Paint Chip Art

I found this cool paint chip art idea on Pinterest and knew I had to have a go! 

All the paint chip samples I could find in local hardware stores were small strips with various colours on each card so I looked on the internet and found that Crown could send out A5 samples for a small price of 5 for £2.50.

I had a good look and picked 10 samples which cost me £5. 

I cut the A5 cards into 6 squares each measured 69cm x 69cm

I had bought a frame from a local antiques place for £10 so I lay the squares out on top of the glass to see what it would look like.

I didn't think that the squares looked good so I cut the squares diagonally into triangles. 

I then arranged them again on top of the glass to see how it would look.

After that I stuck the triangles onto a piece of A2 paper (or 2 A3's stuck together!) using some small pieces of double sided sticky tape.

Once the picture was finished I stuck it in my frame and hung it in my living room!

Please let me know if you try this in your home.

Happy Making

xx

A Patchwork Quilt

Wow, I can't believe it was August since I last posted!

My life has become quite hectic since then. 

In September my daughter, Bean, started Reception and my Son, Spud, started pre-school two mornings a week. Whilst I initially thought that this would free some time up to be more creative I soon found out that it wasn't the case. 

I used to think that mum's with children at school got to go to the gym more, drink more tea and eat more cake but unfortunately that isn't the reality for this mum. More child free time seems to equal more time to do grown up stuff like work, meetings and housework. 

I've looked back at the things I have made since August and there seems to have been a running theme - Quilts!

I made my very first quilt when I was 15 years old. My grandma had passed away and a friend of mine, who was a genius quilt maker, came up with the idea to make a quilt to help me through my grief and to have something to remember my grandma by. 

My mum had given me £100 from my Gran's money and I bought myself my very first sewing machine (which happens to be my one and only sewing machine) which I still use to this day.

It was such a lovely time to learn how to quilt whilst working on my machine which I'd bought with my inheritance.

My first quilt is still in use to this day and you can usually find me snuggled under it, on the sofa, during these cold nights. I love the fact that patchwork quilts have such longevity and are usually kept for years - sometimes being passed down from generation to generation. 

I had a little accident with my quilt in my late teenage years and spilt some dark nail varnish on it. I stored it in my cupboard for many years until I moved out of my family home and decided to tackle the mess. I applied an appliqué tree and intended to add more at a later date, which I'm yet to do. But I guess it's a work in progress! 

Here is my first quilt that I made with my friend Rosie at age 15....

I then didn't make another quilt until I was asked by a friend of mine, in 2011, if she could commission me to make two cot quilts for her as she was expecting twins. As I had always wanted to make another quilt and as I was super excited for her twins arrival, I could only say yes!

Here are the results:

Archie's quilt....

Coco's Quilt....

After that I was hooked and wanted to try perfect my craft so I made two more in 2012

Coral's quilt....

Nico's quilt.....

I have always wanted to make my own children a quilt each and thought that it would be a perfect christmas present for them both. Unfortunately time was running out and Christmas was approaching fast. I had bought the wadding and didn't want to rush the patchwork quilts so decided to make them a quilt each out of two full pieces of fabric. I chose pattern fabric that I knew they would both like and managed to make them one each before Christmas. I'm glad I did as it's been quite cold since then and they have been a very welcome addition to their bed covers!

Bean's quilt....

Spud's quilt....

I've really enjoyed making all these quilts, but as a self confessed perfectionist I still feel like I have a long way to go before I am truly satisfied! 

I have  no method to teach you as I have done them all differently along the way. 

There are some really useful websites that can give some great advice and there are also some brilliant quilting magazines out there too.

I would also love to do a quilting course one day, just to see if I'm actually doing it correctly!

Quilting looks quite complicated but if you get your measurements correct at the start then it's actually quite simple when you get into it. 

I have another quilt in the pipe line and I'm sure there will be more to come throughout this year. After making the children one each for Christmas and using mine most evenings during these cold nights, it's probably time I made one for my poor cold hubby ;0) 

Until next time friends,

Happy Making xx