Milkshake Anyone? - Through The Purple Haze Bingo Challenge

This week the challenge theme at Through The Purple Haze is 'Bingo'. The sponsor for this challenge is The Stamping Chef

 http://thestampingchef.com

They have some lovely images and the image I got given to make a card with was 'Milkshake Anyone'

As soon as I got given this I knew exactly what papers I was going to use and started on a hunt in my craft drawers for a free recipe book kit I got with a magazine a few months ago.  I use the papers with Kraft Card to mat and layer, then made a little recipe card for Oreo Milkshake (my husbands favourite). It went to so well with this image.

For the 'bingo' side of the challenge I used flowers (bottom right hand corner), sentiment/greeting (Happiness is Homemade) and of course the doily behind the digi stamp which went so well with this project.

Why not head over to Through The Purple Haze and check out what the other DT members have made and enter the 'bingo' challenge.

http://www.throughthepurplehazechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/

I've entered this card into:
http://susanfairchild.com/ - Make Something Monday #12
http://createdwithlovechallenges.blogspot.co.uk - CWLC #78 Girly Challenge
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.co.uk - challenge 11 Anything Goes Spots or Stripes
http://artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.co.uk - challenge #84
http://www.ttcrd.blogspot.co.uk/ - challenge March 25 - 31
http://fattastictuesday.blogspot.co.uk - - #28 anything goes

Makery Wrist Warmers

After making the key rings from the Makery book, I decided to try the wrist warmers. My husband was out Saturday night so I used some spare wool to check I could make the wrist warmers (as I only started knitting less than a year ago and didn't want to buy new wool and mess up the thumb holes).

I made this pair in one evening (ok I did stay up waiting for my hubby until 12.30am) 

After realising how easy they were to knit I brought some lovely denim wool from Sirdar in 'vintage'. It was just under £6 which I didn't think was bad for one pair of wrist warmers. While in Hobbycraft I did pick up some DoCraft Tilly Daydream and Country Christmas bits which were in the sale bucket (the patterned rolls in the background are adhesive fabric rolls)

Anyway, back to the wrist warmers...I started them on Sunday afternoon and finished the left hand, then did the right hand last night. I was worried Sunday night that one ball of wool wouldn't be enough but I shouldn't have worried as I still had a new metres left after completing both. While doing my right wrist warmer on Monday night I was sat with my hedgehog asleep on my lap and all cosy. I do like knitting when it's cold outside, it's very cosy.

Tonight I did the part I was dreading...sewing the wrist warmers up! I've only sewn up a few knitting projects and I'm not the best but I was very pleased with how I did on these wrist warmers. I then wanted to add some decoration and add a button to each wrist warmer but took a while deciding which buttons to go for. I was deciding between wooden buttons, fabric covered buttons (the ones from earlier in this blog post) or shell buttons which were free with a craft magazine. I went with the shell buttons as they have an iridescence to them and have a good contrast against the dark blue wool.

They are so nice and warm and will definitely be an essential for me I this chilly weather. I really wanted them for this weekend for the dog show so I can sell my dog bandanas while keeping warm and still being able to sort money etc so wrist warmers are more practice than gloves and also much easier with my walking stick as I can still grip it. 

Makery - My New Favourite Craft Book!

A few weeks ago my husband and I went on holiday to Somerset and visited Bath (my favourite place). While walking around Bath (well.....while walking back to the car park at Waitrose from the Roman Baths) we went down Northumberland Place, and stopped for a little rest (walking around Bath with Muscular Dystrophy gets tiring). While having a little rest I suddenly got a boost of energy after seeing a craft shop in the distance....The Makery Emporium! 

The shop has a table in the middle with bowls full of buttons which draws you in. The shop stocks crafing 'ingredients' and has lots of lovely fabrics, ribbon, washi tapes and lots of other bits to make fabricy crafty projects. The shop is small but perfect as you can see everything easily. I brought some little metal heart tags to add to jewellery and craft projects. I wish they had a shop nearer to me as they do small quantities of things so if you want one button to cover with fabric you can buy just that, or just one button.

We went back to the holiday cottage and I searched online for craft shops in Bath to find out the name of the shop to tell my Mum and found that they also have a workshop where they do craft workshops on things such as lampshade making, cushion making and many other crafts. My Mum and I are definitely thinking of planning a trip to Bath at some point and doing one of these workshops (any excuse to go to Bath). 

When I got back home I found that The Makery had a book coming out and was really interested as I love making things especially on my sewing machine. I then found that my Mum and Dad were going to Bath the same week the book was being released and my Mum kindly phoned up and ordered me a copy to pick up when she was in Bath. I'm so glad I preordered mine as The Makery were on Dragons Den the week of the book launch which lead to a huge rush on the book. When pre-ordering the book from The Makery were offering a free gift of ribbon, however when my Mum picked up my book it didn't come with any but she was offered a fat quarter of fabric and chose a lovely blue fabric with strawberries on (very Cath Kidston-esq). I actually prefer this to ribbon but no idea what to use it for as it's so nice and don't want to jump into any projects and use it all up.

I got the book earlier this week and it is amazing. It covers a wide range of crafts and has lots of lovely projects from glasses cases and jewellery to floor rugs and slippers. The crafts in this book range from knitting, machine sewing, crochet, paper craft and even a shrink plastic project.

The best thing about this book is that it comes with full size patterns in the back of the book - no need to photocopy and enlarge or download and print out on reems of paper (like some other craft/sewing books), all you need is some tracing paper or similar (I used some parchment paper I had hanging around for one of the projects).

The instructions are easy to follow and the book suggests alterations you can make and more ideas, such as on the fabric keyrings the designs used are initials with an alphabet included on the pattern sheet however they suggest looking for other alphabets or designs and suggest a larger seam allowance when using other designs which is really helpful.

I made a 'L' keyring for my sister with some off cuts of fabric I had in my fabric stash. I did also try and make a 'S' for myself but my attempt was rubbish as I sewed it incorrectly but will be trying again and taking my time and ensuring I sew it correctly (it was my fault, not the books). I changed the design of the 'L' slightly as the image in the book was of a lower case L which I thought looked more like an 'I' so I added the bottom line in. It was a really quick and easy pattern to follow for the L and I'm going to try and make a hedgehog shapped keyring next with some brown tweed type material I have.

This book is great for someone either new to crafting or who wants to widen their crafting skills as it doesn't repeat skills so if you can't crochet or knit (or don't want to, as it has tutorials in the back for crochet and knitting) you are not going to find there are lots of things you can't make. It's much better than wanting to try a craft, buying a book solely on that skill then finding you can't pick it up and then the book ends up gathering dust on the bookshelf.

I'm looking forward to making the bag and coasters in the next and really want to make the double knitted rug. 

Amazon lets you see some example pages from the book so go and check it out at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Makery-Over-Projects-Home-Wear/dp/1845337042/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I really wish they had a store nearer to me (although you can buy online) so I could go to all the Workshops. If I had a craft shop it would be just like this!

Make and Craft Book Club Blog Tour

Welcome to my stop on the Make and Craft Book Club Blog Tour!

In conjunction with Make and Craft and Search Press I am giving away this lovely sewing book, Love to Sew: Hanging Hearts.

Love to Sew: Hanging Hearts by Rachael Rowe, published by Search Press
ISBN: 9781844487875
RRP Price: £7.99

Book Description

Make perfect hearts for your home, whether they are traditional, shabby chic, unusual or country style. Hang them from doors and dressers, in fact anywhere. They brighten up rooms and can also make perfect gifts for friends and relatives. This book shows how to make a gorgeous selection of hearts, with fun projects, clear instructions and easy to use templates. If you love to sew, you will love the designs and ideas presented here. 

This book represents the first in a new series of titles aimed at anyone who loves to sew. Making the most of the growing trend in home sewing, it offers all those who sew and stitch fresh, innovative ideas for on-trend projects and gifts. The subject of this book is 'hanging hearts' - highly popular, contemporary items that make perfect gifts for weddings, christenings and Valentine's day, as well as lovely little decorative items that can be hung from doors, dressers, wardrobes and doors around the home. Including both simple hand and machine stitching, this book offers the reader advice on the basic techniques and materials needed, plus twenty gorgeous projects in a range of styles that includes shabby chic, vintage, French country style, traditional and simply fun! There's a beautiful rustic wreath decorated in little fabric hearts, a delightful string of hearts, and numerous individual hearts made from various fabrics and felt and decorated with ric rac, ribbons, buttons and bows. All the instructions are accompanied by clear, step-by-step photographs, and full-size templates of all the hearts are provided. Ideal for beginners as well as more experienced stitchers, all the hearts are quick and easy to make and are ideal for using up scraps of fabric, odd buttons, left-over ribbon and all sorts of oddments found around the home.

• 20 beautiful projects in a range of style, colours and fabrics
• Includes basic techniques and materials, and the hearts themselves are very easy to make, making this book suitable for stitchers of all abilities
• Hanging hearts are very popular and ‘on-trend’, as well as being a traditional symbol of love

This book is really clear to use with lovely pictures and great ideas. I have made similar hearts and attached them to the top of our headboard on our bed which we spritz with Molton Brown relaxing mist. You could stuff these with dried lavender along with wadding and place these in drawers to give a lovely scent.

Search Press and Make and Craft have secured free P&P when purchasing this book, just call Search Press on 01892 510850 quoting "Make and Craft Blog Tour".

To win this book just leave a comment on this post below and/or post a link on twitter linking to this post and include me @saraleighuk in the post so I can include you in the draw.

The winner will be drawn on Wednesday 10th October 2012 and the winner will be announced on this blog and contacted within 48 hours of the draw taking place.

Make & Craft Magazine

Make and Craft Magazine is a new craft magazine which is published monthly both in print and digitally. There are some great subscription offers available including 3 digital copies for £1 or 3 printed copies for £3. There's also a fab free gift for 12 or 24 UK subscriptions.

The digital subscription means that international crafters can read the magazine for no extra cost as it doesn't need to be shipped!

For further information on subscriptions and to join the Make and Craft forum go to www.makeandcraft.com

About Me
For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Sara and I took up crafting properly at the end of last year (2011) when I realised I could make our wedding invitations for a fraction of the cost of stationers. I brought a craft magazine in December 2011 and have been hooked on crafting ever since, although I've always like making things. I live in Essex with my husband Lee and pygmy hedgehog Spike.

My favorite crafts are paper-crafts and card making, and sewing. My favorite sewing books have to be Cath Kidston's Make and Tilda's Sew Pretty Homestyle. I've not brought any crafting books about paper-crafting myself as yet but have plenty on my Christmas list! 

Last Christmas I got a sewing machine, my very own first adult sewing machine! It's purple and really nice and light weight so I can get it out easily and just put it on the dining table. 

I've made lots of random pieces including cafetiere cosies (the original one for my parents and then my friend at work asked me to make her one out of some Bambi material she had), washing up liquid bottle apron, door stops and a cover to go round the bottom of our hedgehogs cage to disguise all of the bits we keep under there for him.

My lovely purple sewing machine

My first make on my sewing machine - a cafetiere cosy for my parents

My second make - a Cath Kidston washing up liquid bottle apron

 One craft I would really like to try is knitting. My Nan use to knit all the time but I never picked it up, she did try and show me once and I did get those childrens kits but never got the hang of it. Watching knitting shows on Create and Craft has really made me want to try it, although I'm not sure my husband would be to happy with even more things round the house.

I also love baking and cooking and some of my recent cakes are shown below.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes - made for my sisters 21st Birthday

Superhero Cakes - made for my Dads Birthday - my first attempt at decorating cupcakes with fondant icing

Our wedding cake! Made by my Mum and I. We made the cakes together (bottom fruit, middle vanilla sponge, top tier chocolate) and Mum decorated it. I have a very clever Mum!

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my blog. Why not check out the next stop on the Make and Craft Blog Tour by stopping off at Cooking Cakes and Children.

Update: The draw took place on Wednesday and the winner was Sue (Eviesgran)! Thanks all those for entering