CHRISTMAS BEDROOM SET

The count down is finally over and tomorrow is the well awaited birthday of our Saviour Jesus Christ...With decked up halls and boughs of holly when every one in the world has geared up for the event, we bloglanders are pretty sure waiting to show off the wonderful creations of yule tide spirit..The spirit behind it involves sharing and admiring the fellow bloggers creations as well..It was this disposition that made me visit my loving friend Nima .. An excellent seamstress and home maker herself she had some wonderful jam tarts and cookies freshly baked for me and my DH.. But believe me I couldnt sit in one place for long since her sweet abode is a show case of her awesome christmas creations.. I was relishing every moment and every precious piece of art in front of my eyes..while we chated and giggled all through out, our husbands relaxed in each others company, now and then teasing us, watching our high spirits ..My loving friend also gifted me a crocheted dainty snowflake and a beautiful beaded crosss stitched ornament.. This is the photo of her lovely tree loaded with her exquisite handmade christmas trimmings..You can have a look at all these eye candies in her gorgeous blog, www.madetotreasure.com.

Have a look at the sparkling snowflakes crocheted by her.. Absolutely petite ! I regret not having snapped a few close ups:(.. The tree skirt has also been made by her..

Now I would like to share with you all my lastest christmas creation of this year.. I sewed a set of soft furnishngs for my bed room.. I had purchased a satin finish off white bed spread from India during my last visit to my home town.. The plan was to applique something on it.. But lack of time made me rethink.. So finally decided on sewing a runner ,a few throw pillows and accessories.. Since the pillow covers were readymade it was not easy to unpick the seams and embellish something on them .. So ultimately decided upon attaching some matching bows that would go with the theme.The bows are attached using press buttons.

A close up of jingle bells attached to the centre of poinsettias

The Runner

Two bedside table mats with gold tissue borders

Throw pillow

To satisfy my passion for beads, I have secured a few red beads ,to represent the holly berries

A matching tissue boxThats all for today and for this christmas..Now there is a long wait for the next season's creativity .. isnt it?

Christmas comes but once a year. When it comes it brings good cheer. So Enjoyyyy..

Relish lots of baked goodies and red wines.. Listen to plenty of seasonal hymns .. Here's my fav song by Cliff Richard for you../http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7lKKNrXUJg

With the warmest regards and the merriest christmas wishes,..................Mini

CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS N TABLE RUNNER

A FEW MORE CHRISTMAS CREATIONS:-

Luv this poinsettia print with gold edges ,a looooot

A silver tissue table runner with appliqued poinsettias.. The edges have been embellished with silver strands.. The veins are also done in single silver strands.. Silver bells represent the pollen.The table cloth is red poinsettia printed with silver paint in the background.

Presume all of you are busy preparing for Christmas..:)

MAY THE BRIGHT AND FESTIVE GLOW OF CHRISTMAS CANDLE WARM THE DAYS ALL THE YEAR THROUGH....HOPING YOU WILL HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME ENJOYING CHRISTMAS DAY AND WISHING YOU A NEW YEAR THAT IS HAPPY IN EVERY WAY..

AFFECTIONATELY...........................MINI

TUTORIAL FOR XMAS BELL THROW PILLOW

TUTORIAL FOR AN APPLIQUED CHRISTMAS THROW PILLOW

Cut the front piece of the cushion cover in a square of 16 1/2 inches.( see the fifth pic)

Cut two pieces for the back side in rectangles of size 16 1/2 / 10 3/4 inches( see the pic just below)

Fold and refold ONE of the longer sides of both the back pieces in 1/4 inch

Keep aside the front piece..

Machine stitch this folded edge of both the back side pieces ..Keep them aside as well

Now for the bells:- Draw a bell large enough for the cushion cover on a card paper and cut it out.. Remember this bell template should NOT be as wide as the front piece of the cover.. it should be only half the width since we are going to make two bells.. We need space to arrange them both on the cover...

Using this template cut two each of the main fabric and lining fabric for the bells....Use any shimmering fabric for the bell's front piece and plain fabric for the lining ..We need two pieces each of both the fabrics..Actually for simple applique we need not use lining for the design that is to be appliqued.. But here we are using lining as well , just for making the bells look neater on the edges and you need not do any blanket stitch to fix them to the main front fabric of the cover..( its little extra work but believe me its worth the effort)

Sew the lining and the main fabric of the bell shapes right side facing each other.. After pinning them together( see pic below),machine stitch 1/2 cm all around leaving a small gap of about two inches to turn it out.. Back stitch at the edges near the opening....Turn out and press well using steam setting of your iron box.....Close the opening with a few drops of fabric glue .. You may machine stitch the opening if you prefer it that way..... (while pressing, fold the open edges of both the pieces inward and press as if preparing for stitching..this makes it easy later ,to close the opening even if you are going to close it with fabric glue.)

shown below are the bells ready for use (after stitching , turning out and closing the opening:-)

Arrange the bells on the front fabric in such a way that one of them overlaps the other slightly..( sorry,, I forgot to take a picture for this step but you can make out from the eighth pic )....Pin here and there so that they dont move ...Now sew them in simple machine stitch using a matching thread or an invisible thread...If you want you may use close zigzag for the edges...If using simple machine seams , make sure you go all around as close to the edge as posible .

Attach the bow on top of the bells in the center,in a slightly slanting position using a press button... To give the ribbon a naturally twisted look I have attached them in a way I found it more appealing to the eyes using press buttons again...This method makes it easy to remove it when I have to wash the cushion cover...( In other words,in this project both the bow and the ribbons are detachable)...You may use bows and ribbons of your choice..

Attach two tiny bells as shown at the bottom of each bell as you see in the picture.Paste one or two stars here and there to make it look more festive.These types of stars and golden bells are available at stores that sell ribbons and such embellishments..

Now its time to assemble the front and back pieces of the cover..Keep the above decorated front piece that is ready to be sewn right side facing you. Place the two rectangular pieces of the backside slightly overlapping each other, with the right sides facing down..( pls do not mind the colour change.. this photo belongs to another throw pillow project.:)...) Align well the edges of the front piece and the back pieces and pin as shown below...Sew all around.. Clip the corners to reduce bulk..Turn out the cushion cover.

Attach a golden braid to give the bell that curve at the bottom..I should have done it before assembling the pieces.. But since I forgot to do it I did it later only:)... You can do it after appliquing the bells and attaching the bow..(that is before the final assembly..)

Since am not that good at giving tutes I am not sure whether the steps shown here are clear to my friends.. If having any doubts , please feel free to write to me and ask..

Affectionately, ..........................Mini

CHRISTMAS THROW PILLOWS

Hello friends,

Its been quite a while since I have not been active in my humble space.. An unexpected long holiday in India deprived me of some fun time with my needle and thread.. As winter sets in am getting inspired by the weather and most of all my lovely friends' blogs and their out of the world holiday special creations.. I believe that there is nothing more interesting than brightening up the living room during Christmas.. Yule tide is a very good excuse for decking up your sweet abode with splashes of all those glitters and sparkles you have been casting an eye over.. Throw pillows that have been sewn in a Christmas theme create a special festive ambience.. They ginger up the room, furnishing a fresh Noel look.. Here are a few of my latest creations...I have used a red-gold tissue fabric , dark beige casement and an ivory-gold floral fabric for the theme.. To harmonize with the settings I made a table runner and a tissue box cover as well.

Table Runner-

I appliqued two christmas trees with the ivory gold fabric and embellished the tips of the pine using tiny bells.The two ends are in red- gold tissue fabric and a little braid in gold n red .

Tissue Box Cover-

Here I followed my dear friend Nima's tute( Pls visit Nima's blog www.madetotreasure.blogspot.com) ..But my tissue box was taller than the standard ones.. So I had to alter the dimensions a bit...The embellishments are in the same theme.. The tips are adorned with tiny jingle bells.The bells really bring out that xmassy ambience, so much so that I get so excited to take the box in my hand just to listen to the jingle:))

A Christmas wreath pillow-

I got inspired by a pattern I happened to see in http://www.potterybarn.com/shop/accessories-decor/decorative-throws-pillows/?cm_type=gnav...I had some left over pieces of offwhite felt which I used for another project using poinsettia ..Only those leftover scraps have been used here.. (I shall give a tute on making a pillow like this later:)..) Fortunately I could find some tiny cute jingle bells in my fav shop.. They looked very festive .The veins are done in simple straight stitches using gold strands.I think am handling this pillow a li'l too much just for relishing the jingling sound .. It evokes kinda nostalgia:))Another pillow.... the inspiration of which is from the same link I have given above..Here I have marked the veins of the poinsettia petals in simple running stitches using gold strands.The petals are in off white felt.The bells used here are slightly larger than the ones used in the wreath pillow.

The fabric used here is cotton in deep shaded red.Tassels are in gold and off white.

Another poinsettia pillow in red-gold tissue and beige back side.Here I have added a layer of gold net petals as well.The veins are simple machine stitches .A beige pillow with an appliqued christmas tree.

A simple pattern using strips of ivory- gold and red-gold tissue.

A similar pattern with a slight difference.

Thats all for now, friends..A million thanks for your lovely messages and encouraging comments..They are inspirational for me.

The next post will be a tute on xmas themed pillow..Shall be doing that shortly..

Untill then,,

With the warmest Christmas wishes to each and everyone of you .............Mini

BLACK N RED BEAUTY TOTES

Hello friends, sorry for the delay in getting back to you all , visiting your precious blogs and

commenting on the wonderful pieces of art you might have been sharing on the web with
friends!..I have been on holiday since June.. A visit to Europe and then to native land..The former was so refreshing esp Switzerland.. If I say I felt like settling down there forever or haven't had enough of it,it would n't be an exaggeration or being less patriotic! ...In the event that you need a complete body and soul rejuvenation , then a holiday in switzerland is the solution .. Forget about too much shopping in this country other than a few souvenirs you would be tempted to take home.. On a serious note things are damn too expensive!But spending little out of the way to luxuriate in and marvel at the beauty of this green land is worth the while and money..Every second, every day was like being in heaven!The country is all green velvety turf everywhere with streams and rivers edging them! So captivating and rejuvenating! Being here on these meadows evoked sheer euphoria...humm!! An extensive portrayal can never substitute a true visit to this country.. If one can afford, this is the place that should be visited at least once in a life time without having any regret later on about having spent !...I can go on with this portrayal no end..But I prefer wisely slamming the brake here lest I would turn languid without sharing my new fabric totes with my blogland seamstresses.

Before unveiling the pictures of the new bags, I would like to share few of my fav photos of Switzerland!

BLACK AND WHITE STRIPED BAG WITH RED FLAP

A wide U- shaped bag with two sided strap.. The lining is in red fabric of the same quality as the outer fabric..( In all my bags I use the same good quality fabric for the lining as well).. The same material has been used for the flap . The strap has been quilted after applying batting in between the two layers..The lining has zipper pockets and two lace edged pockets..I regret not having taken the photos of the interior :)...Wooden buttons embellish the flap .. A loop made of red ribbon serves as a second closure in addition to the magnetic closure I have provided at the back side of the flap..Ideal as a bag to carry to college or for window shopping.. Sturdy and large enough for a real shopping as well:)

Two small bags I made for my daughter and her friend.The outer black fabric is striped and thick enough.. So neither interfacing nor batting was needed ..For the lining I used the same fabric as the flap..There is a zipper pocket inside.. Though not as large as the other bags I have made it can easily hold a five fold umbrella, a few make up articles, hair brush,a mobile phone and a little cash:)
Thats all for now friends!:).. Hope I have inspired you all again.. Longing to visit all your beautiful blogs and see the wonderful creations.
See you all next time

Until then .....

Have a happy week end and a peaceful week ahead!.......Mini