Book cover or What was I thinking????

One of my favourite books has got a very flimsy cover so I thought it was time to do something about it.  

Choose the material, measure the book and start cutting.

I turned the material around and wrapped it around the book …  

… and put pins in place.

The next step is using the sewing machine unless you have to do it by hand.  

Tiding up everywhere.

And this is the finished cover.

Checking if it really fits. I have to say that my velvet stretched a bit after sewing so it is rather wavy. I don’t know why because I did not pull the material when sewing.  

This is how it looks. Plain and simple. I might should have left it at that, but nooooooo, that would be to simple.

To add more stability to the cover I cut out 2 pieces of cardboard and slipped them in on both sides.

First step: Find wool. As you can see here I chose a colourful rainbow type one. Thought it would brighten the cover up a bit.

I did a blanket stitch all the way round….

… and should have left it at that, but noooooo, that would be to simple. I thought I add a goddess. First I drew her on paper, cut her out and wanted to stitch along first, but changed my mind.

Instead I decided to use a little felt goddess by placing the paper on felt, drew around it and cut it out. I did not want a colour to different from the cover.   

Here too I used a blanket stitch all the way round to attach the goddess and should have left it at that.

Found some stickers in the draw which are made for card making. I thought I add this little felt flower and although this is a sticker I wanted to make sure it does stay in place and used a blanket stitch again.  

UH! And while I am in the draw I also found these little stones so I thought I stitch some on as well.  

SSSSSTTTTTOOOOOOPPPPPP! Enough!

And here you have. The finished cover. Where did it all go so girlie??????  

Happy Crafting

M.

Simple Crafts ~ Recycling / Pouch #3

My daughters jeans are just to cute, so now where they are to small I thought I would transform them into a little ‘magical’ pouch with little stars . OK, it is not completely recycled, but the lining is from a material bought not that long ago + zip.  

I decided on the size and cut out two pieces of jeans and two pieces of lining.

Take one piece of each, putting wrong side out (left??) and sew together on 3 sides.

I did a straight stitch and a zig zag around. The last side at the top where the zip goes stays open. Turn the inside out.

Attach the open sides to both sides of the zip.

Make sure you tuck in the fourth side nicely when attaching the zip.

Fold over so the lining is on the outside. Pin all 3 sides and start sewing the pouch together. This is might be a bit tough. Jeans alone is usually a thick material, but now you have 4 layers (2 jeans & 2 lining) that need to be sewn together. In the really tough areas I was turning the wheel of the machine by hand rather than using speed and might break the needle.  

  

When finished turn the inside out again.

This is my magical little pouch and worked out smaller than anticipated. I can’t even say planned as I had no plan and just went for it. Not taking any seams into consideration makes it a very small result. 

It can hold small magical utensils like your favourite crystal, you rune, some herbs ….

Have a browse in the cupboards and see what you can find. The sky is the limit. Herb bags for the cupboards are a nice idea as well.   

Happy Crafting

M.

Pouch #2

I am a right bag lady , so it was time for a new pouch. Unfortunately it did not work out the way I wanted to, so the end result is different to what I had planned in my head. Well, I am flexible!

I chose the colour green for this project and two different type of materials. Cotton for the inner lining and velvet for the outside.  

After deciding in the shape I drew it on a piece of paper and then onto the material. Pins to keep it all together and cut it into shape. It is now ready for the machine. I was aiming for a pouch with bottom (hence the round part) but I did not measure well enough so it did not fit. I therefore had to carry on in the simple shape for the pouch. I did not want to make a new round part as it would have turned out to small to get my hand into the pouch. I sewed the pouch together on three sides and left the top open. The top bit was then folded to the inside, secured with pins and stitched together. This turned out to be more work then it should have been for this simple pouch, but again, I started of with a different goal and had to make changes on the way.

After the top part was finished I folded the pouch in half and pined the sides and the bottom together and stitched it all up on the left.

Turn the inside out once I finished because the velvet should be on the outside for this pouch.

I thought I try something different and eyed (is that the right term?) the material with little flowers to pull a string through.  

I was very annoyed as every metal eye???? split when hammering down on it so not just very untidy but also the string won’t last to long because the metal will cut it sooner rather than later.

For the draw string I just used some wool and twisted it.  

All rather complicated for such a basic pouch .

Happy Crafting!

M.

 

 

 

Lady #2

I found this image online, but as I am only using it for my own purposes so I can’t see the problem. I therefore don’t know who the artist is,  but don’t want to take credit for it.

I am always wondering if I should leave the pictures after burning as they are, or if I should add some colour. Well, as you can see I went for colour but try not to go over the top.

Happy Crafting!

M.

 

Jewellery Box

This is my little daughters jewellery box made from serviette technique. First I painted the whole box in a bluish greenish under the sea colour. This is not really the way it is done with serviettes. The base should be a light colour because you only use thetop layer of the serviette and with a dark background like this the picture does not come out full and clear. But, with the under the sea theme I thought it worked out alright.  

While the paint dried I cut out all the picutres I wanted from the serviette and removed the other layers only leaving me with the top one.  

The next step is “painting” the box with the glue/ varnish and applying all the pictures covering them again with glue/ varnish.

Once everything has dried I used a 3D paste to cover certain pictures to give them a shiny 3D look.

Finished of with some glitter glue for coins and crown.

Happy Crafting!

M.

 

PS: Sorry, the photos are not very clear. The weather is really miserable today and the light is just not good enough. I don’t like using flash, but I did not want to wait for a sunny day either .  

Little Purse

I used two different fabrics for the little purse. A stripy corduroy one on the outside and a checked cotton one on the inside.

The back is plain and simple.

I went for a press button as fastener.

All in all a cute idea, but it needs some extra work. This purse is about 12 cm x 10 cm (about 4,7 inch x 3,9 inch) and to flimsy for this size. I guess the bigger you make it a padding would be advisable.    

Happy Crafting!

M.

   

 

Lady

The first lines using pyography to burn the Lady into the wood.

The Lady is not quite finished yet. I still need to put a protective varnish/ oil on, but I am also wondering if I leave the rest blank, or write something down.

The photos are not very good because I took them in the evening with a little lamp but I am not a very patient person.

I have filled the areas in with wood stain, but I am not sure in the moment if the gold and silver are a bit much for my liking.

Honest as I am I can’t take credit for the LAdyitself. The original design is by Carolina Gonzalez which can be bought from her shop The Digital Rose. I have just transfered the image to wood and then burned it. True art for me is to bring something to ‘life’ from scratch. This is something I still have to work on. Drawing is not really my thing. As a matter of fact I still haven’t found yet what I am good at (.

Happy Crafting!

M.  

Overkill

I have finished my Reiki picutre but I think I went slightly for the overkill.

The colours vary slightly in the photos because I took pictures in the evening with a lamp and others with daylight.

For the symbols I have used a running stitch …

… and finished it of with an overcast running stitch.

Place all the “inchies” on the background …

… and attach them with a blanked stitch.

Once they were all attached …

… I adorned the picture with bead embroidery. For the top photo I used a cretan stitch, but not tidy in a line as you can see …

… and for this one a simple flower stitch. The whole background was finished of with the blanked stitch.

I think I need a serious break from blanked stitching .

Happy Crafting! 

M.

 

 

Earrings

It was about time to make some jewellery that fits with my red hair to show off this summer. The bottom bead is covered at the top and at the bottom with a silver cap.  

Happy Crafting!

M.

 

Pillow Case

My first go at a pillow case. Didn’t go for simple, but also added a frame around it …

and at the back I inserted a zip.

Hm, no I can’t really leave it like that. I wrote that I did this and that, but I am taking some sewing lessons in a little material shop and the lady talks me through it. I am learning !

Happy Crafting!

M.