Crafting a Cushion: Hillarys Blinds Country Crafts Competition

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today is a very special blog - I'm unveiling my entry for the Country Crafts blogger competition run by the lovely people at Hillary's Blinds.

As you may know, I love a good sew (hey, a rhyme!), and as I've been so stressed with uni work, when I saw that Hillary's were running a competition to turn one of their new country retreat fabrics into something fab, I jumped at the chance for a little creative project. Plus, prize money of £1,000 is certainly nothing to be scoffed at!

Naturally I know there are all manner of incredible craft bloggers out there whilst I'm still very much an amateur Annie, but after scouring Pinterest for inspiration, I fell in love with the idea of 'conversation cushions.' I'm going to be moving house soon and will have my own home office, so really wanted to make something that would bring a bit of whimsy to my new space, plus greet visitors! Here were some images of inspo:

I then had an agonising decision between the four beautiful Hillary's fabrics on offer. I very nearly plumped for Bird Parade Teal, but we all know I'm a sucker for colour so Calluna Amethest became the obvious choice. The fabric was lovely and thick to work with, as you would expect curtain material to be, and really provided a solid base for embroidery and applique. As I love a bit of upcycling, the Amethyst also perfectly matched an old t-shirt of my boyfriend's which I used for the back of the cushion. 

And here is my final cushion! In hindsight I wish I'd used embroidery thread on the 'hello' to make it a little bolder, but considering I did the whole thing by hand, I'm pretty pleased with the result and still have loads of fabric left to experiment with. If you're interested in making your own 'hello' cushion, you can follow my step by step below. Sewing by machine is obviously quicker, but if you're after something fun to do in the evenings whilst watching telly, I couldn't recommend hand sewing more - it's so relaxing.

What do you think of my cushion? Wish me luck in the competition! Check out more info here - http://www.hillarys.co.uk/inspiration/the-hub/2014/country-craft-competition/

Down in the forest... the newest edition to my woodland family

As you can see, I've been doing a bit of stitching! I am very much an amateur sewer, but after being inspired by pinterest, I thought I'd try my hand at making some little creatures to practice my embroidery skills and make use of some of the fabric samples I have been hoarding.

Anyone who reads this blog will know that I LOVE foxes and owls. I actually made a fox a few months ago, (inspired by Sass and Belle's Paddy the Fox) out of some gorgeous bunt orange suede that I ordered from John Lewis. This goes with the Owl cushion I made when I came to uni. Recently, I got thinking about all the other little woodland critters I could make. 

This led to me unearthing some pink suede and gingham to make a little bunny rabbit. Isn't she sweet? I'm still contemplating finding some sort of furry pink to sew onto her ears, and I quite fancy making a little white pom pom for her tail.

Here she is with her friend Mrs Fox!

What do you think of my woodland critters? And what animal should I make next? 

How to: Summer Hair Bow/Head Scarf

Hello! Bit hot isn't it? With summer well and truly kicking and the cafe I work in closed for summer, I have found myself with a lot of crafty time on my hands but not a lot of money. Henceforth, lots of cheap tutorials! This one was inspired by my favourite dress, a forest green button down tea frock that I bought last summer at Leeds festival. drawn to its beautiful print, it was waaaay too long for me so i lopped it off at the knee and kept the spare fabric in a box... until now! inspired by the whole two piece matchy trend I've spotted a lot of people sporting recently, and of course, my love of retro fashion, I thought I'd try my hand at showing you all how to make an easy hair band/hair scarf that takes hardly any time to make.

You Will Need:

• Fabric - check it goes round your head with some left over to make the bow. Exact measurements are pointless - everyone's head size is different You can use whatever thickness you like - I normally find 3 inches gives you versatility to go for an alice band style if you fold it over, or a more traditional 50's housewife vibe if you don't. The fun is in the experimentation!
• Pins
• Needle and Thread (or sewing machine)
• Scissors

1)gather your materials - check that your thread is the nearest matching colour you have to your fabric
Iron out fabric and fold into preferred thickness
2)turn fabric inside out, pin edges for a neat finish
3)use tacking stitches to secure into place
4)sew edges together and sew one end up
5)turn inside out and sew, sew the end up
6)tie round head and voila!

What do you think? ignore my frizzy hair, this heat is playing havoc with it and it is badly in need of a good relaxer!

Pretty cute eh? you can experiment with all sorts of thicknesses or even add bead embellishments or embroidered patterns, even better if you can match them to a dress or top. They're great for tucking your hair up in a rush, or if you're like me, hiding your frizzy roots! For a better example, see here for the one I wore (with matching dress) when I interviewed Alt J in Leeds )also a cheeky plug for my other music blog, safetyinsound.com)