FARBENMIX Destina

Early on in the week I signed up for this Challenge, thinking, "wonderful!". I do have a regular sewing day each Wednesday, but this was just another little incentive. I was so enthused!

And what happened? 

My whole world got turned upside down, as  Crafty Mamas  fell victim to some stupid hacker ( so did 100,000's of other sites). Sigh. Big, stressful week of working with the ever patient techy gurus to put stuff back right.

But in the midst of all the stress and frustration, each day I did a little bit more if my project. And this morning, it is done. 

DESTINA is a lovely Farbenmix pattern, it is only in German though, so you need to have your thinking cap on when cutting it out. Once you have identified all your pieces, it's all smooth sailing. There is a really handy pic by pic tute that Farbenmix provide too. It is essentially, a pieced peasant type dress. The piecing is where you can really have some fun..selecting fabrics etc.

I have chosen to omit the front opening, as Lil is not partial to buttons, she's more of an over the head kinda gal.  

The fabric are a mixture. Mostly polka dots  and Babushkas from my stash.The adorable Farbenmix toadstools fabric is from the Crafty Mamas shop ( love this!). 

The machine embroidery is from Kunterbunt Design, from the Fox and Friends range, it's backed with Kunin felt. The Farbenmix ribbons are from the Crafty Mamas shop, too. The little dragonfly charm you can just see...from my sewing box!

So, that was my weeks challenge! 

The Garden on my kitchen bench

 What's that lurking on my kitchen bench? A UFO?

A UFO with worms inside???

Nah, it's my u-beaut new little seed sprouter!

I grabbed this from the health food store the other day, 4 days later, fresh yummy sprouts!

This is the smallest single tray set up, about $30. In the past I have followed the method of Carla Emery, using a flat casserole dish and wet paper towel, sprouting the seeds on the towel.  But this is oh so much easier!

 

The base of this has four little legs, and the sprout tray has four little notches. Seeds need rinsing in fresh water each day, and this little baby makes it so easy. You just put a few cm of water in the brown base,  then turn the white tray so it moves off the legs and "dip" it in the water a few times. Lift, drain, then sit it back on it's little feet. Love this idea. I'm officially done with paper towel, jars and cheesecloth! 

 

This is a mix of seeds- alfalfa, mung beans , adzuki...you can get quite creative!

Salad anyone?

NEW FARBENMIX RIBBON - Swoon! GIVE-AWAY

4 funky new Farbenmix ribbons will be available in the Crafty Mamas shop on Monday. Aren't they gorgeous?! Check them out HERE

To Celebrate their arrival...I have 2 x ribbon packs to Give-away. Each packs consists of x 1m of each of the above new Farbenmix ribbons!

Simply leave me a comment, telling me what you'd do with your Farbenmix ribbons!

Here's some inspiration for you!

Sara of Willow and Moo

http://www.farbenmix.de/inspiration/

Luzia Pimpinella

MyMaki

Great ideas!

 

Happy Weekend!

 

Lisa 

TUTE: Freezer paper stencils

Reynolds Freezer paper ( in the CM shop) makes stenciling quick, easy and less messy. Normally I use acrylic paint that I mix with textile medium....and this works very well for plain designs. But lately I am in pursuit of ***Glittery*** finishes! I've been trying other mediums on fabric like flexible fabric glue, foil and fabric glitter. Here's a little tute to get you started...

The beauty of Reynolds freezer paper is that is is fairly easy to see through it, so it is simply a matter of a  putting asheet of it over the top of your design and tracing off your stencil. OR: You can trim a sheet to A4 size and simply put it in your printer and print directly onto the freezer paper. Cool, huh?

Here's my design... now I cut it out using my very small  curved embroidery scissors..

 And here it is traced onto my freezer paper and cut out, and placed over the garment.

NOTE:  you have to make sure you keep your little inner bits (ie;  the middle of the o's and g's) and then iron these on after..I use tweezers to place them..and always end up running my fingers over with the iron.

Iron on your freezer paper. On the inside of your garment, iron a piece the same size also..to prevent any paint etc leaking through onto the back of the tee.Back it to the inside front.

 Now, you can either use fabric paint, maybe thickened bleach, fabric glitter paint...or I used flexible fabric glue. The best thing I have found to daub the paint on is a lambwool roller (very small) that I have trimmed the nap way back on. You want a light even coat of paint. Don't brush or you will take the paint off as you go .Light even "daubs". When you are done, leave  it to sit flat until the paint dries. Then gently peel off your stencil..little by little. Then remove the little inner bits with tweezers.

Next you may need to heat set your paint,  refer to the instructions on the product you used.  Then go show off your handiwork!

Here's mine after I applied the foil. It is not as bright as I wanted..but it's a start!

Sis Boom MADDIE pattern review by Tas

This is one of the new Sis Boom e-patterns in the Crafty Mamas shop. The lovely Tassy has reviewed it and a few others for us ( she is very productive!).

Sis Boom MADDIE

Sis Boom patterns are brilliant. Lots of explanation with colour photos if you need them and heaps of advice regarding sizing, fabrics etc. The only problem I have with them is if you hit the "print" button instead of checking first. There is a forest of paper for each epattern printed out in full. But there is a guide to the pages that you need to print for each style in each size.

A few fiddly little bits where the photo help was invaluable but a really cute result. Fairy print is Michael Miller Flower Fairies; dot is a Free Spirit print.
 

Sew UP Wednesday...The Tie Dye Diva this week!

I love Sew Up Wednesday at Crafty Mamas. I plan for it all week...it is my one little indulgence in life! Today I took a plain old $4 tshirt from KMart...

 And grabbed one of the new e-patterns on store by The Tie Dye Diva
" BREEZY".

 BREEZY is made up of a readymade singlet top or t shirt, that has a paneled skirt attached. Now anything with panels....you know is going to let you mix and match to your hearts delight! I made mine with 12 panels instead of the 10, as the t shirt I used was 100% cotton and a bit boxy. Fabrics used are a mix of polka dots from my stash, and the very cute Farbenmix "pink toadtsools"  from Crafty Mamas.

I then used a smidge of Farbenmix ribbon in the seam ( how can I not?) , and trimmed the hem and neckline with a stretch gingham lace thingy from the stash.

Such a very easy pattern, suited to beginners. They give you picture steps all the way, lots of tips...love it! 

Happy Sewing! 

And our Flower Sugar Winner is....

Tas said...
I love all of them- but have a real soft spot for the last one- the floral spots. It would make up into a gorgeous Sencha blouse...for me of course ;)

Tas, congratulations!!  You have 1m of Floral Spots heading your way...:D

Thankyou everyone for entering the Flower Sugar Give-away!

FARBENMIX Amelie

---

This was my project last Wed, finally got it hemmed yesterday!! It is one of my most fave patterns..Farbenmix AMELIE ( from the Cm shop..of course!).

AMELIE is a tunic style tee. Although Miss B has been known to use them as dresses! It is currently only available in German, but I hear an English translation is in the wings. Anyways..it is a very simple 2 piece pattern...easy peasy. Either bind the neckline and sleeves or apply a band.

I made this one from the summer weight cotton knit..it was in the shop a few years back, remember? Lovely light weight. I then dyed it in Dharmas Raspberry. Hmm..I think the title Beetroot is more appropriate!! Just bucket dyed, and scrunched a bit. I really, really like this..but Miss B is not sold on the colour.

WEEKEND CRAFTINESS at our house!

The girls and I made these glass tile pendants. This is our first ever try, and we learnt a few things to do/not do next time!

 As you may well guess, the Goth Girl selected the images for these. The glass tiles, images and bails were all purchased from etsy. There are heaps of tutes around on these so I wont go into it suffice to say..these are fun, quick ( apart from drying time) , effective and you could get so clever with them!

tips: don't apply the glue too thick on the paper. I used gemstone glue.

FLOWER SUGAR Give-away!

Yesterday the Flower Sugar fabrics arrived here at Crafty Mamas. These are by Lecien, Japan. And well, you can only imagine how truly beautiful they are.

100% cotton woven, 100% purely delicious. I can't select a favourite...but I have 1m of YOUR favourite Flower Sugar to give-away to a lucky Blogger! Simply tell me in the comment boxwhich Flower sugar you'd love to win, and what you would do with it!

Good Luck, I'll draw a randon winner on Monday night!

OH! This weekend at Crafty Mamas, all fabric orders ship FREE ( within Aus). You'll need the code though, stop by the forum to get the scoop!

Happy Sewing!

Lisa

SPUDS!

Lil is quite amazed after digging up her first red spud crop, how many there were! Along with the baby garlic she grew, I can see a nice dinner tonight!

OTTOBRE DESIGN Woman 5/2010 Winner...

Random .org chose ...

 Susie said...

I'm new to Ottobre but am completely in love with the styling, ease of use and the way all the pieces work so well together. Great giveaway. Susie, Congratulations!!! Please email me so I can send out your copy asap! Thankyou everyone for entering! Lisa 

Ottobre Design Woman 5/2010 GIVE-AWAY!

The lovely new Otto Woman is fantastic, as always!

This issue includes twenty (20) patterns for women in sizes 34-52.Euro.( Aus 8-22/24).
If you are not a subscriber yet, I have plenty of single issues available in store. 
Some beautiful cooler weather fashions to sew up! 

GIVE-AWAY
And this weekend, I have one copy to Give-away to a lucky Blog reader!
Simply leave me a comment  as to why you love Ottore Design, and I'll draw a winner bright and early Monday!

Have a lovely weekend!

Lisa