Popular Crafts January Craft swap - Owls!

When I saw the words “Owl craft swap” pop up in my twitter feed I knew I had to be involved with whatever it was!

This was my first ever swap and I had so much fun doing it that I’ve just finished my second one and I’m about to post it off and am now about to start my third!

The swap is run by one of my favourite craft magazines Popular Crafts (which, by the way, you can see me and some other fab blogs in this months sites to be seen section)!

The swap is run monthly and there is a different theme each month. You send your details in and receive your swap partner. You then have to make something and purchase a gift with a £3 value and send off to your swap partner.

My swap partner was the lovely Tracey who tweets over at @summerdaisyUK

So for the swap I made –

A felt, hand stitched and hand embroidered needle case as Tracey’s  bio said she was just starting out with sewing (not that you’d think that from what I received)!

I’ll be blogging soon about how to make the needcase.

For my accompanying gift I bought some cute paperchase owl stickers and an owl candle holder (and I erm, didn’t end up buying myself exactly the same things)!

And this is what I received –

A gorgeous 50’s style pinny apron and cooking utensils wrapped in two lovely ribbons!

I love swaps!

P.s - I have no idea why my body shape looks so wierd in the above pic and please excuse my chip & dale slippers!

10 minute make - Felt bows

These great little bows are really quick and easy to make and they can be used for all sorts of different things!

All you need is:

• Felt
• Needle
• Thread
• Scissors
• Measuring tape

Step 1

Measure two strips of felt.

The first 15cm x2cm (this makes the bow loops), the second 10cmx2cm (this is the base of the bow). You can obviously make bigger or smaller depending on how you’ll be using your bow!

Step 2

Cut two little triangles out of the shorter bit of felt to finish the base.

Step 3

Fold the longer bit into a loop and stitch together.

Step 4

Place the loop onto the base of the bow and press down.

Step 5

Now you need to stitch the top to the bottom and make the bow shape.

Turn the bow over then you only need to stitch the edges. So stitch one side, then straight over to the other side. Don’t stitch the middle.

The whole reason you only stitch the sides is that once you’ve done the first stitch on one side you can pull the thread tight and stitch to the other side.

This is what gives the “pinched” bow shape. Stitch the pinched fold a few times to secure then knot!

Step 6

Use for whatever you like!

Maybe a hair grip, magnet, or to decorate gifts!

I used mine on a card for my cousin who has just had a baby girl!

Felt heart Christmas garland

Christmas is just around the corner and even though my house is starting to look a little like Christmas threw up over it I couldn’t resist one more decoration!

This cute felt heart garland is quick and easy to make and finishes off my mantel piece perfectly!

What you need

·         Felt

·         Templates (I used  my trusty cookie cutters)

·         Glue

·         Ribbon

·         Thread

·         Scissors

·         Needle

Step 1

Cut out a selection of different sized hearts.

I decided to cut out the centre of one of the hearts to make my focal point in the middle of the garland. To do this you just need to fold a heart in half and cut out a smaller half heart shape.

I also stuck some smaller shaped hearts in the middle of bigger ones to add a bit of dimension as they say!

Step 2

Once you’ve cut and stuck all your hearts lay them out and decide on your garland pattern.

Step 3

Once you’re happy with your order stitch the hearts together and secure with a knot.

Step 4

Stitch a ribbon either end of your garland to hang up.

Step 5

Hang up and admire!

Felt Christmas decorations

These little felt hearts are quick and easy to make and are much cheaper to make than the ones you see in shops!

The great thing is you can use felt and decorations that match your colour scheme. So if you’re struggling to find that perfect matching decoration, you can make it instead!

What you need

• Felt
• Templates (I used cookie cutters)
• Thread
• Stuffing (I used cotton wool from poundland)
• Things to decorate your heart with
• Needle
• Scissors

Step 1

Draw around your template to create the front and back of the decoration and cut out.

Step 2

For this decoration I wanted a smaller heart on the front so I used a smaller template to cut out a heart in a different colour.

Step 3

Stitch on any decorations before sewing any parts together together.

I love the buttons I’ve used as they remind me of candy canes! They’re a Fabric Land find!

You could also use bows, ribbons or just stitch patterns on the front.

Step 4

Now stitch the front and back together.

Step 5

Stop when you get to the top so you have a gap for your stuffing, then stuff and stitch up!

Step 6

Add a ribbon for hanging. This is just stitched on.

Step 7

Hang on your tree!

These are a few of the other patterns and styles I’ve done. You could of course do any shape you want!

Quick and easy personalised stockings

If you haven’t got much time before Christmas comes around then this is a quick and easy way to make a personalised stocking.

I managed to find some bargain ready made stockings in Tesco (50p each). They obviously look very plain and boring though so they needed a bit of jazzing up and here’s how!

What you’ll need

·         Ready made stockings

·         Felt

·         Thread

·         Needle

·         Scissors

Step 1

Cut out the letter you want to add to the front of your stocking using a stencil (I made my stencil with paper).

Step 2

Draw around your stencil and cut out the letter on your felt

Step 3

Cut down the side of your stocking (don’t worry – this will be stitched back up and hidden when you hang it up). This just makes it much easier to stitch your letter on.

Step 4

Pin and then stitch your letter onto the front of the stocking.

Step 5

Sew the edges to give it that extra homemade look (also sewing up the side you cut).

Step 5

Add any other decorations (I added a little bow) and then hang up!