Cross Stitch Pouch

Hello, it's Claire (Newcombe) with you today, for my first inspirational post here.

I thought I'd show you something that I made just before Christmas with the first sample of the first cross stitch kit that Sarah has designed.

You can pick up this kit here

I used to cross stitch alot, but as many of you will relate to, your life moves on with either family or you develop interests and passions for other crafts and finding the time to get back and revisit old loves is not always easy.

So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to stitch again with this gorgeous kit, and when finished, my mind got to wondering how best to finish off and frame these two little cuties.

Like any crafter, I am a magpie for anything with a pretty pattern, and that extends to fabric. It just so happened that I had a set of fat quarters (the quilting term for a manageable piece of fabric, 18" by 22" from which you cut your patchwork pieces)...... the quilters equivalent of 12" x 12" sheet of paper, if you like!

 I have had these turquoise fabrics stashed for many years, and it just so happened to match Sarah's colour of choice for her website & packaging.

So, out with the sewing machine it was, and a little bit of patchwork and quilting started to take place, creating the pouch you see above. I sized it to hold microwaveable hand warming gel pads, as a christmas present and thank you to Sarah - and to highlight the fabulous designs she create.

I hope that it has inspired you to perhaps think outside the box a little, to create items that be incorporated into your everyday life and remind you of how crafty you are.

Be sure to check back daily for more inspiration from our team, and then if you have time, sit for a few minutes and browse back through posts that have already been.

Butterflies Stamps Shrink Plastic Charm bracelet

Good morning everyone, hope you are well :-) Its Elaine here with my inspiration piece for you today.
I decided to share with you a make using one of my favourite mediums for crafting which you can use to create lots of different looks and for lots of different kinds of crafts! Its a great way for using your existing stamps in a new way too :-)
What youll need to create something like my project is Shrink plastic, stamps (I used Sarah's butterfly rubber stamps here), Stazon ink pad, hole punch, scissors, glittered gel pens, jump rings, bead spacers, tiger tail, crimps, toggle clasps and basic jewellery tools.
First of all youll create your shrink plastic charms. Choose your stamp and ink up with Stazon. Stamp onto the rough side of the shrink plastic. Next colour your butterflies should you choose to do so (you can see I left one uncoloured on the end to show the look without colour) I find glittered gel pens work the best with this, but do be careful not to smudge the ink as it dries.
Cut around your butterfly but leave a border around the top to punch before you cut all the way round. Punch in the centre, then cut carefully around this hole, leaving enough plastic to keep this intact.
Follow the shrinking instructions on your shrink plastic, then place in a heavy book when warm to make sure they dry flat.
Take your finished charms and your jewellery kit and add jump rings to the holes. I added two jump rings on each charm to give a good swing from my bracelet. I then created a design for my bracelet using Rose Quartz, pearls and bead spacers with butterfly charms placed equally between this design. Finish with your clasp.
You can always use shrink plastic to make your own embellishments for cards, scrapbook pages-anything you can think of! You could even use without a hole and stick it directly onto a project with strong glue.