Colette Ginger skirt pattern

One of the blogs I follow is Cushion and Cake. It's a little crafty tearoom down on Old Dumbarton Road. I haven't been to it yet, really just out of not finding the time but it is on my to do list.

A few weeks ago they were blogging about an easy to sew skirt pattern. I've been recently looking at dress/skirt patterns on Ebay and looking for one to try. It's been a long time since I've worked off a pattern and it would be interesting to give it a go again. So on their blog's recommendation and enthusiasm I decided to purchase the Colette Ginger 1016 pattern.

The pattern has three different versions, version 1 with a pointed waistband, version 2 with a curved waistband and version 3 which has a straight waistband and is cut on the bias, making it great for stripes.

I don't exactly which one I'm going to start with or whether it will work out or be a sewing disaster but I have picked some material. It's a beautiful flowery ditsy print from Remnant Kings costing £5.99/m. There were both cheaper and more expensive materials that appealed to me but I decided on this one. 

I'm actually really looking forward to seeing how it turns out and hopefully giving my skirt it's spring debut.

The Colette patterns are available on their website, but this one was sold out so I bought mine for about the same price from a seller on Ebay.

Now just to get sewing...

Miso Funky cross stitch kit

I've seen this brand around a few times at craft fairs and finally gave in to buying something. Miso Funky  'design and make cross stitch samplers with a modern twist.' They certainly do with vast amounts of cross stitch phrases like 'what would Nigella do?', 'weak tea, weak mind' and 'make tea not war.'

They have them in a variety of homewares and accessories including badges, frames and earrings. What I like the most is that you can buy the kit to make the cross stitch yourself or buy the ready made product.

I decided to buy the kit to make two coasters or magnets, one saying 'I <3 tea', the other saying 'I <3 gin.' Both phrases are definitely true. 

The pack comes with more than enough thread to make the finished product (even with mistakes), aida fabric, a needle, plastic coaster cases, magnets and a fantastic set of easy-to-follow instructions that includes a chart to show exactly where each stitch goes. 

Until getting this I hadn't done cross stitch to a pattern in quite a long time. I found it really easy to understand and follow, which means it would make a great gift even for those who have never done cross stitch before. All in all I was pleased with the end product and it made me want to definitely do a lot more cross stitch.

In the end though I decided that they were much too pretty to be sitting under a cup so decided  to use them as magnets.

The kit I bought cost £15 and can be found here. All kits come with free UK postage and can be sent internationally as well.

If you get a chance you might see Miso Funky at the next craft fairs you visit or just check out their website where they have a huge selection of products and crafts.

Vintage and Craft Fairs

Glasgow is such an amazingly interesting city that is full of artists, collectors, designers and independents.  One of the great ways to see this is in the sheer volume of craft and vintage fairs dotted around the city. Going to these fairs is a fantastic way to support the independent businesses in your area, no matter where it is. Vintage and craft fairs are dotted throughout the country just waiting to be discovered by you.

The main thing I love about vintage is that every bag, every dress and every necklace all have a story, all have a past. You're not just buying a dress. You're buying a dress someone got engaged in, a bracelet they received as a gift so many years ago, shoes that have walked the streets of Paris. They may have also walked the streets of East Kilbride, but it doesn't matter they've lived a life and deserve to be loved.

Craft fairs are also close to my heart in that every piece that is available is painstakingly created by hand and is one of a kind. Something so precious makes a much better gift than buying off the shelf in Tesco. No vintage or craft fair is ever the same and is always quirky and different; something you don't always find on the high street.

Go visit them when you can, you won't be sorry.

Here are some of my favourites:


Gin in Teacups
Normally at Chambre 69 and organised by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
The next one is on Saturday 5th May between 12 and 5.30pm

Afternoon Twee
Normally at Tusk and organised by Indy Traders
The next one is on Sunday 29th April between 12 and 5.30pm

Little Birds Market
Normally at Sloans Bar and Restaurant
The next one is on Sunday 13th May

Sloans Market
Also at Sloans Bar and Restaurant
The next one is on Saturday and Sunday 28th/29th April

Makers Market
Normally at Hillhead Library
The next one is on Saturday 28th April

Granny Would Be Proud
Normally at Hillhead Bookclub
The next one is on 29th April

Say No To Plastic
Normally at the Oran Mor

Glue Factory Bazaar
At the Glue Factory
The next one is Saturday 28th April

Linzertorte

I don't know about you, but I love watching the Hairy Bikers new show Bakeation. They are essentially living the dream buy travelling across Europe and eating, drinking and baking all that there is to offer. I promise you if you're not hungry at the start of the program you'll be raiding the fridge by the end.

Last weeks episode was in Austria where they ate Sachertorte, yodelled and generally made me starving with envy. One thing they did bake was a Linzertorte. It is essentially a yummy looking giant jam tart with a cinnamon flavour to the pastry. Nom. I had to attempt to make it.

It was a simple recipe to follow and all the ingredients are affordable and easy to get hold of. I only made one mistake with mine and that was that I didn't leave enough pastry for the criss-cross pattern on the top. It doesn't look perfect but it does taste amazing and at least I know for next time.

You can find the recipe just here and the most recent episodes of the Hairy Bikers Bakeation are still on BBC iplayer and are definitely worth a watch.

Decoupage Fever

Decoupage, as I have recently found is weirdly addictive. So yesterday I decided to head back to Damselfly and The Queen Bee and buy more paper and back to the pound shop for some more  frames (I can never get enough of photo frames, I really don't know why).

The little heart frames were only £1.25 each from Damselfly. So I decided to experiment with these and use little bits of all the paper to see how it turned it.

It actually turned out much better than I thought. I think using smaller pieces of paper as it's mixed and it's a small frame worked much better.

I then started on the bigger frames, which I am very excited to start putting around the house. For the blue flower frame I'm tempted to add a material flower to one of the corners to add to it.

Yet another pretty frame.

Sadly enough I don't think I'm yet all decoupaged out. The paper is going a lot further than I thought it would.

1 picture frame, so many ideas

I'd been looking for the perfect picture to put in my newly made decoupage frame when it occurred to me that any picture I put in it would take the focus off the frame itself. I could have always put a small picture along with a white border to even out the focus or put in a mirror but I decided to do something else. Instead I made a jewellery holder/stand.


So I started with the frame I decorated the other day. I took out the glass and made sure the back was sturdy enough. If not I would have added supporting cardboard to the frame background. I was tempted to add coloured paper to the background but this time I decided against it.

I planned out with jewellery where I would put holes for earrings or hooks for necklaces or bracelets. Using a hobby drill I put small holes into the cardboard background.

I then added a row of hooks into the holes. If the hooks go right through the back of cardboard then remember to cover that up with tape at the back so no-one will stab their fingers.

With the earrings added and the hooks in place it was starting to take shape.

This is the finished frame. I could have stood it up as a frame on the desk but I decided to hang it on the wall next to my dressing table. It's a nice way of displaying my jewellery and de-cluttering my dressing table. Win win.

My first attempt at decoupage

Today I had headed to Damselfly and The Queen Bee to pick up a few bits of patterned paper for my resin jewellery. While I was there I found this stunningly beautiful decopatch paper. I've been meaning to try decoupage (or wrote as decopatch in some places)  for a little while. It is after all posh sounding paper mache, so it's something I'm positive a 5 year old version of myself would had a good go at. At Damselfly they have a really good collection of paper; in fact better than a lot of ebay sellers I've been looking at. This paper just jumped out at me and said 'buy me.'

I found a photo frame I've had lying around for a little while which I got from the pound shop; cause I'm classy like that. I've talked to a few people about decoupage before and PVA glue is cheaper and just the same as a lot of these special decoupage glues I've seen.

So I started ripping the paper into stamp sized (ish) pieces and glued them on. Pretty simple really.

It took a bit of time to do the whole thing but as you can see, it did pay off. All I need to do now is find something to put in the frame. Might make another one with a cupcake paper and put the chalk board for the kicthen in it.

I think this has given me the decopatch buzz - I want to decoupage everything! I'm actually itching to head back to Damselfly and buy all of their paper supplies.

The Life Craft

One of my favourite west end shops is closing at the end of the month, so thought it deserved a little mention on my blog. The Life Craft is a great little place for craft classes, children's parties, hen parties and buying craft essentials. On a rainy (or any day for that matter) you can pop in and paint some pottery. At the end of every month they hold a fantastic night called Paint It Up where you take along a bottle (or several) of your poison of choice and paint pottery. I've been a few times and it's always been a great night where you can be creative, talk rubbish and get a bit merry to boot. In fact it is very odd how on your third glass of wine you suddenly think you're an artistic genius.

On that note here are some of my artistic works from previous nights. I think on the last one at the end of the month I'm going to have to stock up and paint everything in sight.

It is very sad that Life Craft is closing its doors but they are going out on a high with their last month's calendar jam packed with events along with them selling off their remaining stock. You can check out what's going on on their Facebook page. If you have a chance to pop along this month please do.

All the best to Vonnie and everyone else at The Life Craft when it does close, but I will be along soon to buy up all their supplies.

Resin Jewellery making

A few week ago now I went to a resin jewellery class ran by Addison at Freak Carousel. It was a fantastic class that ran over 2 weeks. Addison was very enthusiastic and informative about her resin making; she obviously loves what she does. The first 2 hour class covered the basics of making the resin mix, colouring it, forming in moulds and adding details. Most things can be set in jewellery from paper designs, metal work and even personal items like baby teeth etc. I actually couldn't wait to return the next week to turn out my designs. The second class covered finishing our jewellery and involved a lot of drilling holes to make into necklaces and gluing on brooch backs or rings. Here's what I ended up making in the class:

                                         
 I think this one is my favourite one, even if it is slightly wonky. Addison was full of advice for getting things like this right next time, like doing a small layer of resin first before adding the pattern or paper.

 One of the girls at the class came well prepared with hundreds ad thousands which look amazing when put into resin.

All in all it was a fantastic class which I would recommend to anyone interested in jewellery making or doing something a little bit different with your Tuesday nights. There's another workshop planned for the end of April with one in Glasgow and one in Aberdeen. The Freak Carousel Facebook page is the best way to keep up to date with new classes happening in your area. The prices are £35 per person or £60 for 2 people. The last class was full so definitely book well in advance.

Since I have been inspired to buy all the kit for resin making and am currently working on some designs, I've already have a couple of achievements and disasters which I will post about soon.

New Blog Direction

Lately I haven't been posting on here (which is bad of me) however I have been going to and booking lots of craft classes and buying crafting goodies. So as a change of pace the next posts will be a mix of homemade crafts and reviews and info of the craft classes/shops I've been to recently. Glasgow is such a eclectic city of crafting wonders, just like a lot of cities I'm sure. My aim is to make the most of this, as should you.

Also I changed the layout to include a title stitched by my own fair hands. Prettys.