Handmade gifts for Christmas Round-up (part 1)

Can you believe it's almost December! I don't know about you, but we are already in full holiday mode over at my place - making each other fun Advent calendars, drinking glögg, eating clementines and gingerbread. The whole shebang!

Even if you're not in the holiday spirit just yet, it is high time to start thinking about what you want to give to your loved ones this year. I know that in the States tomorrow is all about shopping for Christmas presents, but I wanted to remind you that the most prized gifts are those that you make yourself. I don't know about you, but I cherish every gift that someone has made for me with their own two hands. It just so much more special! So, I thought I'd round up some handmade gift ideas from the archives to help you get started.

1. The popular sweater socks is a gift to both your loved one and the planet. Warm, cute, and eco-friendly!

2. Here's another eco-friendly gift idea -  the braided infinity scarf. A great gift for men as well.

3. How about these cute leather heart earrings for a friend to say I love you? Adorable!

4. I think men are always the hardest to make gifts for. But, this simple knitted infinity scarf is men-approved.

5. Every woman needs more storage for their ever-growing jewelry collection.

6. A simple way to say "I heart you!" - the heart pin brooch.

7. While we're at brooches, this knitted bow is so easy to make, and über cute!

8. And, to keep your girlfriends jewelry collection growing, you could make her some one of a kind crochet rose studs.

9. This is one of the most unique jewelry pieces I've made. Another great way to recycle, up-cycle and give someone something unique.

10. To round up this round-up, one more piece of beautiful jewelry.

I hope you got some ideas for the weekend. There will be at least one more round-up to get your creativity flowing.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and a creative weekend, my friends!

Refashionista: Granny blouse into dressing gown (tutorial)

I've been wanting a cute dressing gown for ages. Sometimes a long warm bathrobe is just too much and you need something lighter.  Like when you're running around the house trying to get ready for a concert or a night out. Or on a lazy summer morning when you just don't feel like getting dressed.

That's exactly the kind of dressing gown I wanted. Enter this granny style button-down. It was just big enough for me to act as a dressing gown when the front panels were laid on top of each other. And I loved the feel of the fabric, and the fun floral print.

This refashion was really easy and quick, and took me just a couple of hours to finish. If you'd like to make your own a refashioned dressing gown, here how:

You'll need:

• Button-down blouse in at least 3 sizes too big
• Scissors, pins, ruler, tailor's chalk, sewing machine
• Lace
• Ribbon

The whole refashion is done in 4 easy steps:
1) Cut the collar. Measure where you want your belt to be, and draw a line from the shoulder seam to that point from both sides of the neckline creating a deep V-neck. Also, remove buttons.
2) Zig-zag/serge raw edges.
3) Hem the neckline with lace. Just place the lace on the right side of the fabric covering the zig-zag edge by about 0.5 cm and sew into place.

4) Attach two long strips of ribbon to one side of the blouse in the front and sew into place.

I'm very happy with my new dressing robe!  It's one of those refashions where the material I started with was absolutely perfect for the end result. It's been getting a lot of use since I made it, too. All in all, a very successful refashion.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend. Don't forget to squeeze in a little creative fun as well!

Refashionista: 80's pussy bow blouse makeover

I found this cute pussy bow blouse amongst my Mom's old clothes. The general puffiness of it was screaming 80's, but I really loved the fabric and the classic pussy bow detail. You know I had to hack into it! Sometimes I feel like I should leave vintage garments the way they are to preserve the fashion of that era for my own children to explore, but then again, we can't accumulate bags and bags full of old unwanted clothing. So, some alterations were in order.

I cut off the sleeves and reconstructed them using a pattern I'd used previously. I decided against gathered sleeves, because the blouse has enough gathers in the bodice and doesn't really need any extra fullness in my opinion. I also took in abut 5cm from the side seams. I then recut the armholes and sewed the new sleeves in again. All done!

I'm pretty much in love with this blouse. I absolutely adore the vibrant colors and the floral print. I've worn it several times already, and I have a feeling this one's going to become a wardrobe staple real fast.

As for my November goal to reduce my refashion pile by 1 per week, I've done a lot of progress, but it seems that the refashion pile is like a seven-headed dragon. I finish one projects, and several new ones get added to the pile. How does that happen? Still, it's better to have many projects in the works than none at all.

DIY Simple Pleated Skirt over at Oh Everything Handmade

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend, my friends! I just wanted to pop by and share a tutorial I recently published on Oh Everything Handmade. It's a simple pleated skirt with an exposed zipper in the back. Easy to make and beginner friendly, and you'll be done in an afternoon. Go and check it out! 

DIY Fabric Basket (guest post by Archie and the Rug)

Today I have a special treat for you! Nicolette from Archie and the Rug is here to share a cute and useful tutorial with you to celebrate her blog's birthday. Have fun crafting!

Hello my name is Nicolette and I normally blog over at Archie and the Rug but today to celebrate my 3 year blogging birthday I have teamed up with a bunch of talented ladies to swap articles and meet one another's readers.

We all have those little things that don't quite belong anywhere but really do make the place look untidy if they are just left around. You know, keys, mobile phones, chargers, remote controls. Making one of these fabric baskets could be the solution. This one I have by the door for Joe to empty his pockets into after work really has made this shelf a nicer place to look at.

You will need:

• 2 pieces of fabric in different patterns 12inches x 10inches (a note on fabric, I used a heavy fabric as the outer of the basket, if you use 2 lighter cottons you will need to use a fuesable heavyweight interfacing. Once fused to the outer fabric treat this as one piece of fabric and follow the pattern as normal)
• a needle and thread/sewing machine
• measuring tape
• pins
• scissors

Instructions

1. Using a 1/4 inch allowance sew your fabric pieces, right sides together leaving the top edge open. 

2. To make the boxed corners, measure 2 inches out from the corners and place a small mark. 

3. Pull out the sides of the bag and match the marks up securing with a pin. When you put the pin through the marks, don't match up, simple reposition the fabric until they do.

4. Sew a straight line across and trim off. Do this on all 4 corners.

5. Once you have done this with both inner and outer parts of the bag turn the edges in and top sew around the top of the bag.

6. Fold over a 'cuff' and it is ready to use.

I have enjoyed being over here today and do hope you will stop by and visit me


Take Care
Nicolette xo

Custom headband set: Olive & Pink

I made this custom headband set for and old friend of mine. She bought the olive green crochet scarf from my shop and of course wanted a matching bow headband to go with it. She wasn't sure about the accent bow color and left it up to me to decide. That was a tough decision, and as you can see, I couldn't make up my mind between fuchsia and a more subtle retro pink. So, I made her both, and she can decide for herself which one she loves best.

If you have your own set of favorite colors that you'd like my headband set in, just contact me for a custom order at hanna(at)pearlsandscissors.com or through my Etsy shop. 

Guest post at Archie and the Rug

Hey, friends! Just wanted to let you know that I'm guest posting over at Archie and the Rug today. I'm sharing the tutorial for this awesome leather wrap wrist watch, so you I think you better check it out. It's really simple and quick to put together, plus, no sewing machine needed. The perfect weekend quickie! (I'm talking about crafts here, folks!)

Four Simple Goals

I've always been a goal-oriented person. I love setting goals, making lists and then checking things off once they're done. Not only does it give me the feeling of accomplishment, but it helps me to organize my thoughts into manageable chunks. It helps me to create order in the chaos that I call my mind. Most of the time I have a million ideas and thoughts going through my head. Some of them are bigger visions for my future, some are just simple tasks that need to get done, and all of that can get overwhelming from time to time. Putting them down helps to categorize my thought and prioritize my actions. So, when Elsie of A Beautiful Mess and Hayley of Tiny Twig both wrote about setting doable goals for the next month or two, I couldn't help but go along and put down my own goals. I love both Elsie's and Hayley's approach, so I'm going to combine the two and make 4 simple goals for every month.

Here are my goals for November:

1. Organize my studio/bedroom one nook at a time.

2. Gather inspiration for a new blog design.

3. Exercise at least 3 times a week.

4. Reduce my "to refashion or mend" pile by at least 1 garment per week.

I'll do another post at the end of the month to report my progress and put down new goals for December.

So, how about you? Do you love making lists and putting down goals or are you more a go with the flow type of person?