GIVEAWAY

I am doing a giveaway on my Instagram for a gorgeous cat cushion

All you have to do is follow my Instagram and tag three friends:)

Please enter!!!

 

https://www.instagram.com/gembobs_crafts/

 

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Back from Paris!

Well I’m back in the lovely York now, it’s been an amazing two weeks I have enjoyed it so much and havnt stopped! My favourite things that I did in Paris were:

• National History Museum, just beautiful grounds and the zoo is fab
• Centre of Pompidou, saw amazing works by Kandinsky and Klee!!
• The Louvre, obviously amazing but the outside grounds and the funky pyramid glass statues are gorgeous
• Wondering around all the pretty streets, walking along the river and seeing the Notre dame and other pretty buildings.

So that’s my favourite things that I did but obviously everyone is different and likes different things etc.

I’m quite glad I’m going back because I havnt been able to do anything crafty in TWO WEEKS. I am actually getting withdrawals now because I normally sew everyday. I don’t know what other people do? On the evening like what do you do when you havnt got any crafts to do???

I’ve got five orders from etsy to make, a bag to send, and two people have requested some handmade curtains for me to make so I’m gonna get straight into the orders. I’ve been updating my SEO on my etsy site so hopefully that will help as well.

Kind of want to make other animals but not sure which ones? What are you favourite cushions in my shop and what would you like to see more of?

Bye bye bloggers!!

How to make a quick and easy apron dress for Dolls

Is your make-along doll underdressed and you’re pressed for time? With the risk of being captain obvious, here’s a quick photo tutorial for how to make a super cute, easy apron dress for your doll.

 

this blog post is from the wonderful weewonderfuls … check out her blog for more tutorials etc!!

Gembobs.

DIY Fabric Covered Plates… Dishwasher Safe!!

MATERIALS:

• Various fat quarter or fabric scraps
• Dishwasher Safe Mod Podge
• Scissors
• Paint Brush or Sponge
• Dishware

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HOW TO:

Step One: Cut various sized strips of your fabric to accommodate the dish size.

Step Two: Making sure your dish is clean and dry, paint a thin layer of mod podge on it.

Step Three: Place your fabric on top of your mod podge, and gently smooth out any creases or bubbles.

Step Four: Cut off excess fabric on the sides. Repeat for all sides, or all around your dishware.

Step Five: Once your fabric is on your dishware, use a paint brush or sponge again and paint a thin layer of mod podge over your fabric. Make sure you cover the entire fabric, as well as the edges.

Step Six: If a monogram is desired, cut out your monogram letter, and apply it to your dish. Once again, paint over the monogram with the mod podge as you did in the previous step.

Step Seven: Allow mod podge to dry fully. If desired, you can add another layer of mod podge to your creation over the fabric for added security. (I did.)

And you are done!

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Half the cost of custom dishware, for double the handmade present WOW factor. Imagine the possibilities.

Thanks so much http://www.mesewcrazy.com for the amazing blog post.

Happy Sewing!

Picnic Dress

Making a picnic dress

You will need 4 yards of 45″ fabric and an 18″ zipper.

These are the pieces of the pattern. Mark out the measurements listed and the distances between them. For example, on the waistband measure out the distance between your underbust/ribcage and your waist, then measure half your ribcage measurement at one side and half your waist measurement at the other. Then draw out the rest of the shape so it looks more or less like the pieces in the picture. If you aren’t used to making your own patterns it might be helpful to have a pattern for another dress to refer to, particularly for the sleeves.

  If you’re not used to making your own sleeves, trace both the arm hole and the top of the sleeve off a pattern you’ve used before and like. It’s tricky to get these curves right, and hard to move your arms if you get them wrong. I use gathered sleeves on this dress, which are a bit more forgiving. To change a regular set in sleeve to a gathered sleeve, simply make the top of the sleeve a bit larger without changing the arm hole. You will gather this extra, bringing the edge of the sleeve back to its original size.

To make the curve of the skirt even, use your tape measure like an enormous protractor. Pick a spot along the edge of the fabric to be the center of the skirt and draw a half circle by measuring a set distance (say 24 inches) from that point in every direction. This can go very quickly if you get someone else to hold the end of the tape measure in the middle. Make a smaller half circle around the same point for the waistline. The size of this inner circle will depend on your size, but should be something on the order of 5 inches.

 

To gather the top, mark out a distance ¾ of the difference between bust and underbust measurement on one side. Stitch along the edge of the fabric between these marks. Tie the threads together at one end. Pull slowly on one thread at the other end, gathering the fabric as you pull. When the gathered section is ⅓ of the length it began, tie the ends together. Repeat on the other side. Edit: if you still find this confusing, I’ve written more about it here http://www.oneaviandaemon.com/?p=863

After gathering both the lining and the top layer of the bodice, sew them together along the neckline. Turn right side out and press. Even out the gathers and make sure none of the edge bits are folded in, then sew both pieces of the bodice to the waist band, being careful with the gathered sections.

 

Sew the edge of the facing to the neckline on each back piece. Turn and press. Turn in the edge of the facing and sew this edge to the back.

Sew the front and back together at the shoulders. Gather the center of each sleeve. Sew the sleeves into the armholes.

Baste the ties to the waist band, then sew the front and back together along the side. The waistband will be sewn into this seam. Sew up the underside of the sleeve. Turn under the edge of the sleeve and sew it down.

Sew in the pockets if you’re including them (for more detailed directions, see here). Sew up the sides (but not the back) of the skirt, and sew the skirt to the top. Put in the zipper, then sew up the back of the skirt.

Turn under ½ inch all along the bottom of the skirt, then another 2 ½ inches. Hem along this edge, taking the smallest stitches you can out of the skirt.

If there’s anything you’d like to know that I’ve skipped or explained badly, please ask about it!

 

From – http://www.oneaviandaemon.com 

DIY :: VINTAGE SHEET SKETCH JOURNAL

 I wanted to throw together a super quick journal with blank pages that could be used for throwing in a purse, taking along, and using for sketches. I decided to use a vintage sheet (and a vintage button), lined with white fabric for a cover, a button and tie closure, and blank recycled paper pages.

 Supplies:
+ 9″x12″ piece of vintage sheet fabric (or any fabric)
+ 9″x12″ piece of white fabric
+ large button
+ 7″ piece of decorative ribbon
+ 10 sheets blank recycled computer paper
+ needle and thread
+ sewing machine, scissors (for trimming)
+ butterfly document clips (to hold pages in place while sewing, not pictured)

Begin by sewing the button to the vintage sheet. This way the thread won’t show through on the inside cover. Next, pin the sheet to the white fabric, and pin the piece of decorative ribbon opposite and lined up with the button (see picture).

I simply sewed the two pieces together with about a 1/2″ seam allowance. I started where the ribbon was pinned to reinforce it.

Sew all around the perimeter and then you have a nice looking little journal shell.

Using the document clips, clip the paper in place, centered on all sides of the fabric shell (sorry for the weird blurry picture!)

I measured in 5.5″ and made a couple marks so I would know where to sew down the middle.

Sew down the middle and backstitch on both ends. Trim the extra threads off.

Voila! A quick and easy vintage sheet sketch journal 🙂

 

 

from the beautiful blog http://thecreativeplace.blogspot.co.uk

 

 

 

Clouddss!!

New items in my shop! Head over there to get some cute new cushions, owls, elephants, bunting, cards and more!!! 🙂
Happy New Year to EVERYONE!
http://www.gembobs.co.uk

Diy Horses!!

Many of us can remember back to a time in our life when we had a stick horse laying around. They are classic toys and classic for a reason! To this day, stick horses are great toy to spark a child’s imagination! 1. Supplies: fabric, stuffing, yarn, long wooden dowels, styrofoam balls, felt. 2. Carve out a portion of the styrofoam ball and glue the stick into the ball. 3. Cut out your horse head from your fabric. Cut yarn (about 30 inches) and double over. 4. Sew around the perimeter of the horse head, adding the yarn in as you go. Make sure to leave the bottom or “neck” open. This is where you will add your stuffing.  5. Turn the horse head inside out and begin stuffing.  6. Once you have the horse head mostly stuffed, insert the ball into the neck and finish stuffing around the ball. Hand-stitch the opening closed. 7. Cut out the horse’s ears and stitch around the perimeter. Turn right-side out and hand-stitch in place. 8. Add details such as a bridle and eyes. For these horses, I cut eyelashes from black felt and used fabric glue to glue them into place. I used the sewing machine to sew strips of scrap leather together to create the bridle and reins. Im going to make these horses for my little sister. I have already bought all the things you need so i cant wait to get started!!! I’m hoping these will be fun toys they will cherish for years to come.

http://www.abeautifulmess.com

Zippered Throw Pillow

Zippered Throw Pillow


Materials Needed…
Fabric of your choice -amount depends on the size of your pillow *see note below
A pillow form – can be found at most craft and fabric stores, the ones I used are from Ikea
Pins (you know the kind with the little ball on the end 🙂
Thread – preferably to match the color of your fabric
Tape Measure
An “all purpose” zipper – the length should be about 4″ shorter then your total pillow width
An Iron
and of course…A sewing machine
*If you are unsure how many yards of fabric to buy…I would purchase 1/2yard for a 16″ pillow form or smaller, and a full yard if your pillow form is larger then 16″ in diameter.

Step 1. Determine the size of your pillow (by looking at the tag) or measuring with a tape measure. Cut your fabric 1″ larger then the dimension of you pillow in both height and width. My pillow was 19″ x 19″ so I cut two pieces of fabric 20″ x 20″

Step 2. Take both of your fabric squares and lay them together so that the 4 sides line up perfectly (or in my case sort of perfectly). Make sure the pattern side of your fabric is facing in, so you will only see the backside of your fabric.

 

Step 3. Center you zipper in the top section of your fabric. Place a pin in the fabric where the zipper pull starts and the metal stop ends…as shown below…

 

 

Step 4. Now sew your fabric about 1/2″ down from the top edge until you hit the pin (which marks the stopping point). Do this to both sides of your fabric. Be sure to back-stitch a little at the beginning and end of the sewn seam for a stronger hold.

 

 

Step 5. Now, iron down the open seam (the same one you just sewed) about 1/2″ all the way down the fabric. 

 

 

 

Step 6. Place your zipper face down on the newly ironed fold. Pin the zipper down so it will stay in place while you sew it on. 

 

 

Step 7. Now for the scary part…which is really not so scary.

Sew the zipper to your fabric starting at the edge that does Not have the actual zipper pull. Pull the pins out of the fabric as you sew and make sure to once again back-stick at the start and end. STOP before you get to the end (actually you sort of have to because the zipper pull will be in the way).

 

Step 8. When you get to the zipper pull, lift up the presser foot and zip the zipper back a couple of inches. Put the presser foot back in place & keep sewing where you left off until you reach the end of the fabric. 

 

Step 9. Now pin around your entire pillow, making sure the end corners meet together nicely.

( I somehow forgot to take a pic. of all of my pins, so I photoshopped them in 🙂

 

 Step 10. Sew all the way around your pillow (except for the side with the zipper). To do this, start at any corner of your pillow and sew about a 1/2″ seam all the way down until you hit the next corner. Now lift up the presser foot (leave in the needle, woops…don’t look at the pictures to closely!) and turn the fabric 90 degrees. Then put the presser foot back down  and keep sewing. (do this at all corners).

 

 

 

 

 

Step 11. Cut the corners of your newly sewn pillow case, but don’t cut into your stitch lines. Removing this extra fabric will make your finished pillow case corners look smoother.

 

Step 12. Fold your pillow case right-side-out and insert pillow form. 

 

 

Voila!

New fabrics from IKEA

Went to Ikea yesterday and got a few new pieces of fabric to make some cushions!! 😀 The fabric is so thick and you can just see how well made it is and the designs are really nice 🙂 Happy Happy!!!