Hobby Craft Challenge- Ten Cards from One Collection

A lot of people talk to me about cards for the men in their lives and I agree - if it wasn't for steampunk, there would not be too much for the guys.

So what to do about it!? Well I think that this collection from Hobby Craft in the UK is a great answer. So with that in mind, in collaboration with Hobby Craft, I set about using one collection to create ten cards. 

They could be given to anyone of course but the main part of the brief was to come up with a collection for men and boys.

Here we go!

The first of my makes is a square on a kraft blank. I layered simply with black card and the papers from the kit including a banner down the middle and some embellishments. I loved the puffy stickers.

Number two is another square 6" kraft blank and this time I stitched the paper down. There are some super cute hexie frames in the collection too and one made a perfect frame for a die cut. The bow is made with some twine wrapped around my first two fingers and the tied in the middle. it stays put beautifully and it can be glued anywhere.

Next had to have the bear stamp! I coloured the stamp with some Tim Holtz Distress markers and then glossed the fussy cut image with ranger Glossy Accents. My favourite thing on this card (apart from the delicious washi tape) are the cute wooden arrows which make for great dimension.

No camping trip is complete without critter spotting! I cut a stag head with a Christmas die (not in the collection but it really matches well and is a good lesson about looking at what you have to go with new stuff). you can see another string bow and more washi tape. The little crystals are great too and add a bit of sparkle.

I wanted to make some cards which were really simple and very quick. this is one of those! Simple use a piece of the paper and some die cut letters in black. The puffy stickers yielded a woolly hat and another arrow. And of course some twine wraps and a bow.
when you do this, wrap the twine first and the make the bow separately and use the tails of the twine wrap to tie the bow on. a dob of glue keeps it all in place.

Right! From one extreme to the other here! The last one was simple and this one is anything but. I used grey card stock for the background and made a little tent from some yellow paper. a puffy sticker made the camp fire and then I dived into the Christmas dies to find one which was perfect for the trees. my favourite way to frame a card is with sewing machine stitching. As you can see, it really sets it off nicely.

Simple again for hurried card needs. This one used washi tape and twine wrap and then a simple message in black die cut. I love this font which is a Sizzix one and designed by Tim Holtz. It is called cutout lower. I used some glittery copper washi tape which is not in the collection and a wooden arrow. Some copper coloured diamantes add interest.

I really would not be me if I didn't ink something! This time it is a piece of white card inked with some Ranger Distress Inks so that I could frame it with a wooden hexie and die cut a little lantern.
I made the words from my Sizzix font and I used some card onto which I had painted with acrylic paint using my Gelli plate. If you like that, I have a tute here. It is really easy and effective and the scrappy bits can be used for die cutting.

Back to a bit more complicated again! Another tent and you can really freehand this without a die. I laminated two pieces of paper together and then cut a triangle. cut about 2/3 of the way up from the middle bottom and then fold the flaps back. I cut some thin strips for the poles which you can just see at the top. a puffy sticker made the sign on the tent.
And then LOTS of trees from a Christmas die set. The stars this time are from a Sizzix Halloween Witch die set - here again, never assume that you have to stick to using things in sets. If something has a component that you need, use it!

Lucky last and actually one of my favourites! I made this one because a camp fire is really important and it must have sparks coming up from it! I free handed the flames and then inked them. the logs are some more gelli printed scraps (seriously do check that tute and give it a go. It gives you the best components for your projects and you can bulk make and then have them on hand).

Well that's it! I do hope that you have enjoyed them and that you are a bit inspired. These would be great for Father's Day and you still have time....

Thank you for stopping by! See you next time.
Hugs
Debs
xx

Template Free Tie Dyed Peace Purse - And a Giveaway!

Flower Power!

Hello everyone! I hope that you are enjoying your crafting wherever you and and thank you for joining me once again. 

This one is perfect for offcuts!

I am getting a bit addicted to making pouches and zipper purses and I thought that just in case you are too, you might like to have a pattern for a very handy little purse - it could be a pouch if it were bigger so it is up to you what you call it.

I love this easier method of putting the zip in and I think that you will too!

Loving the tie dye trend about at the moment and with that vibe in mind, I thought that I would add a gold embellishment with a die cut peace symbol.

The star of the show.

But of course, me, being me, I have yet another bee in my bonnet and that is that I wondered if we need printable templates for everything? The answer is of course, not! I hear so many horror stories about printing them off and getting them right. We can make our own really easily and have little bother with worrying about printing things off correctly and sizing issues- how much freedom is that!

Devil is in the detail peeps. Make sure that the back has a point of interest too. For me, it is a label to show where it was made.

And I have a giveaway for you too! I have a pack of the pattern paper that I am using today to send out to one lucky person. All you need to do is to leave me a comment below and the winner will be chosen at random on the 25th June 2018. I will post the lucky person's name on here so keep watching!
Giveaway now closed!

This is a really handy pack and you will be surprised how easy it is to draft a simple pattern!

So what is in the pack? A pack each of Hemline Squared Pattern Paper, Dressmaker's Carbon Paper and Tracing Paper. There are several sheets of each so if you are a sewist, it is a lovely prize.

You don't have to have squared paper to make this pattern today but it is handy and it is in the pack!

So let's get started and will show you how to make this little purse template free!

To begin with, let's gather some supplies....

-F8th tie dyed fabric. You can make your own but I am going to upcycle a pillowcase that I have never used.
-F8th lining fabric. Mine is Soda Straws from the Boardwalk Delight collection by Dana Willard for Art Gallery Fabrics (Hantex)*
-F8th H630 light wadding (Vlieseline)*
-4" navy metal zipper
-small scrap of leather for the zipper pull
-Union Jack ribbon (Berisfords)*
-bright gold iron on foil
-peace symbol die. I am using the Sizzix #662165A
-Sizzix Big Shot manual die cutting machine*
-F8th Hemline Squared Pattern Paper*
-Your usual sewing needs

*The addresses are in the Right side bar

Right - let's get the template making bit out of the way first. Oh and by the way, due to popular request, my patterns on here will now be all in imperial measurements.

Begin by drawing a 6 1/4" long x 5 1/4" wide rectangle....

The squares may not all match up. Don't worry too much about it for this make.

Now find something round which is about 6" diameter. This can be a plate, or a cup or anything at all. Round off the bottom of the rectangle....

A side plate makes a perfect 'thing' to draw around and every house has at least one!

Don't worry if it is not super perfect. I will show you the universal designer's trick to fixing it in a minute...

This is what we have now.

Cut the rectangle out now...

Don't round the corners yet!

You can see by the squares that it is not absolutely perfect on the bottom...

Hmm...needs some surgery...

There is a really easy fix used by just about every designer at some point in their careers.... simply fold the pattern in half...

Just choose one of the curves to cut. This will guarantee symmetry every time.

Off it comes!

When you unfold it, you can see where the right hand line went a bit awry? It doesn't matter. it is all fixed now and ready to go! Just ignore it.

That's it! That is your template and you can use it again and again and it already has the 1/4" seam allowance included. I did say that it was easy! It actually took longer to show than to do.

Now use the template to cut two outer panels, two lining and two interfacing....

One size fits all!

Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the outer panels....

Don't worry about the interfacing being in the seam allowance, just cut it the same size and iron it on!

Let's put the peace symbol on next. Cut the symbol using the iron on foil and the die and Big Shot

I needed a few passes but it came out beautifully.

Iron it on to one of the outer panels using the manufacturer's instructions and remove the protective plastic

I just love this stuff! It makes everything you do look professional.

The panel is now ready to use. Let's prep the zipper next - don't worry, that is really easy with my method too. Begin by cutting a piece of lining 2" wide x 4" long. This is longer than you need but it is easier to handle and you can trim it. Fold the strip in half length ways and crease the middle...

The seam roller is so much easier than running to the iron for every little thing.

I am using a Clover brand seam roller which I have lately found to be super useful for making creases like this (as well as flattening seams).
Fold the two raw edges to the centre crease...

No really easy way to show this but I think that you get the idea.

You have essentially made a piece of straight binding.

Now bind the ends of the zipper and trim the excess away so that the binding is the same width as the zipper.

Bind each end of the zip.

By the way, I don't sew this anymore. I sued to but it is fiddly and my machine does not like it one bit. I sew and clip now and it works beautifully. because it is such a narrow part once the pouch is sewn up, it all holds perfectly.

TIP: Some zippers are a bit long and you will need to trim the end tapes to about 1/2".

Time to put the zipper in. Take one outer panel and one piece of lining and place them right sides together with the zip sandwiched in between.....

The vertical pins at either end of the zip remind you where to start and stop sewing.

Sew from one bound end of the zipper to the other only without going over. This is the important bit which will make the bag come together at the end. Repeat for the other side.
Open the panels out so that the zip is exposed and topstitch, again only going from zipper end to zipper end on both sides....

The topstitching also goes from one bound end of the zip to the other.

Now open the whole thing out and place outer to outer and lining to lining right sides together and pin.
Leaving a turning gap in the lining, sew right around the very edge with a normal 1/4" seam allowance....

It is more usual to avoid putting the turning gap on a curve but here we have no choice. Don't worry, it doesn't present too many problems.

By the way...have the zipper open for this bit or you will have to unpick the outer, get your hand in there and wiggle it open - the zip has to be open so that you can turn the pouch the right way out!

Here in contrast thread, you can see how big the gap should be.

Before turning out, clip the curves with a sharp pair of scissors, being very careful not to clip the seam...

This reduces bulk and means that your pouch will have a lovely smooth curve.

Turn out through the gap and close the it. Push the lining down into the pouch.
There we go! I have added a piece of leather to the zipper pull which is about 1/4" wide and 4" long (it can be trimmed if it looks ridiculous)....

I love that gold die cut peace sign. I think that it makes it!

All finished!

As you can see, I also added a Union Jack flag to the back of mine to show where it was made...

This ribbon has lots of Union Flags on it so that you can cut them off and use them as labels. Finish the ends with fray stopper.

That is one of the easiest ways to make a pouch and you have the added bragging points that you also made the pattern. 

I am actually about to open an Etsy shop with some of my bag and pouch patterns in and they will all be made in this format so you can practice and expand your skills.

Might make some in other sizes! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs
Debbie
xx

My Punch Needle Adventure

There will be more of these!

Well I have had an adventure! The lovely peeps at Clover sent me one of their  embroidery stitching tool (essentially a punch needle by another name).

Everything that you need.

I am using the needle for medium fine yarn which takes a thin 4 ply wool easily.

I had to use mustard yellow on it somewhere!

I had never used one before but they are everywhere and having a real moment. Well, I can see why too. They are easy to use, you can use really cheap yarn for a good effect and it is just fun and satisfying - and strangely cathartic to repeatedly stab something. maybe I need to have some help with that last bit!

I have this thing for round things - I inherited that trait from my grandfather.

Because this was an experiment for me, this bog post is rather general and I will have another coming with some more coherent hints and tips.

I actually like the black braid. It frames it nicely and hides my dodgy edges.

When I was in primary school, if we had finished the set work, we were allowed to amuse ourselves quietly while everyone else caught up. Normally for me, that meant reading but on occasion, I would take a piece of paper and some coloured pencils, draw a random line and then colour the bits in.
I have actually been searching for ages (basically since) for a way to translate this fun-at-the-time activity into something more grown up.

I did end up with a lot of ends on the back and I don't think that this is right. Technique tweak needed!

I am a bit happy that I have found it! Because this was an experiment, I took a piece of scrap canvas and some very cheap acrylic wool and with a water soluble marker, I drew what I thought was a random line - a friend of mine pointed out that it looked like two people shaking hands. I later saw that one of the figures was pregnant with twins! I wonder what a psychiatrist would make of it all.

Smoothly repetitive work

Anyway, I drew a random and curly line. This sort of embroidery is worked from the back and in a hoop. I worked the black line first just to see where the design borders were.
Then I started colouring in...

Easy to do and filled in really quite quickly

Loved the texture on the front. Even with really cheap yarn, it looked nice.

On reflection, I would not use a fabric with a pattern - or i might turn it over so that the 'right side' isn't so dark. But it wasn't meant to work....

I can see the people now!

Well anyway, the great thing is that it is mindfully repetitive and at the same time, a total zone out. I did it in front of Netflix (as you do) and it was soooo relaxing.

I am sure that the ends are not supposed to be there!

Once it was finished, I glued it into the frame and added a black braid border...

It is not usual to put the braid border on but it finished it off quite nicely.

A bit of scrap interfacing filled in the back and then I sealed it off with some black felt. 

Perfectly boho

Well that's it until next time! I will do something else and put some proper instructions up. It is fun and it is a tool worth chasing.

You can find out about stockists in the UK from clover@stockistenquiries.co.uk

See you next time!
Debs
xx