29/01/2013

Instagram/Photo Diary - Streaky Bay 2012/13

I had an amazingly relaxing summer holiday in Streaky Bay recently and wanted to share the beautiful scenery I saw with you!


smooth pool // jetty swims //surfers
cooling off // diving // granites 
rock pools // rock pools 2 // pub view
jetty walks // back beach // hally's 
high cliff // crab friend // high cliff 2
granites // jetty view // home time

Streaky bay is a truly amazing place. I hope you all had amazing holidays!

- J x


















19/01/2013

New Year Update

Wow. It has been a really long time since I have posted anything on here! A very late welcome to 2013! Things got absolutely crazy at the end of last year.

I will be doing regular posts this year on all things crafty, beauty and life related! I did start another blog at the end of last year - but have decided to shut that one down and concentrate on A Little Bit of This!

- J x

Cushion Covers

We recently bought a bed for my partners sister, and to make it more decorative, I wanted to buy cushions in her favourite colours. Unfortunately, I could not find exactly what I wanted in the shops, so I decided to make my own. Luckily for me, Mum had some spare cushions she was not using, so all I had to do was make the covers!

I found this great tutorial from thriftyandchic.com. It is sooo easy, and I had these 3 pillow cases knocked up in around 30 - 45 minutes. And the best thing is NO ZIPS!


I pressed these folds down before I sewed them to ensure the fabric would not move. I lined the foot up with the edge of the fold.

I also decided to sew the opposite side where the material was folded. Not a necessity, but I think it made it look nicer!


Better view here. Sorry the white cotton is hard to see!

^^ Finished! ^^

I think they turned out really well! By the third cushion, I was on a roll and finished it in about 10 minutes. 


^ from the front ^

^ from the back^ 

I think the fold makes it look a lot neater than a zipper - and so much easier! 

I chose three different types of fabric to make them more interesting and to give them all different textures.

Will definitely be keeping this tutorial handy!

- J x

Cute Door Stop Tutorial

I found this door stop pattern on pinterest and decided it was way to cute not to make!

This pattern is from the Wolf and Willow blog. She has so many other cute patterns on her blog that I will definitely be trying out!

I would suggest you cut out all the pieces and read the instructions carefully!

Pressing the seams flat gives it a more seamless finish.

Sewing the top and bottom circles on was the hardest bit! Just remember to go slow and make sure your material is not getting puckered underneath.


How cute is it! And so practical.

Watch out for more projects / tutorials coming soon!

- J x

Door Stop Tutorial

My friend Ashton asked me to make her a door snake the other day, and I thought it would be a great little project to start me off on my craftsy journey!

You will need:
- Material
- Scissors
- Pins
- Rice
- Tape measure
- Sewing machine
- Iron & ironing board
- Something to assist you with filling the doorstop with rice

Step 1 - Measure & cut materail

You will need to decide how long you would like to make the door snake. I would suggest you make it slightly larger than your door to ensure it keeps all the cool air out. This one measured 1m (100cm) long and 21cm wide. A 1cm seam was included in these measurements.

Step 2 - Iron

This is an important step as you will need to get all of the creases out of the material. Most fabrics have a tag on the end of the roll that says how to iron / wash the material, so make sure you read this carefully before buying! In this case, the material needed to be ironed on the wrong side.





Step 3 - Fold in half & press

Before beginning to sew, you will need to fold it in half length-ways and pressed. This will mean you should not need to use pins whilst sewing.

Step 4 - Begin to sew

You can now sew up the bottom and side of the doorstop. Make sure you leave a 1cm seam on each side, and back stitch at the beginning of each side and at the top of the doorstop.

Step 5 - Turn inside out

Now you can turn your doorstop inside out. Make sure you try and get the corners out as much as possible.


Step 6 - Fill with rice!

This is the tricky bit. I would suggest using a funnel or something similar to help you fill the doorstop, otherwise the rice will go everywhere. I used just over 2 kilograms of rice to fill this one. You want to make sure the rice is compacted nicely inside.

Step 7 - Sew shut

You need to be careful that the rice does not fall out when completing this step. This bit may be easier sewing by hand, but if you want to use the sewing machine, I placed pins about 2 inches away from the top to ensure the rice stayed there. I then sewed the top up, once 1cm away from the top and then another row 0.5cm from the top to be sure no rice would escape!





And you are done!



 
Super quick and easy - look out for a few more tutorials / projects soon!

- J x



Now I can start creating!

I finally got my sewing machine back from being serviced! This means I can start on the long list of projects I have on my wishlist.

My machine is Bernina 830 Record. Whilst this is very much an older style machine (i.e. ridiculously heavy, and no modern, touch screen, electronic gadgets) it has a very special place in my life.

 This used to be my Grandma's sewing machine. My Grandma is an amazing sewer - she even made some of her daughters wedding dresses! Her and Mum made most of our clothes when we younger, and Grandma always encouraged us to sew when we would go and stay with them. We even had our own sewing boxes! I was very humbled when she asked me if I would like it - there are a lot of cousins on Mum's side, so it was definitely a privilege!


 Not quite as technical as some!


But so easy to use and has lasted / should still last a very long time :)

My first small project will be a door stop for my friend Ashton - watch out for that tutorial in the next couple of days!

- J x