Make your own bouquet!

Today Matt and I went along to the Registry Office to give notice of our marriage, so it seems the perfect day for the next instalment in my Handmade Wedding series! One of the ways that I’m going to make my wedding handmade is to make my bouquet, the bouquets for my bridesmaids and the buttonholes for the boys. There are so many brilliant ways to make flowers, from paper, felt, wool, fabric and more. I haven’t decided how I’m going to make mine yet, but here are a few fantastic tutorials to show you how to make flowers, whether they are for your wedding bouquet, table centrepieces, or simply to make a pretty posy for your home.

Felt Flower Tutorial by Veronica from sewVery

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial by Tiffanie from Corner Blog

Origami Paper Flower Bouquet Tutorial by Lindsey of Elusive Photo Design, featured by Bree on Capitol Romance.

These tutorials have been featured with the kind permission of the wonderful people who designed and wrote them. Thank you all very much! Click on the images to go through to their websites and find the full instructions for each flower.

There are also some beautiful bouquet ideas in Handmade Weddings, a fantastic book for brides who want their wedding day to be handmade. I’ve reviewed it here so you can see just how lovely a book it is! If you like the sound of this book and purchase it through the link in my post you are helping to support my blog as I get a small referral fee from Amazon. Thank you!

Hansa Lina, Estonia

My parents love travelling and their most recent destination was Tallinn in Estonia. When I opened my birthday present I found something that they had discovered on their travels and brought back for me. It is half a metre of the most beautiful linen I’ve ever seen, from a shop called Hansa Lina. It is so thick and has a lovely natural texture to it. Plus it is printed with a gorgeous pattern of houses, trees and bicycles! What do you think I should use it for?

Book Review : Material Obsession

Stitching a quilt from scratch can seem like a daunting prospect but books like Material Obsession are full of such beautiful designs that you will want to get started straight away! This book has 23 different quilts, designed by authors Kathy Doughty and Sarah Fielke.

The projects are organised into easy, intermediate and advanced and require more skill as you read through the book. There are some stunning patterns in the advanced section and I would love to make just a few blocks from these and use them for a smaller project. That way you can learn the techniques and complete something beautiful if you don’t have the time to dedicate to an entire quilt.

There are so many different types of quilts, some are based around blocks and shapes and some are pictorial, featuring trees, birds and space rockets! Each quilt is introduced and tells you the story behind the pattern which gives you a lovely insight into the design process.

The photographs in this book are beautiful and are very helpful in showing both a detailed flat view and also a photo of the quilt in use. It’s very handy that all of the motifs for the appliqué have been drawn full size in the book, so simply need tracing over.

There is a great advice section in the back of the book which shows you how to put colours together into a beautiful quilt, lists recommended equipment, reveals the best ways to cut your fabric, shows you how to appliqué, shows how to assemble your blocks into a quilt and essential tips for quilting and binding.

This book would be perfect for someone who loves to quilt and wants some gorgeous new designs to make, or for someone who is keen to try stitching some new shapes and learn new things.

Material Obsession is published by Murdoch Books and you can pick up your own copy from Amazon. If you like the sound of this book and purchase it through the links in my post you are helping to support my blog as I get a small referral fee from Amazon. Thank you!

If you are eager to get started you can take a peek at my three step tutorial to stitch your very own quilt! Part one shows you how to assemble the patchwork, part two how to quilt your layers together and part three how to bind and finish your masterpiece!

Three little spools

On a trip to Brighton the other day I stumbled upon a market stall which was selling all kinds of haberdashery, boxes and boxes of buttons, elastic, ribbon and so many other treasures. One such treasure was these pressed cardboard spools! They are perfect to perch a mini monster on to photograph for my Etsy shop.

For someone special

When I post an order I carefully wrap it in pattern paper and secure in place with one of my bright blue handmade stickers. My stickers usually say thank you but if you would like a different message please let me know and I will get my typewriter out! I love personalising my packaging, particularly when it’s a gift for someone special. Take a peek at the stickers below for an idea of the kinds of messages you could add to your next order!

Present in the Post – June

This month one of my little mini monsters will arrive through someone’s door as June’s Present in the Post! My monsters are now made from wool felt, so this one is extra special. She is made from one of my very favourite vintage fabrics and has sweet little button eyes.

Simply join my mailing list and you will be entered into my giveaway every single month. To join my mailing list, just click here and pick the things that you would like to hear about like upcoming workshops or getting the first peek at new designs. To be in with a chance of winning this month you need to have signed up by 5pm on the 29th of June. I will be announcing the winner on the 30th of June…good luck!

If I haven’t heard back from the winner in two weeks I will pick another name.

A sunny Saturday in Brighton

Today Matt and I hopped on the train to Brighton to do some wedding research! We had a lovely time wandering around the Laines looking for wedding rings and visited La Cave a Fromage to sample some potential cheeses for our cheese tower! We also popped into Brighton Sewing Centre to take a peek at all their gorgeous fabrics and then onto an antiques shop where I fell head over heels for an amazing cabinet. What a lovely sunny day in Brighton!

Photographing your Craft

Making Space offer all kinds of exciting workshops and classes on a wide variety of crafts including ceramics, felting, printing, enamelling and many more besides. Now they are also offering a workshop called Photographing your Craft which will give you the skills you need to photograph the beautiful things you have made using your own camera. In this class Matthew will teach you how to get the best photos using your camera and no expensive equipment! Taking great photos of your work is crucial and I would highly recommend this course. You can find more details on the Making Space website.

Patchwork at Handmade Studios

Handmade Studios is a lovely little gift shop which specialises in textiles. The shop is located right in the centre of Rowlands Castle, just a few minutes walk from the train station. They are just putting together a program of craft workshops and I can’t wait to teach English paper pieced patchwork there on the 22nd of June from 1pm to 3pm!

This class is the perfect way to get started on patchwork and is suitable for all skill levels – no sewing experience necessary! It is a beautiful hand stitched method of patchwork which allows you to piece together shapes which would be really tricky to attempt on a sewing machine. I am stitching an entire quilt using this method and you can see my progress and lots of examples of this type of patchwork here.

This workshop costs £20 and includes refreshments. You can bring your own fabrics along to this workshop or purchase some when you arrive. You will need quilting weight cotton, 100% cotton is best. To book your place call 023 9241 2901 or pop into the shop.

The Summer Tea Party 2013

It is the first day of summer today, the sun is shining and it seems the perfect day to announce that the Summer Tea Party will be taking place on Sunday the 21st of July! After eating afternoon tea you will learn how to make a sweet little felt purse with a zip. I will show you how to insert your zip – which isn’t as scary as it sounds! – and I will have some lovely materials so that you can decorate it however you like.

Tickets cost £28 each, this includes afternoon tea and all the materials you will need to make your purse. To book your place just email me at contact@georginagiles.co.uk.