Fiskars Craft

Sneaky peek - what's SHE up to

Here's a little sneaky peek of some of the fun things I'm creating at the moment for the Aussie Fiskateer Xmas Party I'm hosting on Dec 16th........................using lots of Fiskars Tools..

I can't share the finished projects on here until December 16th otherwise it won't be a surprise for the Fiskateers attending.....and we all like SURPRISES Right?

...and YES....don't faint...I have actually used material here not paper.....ooh now that's a change for me....LOL! ok...back to it.............I love this time of the year.....love creating fun Xmas Projects!

I'll be back soon with more sneaky peeks................all I can say is there shall be lots of FISKATEER ORANGE and GREEN.........shhhhhhhhhhh!!!

xoxo

Lyn Dwyer

Love happy mail!!!

Love it when I come home from a "hard morning" taking a 7yr old and a hyper 4yr old that won't sit down in the movies to see "The Smurfs" then McD's for lunch.... dragged them around the supermarket for groceries then drive up the drive to see a huge flat package on my front doorstep!

What was it?

a two sided self healing Fiskars cutting mat 24" x 36" in size! and some Fiskars Pink Micro - tip  no.5 scissors!

When quilting I've been using a dark green cutting mat that is 1/4 of the size of the one above and really when cutting a meter of fabric that size didn't really "cut" it. I mean in this case BIGGER is BETTER!!!

Both are a valable at spotlight stores! Soooo awesome!

My hubby was smart and said "how many scissors does one need?"

hmmmmm

well for a person like me?
I need the 12 that are pictured above.... one because I love all the COLOURS!!!! And they are all from FISKARS!!!

Two this is what I use all my scissors for....(working myself around the circle clockwize)

1. Kids orange and yellow flamed scissors - for my daughter for her projects (available from Wharehouse Stationery stores)
2. Soft touch scissors (black and grey) - with a spring in them for fine paper shape cutting etc (Wharehouse Stationery stores)
3. No.8 Fiskateer member scissors - for members of the Fiskateers only (join up... www.fiskateers.com)
4. Pinking shears (Orange handled scissors) - for fabric cutting only - cuts a zig zag in the fabric to stop fraying. (won from Fiskateers)
5. No.8 straight edge cutting scissors (pink with flowers on the blade - limited edition Hedi Grace design) - for Fabric cutting only.
6. No. 7 strip cutter (purple handle) - great for snipping fabric and just opening them up to "rip cut" strips of fabric.
7. Soft touch Scissors (pink/purple handle) with spring - great for cutting those loose threads on sewing projects and ribbon cutting. (won these online from Fiskateers) - Donna Dewberry design.
8. My new Micro tips No.5 - not sure how/what I'll use them on maybe for small paper cutting. (spotlight)
9. Fiskars/Cristina Re - decorative scissors for paper cutting - boudiour design (the drawing room - Christchurch)
10. Green Micro Tip No.5  - These are for cutting my threads when I've been x-stitching.
11. Orange handled No. 8 - the ORGINAL Fiskars scissors. Well you know you really have to have one just incase you cannot find your No. 8 Fiskateer scissors when in the middle of a project. (Wharehouse stationery)
12. Lastly the little green kids scissors - to train those little cute children of ours the right way to use scissors safely. Great for 3-5yr olds. My son loves his Fiskars scissors. (Wharehouse stationery)

So that is my list and how I use everyone of my 12 babies!
let alone the other 5 fiskars scissors I have passed on and given away as random prizes.

Yeap quite a collection..... i'm sure I need some more...... somehow.... hmmmm

Debbie Buckland
Christchurch, New Zealand
and Fiskars Scissor addict.

 

Dolly Likes The Cat in The hat

 

Dolly loves a big cumfy cushion for lying around on, watching TV or having a read. Here is a fairly simple method to make your own Cat in the hat floor cushion

you will need

 1 cat in the hat panel( or 60cm of your chosen fabric)

90 cm of contrast fabric for back of cushion

60cm sq of quilt wadding ( I use cotton)

60cm sq of plain colour fabric ( you can use something that you dont like , it will be inside and not visible)

20cm stripe fabric for binding

15cm of wide hook and loop fastener(velcro)

60cm purchased cushion insert

safety pins 

masking tape

Sewing machine

 matching threads

Tools used were Soft grip scissors, Rotary cutter,  Cutting mat and the 12 in one tool for those little unpicky moments

If you have a walking foot use it . If you dont , you can lengthen your stitch  a bit and use plenty of pins.

Step1: Trim the fabric panel to create a square. (it's not quite perfect but you can get away with it)approx 23 1/2"(60cm). 

 

Step2:Quilt  the square . Cut the plain colour fabric to measure 1"(2.5cn)larger all round than the cushion square. Cut the piece of wadding to this size.Tape the plain fabric to a firm surface. Smooth the wadding over this and tape again.Spread the cushion square right side up over all these and safety pin through all 3 layers.

* 

Step 3 Quilt the cushion top. I quilted between the pictures on the fabric and also between the inside of the" picture frames"Change the thread colour as needed and pull the threads trough to the back of the work and knot firmly.

* 

Back of the cushion

Step 1 : Cut two rectangles of fabric 16"x 25"( 41x64cm) . On one long edge of each piece press under a 1/4" hem (1cm) Press another fold 2" (5cm) from the folded edge. Pin hem in place and stitch.

* 

On the wrong side of the fabricmark the centre pointof the hemmed edge. Measure 7"(17cm)to either side and mark again. Repeat on the other cushion back but mark on the right side this time.

* 

* 

Cut three velcro pieces and stitch one side of each velcro sq where marked

* 

Check to make sure that the squaes have lined up neatly and the cushions overlap evenly. make aline of stitching about 3"(7cm) from the outside edge  of the cushion back square .

Step4: Spread the cushion back square out and lay the cushion top over it.Wrong sides together.Check that the two squares are the same size. Trim if necessary. Pin together and stitch 1/4" fro the edge all round.

Binding the cushion

step 1: using the stripe fabric and cutting across the width of the fabric cut 3x 2 1/2"(6cm) strips .

* 

Join these to make one long strip. Press with wrong side together along the length of the fabric. Open out one end only of the strip and press under 1/2"( 1cm ) hem.

Step 2: Starting half way along one side of the cushion and 3"(7cm) from the pressed end of the binding strip Stitch through all the layers using a 1/4" seam allowance.Stop stitching 1/4" from the corner and take the fabric out from under the machine foot.

* 

Flip the binding up at a 45 degree angle 

* 

Then fold the binding back down so that the raw edges are even, and the folded edge is levl with the top edge of the cushion.

* 

Step3: When you come to the pressed end cut the remaining binding strip so it overlaps about 11/2"( 3cm). Open out the binding strip and lay the overlao inside it .Fold back together and keep sewing to where you started from.

* 

Step 4: Fold the binding round to the back of the cushionand handstitch in place, making sure that the stitching line is covered. Fold the excess fabric at the corners to make a 45 degree angle and stitch in place.

* 

Step 5: Insert the cushion inner and lie back and enjoy. Just like Dolly.  

 

 

xoxo

Debbie Guihot

(Canowindra,NSW)

 

Making a wonky block quilt - part 1

My Daughter zoe has been pestering me for a Sponge bob Square pants Quilt.

I looked EVERYWHERE for sponge bob material and all i could find were 2 fat quarters on ebay.

Now that was not going to make a quilt was it!

So i decided to make a wonky block quilt.this type of block is great if you have little bits of fabric that you want to highlight...like sponge bob!

All i need is a sewing machine quilters ruler my trusty Fiskars rotary cutter and my Fiskars large mat.Oh and more fabric of course!

The first thing i did for my wonky block was to cut out sponge bob from the 2 fat quarters.

I Then started to cut my fabric into strips about the same width as the sponge bob squares i cut out.

I then pinned the first bit of material to my square. make sure that the patterned material you use is cut a little longer than the square you are sewing it to.

Then sew the 2 bits together and then iron the seam flat on one side.

Once this is done trim the right side to be straight and then cut another piece of material strip as long as the right side(actually a little longer about 2 Cm's)

sew the 2 pieces together.

Trim the bottom and then cut a different fabric to sew onto the bottom of the block you are creating.

Trim the right side and again cut a bit of fabric to sew onto the right side.

Now comes the first half of the Wonky bit for the wonky block.

Put your ruler on an angle on the top of the square you have made.

Trim along the ruler.

I then line up the cut line with a straight line on my Fiskars cutting mat and then trim straight the other 3 sides. i try to aim for my square to be about 7-8 inches by the time i have trimmed the first layer of the block so after you have added the second layer and trimmed you have a 12 inch block.

 once all trimmed you should have a square like this.....

for the second layer of the wonky block you do the same as the first layer. starting at the top and working around from the right.

once all sewn together. place your ruler on and angle the opposite way you places it on the first layer. Cut, then line up again with a line on your mat and trim around the square till you get a 12 inch square or what ever size you want.

the finished block will look like this.....

Make as many square you need to make your quilt. i am making 16 as i want to make the quilt quite large as i will turn the quilt into a duvet cover.

In part 2 i will show you how to construct the quilt.

Happy sewing....

Tara :)

WHy not create a Christmas Quilt this year

Tara has sent through a fabulous Quilt that she made for her mum last year......here's what she had to say........isn't it gorgeous!!

I thought I would share with you a Wall quilt i made for my mum. I used My fiskars Donna Dewberry rotary cutter Donna Dewberry scissors and also my rock paper trimmer to cut some of the rectangles.

It took 28 different fabrics that I brought from craft depot at pennant hills, and took me almost 6 month to finish.

My mum was very happy when I gave it to her for xmas!

Tara is alos sharing a Step by Step Poppy Papercraft project over at her Blog

http://www.osirisandloki.blogspot.com/  so Blog hop over there if you would like to learn how to make these.......it looks beautiful doesn't it!

    Tara is  showing how to make poppies with squeeze punches. She said that she wanted to do a Layout Page for her daughter "Poppy"and she could not really find good embellishments for it!

*** We are delighted to have Tara as a GUEST AUTHOR on here in AUGUST.....wait until you see what she has to share with everyone.............think sewing....think quilting....sh....sh....sh...

xoxo

Lyn

Fetchy Skechy Friday – sketch 3

Hello all.
Sketch of a difference today. One for the applique and quilt lovers.

Now the lovely dragon fly is one of the many Fiskars shape templates on the market. Designed by Donna Dewberry.

For this project I used:

• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Fabric
• Heat n Bond - for stiffening fabric and adhearing the shapes (its a iron on fabric type glue for applique work)
• Fiskars Applique template set - Dragon and butterfly - pictured
• Fiskars Ultra Shape Express and new sharp blade - pictured
• Fiskars 12 " Cutting mat
• Fiskars 12" square quilting ruler - pictured
• Fiskars No8. sewing scissors
• Fiskars Rotary cutter

I'll show you the finished quilt at a later date. ;)

If you do a layout using this sketch we would love to see it.
email us: [email protected]

Happy creating!

Debbie Buckland

 

 

Back from "Holiday" and in with a grin

Hello all

I was just recently accepted back as an ambassdor here at Fiskars Craft. I'm sooo very excited to come back from my "holiday" or "rest" from blogging here and hope to be able to share with you some of my creations.

As we all know it is currently CHA time.... and those that are lucky enough are there having a real blast. Some videos are making their apparence at you-tube already.

But most of us cannot go for one reason or another for me it is distance, money and the fact I don't "work" as a retailer in the industry. NUTS. Oh well one day I guess but all is NOT lost!

This year the very generous ladies at Fiskateers have organised an away from CHA online crop! Its just like being there! Its awesome!

• We have the game of the day: answer a list of silly and fun questions
• The prize patrol is looking around the message board: yes baby that means prizes!
• There are many very inspiring challenges.
• Make n Takes
• Demos
• meet and greets
• new product thread
• RAK's
• and even a live chat!

Golly I don't think I missed anything out but it is still on and very fun.

Here are some of my projects I've been doing for the challenges....

First of all its the silliness....
To quailify for the prize patrol we are to post up ourselves wearing orange and green...

of course i'm holding here the Fiskateer scissors and wearing the Fiskateer t-shirt with embellishments I made out of fabric with the Fiskars Ultra shape Express and flower shape template.

Then I joined the Make and Take- Challenge 3 - Leading Lady- Feature 1 - Picnic theme

The weaved basket and picnic mat is made using the 12" tripple track trimmer by Fiskars for cutting strips of paper and the fruit was cut out using the Fiskars soft touch scissors... just love the spring action in these scissors. So easy to use.

Next challenge I tried out was the Make and Take Challenge 5 - Trying new things
I hadn't made a box from scratch with out a template before so decided to give it a go and this is my result....

This box holds all my precious handmade cards I recieved in 2010. I keep every single one of them as they are very precious to me.

I used the Fiskars 12" tripple track trimmer with cutting and scoring blades. Also used a pair of No.8 orange handled scissors to hand cut out the tag.

More? Why, yes there is....
The Make and Take Challenge 6 - Leading Lady Feature 2 - tea time theme was just up my alley!
Totally craized still with Tim Burtons version of Alice in Wonderland and the dreamy Johnny Depp (yes been a fan of his since 21 jump street!) Now that shows my age! Well anyway I decided to do something a little different and carve myself a stamp out of jumbo erasers I found at The Warehouse....

using the very handy and totally loved Finger tip craft knife from Fiskars. I had carved myself a teacup stack stamp.

The last challenge I have done so far is the Make and Take Challenge 9 - Leading Ladies Feature 3 - cocktail party theme.... Now this had me stumped for a while so I took my own advice and did some cleaning of the neglected house and came up with an idea.... a dress! No not for me! Would take too long and I don't currently have the fabric for one --- but thats an idea!

I made a cocktail dress for Barbie instead.....

I used the Fiskars Donna Dewberry endorsed soft touch scissors for trimming. Fiskars Heidi Grace endorsed No.8 scissors (pink one with flowers on the blades) for cuttingout the fabric. I didn't however sew heams and since this stuff really frays I used Helmars Fray Stoppa. How on earth did I ever live without that stuff I have no idea!

Well thats all for me at present... Must go back to the challenges and see what else I can do.... can you tell I'm having sooooooo much fun!

 

Milo snuggles up in Pip's Quilt

mmmmmmmm so how is Pip going with her Quilting......let's have a look see....seems that Milo has found it a great place to get warm and cosy the past few days with the colder weather in Melbourne....LOL!

Must admit it has been more like Winter the last week in Melbourne and not like Summer....so a great time to stay in doors and craft!

Here's an email I received from Pip (Phillipa) this afternoon....

Hi Lyn

Last email before my holidays, during which I’ll be busy working on the heritage quilt for my daughter, and a new one for my sister-in-law, which I’m excited about because it is based on a “Courthouse Steps” block pattern in vibrant reds, yellows and oranges.

I am on the home stretch with my sister’s quilt (see pics) and will have it ready to hand over on Christmas Day. Being a cold, wet weekend last week, Milo took advantage of the snuggliness of it and road tested it for my sister’s cat!

I just have the binding left to finish, and thanks to Annemarie’s expert teaching, my mitred corners are near perfect!!! I’ll update you again on my quilting holiday when I’m back in mid January.

Check out those neat mitred corners on Pip's Quilt......isn't it stunning......love the colours!Your sister shall love this quilt Pip....and such a wonderful labour of love! Can't wait for the next lots of pics on your return from your holidays!

If you are after some Quilting Tool bargains...check these out in Spotlight now...

OR...check out this fabulous Fiskars Rotating Mat Set.....this is in today's Spotlight Catalogue for .......wait for it................ONLY $15.00.....

              WOWIE what a fabulous price......wouldn't this look nice under the Christmas Tree!

FISKARS Product Spotting in Spotlight

Hey there......looky what I received in today's mail down here in EAST GIPPSLAND.....my Spotlight Catalogue in the local paper that we have delivered......woohoo.....how cheap are these fabulous Tools.....wouldn't these make great Christmas Presents to place under the tree for that someone special!

Might need to pop into Spotlight Bairnsdale and grab one of these fabulous mats myself.....

The other NEW FISKARS TOOL I saw was this fabulous Fiskars Rotating Mat......I'll have this with me on Saturday in Spotlight Bairnsdale.....so if you are coming in .....make sure you ask me to try it out....these shall be flying off the shelves at such a great price.....

xoxo

Lyn Dwyer

 

Congratulations to Robyn and Debbie from Canowindra

It's always nice to see our Fiskars Craft Demonstrators out and about doing what they love to do!

It's also nice when they receive special awards for their crafting efforts.......our latest crafters to achieve an outstanding Award are best friends Robyn Wilkinson and Debbie Guihot from New South Wales.They have won the Runner's Up Award in the AP&Q-AQC Challenge for 2010 for their fabulous Quilt                   "REMEMBER ME"                  

Their quilt is now on the road travelling around with the Craft and Quilt Fairs....next one being in Sydney this week at Darling Harbour! We shared this work in progress last year on here.....so if you would like to see their winning entry for yourself......then make sure you visit the Craft and Quilt Fair ....

REMEMBER the ladies worked together last year at the Craft and Quilt Fair in Sydney for FISKARS....with "Dolly"......Debbie was demonstrating the fabulous Fiskars Quilting Tools

When they heard about the Challenge, they decided they would enter a quilt together.

It took three weeks to complete the quilt which utilised a variety of techniques

including, appliqué, hand embroidery, fabric printed images, hand dying and painting of the earth fabric, collage, stamping using inks and freehand machine quilting.

Debbie has been quilting for 11 years and loves the challenge of taking an idea from her mind or a dream and representing it in fabric, while Robyn specialises in scrapbooking and papercraft.

To read more about the girls fabulous win and to see the finished Quilt...you can go here to see what their Local Newspaper had to say about their win and also  here

Fantastic effort ladies........we are all sooooooooooo proud of you!!

So nice to see two great friends combining their skills and take up a challenge to create such a fun and meaningful project....also nice to see what crafters do with the Fiskars Quilting Tools!!

xoxo

Lyn Dwyer