Book Review - 'Giftwrapped' by Jane Means

Giftwrapped  by Jane Means
November 2014 Hardback £20
published by Jaqui Small 

The Christmas season is nearly upon us and the trend for beautifully wrapped gifts using unexpected embellishments and recycled materials has never been stronger.


In this fabulous book, Gift Wrap Guru Jane Means - gift wrapper to the rich and famous - celebrates her signature style and shares her secrets of a perfectly wrapped gift! 

Ribbon Decorated Cushion Tutorial

So, I promised you a couple of tutorials to tie in with this month's Crafty Obsession  and here is the first - How to make a cute decorative pillow with ribbon trim.

The instructions are for a small pillow measuring approx 32cm x 24cm but it can be easily adapted to make a pillow any size you want!

Instructions include a seam allowance of 1cm - add extra to the width (the short edge) if you feel you need it!

 

 

Crafty Obsessions - Ribbons

lovely Jane Means ribbons in shades of spring!

Crafty Obsessions took a little break in March (as life took over) but it's back for April and this month I am sharing my obsession with ribbons!

Handmade Wedding bunting idea...

The other day I received a call for help from a friend of mine.

She has a family wedding coming up and the bride and groom, wanting a rustic, handmade feel for their big day, had requested that the guests each send a handmade bunting flag. Their idea is to stitch all the flags together to make a beautiful and totally unique addition to their wedding decorations.

What a wonderful idea!! Not only does this get everyone involved in their wedding preparations but at the end of it they have a gorgeous keepsake to remind them of their special day and all the people that came together to make it even more special.

But why did she need my help?

Well to use her own words "How does one sew?...(The whole family) know I can't even sew on a button!"

I hate to leave a friend in need and, lets be honest I don't need much encouragement when it comes to sharing crafty stuff!  I arranged to pop over and give her a hand. I wasn't going to make it for her, just give her a few pointers. Plus we get to drink lots of tea and have a natter too. Sounds like the perfect morning to me :-)

I took along a little bundle of materials and trimmings that fitted in with the 'rustic' theme. Fran wanted a natural look...

pretty crafty things....

Pretty natural fabrics, lovely cream and sage spotty ribbon from the Jane Means collection, some pretty pompom trim and a selection of vintage lace, buttons and embroidery threads.

We sat and talked ideas and Fran chose the base fabric she wanted. Then we set about appliqueing a gingham heart. Poor Fran's hands were shaking as she applied the first few stitches but she soon got the hang of it!

first tenative stitches

She added three rows of vintage lace trim, then we made a little bow with the spotty ribbon and attached it to the flag with a heart shaped wooden button.

buttons and bows

Now confident that, yes, she could actually sew on a button, Fran added a couple more and finished off the flag with some cute cream coloured pompom trim from Seamstar .  Once she was happy with her work she cut out the flag.

steady....

Fran was so pleased with her finished bunting...

proud crafter!

...and so she should be! The girl who said she lacked creativity and had absolutely no idea what to do and how to go about it, I think she did a pretty damn fine job, don't you?

The lucky couple have received the flag now and they love it too - it's going to look so pretty strung up with all the other handmade flags from their other guests!


It's such a fabulous idea and the perfect way to celebrate such a happy day :-)


ps - Fran agreed to have these pictures taken of her work in progress, just to prove to the rest of the family that actually, she can sew on a button. And more besides!

Giveaway - Boost your crafty stash!!

I promised you a little giveaway earlier in the month, just as a thank you for your continued support and as a little celebration of the fact that I have been writing in this little corner of the internet for four years now!

This one is for all you crafty people out there - or perhaps those of you who want to have a go at sewing some cute little things but don't know where to start. Or those of you who's main purpose in life is simply to build a stash... (or is that just me?)

I have put together a little bundle of goodies from my own stash just for you...

What's in the bundle?

 

A set of six fat quarters of lovely Tilda fabrics - perfect for patchwork, doll making and any number of small projects.

Ten 1 metre lengths of assorted ribbons, ric rac and some lovely vintage lace trim from my stash.

50 assorted buttons in pastel shades - mostly vintage/reclaimed but with a few new buttons too. There's hearts, flowers, shiny, matt and even one that looks just like a sweetie...

All together a pretty collection of items I think you'll agree!  

 

Want to know how you can be in with a chance of winning this beautiful bundle of crafty goodness?

How to Enter

• Leave a comment below - why not tell me what you would do with all this crafty loveliness!
• Tweet 'I'd love to boost my craft stash with @forestflower23's giveaway' with a link to this blog post
• If you are on facebook, visit my Forest Flower facebook page, hit 'Like' and leave a comment on the 'Boost your stash Giveaway' post pinned to the top of the page. 
• Share the facebook post with your friends for an extra entry too!

That's a total of four chances to win!

This competition will run until midnight on June 30th. I will announce the winner on Monday 1st of July so make sure you keep an eye on the blog, facebook page or my twitter feed to see if it's you!

Good Luck!

So many projects, so little time...

I have so many little projects stacking up at the moment, when I get a little time to myself I hardly know which one to work on!

Here's a beaded necklace I am working on for my mum...

It's in lovely spring colours - fresh greens, blues and yellows. It is supposed to be a gift for her wedding anniversary next week. I hope I can finish it in time but beading work is so time consuming and the kitten always wants to join in...

Then there is little dragon softie...  I made one of these for a newborn nephew of a friend and it proved very popular amongst my Forest Flower facebook page likers!  This one, also commissioned by a friend ( I have some fab friends!) is unashamedly girlie with green leafy patterns and gorgeous Tilda roses fabric.

I've used a selection of matching stitched and polka dot ribbons from my Jane Means stash to make the 'spikes' down this dragon's back - don't they look lovely?  

Another 'new baby' gift commission is this personalised star... for a little Star!

Made with the reverse applique technique I use for my popular heart decorations using felt with a pretty fabric insert embroidered with baby's name. I am really pleased with how this one turned out - I think it may be coming to my Folksy shop very soon!!

Finally I have a very cute Easter make as part of my Abakhan Creative Budget challenge. I am currently putting a little tutorial together for this make that will go live by the end of the week giving you just enough time to source some supplies and make for Easter weekend. I hope you like them!

phew...  now I just need a few extra hours - preferably while everyone else is asleep!!!