Design Team Makes - Valentines Special

I thought to myself when packing up the Design Team challenge this month, that the this could possibly be their favourite one so far...and I was right!!  The Riley Blake - Sweetcakes fabric went down really well and soon photos of their makes were dropping into my inbox.  They each had a fat eighth of fabric (a fat quarter cut in half - coming soon to the shop) and co-ordinating buttons and ribbon.  I did wonder if they would struggle with such a small amount of fabric (each piece measured around 28x50cms) , but that was the challenge.  Well, as you can see, they certainly didnt struggle!

First up, Eli at Heartstitch made not one but five different designs (see, you can do loads with a fat eighth!)

From the fabric she made 2 love bird art hoops - hand sewn using embroidery silks, the delightful Sweetcakes - Tiny Hearts fabric, with felt details on calico, in 5" embroidery hoops that have been painted with a b&q tester pot(!) and hung with pretty ribbon (bright pink backing).

She also made a "love" art hoop, hand sewn using embroidery silks, yummy Riley Blake fabric in a 4" embroidery hoop painted using b&q tester paint, hung with cute satin ribbon. 

Then finally...1 heart & button brooch card, made using pretty fabric, felt, tiny buttons, cardstock, a brooch back and a stamp.  Also a speech bubble love brooch card, made with the gorgeous fabric, felt, a broochback, cardstock, decorative paper and a stamp and a heart card (not pictured) made with the scrumptious fabric, felt, cardstock and a stamp.

Emma from Sweet Williams made these beautiful keepsake items.  

A lavender ring cushion using the fabric, the ribbons and a little button detail, a beautiful "key to my heart" decoration and an amazingly cute fabric and button brooch.  Emma also made a very good point that a lot of people think its expensive and that you need a lot of equipment to start sewing, but these were all made with the smallest amount of products. 

Next, Rachael from Sew Rae Me created these very useful and more importantly very pretty coffee cup sleeve and coaster set. 

As the rules stated "no hanging hearts allowed" Rachael decided to make a practical gift using the fabric, some wadding and one of the spotty buttons.  But if coffee isn't your thing, she also made a very cute matching coaster, using the left over fabric, one of the spotty buttons and a little ribbon tag for added cuteness!! 

And last but by no means least...Lane from Willowlane Designs put a different spin on the ring cushion.  How amazing would this be as a proposal on Valentines day??

Lane used some of the fabric, the ribbons and two of the buttons and again, said she had lots of fabric left!  

All these items can be bought from each member of the DT, just click on their links and it will take you to their Facebook page or website.

All the items used for these makes can be bought from the shop and not just for Valentines day, but for any romantic day of the year!

I hope you enjoyed this installment of the Design Team and have been suitably inspired.  The next pack will be winging its way to the Design Team soon so more lovely makes will be posted here.

Until next time....

{Design Team} New Makes and A New Fabric

This months makes from our Design Team are a bit special for two reasons.  Firstly, they are different to anything I've seen (and I see a lot of crafty stuff!) and secondly, they use a fabric that is going on sale in our shop today!

This is what they were sent.....

Looks like a napkin, but it is a FQ of a new fabric to us Michael Miller's Mod Blooms in White and a metre of co-ordinating turquoise spotty ribbon. 

I think they will all agree this months was a more difficult one as the print on the fabric is quite large.  However, they did not disappoint and this months makes are all so different from each other!  Anyway, here's what they came up with....

Copyright Sweet Williams Soft Furnishings, Cards and Gifts

Emma at Sweet Williams made the most amazing fabric basket.  The pink spotty lining is a perfect match and sets off the flowers beautifully!  She also came up with a lavender bag and, having seen a fair few lavender bags in my time, I think its fair to say this modern fabric jazzes it up!  Both will be available to buy via Emma's facebook page. 

Copyright Sew Ray Me

Copyright Sew Ray Me

Rachael from Sew Ray Me also made two gorgeous makes this month and really showed off the fabric well.  Rachael used embroidery to make some of the detail really stand out (in her words, she picked some co-ordinating threads and just started sewing!).  She then backed it onto some gingham and made it into this really sweet notebook cover, using the ribbon as detail on the front and as a book mark.  

Copyright Sew Ray Me

Having some fabric left, Rachaels second make was some lovely lavender pouches and again, this fabric makes them look so modern.  She finished them off with little ribbon tags.  

Copyright Willowlane Designs

Lane over at Willowlane Designs came up with THE most adorable 0-3 month baby skirt.  She used the Mod Bloom fabric for the top layer and underneath made a co-ordinating green skirt, all with an elasticated waist.  What a fantastic idea, this fabric would make some amazing kids clothes for the summer (should the summer ever decide to make an appearance).  I got the chance to see this on its owner on the weekend and I think she liked it a lot!

Copyright Heartstitch

Elli from Heartstitch, inspired by how bright and sunny this fabric is, took her thoughts to sunny places and created this fantastic passport cover.

Copyright Heartstitch

Copyright Heartstitch

As Elli said, this project is small enough to finish in an hour or so but big enough to suit the print.  Such a unique make and so well made, a must for anyone going on holiday this year! 

Feeling inspired?!  We hope so.  Its been another month of dazzling talent from our Design Team!  Do pop over to their blogs to say hi. 

The new fabric is now in the shop and can be purchased here.  We'd love to see what you create with it! 

{Design Team Makes} Hurray For The Jubilee!

Now that the Jubliee weekend is well and truly being celebrated, I can finally show you the makes from our fabulous Design Team.

They were sent a "Jubilee Themed" pack and asked to make something unique to celebrate the Queens Jubilee.  The hugely talented members of the Design Team certainly didnt let us down as their makes were inspiring.

This is what they were sent....

Photo of Elli from Hearstitch's pack.  Thank you, had forgotten to take a photo before it was sent!

The pack contained:

 9" sheets of Jubilee coloured felt

Jubilee button bundle 

 Union Jack Button

Gingham Bows from the Jubilee Collection

Elli from Heartstitch's makes...

Fiddly but so worth it, gorgeous teapot embroidery hoop art

As well as the felt Elli also used an embroidery hoop which is available from here.  I love embroidery hoop art at the moment so thought this was such a fantastic use of the products but so fiddly!  Elli did such a good job! 

Tweet Tweet!  Jubilee Bird Keyring

Felt as before

Split ring - Elli's own but also available here

Back detail of the keyring

Emma from Sweet Williams...

So beautiful!  Love the button detail and the different layers

Emma was really excited to receive her pack and created this gorgeous brooch within hours of opening it!  Very impressive and such a lovely make.  We love all the layers and the contrasting stitching and the cute bow she has added!

Lane from Willowlane Designs

Love owls, and this is a Jubilee owl!  Again, such careful stitching of the Union Jacks.

Such a good idea!  In car mini bunting!  Bit gutted my car didnt have some.  Lane was so clever in making a few mini bows to go with this. 



Last but not least Rachael from Sew Ray Me who got her little boy involved....

Expert concentration here...

Rachael cut the felt into strips and sewed together the short ends and added some velcro to make a crown.

Such cute mini bunting!

In Rachaels words "not original but absolutely necessary!"  We couldn't agree more!

What a good reason to make cakes!

No party would be complete without cakes so Rachael design these cute cake toppers to go in them.

The finished crown and a very happy little boy!!

We hope you've enjoyed seeing the first of the Design Team makes.  Which is your favourite??  Honestly, we dont think we could choose, we've loved seeing them all, probably almost as much as our Design Team have enjoyed making them!  Such a lovely way to celebrate the Jubilee.  Please pop over to their blogs too and say hi!

Next months pack is nearly ready to go and will work slightly differently.  Each member of the Design Team will be sent a new product that we will then showcase for you here and over on Facebook so you can be inspired by their makes!  

We hope you've enjoyed such a lovely memorable weekend!

{The Sewing Boutique Design Team} Winners Announced!

Firstly, I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone that showed an interest in becoming a member of The Sewing Boutique Design Team.  Im literally, overwhelmed that so many talented people are interested in creating with our fabrics and wanting to be a part of our blog!

It was a massively tough decision about who to pick, so without anymore rambling from me, here are the winners....

1. Emma from Sweet Williams - Soft Furnishings, Cards and Gifts

2. Rachel from Sew, Rae, Me

3. Elli from Heartstitch

4. Lane from Willow Lane Designs

Congratulations!  

I'll be emailing all of you today and sending out welcome packs soon.  In the meantime, please feel free to add the above button to your blog.
 
We will be doing a blog post on each of the new members and will hopefully be seeing their gorgeous makes soon!!

Thanks again to everyone that got in touch, Im hugely sorry to those that didnt make it in as I wish I could have included everyone!!