Sewing

Giorgia: A snuggly sleepy plush owl

on January 14, 2011

Helllllloo everyone,

Finally, a project to share! Things have gotten a little slow over here in Pregnant Land, with waddles a-plenty and indigestion galore. Having a significant baby belly means that even little things are a lot more difficult to execute, and because of that, the transformation of my craft room has slowed down quite a bit.{booooo} Which unfortunately means that my crafty projects are not quite as frequent as I would like them to be….however, i am really excited to share a project with you today.

Okay, so i am definitely a paper kinda girl, but amidst the chaos of Christmas, New Year, & boxes galore, something inspired me to take out my sewing machine. To be honest it was probably the fact that my sewing machine was completely self contained, and i knew exactly where my fabric bag was…which is more than what I could say for the 7,243,213,122 boxes containing my crafty supplies.

A little idea had been growing in my brain for a few weeks anyway. One of our friends was due to have a little girl between Christmas and New Year, and I spied on facebook that the nursery had an owl theme. Loving the idea of owlies, I thought it would be a nice idea to buy her an owl plush to celebrate her arrival. After searchig online, and on etsy, I saw a few that were really cute, but I knew i could make one just as cute, if not even cuter! So i took a trip to the fabric store, doodled a few ideas on paper, then sat down to cut, stitch, and play.

And here’s the final product! I think it could be better, perhaps would be cuter if it wasn’t quite as tall, but on the whole I love the fact that this little sleepy owl has its own personality.

I was thrilled that my nesties cut the felt perfectly when i ran it through the cuttlebug – so this is how i made the eyes and i used a quickutz die for the heart on the back. I handcut the letter G, and stitched this on my hand, as with the eyelashes.

To give Little Miss Sleepy Owl a professional finish, I made a tag to compliment my plush gift. Using my wacom I doodled a little replica owl and threw together a tag claiming that this owl was handmade especially for Giorgia-Evie, who arrived safely into the world last week, after much anticipation.

and… I was lucky enough to see the wee angel and give her plush owl to her, and I was so delighted to get a piccy from her mummy Bex. How utterly adorable!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope this is the start of a lot more crafting again!

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A Funky Camera Strap Cover

on June 24, 2010

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I finally did it!!

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I seen them a couple of months ago.

They made me take a long gaspy breath in. The only thought that was running through my mind was ‘me wants, me wants, me WANTS!!’

I think it was on Ali Edwards blog that I first stumbled across camera straps. Ali has sponsors and this particular time Ali was hosting a give away from one of her sponsors who hand-made and sold camera strap covers on Etsy.

I must admit I did a fair bit of browsing on Etsy, checking out the different styles and designs, and the more I looked the more I realised that I could easily make one myself! So during my last visit to Hobbycrafts, I picked up some pretty fabric so I could give a shot.

I really had no idea it would turn out so good and that i’d be so very pleased with the end result. Yeay me! Who knew that my sewing machine could be so obedient!?

I totally love the fact that now I have a little pocket to store my lens cap when i’m taking photos, as i have ‘misplaced’ this more than once, and I cant bear any more piercing looks from Craig. Now it has a home, and I will definitely look very funky when i’m feeling snap happy!

Excuse the poor quality iPhone photos. I’ve had this problem before. Taking pictures of your DSLR means NOT using your DSLR, and it doesn’t come out quite as crisp. I guess having a fancy digital camera has spoilt me

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Check out some of these ones on Etsy that I also love….

Yum!

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Gotta love Kanzashi Flowers

on September 22, 2009

Have you discovered the pure awesomeness of Kanzashi flowers yet?

This time last week I hadn’t heard of these little beauties before, but now I simply can’t get enough of them. I have pulled out my stash of fabrics and have been maniacally cutting, folding and sewing little squares whilst sitting watching tv. The technique is really simple and the result is simply phenomenal, and i cant wait to use kanzashi on some craft projects.

So what are Kanzashi?
Kanzashi are hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. Kanzashi first appeared when women abandoned the traditional taregami hairstyle where the hair was kept straight and long, and adopted beautiful-crazy and intricate coiffures. These days kanzashi are most often worn by brides and geisha.

Here’s a real easy tutorial on how you can make these little flowers, but please be warned, they are very addictive.

I’ve also found this site which has completely overwhelmed me with the intricacy and beauty in this age old craft technique. I doubt I will ever have the skill and patience to make anything as inspiring as these, but they are definitely worth looking at.

Making different sizes of flowers is as easy as varying the size of the fabric square, but the little ones are a bit fiddly, especially with thicker fabrics. Here’s the four flowers that i’ve made, and will hopefully make it on to a craft project in the near future. I also have a brilliant idea to use baby wipes instead of fabric, and to spritz them with my mini misters. I guess you’ll have to wait to see what fun I have exploring this technique.

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