School Holidays Oh what to Do 

a list of fun easy cost effective Ideas

Winter School Holidays started here last Friday

and with 3 kids home we had grand plans of 

heading out doors for the the 2 weeks...

well so far it has been raining and cold 

windy..just plain terrible weather here...

so we had to re-think the whole week...

so lots of indoor activities....and then it got me thinking

we are crafty I will hunt down differnt things that we 

can make that are not going to cost money or next to no money...

so on the first weekend the kids sat and realaxed and 

watch some TV....while I sat on the internet 

going through all my Pinterest Boards and seeing what 

I had there....and thought to myself this is good 

not going to cost any money well very little 

as i have most of the supplies ") this makes me a 

very Happy Crafty Chick indeed ") 

so I had some Ideas and started to share them on 

my Face Book page on the Monday Day 1

and thought i should share them here too

 

Now I'm not sure who origanlly come up with some 

of these ideas but I have found them on Pinterst or 

on the Net...I am not in anyway taking credit for the 

Ideas or photos that i have posted here in this post ") ....

these are some of the things that I have shared on my Face Book Page 

these school Holidays ") 

https://www.facebook.com/DarvanaleeDesigns 

 Day 1 and 2

 

Balloon fabric covered bowl 

this project we did over 2 days as the papier mache had to dry before we put the fabric over ")  

a great way to get rid of some of those old newspapers and fabric scraps ")

 Kid friendly Project for the beginning of the winter school holidays ") happy crafting ") keep an eye for more

http://breadandbuttons.typepad.com/blog/2011/02/process-vs-product-cast-your-vote.html 

Day 3 

Fabric Cover Terracotta Pots  

Here is another great Kid friendly craft idea for the Kids these school Holidays ") Happy Crafting ") another great way to use up all those unwanted scraps of fabric... ") 

http://www.christinechitnis.com/2010/01/pretty-pots.html 

Day 4

Kids coloring and Hand Stitchery  

 Hi Everyone well here we are again and another rainy day....well i expect that the kiddies are starting to get Cabin fever by now...today I have some Free!!! Coloring Pics for the kids...100's to chose from...but these are not lost on the older kids either they can use these pages to make their own hand stitchery ") they just have to trace the outline of the pic onto some fabric either calico or homespun....they can just do a simple back stitch or running stitch for the beginners....and there you have it a free stitchery pattern for the Bigger kids....Happy Crafting ")

 http://www.kidspot.com.au/slideshow/Kids-Activity-Sheets-Colouring-Pages+2.htm?gclid=CO6Hpp6y77ACFQcrpAodsVM6vg

Day 5 

Twenty Minute Tote 

http://www.purlbee.com/the-twenty-minute-tote/ 

 Well it looks like the rain may have eased up a bit here today although it is still a bit too cold and wet for the little ones to go outside to day yet again "( anyway today I thought that some of you could pull out the sewing machine and maybe give sew a go with you little one on your lap....I have done this before with my youngest and she just loves we make simple things together...so to see the joy in your little ones face that they are using some so grown up I say give this ago...the Joy they get is worth it and you never know what passion you might spark in them ") anyway here is a link for a quick and easy bag that you can make together and they could use it for a Library bag ") happy Crafting ")

Will be posting more great Ideas that I find to keep those kids happy ") 

and I hope you have enjoyed them as much as we did

") 

Happy Quilting and Crafting ") 

Handy tips

Now i haven't made a post in a while...but while playing around 

on Pinterest today I came across this post 

and thought i would share it with you 

#17 really struck a cord with me sooo 

going to be on top of that one....

 make a lot of sense really..

and as i live in Australia 

I really don't have a problem with 

Squirrrels.....but might try it anyway

might be able to keep 

other pest away.... 

and #1 never thought of that one....

that would take no time at 

all to re-heat the pizza for the 

kids....that is when and if there is 

any left overs LOL 

Anyway here is the link 

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/6qQ7vB/www.aimlessdirection.com/2008/17-tips-to-make-your-life-easier

Happy Quilting :) 

Nicole

Scrappy TuTu!

now anyone that knows The Divine Miss N

know that she loves all things pretty

so the other day when i was surfing the 

net more to the point Pinterest :0) just a little addicted lol

 and she seen this pretty little Scrappy Tutu

she immediately started to hound me to make her one....

Now I'm not about to take any credit for this as it is not an 

original of mine...my source is  http://campclem.com

now you will need a few things 

1" wide elastic

Scissors

sewing machine

tape measure 

scrap fabric strips or a jelly roll 

1. measure you little one or in my case my 5yr old 

for the sizing of elastic 

2. then measure from the hip of your little one to their 

knee...this so you can work out how long your 

strips should be....The Divine Miss N measured 13" 

and then you times this number by 2

so my strips were 26" in length.

3. now to make the waist band simply 

take the 2 ends of the elastic and join them 

either by hand or machine sewing...I used my machine 

as it was quicker this way...

 

4. Now we take all our scrap fabric and either cut into strips 

approx 2" or 2.5" wide...now as i have a very impatient little 

girl...i took the easy way out and used up some of my 

left over jelly roll strips...so no cutting for me....YaY 

you then take your folded in half strips and you attach 

each strip to the elastic by way of a slip knot....

YaY no sewing...

you continue to do this until you have used all your 

strips...I used 46 in total...it works out to be 2 strips for 

every 1" of elastic..this way you will know just how many strips 

you will need ...It should look like this below :0)

Now you are done....

 

and i have one very happy little girl YaY 

now back to relaxing :0)

Happy Crafting 

Nicole :0)

The Results are In 

Well it was show time here in Kingaroy...My girls and I put some craft items into the show....Miss S and I put quilts in and my eldest put in a knitted ruffle scarf and a stuffed toy...well it was good news all round...My eldest 13yrs got 2nd for her scarf and 3rd for the stuff toy...Miss S 7yrs got Junior Champion for her quilt...and I got 2nd for my quilt...it was Miss S's first show...she was just about ready to to burst with excitement...I am very proud of my girls and their efforts :0) Next year The Divine Miss N...will be putting something in for the first time :0) 

 Happy Quilting 

Nicole :0)

Road Trip!!!!

Whoa!!! what a day I have had today...started the morning with coffee with Kelly and Ange for an hour of girl time...

then Ange and I were off on a road trip to Goomeri to drop in to the local patchwork 

shops and so I could Introduce myself.... 

and leave them some information on what services I offer.....it was a very positive day...

I picked up a couple quilts as well, from a customer on the way back...

it is all starting to fall into place...Feeling great about the decisions that I have made to go into business for myself YaY....only the beginning but he we all have to start some where don't we....

Now back to work tomorrow morning....to QUILT QUILT QUILT

                          

Happy Quilting 

Nicole :0)

Local Kingaroy Show

Well it has been a busy week so far..putting all the finishing touches on all items 

for the Local Kingaroy Show...

Miss S has submitted a quilt  in the Junior section

Miss Dj has entered a Knitted ruffle scarf that she had made during the year 

and also a small stuffed felt owl...

and myself I have entered a Queen size Sampler Quilt ....

I am also very excited for one of my students 

she has entered a few items too.... I wish Miss B 

and her brothers 

good luck :0) 

and hope you all do well :0)

Judging is over the next couple of days

so it is a very anxious wait till the weekend

to see how we have all done :0)

I hope my girls do well :0) 

will post results next week 

Happy Quilting

Nicole :0)

Shaggy Raggy Bag

Shaggy Raggy Bag
 

 I just love making this bag it is just so handy for day to day 

and fits a lot into it....

My eldest daughter has made this bag  for her sisters for Christmas....

so it is a nice and easy bag to make even for beginners......

as I have held this as beginners class...and they all loved it 

.Now I have used a Accuquilt Go! in this tutorial

but if don't have one DON'T let that 

stop you....you just have to make sure you sew 1" away from the edge of the fabric

so you have enough of a seam to clip with scissors :0) 

I hope you enjoy making this little bag :0)

Supplies
 50 cm's Patterned Fabric 

 1m Calico
50cm's Wadding
scissors
Ruler
Rotary Cutter

Cutting Mat
Accuquilt GO!
Raggy Die for Accuquilt GO! and Matt

  Sewing Machine

9" Fabric Square

Cutting Instructions Cut 4 x 9" squares of the patterned Fabric
Cut 12 x 9" squares of Calico (8 of which are for backing fabric)
cut 8 x 6 6/8" squares of wadding cut 2 x 2.5" Strips of calico Width of Fabric (WOF)
 

 So now we run all out 9" squares of fabric
through the Accuquilt GO!...I just love this
little machine it definitely  makes 

life a lot easier :0)

Accuquilt GO! Cutter Place your 4 patterned fabric squares onto you Accuquilt Raggy die cutter
then place the mat on top of fabric and run through the Accuquilt GO!
after you have ran it through then remove the
mat and you have your Raggy squares all clipped
for you...Now you can do up to 6 squares of fabric
but I only do 4 squares at a time using the Raggy die repeat with all the calico squares until all completed

 

 

 Fabric squares after they have been ran through the Accuquilt Go!

 

Next we cut the corners out  

they should look like this after
you have cut out all the corners

 

 

 Next we sandwich 1 patterned square of fabric
with a piece of wadding and a square
of calico repeat with the remaining fabric

Now we need to get a water soluble marker
and mark a cross on the backing fabric
as in the image above 

don't worry as soon as water touches the marker it will disappear 

now sew along the your marked line from corner to 

corner using coordinating thread using the matching thread in the bobbin

as you are using top thread on the backing and the bobbin will be on the 

front of your bag you need to make sure it matches the front of your bag
in my case i used cream thread in both 

Now to the fun part...the bag layout...
I have chosen to lay mine out this way 

 then place the 2 suares together with the backsides 
facing each other

now sew from corner to corner along the right hand 
side....



continue to do this with all your Raggy squares

you should end up with 4 rectangles as shown

Next take 2 of the rectangles and we
sew them together again we have the 
backs touching and we sew from corner
to corner on the right hand side....
repeat for the with the 2 other 
rectangles  

we now have 2 panels a front and a back....
Now take these 2 panels and lay them 
with backs touching

 and sew down 
the 3 sides leaving the top open 

 next construct the handles for the bag
take your 2.5" strips and sew them down 
both sides to create a tube...turn tube in
the right way as shown in picture above

Now to attach the handles to the bag body
we attach them at the side seems 
*First roll the top of the bag like shown 
in picture above.....
Then sew along the top edge using a 1/4" seam 
at this stage you can use any decorative
stitch that you might like...
be careful when you get the where the handles 

are going to be attached as it is thick and you

need to go slow  

 

And there you have it....

One finished bag :0)

now you can throw this bag 

into the washing machine and 

all your fringing will curl a little

it is a great effect 

Happy Quilting :o)

Nicole