I think I've found a new obsession... making toys from felted pre-loved woollen jumpers. I've also been using pre-loved fleece jumpers as they are easy to find in lots of different colours. The fairy house and sandwich were gifts for two of Little Eco's friends. The sandwich was made using the unreal Lets Do Lunch Tutorial from Myrtle and Eunice and the fairy house was inspired by this tutorial from the Frugal Family Fun Blog. Apparently I HAVE to make Little Eco a sandwich and fairy house as well....Once the're done I'm thinking we need some recycled felt hairclips, sushi,... Read more →

I'm pretty impressed with my mother's day gift. Daddy Eco (with a little help from Little Eco) made me a pair of felted wool oven mitts. I love them!! (I feel the need to mention that those are Daddy Eco's arms and not mine). I did hint that I needed some new oven mitts, and I did hint that felted wool would be good to use, and I did leave a few appropropriately felted old jumpers lying around, and did show him these gorgeous mitts, and I did have to show him how to use the sewing machine a few... Read more →

I thought I’d share pictures of a few of my handmade Christmas presents – all made from reclaimed fabric. Actually – I’ll be honest – these are the only handmade Christmas presents I made this year. For the rest we went with reusable stainless steel drink bottles or sunscreen. These ‘art bags’ hold a sketch pad and coloured pencils. I made them using an old pair of denim jeans and vintage cotton sheets. The denim makes the base of the bag strong enough to hold scissors. After sewing the denim to the sheet, I made a simple drawstring bag. You... Read more →

I made this mini mei tai for Little eco from an old curtain and scrap fabric. It was supposed to be a Christmas gift but given that Little eco helped me make it (i.e. she threw fabric around the sewing room), I couldn’t bring myself to put it away till Christmas. Little eco insisted we go for a walk straight away and that I wear her ‘Amanda’ doll in my mei tai. You can imagine how silly I felt walking around the streets with a doll on my back – but the smiles on people’s faces made it worth it.... Read more →

This weekend was our third birthday party in as many weeks. I have been feeling rather uncreative recently so resorted to books for the last two gifts. But for today's party I was determined to make something. So last night I made this pencil and note book roll. I hope she likes it. I made it with opp shop sourced fabric and ribbon, and denim from an old pair of jeans. I love how easy the tutorial was, and given that i'm an impatient sewer, I loved that it took under an hour (quicker than going shopping!). Read more →