Around here recently, summer!

So it's summer! We have had a busy few months. Lots of visitors staying with us, days out, treats and I have even managed to squeeze in some sewing. My Etsy shop is doing well. Check it out *here*
So I thought you might like a glimpse into what we have been upto :-)

I have made a few seagull items for a local gallery which seem to be popular- who knew!? We have enjoyed lots of trips to the sea, my kids have had a great summer! Including finding jelly fish. They did some painting outside, which weng down SO well. Scote for mummy! My first commission to make a peg bag. And I loved it, so dod the receiver & lots of others. I now make peg bags! 

I have been looking at boats abit closer recently, the shape, how they sit in the water etc. I never know when it might get included in my sewing....I hosted a lovely baby shower for a special friend, lots of fun. And I have had to make up a few parcels of my Hxnmade goods to be posted. 

I went back to my youth as my 6 year old daughter asked me to do a hair wrap! 

We collected crabs, sea snailz and tiny fish in a recent cold trip to the beach. It was fun though! 

Plus more sewing; inspired by Mevagissey harbour and lighthouse I created a lovely one off cushion. Maybe the first in a cornish collection....

We have been busy znd it's not over yet! Hope you are having a good summer. What creations have you been making? 

Learn to sew - lesson 10 cushion

Hello again!
Here we are to make a cushion from an old T- shirt.

This has been on our agenda for ages. As my daughter has been enjoying to learn to sew, I decided it could be her project.
So how has your practicing been going? If its been a dhile, gind some old fabric that you can do a yest run on. Do some simple lines back and forth to get you going before you start.

This is a simple project with straight line sewing.
Lets begin....

grab your lovely t-shirt. If you don't have a t-shirt to use thats fine. Find some fabric. 

Using a t-shirt we are going to use the 2 side seams. So if you are using fabric, cut your fabric into a square or rectangle. Sew down 2 sides. 

here we have turned it inside out. I drew a line across the top, just below the arm hole. 

This will be your sew line. 

get sewing! 

then trim that excess off. 

There is a really cute frill on the bottom, which we want to keep. So pin together the bottom edge, leaving a gap in the middle. Sew the edge together. 

Here is the gap in the middle. 

Next for the fun & easy bit- fill the cushion full of stuffing. 

Pin the gap closed. 

With a needle a double thread ( my daughter loves threading the needle!- she is so good at it!) Sew the gap closed. 

* and your done* 

Tada! 

She loves it! 

She has added it to her comfy collection on her bed AND she made it by herself. 

What an easy sewing project. 

I hope you feel inspired. 

painted kitchen cupboards

So we got inspired to paint the kitchen cupboards, to freshen them up and give them a new lease of life- exciting!

Here is the before photos, brown cupboards that soaked up all the light.

We cleaned the front of the cupboards, choose the paint colour, took them off the hinges and got to work! 

We used Annie Sloan chalk paint. Now a few words if you have never used it....its AMAzing! No prep work just painting straight onto wood, plastic or metal. 

We have used this paint for lots of projects before so we knew how it worked. 

We choose to mix two colours together; provence and old white. We knew what kind of colour we wanted to we made a colour recipe and got mixing. We ended up doing 5 parts white to 3 parts provence. 

the mixing process

*top tip using some kind of tray ( take away trays work well) place the cupboards ontop so you can paint the sides. Saves the paint drying and sticking to any paper underneath. 

Also I didn't want kids hand prints on drying cupboards which is why we took cupboards off and painted in batches. 

It's slowly taking shape. 

We painted two coats of paint and then used the clear wax to seal it. Then hung the doors back on.

*Here it is * Complete.

It took us two weeks in total. We would paint and wax in batches and then hang the doors back on. 

Overall I think I was wanting a lighter colour but pleased how this turned out. The colour changes throughout the day with the natural light, which I like. I love how clean and fresh it looks. It has totally changed the kitchen. 

This is just the beginning...we will be repainting the white wood back splash and I will be making a blind for the window. 

It's been fun making the kitchen our own and both my husband and I have been involved which has been lovely painting together. 

New to Annie Sloan, check out our caravan paint job here

Learn to Sew - lesson 8 sewing kit

Today we are going to talk about equipment and all that you need to get started in your new hobby. We have been making a few new things which have been working really well. Now that we are going to get into it, its time to get properly equipped.

With my daughters 6th birthday looming, she needed her own sewing kit. With an old box I had as a little girl, I got excited to fill it with sewing goodies! I knew she would love owning her own things.

So here it is

Isn't it cute!?

In her box is; cotton threads in various colours, ribbon, tape measure, a collection of buttons, an unpicker, hand needles, safety pins, box of pins, pin cushion and some embroudery silks. The bit of fabric on the right is our next project, an old t-shirt of hers. (Keep a look out for the project coming soon!) You will notice there isn't a pair of fabric scissors, this is on purpose! She can borrow mine. 

Now if you don't have a sewing box, don't let this put you off. Start collecting your sewing bits and find a box or basket. Why not make your oen container. 

These items aren't a must have but a list to aim towards. My daughter loved opening it on her birthday, to have her odn sewing kit! 

Lets get our kids sewing young and enjoying it! 

I hope this is helpful- enjoy collecting. 

around here recently

Well its been a busy few weeks, here are a few pics of what I have been upto....

last week my church hosted a ladies BBQ and craft evenng. I helped one of the craft tables making sewn hanging fish. It was a lovely fun evening. It was great to see so many people getting stuck into different crafts. 

our strawberries are doing so well. But my youngest is learning that we pick them dhen they are red! 

My Etsy shop has had an oder or too, yay! 

I have been sewing for an order I got as well as the gallery my things are in. 

Here is a sneaky peak at what I have been making. 

Check out the little framed sea gull.

Lovely greeting cards - Go to my Etsy page here

Iam so excited!... new tins of paint to paint our kitchen cupboards. Yay! It is going to totally change how the kitchen looks, be so much fresher and cleaner and look amazing! I can't wait to get started. 

Stay tuned for an update on my kitchen!

Interested in painting wuth Annie Sloan Chalk Paint? We have used it before to paint the inside of our caravan!- have a look here.