Pincushion Tutorial – keep your pins safe and sharp

Tags

beginner sewing project, craft, crafts, DIY, easy, easy solution, homemade, organisation, organization, pincushion, pincushion tutorial, project, quick and easy, sewing, sewing aides, sewing basics, sewing tutorial, steel wool

Making your own pincushion(s) is both an easy and satisfying sewing project. It can be as simple or multifaceted as you like and totally unique to you. At the end you have a functional and useful accessory for your making – and trust me, you will use it a lot. The gold nugget in this project is the steel wool. Stuffing your pincushion with at least 50% steel wool (I use more, closer to an 80/20 ratio) means not only are your pins neatly stored and easily accessible while you work but the steel wool keeps them sharp. No blunt pins for this sewer!

Felt Phone Case – DIY

Tags

craft, crafts, DIY, easy, embroidery, felt, felt phone case, gift, homemade, ideas, personalised, phone case, phone cover, phone pocket, project, quick, sewing

So with the new year I got a new phone. LONG over due let me tell you! My old phone I’ve had for longer than I can actually remember and it really wasn’t working properly any more. My new phone is so pretty. And it works. Perfectly. So to keep my phone pretty and safe I decided to whip up a nifty case for it. I used my favourite merino wool felt (in grey)which is lovely and soft but also thick and firm for some structure and protection.

Doily Gift Tags

Tags

christmas, craft, crafts, DIY, doilies, easy, gift tags, gifts, paper, personalised, presents, project, quick, sweet

These are so quick, simple to make and look lovely every time. With the festive season just past wrappings and tags and creative ways to present gifts and cards got a lot of my attention. Seeing this lovely and simple method of wrapping and tagging on Robbie and Erin‘s blog I was inspired to make a smaller version as gift tags

Spray painted jars

Tags

bottles, craft, DIY, gift, glassware, jars, spray paint, vases

Spray paint. I just love it. To be honest I’ve just rediscovered it recently and can’t believe I went so many years without using it for, well, everything. If you’re new to painting things with spray paint this little project is an easy and satisfying way of gaining an introduction: making old/used jars into pretty containers/vases/moneyboxes/gifts.

Colour coded keys

Tags

cheap, craft, DIY, easy, keys, nail polish, quick, style

Super easy, super cheap way of differentiating your keys from each other – also very clear. Instead of buying casings or getting keys cut in different colours (both of which can really make the $ add up). All you need is coloured nail polish, your keys and a bit of paper (so you don’t get nail polish on your table surface).

 

Supplies:

• Nail polish (your choice of type and colour, I just used what was in my drawer)
• Keys you want to paint
• Scrap paper/ newspaper
• Masking tape (optional)

Method:

• Place key flat on scrap paper, choose nail polish and colour in the key head.
• Leave to dry (depending on nail polish, 1-5 minutes).
• Flip key over and repeat above steps on reverse side of key head.
• Done!

Tips:

• I found more than one coat was necessary on each side to give a nice solid colour, especially if your keys have lettering embossed on them or you are using a light colour. I do 3 for good measure but you can get away with 2.
• To keep the edge of my painting nice and neat I placed a piece of tape across the key where I wanted the paint to end. Once painting is finished and dry, simply peel off the tape. Or you can free-hand it.
• Make sure the polish is properly dry before turning it over to paint the other side, otherwise it’ll stick to the paper.

There you are, aren’t they great? And so easy to find in your bag and tell apart. I love it when its this easy to get a good result.