Hmmm mmm.  We interrupt all this mouth-watering food talk to bring to you our first jewellery making video tutorial, via youtube.

As most of you know, I have studied jewellery design and manufacturing and I have run a jewellery business for several years. I love making jewellery.

I have included five great jewellery tutorials in my book but I haven’t included any tutorials on this site. I was just waiting for a good time to start.

For this tutorial you need:
1 pair flat-nosed pliers
1 pair round-nosed pliers
1 pair wire cutters
2 earring hoops
2 eye pins
2 large beads
2 crystal rondelles
2 small crystal beads

I hope you enjoy. If you guys want more jewellery tutorials I will make and upload more in the next few weeks.

Mia
xxx

PS We’ll be back with a great big upload in a few days time of more recipes and cooking adventures.  Until then, make a pair of earrings or two or three.

Customising denim is so much fun. We went to a thrift store and bought a pile of jeans to play around with. This made the whole exercise affordable and we weren’t too worried about the outcome – and we can always use the scraps for sewing bags and making softies.

Tips for Cutting Off Your Jeans
1. Cut them longer than you want them and then cut them inch by inch to the length you want them.
2. Always cut the bottom edge on an angle the same as the jeans are. They don’t go straight, they are longer on the inner seam and shorter on the outer seam. This will mean that your shorts sit well, especially if they are really short, they won’t ride up your butt.
3. Not only for summer time of course. If Kate Moss can wear leggins under her shorts then why not try it in winter too??

Tips for Bleaching Jeans
1. Fill the washing machine with cold water then add a bottle of bleach to it, then add the jeans. If you put the jeans in first the first place the bleach touches will be the lightest.
2. Soak the jeans for a long time if you want them quite pale.
3. When you have washed them, wash them again with washing liquid to get out the bleach.
4. After using the machine, run it again with only whites in it to get rid of the excess bleach.
5. Don’t just use the machine for bleaching. Also use a spray bottle for a splatter effect, eyedropper for blobs that look really great, a sponge, anything you like. Just don’t leave pure bleach on them for more than a few minutes.

Tips for Shredding Denim
1. Bleaching helps to weaken the fibres and makes the jeans easier to shred.
2. Take the jeans and use a cheese grater to shred them. Rub the grater back and forth until the jeans start to shred.
3. Mark out where you want the shreds to be before you do them. Shreds always look better (and non-skanky) on the front not the back of the jeans.
4. You can also try using a very rough sandpaper on the jeans to shred them.

Tips for Adding Studs to Jeans
1. Buy the studs and the tool at a leather shop. I looked everywhere for them and this was the only place I could source them.
2. You will need a hammer and a hard surface. It doesn’t work doing it on the living room carpet – concrete is best.
3. Watch out for your fingers!!!
4. Mark where you want the studs before you add them to the jeans. Make sure they are evenly spaced on the jeans, then start to bang them in.
5. It takes quite a long time to bang in the studs.

Other Stuff to Do To Jeans
1. Die them a wild colour before shredding them.
2. Add fantastic patches made from vintage fabrics to them.
3. Screenprint writing onto your jeans. Scrunch the fabric and screenprint onto it. This makes a really amazing effect.
4. Splatter them with white or any other coloured paint.

Best of all, make a day of it with your girlfriends!
Mia
xxx

Sunday posts are not common around here. Sunday mornings are spent at the beach and afternoons outside too. But I just had to share the tutorial I have been promising (and the only thing I have completed on my to-do list in the past week).

This gorgeous and super easy wreath took me well under an hour to whip up (because I had a lot of felted scraps left from the last few years of making anything and everything into felt).

The first thing you need to know is how to make the felt. It is beyond easy. Throw two woollen sweaters into the washing machine. Make the hot and the rince cold. You will probably need to wash them a few times until all the stitches have merged with each other to make a material that you can cut without it all falling apart. I usually throw in a few pairs of jeans also to create more friction in the wash….

When you have felted two sweaters you will have enough to make this wreath…

Materials
Machine Felted Sweaters
Dressmaking Scissors
50cm/20″ length of 16 gauge wire
Wire Cutters
Pliers
Ribbon
Tiger Tail or String

Step 1
Cut your pieces of felt into squares about 5cm/2″ x 5cm”/2″. They don’t need to be completely perfect.

Step 2
Cut your length of wire (I cut about 50cm)
Take your felt squares and poke them onto the wire

I poked the felt squares onto both ends of the wire to make the pattern a little more uniform. You could also do it randomly.

Step 3
When you are nearing the end of the wire, take the pliers, bunch up the felt and bend each end into a U shape.

And everywhere I am… Sweet Calvin is there. Unfortunately he has an eating disorder and tries to eat anything I am working with – ribbons, wire, fabric, wool, he’s not fussy.

Step 4
Take the two u-shape wire ends and link them together. Take the pliers and push the ends down so they won’t come apart.

Step 5
Tie a bow onto the place where the wire is joined.

Step 6
Tie a length of Tiger Tail or String onto the top of the wreath to hang it from.

A Finished Wreath.

Enjoy!
Mia
xxx

Materials
Pattern for Bird, Wings
Paper Scraps or Pieces
Sewing Machine with Heavy Duty Needle
Thread
Buttons
Ribbon Scraps
Scissors
Glue
Lollies!

Step 1
Cut out 50 bird pieces (make sure that you cut 25 one way and 25 going the other way) and 25 wings

Step 2
Cut 25 x 10cm/4″ ribbon lengths

Step 3
Cut out 25 orange beaks and assemble the birds, wings, ribbons, beaks and lollies so they are ready to sew.

Step 4
Take two bodies, tuck a beak in between the two sheets at the same height as the point of the tale. Fold a length of ribbon in half and tuck it in between the two sheets on the top of the bird’s head.
Sew the bird together, tucking a lolly inside before you finish.

Step 5
Glue a button onto the bird. Glue a wing onto the body.

Step 6
Take a black marker and write numbers 1 – 25 on the wings or you can use stickers, if you like.

Hang up your birds on a string or on the tree. All ready for 1 December.
Sorry I don’t have a pattern for the birds or wings but they are really easy to draw freehand or google one.
Enjoy!
Mia
xxx

The Finished Product
This is a really quick and easy project. Em and I had a spare afternoon and finished two dresses in under and hour and a half. The only fiddly part of this project was adjusting the position of the tshirt on the singlet so that it sat well. I’d love to see this project using a colourful rocker tshirt or tie-dyed shirt and a wildly coloured singlet under. Let us know what you come up with and we’ll put them up here ok.

Materials
1 singlet top to fit
1 Extra large tshirt
Sewing machine (we used double needles because it makes a great finish on knit items), thread, scissors.

Step 1
Cut the tshirt down both seams from the neckline to the sleeves.
Step 2
Fold these under and pin them. Hem the edges. We sewed around in a u-shape using double needles (not necessary though).

Step 3
Try on the singlet. Put the tshirt on over the top. Pin the front neckline of the tshirt to the front of the singlet. We pinned it about 12cm/5″ from top. Spend some time adjusting it so that it sits right and looks flattering on you. Pin the back neckline of tshirt onto the back of the singlet in the same way.

Step 4
Try the ‘dress’ on with a belt and make sure that it still falls well. Adjust the pins until you are happy with it. Make sure that the sleeves turned inside out are at the same place as pockets should be.
Step 5
Take off the dress and sew the top neckline of the tshirt onto the singlet where you have pinned it.
Step 6
Sew the back neckline of the tshirt onto the singlet where you have pinned it.
Step 7
Turn the tshirt inside out the sew the sleeve holes together to make pockets (pretty clevery huh?)

That’s it! How could it be easier to make a cute little dress? If you are making it for winter buy a long-sleeved tee instead of the singlet and do the same thing. Pair this with a cinched belt, tights, boots and a gorgeous coat. Lovely!

Enjoy!
Mia
xxx
PS Our advent calendar should be completed by tomorrow! All going well. And pompoms and still coming!

I had a spare few hours in front of the tv last night and a new camera to play with. I am in love with my new Canon EOS 500D. It was impossible not to fall in love with! So I whipped up a quick shredded tshirt and tutorial to go with it. Shredding is so easy and reminded me so much of high school, sitting on the bus shredding my new tan stockings – the more shredded your stockings were, the better back then. Well, I still love the shredded effect.

I am obsessed with torturing textiles, i.e doing things with them to make them different. One day soon I will post more textiles treatments (or maybe save them for a lovely little book). I just love taking fabric and playing with it. There is so much you can do to it, paint it, dye it, crush it, fold it, pleat it, shred it. If only I could spend all my time just playing….

All you need to shred is a knit tee. I suppose you could shred a skirt (if you have a slip to wear under it) or a jumper, but I like the look of a tee. Next, I am going to try shredding an oversized white tee. For shredding it’s best to use a new tee so that the stitches aren’t compacted together from washing.

Step 1
Take your stitch ripper and undo the bottom hem of the tee so that it is a raw edge.

Step 2
You will notice some loose threads running parallel along the edge of tee. Pull one of these threads. Keep pulling for as long as you would like the shredded panel to be. Then start separating the stitches of the tee between your thumbs and fingers, pulling the stitches wider. This is a bit fiddly. It is easiest to shred inch-long sections of the tee. Work from the bottom to the top of the tee, separating the stitches. You can make all different sized holes. My fingers got a little bit sore doing this. Work your way one inch at a time, pulling apart the stitches until you have a panel as wide as you want. Oh yeah, before I began I make two marks with tailor’s chalk on the bottom of the shirt to mark the size of the panel I wanted.

Ta Da! Here is the finished product. It took me about two hours in front of the TV to shred this. As you are doing it, it is easy to make holes. It just seems to add to the whole torn effect that I love!
I hope you have fun shredding!
Let me know…
Mia
xxx

(NOTE:  This scarf requires absolutely no knitting or crocheting or knotting so stay around and read more…)

(Mia modelling the tube scarf)

I walked into my local craft store a few weeks ago and saw these divine scarves behind the counter.  They looked like a cross between a feather boa and a scarf, totally cute.  I asked the lady how they were made and she was kind enough to give me a demo on how to make them. Now I am passing on the love….

I am hooked!  These are the cutest scarves and they could not be easier to make. My nine-year old made half of this one easily.

Materials
I used four balls of polyester (this will depend on how long you want to make the scarf)
1.2m of 5/8″ white elastic
30cm/ 1ft length of plastic tubing
Two medium wooden beads
Hot glue
Scissors

Tie a knot in one end of the piece of elastic. Apply a dab of hot glue onto the knot and push it onto the bead.

Use two balls of yarn together – this gives a fuller look to the scarf. Tie the two ends of the yarn onto the elastic with a knot, just under the bead.
Thread the elastic through the plastic tube, with the bead at one end.
Begin wrapping the yarn (two together) around the plastic tubing.  (I started by wrapping the yarn this tightly but found it much better to wrap it quite loosely going down the whole tube).
When you have wrapped the yarn around the plastic tube about ten time push it off the tube and onto the elastic.

To keep the other end of elastic from getting in the way, secure it with a peg as shown in the photo above, letting out more as you need it.

Continue to wrap the yarns around the plastic tubing and then gently push them onto the elastic. You will quickly start to see this yummy, feather boa scarf!

Finish the scarf when you get to the elastic gets to the end of the plastic tubing (you will have 30cm of elastic left when you cut it). Knot the yarn around the elastic. Tie a knot in the elastic (as in the first step), place a dab of glue onto the knot and push a bead onto it to secure it.

Finito!

(Look what I made!)

The next one I will make will be double as long so that I can wrap it around my neck a few times. Millie’s getting this one – lucky girl. And the last thing I have to say — what a strange thing to be making in 40 degree heat!! And that photo shoot with the turtle neck! Hot!
Enjoy!

Long hot days of summer give us plenty of time to become fairies playing in the garden or princesses wearing long white dresses and beautiful blue flower crowns….

This crown was very quick to assemble. It took no more than half an hour and now I have a little girl who is completely in love with it. She has gone to bed and put it in the ‘most special place’ in her room, on the top shelf far from her kitten’s paws.

Materials
Small fabric flowers bought at a craft store
Silver-coated wire (22 guage)
Wire cutters
Flat-nosed pliers

Firstly, wrap the wire around the top of your head so that it is a loose fit. Hold the wire and cut three times this length. Wrap the last length of wire around the other two to keep it in place.

Take a fabric flower and wrap the stem around the wire base. If the stem is too long, cut it in half with the wire cutters.

Place the flowers close to each other and wrap the stems around the wire base. Alternate the flowers you use or use all the same flowers.

Continue to wrap the flowers until you are finished. You could also embellish your crown with rafia, ribbon, beads, diamontes, whatever you like. I prefer to keep mine simple and lovely enough for a big or little princess.

Enjoy!
Mia

I don’t know if your family is like mine – my family likes to procreate. This is great because we have lots of beautiful children running around. But Christmas can be a little difficult finding presents for all the nephews and nieces.

This past Christmas I really wanted to simplify the present giving. I usually come up with very fancy gift ideas and get quite carried away. This year I wanted the present to be simple, inexpensive and useful.

The only thing I could think of that fit into all those categories was to make each child their own tote bag. I made the girls very girly tote bags in floral prints with their initials sewn on in rick-rack. For the boys I made more boyish bags in blue with beach prints and blue and white gingham linings.

The great thing about these bags is how useful they are. They can be used to pack for an overnight stay. They can be filled with beach toys for a day at the beach. They can be stuffed with bathing suits, towels and sunscreen or they can be used for bottles, extra changes of clothes etc. for little children.

And my lovely little niece, Tara, aged one and a bit, decided that hers was good enough to wear and tried her best to hop inside it!

Overall, this simplicity decision of mine, started at Christmastime is going very well I think.

Have a good one.

Mia

PS Any more ideas for simple presents to make and give during the year? I am going to whip up a whole heap of presents and give them out over the year.

I love the little paper Kelly handbags from Hermes!  Visit their site to download these for free.  We have a birthday in a few months and I am definitely going to make these for the lolly bags.  So cute.   Nice to see that even the fashion houses understand the power of giving something away for free.  One of the many things I love about the Internet – the freebie. 

And, hello everyone.  Yes.  We are officially back in action.  With lots of lovely treats and projects coming your way.  We will be getting the monthly craft challenge back on track and plenty more.  There will be a site relaunch in July.  So happy to have the free time to re-connect with you all.  Thanks for the well wishes while we were so busy! 

Miaxx