vintage love

How To: Patchwork Duvet Cover

I finally found time to make a patchwork duvet cover for Emma’s new big girl bed after making the fitted sheets. Originally it was going to be plain on both sides made from vintage sheets, but I started poking about in my fabric stash and thought it may be fun to patchwork a top together. After working out my measurements (not brilliantly as I will explain later), I had a ton of fun picking my fabrics and arranging the pattern. If you’ve always wanted to try patchwork, this triangle/chevron design is super simple and can be made to look really different depending on how the blocks are arranged. Feel free to play around.
I’ve included the pattern and measurements to make your own, but be aware it is based on Australian standard single duvet size, which is different to US and European sizes. You could adjust measurements or use this design to make a quilt instead. I’ve included some handy links for this option.
I’ve used metric measurements in cm throughout as our duvets are made to metric sizes.
To make a single bed duvet cover (Australian Standard size) 140x210cm read on…
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How To: Make a Fitted Sheet

My baby is growing up, Sob!
Emma has grown out of her toddler bed and has graduated to a single bed (you call them twin in the States). We were lucky to enough to inherit this cool vintage one from a family member in great condition. I didn’t have any single size bedding so rather than hitting the stores, it was the perfect opportunity to make use of all those thrifted vintage sheets I’ve been collecting, the only hitch was vintage sheets are all flat, which is a pain in the backside.
No drama, with a few easy steps, all flat sheets can be converted to practical fitted sheets.
The instructions below apply to any sized sheet, so you can use this tutorial to make cot sheets right up to a king sized bed sheet.
Vintage sheets are great for this, but I if you don’t tend to use the top sheets that come in a sheet set (I use a duvet without a top sheet), it’s a great way to double the value of your bed linen purchase.
Read on for full instructions…
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My Brilliant Road Trip Escape…

Wow, it’s amazing how one brilliant weekend can re-light a spark that was almost forgotten. The tedium of my normal routine was making me a little glum, Emma is going through a challenging age, so you can’t blame a girl for wanting to escape for a few days. Thanks to Hyundai’s #BrilliantRoadTrip, my sister and I threw caution to the wind, left the dirty dishes in the sink (they were still there when I got back) and just had fun! We giggled, played dress ups, picked cherries and spat out the pips, sang loudly and badly, ate uninterrupted by toddlers (I Know!), enjoyed quiet moments and were blown away by nature’s beauty. All in all, it was pretty sweet!
Here was my vintage road trip inspiration, I’ve continued on with my little family’s photo tradition.

I’ve created a little Brilliant Road Trip film that captured our mood, I hope you enjoy it…

Read on for the highlights and more beautiful images from our trip…
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My Mexican Fiesta Christmas

You’ve probably noticed that Christmas is just around the corner, it has snuck up again on me this year. It’s my birthday month so I don’t really get into the Christmas spirit until I blow out the candles on my birthday cake. When Freedom gifted me a voucher to help me get ready for Christmas, my mind went straight to our outdoor area. We’ve been desperately in need of an outdoor setting to help extend our entertaining space. I love alfresco dining, and creating an outdoor room for all the festivities in December makes this season feel extra special.

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Brilliant Road Trip

Something amazing happened to me this week, a brilliant opportunity just came out of the ether, and I’m super excited about it. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me emotionally; I’ve been feeling exhausted, pulled in every direction, trying to keep everyone’s life running smoothly…you know, being a mum! You’ve all been there, it takes it’s toll and you just want some time to escape and recharge the batteries.

Well Hyundai must have heard my whiny internal dialogue and came to my rescue with an awesome weekend away. (I entered a competition actually). I’m hitting the road with my sister (she’s the short one in the clog), leaving both our girls with mum (poor mum) and reliving the glamour of road trips of old.
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How To: Advent Calendar Wall Hanging

I remember with great fondness the little cardboard Advent Calendar my sister and I had as children. It was a little village scene where the tiny doors and windows opened up to reveal a new picture every day. It didn’t contain treats, but my sister and I would still fight over who was opening the doors. I’m sure mum still has it somewhere, the glitter has probably all fallen off though.
With Emma getting older, I thought it would be fun to start our own little Advent Christmas traditions.

Because it’s summer here in Australia at Christmas time, I’ve never much related to the traditional red and green regalia associated with this time of year. A summertime Christmas should be celebrated with loads of colour so naturally I gathered some of my brightest vintage fabrics and got to work making this Advent Calendar Wall Hanging.
It’s fairly simple and can be adapted to any colour scheme depending on the fabrics you choose. Add some pom poms for a little extra zing!
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How To: Vintage Sheet Duvet Cover

It’s Spring here in Australia, and whilst I was photographing the spray painted lamp project a couple of weeks ago, I realized it was time to brighten up the bedroom with a new duvet cover.
I have a king size bed which is great (yes, I’m very lucky), but it can be hard to find bed linen to fit which doesn’t cost a fortune. Even if I had the budget to spend on my favorite designer linen, many don’t go up to king size anyway.
So, as usual, I thought I’d make my own from some queen size flat sheets left from my old bed. It’s not complicated to make a duvet cover, the difficulty comes in dealing with the masses of fabric involved. I’ve outlined the basic way to make a duvet cover in any size and a handy link to help you out with your measurements.

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Six Baby Gifts to make with Fabric Scraps eBook

Six Baby gifts to make wiith fabric scraps

I’m so excited to launch my new eBook – Six Baby Gifts to make with Fabric Scraps.
It’s a colourful collection of practical gifts for new arrivals, and teaches some handy skills along the way.

If you are like me and love to craft, you may find yourself accumulating a collection of fabric scraps. It can be tempting to just throw them away, especially when most sewing projects require larger fabric pieces, but please don’t. Sewing with scraps can be a wonderful experience that requires a little creativity and patience, but the results are truly satisfying.
Even though I have a big fabric stash, it pains me to waste any of it, and I keep all my scraps. Waste not, want not, I say! Continue reading →

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