How To: Frida Kahlo inspired Floral Headband

It's fun having creative friends, friends that love colour and irreverence and fun. Friends that make art and think it's awesome when you show up to their exhibition opening night dresses as Frida Kahlo. Maddie had suggested it in passing, "you should come as Frida" and I thought, yes I will, and so will Emma, because the only thing better than one Frida is two Fridas. The exhibition had a Day of the Dead theme (Dia de los Muertos), so we fit right into the riot of colour.
The costumes were easy to put together with clothing and accessories we already had at home, I only had to make the headbands. It didn't take very long, and Emma enjoyed helping me choose the colours and bend the wires.
If you want to make a floral headband for your own costume or even as a bridal wedding headpiece read on...

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How To: Sensory Play Coloured Rice Tray

Sensory play is a valuable part of early childhood development, not only is it fun, but it helps develop fine motor skills and creativity. Emma has been a little unfocused and disruptive at school lately, so her teacher suggested we try some more sensory play activities at home to help her calm her behavior and help her focus. A tray of sand was suggested, but I though coloured rice would be more fun. (We are building her a sandpit this weekend). A rice tray is easy to put together with items you may already have in your kitchen...

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How To: Vintage Sheet Duvet Cover

It's Spring here in Australia, and whilst I was photographing the spray painted lamp project a couple of weeks ago, I realized it was time to brighten up the bedroom with a new duvet cover.
I have a king size bed which is great (yes, I'm very lucky), but it can be hard to find bed linen to fit which doesn't cost a fortune. Even if I had the budget to spend on my favorite designer linen, many don't go up to king size anyway.
So, as usual, I thought I'd make my own from some queen size flat sheets left from my old bed. It's not complicated to make a duvet cover, the difficulty comes in dealing with the masses of fabric involved.  I've outlined the basic way to make a duvet cover in any size and a handy link to help you out with your measurements.

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How to: Make Perfect Button Holes

Ok, put your hand up if you dread sewing buttonholes. Most sewing machines have a either a manual or automatic buttonhole setting that can make your life a whole lot easier.

My old machine had a manual 4 step buttonhole, which meant I had to manually change the settings between each stage. It was simple to use, but getting a consistently sized buttonhole was difficult.

Now my new machine has an Automatic buttonhole setting which uses a special buttonhole foot to measure the size of the buttons and makes a perfect buttonhole every time. I recently made a duvet cover with a button closures (will share a How To soon), and fell in love with this little contraption.
It looks a little complicated, but once you see how it works, you'll love using it too.
I've created a video to explain how to use it.

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Thanks for the Opportunity.

This year has been quite an interesting one for me. After 'officially' declaring myself a blogger last year, I've been tweaking how this whole blogging caper sits comfortably with me and my life. Just like anything good worth doing, blogging is a journey, not a destination.
This year I made the conscious decision to blog less, but blog smarter, happier, more focused, more productively and I feel better for it.
Does it show?
On the surface it may seem less personal, less about me and my life and my thoughts, but for me, it's much more natural and comfortable and generous. I've actually never felt so connected. I love to make and do, and sharing that with you is one of my favourite of things. When you read and share and make my projects, it's just the best feeling ever! So for that I say 'Thank you!'

More and more of you are reading - Thank you!
People are noticing you are reading, noticed I'm more focused, more creative, driven, and some exciting opportunities have presented themselves.

This weekend I am speaking on a panel at the Problogger Training Day, fancy that! I've been collaborating on some awesome projects with people I really admire, and the most exciting this so far... I'm now part of the Nuffnang Talent Program.
 
Nuffnang will be handling the behind the scenes business stuff for me, which means I will have even more time to create the best content for you. I'm very excited about it all. There is also a mentoring component, where bloggers in the talent program get master classes from experts and international bloggers. So much to learn!

So I say thank you to YOU! Readers make thing happen for us bloggers, you make it all worthwhile.

I don't know where this journey will take me, but it's certainly going to be exciting.

I suggest you watch this space!

x Cinti

Image overlay by Pugly Pixel

How To: Easy Lamp Makeover & Spray Painting Tips

Do you ever wonder how or why you have objects in your home that you've never liked? I have a set of bedside lamps that I have always hated. They were my parent's, bought in the early 80's when bronze stuff was really 'hot'. I never liked them then, yet I managed to inherit them as a teenager and they have followed me to several homes. I'm cripplingly thrifty you see, and because they still worked fine, throwing them out was not an option. I thought new lamp shades would help, but it didn't, so as a last resort, out came the spray paint!
Check out the before and after, and some spray painting tips below.

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How To: Hama bead Medal Brooch --> Give yourself a Medal

Being a mum is a hard and sometimes thankless job, as awesome as my kid is, some days I feel like I deserve a medal. (She is usually pretty great, so I shouldn't really complain)
Well, I'm not one to rest on my laurels, so I decided to make a few medals of my own with some Hama beads. They are colourful, plastic fantastic ones, perfect for reminding myself that I'm pretty great at my job, when things aren't always going my way.
I think you deserve one too, so read on and make some of your own...

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Six Baby Gifts to make with Fabric Scraps eBook

I'm so excited to launch my new eBook - Six Baby Gifts to make with Fabric Scraps.
It's a colourful collection of practical gifts for new arrivals, and teaches some handy skills along the way.
 
If you are like me and love to craft, you may find yourself accumulating a collection of fabric scraps. It can be tempting to just throw them away, especially when most sewing projects require larger fabric pieces, but please don’t. Sewing with scraps can be a wonderful experience that requires a little creativity and patience, but the results are truly satisfying.
Even though I have a big fabric stash, it pains me to waste any of it, and I keep all my scraps. Waste not, want not, I say!

Giving something handmade is not only very special, it can save you money too. Making just one project out of this book to give as a gift, will cover the cost of it's purchase.

I've created 6 original projects designed for sewers of all levels.
All of the projects are suitable for beginner sewers, with more challenging techniques clearly explained and illustrated.
Projects:
Scrappy Ball
Scrappy Bunny Rattle
Scrappy Chandelier Mobile
Fabric Covered Hangers
Scrappy Bib
Jigsaw Quilt
Printable templates included as well as tips on collecting, sorting and storing scraps.
Here is a sneak peek of some of the pages...

28 pages of clearly photographed, step by step instructions means every project is easy to follow even for the newest of sewers.
Learn techniques like sewing bias binding around curves, machine quilting, quilt binding and free style patchwork.

I have used a combination of vintage fabric scraps and vintage bed sheet scraps which would be most suitable for baby girl gifts, but all these projects can be adapted for boys by choosing different fabrics. 

I've laid the book out beautifully with lots of clear lovely photos to help you on your crafty way. It's in a PDF form that you can view on your iPad, computer or print out.

I hope you enjoy it.

Get your copy here

How To: The One Hour Dress

I'm so excited that the weather is warming up here in Melbourne after a very long winter. I had a child free hour up my sleeve last night so decided to tackle two projects at once! Clean out my wardrobe and make a new spring dress. Not really as ambitious as it sounds when you throw a little creative wardrobe refashioning in the mix.

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How To: Retro Placemat Bag

I come across so many beautiful vintage linens in my op-shopping (thrifting) adventures, but I rarely seem to use them for their original purpose. These linen placemats with their geometric retro design, I'm particularly taken by. I've had them for years, waiting for the perfect project, but could never bare to cut into them.
Whilst tidying up my sewing space I uncovered a set of vintage bamboo bag handles...then the perfect project came to mind.
This bag only took me a few minutes to construct. With no cutting and only three seams required, one can be whipped up at short notice to match any outfit.
Read on to see how to make this simple placemat bag...

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