My Father-in-law turned 60 last week and had a party on the weekend. I asked him if he would like a birthday cake and he said he wanted a 'layered sponge filled with fresh whipped cream and strawberries, covered with some chocolate with strawberries' or something like that.Sure! No problem. Then I realised I'd never made a sponge before and had a little freak out. Then I ...
The Sunflower Floor Cushion
I pinned the tutorial for this floor cushion by Living with Punks a long time ago and had a sudden realisation that the Sunflowers fabric I had printed that was too big, would be perfect for one of these! My new fabric should arrive any day now, then I can get on to making my bag! The 54" width of the Spoonflower canvas let me cut the side panel in one piece which was great! ...
Modern Monogramming for Kids
This is a post I originally wrote for Boys Own Style Month over at Cook Clean Craft.Monograms are a fun way to personalise clothes and they don't need to look like they belong on the corner of a handkerchief. My modern take is based on Stencil Graffiti and uses a big oversized monogram to really make a point!You don't need to be super crafty or have a lot of tools to put this ...
Chocolate Amaretto Crepe Cake
I promised hubby I'd make one of these for his birthday. That was in March...Oops! So, I made it for Father's Day.This cake is straightforward to make, but does take time. I'll tell you now, that the crepes take ages to make! My batch took me about 1.5 hours. I cleaned up around the house at the same time, so it's not like you're chained to the stove and you do get the ...
Happy Father’s Day!
It's Father's Day here in Australia, so Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! Roman loves his Dad a lot. I'm sure he loves hubby more than me, and I'm ok with that. These photos are from Christmas and were taken about a minute apart. Roman was completely happy to have a photo with hubby, but not with me. Oh well! I love seeing them together and every night ...
Build-a-Bag: My fabric has arrived! (Part One)
My Spoonflower order arrived yesterday but I realised I mucked it up!! I'm so annoyed at myself. After getting the test swatch I decided that I wanted the sunflowers a bit smaller so that I don't end up with just one on the bag, but I must have got my numbers back-to-front because I made them bigger! So I've had to order another yard of the sunflower print for the outside of ...
Launching the Autumn Street Pattern Shop!
The pattern for the big tote bag is here!! Just last week I put up a post showing you my new library bag. I've had such an overwhelming response to it that I've been working non stop for the last week to get the pattern ready. The pattern has been tested and proof read and I'm so glad it's finished and ready for you to enjoy. I have dreamt of selling patterns for quite ...
Works in Progress
I've been really busy this week working on something exciting, so I haven't got a lot to show you.Here's some knitting that I have in progress. When it's finished it will be a lovely big cowl. MadelineTosh has to be the most amazing yarn I've ever worked with! The colours are gorgeous and it just feels incredible! So soft and buttery...mmmmm! I won the yarn as a giveaway on ...
Build-a-Bag: The little extras
Sewing a handbag involves a lot more supplies than just fabric and a sewing machine. Here are some of the extras I've bought lately to get ready to sew my bag. One of the things that really makes a home-sewn handbag look professional is hardware! I got these lovely rectangular rings for my bag straps. I bought them here. They came in a kit with the magnetic snap to close the ...
Biiiiiiig Library Bag!
Regular readers will probably know of my love for the Library. Once a week Roman and I walk down to the library for story time and to pick up whichever books take our fancy. The thing is, that library books are heavy! I mostly borrow non-fiction and usually choose books based on their covers - how very discriminatory of me! I take them home and then have a flick through. I'd ...
Pincushion and Thread Basket
I've made up a few of these sets and they're lots of fun! The pincushion is as close as I've ever gotten to quilting and I can see why people get addicted. I know I'll never have the patience to do a whole quilt, so the pincushions will have to do for the moment. This is a great scrap busting project. I'd recommend sewing the button on before you stuff the pincushion. ...
Sewing over at Emmaline Bags
Today I'm doing a guest post for Janelle over on her blog, Emmaline Bags. Janelle is in the process of moving from Australia back to Canada...I don't think you could pick a longer trip! Understandably, she hasn't got a lot of time for blogging at the moment, so she's got some friends helping out.Janelle's blog is all about hand bags! She sells some patterns and bag hardware and ...
