Showing posts with label handmade gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label handmade gifts. Show all posts

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

CRAFT DIY - Robin Applique Scarf

This year I wanted to make something special for my Nana. She is a great lover of birds, nature and the countryside. She also loves to garden. I wanted to get her something she would really appreciate, but it also had a be budget friendly as I just don't have the funds for big gifts this year. I decided to hand decorate a scarf with a seasonal bird - a cute robin!!

I started off with a scarf from the pound shop (I know - I am cheap-o this year!), which is basically black fleece material that has been hemmed. I chose this because I knew the fleece would be super easy to stitch on.

I grabbed some felt and embroidery thread from my stash in appropriate robin colours - red, brown and white. I also had a sheet of black for stitching the robin on - and to hide my stitches on the final product!

Supplies needed:


  • 1 scarf
  • Paper pattern
  • Coloured felt
  • Coloured embroidery thread + needle
  • Scissors

Step 1: Make some paper patterns

Step 2: Draw round patterns onto felt in appropriate colours x2
Step 3: Lay out your cute felt pieces to check you are happy before you start sewing

Step 4: Stitch each piece onto a piece of black felt, make sure there is space to cut around the robin (about 1/2 cm). Use co-ordinating thread for each coloured felt piece. Don't forget to add a beak!

Step 5: Carefully trim around the black felt (you will need enough space to stitch this onto the scarf!)

Step 6: Stitch your robins onto the scarf! If you have time you could add leaves / berries - it would look so cute! Modeled by my lovely mum before I wrapped it up :)
p.s. she has already opened it and was very pleased! yay!

Wednesday, 5 December 2012

CRAFT DIY - Cabochon Hairslides

I love things that sparkle, and things that are unusual. When I am shopping I immediately go for the things that are new and exciting, and generally revolve around animals. When thinking about Christmas gifts I knew I wanted to hand make some, and looking through my craft stash I found some snowflake and star cabochons (flat backed sparkly things!) and thought they would look cute on hairslides. I also had some wooden cow and strawberry embellishments that I thought would look good too. Again this is a really simple craft - if you can glue and stick then you can definitely master this!
 Supplies needed:

  • Selection of hairslides
  • Selection of flat back gems / embellishments
  • Extra strong glue!

Step 1: Gather your supplies!!

Step 2: Glue your embellishment to your slide. Make sure you know which way you want your embellishment to be facing if it can only be one way up (the cow!) but it doesn't matter for the star etc.! Follow your glue's instructions for the strongest fixture. I added a small amount of glue to the hairslide, then loosely attached to the embellishment. After about 5 minutes the glue went tacky, so I firmly pressed the slide and embellishment together to ensure a secure bond!

Step 3: Let your hairslides dry without being disturbed

Step 4: If like me, you are making these for gifts, you can jazz them up by putting them on festive card which makes them feel a bit more professional than having to wrap them up loose. I just cute some pieces of card, and trimmed them after placing the slides on. Yay for candy canes!
Hope you enjoy this little tutorial! I think my favourites have to be the snowflakes - going to have to whip some up for myself!

Friday, 2 November 2012

CRAFT DIY - Hand Stamped Notebooks


This week I have been customising some notebooks which I got from Tiger. It was a pack of three for £1 so pretty much a bargain! I just went crazy with stamps I had, jazzing up the designs with some metallic ink. Planning on making some more for Christmas presents, but definitely keeping the squirrels for myself - they are just too sweet! They will make my handbag feel a bit more exciting so I can keep notes while I am out.

I think this would be a great craft for party bags or any occasion where you want to personalise gifts without overspending!

Step 1: Grab your supplies together and get ready to craft!
Supplies needed:
  • Plain kraft notebook
  • Assortment of stamps
  • Ink - Versafine is my favourite for clear, crisp images, Encore was the brand I used for metallics as the quality is second to none, it dries really quickly and is nice and shimmery


Step 2: Stamp away! Get creative with your patterns

I love the squirrels! And the owl is a metallic green, looks gorgeous and shimmery, the photo really does not do it justice!