TUTORIAL - Felt Heart Garland

It's probably not the first time you'll have seen a tutorial for these super sweet heart garlands and it certainly won't be the last but I figured I'd make a shiny new one whilst I played! This garland is so easy you'll wonder why you haven't made one before and it'll only take you around an hour or two at most and the result is SO PRETTY!

You will need:

• Strips of felt in your chosen colours, I used 10cm strips of woolfelt from The Eternal Maker in Driftwood, Mediterranean Mist and Ruby Red Slipper and still had leftovers for other projects! 
• Thread to match
• Sewing machine
• Scissors / Rotary Cutter/ Cutting mat
• Beading thread (or any heavy weight thread, even fishing line!)
• Needle

Ok so first things first, we're going to chop down some of that felt. I started off with Ruby Red Slipper, I halved it to get a 10cm x 45cm strip (discard one half for now), then halved again so I was left with two strips of 5cm x 45cm, again discard one of these and halve your remaining strip so you're left with two 5cm x 22.5cm strips.

Next up we're going to do some sewing! Thread your machine with a thread that matches your felt and with one strip on top of the other, sew one of the long sides around 3/16ths of an inch from the edge. Because we're going to be cutting through this later you'll want to sew a second row of stitches so it's extra secure.

Now, this is where the magic happens! Remove your strip from the machine, open the strips and fold them back on themselves so you've got a long heart shaped tube! 

Cool huh? Next up you need to sew the bottom of your heart in the same way around 3/16ths of an inch from the edge remembering to stitch a second row.  Snip all your loose ends and lay your heart tube flat on a cutting mat. Using a ruler, cut your tube into 2cm slices.

Repeat with your remaining colours! I varied the sizes of mine, for Driftwood I used 4cm x 22.5cm strips and for Mediterranean Mist I used 7cm x 22.5cm strips. I also made another strip in Ruby Red Slipper this time 10cm x 22.5cm.

For the larger hearts I stitched a second row where the top of the heart forms at 5/15ths of an inch from the edge to give them a bit more shape.

Next you have two choices, to have a vertical or horizontal garland. I've shown both variations here for comparison! For the horizontal Garland, arrange your hearts in a fashion you're happy with.

Cut around 1.5m of beading thread, knot a loop in one end and thread your needle on the other, begin threading your felt hearts onto your needle and thread making sure to stay relatively close to the top of each heart otherwise they'll want to hang upside down!

Continue until you've got as many hearts on there as you like, tie a loop at the end of your thread and there you have it, one cute Valentine's Garland!

So pretty! For the Vertical garland, loop one end of your thread as before and simply thread your hearts from top to bottom instead! You could finish these off with buttons, beads or anything you like!

This tutorial was originally written by myself for The Eternal Maker and can also be found here on their blog.

TUTORIAL - Paper Mushrooms

These. Are. Awesome. Big and little paper mushrooms perfect for table decorations at weddings, parties or for your mantle. So VERY easy to make too - read on to find out how!

TUTORIAL - How to Bleach Ombre Denim Shorts

I hear Ombre things are in these days? I'm not usually a trend follower unless it's something I completely love, but these are definitely one of those things so it's a win-win situation right? You get a cool tutorial and I get some cute shorts! Read on to find out how to create your own.

TUTORIAL - The PERFECT distressed denim cut-offs from old jeans!

I've been looking for the 'perfect' pair of denim shorts in what feels like forever and since I still haven't quite found them yet, I thought it best to make some and show you guys how to make your own too!
In this tutorial I'll talk you through the basic process of turning that worn-out old pair of jeans into some super cool wear-with-anything denim cut-offs, showing you how to measure up and cut properly without that awkward 'oops I cut too short now my butt-cheeks are hanging out' mistake and finally distressing, to give you the perfect summer wardrobe must-have.

Read on to see the full tutorial and If distressing just doesn't cut it, check out part 2 for bleach ombre here!

TUTORIAL - Old Vest to Tiered Maxi Dress

I come across problem after problem when looking for the perfect maxi dress. Infact, I came across SO many problems in the shops this year I decided it would probably be for the best if I just made my own. After browsing online for a tutorial of some sort to help me out a little I couldn't find what I was looking for so I decided to shoot a step-by-step for anyone else wanting to take this on and I hope this helps others looking for the same or a similar kind of thing!

In this tutorial I'm going to show you how to make a super simple tiered maxi dress with minimal effort and potentially zero spend-out! If you use my tutorial I would LOVE to see your results and will be happy to post links to your blog if you're flaunting it!

TUTORIAL - Freezer Paper Stencils

I know I know I know - there's approximately one hundred billion freezer paper stencil tutorials out there in the blogosphere. But what better way to celebrate this entirely made up fact than to create my own? (you can never have enough tutorials. Fact)

In this tutorial I'm going to show you how to create a simple stencil using freezer paper and then transfer it to fabric. Now, first of all - I couldn't find freezer paper ANYWHERE in the UK so ended up buying mine from amazon for a reasonable price. UK folk, greaseproof paper is NOT the same thing - unfortunately. If you manage to find any please let me know!

This is a great project to do with kids, just keep small fingers away from sharp and hot things! Adults do the hot and choppy bits, small people do the messy bits. Perfect. 

RECIPE: Chocolate Coated Oreo Truffles

You may think these sound slightly.. odd, but I can assure you they are one of the yummiest things ever and SO simple to make. No baking involved, they just take a little while to prepare (but they're totally worth it!). This recipe has been floating around the internet for a few years now and so I felt the need to share - Galaxy Coated Oreo Truffles!

TUTORIAL - Decorated Memo Pegs

Got lots of note pages with important scribbles on? Drawings? Photos waiting to go into albums? Recipes waiting to go into books? Ribbons? Samples? Phone numbers? Need somewhere to keep them safe until they have a home? 

Yes? 

Then this super-simple tutorial is for you! 

For day 6 of 30 days of creativity I 'borrowed' some wooden pegs from the peg bag and gave them a little spruce up.

TUTORIAL - Bunting Note Cards.

My first full day back home after my wonderful break in Dorset, sat in my studio surrounded by boxes, bags and drawers of all my 'stuff'. Aah precious 'stuff' how I missed you! Day four's project for 30 days of creativity was a simple set of bunting note cards. 

They weren't exactly rocket-science to make, but as I'm feeling generous today I thought I'd write you a tutorial so you can make your own.

TUTORIAL - Vintage Style Decoupaged Mannequin

I picked up this female torso at a car boot sale a few years ago and she's been hanging around in my wardrobe ever since just waiting for the perfect project to come along. I don't know why, but last week I suddenly had an overwhelming desire to try out decoupage and what better project to try it out on than this?

Like it? Read on to find out how to make your own!