Sponsored Giveaway: Violette Field Threads

We have a treat in store for you today! If you love to sew for the little ones in your life, you will be delighted to see the range of gorgoeus patterns that are available from Violette Field Threads. They are modern and hip children's clothing patterns, that make it easy to create a boutique look.

Violette Field Threads is run by two friends, Erika and Jessica, who have a passion for sewing and design, which really shows in their beautiful patterns.

"Violette Field Threads was born from a love of sewing, fashion, and creativity. We are a new clothing and accessory pattern company. We have designed and created patterns that are current, fresh, and stylish. Along with the computer-drawn pattern pieces, our patterns come with a step-by-step tutorial. Our patterns are thoughtfully written down to smallest detail. This allows for even beginning sewers to create designer looks."

Violette Field Threads sell tutorial style pdf patterns that have lots of step by step photos to guide you so that you can achieve a great result. Are you looking to make a Christmas outfit for your daughter? You can find Violette Field Threads store here and also on etsy. They would love it if you showed them some love on their facebook page.

Violette Field Threads are giving one of our readers the opportunity to receive a $75 gift certificate to their webstore. Just think of all the wonderful clothing you could make for your children with those patterns! To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. Entries close on Sunday Dec 4 at midday (WST), and the winner will be announced later that day. Good Luck!

Giveaway is now closed

Home Made Ornaments

Christmas Mushrooms are our latest design for home made felt ornaments. There is something about red and white polka dotted mushrooms that always put a smile on my face. These ornaments are easily made from small pieces of felt, fabric scraps, and twine; and will add a touch of woodland whimsy to your Christmas tree.

Materials (for each Mushroom). Each mushroom measures approx 3 1/2" x 3"  (9 x 7.5 cm)

• two pieces of felt measuring 4" x 5 " (10 x 13 cm)
• scraps of fabric for the mushroom head, stalk, and underside
• length of twine measuring 7" (18 cm)
• scraps of fusible applique web such as steam a seam or vliesofix
• mushroom template (click here to download)
• black cotton thread and thread to co-ordinate with the felt

Method:
1. Trace the mushroom templates in reverse onto the wrong side of the fusible webbing. Cut around each shape leaving approx 1/4 ".
2. Fuse the appliqué webbing onto the wrong side of the fabric pieces. Cut out the mushroom shapes from the fabric.
3. On one piece of felt, fuse the mushroom pieces in place following manufacturers directions. Refer to the photo of the mushrooms below for the layout of the pieces.

4. Using black cotton, stitch around the inside edge of the fabric pieces. Sew around each shape three times, overlapping the stitching slightly to give a sketchy look.

5. Cut around the mushroom shape, leaving approx 1/4 " of felt around each shape.

6. Fold the twine in half and position it at the top of the mushroom. Layer the mushroom onto the other piece of felt.

7. Stitch around the outside of the mushroom on the felt, catching the twine in place as you go. Over sew across the twine a few times to ensure it is well attached. Cut around the backing piece of felt so that it is line with the front of the mushroom.

You may also be interested in these projects:

Charming Ornaments
Be Merry Festive Garland
Handbag Ornaments

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You can find lots of great tutorials for Christmas gifts and decorations over at Pink Chalk Studios.

Merry and Bright

Christmas preparations have taken a back seat over the past week or so as three of us have been sick with a virus that is going around, which has left little energy for crafting and such. Fortunately we are all on the mend now! We have a few projects planned this week to finish off most of our Christmas decorations, just in time to decorate the tree in early December. We are really pleased with how our Red and Aqua Christmas is shaping up.

Sarah has designed a Christmas print that is sized to  fit in a sweet Aqua frame that we bought at Typo (7 1/2 " x 9 1/2 "/ 19 x 24 cm). This is a fun way to add some holiday colour and festive cheer to our mantlepiece, and then the frame can be re-purposed to hold a favourite family photo once Christmas is over.

If you would like to download the print pdf, you can find it here.


If you enjoy painting, there is a fabulous tutorial to make a stencilled sign over at Tatertots and Jello in our favourite colours of red and aqua.

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Book Review: Wobble by Rachael Lane

Wobble, 35 Tantalising Jellies is the latest cook book by Rachael Lane. I don't know about you, but I have always considered Jelly to be more of a children's dessert. Readily available in many different colours and flavours, often found on kids menu's in family style restaurants. This book dispels that misconception!

Persian Delight

Wobble explains the various types of gelatines and setting agents available. With this knowledge, almost any liquid can be turned into a Jelly - the possibilities are endless. The book includes recipes for child friendly fruit jellies, to more adult versions that are infused with alcohol, herbs, spices and more. It also includes recipes that use techniques such as layering, bombes and suspending. The effects, as seen in the gorgeous photography, are amazing!

Tropical Layer

There is even something for Chocolate Lovers!

Choc Mint Slice

I always think of jelly as being more of a summer dessert - as it is cool and light - the perfect end to a big meal. I think our Christmas trifle will be getting a makeover this year.

Trifle 

Wobble would make a great Christmas present for a home cook who wants to master a new technique. You could team it up with a mould or pedestal bowl for a lovely gift.

Wobble is published by Penguin Books and will be released on November 28, 2011. It is soft cover, with 102 pages, and has RRP of $24.95.

Thanks to Penguin Australia for providing us with a review copy of Wobble.

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Winners of Incomparable Buttons Giveaway

Thanks so much to everyone who entered our  Incomparable Buttons Giveaway this week.

Thanks to Random Number Generator, we have our 10 winners.

Congratulations to

Mommarock
Patchwork and Play
Luciana
Linda
Elaine Ligero
Tambanilappie
Martina
Beeshebags
"bear's house"
quinn

I have sent you all an email.

If you missed out, you can still view the full catalogue of buttons over at ButtonMad. Thanks again to Incomparable Buttons for sponsoring this generous giveaway.

Washi Tape Deer

As soon as I spotted the sweet polka dotted deer over at Torie Jayne, I was completely smitten. As you know, I love to incorporate a bit of Japanese Washi Tape into my projects, and loved the idea of covering a wooden deer silhouette with washi tape to match our 2011 Christmas colour scheme of Red and Aqua. Unfortunately Panduro Hobby don't export to Australia unless you have a order over 1200 SEK. Not to be deterred, I remembered a white painted deer that I have in my Christmas decorations (purchased from Adairs a few Chrsitmas' ago).

Some red and white polka dotted washi tape, some aqua ribbon, and a glittered aqua bell, and the deer ornament has a new lease of life! The best thing about the project is the washi tape should peel off without damaging the paint so I can redecorate it next year to fit the theme.

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Edit: Washi Tape is Japanese Masking Tape that comes in loads of gorgeous colours and patterns. You can find a great selection over at Crafty Japan.

Chocolate Cupcakes

It is such a treat to have a daughter who loves to bake. Sarah is always spoiling us with her wonderful baked goods. We are all the envy of our colleagues/school mates when we bring out our lovely morning teas. She has only three weeks of school left for the year so can't wait to see what she cooks up over the summer!

This week she made up a batch of chocolate cupcakes using Martha's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcake Recipe. (You can find the recipe here). Honestly, these cupcakes are so easy and so good. They remind me of the Betty Crocker cake mix in that they are so rich and moist.

The cupcakes were finished off with this delicious frosting.

Frosting:
3 cups of icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup dutch cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put icing sugar in a medium bowl. Melt butter with coca in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add butter mixture to the icing sugar. Whisk in milk and vanilla.

Spread frosting on top of cooled cupcakes.

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Nothing beats the spicy scent of cinnamon in the kitchen. We were treated last weekend to some delicious Cinnamon Swirl Bread baked by Sarah.

The recipe was enough to make three loaves. We ate some warm from the oven, spread with butter and jam. We sliced and froze the remaining bread, and have been enjoying a toasted slice with our afternoon tea after school this week. So delicious....

Want to make some? Sarah used a recipe she found over at Elephant Hugs - you won't be disappointed! Be warned though, it won't last long.

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Recycled Christmas Cards

One way to save money this Christmas is to make your own gift tags out of recycled Christmas cards. This is a great craft idea that kids can help with and would be perfect for them to attach to gifts for friends and teachers.

Use a shipping tag as a template, and trace a tag shape onto a Christmas card. Cut it out, punch a hole, and stick on some reinforced rings to strengthen the hole. A quick and easy activity!

I wish I had saved more Christmas cards last year for other Christmas Card Craft projects. Martha Stewart has a lovely roundup of ideas on her site.


Here are some of the other recycled gift tags we have made over the past few years:

Postage Stamp Gift tags

Christmas Tags for Bridge Lovers

Paint Chip Gift Tags

Do you have any ideas for making gift tags or Christmas decorations out of recycled materials?

Don't forget to enter our giveaway to win a set of gorgeous Incomparable Buttons valued at $10. We have 10 sets to be won and entries close on Sunday Nov 20.

JOY Bunting

Linen and vintage doilies are two of my favourite things.

Using some lovely vintage aqua coloured fabric from my Grandmothers stash, I appliquéd the letters spelling JOY onto some linen flags, and embellished it with some cream and aqua dolies.

It is the perfect Christmas message and will look great with the red and aqua theme we have got going this year.

For the full instructions, check out the latest issue of Stitch Gifts.

The issue also includes my Bath Buddies project.

Stitch Gifts has loads of inspiring projects to decorate your home for the holidays and for handmade gift ideas. It also includes projects from some of my favourite designers - Ayumi Takahashi, Betz White, Rashida Coleman-Hale, and Malka Dubrawsky. 

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Sponsored Giveaway: Incomparable Buttons

We would love to welcome our newest sponsor, Incomparable Buttons.

Incomparable is a South African company that produces handmade and painted, fully washable buttons. The company was founded in the early eighties by Jennifer Pascall working around her kitchen table, perfecting the formula for creating durable, fully washable buttons. It has since grown and now operates from a separate premises, exporting beautiful buttons all over the world. 

Jennifer's main goal these days (apart from creating lovely buttons) is to provide much needed employment and skills to disadvantaged women in South Africa. This is a company with a conscience and a cause. Some members of the ButtonMad Team have been working together from the very beginning. Nine of the eleven official South African languages are spoken by the ladies...one big family united by the common thread - being Mad about Buttons!

Each button is handmade and given its own unique personality by one of the team of Incomparable women employed by the company. 

Incomparable produces a wide variety of buttons - anything from birds and bees to teddy bears, flowers, farmyard, teeny tiny hearts to two inch butterscotch fashion buttons. The full catalogue is available on ButtonMad.com

Incomparable buttons are perfect to use on all your quilts, needlework, stitch work, handknits...they're also ideal to add to store bought items - hats, jackets, mittens, sew them onto pockets and cuffs etc. You will love their extensive range of beautiful buttons...they sell and ship worldwide.

As their tagline reads: 'Why settle for plastic?'

This week, Incomparable is generously giving away 10 sets of buttons valued at $10 per set. This competition is open to everyone anywhere in the world and we will draw the winners on Sunday November 20. To enter, simply comment on this post and mention your favourite use for buttons.

You can find Incomparable Buttons on facebook here.

Christmas Pictures

It is no secret that I love Christmas, and adding Christmas pictures to our home brings some festive cheer. We usually change our Christmas colour scheme every year or so, but you can quickly add some inexpensive framed fabric art to complement your holiday colours.

I love making pictures using embroidery hoops and the best thing is that they can be easily altered from year to year.

Materials:

• felt
• background fabric
• quilting batting
• embroidery hoop
• ribbon
• buttons

Cut a Christmas image out of felt. I used my Accuquilt Go Baby and a Dove die to quickly cut out a dove silhouette. Alternatively, you can do a google search for "Christmas Images" and it will come up with loads of great images you could trace onto felt and then cut out.

Stitch the silhouette to a piece of backing fabric that is larger that the embroidery hoop you are using.

Embellish the picture with buttons, sequins, embroidery etc.

Place the fabric in the hoop. Cut a circle of batting that is the same size as your hoop and place it in the back of the picture. Trim the fabric so that it is approx 1 inch bigger than the hoop. Tuck the edges of the fabric in  behind the picture and glue a circle of card to the back of the hoop to cover the back and keep it neat.

Attach a ribbon and a length of twine to hang the picture as desired.

Here is a reindeer silhouette that I made last year in red, white and lime colours.

Pop back tomorrow as we have a terrific giveaway from Incomparable Buttons.

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A Quilters Diary 2012

I was thrilled to discover that my "Pull Up A Pew" Cathedral Window Cushion has been featured on the cover of "A Quilters Diary 2012". It is a lovely diary that features lots of inspiring quilty photos taken from this years issues of Homespun, A Quilters Companion, and Quilts from Pre Cut Fabrics.

Homespun currently have a special subscription offer which includes A Quilters Diary. It would make a lovely Christmas gift for a crafty friend.

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Fabric Gift Pouch - Christmas

One of our most popular tutorials is the Fabric Gift Pouch, which is easily constructed from two 8.5 inch squares of fabric. The pouches are the perfect size to hold small gifts/treasures. I used some of my Christmas fabric "scraps" to make up a bunch of them today.

To make them more festive, I added some bells to the ends of the ribbon ...

... and finished it off with a dala horse tag - perfect for a Christmas thank you.

You can find the tutorial here.

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