New blogs with Bloglovin

If you are looking for new blogs to read, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love finding a new blog! Pop over to Bloglovin’, it’s a fantastic site where you can find and follow blogs.

The button at the top of this post should take you there!

 They are divided by category, such as craft, fashion, beauty, humour and so on, this lets you easily search different types, and they have a ‘Up and Coming’ section of different blogs you might want to check out!

This week alone I have found a whole bunch I just love, its well worth checking out!

Hoo Are You?

It’s that time of the week again for Hoo Are You? If you fancy joining in pop over to Night Owl Crafting and link up!

1. What is your favorite magazine?

It depends on my mood, at the moment I love Simply Homemade.

2. What color are your eyes?

Hazel, not brown, but hazel!

3. Do you go to the dentist on a regular 6 month schedule, or do you put it off?

I go whenever they send the letter telling me to go along for a visit.

4. Do you use anything to make your house smell good?

I use a cinnamon and apple spice candle, flowers when in season or sometimes a squeeze of fresh lemon mixed with water in a candle burner.

Mostly I just like to throw the windows open and let nature waft it’s way through my house, luckily I don’t live on a cow farm!

5. Do you have any pets?

Not any more, when growing up we always had a dog, and its weird being without one!

Fabric Yoyo Bracelet

I’ve been waiting for an excuse to make fabric yoyos for awhile, but never had anything to do with them! Until I thought of making several and turning them into a bracelet for my niece.

What you need:

Fabric

Elastic to fit wrist

Fabric to cover wrist (I forgot this!)

Buttons

Sewing stuff

Maddie is a very girly girl so I went with pink for my fabrics.

I used my wrist as my measuring guide, wrap a piece of elastic around your wrist, and snip a piece long enough to make a bracelet. 

I used a cardboard ribbon holder as my circle template.

After cutting out each circle, I threaded my needle and folded over a small hem, I inserted the needle through the underside of the hem and began sewing a running stitch all the way round the circle,

Once this was done, I pulled the thread tight so the fabric bunch up, pushing it flat to make a yoyo.

I added a few stitches to stop it falling apart; threading the needle through the centre of the yoyo I passed it through the elastic and then back through.

 Placing a small button in the centre of the yoyo I stitch the button and yoyo securely to the elastic.

After making several more yoyos and attaching them in the same way, 

I used a heart shaped button to secure the two ends of elastic together.

Here it is, isn’t it just too cute?

Making such small yoyos isn’t difficult but can be a bit fiddly. I probably should have started of with a larger one!

Next time I would cover the elastic but I got a little carried away making yoyos!!

Laminated Fabric Bunting

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I’ve wanted some bunting to hang in the garden for a while, but have been put off by the price of ready made, or to unsure of my sewing skills to make my own with oil cloth, so I decided to make my own bunting, using laminated fabric, yes you read that right LAMINATED fabric!

Here’s what you need

Fabric

Bias binding

Pinking shears

Template (optional)

Glue gun & glue sticks

Laminating machine

Laminating pockets

My fabric came from this sewing thingy, which was just to small too be useful.

 So I took it apart and unpicked all the stitching.

Make sure you iron your fabric, and on the wrong side draw around your template.

I used 2 different sized flags for mine; it’s a good idea to play around with the placement of the templates before putting pen to fabric to get the maximum usage.

Once I had all my flags drawn I used pinking shears to cut them out, regular fabric scissors are fine, I just wanted the decorative edge.

Now time to laminate! Remove any loose threads before laminating.

Set up your laminating machine so it’s ready to go, and again play around with the placement of the flags, you want maximum usage out of the laminating pockets.

Slowly feed the laminating pockets through the machine and wait for it exit out the other end.

Using regular scissors cut out each flag, leaving a small laminated trim around each flag.

Once all the flags are cut you can start gluing to the bias binding. Mine was a little wider than I wanted to I folded it half and ironed flat. Leave enough bias binding at the end to make your loop to hang it up with.

Open up the bias binding, insert a flag and using the glue gun glue the bias binding to the flag; I used the hot glue on the front and back of the flag.

Carry on gluing the flags along the bias binding, as I used 2 different sized flags I alternated 2 large 1 small 2 large and so on.

Once all flags are attached, snip the bias binding and make another loop.

And now you have some cute, inexpensive and weather proof bunting to hang in your garden!

Have you made your own bunting? If not, give it ago, it's surprising easy and looks fab!


Linking up to these fab parties below, have a peek on the side bar, you can find more awesome parties there!

Blogging for Dummy

That means me!

I shall share with you what I learnt this week.

In GMail you can REPLY to comments OMG, there was me, copy and pasting email addresses from profiles, going to GMail and then emailing back! So if you’ve ever wondered why I’ve not replied now you know.

I now love that I can do this, yay, brings me one step closer to you all, in a totally non stalkerish kinda way!

Blogger Dashboard, if you click on ‘View in Google Reader’ it takes you to a whole new world of blogging! With pictures and stuff!! Every morning I would check in and open each blog I wanted to read via the Dashboard, and even though I now know about Google Reader, I prefer the dashboard!!! No idea why!

Having a huff at your blog and facebook does not make the two of them friends, I have opened, tried to link, tried to close and reactivated a facebook page in one LONG WEEK, honestly some of us are destined never to poke or be poked! Maybe I could be a Twit, perhaps I already am!

That word verification thingy, doesn’t always take you back to your comment!! Why? It takes you back to the top of the page, which makes me think my comment is published, but noooooooooooo, it’s at the bottom of the page waiting for a random selection of letters! So many inspirational / motivational/ wonderful comments left my little ol’ me, gone, forever, in to the endless void that is non - verified comment land.

And totally unrelated to blogging, but may help one day. DO NOT allow your toddler to pull the draining pipe out the wall!! No good can come of this activity, especially when the washing machine is on, and on a super duper draining every drop of water out the laundry cycle! All you end up with is a kitchen cupboard full of water, a kitchen floor under water, which then trickles in to the family room!!

I’m sure you guys already know all this stuff and a heck lot more too, please feel free to pass on any tips or advice, whether blog, plumbing or child rearing related!!

Upcycled Jeans = Denim Counting Bean Bags

I decided to try and merge the wonders of sewing and upcycling!

If anyone other than me is keeping tally, I only snipped my pj's once, rotary cutter on payday!

So grabbing a couple of hub’s jeans he no longer needed I decided to make the boys some numbered bean bags.

I have learnt that having all your supplies at hand from the beginning is best, so I got the following together.

·        Jeans

·        Sewing bits and bobs

·        Rice

·        Felt sheets

·        Sewing machine

·        Cardboard

I had washed, dried and ironed the jeans, then cut out a template from the card, approximately 15cm square.

Using the template I drew 11 squares on the denim.

Pinning both sides of each leg together I cut out the squares and put them to one side.

I then printed the numbers 0 – 10, and cut these out.

Choosing several different colours of felt I traced around the numbers cut them out and stitched each number on to a piece of denim.

Right sides together I then used the sewing machine to sew the sides together, leaving a small gap to turn right side out.

I then trimmed of any excess fabric and snipped off the corners.

Using a pencil to help, I turned them the right side out and filled up half way with dry rice.

Once I was happy with them I stitched up the opening and tada!!

I now have cute little numerical bean bags for my boys, I’ve already thought of a load of games we can play using these to help the boys with numbers.

The boys have been playing with them today, and they have survived been thrown around and pulled in every direction, the really enjoy playing with them yay!!

Hoo Are You?

It’s that time of the week again! Linking up to Night Owl Crafting for this week’s Hoo Are You?

Here are this week's questions!

1. Have you ever had a professional massage before?

Nope, Spencer gives good massages though!

2. When drinking bottled water do you have a preference on which brand you drink?

I really don’t mind so long as it is still, fizzy water makes me feel ill!

3. What is your favorite kind of soup?

I lurve Heinz Tomato Soup, and the vegetable soup which Spencer makes, sooooo yummy!

4. Do you have a preference on which Kleenex brand you use?

Not particularly, but not a cheap brand, normally to rough and they just hurt my nose.

5. What is your favorite breakfast food?

I have too many favorites! Here’s a few

·        Cinnamon Waffles

·        Cinnamon toast

·        Cinnamon tortillas

·        Frosted Shredded Wheat

·        Co co pops

·        Cinnamon porridge

·        Fruit smoothie

Great Sewing Project

Guess what?

Little ol’ me found, started and finished a sewing project in ONE evening! I know, I can barely believe it either!

Ruffles, yellow and polka dots, could it get any better?!

Honestly, I’ve never done this before; I felt and still kinda do a great sense of achievement. It’s really made we want to crack on with the projects I have started and not finished.

I was randomly blog hopping on Friday, and found a fantastic blog called 2 little hooligans, I would highly recommend you pop over and have a look.

With my shopping bits and pieces

Whilst reading the great posts, I found a pattern for a cute shopping and coupon organiser, which will definitely come in handy. The tutorial is so well written and has great photos at all stages, for most sewers this project would take between 1 hour and 1.5 hours to complete, it took me more like 2.5 hours, But only because I did a few steps wrong and had to improvise slightly, I didn’t have a zipper so after umming and ahhing I decided to just use bias binding to make the pocket, this works just fine for my needs.

Another, pic, just 'cause I love, love love it!

I would definitely advise you to buy a rotary cutter for your fabric, I don’t have one yet and in the process of cutting my fabric I actually cut my PJ bottoms twice!

I love sewing machine at the moment, my Singer is my new BFF!

So now I’m on the look out for some practical, simple sewing tutorials, any suggestions?

Linking up to