

Right now, I'm working on:

A cute little bag

An ever cuter potholder

An embroidered canvas

A winter snow scene painting

A poppy watercolour

In my head, I have:

A vintage quilt

A duvet cover

Oven gloves

A skirt made from some shorts

A summer dress or two

Refashioning my bridesmaids dress

I haven't quite run out of ideas, yet!

Anyway, I thought I'd just pop in to say hi and make sure that you didn't think I had abandoned my little blog.

See you soon!

Pink Grocery Bag Holder!

2010-08-09T20:06:00.001+01:00

Hi again!

Here's another tutorial for you!

Repurposed: Boudoir Cushion to Grocery Bag Tutorial

(Why are they called boudoir cushions? Sounds a bit posh for me!)

First, find yourself a boudoir cushion. They are about half the height of normal cushions and slightly wider.

Then, cut the zipper off the bottom.

Now, turn it on its side and stitch along the edge, leaving enough room to put in the elastic/ribbon.

One end of this tube is already open, but one needs to be cut open as in the photo below. Don't take much fabric off.

Repeat these steps for the other end.

To insert the elastic, I put a large safety pin at one end and feed it through; don't let the other end go all the way through!

When you have fed the elastic all the way round, take the safety pin out and put a normal pin in its place.

Sew the ends of elastic together and cut off the excess.

I like to push the elastic round so that you can't see the join.

Now, just repeat this for the ribbon and then hang up your functional beauty or give it to a friend!

I think it's safe to say that I like making grocery bag holders. This is my fourth. Three I will give to family members and the other one is in our kitchen. I blogged about another one here, a few months back. It is patch-worked and almost as tall as me. In case you were wondering, it makes a good punch bag!

Hi again! And how I install a zipper...

2010-07-26T18:58:00.001+01:00

Hi! Have you missed me? I've been gone ages, I know!

My life has been really busy and my health is not so good but I'm going to try and get a blog post in here and there! At the moment, I won't be able to do as many tutorials, but I'll still show you what I've been making, ok?

Here's my way of installing a zipper to a cute bag like this.

I always start with fabric that is longer than my zipper. I find this to be less fiddly!

Pin one side of the zipper down as shown below. Make sure it is the inside of the zipper you pin down!

Stitch it like this. Yes, I don't even use a zipper foot; I haven't worked out how to yet!

When you get to the zipper bit, lift up your sewing foot and open the zipper.

Then continue sewing!

You may want to zig-zag the edges, too, just to make it extra secure.

Now, pin the other side down and repeat the above.

Now you should have something that looks like this from the inside.

Pin the zipper down and sew it again.

When you have done this, you will have a pretty stitch line showing on the outside. This row of stitching stops the zipper popping up every time you open the bag.

Next, sort your sides out by pinning them and sewing them up.

When you are doing this, make sure you stitch from the bottom of the bag to the top.

You should end up with a side that looks like the photo below.

Repeat for the other side.

Now, you have a beautiful zippered bag!

Thread Holder Tutorial

2010-06-23T17:03:00.000+01:00

I don't know about you, but I never know how to store my thread.

I don't have hundreds, so I don't need a great big holder.

I have just a few, and want them to look cute!

So, I came up with this idea. I turned the lid of a chocolate box into a holder.

Note: It's best to eat the chocolates first!

*Unless, like me you are allergic to chocolates and have the sorrow of watching others eat them for you*

I lined the lid with fabric, using double-sided tape to secure it. I then used some more tape to put ribbon round the edges of the fabric.

Then, I pushed tall needles into the thick 'bottom' of the lid to hold the threads and bobbins in place.

So simple!

Sewn Cards!

2010-06-21T19:31:00.004+01:00

Remember the cute sewn cards I showed you here?

Well, recently I did a variation on them, inspired by another blogger. Unfortunately, I cannot remember who it was, please let me know if you know who it is, I always try to give credit where it's due!

The fabric I won from Sew Mama Sew! makes a good background. :)

These cards are so easy to make that they don't need a tutorial.

However, they look extra special, and very cool.

Are you wondering how I make the cards that shape without buying ones like that? I cut an A4 sheet of white card in half, and then fold that in half lengthways. It's an easy and cheap way to make your cards a bit different.

You can practise your zig-zag stitch at the same time, too!

And the other fancy decorative stitches your sewing machine has.

They're always cute, and your friends will love to receive cards that you have made.

On another note... I had a look at my sitemeter tracker the other day, and was amazed at how many different continents and countries view my blog. There are 3 continents and 22 countries at the last count! That's amazing!

Click on the image to see more.

I am so thrilled that my readers are growing all the time, thank you for your support!

Oh, and I love encouraging comments. Feel free to drop me one anytime!

:)

Go over to amylouwho for more amazing ideas!

Spray Painted Treasure Chest

2010-06-14T20:57:00.004+01:00

Remember the spray painted chair I blogged about a while back?

At the same time I did that project, I used the leftover paint to spray a cute little treasure chest.

I didn't want to paint the hinges, too, so I took them off. I also gave them a clean using these tips. Ketchup seemed to work quite well! I found out afterwards that the hinges are an alloy and not real bronze, but the cleaning tips still worked, and took off years of dirt.

An easy way to find out if your hinges are real bronze or not is to find a magnet and see if it will stick to the hinges. If it does, they aren't real bronze, but an alloy.

After I had allowed the paint to dry (the waiting is the hardest bit!) I put the hinges back on and admired the new finish. I distressed the edges a bit for character and left it at that.

My 'new' chest now sits on my windowsill with my favourite vase (Dunelm Mill, £4.99) .

Unfortunately, my camera isn't behaving so well today, so I had to use flash to take the photo. The flash is making the treasure chest look white, when in fact it is exactly the same colour as the chair!

For you camera geeks out there: The ISO setting is playing up; I change the dial to make it higher but it doesn't seem to make the difference in light and colour that it normally does. Any suggestions for one confused camera geek?

I really enjoy looking out of my window and seeing the elderflowers! You may not have noticed, but whenever I have photo-shoots on my window-sill, I always point my camera to the left. That's because you wouldn't be so jealous looking the other side, and seeing old cars and houses! :)

Quilted Oven Gloves Tutorial

2010-06-11T17:49:00.002+01:00

Have you ever wanted to try quilting, but not felt brave enough to try it on a big quilt?

Try making these oven gloves!

Step One: First of all, you need to make two patchwork pieces. If you wanted to make this a bit quicker, you could just cut two pieces of fabric to the right size and not patchwork it. These will be the main parts of your oven gloves. You might want to model them on a pair of oven gloves you already have, but make sure it is considerably bigger, when you quilt, the fabric tends to shrink. Also, stitch the joins very well; I stitched mine four times!

Step Two: Now that you have your two main pieces, it's time to put them together. Get some thick wadding and cut it to the same size of your main pieces. Make a quilt sandwich and pin with safety pins. It should be pinned so that the right sides of the fabric face out, as shown below. Now, quilt it! Always start from the middle when quilting. I just went crazy with the quilting; you can do it anyway you like! Quilting just holds the fabric together.

Step Three: Now, trim any surplus wadding and do a zig-zag stitch round the edge to keep it all neat and tidy. I went round twice, just to be sure it was secure.

Step Four: Make your gloves now! I did this exactly the same as Step One, only smaller! I did diagonal quilting this time, for variety. Remember to make two. Stitch them to your oven gloves.

Front

Back

Step Five: Make (or use ready-made) binding for the gloves. Work out how long you need and then sew the ends together. Then pin one side down to your oven gloves and sew around the edge.

Step Six: Then you need to fold over the other edge of your binding and sew it down.

You now have a completed set of quilted oven gloves!

They would make a great house warming gift, or you could keep them for yourself. :)

Go over to Amy's blog by clicking on the button for lots of fantastic ideas!

Sock Animals from Homemade by Jill and some new fabric!

2010-06-03T16:28:00.003+01:00

This week, I've been making sock animals!

It all started with this post on Homemade by Jill.

I hadn't made anything like this before, so did a practise one with some old socks.

After I had had a practise and was confident I could do it, I bought some new socks to make some with and made both types of rattles.

Cute, much?

I love making things for other people, and these sock animals are going to a friend's little daughter.

This is a great sewing project, and even better, you don't have to use a machine! The bell inside the head to make it rattle is pure genius, well done Jill!

This morning, I went fabric shopping! I don't go that often, so it's always a treat to go. :)

Have a look at the yummy fabric I bought!

This size of fabric is called a craft stick.

They're this big!

\ /

I also bought some fabric by the metre, and some matching ribbon. I might use it to make a skirt to enter into Crafterhours' Skirt Week!

Expect projects with yummy fabric to come soon!

Fabric Canvas

2010-05-31T12:45:00.003+01:00

Do you remember the fabric canvas I blogged about a while back?

I recently made a bigger version of it, with a few twists.

I didn't have a canvas that was big enough for what I wanted, so I made one big canvas out of three small canvases. I stapled them together down the middles, and did a few on the fronts of the canvases to stop them from bowing out.

The staples I put in are down the centre.

Put some on the front of the canvases, too.

Then, I cut a piece of fabric bigger than the canvases. I added about two inches around the edges. It is best to iron your fabric first.

Then I started stapling the fabric down. Start at the middle and work your way out; pulling the fabric very tight to prevent wrinkles. Leave the corners until last.

This is how I finish off the corners. You may need to cut off some of the fabric to get it neat and tidy.

Then, admire your beautiful new artwork that took ten minutes, and was practically free because you already had everything needed to make it!

Check out the DIY Show Off Project Parade for more ideas!

Silk Grocery Bag Holder

2010-05-26T17:58:00.002+01:00

Do you remember the grocery bag tutorial I did?

Recently, I made another bag holder to give to someone.

I did it the same way as the tutorial, but made it bigger, and with silk fabric.

If you've ever worked with silk, you probably just groaned and decided that I must just have immense determination and sewing skills!

Don't despair! There is a way to make working with silk a lot easier.

Line it!

To do that, I cut out the silk fabric, and then cut some cream cotton to exactly the same size. I then zig-zagged the two fabrics together, and followed the tutorial.

By zig-zagging cotton fabric to the silk, it helps the silk to go through your machine better and it won't fray as much.

Go on, experiment with silk!

Easy Gingerbread Recipe!

2010-05-24T19:37:00.000+01:00

Have you ever wanted to try a really simple gingerbread recipe?

Just make sure you do the right simple recipe... unlike the time when I... *ahem* was trying to impress my friends by baking for them and used the wrong recipe. My gingerbread mix shamefully ended in the bin, and I bought them some from the supermarket!

Pride goes before a fall, much?

Please say I'm not the only one!

Anyway, here's the easy gingerbread recipe that does work!

12 oz plain flour

4 oz butter

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 beaten egg

3 oz soft brown sugar

4 tablespoons golden syrup

Currants, chocolate, smarties etc. for decorating

1. Put the butter, sugar, and syrup into a saucepan and stir together on a low heat until melted.

2. Sieve the plain flour, ground ginger, and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl.

3. Add the butter, sugar, and syrup mix, along with the beaten egg.

4. Mix together and knead into a ball.

5. Chill the dough in a plastic bag in the fridge for 30 minutes.

6. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.

7. Cut your gingerbread men out and put on a greased baking tray. Decorate them with currants, smarties, etc.

8. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 190º C (375ºF or gas mark 5) When you take them out of the oven, immediately put them onto a cooling rack.

9. Add icing when cooled if desired.

10. Enjoy your gingerbread men!

Yum.

Beachy Look Painted Jewellery Box

2010-05-21T20:36:00.001+01:00

Have you ever seen paint effects like this and wondered how to do it?

You probably thought it required a lot of skill; I know I did!

However, it is surprisingly easy.

I met up with some of our home-schooling friends to do arts and crafts. One of the mums had bought these jewellery boxes from Yellow Moon for us to paint.

I choose to do a beach look for mine!

All I did was painted white acrylic on, and then straight away applied a light blue layer. I had mixed a dark blue with more white to get the light blue I wanted. The colours mix and form the beachy look.

The most important thing is to keep the brush strokes the same way!

I applied the paint from side to side on the front and top, and up and down on the sides.

Follow whichever way the wood grain is going; this will give you the best results.

Then you can have a beautiful box to store jewellery, or buttons like me!

Have a great weekend!

I'm still alive!

2010-05-17T18:35:00.000+01:00

Sorry it's been ages since I've last posted; I've been reeaally busy!

Amongst many other things, I've been baking lots of cakes.

Cake decorating is a new hobby of mine!

This big french fancy cake will probably only make sense if you're a Brit - check out this link!

They're very popular bite-size cakes.

I made this flowery one to try out a new technique.

My brother's football team got into their league's final, so I made him a cake to celebrate.

The day before, my Grandparents had their 55th wedding anniversary!

Then I made these cakes for our Church's senior citizens group.

These last three photos show some of the cakes I made for my Church's youth group!

Onto other news...

A few weeks ago, I showed you how to make a raised bed for your veggies.

One reader asked me to show a photo of the vegetables when they had germinated.

Brianna, this is for you!

The middle row is salad lettuce, and the two outside rows are carrots. A raised bed is perfect for carrots, as they require lots of space for the roots to go deep down. Salad lettuce grows very quick, so it's a perfect partner for carrots as the plants don't take up much space.

Are you wondering why they've not got munched on by slugs and snails?

Simple. We found a perspex 'window' to put over the raised bed.

It's an easy way to keep them at bay!

Spray Painted Chair

2010-05-05T17:57:00.001+01:00

If you've been looking at my blog last night, you might have noticed lots of changes, disappearing and reappearing posts, etc. Sorry for any disturbance!

I've just been sorting things out so that you can search for the tutorials easier.

Now, all sewing tutorials are on one page, click here to see it!

DIY tutorials are on one page, click here to see it!

Card-making tutorials are on one page, click here to see it!

Quick and cute tutorials are on one page, click here to see it!

Hopefully that will make it easier for you to find them. :)

Onto my spray painting project!

For years and years we've had a chair that I loved, but it's green colour doesn't really go with the lilac and white colour scheme in my room.

So, I spray-painted it white. And I didn't use any old white, oh no. Heirloom White. If you read DIY blogs, you will know exactly what colour I'm on about. I didn't know we even had Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint in Britain, but we do! As I'd heard so much about this famous colour, I thought I'd give it a go.

Following advice from one of my favourite blogger, and comments on this post, I bought some white primer and the Heirloom White spray paint. Both were 400ml cans.

I applied the primer, following the directions on the can. I then left it to dry for twenty minutes.

Then, I applied the Heirloom White paint. I love the colour of it! It's in between white and cream; absolutely perfect for my room's colour scheme!

Now this chair resides in my room, and holds my lovely new plant.That is great, because my plant can't stay on my windowsill all day because it prefers partial shade, not full sun.

From a decorating and design perspective, the chair is brilliant because it fills up a corner of a small room without being overpowering, and it ties in perfectly with the colour scheme.

Every time I look at it, I smile!

A chair probably isn't the easiest first spray paint project, with all the little bits, etc., but I did it and was really pleased with the results! At the same time, I also painted something else, but that's another post!

GIVEAWAY winner!

2010-05-03T10:30:00.000+01:00

Are you excited?

Every time I load up random.org to find out who's won the giveaway, my heart beats a bit faster!

Anyway, I will not keep you in suspense any longer!

The winner is....

Commenter #5 who said...

Congratulations James and Kelsey!

The buttons will be sent to you very soon.

Have you ever wondered why I have giveaways on this blog?

I am a Christian, believing that Jesus came into the world to die to take away my sins. He rose again victorious over death, and can give us eternal life if we trust in Him to save us from our sins. This is the greatest gift EVER! I like to show my thankfulness to Him by giving things away to you guys. :D

You might have heard the Bible verse "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20 v 35) I believe that's true because I am blessed and very happy when I give things away! Hopefully the receiver is, too. :) It also helps me to show them God's love to each and everyone of us. :)

Also, when I die, I want to remembered as a very generous person! I love giving away, please don't ever be shy about entering my giveaways. :D

And... the great thing is that as my blog expands and gets bigger, more people have a chance of winning! In the first giveaway, there were 4 comments, the second giveaway had 6 comments, the third giveaway had 9 comments, and this one had 12. We're growing, people!

Let's end with a photo of James and Kelsey's prize:

Check back soon for my first spray paint project!

Handmade Cards

2010-04-30T10:53:00.003+01:00

Do you need some more inspiration for making cards?

Here's some!

As you probably know by now, I like recycling cards. Everything on the front of this card came from another one!

I also really like using Forever Friends papers. (No, I'm not being paid to say this!)

They're just so cute. :)

This card also uses Forever Friends paper, as well as lots of ribbon.

For this one, I used a Forever Friends stamp, and then coloured it in using Whispers pens.

Here's one last card, with my latest painting on.

Pansies are one of my favourite flowers, and purple is my favourite colour, so I'm especially pleased with this painting.

I hope you're feeling inspired now, get creating!

I'm on Flickr!

2010-04-29T16:05:00.001+01:00

Hi! Just a quickie to announce that I know have Flickr! I'll upload a photo for each new tutorial, so it's another great way to keep up with what I'm doing!

Click here to go to my page!

P.S. Have you entered my latest giveaway yet? If not, click here or scroll down for more details!

Baby Blocks/Pincushions

2010-04-28T19:28:00.001+01:00

Have you ever thought that there must be an easy way to make a cube, but never been sure just how to do it?

I'll explain it for you.

Step One: Cut out six squares of fabric the same size. I used a coaster as my template.

Step Two: Sew four together in a line. You may want to stitch it a few times to ensure it is secure.

Step Three: Sew the two ends of your line together.

Step Four: Turn your joined squares inside out. Pin a square to the bottom and stitch all the way round a few times. Repeat this stage to attach the top square, but remember to leave and opening so that you can turn your cube the right way out, and so that you can stuff it.

Step Five: Turn your cube the right way out. Now, stuff it with scraps of wadding. You can fit in about 3 times you think you'll be able to!

Step Six: Have fun admiring your new creation. You could make for a baby you know to play with, or you could use it as a pin cushion. Don't use it for both purposes, though!

I made another one to use as a pincushion and put it in a hand painted ceramic box.

Cute, huh?

See you soon! :)

Linking up to Amylouwho's Sew n Tell Fridays!

GIVEAWAY!

2010-04-26T17:57:00.000+01:00

Ready for another giveaway?

Me too!

The choices this month are:

Lots of beads, perfect for jewellery making, etc.

Or: One super cute cross-stitched hanger for your kitchen

If the other options didn't take your fancy, how about 80 amazingly sweet buttons? Buttons were popular in last month's giveaway, so I thought I'd give you another chance to win some!

How to enter:

1. Comment on this post and tell me you'd like to be entered into the giveaway, and also which option you would like to win .

NEW:

2. Desperate to win? Here's another chance! Either blog about this giveaway (and leave the link in a comment) OR tell me what you would do with your prize if you won in a SEPARATE comment.

Please, only two comments per person!

You have until midnight GMT time on Sunday 2nd May to enter.

Random.org will be choosing the winner and it will be announced on Monday 3rd May.

I don't mind what part of the world you are entering from and I also don't mind if you won the last giveaway and would like to enter this one as well.

See you soon!

Repurposed: Rabbit Hutch to Raised Veg Bed

2010-04-23T11:46:00.001+01:00

Yep, another repurposing post. If you haven't guessed already, I like repurposing and using what I have. :)

But this repurpose doesn't involve sewing, double sided taping, etc.

It uses my trusty friend, the staple gun!

I bought mine from Argos and it has served me well. I've also used it here and here. (Please note - I'm not being paid to say this!)

My mum and I made our first rabbit hutch a few years ago. Since then, we have made a better one, so this old rabbit hutch has been sitting on its own, rather lonely. It was time to put it to use again, and make it into a raised vegetable plant bed!

First of all, I took the doors off the hutch. They fell off, so that was easy!

Then, I found six old compost bags and turned them inside out. I stapled them to the hutch, three along the long sides, one at each end, and one on the bottom to prevent leakages. At this stage I was getting odd looks from my family, who seemed to think it looked like a coffin...

But it's the opposite, it will give your veggies a new lease of life!

Now, I filled the bottom of it with polystyrene and pebbles, to help drainage. Sorry, no photo!

Then, it was filled with soil and planted up.

I stapled the packets of the seeds to side of the hutch so that we would know what was growing.

My mum found an old perspex 'window' to put on top of the veg bed. This will keep it moist and warm, perfect growing conditions.

I then admired my creation for the next two hours and wondered at how easy it was.

Linking up to Remodelaholic Share your Stories Fridays
(sorry, can't get the button to work)

See you soon!

Shirred Skirts Tutorial

2010-04-21T15:17:00.003+01:00

Have you ever thought that there must be an easy way to make skirts?

Here's an easy-peasy way to make one. If you use a pillowcase, half of the sewing is already done for you!

(Just check that the pillowcase will fit you first, if not, just make a bigger 'pillowcase' that will fit you)

So, go and find some cute pillowcases or fabric that you love and make a skirt. The best bit? There's no pattern!

Step One: If you want to embellish your outside pillowcase in any way (flowers, beads, ribbon) do this first. Now,Turn your two pillowcases (one for the outside and one for the lining) inside out and cut the tops off as shown in the photo. When you cut off the top of the pillowcase that will be used as your lining, take off a bit more of the length. This way, it won't show at the hem of your skirt.

Step Two: Turn your outside pillowcase the right way again and pin your pillowcases together. Make sure that the seams do not show, and that you don't pin all four layers together. The photos should explain.

Step Three: Turn over the edge you just sewed twice and pin in place, so that you can't see the raw edges. Sew away!

Step Four: Now it's time to do the shirring. Wind your elastic thread loosely onto a bobbin and put it into your machine. Use normal thread for upper sewing. Shirr several lines at the top of the skirt. The more lines you do, the stretchier your skirt will be! For further guidance on shirring, click here.

Make sure that you hold your threads when you cut them, if you don't you may get pinged by the elastic thread!

Trust me, it hurts!

When shirring, try not to smooth down the fabric. Let it go over all the bumps as this will also make it stretchier.

Step Five: Enjoy your easy new skirt!

Linking up to amylouwho's Sew and Tell Fridays
and Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On Tuesdays
See you soon!

Just a quickie...

2010-04-17T10:52:00.002+01:00

to say that I'm rather excited as one of my photos won a little competition. Check it out by clicking here!

(and I may have danced round the room for joy, but don't tell anyone!)

Mooshy Belly Bunny from Chez Beeper Bebe

2010-04-16T09:05:00.003+01:00

I can't remember how I came across this, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it!

Here's my version of the mooshy belly bunny.

Instead of old t shirts, I used cotton fabric. I didn't do a pom pom tail, either. This bunny is so cute, and easy to make! I knew that the cotton I used was likely to fray, so I zig zagged the edges. So far it hasn't frayed, and looks very secure! I definitely want to make more of them! The tutorial is excellent too, very clear instructions!

Please note: This is not a sponsored post! I found something cute and just wanted to share it with everyone else!

Linking up to amylouwho Sew and Tell
and I Made It! at Everything Etsy
Creative Share Wednesday at Trendy Treehouse

Oops!

2010-04-15T13:38:00.000+01:00

I suddenly realised today that I've been entering the wrong email address for things, so if I've contacted you asking to be featured, etc. I may have put the email address lizzydesigns@gmail.com. That is NOT my email address.

My email address IS lizzydesigns1@gmail.com

My computer was doing it automatically for me, and I didn't realise it was using the wrong one. :(

Sorry for the confusion!

I'll be back tomorrow showing something that I made with another blogger's tutorial, see you then!

Decoupaged Train Photo Card

2010-04-12T12:00:00.003+01:00

Please enter my poll if you haven't done so already! Click here for more details!

Do you have trouble thinking of ideas for 'manly' birthday cards?I do, too!

My dad loves trains, so when it was his birthday, I made him this card using a photo I had taken.

This technique could work for many different things, flowers, animals, trains, etc.

Here's how I made this card.

Step One: Print out three copies of your chosen photo.

Step Two: Cut out your background photo. Then, using the other two photos, pick out bits you want to stand out.

Step Three: Now, assemble your decoupage.

You can get foam sticky fixers specifically for decoupage, but I didn't have any so I made my own.

I cut out squares of cardboard and attached double sided tape to both sides of the cardboard.

Then, attach them to your photos just like you would with foam sticky fixers.

Step Four: Enjoy your card!

See you soon!

Linking up to Trendy Treehouse Creative Share Wednesday
and Tea Rose Home

How did you find my blog? A poll!

2010-04-09T11:36:00.003+01:00

Hi again!

It would be so helpful to me if you could tell me how you found my blog.

That way I know where my audience is coming from, and I can expand in that area!

Thanks so much! :)

Preview of tutorials to come!

2010-04-08T18:53:00.000+01:00

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do a post yesterday; I had a fun day out with my mum instead. :)

I don't have anything finished to show you today, but I do have previews of tutorials to come!

In no particular order:

Decoupaged Train Photo Card

Baby Blocks/Pincushions

Repurposed: Pillowcase to Shirred Skirt

Repurposed: Pyjama top to T-shirt

AND MORE!

(I just haven't taken photos of them yet because I haven't completed them!)

GIVEAWAY winner!

2010-04-05T10:55:00.000+01:00

Are you excited?!

Entrant number 1: Jes

Entrant number 2: Jenna

Entrant number 3: Jenna

Entrant number 4: Charlotte

Entrant number5: Charlotte

Entrant number 6: Estee

But who has won?

Random.org has picked the winner. Here's picture proof!

Congratulations, Charlotte! Your prize will be on its way to you soon!

Have you ever wondered why I want to give things away on this here blog?

Wonder no more. :)

Also, when I die, I want to remembered as a very generous person! I love giving away, please don't ever be shy about entering my giveaways. :D

Here's a photo to end with of Charlotte's prize.

I hope you enjoy using them, Charlotte!

Fabric Flower

2010-04-01T16:27:00.001+01:00

Are you wondering how I made the fabric flower to go on this beautiful cushion?

Wonder no more!

It's really easy, and doesn't involve much sewing.

These photos show different material, but it is the same technique. I didn't take photos of the blue one because I was experimenting and wasn't sure if it was going to work!

Step One: Cut 6 circles of fabric the same size.

Step Two: To make your petals, fold the circles in half and then half again, with the right side showing. Stitch in place.

Step Three:

Repeat for four other petals, and stitch them together in the middle, one by one.

Step Four:

When all of your petals are joined, stitch them to the one remaining circle, and add a button to the center.

Your gorgeous flower is now complete! I pinned it to a safety pin and has fun experimenting with where it could go. I tried:

A bag:

A cushion cover:

I also played about with a flower that I made using this tutorial.

A hairband:

And even on a pair of shoes!

The flower on the left was made with scraps from this cushion, using the same tutorial as the flower on the right, but cutting out circles instead.

Have fun! Oh, and don't forget to enter my giveaway, here!

Want to make some quick and easy last minute Easter cards? Click here!

Repurposed: Dress to Ruffled Cushion Cover

2010-03-31T18:25:00.002+01:00

Fancy entering a giveaway? Click here for more details! :)

I had another really cute dress that just didn't fit anymore.

I didn't want it to just hang in my wardrobe, so wondered about making a cushion cover from it.

However, I wasn't sure if I was quite ready to cut it up!

Then, I saw the Ruffle Your Stuff contest over at one of my favourite blogs, and knew I had to enter!

I did cut it up, and here's how it turned out:

See the purple gingham cushion behind it? The tutorial is here. The dark purple cushion was made in the same way.

Step One: I cut the bottom part of my dress so that it would be just the right size for my cushion. Thankfully, the dress was already exactly the right width. If yours is too big, just sew the side seams again until it's the correct size. If your dress is not wide enough, turn the cushion round and cut UP the dress. If you're not repurposing a dress and just using material by the metre, simply cut two pieces of fabric to the desired size.

Step Two: If you're going to do a ruffle like I did, sew it on before you do anything else. To make a ruffle, I cut a rectangle of fabric from the dress and roll hemmed the edges. See photos below.

To make the ruffle, I used elastic thread in my bobbin. (Just use normal thread for upper sewing) A great tutorial for using elastic thread is here.

Don't worry, it's not nearly as scary as it sounds!

I sewed three lines of shirring down the middle of the fabric to ruffle it.

Above: The underside of the fabric.

Above: The right side of the fabric.

Step Three:

Then, pin it to your main piece of fabric and sew in place. If you want to add a fabric flower to your cushion, sew it on now. You could do one like this, or wait for the tutorial for the fabric flower I made, which is coming tomorrow.

Step Four:

Now, sew your cushion cover together. As I didn't have much fabric to play with, I sewed three sides and

put the cushion pad inside it. I then pinned the bottom edge very closely and hand-sewed it closed.

Step Five:

Enjoy your beautiful new boudoir cushion!

You could always make some bigger cushions to go with it.

Tutorial here!

See you soon and don't forget to enter my giveaway, which is here!

Linking up to Tea Rose Home Wednesday Link Party.

GIVEAWAY!

2010-03-29T18:44:00.003+01:00

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Hello. Sorry for this blogger's absence, I've been doing stuff like this:

Working out the chemistry of dietary fats and other fun stuff.

It's tired me out so much that I haven't been blogging, sorry!

Anyway, onto this month's GIVEAWAY!

There's lots of choices this month.

The choices are: ONE phone/jewellery holder. Tutorial here!

Please note: The brown one and the green one will fit most phones. The pink one is slightly smaller, so may only be suitable for holding jewellery. Please say which one you would like, the brown one, the pink one, or the green one.

Or: A pretty shawl with lace, buttons, and a cute little rose at one end. It can also be used as a cute table runner.

If the other options didn't take your fancy, how about 75 (yes, 75!) amazingly sweet buttons? There's some really nice ones! It would be very hard to pick a favourite. :)

How to enter:

1. Comment on this post and tell me you'd like to be entered into the giveaway, and also which option you would like to win (brown phone holder, pink phone holder, green phone holder, shawl/table runner, or 75 buttons).

NEW:

2. Desperate to win? Here's another chance! Either blog about this giveaway (and leave the link in a comment) OR tell me a funny joke/story.

Please, only two comments per person!

You have until midnight GMT time on Sunday 4th April to enter.

Random.org will be choosing the winner and it will be announced on Monday 5th April.

I don't mind what part of the world you are entering from and I also don't mind if you won the last giveaway and would like to enter this one as well.

See you soon!

Recycled Cards

2010-03-19T10:16:00.002Z

Recycled cards can be really fashionable.

Take a look at these!

These cards are made from ones I've been given.

It's so easy to make them, and is very budget-friendly!

I really like simple cards like this one.

You can still make fancier ones, too.
Whatever style I make them, I always stick the cards down with double-sided tape. It's a lot better than glue sticks, and you don't get bumpy cards.
Double-sided tape is also quite cheap! :)

This one was made using a 'clip art' picture from Microsoft Word. I just typed in 'backgrounds' and some lovely pictures came up. :)

See what you can do! Cut up those birthday cards from when you were 8 and make more cards out of them.
:)
What you don't use you can recycle! Budget-friendly and earth-friendly.
See you soon!

Repurposed Skirt

2010-03-17T19:51:00.002Z

I have a very special dress that no longer fits.

Above: My brother and I at our eldest brother's wedding.

I wore this special dress at my eldest brother's wedding. I hated seeing it hanging up in my wardrobe not being used, so I made a skirt out of it!

The best bit? You can pretend that you did all of those fancy pleats yourself!

:D

Here's how I 'made' it. :)

Step One: Cut the dress above the waist band,(cutting the lining fabric too) making sure that it is cut high enough for there to be enough material to be turned and rolled over to match the waistband.

Step Two: Then, pin your dress to the lining. Make sure that you don't pin all the layers together!

Step Three: Then you need to stitch the dress and lining together. This makes it easier to handle for the next step!

Step Four: Now fold the edge of the fabric over and over again so that you have a rolled hem that matches up with the waistband. Pin in place and the sew, but make sure you leave a bit unsewn so that you can put the elastic in!! (Shown below)

Step Five: Next, put your elastic on a safety pin and thread it through the waistband that you just made. Don't lose the other end of the elastic!!! The best way to ensure you use the right length of elastic is to measure round the waist and take about an inch (2.5cm) off.

(Apologies for the lack of photos)

Step Six: When you have thread the elastic all the way through, pin the ends together and stitch in place. I like to stitch round in a square a few times, just to check that it's secure.

Step Seven: Finally, stitch up the gap.

Now you can enjoy your beautiful skirt that took about half an hour to complete!

See you soon!

Blog Maintenance

2010-03-09T17:37:00.000Z

Hello!

If you use Google Reader or Blogger to be notified of new posts, you may have noticed that I have been playing about with links and posts, etc.

If you look at the bottom of the left sidebar, you will see that there are now four categories to choose from when viewing posts. That way there isn't a lot of text down there and it's easier on the eyes!

I'll be back tomorrow with Mother's Day card ideas. (Note for the Americans: we have our Mother's Day considerably earlier than yours, it's this Sunday!)

See you then!

I won a giveaway!

2010-03-08T18:42:00.001Z

A few weeks ago, I won a giveaway at Homemade By Jill!

Last Friday, these burp cloths arrived for me, all the way from California.

I love them! I wonder if Jill looked at my blog for a colour scheme. :) Obviously I don't have any children yet (got to marry my Prince Charming first! :D) but I'm looking forward to using these adorable burp cloths when I do have children.

The best bit is that Jill has done a tutorial on how to make the burp cloths, so you can have them yourself and not just drool over mine. :) The link is right here.

I really enjoy reading Homemade by Jill, it's a great crafty blog, so check it out!

See you on Wednesday!

Reader Requests... Easter Cards

2010-03-05T17:57:00.002Z

I had a 'Reader Request' for some Easter card ideas.

These are for you, Debbie!

All I did is used double sided tape to attach a cross shape (there's probably a template online if you don't want to draw it yourself, just look it up on Google) to some pretty paper. The paper is from a 'Forever Friends' set, bought from Staples (Photo below). You can get it at Hobbycraft, and WHSmith, too. Sadly for you Americans, I don't know any American stores you could get it from, but they're quite common, so look out for them. :) I then used more sticky tape to attach the papers to the green card, and stuck some pretty flowers on.

I used the same technique to make these cards, too.

I did the same for these cards, too, but added a rose and a brad just like I did on the Valentines card here.

It reminds me of how Christ's love for us nailed Him to the cross, to take away our sins and grant us eternal life if only we trust in Him.

See you on Monday!!!

P.S. Let me know if there's something else you'd like to see on my blog! Don't be shy. :)

And the winner is....

2010-03-01T09:59:00.001Z

Are you excited?!

Entrant number 1: Charlotte (who entered by email)

Entrant number 2: Elspeth

Entrant number 3: Jenna

But who has won?

Random.org has picked the winner. Here's picture proof!

Ccongratulations Elspeth! Your prize will be posted very soon. :)

Have you ever wondered why I want to give things away on this here blog?

Wonder no more. :)

Also, when I die, I want to remembered as a very generous person! I love giving away, please don't ever be shy about entering my giveaways. :D

Here's a photo to end with of some of Elspeth's prize.

See you on Wednesday, I've got a big treat coming up!

Fabric Canvas

2010-02-24T14:09:00.004Z

Looking for a giveaway to enter? Click here or scroll down to the next post. :)

Ever seen wall art that you really wanted, but was way too expensive?

Here's an easy way to make your own stunning wall art.

All you need is a staple gun, a canvas of any size from a craft or hobby store, and some fabric.

I 'fussy cut' my fabric, meaning that I decided what part of the design I wanted to show in the middle of the canvas, and then cut round it. Make sure you are generous with your cutting as it will need to be able to fit round the edges too. I stapled the longer edges first, starting from the middle and working out. Make sure you pull the fabric nice and tight. Then, do the shorter edges. When you get to the corners, just fold the fabric in and staple over them as shown below.

Hang it up and admire your work. :D

It's a great first project with a staple gun, it was my first one!

See you on Friday. :)

An edible snowman, and a GIVEAWAY!

2010-02-22T17:52:00.005Z

Sorry, the giveaway is now closed!

Here's what I've been creating today.

And no, I didn't sew it, double-sided tape it, or paint it.

Cute, huh?

He matches our surroundings at the moment, too.

We've had more snow, even when we thought it was finally gone and it might, just might be spring soon.

All I did was to make the shapes out of icing and put them together with cocktail sticks. I pressed the end of a cocktail stick into the icing to make his eyes and buttons.

I love his top hat! :)

Anyway, onto the giveaway!

This month, you have a choice of three prizes.

Whichever one you choose will be presented in this really cute little handmade cross stitched bag.

Choice #1:

Cross Stitch Kit

In this kit:

A Needle Threader

Scraps of aida fabric, perfect for practising your cross stitch or making bookmarks.

And, lots of thread perfect for cross stitch, in a variety colours.

Choice #2:

Card Making Kit

In this kit:

This pack is full of beautiful papers. You could make some lovely cards with these!

There's pretty stickers, too!

Choice #3:

Sewing Kit

In this kit:

This choice is full of lovely fabrics.

It includes two fat quarters, (18" x 21" or 46 x 54 centimeters) one of each fabric pictured.

Also included are two half metre lengths of blue ribbon, and my signature pin cushion, just like the ones I made here.

To enter, all you need to do is comment on this post. Please say in your comment which kit you would like to win. You have until midnight GMT time on Sunday 28th February to enter.

Random.org will be choosing the winner and it will be announced on Monday 1st March.

I don't mind what part of the world you are entering from and I also don't mind if you won the last giveaway and would like to enter this one as well.

See you on Wednesday!

Puffy Pouch

2010-02-17T13:41:00.000Z

Now that I know the birthday girl has her present, I can show you what I made a couple of weeks ago.

I used the tutorial from Pink Penquin, here.

Of course, I had to make a little notepad to match, the same way I made these ones. :)

On Friday, I'll give you a virtual tour of my room. I know it's going to happen this time, because I've already taken the photos!

See you then!

Quick and Cute Glasses Case Revamp!

2010-02-15T19:35:00.003Z

Want to add some colour to your glasses case? How about a box or anything else that needs some style?

Have a go at this!

All you need to do is stick some double-sided tape down onto the top.

Peel the paper off.

Then, cut some fabric bigger than the glasses case. Make sure you have enough fabric! Stick the fabric down nice and tight. I made sure that I used the side that doesn't fray on the back by the hinge.

Then, put some thin double-sided tape in the inside and stick the excess fabric down to that.

Enjoy your pretty glasses case. :)

I covered this one for my Mum.

I also covered my glasses case, using fabric that matched my glasses.

Sorry the bag tutorial didn't appear today, but I am really hoping it will be done this week. I've not been feeling so well and really didn't feel up to sewing. ;)

See you soon!

Quick Valentines Cards

2010-02-12T18:47:00.000Z

Need a last minute Valentines card idea?

Have a look at these.

I used a paper fastener to keep these roses together, much easier than glue!

All I did for this one was to sew the heart on to the card. I used a post it note as a template. Useful stuff, post it notes. :) If you didn't want to sew, you could just as easily use double sided tape to stick it down. You could do it with any shape, flowers, circles, squares...

Just in case you were wondering... I'm not sending any, they're for my parents to give each other! Hehe. :D

See you soon!

P.S. I can't wait for Monday's post! I've been making some really cute bags and am in the process of doing the tutorial, don't miss it!

Quick and Cute Felt Pincushions

2010-02-10T09:54:00.002Z

I don't know about you, but I really like pincushions. You can have them in so many different shapes and sizes!

Here's an easy peasy way to make one.

All you do is roll up some felt very tightly and stitch in place. I stitched a button to the little pink one just to add some interest, but you don't have to. If you wanted to make a bigger one, you could join the lots of felt pieces together, like I did with this one. To be quicker I used the zigzag stitch on my sewing machine, but you could easily do it by hand.

It might look hard, but it's really easy. I have had my sewing machine for about 5 months and have only just tried using zigzag stitch, I'm not sure why I was too scared now, you don't have to do anything different, the machine does it all for you!

Roll it up nice and tight and pin in place.

You can stitch it together however you want.

See you soon!

P.S Don't worry, bigger tutorials are coming soon! ;)

Inspired by this post.

What to do with old belts and empty frames

2010-02-08T09:21:00.000Z

Got some old belts, but not sure what to do with them?

Here's some ideas.

I had a cute belt with a butterfly on, but it's too small for me now. So, I took the butterfly off it and made a pretty door hanger.

Tie it onto some thin ribbon. Then, hang it up and admire!

I also used another belt to make a growth chart. All you need to do is hang the belt up and tie tags on (I slip knotted them through the holes with this belt) with the ages/date of when you measured your children.

I used another belt to show a slightly different way you could do it.

For this one, I just hanged the belt up and used mini bulldog clips to put the ages on. I got the bulldog clips from Wilkinson's a few years back, I'm not sure if they still do them or not.

Got some seriously cute frames, but nothing to go in them?

You could always use matching fabric.

Cute, huh?

See you soon!

Mini Notebooks

2010-02-05T20:51:00.002Z

Mini Notebooks

Ever wanted to know how to make cute little notebooks? Thought they would be easy to do but where never too sure quite how to do it? Well, I'll show you how!

Step One

Get some pieces of paper and make sure they're all the same size.

Step Two

Staple them together.

Step Three

Put double-sided tape down over the top of the staples.

Step Four

Get some cute paper and press it down over the double-sided tape.

Step Five

Turn it over and put double sided tape over the back. Then peel the backing off and stick the paper down.

Step Six

Turn it back to the front and put double sided tape over the paper join. Stick some cute ribbon over the top and admire your work.

Or you could leave the ribbon off, like I did with this one.

See you soon!

Watercolour Flower Cards

2010-02-03T10:15:00.004Z

Watercolour Flowers

This gerbera wasn't easy. But these fishies were!

These himalayan poppies weren't too hard.

These bluebells weren't bad either.

This little wild rose was easy, it took about fifteen minutes.

These poppies were nice to do, too.

Irises are hard stuff, but can be fun if you're ambitious, like me!

I don't normally use pen round the edges, but I like how this one turned out.

Sweet peas are nice to do, too. They're a bit fiddly to draw, but you can do it!

I completed this camellia recently. It's one of the best I've done this year.

Here's one of a rose from my garden. Cute!

Wondering if you could do something like these?

Go on, give it a try!

If you're a beginner, I would suggest trying the fishies. I just sat and watched and drew my own fish. Make sure you're using good quality watercolour paper (I use the WHSmith stuff, not too expensive but very good), paint, and invest in proper brushes. They're not very expensive, either. Draw the outline in a light pencil, don't press hard! Take your time and perfect your drawing as the better the drawing is, the better the painting will be. Then, paint the fish. Use more colour than you think as watercolour dries lighter.How I painted them was to do orange round their edges, making sure I didn't touch the pencil line. I then quickly washed my brush in clean water and teased the colour down. When it had dried, I used a brown colour to paint in the little details with a fine brush. To do the water, thoroughly wet the paper and drop blobs of light blue in. Admire your work!

If you want to try flowers, always start by drawing the middle. Then, do the petals, leaves, and stalks.You can use the same techniques as you did for the fishies. If you want to put pen round the edges like I did with one of the pink roses, buy a proper pen from an artist's shop.

See you soon!

Giveaway!

2010-02-01T10:28:00.002Z

Hello.

I made a slight change to the giveaway. :D

That got you worried didn't it?!

Because I love giving and only four people entered, and I knew them all apart from one, I couldn't bear to choose just one.

So, everyone who entered (Charlotte J, Caitlin, Elspeth, and Kelsey) are getting prizes!

One of you will receive the exact set, and the others will receive similar sets to the one I showed.

Charlotte and Caitlin, I'll give you yours the next time I see you. Elspeth and Kelsey, your ones have been posted already. :)

I hope you have fun with your prizes, girlies!

See you soon!

Stitched Cards

2010-01-29T10:19:00.001Z

Here's another quick and easy project to do.

All you do is find some card or thick handmade paper and sew some thinner paper to it. It is much better to do it on a sewing machine, but if you're brave you could try hand-stitching it. You could even use a pencil to mark where you want to go and do a fancy design, or 'write' Happy Birthday on it.

Then, have a photo shoot with your cards. Good props (background items) are necessary!

See you soon!

Oh, and check back on Monday to see who the winners are of the giveaway!

Mini Felt Bag Tutorial

2010-01-27T17:31:00.004Z

Want to enter a giveaway? Scroll down to the previous post to see what's up for grabs!

Want something easy to make, but really cute?

Try this.

A cute little felt bag, and a great alternative to the felt phone holders I made here. These felt bags can hold your phone and a few other little things. :)

Step One

Cut your felt to the size you would like it to be. The way I did it is to use one continual piece of felt, so bear in mind that you will want it a lot longer than it is wide.

Step Two

Fold the piece of felt roughly in thirds as shown below.

Step Three

Work out where the middle of the turned-over piece is. Pin your favourite ribbon onto it and then stitch in place. Don't cut the ribbon ends off yet!

Step Four

Next, pin the sides, starting from the bottom to reduce lumps and bumps. Sew in place. Ok, now you can cut the ribbon edges! It just finishes it off nicer if you delay cutting.

Step Five

Find the cute snap fasteners that you inherited from a great aunt or grandma or someone. Work out where you want to position them, and sew them on.

They remind me of roses!

Step Six

This is optional, but you could sew a button on to hide the stitching like I did. I used a button with four holes, and matched them up with the four holes of the snap on fastener and sewed it on using the fastener as guide holes. This isn't as hard as I thought it would be, and really finishes it off.

Step Seven

Enjoy your super cute bag!

Sorry Paddington didn't appear today, he was old and needed a wash to freshen up. He should be up soon, though!

See you on Friday!

My first giveaway!

2010-01-25T13:46:00.003Z

*Giveaway is now closed*

To celebrate a month of blogging, I'm going to do a giveaway! It's only small, but it will help you out if you're new to stitching, or just need to top up your supplies.

You will get 11 colours of thread; black, brown, burgundy, grey, green, blue, sky blue, red, pink, yellow, and white.

Also included are three cute roses like this one.

And three buttons like this.

And a pack of needles like this.

Hmm, it sounds bigger now! Anyway, if you're interested, here's what you need to do to be entered.

Comment if you like it.

Yep, thats it!

If the commenting is not working (I'm yet to figure that one out, so bear with me) send me an email at

lizzydesigns1@gmail.com

Yes, a special email address just for my blog! Well, I didn't want to give out my personal one, you know!

Please don't be shy! Comment away!

The winner will be announced on Monday February 1st.

random.org will be choosing the winner.

If you win and I know you, I will give you your prize the next time I see you. If I don't know you, I will post it to you. I don't mind if you happen to live in the US or anywhere else.

See you soon!

Ribbon Storage and a teaser...

2010-01-23T10:34:00.000Z

Want a fun way to store your ribbons?

Have fun with this idea.

Cute, huh?

All you do is wind your ribbon round some old spools (the wooden ones look nicer) and pin in place. Now you can see what ribbons you have at a glance. It also reduces creases. :)

I had fun photographing these...

Now for the teaser...

I'm doing something with this vintage pillowcase I found. It's something to do with sewing machines, quilting, and will help survivors of the Haiti earthquakes. Check back next week to see what I've been doing with it!

It's so cute! Paddington even has the 'Please look after this bear' label.

See you next week!

Doll Quilt Tutorial

2010-01-21T13:19:00.000Z

Fancy trying your hand at making a doll quilt?

Try this quilt set, the perfect size for Barbie dolls.

Step One

First you need to cut out your pieces. I used a coaster as a template to cut out six of a cute vintage floral fabric, and six of a yellow gingham fabric that was once a tablecloth. I then arranged them as pictured. Now you're thinking, "Hang on, why did she cut out six of each fabric?" Well, we need a back as well. So arrange them like I did, twice.

Step Two

Then, cut pieces of the yellow gingham to make the binding. Make sure they are quite wide as it makes it a lot easier. Lay them out as shown below. Note: You don't need to make any for the back, they will fold over to make the back's binding.

Step Three

Now, you need to join your squares together.

Stitch them down the sides as shown.

This is what you should end up with.

Do that for all your squares, making six pairs. Remember to trim the seams right down, this way you will have less bulk to quilt through.

Step Four

Get your first two pairs of squares and sew them with right sides together at the bottom.

Make sure that one seam is facing one way, and one the other. See?

This is what it should look like.

Great! Now, sew the bottom one to those two, as shown in the photo.

Do the same for your back squares. You should end up with two pieces of fabric like this.

Now, get some wadding and put it between the two layers, with right sides facing out.

This is what it should look like.

Then, quilt it however you like. I divided them into thirds, and quilted three lines down, and three across. It's best to start from the center, then you don't get fabric bunching up.

When I had quilted all I wanted to, I pinned the binding on. A special trick that I use is to pin one side on like the first photo. Then, I pin the other side, making sure the pins go through all the layers. You can now take out the first pins you pinned and all the layers of the binding will be held together for stitching. I did the long sides first.

Cut your binding at both ends to make sure there isn't lots of bulk material to sew through.

When both of the long sides were stitched, I did the same for the top, sewing over the ends were the other bits of binding are. Before I sewed it, I folded in the corners and pinned them in place. The photos should explain.

I also made two pillows with the scraps and stuffed them with wadding.

See you next time!

Felt Phone Holders

2010-01-18T10:18:00.029Z

Does your phone need something to keep it safe?

We wouldn't want it to get scratched in a bag.

Try this!

Step One

Put your phone on top of some funky felt. Using your phone as a template, cut two pieces of felt out. Make sure that the felt pieces are quite generous. You can cut off any excess fabric at the end.

Step Two

Sew a cute button onto one of the felt pieces, and a ribbon to the other piece. This will keep your phone from falling out. You'll probably want to pin the ribbon in place, as shown in the photo.

Step Three

Before sewing the edges, check that your phone will fit inside. Use pins to as the 'seams'.

Step Four

When you're happy that it fits, sew the three sides. Admire your creation.

Want to make it, but don't have a phone? You could used it to protect a necklace or bracelet when travelling. Simply loop it around the ribbon and loop the ribbon round the button. Your jewellery will be kept safe inside.

Coming next:

A cute doll quilt

See you soon!

Crafty Organizer

2010-01-16T14:19:00.001Z

Need something to store your craftyness?

Try this.

I found a big box that we were given for Christmas (Yes, it did have things in!)

I made some dividers out of cardboard and patchwork papered them. I cut slits at the ends so that they would support each other.

I turned over the lid and used that to store papers.

Easy!

Coming Soon:

Felt phone covers

See you then!

Grocery bag holder tutorial

2010-01-14T10:09:00.001Z

Let's face it, we all have lots of plastic bags. At our house, we reuse them as bin liners. To save them falling out of the cupboard, I made this. It's a teeny bit complicated ( although that may just be because I was working out how to explain it to you and take photos at the same time), but doing it how I show you makes it very strong.

Step One

First of all, cut your material. I used a 75cm long by 20cm wide piece of spotty cuteness. I recommend that you make it a lot wider, as it was really thin. I couldn't help it, though, as that was the widest piece of the spotty fabric I had. The holder pictured above was a wider one, but I'm not sure of the dimensions, it was finished before I started blogging. Right, now you need to do a rolled hem at both ends. Make sure you do them on the shorter sides. I showed you how to do a rolled hem here. It's on Step Three. Make sure the rolled hem is big enough so that you can put elastic in one and ribbon in the other. I also rolled the sides as they will be showing. We don't want any unravelling, do we?! I really hope that the photos explain it better, but if not, please comment and I'll try to help you out. :) Pin and machine stitch in place. You may want to stitch back and forwards at the end to ensure it stays strong.

See the rolled sides here?

Step Two

Now, we're going to make it into a bag. One of the fabric sides was the side that doesn't fray (not sure what it's called!) so I folded it over to make it neater. Make sure you do not sew over the bits you sewed in step one. If you did, you wouldn't be able to hang it up! Start just beyond it, as in the photo. Pin the longer sides together and machine stitch. Again, you may want to stitch backwards and forwards at the ends a bit to make sure it stays strong.

Step Three

Get some elastic and pin a safety pin onto it. Thread it through one of the rolled hems you did in step one, making sure the other end doesn't disappear.

Step Four

Tie your elastic and push it round, so that the knot is hidden.

Now you see the knot,

Now you don't!

Step Five

Do the same with the other rolled hem, but thread some strong ribbon through it instead of elastic. I like the knot to be visible, but its up to you. Fill it with bags and enjoy your space-saving bag holder!

Not sure how it works? You put the bags in the top and the elastic holds them all in. When you want a bag, just pull one out from the bottom.

Simple!

Ribbon Ruler

2010-01-13T10:09:00.001Z

Here's another quick and easy project. I will have bigger projects coming soon, don't worry!

Got a boring ruler? Want to liven it up? Try this.

All you do is get some thin double sided tape and stick it down the center of your ruler. If you have thick double sided tape, just fold it in half. Stick your ribbon on top and enjoy your not so boring ruler.

Coming next:

Grocery bag holder tutorial

See ya!

Heart Sachet from Sew4Home

2010-01-12T17:00:00.001Z

Looking for another quick and cute project? I tried this from Sew4Home, a great crafty website. I did make some changes to it, though! Firstly, I only used one fabric instead of four coordinating ones. Also, I used wadding to stuff it, rather than lavender. I ran out of fresh lavender from our garden a while ago and didn't want to buy any. Here's my creation. I still need to work on my heart shape, but it's better than one I tried a while back. That turned into a triangle! Hehe.

It has taken up residence in the spare bedroom ( a.k.a. Dad's office until someone comes to stay)

Coming Soon:

An easy way to spruce up your ruler

And much more!

Fabric Coasters

2010-01-11T17:55:00.001Z

Want a really quick, easy project to brighten up your Monday?

Try this.

Got boring, old coaster that need livening up? Cover them with double sided tape and cute fabric! I didn't protect the edges from fraying, so over time it makes it very shabby chic and cute. It takes about two minutes per coaster. I told you it was quick!

P.S. Sorry I haven't done many posts, my M.E. has been worse. I'm hoping to do a couple more posts this week, so keep checking for new ones!

Coming Soon

A grocery bag holder tutorial

A fabric pencil holder tutorial

And finally...

A giveaway with something to do with felt and phones!

See you soon!

Crafty Review of 2009

2010-01-05T17:58:00.003Z

Crafty Review of 2009

Here's a collection of all my favourite creations, so far. Some are from before I started blogging, so there's completely new inspiration for you!

I made this cute doll a few months ago. It was the first time I'd made a doll like it, but I'm happy with it. I didn't have flesh colour felt, so yellow had to do:) I love the ribbon in her hair and the beads on her skirt.

I made these muzzies for any babies that come along. They are super soft and very cuddly, each with their own teddy on it. The cow was from a pair of slippers I once had!

I really like the ribbon, another soft thing to hold!

Here's the cow one, too. So cute! The fabric I used is the same as I used for this project. Sadly, it's all used up now. :(

I've made a few grocery bag holders now, two large ones and a mini one. The photo shows the mini one. I'm going to make another one like that, so the tutorial will be up soon, maybe next week.

I love this pot! It now resides in my sewing room. Tutorial here.

My first tutorial ever! Read how to make the flower here.

This cushion is my favourite ever creation. It's so soft and cuddly, and I know all the hours I spent doing the cross stitch. :)

See you soon!

Pot mini-makeover

2010-01-04T10:22:00.000Z

Pot mini-makeover
I really liked this pot, but it needed something more to make it really stand out. The previous owners of our house left it behind, don't you just love free stuff?!

Step One

First of all, you need to clean the pot up a bit. Get some newspaper to protect your surface and then clean away. I just used a rag and a bit of water.

Step Two

Choose your paint colour. I chose to mix gold and bronze metallic paint we bought years ago from Wilkinson. I think they were a 89p each. Put a splodge of each colour next to each other on the newspaper. Mix them together and start painting your beautiful pot. I painted the little details to enhance them. Make sure you have enough layers of newspaper, or the paint will seep through.

Step Three

Leave your pot to dry for a few hours. Because it is terracotta, it will soak up the paint colour. This looks great as it makes the pot look like it was painted years ago. The photo below shows how your pot looks like when it's just been painted.

Your finished pot will look like the photo below, when it has had time to dry and soak up the paint.

I've never done anything quite like that before, but I am really glad I tried it!

Coming Tomorrow...

A review of my crafty year, including pre-blog crafts you've never seen!

See you then!