One Hour Craft

Sewing: How to Make a Beautiful Origami Pouch

Myra of My Little Mochi has posted this great Tutorial to Make an Origami Pouch.  It is so cute and I have been eyeing it off as a great little project for quite some time now. 

When you get to her site, make sure you have a look around. Everything she makes is so cute!  I love the hedgehog she has made  and think I will make one of those before too long.

Happy Crafting!

Mia

Maria’s Craft: My Little Humbug Bag!

Remember the post about the Humbug sachet a few days ago?  Well, here is the little Humbug bag I completed two days ago.  I love it, so cute and it was really fun and easy to make.  I made my own pattern as I couldn’t find one and I haven’t even seen an example of a bag like that – although I know they must be out there.  For this bag, I went and bought another placemat for $2 and I love the fact that this gives the bag a lot of structure.  This little bag is all the more special to me because the strap is made from a weave that my mum wove on a little table loom (possibly in the 1970’s).  How cool is that?

Anyway, if I get enough interest I will make a tutorial to sew the Humbug (Berlingot) bag. Emma (my twin sister – and no we don’t look alike and we only sometimes know when the other is in pain, and yes we do argue over just about anything, and yes we would walk to the moon for each other!) had the great idea for an evening bag made like this. What fabric to use? 

Anyone interested in a tutorial, or maybe even a podcast?

Mia

Vision

OneHourCraft will provide free crafting tutorials and patterns of a very high quality to its readership. 

I will be running this site as a commercial site in 2007.

OneHourCraft will be commercially viable through advertising and sponsorship by 2007.

OneHourCraft will contain a LOT of podcasts, short video tutorials for a lot of crafts which will then be available to our readers to use.

OneHourCraft will be run by a team of contributors who will write tutorials and find other tutorials to include on the site.

OneHourCraft will bring many different craft tutorials, ideas and patterns from different countries around the world; Australia (me), Britain, USA, France, Japan, China etc.

OneHourCraft team will  ‘get together for an internet lunch’, once a month, where we will discuss our crafting experiences over the last month, our lives, our cities, ourselves.  These will be available as podcasts to download for our readers to read.

OneHourCraft will be translated into a numger of languages including French, Cantonese and Japanese.

OneHourCraft will support a Non-Profit organisation which helps children in need, when it is commercially viable.

OneHourCraft will support, encourage our readers to join in and run crafting projects which help children in need, particularly those in third world countries.

OneHourCraft will run in an ethical manner in all its activities.   We will also respect and care for our environment and encourage our readers to do the same.

OneHourCraft will be vibrant, often rowdy, creative, bold, flexible and fun!

Thoughts?

Mia

How to Make Exquisite Tiny Collage Squares

No don’t worry – today is not another sewing craft.  No machine needed for this craft. 

Ooh, I had another drooling moment.  These are exquisite.  I am so glad that Chrysti has let me post her photos above the link to her site.

These are tiny 1 inch x1 inch collage squares.  There are so many ways they can be used.  There are several swaps going on in the blogosphere to trade them.

Well to get your first idea of what these are look at this post.

Then Chrysti has very kindly included a very good Tutorial to Make Tiny Collage Squares.

If you make some please send the photos.  These are too good to miss and Kate, I reckon this could be one of our craft projects for the holidays!  What do ya think?

A lovely idea: You could use the collage squares to make tiny pendants.  This could be done in a number of ways.  If you don’t have silversmithing skills, you could use resin (now ya talking Mia)  to make them into pendants.  You could even use Fimo or papier mache.

Thoughts?

Mia

Sewing: How to Make a Simple Drawstring Bag

Photos by Amy of Happy Things

I know there has been a lot of sewing on here and I will get around to posting other crafts but..I just love my sewing machine and the two overlockers I own.  My love affair is sort of love/hate; love when things are going great and hate when things aren’t, and hate even more when engineer boyfriend is not over to fix them.  Ladies if you acquire an overlocker, I can also strongly recommend acquiring an engineer boyfriend who can work out how to thread the thing; underlooper, overlooper what????

Thanks Amy of Happy Things for letting me use the above photos and for providing this link to an easy to follow Photo Tutorial to Make a Simple Drawstring Bag.  I would love to see how yours turn out.  It is really interesting to see how things turn out very different to each other, and express so much about an individual.  These bags could be used as pencil cases, makeup bags, jewellery bags etc.  Can you think of any others?

I also think that, being a bag lady myself, this would be a great bag for a beginner sewer.  I know when I first started quick projects are what keep you motivated.  Taking on something big is demotivating and likely to be left in a pile on the sewing room floor.

As for me, I have just made a pattern for and completed my first Berlingot (humbug) bag.  I don’t have time to post the photo now but I promise to do it tomorrow.  It took me a little bit of time to work it out but I should be able to make a tutorial for it soon.

Happy Crafting!

Mia

How to Sew a Reversible Headband

Well thanks for the responses to my quest for tutorials.  I have a handful of great tutorials to bring you…

I have posted a headband tutorial before but I LOVE this…

What could be better than one headband?  Two headbands in one!  Check out this very simple Tutorial to Make a Reversible Headband.  I plan to make one this evening, after the little one has crashed for the night.

Enjoy making these.  I am going to make a few for my daughter, little fashionista that she is.  Thanks to Kate Campbell for this!

Mia

One Hour on the Net

If you have an hour to kick back on the Net, see these amazing creations…

Heather Bailey’s New Fabric Range.  Just Released and don’t miss it.  She is one very stylish lady.

Cath Kidston’s Autumn 2006 Catalogue.

Curiously Crafty has just posted a very cute hat pattern, that I will definitely follow.

Decor8 has some divine rugs to inspire you to create.

It would be near to a crime to miss Orla Kiely’s New Fall range of clothes.  She is so talented with her gifted colour palette.

I am Fashion has posted some new crazy incredible handbags from Braccialini.  Truly outrageous.

Enjoy!

Mia

Sewing: How to Make a Humbug (Berlingot) Lavender Sachet/Pincushion

Photo taken by Maria Binns.  Berlingot made by Maria Binns 

Hi ya everybody.

Well, you know how I have gone completely mad on French craft sites, I have found a great little craft number. I am in love with anything that is a little unusual, and these very elegant, I think.

What am I talking about? 

Humbug (Berlingot) Sachets.  I have read countless French craft blogs in the past few days and many of them had ‘berlingots’.  These are really easy to make.  Mine took about ten minutes to make, and the next one will be about five.

Here is a great Tutorial to Make Humbug Sachets.  Once again, don’t be put off by the French.  The diagrams are really clear.

The top ten reasons that I love these so much:

1. They are really cute and can be made with any sort of fabric and trimmings
2. They have so many uses. 
3. You could make them a little bigger, add a zip to one side and there you have a bag. 
4. You could use them as pincushions if you stuff them with wadding. 
5. You could fill them with lavender (as I have done) and hang in your wardrobe.
6. You could fill them with bath milk powder and use them in a bath.
7. You can use all your scraps to make them.
8. They would make unique and very cute gifts.
9. You could make them as wedding favours (needs a little creative thinking but I can see it).
10. You could make them out of paper and use them as lolly bags at a child’s party.

For this one, I actually cut up a $2 placemat bought from Spotlight.  The thickness has given this humbug a great structure to it.

Have fun and let me know if you make one!

Can you think of any other uses for the berlingot?

Mia

Talk Talk Talk

This blog is so much fun to make.  I am having a ball.  I only ever post about things I have made or am planning to make (when I have the time- ha ha).  This blog already has a lot of readers, which is really encouraging.  A lot of people have contacted me to tell me that they are loving it and have given me ideas for tutorials to include.

BUT, this blog is taking me a LOT of time to keep up with.  I am looking for people who have tutorials on their sites for quick craft (or some slower crafts) and would like to give them more exposure.  If you are one of these people contact me and I will come and see that I don’t already have this type of thing and that it fits with the style of this blog.

What I am looking for are cool, happening, quirky, inventive craft projects with well-taken bright pictures and well-written tutorials. 

Or. If you have an idea for a tutorial that you would like to see on here, please contact me. 

I am also interested in including tutorials from different cultures. I would love tutorials for Japanese crafts.  At the moment I read a lot of French blogs and am including some of the crafts I see on them, but I would like ideas from Europe, Asia, US and Britain.  Anything that is new, bold, interesting.

What’s in it for you?  A lot more traffic to your website which means more exposure for you in the blogosphere.

If you are interested, please contact me. 

Have a good day.

Mia

Softies: How To Sew A Lovely Little French Kitty, MEOWWWWWW…

I am so excited.  Yes, it helps to be a French speaker.  I get to search for blogs in two languages.  I think I can probably work out how to search for Italian and Spanish blogs in the next few weeks.  Japanese – oh how I wish I spoke Japanese.  Well, it helps to have a step-mother who speaks Japanese. 

I am so excited by this pattern I found on a French blog tonight.  I am that excited that I think I will make one tonight – depending on the tension problems to sort out with my little machine.  Heck, maybe I will overlock (serge) it. Hmmmm.

But First Meet Little French Kitty…

Check out this amazing Pattern and Tutorial to Make a Little French Kitty.  Ladies it has never stopped us crafting from Japanese craft books, although we don’t speak or read the language, so don’t let the lack of French put you off either.

Tip:  Below the photos you will read the words “Tracer sur un morceau de calque les patrons que vous pouvez télécharger en cliquant là:“  This is the part where you click to go to the pdf pattern.  Ok.

If you make one of these absolute delights, Please please please let me know and send me photos!  I showed you my photos so now you can show me yours:)

Have Fun!  I am sure to.

Mia