Saturday 14 February 2015

Love is in the air

The Knit for a Bit girls have been at it again and a love seat has mysteriously appeared in Solihull this morning:


If you would like to come along and join in our crazy shenanigans and have lots of fun and giggles whilst knitting for either yourself or for a worthwhile cause then see https://www.facebook.com/knitforabit or http://www.knitforabit.co.uk/ for details.

Also whilst on my travels around Solihull this morning I picked up this bargain from Maplins:


A set of security scissors - used mainly for shredding sensitive paper - for £1.99!  They are ideal for papercrafting but you will have to be quick as the Solihull store only has six left in stock and you will need to ask for them as they are not on the shelves!

Also I don't know whether you saw my Eclectic Elements blog hop post earlier this week but am very excited to say that all three of my projects were pinned by Tim!  How cool is that.

Thanks for looking - Feeling the love from Solihull

Wednesday 11 February 2015

Its the Eclectic Elements Blog Hop!!!

I am sew excited!  Have been waiting for this day for what seems like ages now!  A big thank you for joining me to see my creations with the lovely Tim Holtz range of fabrics.  First up:

I designed this bag using the new range of fabrics:


I have wanted to design my own bag for a while now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  The bag has a front flap which when opened displays:


I wanted two front pockets to be able to throw last minute bits and pieces in such as a car park ticket and I also wanted a secure area in which to keep my purse hence the zipped compartment - here is a closer view of the top:


The bag is fully lined and inside there is a further zipped pocket and two normal pockets.

Here is a view of the back of the bag, again with another pocket (can you tell I like pockets!):


the pocket is secured with a loop and Tim Holtz fragment which I have made into a button using matching paper.

Here is a close up of the handle to show the quilting:


It says Smidge as that's what my OH calls me - I have also put my age (but am not showing that!) and the year on the handle - all other letters are random throughout.  All of the bag is quilted using Tims Word Play sizzix die as a template - I cut out lots of letters with freezer paper which I then ironed onto the bag front, back pocket, the handle and the main bottle cap pieces which make up the basic bag and then I free motion quilted around each letter.  I spent a lovely day making this!

I then decided I needed a new Things To Do organiser in which to keep my notebook, pens, spare bits of paper and other useful stuff that I like to have handy, so I spent a few happy hours using some of the older range of fabric and hand sewing lots of hexagons and then hand sewing them altogether to make this:



as you can see it is big enough to hold an A5 notepad and various bits - there are three pockets on the left hand side and two on the right.  I finished it by machine sewing a binding on the inside and then hand sewing it onto the front to give it a nice finish.  Again it is held closed with a loop and this time a Tim Holtz muse token.

Then last Saturday I decided to add to my Eclectic Collection of finished items and made this in which to keep my Surface (type of tablet for those who don't know!) - here is the front:


I cut up the fabric into 2.5" squares and machine sewed them together into strips and then into two blocks, added some wadding and lining to make the case.  It is bound using the same method as the notebook holder and again finished with a loop (I like these loops too don't I!)  and this time a clear button with some matching paper glued onto it.  Here is the back:


I still have quite a bit of the new range of the fabrics left so am going to see what other inspiration there is on the next blogs in the hop.

Please join in with me and visit the following participants of the hop:

A big thank you to all the girls in taking part in this hop with me - can't wait to see what you have all made!

Thanks for looking - An Eclectic Sewer with sore fingers from Solihull

Sunday 1 February 2015

CC3C Technique No. 21

Well it looks like my papercrafting mojo is well and truly back as not only did I make a piece for Tim's January challenge yesterday but today I have done a piece for CC3C!  This is the first time I have taken part with CC3C that is how long I have not been playing with papers as they are on the 21st one!

The challenge is based on pg55 of the third volume of Compendium of Curiosities which is Rock Candy Distress Glitter.

Here is my take:


True to my task of trying to start using old/unused stash the decorative strip bird die has had its first outing on this tag despite being bought last September and also the rock candy glitter has only just been opened and I have had that for even longer!!

The tag uses the artful birds stamp set with the birdcage following the technique on pg 55.  The tag was inked with Victorian Velvet and Dusty Concord with all stamps inked up with Walnut Stain.  The bird is handcut out and also inked over with Victorian Velvet and then given a covering of glossy accents for a nice finish.

The pink flowers are Tims tattered floral die done up in 3d - if you want to see how to make them I have a YouTube video showing you how on my sidebar - the book page flowers are from a sizzix die that I won last year.  The garden greens are coloured with Peeled Paint ink, stamped with a script stamp and then have a light dusting of heirloom gold perfect pearls so they are a bit sparkly too.

If you would like to join in with the challenge the details are here over on the awesome Linda Ledbetters website.  You could not only win a fabulous prize from Tim and Mario but you get entered into a random draw for a fabulous $50 prize from The Inspiration Emporium.  How exciting is that!

Have had a lovely morning making this - might just go and do another one now.....

Thanks for looking - Feeling crafty from a slight snowy Solihull