Crafty Card Making

I'm sorry it has been a little while since I have blogged - I have been so busy finishing University and settling into full time working life (I'm a grown up!!). I feel as though I have lost myself recently & have had no "me" time, but this will change as I love crafty projects & I love blogging! To ease me back into it I thought I would show you my most recent card making creations...

You may remember a while back I wrote a review about the Sizzix Texture Boutique Beginner Die-Cutting Kit, which I absolutely loved. Ever since then I have been making cards at every opportunity. What do you think of these two I made recently?

I love the heart & star wooden buttons I purchased recently from Amazon - I haven't come across anything similar to these before so they definitely help to create something a little more unique. Have you done any card making? I would love to see your creations - perhaps you could tweet me a photo. Or if you have any tips please let me know in the comments box below.

♥  

ZoFlo

Crafty Haul #1

As I am still revising for my final exam, I thought I would do a short post this week about some recent little crafty purchases I have made. 

After browsing my local Buying & Selling page on Facebook, I came across two bedside cabinets. Those Facebook pages are perfect for finding little household gems if you're prepared to do a little work to improve them. These two were just £20 for the pair, which I plan to upcycle - a project I will definitely be blogging about so sit tight crafters! I already have a plan in mind but if you have any ideas with what I could do with them please let me know :)

Next up is a colourful little addition to my Sewing Box. I have absolutely no reason as to why I purchased these wooden buttons, other than the fact that they were super cute. I also ordered them in a heart shape but they are yet to arrive. I have some kind of addiction to beautiful buttons! These were just £1.40 for 25 buttons on Amazon. Some people wouldn't think to go there but definitely check out Amazon for some crafty bargains!

Another Amazon treasure I ordered recently were these wooden Scrabble letters. I keep seeing so much Scrabble Art - on Pinterest, of course - and it has inspired me to give it a go for myself. I think it will be a great way to personalise your home or it will make a lovely gift for someone else. I wanted to be sure that they were good quality before ordering, which the reviews confirmed they were so at £12.49 for 100 tiles I think these will be perfect. Have you ever done any Scrabble Art?

Finally, I found this lovely Christmas Ribbon at my local Garden Centre. I know what you are all thinking - Christmas Ribbon in May?!! But I can definitely justify this purchase...as well as being cute, it was only 50p for 3 meters and I promise you the price of Christmas Ribbon (and other Christmassy themed items) will rocket come November / December time. I like to think I am just being well prepared for when the Festive Season sneaks up on us all.

Bit of a mixture of items for my first crafty haul, what do you all think? Let me know if you have picked up any little gems recently :)

♥  

ZoFlo

Sizzix Texture Boutique Beginners Kit // Die-Cutting // Product Review*

Hello my fellow Crafters! If you haven't noticed, I have been Tweeting alot this week about my first ever product review. I have been really excited to share it with you all, so here it is...

 After seeing a tweet asking where all us craft bloggers were hiding (are we that rare?) my friend Hannah replied suggesting me - what a good pal! This then led to me being asked if I wanted to try out a die-cutting machine. Now I'll be completely honest, I had to Google this as I was totally clueless, but once I had figured it out I was really keen to give it a go for myself. I was sent the Sizzix Texture Boutique Beginners Kit which retails at £30 in HobbyCraft. I wasn't sure what to expect but if, like me, you are a complete beginner I would highly recommend this kit. It's really simple to use and comes with everything you need to get started - or in my case, everything you need to get completely addicted!

 

This particular kit includes 1 card making machine, 2 embossing pads, 1 shim, 3 texture impressions embossing folders, 20 cards & envelopes, 40 sheets of cardstock in 10 different colours, 2 rub on sheets, 1 sandpaper sample and 1 project booklet. You're probably thinking the same as me...that's quite alot of stuff for £30! As well as getting the 91 piece kit for such a pleasing price, it is so great being able to create your own unique designs, making cards to give to people that aren't available in any stores. I personally think handmade cards are much more special and personal too. I have posted some photos below so you can see what designs I came up with - let me know what you think in the comments box below.

I got a little carried away!

If, like me, you enjoy trying out new things then this is definitely a fun crafty project to try out. And if you get really into it - again, like me - then Hobbycraft have such a wide range of other items you can purchase to expand your kit. Click here to see more. I already have my eye on some more texture impression embossing folders!

Have you ever done die-cutting before? What products would you recommend and do you have any handy tips? Let me know in the comments box below :)

♥  

ZoFlo

Love Heart Cushion

As I was browsing Pinterest, I stumbled across the loveliest cushion and like many other sewers I immediately thought to myself..."I want to make this". I do this with just about everything I see, but very rarely actually end up following through. But this cushion was just too cute to not replicate. So I just had to go to my local haberdashery to pick up all of the materials I needed.

I picked up some hessian for the front section and decided on plain red cotton fabric for the back. I also made sure I picked up plenty of red ribbon and red zips, as I wanted to make four to go in the lounge. As I have only recently got back into sewing, I want to keep my first few projects quite simple and these definitely were just that. I do need to dust up on my zip inserting skills though (oops) and threading ribbon through hessian is quite tedious (yawn) but apart from that it was great fun and I was really pleased with how they turned out.

Image take from Pinterest

My finished Cushion

So what do you think of my Love Heart Cushion? I always find the best inspiration on Pinterest - if you haven't already got an account, I would definitely recommend that you sign up. It's great for finding ideas for Craft Projects, Home Decor and Weddings!!

♥  

ZoFlo

Little Miss Green Fingers!

For a while now I have been thinking about putting together my own Veggie Patch in the Garden. I have always grown up eating home grown Veggies, so wanted to give it a go for myself - I'm not sure if this is going to be successful though! I haven't a clue where things grow best or how often to water anything (oh dear). As the weather was pretty nice over the weekend, me and Nick decided to get out in the garden and put together our designated vegetable area - mainly Nick, but I helped when I could. What do you think? It's only a little one but it's the perfect size for just the two of us. We haven't put anything in it just yet as my Dad is currently prepping it all at his, then he will help me plant it all.

 

We also picked up some Strawberry Plants, which I planted over the weekend too! I'm excited to see how these turn out as I love Strawberries - and so does my two year old niece who thinks they are being grown especially for her (I'm not so sure about this)!

 

If you grow your own vegetables, let me know if you have any handy hints and tips - As a completely clueless beginner I would really appreciate all the help and advice I can get.

♥  

ZoFlo

How to Make // Mini Owl

  So I have decided to start my new blog with a slightly easier craft project. I made these little cuties for a Craft Sale a while back and as soon as I shown my Mum and Sisters they fell in love. So needless to say I have made these countless times! Originally, they were from a "Make Your Own Owl" set I was given as a gift. I believe it was from Tiger (the best store) but this was over a year ago now so I'm not sure if they still have them. They were so cute and easy to make, so I made sure I made a template so I could make them again - and here is how...

To make these Mini Owls you will need:

 4 different coloured felt squares (white, black, cream & a colour of your choice)

1 square of floral cotton fabric of your choice

2 black buttons

Toy stuffing 

Lots of thread!

1.  Begin by sewing the two small white felt circles to the head section to create eyes, adding on the two black buttons to the centre of the circles. Attach a small brown felt triangle to make the beak.
2.  Next, attach the floral cotton fabric to one section of the main body to create a "tummy". Sew the small white heart onto the bottom left corner, overlapping the floral fabric slightly.
3. Attach the head to the main body of the Owl - I did this by sewing underneath the beak to hide the stitches. Only attach it in the centre of the head so that you are able to lift the sides of the head when sewing the 2 main body sections together.
4. Sew the 2 floral cotton fabric wing shapes to the 2 felt wing shapes.
5. Sew the back main body section to the front main body section, attaching the wings as you go. Dont forget to leave a small gap at the end so you can fill you owl with toy stuffing.

 Hopefully these instructions made sense and will be helpful - I didn't realise how hard it would be to explain how to make something so simple! This is only the way I decided to make them, but you can make them in any way you would prefer - that's all part of the fun of making things yourself. I have previously used beautiful red, heart-shaped buttons instead of a white felt heart. So cute. I have also attached ribbon to the top of each Owl before (when sewing up the main body, add in the ribbon as you sew) so that it can be hung up wherever you please.

Let me know what you think in the comments box below. And if you have had a go at making one I would love to hear from you too!

♥  

ZoFlo

Time for a Change // Welcome to My New(ish) Blog

So first of all, you may or may not have noticed I have been absent from the world of Blogging for a little while. I'm very sorry to all of my lovely, loyal followers for not giving you anything to read. I decided to have a little break from Blogging so I could focus more of my time and effort on finishing University - I feel this is a sensible excuse! But I can now happily say I am back, and I won't disappear again...I promise.

Image taken from Pinterest

Secondly, you have probably noticed my blog is looking a little different now too. Considering there are lots of exciting changes happening in my life at the moment, I thought this would be the perfect time to change my little blog too! Although I do still adore all things beauty related - I'll always be a sucker for skin care products everytime I go into Boots - now that I have more time on my hands (No more Uni....Yippeee) I would much prefer to blog about all the things I enjoy doing. So moving forwards I intend to focus my blog on Crafts - especially Sewing. I must just point out here, I am in no way a professional in this area, so please don't expect too much! Sewing is just something I have always enjoyed doing. I still have a little way to go, so you'll have to bare with me, but I really hope you support my idea to change direction and enjoy following all of my crafty projects. Perhaps it'll inspire you to get creative too!

♥  

ZoFlo