U-handblog

pinterest top picks: diy christmas crafts

Hi guys, it's Skye here :)

Just a little inspiration post for you all today- is everyone in christmas mode yet?! We've definitely been feeling it here at U-Handbag, and quite a few festive tunes have found their way onto our playlist!

All images/links can be found via our "Crafty Inspiration" pinterest board HERE.

Clockwise from top left: 

* Crochet Christmas Trees: I think these are completely adorable and would be a great little project to work on in the evenings. I'm still new to crochet but would love to try something like these- you could even string lots together for a festive garland!

* Origami Bows: Origami can be such a fun brain teaser and produces such cute little results- I think these would look amazing in really bright colours to top off some brown paper presents.

* Embroidered Felt Stocking: The delicate design of the tree on this stocking is absolutely perfect; if you're too rushed for time to make the stocking as well, embroidery is a great way to customise pieces and add a personal touch. 

* Advent Calendar Cushion: This cushion has been on my "to make" list for far too long, and I frustratingly left it too late to try this year. It's another great idea which is a great twist on the traditional calendar. 

* Fingerprint Fairy Lights Card: Projects like this were always my favourite at school, and even now I think they're a super fun craft project to do with kids- maybe we'll get Mabel involved in making these next year!

*DIY Christmas Chocolates: These are a project of mine that I have been working on for family members, and also brought a few jars into work today. Jars are a great starting point for christmas crafts- so easy to decorate and you can fill them with the recipients favourite treats. 

Do you have any DIY's planned between now and the big day? If you do we would love to hear about them, and I hope this post has spread some festive cheer :)

Merry Christmas to everyone, I hope you all have a fab time and see you in 2013!

P.S. Here's a little outtake I wanted to share from the sew in purse photos- meet Spiker our little studio mascot!! He also wishes everyone a very merry christmas!

Free purse pattern: The Sew in Purse!

Hi guys, it's Skye here! 

I'm back today with a free purse pattern for our adorable sew in purse frames! These dinky purses would be perfect for an evening out, and are just the right size to keep any loose change from getting lost at the bottom of your bag.

I've really enjoyed working with this frame; if you're used to working with our other frames the idea of sewing the frame instead of glueing it on might seem a bit daunting, but they are so easy to work with and provide instant gratification. 
This purse is also a great little fabric stash buster- you know all those scraps you keep "just in case?" well this purse will probably be a perfect fit :) 

If anyone is stuck for a few last minute christmas gifts I reckon these would be fab (Mary has already nabbed one for herself!) and are great little bite sized projects if you are looking for a first time project. 

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PURSE PATTERN HERE

Don't forget, send us any pics of your finished purses- we love seeing them and will also pop them up on our pinterest customer gallery.

Do you have any last minute or quick crafty projects that you use at christmas time? I'm putting together my favourite christmassy projects over on pinterest and I'll be sharing those with you next week to share the festive inspiration :)

Say Hi to our Sewing Skye!

As you might have noticed this blog of mine has been somewhat neglected of late. I've been a tad distracted. If I wasn't writing one book, then I was writing another, and then (with no respite in between) my yummy daughter comes along. Whats that they say about life and making plans? It's all great, life is full of new experiences and challenges, but this blog is a very old friend that I think shouldn't be left at the wayside just because mummy is busy!

This is where the wondrous Skye comes in.  Now, I hope you might have gathered by now that this blog is  precious to me and I only blog when I feel I have something to say...  This means that whomever is allowed to run amok in my blog should be at least as much of a sewing fiend as I am and also relish a stitchy challenge or ten. 

Well Skye has that in spades.  When she came to my place for interview I found her to be the sweetest and skilled craft-tastic enthusiastic person. She had brought with her a seriously groovy man's shirt that she had sewn and drafted the pattern for (Wow! I can't do that!)  I remember her telling me that she'd happily stay in all day and craft. She said that some of her friends thought that rather odd, but that she didn't care. And if she isn't crafting then she's blogging. I knew then that she'd be a prefect fit for our little team.  Her sewing is just superb, she's a master thrifter and she genuinely has craft on the brain for most of her waking hours.  And she's finicketty; like all perfectionist crafters, she'll pick out errors that don't exist and then give herself a hard time...we all do it!

It's been great to be able to communicate my designs to Skye. We sit together (sometimes with Mabel on my lap) and Skye stitches up my designs according to my specifications. It's really been a joy working with her and it's so nice to have complete crafting confidence in someone I trust. :) 

So skye is my right-hand sewing elf and she will also blog here as well.  I'm not disappearing altogether, when Skye blogs  we would have had a chat about the post and sometimes I will post myself (we'll say who's posting at the start of each post).

I'm sure you'll like what Skye has to say, so without further ado, time to hand you over to to the lady herself:

Hi everyone! 

I’m Skye, and I’m lucky enough to be working with Lisa as the U-Handbag sewing elf! I’m a huge lover of all things crafty, and can often be found sewing, knitting and generally DIY’ing my days away.

I’ll be posting over here with my latest crafty ventures- some bag and purse related- and also about anything else that has caught my eye. I'm very excited about this and hope you'll enjoy my posts too!

I also have my own blog at http://skyepennant.blogspot.com where you can see what I get up to in my spare time! 

For now I’ll leave you with a sneak peek photo of my first little project for the blog- an adorable little purse using our sew-in purse frames. I’ll be writing a tutorial on how to make one of these cuties so keep your eyes peeled for that very soon :)

 

P.s. I have also set up a U-Handbag pinterest account, so feel free to follow us over there at http://www.pinterest.com/uhandbagblog where I’ll also be setting up a customer gallery. It will be similar to our flickr page, so if you’d like to be featured in there then feel free to send over your latest projects :) we'd love to see them!

U-Handbag Brand - Loving our labels!

We finally did it!  We've popped our products into a clear bag and topped them off with nice pretty header cards.  To all of you lovely indie craft shops who asked us; 'when, when when, AHHH???'  Sorry it took me so long, I was in the middle of getting this baby off the ground when another baby came along...

Interested in being a stockist?

 

I know not everyone is as keen on shopping online, there are occasions when you need the supplies NOW and if you live near a sewing shop it's the nicest thing in the world ever to drop in for advice, a chat or even a class or two. This is why we have now packaged and branded our bag making goodies. Folks can now pop into their local habby shop and have a closer look and a squidge of our products before taking them home to make luscious arm candy.  The best thing is that we've tried very hard to keep our prices competitive.  You should find that our branded items cost no more than they do on our website - so everyone's a winner!  :))))

Ohh! We think the items look so smart in their new clothes.   We think they'll look so cute, preppy and professional all displayed in your sewing shop. Don't you think?

 

Interested in being a stockist?

Ohh we're all rather emotional about these babies!