New in My Shop: Royal Celebrations Embroidery Pattern

Celebrate Harry & Meghan's Royal Wedding, the birth of the new Royal Baby, or your own special occasion with my new Royal Celebrations embroidery pattern!

I originally designed this pattern as a cute and kitsch memento of Harry & Meghan's wedding, but updated it to celebrate the birth of little Archie Harrison. (I love kitsch Royal memorabilia!)

You can easily customise the design for your own wedding, the birth of your own little prince or princess, or as a new baby or wedding/anniversary gift.

You could also just use the lion and unicorn patterns to sew cute stuff!

Here's how I stitched the Royal Baby version (framed in a 7 inch embroidery hoop).

I've included simpler versions of the text for this and the Royal Wedding embroidery, as well as blank banners and some useful guide lines for adding your own custom text.

As well as the main pattern (plus customisable versions - including a pretty floral option which I think would be lovely as nursery decor or as a wedding gift) I've also included individual elements from the pattern separately so you can easily include them in other projects.

The heart and rings would make a fab embroidered felt ornament for a wedding gift (heart on the front, rings and initials and a date on the back) and the lion and unicorn are just adorable on their own (I'm so pleased with how they both turned out!). Oh, and I've included a Union Jack version of the heart, too, in case that's useful (maybe you'd like to stitch a memento of Will & Kate's wedding instead?)

I stitched the unicorn in some cute colours (adding a metallic silver horn and some silvery bits in its mane and tail) then framed it in a 5 inch embroidery hoop and added LOTS of sparkly silver star sequins. Here's a video so you can see just how sparkly it is!

Remember: when you buy any patterns from my shop you can of course make lots of things for yourself and to give as gifts, but you can also sell the finished items at craft fairs or in your Etsy shop, etc, as long as you credit me as the designer.

You can buy my Royal Celebrations pattern from my shop - it'll be available to download immediately after your payment goes through! Shop before June 2nd to get this design at the bargain launch price. 

P.S. Don't want to miss out on any new patterns I add to my shop? Subscribe to my newsletter for shop updates and/or a monthly free project!

DIY Fantastic Festival Hairbands Tutorial

Today I'm sharing a fun and easy DIY project: decorating plastic Alice bands!

 

 

ADVERTISEMENT: This tutorial is sponsored by Bostik, and is part of a series of crafty projects I'm creating to promote their range of adhesives. Click here to see all the posts in the series!

This post is actually the start of a whole week of Bostik-themed craftiness here on my blog. I'll be sharing creative ideas using all these different products:

I'll be using the PVA Glue, Glu Dots, Micro Dots and Blu Tack later in the week (on Wednesday and Friday), but today I'm getting crafty with Bostik's Power Repair glue.

According to the packaging, Bostik Power Repair Ultimate Strength Glue "provides a long lasting bond for just about anything - glass, wood, stone, metal, leather, rubber, plastics, ceramics and much more!" It "resists knocks and drops, is waterproof and works in extreme temperatures."

It's ideal for small repairs around the house, basically, but did I want to use it to repair something around the house? No I did not. I wanted to use it to make something fun and joyful and to test it out on a project that I'd normally use a glue gun for because I'm always interested in alternatives to worrying that I'm going to burn myself with hot glue.

So, I decided to decorate some plain plastic Alice bands and turn them into fun accessories to wear to parties, gigs, or festivals this summer.

 
To make your own headband, you'll need a plain plastic band to use as your base (the wide plastic ones are particularly great as they give you a big flat surface to glue stuff to), something fun to stick on them, and some Bostik Power Repair glue or other suitable strong glue.

I decorated the narrow hairband with bright felt balls, and the wide hairband with a trio of mini rubber ducks. Rubber ducks are pretty cute and the colours are fab, but I also love the idea of wearing rubber ducks in your hair to a festival where the forecast is for lots of rain! The Power Repair glue is waterproof, so you won't need to worry about the ducks sliding off your head during a downpour.

I applied the glue to the bottom of one of the ducks and the top of the wide headband using the narrow nozzle on the glue (you can also unscrew the whole cap if you're sticking something larger), then held them together for a few minutes.

The glue is "repositionable for up to 3 minutes" which means you don't have that OH NO I STUCK IT IN THE WRONG PLACE ARGH moment that so often happens when working with a glue gun but it does mean you may need to be patient while the glue sets a little. If you were sticking something flat on top of something else flat you could just leave them both sitting there but my duck would definitely have slid off the curved headband if I'd not held it in place.

The glue is quite a thick gel and applies easily without dripping, which is great. The packaging also boasts that it "won't glue your fingers together" which is always EXCELLENT news when working with strong glue (I always end up getting glue on my fingers no matter how carefully I work). 

I then left the headband propped up (between two small wooden boxes) for a while to give the glue a chance to set some more (it fully sets after two hours and will reach full strength after 24 hours).

After about 20 minutes I nudged the duck gently and was happy with how it was holding in place so I repeated the process to add the other two ducks, each time propping the headband up so the latest duck was sitting as horizontal as possible so it wouldn't slide down the curved band.

 

I used the same method for adding the felt balls to the narrow headband, just adding less glue and only waiting about 10 or 15 minutes for the glue to have taken hold. (I didn't time this exactly, just wandered off to get a few other things done while I was waiting so you may find you can add the next item to your headband much quicker than this!)

 

And that's it! Told you it was easy. Now all you need to do is go try on your hairband(s) and take some selfies :)

DISCLOSURE: this post is sponsored by Bostik, who also provided the Power Repair I used to make the headbands.

P.S. Fancy some more free crafty goodness? Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Autumn Crafting: Mason Jar Scene Tutorial

My autumn tree obsession continues today with a tutorial for making a cute little autumnal scene in a Mason jar!

This tutorial is sponsored by Bostik - you get two tutorials thanks to them this week, yay! Like the 3D card tutorial I shared on Wednesday, today's post is part of a series of crafty projects I'm sharing using Bostik's range of adhesives (I've also made a giant floral hula hoop wreath and some autumn leaf cards).

Mason jar crafts have become really popular in recent years and I see a lot of Christmassy "winter scene" tutorials on Pinterest, where people stick some felt snow and a couple of Christmas ornaments in a Mason jar and make a sweet little festive scene.

I've never seen any for different seasons of the year, though, so I thought it would be fun to make a little autumn scene in a jar: a tiny house and a tree shedding lots of lovely autumn leaves.

 

If you wanted, you could make a spring version of this project by making the tree a lovely bright green and skipping the fallen leaves... or you could adapt the tree and make a fir tree instead, then add some fake snow (maybe cotton wool or shredded paper?) for a DIY winter scene.

The little house would also make a cute Christmas ornament on its own: just add a thread for hanging the house or make a whole set of little houses (maybe with different colour roofs and a variety of door and window styles?) to sit along a bookshelf.


You will need:

- a Mason, Kilner or other glass jar (I used a 0.5L Kilner preserve jar, approx 12cm high).

- the templates provided at the bottom of this post
- Bostik Glu Dots (or some strong craft glue)
- a Bostik Blu Stick (or other glue suitable for sticking paper and card) - green felt
- white card
- brown, orange and red card (or white card coloured in brown, orange and red)
- a pencil
- a fine black pen
- a ruler
- craft scissors
- sewing scissors

You may also need:

- a compass (for drawing a circle template)
- an air-erasable fabric marker

To make an autumn scene:

1. Cut a green felt circle slightly smaller than the base of your jar. I used the lid of my jar as a template (drawing around it directly onto the felt with an air-erasable marker pen) but you may need to measure your jar and create a paper template to suit your jar's proportions.

Check the felt shape fits neatly at the bottom of the jar, and trim it to fit if necessary. Cut a second matching felt circle and set this aside until later.

2. Secure the felt circle inside the jar. To do this I used Bostik Glu Dots, adding five dots spaced out across the felt circle then pressing it down firmly onto the inside of the jar. Quick and easy, and mess-free!

3. Use the templates provided to cut out two tree trunk shapes and one tree leaves shape from card. Draw around the templates with a sharp pencil, turning over the tree trunk template to draw the second shape.

Erase any remaining pencil lines, then draw on the fold lines as marked on the tree trunk template.

4. Fold along the lines, so each tree trunk piece has a little tab of card at the bottom.

Glue the first tree trunk piece to the leaves, as shown. I used a Bostik Blu Stick for this - the glue starts out blue then dries clear, so you can easily make sure you've covered all the tree's branches before sticking it in place.

5. Once the first side of the tree has dried completely, turn it over and add the second tree trunk so it lines up with the first.

Once the glue has dried, you'll have a little card tree which should stand up on the two tabs at the bottom.

6. Print the house template onto a piece of white card, or use the measurements as a guide to draw the template neatly on white card using a ruler and a pencil. Carefully cut out the house shape.

If you're drawing out the template but have resized it to better fit your jar, use a ruler to carefully measure the lines before reproducing them on the white card.

7. Fold along all the internal lines. For neat folds, carefully score along the lines using a ruler and the blade of a pair of scissors (or a biro that's run out of ink) then fold so all the printed or pencil lines are on the inside.

8. Draw a door and windows onto one side of the house using a black pen. For extra neatness, you may want to draw the details with a pencil first then erase the pencil lines once the ink has fully dried. You could also add some colour by colouring in the door with a coloured pencil or felt tip pen.

9. Use the roof template to cut out a roof from red card. Fold it in half so any pencil marks are on the inside.

10. Assemble the house, carefully applying glue to the little card tabs and holding the shape together while the glue dries enough to hold.

I used the Bostik Blu Stick for this, gluing the tabs at the side of the walls then the tabs for the pointed roof.

11. Once the house has fully dried, use more glue to add the red roof. Again, hold the card in place while the glue takes effect then leave it to dry fully.

12. Carefully place the tree and house in the jar, plan the best position for each of them then remove them both from the jar again.

Add some adhesive underneath the base of the tree then place it back in the jar, pressing it into its final position (I used one Bostik Glu Dot under each of the tabs at the base of the tree).

Then take the second green felt circle you cut out earlier, and cut a line so it will fit around the tree. If your little house wasn't sitting flat in the base of the jar (because the base itself isn't flat) cut one or two felt pieces to help make the house level.

Place these felt pieces and the little house in the jar to check you're happy with 

how everything looks, then take them out again. 

Add some adhesive (I used another couple of the Glu Dots) to the bottom of the "extra" felt piece(s) and carefully press it/them in position.

Then place the second felt circle in the bottom of the jar, around the base of the tree, adjusting it until you're happy with it. (Don't use adhesive for this!)

13. Add the little house. You can use adhesive to secure the house in position, but I decided to leave mine unattached to make it easier to perfectly position it within the jar.

14. Finally, cut out lots of small leaf shapes from orange card (to match your tree) and sprinkle them into the jar as if they've fallen from the tree. This will add to the autumnal feel of the scene and help cover up the line you've cut in the felt circle.

Now just put the lid back on the jar, place it carefully on a shelf or your mantelpiece and enjoy!

DISCLOSURE: this post is sponsored by Bostik, who also provided the Glu Dots and Blu Stick I used to make the autumn scene.

Follow the links to open the template sheets in a new window, make sure you're viewing them full size then print them at 100%.

House Templates.

Tree & Roof Templates.