I am pleased we are having better weather this week, as having purchased these lovely sailboat napkins earlier in the summer, and with my mind awash with everything ‘boaty’, after a week in Cornwall. I decided to use them to create straw toppers and napkin rings that you can use at your BBQ’s and beach days this week. I have create a trace for the topper, (use the link below to download and printout), and the napkin rings are cut from cardboard toilet tissue inners, wrapped with the plainer parts of the napkin. Even if you don’t shop at the same supermarket as me, you can still make these sailboat bits using plain red and blue napkins, or small bits of tissue or fabric. The straw topper trace can be used for other occasions: trees for Christmas, spiders for Halloween, eggs for Easter and bells or bows for a wedding. Download the trace, and find out how I made these simple straw toppers and napkin rings.
Sailboat Straw Toppers and Napkin Rings
Favourite flapjack recipe
This is a favourite recipe of mine – make some super-sticky flapjacks today – your kids will love them. Download this free recipe here.
Simple beaded key rings
So end of term falls on deadline, what does a busy mum do? I needed to shop for teacher’s presents and had no time to do it. I decided to explore the possibility of each child making something original…how may bath sets, vases of flowers or bottles of wine can one teacher need! This led me in to thinking that maybe homemade was not a good idea because my children, ever enthusiastic but still children, would be challenged to produce something that I would be happy to give, bearing in mind their teachers had been subjected to a year of their paintings, drawings and wonderfully creative models. So, what could they create that would be different and possible, given their ages?
Find out how I made these simple beaded key rings
Hooray for the Red, White and Blue
I wonder if it’s World Cup frenzy or the spontaneous appearance of flags on cars and rooftops that has made me feel patriotic! Whatever inspired this project, I have just loved making this Union Jack cushion cover; everything came from my scrap bag apart from the cushion pad which cost next-to-nothing from Ikea. The best bit about this project is that my husband’s favourite shirt, worn out but much loved, has a new life as part of this trendy cushion…I love recycling …oh, and just for the record… girls outnumber boys in our household, so no, football was not the inspiration! Download the full project here ⇒
Really easy pincushions
With the end of the school year approaching fast, I thought I would set about creating a simple and inexpensive teacher gift, these pretty pincushions take just a few minutes to make and will use up things you have in your workroom and larder. I used scraps of fabric left over from other projects: one is modern, and the other two are vintage. Find out how to make these really easy pincushions with the FREE instructions here.
Sailing Boat Hearts
One of the wonderful things about living on the coast is that sometimes you are lucky enough to take pictures on the beach…and today was one of those days when we were able to get some great shots of my sailing boat hearts. I thought, with the sun shining so brightly at the moment, that they would bring a little bit of seaside magic to your home. You can sew by hand, machine or both, and they are very easy to make using scraps of fabric and a few items from your sewing basket. I have put together a FREE download of the project with instructions and a trace which you can printout. Happy stitching!
Download the FREE instructions here
Flags not Flowers!
I have been having trouble with my sweet peas this year…I’m not sure if it’s the monsoon conditions we have been having, or the fact that according to Helen Yemm the gardening writer, they should have been planted last autumn. I have never been organised, particularly when it comes to gardening, and so my sweet peas, small and slightly battered from the rain, have not yet managed to wrap themselves around my lovely new cane wigwam. Given that we are in June, I decided to make something to cover the emptiness left by my relucatant sweet peas. This bunting idea is very quick, and because you make it in small lengths, it can be assembled bit-by-bit as you find suitable fabric. First, buy a long boot lace, mine was 2 metres. These are readily available from shoe menders, and can be bought in a range of colours. Next, cut triangles from fabric using pinking shears – each triangle should be about 17cm across the base and 17cm high, measuring up the middle. Lay the boot lace flat on a table and then space the triangles evenly across the lace. Pin, then using a sewing machine, stitch along the length of the lace securing the triangles in place. Voila!..wrapped around the canes I have instant beauty and I am happy to wait for my sweet peas to gradually work their way up. For fun I have just added the butterflies – they have small magnets on the back. I used a twist of florist’s wire around the canes for them to stick to.
These jars are a gift…
This weekend I have put together a couple of gift ideas that look really pretty, yet will cost you next-to-nothing to make. The jar on the left contains material scraps, buttons, pins, needles and a couple reels of thread. It could be given to anyone interested in sewing, and even a child if packed with care. The jar on the right contains an assortment of paper cupcake cases in various sizes. Both would look lovely displayed on a dresser. To make a filled jar first wash and dry a jam jar and lid. Next, cut a circle from fabric using pinking shears – I draw around a tea plate slightly bigger than my jar lid. Fill the jar then screw on the lid. Place the fabric circle over the lid and secure with a rubber band. Tie bakers twine or fabric securely around the jar to cover the band. String together several vintage buttons onto a length of thread and attach with a few stitches to the fabric at the top. Add a tag, which can be decorated like mine with ribbon – I have used a cup cake ribbon and a ‘Made with Love’ charm, a scissor charm and a vintage Singer sewing machine charm.
A cake to share…
Have been knitting calorie free cakes for a new book this week. Don’t get too excited, it will be a while before it’s published. The Eiffel Tower charms managed to sneak into yet another picture…I just love them! Thank you once again for all our lovely new likes. 26 so far this week! AMAZING! Please keep sharing our posts from here and Facebook to spread the word even further, so that more people can follow our blog.
Want to knit a cupcake – you can find a free pattern here.
