CHRISTMAS GIFT WRAPPING: GIANT GINGERBREAD POCKET BAGS

You've probably noticed I have a thing for miniaturising and upsizing things!

The overall effect of these giant gingerbread cookies is really fun. They are great for gifting a collection of little presents that you can put inside and tie up all together. 

You don't need much in the way of supplies to make these. Though I do recommend finding heavy duty kraft paper at a packaging store or similar rather than using the stationery grade brown paper. It will be much more durable.

Supplies:
- Heavy duty brown kraft paper
- A crayon
- Scissors
- Sewing machine and white thread
- White paint and paint brush
- Hole punch
- White ribbon
- Foil wrapped chocolates or lollies (I mainly used Quality Street chocolates because I love their bright shiny wrappers)
- Sticky tape

1. Create templates of the shapes you want to make. I made a gingerbread man and woman, tree and star. The easiest way to do this is to find clip art that you like and bring it up on a large screen TV. Put one sheet of paper over the screen and trace gently with a crayon. Fold in half and cut to get a symmetrical template.
2. Take your heavy duty kraft paper, fold a piece in half then trace around your shape.
3. Loosely cut around the shape, leaving one side folded. This will keep it from sliding when you sew the two layers.
4. Using a zig zag stitch on your sewing machine, sew 2cm in from your traced line, leaving about 20cm or more opening on one side of the shape. Set your zig zag stitch so it is wide and and the stitches are close together. This will make the zig zag stitch more obvious, like a line of cookie icing.
5. Now cut the shape out properly along your crayon line.
6. Stick your chocolates or lollies on. I used small pieces of sticky tape looped back onto themselves - poor woman's double-sided tape!
7. Paint the rest of your icing designs onto the shapes.
8. Use the hole punch to make holes are regular intervals along the opening and thread with ribbon to secure closed with your gifts inside.

You can make these in any size. They would be great stuffed with peppermint bark and with guests names on them as part of table place settings. My kids love the giant sizes we made, they found the whole process really fascinating.

COUNTRY ROAD SANDALS, FOUR WAYS

When I was a kid, my mum, sister and I all had the same leather flats with an ankle tie fastening. They were made from super soft leather and we had them in different colours. Mum had the most colours and I remembering telling her it was unfair. She said her feet had stopped growing so it was ok for her to have more than me. I'll have to remember that when my girls get older!

It was a definite shoe highlight in my life. Even though they used to stain our feet, they were butter soft and the knot fasten looked just like a bow at the ankle. So feminine! I think we bought them somewhere in Melbourne circa 1988.

Lately, I've been wishing I could buy them again and searching shops for something similar, or at least some flats with a bow at the ankle.

I was shopping in Country Road recently and was delighted to find the Sarah Tie Up sandal. I instantly recognised its potential as 'the best sandal ever'. 

The fabric straps are removable and I've been making new straps in colours and patterns to go with all my outfits. I can even wash the straps if they get dirty. 

I particularly love the red raw silk straps that I made and can't wait to wear them for Christmas. I might just need to go and buy a back up pair of these sandals!

Here's how to make some new straps for your Sarah sandals, if you are lucky enough to have nabbed some.

You will need:

• Shirt weight cotton or silk fabric - specifically a 9 x 180cm strip per sandal
• Good quality fabric scissors
• Thread
• A sewing machine
• Iron and ironing board
• Large safety pin

Instructions:

1. Cut two strips of fabric parallel with the grain measuring 9 x 180cm each. If your fabric is short you can join it to get the length but don't join it in the middle as it might be obvious once you are wearing them. If you have to join, do it 3/4 along then the seam will be hidden in the wrapping lengths.
2. Fold one strip in half length-wise and with right sides in and stitch down the length. Repeat for the other strip.
3. Using your large safety pin, pin one side of one opening and feed the safety pin through the length of the tube you just created. This will turn the strip right side out. Repeat for the other strip.
4. Press the strips with the seam right at one edge. A water spray makes this easier.
5. Fold the raw edges of the short ends and press.
6. Top stitch the short ends of the strips
7. Thread through your shoes and wear!

NEW RED FELT MINI EMBROIDERY HOOPS

 

Introducing an innovative new embroidery hoop that allows you to stitch your fabric into the hoop.

Made from super-soft 100% wool felt. In red just in time for Christmas!

I've used them to make a poinsettia-inspired necklace.

Shop them here.

TUTORIAL: RE-PURPOSED SILK TIE BRACELETS

Neck ties are in the food splatter firing line every day and they are never quite the same after dry cleaning. These repurposed silk tie bracelets are right on trend and look gorgeous layered with other jewellery. Finally a use for all those beautiful de-commissioned silk ties!

Supplies:

2 ties

Needle and thread or sewing machine

Fabric scissors

Pearl head pins

10cm of 5mm wide black elastic

1. This project makes use of the thin end of the tie that usually stays hidden. Take two ties and, from the thin end, bend them ¼ of the way up, making two loops.
2.  Intertwine the loops. You will need to snake the end of one tie inside, outside and under the other, then outside and inside again so it is back where it started. You are creating what the rope-tying world calls a square knot.
3. Pull the two ties away from each other and the knot will tighten. Do not over tighten.
4. Measure it around your wrist and pin where it meets. Cut both ties at that spot.
5. You will find that when you lie it flat the top lengths stick out on each side. This is because the top lengths have further to travel around your wrist, being on the outside.
6. Now you need to French seam the ends closed. Line the two matching pieces of tie up and sew along the edge. Then turn that seam inside out and stitch a running stitch along to encase and hide the first seam. Repeat on the other side for the other tie ends. You can do this with a sewing machine or a needle and thread. It helps to trim back the old interfacing inside the tie by about 3cms. Then it will be less bulky to sew.
7. Take your piece of elastic and cut it to a length that is twice the width of the tie fabric. Thread it through both ends of the bracelet and stitch the two ends of the elastic together. This makes the bracelet a cinch to put on and very comfortable.
8. Make another one, they look great layered.

NEW GOLD GLITTER MINIATURE EMBROIDERY HOOPS

If you've loved my miniature embroidery hoops, then you'll likely go gaga over the new gold glitter perspex versions.

They are so gorgeous and sparkly. Perfect for jewellery-making! Shop them here.

TUTORIAL PART 2: REMOVING YOUR WEAVING FROM THE MINI LOOM

If you enjoy doing things like knitting beanies for Barbie dolls, like me, then this project is right up your alley.

You've likely read Part 1 of this tutorial and you are ready to free your weaving from its tiny confines. I have to let you know that when I designed this mini loom I never intended for it to be a producing loom, rather an ornamental pendant you could wear around your neck. But it can be done with patience, time and a couple of tricks.

The key is to thread a double warp. This leaves you more thread to tie it off with at once it is off the loom.

Oh, also... The mini weaving loom now comes in gold glitter! Yes. So sparkly. Shop for it here.

^^^ 1. Thread your warp as you usually would.

^^^ 2. Then go back over it, so you have a double warp, one on top of the other.

^^^ 3. You'll end up back where you started the warp so tie the two ends together in the middle.

^^^ 4. Make your mini weaving. Thread the loose ends into the back and cut them close. Be careful not to cut the warp at all.

^^^ 5. Now you can cut the warp. Slice it right down the middle so there is equal warp left either side. Gently remove the weaving from the loom.

^^^ 6. Now you have a choice of how to tie off your warp and secure the weft. You can self-knot the two strands of warp. It helps to use a tooth pick to pull the strands through. Then knot as close to the weft as possible.

^^^ You can also use a tiny tooth pick as a dowel and tie each set of warp threads around it. I did this at the top and the self-knots at the bottom.

^^^ Use the internal cutting surface of pliers to trim the pointy ends off the toothpick.