Free Printable CD Sleeves and Labels by Dear Jesse

As I type this I cannot keep still as I bop my head along to the Fleet Foxes courtesy of Dear Jesse's 'Summer in the City' playlist. This lady has some eclectic taste in music so I assure you there is something for everyone, you really need to check this out ;)

Its not all about the music though. Jessica has designed some really fun cd sleeves and coordinating labels for you crafty gals to print till your hearts content.

Whether you're planning a road trip or looking for party favours Dear Jesse has it pretty covered. If however you don't want to download her selection you can always customise the back of the sleeve and fill in your own playlist.

I'd love to know what you think, oh, and don't forget to have a peak at the Dear Jesse archives because you'll find some lovely posts there. Happy Monday All...

 

1.Summer, Summer, Summer Time, 2.Cruel Summer, 3.Summer in the City, 4.Summer Lovin

 image source: dearjesse

Pocket Money Picks 14/May

Here are this weeks Pocket Money Picks....

1. Love Patterns Print $9.50 - Made By Girl

2. Paper Pencil Peace Set $6.20 - Lemontree77

3. Garden Lover Japanese Linen Cotton Blend Fabric $3.80- Stefaniexu

...

Don't you think the sweet Japanese fabric would make a lovely gardening apron? Or perhaps a shopping tote? It could carry all your fruit and veg from the market! The The Purl Bee had a tutorial recently to make a tote in just 20 minutes so perhaps that's a project you could tackle? Here's the link for you to bookmark.

Hope you all have a nice weekend planned! I love nothing more than spending the weekend either with my nose in a book or with a stack of magazines to read whilst eating breakfast in bed! I will be having a virtual flick through some of the e-mags from Holly's round up this week and I've just picked up the new Living Ect so I'll see you back here Monday... 

The Edible Garden

I know gardening isn't usually top of the agenda round here but I'm going to go off on a tangent just for a moment because I have to tell you about Alys Fowler and her show The Edible Garden. 

Even if you're not particularly into gardening or perhaps you live in a flat with little more that a few pots you should still get yourself a cuppa and watch the 6 part series that aired on BBC2 while they're still available on the iPlayer.

The whole show is filmed with a relaxed, vintage, thrifty vibe which I love and know you will too. I came away feeling inspired after every episode. I also love the clips that look as thought they were filmed on a vintage piece of kit and the sweet illustrations.  

Alys's garden which is going to feed her and her hubby for the year has crops of veg and salad mixed right in there with the wild colourful flowers. This results in the most amazing plot that looks a little unruley at times but really, everything has its place and lives happily with its neighbors.

I don't think I've ever been so exciting about gardening until I watched The Edible Gardener but her enthusiasm is contagious. I now have beans, tomatoes, basil, mint, carrots, cucumber, rocket and lettuce in pots on my garden wall and some good tips on how to look after them :)

Please click here and let me know what you think. Am I on my own with my new found love of gardening? Give it 60 seconds and I'm sure you'll come around.

Psst...if you are interested I found a great article in the Guardian which has a really interesting piece on Alys Fowlers background including her time living in New York and some thrifty garden tips too boot.

Image Source bbc.co.uk

Confetti Maze Quilt in the Works

This is what I'm up to today... I will show you more and explain next week when it all starts coming together.

I get so excited once a new quilt is underway, I get a real burst of energy but everything else I should be doing sort of goes out the window for a while. Does this happen to you too? Im sure some of you have got a new project on the go, I'd love to know what you're working on?

Lisa Rupp May Freebie

I am a big fan of Lisa Rupp's style of illustration (this Zebra is a fav) so I have no idea how her beautiful monthly calendars have passed me by until now?

Thanks to Kelly I am now happily in the loop! She always has the best links on Friday which with out fail send me down the rabbit hole and all over blog land as one thing leads to another, and another and, well you know how it is.

May's 'Life Is Good' calendar is so pretty I spent a good while filing and deleting all the clutter on my desktop so it could be displayed in all its glory without my icons sitting all over it. Don't you just love the colour palette too? If I were an illustrator (ha!) I would hope this sort of loveliness would flow from my pencil.

Hurry only 22 days left of May to enjoy!

psst!...if you sign up to the newsletter Lisa will email you each month with the new calendar so you wont miss out again!

image source: lisa rupp

Pocket Money Picks 07/May

It's Friday and look... my Pocket Money Picks feature is back! Lets all buy ourselves a little treat :)

 

1. Little Red Riding Hood Embroidery Pattern $5 - Comfortstitching

2. Trimmings Pack (hand screen printed!) $10 -  Umbrella Prints 

3. Fabric Bag with Bird $6.50- Jodii

...

It appears we are in for another dreary, grey London weekend so I can definitely see myself working on some Comfortstitching embroidery. How about you, what's in store for you and your family this weekend? 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend, perhaps you too can find some time for crafting. See you back here Monday...

Karolin Schnoor & The Working Proof

Have you heard of The Working Proof? Artists like Karolin Schnoor are paired with a charity who receive 15% from each sale made through the project.

The pieces showcased by The Working Proof are mostly limited edition prints created exclusively for the project which are printed by the artists themselves, signed and numbered so you know you are getting something unique and special when you make a purchase.  

Forest Lady by Karolin Schnoor

The crisp, clean lines, smooth bold blocks of colour and Karolin's use of pattern and shape really made her work stand out to me so I wanted to share it with you all here.

This print is something I could really live with in my home. I think it means something when you keep being drawn back to an image, I cant stop looking at it! Do you like Karolin's work too? You can see more here, she's a very talented illustrator with some wonderful projects under her belt.   

Who's your favourite artist taking part in the The Working Proof? I'm also pretty fond of Sol Linero who supports Medecins Sans Frontieres. Let me know what you think of Karolin's work, I hope you are inspired too.

image source: the working proof

Update: Karolin has an Etsy shop too!

Free Digital Kit With The Design House Digital Blog Hop

I have never come across a 'blog hop' before but I'm sure glad I did because it is alot of fun and you even get to come away with a goody bag for joining the party!

Intrigued?....Well let me explain what the 'Designer Blog Hop' is and how you get the goodies shown below ;)

The Designer Blog Hop is pretty much an online treasure hunt. Cool, right? 

Design House Digital have put together this fantastic free digital scrapbooking kit but there is a slight catch. You can't just download the kit at DHD you have to find all the pieces by following a trail around blog land.

Designers Kate, Jen, Tiffany, Carina, Melissa, Audrey, Deena, Meredith, Sara and Gennifer have each posted their contribution to the free digital kit on their own blogs so you need to make 10 stops in all to complete the kit.

If you start here at the Design House Digital blog you will find this piece of the kit and a link to the next blog which will have another part of the kit to download for free. Each blog leads on to the next so you shouldn't miss anyone or anything out!   

When you have completed the challenge and hopped on over to all the blogs taking part you should have found 18 papers, 19 elements, 3 alphas and 1 hybrid box for you to download for free along the way.

I cant say I'm really into digital scrap booking but I love playing around with all the elements you get with kits like this. You can print the frames out and use as labels or gift tags and the beautiful papers can be turned into note cards and envelopes.

I am sure you will come up with some crafty uses, I'd love to here what you would use the kit for! If you create a layout for scrapbooking or use these elements in a crafty project I'd love to see what you come up with so do drop me a line.... :)

Olive Manna Coloring Book

This is another reason why I love Twitter. Every single time I check in I find something to swoon over and yesterday was no different. Natalie Jost was tweeting about these new colouring books which she'd made available to pre order so I decided to investigate further ;)

I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised because this is not just any old colouring book but one for the grown-ups!  

Colouring is one of the few things you can do to really rest your mind and help you switch off from all the distractions that vie for our attention when we try to relax. If something is bothering you or there is so much going on around you that you find it hard to wind down I think activities like colouring can be really therapeutic, do you agree? 

Natalie has a beautiful online shop Olive Manna which stocks really lovely paper goods, fabrics, and craft/wrapping supplies which have a clean simple aesthetic to compliment the original pattern designs she uses in her work. In fact you might recognise some of the patterns featured in the Olive Manna Coloring Book from her fabric collections which are available on Spoonflower.

When I think about when I would actually use a colouring book for some reason I can picture myself on a sun lounger, pool side at Vilacampina with this drink in one hand and my pencils in another. This might not be quite what you were expecting to hear but to me that sounds like bliss. V.relaxing!

In fact if your summer hols entail a long haul flight this is probably perfect for you as there are only so many magazines you can lug on the plane. I'm sure there are hours of enjoyment to be had.

I'm interested to hear how you imagine yourself colouring? Does it appeal to the big kid in you too? Just make sure you stay in the lines ok! 

Pssst...order before 15th May and save $5, plus Natalie is including a free set of mini colouring pencils with pre orders while stocks last.

 image source: olive manna

Table Tonic Update - 20% off

Pssst... if you loved the ikat throw pillows and hand embroidered suzani bedspreads I blogged yesterday you will be please to know there is a mothers day sale now on at Table Tonic! Click here for all the info ;)

Ikat

Louise Bell's passion, ok, slight obsession, for anything Ikat is truely infectious. If you follow her decor blog you will know what I mean and if you dont you really should ;)

I cant get enough of the vibrant textiles and soft furnishings she has sourced for her Australian online boutique Table Tonic. These bold colours and organic patterns are so striking im drawn to them everytime I look through my inspiration file.

Louise has sourced striking, colourful textiles from as far afield as Afghanistan, India and Uzbekistan. Don't you think this exotic hand embroidered suzani bedspreads is something really special? I really wish I could see one up close because im sure the craftsmanship will be outstanding.

I'm sure I'm not alone in my love for Table Tonic let me know what you think....

image source: tabletonic

Creature Comforts DIY Gift Wrapping Kit

Did you see this fabulous gift idea Ez posted on Friday? 

I've been hunting out all sorts of things like this for my Lovely Package Exchange partner in the hope that the exchange is still going to happen so I almost felt this post was speaking just to me!

Rather than just packing up a load of crafy bits and bobs I love that Ez has stuck to a colour palette which ties everything together. Everything looks like it has a place in the box even though the items have been sourced from all over.

If I received something as lovely as this I would definitely think someone had put a lot of care and attenion into such a thoughtful gift.

If you were putting this together for a friend what would you add?

For links to all the free printables Ez used be sure to check out the original post! ;) 

On a side note... I can never decide whether to feature some of the projects that I love from the 'big' blogs because I think everyone's probably already seen them. These past few weeks however, I've come across some amazing 'new to me' blogs with thousands of followers. I figure not everyone's always in the loop so I hope that there will be someone reading this today that will be introduced to the wonderful world of Creature Comforts for the first time. Ez is definitely one of my all time favourite bloggers so go check her out! 

imagesource: creaturecomforts

What's Next...

I thought id let you know I’ve decided to loosen up a little on what I post at Make, Do & Send so you might find more than the usual crafty posts popping up around here.

I'm looking forward to posting about some of the things that I have a real love for like illustration, textiles, print and pattern so I’m interested to see how the blog evolves and most importantly whether you will all like the new content! 

As for this weekend I will be finishing the binding on the Chick-a-dee quilt Im working on for my good friend Mandy's babyshower. Can you believe this will be my fourth quilt this year!....

 

... I will also definitley be making some time to play around with these scrummy fabrics that arrived yesterday from Fabric Rehab.

What are your plans for the weekend? Is spring in full swing where you live. Right now im sitting at the dinning table blogging on my laptop with the most beautiful cherry tree in full blooming blossom right out side the window. Its such a shame blossom lasts for such a short time it really is sooo beautiful. Happy Weekend all!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Ta Da! Zig Zag Cars and Trees Quilt

Soooo its finally finished, what do you think?

I used a yard of Pale Blue fabric (although I didn't end up needing it all, I have about 13" left), 1 fat quarter in Lime and 1 fat quarter in Purple from Pelenna Patchworks. I love shopping at Pelenna for solids, they have such a great selection of colours! The 1/2 yard of Cars and Trees fabric came from Fabric Rehab and the white fabric was from a 100% cotton flat sheet I picked up at Ikea for peanuts.  

As I said before, I used this tutorial as a guide for the zig zag design and for the back I reused the applique pattern from my Make, Do and Mend quilt. 

To make the binding I cut out strips from the lime, purple and patterned fabrics and sewed them together alternating colours until I had enough to go round the whole quilt for a lovely colourful binding.

I was rather brave this time and decided to try and quilt in zig zags using my sewing machine with the standard foot and the stitch length set to the longest possible. It worked pretty well, although I wouldn't say the result was perfect but good for a first time machine quilter who didn't have all the correct equipment :)

I will be gifting the quilt to baby Joshua this afternoon so I will let you know how its received tonight! What are your plans for the weekend, I hope you have the gorgeous spring weather we're enjoying here in London today. How about crafting, any projects on the go? Id love to know what your up to so feel free to leave a comment below. Happy weekend all!

 

Zig Zag Cars and Trees Quilt

Here's the beginnings of a zig zag quilt for a very special little boy...

I thought it would be fun to post a little teaser but I'm afraid you will have to wait until next week for me to reveal all!

I've been using this tutorial from A Quilt Is Nice as a guide so if you're looking to start a quilty project over the Easter break click on over there now as its a lot simpler than it might appear once you know how.

I'm sure you could whip up a zig zag quilt of your own over the weekend so if you do feel inspired to have a go be sure to come back and let me know how you get on. Have a lovely Easter All! xx

Three Cheers for Debs, Hip, Hip, Hooray!

I have just seen the wonderful news that Debs from Make, Do & Mend Quilts has her AlphaDots quilt and pattern featured in Sew Hip magazine this month!  

You might remember that it was one of Deb's gorgeous quilt kits that sparked my new found passion for quilting so I am really pleased that these refreshingly modern and uncomplicated quilt designs are being celebrated by others too.

If you feel inspired to try and make one of these AlphaDots quilts yourself click here to get the complete kit!

image source: make do and mend quilts

Fabric Basket Tutorial

I've been getting organised this past week as my fabric stash has been growing rapidly since I started quilting!   

I found a tutorial to make these lovely fabric boxes over on a new favourite blog of mine, The Sometimes Crafter. They are really simple to put together and are perfect for keeping my fabric neat, tidy and accessible.

I hate rummaging through a whole stack of fabric so I love that I can see what I have at a glance now. I'm also really happy that I found a good use for this heavier weight Kawii fabric I got recently.

So what do you think, are you going to run up a few of these to get your stash in order? You can find Christina's tutorial for the fabric baskets here...

Printable Monkey Tags By Ishtar Olivera

 

If you read Decor8 you've probably already heard all about Ishtar Olivera's blog this week as she was Holly's blog of the week! Ishtar's blog is not only full of her beautifully styled photos and illustrations but she writes the sweetest, thoughtful posts. You should definitely find some time to browse her archives with a cup tea in hand.

As a thank you to all the new fans commenting on her posts this week Ishrar has kindly designed these cute monkey tags that you can download and print over on her blog today. Isnt that a lovely thing to do! 

Click here to download your printable monkey tags :) 

Image Souce: ishtarolivera.com/blog

Lovely Design Pattern Downloads

Ok, so it's been a bit quiet round here and I admit, the no. 1 reason is probably because I've been procrastinating. I decided the only thing to do was to gave myself a kick up the bum and just jump right in and post something, anything to break the cycle.

I am now really glad that I did because I'm really please with these little note books I knocked up and am excited to share this Lovely Design blog find with you all.

You have probably heard of Sharilyn and her company Lovely Design before as she sells probably the most coveted address files on the blog circuit. What you might not know is that Sharilyn has a blog of her own with some really lovely projects and tutorials that I'm sure will inspire you just like me.

Here I have used some of the pattern downloads I found on the Lovely Design sidebar to make these sweet little jotters and some mini envelopes.

For the envelopes I used a template from the Designers Tool Box and added a little label I had previously downloaded from Givers Log.

To put the note books together I printed the patterns onto off white card stock which I then cut in half to get the right size cover. I used some Muji paper I had to hand for the pages which was lined on one side and plain on the other so I could sketch and take notes. The Muji paper was also quite thin which made it a good choice as I wanted to sew my book instead of stapling. Once cut to size I folded the pages and cover to create a book and used a couple of pegs to hold it all together while I stitched with my machine down the fold line and finally rounded the corners with a craft punch.

I have also been thinking of printing these patterns on to card stock and using as an alternative cover for the mini travel journals I made for Simple Blueprint recently. They could also be used to make really cute calling cards if you add your name and no. in Photoshop....oh the possibilities are endless aren't they!

You will find some really thoughtful and creative ideas at Lovely Design so I hope you have fun browsing the achieve over there! You can let me know what ideas you have for these gorgeous patterns by leaving a comment below.

Valentines Day Twitter Backgrounds from Ollibird

This Ollibird Twitter background I found via Design Crush simply makes me smile everytime I check my tweets. 

I thought I should spread the love and share with you too so click here to choose from the six Ollibird valentine Twitter themes Alma and Mike have kindly posted on their blog. 

 

psst...Find these lovely bird valentines over on Ollibird too!