Still into my fabric scraps

I still have loads of fabric scraps to use up. My patchwork bags are still in progress. They are looking really good, if I may say so myself. Couldn't quite finish them today as I ran out of magnetic snaps and plain fabric for the lining. Perhaps tomorrow. I am just happy to be making bags again...and new ideas are certainly coming.

I didn't want this day to go by though without doing any crafting and so I made this little green-eyed fella...

You all have a good night!

A Little Bit of Spring Cleaning

We never planned to do so...but out of the blue, last weekend, my husband suggested we should. He calls it purging, rather than spring cleaning. We do have so much to get rid of.

My kids and I started with our wardrobes, chucking all our old clothing in a designated box. I never realized we had so much unused clothes (new and still with tags), most of which were given as presents which either did not fit us or just were not our type. What to do with them? Give away? Sell? We haven't thought about that just yet.

I must admit I have a big share of cleaning up to do. My crafting corner which inappropriately sits in our dining room (for lack of some other space) is a definite eye sore. My fabric scraps are piling up and comes with it is the guilt. So what to do? Took out my sewing machine and made a couple of these...



Feels really good to be sewing bags again. And it feels even better to be able to make use of those fabric scraps! Even my bag handles are patchwork! The Japanese-inspired patchwork bag is one of the very first bag styles I learned to make. I must say that my sewing has improved much since that first attempt many months ago! I did not use a pattern for these but was guided by this little tutorial here. Pretty easy to make, provided you've handled a simple tote before and have the patience to piece those fabric strips together. I have one more in the making which I will be posting later. These bags will be going into my pool of handmade Christmas presents.

Hope you are all having a good week! Got to go now...still so much 'purging' to do!

More Free Stuff!

I had finalized my angel pattern today but instead of selling it, I have decided to share it for free. While it may seem generosity to you, to me, it is a great (and fun way) to learn and gain more crafting experience. I value comments and so hopefully, someone out there will be interested enough to try out this pattern, as well as the others I had previously posted here and be so helpful as to give me feedback.

This is my Little Angel...



One of my sons commented that she did not look like an angel...but a mum...because she had lipstick! To be honest, I wasn't too happy with the face. But I couldn't be bothered to repeat the pattern and the embroidery. Besides, you can always change the facial features if you want to.

For those interested, the PDF pattern and instructions can be downloaded here or via the 'Free Downloads' button in the sidebar. Enjoy!

School Holiday Promise

The two-week school holiday officially started on the weekend. You all know what that means, of course. Just the thought of having the 4 kids around me the whole day for the next 14 days tires me already. Not that I don't like having them around the house...it is, in reality, more work to do - more cleaning up, more cooking, and all those related stuff and I have less computer time (ha ha).

But I promised myself I won't let the eternal household chores get in the way of me working on things for my newly-opened Etsy shop. No pain, no gain, right? I asked my daughter to keep guard. She needs to motivate and encourage me when I begin to feel like slowing down.

I feel great today because after weeks of working on this, I finally managed to finish my Mousie Heart Bear eBook. The pattern and instructions are now available as a PDF on my shop, so if you want to make one yourself (instead of buying the ready-made doll), you can now go ahead and purchase it....please...pretty please...

Now I have to do some cleaning up for a while...I'll be back with some new stuff, that's my school holiday promise.

Some Great News...New Tutorial and New Shop!

My husband returned from his vacation last Tuesday. So did the camera (hooray!). And so for the past couple of days, I've been busy taking photos and finalizing patterns and tutorials.

Good news number 1 is that the Journal Cover tutorial is finished! Here is the second one I did, "in-the-making" photos of which, you will find in the tutorial...




UPDATE: The free PDF download is no longer available. It has been modified to make it even more understandable and easier to follow and will be made available as an eBook for a small fee in my Etsy shop, Simple Things. Thank you!

Good news number 2 is that the Etsy shop "Simple Things" is now officially open. My first listings include 5 of my bear softies. I'll see how it goes from there. Please, please support my shop! You can click here or the link on the sidebar to view the shop.

It's really getting pretty late and I'm very tired...I just wanted to finish all these before I retired to bed. Goodnight!

Finally something I will actually use...

I take down notes all the time. Most of my crafting ideas come to me in the most unexpected time and places. I get those "light bulb flashes" a lot when I am in the car, parked outside my kids' school, while waiting for the sound of the school bell. Once, I found myself without a notebook, I had to jot my ideas down at the back of a supermarket docket. Many times, too, I must admit, I get those 'Aha' moments when my mind wanders off to the crafting world while I am at church (shame on me, I know).

So you see, a notebook and pen are my two very important companions. A couple of nights ago, I made this...finally, a thing I could actually use...

I am still using my mobile phone camera (crap!)


An inexpensive A5 journal dressed up in this neat fabric cover with pen loop and button loop closure! I love, love, love it! It's a great gift idea too.

I am definitely making more of this but would alter just some very minor things.

Do you feel a tutorial coming? I can...

More Downloadable Goodness

Here are two more of my tutorials you can now download, save, print and use as you wish!

City Backpack - here

Zippered Wristlet - here

Happy bag making!