Fame!

It was a normal Monday at work.  Only 2 more get-ups until the Easter holidays and I arrived home ready to chill out with a brew, a choccie biscuit and a magazine.  As I opended the door I saw the familiar grey plastic post bag that contains my new issue of Simply Homemade magazine - my day, brew and choccie biscuit just got a little bit better! So, after feeding the creatures and kicking my shoes off, I sat down to browse through the pages of my beloved magazine and was looking forward to examining the free gifts and taking a peek at possible future projects. 

As I was scanning the pages for articles of interest I arrived at the letters page.  How surprised I was to find a picture of my gorgeous handbag and my email to them staring out at me.  SQUEAL!!!!!  (I feel I am permitted to use capital letters and exclamation marks here) 

I had written this email way back when I got my first ever issue of the magazine in my excitement, and sent a picture of my bag as I thought they may like to see it.  I never in a month of Sundays thought it would actually be published.  I was so excited and pleased.  It is great to see your work in print.


If you would like to see my printed email then it appears in issue 3 of Simply Homemade magazine and, if there happen to be any crafty magazines out there that would like a new writer then please contact me! 

For those of you that haven't seen it, here is said handbag!




Autographs from this handbag can be obtained by emailing thegingerbreadbunny@hotmail.co.uk



Apronology!

I can now share with you the present that I was making a few weeks ago!  The gift has been given and received gratefully.  I am posting in the form of a tutorial, my first one, so please forgive me if I make any mistakes!

I chose the fabric to suit the recipient of the apron.  She loves stars!  I based this apron on the project in the first issue of Simply Homemade but altered the shape of the pocket to make it more interesting and chose to use the same fabric for the ties rather than cotton ribbon!

I used:

1 metre of star fabric

1 FQ of patterned fabric

2 D rings

Sewing machine

Matching Thread

STEP 1 ~ Ironing

I started by ironing the fabric!  This is not my favourite part but is definitley necessary. I then pinned my greaseproof paper pattern to the fabric before cutting out the main apron shape, neck tie, 2 back ties and contrasting pocket with my trusty fabric scissors. 

STEP 2 ~ Pinning

 As my mother always taught me, you need to pin your fabric before sewing!  I pinned all my seam allowances and hems ready to sew.

STEP 3 ~ Sewing the main apron

The best bit.  Sewing!  I used my beautiful pink sewing machine to sew all the way round the out side of the main part of the apron.  I then stitched the neck tie and the back ties inside out, using a safety pin and long piece of string to pull them through the correct way.

STEP 4 ~ The pocket

I pinned the pocket seam allowance all the way round, stitching the top of the pocket.  I then pinned the pocket in place on the main part of the apron and stitched in place.

STEP 5 ~ Putting it all together

Finally, I attached the back ties and the neck ties, looping the shorter neck tie in half with 2 D-rings attached so that the length can be adjusted as needed.  And hey presto!  The apron was made!

I was most pleased with the final result.  I had made one for myself first as a practise and there where a few hiccups along the way, but I got there eventually.  As the friend in question is a keen knitter I made an appropriate card and matching gift tag.

Hooked!

The bunny has learnt a new craft this week and is completley hooked! (I am sorry about the pun!)  I have learnt how to crochet.  It is something I have been threatening to do for a while and I am very proud to say that I taught myself the basic single stitch.  My mum showed me how to double and triple stitch and since then I haven't stopped.  I have 'crochet fingers' and I'm sure I'm acquiring a new callous, which I will bear with pride!  My first mini project is going to be a Mother's Day gift for my mother in law and, once complete, I will proudly post it on here. 
At last I have finished my bag.  This has been inspired by a project in the wonderful Simply Homemade magazine.  It has been made from an old pair of jeans with some fabulous purple and turquoise spotty fabric.  I initially intended it to be a project bag, however, when it was done I loved it so much that I wanted to use it as a handbag.  Since this picture was taken I have added a flap to the bag that fastens at the back so as not to spoil the bow detail at the front.  I love it!

Exciting new find!

This week has been quite slow on the crafting front!  Just not been able to get my head into gear to make much!  I have had a go at making a canvas with a dance quote on but need to think carefully about the colours so the ink shows!  I have also been making plans for a few more projects and hopefully will get more done in the next few weeks! 
I have spent a lot of my time moving my things into the spare room where I have a much larger table to work at, maybe this is the main reason for my lack of crafting?  I have lots more space now to work in and it is lighter.
One thing I would like to share with you is an exciting new magazine!  Well, actually my husband found this magazine on a recent supermarket trip and what a find it is.  It is called Simply Homemade and is just what I have been looking for, a general crafty magazine.

I was most excited to find that it is Issue 1 and that there were free gifts!  Free craft papers and a set of stamps.  Unlike other free gifts I  have had from other similar magazines, these were of high quality and something I will definitley be using in my projects!
The magazine is well made, on nice glossy paper, and is quite a substantial size for £3.99.  It has the usual magazine sections, contents, news and letters, as well as specific crafty sections covering a range of crafts and easy to follow projects.  The sections covered in the magazine are papercraft, recycling, soapmaking, sewing, felt and knitting and it is obvious that each issue will cover a wide range of crafts.
There are lots of projects I want to have a go at and they all have really easy step-by-step instructions with diagrams and all the templates needed contained in the magazine.  I really want to have a go at some of the bag projects , making a russain doll charm out of old jeans, the roman blind and making an apron.  Another feature of the magazine I really liked are the links to blogs and online market places. 
As you can probably tell, I am completley in love with this magazine and will be reading it over and over again, finding inspiration from within it's pages and having a go at the projects.  Within 2 hours of getting the magazine I had gone online and subscribed, the lure of the free gift did persuade me, it is just so pretty! 
If, like me, you are into general craftiness this is definitley the magazine for you!