Friday 30 November 2012

Frosty Friday Fun



A chilly morning to you all - We have been having snow falling gently over the last day, it looks like it will continue later on today, will see, the best time to sit close to the heater, and have a big WIP to continue with on your knees :D

Today I wanted to share a small project that I whipped up last week because it was my turn to go and cook at the girls' Steiner school, so I wanted to pep up my apron. This is how it turned out....




Some really cool news....

I am now available on Instagram and I would love to connect with some of you.....you can find me under @marigoldsloft

See you on Monday for my next installment of Filofaxiness
I will be showing you how I keep on top of my very big list of WIPs and you will get the chance to grab a FREE Printable for you to use. 

If you missed this weeks' Stash Busting - Filofax Style FREE Printable you can get your copy HERE

I will be sharing over at Linda and Tamis today so head on over there for loads of weekend creativiness.

Have a super weekend.
x

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Tutorial Thursdays - "Re-Runs"

Welcome for the newest edition of Tutorial Thursdays on Marigolds' Loft.

These were the 3 most visited Posts from last week:



1. Needle-Felted Stars by E Strea Chikitu: The instructions are in Dutch but the pictures are pretty self explanatory, thanks for that :)
2. Egg-Less Brownies by Diana from Diana Rambles: amazing recipe with two, that's right 2 ingredients!!
3. Lemon Bath Salts by Linda from With a Blast: I love this quick and simple bath salt recipe, now where can I buy bulk Epsom Salts?....not that easy here, no Dischem or Pick and Pay :(

Thank you all so much for participating, your links were so wonderfully creative and it is my pleasure to feature them here. 

If you haven't already grabbed a button, please feel free to grab yourself one below :) 

”Marigolds


If you would like the chance to perhaps be featured on next week's Tutorial Thursdays, please link up your recent crafts below. 

I am always thrilled to be able to visit each and every one of the links that I find linked up.

Rules for the Linky Party:
  • Be a Follower of Marigolds' Loft, this is not a MUST, but I would appreciate it :)
  • Grab my button below and showcase it somewhere on your blog OR create a visible link.
  • Do not Link if you are selling something. 
  • Be sure to only link the relevant Blogpost and not your whole blog.
  • Do visit the at least 2 other posts linked below, it is always nice to receive visitors :)
  • In linking below you are giving me the permission to use of your image if it is being featured the following week. If I am unable to use your image I can unfortunately not feature you, even if you are the most visited site.
  • Please note: I will remove content that does not abide by the rules mentioned above.    
   I will showcase the 3 most visited links next Thursday.

”Marigolds

-XXX-

Today I am going to re-share my BlogSwap post that I posted over on Katharinas' Blog in October for those of you who missed out on this tutorial.

So lets' get crafting :) 

I am going to show you how to needle-felt decorations onto a bag.


To make this bag you will need:


A canvas bag
A set of felting needles
Wool to felt with
A felting cushion


1. First copy your image that you are wanting to felt onto the bag. 


2. Insert your felting cushion into the bag (don't forget this step otherwise it will be a very sad crafting day as you will felt your bag together!) 


3. Place some wool over the first area to cover and using the felting needle, continue to go in and out over the wool and the bag creating a texture. 





4. Continue to felt over all the surfaces that you are wanting to “Colour-in” 






5. When you are finished it will look something like this: 


This is what my finished bag looks like. 


Here is the Video version of what I did.


Now it is your turn.

I can't wait to see what you have been up to this week. 
Link up your projects below.
Until next week.
x

I will be sharing this with all my creative Link Ups.  

WIP Wednesdays

Today I am still having nothing much to show you as I am just about finished with the last of my Pay it forward Gifts, so next week this space will definitely be filled with some visible WIPs :)

I thought I would fill you in on the upcoming projects that I need to make before 20th December as they are Christmas gifts for colleagues of mine :)


  • I will be making 2 pairs of my own design Fingerless Gloves to go with these two caps:
  • I will be making this gorgeous cap in Drops Alpaca



  • I will be also making this cap, in Alpaca:


  • I will be making a pair of these for a friend who is crazy about Houndstooth:


  • And making her a scarf to go with them:



I think I have just about enough to fill my hours for the next couple of weeks, I feel bad for the other WIPs waiting patiently for me to look at them again, but what can I say, the festive season is screaming towards us....

If you visited on Monday you may already be trying out my FREE Stash-busting Printable planner. 



If you missed it, no worries you can go here for your copy :)

Please let me know what you think of it if you do use it, I would love to hear from you.

Do come by tomorrow to join in Tutorial Thursday Link-up fun. I would love to see some new faces and wonderful crafts.

Have a super Wednesday!
See you tomorrow.
x

I will be linking up with Tami and Ginny today so head on over there for some amazing projects!

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Tips on How-To Punch Holes for Filofax without a 6-Hole Punch

I have seen many posts on how to punch paper to fit a Filofax without a Filofax Punch, and so I wanted to offer you all another suggestion.


These are the options I can offer you:



The first option is to buy a cheaper 6 hole punch :) 


They are available and about 75% cheaper.



Secondly, if that is also not an option, and you happen to have a regular Revolver Hole Punch at home - you know the thingy you use to make new holes in belts, then you are sorted :) 


This is the way I used to make holes in my pages for the longest time until I managed to find a reasonably priced 6-hole punch, and this is how you do it.....


You will need:

An old magazine
A Revolver Hole Punch
Paper
Your Filofax's "Today" Ruler


Size up your paper so that it will fit into your Filofax.


Place a couple of pages together on top of the magazine (The hole punch needs a bit of thickness to punch easily, otherwise it tends to crumple the sheets should you do them one sheet at a time).



Line the "Today" Ruler up with the side of the page.


Find a hole size on the punch that fits snugly into the holes on the ruler.



Hold everything steady, it isn't as hard as it sounds, and punch away.


There you go, hope that helps some of you out there :)


Here is a video I created for you to see how I do it....



Monday 26 November 2012

Cyber Monday Sponsorship Special 2012


We don't get to be involved in all the cool Black Friday Fun here in Switzerland, but I wanted to be able to offer you all something special for Cyber Monday :D

From today until the 24th of December 2012 I will be offering Sponsorship on Marigolds' Loft for a bargain price.

Become a Sponsor on Marigolds' Loft in the month of December 2012 and you will get not 1 but 2 months of Sponsorship for the price of $15.


Included in this Sponsorship Deal is:
  • An image spot on my Sidebar 175 x 175 (2 Months)
  • An introductory post introducing you at the beginning of the month. (2 Months)
  • A Individual post about you, your blog and your business in the First month (Second month will be linked in introductory post)
  • Your blog post will be posted on all my Social Media sites and fan pages too. (2 Months)
  • You will have an extra post if you are offering a Give-Away. (2 Months)
Interested?
Please send me an Email with your details.



Have a super rest of your Cyber Monday.
x

Sunday 25 November 2012

Filofaxiness - Stash Control - Filofax Style!!!


Welcome Back to Filofaxiness - the running Monday post on Marigolds' Loft where I will be walking you through how I stay on top of everything that I tend to fill my days and hours up with.

If you missed last weeks post on how to organize your needles, tips and hooks, you can find that post HERE

Today I am going to be showing you how I have my stash organized. 

I used to have a hazy idea of how much, and which yarn was hiding under my bed, but that was it, it remained at a hazy idea. 


My stash under my bed :)

As with my tools, I was constantly rummaging through my stash to find out if I had enough of a given type of wool for certain projects. 

I wanted to have something that I could have on hand that included all possible details that I would need to know about a yarn.......how many skeins, thickness, colour, where I bought it, possible patterns etc. 

And so my Filofax Stash planner* was born!


*Please note: I offer you these free planners for YOUR use only. They may not be sold, re-produced or otherwise.
If you are using my planner please give me the credit - thank you kindly.

Now I know exactly how much of any given yarn I have in my stash, the info on the label that I never used to write down, my gauge, needles, projects everything!

You can grab your FREE Printable PDF copy of this Stash Planner HERE
A Note on Printing: When you come to print the page, please do click on the option "Print Current Page" because as much as I tried, my PC refused to allow me to save only page 1, so there are 2 pages in the PDF but the second page is empty, sorry about that.
It is a Landscape view.

The Printable is made on an A4 sheet, this is so that if you have an A4 planner you can print it as it stands. 

My Filofax is an A5 and so I print it out and then print the same on the back, cut it in half and then punch it.

To see how I put this planner to use in my Filofax, please watch the video below.

Don't forget to come past next week where I will be showing you how I organize my WIPs.

I would love to hear from you, have you used my planner?
Any ideas on what else you would like to see?
All your comments are very welcome and much appreciated!

I will share this post with all of my lovely Link Ups.

Friday 23 November 2012

FO Fridays and Look What I Got :)



To all my American friends.....did you have a good holiday and yummy food? I do hope so!

Well, let me start with my FO for this week.
In between the working on my Secret Santa Goodies and my Pay it Forward Gifts, I did manage to get Jas's Cap done. I adore the texture of this piece. I knitted it in Drops Alpaca and I think it looks and feels great. 
It was also a really nice pattern to knit.
What do you think?


Look what my wonderful Postman brought for me this morning.....


Yip, isn't it wonderful, I received my Secret Santa parcel and isn't it a treat?

Thank you so much to my Secret Santa partner Sara from This Life of Mine Plus 2, your gift is absolutely wonderful. 
Your beautiful Ornament will have a very special place on our Tree and the owl candle is too cute.
Your gift is on the way, hope you will receive it shortly.

For all my other Secret Santas out there, if I could ask you to take a photo of your gift that you have received and share your post over here as I am sure we are all excited to see what each of us has received and it will also be nice to know that our gifts reached their destinations safe and sound ;) 
Once all of you have linked up I will do a round up post.

Don't forget to come past on Monday for the next instalment of Filofaxiness, where I will share with you how I keep on top of my stash Filofax Style!

I will be sharing over at Lindas and Tamis today.
Have a super weekend.
x

Thursday 22 November 2012

Tutorial Thursdays - Thankful Book Project

Welcome to the 7th Tutorial Thursdays on Marigolds' Loft.

Thank you to all the wonderful link-ups last week, they were all absolutely amazing.

These were the 3 most visited Posts from last week:




1. Christmas Duct Tape Coasters by Crystal from Make it Easy Crafts - a quick and simple way to add some festive decor to the table.
2. Santa Christmas Countdown by Ali at Crafty WI Mama - Super cute PDF downloadable advent calendar.
3. Nightstand Turned 18" Doll Closet Tutorial by Diana at Diana Rambles - This is a wonderful way to recycle a nightstand into something fun and unique, love it, if only my girls were younger......

Thank you all so much for participating, your links were so wonderfully creative and it is my pleasure to feature them here. 

If you haven't already grabbed a button, please feel free to grab yourself one below :) 

”Marigolds
If you would like the chance to perhaps be featured on next week's Tutorial Thursdays, please link up your recent crafts below. 

I am always thrilled to be able to visit each and every one of the links that I find linked up.

Rules for the Linky Party:
  • Be a Follower of Marigolds' Loft, this is not a MUST, but I would appreciate it :)
  • Grab my button below and showcase it somewhere on your blog OR create a visible link.
  • Do not Link if you are selling something. 
  • Be sure to only link the relevant Blogpost and not your whole blog.
  • Do visit the at least 2 other posts linked below, it is always nice to receive visitors :)
  • In linking below you are giving me the permission to use of your image if it is being featured the following week. If I am unable to use your image I can unfortunately not feature you, even if you are the most visited site.
  • Please note: I will remove content that does not abide by the rules mentioned above.    
   I will showcase the 3 most visited links next Thursday.



”Marigolds
xxxxx


Are you ready for an amazing BlogSwap Tutorial today?

Hope so, coz it's coming your way :)

This week I swapped Blogs for the day with Natalie from Hungry Hippie. She will be showing us how to create the gorgeous "Thankful Book" below and I am over on her blog today showing you how to create this Festive Storm Lantern so do head on over there once you have seen her super cool project to check it out :).


xxxxx

So without further ado........DRUMROLL PLEASE........

The Thankful Book project
By Hungryhippie



Find more projects on www.1hungryhippie.blogspot.com


I try to include my toddlers as often as possible in my crafty sewing works. This project came from a fusion of having them help me sew & craft, and talking about things we are grateful for. We need reminders in life that even when times are tough, there is a LOT to be thankful about. So here is our project we humbly share with you, hoping you have as much fun making it as we did.


  1. Start by collecting pieces of fabric. I used old jeans for two of the pages, I love the look of old denim as well as the frugalness of using up old things. All six pieces of the fabrics need to be cut to the dimensions listed.
All measurements are in inches (Sorry to my metric friends, I don’t know metric well enough.)


2. Cut twelve pieces of batting/padding at 7” squares.


3. Press all the pieces of fabric in half to form a crease line for the spine of the book.




Now talk to your kids or think about what you could put into your book as “things to be thankful for”...

4. Get out your Cricut if you have one and let’s make some templates for our shapes. If you don’t have a cutting machine you can draw them out (like I did the T-Rex) or print of some pics online and trace around them. Make it work. ;) 



5. After removing the cut templates from the Cricut, pin them to a piece of fabric or felt and cut out the shapes.



6. Find your nearest fusible web (heat n Bond Lite works great) and cut out the shapes again. You can omit some labor by cutting these out along with the fabric pieces, but I found the felt would shift too much, so I cut them separately.


7. Iron the shape to the book fabric piece with the fusible webbing underneath the shape. *So fabric of page/webbing/shape. Press.



8.Place a piece of batting in the center of the back side of a page. Pin. Whilst sewing the appliqué on the front side, you will be attaching the batting at the same time. Take care not to bunch it in back, check every few turns.






8. Sew the appliqué on the front with whatever stitch you prefer. I used a straight stitch for a cleaner look.

9. Check alignment before proceeding to the others.






10. Gather some bits of chalk cloth (easily bought from fabric stores online and local like Joann Fabrics and fabric.com). Cut these bits to roughly 3”x1.5” depending on aesthetics.





11. Place onto each page (don’t pin it, just hold it in place) and sew on with a tight zigzag or a satin stitch.




12. See how your kids can then write on it? Awesome. It will be a learning tool on so many levels. 



13. Once all the chalk cloth pieces are on their pages, layer two pages together with the wrong sides facing. The right sides are facing out. Pin. Sew around the perimeter at ½” seam.







14. Layer ALL the pages together now. Remember that crease we made when we folded the fabrics in half? We will sew down that crease line now to make the “spine” of our book. I used a straight stitch, but a zigzag would work well too.



15. Take the sharpest scissors you own and clip each page as shown. This will fray up once washed and dried to give LOTS of lovely texture.


16. Wash and dry that book. Once at least.





The more it’s washed the more it will fray up. I just love this look. The chalk cloth is fine, wash on cold to be safe.
Enjoy your newly made book, sure to be a family heirloom.




THANKS so much for having me over, Natalie B @Marigold’s Loft.


I hope you’ll stop by 1hungryhippie.blogspot.com in the future for more fun makes. See you soon friends!


Hi I'm Natalie. Welcome to my blog-giddy blog where I share sewing projects, crafty makes, life moments, and a bit of the things in between. I'm a mom right now, relishing this time at home with my kids. It was a big step for me to decide to take time off work, but I am so glad I did!  I believe in sharing, caring, and lots of crafty daring. If you fancy popping me an email, go on already. :)  Hope to see you around hungryhippie land soon. 


♥♥♥

Thank you so much Natalie for sharing this AWESOME tutorial with us all. 

It was a fantabulous BlogSwap, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Don't forget to grab your BlogSwap Button

-X-

Would you like to be my next BlogSwap partner? 

Yes....SUPER, click on over here to find out more!

-X-


I can't wait to see what you have been up to this week. 
Link up your projects below.
Until next week.
x

I will be sharing this with all my creative Link Ups. 




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