gingerandgeorge

Behind the scenes + winner

Before I post the winner of last week's Mollie Makes Christmas book giveaway, I thought you might like a quick behind-the-scenes look at how one of the other projects from the book went from sketch to end result. The finger puppets are a winter-y version of the animal set here, made in super-soft wool felt from one of my favourite fabric shops, the Eternal Maker.

The whole Polar Pals project (including templates) is in the Mollie Makes book, and if your name is . . .

. . . then hurrah! Drop me an email with your address details, Victoria, and a free copy will be on its way to you very soon. 

Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment. Only being able to pick a single winner is always a sad thing, but by way of compensation, the very nice people at Love Crafts are offering a voucher code to anyone who'd like to snag their own copy of the book. Enter 'MollieLoves' at the checkout and you can buy it for just £7.00. Hopefully it goes without saying that if you make any of the projects, I'd love to see how they turn out, and if you're still using that Santa bag in July, well that's a picture I'd like to see, too.

Ho, ho, ho.

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Mollie Makes Christmas

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to be asked if I'd like to contribute a couple of ideas to a new book. Mollie Makes Christmas is filled with the best collection of projects, including a beautiful paper Christmas tree, vintage fabric stockings and a knitted Santa kit, complete with woolly mince pie, beer and carrots. Sadly, none of those things were made by me, but this thing here was: 

It may look like a Christmas shopping bag but, sneakily, it's an everyday-including-Christmas shopping bag. The inside is lined with a non-festive print, which means you can choose to hide the stitched Santa design away inside for the other eleven months of the year. Or not. If you want to tote him around the supermarket in midsummer . . . well, I'm not here to judge. 

So, the reason I'm sharing this here - apart from the fact the book is published today - is because the splendid people at Collins & Brown have offered me an extra copy to give away to one of you. To win, all you need to do is head over to their website, Love Crafts, and sign up to receive the monthly newsletter. There's plenty of other stuff to check out on the site, too (you can learn to knit your own cat, for goodness sake), but before you get completely distracted, make sure to come back here and leave a comment so I know you've signed up. I'll then select a winner at random this time next week (entries close at midnight on Thursday 11th October).

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Man-making

When I posted about Father's Day a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned there was an add-on project in the works, and - with just over a week to go - it's now ready for you to download and enjoy. The idea is to build a dad who looks just a little like yours by piecing together different details and accessories. 

You can mix and match as much as you like, piling on the pieces, or sticking to something a little more minimal. The elements can also be combined with the original card, so you can customise the 'my dad rocks' idea, or make something completely separate if you prefer. 

It's up to you whether you print and trace the relevant pieces onto scraps of paper for a totally handmade version (as above), or build yourself a digital dad.

(Credit: arrow brushes, courtesy of the ever-wonderful Creature Comforts)

You can find the full ready-to-print set (for personal use only, please and thankyou) over at the PaperCraft Inspirations website now. And if you do decide to build a dad of your own, I'd love to see how he looks. 

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DIY Dads

Father's Day this year happens on the 17th June, exactly one month from today. My dad doesn't really hold with such celebrations, but - sshh, don't tell - he was definitely the person I had in mind when I made a set of five fatherly cards for this month's issue of PaperCraft Inspirations. 

You can find the templates for three of them over at the PI blog now (full instructions and finished cards are in the issue), and there's also a fun little add-on project which I'll make sure to share here in a couple of weeks. 

In the meantime, and because it's not Father's Day just yet, I'm quite safe to randomly say, Dad - you're amazing and I love you heaps.

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Love, the Easter Bunny

I'm hoping to have a couple of Easter-themed projects to share later this week, but in the meantime, if you'd like to add some easy seasonal decor to your home, I have two words for you. 

Bunny bunting.

The more properly titled rabbit garlands are in the shop now, and if you order this week, you'll get two sheets of bonus bunnies to go along with the kit. You can also use the rabbits to make Easter cards (as below), or add them to scrapbooking layouts, like this one by my talented and very lovely friend, Julie.

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Happy Spring Garland

It feels like I've been banging on about spring for weeks, but today it's officially here. Hurrah! My inner geek wishes you a happy vernal equinox, while my outer and rather more shallow lover-of-pretty-stuff would like to point you towards a project I put together for the Hambly blog last week.

It's based around a set of paper flowers, made from punched hearts. I've been making these for a while, and am very fond of them.

They're perfect for decorating gifts, not least because they're so clearly made with love (or hearts, at least), and you can also use them as embellishments on cards or scrapbook layouts. 

Like this one.

The step-by-step instructions for both the flowers and the garland are over on the Hambly blog right now.

In the comments underneath the project, Leigh (you didn't leave a link or email address, so I can't get back to you directly I'm sorry, Leigh!) left a message asking where to buy Hambly supplies in the UK. As it's a problem I have too, I thought I'd share a couple of sources, along with a general plea to UK shops to start stocking more - the new lines are so gorgeous, it would be . . . well, maybe not criminal, but most definitely tragical not to.

 

:: Sarah's Cards - one of my favourite UK papercraft shops has a small selection of Hambly overlays, including the Frames Wallpaper, similar to the paper used in this project. (I think a sheet of the yellow overlay may well fall into my cart the next time I go shopping...)

:: The Craftz Boutique - this is probably the biggest selection you'll find in an online, UK-based store. They have over ten pages of papers, overlays and rub-ons, from both older and more recent lines. I'm really hoping they'll pick up some of the new releases - they seem the most likely bet at the moment.

:: The Eternal Maker - I mostly use this shop for their amazing selection of fabrics, and always seem to forget they do a few paper-y things, too. One of those things is Hambly, and although it's only a handful of items, it's a good handful.

:: Craft Island - I think one of the newer paper shops around, but I've used them a couple of times, and they seem great. Again, they don't have a huge Hambly selection, but there are some really good pieces (hello, moustaches), including washi tape.

:: Sugar and Spice Crafts - a little bit pesky to navigate (there's no search box), but they have a few goodies, including washi tape, label stickers and rub-ons.    

:: Hambly shop - you can buy directly from Hambly, and have your order shipped internationally. Buying products from US websites often works out to be just as cost-effective as shopping within the UK. It obviously depends on the exchange rate at any given point, but even taking the additional shipping costs into account, it's an option worth considering. Bear in mind you may have to pay customs/import charges if you're ordering over £15-worth of product (find out more here), but that is pounds, and not dollars, which gives you a little more leeway. Scrapbook.com, Emma's Paperie and Two Peas also have good amounts of Hambly which they're prepared to ship internationally. 

 

I really hope that helps, whether you're Leigh or anyone else shopping for Hambly in the UK. You'll only need the smallest amounts to make a happy spring garland of your own, and I've got a couple more projects later in the week which should help any leftover supplies go even further. 

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Finishing touches . . .

For your Mother's Day present. 

Print-at-home tags in the shop now, and don't forget, you can still help yourself to the free printable cards from last week, for your mama, or anyone else you love. 

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Palette Pingpong (No.42) : Spring Notecards

So, it's been a little while since Gabrielle and I have PPP'd (although you might have spotted her stellar roundup post a couple of weeks ago). Did you miss us? 

In order to make things up to you, I have a very happy little printable today, but first, le palette. Gabs challenged me with a beautiful shot, which in turn led to this:

Spring is most definitely in the air, wouldn't you say?

And because it's nice to celebrate good things like longer days, warmer weather, blossoming trees and longer days (did I mention the longer days already? Oh daylight, how you cheer my soul...), I have a pretty set of notecards for you.

There are four different patterned cards and four printable sentiments, so you can mix and match them, however you prefer. Choose from 'thanks a million', 'dear friend', 'ahoy-hoy' (my favourite way of saying hello) and 'happy mother's day'. It's next Sunday here in the UK but, being the fabulous and grateful child you are, you already knew that, right?

You can download each of the cards separately - pink plaid, retro flowers, grey chevron and coral scallops - plus the labels here. Snip out your chosen sentiment, fold the ends back on themselves and then use a tiny amount of adhesive (a glue stick will do) to fix to the front of your folded card. Really easy and - I hope - the perfect way to spread a little spring cheer.

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PS. If you want even more cheer and/or good stuff, head over to Gabrielle's shop, the green gables, and help yourself to 75% off her super-pretty kitchenware. Spring cleaning, ho!

Rabbit, rabbit

I should probably apologise for bringing up the subject of Easter quite so early in the year, but the supermarket shelves are already heaving under the weight of chocolate eggs, so it's hardly like I started it. 

Plus, there's no rule which says you actually have to use this project at Easter. Take off the rabbit and it's an any-time, any-occasion idea. Leave Bugs where he is and it could still pass for a general spring-slash-gift-for-someone-who's-fond-of-rabbits deal. 

I'm very happy to be flexible about these things.

Visit the PaperCraft Inspirations website to download the template for both the sachet and the rabbit, or pick up a copy of the current issue for a whole colony of bunny-themed projects.

And yes - knowing that a group of rabbits is called a colony does make me a giant geek. I could also tell you the group name for giraffes is a tower and that a baby pigeon is called a squeaker, but that would probably be pushing my nerd-luck a step too far. 

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Sunday Rocks

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