Lovely puffy hearts

Hi everyone!

S. Valentine’s day is approaching (I am sure, no one was aware of that!), so today I want to share a little, quick project, which is easy to make and would be a nice present for your loved ones (or maybe for yourself ;-) ).

It’s a cute stuffed heart, which you can easily personalize in so many ways! I will give you all the options I could come up with at the end, but first of all, here are the instructions!

Materials:

• Fabric
• Stuffing material
• Needle
• Thread
• Scissors
• Ribbons and other decorations

Preparation: cut two pieces of fabric (I used cream felt and checkered cotton) to create two heart shapes of the same dimension. You can chose the size, just remember to leave about 1cm of margin, which you will use to sew them together. Also consider that, when you add stuffing, the size will be reduced. Cut a smaller heart in a fabric that complements (or contrasts) the one you will use for the front (I chose red felt). You can, of course, draw your templates in the shapes and dimensions you wish, but if you want, you can also download the ones I created here.

• Pin the small heart at the center of the one you wish to use as front (picture1)
• Using a thick thread in a contrasting color, sew by hand all around the perimeter (picture 2). The advantage of using felt for the heart on top is that it will not fray.
• If you want to be able to hang the little cushion, pin a ribbon to the fabric you will be using for the back (picture 3). It is very important to pin it correctly, otherwise you will find it in the wrong place once the piece is finished: first of all, fold the ribbon in half. Now, keeping the ends well aligned and on top, pin it to the FRONT of the fabric (the side that will be on the outside of the heart). Leave 1/1.5cm of ribbon ends, so that, once you hang the heart, the ribbon will not fray. Remember to avoid placing the pin too close to where you will be sewing, mostly if you plan on using a sewing machine).

• Now, align and pin the two hearts together. It is very important to keep on the inside the surface of the fabric that will in the end be on the outside (on other words, the two sides you want to see will now face each other). If you pinned the ribbon, it should now be in between the hearts (picture 4).
• Sew around the perimeter (you can use a sewing machine), leaving about 1cm margin and an opening on one side (you will need it to flip the heart). I like to leave open a segment which is about 1/3 of the straight line starting from the tip (picture 5).
• Remove the pins and gently turn the heart inside-out. In my opinion, the best way is to start pushing the opposite side through the opening and then slowly roll all the rest of the fabric (picture 6).

• Stuff the heart from the opening (picture 7).
• Close the opening with a thread in a matching color (picture 8).
• And here is your finished heart, ready to be hanged or further embellished :-) ! (picture 9)

Aside from varying the size and shape, or the fabric type and color, many interesting adaptations can be done:

• You can embellish the heart with flowers, ribbons, buttons… (you can find video tutorials for crocheted flowers here and a pattern for a simple one here).
• You can scent the creation, by adding lavender to the stuffing (in this case, you can keep the little puffy cushions in your home or wardrobe as air fresheners) or, for a very personalized S Valentine’s day present, you can spray you cologne on it.
• You can add embroidery on the little heart on the front, or, in the case of a present, when you are sewing, in step 2, you can leave the top open and use it as a pocket to insert a love message.
• The small hearts also be very nice Christmas ornaments

Here are some of the ones I made. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial, and, if you have any other ideas on the use of these little fluffy creations, please let me know!

I wish you a lovely day!

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Letter from Paris necklace

Hi everyone! 

I am very excited to talk about this necklace, as it was my very first piece to arrive finalist at a Beadaholique contest, in February to 2012. 

I still remember the moment in which I saw the name of the month’s challenge: “Love is in the air”. Yes it was…because I just LOVED that theme! My head started thinking about 1.000 words: love, roses, red, pink, romantic, love letters, Paris…but wait…how to synthesize everything in one necklace? I didn’t have a focal piece representing all of this, so I decided to create one! 

I started by composing an image with different graphical elements: a handwritten text, an Eiffel tower, a butterfly and a rose, Then I printed, cut and glued it to a bronze cabochon setting. Once the pendant was dry, I covered it with the amazing Ice Resin, making sure no bubbles were being formed. After 3 days, I attached it to a bronze chain, adding some glass and cherry quartz beads, a Lucite flower, a filigree component and a heart-shaped toggle clasp. 

As final touch, I crafted a small bow with size 11/0 pink delicas…and here it is, my little romantic creation, enclosing all the emotions a letter from Paris can bring.

Have a lovely day!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Flowers girl

Hi everyone!

I have been very fascinated by the vintage look of some amazing components I saw on Etsy lately. A couple of days ago I therefore decided I wanted to make my own romantic piece that looked as if it just came out from my grandma’s jewelry box. 

So here is my pendant, completely personalized with Ice Resin®, a great product I recently discovered, which allows to cover printed images with a thick glass-like transparent coat. 

First of all, I composed the picture, thanks to a photo editing software. Then I printed, cut and glued it to an antiqued brass pendant. Afterward, I covered it with Ice Resin® (being extremely careful to constantly check it in order to remove all the air bubbles) and let it dry. 

48 hours later, I connected it to the chain necklace, attached a beautiful resin rose, some freshwater pearls, glass beads, antiqued brass findings…and voilà, my necklace was ready! 

I hope you like it! Have a wonderful day!

My favorite parties: The Charm of Home

 

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Be my Valentine

Hi everyone! 

Today I want to share with you the last creation I made for S. Valentine’s day. The theme of this bracelet and earrings set is red roses, the symbol of the lovers’ day. 

For the earrings, I used some Lucite flowers, glass beads and Swarovski crystals, kept together with the beautiful rose charm I purchased on Etsy by a 26 gauge bronze tone wire. 

For the bracelet I attached to a bronze-tone chain some glass beads, bronze leaves and bell-shaped Lucite flowers with a crystal center. 

I hope you like them and I wish everyone a happy S. Valentine’s day full of love!

 

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Princess’ pearl necklace

Hi everyone!
 

Today’s creation was inspired by some cute fairy-like pastel color dresses that appeared in shopping windows last year as soon as spring arrived. 

The 5-years-old girl in me was so excited about creating a design that would make any Disney princess wow, smile and sing. So, she ordered me to immediately craft a magic necklace.

And here is my piece! It is made of a strand of glass pearls, kept together with 0.8mm brass wire wrapped in simple loops to make a chain. Around the neck, antiqued brass filigree pieces (held together with jump rings) are decorated with glass beads, polymer clay flowers and crystal chatons. 

On the back, a pink ribbon completes the creation, which closed on a side thanks to a heart-shaped toggle clasp. The 5-years-old girl loved the finished creation…

and I hope you do too ;-)

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)