Spot of Colour

A few more skirts + Pencil Roll

2011-12-22T09:31:00.000+11:00

Wow, where has this past couple of months gone? I've been busy making things, but just haven't had the time to blog about it. So here's what's been keeping me busy (some of it anyway!):

::Pencil Roll::

First, I made one of my nephews a pencil roll. He loves colouring in, but didn't think he'd be overly excited about it - it was more a practical present that I knew my Sister would like. But he loved it!

The Fabric was leftover from my Travel Wallet that I made earlier in the year, it's from the All Stars range from Riley Blake.

::Skirts::

Also, I've been making some more skirts, ready for summer:

1. Simple Jersey Knit Skirt

This is just another of my favourite easy skirt patterns, using some funky jersey knit that I picked up on sale earlier in the year.

2. Cabriolet Wrap-Over Skirt

This was a free pattern from Fabric.com, and I thought it would be a nice and quick project. I was wrong! It's a quite easy skirt to make (though the instructions weren't the best), but so time consuming. Then, when I'd finished it, I tried it on and it didn't look right at all. It initially had very long ties on it and they made the skirt look a bit bulky, so I decided to chop them off and added velcro to fasten, and it actually works very well. I think the thing that motivated me the most to make this skirt work, is that I used Anna Maria Horner Voile Fabric - from the Little Folks range - and it is gorgeous!

3. Jersey Knit Circle Skirt

I've been wanting to try a Circle skirt for a while now, so I thought I'd give it a go with some other jersey fabric I got on sale earlier in the year (from The Fabric Store in Brunswick, Melbourne). I used icandy handmade's tutorial which worked really well. You may notice I added a ruffle at the bottom of the skirt - that was actually accidental (but I really like it, so a good accident!). My husband had been helping me with working out the radius, circumference, etc - all those things that confuse me a little - but I forgot to check he had the right length, and it was only when it was all cut out that I realised it was too short. So hubby had the idea of the ruffle, and I like it.

See you all in the New Year!

I'm on Etsy!

2011-11-03T11:03:00.000+11:00

I'm a bit excited, because I now have an Etsy shop and some cute skirts for sale on it!

It's been something I've been considering for a little while, and I've got lots more ideas for the future that I'm currently sorting out. Hopefully you'll see some of them at the beginning of the year, if not before.

Thanks to the two cute little princesses who helped to model my skirts, and to their Mum's for letting their little girls get dressed up for the camera. And a massive thanks to my husband Ash for the wonderful photos, and of course my wonderful shop logo!

I'll add a link to my Etsy shop on my Blog page, but you can check it out here: Spot of Colour

My New Cutting Bench & Sister's Market

2011-10-07T16:43:00.000+11:00

My Cutting Bench

For a little while now, I've been wanting a cutting bench instead of having to lean over the dining room table. I'd taken some measurements a while ago and jotted down what would work, but I just couldn't find anything that would work. Well, yesterday Ash made me one! I'm very happy with it, and if fits nicely in my sewing room (with my storage drawers sitting underneath it). Can't wait to try it out.

Sister's Market

While the rest of Melbourne was avidly watching the AFL Grand Final last Saturday, I decided it'd be much more fun to check out the Sister's Market at Brunswick Town Hall. It was the first time I'd been, and I loved it! Here's a few of my favourite stalls from the day:

Missmouse - The *cutest* kids knitted bamboo hats!

Elise Hurst - Elise is an Author and Illustrator. I bought the lovely book My boots in season and Ash loved her Illustrations and we will definitely be ordering some of her prints in the future.

Cottage Nerd - I bought the Babushka Doll Skirt and adore it. It fits perfectly, and is so comfortable - and looks great!

Obi-Inspired Hot & Cold Pack

2011-09-30T20:08:00.001+10:00

A little while ago, I purchased the book One Metre Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins.

I was flicking through it again the other day, and came across the "Obi-Inspired Hot & Cold Pack", and decided to give it a go. I'd been having a bit of an achey back (due to cutting out lots of fabric on a low table!) so it sounded perfect.

The instructions were really easy to follow, and it was such an easy project. I really enjoyed making it! You can use either wheat or rice in the Pack, so I used rice (always plenty of rice in our house) and it worked well.

The hot & cold pack is stored in a pocket which can be then tied around the waist, or to any other part of the body, that needs a bit of relief. It can be put in the freezer for a cold pack, or in the microwave for a couple of minutes for a heat pack.

The thing I love so much about this book, is knowing that all you need is one metre of fabric. In fact, with this project, it could be used with large scraps coordinated together.

The fabric I used was just from my local Spotlight store.

Wardrobe Refashion

2011-09-01T21:50:00.000+10:00

It's been a bit quiet on the blog lately, but I promise I have been busy sewing!

When we got back from overseas, I found myself sorting through some of my clothes that I haven't worn for a little while. I came across a few items that I decided to re-fashion rather than pass along to a secondhand shop.

My favourite so far is this one:

I bought this dress while on holidays a couple of years ago on the Central Coast of NSW, and loved it. I'd planned on teaming it with a pair of jeans (too short for my liking to wear as a dress), but it just didn't work. I could never bring myself to part with it, but didn't know what to do with it. So ...

I turned it into a skirt! All I did was to chop the top part (bust and above) off and add a waist band made out of stretch jersey fabric. I didn't even have to hem it, as I didn't even touch the bottom of the dress!

Easy, and cheap!

Spot of Colour Labels + My Hooded Tunic Top Design

2011-06-21T14:30:00.000+10:00

Can you tell it's been busy in our house lately? I can't believe I actually finished all of my sewing projects before we head overseas tomorrow!

The first thing I am really excited about is that, a few weeks ago, Ash designed some clothing labels for me so that I can get cracking on making things and selling them on Etsy. I'd heard really good things about World Sale Label on Etsy, so I decided to order some labels through them. I bought the standard type (see the pic below) and also some folded over labels that can be sewn into a side seam. They arrived in the mail last Friday, just as I was finishing off some items for a friend of mine, so I just had to sew in a label. And I can't believe how great it looks, it really finishes it all off I reckon.

The second thing I'm a bit excited about - proud even - is the hooded tunic top that I've made. A few weeks ago, I made the rash decision that I would design and make a top for myself - probably not the smartest idea, when I had a list of projects to finish and an overseas trip just weeks away.

So I sketched out what I would like in a top, found a tank top in my wardrobe that fitted me well, and started drawing a design out on tracing paper from that. I'm not sure what my Mother in Law thought when I turned up that night to sewing class with my design and a couple of pictures off the internet as inspiration, but she helped me along those few weeks and now I have an awesome top to take overseas with me!

Here it is:

I actually didn't have quite enough black fabric for the hood, so I used some leftover red and used that for the tie as well. I'm so glad I did, I think it really makes it.

(P.S. Sorry about the pasty white skin - I'll try and remedy that in the next 6 weeks! Also, don't look at the messy bookshelf - I've run out of room!)

See you in a couple of months everyone :)

Another one for the guys ...

2011-06-21T13:37:00.000+10:00

It was a great day for my husband when I discovered that our local Spotlight store had acquired good quality camouflage material. I bought a couple of metres for him, and I'm sure he's been waiting for his opportunity to get something made out of it.

That day came on Saturday. We were preparing for our overseas trip and I expressed my concern about Ash having to put his expensive tripod through with all of the other checked luggage, in case someone pinched it off the conveyor belt. So, Ash had the idea of making a bag for it - he still had webbing from his Backpack Cover that he made last year - and I agreed to make it for him.

I think he must have been to eager to wait for me to start making it, so the next thing I know he's cut out the material and he's all keen to sew it up, which he did! And he did a great job too! We'll have to see if it stands the test of time - and travel.

Girl Skirts

2011-06-09T09:30:00.001+10:00

I've been wanting to try out these cute skirts for a little while, I've seen them on quite a few blogs lately professing them to be the easiest skirt to make. So I was happy when I got a chance to make these for some friends.

The blog tutorial I ended up following was this one: Simple Skirt Tutorial by Dana Made It. As you can see, there's not much to it - plus the pattern is just one big rectangle! I decided to line both of the ones I made, which meant I could also hide most of the seams. If I get to make some more, I'd like to play around with doing a two-tiered one, and also using bias tape. There's just so many options with a skirt like this!

So, here's the two that I whipped up:

The purple one is actually made from leftover fabric from another skirt I made for my Mum's birthday last year (Simple Skirts) that I ordered from www.fabric.com, and the green one was part of the "All Star" Riley Blake half yard set that I ordered a couple of months ago.

Travel Wallet

2011-05-27T13:07:00.000+10:00

As the countdown to our holiday continues, I've been busy sewing and trying to finish off projects before we leave.

This week, I made us a personalised travel wallet which I drew up a design for. I was going to buy one - there's so many cute ones on Etsy - but, as a result of having dual citizenship, I have two passports, so I wanted to have space to store all three (Ash's as well) and have them easily accessible.

As well as the passport pockets, I included a side pocket for tickets/e-tickets etc, a couple of velcro fastening pockets (yes, I went with the easier - and cheaper - velcro option as opposed to my original zip plan) for foreign currency. We're visiting 4 seperate countries so I'm expecting we'll accumulate some leftover change along the way. And, two pen slots - the most annoying thing I find on a plane is filling out the customs form, only to realise you don't have a pen in your backpack and trying to borrow one off someone else on the plane.

So here it is:

By the way, the fabric I used was "All Star" by Riley Blake. I got 6 half-yard lots of the different styles in this collection, and they are all super cute. Made it hard picking which ones to use!

Travel Accessories

2011-05-11T14:39:00.000+10:00

My husband and I are going overseas in 5 weeks and 6 days (not that I'm counting!), so I thought some personalised travel accessories might be in order.

I made a laundry bag for us each. As always, Ash requested camo material (our local Spotlight now stocks the proper stuff, so he's pretty excited about that).

And toothpaste and toothbrush holders as well. Check out the cool fabric I got from Spotlight. Very fitting for travelling huh!

Lots more projects on the way, stay posted :)

Little Girl Dress

2011-04-12T19:03:00.000+10:00

A little while ago, I had a good friend visit and I showed off some of my sewing projects that I was in the middle of to her. One of my projects is to make some of these gorgeous dresses, among other things, to sell on Etsy in a few months' time. Well, I hadn't even starting sewing yet - I'd cut out the fabric only - and I'd made my first sale. Hooray! It was a great boost to my confidence, because I wasn't sure if I was being too optimistic.

Here it is.

It's made of corduroy, and the facings and pocket of cotton (Riley Blake's Rainy Days and Mondays line). Perfect for winter!

Finders Keepers Market

2011-03-29T18:12:00.002+11:00

So, who else went to Finders Keepers on the weekend?!

I did and, wow, it was amazing! It was so, so exciting. So many stalls with gorgeous, arty, super cute things to buy. I just soaked it all in and immensely enjoyed myself, and then kicked back with some lunch while listening to the Bon Scotts perform live. Ash - ever supportive of my addiction to markets and handmade things - came with me too, and really enjoyed it too. And was pleased when I pointed out that there were actually a fair amount of other guys with their girls too.

To top it off, my sister gave birth to a baby boy just the previous night! Wooo! So, what better place to look for the cutest baby outfit ever. And, yep, I sure found it. About 6 months ago we were at the Magnolia Square market and came across Oishi-M who make baby/children's clothes, but different to anything else I'd seen. I loved them, and so was delighted when I saw they had a stall at Finders Keepers on Saturday.

This is what we bought for Master LJ:

I looove hoodies!

Front of the Jeans. They have a stretchy and expanding waistband, modelled on the maternity band concept, and the cuffs roll down. So it means that these will last for ages.

Back. Some extra nappy room.


And they come in this! (I'm sure my brother in law thought he was getting pizza .. he he)

Obey your parents

2011-03-19T15:52:00.002+11:00

This post isn't really related to sewing, but it is craft based so I thought I'd share it with you all.

I've been teaching Sunday School to 3-5 year olds for the last couple of months and last week we all learnt what the word "Obey" meant. So, seeing as this week is my last one, I wanted to do something a little special for them to take home so I had this idea ...

Cool right? I got the idea from the gift that Ash gave me (see here), so I explained to Ash how I'd like it to look and this is what he created! The idea is, that the kids are going to colour in the letters of "Obey" and then I will laminate it and they can take it home.

I think this is one thing that their parents may take pleasure in displaying at home ... !

(Anyone is welcome to use this, just leave me a comment and let me know how it was enjoyed)

One Year

2011-03-11T08:58:00.001+11:00

Ash and I celebrated our One Year Anniversary on the weekend (6th March)!

We'd decided earlier on that we'd keep our Anniversary simple, yet special, and make each other a gift each year. So this is what we both received:

I made this for Ash, it's a toothbrush and toothpaste holder. Remember the Camo Backpack Cover post from last year? Well, I used some of the material from the Camo Poncho to line the inside so that it's water resistant. The idea came from when we went away a few months ago and were complaining that we could never find a holder to fit both our toothbrush and toothpaste in, so I thought I'd try making one.

This is what Ash made me! Isn't it great? I'd saved a poster similar to this to our computer a few weeks ago to show him, and I was going to order one for myself. But, stupidly, I couldn't find where I'd spotted it. Ash didn't know any of this, so I was completely excited when he gave it to me.

I'm so glad we decided on handmade gifts, they just add something extra personal. I love it.

Owl Purse

2011-02-18T16:38:00.003+11:00

Do you like my cute little owl purse? I do.

I've been meaning to make this for a little while now, as my wallet has been literally bulging and I decided I would store all of my "Shop Cards" (you know, the ones that offer you discounts or just a sense of belonging) in a little purse. Of course, in true Librarian style, they are in alphabetical order so I can locate the one I want quickly!

I made this purse last night during my sewing lesson - it took an hour and a half from start to finish, which I was fairly impressed at seeing as this is only my second attempt at sewing with a zip! And the best thing is, it hardly used any fabric at all and could easily be a project to use up some scrap material (because I can never bring myself to throw any of it away ... )

My Crafty Day Out

2011-02-12T16:24:00.001+11:00

Today was a good day.

Ash and I drove into Fitzroy, to the wonder that is Brunswick Street. My main reason for wanting to go there, was to check out the Blackbird Market in the Worker's Club, which was very good. A little small, but lots of kinda cool vintage clothing (which I wouldn't normally be interested in, but some were quite funky).

Next, we walked past Meet me at Mike's which I'd heard lots about from my work colleagues, and had checked out some of their books, so that was an unexpected surprise also.

But (saving the best for last ... ) the big excitement had been when Ash had seen a shop called The Fabric Store. Initially, it looked so trendy outside that I was convinced it was actually a clothes shop and not really a seller of just fabric. But, yes, I was wrong. Oh man ... It was incredible! The range this place has is just beyond words (especially for someone who hardly ventures out of just the local Spotlight store), and it had 50% off pretty much everything!! So I of course made some purchases, and hopefully they will be used for future projects that I can show off on here.

Then we walked back to the car and there was a parking fine on it. Oops. We decided that next time we may just take the train instead :)

Setting up my Sewing Area

2011-01-28T10:56:00.001+11:00

At the end of last year, I decided I would need my very own sewing area, as opposed to everything sprawled out onto our dining room table (usually resulting in a frantic relocation whenever we had visitors around). This was easier said than done, seeing as we live in a Unit with smaller than usual rooms. The final decision was that we would merge it with our music room, so we now have a Music/Sewing room (which should prove interesting when we have friends over for a music jam!)

I spent a lot of time measuring and planning so that I could prove to Ash it could actually work - by looking at the original setup of the room, you never would have believed it.

We picked up a desk off ebay for $10 (it's actually a really good and sturdy one!) and Ash has already drawn up plans to make me a cutting table which will go in the corner between the desk and the piano (the unit with the tub drawers will sit underneath it, that's where most of my sewing supplies are kept).

I need to fit all of this stuff, plus my fabrics, into these few shelves ...

I decided to make a few things to make my Sewing Area a little bit personalised (and to save some $$$). So I found some scraps of material and made myself a very simple pin cushion, and also a pen holder for all my bits and pieces (made from a tin can).

Super Simple Stretch Skirt

2010-12-18T10:44:00.000+11:00

I'm really excited about this one. To give some background, I ordered this skirt from Etsy, made by Teclur, a few months ago ...

but

It didn't fit.

I thought I'd wait a few months until I'd lost weight, but when I tried it on again the other night I realised that it was just not the right shape for my body, no matter how much I worked out.

So. I decided that I would make one myself, as the way it was made is similar to the skirts I'd just made. Using the above skirt, I drew up a new pattern, making some changes to it, and then cut out my fabric (hoping my calculations were right!) and sewed it up and had it finished all in the same night.

Waistband can be folded, or unfolded to make the skirt longer.

And? I LOVE it!

I wore it to work the next day and it is the comfiest skirt I have ever owned, and one that I can either dress up or down. And. No ironing required. Hooray!

So the first thing I'm going to do on my return from holidays is see what other colours the fabric comes in, and make some more. And eventually play around with some applique, and be the owner of the

Coolest. Skirts. EVER.

Simple Skirts

2010-12-17T09:44:00.000+11:00

This was my second project in our sewing class! The other girls had made some of these skirts before and decided it was time to make some more in time for summer, and they were very easy. I got my fabric from Funky Fabrix and love both of them. I actually have one more half done, but have decided I will finish that in the New Year. The band is made out of stretchy material (Seaspray) and they are lined as well.

Beanbag

2010-12-17T09:39:00.000+11:00

This was my first proper project for our sewing class, we used the instructions from here Lincraft Beanbag. I made the adult sized one, together with a calico insert for it. It took a lot longer than I expected, just because of how HUGE it was, but I'm happy with the end product and it's very comfy! It was also my first taste of the dreaded zip, which I survived.

I actually finished this a few weeks ago, but hadn't got around to taking a photo (and, yes, it needs more beans ... )

Cute Dress for Miss J

2010-12-09T10:30:00.000+11:00

I'm so excited and just a little proud of myself on completing this dress, as this is the first time I've made something using a pattern (well, unless you count my pathetic attempt years ago in school, but I really don't think you should ... ). I also pretty much figured it all out by myself, except for some moral support by Ash whilst doing the buttonholes (which don't scare me as much anymore!).

I used the pattern Simplicity 5489 (with some changes, including lengthening it a little) and the fabric, called "Raindrops Stripe Pink", from the "Rainy Days and Mondays" collection, is by designer Riley Blake whose fabrics I just love. I bought it online from Funky Fabrix.

I had planned on using some dark pink buttons, but Ash suggested the green ones instead and I really think they make a big difference and love the look.

It's for my niece's 4th birthday in a few weeks, who lives in Fiji, so I hope she likes it.

Camo Backback Cover - One for the guys!

2010-12-01T22:30:00.000+11:00

This one isn't actually one of my projects, but my Husband's that I'm proudly going to share :)

I came home from work a week ago to the sound of my sewing machine whirring away, which is probably the last thing I would expect. Ash had got a new backpack for his birthday a few days before (a swanky one with a compartment specially for his camera and all it's gear), so he'd decided it needed a waterproof cover. He'd mentioned it to me earlier, to which I said it was a good idea but I didn't have time straightaway to figure it out (up to my eyeballs in sewing projects right now), so he decided to give it a crack.

He went to the camping store and bought a camo poncho (hmmm I don't think I could imagine a boy's camping night with ponchos ... perhaps that's why it was on sale... anyway ...) and then converted that using cord, webbing and a toggle and buckle to secure it. Here's what the end result looked like:

Toggle fastening (buttons are from original poncho)

Buckle fastening to secure around the back of the backpack

We went away the morning after and, given the wet weather here at the moment, it got well and truly tested and passed with flying colours.

I think I better keep an eye on my sewing machine in the future. I may have to start fighting to use it ...

Notepad and Pencil Wallet

2010-11-16T17:59:00.000+11:00

Yay, I've finally finished this wonderful Notepad and Pencil Wallet that has been in progress for about two months now (it hasn't taken the whole two months I might just add, just other things have been getting in the way). I followed a tutorial from Skip to my Lou which worked perfectly, just needed some tweaking as my notepad was a different size.

It was made from the same fabric as my Toddler Bag Handle for the same lucky man (he loved the dinosaur fabric), who now has a gorgeous baby sister. Master T definitely loved his dinosaur notepad and pencil wallet!

I've already started on the next project, I'm using an actual *proper* pattern for this one, so fingers crossed ... I followed Catherine's advice and spent all last night tracing out my pattern pieces.

Watch this space ...

2010-11-08T19:22:00.000+11:00

Look at what arrived in the mail today! Hooray! Even my husband was a little excited for me (he helped me choose the fabrics, because I always love them all and can't choose).

So keep a lookout between now and the end of the year for what these gorgeous fabrics are going to be used for. I hope I will do them justice.

Funky Runners

2010-09-25T21:58:00.001+10:00

Since I got my new sewing machine, I have - ironically - hardly had any time to play with it. Well yesterday I decided it was time to ditch my priorities for the moment (all that fun housework) and finally got around to one of my many projects that I'd been wanting to create.

What started off these two ideas was 1) Being very protective of my piano and blanket box and desperately wanting to protect them from hot cups or other items that could leave nasty scars behind; and 2) My parents are visiting from Sydney this week and I wanted the house to look as good as possible for their first visit, so I thought some extra colour may help that along!

I got my inspiration from this Mug Rug project so each of the runners has batting inside to give it that added bit of padding and protection. Now, my original plan was for both of the runners to look like the one on the blanket box but, stupidly, I miscalculated how much stripey material I would need and so had to put on my creative hat. I'm not sure if it was a good mistake ... or a bad mistake ... ??

So here they are.

Sewing Machine Update

2010-09-06T22:09:00.001+10:00

I got my very own sewing maching today! It's a Janome Sewist 625E, and I picked up the very last one on sale at almost half the price from the Metro Sewing Centre at Preston. I'm very excited, and looking forward to testing it out. So bring on all of the projects I've got lined up!

Just stuff ...

2010-09-04T17:10:00.000+10:00

Thought I'd update on my happenings in the world of sewing in the last few days!

1. I had my first sewing lesson on Thursday night, which was really great. I did sewing at school about 14 years ago for a term, with a teacher that was not very helpful (and that's putting it nicely) and so I muddled my way through, finally getting a final grade of "D"! So, many years on, I've finally discovered that sewing CAN be fun and now am looking forward to learning it properly, and probably finding out that the last few months have caused me to pick up some bad habits .. hmm. Even better? My sewing teacher is my lovely mother in law, and my "classmates" are my sister in law and good friend.

2. I'm getting a new sewing machine! I've been using my mum's old machine and, while it's served it's purpose up until now (while I proved the sewing thing wasn't just a passing phase), it really is a little old and has a few issues. Mum and Dad had already offered to pay for a sewing machine for my 30th birthday in Feb next year, but I realised I would need one sooner. Well, when Mum heard that, she straightaway deposited the money into my account as an early birthday present (woo hoooooo!) so in the next week I'll hopefully own a brand new machine! This is the one I've got my eye on at the moment (I've been doing the Librarian thing of doing heaps of research) Janome Sewist 525S

Toddler Bag Handle

2010-08-27T18:03:00.000+10:00

I followed this tutorial from Make It and Love It, and it is so, so easy. It's for a lucky little boy who will be getting a baby brother or sister in about 7 weeks.

It's for the Little Man to hold when Mum's hands are occupied, e.g. with pushing a pram. It can be attached to her handbag (as shown), or even to the pram or shopping trolley handle.

The "Montana Bag"

2010-08-21T17:49:00.000+10:00

My little neice Montana is turning 4 on Wednesday, so I thought I'd test my sewing and creative skills to make a present for her. I'd looked at some online tutorials of bags, and they were either beyond my skills (plus I was working to a deadline) or just not what I had in mind. So, I decided to jot down the design I had in mind and let my artistic husband decipher my scibbles and turn it into a pattern, which he did!

It was very easy, and I plan on making more. As with all self-designed projects, I've thought of improvements I can make to it, but I'm sure that Montana will love it anyway. If she doesn't, I already stocked up on some funky Smiggle stationery supplies to go inside the bag that will make her happy :)

Wrap Skirt

2010-08-02T23:14:00.000+10:00

I was very excited yesterday when I could finally wear my skirt - the first article of clothing I've ever sewn - for the first time!

Let me share my journey ...

I found a tutorial online on how to make an easy wrap skirt, which I very optimistically thought "I can do that!". I already had some funky patterned material which I absolutely loved, and decided would feature in my wonderful creation, and so took a trip with my wonderful husband and picked the main fabric for it. At first, it was all going great, I was seriously thinking I would have it finished by the following day, and then came the problems ...

I will just point out that I'm not sure whether it was the tutorial that was lacking in information, or me that was lacking in experience (I suspect a bit of both, which is why I haven't included the link to the tutorial to be fair), but in trying to follow the instructions given I kept realising that it Just. Didn't. Work. My husband was great - he kept me going with suggestions and encouragement - and in the end it all worked fine. The skirt was initially meant to be a wrap skirt which tied at the side, but right at the end we realised it just didn't work so I gave it some funky buttons instead and removed the ties. I also lined it, which wasn't in the tutorial either, so I can be quite proud of my own little creation.

I've decided though, that the next article of clothing I make will be from a pattern :)

Front

Back

More hair accessories

2010-07-22T15:02:00.001+10:00

I've discovered that, with not much effort, hair accessories are so easy to make yourself. I'm always after something different to put in my hair (to make it look like I've done something different, when I really haven't!) and so these ideas are perfect for me.

Button Hair Tie

Button Clip

A big thanks to LiDDesignsSupplies for the gorgeous buttons!

My First Project - Hairbands

2010-07-08T08:34:00.000+10:00

The other day I decided that I was going to attempt my very first "proper" project. I've been sick of buying hairbands, only to find that they either slip off or are so tight they give me a splitting headache. So I thought I'd make one that I can tie up at the back instead (plus it was decidedly easier to make!)

I found lots of tutorials on different blogs on making fabric flowers, so I decided to pretty up the hairband by making a ribbon flower as shown on Hope Studios' Blog.

I was pretty happy with the outcome (I honestly thought it would be a big failure) and am now all motivated for more creative creations!