*gentle romance projects

I have one more of my kits to show you some example projects for.
This is the Gentle Romance Kit:

Lots of soft, pretty colours, so of course I had to make something for my little girl using this kit! She was a bit jealous of my altered vest top, so I altered a white one for her:

I used two 7" strips of the pink lace trim to stitch onto the shoulders:

And then pinched a bit of the bottom of the vest top and stitched it to hold it up - I could then sew a 7" strip of the floral fabric behind it, so it peeps through. And I added the cream crochet flower, a fabric covered button, and the fimo heart button:

My little girl especially likes the heart, she keeps looking down at it!

I used most of the rest of the kit on this layout:

Background Paper = WRMK 'Girls Night Out - Vavoom', Kraft Paper = Paperchase,
Photo Mat Paper = Papermania 'Exquisite' 6x6,
Alphas = Crate Paper 'Crate Avenue', Doodlebug Design 'Just Plain Simple', Papermania 'Curly Pink',
Thickers 'Gift Box', Foam Letters Unknown, Exclamation mark - Thickers 'Roller Rink',
Journal Spot and cut out sheep = Papermania 'Honey & Hugs', Stamp = Studio G,
Fake Stitching = Sakura Pen-Touch White Opaque Medium,
Everything Else from Gentle Romance Handmade Embellishment Kit.

I love this photo of my daughter from a farm visit, she wasn't convinced it was a good idea when she was told she could stroke the lambs!

I machine stitched the fabric on, just adding the pleats as I went, and adding the crochet flower near the woolly sheep:

I used up some more of the kit on this birthday card:

Card Blank = Papermania A6 Kraft Cards, Stamp = Whisper's Words,
Paper Scrap Unknown, Fake Stitching done with  Uniball Signo White Gel Pen.

 
I like the layout of the elements on the card, it makes me think of a layered cake. I've turned it into a quick card sketch for you if you'd like to try it out:

Let me know if you give this sketch a go!

I used the last two bits from the kit - the flat felt flowers, to make this brooch:

With a little embroidery and a few beads added. Here's my lovely daughter modelling it on her hat:

The Gentle Romance Kit is available in my Etsy shop. Please take a look!

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday, x

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Summer Brights Projects

It feels appropriate that I'm posting my projects made with the Summer Brights kit today, as it's been boiling hot here, with glorious sunshine in a vibrant blue sky all day. Very nice I'm sure, but at 8 months pregnant it's a bit too sweltering for me!

Here's the kit I've used:

And I utilised it on a layout, a cuff bracelet, and on altering a top.

Here's the layout, a nice colourful one to match the kit:

Cardstock = Papermania, Alphas = Thickers 'Sprinkles' and 'Rootbeer Float', Also used a cocktail stick
and home-made acrylic mist, Everything Else from Summer Brights Handmade Embellishment Kit. 

I wanted to mist the yellow cardstock, but leave a rectangle in the middle free for the photo, embellies, and title to stand out. So I simply cut a rectangle of paper and stuck it onto the cardstock with low-tack masking tape while I sprayed the mist:

And then once it was dry I just had to write the journaling and stick everything down! I used strong glue dots to adhere the summer brights embellishments to the page. The fabric along the bottom is about 10.5" long, so there was some left for my cuff bracelet! 

I made an extra embellishment for the page by glueing (I used Copydex) a tiny scrap of the vintage fabric onto white cardstock, cutting it into a triangle, then piercing a cocktail stick through it, so it looked like a little flag. It helps balance out the layout - otherwise the right hand side was heavier because of the journaling:

I took what was left of the vintage fabric, and used it as the main inspiration for this cuff bracelet:

As the fabric was just under 8" long I cut a 8¼” x 1¾” piece of denim from some old jeans to back the fabric with and give it strength. I didn't hem the edges as I wanted them to fray:

Then I just sewed the fabric button and blue crochet flower onto the vintage fabric, machine stitched the vintage fabric onto the denim, and then made a button hole. It was the first time I've ever made an automatic button hole using my machine, and it took me quite a few goes on spare fabric to get it right! My button was just under an inch across.

I quite like the pretty / rough contrast of the finished cuff:

Finally I used up the bits from the kit by altering a cheap vest top. I had to buy one as I was fed up of my warm-weather tops not quite covering my bump! But it was a bit boring until I added some lace trim and flowers:

Now I feel summery, though still too hot! I definitely think I'll be altering more tops like this though, as it was so easy to stitch the lace trim around the neckline and then sew on the flowers. And it makes my top one of a kind - I like to be different! Have you altered any clothes to make them less high-street?

Hope you've found some inspiration from these projects. The Summer Brights Kit is available in my Etsy shop, along with some kits in different colours.

Bye for now, x

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Country Vintage Projects

I took one Country Vintage Kit:

And used the embellishments on a cushion, a layout, and a brooch.

The cushion is a warm-looking stuffed cushion to sit on my blue sofa and make people feel at home:

I made it using two pieces of fabric approx 9" square, the front piece is hessian/linen type fabric, the back piece is grey felt:

I embroidered the word 'home' using backstitch and cream wool:

And once I'd sewn the rest of the embellishments I wanted onto the front, I sewed the cushion right-sides together, leaving a 3.5" gap to pull it right-side out, and to push the stuffing in:

The 7" fabric strip was ironed on with bondaweb and then machine zig-zag stitched over, everything else is sewn on by hand:

Here's my layout, about visiting Gold Hill in Shaftesbury (the location of this hovis advert if you're interested!):

Background Paper = Basic Grey 'Phoebe', Photo Mat Paper =  DCWV 'Once Upon a Time',
Gold Outline Stickers = Anita's, Pink Alphas = Papermania,
Journaling Spot = We R Memory Keepers 'Tiffany's', Kraft Flower with button = homemade,
Everything Else from Country Vintage Embellishment Kit

My daughter just had to go down the hill and back up again, so of course me and her grampa had to as well!

I cut five 2" pieces from the vintage fabric strip in the kit, sewed them to the centre of the flower
at the same time as the button, and then glued the fabric pieces to the layout using Copydex.

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Finally I used the bits left in the kit to make this brooch, adding a quirky button I bought in a haberdashers:

The brooch was made by taking a strip of the white lace trip (approx 11" long), and stitching a loose running stitch along one edge:

Then pulling it all together until it formed a flower shape. Once it was the right shape I sewed the two ends of the lace together to hold it in place:

Then I just had to sew the lace, crochet flower, and button onto a brooch back:

And attach it to my handbag!:

What do you think of the Country Vintage Kit? What would you make with it? This, and some other style kits, are now available in my Etsy Shop! 

Check back tomorrow for a blog hop:

I'm very excited about it! xxx

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Dreamy Evening Projects

Hello all,

When I announced my Etsy shop I also said that I'd show you a few things I've been making with the kits. So today here are the projects I've made with one Dreamy Evening Kit like this one:

A layout:

Papers = DCWV 'Taj Mahal' & 'Old World', Journaling spot = My Little Shoebox 'Robots Uncut',
Cute Word Bead = Magnetic Poetry, Proud Alphas = Thickers 'Roller Rink', Daddy Alphas = Papermania,
Everything Else from Dreamy Evening Kit.

If you're wondering why the 'u' is a strange size,
it's because I had to cut down a 'q', I had no 'u's left!

I love the photo of hubby holding our newborn daughter, and am glad to have finally scrapped it. I also have a photo of me holding her the same day, but I look like such a mess that I never want to use it on a layout. I don't know whether to go ahead and scrapbook it even though I hate the picture, or just do a non-photo page about my first memories of her and just keep the photo in the family album!

I used some more of the kit for an elastic Alice Band:

I cut the vintage fabric strip down to 14", and backed it with some lilac felt to strengthen it - my felt wasn't quite long enough so I used two strips, just making sure the join would be hidden behind the felt flowers.

I attached two strips of elastic because my elastic was quite thin and I didn't want it to twist too much. If you're clever you can sew the elastic between the vintage fabric and the felt - I didn't think of it until afterwards so the back of my alice band is a bit ugly where I attached the elastic!

It only took a few hand stitches to attach the felt flowers for a cute finish. I'm going to have to make one of these to fit my daughter too!

I used up almost all the rest of the kit on a birthday card:

Card Blank = Papermania, Outline Stickers = Anita's, Happy Birthday Stamp = Whispers Words,
Flower Stamp = Anita's, Fimo button, crochet heart, and fabric from Dreamy Evening Kit

I think I'll keep this card for my Mother-In-Law's birthday, she loves these colours.

So there we go, three projects from one kit! I even had a little bit of the white lace trim left to use on something else. If you'd like to buy a Dreamy Evening Kit then head over to my Etsy Shop!

I hope you're all having a relaxing Sunday, xxx

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