Nine Years of Blogging + a Faraway Feature

Believe it or not, this week I celebrated the NINE YEAR anniversary of my blog.

In my very short first post back in 2007 I wrote that I hoped blogging would "encourage me to make more stuff" and it has certainly done that! I have made and blogged about a lot of crafty stuff over the past nine years, and my blog has helped me connect with loads of lovely, creative people and led to so many interesting and exciting opportunities for me and my business (including writing my books!).

Whether you're a new reader or a long-time one, or just a passer-by who has stumbled onto this post on your internet travels, thank you so much for reading! :)

Talking of things that would never have happened without my blog and the magic of the internet...

... one of my projects is currently featured in a magazine on the other side of the world: Australian Homespun (which is apparently the no.1 craft magazine in Australia! Exciting!).

It might be cold and dark and wet here at the moment, but in Australia it's the middle of summer so this issue is full of cheerful summer-y things like quilt patterns inspired by ice-creams and beach umbrellas, a round-up of sunny fabrics, and those charming Victorian bather dolls featured on the cover.

 

On page 14 you'll also find a trio of seashell-themed projects found on Pinterest, including the seashells I designed to accompany the sea creatures in my second book, Super-Cute Felt Animals.

 

 

Click here for the free tutorials for making your own felt seashells.

Many thanks to the team at Homespun for featuring my project and for sending me a copy of the magazine!

My Childhood Shell Collection

I collected a lot of stuff when I was a kid. If it was small and inexpensive I probably collected it at some point!

Postage stamps, erasers, badges, thimbles, weird looking rocks, novelty soaps, teeny little ornaments, pretty buttons, stickers, bath pearls... and much, much more. Some of my collections didn't last long, other grew and grew.

One thing I amassed quite a large collection of was sea shells:

Most of these were collected on days out at the beach, but a few were (I think) bought in gift shops at places like Butlins. You can probably spot the fancy bought-in-a-shop ones!

I found these 200+ shells in a box while doing some decluttering a while back. I don't "need" or even really want a box full of shells anymore, so these will be finding a new home very soon.

I'm going to keep a few to remind me of my shell-collecting days and many happy hours spent walking along beaches, and I'll have these photos to help me remember the whole collection.

 

They look rather pretty all laid out together, don't they?

 

Fancy a peek at some of my other childhood collections? I've also taken pics of my sticker album, my badge collection and my huge collection of novelty erasers.

How To: Make Mini Felt Shells

To celebrate the launch of my new book, Super-Cute Felt Animals, I'm sharing a collection of free tutorials that you can mix and match with the projects from the book.

This week's projects coordinate with the animals in the "Under the Sea" chapter... today you can learn how to make two different types of seashell.  You could stick to natural colours or sew a whole set of little shells in different bright colours, decorated with colourful embroidery threads.

To make the shells, you will need...

- the template sheet at the bottom of this post
- cream (or white) felt, approx. 2 x 4 ½ in (5 x 11 cm)
- pale brown felt, approx. 2 ½ x 3 ¼ in (6 x 8 cm)
- a small piece of pale pink felt
- cream (or white), pale brown and pale pink sewing thread
- cream (or white) and light brown embroidery floss (thread)
- stuffing & a pencil or other small stuffing tool
- needles, pins & embroidery scissors (great for cutting out small felt shapes!)

To make the flat shell:

1. Use the templates provided to cut out one of each piece from cream felt.

2. Place the front shell piece on the bottom shell piece, using the back piece as a guide so the front and back of your shell will line up later. Sew the front and bottom pieces together with whip stitch in matching cream sewing thread.

 

3. Cut a length of matching cream embroidery floss and separate half the strands (so for six stranded floss use three strands). Switch to a larger needle if necessary and use the floss to stitch seven lines on the front of the shell, as pictured. Start by sewing the central line and then sew three lines on each side. Sew up to the top of the shell with running stitch and then sew back down again filling in the gaps to create a continuous line of stitching.

4. Place the front and back of the shell together. Use matching cream sewing thread to whip stitch the sides together. Leave a gap at the top of the shell large enough for your finger, stuff the shell and then close up the gap with more whip stitches. Finish your stitching neatly at the back.

 

To make the spiral shell:

1. Use the templates provided to cut out the front and back shell pieces from pale brown felt, and the inside piece from pale pink felt.

2. Place the front shell piece on top of the pink inside piece. Use the back shell piece as a guide to make sure the front and back of your shell will line up neatly. Whip stitch the pieces together with matching pale brown sewing thread.

 

3. Cut a length of pale brown embroidery floss and separate half the strands. Switch to a larger needle if necessary and use the floss to backstitch four curved lines on the shell as pictured. If you don’t feel confident about sewing the curves freehand, draw them onto the felt lightly with a pencil and follow the pencil lines.

 

4. Place the front and back of the shell together, and use matching pale pink sewing thread to whip stitch along the pink felt edge.

 

5. Use matching pale brown sewing thread to whip stitch around the rest of the shell. Start by sewing down towards the point of the shell, and then sew around to the other side leaving a gap at the rounded end of the shell. Stuff the shell and then close up the gap with more whip stitches.

Click here to view the template sheet in another window/tab, and print it at 100%.

This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it to make as many felt shells as you want for yourself or as gifts, but please don't make any for sale. You may borrow a few photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!

Super Cute-Felt Animals is published by CICO Books, RRP £12.99. It includes 35 fun felt projects, each with illustrated step-by-step instructions. It's available to buy at Amazon UK and Amazon USA and many other bookshops.

Please note: the Amazon links in this post are affiliate links.

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