Christmas Cards

I've done pretty well this year, and have actually made all my Christmas cards. (I did last year too, but only managed about 6 cards!) 

All of the cards (except the poinsettia one) I have adapted from other people's designs - mainly found on Pinterest, so I claim no originality at all! I'm really grateful that people share their creativity, so that 'copiers' like me can have fun making stuff too.

(These cards were the inspiration for this one.)

(The original idea for this card is by Karen Aiken, here.)

(The original of this card is by Jan Hobbins, here on the Sizzix blog.)

(I think this is the original card here.)

I did come up with this one though - I just got the new Tim Holtz Sizzix poinsettia cutter, and cut out cream cardstick, which I coloured with Copic pens, and then moulded into foam with a ball tool, to give a bit of dimension. I stamped the petals with a little script stamp, and then added some 3D Clear Gloss Finish around the edges, and glued a few beads in the centre. I like how it turned out (though I like anything which involves using my new Copics at the moment!)

Some of the products used:


   

Copic Markers!

I have been admiring Copic marker pens from afar for quite a while now, and decided to finally take the plunge! After researching pen types/colours to go for, I went with the cheaper Ciao range, with just a few of the Sketch pens thrown in, when I couldn't get the shades I wanted from the smaller Ciao range. I picked a few of my favourite colours (didn't get any lilacs/purples for example yet), and bought 3-4 pens in graduated shades. 

I had a great time stamping and colouring yesterday - these are a few of the things I did. 

The only problem now, is that I need more stamps which are suitable for colouring-in!

They are beautiful pens - alcohol based, for use with dye based ink, and blending with them is a joy!

Sewing Machine=Hero Ats 'Sew Artsy' set

Imaginisce Hot Chocolate stamp

House= Stampin' Up 'Neighborhood' Wheel stamp

Girl=Gorjuss 'I found my family in a book' set

Sizzix Pop 'n Cuts Cards

 Another couple of cards using Sizzix Pop 'n Cuts card bases...

Log Cabin Doll's Quilt

Here's a little quilt I made for my niece's first birthday. She was getting a doll from her Grandparents, so I thought I would make it a quilt, and also a little pillow and pillow cover. Apparently she quite likes it, though not for her doll, but for herself to sit on, instead!

Washi Tape & Cards

I have come pretty late to the Washi Tape scene... but have finally arrived! I love the matt texture and low-tackiness of it, and have bought a few different rolls, plus adhesive sheets lately. I had a good browse for ideas on Pinterest, and have a new board on there full of stuff to try.

A couple of cards I made using Washi tape

More Cupcakes

Cupcakes which I made for a couple of events we've been to recently.

Zippered & Lined Pencil Case Tutorial

The day before yesterday, I was working my way through a big long list of Things To Do, when by mid-afternoon I ground to a halt, and had the mad urge to make my first zippered pencil case.

Here's what I did: (I follow pictures better than words, so this is my reminder.)

1. Cut out 2 outer fabrics and 2 lining fabrics all the same size. The zip can be longer than needed.

 2. One lining fabric (spotty one) face up, zip laid along top edge, face up, then lay an outside fabric face down. All three top edges are in line with each other. I pinned mine.

3. Use a zipper foot on sewing machine, and sew along top edge of zip, through all three layers. 

(You don't really want to sew past the zip pull part - it's too chunky, so after sewing part the way across, open the zip, so the zip pull is behind your sewing machine needle.)

4. Here it is now with one lining and one outer fabric sewn onto one side of the zip.

Fold both pieces of fabric down away from the zip. (Only the outer fabric has been folded away, so far, in the picture below.)

5. Lay 2nd lining fabric face up. Place the zip (zip teeth face up) along the top edge.

6. Place the 2nd outer fabric, right side down, on top of the zip. I then pinned mine, and sewed along the top edge of the zip again.

7. The 2 linings, and 2 outer fabrics are now attached to the zip. Iron them neatly away from the zip.

8. I then sewed along either side of the zip. (I actually sewed along each side twice in this picture - but only because I made such a mess of the first line, and somehow I imagined a second line would make it look neater... nope - just 2 messy lines either side of the zip now.)

9. Then make sure the zip is open half way (important for when you want to turn the pencil case right-side out later on), and open out the whole thing with the 2 lining fabrics facing each other, and the 2 outer fabrics facing each other. 

Make sure the zip teeth are pointing down into the lining side - this makes the finish neater. 

Try and get the 2 sides of the zip lined up really well with each other. Mine went a bit skew-wiff, and next time I make one, I will definitely pay more attention to this.

10. Start sewing all the way round, starting at the bottom of the lining side. Leave a couple of inches gap at the bottom of the lining, for turning the whole thing right-side out. I sewed a couple of times forwards and backwards over the 2 ends of the zip, for extra strength.

I trimmed round the edges afterwards, to neaten them up, and also snipped off some fabric in each corner.

11. Turn everything inside out, then pull the lining out of the pencil case. I folded in the raw edges where I had left the gap in the lining, and sewed a little line along the bottom.

Iron the pencil case while the lining is sticking out, so that you don't iron creases into it.
Use something pointy, but bluntish, to poke into all the corners to get them neat.

12. Ta da!! Definitely not perfect (wonky stitching along zip, and zip ends not lined up perfectly), but still very pleased with my first effort!

(Update: My pencil case now has a twin!!)

A couple of cakes

Some cupcakes I made for a Mcmillan's Cancer Support Coffee morning, yesterday. Vanilla icing, with a little pocket of raspberry jam in each.

(And some ones at the bottom of the first picture with much less icing on, for my kids! Already got a Type 1 Diabetic in the house - not planning on creating a bunch of Type 2's!)

A Sizzix Saturday

Oh what a lovely lazy Saturday! The house was clean and tidy early on, and we had a nice visit from my parents-in-law, then I got to spend the afternoon playing with Sizzix, making cards for my friends...

Some of the products used:


   

Time to start a new quilt

The last few weeks have been a bit intensive - Lucy our 14 year old was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes the day before she was due to start back at school, on 3rd September. It was very sudden, and she was not really ill at all, we just were lucky to spot the signs early. She was in hospital for a couple of days, then back to school again the day after, and has done all her injections herself from the very first one. There's been a very steep learning curve going on in our home, and adjustments to be made, but I think we are doing OK.

I really felt the need to make something last week though, and so started this very simple quilt - just some 9 patch blocks with wonky star bits added to 4 of the squares. I cut all the bits out for 12 blocks, and will sash it in off-white. I used some old Tanya Whelan fabric that I have had stashed away for ages.