Raffle Preview

If you haven't already marked your calendars for the Giant Handmade and Vintage Market happening this Sunday at the Mshed in Bristol, then you need to get out your Tipp-ex and go over whatever you've got written in so you can join myself and 50 other stallholders for some retro and crafty goodness.

Just in case that weren't enough reason to stroll down to the harbour, you'll also have a chance to win a huge selection of prizes and support my efforts to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support in my 52 week : 52 craft challenge.

So join me at my raffle table where you can buy your raffle tickets and distribute them to win the prizes you like (yes that's right - you will only win what you want to win!) - you can put all your eggs in one basket, or hedge your bets and pop one ticket per item and spread your luck.

There will be over 15 prizes to be won, including donated items from

myself, Lazy Crafternoons
Susan Taylor
Funky Wombat Designs
Little Ren
The Power of Flowers
The Vintage Baby
Tag'e'line
Lola & Lina Vintage
Blooming Buttons
Beeline Bags
The Craft Emporium

These lovely Olympic Tea Towels by Susan Taylor are just one of the many prizes you could win!


I'll also be selling Week #10 and Week #11 crafts - totebags and lino printed cards (card preview to come!) with all the sales going to Macmillan Cancer Support as well.

Raffle tickets will be on sale until 16:00 at which point, I'll be making the draws and notifying winners. Those who are able to can pick up their prizes on the day, otherwise prizes will be posted upon confirmation of a mailing address.

So please come down and support the fundraiser.

Sunday March 25th - 10:30 to 17:00 - Mshed Bristol.

Week #10 - totes and totes and totes

As I prepare for the little charity raffle fundraiser event I'll be hosting at the Giant Handmade and Vintage Market this Sunday March 25th at the Mshed Bristol - I thought it best that my week #10 and #11 crafts would be ones which I could make lots of and sell at the event to raise even more funds.
As the week progresses, I'll be previewing some of the raffle prizes to come - but why not check out the little totes I made for week #10 - I've made 16 of these little guys in an array of fabrics, and if I have a little time I might even whip up a few more over this week as they are just so simple and easy to make.
When I sat down to make my totes, I decided I wanted to create a simple square tote with long handles. It's a pet peeve of mine when a bag can't fit over your shoulder and I figure, even though these bags aren't going to be holding tons of stuff - you might as well have a bit of convenience and be able to sling them wherever you like! So I drafted up my own pattern and here is what I came up with:


(you may recognize the fabrics from Ikea!)

These totes are a very simple project and the full tutorial will be coming to the blog in a couple of days - but in the meantime please continue to watch my passport wallet auctions ending this week.

auctions and a change of pace...

The auctions for the Passport/Travel wallets will be kicking off today, starting from 3:00 pm onwards. Once they start they will appear here;

and now for a change of pace: No - I haven't given up the plan to make one item a week, I'm just preparing for attending the Magpie Market at the Mshed Bristol on Sunday, March 25th and I'll also be taking a cheeky little holiday in the week following, so all the items I'm making this week and next week will be raffled off in person at the market instead of being listed on ebay.
but wait.... there's more!

In addition to browsing (and buying) a load of crafty and vintage wares at the market, you'll also have a chance to WIN items donated by a range of sellers who'll be showcasing at the market.

Stop by the Lazy Crafternoons where you'll be able to exchange your dosh for raffle tickets while supporting a fantastic cause. Over the next week I'll be posting the crafts for Week #10 and #11 as well as previewing some of the fantastic sellers who are donating to the raffle!


So please mark your calendars and come down and join us at the Mshed on Sunday March 25th!

Week #9 - variation on a theme

After last week's experience of whipping up eight little oyster card wallets, I took a few suggestions on board and decided to continue on the theme of travel and wallets, and make a few passport holders.

I looked through a few different patterns and tutorials, and couldn't find something I really liked or suited my sewing style (I like projects which require little to no hand stitching)... so I decided to adapt my oyster card wallet. I was planning on simply making a passport sleeve, more like a passport cover - but then I remember how I've seen people taking their passports out of them upon request in customs, so thought it would be more worthwhile making a proper holder which could fit all your travel necessities.

I had to make a few tweaks to the oyster wallet:

I changed size to reflect the dimensions of the passport


I pieced together a set of credit-card sized pockets for the left side of the holder, and pieced the centre lining together with a small loop to act as a pen holder.


I added an outside 'tab' which is useful for tucking in extra documents/boarding passes.


I also reinforced the whole wallet with cut pieces of mount board slid in as I turned it inside out, and the using fusible web I fused the 'spine' area where the fold is.

I'm pretty pleased with what I came up with - please excuse the iphone quality photos, it's been a busy weekend and I wanted to get the photos up before I lost the natural light!

Proper images, plus auctions to be listed shortly. In the meantime check other auctions and the project's progress here.

here come the wallets

Sorry for the slight delay to the auctions this week. The auctions are all set up now and auctions for the 8 oyster card wallets will be all be rolling out throughout the afternoon and evening today.If you'd like to have a go at making your own travel card wallets - you can see the tutorial here

These auctions will all end next Wednesday March 14th between 13:00 and 20:00 GMT so please mark your calendars if you are an interested bidder, or better yet, I'd recommend registering as an e-bay user (if you haven't already) and 'watching' the auction. This means that e-bay will remind you when the auction is coming to an end and keep you informed of any other bidding that goes on.

Craft #8 - Travel Card Wallet Tutorial

I've always been a little underwhelmed by the yellow and blue Ikea sleeves you get with your oyster card, but generally stuck to using them over the years, along with another 'Guardian' one I got free in a newspaper... and then one day stylish travel called wallets started popping up here, there and everywhere, when shops started to capitalise on our willingness to spend a few quid on a holder that matches our own personal style.

Since my first visit Oyster purchase I've had a 'diy' oyster wallet project on my to-do-list and the more I've seen them popping into the shops, the higher my intentions have been to finally get around to doing it. It turns out that when you have one that you actually like the look of, you realise its great for a lot of things... mine will likely double as a 'just the basics' wallet for those times when all you need is a few bills, a debit card and your i.d.

Oyster Card Holder Tutorial/'Just the basics' wallet

What you'll need:
- Sewing Machine and Thread
- Outer Fabric* Cut to a 15 1/4" by 3 1/4" strip
- Inner Fabric Cut to a 5 1/2" by 3 1/4" strip
- Fusible Interfacing (medium weight) cut to 14 1/2" by 3 1/4" strip
Skills/Time: All you need to do is sew a straight line - should take about 20 minutes or so.

* you can use printed cottons, heavy cottons or vinyl coated cotton depending on your preference

Step 1. Cut out all your pieces - I use a rotary cutter, cutting mat and quilter's ruler for precision, they make my life so much easier and really speed up the potentially boring cutting process.


Step 2. Centre your cut piece of fusible interfacing, fusible side down on the wrong side if your outer fabric and iron. Your interfacing it shorter than your out fabric so try and centre it so that you have 3/8" overhang on either side. Press according to the instructions for your particular brand of interfacing.


Step 3. Press the overhand at either end of the interfacing and sew a 1/4 inch seam to finish either end. The quilter in me has the habit of sewing with a scant 1/4" seam (just shy of a 1/4" inch) so my measurements are based on that.


Step 4. Now Press the ends and sew a 1/4" seam on your inner piece to finish the short ends of it as well.

Step 5. Right side up, press either end of your outer piece in by 3 1/4" inch (you are creating the pockets of the wallet). They should be pressed so that they square up with the piece leaving a short space between either end (See photo).



Step 6. Now place your inner piece, face down and centered on your folded wallet (pin if you wish) - I obviously forgot to trim my ends here!


Step 7. Sew a scant 1/4" inch seam down either side of your wallet, backstitching at both ends.


Step 8. Trim threads, turn your wallet right side out, use a plastic ruler or crochet hook to poke out the corners and press!


Voila! Your very own - personalised oyster card wallet.


I've whipped up 8 of these in different colours - all of which will go on sale for Macmillan Cancer Support this week. Here is a shot of the fabrics I used which is a preview of what's to come.