Tutorial: Handbag Gift Card Holder

With a few birthdays coming up,  I needed a way to give money or gift cards.  We had some paint chips left over from last years craft, so I used those to make some handbag gift card holders. 

Materials:

• Paint Chips (I used Taubmans)
• Double-sided sticky tape
• embellishment
• ribbon

Firstly, I stuck two paint chips together around three sides to make the handbag. The paint chips I used had a rounded base. If you don't have Taubmans paint chips,  shape the base of the handbag by rounding the corners on the paint chips.  Then I attached  a smaller paint chip on the back of the handbag and folded it over to the front to make a flap. Then I attached the ribbon to make the handle of the handbag and added an embellishment to the flap to finish.

Posted by Sarah

Winter Warmers

With the arrival of some cooler weather, my crafting over the past week or so has involved playing with some of the gorgeous organic yarns that are around at the moment. 

This one is a wool and soybean blend - really soft and warm......

This one is a bamboo and cotton blend....

I have traded my old knitting needles for some bamboo needles and have really enjoyed the difference. 

Sarah and I are addicted to Master Chef on Channel 10 at the moment and have been snuggling under this crochet blanket while we watch. I worked out that I made this blanket 27 years ago when I was 17 years old. It was the year I was doing my Year 12 exams and my reward for every hour of studying, was to crochet a few rounds. It is still going strong but after seeing all the lovely afghans around at the moment, I feel quite inspired to make an new one.

I have started this Cherry Tree embroidery from Marie Claire Idees and am enjoying some stitching in front of the TV. 

We have a long weekend coming up this weekend, in celebration of Foundation Day, when the Swan River colony was founded in 1829. I hope to get back into some sewing over the weekend. I see another quilt in my future!

Posted by Lisa

Autumn Activities

On the weekend, I baked some chocolate chip cookies using a twist on my favourite recipe, and have nearly perfected the ultimate chocolate chip cookie! They have been great at school this week.

On Sunday, I made up some cards using new supplies I bought at the Perth Craft and Quilt Show last week.

The weather is starting to cool down and I was in need of some new slippers. Mum and I found these cute Billabong slippers lined in gorgeous Japanese style fabric. They will be perfect for winter.

Posted by Sarah

Pass the Envelope Please!

With the current economic climate, it has never been a better time to embrace Green Crafting. Being able to repurpose or recycle bits and pieces from around your home is very satisfying. Crafting with recycled materials is also great for kids projects - it teaches them about recycling as well as crafting on a budget. I have been very interested in all the projects popping up lately using recycled security envelopes. 

I kept all my envelopes that came in the mail last week. Today I had some fun putting them to good use! First up was a mini shopping pad to keep in my handbag, made from a cereal box, paper, and decorated with security envelopes. 

I love the soothing, understated patterns of security envelopes - perfect for embellishing gift tags!

Here are some small envelopes made to store small templates from sewing projects. 

Here are some other cool ideas:

Security Envelope Projects at Junk Mail Gem

Business Card Envelopes at Crafting in a Green World

Inside Out Security Envelopes at Design * Sponge

We also wanted to thank the wonderful Sandra @ Pepperberry & Co for bestowing us with an award recently. Sandra makes so many stylish products including journal covers and snap pouches. Be sure to check out her awesome tutorial for making iron on labels!

Our blogging friend, Tania, from Jet Craft Books is having a 100th post giveaway with some very generous prizes! Please drop over to enter.

Posted by Lisa

Inspiring Magazine

I received my first copy of Marie Claire Idees yesterday, the summer issue, and it is a visual feast! It is a delightful magazine full of crafts, decorating ideas, and recipes. Everything is beautifully styled and photographed - I don't know where to start! Fortunately I studied French for 2 years in high school and picked up a bit during our year in Paris so can understand most of the directions. 

Here are a few of the pages to give you an idea...

I have been busy at work this week so haven't had a lot of time to sew. I am in the process of sewing the binding onto this baby quilt.

Do you remember the Google Tag Toy I made a couple of weeks ago? You must check out the delightful version that Bonnie from Calamity Janes Cottage made for her grand baby!

Robin, from Robin Quilts, and Alison, CardyGirl, have been making Scrappy Loyalty Wallets; and Sandy from Raggedy Sandy has been making Passport Protectors!!

Posted by Lisa

Mothers Day Crafts

For Mothers Day, I decided to make some cupcakes. I used a basic chocolate cupcake recipe, and then made flowers with musk sticks and marshmallows. I dipped the marshmallows in white chocolate and then added sprinkles and M & M's. 

For our Mum's, my friend and I made a woven heart basket, which we filled with magnets. We made the magnets out of beer bottle caps. We punched circles out of encyclopedia text using a 1 inch punch. We embellished them with punched flowers and diamontes. We glued a magnet to the back.

I also made a card.

At school, we decorated a white tile with peel and stick paint.

Posted by Sarah

Mothers Day Wishes..

Sarah and I would like to wish all the Mothers everywhere a "Happy Mothers Day" for yesterday. We had a most enjoyable day, celebrating with all the Mothers in our family.

My favourite part of our Mothers Day tradition is receiving some home made gifts/cards from the children. Sarah made me some lovely goodies that she will show on her next post. In turn, I always like to include some home made goodies with my present to my Mum. This year, I decorated some tea towels and made a matching pot holder.

I love to wrap gifts in brown paper and string!

I took some yummy Passionfruit Slice to our celebration.

Passionfruit Slice

Base
125 butter
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cups self raising flour

Topping
400g condensed milk
225 g can reduced cream
½ cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons custard powder
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
3 passionfruit


To make base, cream butter and sugar, add egg, fold in flour, and press mixture into a lamington pan. Bake until golden brown in a moderate oven – approx 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

To make topping, combine condensed milk, reduced cream, and lemon juice. Spread over base. Blend custard powder, sugar, and water in a saucepan, and boil until thickened, stirring constantly. Add passionfruit pulp, pour over filling, and chill.

(Source: Country Classics, CWA. 1998)

Posted by Lisa

This Week......

This week I have been:-

• Making Vanilla Syrup for my Dad's coffee from a recipe found via Craftzine. I used real vanilla bean in place of vanilla extract.

• Starting my first Quilt using some Prints Charming fabric I bought from Hot Possum

• Making Bath Salts and Bath Bomb at Guides for my Mum

• Selling Guide Biscuits!

This week we would like to thank Rachel, from One Pretty Thing, and Amy from Mom Advice, for featuring our Restaurant Folders!

Thanks also to Selina at Wild Things of Noosa for giving us an award - much appreciated!

Check out the fabulous Scrappy Loyalty Card Wallets made by Kristin at Grace Violet, and by Deb at Like Minds!

Posted by Sarah

Embellishment Challenge!

Last week, I received a mail out from Amitie that contained six lengths of ribbon. We were challenged to use them in a project.

So I would like to introduce " Google " - A Tag Toy for Little Ones (although if I was giving this to a baby I would remove the buttons eyes for safety reasons!). The ribbon tag hair, the different textures, and the bright colours should provide plenty of stimulation for babies. To provide some auditory stimulation you could insert some crinkling material in with the stuffing (I believe empty packages of baby wipes work well). Not having any babies on hand - I was unable to try this.

This little toy was quick to whip up. If you would like to make one you will need:-

2 x 6 inch circles of polar fleece

2 x 2 inch circles of white felt

2 x 1 1/4 inch circles of blue felt

2 orange buttons (omit if giving to a child under the age of 3)

stripey fabric - 3.5 x 6 inch (cut 2 for legs - to be sewn into a cylinder)

stripey fabric - 2.5 x 4 inch (cut 4 for arms - sew 2 together for each arm)

Embroidery floss - black, green. 

Polyfill

Posted by Lisa

Mothers Day Gift Project: Restaurant Guide Folder

Organise your Take Away Menus and Discount Vouchers in this handy folder! We are often searching for our menus on a Friday night when we need a night off from cooking. This folder is quick to assemble and has made organising our Menus a snap!

Materials:

A5 Two Ring Binder (with clear pocket insert on front cover and spine)

1 sheet of patterned A4 paper

2 sheets of co ordinating textured card

1 Bindermate Clear Case with zip



Using your computer and printer, print out a title for the front and spine of your binder. Also print out labels for the sections of your folder. I used "Menus" and "Vouchers" as my labels. You may choose to have a different section for each type of cuisine (Asian, Italian, Greek, Fast Food, cafes etc) - we are not that sophisticated and usually get Take Away pizza or Asian!


Next, mount your labels/titles on pieces of card. Then assemble a cover and spine insert using patterned paper and plain card, and your favourite scrapbooking techniques.



Next, cut a piece of A4 card in two, label it, and punch holes in it to make file dividers.

At the back of the folder, insert a clear plastic zippered sleeve. The Clear Case is a great way to store all those discount vouchers/coupons that come in the mail so you can find them when your need them.

These would make a great Mothers Day gift! You could team one with a gift voucher to your Mums favourite cafe or restaurant.


Posted by Lisa