tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16037684134054344222024-03-14T03:32:06.913+00:00Grace's Favours - Craft AdventuresA new craft business designing and making handmade, personalised gifts and homewares, from a small corner of Gloucestershire, UK.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-86094133796925072592018-10-15T19:06:00.004+01:002018-10-15T19:06:56.794+01:00Sew a Halloween Softie - Frankenstein's Friendly Monster<br />
Oh. My. Gawd.<br />
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It's been over a year and a half since I last shared a blog post, and that was a '<a href="http://www.sewasoftie.com/" target="_blank">Sew a Softie</a>' tutorial.<br />
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Life has kinda taken over.<br />
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What's happened?<br />
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Well in the last year and a half we have moved countries! We were in the UK and now we're in Ireland... not very far away, but still and all...!<br />
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So anyway, on with the business at hand... sewing your own Friendly Frankenstein's Monster - we'll call him Fred, Fred the Friendly Frankensteiny!<br />
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<h4 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
You Will Need:</h4>
Felt in mint green, brown and white<br />
1 pipe cleaner<br />
Toy stuffing<br />
Thread in black, white, mint green, grey and brown<br />
Pattern (at the end of this tutorial)<br />
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<h4>
Steps:</h4>
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1. Using 2 strands of brown thread, stitch on the brown hair piece to one of the green face pieces.</div>
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2. Using 1 strand of white thread, stitch the white eyes to the felt, leaving enough room for the eyebrow(s)!</div>
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3. Using 2 strands of black thread, stitch on the eyeballs, which is easiest if you outline the eyeballs first.</div>
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4. Then go back and fill them in with your black thread, keep going over the white parts until completely filled in with the black thread.</div>
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5. Stitch on the details, starting with the eyebrows (monobrow!) and then the nose and mouth using 2 strands of black thread. And then using 2 strands of the grey thread stitch on a scar or two, wherever you like. If you struggle to stitch on the details freehand, you can draw the details on first with a pencil or with an air drying pen.</div>
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6. Then bend your pipe cleaner into the bolt shape. Try and keep the ends of the pipe cleaner in the middle of your bolt piece, so that they are hidden inside the head once you stuff it. Then using your green thread stitch the bolt into place on the back head piece, or if you don't want to see the stitches you can glue the pipe cleaner in place.</div>
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7. Start stitching the front and back head pieces together at the pipe cleaner, using 2 strands of green thread. Work around the bottom of the head and up to the hairline.</div>
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8. Stitch around the hair piece, using 2 strands of brown thread, through all 3 layers of felt. Once you get back to the green felt, stuff the softie with the toy stuffing and then stitch up the gap using green thread.</div>
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And then you have a Friendly Frankensteiny Softie!</div>
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I hope you enjoyed this Halloween tutorial and if you'd like to check out our other tutorials, see <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.com/p/tutorials.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</div>
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I'll be sharing the link to this tutorial on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/GracesFavour" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gracesfavours/" target="_blank">Instagram</a> where you'll also find other Halloween softie tutorials, by using the hashtag #sewasoftie</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-25700898953113492132017-02-02T11:01:00.002+00:002017-02-02T11:01:52.991+00:00Sew A Softie Tutorial for Valentine's Day - Puppy LoveThings are moving a darn sight too quickly for me <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/happy-new-year-stressful-new-year.html" target="_blank">this year</a>... today marks the 2 month count down to our moving date! I have so much to do, but I couldn't miss out on taking part in the Sew A Softie Tutorials round up for Valentine's Day. (Catch up with our other tutorials <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/p/tutorials.html" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
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I've always struggled to come up with handmade Valentine's gifts/creations, but this one came to me while I was walking the dog, so I've entitled it 'Puppy Love'<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1eFLr0iiN4XLsenwURHcGkRsaZgHxegWT_i2Px3tjvxZLyj191AmR2OlLrywcv8O5rVCEh_NtDZtRj0a5G12YvOgHqGmiP2q1EeBKzYxgtau3WE4I2Pam_BOsup8k73E4Kjel1_pl1w/s1600/puppy+love+sew+a+softie+tutorial+by+grace%2527s+favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1eFLr0iiN4XLsenwURHcGkRsaZgHxegWT_i2Px3tjvxZLyj191AmR2OlLrywcv8O5rVCEh_NtDZtRj0a5G12YvOgHqGmiP2q1EeBKzYxgtau3WE4I2Pam_BOsup8k73E4Kjel1_pl1w/s640/puppy+love+sew+a+softie+tutorial+by+grace%2527s+favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h3>
You will need:</h3>
<div>
2 pieces of red felt 10cm x 10cm</div>
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1 piece of pale pink felt 10cm x 10cm</div>
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1 piece of pink felt 10cm x 10cm</div>
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Scraps of black & white felt</div>
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Pink embroidery thread</div>
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Black embroidery thread</div>
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Red embroidery thread</div>
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Glue</div>
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A good handful of stuffing</div>
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Tweezers</div>
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<h3>
Instructions:</h3>
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1. Use all the pattern pieces to cut out 2 red felt hearts, 2 pale pink ears, 2 pink ears, 2 white eye pieces, 2 black eye pieces and 1 black nose piece. Take 1 pale pink ear and 1 pink ear and whip stitch them together. Do the same with the other ear - I reversed the colours, so the ears were not the same both sides, but you don't have to.<br />
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2. Turn the ear inside out - I used a pencil to poke the bottom of the ear up inside of itself and then used a pair of tweezers to pull it out of the top. If you are getting children to sew this pattern, you can skip this step and leave the ears right side out.<br />
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3. Glue the whites of the eyes onto one of the red hearts.<br />
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4. Glue the black part of the eyes onto the whites. I used the tweezers again to get them in the right position. With younger children it might be easier to draw the blacks of the eyes on with a felt pen.<br />
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5. Glue on the black nose and using a pencil or pen, draw on the mouth.</div>
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6. Using your black thread, back stitch the mouth onto the face.</div>
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7. Pin both red hearts together with the ears sandwiched in between. Then using the red thread, back stitch round, following the picture above. Leave an opening for the stuffing.</div>
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8. Stuff the face, making sure it is full, but not over stuffed. Then back stitch up the opening and you have a finished Puppy friend!</div>
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I hope you've enjoyed making this along with me and keep a look out for the rest of our Sew a Softie Valentine's series. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-42176474874591851392017-01-16T13:27:00.001+00:002017-01-16T13:27:11.979+00:00Happy New Year... Stressful New Year?Well, we made it to 2017 - Hurrah!<br />
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Do you have any of the fluffy white stuff where you are? We had the lightest smattering last night, which had all the kids very excited on the walk to school today, even though there was barely enough for a snowball - bless 'em.<br />
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I'm very jealous of one friend, who lives in Oregon, USA where they've had 6 days off school already with more to come - I'm sure she's bored of it by now, but living in the UK, we very rarely see that much in one year, let alone in one go!<br />
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However, I digress. Did you have a good new year? We had a very busy holiday season as it's our last in the UK for a while. We're planning a big move, not a very far one, but a biggie... we're going to Southern Ireland!<br />
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We're moving from the purple arrow to the blue arrow and that little stretch of water causes so many more headaches!!<br />
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With that in mind, I'm trying not to take on too much as I have a whole house to pack up and ship overseas... but I have decided to join in with the <a href="http://the100dayproject.com/about/" target="_blank">100 Day Project</a> this year which encourages people to explore an idea for 100 days, as a creative exercise.<br />
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I'm going to recreate some of my favourite band logos in felt, ending up, I hope with 100 logos, with magnets in the backs which I can display on a magnetic notice board.<br />
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Typically the project starts next week, so I'm going to trying not to fall too far behind during the move.<br />
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I've not been successfully blogging for a while now, so if you want to keep up with what I'm up to, Facebook and Instagram are the best places to find me:<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/GracesFavours/" target="_blank">Grace's Favours Facebook Page</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/gracesfavours/" target="_blank">Grace's Favours Instagram</a><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-78026801602468165312016-12-01T01:00:00.000+00:002016-12-01T01:00:19.453+00:00Christmas Craft Tutorial - How to Make a Robin SoftieGulp. It's been a while.<br />
<br />
I didn't mean to take such a long break from blogging, but as with all of us, sometimes life just gets in the way.<br />
<br />
But now, I'm baaaaaaack! (Don't groan - I have exceptionally good hearing you know!)<br />
<br />
So, I'm posting this as part of another brainchild by Trixi Symonds of <a href="http://www.colouredbuttons.com/2016/11/sew-softie-christmas.html" target="_blank">Coloured Buttons</a> the fab idea - Sew a Softie for Christmas. There'll be a host of wonderful bloggers taking part and I'll have another post written up later with all their details.<br />
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The idea is that each tutorial is something that you can make at home, preferably simple enough to make with your children.<br />
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Here is my offering - A Christmas Felt Robin Softie:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTsY-nGFKkYZYTVSWrumvKzVAcHqtsjDyBH0kSngW42PiRUaHUhTfgUF449LSBCS3hfRpAkPQtYyxyPAE_tY-uUMOkRJjo54B6hJ5ohluwh9el59iqPh5-Jhu0tDPzvbaAKUFD_frUQo/s1600/Possee+Felt+Xmas+Robin+Softie+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTsY-nGFKkYZYTVSWrumvKzVAcHqtsjDyBH0kSngW42PiRUaHUhTfgUF449LSBCS3hfRpAkPQtYyxyPAE_tY-uUMOkRJjo54B6hJ5ohluwh9el59iqPh5-Jhu0tDPzvbaAKUFD_frUQo/s640/Possee+Felt+Xmas+Robin+Softie+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I love these little guys and after doing my trial run, I had a go at making one with Seren, my 8 year old. She was off sick last week, which gave us the ideal time to sit down, without any interruptions and get going.<br />
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Seren decided she was fine with everything except the sewing machine as it was a bit fiddly. Although that stage could be done by hand, which she would have managed fine. (Her's is the one with purple legs on the left of the picture above)<br />
<h4>
You will need:</h4>
1 piece of mid brown felt 20cm x 20cm<br />
1 piece of dark brown felt 10cm x 10cm<br />
1 piece of red felt 10cm x 10cm<br />
1 pipe cleaner (any colour you like)<br />
2 small black brads<br />
Toy stuffing<br />
Thread to match your felt<br />
Sewing machine (optional)<br />
Pattern pieces which are at the end of this tutorial<br />
<h4>
Instructions:</h4>
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1. Draw around the large pattern piece onto your mid brown felt with a biro (a pencil probably won't show up on the brown felt) You can pin the pattern to the felt, but little hands found it hard to keep the pattern piece in place as it was too large.</div>
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2. Turn the felt shape you have cut out over, so that any pen lines showing will be on the inside of the robin,</div>
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3. Cut out the red breast and stitch it to the brown felt as shown in the picture. Use 2 strands of red thread to match your felt and back stitch in place.</div>
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4. Cut out the small diamond shape from the dark brown felt. Fold it in half and attach just above the red breast with a couple of straight stitches at the top of the beak. </div>
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5. Mark with your pen where you want the two eyes to be and then push each brad through in turn, opening them carefully at the back, so they lay flat against the felt.</div>
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6. Starting with one side of the 'face' part, place the rights sides of the felt together and stitch all the way along the curved edge. You can either do this on a sewing machine or using back stitch if sewing by hand.</div>
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7. Repeat for the other side of the 'face' and along one other curved side, leaving one side completely open.</div>
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8. Turn your robin the right side out, stuff him full of toy stuffing and then ladder stitch the opening closed. If you aren't sure how to do ladder stitch, I have a video tutorial on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxW7zPGIPXg&t=2s" target="_blank">You Tube</a> channel.</div>
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9. Time to add the wings. Each wing is 2 layers of dark brown felt, whip stitched together and then whip stitched to the sides of the robin. I've angled mine in the picture above, but in the first pic, the trio of robins, they're all on straight with the wing tips pointing down. You can choose whichever feels right to you. Try and line them up so they're both at the same height and angle though.</div>
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Lastly you need to add the legs. I've used a single pipe cleaner and folded each end into a W shape for the claws at the end of the robins legs. I've then just stitched the pipe cleaner in place under the robin, so you can swivel his legs to be underneath him, or sticking out like mine are so he's sitting down. You'll see from the top pic that some of the pipe cleaners are longer than others so some have much longer legs - you can always cut down your pipe cleaner if you feel it's too long.</div>
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And you've done it - you have made your own Christmas Robin Softie! Well done!</div>
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I hope you've enjoyed making yours and I'd love to see any pictures of your creations from my patterns.</div>
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If you want to email me a pic, please do so at simmi@gracesfavours.co.uk</div>
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Happy Sewing!<br />
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PS. Here are the pattern pieces:<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-4001116149270131052016-08-27T14:19:00.002+01:002016-08-27T14:19:13.182+01:00How to Make a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket Costume for World Book DayWho loves Charlie & The Chocolate Factory?<br />
<br />
Who knew that this year is the centenary of Road Dahl?<br />
<br />
He was born on September 13 1916 and so to mark his 100th Birthday I've created this Charlie & The Chocolate Factory dressing up costume!<br />
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AHA! I hear you exclaim. She promised to show us this back in FEBRUARY when the costume was originally made for Patrick (Aged 5) to wear to school and it's taken till August to get round to posting it - I know and I'm sorry! My bad.<br />
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So here's the finished costume on a VERY excited Patrick:<br />
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<b>You Will Need:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Large rectangle of thick felt - size according to the person you are making the costume for.<br />
Large rectangle of gold felt (same size as thick felt)<br />
Large piece of gold material (at least 2" larger than thick felt)<br />
Black felt for lettering<br />
Iron on fusible interfacing (bondaweb or similar)<br />
4 pieces of elastic for shoulder & waist straps<br />
muslin cloth or cotton cloth for ironing<br />
Sewing Machine<br />
Fabric pen or tailor's chalk<br />
Lots and lots and lots more pins!<br />
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<b>How To:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
1. Iron the fusible interfacing onto black felt, trace around the letters (the wrong way round) and cut out. Then iron the black felt letters onto the gold material according to the bondaweb instructions. For mine, it's simply, peel off the paper backing and iron on a hot setting with steam for 10 - 15 seconds on each piece. Make sure you use a cotton muslin or cloth on top of the felt & gold material as you don't want to cause iron marks on the shiny material.<br />
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2. If you have a really large piece of gold material then you can cut it into a rectangle after the letters are ironed in place. But if you have a piece of material already cut to size, make sure you center the letters on it. I held the gold material up against Patrick to make sure it wasn't too big/too small.<br />
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3. Take a large piece of thick felt and cut it to a rectangle 2 inches smaller than the gold material.<br />
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4. Pin the gold material onto the felt rectangle and tuck the excess behind the felt. Pin all the way round.<br />
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5. Realise that you needed to center your words to the middle of the rectangle... unpin and re-position. Then repin! D'oh!<br />
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6. Tack the gold fabric into place using a needle and long stitches. You will be removing these tacking stitches later, so make them large so they're easier to remove.<br />
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7. Cut a piece of gold felt to the same size and pin this onto the back of your gold material & thick felt piece. You now have 3 layers.<br />
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8. Machine stitch the 3 layers together, with the 4 pieces of elastic slipped in between the layers - 2 at the shoulders and two for the waist. To work out where these should go, hold the 'ticket' up to your wearer and mark with a fabric pen or chalk onto the gold felt.<br />
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9. Cut another piece of the thick felt and another slightly larger piece of the gold felt. Pin the gold felt in place over the thick felt, with the edges tucked under at the back. Machine stitch these together.<br />
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10. Finally, line up the front and back piece of the ticket (on against your wearer if you have another pair of hands to help you, or you can lay them down flat on the table/clean floor!) and pin the 4 pieces of elastic into place on the back piece of the ticket. Stitch these on by hand, making sure you go over them a couple of times or by machine, but the whole costume might be a bit unwieldy by then to manage on the machine.<br />
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And Ta-Daaaa! You have a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket Costume and hopefully a very happy little (or big!) wearer!<br />
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I'd love to see any pictures you take from making this costume - or any of our other patterns!<br />
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Visit our Tutorials page for more ideas and makes.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-43283517694179802732016-08-08T22:41:00.000+01:002016-08-08T22:41:17.483+01:00How To: Felt Weaving - Rainbow Drinks Coaster Tutorial<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Happy Summer Holidays!</div>
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We're currently enjoying a couple of weeks staying with the grandparents in Ireland, so beaches, lots of being spoiled by Nanny and board games contests are predicted in our futures!</div>
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While we're here, I wanted to share a tutorial with you for the 'Thank You' gifts the kids made for their teachers this year - Rainbow Felt Woven Coasters.</div>
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This is a great craft for kids of all ages and abilities as you can tailor the challenge to suit their capabilities. As we were short on time (having, as always, left the present making till the last week of term!) I did most of the <strike>hard work</strike> prep and the kids did the assembly.</div>
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<b>You Will Need:</b></div>
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A square paper template (about 5" x 5")</div>
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1 piece of felt for the base</div>
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5 strips of coloured felts (about 0.75" wide and twice as long as as the square)</div>
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glue</div>
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A heavy book.</div>
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<b>Instructions:</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZ1dBUBt0_P0blNfwfJa3tcGiH22zvSFXatm8H2iFG40t4c_IQRWTXd7QPmXTnlaKfb67tMQ-U5kK644H9j-gXnyD4GNWAJpoHPQBAemNPtptnN1rgJYYcazelnOfkVSofaRIa8BCudA/s1600/1+rainbow+felt+woven+coasters+by+gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZ1dBUBt0_P0blNfwfJa3tcGiH22zvSFXatm8H2iFG40t4c_IQRWTXd7QPmXTnlaKfb67tMQ-U5kK644H9j-gXnyD4GNWAJpoHPQBAemNPtptnN1rgJYYcazelnOfkVSofaRIa8BCudA/s640/1+rainbow+felt+woven+coasters+by+gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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1. Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut 6 straight lines from top to bottom in your base piece of felt, starting 0.75" down from the top and stopping 0.75" from the bottom. Starting with the red piece (if you are using the same colours we did - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green & Blue/Purple) weave the red felt strip in and out of the base piece.<br />
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2. Continue with each felt strip, alternating under and over so you have a chequer board look. Wiggle each strip up tight to the one above so that all the strips fit into the base piece. Make sure you have a good length overhanging at each end.<br />
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3. Trim the ends, so that on both sides the felt strips match up to the base piece.<br />
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4. Add a dot of glue to the end of each strip to secure the felt in place to the base piece. Weigh the coasters down with a heavy book while the glue dries. (Preferably leave overnight) As you can see by the picture below, we tried to keep the ends in place with clips, but it leaves dents in the felt once dried, so the book technique was dreamed up after the first two coasters were made.<br />
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5. Wander off and leave Mummy to do all the clearing up!!<br />
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Hope you like this one - a great one to try with the kids over the holidays and good for stash busting!<br />
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We'd love to see any pictures of things you make from our tutorials, so please do send them to us at: simmi@gracesfavours.co.ukAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-43287221018504981732016-07-15T16:11:00.000+01:002016-07-15T16:11:25.354+01:00Creating a Mixed Media Collage with a Group<span style="font-family: inherit;">So a while back a friend of mine, who works for the wonderful charity <a href="http://www.artspacecinderford.org/" target="_blank">Art Space</a> asked me if I would run some sessions that Art Space hold for adults with early onset dementia. The sessions are part of the MindSCAPE Project, which<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20px;">is an exciting 4 year Big Lottery funded project for the Forest of Dean.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The project is designed for people living with dementia, their families and carers, and has been developed to enable people to reconnect back to the landscape, through a regular series of meetings and workshops at Bracelands Adventure Centre, near Coleford and throughout the Forest of Dean.</span></div>
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I decided that we would, as a group make a large wall hanging, using mixed media (paper, felt, cotton & inks) and a variety of applique methods - stamping, gluing and stitching.</div>
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The sessions I ran were held over 6 weeks (one class every other Tuesday) and as the theme was nature, I chose to get the group making a large flower.</div>
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This was one of my example pieces:</div>
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Each person (or pair if more assistance was needed) had a petal template (which were likened to hot air balloon shapes, so watch out for that next time!) and a host of smaller nature inspired templates that I'd drawn for them. They then got creative!</div>
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In the first session, most people spend their time going through the materials and papers, choosing colours and patterns that they liked, cutting out their petal and their smaller images and starting to glue them in place:</div>
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Then the middle and last weeks, at their own pace, each person, or couple, got onto the fun part of making their petal really stand out. We had some special ink stampers, some googly eyes and 3D bug stickers, lots of stitching, especially by the men who'd mostly not done any sewing before.</div>
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A couple of the chaps didn't have the fine motor skills needed for working with the patterned fabrics and chose to do some stamping instead to decorate their petals. With some help they both achieved some wonderfully creative work:</div>
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Ultimately the whole group did such amazing petals and when they were all put together, they looked fantastic!</div>
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We had more petals than I originally expected, but it didn't matter, they all worked so well together. I'm over the moon for the group at how great it looks.</div>
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I took it home and stitched down the petals that had so far just been glued down. I also wanted to add a date to the piece, so I made a yellow centre for the flower and stitched 'MINDSCAPE 2016' on it. To give it a bit of a 3D element I also stuffed the center. The last thing to do was to add a dowel rod at the top so it can be hung up in it's new home at ArtSpace.</div>
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The group all said they'd really enjoyed the sessions and as if to prove it, they've invited me back to run some wet felting sessions next Spring! I can't wait!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-37184492508195744652016-07-11T11:45:00.001+01:002016-07-11T11:45:41.258+01:00Sew A Softie Day Tutorial - How to Start Sewing With KidsWelcome to Grace's Favours' Sew a Softie Day Tutorial for 2016!<br />
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If you've stumbled across this post, you may not be aware of the Sew a Softie Day movement. There's a wee post about it <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/sew-softie-day-is-coming-to-blog-near.html" target="_blank">here</a> but in a nutshell, it's the brain child of Trixi Symonds who authors the <a href="http://www.colouredbuttons.com/" target="_blank">Coloured Buttons</a> blog and she's also the author of the book <a href="http://www.colouredbuttons.com/shop" target="_blank">Sew Together, Grow Together</a>.<br />
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Because kids generally love sewing and to stop it from becoming a lost art, Trixi decided to create Sew a Softie Day (the inaugural day is officially on July 16th 2016) and in the run up, for a host of bloggers to post tutorials and inspirational projects to help get people started.<br />
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I decided to get my kids involved as they both love sewing, they've both grown up seeing me sew almost every day and from a very young age, have been shown the basics.<br />
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I asked Seren (7.5 yrs) to draw an outline of her chosen animal (a cat) and we decided we could use it for Patrick's (big 5 yrs - that's how he puts it as he's almost 6!) dog too.<br />
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Based on what Seren drew, I created a pattern for them, with pointy ears for her cat and floppy ears for his dog.<br />
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<b>To make a similar animal you will need:</b><br />
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- fleece or felt<br />
- stuffing<br />
- embroidery thread to mach your material (we used pearl cotton as it's not stranded so gets less tangled than the 6 stranded embroidery thread)<br />
- 2 buttons for the eyes<br />
- black thread for the mouth and nose<br />
- pins, scissors and a pencil<br />
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<b>How we did it:</b><br />
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1. The kids pinned their paper pattern pieces to two layers of fleece.<br />
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2. Then they drew around the animal shape (minus the ears) with a pencil onto the fleece.<br />
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3. Next they pinned around their drawn shape (we pinned on the outside of the shape so that they would have a seam allowance and wouldn't cut too near to the line they'd drawn)<br />
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4. Then they both cut out their body shapes.<br />
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5. Using 1 strand of pearl embroidery cotton in the same colour as their fleece, I showed Seren and Patrick how to do running stitch and they stitched round their shape, leaving a gap between the legs of their animal for stuffing. Patrick got bored about half way through this step and had me take over, but Seren carried on and really enjoyed herself. Patrick came back and started each of the next steps, but didn't want to finish any of them, which is fine as you need to keep children engaged, but if you make them finish it they won't find it fun.<br />
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6. Then we carefully clipped nearer to the lines, so that the seams weren't too bulky and turned them right side out, through the gap we'd left.<br />
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7. We lightly stuffed each limb and firmly stuffed the head. Then I drew a line across each limb and showed the kids how to do back stitch. Seren and back stitch really hit it off and she was going great with it. Patrick had a go and got the feel for it and then wanted to watch me sew the rest up.<br />
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8. Then we stuffed the body, not too firmly as we didn't want a fat cat or dog and I showed Seren how to do a ladder stitch to close up the hole. If you want to see a video of how to ladder stitch, there's one on my You Tube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxW7zPGIPXg" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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9. Then we drew a nose and mouth onto our animals using the pencil and with some black thread we stitched these details on.<br />
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10. The kids then had fun rummaging through my extensive button collection and chose the buttons they wanted to use for the eyes, which I then sewed on for both animals as this was a bit tricky once they were sewn up.<br />
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11. The last step, which somehow I didn't get a photo of, was choosing the material for the ears (Seren used the same and Patrick used part of an old Christmas onsie that didn't fit him anymore!) and we used the pattern based on Seren's drawing to cut out 4 ear pieces. We repeated the same process as for the body - draw around them, then pin 2 layers together, outside your lines so that they didn't cut too close to the line. Then we running stitched the ears up, leaving them open at the bottom and turned them the right side out and ladder stitched them to the top of the head.<br />
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And voila!! We have two very happy children with their handmade cat and dog!<br />
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They were so pleased with themselves, especially Seren who did almost the entire thing on her own! (Although she did say afterwards that she thought her cat looked slightly like a pig!!)<br />
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I haven't done a pattern as half the fun was getting them to draw the animal they wanted.<br />
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The whole process took us about 3 hours from start to finish with a break for lunch, so if you were teaching a group it would probably take 2-3 sessions depending on what age the children were and how long each session runs for.<br />
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I loved doing this with my kids... I even managed to control my urge to get everything looking perfect... the whole idea is for them to be in control - gulp!<br />
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I've loved reading everyone else's posts for Sew a Softie Day and I hope you get some inspiration from them.<br />
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Here's the list again, so you can discover some other ideas:<br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 1</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Trixi Symonds </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.colouredbuttons.com%2F&h=2AQE-Nnoh&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.colouredbuttons.com</a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 2</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 4</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Elisa Allen </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmakefilmplay.com%2F&h=tAQHD-oZk&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">https://makefilmplay.com</a></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 6</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandi Sawa Hazlewood <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcraftyplanner.com%2Fblog%2F&h=SAQHMplGC&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://craftyplanner.com/blog/</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 7</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 8</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stephanie Woodson <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fswoodsonsays.com%2F&h=-AQFAmcHs&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://swoodsonsays.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tina O’Rourke <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmissdaisypatterns.com%2Fblog%2F&h=NAQGJhAn5&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">https://missdaisypatterns.com/blog/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amie Plumley <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsewingschool.blogspot.com.au%2F&h=SAQHMplGC&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://sewingschool.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 9</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deborah Fisher <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fishmuseumandcircus.com%2F&h=SAQHMplGC&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.fishmuseumandcircus.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 10</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karin Fast <a href="http://postcardsfromheidelberg.blogspot.com.au/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://postcardsfromheidelberg.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 11</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simmi Duffin <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.com.au/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://gracesfavours.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 12</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rebecca West <a href="http://www.craftcreatecalm.com/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.craftcreatecalm.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 13</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kristi <a href="http://www.schnitzelandboo.com/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">www.schnitzelandboo.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 14</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tracey Witts <a href="http://www.thecreativepair.com/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.thecreativepair.com/</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 15</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amalia Rosen <a href="https://handmadebyamalia.blogspot.com.au/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">https://handmadebyamalia.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 16</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Angie Wilson <a href="http://gnomeangel.com/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://gnomeangel.com</a></span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-16630847505140705982016-07-06T20:57:00.000+01:002016-07-06T20:57:12.368+01:00Creating my First Quiet BookYou have no idea how excited I am writing this post!<br />
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A while ago a friend asked me if I could make her a couple of quiet books. I had to do a bit of research as although I had come across some on <a href="http://pinterest.com/gracesfavours" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> I hadn't really looked into how much work went into them.<br />
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A couple of weeks later and here is my finished Quiet Book! I'm so pleased to report that my lovely customer is thrilled with it (almost more than the children she teaches, who it was intended for!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTQpeahv4qleJa1WeRphTnvekYETizI_3WG31LiRcltX0b3067-9cX6dkJJ_I0HeRgjAojZuE6geZC509AsUL0Ssoc7VLHhKE9W0ffAxBybePQWKLU4bpNt3m5XOVQKRZTYtChuQuIAs/s1600/Front+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="530" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTQpeahv4qleJa1WeRphTnvekYETizI_3WG31LiRcltX0b3067-9cX6dkJJ_I0HeRgjAojZuE6geZC509AsUL0Ssoc7VLHhKE9W0ffAxBybePQWKLU4bpNt3m5XOVQKRZTYtChuQuIAs/s640/Front+Cover.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The first page has shapes, with velcro, for colour association and shape matching.<br />
The second & third pages work together - a washing machine, with a velcro door, which has a basket full of washing on top of it. You can take the washing out of the basket, put it in the machine and then on the third page, peg it out on the line or put it in the basket.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwF_Q427tc9QoYx_z4yPJNEswO9PPZN3S85HCzyC1I8iWbM_KXLNCSpl5iSHP6EnvEbSFOxL6D9eOtqmWSHULFqtW8VqL9gnOL4fC2r4YC3evg0G4H-8-2B54_EZPoPP1UbrLoWjFBl0/s1600/Quiet+Book+No+1+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwF_Q427tc9QoYx_z4yPJNEswO9PPZN3S85HCzyC1I8iWbM_KXLNCSpl5iSHP6EnvEbSFOxL6D9eOtqmWSHULFqtW8VqL9gnOL4fC2r4YC3evg0G4H-8-2B54_EZPoPP1UbrLoWjFBl0/s640/Quiet+Book+No+1+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The next page is my favourite - the ladybird, which has a zip pocket, containing 6 black spots, which can be poppered onto the ladybird's body.<br />
The next page is Rapunzel's tower and her hair needs plaiting and tying up.<br />
The spotty page has a trainer with laces to be threaded through eyelets and then done up in a bow.<br />
The baby page has a nappy with poppers which can be done up and then you can play peek-a-boo with the blankie.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweSqLe11pN476ziertrwIDVddp0jX5Q0nnNufeyWL0BJfEevZNL6NBVN9Zte0XFd0eQPQpXIQNkqfqtPabRqZmrvCZ6s4iSfrDOFR7I3EuQh-7bKaSAp3Cih3RjaLFPORZiVYNIbTK1E/s1600/Quiet+Book+No+1+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweSqLe11pN476ziertrwIDVddp0jX5Q0nnNufeyWL0BJfEevZNL6NBVN9Zte0XFd0eQPQpXIQNkqfqtPabRqZmrvCZ6s4iSfrDOFR7I3EuQh-7bKaSAp3Cih3RjaLFPORZiVYNIbTK1E/s640/Quiet+Book+No+1+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The last page has flowers & hearts Noughts and Crosses which attach with velcro.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecYrn_tqMBrMgiucaGZVUNVfZAwIu0NG2Yl38gezPjxSleGU8Q3REVdgtVfhXTmuA6pVk5g6yHWLOlBRr6UXgWnh3-ZLWSERy3PEdkfcdv6HByCPxebiw0cwFuizl4AUcKGoQYmwzHco/s1600/Quiet+Book+No+1+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecYrn_tqMBrMgiucaGZVUNVfZAwIu0NG2Yl38gezPjxSleGU8Q3REVdgtVfhXTmuA6pVk5g6yHWLOlBRr6UXgWnh3-ZLWSERy3PEdkfcdv6HByCPxebiw0cwFuizl4AUcKGoQYmwzHco/s640/Quiet+Book+No+1+%25283%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma5-cb2Ck9y3IMG12GE1elX7mOXhtgBZq3W7DFB25qOjJVqs9sNnMPmxhsUnBEAPLTrWcr6pVT9YWXNMmaZfjF00LnRnljjbIpQdc6faVex2_ZnHhDDxnmsegFermVJ2tpgFx9A5Znbw/s1600/Quiet+Book+Back+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma5-cb2Ck9y3IMG12GE1elX7mOXhtgBZq3W7DFB25qOjJVqs9sNnMPmxhsUnBEAPLTrWcr6pVT9YWXNMmaZfjF00LnRnljjbIpQdc6faVex2_ZnHhDDxnmsegFermVJ2tpgFx9A5Znbw/s640/Quiet+Book+Back+Cover.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And because you can't get a proper feel for activity books until you see them in action, here's a video I shot of me playing with it!<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XSrRyGUj8VY/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XSrRyGUj8VY?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I'm now making my second one and I'll be back to share it soon!<br />
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I'm also writing up patterns for each page, which will be available in my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GracesFavours?ref=hdr_shop_menu" target="_blank">Etsy</a> shop soon!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-89460226635091447522016-07-03T09:29:00.000+01:002016-07-03T09:29:45.036+01:00Sew A Softie Day is Coming to a Blog Near You!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello, my poor neglected blog!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm sorry for leaving you alone for so long.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But I'm back with some exciting news.... We're taking part in Sew A Softie Day!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzFMVKPd8KIW_UgdIK46HFWx4ziQgKVE7BG7O8V13GbG1NR7bVCc3vXpWv_yMxuxoYcTrkqzanTA8YpoySbitbBmC9085zeooY82_KkGniJvjCSt0vRzVl-WjIJAGHup1_SAlQZWkkzo/s1600/sew_a_softie_day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBzFMVKPd8KIW_UgdIK46HFWx4ziQgKVE7BG7O8V13GbG1NR7bVCc3vXpWv_yMxuxoYcTrkqzanTA8YpoySbitbBmC9085zeooY82_KkGniJvjCSt0vRzVl-WjIJAGHup1_SAlQZWkkzo/s640/sew_a_softie_day.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sew A Softie Day is the brainchild of <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">Trixi Symonds of</span><a href="http://www.colouredbuttons.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #33aaff; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;" target="_blank"> Coloured Buttons</a> and is all about celebrating the art of sewing with children across the globe. For young sewers (sewists?) the easiest thing to start with is a simple 2D softie, like the yellow strechy men I made a couple of years ago, you can find the tutorial for them <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/how-to-simple-felt-plush-man-toy.html" target="_blank">here</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QVMSSiP3Jsj6pQRhy8a2r3ibMte6P3XbxKkMEChyyb4CBrne1PhsJhI8FXHpQUjF_FMXZ8_JfCjLVPDTC8R1jRr6gTxZm3jvr9s_fOT0wDO-oGZP8MR6QiJRXSFlcX5_UoleEI7Xo6s/s1600/Plush+Man+Grace%2527s+Favours+Felt+Tutorial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9QVMSSiP3Jsj6pQRhy8a2r3ibMte6P3XbxKkMEChyyb4CBrne1PhsJhI8FXHpQUjF_FMXZ8_JfCjLVPDTC8R1jRr6gTxZm3jvr9s_fOT0wDO-oGZP8MR6QiJRXSFlcX5_UoleEI7Xo6s/s640/Plush+Man+Grace%2527s+Favours+Felt+Tutorial.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm going to be joining in the fun on Monday 11th July with a simple pattern which can be a cat or a dog (as my kids couldn't agree on what they wanted to make!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's a list of the amazingly talented bloggers taking part (I'm really awed to be included!):</span><br />
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<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 1</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Trixi Symonds </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.colouredbuttons.com%2F&h=2AQE-Nnoh&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.colouredbuttons.com</a></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 2</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Maggy Woodley </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.redtedart.com%2F&h=8AQG6Q1IW&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.redtedart.com</a></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alicia Brown <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.feltwithlovedesigns.com%2F&h=zAQHOBCGq&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.feltwithlovedesigns.com/</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 3</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Mignon Prider </span><a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nittensandpatches.wordpress.com%2F&h=2AQE-Nnoh&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">www.nittensandpatches.wordpress.com</a></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 4</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px;">Elisa Allen </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmakefilmplay.com%2F&h=tAQHD-oZk&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15.4px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">https://makefilmplay.com</a></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 5</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hilarie Wakefield Dayton <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.littlestitchstudionorfolk.com%2Fblog%2F&h=KAQEmbgiA&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.littlestitchstudionorfolk.com/blog/</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 6</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandi Sawa Hazlewood <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcraftyplanner.com%2Fblog%2F&h=SAQHMplGC&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://craftyplanner.com/blog/</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joanna Walker <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbluebarnliving.blogspot.com.au%2F&h=6AQHrZdfl&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://bluebarnliving.blogspot.co</a>m</span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shannon <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ohcreativeday.com%2F&h=wAQFM4C-Z&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.ohcreativeday.com/</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 7</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">MaryAnne Ko <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mamasmiles.com%2F&h=IAQHyGB9S&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.mamasmiles.com/</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Domenica Tootell <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.easysewingforbeginners.com%2F&h=FAQGGe29m&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.easysewingforbeginners.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 8</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stephanie Woodson <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fswoodsonsays.com%2F&h=-AQFAmcHs&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://swoodsonsays.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tina O’Rourke <a href="https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmissdaisypatterns.com%2Fblog%2F&h=NAQGJhAn5&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">https://missdaisypatterns.com/blog/</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amie Plumley <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsewingschool.blogspot.com.au%2F&h=SAQHMplGC&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://sewingschool.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 9</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deborah Fisher <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fishmuseumandcircus.com%2F&h=SAQHMplGC&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.fishmuseumandcircus.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 10</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Karin Fast <a href="http://postcardsfromheidelberg.blogspot.com.au/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://postcardsfromheidelberg.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 11</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Simmi Duffin <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.com.au/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://gracesfavours.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 12</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rebecca West <a href="http://www.craftcreatecalm.com/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.craftcreatecalm.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 13</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kristi <a href="http://www.schnitzelandboo.com/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">www.schnitzelandboo.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 14</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tracey Witts <a href="http://www.thecreativepair.com/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://www.thecreativepair.com/</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 15</span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amalia Rosen <a href="https://handmadebyamalia.blogspot.com.au/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">https://handmadebyamalia.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_2cuy _3dgx _2vxa" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 24.375px;">
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July 16</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Angie Wilson <a href="http://gnomeangel.com/" rel="nofollow" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #ff8832; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">http://gnomeangel.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first couple of tutorials are already live, so go and have a nosey... don't forget to get your craft stash ready!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Check back here in a few days for our tutorial.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-3189969138208923712016-05-14T15:07:00.000+01:002016-05-14T15:12:30.140+01:00To Publish a Book of Penny Rug Patterns... Or Not?First up let me say 'Sorry' for not being around much.<br />
<br />
I can't even blame it on being too busy for a lot of this year as my business has been really slow to pick up this year. Last month (April) was much better, but Jan - Mar - GAH! Hopeless was not the word.<br />
<br />
I've learnt by now that there isn't necessarily much rhyme or reason as to why some months are quieter than others in retail trade. I know January is always going to be quiet as people are spent out over Christmas. But previous years for me, Feb and March have been booming year, whereas this year, just not so much at all.<br />
<br />
Anyway. That has given me some time to think. And while it would have been a great time to get blogging, I rather <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/im-struggling.html" target="_blank">lost my blogging mo-jo for a while there</a>.<br />
<br />
But I think I'm back now! I've got a head brimming with ideas and as soon as my current commission is out of the way (2 quiet books that a lovely customer has ordered and I thought I'd make the patterns up too as I go) I'm going to be hot on the blogging trail again.<br />
<br />
As I was saying... the space has given me some time to think and I've been wondering about a book.<br />
<br />
Probably a self published book, of penny rug patterns.<br />
<br />
I quite like the idea of a penny rug for each month and then at the end of the year, if you wanted to, they could be sewn together to make a quilt or a wall hanging or a table runner.<br />
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As you can see I've not quite ironed out all the details yet. But one of the patterns that was an idea for the book, was this Stars and Stripes Eagle Penny Rug:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKGyc2OYnANBE4s3ljZvZ4wHZqABN5OSBzGAFlF2ikEC-x_Om0Kw-BjZSsaGKxkN-qyE4RJ3fK5dkdJPf0Tao86wSFiIgC_WLu0bNUEArqi6VV9-XyEecDdoszai_uE-UQllKchFHXo0/s1600/Felt+Eagle+4th+July+Penny+Rug+Pattern+by+GracesFavours+for+promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuKGyc2OYnANBE4s3ljZvZ4wHZqABN5OSBzGAFlF2ikEC-x_Om0Kw-BjZSsaGKxkN-qyE4RJ3fK5dkdJPf0Tao86wSFiIgC_WLu0bNUEArqi6VV9-XyEecDdoszai_uE-UQllKchFHXo0/s640/Felt+Eagle+4th+July+Penny+Rug+Pattern+by+GracesFavours+for+promo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Because Penny Rugs are so popular in the States, I thought this would be a perfect pattern for the book, but then I realised I wanted the book to have a theme (more of that later) and this wouldn't fit in, so I decided to release it on it's own.<br />
<br />
It's now available in my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/280224312/pdf-pattern-stars-stripes-penny-rug-wool?ref=shop_home_active_2" target="_blank">Etsy</a> and <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/embroidery/hand-embroidery/stars--stripes-eagle-penny-rug/206034" target="_blank">Craftsy</a> shops.<br />
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Now, the reason for the post title? Well. Writing a book is a lot of work. That's ok, I can cope with that. But the amount that you'd sell it for? Well that's a lot less than the individual patterns would make. I'm kinda ok with that, after all, you are committing money up front for a bunch of patterns. But the cut in potential profits is so much that I wonder if, from a purely profit point of view, it wouldn't be better to sell them all separately and with a discount if a certain number were purchased together. But then that doesn't tie in so well with the idea that at the end of the book they could all be combined to make one item.<br />
<br />
I'm still torn.<br />
<br />
For now I'm going to keep on sleeping on it and I'll let you know when I make a decision... but I'd love to hear your thoughts.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-81970287588776212002016-04-06T16:15:00.000+01:002016-04-06T16:15:20.014+01:00Pretty Pretty UnicornsAn idea has been floating around my head for a while now and today I finally put aside some time to get working on it... amid the chaos of the kids being on their Easter hols no less!<br />
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So the first version looked like this:<br />
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Which is pretty cute right?<br />
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But it didn't look quite perfect so I had another play... this time in blue:<br />
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What changed?<br />
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Erm... not a lot, the mane is longer and much more luxurious... and the face is a bit fuller. But I think it makes all the difference.<br />
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Yes, I might be a bit of a perfectionist!<br />
<br />
These guys will be making their way into the <a href="https://gracesfavours.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy Shop</a> over the next day or two, so keep your eyes peeled.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-25725579961954572822016-03-18T11:11:00.001+00:002016-03-18T11:11:44.229+00:00How To - Felt Easter Peeps Bunnies TutorialBeing from the UK peeps aren't something I'd ever come across before, but I've seen loads of crafty peeps tutorials this year so I ordered some of the little marshmallow bunnies for my little bunnies for their Easter Egg Hunt and I thought I'd make some felt peeps too.<br />
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These are dead easy to make and would make a lovely alternative to chocolate. Or to have with chocolate!<br />
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<h4>
You will need:</h4>
Felt in your chosen peep colour<br />
Matching embroidery thread<br />
Scrap of black felt & black thread<br />
Scissors<br />
Needle<br />
Small amount of stuffing<br />
Templates at the end of this tutorial<br />
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<h4>
Instructions:</h4>
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1. Cut out 2 peep bodies and 1 length of felt 1/2 inch (0.75cm) wide and 16 inches (40cm) long (and two small black eyes, one small black nose - not shown as there's always something I forget to photograph at the beginning!)</div>
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2. Using 1 strand of corresponding embroidery thread, starting on the body of the peep, whip stitch the long strip to the body.<br />
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3. Once you've gone all the way round, cut off any excess from the length of felt and stitch the ends together.<br />
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4. Next take your 3 small circles of black felt and stitch them onto the peep body in the same positions as in the picture.<br />
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5. Whip stitch the other body piece onto the long length of felt. Stop before you get to the end so there's a space for adding the stuffing.<br />
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6. Stuff the peep firmly but not so he's bulging! Whip stitch closed the hole and sit back and admire your work!<br />
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You can make these little fellas in any colours you like and they will be loved for many Easters to come I'm sure of it!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-33497300669129348602016-02-23T18:22:00.000+00:002016-02-23T18:22:04.657+00:00I'm Struggling.I am very aware that I've not posted much in the last couple of months.<br />
<br />
I find it really hard in winter to motivate myself to do things like researching topics for blog posts, or creating tutorials, or being interesting.<br />
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I feel rather like I'm here talking to myself anyway and so no-one will notice if I just sneak off quietly and don't post. I get into the mindset where I just want to snuggle down on my sofa, with endless tea, Chocolate, biccies and cake. It doesn't help that I desperately want to lose some weight but guess what? I can't motivate myself to leave the Damn biscuit tin alone! I am my own worst enemy. And so I've gone fron week to week thinking I'll blog this week and never quite getting round to it.<br />
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But that's not really fair on those of you crazy lovelies who do read my blog and actually want to listen to me rambling on!<br />
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So just for you few, I will try and be a bit more consistent.<br />
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We've just had the Feb half term here in the UK and whilst in a way I was hoping for snow (yeah, some hope!) We actually had beautiful weather and were able to spend quite a bit of time outside. For once I didn't spent half the week wishing they were back at school already and we had a really nice time. One thing the kids did which they LOVED was Go Ape. Have you heard of it? It's a tree top adventure. Originally just built for adults they've recently opened a kids one near us.<br />
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I wasn't brave enough to go up with them (and frankly I felt far too fat to be trussed up in a harness!) So I let the other adults in the group go up and I took photos! Great 😀<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLJwcxSFDAgeitvCUW49icOKoXlBAepNJ4om6vh6IU1PIxqk73b2RZ1as5Olo0nOPHev68nrV2klrIK2ndZDOi9cOMz409RckmsastB4rJM6kppCYi2eyMYFdX6wpjvxQeWhsk-fSJ5M/s1600/1456251085515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbLJwcxSFDAgeitvCUW49icOKoXlBAepNJ4om6vh6IU1PIxqk73b2RZ1as5Olo0nOPHev68nrV2klrIK2ndZDOi9cOMz409RckmsastB4rJM6kppCYi2eyMYFdX6wpjvxQeWhsk-fSJ5M/s640/1456251085515.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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One thing I did manage to get done this week was creating these cute little Easter Pocket Pals<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gsn2G5B4jC39rfAoJU7Nc1CZQ_OngMxH1Tr6e6O_ra1lsodpSHN9LytdqgXUFxH7wBxon6JthXKkmyrnbj2bWdU4fNLbviZyF4iHvPEguVtKUAOBSgRDuQ7r01GLJ3fbDXqvLuPX6N0/s1600/1456251265186.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8gsn2G5B4jC39rfAoJU7Nc1CZQ_OngMxH1Tr6e6O_ra1lsodpSHN9LytdqgXUFxH7wBxon6JthXKkmyrnbj2bWdU4fNLbviZyF4iHvPEguVtKUAOBSgRDuQ7r01GLJ3fbDXqvLuPX6N0/s640/1456251265186.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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They're available in my <a href="http://gracesfavours.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy</a> shop and also my <a href="https://folksy.com/items/6806838-Easter-Friends-Felt-Pocket-Pals-Kawaii-Bunny-Rabbit-Chick-Carrot-Egg" target="_blank">Folksy</a> shop<br />
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And here's a behind the scenes shot of their official photoshoot!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-60456481695199988342016-02-04T12:31:00.001+00:002016-02-04T12:32:19.626+00:00Handmade Dog Hat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Happy 1st Birthday!!!</span></div>
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It's our not-so-little Pup's birthday today... she's totally unimpressed by turning 1 as you can see:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiuxow8qn38j8ivNkyb_aTyK0cZbCzyOR555rqM5gxmHGrxAREtRy-HjMNMiWgDcQFBbrONtKEKHdTO2Nn9zZScC78XRjwXmN9LxOl6ZQAIPyL2cnGoDeyrfK1U6MrlMKrfA8npl-TR4/s1600/2016-02-04+08.35.56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGiuxow8qn38j8ivNkyb_aTyK0cZbCzyOR555rqM5gxmHGrxAREtRy-HjMNMiWgDcQFBbrONtKEKHdTO2Nn9zZScC78XRjwXmN9LxOl6ZQAIPyL2cnGoDeyrfK1U6MrlMKrfA8npl-TR4/s640/2016-02-04+08.35.56.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJPXtvhMzxzIdCVzkFomO92t-W50q4hiexFVw29GIQGN_tVuysQWWRvxh3bcGKLBAu_xbI1hphSjYUEEmnfHcuwnwjZPL7vT_1todDGXU6eijRlFGh0NTyrfpaAOCAAxUc0HFp4ewlY8/s1600/2016-02-04+08.36.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJPXtvhMzxzIdCVzkFomO92t-W50q4hiexFVw29GIQGN_tVuysQWWRvxh3bcGKLBAu_xbI1hphSjYUEEmnfHcuwnwjZPL7vT_1todDGXU6eijRlFGh0NTyrfpaAOCAAxUc0HFp4ewlY8/s640/2016-02-04+08.36.02.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Her Birthday Hat was made up yesterday and has a felty number 1, two bones and a paw print on it!<br />
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Bless her little furry feet... she's now fast asleep under my desk (on my feet!) after a lovely morning romping through the forest with her doggy friends.<br />
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It's a dog's life, eh?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-10711516127313020022016-01-11T21:45:00.001+00:002016-01-11T21:49:48.813+00:00New PatternsI have been rather remiss with my blog recently - in trying to do what all the books *and well known blogs* tell you and 'write great content' or 'write about topics your readers really want to read about' I've ummmmed and ahhhhed about what on earth to write about and consequently written nothing at all!<br />
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But. While the content might not be what's considered 'great'... I do have some lovely piccies to show you!<br />
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These first 4 are all PDF Patterns and can be found in my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GracesFavours?ref=l2-shopheader-name" target="_blank">Etsy</a> and <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/user/1217666/pattern-store?_ct=fqjjuhd-ijehu&_ctp=96849,1217666" target="_blank">Craftsy</a> Shops<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwy4lTud1BbX4q791KllbUed_VrXGJPtuHTIdItqlGpeigpuZwIAuRoFbUGyj47nFX3v9oLwktMGQMgBHpzwMPnB37UmOhptUvhrTgJL3r2RreQM3p-8zZLOXztg3v4PmCPkxTwfX2QTw/s1600/Finished+Felt+Indian+Mandala+Penny+Rug+Candle+Mat+Sewing+Pattern+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="572" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwy4lTud1BbX4q791KllbUed_VrXGJPtuHTIdItqlGpeigpuZwIAuRoFbUGyj47nFX3v9oLwktMGQMgBHpzwMPnB37UmOhptUvhrTgJL3r2RreQM3p-8zZLOXztg3v4PmCPkxTwfX2QTw/s640/Finished+Felt+Indian+Mandala+Penny+Rug+Candle+Mat+Sewing+Pattern+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/247801639/pdf-pattern-mandala-penny-rug-sewing?ref=related-1" target="_blank">Mandala Penny Rug Pattern</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBfqUIpShHq4_-DMRAHoODUgt7sTYP1YjqgbAYHf_qOW1rEE9mtGlI2CTzr1p1uaDpNGZG47ZGxDxv5Q88MWQobpzL3vWUAo32226H5zKxNipji9Sb2GpNKzATzQytJ6I4maiuxHFPpA/s1600/Haunted+House+Felt+Wall+Hanging+Halloween+Decoration+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBfqUIpShHq4_-DMRAHoODUgt7sTYP1YjqgbAYHf_qOW1rEE9mtGlI2CTzr1p1uaDpNGZG47ZGxDxv5Q88MWQobpzL3vWUAo32226H5zKxNipji9Sb2GpNKzATzQytJ6I4maiuxHFPpA/s640/Haunted+House+Felt+Wall+Hanging+Halloween+Decoration+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/248564524/pattern-halloween-haunted-house-sewing?ref=shop_home_active_6" target="_blank">Spooky Haunted House Wall Hanging</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUy1AjN_b4z4I6IGbrR9qTpK4WtyrwyKEPYt7G0k9VcRmiT-QNHjxHwBmZUKi1eYYJrWKcx2iZB3cxbQ_bMGKAMA3nlAgaiWSLjEWlQ1SS2xvEtA-o3Ec_Uewtt-tqJiiayaybTtQq68/s1600/Rainbows+%2526+Wellies+Penny+Rug+Felt+Sewing+Pattern+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBUy1AjN_b4z4I6IGbrR9qTpK4WtyrwyKEPYt7G0k9VcRmiT-QNHjxHwBmZUKi1eYYJrWKcx2iZB3cxbQ_bMGKAMA3nlAgaiWSLjEWlQ1SS2xvEtA-o3Ec_Uewtt-tqJiiayaybTtQq68/s640/Rainbows+%2526+Wellies+Penny+Rug+Felt+Sewing+Pattern+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/256639421/pdf-pattern-rainbows-and-wellies-penny?ref=shop_home_feat_4" target="_blank">Rainbows & Wellies Penny Rug Pattern</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBkY8R3K8Q69iGkZ_WKQ-8JKKxljfV0n2pHPLLNE-1CHEyKtd9pinGT_dixStpwRhWY8SFZ6byhguVSZ5M9N7qK5WrYPtxZYKeJgf6pP78OeQgE-tdrYSNAUznzSokpELKaPf0zF4DLQ/s1600/Christmas+Tree+Gift+Box+%2526+Ornament+Pattern+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBkY8R3K8Q69iGkZ_WKQ-8JKKxljfV0n2pHPLLNE-1CHEyKtd9pinGT_dixStpwRhWY8SFZ6byhguVSZ5M9N7qK5WrYPtxZYKeJgf6pP78OeQgE-tdrYSNAUznzSokpELKaPf0zF4DLQ/s640/Christmas+Tree+Gift+Box+%2526+Ornament+Pattern+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/257627920/pdf-pattern-christmas-tree-gift-box?ref=shop_home_active_7" target="_blank">Christmas Tree Gift Box & Ornament Pattern</a></td></tr>
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Then there is also the first of my Sew Your Own Kits, which I have also released as a PDF Pattern:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsI4eMpNv3WSZLzg9A2-ivt4xLdswUSH2sPQZaBvVbr0YvikSA1vaG9lwemHdc-QoeP5A9XrfnSSb41BFoE9j3pUpYprdMIrruxoiMl5mVhXIM9urTOeNBqKPOeJB9PXR2WS-bA_wrQvo/s1600/Sew+Your+Own+VW+Campervan+Kit+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsI4eMpNv3WSZLzg9A2-ivt4xLdswUSH2sPQZaBvVbr0YvikSA1vaG9lwemHdc-QoeP5A9XrfnSSb41BFoE9j3pUpYprdMIrruxoiMl5mVhXIM9urTOeNBqKPOeJB9PXR2WS-bA_wrQvo/s640/Sew+Your+Own+VW+Campervan+Kit+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/103005964/vw-campervan-sew-your-own-kit-car-toy?ref=shop_home_active_1" target="_blank">Sew Your Own VW Campervan Kit</a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHXCpw3ApUKudao9pFFgzuCWFxxir5kggD8xltL_Tram7m1yWBmjgPP8FzegSc1avznD3Ytn_4Z2URHfqojQvflfJ9MnUBvuMa-PmTNwGK4GSHpviLoEvFGmRU_u4UjMZIU4pgAiNLD0/s1600/Felt+VW+Campervan+Hanging+Ornaments+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoHXCpw3ApUKudao9pFFgzuCWFxxir5kggD8xltL_Tram7m1yWBmjgPP8FzegSc1avznD3Ytn_4Z2URHfqojQvflfJ9MnUBvuMa-PmTNwGK4GSHpviLoEvFGmRU_u4UjMZIU4pgAiNLD0/s640/Felt+VW+Campervan+Hanging+Ornaments+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/255869505/vw-campervan-ornament-pdf-sewing-pattern?ref=shop_home_active_1&ga_search_query=campervan%2Bornament" target="_blank">VW Campervan Ornament PDF Pattern</a></td></tr>
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If you'd like to find any of these in the shop, click on the caption under the relevant photo and it'll take you straight to that listing.<br />
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I will hopefully be back with some more wordage next time!!<br />
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PS. Do you remember that post I wrote about Penny Rugs a while back? No? And you have no idea what a Penny Rug is? Then have a read <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/felt-penny-rug-pattern-for-my-100th.html" target="_blank">HERE</a> xxAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-29406757387584231882015-12-20T16:46:00.001+00:002015-12-20T16:46:30.666+00:00A little bit of Christmas craftingI've been very quiet on all fronts recently. I think I might have had flu. You know the proper, can't get out of bed, feel like utter crap, but still have to get the kids to school and walk the dog?<br />
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Anyway, it has FINALLY lifted after about 3 weeks and I'm ready to get back to some craftiness... just in time for not having any time to do anything much as the kids have broken up for Christmas and there's loads going on!<br />
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But I have managed to sneak out of the village kids' Christmas party with Seren as she's knackered, so we're scootched up on the sofa watching the Fantastic Mr Fox and I'm making up a name banner.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojtKelq_apspOHvCnfZxH6DowHYPNc2VVxKTKD7VZEEapg8nRIRrrtm1851APWfFH9LhfR-5KGLAKiTEZ8KFmXFKtluCizB-U4OXILOQ0bpIRQnMh-IrbRJaNO34QwFkSmVssE4yl5BM/s1600/20151220_163338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojtKelq_apspOHvCnfZxH6DowHYPNc2VVxKTKD7VZEEapg8nRIRrrtm1851APWfFH9LhfR-5KGLAKiTEZ8KFmXFKtluCizB-U4OXILOQ0bpIRQnMh-IrbRJaNO34QwFkSmVssE4yl5BM/s640/20151220_163338.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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I've also just tried to take a pic of the cool bauble display my gorgeous husband put up this morning, but as I can't get up off the sofa (one Seren laying across me!) I'm sure I could take it from a better angle later.<br />
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I will try and get back before Christmas as I am making something very special and new to me, a mantle scarf for my Mum!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-12353008943785037692015-11-25T12:00:00.000+00:002015-11-25T12:00:08.602+00:00How To Make an Easy Felt Christmas Ornament - Sew Your Own TutorialHello lovelies!<br />
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Hope you're all feeling nice and Christmassy? In my last post I recounted our <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/a-crafty-afternoon-with-jacdo.html" target="_blank">Christmas Crafternoon</a> and I've got Carols playing on the radio so I'm feeling really festive!<br />
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I've got a Christmas Ornament tutorial for you today:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCnp3Xaprz8-QewNRuUf61FeC1RHmo3BQ6DtmXLRx6OSAvA__EWI8309FPs0kNUt2BwVQ6jlJq4PotvXLSR0fdv_DCuq66UvEqPIncMxEw9erLUtFVdH3gfAIpw1200FypjyQd48MWwQ/s1600/Sewing+pattern+Felt+Christmas+Ornaments+How+To+DIY+Sew+Your+Own+Tutorials+www.gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCnp3Xaprz8-QewNRuUf61FeC1RHmo3BQ6DtmXLRx6OSAvA__EWI8309FPs0kNUt2BwVQ6jlJq4PotvXLSR0fdv_DCuq66UvEqPIncMxEw9erLUtFVdH3gfAIpw1200FypjyQd48MWwQ/s640/Sewing+pattern+Felt+Christmas+Ornaments+How+To+DIY+Sew+Your+Own+Tutorials+www.gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<h4>
You Will Need:</h4>
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A scrap of felt 2" x 2" for the smaller circle</div>
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2 pieces of felt 3" x 3" for the larger circle and the backing circle</div>
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Embroidery thread in a range of colours</div>
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A sequin and bead per ornament</div>
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Small length of ribbon</div>
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Scissors, needle, pins</div>
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Circle templates - you can either use the ones at the end of the tutorial or draw around whatever comes to hand. Mine are 2" for the smaller circle and 2.5" for the larger circle.</div>
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<h4>
Instructions:</h4>
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1. Cut out 1 small circle & 2 larger circles. On the smaller circle lightly mark out a circle about 1" in diameter with a pencil (you won't see this once you are finished) and using the template, the points where the white embroidery thread comes together.</div>
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2. Stitch on the white pattern, using 2 strands of embroidery thread.</div>
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3. Draw another slightly smaller circle with your pencil and then add the grey stitches, in between the white pattern.</div>
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4. Using 2 strands of maroon embroidery thread add a french knot between each grey stitch.</div>
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5. Add your sequin and bead. To hide the thread, bring your needle up through the centre of the sequin and then thread on the bead, then take the needle back down through the hole in the sequin.</div>
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6. Add a circle of running stitch, going in and out of the white pattern with 2 strands of bright red embroidery thread. Then sandwich your ribbon between the two red felt circles and using 4 strands of pale green embroidery thread, blanket stitch around the outside of the ornament.</div>
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<div>
Et Voila! You have an ornament all ready for your tree!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Here's the Circles template:</div>
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I have used colours in my ornaments that compliment the Christmas Trees I've just created using my new pattern (available in my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/257627920/pdf-pattern-christmas-tree-gift-box?ref=shop_home_feat_1" target="_blank">Etsy Shop</a>) which I had great fun putting together and will be used to make all the Teacher and T.A. gifts for my kids this year.</div>
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Happy Sewing!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-20718675906392311932015-11-16T11:19:00.001+00:002015-11-16T11:23:21.120+00:00A Crafty Afternoon with JacDoA couple of months ago I saw a tweet from Mrs Crafty B (aka Annie) looking for crafters/bloggers with children who lived near Cardiff if they'd like to attend an event held by JacDo. I'd not heard of the company before so went to have a look at their <a href="http://jacdo.co.uk/" target="_blank">website</a> which caught my interest immediately.<br />
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JacDo is a company which created craft kits for kids, tailored towards the children's ages, linking in with the national curriculum (in Wales, where they are based) and comes in both English and Welsh, making the bilingual... something that is promoted heavily in Wales.<br />
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So I eagerly signed up and on Saturday off we set. The event was held at the <a href="http://www.chapter.org/whats-on/all" target="_blank">Chapter Arts Centre</a> in Cardiff, which is worth going to for the tea and cookies alone (we weren't early enough to sample any of the meals, but they looked scrummy!)<br />
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There were 3 making stations, so of course, we had to try them all! First off, we made Sock Snowmen... these are just TOO cute!<br />
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The kids loved that they could do almost all of this by themselves and were very proud of their snowmen (Freddie and Snowy!)<br />
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Next up were paper plate wreaths - these were made by dipping a bath scrunchie into green paint and covering the plate and then using cotton wool balls, dipped into red paint for the berries:<br />
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And finally some sewing (which my two were delighted about cause it made them just like Mummy!) to make a Penguin and a Santa hand puppet:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwqbFLVwEwC002deVNakkaSXXW-6ytG8fJxHAtUGyeCM68SZ3ZZ2Fz5DWf9u8HIj-b_RT5jc60bhC4MOC901tRqLwHXwMznOm_DF1JAi8esPM5UA0L_j6Jl81wnRtqc0XfxCNc-Lgglo/s1600/2015-11-14+15.14.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdwqbFLVwEwC002deVNakkaSXXW-6ytG8fJxHAtUGyeCM68SZ3ZZ2Fz5DWf9u8HIj-b_RT5jc60bhC4MOC901tRqLwHXwMznOm_DF1JAi8esPM5UA0L_j6Jl81wnRtqc0XfxCNc-Lgglo/s640/2015-11-14+15.14.21.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seren sneaking in a cake before her work was done!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patrick sharing his cake with Santa!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seren videoed me sewing!</td></tr>
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I brought home two very happy children after their "crafternoon" and both are keen to get started on sewing up their treats from the goody bag they got to bring home. Although Patrick had to do some sweet talking to get persuade the ladies in charge that he should be allowed his own bag and not to have to share one with Seren (which actually I agree with - I don't think you should run an event like this, especially one for kids and not hand out a goody bag to everyone... if you are doing them, then it should be one per person)<br />
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So I guess the question now is will we subscribe to the JacDo <a href="http://jacdo.co.uk/join/" target="_blank">monthly craft box</a>?<br />
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There are 3 sizes of box - Petite, Medium and Large:<br />
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According to Bethan & Megan (the ladies who run JacDo) for two kids of a similar age, a large box would be ideal as there would be mixed activities, tailored to their ages for them to do together. While I do like the idea, £14.99 per month is quite a commitment but it's not a horrendous amount of money. I like the idea that they tie in with the national curriculum and I think for parents who aren't especially crafty themselves, its a great idea as you don't have to plan out the crafts, that's all done for you.<br />
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The answer is I don't know for definite, but I suspect we might give it a try!<br />
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One thing that has occurred to me, whilst writing this post is that it might have been more persuasive for the afternoon to be spend going through one of the boxes and doing the crafts inside the box... that way the parents would have got a better feel for exactly what they would be paying for. But of course that would only have been possible if the children attending were all the same age.<br />
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NB: This is not a sponsored post and I was not paid to promote JacDo, it is my honest opinion of the afternoon and the company.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-51233054820275100782015-11-13T10:16:00.001+00:002015-11-13T10:20:55.852+00:00Christmas Craft Tutorials Round UpI'm struggling to find time for everything at the moment, like all crafters, this is a rather manic time of year!<br />
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So, I've put together a little Christmas Craft Tutorial Round Up of some of my favourites this year, while I try and get it together to make up the Christmas tutorials I've got in mind for you in the next couple of weeks!<br />
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First up is something we've got really into this year - pearler beads (or Hama beads as they're also known) and this pattern could be used as a hanging ornament, a brooch or a magnet. I love this blog as it is dedicated to all things Christmas and Crafty... <a href="http://www.justchristmascrafts.com/2015/10/holiday-cupcake-perler-bead-pattern.html" target="_blank">Just Christmas Crafts</a><br />
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Next a post from a couple of years ago, but still gorgeous is this super cute Glittery Santa Ornament from <a href="http://parentpretty.com/easy-christmas-ornament-craft-santa-claus/" target="_blank">Parent Pretty</a>... I love anything glittery and cannot wait to put my tree up with some of these on.<br />
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Now the next one is perfect if you have small children or animals who are a danger with glass objects... I wish I'd thought of getting these when my son was little... he was a terrorist when it came to Christmas decorations! <a href="http://crafts.tutsplus.com/tutorials/how-to-crochet-christmas-light-decorations--craft-16320" target="_blank">Crochet Christmas Lights</a> from the late Wink of <a href="http://www.acreativebeing.com/" target="_blank">A Creative Being</a> - Wink's story is really sad and I know a lot of crafters will have come across it before, but I wanted to share one of her projects in this round up as I hope she's up there somewhere seeing how much joy people are still getting out of her amazing mind.<br />
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This one is really pretty and looks really straight forward (which is always a bonus when you're short on time as we all are in the run up to Christmas!) Pine Cone Christmas Trees from <a href="http://scissorsandspoons.com/pine-cone-christmas-trees/" target="_blank">Scissors and Spoons</a><br />
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My favourite Christmas tutorial from this blog is the <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/how-to-christmas-in-july-felt-candle.html" target="_blank">Christmas Candle</a> which I created and shared last year.<br />
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And finally something edible! Yummy! There are some amazingly looking cookie tutorials out there, but I chose one that doesn't look 'perfect' as I didn't want to put anyone off (including me, when I try and make them!) so I've gone for these cute Melted Snowmen from <a href="http://www.milkbubbletea.com/melting-snowman-biscuits/" target="_blank">Milk Bubble Tea</a><br />
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I hope you enjoy trying some of these crafts and keep your eyes peeled for a new Christmas Tutorial from me very soon... I promise!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-31900185973316435692015-10-29T20:46:00.001+00:002015-10-29T20:47:34.965+00:00Felt Star Garland GiveawayTwo posts in one day... how does she manage it? I hear you ask... well the answer is... it's just as well you can't see the mess around the house, the amount of time the kids have spent on their tablets today, the amount of work I have piled up and the state of my hair!!<br />
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But anyway, I'm <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/how-celebrity-endorsements-can-boost.html" target="_blank">back</a> with a little starry giveaway!<br />
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There will be 2 winners, picked at random at midday on Monday 2nd November (GMT) and to be in with a chance to win a garland, all you need to do is leave me a comment saying which you'd like to win - the Rainbow Garland or the Glittery Garland.<br />
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I'm happy to post internationally... so GO, GO, GO!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-33783392767711093422015-10-29T11:04:00.001+00:002015-10-29T11:04:33.913+00:00How Celebrity Endorsements Can Boost Your SalesNow we all know that one of the best things that can happen to a small business is a celebrity endorsement... but how do you get that wonderful magical thing to happen.<br />
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Well it can be hard work. Here are 5 things that will help:<br />
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1. Work out who you want to connect with. I have chosen a number of famous (and infamous!) because they are interested in crafting or are part of my target customer demographic (i.e. they fit into the group that I am aiming my products at) it's no good following George Clooney if you are trying to get your products to new Mum's who need breast feeding cover ups!<br />
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2. Follow (stalk!) your chosen celebs. I follow a number of people on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GracesFavours/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/GracesFavours" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/gracesfavours/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/gracesfavours/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>... including Kirstie Allsop, George Clarke, Jan Constantine, Benedict Cumberbatch (sadly not really him as he doesn't do social media, but a page run by his people!), Rosie O'Donnell, Taylor Swift, Marie Osmond, Martha Stewart.... I could go on!<br />
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3. If they tweet/post something that is relevant to you, comment on it. I.e. Get them to notice you. Interact with them.<br />
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4. If you have something you think would be up their street.... tag them or message them about it. Don't spam them with loads of links, but just if something really fits, let them know.<br />
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5. Persevere! It's not going to happen over night, but hopefully, with a bit of luck, your work will pay off.<br />
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And here's my celebrity endorsement story...<br />
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It's quite a small, insignificant thing, but it has already shown results.<br />
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I was mooching through my Twitter feed this morning, sitting in bed with a cup of tea, whilst the kids played and my husband complained about having to go to work (so in other words.... I had zoned them all out!) and up popped this tweet from George Clarke:<br />
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I read it and checked out the Instagram pic, which was this:<br />
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So I thought I'd take a chance and reply with a cheeky request for a re-tweet. This way my tweet:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5AwebgIdE2CuFjroxymRNRnevjJr9UjLwkOGwivR-sCwBFn5JHiNVs8kyqJzr9AXPTQISTBQbOmFCxpydGwlJ9qbQwg5irP4OAKCSi7OW6xSGO8WpsgmrIDwzepml-GOZRwk4pAieCw/s1600/graces+favours+poppy+tweet+to+george+clarke.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5AwebgIdE2CuFjroxymRNRnevjJr9UjLwkOGwivR-sCwBFn5JHiNVs8kyqJzr9AXPTQISTBQbOmFCxpydGwlJ9qbQwg5irP4OAKCSi7OW6xSGO8WpsgmrIDwzepml-GOZRwk4pAieCw/s640/graces+favours+poppy+tweet+to+george+clarke.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Notice how I put the key points in to catch his attention and save the need for any questions - yes, I'm donating profits to the Royal British Legion charity, the prices are included in the picture and there is a link to the poppies in my <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/GracesFavours?section_id=10760468&ref=shopsection_leftnav_3" target="_blank">Etsy Shop</a><br />
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SO then I just carried on with what I was doing... hassling the kids to get dressed, shoving the dog off the clothes pile, soothing the husband about having to work, umpiring World War III as it broke out over which socks belonged to who and who had got dressed 'first'!!<br />
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Then... PING.... I checked my phone and saw that Gorgeous Gorge had re tweeted my tweet!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LcSY-ZWS1cwJkG7I7VEyVwmvScflXa6bZWg31cecAGenEpGjCxkujUcGwEVpNkpg9O9FXvBnlD3qMAfQAKJaBj7oUBght4GWtdWz2PrzosjnuLF01tsABmYNlqB2lWGDB8PB0IP3L9M/s1600/2015-10-29+08.54.07.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8LcSY-ZWS1cwJkG7I7VEyVwmvScflXa6bZWg31cecAGenEpGjCxkujUcGwEVpNkpg9O9FXvBnlD3qMAfQAKJaBj7oUBght4GWtdWz2PrzosjnuLF01tsABmYNlqB2lWGDB8PB0IP3L9M/s640/2015-10-29+08.54.07.png" width="360" /></a></div>
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OHMIGOD OHMIGOD OHMIGOD!<br />
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When I checked 2.5 hours later, 4,500 people had seen my tweet! And my phone has been 'Kerchiiiiiing-ing' merrily all morning as orders are being placed!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDi5QCdmc9X2rQ0esiGk3oUtLME2q4JoeoVk4bmGiXkqHevNjNjwok7fyjtAiGDsyk4GDS8bsWPsGPXDXN7C0UMrvbE3uDLx2IlRka81gh9RcLiziy8LrOl5POqAMasjKMMw4_RKVTlvQ/s1600/2015-10-29+10.38.34.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDi5QCdmc9X2rQ0esiGk3oUtLME2q4JoeoVk4bmGiXkqHevNjNjwok7fyjtAiGDsyk4GDS8bsWPsGPXDXN7C0UMrvbE3uDLx2IlRka81gh9RcLiziy8LrOl5POqAMasjKMMw4_RKVTlvQ/s640/2015-10-29+10.38.34.png" width="360" /></a></div>
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So while, Gorge himself hasn't bought one (yet!) just by retweeting my tweet to his 93,000 followers has done my little business a HUGE amount of good and it's also helping the Royal British Legion, which is fantastic!<br />
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So, what have you got to lose?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-3327839966881005682015-10-12T13:41:00.000+01:002015-11-13T09:12:04.556+00:00How To: Halloween Spooky Spider TutorialIn my <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/halloween-crafts.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> I shared some of the details of the Halloween crafts we got up to at Seren's 7th Birthday Party.<br />
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The Spooky Spiders, which were really straightforward to make, so I've done a mini-tutorial for them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgh8ROn7A97QYtxuE26sI84T0IWi1b9lVe5NyLqiJEQC03XywhyphenhyphenTNfqTabnnN7evHLeWwcsdDdjQM3ANkGcTdPtkUBHPmEyHO0erTMdU8CW1mntR1DkFABhpzbCO8X4ApK6faXVj6fVw/s1600/Spooky+Halloween+Spider+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours+on+www.gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgh8ROn7A97QYtxuE26sI84T0IWi1b9lVe5NyLqiJEQC03XywhyphenhyphenTNfqTabnnN7evHLeWwcsdDdjQM3ANkGcTdPtkUBHPmEyHO0erTMdU8CW1mntR1DkFABhpzbCO8X4ApK6faXVj6fVw/s640/Spooky+Halloween+Spider+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours+on+www.gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<b><u>You Will Need:</u></b><br />
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Yarn (any colour)<br />
4 Pipe Cleaners (any colours)<br />
2 Googly Eyes<br />
1 Large Needle<br />
Pair of Scissors<br />
PVA Glue (or similar)<br />
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<b><u>Instructions:</u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczKvys-v0g8WJG5rXkS_UMqDsS-JeT_91Giy_acgLJ9Q2BSSdKH92L_S0Cr67BcUeCSHUVrc2Itrsqg2k9xoxJt4gl7jablYAJzX31W8cZiCnDMPmrzR0bzkjiY6CsrnyNrWDGbe-UX0/s1600/Halloween+Spider+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczKvys-v0g8WJG5rXkS_UMqDsS-JeT_91Giy_acgLJ9Q2BSSdKH92L_S0Cr67BcUeCSHUVrc2Itrsqg2k9xoxJt4gl7jablYAJzX31W8cZiCnDMPmrzR0bzkjiY6CsrnyNrWDGbe-UX0/s640/Halloween+Spider+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="448" /></a></div>
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1. Gather your materials.</div>
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2. Cut your pipe cleaners in half and wrap one around the middle of the other three. This will leave two legs shorter than the others, they'll be your front legs.</div>
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3. Add a blob (technical term) of glue to the centre of the pipe cleaners and stick on the end of your yarn.</div>
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4. Wrap, wrap and wrap some more! When you are happy with the plumpness of your spider, glue the end of the yarn to the bottom of your spider (Note: At this point you can chose which is the top & bottom of your spider - once you've chosen, bend the legs accordingly)</div>
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5. Add the googly eyes. If they are self adhesive, great.... if not, just add a blob (still a technical term!) to the back of each eyeball.</div>
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Your spider is finished!</div>
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If you would like to hang him up, cut off another length of yarn, thread the large needle and push the needle through one of the strands of yarn at the top of your spider. Tie off the yarn at the top and hang:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAENqQ7JQM63o8pHqveRHvuABS-wW0Um0DnMRD8ce9aFKCRoh0o2CO0KpNupFcKVaXzdO_HFDw4_M4ijsG3spQ05NzL6nMxcEyjrfQjukNtm5NvlgarYlJvpFUjzx9dv6NoUF5Qu_ZUEg/s1600/Halloween+Spider+Tutorial+by+gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk+annotated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAENqQ7JQM63o8pHqveRHvuABS-wW0Um0DnMRD8ce9aFKCRoh0o2CO0KpNupFcKVaXzdO_HFDw4_M4ijsG3spQ05NzL6nMxcEyjrfQjukNtm5NvlgarYlJvpFUjzx9dv6NoUF5Qu_ZUEg/s640/Halloween+Spider+Tutorial+by+gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk+annotated.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Enjoy your spider making!</div>
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We also made Felt Eyeball Coasters:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPC0Cai3PR55D8oubuxJ-DEOrYxMKc4fUz01heizaN4NB7Nuv6pWRu8I2072bZiD2xgXws6GDiU_GjV9-6NBngafUeH-oSws0XkIfvw9PWyTlVsbWfozFff22YmC7aSdKwoudqJZDNUpA/s1600/Felt+Eyeball+Coasters+by+Gracesfavours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPC0Cai3PR55D8oubuxJ-DEOrYxMKc4fUz01heizaN4NB7Nuv6pWRu8I2072bZiD2xgXws6GDiU_GjV9-6NBngafUeH-oSws0XkIfvw9PWyTlVsbWfozFff22YmC7aSdKwoudqJZDNUpA/s640/Felt+Eyeball+Coasters+by+Gracesfavours.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Which I've not done a full tutorial for, but have explained what we did <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/halloween-crafts.html" target="_blank">here</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-19986246645214667172015-10-12T13:00:00.000+01:002015-10-12T13:42:11.612+01:00Halloween CraftsSeren, my almost 7 year old decided that as her birthday is near to Halloween, that this year she would like a Halloween themed craft party.<br />
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Ok. We can do that I thought and got Googling!!<br />
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The crafty items I came up with were Felt Eyeball Coasters* (using this great tutorial at <a href="http://www.patchworkposse.com/eyeball-coasters-tutorial/" target="_blank">Patchwork Posse</a>)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsbXj_Z9mYt4JXfVzoQcpC5gQ-gba0Qb2G59Lo1RIgMmI2FksDG1Xrh6ELvu1D-7IudhA3wHPtuCRxoBh_rMreXh_B1WBQ_SG7RW1uvIH8EkWok4ULdOA4dHMlRruHsYwmsIAQVdGTt0/s1600/Felt+Eyeball+Coasters+by+Gracesfavours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfsbXj_Z9mYt4JXfVzoQcpC5gQ-gba0Qb2G59Lo1RIgMmI2FksDG1Xrh6ELvu1D-7IudhA3wHPtuCRxoBh_rMreXh_B1WBQ_SG7RW1uvIH8EkWok4ULdOA4dHMlRruHsYwmsIAQVdGTt0/s640/Felt+Eyeball+Coasters+by+Gracesfavours.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And a <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-to-halloween-spooky-spider-tutorial.html" target="_blank">Spooky Spider</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BMyqrknXSAizvozLJXwF_R6n26Paxw8I-Wx4MLJAM33rflBDE10ViM7eyBd5mto2D672BjVcYw6Gq-oSfgvjWWz_EOjMBg-RWgo5NUh3YS3zzLWM5gtZyIS9FazI5Xh9-tr1HMN8VNI/s1600/Spooky+Halloween+Spider+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours+on+www.gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8BMyqrknXSAizvozLJXwF_R6n26Paxw8I-Wx4MLJAM33rflBDE10ViM7eyBd5mto2D672BjVcYw6Gq-oSfgvjWWz_EOjMBg-RWgo5NUh3YS3zzLWM5gtZyIS9FazI5Xh9-tr1HMN8VNI/s640/Spooky+Halloween+Spider+Tutorial+by+Grace%2527s+Favours+on+www.gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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As I came up with this one all on my very own (as Seren used to say when she was little!) I've done a <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-to-halloween-spooky-spider-tutorial.html" target="_blank">tutorial</a> to go with this post - it's really easy and the two 5 year olds managed it perfectly as well as all the 7 year olds.<br />
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The kids also decorated ghoulish cupcakes and made rolo pastry eyes.<br />
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They had a great time and as far as kids parties go, it was far less stressful than 25 kids in a hall with a bouncy castle!!<br />
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*The Felt Eyeball Coasters are really really easy peasy! You just need 4 circle templates, each one a bit smaller than the last. For the largest, I drew around the largest mug we have and then made the template a bit larger again. The smallest circle (for the white of the eye) needs to be a good bit smaller than the black bit. Once you have cut them all out, glue the coloured felt onto the largest white circle, then glue to black circle to the middle of the coloured piece and the small white circle, glue to one side of the black circle. Make sure you cover each felt circle with glue right up to the edge. We used a normal PVA glue in cleaned out yoghurt pots and plastic spatulas - 1 for each child so there was no arguing!!<br />
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Here are some pics of the room, decorated in our Halloween goodies!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAp5gctyrV15nd6DOdClpDqzPoNpD2PmOWWAyn3o_SjZFHTJYPv1ALCJOpzwOppLAF32-rGy7iDJMdQFIdg8qru3GrYW5X0TmFHAu9lO7jeSow3V06W4m3N4D2W-VKwEMAEZ1eHasXorY/s1600/Birthday+girl+and+decorating+ghoulish+cupcakes+graces+favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAp5gctyrV15nd6DOdClpDqzPoNpD2PmOWWAyn3o_SjZFHTJYPv1ALCJOpzwOppLAF32-rGy7iDJMdQFIdg8qru3GrYW5X0TmFHAu9lO7jeSow3V06W4m3N4D2W-VKwEMAEZ1eHasXorY/s640/Birthday+girl+and+decorating+ghoulish+cupcakes+graces+favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Birthday Girl and ghoulish cupcake decorating</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBSq93Ptjd2Xp7sscmGWw5eK-7W8DplGX-ebISSnhi-knSiPjujC4JRAc6JcTcyHWuPDr-28xhsPt3GY5PaZac-VGPHwHJ_ur7DDbAXwwov-aqqWKVtqvYqv6AAwSCDhxe5qE_NrQ-QQ/s1600/Felt+Eyeballs+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBSq93Ptjd2Xp7sscmGWw5eK-7W8DplGX-ebISSnhi-knSiPjujC4JRAc6JcTcyHWuPDr-28xhsPt3GY5PaZac-VGPHwHJ_ur7DDbAXwwov-aqqWKVtqvYqv6AAwSCDhxe5qE_NrQ-QQ/s640/Felt+Eyeballs+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Felt Eyeball Coasters</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqQWAXMqNEY-rd7sSi6DaiwWP6F4FL2pPKF2Qo8Ya2-gj3psz7Xr7DbD6g646GbXv6KEknJALJuhh2mlz3Oqfu5MKZk-NZk2L5GBA71p0sfK6GHB6OA4LmexVfFuEc4c0vbzqTn2qp2g/s1600/Felt+Eyeballs+gracesfavours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHqQWAXMqNEY-rd7sSi6DaiwWP6F4FL2pPKF2Qo8Ya2-gj3psz7Xr7DbD6g646GbXv6KEknJALJuhh2mlz3Oqfu5MKZk-NZk2L5GBA71p0sfK6GHB6OA4LmexVfFuEc4c0vbzqTn2qp2g/s640/Felt+Eyeballs+gracesfavours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">More Felt Eyeball Coasters</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRdnVREjrmbzsQ-TYsSeQ5ZRoKWomjTyHyQ-vh8nNeMMNzqwcCZ9qVZ-YK_lwAxJG5l5oum1PmHd62i3yEeVmGwbHwrgbgLbJtNhdE1zniV8BJBGBgZt78RI6QUXr_XO039i2FGrPykE/s1600/ghoolish+candle+in+a+nook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRdnVREjrmbzsQ-TYsSeQ5ZRoKWomjTyHyQ-vh8nNeMMNzqwcCZ9qVZ-YK_lwAxJG5l5oum1PmHd62i3yEeVmGwbHwrgbgLbJtNhdE1zniV8BJBGBgZt78RI6QUXr_XO039i2FGrPykE/s640/ghoolish+candle+in+a+nook.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Halloween Candle hiding in a stone nook</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkd9BRe6w0RQoMTXMHzFOfBywdjbVPKCNHMVVDCcQkzIqfYtyjKk4XwFTrNKjIc8vc-n4U95dqFP4aDygejYp-yDzVyKOuGlAGyYmLWbBQEj3uL8miFUn-w2_ElhQvdtyRk8yJlNDV-UE/s1600/ghost+fairy+lights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkd9BRe6w0RQoMTXMHzFOfBywdjbVPKCNHMVVDCcQkzIqfYtyjKk4XwFTrNKjIc8vc-n4U95dqFP4aDygejYp-yDzVyKOuGlAGyYmLWbBQEj3uL8miFUn-w2_ElhQvdtyRk8yJlNDV-UE/s640/ghost+fairy+lights.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Ghostie Fairy Lights</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wGgN3FDGY84Bdy4PN9UeuIYta4cPtUzlhOKdMu267h3KUrpxSQlZQ7E_9-UXCmH9kmgdKe5-CCuJCNzd5OfTt130GCqLu3L7xEMmW7Vpcwie9CGGwzAdfqZm4aJrIoWnz3I1oN0pFYc/s1600/halloween+decorations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wGgN3FDGY84Bdy4PN9UeuIYta4cPtUzlhOKdMu267h3KUrpxSQlZQ7E_9-UXCmH9kmgdKe5-CCuJCNzd5OfTt130GCqLu3L7xEMmW7Vpcwie9CGGwzAdfqZm4aJrIoWnz3I1oN0pFYc/s640/halloween+decorations.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Eyeball Fairy Lights and my Halloween Wall Hanging</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMapp_K0rnnKcbWqNNzH8d38qu0n_CHrbANJCNY4bbuQSyd1Vf5BMD1tOJe9aWEW01Q0imdR28ZSVdCwcaDsjjUX5kVTvCzx-a1Z6-cj-Y54oif4_JC1w1Wg4DCLdjwQs-FumnYgHUwW0/s1600/Halloween+Spiders+Craft+Party+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMapp_K0rnnKcbWqNNzH8d38qu0n_CHrbANJCNY4bbuQSyd1Vf5BMD1tOJe9aWEW01Q0imdR28ZSVdCwcaDsjjUX5kVTvCzx-a1Z6-cj-Y54oif4_JC1w1Wg4DCLdjwQs-FumnYgHUwW0/s640/Halloween+Spiders+Craft+Party+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Collection of Spooky Spiders - particularly love the one eyed and no eyed ones!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMy2tn0cFuwVj9fXMnMLTDyf59YRYhtLfJI3lQNIL7Kwv7_AyTjromP6o6ia7ZL43yIuDafy0WZ4axDoT6-sBGDL2B9Z0syyWv6PIEpX64nFbmlPYpXi44jb8Ta8-ddsA2Ge6KZmWCpfY/s1600/halloween+themed+craft+party+by+grace%2527s+favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMy2tn0cFuwVj9fXMnMLTDyf59YRYhtLfJI3lQNIL7Kwv7_AyTjromP6o6ia7ZL43yIuDafy0WZ4axDoT6-sBGDL2B9Z0syyWv6PIEpX64nFbmlPYpXi44jb8Ta8-ddsA2Ge6KZmWCpfY/s640/halloween+themed+craft+party+by+grace%2527s+favours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Happy Birthday Seren!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFM1WqJ3Ep_VLIRMSGDAauFs7BDtLCyIfU2sB4RPt4li52Qv1NCWuy0CdrHwzpouYTPlNw54_FPROJ4zeXURJXAB2khrH0mm1ZW5RLPKYMvr4gc0J7FCjbMe6UO6wLekUUA2zyOka0m8/s1600/Making+Rolo+Pastry+Eyes+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFM1WqJ3Ep_VLIRMSGDAauFs7BDtLCyIfU2sB4RPt4li52Qv1NCWuy0CdrHwzpouYTPlNw54_FPROJ4zeXURJXAB2khrH0mm1ZW5RLPKYMvr4gc0J7FCjbMe6UO6wLekUUA2zyOka0m8/s640/Making+Rolo+Pastry+Eyes+Grace%2527s+Favours.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;">Rolo Pastry Eyeball Making</td></tr>
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The kids all had such a good time as you can see!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1603768413405434422.post-14172169324952345162015-10-08T11:08:00.002+01:002015-10-08T11:08:56.874+01:00Handmade At Amazon is Live!Well, we got there!! I had a few <a href="http://gracesfavours.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/handmade-amazon.html" target="_blank">teething problems</a> but I worked it out eventually and.....<br />
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Handmade At Amazon is now live! Phew!<br />
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Here's my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/handmade/GracesFavours?ref=hnd_dp_smp" target="_blank">Artisan Profile</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7tUIcm-InwXzZlzdkydCQzbFe0K3BIuG7dWoLSLlo2TZAOd_-HTABeSsaSiSLAMYvG21bruC4n1d4-LZzjTAT3mPfNC4K_TwUZ1ET4GcZytj9nlkYQt66Aj52PClcbxOxGr0NYahgF4/s1600/Handmade+at+amazon+profile.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7tUIcm-InwXzZlzdkydCQzbFe0K3BIuG7dWoLSLlo2TZAOd_-HTABeSsaSiSLAMYvG21bruC4n1d4-LZzjTAT3mPfNC4K_TwUZ1ET4GcZytj9nlkYQt66Aj52PClcbxOxGr0NYahgF4/s640/Handmade+at+amazon+profile.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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And here are the first products I've got listed:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIbF8woSAx_bGa7enex-uB0JBT29X7EF7FneQC1mrlcSFvya7Jc4EFL69kj7R3-c1QU9TSuDrAMimDFCp3mYLMuNUxjs9Ll26z7pc8FDxiX1QnYHGoqcmZDAHob1QHkz_Dmcc6cE5q7M/s1600/Top+products+on+Handmade+at+Amazon+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIbF8woSAx_bGa7enex-uB0JBT29X7EF7FneQC1mrlcSFvya7Jc4EFL69kj7R3-c1QU9TSuDrAMimDFCp3mYLMuNUxjs9Ll26z7pc8FDxiX1QnYHGoqcmZDAHob1QHkz_Dmcc6cE5q7M/s640/Top+products+on+Handmade+at+Amazon+by+Grace%2527s+Favours.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Not sure why the 3rd listing isn't showing (a few kinks in the system perhaps?!)<br />
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So far Handmade @ Amazon is only available to US buyers, but they assured me it will be rolled out to the rest of the world, probably sometime next year.<br />
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So now, I'm just going to try and work out how to change the shipping prices to reflect the actual postage costs and list some more goodies!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01386923257336332769noreply@blogger.com0