Moda Charm Pack Give-Away

If you have read any of my previous blog entries you will already know that I am a huge fan of Moda Charm Packs.  They are such a great way to sample a new range of fabrics, without needing to buy large quantities.

Well I have some exciting news - on behalf of another friendly blogger - who has very generously offered a giveaway of one of the latest Charm Packs from Moda ~ Vintage Modern.  Just imagine how exciting it would be to win this and be one of the first to have the opportunity to sew up something with these wonderful new fabric squares!!

To enter this Giveaway, visit the website below. 

Go and visit http://www.sameliasmum.com/  for your chance to win some NEW Vintage Modern @sameliasmum

Fingers crossed!!!

Gift Ideas - Scrapbook Style

Have you ever been stuck for gift ideas? I know I get that way sometimes, and being the type of person who loves giving gifts, I like to buy or make something I think the recipient will really love or enjoy. Today I thought I'd share with you some of the Christmas gifts I made for extended family members.

I was inspired by my love of papercrafts with these projects!

I found some great black frames  (and bought every frame the store had) which fitted a standard 12"x 12" sheet of scrapbook paper and set to work creating what I hoped would be attractive layouts which could be displayed on the wall and just needed the recipients to add their own choice of photos.

Each colour scheme was chosen with the particular recipient/s in mind and because everything was going to be behind glass, I worked at keeping the page embelishments as flat as possible.

In hindsight, the one thing that would have been much better would have been to have non-reflective glass in the frames and perhaps if you were just making one or two it would be worth the extra financial outlay.  When I made these though, I actually made quite a large number of them, so it wouldn't have been practical when I was trying to keep within a budget.

I'm not the greatest photographer, so the photos really don't do these justice at all.  They looked so much better in real life.

These were a really fun project to work on, looked amazing when completed and were relatively inexpensive.  The only sad part was that I didn't have a spare frame left to be able to make one up for my own family.  Oh well, a project for another day!

Quilting with Moda Fabrics

Moda Charm Packs are such a simple way to create a quilt - they take all the hard work out of cutting up squares of fabric, it is already done for you.  All you need to do is join them together.  When I want to make a quilt quickly, these are usually my first option. 

The following two quilts are made from Charm Squares which were from some of my favourite ranges of Moda fabrics.   I've had the fabrics for awhile, so they are not from the latest fabrics available, but if you find you like them, you could most likely still source them online somewhere.

This quilt above was made using Nature's Chorus by April Cornell for Moda.  The colours of these fabrics were so pretty.  I have given this quilt to my mum.

This quilt was made using Charisma by Chez Moi for Moda.  I instantly fell in love with these fabrics when I saw them.  They were my first time for using brighter colours, well at least what I would consider brighter colours.  The finished effect was so pleasing and it has received lots of compliments because it is very eye catching.

I have one last quilt I'd love to show you.  This final quilt was made from Moda Faded Memories.  I made this a few years ago to use as a baby quilt.  This is more my usual type of colour combination - and I particularly loved the strawberry pink against the pale pink in this range of fabrics.  The pink and green combination never grows old for me.  This was an easy design and fun to make and the best part is the overall effect of the finished design.

If you know of any simple piecing designs which make up into quick quilts, I'd love to hear from you!

Sewing with Felt

I may be completely biased, but I think I have the best local Library ever!  They have such a great range of books and if they don't have something I might be after, they are very open to taking suggestions of book titles to purchase - and most times they buy them in for the library.  I know it isn't quite the same as having books handy at home on your bookshelf, but it is the next best thing.

Today I called in to pick up my latest reserved book and all I can say is - I absolutely love it!!!

This is one of those books where I can honestly say I love the majority of the projects in it, if not all.  Not something I can say about a lot of craft books.  Often when you buy a book  there may be only one or two main projects you really like and would seriously consider making.  Well if you like working with felt - I highly recommend this book to you - you will find heaps of things to make!  The best part is that the projects are suited to all skill levels - from beginner sewers to the more advanced.

My favourite thing in this book is the large pink flower shown in the centre of the cover.  It is made with a pin attached to the back so that you can pin it to something.  Wouldn't it look great as an embelishment added to a bag, or even an item of clothing - lots of possibilities!!

I do enjoy working with felt and have even taught craft classes on making felt items.  Some of my favourite have been the felt pancake stacks, cupcakes & tarts.  Here are a few to show you.

Another day I will show you some of the other things I love to make using felt.

School Quilt

My 14 year old has undertaken quite a huge task as part of her Home Economics Assignment at school and decided she would like to make a lap size quilt.  I must say she has made some lovely things in Home Ec over the last year, once she was allowed to be more creative and choose her own projects to make.  I was a little apprehensive at how she would go with piecing a quilt by herself though, but she has done such a great job! 

This quilt was made using Moda's Blush range of fabrics and took 2 of the Moda pre-cut Charm Packs with a little extra fabric for the border.  Although it looks a little difficult, the pattern is actually quite simple and made from a simple 9 block square.  I just love the colours in this quilt!!

While she had to do all the work herself, she was allowed to enlist mum's help for the actual quilting, so I have spent the last day or two stippling it for her in my spare time.

Now all she has left to do is the binding and then she has a beautiful quilt to use and enjoy - and I'm so proud of her achievement!!  I hope her teacher is equally impressed!

Handmade Cards

I love being creative - so taking time out of my day to work on any type of craft is something I always enjoy. 

Having always been an avid lover of stationery, it will come as no surprise that I enjoy stamping and papercrafts - including scrapbooking and cardmaking.  In recent years I seem to have concentrated mostly on cards though, simply because they are quicker and easier to do (at least for me) and with time constraints always an issue, I just find them something I can pick up and work on relatively easily and have a finished product by the time I am ready to pack things away.  They bring a sense of satisfaction which fulfills some of my creative energy.  I still enjoy my longer projects too, but tend to keep these more to the fabrics crafts.

Here are a few of my latest cards.  I think they actually look better in real life, the pictures don't do them justice.  But at least it gives you an idea.

I love some of the popular owl designs which are around at the moment.  This cute little owl stamp is one I purchased through Kaszazz.  I coloured him in metallic colours and was quite pleased with the end result.

Bears are always a favourite, so cute and can be adaptable for so many occasions when it comes to using them in card making designs.

We have had a couple of birthday parties to attend this week for little girls, so a few more cute cards were added to my growing collection.  Pink is my favourite colour, so I always enjoy making cards for little girls where I can incorporate lots of pink!!

As well as making items for our own personal use, I have an etsy store also where I sell some of my handmade craft items.  You can find it here RaspberrySwirls.

Riley Blake Fabrics

This week has been rather exciting with lots of parcels of fabric arriving.  They leave me oohing and aahing and I honestly can't decide which one I like best - nor can I decide what I'd like to create with any of my new fabrics.  So instead, I just look at them all and dream. 

Ever since I first discovered Riley Blake fabrics, I have completely fallen in love with so many wonderful new designs - these new fabrics have truly broadened my horizons in the world of fabric.  Originating with country styles and colours, I slowly emerged to something different with the shabby chic style and soft colourings, but now I've completely fallen in love with the bright, freshness of colour which so many of the Riley Blake fabric designers seem to provide. 

These fabrics are just a few of my newest arrivals from the Fly A Kite and Farm Fresh series.

Now I'm off to do a little quilting, I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend afternoon!!