goodbye..

Goodbye 2010 and hello 2011!

2011 is gonna be the year when I get 18, finish high school and hopefully have a lot of good times!

My new Year's resolutions:

• sew more
• travel more
• eat more chocolate

Happy New Year everyone!

Sketching

I sketched this tonight when I couldn't sleep. This is what I want the pants to look like when they're done (I wish!).

And by the way, I got this book for christmas:



So now I'm going to learn how to draw in photoshop and above all to color my free-hand drawings in photoshop. Fun fun fun!

Workin on

Today I've been working on a pair of pants for myself. It's the first pair I've sewn except from a pair of baggy jeans I made in school about two years ago. So you could say it's the first pair I make without any help. And so far so good. I've made a test and it looked good, so next I'm gonna start cutting in the real fabric. And then start sewing when I get my serger.

I've constructed the pattern myself from basic pants. (proud!!) Pics will come if they turn out good, but it's going to be like some kind of mix between theese two I think:

Waiting...

While I'm waiting for my new machine, I give you an old dress I've made. I think it's one of my favourites. I don't think I've shown it here before, have I? The model is my sister.

Etsy cuties

I found some cute necklaces on etsy and I want them all:



whistle



bike



wallet

I'm so happy

In a few days, I'll be the owner of a Brother 3034D serger! I ordered one yesterday and I can't wait till I get it. It will make it so much more fun to sew, and the garments gets much more professional with nice seams.

Maybe I'll start an etsy-shop and start selling my garments? That would be so fun, but I don't know how to reach out to people so that they get to know about the shop and buy stuff... Feels kinda pointless with a shop without anyone noticing it. ;) Any ideas?

Wohoooo

I got a dress form for christmas. I'm a happy girl now!

Dec. 24: Dress remake

Today is christmas and the last day of my advent calendar. It's been so fun, I'll definitely do this next year too!

Todays project is a dress that I re-made a while ago, I didn't make it today because christmas is one of few days I'm not sitting by my sewing machine ;)





This is the dress before, too long, too big, too boring:



I added an elastic string in the waist and shortened the dress. Then I made two bands and a bow tie from the fabric I cut from the bottom of the dress. I sewed the bands in the sides of the waist, attached the bow tie to one of them and finished with snaps.









Merry Christmas everyone!!

Dec. 23: Cornflakes-candy

It's Christmas Eve tomorrow!!! I'm as agog as a child :)

Today I've been making candy. Cornflake-candy is probably the easiest and most tasty candy ever!



(It is nicer than it looks!)



Melt some chocolate in a water-bath. When it's ready, mix it with some cornflakes and coconut flakes. Click out on a baking paper and put it in the spence or the fridge. Then eat!

Goodnight!

Dec. 22: Knitted headband

Ive been knitting on a headband for a while now. Knitting isn't really my cup of tea I've discovered. It's so interminably and I'm so slow. But I'm happy to have finished something just for this once. Here's the result:







I knitted a long band that reached around my head and sew the ends together. Then I knitted a small band that I sew around the first one so that it gathers a little.

If I could change something now, I would've made it a little wider. But I like it anyway!

Dec. 21: painted dishcloth

My christmas holiday started today!!

And I've painted something as boring as dishclothes. But after the re-make they aren't as boring as before:



Hearts on one side..



..and rabbits on the other.



Elephants on one side..



...and polka dots on the other.

I bought some white dishclothes and painted it with a pen for fabrics. The instruction says: "Fix the paint by ironing on the reverse of the cloth for approx 2 minutes with the iron set to cotton", but of course I read that after I painted both sides of the cloth! So I put a cotton-fabric between the dishcloth and the iron so that the print wouldn't get destroyed.

Maybe washing will get just a teensy weensy bit more fun now? Nooo, I don't think so, but still! ;)

Dec. 20: can candle-holders

Today I've made two candle-holders from old aluminium cans:





You need cans, hammer and a nail. Wash the cans carefully and remove the label, make holes in the cans with the nail and hammer. Put a tea light in and light it. Cozy!

Dec. 19: candles

Christmas Eve isn't far away now! To work up the coziness, I made some candles.







I found both the little cup and the two tealight-holders in a thrift store a while ago.



Take old candle-ends and melt it in a water-bath. A tip is to use a can to have the candle-ends in and put it in a kettle with water.



While the stearine is melting, prepare the wick. Tie it around a match or a pencil or something similar. Cut the wick so that it's long enough to reach down to the bottom.

Fill it with the melted stearine and let it stiffen. Then cut of the wicks and the candles are ready!

Dec. 18: christmas gift wraparounds

Today I've been wrapping christmas gifts. I love to make different exciting wraps for every gift. Here are some ideas of two different wraparounds:





Use two different colors on the gift wraps. Wrap the gift in one of the colors, cut a strip of the other one and glue around the parcel. Tie a ribbon around everything.



Make your own doily (you know, fold a round piece of paper a few times and cut out patterns in the edges) and glue it on a brown gift wrap. Tie a string (I made it double) around it and it's ready.



I'm very happy with the result, especially with the brown one with the doily.

Dec. 17: Christmas tree heart

I've been home and sick today. I slept through half of the day and the other half I've been so tired. But I've made one small thing for today anyway. Got the idea from here. A little heart to hang in the christmas tree. I'll definitely make more of them!



Mix some glue and water so that it looks like milk. Cut out a paper-heart and use as a template. Trace the shape to a lace fabric and cut out. I used some kind of crocheted lace that I had home. Wet the heart with the glue-and-water-mix and put it on a paper or something to dry. When it's dry, tie a band or a string to it in a loop so that you can hang it in the tree.

good luck and goodnight!

Dec. 16: heart bookmark

Today I've made a bookmark. This one is for myself, but I think I'll make one for every book I'll give away at christmas. It's perfect if you have scraps lying around that you don't know how to use.





Make a template in paper (you know you fold the paper and cut out a half heart). Put it on the fabric and cut out two fabric hearts. Sew the pieces together right sides facing. Leave a little bit at the top so that you can turn the heart right and put in the string later. Cut down the seam allowance and turn the heart so that the right side is out. Take a string or band and put a pearl on it. Put in the ends of the string in the hole and then stitch all the way around the heart. It's ready!

Dec. 15: blueberry necklace

Half the month has past by and I've already had way more readers than the previous months, thank you!

I've made a necklace:



Take a stave, put a big pearl and a flower from a candle-ring on it. Make a loop so that you can put it on a chain. Put a lock on the chain and you're done!

Everytime I see the necklace, I think of this swedish fairytale written by Elsa Beskow:

Dec. 14: kitchen set

Today I'll show you a christmas gift I've made for my mother. It's a set with an apron and two kettle-holders.



I attached the kettle-holders to the apron with some velcro, but the kettlehoders still have a loop so that you can hang it on a hanger if you prefer.





The apron has a pocket and loops where you can put scissors or something else you use much when cooking.





Inside the kettle-holders I used a material that is heat isolating. Just ask in the fabric shop and they'll probably help you find some.



Isn't the fabric cute!? It was a pelmet I found in a thrift store.

Hope mum will like it as much as I do ;)