Crafty Colour Palette #2: Colour list

Yellow: DMC 3078 / Anchor 292

Orange: DMC 3856 / Anchor 1010

Pink: DMC 3689 / Anchor 49

Purple: DMC 155 / Anchor 1030

Blue: DMC 3811 / Anchor 1060

Mint: DMC 966 / Anchor 206

These colours immediately made me think of the amazing wool felt colours from Cloud Craft. They are definitely the best colours in wool felt! So I got in touch with Nicole from Cloud Craft, and she very kindly sent me the felt for this project. I have such a large collection of embroidery thread that I had all the DMC thread that I needed! If you would like to purchase the thread or the felt in these colours, you can find the links in the project list below.

Crafty Colour Palette #2: Enamel pin holder

When I was thinking about what to make with these felt colours, I knew that I wanted to showcase each shade and I thought that a rainbow effect would be the best way to do this. I have recently started adding to my pin collection and thought it would be great to have something to keep them on. Ta-dah!

Materials

Templates (click here to download – prints on A3 paper)

7″ embroidery hoop

Needle and pins

Sharp fabric scissors

Paper scissors

A pencil

You will also need wool felt in the following colours (with matching thread in brackets):

Buttery (no matching thread needed for this layout, but matches DMC 3078)

Barbie (matches DMC 3858)

Ascot (matches DMC 3689)

Lavender posie (matches DMC 155)

Spearmint (matches DMC 3811)

Pistachio (matches DMC 966)

Step 1

Print out your templates and cut them out using your paper scissors. Lay out the template pieces next to your felt colours, so that you can work out which one goes with which colour.

Step 2

Carefully pin each pattern piece on the colour you want to use, and cut around them using your fabric scissors. Then layer each piece with about 1cm overlap on each side (I went from left to right putting the next piece on top each time). Pin in place. Don’t worry if it doesn’t make a perfect circle, we’ll sort that out shortly!

Step 3

When all the pieces are in place, check the positioning by putting the outer ring of the embroidery hoop over the top. Make sure you can see enough of the outer colours, and adjust the positioning if you need to.

Step 4

When you’re happy with the positioning, you can start to stitch! You only need one stitch for this, which is back stitch. Using the thread colour to match the felt (I started with apricot), thread your needle with 3 strands. Come up through the fabric and make a small stitch, a little way from the edge (see 1 and 2 in the photo below). Then bring your needle up one stitch length away from that (photo 3), before bringing the needle down through the felt at the point where your first stitch ended (photo 4).

Step 5

Repeat all the way along the line, following the line of the felt as a guide. Then do the same with the other colours, matching the thread colours each time.

Step 6

When all of the stitching is complete, turn the felt over so the wrong side is facing up. Put the outer ring of the hoop over it, and draw around the inside with a pencil. Use your fabric scissors to cut out the circle. You might cut some of the knots off at this point, but that’s ok!

Step 7

Once trimmed, place the felt back in the hoop and tighten the screw to secure it. You can leave the back open to see the pretty colours! I thought about adding an extra circle of felt at the back to cover it up, but this makes it too thick to put the pins through. No-one can see the back anyway! You may notice that I’ve painted my hoop to add a bit of extra colour.

Ta-dah!

Your hoop is ready to display all of your lovely pins on! Or just leave it plain if you prefer – that’s the beauty of this project

The pins on my hoop are by the following makers: Sally Sunshine pin by Leslieanne Made It, Fuelled by Tea pin by Samantha Eynon and I Love Tea pin by Kate Garey.

Want one of these enamel pin holder hoops?

If you’re not a crafter but you’d like to get your hands on one of these, fear not! They are now available in my online shop, where you’ll also find a vegan friendly version too. Also, head over to @hellohoorayblog on Instagram for details of a giveaway coming this week! You could win this hoop! Give @cloud.craft a little follow while you’re there too as Nicole has a super inspiring feed!

If you want to get your hands on some pastel highlighters, you can find them here.

Thank you so much to Nicole at Cloud Craft for providing me with the felt for this project. All other materials and tools my own.

Post updated 11th November 2019.

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The art of writing letters

Do you still write letters? Many of my long-term readers will know that it’s something that I try and do as much as I can. I really love spending time making cards and envelopes to send (yes, I still do that after many years!) and I always send thank you cards for gifts that I have received. I think it’s really important to do this – partly because I was brought up doing it, and partly for the pleasure of saying thank you. For me, it’s much nicer to do that with a card or a letter, with something you can hold in your hand. What do you think? Do you still send letters or thank you cards? I’d love to know, so please do leave a comment in the box below if you have time. I do hope you can tune in on Monday! 10am (BST) on BBC Radio 4.

If you’d like to make your own cards or envelopes, there are loads of tutorials on my blog! See links below or browse through the archives to find inspiration.

An update

I had so much fun on the show and have had some lovely comments – thank you so much! Here are a couple of photos of me in the broom cupboard at BBC Newcastle before we got started:

It was a really great experience – thank you all for tuning in! I’ve been working on something exciting since the show…stay tuned for more information coming soon!

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I think I might have mentioned a while back that I had got this trolley from IKEA. It is the trolley of dreams. I said that to Tom and he thought I’d gone mad, but my crafty friends know what I’m talking about! It is a bit pricey which is what put me off getting one for a long time, but it has made my life so much easier. Most of my crafting is done in the kitchen, so the trolley moves around a lot depending on where I am making things at the time. It took me a while to get it organised, but I have now got everything that I use regularly on my trolley. No more hunting for the seam ripper. No more wondering where I’ve put my bias tape maker. They’re on the trolley! So this is my little crafting set-up:

The trolley fits perfectly where I craft, and (handily) it is the same height as our kitchen table. I decided to keep sewing bits and bobs on the top so that I could reach them easily if I need them. I have my pin cushions on the top so that I can just grab a pin quickly if I need to, with my scissors, rotary cutter and other useful things in there too. There are also a few pens and pencils as well as my notebooks for writing things I need to remember (usually to include in a post about what I’m making!). You can never have too many notebooks, right?

And if I get a bit chilly, I’ve got the beautiful fingerless gloves that my friend Tiffany knitted for me!

The second shelf is also for sewing-related bits and bobs. I have quite a good collection of tins which store thread, sewing machine things (like feet) and other things that might be useful. I’ve also managed to squeeze my box of embroidery floss on there )although I probably need another one for the overflow now…) and a few patterns that I’m currently making.

The bottom shelf is for stationery (with an e for envelope). As a stationery fan I have quite a lot, so it took some time to really work out what I needed on there! The jars of washi tape were the first items to make the cut. I’ve managed to fit lots of pretty pens on there too

So my top tip for people who don’t have a craft room is – don’t worry, just get organised! I actually really love making things in our kitchen and have found that I have been longing for a craft room much less than before, if at all actually. Really! Find a space that works best for you, and then just be as organised as possible with your kit. My trolley hasn’t completely stopped me from having to make extra trips upstairs, but it has certainly reduced them and that makes me happy (what can I say? I’m easily pleased! ).

What have you done to organise your craft kit? Do you have a lovely craft room? I’d love to know!

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Earlier this year I decided to share my trade secrets about how to make envelopes, and I was really pleased with how popular the post was! So I thought it was about time that I do a second envelope tutorial, but this time showing you how to make lined envelopes. They are really good for a special occasion and you can customise them to any colour scheme you want to. I used tissue paper for the lining, but you could use any pretty paper – just make sure that it isn’t too thick, otherwise it will be difficult to fold the envelope.

You will need:

Paper for the outer and inner envelope
An outer envelope template
An inner envelope template
Scissors
A glue stick
A ruler
A pencil
Double-sided sticky tape
A cutting mat (or flat surface for drawing on)

Step 1: Make your templates by finding an envelope in the size that you want, and make the inside template by drawing a smaller shape of the outer envelope (see photo!). Cut out your templates on to some fairly thick card – this will allow you to use them again and again! You might need to use a craft knife to do this, depending on the thickness. Then draw around each template on the paper that you have chosen, cutting them out really carefully.

Step 2: Rub out the pencil marks on the top of the inside of the outer envelope (there’s no need to do the others as you won’t see them once everything is stuck together). Place the lining on top and then lift up the top edge and glue a line where the lining will be placed (see photo above!). Then fill in the rest of the gap with glue and then carefully smooth out the lining (see next 2 photos!).

Step 3: Repeat this gluing with the rest of the lining (it’s easiest to do this in one go). Leave the lining to dry for a while – a good opportunity to put the kettle on…

Step 4: When it has dried, you can fold the envelope – the ruler will come in very handy here! Start with the sides first, then the bottom and then the top. Make sure you’ve pressed each side down carefully.

Step 5: Measure a length of sticky tape to stick the bottom to the sides (I usually cut a 1cm strip in half). Place the tape carefully along the bottom of each side edge, remove the backing and then stick.

Step 6: Finally, measure another length of sticky tape for sealing in the same way as before. Stick as close as you can to the top edge – but remember not to pull of the backing this time!

Ta-dah!

I made the plain coloured linings as part of a rainbow set, which would make a really nice gift. But there are so many lovely patterned tissue papers that you could use – these ones are my favourites!

I was hoping to include the templates with this, but I’m having computer issues – ugh! I want the templates to be actual size but they’re printing a few millimetres smaller than they should. If I can figure out how to fix this, I’ll post them!

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It’s National Stationery Week this week, and to celebrate I’m giving away my trade secret – how to make your own envelopes! They’re super easy and make really great gifts, although if you choose paper that you love you might not want to give them away! But as my friend Emily put it, envelopes ‘must fulfil their destiny’, so why not write to a friend this week?

You will need:
A sheet of thick wrapping paper (thin stuff doesn’t work very well)
Some double-sided sticky tape
An envelope in a size and style which you would like to make
A pencil
A ruler
Scissors
A cutting mat (or flat surface for drawing on)

Step 1: Lay the paper on a flat surface and decide which way to fit the most envelopes out of the sheet. Draw around the envelope and then cut them out carefully (save the scraps for other projects!).

Step 2: Next, you need to fold the envelope – the ruler will come in very handy here! Start with the sides first, then the bottom and then the top. Make sure you’ve pressed each side down carefully.

Step 3: Measure a length of sticky tape to stick the bottom to the sides (I usually cut a 1cm strip in half). Place the tape carefully along the bottom of each side edge, remove the backing and then stick.

Step 4: Finally, measure another length of sticky tape for sealing in the same way as before. Stick as close as you can to the top edge – but remember not to pull of the backing this time!

Ta-dah! There you have your very own envelopes! When choosing paper, try to go for smaller designs as they’re really effective. These ones are my favourites:

You can make them in any size too!

You can also make them for any occasion – we made them for our wedding invitations I’d love to see photos of your handmade envelopes if you decide to have a go, whatever the occasion!

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This week is National Stationery Week, celebrating all things stationery (with an ‘e’) and with the aim of ‘getting Britain writing’. Last year there was a National Stationery Day, which was such a huge success that Chris Leonard-Morgan and his super team of stationery enthusiasts decided to turn it into a whole week – and rightly so! I was lucky enough to win their competition with an amazing prize, which was a £500 stationery hamper and as many of you know I’m pretty obsessed with stationery so this was an amazing treat! Chris even came all the way up North to present me with my hamper, which was so kind and it was great to spend the morning chatting about stationery! This is us with Emma (far left) who is assistant manager at Paperchase in Newcastle, and we were grateful to them for letting us take over the shop for a while!

There has been lots of excitement about it in the press this year, and I was really chuffed to see this feature in Crafty Magazine last month!

This year the competition is running again, so why not enter? Find out more by visiting the National Stationery Week website. If you’re looking for things to make and do to celebrate, watch out for more posts here this week!

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