Tutorial - DIY hand-bound notebook

Hey all!

The inspiration for the tutorial this week came after receiving a lovely vintage supply kit from Lisa, over at Lisa's Craft Shoppe! I mean, what idea doesn't come to mind when you open up this package:

Anyway... :D

I searched around for a notebook tutorial, but ended up creating my own. Keep reading for the how-to!

Materials:

Two pieces of cardstock (I honestly just cut a blank card in half!)

The paper you wish to bind, cut to the size of the cardstock, plus one scrap piece

Bits and pieces to decorate... as mentioned earlier, my notebook features vintage ephemera from Lisa's Craft Shoppe

Glue

Scissors

Craft sealant - either Modge Podge, or make your own (click here for the tutorial)

A thick, strong needle, like a binding needle

Twine or thread

Ruler

Pencil

Here we go!

Step One

Start gluing the decorations onto a piece of cardstock... don't worry about bits hanging off the edge... you can clean those up later...

Well, now haha. Trim off the excess bits.

Step Two
Cover this with the sealant and allow to dry (it will dry clear, I promise!). Repeat with a few coats. The more coats, the glossier it is!

Step Three

On the scrap piece of paper, draw up a binding template. You can use whatever measurements you wish - I ruled the puncture points 1 centimetre in and in 1 centimetre intervals.

Step Four

Use this template to puncture the binding on all of your pieces of paper and cardstock.

Step Five

Time to start binding! First, secure the pages with a peg or clip, with the two pieces of cardstock as the covers.Using the twine and needle, use a stitch of your choice to bind the pages. I used a running stitch, which doubles back on itself, however, blanket stitches also look really good. Check out this pinterest board for some good book-binding tutorials.

Step Six

When you have bound the notebook, you are done! Well, almost, haha. Just need to tie off and trim the twine, finishing by applying glue to the knot for security. NOW you are finished!

 TA DA! Anyway, I must say a MASSIVE thank you to Lisa and her supplies for the inspiration for this project! Keep watching this space for more tutorials featuring these cuties!

You can check out Lisa's Etsy shop here and her Facebook page here.

Also, remember to let me know how you go! I would love to see your own notebooks and inspirations!

Easy and cute sewing patterns - My Funny Buddy

Hey!

I know I have been a touch inactive over the past two weeks or so, but I'm back and I want to show you what I have been working on!

I was contacted by the lovely Lucy, owner of My Funny Buddy, asking if I would like to trial her patterns... of course I said yes! After a bit of browsing, I came across the T-Rex and Dog Pillow designs...

As a novice behind a sewing machine, I was a touch nervous about how the finished toys would turn out. However, there was no need to fear! The digital files I received were abound with all the necessary information, from fabric choices, to mini tutorials of stitches, to definitions of technical terms, all written in common language, making it as easy as possible!

Before I knew it, I had finished with these two little cuties!

T-Rex:

Dog Pillow:

Aren't they adorable?! They have both settled in nicely in my bed with my Big Ted :D

So if you are interested in producing hand made and heartfelt Christmas presents, or adding to your own stuffed toy collection, I strongly recommend My Funny Buddy patterns! Check out Lucy's designs on her website and Etsy shop, or head over and join her on Facebook!

Let me know how you go! I envisage these soft toys slowly amassing in their own army! Haha.

Quick dress-to-skirt tutorial

Hey all!

Firstly, I apologise for the current state of this blog, but I promise it shall come together very soon!

Ok, here's my first little project - making a slightly ill-fitting dress work for me! Let's take a quick peek at the end product ;D

So how did I do it? I used a dress, ruler, marker, needle and thread and scissors!

I started off with this dress...

I loved the fabric, but my favourite part was the swinger skirt. Unfortunately, the bust of the dress did not fit me... no hope lost! Lets see if we can save the cute swing skirt...

So I removed the problem top of the dress, cutting just under the sleeves. I tried to leave as much fabric as possible attached to play around with for the waistband.

Turning the skirt inside out, I measured out the thickness I wanted for the waistband... 5cm gives a measured sense of structure, particular as I will wear it around my waist, rather than my hips.

I used this point to fold down the fabric and pinned it in place with a few stitches (did I mention I don't have a sewing machine??). I repeated this on both sides and the back and front.

I then ironed the fabric in place, to give the waistband a definitive shape. Now, be careful ironing the fabric, making sure the iron's heat is most appropriate the the fabric type. In my case, the fabric was synthetic, so I used a low heat setting to avoid melting the fabric.

Turn it out the right way and voila! A great skirt, no sewing machine, no patterns, and in under half an hour!

Do you have any clothes that were 'almost-but-not-quite-right'? What did you do with them?