A Round Tuit (38)

Welcome to this week's 'Round Tuit'

MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION are the key factors behind my Monday posts and opportunity to link up and encourage, motivate and inspire each other....with your very own ROUND TUIT

Tuits are very hard to come by, especially the round ones. For years people have been saying, "I'll do it as soon as I get a round tuit". Well now you can have one of your very own, and all those jobs that have needed doing will finally get done!

Thanks to those who linked up last week. Here's my favourites!

First these gorgeous little Earrings from Handmade by Eva Perendreu:

Aren't they fabulous?? She's made other miniature food earrings too and has them all on her beautiful Spanish blog - which is also translated into English too!
Do go and take a look:
http://handmadeporeva.blogspot.com/



Next, this adorable playsuit from Innocentia:

How gorgeous!  She has a beautiful blog about her sewing adventures in Jakarta, Indonesia!

Do go and have a look at what else is on her lovely blog:

http://childhood-obsessions.blogspot.com/

Finally, a great 'Round Tuit' project - Christmas in February from A Moment of Whimsy:

So called because she finally finished and posted these Christmas presents this month!! :)

I think they are beautiful - and how special would that be to receive more Christmas presents in February!

Do go and check out her lovely blog - find the ipad cover she made - it's beautiful!

http://amomentofwhimsy.blogspot.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------

So please feel free to link up your posts - maybe it's a project you've completed that you're proud of - something you have wanted to get done for a while and need some extra motivation to get going on it - or you'd just like some of that fabulous encouragement, praise and motivation that bloggers are so good at spreading around.



Whatever the reason - grab your very own "Round Tuit" button (see sidebar), and link up.
Then head on over to some of the other links and praise, encourage and motivate.
I'll feature my favourite posts next week.
(by linking up here you're giving me permission to use photos from your linked post on my blog)

Here's my picket fence voting button - please give it a click to vote for me again - I'm storming up the ladder thanks to all my wonderful readers!  Let's keep it going!
Have a great week!

Jill

Scrappy Friday with the Barbie and Bratz dolls

This week my daughters Barbie and Bratz dolls decided they wanted to have a go making something with the scraps of Barbie and Bratz fabric I have left over.

If you were reading this blog last year, you may remember they have taken over a couple of times and written their own posts about things they have made!

Their previous posts can be found by going to the Blogging Dolls page.

This time, they made up a couple of cushion covers - apparently there wasn't enough pink in my daughters bedroom already??

They chose the fabric carefully...

They're pretty good with my machine now..

And if you would like to see what they came up with in the end and to read the post the Bratz and Barbies wrote about their creation, well you'll have to take a trip to The Cape on the Corner - where they have just done a guest post!

Do go and support them in their latest venture by clicking here - I'm sure they'll appreciate it!!

(thanks Cape on the Corner for putting up with them today!!)

Thanks

Jill

And if you're still here reading this, then please give me another vote:

Go on, it's just one click, and will move me up the fence a little more!

Thank you!!!

I'll be linking this post to some of the wonderful linky parties whose cute buttons are on the bottom of this blog!

My Creative Space - learning to sew

This week my girls are having a break from learning to sew, and I thought I'd try to learn somehting myself instead!

A few weeks ago, I discovered the applique setting and foot on my machine (after 7 years of using the machine I might add!).  So I thought I should look at what else my machine can do that I haven't made us of yet! 

Well what would you know - my clever little machine can do a rolled hem!!

There's a special foot...

Which rolls the material for you!

And finishes it so neatly!!

Who would have thought!!

My excitment at discovering this feature was tempered a bit when I found that getting the hem started and finished aren't so easy - will require some practice!!

But hey - a new skill - a new tool (well new to me anyway!)

How about you? 

What have you learned about your craft lately?

Jill

oh, and if you have a split second to click this picket fence button I'd be very grateful! I just need a handful more votes to move into the top 200!! Thank you!

For more wonderfully creative spaces, head on over to Kirsty's place at Kootoyoo



How are you Creating your way to Success - The Clip Cafe

·Welcome my new weekly post about how different people are Creating their way to Success.

My aim in this weekly feature is to :

• Provide an interesting insight into other people’s journeys towards their own personal success

• Help contributors to this post by encouraging them to advertise their own blog, website or shop / market within their post.

• Share motivation and encouragement with as many people as possible who are looking to use their creativeness to work towards their own goal of success.

This week's guest is The Clip Cafe:

What do you create?

I started out making hairclips for Babies, Girls and Mums. But am discovering all sorts of crafts now and am enjoying dabbling in anything. I am a beginner sewer and finding it enjoyable. I hope to learn to crochet one day too. I enjoy photography and just started a 365 project to take a photo a day. (http://www.flowerphhotography1.blogspot.com/)


Why do you create?

I create to have a bit of me time. We have a busy household and I find this is a nice outlet for me. When I sell things it helps us too.


Do you sell your creations? If so, how? Where? And is it profitable?

Yes I sell on madeit.com. My shop is called The Clip Cafe (http://www.madeit.com.au/theclipcafe) and also have done a few craft markets in my own city. The craft markets are fun and very profitable. They take a bit of organization though and I have to have someone come with me to help on the day.

What mistakes have you made or lessons you have learned?

I bought a few different design business cards when I first started out because i liked the designs but i have found it is more professional to just have one and keep things uniform. Or even better I would do handmade now - they are so much more personal. I just have to get through the stash I have (bought ones) first.



What, to you is success? Have you achieved it yet, or are you on your way towards success?

Success is creating happiness. When you enjoy what you make and then others enjoy it to - what more would you want?


So what's next?

I am happy at the moment just cruising along creating at my own pace. I don't need to add unnecessary pressure to an already busy life. I like that I am learning and having fun making all sorts. I enjoy the various tutorials available online by more experience bloggers - these are a great help to beginners like me. I enjoy sitting down with a cuppa and snack while I read craft blogs of people who can make things I can't. I have fun sharing what I make and have been up to on my blog too (http://theclipcafeblog.blogspot.com/)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great answers once again!  And if you haven't clicked on the link to her Made it Shop - please do, she has some GORGEOUS hair clips for sale there!

If you would like to be featured on this post one week, then please email me! I'm always looking for new people to 'interview' and find out how they are 'Creating their own way to Success'

Thanks for reading - I do hope you'll come by to see next week's featured Creative soul! But don't just come on Wednesdays - there's lots more than this going on! Do stay a while and explore - you could even sign up as a follower - or 'like' me on facebook! 

Thanks so much!

Jill

Origami in fabric!

A few months ago, I got a free get creative magazine from Spotlight (fabric and craft supplies store here in Australia). 

It had a pattern in for a fabric origami bukuro (little bag) that I wanted to try.

I finally got around to it. 

Basically you cut two fabric squares and sew them together, then use that finished square to do the origami with!

.... and  here's the result:

First a pink one - cute little pockets in the front..

The soft, thin fabric made it easy to sew through all the folds..

And a little drawstring at the top to close it!

I also tried one in thicker fabric, which worked well too.

I've tried origami lots of times with paper - but must admit I'm not so good with the accuracy you need in the folding!  Fabric is much more forgiving!

I see doing a quick google search online, there are endless possibilities for fabric origami!  Wonderful! yet another project to add to my long list of things to try, make and do!

How about you?  Have you ever tried origami fabric? 

UPDATE: I've now added a photo tutorial showing how this bag is made:

CLICK HERE!

Jill

A Round Tuit (37)

Welcome to this week's 'Round Tuit'

MOTIVATION and INSPIRATION are the key factors behind my Monday posts and opportunity to link up and encourage, motivate and inspire each other....with your very own ROUND TUIT

Tuits are very hard to come by, especially the round ones. For years people have been saying, "I'll do it as soon as I get a round tuit". Well now you can have one of your very own, and all those jobs that have needed doing will finally get done!

Thanks to those who linked up last week. Here's my favourites!

First these gorgeous three bears from Suzy's Artsy Crafy Sitcom:

Not only are they incredibly cute, but the story behind her making them is even cuter!  You have to go and check it out!

While you're there, have a good look around her amazing blog!  Some fabulously creative things there and all posted in a very entertaining way!

http://www.suzyssitcom.com/

Next, a wonderful menu board from Paisley Passions:

I've seen lots of menu boards around lately, but in my opinion this one is the best! It's just a bit different - and I think it looks fabulous!  As do so many other wonderful projects on her site! Do take a look:

http://paisleypassions.blogspot.com/

Finally, this sweet photo garland from Mich in L.A:

This lady is seriously talented, and makes mostly jewellery out of the most unexpected things! Her posts are hugely entertaining - a real must to check out this one!  And do have a go at her weekly 'guess the mystery thing' post!

http://mlinla.blogspot.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------




---------------------------------------------------------------------

So please feel free to link up your posts - maybe it's a project you've completed that you're proud of - something you have wanted to get done for a while and need some extra motivation to get going on it - or you'd just like some of that fabulous encouragement, praise and motivation that bloggers are so good at spreading around.



Whatever the reason - grab your very own "Round Tuit" button (see sidebar), and link up.
Then head on over to some of the other links and praise, encourage and motivate.
I'll feature my favourite posts next week.
(by linking up here you're giving me permission to use photos from your linked post on my blog)

Here's my picket fence voting button - please give it a click to vote for me again - I'm storming up the ladder thanks to all my wonderful readers!  Let's keep it going!


Have a great week!

Jill

Scrappy Friday - ladybugs

This week my girls had a friend sleepover here.  They were very excited about this, and I thought it would be a good excuse for me to try out a scrap project inspired by http://taidyeoriginal.blogspot.com/

She linked up some cute ladybugs she had made to my Monday Round Tuit linky party a couple of weeks ago, and I knew I had to try them for myself!

So I printed out the pattern, and cut a few scraps. The only thing I changed was what I stuffed them with. Oh and I didn't give them eyes either (mine are sleeping bugs who have their eyes shut!)

I'm not very good at throwing things out - and I mean anything!  This is my bag of scraps that are REALLY too small to make anything with - I chop them up a bit and use them for stuffing!

I love making things for ny 2 daughters - they love everything I make - no matter how it turns out! It's always nice to be so appreciated!

So this time it's nice to make for their friend too!

Here's the little bugs:

Exploring the Secret Garden!

Cool way to use up those scraps! Thanks for the pattern and tutorial tai!

Here's the link if anyone else wants to make some!!

http://taidyeoriginal.blogspot.com/2011/02/love-bugs-tutorial-pattern-and-cuteness.html

Jill

My Creative Space - teaching my girls to sew

This week my girls learned to make little bags.  My eldest had asked me for a bag that would fit her princess game into (in the picture above) so I thought this would be an easy thing for them to try and make for themselves!  I shall call it the 'Annelise Bag' since it was Annelise who asked for it!

My younger daughter chose something to make a bag for too - her cuddly Kookaburra!  And they chose their materials!

They're getting good with the machine!

Through teaching them, I'm learning myself - learning what I need to explain (like 'right sides together' is better described as 'pretty sides together'; and that it's important to explain which way your pins face when sewing so it's easy to pull them out as you go!)

I also learned not to sew with the stick on velcro.  It's all I had left in white, so I thought we'd just use that -

Great! no need to pin it in place! 

Oh no! the machine needle did NOT like stitching through the glue!

Out came the eucalyptus spray to clean the needle - off came the velcro, and on went black stitch-in velcro!

The girls followed the instructions really well, and were both very happy with their little bags!

Kookaburra didn't like being in the bag - he decided he wanted to fly free - so kitty got the snuggly bag instead!

Afterwards the girls said,

"Oh I wish I'd put a pocket on the outside of the bag"

So next time ...........

And if anyone is still reading - could you click on this button for me to vote for my blog?  I'm slowly climbing up the fence, and each vote gets me higher! I'd really appreciate your help! Thank you!

For more wonderfully creative spaces, head on over to Kirsty's place at Kootoyoo

Jill

How are you Creating your way to Success - Sweet Baby Tutus

·Welcome my new weekly post about how different people are Creating their way to Success.

My aim in this weekly feature is to :

• Provide an interesting insight into other people’s journeys towards their own personal success

• Help contributors to this post by encouraging them to advertise their own blog, website or shop / market within their post.

• Share motivation and encouragement with as many people as possible who are looking to use their creativeness to work towards their own goal of success.

This week's guest is Sweet Baby Tutus:

What do you create?
Sweet Baby Tutus! I design and sell tutus and birthday sets for little girls and some big girls with a few hairbows thrown in. I also do a lot of custom orders.
Do you sell your creation? If so, how? Where? And is it profitable?
I sell through my Etsy.com shop Sweet Baby Tutus. I made my first tutu as part of my one-year-old daughter's Halloween costume and it turned out great. At the time I was also trying to figure out a way to help out financially while being a SAHM. I had purchased items on Etsy before so I did a little research and went for it! I just wanted to make a little extra money for Christmas and it has turned into a mini-business. So far it has helped out with the extras. My husband is pretty impressed!  My Facebook Fan Page has also brought in a lot of customers for me. I use it to reward loyal customers with discount codes. I also have a blog "Makin' It Work" where I blog about my life and business.
What mistakes have you made or lessons you have learned?
I totally underestimated myself! I had no idea my shop or my marketing background (what I did before becoming a SAHM) would help my shop take off so quickly! I also put off ordering in bulk for the first few months thinking I would never use all the materials. This meant I was running around like a mad woman getting materials everyday for the orders I received.  Not fun with two kids in tow. I have since found suppliers and my life it a lot easier now!
What, to you is success? Have you achieved it yet, or are you on your way towards success?
Success is being happy with what you do.  I have had jobs in the past that I absolutely hated! I am very happy making tutus and staying home with my little ones for now.  I will enter the full time working world eventually but I'm enjoying the journey I'm on now.
So, what's next?
I hope to expand locally into a few boutiques. My online shop is pretty much all I can handle right now so I'm going to take baby steps.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WOW! what a great success story! Sounds like making tutus is turning into a nice profitable venture!  Well done Sweet Baby Tutus! and thank you for answering our questions!!

If you would like to be featured here, please contact me !

And why not sign up to follow or like this blog on facebook - so you don't miss out on this and other great posts and features each week! Thank you!

Jill

Foam dice - a tutorial

For Christmas, I made my girls a set of dice to play the game of  'Yahtzee'

I have such happy memories of playing this game as a kid - on holiday with my family, and I'm thrilled that my girls seem to love it just as much.  Now that I'm playing it as a parent - I'm seeing too, just how good it is for my girls numeracy skills: 

If you're interested in that side of things - I wrote about it on my other blog 'Be Our Best' here.

 But back to the dice themselves.  I used some cubes of foam that I got years ago.  Originally I covered them with pretty fabric and appliqued letters on them, so when my girls were little they could use them to spell out simple words like c-a-t, and use them as building blocks.  They'd kind of grown out of that, so this was a good way to recycle them! Of course when I made them I forgot to take pictures for a tutorial, so I popped to our local rubber and foam shop and picked up another cube (they have a large bin of offcuts for just a few cents each, and will even cut them to cubes if you ask nicely!)Then I used an old pair of trousers - and my bag of scraps left over from other applique projects - these are great scraps with the iron on vlisoflex / bondaweb stuff already on the back! A nice budget project! 

So here's how to make the dice:

First cut 6 squares of fabric, 2cm wider than the cube itself, and 6 numbers ready to iron and applique on.

I used the numerals this time as the girls already have 5 large dice with dots on, so thought it would be good for them to have a different one!

Iron one number onto each square

Then applique around them for extra strength (I often find the glue comes unstuck after a while - partly thanks to the humidity of the tropics!)

Then lay the squares out upside down like this:

and pin the long row together

Then stitch them with a 3/8" seam

 (sorry my measurements are a weird mix of cm and inches - comes from growing up in a metric country, with imperial parents!)

Then pin and stitch the two side squares on too:

And then pin the sides together to form a cube - and stitch!

Almost there! The push the foam cube into the pocket you've created (now turned right sides out)

And using a needle and thread - stitch the remaining sides together!

Then roll your dice!!

Having a big foam dice means a simple board game can become quite an 'active' game as the kids run around the garden chasing after the dice!

Or perhaps you could draw your own 'board game' with chalk on the driveway or pavement outside!

You can use your imagination as to what you could put on the sides of the dice, for example you could make a 'conversation dice' - similar to the talking coasters I made recently...

Or you could use fur and make your own set of fluffy dice for your car! (do people still have those?)

The possibilities are endless!

Now for my favour of you again! Thanks to all those who voted last week for me - you can vote again (you can vote every day!) I'm slowly rising up the rankings on the picket fence, I'm aiming high - for the top ten! but still have a way to go, so if you would be so kind as to click on this button and vote for me - it would be much appreciated!! Thank you!!

Jill

I'll be linking this to many of the wonderful parties whose cute buttons are on the bottom of my blog!

and http://sewcountrychick.blogspot.com/