How To: Easy Lamp Makeover & Spray Painting Tips

Do you ever wonder how or why you have objects in your home that you've never liked? I have a set of bedside lamps that I have always hated. They were my parent's, bought in the early 80's when bronze stuff was really 'hot'. I never liked them then, yet I managed to inherit them as a teenager and they have followed me to several homes. I'm cripplingly thrifty you see, and because they still worked fine, throwing them out was not an option. I thought new lamp shades would help, but it didn't, so as a last resort, out came the spray paint!
Check out the before and after, and some spray painting tips below.

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How To: Hama bead Medal Brooch --> Give yourself a Medal

Being a mum is a hard and sometimes thankless job, as awesome as my kid is, some days I feel like I deserve a medal. (She is usually pretty great, so I shouldn't really complain)
Well, I'm not one to rest on my laurels, so I decided to make a few medals of my own with some Hama beads. They are colourful, plastic fantastic ones, perfect for reminding myself that I'm pretty great at my job, when things aren't always going my way.
I think you deserve one too, so read on and make some of your own...

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Six Baby Gifts to make with Fabric Scraps eBook

I'm so excited to launch my new eBook - Six Baby Gifts to make with Fabric Scraps.
It's a colourful collection of practical gifts for new arrivals, and teaches some handy skills along the way.
 
If you are like me and love to craft, you may find yourself accumulating a collection of fabric scraps. It can be tempting to just throw them away, especially when most sewing projects require larger fabric pieces, but please don’t. Sewing with scraps can be a wonderful experience that requires a little creativity and patience, but the results are truly satisfying.
Even though I have a big fabric stash, it pains me to waste any of it, and I keep all my scraps. Waste not, want not, I say!

Giving something handmade is not only very special, it can save you money too. Making just one project out of this book to give as a gift, will cover the cost of it's purchase.

I've created 6 original projects designed for sewers of all levels.
All of the projects are suitable for beginner sewers, with more challenging techniques clearly explained and illustrated.
Projects:
Scrappy Ball
Scrappy Bunny Rattle
Scrappy Chandelier Mobile
Fabric Covered Hangers
Scrappy Bib
Jigsaw Quilt
Printable templates included as well as tips on collecting, sorting and storing scraps.
Here is a sneak peek of some of the pages...

28 pages of clearly photographed, step by step instructions means every project is easy to follow even for the newest of sewers.
Learn techniques like sewing bias binding around curves, machine quilting, quilt binding and free style patchwork.

I have used a combination of vintage fabric scraps and vintage bed sheet scraps which would be most suitable for baby girl gifts, but all these projects can be adapted for boys by choosing different fabrics. 

I've laid the book out beautifully with lots of clear lovely photos to help you on your crafty way. It's in a PDF form that you can view on your iPad, computer or print out.

I hope you enjoy it.

Get your copy here

How To: The One Hour Dress

I'm so excited that the weather is warming up here in Melbourne after a very long winter. I had a child free hour up my sleeve last night so decided to tackle two projects at once! Clean out my wardrobe and make a new spring dress. Not really as ambitious as it sounds when you throw a little creative wardrobe refashioning in the mix.

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How To: Retro Placemat Bag

I come across so many beautiful vintage linens in my op-shopping (thrifting) adventures, but I rarely seem to use them for their original purpose. These linen placemats with their geometric retro design, I'm particularly taken by. I've had them for years, waiting for the perfect project, but could never bare to cut into them.
Whilst tidying up my sewing space I uncovered a set of vintage bamboo bag handles...then the perfect project came to mind.
This bag only took me a few minutes to construct. With no cutting and only three seams required, one can be whipped up at short notice to match any outfit.
Read on to see how to make this simple placemat bag...

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How To: Cross Stitch Chair

One curbside find + an idea + three days of stitching = my favourite craft project ever.
There is something so satisfying about finding a discarded object, giving it some special attention and turning it into something covetable. Apart from my time, this project cost me nothing at all. I had all the supplies left over from other projects, which is the best kind of crafting I think.
Here is how I made it...

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How To: Vintage Hankie Tissue Holder

It's officially Spring in Melbourne, which for me means hayfever! I suffer terribly and always have tissues handy at all times. Rather than having ugly boxes all over the house, I thought making a cute tissue holder from a vintage hankie would be a fun (and very meta) idea. Inspired by those cute pocket size tissue pouches, but much larger to fit full sized tissues.
I'd also recommend this tissue holder when traveling to avoid having to buy those ludicrously over priced travel tissue packs.

This has got to be one of the easiest sewing projects ever. If you don't have a sewing machine, it's easy enough to hand stitch.

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Kids Craft: Shoe Box Doll House

Emma has been fascinated with all things tiny of late, so I thought it was time that all her little toys had somewhere to live. A shoe box is the ideal size for a doll house, and more importantly, it's a great way to reuse items that would normally be discarded.
Her favourite crafting activities are pasting and stickers, so I tailored this project to suit. It's the most crafting fun we've had together in a long time.
I remember making a similar shoe box house for my sister's Muppet Babies figurines (remember those?).

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How To: Needle Felted Fruit - Pear

The last in the series of Needle Felted Fruit for pretend play. I've shown you how to make a Needle Felted Kiwi Fruit where you also learned how to blend fibers with a carding brush, and a Needle Felted Strawberry.
Today we will use a slightly different method and materials to create this pear and save on wool roving. Curious?

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How To: Needle Felted Fruit - Strawberry

Last week I showed you how to make a Needle Felted Kiwi fruit for fun pretend food play. This week you can add to your felt fruit collection with this cute little strawberry. It's very easy to make and a good place to start if you are new to needle felting.

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How To: Paper Bead Colour Block Necklace

I have so many delicate silver chains sitting in the bottom of my jewellery box, unloved and unworn. I'm not one for dainty jewellery pieces and thought adding some colourful beads to this silver chain would be fun makeover. Paper beads are easy to make and will only cost you pennies, but make quite a fashion statement. Why not make a whole bowl of different coloured beads, then mix and match to add a fun twist to any outfit. The kids will have fun playing threading games with these too.
I've made a video showing how to roll the beads...

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How To: Zippered Pillow Cover - the easy way

Last week I had some fun Free Motion Quilting a pretty vintage tea towel (watch the video here). I was very happy with the result, and this week I'll show you how I made it into a zippered cushion cover (pillow if you are in the US).
Inserting zippers are usually quite frustrating for me, so I tend to avoid them where possible, but the technique I'll be showing you today is fool proof.

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How To: Free Motion Quilting on a Vintage Tea Towel

I've been experimenting with my free motion quilting foot this week and I wanted to show you how fun it can be to have a little play and add an extra dimension to fabrics that can then be used in other projects. This same technique can be used on bigger projects like quilts.
I've quilted a pretty vintage linen tea towel and made a fun video so you can watch the whole process. If you've always wondered what a 'darning foot' or free motion foot was for, this is the tute for you!
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How To: Pretty Wood Grain Jar Makeover

It's hard not to notice the emerging trend in design circles for all things wood grain, and mason jars are also a popular prop with stylists at the minute. 

Why not combine the two to create a practical and decorative piece that will cost you next to nothing. Use the finished jar as a vase, for craft storage or to make your pantry just a little prettier.

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How To: DIY Doctor Play Set

Emma is really into pretend play at the moment, so I thought it was time to introduce her to my favourite roll play toy as a child, the Doctor Play set. I had a Fisher Price one as a girl, and it really got a workout. Instead of buying her a whole lot of plastic stuff, I rummaged around in a few drawers and cupboards and put together a fun set that cost me next to nothing.
Apart from gathering supplies, I made a gauze surgical mask. The tutorial is included below...

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How To: Carve Your Own Stamp

Carving your own stamps is super fun and not as difficult as you may think. Supplies are relatively inexpensive and it's a great way to personalize gift cards, wrapping paper and scrapbook projects. Start off with a simple design like this mushroom to build up your skills and confidence, then have fun illustrating your own designs. The kids will love creating their own unique stamps, just make sure you do the carving.

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How To: Needle Felted Rattle Ball

It's been a while since I posted a needle felting project, so I thought I would treat you to something a little bit special. I really love the idea of children playing with toys made from natural materials like wool, it's really important developmentally to give them a rich sensory experience that plastic toys just don't offer.
This needle felted rattle ball is a simple project, and I guarantee you will want to make more than one. A perfect gift for a special newborn or toddler. With a melodic jingle bell as a chime and it's woolly tactile surface, both child and parent will appreciate this fun toy.
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How To: Camera Strap Makeover

I just bought a new compact camera to take on my trip to Japan next week. Eeeep! Exciting! It takes fab photos and has super cute retro styling, but unfortunately the camera strap that came with it was a little bit blah.
The only solution was to 'get crafty'!
I found some cute ribbon in my stash that was the same width as the strap and it only took me a few minutes to totally transform it into something pretty special.
Here's how I did it...

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How To: DIY wrapping paper

I recently was gifted a small collection of beautiful vintage trims from a friend of a friend. I'm totally infatuated by them and don't know if I will ever find a project special enough to warrant cutting into them...and then I had a brain wave! Wrapping Paper.

It's easy to create your own personalized decorative papers, all you need is a scanner/printer or colour photocopier. Get the kids involved, they will love creating their own designs.

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How To: Making a Toddler Sleep Sac without a Pattern

This tutorial was originally created and published last winter on my (sadly neglected) sewing blog MADE OF CLOTH. It had a great positive feedback so I thought it was worth revisiting. 

I recommend this as a project for intermediate sewers and assumes some experience with inserting zips and attaching bias binding. 

Last winter Emma had a giant growth spurt, her old sleeping bag is too short for her and a little fitted around the armholes. I had a few hours to spare today and thought it was time to make a nice warm one for this winter. I will share the steps I used to make her new sleeping sac/bag without using a pattern... 

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