Spring has sprung fabric noticeboard

After yesterday's delightful weather (highs of 16 degrees C on 5th March!) I thought it was time to post this blog on how to make a fabric covered noticeboard, after I recently made this floral and blue-ribboned one for Jim's sister's 18th birthday. It would also make a great Mothers' Day present :)

Take one old/new/borrowed (I don't know if you can get blue ones) cork pinboard and some wadding, and cut the wadding so that it is 3 inches bigger than the board all the way round.

I laid the board face down on the wadding and folded the edges round onto the back of the board. I also removed the tiny hooks and pins and kept them safe to re-attach later on.

I cut all four corners off the rectangle of wadding, so that it would fold better and sit more neatly on the back of the board.

Initially I tried using a staple-gun to affix the wadding, but the staples fell out. My very good friend and craft advisor Stephanie Lewis recommended using double sided carpet tape to stick it on. Carpet tape is truly the stickiest and best "attatcher" I have ever come across.

I then cut the fabric I wanted to use to size, again, about 3 inches larger all round than the board. Next I placed the wadding-covered board face down on the underside of the fabric and used the corner-cutting and carpet tape method as above to attach the fabic, making sure it was pulled quite tight.

Next I cut the ribbon to the different lengths required in order to make a nice diagonal criss-criss pattern and pinned them in place. I used a glue gun to stick down each ribbon end to the reverse of the board, again, ensuring that the ribbons were quite taught.

With the back of the board looking a bit scruffy what with the layers of wadding, carpet tape, fabric, ribbon and glue, I took an extra large bit of cardboard, trimmed it down to size and glue-gunned it onto the back to hide the mess.

Using a hammer I gently re-attached the hooks to the back of the board, ensuring the pattern on the fabric would be hanging the right way up.

Last but not least, I sewed some pearly buttons onto each ribbon crossover, also sewing through the fabric to make the ribbons a bit sturdier to hang things on.

This is an example of another board that my beautfiul mum made me a few years ago.

 

It's where I keep all the pretty cards and notelets that come through the post :)

Valentine's Heart Decoration

 

This is a bit of a cheaty post as I originally made this hanging heart decoration to give to my lovely friend Sally as a Secret Santa Christmas present back in December. However, this time of year sees the rekindling of all heart-shaped things in celebration of Valentine's Day.

Ahh lovely.

So, if you are in need of some inspiration for a simple and effective Valentine's gift that won't break the bank, or just fancy sewing a delightful little decoration regardless of the time of year, then follow the simple steps below!

1. Cut a heart shape out of old newspaper to the size you want. I wouldn't go much smaller than 10cm in height otherwise it might bet a bit fiddly sewing on the letters, but would be absolutely fine if you wanted to leave the hearts plain.

2. Use the heart template to cut out hearts (double the number of finished hearts that you so desire) from your chosen fabric and keep them together in pairs.

3. Using a contracting fabric, or many contrasting fabrics, cut out the letters of the word you want to spell out on your hearts. I used letters printed out from the computer so all my letters were the same font and size.

4. Using blanket stitch, I sewed each letter onto one fabric heart.

5. Now pin one lettered heart to one plain heart and use a basic running stitch to sew all the way around, about 1cm in from the edge. But don't sew right the way round to where you started - you need to leave a gap about 2 inches long to stick the stuffing into to make the hearts 3D. Once they are as fat as you like with stuffing finish off sewing round the heart.

6. Cut a length of ribbon about 15cm long for each heart. Fold the bits of ribbon in half and pin them to the top of the heart inside the two bits of fabric. Attach the pieces of ribbon with a single sturdy cross-stitch running through the ribbon and both bits of fabric.

7. Now thread a piece of string or more ribbon through the ribbon loops you have sewn onto the hearts and voila! A hanging heart decoration to add a bit of country loving to your home, or to give as a Valentine's Day present.

Fabric covered birthday card book

This is a handy little project for making a diary to keep a record of important people's birthdays, combined with a storage place for bithday cards, to help avoid that last minute dash to Paperchase when you realise you've missed your granny's birthday . . .

I came up with the idea when I noticed my mum's diary was bulging with an excessive amount of pre-bought birthday cards, slotted in between the pages of the month it was destined to be sent (you can tell where I get my uber-organisational skills from). However, not only was this entirely impractical for when she needed to take her diary out and about (along came a huge stash of cellophane-wrapped greetings cards) there was also a fairly regular disastrous occurence when the diary and it's entire contents scattered all over the floor after being knocked off the table.

For the birthday card book
You will need:

• A blank notepad, no smaller than A5 (I used an A5 sketchpad which is great due to its thicker than average paper, but slightly on the small side http://direct.hobbycraft.co.uk/products-Daler-Rowney-Spiral-Bound-A5-White-Paper-Sketch-Book_105240.htm) - whereas something like this is fine http://direct.hobbycraft.co.uk/products-Derwent-A4-Landscape-Sketchpad_333716.htm
• Scissors
• PVA glue
• Fabric scraps
• Needle and thread
• Ribbons
• Pen, pencil and ruler
• Paperclips or pegs

1.  Begin by sewing strips of fabric into two horizontal patchworks about an inch longer than the width and length of the book, to cover the front and back covers. Alternatively, if you are short of time, just measure and cut two pieces of fabric so they are slightly larger than the front and back covers. Set these aside.
2. As the book will be divided up by month, work out how many pages you'd like to use for the monthly calendar (I used one side of one page) and then add on two extra for each month - these will make the actual holder for the cards - "card" pages. It's OK to rip out excess pages as having the cards in the book will take up lots of space anyway.
3. Use a pencil/pen and ruler to mark on a daily calendar for each month (remembering to leave two blank pages between each month).

4. Using a ruler, pencil and scissors, cut half of each first blank "card" page for each month diagonally from about two inches from the botton right corner to halfway up the left side. Discard the top of each of these.

5. Cut 12 strips of ribbon (one for each month) the same length as the width of the book's pages, and glue them to fasten the bottom of the diagonal "half" page and the full "card" page for each month together. Add a little bit on the bottom right hand side as well if you like. Use your paperclips or pegs to hold the ribbon in place until it sets.


6. When everything is dry you should have quite a sturdy little book. Take your fabric - plain or patchwork - and glue each bit to the front and back covers, making sure there is a little overlap glued down on the inside top and bottom.

7. Trim any excess material down the sides of the covers and to give it a more finished look take a final piece of ribbon and glue it to the edge (inside and out of the cover) to hide the edge of the material. Peg everything in place until dry.

 Here is the one I made my mum for her last birthday, in full use!

Homely heart garland

 

This is a perfect way to use up offcuts and scraps of fabric to make a simple yet effective decoration that can be used to brighten up a corner of a room or hang across the top of a cupboard or window.

You can use any fabric and a template for any shape to make a seasonal decoration, such as Christmas trees, flowers, stars etc etc. I love hearts as they fit in the whole year round!

To make a heart garland

You will need:

• fabric
• heart template (easy to find online, or use a heart-shaped biscuit cutter)
• pinking scissors (ordinary scissors are fine, but the pinking scissors gives the hearts a good zigzag look)
• wadding (easily and cheaply picked up from a haberdashery/fabric shop, or you could use the stuffing from a cheap cushion)
• thread
• needle
• ribbon

1. Begin by cutting out two heart shapes out of each piece of fabric to make one heart - cut about 1cm around the template to allow for the stuffing that reduces the size. Pin the heart shapes inside to inside to keep them together.
2. Sew each pair of heart shapes together by machine or hand about 3/4 of the way round, making sure to leave a 1cm border round the outside. Fill them with wadding to the size you like the look of, then finish off sewing up each heart.
3. When you have about 8-10 filled hearts (or as many as you like depending on how long you want the garland!) lay them out in the order you want them to hang. Cut up pieces of ribbon about 8-10cm long and sew them between each heart attaching it to the top/bottom or each side to hang them in order.

4. Finish off by attaching a loop of ribbon to the top of the first heart (or each side of the outer hearts depending on which way you want the garland to hang) so it's easy to hang up. 

 Hang your hearts lengthways to brighten up the top of a cupboard or doorway...

 ...or downwards to add some colour to a plain corner!