December Sew Box Subscriptions plus Sew Box for Kids!!!

So I have been very busy madly sewing for Christmas that I haven't had a chance to blog about my exciting December Sew Box Subscriptions box this month (you can sign up here, it's the best thing everrrrrrrr!!!)

Here are what goodies were found in the December box!!

Everything is GORGEOUS, I am so in love!  The contents included:

• 4 x different designs of cotton linen fabric including blackbirds, hibiscus flowers, Paris & floral each measuring 50cm x 70cm
• The Essential Trio Pattern by Flosstyle Patterns
• Santa Sack Pattern by Tied With A Ribbon plus Discount Voucher
• Ipad/Tablet Cover Pattern by Little Moo Designs plus Discount Voucher - I purchased the Kids Messenger Bag pattern
• Assorted pack of GORGEOUS Wooden Buttons in 3 designs
• pack of "Handmade" Wooden Buttons - So lovely!
• Swatch Buddies - Reusable Fabric Swatch Kit - So handy!
• Discount Voucher to fabricdirect.com.au
• Back Issue of BeSpoke Magazine

This was such an exciting box and what I love is that I learnt yet another new skill, making HANDBAGS!!  The Essential Trio Pattern by Flosstyle was fantastic (as usual).  The instructions are clear and made the bag so simple to make, I can't believe I can now make bags!!  Yayyy!!!!  They weren't scary at all either, in fact they were EASY!!  Here are the two I made, these were made for my youngest daughter's Kindy teachers and I put chocolates and Coffee Club Vouchers inside for their Christmas gifts, they loved their present :o)

It was so nice to be able to personalise them with the little "Handmade" wooden button that came in the box, I think that made the bag extra special :o)

So in the first month of Sew Box I learnt how to make hats, the second month, bunting and TONS of different Christmas gift ideas, this month, handbags.  I love how much I am learning!!

Have you signed up to Sew Box Subscriptions yet?  Oh I say you must!! :o)

Now on top of this month's excitement, Sew Box also released a Kids Learn To Sew Kit with two different options.  One for sewing without a machine and one for sewing with a machine.  I purchased both, the non machine kit for my 8 year old, and the sewing machine kit for my 12 year old.  When they turned up I had to peek inside and was THRILLED.  They are jam packed with goodies and were such great value, these are going to be fabulous Christmas gifts for the girls :o)

The Kids Craft Sewing Kit included the following items:

• My First Sewing Book or My First Sewing Machine Book - 35 easy and fun projects
• Rainbow cotton fabric - 5 colours, each 50cm x 55cm in size
• Sewing Kit including storage case, tape measure, seam ripper, scissors, pin cushion, needle threader, thimble, safety pins, 8 colours of thread, and needles
• Felt x 4 coloured sheets
• Ribbon - 3 colours, each 9mm x 3m
• Craft Glue - 60ml
• Kids fun retractable tape measure
• Pack of assorted buttons
• Stationary - Graph paper, pencil and ruler
• Pack of assorted goggle eyes
• Certificate of Achievement

I cannot WAIT for my girls to receive these on Christmas day!!! :o)

The best thing about sew box is not only the inspiration, the outside of the box ideas, the new things I am learning every month, and the whole excitement of receiving a present to myself each month, of which I never know what will be inside, but it's the value!!  Every month there is 2-3 sewing patterns, good quality fabrics, notions, sewing tools, latest gadgets, discount vouchers, trims and more!  They are $44 a month which includes delivery but there is always around $85 worth of value!  I love it so much :o)

I also got the chance to use my little "Swatch Buddies" that came in this month's box when I went to the fabric store to find coordinating fabric for the Paris bag I made.  What a nifty little tool :o)

And you must head on over to Sewing The Seasons to have a look at this gorgeous Wooden Button Wall Hanging she created, isn't it just beautiful?  I love how the lovely lady behind this blog always comes up with something unique and different to the patterns that are in the box, it shows how you can let your imagine take you wherever it wants to go with he contents of the box.  I would love to make a wall hanging like this as a Mother's Day gift for my Mum!!  Click here to see the tutorial :o)

Are you all ready for Christmas?  I'd love to hear if you had any inspiration from my blog for the handmade things you made your loved ones as Christmas gifts :o)

Happy sewing!!

Love Chryssie xo

Sewing, Sewing, Sewing, Christmas is Almost Here!!!

So I have been sewing nearly every single day!  Christmas is fast approaching and I'm having a blast sewing up homemade presents for people I love :o)

Here is just SOME of what I have been up too...

I made these sweet little Garden Shorts for my nieces using the Star Shorts Pattern by Flosstyle.

I made these groovy Hunter Shorts for my nephews using the same Star Shorts Pattern by Flosstyle (one pattern, 5 completely different styles of shorts using the same main pattern pieces, it's amazing!!)

I have had a few orders through my little Sweetdipity Facebook page and created these 4 beautiful outfits for some lovely customers

   

 And I made a gorgeous little Olaf skirt for my littlest princess who is OBSESSED with Frozen!!

Last but not least, I also finished off some Christmas Bunting to decorate our lounge room with, I had started on the bunting last month with the Christmas Cheer Box I received for my monthly Sew Box Subscription (you can read all about the Christmas fun with LOADS of free tutorials in my blog post here) but I didn't have a chance to finish it until now.

What have you been sewing in preparation for Christmas? :o)

Until next time, happy sewing!!

Love Chryssie xo

November Sew Box - Christmas Cheer!!

I have decided that every month I am going to showcase my Sew Box Subscriptions box that I receive because I am so much in love with it!!!

Sew Box Subscriptions is honestly the BEST thing I have come across, I look forward to it SO MUCH each month.  I would describe it as a present to yourself every month and a FABULOUS special treat, gosh I love it!!!  What I love most is it makes me think outside the square to what I normally sew and I am trying new things!  Like last month's Ultimate Bucket Hat, I had never made a hat before.  I love the inspiration that the box gives me and it's so much fun coming up with what I'll make from it :o)

So these past few weeks I have been busy with this month's exciting 'Christmas Cheer' themed box, and WOW has it been fun!!!  Also, the lovely Leesa who is the lady behind Sew Box Subscriptions has created a Facebook group called Sew Box Subscriptions - Made By Me.  It's a great group where everybody posts the things they make and toss around ideas and tutorials they may come across, it's a fabulous group to be a part of!!

Here is what was in the November Christmas Cheer Box:

 The contents inside included the following exciting items:

• 1 x yard of Riley Blake 'Home for the Holidays' fabric
• 2 x yards of Riley Blake Mini Pom Pom trim in red
• Bo Beep Dress Pattern by Ainslee Fox Patterns for One Thimble
• Kieran Shirt Pattern by Felicity Sewing Patterns
• New Bobbin Huggies by Ceebee Quilts
• Back issue of BeSpoke Magazine
• Assorted square Christmas buttons
• 2 x yards of Grosgrain Ribbon (1 x red design, 1 x green design)
• Spool of Red Gutterman Thread
• Birch Essentials Sew Pack including Snips, Seam Gauge, and Seam Ripper
• Discount Voucher to Angel Lea Designs - I purchased the Eva Dress pattern

I love the variety in these fabulous boxes, my favourite thing apart from the gorgeous Bo-Peep Pattern is the Birch essentials pack, the snips are the best tool EVER!!  They make clipping curves super easy and are nice and sharp.

Anyway, the first thing I did was make the gorgeous Bo Beep dress for my littlest princess.  She has a Kindy Christmas party coming up and this will be her special Christmas dress to wear and she can also wear it on Christmas day.  It was such a fun dress to make and I especially love the style of the sweet little waistband on the front, it is cute!!!  I have to say I am COMPLETELY in love with this darling little dress, it turned out adorable and I certainly have one happy little 5 year old.  I used the Pom Pom trim from the box around the hemline and on the edge of the flutters, I used the grosgrain ribbon for the waistband sash, and I sewed a few little Christmas buttons at the bottom of the dress just to put an extra little element on it :o)  Here's the result!!

The lovely Robyn from Sewing The Seasons created two gorgeous tutorials from the contents of the box.  Cute little Ribbon Christmas Trees which she has sewn onto the front of some Bottle Gift Bags and also on a gorgeous wall hanging, she is so creative!!

You can find the tutorial the Ribbon Christmas Trees here

You can find the tutorial for the Bottle Gift Bags here

While you're at it you must also check out the following links for a BUNCH of other gorgeous ideas for Christmas gift giving including another STUNNING Christmas Wall hanging pictured below: (click here for the tutorial)

And my favourite thing is the CUTE Christmas decorations to hang off the Christmas tree!!  Find the tutorial by clicking here

You must do yourself a favour by having a browse through Sewing The Seasons Blog, I LOVE the things I find on there :o)

LOTS more fun was found on the Sew Box Subscriptions Made By Me Facebook group where people were posting photos of their fabulous Christmas creations from the this month's box! :o)

I also made some little stocking fillers for each of my girls using a wonderful mini tutorial by Flosstyle Patterns.  These fantastic Hanging Hair Accessory Holders!!!

You can find the mini tutorial here but you must check out Flosstyle's WONDERFUL range of patterns while you're at it.  Flosstyle is one of my FAVOURITE Australian Pattern Designers, in fact I own about 90% of her patterns, hahaha!!!  You can find her Etsy store here and if you haven't tried a Flosstyle Pattern before, there are some wonderful FREE patterns available on the website if you'd like to try before you buy.  You will love the clear fuss free instructions and I'm sure you'll end up owning many of them just like me!  Haha!! :o)  Actually since we are talking about Christmas, how about downloading Flosstyle's fabulous Sneak Peak Christmas Stocking?  It is one of the FREE patterns that are available :o)

Well, I really could go on, this month has been SO much fun with Sew Box, can you believe all of this fun, inspiration, many wonderful tutorials and ideas all came from just ONE box?  Do you see why I'm totally addicted to Sew Box?  Hahaha!!!  If you aren't already a subscriber, you can join up here, I promise you it is FABULOUS!! :o)

Happy sewing!!

Ps...  Guess what?  It's the 29th November....  That means my next Sew Box will be here in the next few days!!  YIPPEEEEEEE!!!! :o)

Love Chryssie xo

Christmas Sewing Has Begun!!

Christmas is getting close now and I have plans to make lots of pretty little 'Mummy made' things for my girls this Christmas.  Over the past few weeks I have been very busy in my sewing room and have made lots of gorgeous little things, all of them are items I haven't made before and they all turned out really sweet, I had to share!

My daughter asked me for some new shorts (because she's growing like mad and has gotten so much taller this past year, half her clothes don't fit her anymore!) so I made her these super sweet Sailor Shorts using the pattern by Brownie Goose, I LOVE the fit and think they are very stylish but the best part is my daughter is SO happy with them :o)

I posted the photo of the sailor shorts on my Sweetdipity page and a lovely customer of mine contacted me about an order she would like to put in for some clothes to give her little girl for Christmas.  I was so happy to make the items for her and I think I am STILL gushing over the prettiness of how they turned out (the photos are below).  I made two pairs of the Brownie Goose Sailor Shorts, the Darling Playsuit by Tadah Patterns, and the Fluttery Playsuit by Little Kiwis Closet.

Here is the GORGEOUS Sailor Shorts with matching Flutterby Playsuit set:

And here is the super sweet Darling Playsuit with matching Sailor Shorts set:

I love them so much and my gorgeous customer was THRILLED with her order.  It was such a fabulous feeling :o)

Now for my Christmas present sewing, I made this sweet little Ariel the Little Mermaid Set for my 5 year old, she LOVES Ariel so I know she will very excited about this set.  The photos didn't turn out very well unfortunately but gosh it's cute, I can't wait to give it to her!  I used the LOL Swing Top pattern by A Jeannine Life, and the Kristine's Ruffled Shorts pattern by Create Kids Couture :o)

And while we're on the Sailor Shorts run, I also made this sweet little pair for my horse loving 8 year old to be put away for Christmas too :o)

I'm pretty proud of my sewing efforts this past month, my sew-jo has been in full swing that's for sure.  It's such a great feeling to sit back and admire what I've made once the items are finished, and such a wonderful, accomplished feeling.  I am so glad sewing is my hobby :o)

What do you plan on sewing for Christmas gifts this year?

Have fun and until next time, happy sewing!!

Love Chryssie xo

My First Sew Box!!!

Wow, wow, wow!!!  I received my very first Sew Box last week, in fact Sew Box Subscriptions is brand new so this is their first run of monthly boxes.  I can say that I am officially HOOKED and have already signed up to be a permanent subscriber.  Look what was in this month's box!!

This month's box was a bright and colourful theme and included these fabulous items:

• The Ultimate Bucket Hat Pattern by Flosstyle
• The Big Tote Bag Pattern by Autumn Street Patterns
• Polka dot cotton fabric in Blue, Yellow, Pink & Green - 50cm x 140cm of each
• Medium iron-on interfacing x 1m
• Birch iron cleaner
• Coloured pin wheel - 40 pins
• Birch bobbin holder
• Toggles - 5 assorted colours
• Assorted pack of large bright buttons
• Exclusive discount voucher from Sarah Lauren - I purchased some pretty gold & purple metallic trim, I can't wait for it to turn up!

It's funny because the things in this box came for me at the perfect time, my youngest daughter lost her Kindy hat so the Ultimate Bucket Hat Pattern from Flosstyle was perfect timing, and I had accidentally ironed on the wrong side of some interfacing last time I was sewing so the Iron Cleaner was something I very much needed, and it worked a treat!!

Opening this box was for me the same feeling of excitement as receiving a birthday present.  It's SO exciting when you don't know what will be in the box, it felt like I was receiving a present, and really I kind of was!  A present I bought for myself but for once I don't know what it is!! :o)

Anyway, I decided to give the Ultimate Bucket Hat a go.  I was nervous because I have never sewn a hat before and I thought it would be really hard, but in fact it was so easy, quick and HEAPS of fun to make.  Here is the photo of my finished hat, it's actually reversible so my daughter was excited about it being two hats in one (she chose her fabrics too).  She wore it to Kindy today and said that she wore it "up ways" at morning tea playtime and "down ways" at lunch play time.  Haha!!  Oh so cute!! :o)

I am so excited for next month, I can't wait to see what surprises it will hold.  Yayyy!!!

Well, this is just a quick little post to show you my very first Sew Box but I'll be back soon with some of my latest sewing creations :o)

If you wish to subscribe and join in the fun with me, you can do so by clicking here

Have fun and happy sewing!!

Love Chryssie xo

Sew Box Subscriptions, and my Beautiful Daughter Learns to Sew!!!

Oh my goodness!!!  So I came across something pretty fabulous and I am seriously, seriously, seriously excited about it.  I had to write up a post to share it with ANYONE out there who has the sew-bug whether you are a beginner or someone who has sewn your whole lives, I feel like this is something every sewist neeeeeeeeds!! :o)

I was on facebook one day and noticed a post shared by somebody about Sew Box Subscriptions, straight away I was intrigued and had a peak on their page where I then ended up reading a few blog posts by The Crafty Mummy, Miss Midge, and Make It Perfect (you can click on each of those links to read about what was in their Sew Box and their opinions about it).  Have a look at what was in their box!!

This is what these lucky ladies received:

• 1m of Heather Bailey Fabric from fabricdirect.com.au
• Baby Toys Pattern by FLOSStyle
• Gracelyn Dress Pattern by Gracie May Designs
• 2m of Lace Trim Bias from Little Cherub Craft and Fabric Supplies
• Gutermann thread
• Birch Magnetic Pin Catcher
• Birch Wonderclips
• Crochet Trims
• Butterfly buttons
• Spool of Ribbon
• 20% Discount Voucher from FabricDirect.com.au

Furthermore, have a look at this fabulous Sewing Machine Mat tutorial that The Crafty Mummy created with her Sew Box items!  What a handy tool that all sewists should have, I think I need to make one myself!! :o)  Click here to go to the tutorial.

After seeing all this and reading the blog posts I had to sign up for a trial box next month to check it out myself, and it turns out October is Sew Box’s very first month because they are brand new!!  YAY!!!  How exciting, that means I haven't missed out on any boxes (well except for the preview box but that's okay ;o) haha!!  If you would like to sign up too, click here.  I am very excited about this and will be sure to share with you what I receive next month.  Now the waiting begins!  Haha!!

Now, I have something else I wanted to share with you because it warms my heart and makes me so proud!!  My beautiful 12 year old daughter FINALLY asked me if I could teach her how to sew, yayyyyyyy!!!  I've been hoping my daughter's would inherit my sew-bug, haha!!

I decided a pillowcase would be the easiest thing to make for her very first item because of the easy sewing of straight edges where she can get use to the machine.  Oh and I pulled out Nomy for her to use (I'm a little too protective of my precious Ruby to let the kids use her, haha!!).  I wanted to make sure she made something that she wouldn't get frustrated with and decide that sewing is too hard, and the pillowcase ended up being a great choice because she LOVED making it.  I only watched over her and told her what to do with each step and she did it ALL herself!!  She is super proud about it.

Here's my beautiful girl with her very first sewn item, proud Mummy right here!! :o)

 Well, time for me to go!  Until next time, happy sewing!!

Love Chryssie xo

Sewing is Like Riding a Bike

Back in May I opened a little Facebook page called Sweetdipity.  I love the name!!  I have always loved the word ‘serendipity’ and the meaning behind it.  Serendipity means “the occurrence or development of events by chance; in a happy and beneficial way; love, luck, faith, chance, destiny”.  I think it’s a very deep and pretty word.  I also wanted the word ‘sweet’ in the name because I like to think that I make all things sweet in my creative projects, ‘Sweet Serendipity’ was too long of a name, so I shortened it and came up with ‘Sweetdipity’ :o)

Anyway, Sweetdipity is basically my little page where I showcase the pretty little things I make for my girls or family and friends, sometimes I have people see the photos and order one for themselves, so it’s nice to get a little order here and there and I love knowing there are some people out there wearing things created by me.  That’s why I called my blog Sew Sweetdipity, it’s my special little name that I love so very much! :o)

In my first blog post I wrote about how I hadn’t sewn since I left home at the end of high school all the way through until I was around 29 years old, that was a good 12 year break!  I bought myself a basic machine and taught myself to sew again (by this stage I lived 2000 kilometres away from my Nana so I couldn’t ask her to teach me again like she had when I was a child).  Anyway, I found that sewing is like riding a bike and learnt again really quickly.  Below are a few pics of the very first items I made after my long break of not going anywhere near a sewing machine.  I went for simple things to begin with, like pillowcase dresses, just to get the hang of it again.  The nicest part was that my little girls loved the stuff I made them :o)

Now days I make more than just basic skirts and pillowcase dresses for my daughters but also love simple and elegant everyday clothes too.  Below are some of the pretty little things I made once I started to become more confident.  I made a range of different things just to play around and learn different techniques.  I think it helped my sewing ability grow faster because rather than stick to a few things I knew how to make I always tried something new, not many came out perfect (remember I was teaching myself), but I was always happy with the results.  Oh, I have to ask, what do you think of the teeny-weeny baby dress I made for my best friend’s baby girl?  Isn’t she just a sweetheart?  Oh my heart melts over that pic <3 <3 <3

I wanted to put those photos up to show any beginner sewist out there that once you get going and start trying different things, you will learn really quickly and will be making a range of items before you know it, so don’t be afraid to give things a go.  If you’re anything like me when I was learning again though, always have a seam ripper handy, haha!! ;o)

Now before I go, I wanted to share with you this fabulous Crayon & Notepad Wallet tutorial I came across over at Atkinson Designs.  I made some for my daughters and nieces and they LOVE them!  I had to adjust the measurements because the notepads I used were a little bigger but they were fun and easy to make and I plan on making them in future for things like birthday and Christmas presents for kids, I think they are really cute!!  Here’s a few pics of the ones I made and you can click here to see the tutorial for yourself if you'd like to make them too! :o)

Have fun and happy sewing!!

Love Chryssie xo