Teacher's Pet

Lucy's Pencil Case

This was a Christmas present for my sister, albeit one that only finally got finished in *cough* July *cough*. It took me that long to find a fabric that I felt suited her and would inspire her to use the it... we all know how uninspiring dull pencil cases are! I love this fabric and thankfully my judgement was right and so did she!

I used a tutorial that I found on a lovely blog, here is a link Terrie Sandelin Blog. There were certain things that I didn't do from the tutorial but despite deciding not to have the contrasting fabric and adding and ribbon detail the blog was still very well written and easy to follow with some knowledge and the photographs very useful.

The pencil case was finished in no time, despite the delay!

Christmas Bunting

Christmas Bunting

Yes yes yes... I am very aware that we are at the time of year where the mere mention of Christmas is punishable by death. But fear not... this is simply another item that I have made in the past. I am not on my Christmas mission...yet!

I used the following fabrics:

• Red & white stripes
• Red with white polka dots
• Red with gold stars
• A "Noel" design
• Plain Green

To the plain green fabric I added contrasting stars using the other fabrics and used a tight zig zag stitch to attach them and seal the edge to stop fraying. Make sure you sew the star on before sewing the two triangles together!

If you are just starting out with a sewing machine then bunting is the project for you, it is very very simple.

For those that want to give it a go, here is a tutorial that appears to use similar methods to mine... Craftaholicsanonymous Tutorial.

Happy bunting making!

Floral Make-up Bag

Floral Make-up Bag

I made this make up bag for my beautiful friend Sian who, like me, loves girly things.

It was nearing her birthday and I noticed when rumaging in her bag in the car that her make up was stuffed into the very small pocket at the side and was spilling out everywhere... she'll be the first to admit she loves her make-up!

I'm certain that at this moment ladies reading this will be nodding furiously in agreement. Handbags without pockets or extra storage are a nightmare and inevitably lead to either rummaging around furiously at a till or emptying the whole thing out on the floor/desk/sofa in frustration.

So here is a solution... a small make-up bag.

The beautiful and very feminine rose fabric and the navy blue lining fabric were sourced from a stall on Leicester market. The blue zip was purchased from Button Boutique, a lovely habadashery store in Leicester where I can often be found coo-ing at beautiful things.

Here is the tutorial I followed to make the bag Queen Of DIY Tutorial. Some areas were a little confusing but with a little measuring and fiddling I managed to figure it out.