Beach Pouch DIY

Remember how, back in November, I posted about destashing?

That I claimed to have a list of project ideas to work on?

Well, my friends, I finally used some of that fabric, and made this cute stripy pouch with an embroidered nautical design. 

Summer might be months away, but dreaming of those warm and dry days is a nice way to forget about the grey skies and damp air, don't you think?!

There are a zillion and one zipper pouch tutorials out there, but here's another. ;)

You'll need:

Stripy fabric

Neutral fabric*

Fabric for lining (I used thin polycotton)

5"-6" Zip (mine was old and a weird size)

Embroidery thread

Sewing thread

Optional: thin ribbon

Tools:

Sewing needles

Sewing machine

Zipper foot

Ruler

Scissors/rotary cutter

Dressmaking pins

Optional: pinking shears

*I used some loose-woven neutral fabric, but it was a total pain in the butt to sew. I could have done with some interfacing on it! Lesson: take care in your fabric choices!

Okay, on with the tutorial!

Crystal & Thread Choker DIY

 

Today I want to share this crystal and thread choker, which I made recently.

Most of the crystal pieces I make use bold colours, but this time I wanted to go for something a that incorporated cool tones, for more of a wintry look.

This is a really simple DIY and you don't need any jewellery-making skills to do it!

Letterzines Inspiration

When I shared 6 Ways to Repurpose Old Christmas Cards, one of the methods I mentioned was Letterzines.

If you like writing letters but want to get more creative with what you send, this post is for you!

A letterzine is a cross between a letter and a magazine. Along with the usual hellos and how-are-yous found in a letter, a letterzine is filled with images and information, hand-decorated and tailored to each individual recipient! This is a fun way to reuse or repurpose wrapping paper, magazines, or any other paper-based imagery.

This post is intended to give some inspiration for what you could include in yours.

6 Ways to Repurpose Old Christmas Cards

It's the New Year, and you're probably taking down Christmas decorations, and amassing a huge pile of Christmas cards to go into the recycling.
Maybe you're looking at some of the artwork reluctantly, thinking, "It seems such a waste to just throw these away..."

You're right. 
Which is why I've been beavering away to put together this post of 6 Ways to Repurpose Old Christmas Cards.
For the most part, these little crafts are easy--if you can cut and stick, you can do these!
Some of these will also help you save some time next Christmas.
Some are best done now, whilst some are worth leaving until closer to the festive season, when - provided you've dedicatd some time to chopping up old cards this January - you'll have all you need to crack on with some Christmas crafting (without having to fork out for expensive store-bought stuff).

So, starting with the most obvious...

11 Jewellery DIYs to Start Your Year with Style

Christmas and New Year may be looming, with mulled wine and turkey still to go, but it's never too early to plan your crafts for next year.
After all, there's only 10 days left of 2015...

I've dug into the archives for this roundup of past tutorials.
Here are 11 DIYs to start your 2016 with style (or at least a trip to your favourite crafting store!)

Starting with the easiest--if you want more of a challenge, or something more time-consuming scroll to the bottom and check out my Pompom Necklace and Metal Disc Necklace DIYs!

 

Amethyst Collar DIY
Level: Easy

If you can glue one thing to another thing, this is the craft for you.

Despite being so easy to make, this is a great statement piece!

In Case of Hoarding, Smash Stash.

Recently, Samantha of At Home With Mrs H began 'The Big November Destashing', in which she encourages us fabric hoarders to destash and - radical idea - use some of that fabric!

Considering the frightening mess that is my scraps collection (above), it sounded like a great idea, so I rolled up my sleeves and set to work!

You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff I had ferreted away!

DIY Vintage Buckle Pendants

Today I want to share this really straightforward DIY for making pendants from buckles!

You could incorporate these into a great gift for any vintage fan or family history nut--see below for how I used mine!