Emergency Party Tags

My half-square triangles, offset-chevron quilt top is coming along nicely - I've managed to sew a couple more blocks over the half-term holiday but I'm having a little departure this week from sewing.

It was my youngest son's 4th birthday party on Sunday and when I dug out the books I'd bought and stashed away a while ago to put into the party bags, I realised that there was no way they were going to fit into a standard party loot bag. Cue a frantic dash to the shops to find some larger bags and the best I could find on short notice were packs of brown paper sandwich bags.
With little time to spare I needed a quick and easy way to make them a bit more party-ish and so immediately turned to my Big Shot and Lollipop Shadow Numbers, 01234 die and cut a batch of number 4's from some blue glittery card.

With a hole punched in the top and some string threaded through and knotted they were instantly turned into tags.

And then tied to a handle of a bag. I'd already used my Lollipop Shadow Numbers die a few weeks back to make bunting and decorate the party cups and so the bags actually now fitted in nicely!

A very quick way (thankfully) to spruce up some plain bags and make them a bit more personal. Of course now I wish I'd had more time and could have cut out some multi-coloured spots using my Circles, 3/4in die to decorate the bags further so that they were really party-ish and matched with the bunting and cups - if only I was more organised!

PARTY BUNTING AND PAPER CUPS

It's my youngest sons' 4th birthday next month and so plans are being made for his party at the moment, which of course include a few crafty touches.

It was a certainty that the Lollipop Shadow Numbers die would see some use, it was just a case of deciding what to do with all of the number 4's I was planning on cutting. For a change I decided that instead of using my Big Shot to cut fabric I'd have a go with paper and card instead.

First up was some quick and easy card and paper bunting, with square flags cut using the Square, 4in Finished (4 1/2in Unfinished) die. From some thin multicoloured paper I cut a stack of spots using the Circles, 3/4in die and some 4's with the Lollipop Shadow Numbers die. I used a glue-stick to stick the 4 in the centre and then the spots around it for some extra colour and detail.

Once all of the square flags were decorated, using some upholstery thread to make the bunting a little stronger, I chain pieced them together (in a similar way to the circle garlands from a couple of months ago) using a wider than usual stitch length.

So simple but effective. The boys really like it and want to get going with a glue-stick and help me decorate more flags later this week.

As I thought about hanging the bunting behind the party table I suddenly remembered the pack of leftover paper cups that were tucked away in a kitchen cupboard that would be perfect to decorate in the same way.

Easy peasy!

I will need to buy another couple of packs of paper cups now though to have enough for all of the party guests. There will be no chance to forget how old he is!

Advent Crown

Continuing the advent theme and using the Lollipop Shadow Numbers die again (I love this die, it saves so much time and gives perfect results), last week I made a quick and easy advent crown. Instead of the traditional wreath with 4 candles this version is simply numbered sleeves fitted onto old jam jars with tea-lights inside.

The jars I used were little 8oz ones that measured 8 1/2in in circumference, for larger jars either the sleeve itself can be increased in size or a longer piece of elastic used for the loop (I tried one on a jar with a 9in circumference and they fit ok but the elastic was pulled fairly tight, a 3 1/2in long piece for the loop would probably be better and the easiest alteration to make).

I cut the numbers 1 to 4 from in the same way as for the advent calendar by cutting a piece of iron-on adhesive to size, pressing it to the reverse of the fabric and then placing it backing paper side up on the die to cut with my Big Shot.

From a couple of festive fabrics (I used Gnome for the Holidays and Many Mini Gnomes by Michael Miller) I cut 4 sleeve fronts measuring 8in x 2 3/4in and then 4 sleeve backs to the same measurements from a co-ordinating red and white chevron fabric.

I folded the sleeve fronts over to find the centre and then peeled off the backing paper from the numbers and pressed them in place (the numbers can be sewn in place at this stage if preferred to quilting them at the end). With an approximately 3in long piece of elastic I made a loop and basted it to the right hand side of a sleeve front.

Then right sides together, the sleeve front was placed on top of a sleeve back and then both were placed on top of a piece of thin batting that was slightly larger than them overall. Once pinned they were sewn together around the outside (1/4in seam allowance) leaving a 2in opening on one side at the bottom. The excess batting was trimmed away and the seam allowance at the corners snipped off.

Then the sleeve was turned the right way out and pressed flat with a warm iron before the opening was hand-sewn closed.

I hand-stitched around the inside edge of the numbers and around the border of the sleeve to quilt them. I opted to quilt them by hand because I'm currently having problems with my sewing machine but I'm glad I did as it was a nice relaxing-on-the-sofa evening job.

The last job was to add a button to the left hand side, fit it around an empty jam jar and pop a tea-light inside.

Being a safety-conscious sort (a worrier) I feel the need to stress that lit candles should never be left unattended and this advent crown should be stood on a heat-proof surface. The sleeves should do no more than warm up slightly on the side of the jar and should not prove a fire risk - I've done quite a bit of testing.

These are now ready to go into the centre of our dining table during Advent to be lit each Sunday (predicting a few heated discussions between my sons over who gets to blow them out afterwards, that was always what happened in our house when I was a child).

It's half term for us this week and I'm away with the boys but some sewing is coming with me for the 'quieter' moments.

Advent Calendar part 3

The last stage in making the advent calendar is assembling all of the component parts.
Before adding the pockets to the pieced background, I made a quilt sandwich with the background, batting and some backing fabric and quilted it with basic diagonal lines. Once the pockets are in place the quilting options are restricted and not doing any beforehand would leave quite large un-quilted areas - as a general rule I like to have a maximum gap of 3in between quilting lines. My pre-pocket quilting was just basic diagonal lines running opposite to the pieced stripes, I had to keep it basic as my walking foot broke as I was fitting it to my machine (aargh) and so all of the sewing was done with a regular presser foot (aargh).

Once the background was quilted the pockets were arranged on it centrally, 1in apart. I arranged my numbers randomly despite my 7 year old son's insistence that they should be in order - but surely half of the fun with an advent calendar is spending 10 minutes hunting for each number in turn, so he was over-ruled.

I pinned the pockets in place and then stitched 2 lines of running stitch along the sides and bottom, closing the opening in the bottom of the pocket as a result. The double line of running stitch was for strength, to ensure the pockets were firmly fixed (my two sons aren't renowned for their delicate touch, especially where chocolate is concerned).

The last job before binding the calendar was to add channels, top and bottom, to the back which would house pieces of (12mm diameter) dowel enabling it to hold its shape as it hangs. Each channel comprised of three sections, to make one complete channel I cut 3 pieces of fabric, two measuring 4in x 2 1/4in and one measuring 12 1/2in x 2 1/4in. Each of the shorter sides on the longer piece were hemmed by folding the ends over twice, a 1/4in each time. The two shorter pieces had the inward facing ends hemmed but the outer ends need to be sealed to fix the dowel inside, one was sewn shut but the other folded in to be closed by hand once the dowel was inside.

All 3 channel pieces were then folded lengthways and then pinned and stitched along the top/bottom of the back of the calendar starting 1in in from either side.
All that was left then was to bind the edges, slide the dowel into the channels and sew the ends closed once it was in.

That's it, done. I love the numbers on it, they're so crisp and consistent having been cut with the Lollipop Shadow Numbers die and the pockets are a good size, allowing more options of what little treats that could fit inside. It will be easy for Santa to slip the note into pocket 24 that tells my boys where he's hidden their new pyjamas for Christmas Eve...

Advent Calendar part 2

The next stage of the advent calendar I started last week is the numbered pockets. First of all, using my Square, 4in Finished die I cut out 24 pocket fronts and 24 pocket linings with my Big Shot. I used the same fabric (Essex linen) for both but the lining could be made from any of the fabrics used in the calendar. Half a yard of fabric should be enough for 24 squares.

Next up were the numbers and I can't even guess at how much time (and hand-cramp) was saved by using the Lollipop Shadow Numbers die rather than drawing out and cutting by hand - hours though! Plus every number was consistent and perfectly cut out. By applying a piece of iron-on adhesive to the reverse of the fabric before the numbers were cut meant all that was left was to peel the backing paper off and iron them on. So, so quick and easy! How much fabric is required for the numbers depends on how efficiently they are cut out but a fat quarter should be plenty (I used approximately two thirds of a fat quarter).

To make the best, most efficient use of the fabric (and adhesive) scraps can be cut from between the holes in previously used sections and used again. Thirteen number 1's need to be cut out but being a narrow number quite a few can be cut from scrap pieces (others will have to be cut from measured out pieces of fabric though).

Here's a list of how many of each of the numbers are required:

Number 0 - 2
Number 1 - 13
Number 2 - 8
Number 3 - 3
Number 4 - 3
Number 5 - 2
Number 6 - 2
Number 7 - 2
Number 8 - 2
Number 9 - 2

Once all of the numbers were ironed in place in the centre of a pocket front, I sewed around the edges to make absolutely sure they can't go anywhere.

Before sewing a front and lining together a 1/4in fold was pressed to the wrong side along the bottom edge of them all. Then, with right sides together, a front was pinned to a lining and sewn together leaving an opening along the bottom. The corners were snipped off and each pocket turned the right way out and pressed flat.

The final part for me to get on with this week is to fix the pockets to the background and finish the advent calendar, I'll blog about that next time.