Monday's Muse: Tote Bags!

1. Estellon Tippi Tote Bag - Atterley Road

2. Seaside Tote Bag - Alphabet Bags

3. Pleated Tote Bag - So Happy In red

4. Tote Bag Strictly for the birds - Lynn Britton

5. Oli Cloth Tote Bag Bloom - Dandi

6. Possibilities Tote Bag - Uncovet

7. Lana Tote Bag - Oliver Bonas

I hope you all have had a good weekend and are ready for the week!

It is Monday's Muse time! Well, I have decided to do a Monday's Muse twice a month now as I feel that I will be able to manage that, but trying to do it every week could be pushing it. Anyway, this week the theme is Tote Bags! So I was looking at recent posts from the blogs I follow using the mobile app 'Bloglovin' and one caught my eye! It was a tutorial on how to make 3 different sizes of tote bags but with pocks around the sides. Extra pockets are always handy and I do love finding new bag tutorials!

The post on this tutorial can be found here at Sew4home

Anyway this got me thinking about tote bags, 'What is a tote bag?'

Simplest answer....an open bag usually without any pockets or compartments inside and has handles attached towards the middle of each side. However, when I typed in tote bags into Pinterest, well.....the variety was huge. Some more expensive ones come in some lovely fabrics and most often have some extra compartments. So I decided why not do a Monday's muse on tote bags to show them off and give those thinking they may want to make one some inspiration! Enjoy!

One long hiatus!

It is funny, the post before this, nearly over 2 years ago was after a hiatus.....albeit a much shorter one.

So what happened??!!

Well my sewing machine started to fail on me, whilst I was half way through making various projects for my soon to be nephew at the time. Not a good time for it to break and there was a lot of last minute sewing using my Mum's machine the night before his baby shower, but I managed it in the end. However, it is only recently that I have got on and done anything about the lack of sewing machine and craftiness! I am currently in the process of getting a new machine which I hope to order soon. I will post pictures of it once it arrives but that will not be until the beginning of August!

I am happy to say that I carried out my first up-cycle project this year. I took an old children's chair we had in the family and gave it a revamp for my nephews first birthday. I painted a picture of Winnie the Pooh on it. Suffice to say, I was quite pleased with it.

 Before  

After

Also this weekend just gone, I visited London. Whilst I was there I wanted to try and visit a fabric shop or two, and after searching on the internet for the best place in London to go, Berwick street off of Oxford Street appeared on screen to have a reasonable amount of fabric shops. I wasn't disappointed, there were quite a few. However, some were out of my price range but then they were stocking high quality fabrics, particularly some nice silks!!

One shop I particularly like was the 'Cloth House'. This shop had some lovely fabrics and although I could have a piece of all of them, I just went for a nice simple fabric. It stood out to me as I think it would be a lovely print for a bag, either for the outside or as a surprising and pretty lining. Nevertheless, it will remain with the rest of my fabric collection until I acquire a new machine!

 Well I think that is it for the time being. I will keep you updated with how things go, as I currently try to organise and sort out my spare room. I want to make more use of it, sort of make it into more of a craft/sewing room!

Monday's Muse: Purple

I guess you would say I have been on a hiatus, not intentionally. For one thing, my computer went on the fritz and took a couple of weeks to fix. I am also in the processing of getting a house which takes up quite a bit of my attention. So one thing led to another and I had to put this to one side, though I still carried on finding time to craft! Hopefully I can now pay attention to this site again!

I thought best to start of on Monday with a nice new mood board for which I chose the colour purple.

1. Purple Cake - Maggie Austin Cake

2. Yarn felt door wreath - ItzFitz

3. Purple Ruffled Bag - Ruta Jasiuniene

4. Dahlia Purple Chair - Horchow

5. Purple Door - Martha Stewart

6. Keep Calm and Bake On - Pinterest

7. Plum Duvet - Anthropologie

I decided to do the mood board because of the purple door. When I saw it I loved it and it makes you think, doors can be made to be made statement piece or the hero of the room (hero, a popular word the Australian TV programme renovators absolutely love to use - it is a great programme if you get a chance to watch!). I love this colour palette, purple can be rich and luxurious or light and refreshing. I just love the 'Keep calm and bake on' sign. I will have to get one for my kitchen when I move.

Monday's Muse: Wood

1. Eath Bowl Pinstripe - Fluid Forms

2. Rustic Wooden The' trinket box - Zebra Home Design

3. Rustic Key Holder - Thrifty Decorating

4. Rustic Wooden Plant Boxes -Melody Maison

5. Accessory Tower - Style At Home

6. Rustic Wood Accent Tables - Fabulous Interior Deco

7. Decorative Wood Pattern - Art Signs Interiors

I had decided to choose wood as my theme this week, and when looking at new posts from the blogs I follow, I noticed that Thifty decorating had made a rustic key holder. I just had to include it. It fits in well with this collection and from reading the post, very simple to make for such a beautiful object. I will have to try and make something similar when I move.

I've never met a cupcake I didn't like!

Another baking success! 

I have been busy in the kitchen baking some tasty cupcakes.

 

Yes, I can say for certain that they are tasty. When I was icing the cupcakes, the first one may have gone slightly wrong. I didn't do it on purpose. I swear!!

So,what was a girl to do?!  

The cupcake needed to be eaten. I couldn't just leave it and my word, it was good! After that mistake, I got the technique down and iced 15 lovely cupcakes. The recipe for the cup cakes is a simple victoria sponge. I got this recipe out of Peggy Porschen's book as I was going to do one of her designs as well, and then changed my mind at the last minute, going for something completely off the top of my head.  I added some chocolate chips to it as a nice suprise; who would think these pink cupcakes would have some lovely chocolate in them too. Hopefully, these will go down nicely for the person's birthday I baked them for.