DIY Custom Cufflinks!

I know cufflinks might sound a little old-fashioned, but my husband still wears them, and has quite a few pairs.  So, for his birthday I decided to make him some myself, out of my own fabric designs.

It's really super super simple, but there is a little trick to it...so I thought I would share it with you today.


Here is the finished cufflink set, along with it's matching necktie, in a little box ready for giving:

You will need:




One set of cufflink blanks (or photo cufflinks - I got mine here)












Scrap fabric of your choice (I used this one here)
Iron on interfacing
Iron
Scissors










The steps:

1.  Iron some interfacing onto the wrong side of your fabric.  I tried without it the first time - just too fiddly.  The stiffening makes the small piece easier to cut, and sits nicely in the ring.

2.  Unscrew the ring off the cufflink.  Mine had a protective clear plastic circle in there - don't lose it, you need it!

3.  Use the circle as a template on the fabric to work out the area you want to cut.  I decided to fussy cut the background cycle chain links for this set.

4.  Cut out around the circle, using small sharp scissors is easiest.  Nail scissors would be ideal.

 

 

5.  You can choose to either place the fabric into the ring on it's own, or with the protective cover.  I chose to leave the cover in.

6.  Screw the cover back on to the base.  Repeat for the other cufflink - you are done!!!  Easy as that.

The best thing is - it's not permanent, nothing is glued in, so if you want to replace it with another fabric - you can!  This is the other set I did...

 Enjoy!

Custom Ties and Cufflinks!

It's my husbands birthday this coming week.  He is, as I guess most men are, very difficult to buy for.

So I decided some time ago - he was going to get something you can't buy.  Plus - since I know he does not read my blog unless I make him, I figure it is safe to share it with you today!

I organised for Jane from Tux and Tulle to make two ties for me, from some of my fabric designs I have up on Spoonflower.  When I looked through my collections, I realised there was little that my husband would actually wear!  I needed a nice masculine print.  This one made the top of the list:

 

It's called "Hexagons in Black", and I had it printed on Spoonflower's cotton sateen - it has a lovely sheen just right for a necktie!  There is quite a bit involved in the construction of a tie - which is why I found an expert to help me out, rather than tackling this one myself!  I did, however design the fabric myself, and put together some matching cufflinks - so I still feel like it's "mine"... :)

I'll share the second set I did with you in another post - along with a little "how-to" on the matching cufflinks I made for each tie...

Pretty happy with how they, and the tie, turned out!

Here is the finished set:

 

 

I popped each set into a little gift box - all ready to give him on his birthday...

 

I think this is just the right thing for him, and I really hope he likes it!  They would make great Father's Day presents as well...

 

Fabric 8 Contest!

Hi all!

Got word this morning that my design "Chic Geek Chevron" has made it into the semi-final round of the Robert Kaufman/Spoonflower Fabric 8 contest for this year.  This is it:




I'm very excited to have made the cut.

The theme is "Geek Chic", so I designed an offset chevron, with a binary overlay.  Those numbers are actually tiny rounded squares - no fonts used here! :)  You can click on the image above to see it in more detail if you like.

The top 8 from the semi finals get asked to design a collection for the final round of voting.  I would LOVE to get in the top 8.

If you like my design, and have a spare moment to vote, the link is here.  Voting is open for one week only!  Thank you so much if you do!!!

Yet More Fabric in Use - Part 2

Welcome back...to a second round of customer photos....

First up today, I'm very proud to say that Queen Bee Barrette have selected a couple of my designs for their button ponytail hairbands...

Mine are the little birds...  The fabric I designed for the purple is here, and pink here...  Very cute!


Speaking of cute...I love love love Karyn of Couture Chan's dresses and t-shirts.  They are beautifully made, and just gorgeous.  Here are just a few of them, all using my personalised fabrics:

Jerry Robnett is another clever customer...she has made a number of pillowcases for her family.  Some of them can be seen below:

 

Along with my personalised fabrics - I can spot my Bluebirds and Blossoms fabric on the Barbara pillowcase, and my Mr Mikey's Smile fabric on Cameron's...

And my Medal Chevron on Gavin's...

She also made what look like super comfy pyjama pants out of the organic knit...

Ok - I think that's enough sharing for now...  Once again, thank you to everyone for allowing me to share your creations!

If you have any photos of items you have made with my Spoonflower designs (be it fabric, decal, or wallpaper), and you would like to share with me - I would love to see them!

Yet More Fabric in Use - Part 1

I've just had a look back - it's been a while since I shared some customer photos...so, today part one of two, as I have quite a few to share!

I really love seeing what everyone makes from my fabric over on Spoonflower.  If you make something, and want to share it with me - you can send me a photo or link via my email address on the Contact Me page.

First up today...Claire Lee of Kaleidoscope Interiors made my reversible beanies and bibs for her new grandson.  They are in the lovely snuggly Organic Knit...

Next, Robin Sells has been making some gorgeous infant car seat covers using my personalised fabric on one side, and snuggly minky on the other...here is a set she made for twins Luke and Max...

And one for little Holden...

Such a great idea!


While we are on the theme of babies...have a look at this gorgeous crib bedding made by Angel Wings using my Seahorse fabrics, which you can see in this collection...

She made sheets, reversible bumper and crib skirt with lovely matching ties.  Purple is my favourite colour - so I just love this set...

Belinda, of Spunky Monkees, has been making personalised sets for babies - bibs, blankets, pillows and taggy toys are some of the projects she has made for her customers.  I think they make great baby gifts!  Here are a few examples...

 

 

Thank you to everyone for allowing me to share your photos.  Check back tomorrow for a second instalment! 

Shorts for my Boy!

A belated post today...  It was summer, and time for some new shorts for my 2 year old.  These were made for him for Christmas, and are a larger size of the ones I made here.  I really like this pattern - again it's from Tie Dye Diva, Jen's Way Cool Shorts...

 

I made these in a size 3 - so they have plenty of room for him to grow into, and since they are Cargo shorts, a little baggy matters not!

I used my own fabric design, available on Spoonflower.com in this collection:

Then I used one of the details from the fabric design to create an iron on transfer for a quick matching t-shirt...

It's a bit hard to get a good shot of a bouncy 2 year old who won't sit still for more than a second...but I tried!

Some views of the front...

 

Some views of the back...

And we end with an action shot!

 

 

A Daydreamer for my Daydreamer...

Hello!

I forgot to post about this little dress I made for my daughter a few months back.  Well, for Christmas really!

It's called the Daydreamer dress - another from the very clever Jen of Tie Dye Diva.  Of all the things I made her for Christmas, this was the one she chose to wear on Christmas Day...

 

She chose the fabric - it's an Ann Kelle print (Birds in Spring).  I thought it might be a little young for a 5 year old, but apparently no!

 

I made her a size 4, with a 5 length...she typically wears 4 as she is pretty slight.  She had particularly requested a LONG dress - so long it is!  The fit is great - particularly with the tie at the back.

 

Next time I will probably go with a rolled hem on the bodice ruffle and hem - just to save time! 

 

She loves it - and it is nice and light for the very long hot summer we have had...  Also good apparently for climbing trees....

 

Running through orchards...

 

...and picking apples!