Hungry Caterpillar Shopper Bag

If you have been reading Heron's Crafts for a while you may have picked up on my love of The Hungry Caterpillar - if not - then why not check out this Hungry Caterpillar Applique Cushion I made a while ago!

This week's project is way simpler than that cushion, and just as effective! 

I have always struggled making sewing machine ruffles so this ruffle is made by hand, I have included instructions on how I made it but if you have a preferred method of ruffling...go for it!

I love using freezer paper to make stencils so thought it was time to give this iconic character a go.

 I am really pleased with how it turned out!

If you would like to give it a go, here are the instructions...

Materials

Plain shopper tote

Green, Red, Black fabric paint (I used Dylon)

Hungry Caterpillar spotty fabric

Needle and Thread

1. Using an exacto knife, cut out the outline of the hungry caterpillar from freezer paper (I have included my template as a download below). Iron onto your bag and paint. If you are new to freezer paper stencilling, I have a step-by-step tutorial here.

I did the green first and then once it had dried, the red and finally the black details. 

2. Once your hungry caterpillar is dry, its time to think about the ruffle on the top. Cut a piece of fabric 6 1/2" by 22". Fold it in half and sew all the way round, leaving a 2" gap on the longest edge

3. Turn the strip right sides out through the gap and press to close. Make sure you use a pencil/pen to poke out the corners.

4. Thread your needle with a long piece of thread and sew large stitches all along the long edge (with the gap in). When you get to the end, gently pull to gather the fabric loosely.

5. Pin each end down to the two edges of your fabric and play around with your gather distribution until you have a ruffle you are pleased with. Take your time here, get it just how you want it and pin in place. With your sewing machine, sew a straight line right across the top, attaching the ruffle to the bag. Unpick your large gathering stitches.

6. Remember to heat set your fabric paint according to packet instructions but other than that, you are good to go!

Here is the downloadable template...

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Love Rebecca

Fabric Bookmarks - Scrap edition

So yesterday I shared with you my tutorial for easy fabric bookmarks and I promised you a variation today so here we have scrappy fabric bookmarks.

Are you like me? 

Do you have piles of fabric scraps - really cute pieces that you just don't know what to do with? 

Well this is a great scrap - busting project!

I took a pile of my scraps, sorted by colour and followed this tutorial to make these bookmarks!

One has already been claimed by my housemate so they are a hit!

I will be linking up to Rosie at Craftbotic's Fabulous Craft Challenge for 2013 - January was projects with leftovers. Why not join us? I am looking forward to next months!

Have an awesome weekend!

Love Rebecca

Where My Wellies Take Me - Bookmarks

Its Friday! Finally! I am so excited for this weekend because my parents are coming for a visit which is super fun! Also, it will mean that a very busy week will be over...just the small matter of a presentation that I barely understand...I'm sure it will be fine ...right?

Anyway, while I am trying to avoid thinking about said presentation, how about a storybook craft project? This week's project is simple, adaptable and personalise-able. 

I will be sharing another variation tomorrow!

These bookmarks are inspired by the book Where My Wellies Take Me by Claire and Michael Morpurgo. It is one of the most beautiful book I have come across in a long time. It follows a young girl as she walk through the countryside, and alongside water-coloured landscapes, beautiful sketches and lift out pages, there are a series of poems that fit perfectly with the portrayal of the English countryside. Can you tell how in love I am with this book - I haven't even been able to find time to finish it yet!

source

Anyway - it inspired me! And I created these bookmarks inspired by the illustrations of the countryside!

Materials

Fabric

Interfacing

1. Cut strips of your chosen fabrics, pin right side together and sew. Build these up to the desired size - must be at least 4" x 8". Iron down the seams

2. Cut a piece of interfacing 4" x 8". Pin to the back of your fabric.

 3. Trim the fabric to the size of your interfacing

 4. Fold in half, right sides together and sew all the way round, leaving a  gap in the middle of the long edge. Trim the corners and turn right side out, poking the corners out with a pencil

5. Press to close the gap neatly and top stitch all the way round the bookmark

And that is all there all there is too it - easy right! Why not give it ago?! I would love to see if you do!

Hope you have had a great week!

Love Rebecca

What I have been reading...January 2013

I know that it is only three quarters of the way through January but I seriously feel like it should be February already! I feel like I have done so much yet barely anything at the same time! 

I have been reading as much this month as I did last year and thought I would share some of the books I have read...

Firstly...The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

source

I read this as part of Rosie from Craftbotic's Book club. I wasn't sure about this book at first. I didn't think I would particularly enjoy it but I was so wrong!
This book is about an older couple who cannot have children. They decide to move to Alaska and set up a homestead practically in the wilderness. It is a hard book to review without giving too much away but this is a story of family, friendship and love. When winter comes in and snow falls, things are not quite as they seem.
I found myself eager to keep reading just to try and work out what was going on!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

source

I have seen this book around the Blogosphere loads recently and decided it was finally time to give it a read. Well, I read 80% of it in one night and only put it down because I didn't think I could deal with the ending in the same night as falling for the characters! I was so engrossed in this book, the characters drew me in so much that I couldn't believe it when I looked up and it was 12.30am! I would recommend this book but also suggest you buy a box of tissues to go with it. The story is told from the point of view of an teenager with cancer and her life and finding. There is also a focus on literature and some beautiful poetry is featured.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

source

This in another book that I saw around the Blogosphere quite a bit. I finally decided to download it and am pleased that I did. I finished it yesterday after 2 hours of reading to the early hours of the morning because I was so engrossed! It is set in the future where people live in closed off cities where they are protected from the wilds outside. Within the fences, people live very controlled lives due to the 'cure'. This society has cured love. To them, it is a disease that will ultimately lead to death and at 18 they undergo brain surgery to 'cure' themselves of it. This is itself is an interesting premise and it doesn't disappoint
 I was got so caught up in the characters I felt at times that I decided what I wanted them to do and when they went against me actually stopped reading for the night! But last night I just had to keep going and find out what happened! I am now reading the sequel!

What have you been reading recently?

Love Rebecca

Favourite Childhood Books

I love reading Rosie's blog Craftbotic and when she posted this link up to feature your favourite childhood books I knew I had to share!

Like Rosie I couldn't pick just one so I have decided to feature two picture books, two chapter books and a book I remember from my childhood that is not your typical children's book! 

These are all books that I definitely remember fondly!

Picture Books

1. Lullabyhullaballoo by Mick Inkpen

source

I love this book, just the title tells you it is epic! Best read by a parent who puts on voices for the various noisy creatures that pop up when the Princess is trying to get to sleep!

2. Whatever Next by Jill Murphy

source

I remember reading this book on the carpet in my reception classroom. I was always making things as a kid, mostly out of cardboard boxes so a book about a bear that goes to the moon...in a cardboard box...certainly appealed to me!

Chapter Books

1. The Naughtiest Girl at School by Enid Blyton

source

We went on holiday to the lake district one summer and visited a second hand bookshop. I found a really old copy of the Naughtiest Girl - it had that lovely old book smell, discoloured pages and the price was in old money! I read nearly the whole thing on the journey home! Then I went and bought all the others! I love the stories of boarding schools, they made it sounds like such fun!

2. Famous Five by Enid Blyton

source

More Enid Blyton but these were an important part of my childhood! My dad had every book in the series from when he was little so we would read these. I remember 'Five in a Caravan' because I had it on cassette tape and used to play it...a lot! I loved Ann because she was always making it nice and homely for everyone else. On long car journeys when me and my brother were getting bored, my Mum would make up 'Christopher and Rebecca stories' to pass the time which featured me and my brother embarking on Famous Five-esque adventures!

Wildcard

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

source

Long before Orlando Bloom and Elijah Wood were cast in The Lord of the Rings movies, I was curled up on my parents bed listening to my Dad reading me this epic tale. I was six and thought that it was fantastic - my Dad does a great Gollum voice and his dwarf is rather good too! Maybe not your typical bedtime story but it is definitely one that has always stuck with me! Plus, we had the whole three parts in one massive hardback book - very cool!

So there you are...my favourite books from my childhood! 

If you like books as much as me, check out my Storybooks Craft Project, every Friday right here at Heron's Crafts!

What were your favourite books as a child?

Love Rebecca

The Storybook Craft Project - The Gruffalo

Welcome to the second instalment of the Storybook Craft Project! I have been enjoying sewing cushions based on children's books that will hopefully end up in my classroom when I become a Primary School teacher. This week's cushions is the very huggable Gruffalo (seriously, I am sat here, writing this post, and hugging my Gruffalo cushion!)

Materials

40cm wide piece of brown fur fabric (at least 80cm long)

Yellow Felt

Green Felt

White Felt

Light brown/beige felt

Toy Stuffing

Black Embroidery Thread

1. Your first job is to get the basic outline of the Gruffalo's head. I sketched mine out onto brown paper but you could print it out, or trace it and blow it up to size. It should be roughly 38cm x 38 cm (make sure you include a seam allowance round your sketch)

2. Now cut out 2 head shapes (ears included) from the brown fur fabric. Make sure that you flip the template so that they look as in the picture - you do not want two with the nose on the right for example.

Have you noticed how much this fabric moults? Needed some serious hoovering after this project!

3. The next job is to cut out the felt features. You will need two ovals from the yellow for eyes (about 4.5 x 5.5cm). One semi-circle from green for the wart on the Gruffalo's nose (use the size of the nose as a guide). One inner ear from the beige felt - this should be about an inch smaller all round than the ear itself. Finally, you will need teeth - 5 white rectangular teeth and one sharp tooth (rectangles - 2 x 2.5 cm, sharp - 2.5 x 7 cm). Again, use a picture of the Gruffalo as a guide.

4. Draw a line where you want the mouth to be and sew along it a couple of times with brown thread, this will make a line for the mouth - the fur fabric will part making it more visible.

5. Next, pin your face details (teeth, eyes, wart, inner ear) in place and sew round them using matching thread (I used my machine for this). Using black embroidery thread, sew a couple of french knots on each eye for the eyeball.

6. For the horns, cut four curved horn shaped out of white felt (about 13cm high and 4cm wide). Pin right sides together and sew round, leaving the bottom edge open. Turn right way out and fill with stuffing. Repeat with second horn.

7. Cut four brown triangles out for his spines



8. Lay the face pieces right sides together. Pin horns in place making sure that they are inside the cushion. Pin spines in place, again, inside the face. You should only be able to see the brown fur outline. Sew all around, leaving a 3 inch gap on the bottom edge - make sure you catch the edges of the horns and spines when you sew round.

9. Turn the cushion right side out and fill with stuffing.

10. To finish, whip stitch the bottom edge shut.

Join us next week for the third instalment of Storybook Craft Project featuring Elmer the very colourful Elephant!

Have a great weekend

Love Rebecca

Linking up to a selection of these great Link Parties

Photo of the Day - Insurgent

I had a list of 16 things I had to do today before I allowed myself to download Insurgent. I finished that list about 3 hours ago and I am now 43% of the way through Insurgent!
Perfect end to a day, curled up in my PJs with Insurgent and microwave chocolate brownie!

I'm off to read some more! Good night!

Love Rebecca