How to make a sparkly Christmas cushion cover

From 1-24th Dec I give to you my blog advent calendar.

Each day you can click on the numbered 'door' to 'open' it and find some Christmas upcycled/recycled goodness!

Enjoy!

Today I'm sharing another of my Christmas sewing tutorials. This one shows how to make a
 Sparkly Christmas Cushion Cover.

This is also one of my super simple 5 steps in 15 minutes tutorials that anyone can have a go at - even complete beginner sewers!
Happy Christmas sewing!

Puffy yo-yo wreath tutorial

From 1-24th Dec I give to you my blog advent calendar.

Each day you can click on the numbered 'door' to 'open' it and find some Christmas upcycled/recycled goodness!

Enjoy!

Today I'm sharing another of my Christmas tutorials.
This one is for a puffy yo-yo wreath made with scraps from old clothes.

A cute ornament the kids could make themselves!

Happy Christmas Sewing!

Eco Friendly Shopping bags - the perfect Christmas Gift!

From 1-24th Dec I give to you my blog advent calendar.

Each day you can click on the numbered 'door' to 'open' it and find some Christmas upcycled/recycled goodness!

Enjoy!

I had a lovely surprise yesterday to see that one of the pattern testers for my new e-book posted about it on her blog. Niki from Roonie Ranching shows the gorgeous bags she made from the patterns and tutorials in my e-book. She was such a big help as a pattern tester and I'm flattered she wrote such a nice post about my book,  so THANK YOU Niki!
Go here to see her post

I also have to mention another lovely lady at Wesens Art who bought my ebook, made the bags and posted about them too, THANK YOU!!
Go here to see that post

My e-book would make a great Christmas present for someone who sews.

It includes 5 sewing patterns/tutorials to make a selection of eco-friendly upcycled bags to use for shopping. Helping to reduce the use of those nasty plastic bags.
It is a bargain price at just the cost of a cup of coffee.
It's the perfect gift that gives that little bit more!
Happy sewing and upcycling!

Jill

Christmas Handibag tutorial

From 1-24th Dec I give to you my blog advent calendar.

Each day you can click on the numbered 'door' to 'open' it and find some Christmas upcycled/recycled goodness!

Enjoy!

Today I'm also sharing another of my Christmas tutorials.
This one is for a Christmas Handibag. I've been using mine lots over the past few weeks as I Christmas shop.

 I think I'm done now but still have this handibag in my handbag just in case I find some other presents to buy!
So here is my 
Christmas Handibag Tutorial

Happy Christmas Sewing!

How to make a Christmas Snowman nightie

From 1-24th Dec I give to you my blog advent calendar.

Each day you can click on the numbered 'door' to 'open' it and find some Christmas upcycled/recycled goodness!

Enjoy!

Today I'm sharing one of my Christmas sewing tutorials.
This one is for making a  Christmas Snowman Nightie.

This was my younger daughter's favourite nightie, until she grew out of it! I might have to make her a new one that's bigger!
Happy Christmas Sewing!

Crochet Owl Keychain

Yesterday I decided to pick up my crochet hook again. I'm still learning the basics.
I had a breakthough this time and finally cracked making a magic ring! I've watched several short videos and read tutorials, but finally it clicked with this one.

After making a pretty neat looking couple of rings, and showing my daughter how since she's learning too; I decided to keep going and make something from the ring.

I looked on my crochet pinterest board for inspiration and decided on a small owl.

This is the tutorial I kind of followed, but I'm still struggling with the whole counting and patterns in crochet, so winged it a little bit too!
Here's how it turned out.

My daughters loved him and claimed him straight away. Now I have to make another one so they can both have one!

What do you think?

How to make a fabric Merry Christmas Banner

From 1-24th Dec I give to you my blog advent calendar.

Each day you can click on the numbered 'door' to 'open' it and find some Christmas upcycled/recycled goodness!

Enjoy!

Today I'm also sharing one of my Christmas tutorials - 
How to make a Merry Christmas Fabric Banner

I made this three years ago, and every year it comes out and is hung on our pool fence by the patio where we spend most of our evenings and weekends at this time of year!
All you need is some scrap fabric and a sewing machine!
Happy Christmas Sewing!

Sock Lion - more clothes upcycling

After my success a couple of weeks ago making my first sock monkey, I was keen to have a go at another sock upcycle.

This time I tried a sock lion. I followed this pattern  which was nice and easy to follow.

These are the socks I used.

I didn't use the whole length - so I still have a section from both socks around 20cm (8") long left over, which I'm sure can be used in another future project!

The sock lion was a little more complicated than the basic sock monkey I made - just for the extra features on the face, and of course the mane!

Before I put the mane on - I was a bit worried. the pattern said that it should now look like a lioness...

I wasn't convinced!

But now that he has his gorgeous pink and purple mane,

He definitely looks more lion-like don't you think?

And I'm sure he and the sock monkey will get along very well!

So which sock upcycle do you think I should try next?

Take a look at my sock upcycling pinterest board for the ideas I've collected so far. Or if you have any other suggestions or links please leave me a comment!

If you're interested in upcycling and sewing - please do take a look at my new e-book too - just released this week, it's great value with 5 detailed patterns for a complete set of eco-friendly shopping bags, including a designer handbag made from jeans to carry them all in!

Thank you! and happy upcycling!

I'll be linking this post to many of the fabulous linky parties whose pretty buttons can be found on the bottom of this page and whose direct links can be found on my linky party page.

Eco-Friendly Shopping Bags - My New E-book

Too many plastic bags are used in the world today.

While they may be convenient to use, their toll on the environment can be devastating. 

Although some are recycled, most end up in landfill - where they will remain for many years - or being light, they can easily blow away and end up in the oceans, forests and rivers.

To try and reduce my personal use of plastic bags, I have made my own reusable shopping bags - from bedding, curtains and old jeans. An eco-friendly solution to a problem that affects us all. 

This is a problem that I believe we can all take a step towards reducing. To help people take this step, I have written and produced this e-book showing how to make your own Eco-Friendly Shopping Bags.

This e-book is for sale for only the cost of a cup of coffee.

AUD $3.99

 So, I invite you to 'have a cuppa' with me as you browse through my new e-book.  

For just the cost of a cup of coffee, this book provides you with

 5 sewing tutorials and patterns 

to make your own Eco-friendly reusable shopping bags.  

All of my tutorials are full of clear photos and instructions and can be attempted by even a confident beginner sewer.  

The first tutorial is for a simple pillowcase bag that folds into it's own pocket and can be carried in your handbag; 

Next, I show you how to make strong reusable tote shopping bags from old bedding,

 and produce bags from old net curtains

Then finally, the ultimate 'Eco-Friendly Handbag Shopping Bag'.

A handbag that contains a whole set of reusable shopping bags in a special hidden bag in the base of your handbag; for your weekly grocery shop. 

You'll never have to worry about forgetting your shopping bags, or leaving them in the car again!

By making and using your own set of these Eco-friendly reusable shopping bags, you could stop literally hundreds of plastic bags from going to landfill every year.

Not only is this e-book very reasonably priced at only the price of a cup of coffee. 

So why not 'share a cuppa' with me today and

buy my E-book:

Take positive action today, for all of our tomorrows.

Thank you!

----------------------------------------------------

I have to send out a huge thank you to the lovely ladies who were my pattern testers for this handbag pattern. Take a look at the gorgeous bags they made:

Lorena

Alison

Judith

Michelle

 and Niki

Just gorgeous aren't they?

So how much is this new e-book?

Well I've decided to price it in the very affordable range as that fits my whole philosophy that you can use what you've got and things don't have to cost a lot of money.

So for the cost of a cup of coffee - just

 AUD $3.99

you get this fabulous e-book, which comprises 5 patterns/tutorials including my new 

Eco-Friendly Handbag Shopping Bag

My blog now has over 100 of my own free sewing tutorials. 

I try to make them as simple and clear as possible with plenty of photos.

My new e-book is no exception to this, and all the tutorials contained within it can be tried by a confident beginner sewer.

I decided to produce this e-book for sale, to help fund my work and enable me to continue producing more free tutorials and encouraging and helping people to sew!

Since the patterns largely use upcycled and recycled fabrics such as old sheets and jeans, they are the perfect projects to have a go at, even if you don't have much sewing experience. What have you got to lose?  

So why not 'have a cuppa' with me!

Buy my e-book today, and make yourself your own set of eco-friendly shopping bags.

I would love it if you shared this with your friends, family and followers; on your blogs and social media.

To buy this ebook, click on the Add to Cart button, or alternately go to my sales page to purchase there.

Thank you for your support.