Big and little artist

.

.

This statement headband is trendy, cool and simply lovely on all types of hair…No one would ever guess that it started life as a man’s neck tie!

♥ ♥ ♥

Men neck ties come is the loveliest shades and fabric types. Why not scout your man’s wardrobe for old neck ties and transform them into fabulous hair accessories. Better yet, go to your local charity shop and pick up loads of neck ties for a couple of pounds each.

.
.
You will need:

1. A man’s neck tie.
2. Sewing machine (it is also possible to complete the project by hand-stitching).
3. Elastic (1/2 inch wide)
4. Button to decorate
5. Pins, needle, thread and scissors

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 1

Starting with the narrow end of the neck tie, measure 9 inches and place a pin. For the pin you just placed, measure 25 inches and place another pin. See image below.
.

.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 2

In steps 2 and 3 we will be forming the flower on the side of the hairband. To do this, you need to do a series of folds. In summary, you will be folding in one direction, then twisting the tie back on itself an folding in the other direction at a 45 degree angle, repeating the process until you form a pretty flower shape.

Follow the 8 steps below as shown in the the pictures but please do not worry about the exact folding order, follow my steps roughly and  it will look amazing.

Pin as you go along to make sure the folds stay in place.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 3

With a needle and thread, stitch the flower shape in place. Because of the thickness of the fabric, it may be a little fiddly to stitch it in place so make sure you stitch each few folds at a time. When you finish, do not cut the tread, leave it onto the needle.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 4
With the same needle and thread that you used to stitch the flower, fix a button in place in the centre of the flower.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 5
Position the flower on the side of your head and wrap the neck tie around your head. Measure the size of the hairband and cut it at both ends: the narrow and the wide end. See image below.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 6
Starting with the narrow end, cut the inside lining a further 2 inches so that it is shorter than the outer fabric. See below

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 7
Now measure 1 inch and neatly fold the fabric inwards. Insert on each end a piece of elastic, and pin in place to make sure they don’t slide out.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 8
Machine stitch the elastic strips in place. Make sure you stitch close to the edge (you can machine stitch twice to make it extra secure). See image below.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 9
You have now finished the narrow end of the hairband. You need to do the same with the wider end, so cut the inside lining a further 2 inches so that it is shorter than the outer fabric (see below).

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 10
Starting with one corner, pinch the fabric inwards to create an inner fold (the way you do this is similar to folding a dart). Repeat again on the other corner.

Before you fold the top edge, you need to make sure that both ends of the Neck tie (now a hairband) align, as shown in the image below. This is why we fold the corners of the wide end (step 10 ) but do not do this for the narrow end (step 7).

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 11

Now you are ready to fold the top straight edge inwards to approximately an inch. It should look like the image below.

Insert the elastic strips, just as you did in step 7 and adjust them to fit your head circumference.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 12

Now you are ready to machine stitch the elastic in place and finish your fabulous hairband.

♥ ♥ ♥

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Make sure you start saving all the man neck ties you can get our hands on and if you ever decide to make hairbands, please email me the pictures so that I can post your fabulous creations on my blog!

Happy recycling and upcycling

.
.
These gorgeous scented fabric strawberries are so sweet and squishy…and they smell great too!

♥ ♥ ♥

Adults and children alike will love making these fabric strawberries. Sacha and her friends made them as cuddly toys, sprayed the with copious amounts of strawberry cologne, and even gave them names (don’t ask!)

.
.
You will need:

1. Fabric (for the strawberry & the leaf), medium weight cotton works best.
2. Sewing machine (it is also possible to complete the project by hand-stitching).
3. Embroidery yarn (for the eyes and mouth)
4. Lightweight paper (to trace the pattern)
5. Stuffing (soft toy filling works fine)
6. Strawberry cologne (or fruity perfume)
7. Pins, needle, thread and scissors

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 1

Draw the templates in Figures 1 & 2 (below) onto lightweight paper and cut. You can photocopy these templates and enlarge them to the desired size of your fabric strawberry.
.
.

Figure 1 - click on image to print & enlarge

Figure 2 - click on image to print & enlarge

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 2

Pin the template you just drew to the fabric and cut 2 of fabric strawberry shapes, as well as 2 fabric leaf shapes.
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 3

Remove the pins to release the paper, you should now have 4 pieces of cut-out fabric (2 strawberries and 2 leaves). Place the 2 strawberry shapes and the 2 leaf shapes right sides together (wrong sides facing you) and pin to keep in place. Baste using a running stitch.

Make sure you leave the top straight edge of the strawberry unstitched and open.

Make sure you leave an unstitched opening in the leaf to allow you to turn the fabric inside out and stuff. You will be closing this with a blind stitch at the end.

Look at the picture below: the fabric needs to be right sides in so that when you turn it over, it is the right side of the fabric that shows. We use the running stitch to make sure the pieces stay together and aligned when we machine stitch.

Please look at this fantastic online tutorial on how to hand baste using a running stitch: google books on how to teach yourself sewing.

.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

.
.
Step 4
Now that you have secured the fabric together with a running stitch, remove the pins as well as the running stitch (by pulling the thread by one end). Machine stitch all around the strawberry’s curved edges (leaving the top straight edge unstitched).

Machine stitch all around the leaf (making sure you leave a gap unstitched).

.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 5 - stuffing the leaf

Turn over the leaf using the un-stitched gap. Insert a pencil to help you turn over the pointy tops. Stuff with soft toy filling.

The best and cheapest brand to use is Minicraft Soft toy filling which you can buy in bags of 250 gms from Amazon.
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 6 - finishing off the leaf

With a needle and thread, use a slip-stitch and close the opening and finish off the leaf.

This is a slip-stitch

Sophie, 10 years old, learns the slipstitch

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 7 - stuffing the strawberry

Turn over the strawberry from its open top. Fold the top open edge inwards to about half an inch and stitch along both sides with a running stitch, making sure you secure the first stitches with a knot but do not tie a knot at the end of the thread. Once you have stitched along the entire opening, do not cut the thread (leave the needle in the tread) and  your strawberry using the toy filling. See images below.
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 8 - finishing the strawberry

With the needle you have just left threaded after stitching along the top of the strawberry, take that length of thread and pull gently but firmly to form a gather in the fabric ad close off the top of the strawberry. Secure with a knot.
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 9

To assemble, stitch the leaf on top of the strawberry.
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Optional: pinch the fabric on the  leaf and stitch to make little indentations in the stuffed leaf. You may also choose to stitch some eyes and a mouth using an embroidery yarn.

♥ ♥ ♥

Spray generously with strawberry cologne or a fruity perfume…et voila!!!!

♥ ♥ ♥

.
.
Here are 2 images: 1) a Black and white inkjet printed image - 2)  the same image transfered onto fabric

The image transfer was a project made during the Cool Mummy Art Workshop and has been used by the talented 10 year old girls to  create a fantastic mixed media project on a framed canvas.
.
.

♥  ♥  ♥

Image transfer on fabric is like magic!

.
.
You can achieve so many different results depending on the ration of soap to turpentine you use. This tutorial gives you an image transfer that is quite vintage looking and simply gorgeous.

During one of the Cool Mummy Art Workshops, the children and I experimented with different ways to image transfer and print on fabric. We followed suggested methods found online and in books.

We used Gesso, Acrylic paint and heat, Image transfer medium, transfer paper, and home-made potions…We decided, unanimously of course , that the home-made potion is by far the coolest and cheapest method to transfer an inkjet image onto fabric.

Before I start with the tutorial, let me make it easier for you to buy the material you need for your image transfer on fabric. You would need to buy either  Turpentine Substitute or White Spirit, both of which are distillate of oil and are used for hundreds of applications. Turpentine is more expensive but would be my recommended choice. the difference between the 2 is much like the “difference between 2 and 4 star petrol”, meaning they both do the job.
.
.
Please make sure you do this tutorial in a well ventilated area (preferably outdoors) and use protective gloves.
.
.
You will need:

1. Soap (preferably non-perfumed)
2. cheese grater
3. Turpentine substitute (or white spirit)
4. Hot water
5. Metal spoon or burnishing tool (like a brayer brush)
6. Large brush (a cheap one from a DYI store)
7. an inkjet print of the image you want to transfer

♥  ♥  ♥

Step 1

Grate 2 heaped tablespoons of soap. You can use any soap you wish but I found that non-perfumed soap works best. Place into a non-plastic bowl and add 11 tablespoons (or 55 ml) of hot water into the bowl. Stir with a large brush until the soap and water are well diluted.
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 2
Now go ahead and add 2 tablespoons (or 10 ml) or Turpentine to the mixture and keep on stirring with the brush until you get a paste that is similar in consistency to peanut butter.

Step 3
Make sure the image you are printing onto the fabric is a relatively fresh inkjet printout and not a laser jet one, meaning you have printed it on your home printer a maximum of one hour before you started your fabric image transfer. The older the printout, the more faint the transfer will be.

Now, gently but firmly, brush an even and thick later of your mixture onto the right side of your image  (the front) and keep brushing it over and over again for at least a minute and until the paper is slightly soggy.
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 4
Wait a few minutes but do not let the paper dry out. Now go ahead and place your image face down onto the fabric you want to print on and gently brush another layer of your mixture on the back of the paper (the image printout).
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 5
With a burnishing tool (like a brayer brush) or a large metal spoon, start pressing the back of the paper firmly but gently. If you are using a metal spoon, use circular motions that cover the entire surface of the image you are printing. make sure the paper does not tear (which is hard to do because it is quite soggy by now)…Just work slowly and carefully.
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 6
Lift the edge of the paper and check that the image has transferred. If you are not happy with the results, keep on burnishing with the metal spoon until the image has transfered.
.
.

Peel back and enjoy the fabulous results!

The girls wanted their image transfer to have a sepia old vintage look. To achieve this, we used a black & white printed image of themselves and transfered it onto an unbleached canvas fabric. I think they did a fantastic job and their mixed media canvas project is really creative!

♥ ♥ ♥

Here are other image transfers on an unbleached cotton canvas tote bag. the bags were then decorated with hand-stamped images and stencils with fabric paints. Have a look at the steps the children followed and their lovely bags!
.
.

♥ ♥ ♥

♥ ♥ ♥

.
.

I used my fabric flowers to make a statement necklace

♥  ♥  ♥

These fabric flowers are so cool and so easy to make!

You can have so much fun makign many of them in different colors ad sizes. Try this project with children and see their amazed faces when the bud starts to form after the fabric strip has been rolled on itself. You might need to help them with the needle to secure the loops.

You will need:

1. Fabric scraps: Linen or Cotton. 12 inches long x 1 inch wide
2. Needle
3. Thread (same color as your fabric)

♥  ♥  ♥

Step 1

Choose your fabric. Both cotton and linen work well. Use old men’s shirts or kids old clothes. Cut a strip of fabric which is around 12 inches long and 1 inch wide. Remember, the longer and wider your strip the fuller and larger your fabric rose.

Step 2

Fold the strip of fabric lengthways down the middle and press with either an iron or your fingers. Make sure you press and NOT iron to avoid stretching the fabric.

Your strip of fabric should now be half an inch wide.

Step 3

Hold one end of the fabric strip and roll it in (on itself) to approximately 1/8th of an inch. Secure with your threaded needle then fold it one more time and secure with a thread.

You have just started to form your flower bud.

Step 4

Fold the fabric down to a 90 degree angle and hold firmly between your index finger and your thumb. Now carry on rolling the bud over the fold you just made. Secure with a small stitch with your threaded needle.

Step 5

Do exactly the same as step 4 except this time, fold at a 90 degree angle in the OPPOSITE direction to the previous fold. Roll again over this fold you just made.

Keep folding and rolling in opposite directions. Secure with a thread as you go along.

Step 6

When you get to the end of the strip of fabric, secure with blind stitch to finish off.

Ta-da!!!!

Your flower is now complete!

Don’t worry about the frays in the fabric, they add charm to the completed flower and gives it a vintage feel.

Make as many flowers, in as many colors and use them to decorate necklaces, jackets, hair accessories, bags, gift packaging…or anything that takes your fancy.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial…and don’t forget to send me pictures of your gorgeous fabric flower rose!

♥ ♥ ♥

Here’s a picture of me wearing my fabulous statement necklace with my lovely fabric flowers made of an old linen shirt (the white and red stripey one) and a man’s old cotton shirt (the red one).

If you like lemony things…you will absolutely adore this cake, it is so juicy and yummy! By far one of my favorite cake recipes…

♥ ♥ ♥

♥ ♥ ♥

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 175 g caster sugar (6 oz)
• 150 g soft margarine (5 1/2 oz)
• Finely grated rind of one large lemon
• 175 g self raising flour (6 oz)
• 125 ml milk (4 fl oz)
• Baking cake tin (18 cm square) or a cake mould (the one that looks like a giant doughnut)

For the syrup, you will need:

• 140 g icing sugar (5 oz)
• 50 ml fresh lemon juice (2 fl oz)
• Icing sugar for dusting

♥ ♥ ♥

Get cooking:

Baking the cake

1 - Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees and grease your cake tin with soft margarine and dust with flour to prevent sticking. You can alternatively line with non-stick baking parchment.

2 - Soften the margarine in the microwave for just a few seconds so that it is really soft. Put the eggs, caster sugar and margarine in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand whisk until soft and fluffy.

3 - Stir in the lemon rind. Slowly and very carefully, fold in the flour lightly and evenly with a spoon. Make sure the mixture is smooth.

4 - Mix in the milk and stir into the mixture gradually until it is smooth and even.

5 - Spoon the mixture into the greased tin and make sure it is leveled and even.

6 - Bake into the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes or until it is golden and firm to the touch. Take the tin out of the oven and stand it on a wire cooling rack. Do not remove the cake from the tin at this stage.

Making the Syrup &  finishing the cake

1 - Place the icing sugar in a small saucepan and very slowly and gradually add the lemon juice while stirring vigorously until the mixture is smooth and there are no sugar lumps in it. Pre-heat gently while sirring until it is warm. do NOT let it boil!

2 - prick the cake all over with a skewer (or a fork) and with a spoon drizzle the syrup all over the cake evenly and untill it is totally absorbed.

3 - Leave the cake in the tin to cool completely before you turn it over and drizzle with icing sugar. You can slice it and place in a tight fitting container to serve as lemon drizzle slices.

Et Voila!!!

Super duper Yummy lemon drizzle cake!

♥ ♥ ♥

I used my feather stamp with silver ink to make little gift tags

♥ 

♥ ♥ ♥ 

♥ ♥ ♥ 

♥ ♥ ♥ 

Every child loves rubber stamping. Pressing a shape into an ink pad and watching it come to life on paper is one of children’s little pleasures…Rubber stamps are not cheap and I find it really hard to find the design that I want. 

This cool little tutorial is fun to make with your kids. You can carve the rubber with the sharp tools and let the kids draw the design and experiment with stamping it on colored paper and cards. You can use the finished rubber stamp to decorate letters, notebooks, wrapping paper, greeting cards, or make your own gift tags…

         You will need:

         1. Paper and pencil
         2. Eraser (pencil rubber)
        3. Cutting set
        4. Craft knife
        5. Ink pad
        6. A design of your choice

I usually use a rubber printing block to make my own stamps, but in this tutorial I used a regular eraser that I found in my daughter’s pencil case.

          ♥ ♥ ♥ 

Step 1

Place your eraser on the paper and mark its outline, this is to make sure that your finished stamp fits on the eraser you are using. Draw your design with a pencil on a piece of paper and cut it out. I chose a feather (although it looks more like a leaf  

step 2

Transfer the design onto the eraser by pressing the image you just drew face down onto the rubber. Press quite hard.

Step 3

With the U shaped gouge cutter (the one with the blade in a U shape), gently carve around the outline of your design. You don’t really have to press hard, if your tools are razor sharp, they will cut through the rubber like a knife through butter.

Remember, your stamp is like a positive / negative image: the areas that you carve out will not be inked and the areas that are left sticking will make the final design which, when inked, stamps the final shape onto the paper.

Step 4

With the V shaped gouge cutter (the one with the blade in a V shape), carve out the finer lines of your design: for my feather, I used this to cut the centre stem and the fine lines around the stem.

Step 5

With a craft knife, “peel off” all excess rubber around the edges of your design to make sure that the stamp is “clean”. You can press the rubber on the ink pad then onto a paper to see if any excess gum needs to be trimmed to give a cleaner finish.

Step 6

Once all the cutting done and the excess rubber cleared, you are ready to stamp. Hurray! your stamp is finished!

Bring the stamp to the ink pad (or the ink pad to the stamp) and press onto paper or card.

♥ ♥ ♥ 

I posted on my Cool Mummy blog about these lovely handmade birthday invitation cards and I thought it would be a great project to do with the kids on a rainy afternoon…You don’t really need a reason to give someone a handmade card, it is a lovely gesture and one kids would love making and giving out to their friends and teachers at school.

You will need:

1. White card (anywhere from 200 gsm and over)
2. Cotton fabric scraps (cut them out from old clothes)
3. Glue (PVA glue or spray glue)
4. small paint brush (to apply the glue)
5. Pinking shears (zig zag scissors)
6. Colored paper or other decoration such as ribbons and buttons
7. paper
8. an old plastic large button (or something similar to be used to flatten the glued heart)

♥ ♥ ♥

Tips I learned:

• Do not use stretchy fabric. It is very fiddly to work with, curls up at the edges when cut with the scissors,  and stretched when glued onto the card. the best fabric to use is medium weight cotton fabric with almost no stretch.

• Spray adhesive is the best for these projects. It is not messy and does not leave glue blobs on the fabric…However, If you don’t want to pay for spray adhesive, you can easily achieve the same result with PVA glue. Simply mix the PVA glue with water , 1 part PVA to 1/2 part water: you don’t want the glue to be too thick or too runny, best consistency is similar to “custard”

• Cut some pieces of paper slightly bigger than the fabric hearts (enough to cover them) and use them to place on top of the fabric heart immediately after you glue it to the card, this will help absorb some of the moisture of the glue and prevents the card from “bobbling”.
  

♥ ♥ ♥

Step one:

Draw a heart template on paper and cut it out. Use this template to trace the heart on the back of your fabric scraps. Please remember to iron your fabric pieces before you cut them. Use your pinking (zig zag) scissors to cut the fabric heart.

Step 2

Cut your card to the desired size and crease it gently down the middle, then fold it down along the creased line. (you can alternatively use blank cards already creased for you and which come with an envelope, you can find then in any craft store or from one of these stores on amazon)

Step 3

Place the heart on a paper wrong side facing you and with your small paint brush apply a very think layer of glue onto the heart. Place the glued side face down onto the front of the card and press gently with your hand. Take your large plastic button and run it back and forth across the fabric heart to make sure there are no trapped bubbles and that the fabric lays smoothly on the card. Decorate with whatever else you fancy: ribbons, buttons, etc…

I use Illustrator to create fun designs and personalised messages which I print them out on a laser jet printer. I then cut them out to fit the card and glue them down. 

♥ ♥ ♥

Step 4

Place the small pieces of paper on top of the glued heart (to absorb the glue moisture0 and press the card inside the pages of a heavy book. Wait for 15 to 20 minutes and take the card out…

Tada!!!! lovely hand made fabric card which is gorgeous and is sure to make someon very happy.

Give yourself and your loved ones an up-cycled and recycled Christmas with a difference!

Christmas is such a magical time of year….and yes! I am indeed a sucker for Christmas. I love the lights, the decoration, the holiday cheer and the general sense of festivity and jolliness. but what I do love the most (apart from the pine getting stuck in your hair, socks and everything else), it is making our own eco friendly and 100% recycled decoration.

These little twig ornaments are gorgeous and look great around the house all year round, not just at xmas. 

         You will need:

        1) Assorted beads
        2) Garden wire, 26 inches long
        3) Twigs (collect bits of wood)
        4) Felt
        5) A feather
        6) Glue
        7) Scissors
        8) White paint & brush

Step 1:

Gather 3 twigs that you can snap into 3 different sizes: 4 inches, 3 inches and 2 inches long. Give them a good clean with a cloth to get rid of the dirt. If you want your decoration to be in a natural wood color, then leave the twigs as they are. If you want a white one, you need to paint your pieces of wood. To paint them, you can use household paint or Acrylic paint. Once the paint dries , go to step 2.

(*) TIP: Try and chose twigs that are fatter (wider) at the 2 broken ends and thinner in the centre. this will help the wire remain tight around twigs and prevent them from sliding off.

Step 2:

With a craft knife, make a small incision at the base of your feather and poke the garden wire through the “cut” you just made (this can be a little fiddly so be patient). Twist the wire around the feather a few times tightening it as you go along. Thread a few beads into the wire. See images below.

Step3: 

Wrap your wire around the centre of your longest twig - the 4 inch one - once and pull tight. Wrap it again, but this time make sure you poke the end of the wire underneath the second loop to make sure the wire is securely looped around the twig (please see image below). Pull gently on the wore to tighten it around the twig.

Step 4:

Thread some more beads and then repeat step 3 with the 3 inch twig. (thread the beads in the space between the twigs)

step 5: 

Thread some more beads into the wire and repeat step 3 with the 2 inch twig. Finish off by adding a few more decorative beads. Leave a couple of inches and make a loop at the end of the wire. (See image in step 6).

Ok, you should now have a feather and 3 twigs separated by beads.

Step 6:

Trace 2 identical hearts onto the felt and cut them.

Step 7:

Glue the back of the first felt heart and place the 2 inch wire gap you made in step 5 (between the last bead and the end loop) in the centre of the glued heart (see image). Glue the back of the second heart and, glued sides together, “sandwich” the wire between 2 felt hearts.

Step 8:

Wait for th glue to dry … and …ta da!!!! lovely eco-friendly Christmas decoration.

This gorgeous “trinket” (as my lovely daughter Sacha calls it), is not just for Christmas, it is a quirky eco friendly decorative ornament that you can hang anywhere around the house.

I have one hanging in the bathroom, one in my daughter’s bedroom hanging on her book shelves and one in the bedroom…They all look great and brighten up the rooms!

Enjoy this tutorial and leave me a comment if you find it useful…and please do send some pictures if you make some, I would love to see them

In every Cool “Mummy sewing workshop for children“, we make these flowers. They are so easy to make, popular with children, and so fabulous too. Kids love creating them from scraps of fabric, and the great news is that you don’t need a sewing machine HURRAY!

I saw them online on a website a long time ago and I have been desperately trying to find that site again, just to credit whomever invented these gorgeous flowers and thank them for their clever crafty ways.

To make these fabric flowers eco-friendly, how about you recycle old clothes to source the fabric? Your kids old clothes will do beautifully, recycle and cut them into scraps of fabric, and in doing so  you will also be doing your bit for our planet!

Anyways, here is the tutorial, enjoy making them and please do send some pictures of your creations so that I can upload them here and on my website.

You will need: 

1. Scraps of fabric. Any lightweight cotton will do.
2. Felt (for the backing, a small piece will do)
3. Needle
4. Thread
5. Scissors
6. Glass jar or cup
7. Pencil
8. Iron and ironing board

Step 1: 

Before you start, press your fabric with the iron to get rid of all creases. Now, trace circles onto the back of the fabric with the pencil. Remember, the larger the circle, the bigger your petals and flower will be. You need 5 circles to make 5 petals…You can use assorted fabrics for a funky vintage look.

Step 2:

Fold your fabric circles in half and press. Fold each of your half pressed circles again and press with the iron. See the pictures below for examples.

Step 3:

Thread your needle and double the thread for extra strength…Using a running stitch, start stitching along the curved edge of one of your folded circles. Start at one end and when you read the other end DO NOT CUT the thread. DO NOT knot the thread.

Step 4:

With the same thread (you will by now have one of your folded circles attached to the thread), start on the next folded petal in exactly the same way: from one end of the curved edge to the other. when you read the end, start again on the next petal. (remember not to cut the thread).

Step 5:

After you have stitched all 5 petals, you need to gather the fabric on each petal by pulling gently on the thread (have a look at the picture below). 

Step 6:

When you have gathered all 5 petals and shaped them, secure your flower by sewing the first petal and the last petal using a backstitch. Do not cut the thread because you need it to secure the button.

Step 7:

Choose a pretty button and sew the button to the centre of the flower. Bring the needle and thread to the back of the flower and secure with a few backstitches.

Step 8:

Almost done - Now, trace a small circle on your piece of felt and cut it. Stitch a pinback to your piece of felt then use fabric glue t0 attach it to the back of your flower (this will hide the messy bits). Personally, I don’t like fabric glue and prefer to use a blind stitch (or a blanket stitch) to secure the felt to the fabric.

…And…ta-da!!! pretty pretty flower 

Attach it to a headband to make a funky hair accessory, sew onto bags and coats, etc, etc, etc…The possibilities are endless!

I hope you enjoy this tutorial.

Please do send me pictures of the pretty flowers you make so that I can post pictures of them here

Really yummy & super easy to bake!

My lovely daughter Sacha and her friends organised a cake sale at school to raise money for a children’s charity. Sacha, a chocolate cookies lover extraordinaire, decided to bake just over 100 cookies…And so it was that we spent the evening mixing, baking, and eating the most yummy-licious cookies EVER!

These cookies are so easy to make: preparation time is 20 minutes and baking time is 12 minutes. Here is what you need to make about 25 chocolate chip cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (or 1 stick) or softened butter
• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of candy coated chocolate buttons (like smarties)
• Baking sheets.

Get cooking:

1 - Heat the over to 375°F. In a large bowl add the egg, granulated sugar, brown sugar and butter. Stir with a wooden spoon until mixed.

2 - Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the mixture. Stir until mixed into a dough-like consistency.

3 - Stir the chocolate chip cookies into the dough.

4 - With your hands (or a spoon) make little balls of dough and flatten them slightly as you place them onto the baking sheets. (you don’t need to grease the sheets). Decorate the cookies with the smarties before you place them in the oven.

5 - Bake for 12 minutes 9or until the cookies are golden brown). You may have to repeat this process to use up all the dough. Sacha and I had to make 9 big batches

6 - cool the cookies for 1 minute then place them on a wire cooling rack to finish cooling them.
Now the best bit…try one with a glass of milk…oh my! they are so yummy!!!