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  • sewing a backpack

    Sewing a Backpack

    May 26, 2017June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    6 Comments

    Sewing a Backpack One of the things I have discovered about being a parent is the sheer amount of stuff you end up carrying about. When my boys were babies, it was little cups, bibs, nappies, wipes and spare clothes. Now they’re older, there’s not much less stuff,…

    Read More Sewing a BackpackContinue

  • how to sew fabric storage boxes

    How to Sew Storage Boxes

    January 26, 2017June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    11 Comments

    How to Sew Storage Boxes Storage boxes are always useful. I have made a number of fabric storage boxes over the last few years, and I have usually managed to find a use for them within a few days of making them. They’re great for using up fat…

    Read More How to Sew Storage BoxesContinue

  • how to make tracksuit bottoms without a pattern

    How to Make Tracksuit Bottoms

    December 30, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    1 Comment

    How to Make Tracksuit Bottoms My eldest boy Dominic has got to the stage where if I shut my eyes for a few seconds, when I open them I’ll find that he’s grown several cm. He never gets any wider, just taller! The trousers that a couple of…

    Read More How to Make Tracksuit BottomsContinue

  • easy backpack tutorial

    Easy Backpack Tutorial

    October 4, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    8 Comments

    An Easy Backpack Tutorial When my boys were tiny, I always hadΒ a bag of stuff for them. Little cups with milk or water in, an extra blanket, nappies, wipes, a bib, a change of clothes, spare socks, it was easy to fill a large bag! As they got…

    Read More Easy Backpack TutorialContinue

  • How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern The full tutorial showing how to make a shirt without a pattern is here on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers' Network. My third little boy, Barnabas, took a fancy to wearing shirts a couple of years ago. I don't know the exact reason but I'm guessing it's also why my second boy, Aidan, won't wear trousers unless they're tracksuit bottoms (apart from his school trousers, which he has no choice about!). As I had never made a shirt before and it was something I wanted to try, I decided to have a go at making a little shirt for Barnabas. Children are an easy shape to make things for and, being small, the things require less fabric. I also wanted to try to make a shirt without a pattern. I thought it would probably be doable as long as I kept things simple. Officially I should probably have taken all his measurements and made the pattern that way, but I did not want to chase him round the house with a tape measure and probably trip over the cat and mangle myself on Lego in the process. So instead I used one of Barnabas' t shirts as a guide for making the pattern. You can read the full tutorial showing how to make a little boy's shirt without a pattern here, including how to make the pattern pieces. Barnabas likes his shirt and I'm very happy with the way it's turned out! It is very simple, nothing fancy. The main part of the shirt is three sections. There are button bands on the front, but they're easy to do and they solve the issue of the front bits needing to be wider than just the back cut in half. The collar has a collar stand so that it sits nicely and doesn't distort the shirt. The collar was the only slightly tricky bit. I made a dress with a collar a few years ago from a pattern and it was a disaster! The instructions were totally confusing and I got into a right muddle. This time I did it my own way. It's turned out okay but I'm going to experiment a bit more next time to see if there is a really easy way to get a nice neat collar. The fabric I used is this superhero print from Minerva Crafts.

    How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern

    August 20, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    2 Comments

    How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern The full tutorial showing how to make a shirt without a pattern is here on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers’ Network. My third little boy, Barnabas, took a fancy to wearing shirts a couple of years ago. I don’t know the…

    Read More How to Make a Shirt Without a PatternContinue

  • easy childs travel pillow neck how to tutorial

    Easy Child’s Travel Pillow Tutorial

    July 21, 2016June 24, 2025 Blog, Sewing Archives
    5 Comments

    Easy Child’s Travel Pillow Tutorial If you make long car journeys with children, you want to know that they are going to be comfortable as well as safe in the back of the car. And if they get so comfortable they fall asleep, that’s even better! The problem…

    Read More Easy Child’s Travel Pillow TutorialContinue

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Wild Blossom Companion: A Gentle Beginning

A free offering of reflections, creative invitations, and journaling prompts to help you slow down, notice the seasons, and find joy in small creative moments.


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Wild Blossom Companion

The Wild Blossom Companion is a gentle, seasonal guide for creative people. You can find out more here.

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From October's Wild Blossom Companion: "This is a From October's Wild Blossom Companion:

"This is a season of layers. 

Leaves drift down to form a rustling tapestry on the forest floor. 

The hedgerows become textured with sloes and rosehips. 

The fields lie stubbled and still. 

The skies stretch wider.

There's a richness in the layering of scent and sound: damp earth, woodsmoke and the call of migrating birds."

#creativelife #wildblossomcompanion #october #slowdownandlook #autumn #imspiredbynature
Painting leaves πŸπŸ‚πŸ§‘ After making an Octo Painting leaves πŸπŸ‚πŸ§‘

After making an October colour palette with water colour, I wanted to do something else with the paint. 

So I painted some leaves πŸπŸ‚

If you feel that you are not much of an artist, it can be difficult to try, even if you really want to. Often we have this expectation that what we make, draw or paint has to be perfect.

One thing that is very clear from looking at autumn leaves is how beautiful they are in all their imperfections! The colours are blotchy. They look like they ought to be symmetrical, but they often are not. The edges are wiggly and the lobes are uneven. So if you don't paint perfect, neat little watercolours, your leaves will probably be lovely!

I already had the colours, so that was one less thing to think about. It was a joyful experiment, not an exercise in perfection. Blotchiness is required! And a pro tip if you are new to this, let the leaves dry before painting the veins πŸ˜‰πŸ§‘

#creativelife #paintingautumnleaves #creativeinvitation #octobercolours #colourpaletteforoctober #lettinggoofperfection
A colour palette for October πŸπŸŒ°πŸ‚πŸ§‘ Mak A colour palette for October πŸπŸŒ°πŸ‚πŸ§‘

Making a colour palette is one of my favourite creative invitations. October is an especially good month with all its lovely colours, tthe leaves of course, and also the berries in the hedgerows, the rosehips, the sweet chestnuts, the conkers and the acorns. The light is beautifully golden, but the grey misty days are lovely too.

Mine is based on the colours of the leaves and things I collected, but making a colour palette doesn't have to look like this! You could use acrylics or gouache, coloured pencils, scraps of fabric, yarn or thread. You could use other objects that make you think of autumn colours, or a photo.

If I was to make another, I would definitely include grey for the misty days. What do you think?

#creativelife #colourpaletteforoctober #imspiredbynature #simplecreativity #wildblossomlife
On a hunt for autumn colours! πŸπŸŒ°πŸ‚πŸ§‘ Th On a hunt for autumn colours! πŸπŸŒ°πŸ‚πŸ§‘

There's lots of red, orange and brown. In one gorgeous October orange tree I saw a happy crow (I was standing at a bus stop at the time, proof that you really don't need to go anywhere special to find inspiration!).

I spotted a patch of hawthorn on the way to the post office that had beautiful red leaves as well as red berries.

Shades of orange and brown are echoed in old walls and tiled roofs.

On a very damp and foggy morning, I couldn't see more than a few metres ahead of me, which made me much more aware if what I could see. The long grasses are brown and yellow now.

And I've never realised before that my kettle is October orange!

#creativelife #inspirationiseverywhere
#autumn #octobercolours #taketimetonotice
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