Friday, February 22, 2013

Announcing the Young Entrepreneurs Exhibition II (The Spring Bash)

Oh my god! It is actually happening!!!

A few weeks back, the super awesome and super talented girl behind Regenbogen invited me to display my stuff at her stall. While my mind was going insane with "what? really? ohmygod! shyt!less than a month!will i manage? ohmygod! yaay! oh god less than a month!" I agreed. Even though my stock is pretty much limited I felt this would be a wonderful opportunity to market my blog and get my business off the ground.

So while juggling between family, blog posts and party decorations I have been getting to know my sewing machine and I am glad to share we have built quite a relationship. There are (and will be) moments of frustration but we've been getting along pretty well. And I am so happy with the way my patterns are turning out!

The event will be great and so many awesome apparel and accessories designers are participating. SO please come by and be sure to introduce yourself! I would LOVE to see you there!!


Image source: Kolachi Events

Venue: Grandeur Art Gallery
Day: 2 March 2013
Timing: 11 a.m to 9 p.m

I will keep you guys updated on my facebook page. So all those new to my blog, click on facebook icon on top right and give thebloomingorchids a BIG LIKE.

xx


Thursday, February 14, 2013

Valentine Project - Message in a Tea Cup

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day!
Let's surprise family with love and creativity.



Make these lovely paper tea cups and message tags for every member of your family and set them on dinning table or anywhere else where they are sure to be seen.


Before we begin,  head over to  Next to Nicx to learn how to make these adorable paper tea cups.Then come back for message tag tutorial.


For message tag gather the following supplies:
1.5" by 3" piece of cardstock in your color of choice
2 small heart cut-outs left over from Valentine Bookmarks
tutorial
thread and need

brown marker
scissors
punching machine

Curve the top corners of the tag. I used kitchen paper roll to get the curves right.





Punch a hole through the top.


Trim down one heart and center it on top of the larger heart. Fold. 


Grab your needle and thread and stitch the two hearts onto the tag.


Knot the two ends together on the back.


Secure thread/ribbon. I have explained how to do so in detail here.


Add text.(My message went on the back)



 With a brown marker circle around the punched hole.


Place tag inside cup and that's about it.



Simple and cute display of love for family!
xx

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Valentine Project - Bookmarks

Hello there,
If you are big on procrastination, I have a perfect valentine tutorial for you. It is super adorable and so easy you can whip a dozen up in just about no time!


Let's start with the Valentine fun!



You will need:
(2) 2" by 7" piece of cardstock
2" by 3" scrap piece of fabric
Scrap piece of cardstock to create heart templates
Needle and thread/ embroidery floss
Punching machine and tape (not shown in the picture)
Craft knife
Scissors
UHU


Draw and cut two hearts, 1" x 1" and 1.75 " x 2"  from your scrap piece of cardstock/ or any scrap piece of paper.


Place it as desired on 2" x 7" cardstock and trace.


Using your craft knife cut out the two hearts you just traced.


Flip and apply UHU around hearts.


Secure your 2" x 3" piece of fabric.


Next, grab a needle and thread and  stitch a stem down both the hearts. Use pencil marks to ensure the running stitch is straight.



Tape off loose ends of the thread.



Take your other 2" x 7" piece of cardstock and secure it to the back of your bookmark. Here you can either use a similar colored cardstock or experiment with different colors and patterns.

Next, punch a hole through the top and secure your thread/ribbon (how to do so is explained later in the tutorial!).


Add your sentiment.



Ta-da! Inexpensive and handmade Valentine gift that everyone will LOVE!

And now for some variation.



To get this look, thread embroidery floss onto your needle and stitch around the smaller heart.


This one is fun! You can keep one half and give the other to your friend/someone you love.
I simply placed two bookmarks side by side, traced and cut out the heart. Next, I ironed interfacing onto the back of 2" x 3" piece of fabric for structure and adhered the heart onto the bookmarks.


Then went snap snap with scissors.


Using green thread, stitched heart around the smaller heart.


Repeated with the other bookmark.


Did likewise with the larger heart (half hearts?)


Punched hole and tied yellow embroidery floss!


Simply adorable!


Right, right, gotta tell you how to tie thread/ribbon/embroidery floss through a punched hole!


Okay, so cut a piece of embroidery floss (length is up to you).


Fold it in half and knot the two loose ends together.


Slip the folded end through the punched hole.


Then push the knotted end up through the looped end.


And pull!


Easy right?



Go have some fun creating your own.
Happy crafting! xo

p.s: Don't throw away the heart cut outs just yet! We'll put them to good use in the next tutorial :)