I've just got home from a wonderful but berloody exhausting trip. Visits to Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, plus hotel changes and trips to the beach meant that over ten days I ended up sleeping in eight different bedrooms. Yawn. It was so great seeing the step-sons and my nephews and hanging out in the sunshine (I am definitely over Winter, COME ON SPRING!), but gosh it is so good to be home.

Now I'm madly, madly trying to catch up on things. There's a Collecting Colours post heading your way in the next few days, and some BIG news (at least for us anyhow), but in the meantime I've added a few more goodies to the Great Good Things Garage Sale.

This may just be my favourite update yet - I adore this pinafore (dark blue + peach piping + geometric print? So great!) but have never been able to squeeze in to it - maybe it might fit you? And then there's these three great tees from the UNIQLO X MT range. And these amazing retro inspired pumps from Nine West. And this dress from A.P.C. Madras. And this one from Gorman. Oh, and all the UNIQLO scarves are now just $15! Hurrah!

Handmade Holidays : Pom Pom Wreath

Over the past few weeks, whenever I've had a spare moment, I've been making pom poms. Whether it's those minutes at the end of the day, when everything is kind of organised and the dogs and I are hanging for the husband to get home from work; or while I'm waiting for a bunch of photos to upload to Lightroom or Flickr or this blog; or when I just can't face the to do list - it's been pom pom time! And the end result is this wreath, which is now proudly hanging on our front door. 

Here's how you can make one too:

Step One : Make Your Pom Poms! 

Fairly obvious really. If you make them in stolen moments across a few weeks you'll have a pile of pom poms before you know it, and without the pain and cramps that can come from going pom pom crazy. My wreath was about 24 cm in diameter, and I needed 40 pom poms to cover it (a mix of big and small). I used these nifty Clover tools to make mine. They do speed the process up a bit, a wise investment if you've caught the pom pom fever.

Step Two : Attach Ribbon and Centrepiece 

The first thing I did was attach a ribbon, for hanging the wreath. Then I used very, very thin and bendy wire to attach the centrepiece, the star. You might want to use ribbon or wool for your centrepiece if you want it to be a bit more dangly. If you don't do these bits now don't fret, it would be easy to add them in later too...

Step Three : Plan Your Wreath 

Before I started assembling my wreath, I found it helpful to lay everything out - planning out the colour clusters and placement of the extra bits. I used some baubles in mine, I like the contrast of textures and the extra sparkle it gives the wreath.

Step Four : Beverage

Make yourself a beverage. Macchiatto was my drink of choice for this project (can you spot it?), but maybe you prefer a herbal tea? Or a smoothie? Or something a bit more 'medicinal'?

Step Five : Assembly 

Working your way around the wreath, tie each pom pom in place. Slot your baubles in the appropriate spots - I used very, very thin wire to attach my baubles, it holds them firmly in place.

Step Six (Optional) : Make Emergency Pom Poms 

You might find as you start attaching everything that you have a few little gaps. I did, so I had to go back to Step One for a while...

Step Seven : Ta Da! Step back and bask in your lovely pom pom workmanship!

ps. As I type this the youngest step-son is beside me making more pom poms - the virus is spreading! Huzzah! 

ps. Hi again...crass market research question - would you buy something like this? And if so, what's the most you'd be prepared to pay? (Please be honest, I won't be offended!)

Handmade Holidays : Embroidery Hoop Ornaments

Oh my goodness - twitter and instagram is simply AWASH with gorgeous lovely festive photos of people putting up their xmas tree (see here and here for example). I have to wait till the step sons arrive to put up ours because xmas isn't really xmas without the kids, right? 

However, the nice thing this year is that I've bascially had a two month lead up to xmas where I've been at home! No planes, no suitcases, no trips - just hanging out in Seoul with the husband and the hounds! This is pretty unusual and also pretty awesome. It means I've actually sent my xmas cards before xmas this year, I'm almost ready to put all the presents in the post and I've had time for a spot of festive crafting.

The embroidery hoop ornaments above are going to my parents-in-law. I'm rather pleased with how they've turned out. I especially like the cardboard backing with stamp and message. These ones are in little 5" hoops. I've also made one in a 6" hoop, which you can get a sneak peak of if you scroll all the way down (I can't show you the whole thing because it's for someone who reads this blog!). Next I want to make one in a blue/turquoise theme for us (we're having a white, silver and blue xmas), and after that I think I might make some non-festive ones for the shop (I'm thinking rainbow and monochrome). 

Here's a little bit about how I put them together.

I used a stamp as my pattern, and just stamped directly on the fabric. If you've got a decent stamp collection like me, you'll be getting excited about all the stamping/embroidering possibilities. I've found a soft grey ink strikes the right balance between providing enough of an outline and not showing through in the finish (or you can match your ink to the thread like I've done for the blue one). The key is not to have too much ink on your stamp, otherwise the lines will bleed a little and you won't get a nice neat end product. Next - stitch away! I used a simple back stitch. Just make sure you keep your stitches nice and even and your lines fairly straight. I used a small length stitch for these.

Get some sturdy card stock and trace around the inside of your hoop. Cut it out so you have a circle that will fit neatly in the back. Next, centre your embroidery in the hoop and make sure the fabric is stretched nice and tight. This takes much longer than you think it will. Trust me. I used a ruler to double check the star was actually centred.

Cut off the excess fabric, leaving a 1" to 2" overhang. Then start stitching around the edge to gather up the excess and pull it tightly together. You are kind of 'pleating' the fabric. It's at this stage that you should put your circle of card stock in the back of the hoop. It's tricky to slot it in after you've stitched up the back. I know because I've tried. I tried because I'm an idiot.

Once you've stitched around the whole circle, gently pull the thread so that the fabric gathers together in a nice tight circle. Tie a knot. I also like to dribble a tiny little drop of glue on the edge of the cardboard so that it sticks to the wooden hoop at a point of two, to hold the card stock in place. Lastly, add your message to the back and voila! You're done!