Fabric Hearts

I thought I would share with you a few more fabric hearts to make you smile. These are so simple to make and you could fill with either stuffing, dried lavender or rosemary leaves. Many of you have kindly browsed my blog and enjoyed the first Fabric Hearts post so here is another.

Lella Loves... Fabric Hearts

Pretty fabrics such as this ditzy floral are perfect for this project. The button is a button and not a bead.

Lella Loves... Fabric Hearts

Always stuff your hearts to the edge of the seams. Dried lavender is a lovely alternative to wadding but you could try star anise or dried rosemary leaves.

Lella Loves... Fabric Hearts

Have fun with your fabric choice if you are making a gift for a cook/gardener. This seed packet cotton is very cute and the polka dots add that touch of whimsy.

Lella Loves... Fabric Hearts

Neat seams show off your sewing talents. Be proud of your work at all times.

Lella Loves... Fabric Hearts

Be creative with your choice of ribbon and button. Play to the colours in the fabric.

To make one of these hearts, you will need:

Cotton fabric

Scissors

Stuffing

Sewing machine and a needle/thread for hand-stitching

Toning ribbon

Toning button

Take an A4 piece of your favourite fabric and make a template - a heart shape on a piece of cardboard will do. Draw two hearts and cut out.

*Tip: Use pinking shears to avoid fraying.

Sew the fabric hearts face-to-face and leave an inch gap at the bottom section of the straight edge.

Turn inside out and fill your heart with stuffing, dried lavender or cotton wadding.

When you are happy with the padded heart, hand-stitch the stuffing hole closed as neatly as possible.

Take a piece of toning ribbon and a pretty button and sew to make the hanging loop.

Perfect little gifts for your friend's kitchen.

Lella Loves... Recycled Fabrics

This lovely flower garden floral was a blouse and it was too pretty to not recycle.

I have cut out strips and used it on a rag wreath, more strips have been wrapped around bangle and the smaller front sections were incorporated in a patchwork cushion I made.

Lella Loves... Fabric Rehab

This Russian Doll fabric is so colourful and I cannot wait to use it.

You can use any cotton fabric and to see one of the best selections of craft fabrics, have a browse on the delicious online fabric destination called Fabric Rehab. That is where the above doll fabric came from. Gird your loins and sit on your credit card if you click this link!

http://fabricrehab.co.uk/

It is truly a craft fabric lover's website.
(NB: This is not a sponsored post - I just wanted to let you know where I buy some of my fabrics.)

Buying a single fat quarter or even a yard of a designer material (18'' x 44'') can go a long way if you make a few smaller projects such as these hearts.

Lella  xx

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com

Old Pine Box (Rupert the Bear)

Today's project gave me such joy whilst doing it and I wanted to share with you the simplicity of lining an old pine box with children's books. It took less than an hour and it was fun to see the old box come to life.

If you have a large wooden box which you use to store toys, add some colour and interest to the inside and decorate the lid. It will encourage children to use it.

Lella Loves... Rupert the Bear

I chose Rupert as the books are printed in full-colour. If you prefer monochrome with a touch of orange or the red and black tint, look for annuals such as The Beano or The Dandy.

For this project, you will need:

Old pine box or similar toy box
Children's books with paper pages
Non-toxic PVA glue
Scissors
and a child who will love using it!

Other full-colour options for a girl's room are Bunty or a large book of fairy tales.

Lella Loves... Rupert the Bear

I found the Rupert books at a large second-hand market and you too will be able to find one or two books for a few pounds. 

These Rupert annuals are tatty and I used that to get the price down. The spines are all split and some of the pages are torn. However, I only needed 8 good, clean pages for the lining project so their overall condition was acceptable. 

It is lovely to know that these books have been thoroughly loved by small children so I don't feel so bad unpicking the binding and recycling them.

Lella Loves... Old Pine Boxes

Here is the pine box before I started. I didn't line the actual box as toy cars and Lego bricks would soon tear off the paper. If the box ends up storing blankets and books then I might well reconsider.

Lella Loves... Rupert the Bear

The first thing to do is to separate the pages. Snip the string which holds the pages to the cover and remove. Do not simply tear the pages out as the margins will tear in an uneven, ragged manner.

Lella Loves... Old Pine Boxes

The lid of the box should be clean and dust-free. Wipe a damp, non-lint cloth all over and inside the box to remove any dust and cobwebs before you start the project.

Lella Loves... Rupert the Bear

Take the glue and turn it upside down. Let the glue run out. If you squeeze the glue you will get huge blobs just like I did in the above photo - top left and bottom right - so let the glue flow whilst moving the bottle all over the surface.

Lella Loves... Rupert the Bear

Lay the first pages on to the glue and work along. Depending on the size of your box, you will need to trim your pages so the images are the right size for the space.

Lella Loves... Rupert the Bear

When you stick the top section, you will need to apply the glue to the pages and not to the box.

Lella Loves... Rupert the Bear

The finished look for less than £1. The photo was taken whilst the glue was still wet so the lifting ripples are simply where the pages are damp from the glue. As they dry, they will flatten out.

By taking an old Rupert the Bear annual and pasting some of the images to the inside of the lid, I have created a toy box which my nephew will want to use.

If you wanted to follow this blog-make but you don't have time to travel to a flea market, search eBay for instant gratification. There are plenty of Rupert annuals listed.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/

Your local charity shop's children's book section might well have something to inspire you. Bob the Builder and Maisy are firm favourites at the moment and those books are easily found.

I hope you enjoyed today's post.

Have a lovely day and pop back soon.

Lella  xx

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com

Framing Up (Old Adverts)

This is such a simple but effective little craft project. Once you have found an advert you like, all you need is a frame.

Lella Loves... Old Adverts

Adverts like these can be found for a few pounds even though they are 80 years old. These black and white adverts look lovely framed up, on a kitchen wall.

If you enjoy looking at old advertising, plus the fact that you can buy the real thing for a few pounds, why not buy one small advert and maybe set the seed for a new hobby.

Lella Loves... Old Adverts

This Clarke's Pyramid Night Lights adverts was in Woman's World magazine, published on October 27th 1923.

Lella Loves... Old Adverts

Women's World was a weekly publication and contained many adverts aimed at women, such as clothing and skin products of the day.

Lella Loves... Old Adverts

Lella Loves... Old Adverts

Lella Loves... Old Adverts

These adverts are no bigger than a postcard and are good place to start.

*******

The following photos are two adverts from an October 1932 publication which I have had in my kitchen for nearly 11 years. I have collected old tins and vintage food packets for a long time and I bought these whilst on holiday in the USA.

Lella Loves... Old Adverts

I found these old food adverts in an antiques mall in Arizona in 1999. They are single pages from a magazine called The Saturday Evening Post and these adverts were published on March 17th 1923.

The colours were still so bright after 70 years and each advert was carefully sealed and presented on a card backing in a clear wallet. The dealer was very fair and I paid $5 each.

Lella Loves... Old Adverts

The large pine frames were £7 each but these adverts are very big. They are the size of our modern newspaper pages.

To think that these adverts were printed in a magazine at the same time that my nan was a young girl of 12, really makes me smile. I think the history of each item is a story in itself and I will never know where they came from or why they were kept but I am grateful to whomsoever for keeping them all those years.

Three cheers for the hoarders of the world. Hip... Hip...

Have a great day folks and feel free to message me if you wanted to purchase anything you see in my blog. If it's for sale, we can do a deal :)

Lella  xx

http://lellalovescreativity.blogspot.com