Day 13 - Ipod Case

This was just a really quick and easy project today. My poor Ipod has suffered a lot over the last couple of years kicking around in the bottom of my handbag and getting scratched and scuffed, so I thought it was finally time to make a nice cozy case for it.

For this I just used some soft knitted fabric I had (it used to be the sleeve of a jumper) and some pretty scrap fabric I had to make the outer cover. I sewed them both together with right sides facing and leaving a small gap to turn it right side out through, which I then sewed up. Then I laid my Ipod on it so I could see how much to turn it up by to make the pocket and topstitched it closed. Then I hand sewed a hair band to the inside of the top flap and sewed a button on to the middle of the back to act as a closure. (The hair band that I used was quite old and stretched out, you might not need to sew your button so far away!)

Then you're ready to slide in your Ipod, chuck it in your bag and go.

Front

Back

Open

Day 12 - Sewing Machine Pin Cushion

This is an idea I found on Pinterest and instantly thought it was genius. The original tutorial can be found here on I Can Find The Time's blog, but this is my attempt.

You just need two pieces of fabric to make a tube out of, some scraps to stuff it with, and a ribbon cut in half to tie it round you machine.

Firstly you need to lay the fabric right sides together with one piece of ribbon in between, a ribbon sandwich if you will. Sew that side down, then do the same on the other side with the other piece of ribbon. Then sew the top and bottom edges down, making sure you sew the ribbon down too! You also need to remember to leave a gap so you can turn the whole thing right side out and put the stuffing it.

Once you've stuffed it, close the gap up, tie it round your machine and you're done! Unless you're me, and you forget to sew the ribbon in to the seams. If you do that, then just sew the two bits of ribbon to either side at the back, once it's tied to your machine, who's going to see it anyway?

Day 11 - Roll Up Pencil Case, Another Scrap Buster

Yesterday I made a pen roll for my nice coloured fineliners. Today I wanted to make a similar one for the rest of my pens and pencils, again using up scrap fabric that I've had lying around for ages.

This one is dead easy, you just need two pieces of fabric that are wide enough to fit all your pens and pencils in and that are double the length of the longest pen/pencil you're putting in it (because you're going to fold the flap over before you roll it up), plus seam allowance. You also need a third type of fabric to make your pockets out of, plus a ribbon to tie it together when you roll it up.

Sew your two pieces of fabric together right sides facing, leaving a gap so that you can turn it inside out , once you have turned it the right way round, sew this hole up. Then cut out your pockets, measuring them so they are roughly the length and width you need then to be.

I used pinking shears to cut the pockets and then just top stitched them (it's easy and it looks quite nice).  I then hand stitched the ribbon to the centre of the roll, but roughly a quarter of the way up, this means that when you fold the top over, the ribbon should be almost dead centre. (I roll mine up so either side meets in the middle, however if you roll yours from end to the other, you need to position you ribbon to allow for this)

Then just fold the flap over, roll it up and off you go!

Flap folded over

All rolled up and ready to go!

Day 10 - Scrap Busting Pen Roll

I've been attempting to organise my study/craft room over the last couple of days, and in the process realised two things: firstly, I have way too much stuff, secondly, I have nowhere near enough storage. So in a bid to resolve these two issues I have been coming up with ways to use up my huge amount of scrap fabric and create some useful storage solutions. The first item on my list was to organise my art box (which is pretty much just a cardboard box full of pens and pencils tied together with hairbands, paints, chalks, paintbrushes tied together with hairbands etc. that I have accumulated over the years.

So here is my first stash buster; a pen roll (or pencil roll, depending on what you choose to put in it)

It was quite an easy project, I mostly made it up as I went along. Here's what you need, two pieces of fabric, one for the outside, one for the inside; a button and a hair band for the fastening; and of course your machine and sewing gubbins.

Firstly you need to roughly measure the length of the pens/pencils you want to put in it and then add your seam allowance on. As you can see from the picture above, I managed to mess that bit up and forgot to factor in a seam allowance. I actually quite like the fact that the pens stick out over the top though, it means you can grab a pen easily without having to unroll, but that's really personal preference.

Because I was using up scraps, I didn't have two pieces of fabric that were the same length and height, so used an off cut of the outer fabric on the inside as well.

Apologies for the awful picture!

So what I did was essentially make an envelope cushion (I think that's right anyway!) I laid the pieces right sides together, making sure that the blue flowered fabric was underneath the pink one (that way when you turn it inside out everything is the right way round) Then you just sew all the way round, leaving a gap so you can turn it the right way round. If you're really anal about ironing seams then you can do that before turning it round. If, like me you hate ironing seams because it means ironing, then don't bother, I quite like the homemade, rustic look! Once you've turned it the right way out, close up the gap and get ready to sew the tubes.

Measure where you need the first seam to be and sew. Then (and this is the bit I strongly recommend) put the pen in the tube and measure where the next seam needs to be. I know this seams a bit time consuming, and you may be saying "why don't I just measure out where all the lines need to be and just sew away" BUT if you want your pens to fit snugly, this is the best way to do it. It may feel really awkward and cumbersome to be sewing straight lines when half your roll has pens in it, but it really does make a difference - it will literally be made to measure for your pens and there is no way they will be falling out without a fight.

Once you've sewn all the seams and your pens are all snug and warm, just sew your hairband to one end and roll the whole thing up so you can work out where you need your button to go. My hairband was really stretched out because it was the same hairband I've been using to keep my pens together. Conveniently my button need to sit just behind where I'd sewn the hairband so it looks neat and tidy. 

I'm pretty chuffed with the end result, and it really didn't take me very long at all. Plus, it makes my art box look so much neater. Once I have completely organised my art box there may be a picture....

My pretty pen roll. It even has extra space on the end incase I need it

Day 9 Shoe Update Number 3

This is an update that I was massively excited about doing because it involved GLITTER! I freakin' love glitter, I mean, who doesn't?

Right so, glitter shoes have been all over Pinterest, but my favourite pair has to be these from A Beautiful Mess ( which incidentally happens to be one of my favourite blogs).

This is so simple, and so messy, but so worth it. I strongly recommend doing this over a piece of newspaper, or a big enough container, so that you catch the glitter and reuse it. First of all, I painter my pumps using acrylic paint. The glitter I wanted to use was a turquoise colour, so I painted my pumps green, because some of the shoe underneath will show up no matter how much glitter you use! Once the paint had dried, I painted on the PVA glue working in small sections, you don't want the glue to dry before you've managed to sprinkle on enough of your glitter. When you've covered the whole of your shoes, let them dry completely, I left mine for 24 hours. Once they've dried, touch up any patches, let dry for another few hours, then paint a thin layer of glue over the whole of the shoe. You want to be careful when you do this, because some of the glitter will come aways when you brush the glue on, so be gentle. When you've painted glue over the whole of your shoes, let them dry for another 24 hours, and there you have it, one amazing pair of sparkly shoes!

Day 8 Another Shoe Update

Clearly I'm not good at this blogging everyday, I promise to do better!

After my first post where I updated a pair of old pumps, I decided to update a couple more of my pumps (I have about 10 pairs that will all eventually be given a new lease of life).

The idea for the first update came from See Kate Sew. She did a series of shoe updates, which are all amazing, but my favourite idea of hers combined two of my favourite things, shoes and books. Kate used modge podge to stick strips down that she had cut from a dictionary. I don't think we get modge podge in the UK, but from what I gather, it's basically PVA, so that's what I used to stick down the strips of paper I cut from a spare copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare that I had kicking around (I've already used some of the pages in a previous post to cover boxes and folders).

This is a very simple crafts to do, just go round the shoe in sections pasting on the glue, then sticking down the page strips and gluing over the top. Don't worry about any overhang, as you can trim this down once the glue has dried. When you have covered the whole shoe, paint a thin layer over the whole of the shoe and let dry. You will find that the paper cracks when you walk, just glue over the top and the shoes will move with your foot without peeling. I have found however that the edges of the paper on my shoes has come away a lot, so I'm going to go back over them with a generous layer of glue!

Day 7 Bookmark DIY and all up to date!

So I've spent the majority of the day getting by blog up to date, and from hence forth I will attempt to post them each day because doing four posts in one day is just too much work!

After all this writing, I wanted to do something quick, easy and very simple, so this is what I plumped for. It's a really easy tutorial from Percolating Projects, and all you need is a piece of ribbon that will go round your book (I used a piece of scrap fabric), a hair band and button.

If you're using a ribbon then the long edges will already be finished, however, if you are using up a piece of scrap like I am, then you can either jut sew a seam down either side, or you can sew right sides together, making a tube, then turn it inside out, which is what I did. Then I rolled one end over twice and sewed it down, making a secure seam, while the other side I rolled over twice and then sewed it down with the hairband secured inside. Then just sew a button on the other end and job done! Check out Percolating Projects for a full tutorial with pictures.

My lovely new bookmark