Ombre Russian Doll Pillow

Hey Guys,

Well the holidays are done and the kids are back to school for the last 2 months of school. I really enjoyed having them home and to be honest I also enjoy sending them back!

Over the holidays I did a few projects but this one comes with a freebie for you.

A few weeks back my friend Cass at Cass Can Sew put a call out for pattern tester for her new appliqué pattern. As soon as I saw they were Russian Dolls, my hand went up immediately.

I made a very simple envelope pillow then I used Heat & Bond Ultra Hold, this stuff is brilliant, you do not need to sew it. In fact if you can't (or don't like to) sew you could buy a cheap pillow and do the appliqué without so much as touching a needle. It just irons on. I have washed it before and it holds up well but do so at your own risk. That said you  could have some fun new pillows in a matter of 15-20 minutes.

The pattern was very easy to work with and Cass has a nested option too. Go and check out all the ideas and download the free pattern here.

For those of you who don't sew, these would make beautiful paper crafts especially cards or wall art and Russian dolls are always a hit at Christmas!  Actually I have another idea I hope to finish using the dolls very soon.

Thanks Cass for trusting me to play with your baby,


Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Hoop Wall art

Morning All,

Elizabeth had been pinning her little heart out prior to me starting on her room. One thing that she pinned a gazillion times was Hoop Art displays. Sadly this one didn't have a link, if you know where it has come from please let me know so I can credit the photo. She loved this one she pinned it 4 times. She told me she wanted it but in green.

Old MacDonald's Farm Felt Puppets - No Sew

Hey Guys,

So I saw these puppets on Pinterest and I was so desperate to make them. My kids LOVE singing Old MacDonald's Farm and I had to make them. The patterns were free from a gorgeous blog Just Another DAy In Paradise, available here.

She sewed hers but seriously I was going to do the whole sewing thing, then I remembered that sewing those tiny bits, who was I kidding! So I decided to hot glue them.

DIY Iphone Costume

Okay, so picture this, 18 hours before it's needed I suddenly am alerted to the fact that Max needs a costume for daycare.

I have never really done a costume before but I didn't want him to miss out, so I turned to Pinterest and found a few costumes for ipods made out of boxes.

Thinking I was so original I decided to do an iphone one, ummm go google that and see exactly how "original" I was.

Six Scarves To Make As The Weather Cools Down

I like scarves! Since I started blogging its become blindingly clear that I really like scarves and I've made a few over the last year and a bit, now that the weather is cooling down on the other side of the world I thought I'd put together a collection of scarves you can make to keep that weird frozen white stuff from chilling your neck. Click the photo's to be taken to the tutorial.

Chair Makeover

Well it's a mini makeover! I wanted to paint it but it belongs to a set and at some point I would really like to have it as part of my dining room. We removed it and started using our old set because the pieces all have big metal hooks and they weren't really toddler friendly. So I just changed the manky seat which will need to be redone on all of them down the track. It is from the same set as my Houndstooth Table.

Any it looked like this.

So I removed the seat. Mind the ugly winter feet

Then couldn't decide what to do with it so I put it out on facebook and was really keen on the idea of patchwork but since I had already removed the pad I had nothing to sew on and I just wanted it done in a day. I ended up choosing the polka dot.

Stapled it on and like magic it went from that to this. BTW getting the chair back on....well that's annoying to say the least, ugg there were tears and tantrums and a screwdriver may have been flung!

But she's done!

DIY Delight or Disaster? Well it's not too bad for a first attempt at a chair makeover, but she wont be winning any beauty pageants.  It looks cleaner and it is closer to the theme than the old cover but I think I'm on the fence with this one.

What do you think?

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

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No Sew Santa Sack

Morning All,

Here is the quickest Santa Sack you can make no sew no glue no prep - Awesome!

It's a tradition in many Australian families to have the presents placed in a Santa Sack, according to my grandmother it was because way back in the day people couldn't afford to buy wrapping paper so the kids would place a pillow case at the end of their bed and Santa would come and fill it with their presents.

I made sacks for the older three, years ago, which they have used for more than a decade but the two little ones didn't have one so I wanted something quick and easy. It doesn't get quicker than this!

Supplies:

• Pillow Case
• Tshirt transfer paper
• Printer 
• Printable - I used a free one from Pink Polka Dot Creations that can be found here
• Iron

1. Iron the pillow case
2. Print the graphic you wish to use
3. Iron it on and you're done

It's that simple folks! However I tried to do the dark fabric transfer for Max and the iron was too hot his ended up looking like this

So I'm going to get some white fabric and iron another transfer onto that then place it over the top of the existing one. After I created these, Amberly at Bingo Buttercup crafts made a really sweet vintage style printable which I'll be using - you can see that one here

Now I want to share a trick with you that my Auntie taught my cousin who shared it with me, when you make stockings or Santa sacks, make each child two. Why? One is empty for decoration but for the rest of the year the spare one goes into storage and as you find things you fill them up and low and behold, Christmas Eve all you have to do is swap them over - Brilliant time saver!

DIY Delight or Disaster? well clearly one of each but this is a really easy project and once again I want to thank Rita of Pink Polkadot Creations and Amberly of Bingo Buttercup Crafts for sharing their free printable.

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

Linking to these awesome parties!

Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even A....

No sew mouse.

Morning All,

This project even surprised me. I hate mice, even seeing them on the TV make me feel sick.

Those people who keep them or worse rats as pets - gross! Anyways I have seen a few versions of the felt mice which are pretty cute and I wanted something to do with Elizabeth for our Friday night craft session. This seem to fit the requirements.

I decided I rather than use my felt, I'd try to make a dent in my massive fabric scraps. I also have a pile of cotton batting because mum makes quilts and for whatever reason, I must take her scraps as well.

Originally I was going to sew and overlock these and make them look stunning, but I broke a needle on the overlocker then the sewing machine and it was too hot so a "No Sew" project it became.

I got the pattern for the mouse over here at Thoughts from an Evil Overlord.

Supplies

Fabric Scraps
Batting scraps -or Felt
Scissors
Heat and Bond Ultra (best for no sew)
Pompoms
Hot glue and gun

First up I traced the pattern onto the heat and bond and cut them out

Ironed onto the fabric and once again  cut them out

Then I ironed them onto the batting and cut them out. Cut two slits for the ears to go into.

Hot glued the nose

Then cut a slit at the back for the Candy Cane tail.

To be honest, I like them better than felt because I can match them in to what I'm doing. The heat and bond makes them a little stiffer but I think it helps hold the shape.
I left the eyes off because I liked the idea of the 4 blind mice.

DIY Disaster or Delight? So much fun for kids to make and of course a candy cane to sweeten the deal! Delight!

Hopefully these will be the only mice I find in these parts over Christmas!

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo


Linking to these awesome parties!