Sewing Myself Thin!

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I'm currently sat in the car on the way to Cornwall for New Years...its very very wet!!

This is just a quick post to announce the deal my OH and I just made....if I lose 30lbs by my birthday in May he'll get me a sewing machine!! Pretty good deal I thought...so 30lbs and about 18 weeks...how hard can it be??!!

I've decided to go on the sewing diet (and no that's not sewing my mouth closed as he suggested!!)...I don't seem to think about food when I'm sewing so a perfect excuse to do some crafting and keep my diet going strong!!

Anyways best get going, feel a bit antisocial blogging in the car (don't worry, I'm not driving!!).

Take care and best wishes for 2012!!

Happy Crafting!

The First Noel, the Angels did say....

Here it is, the second Christmas card to add to my 2012 stock!! I was fed up of always using aperture frame cards so I decided to fray the edges of the aida and attach the design to the front of a plain red folded card. Also bought a matching red envelop to finish it all off!!

During my trip to Hobby Craft I also invested in some card bags. I love the way they make all my cards look professional and ready to sell.

I also treated myself to a new rubber stamp too!!

Well I think this is going to be all from me for the next few weeks as i'm off to Centre Parcs tomorrow :)

Have a wonderful Christmas and Best Wishes for 2012!!!

Take care and happy crafting! xx

Felt Snowman Paperclip

My amazing Mum made this felt Snowman Paperclip for me years and years ago.....I have a feeling it will be reproduced for my Folksy and Etsy shops in time for Xmas 2012 with the addition of a Santa and a Reindeer!!

I am almost done with my NOEL Christmas card so watch this space for the final product very soon!!!

Happy Crafting!

Reindeer Christmas Card!

I was home alone last night so thought I would knock up a quick Christmas card. I don't need any more for this year so I've put it up for sale on my Facebook Page, if it doesn't sell it will go in the box ready for Xmas 2012!!

It was a very simple pattern from Enjoy Cross Stitch Magazine and only took me about 1hr to complete.

I'm now getting ready to sew another Christmas card which includes the word NOEL in the style of candy canes! Watch this space.....

Happy Crafting!

Wedding Cake Card!

Our first wedding of 2012 is in just 3 weeks and, being the organised one, I have already made their card! I've literally just mounted it - it's currently setting between two of my big cook books!! 

I got the idea for this card from Cross Stitch Cards website but unfortunately I couldn't find any way to order a kit. I ended up making up my own pattern using grid paper. I zoomed into their card and copied the basic shape of the cake and topper. I made a few changes to include the wedding colours, the date of the wedding and the first initials of the bride and groom CC.

To finish it off chose a light pink card to compliment the purple and red details in the design.

I hope they like it!! :)

Enjoy your evening,

Happy Crafting!

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Babies, Bunting and Beautiful Things

Cross Stitch Letters!

Morning All!!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been sewing some gifts for Christmas! I bought a lovely kit from Maries Cross Stitch and have sewn the first initial of the boys names.

So....here's the final piece!

The sewing itself was pretty easy but the back stitch was a little tricky. When I was sewing I thought it looked a bit scruffy but when I finished it looked really effective.

I've just started as S for my friends little boy Sam. Hope to have it finished by the end of the week and have a turquoise frame for it to go in!

Anyways, I hope you're not getting too wet in this horrible weather! A good excuse to stay in and do some crafting though!!!

Take Care!

Christmas Marshmallow & Chocolate Sticks

Morning Everyone!


I had quite a productive day yesterday making the last few Christmas gifts on my list. I borrowed an idea from The Great British Bake Off's Holly Bell's Blog - Hot chocolate on a stick, though from looking at her pictures, i think I was a bit more generous with the marshmallows!!!


The process was a lot quicker and simpler than I thought it was going to be and I was really impressed with the final products!



All you need to start is a bar of chocolate, mini marshmallows, silicone cake cases, mugs and tea spoons!


Into each cake case break 5-6 squares of chocolate.




I used a microwave to melt the chocolate in the cases, alternatively you could melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water and then spoon it into the cases.


Warning! if using a microwave, be careful when removing the cases as they're quite flimsy!!


I used a kebab skewer to mix the chocolate at 60 second intervals. They took about 3 mins to melt completely.


Once all the chocolate has melted push a tea spoon into each case ensuring you have somewhere to balance them whilst the chocolate sets, I used the microwave!




Use the marshmallows to decorate around the spoons making sure you push them into the chocolate to stop them falling out!





Now you need to be patient and wait for the chocolate to set!


Once set, pop the chocolate sticks out of the cases and place inside you mugs! My chocolate sticks were a little bit bigger than the chocolate sticks so I added a few more marshmallows to stop them from moving around!

To finish these off I made up some little instruction cards and wrapped them in Christmas style cellophane bags and silver ribbon!

I will defiantly be making more of these to give as presents during the year!!

Well, enjoy your Sunday's, we're off ice skating tonight to get into the Christmas spirit!

Happy Crafting!

Baby Cakes!

One of my amazing friends makes these super cute customised nappy cakes!


This is the one I recently bought for my friends 3 month old baby boy.

She has made a lovely range of cakes, of various sizes and designs! The prices start from £15.

If you're interested in these gifts and live in the Southampton area message me and i'll pass on your details to their designer.

Happy crafting!

Stitching for Someone Speical!

I am currently stitching some lovely Christmas presents for two beautiful little boys!


I bought this alphabet pattern from Maries Cross Stitch and have taken the first letters of each of their names to sew for them. I love how bright and fun these letters are, and they look great by themselves as well as in the whole alphabet. 

The body of the letters and images are quite simple to sew but the back stitch if proving a little bit tricky! The threads which come with the kit are not brilliant either, give me DMC or Anchor any day, but on a positive side, they are wonderfully organised which makes my life so much easier!!


I am going to frame them in bright chunky photo frames like this one from Debenhams.

I'll post some pictures of the final products once they are framed!

Well that's all for tonight,

Take care and happy crafting!

Wedding Sewings

Some of my close friends got married this year so I put my sewing skills to work and created them some beautiful hand made gifts.


This first sampler was altered from a pattern in a sewing magazine using the colour theme for the wedding.

It was quite simple to do and only took a few evenings to complete. I chose a mount which complimented the sampler and a contrasting colour for the frame.


For the second wedding of the year I chose a beautiful patter from Marie's Cross Stitch. I altered it slightly as I thought it looked perfect without the "Happily Ever After" writing.

I wanted it to be quite a serene piece so therefore I chose a white frame. This was the first time I used a frame which I needed to back myself! It was quite easy to do but I did need a second pair of hands to help!!


They both absolutely loved their gifts, and I much prefer giving hand made presents rather than items from a wedding list!


My first 2012 wedding is in January and I have already completed a sewing for it! Check me out being all organised!! I'll put some pictures up when it's been made into a card!


Happy crafting,


Take Care! :)

Welcome to BBB!!

Hi Everyone,


Welcome to my new blog.....Babies, Bunting and Beautiful Things!!


I started my first blog back in August when I began my PGCE to document my journey through teacher training and I thought that it would be great to have a sister site to document the other side of my life, outside of the classroom!!


I have had a love for sewing for as long as I can remember. My mum taught me to cross stitch when I was knee high to a grass hopper and I've not stopped since. I tend to stick to cards but over the past few years I have attempted some bigger projects, mainly for friends weddings. 


The aim of this blog is also to encourage me to try out some new things, craft wise! I would love to learn how to make patch work quilts as I have a huge box of patches waiting to be given some attention! Similarly, I would really like to get into card making with diecuts. I have seen some amazing websites and blogs which have inspired me!! It would be great to never have to buy a card again!!!


So what's in a name:


Babies - A few of my friends have become mum's over the past few years and in 9 months time I will hopefully have 30 of my own.....in my classroom!! :)
Bunting - I adore bunting! If I had my own way i would have it throughout my flat, but I don't think my boyfriend would be too pleased!!
Beautiful Things - Who doesn't like beautiful things??!! I hope to make hundreds of beautiful things over the next few years and this blog will be there to share them with the world!!


Anyways, enough from me!


Happy crafting and see you soon!!