Friday, November 17, 2017

Gift tutorial and more Christmas ideas...




We have moved a LOT.
House 21 times, towns 11 times, and states 5 times - all in 26 years.

Over those years and in all those places I have made some lovely 'far away' friends and some of them them like to stitch or quilt, so a few years back I designed a cute little needle-book to slip inside their birthday or Christmas cards.
It makes a lovely gift, so simple and also appreciated.

(Do we ever have enough needles or pretty pins??)

You can download the cover design HERE in my shop.
The pattern file has six covers ready to be printed onto one sheet of paper...

Shall we make one?




Gather your supplies. 

A pack of 6½” square scrapbooking papers will allow me to make two cards per sheet.

 You'll also need:

* a roll of double sided tape (or glue)
* rotary cutter (use an old blade, not the one you're currently using for your fabrics)
* cutting board and ruler
* some scraps of cotton or wool quilt wadding/batting
* an assortment of needles - both hand sewing and machine are a good choice





Use your rotary cutter, ruler, and cutting board to accurately cut out the six Stitcher's Friend labels from the free sheet you have printed.

Cut the 6½” square of scrapbooking paper in half.
Place strips of double sided tape across the back of a label, covering the four side edges. Peel the backing from the tape and position the label inside the right hand half of your scrapbook paper...





Fold the paper in half to create a card and machine sew a line just inside the folded edge of the card. This helps to keep the card closed when you have finished it...





Gather your assortment of needles. Three or four needles will be enough...





Sew a scrap piece of cotton or wool quilt wadding/batting inside the card. A straight line across the top edge is all you need. Place the needles in the wadding...





A nice touch is to write what size needles you've added and pop in a pretty pin as well.




How easy was that!

Now, who will you be sending these to?





If you'd like to make something special to post to your non-sewing friends what about a lavender sachet, bookmark or gift tag??

The trio of "Three Lovely Gifts" is a pattern set I've just added to my shop...




These projects  can be stitched and made up in an afternoon.

You'll find the pattern HERE in my shop. 
(Go to the top right and choose 'newest' in the drop down menu if you're in a hurry)





Are you a Christmas planner?

Kerryanne at Shabby Art Boutique is sharing free planner pages to help you through the festive season...




Visit her blog here.

If you scroll through you'll discover free Christmas cards, gifts tags and a sensible wish list as well. Kerryanne has generously thought of everything we'll need.

I've not done a proper Christmas plan before but this year I'm adding the pages to my Household Folder and intend spending a quiet afternoon with a cuppa and some cake pondering and planning ahead.





For those who loved all the new stitcheries inside the November issue of The Stitchery Club they are now available as single purchase patterns in my shop now!
Choose the one (or two!) you love and enjoy bringing it to life in your own special way.




Well, that's me for the week.
I'm about to grab my bag and head out the door to meet up with Blossom and Cully May. Those chubby little arms wrapped around my neck overflow my happy tank and we can never have enough 'happies' in life, of that I'm sure.

I do hope your day holds something rather wonderful too!

hugs


11 comments:

Nanna Chel said...

What a lovely needlebook etc! Thanks Jenny for so many very pretty gift ideas. Enjoy your time with your lovely daughter and granddaughter.

Karen B. said...

Oh Jenny,
I just love everything you do and make. Every single piece is always so beautiful!
Many hugs,
Karen B.

Leeanne said...

How sweet! Your create such beautiful delicate goodies.

Robin said...

Thank you for all your ideas in this time of giving thanks for what we are appreciative ( in the USA). You are one that I give thanks for. (robinsbusiness@hotmail.com)

Joanne said...

Hi Jenny,
Thanks for sharing such lovely nice things!
I'm so glad you have kept blogging! You inspire many!
Hugs,
Joanne

Kerryanne @ Shabby Art Boutique said...

Thank you for sharing my Christmas Planner today Jenny. You are such a darling xx

Little Penpen said...

The needlebook is wonderful!! Thanks for a simple tutorial... I love these!

Winifred said...

You're right you can never have enough cuddles. Enjoy your day with your lovely girls.

They are lovely presents you make Jenny.

I have only moved twice and each time was so awful I'm never moving again! Well that's as long as I can afford to stay here & get up the stairs. I think I'd get a stair lift if I couldn't manage the stairs.

Probably the real truth is I'm such a hoarder & can't bear to throw stuff out the thought of clearing the loft is a nightmare!

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Jenny! I had forgotten making these needlebooks before, so I appreciated the tutorial so I didn't have to go look it up. LOL These hints for the Christmas season are so timely and so helpful. Thank you. I could use a planner for my whole life. Do you think Kerry Anne has one planned? =) I knew you had moved a lot, but when you see the stark facts, that's a LOT of moving! 5 states in Australia covers a lot of territory, too. Enjoy your planning time later, after you get all those Cully May hugs and cuddles! I hope Blossom is feeling great at this point in the pregnancy.

Ondrea said...

Some lovely projects there. Love the needle book. Looks like I need to move some quilting stuff from the floor to access my scrabooking things in the wardrobe.

Createology said...

Thank you Jenny Dear. Such a wonderful needle case and I certainly appreciate the ease of mailing especially after my latest Post Office DRAMA. Everything you create and design is simply Perfect!!! Happy November...<3