Sensational Sewing Challenge - Anything Goes

Hello everyone!  I am so sorry there was no sewing challenge last month.  April was very busy for us – too busy in fact!  Because I was unable or make anything or organize any prize, I took a break and now have some news about the challenge for you...

Sensational Sewing Challenge won’t be a monthly challenge anymore, I will host it every now and again for fun.  If I receive over four entries, there will be a voting poll to determine the winner, otherwise, the winner will be chosen randomly as normal.  A prize will also be offered for each challenge.

Onto the new theme...

Your new challenge is ‘ANYTHING GOES’!!!  Doesn’t that sound like a fun and easy one to enter?

The prize for this challenge is a metre of beautiful and colourful butterfly material!

 

The guidelines for this challenge are as follows – please be sure to read them before linking up:)

(Please note that unless there are more than four entries, there will be no voting poll.  The randomly selected winner of the challenge will then be announced in a separate post when the challenge has closed.  If voting does takes place, entrants will then have the photographs of their projects posted separately after the challenge has closed so that others can vote for them.  Voting will remain open for one week after the challenge has closed.  The winner will be announced afterwards.

Sensational Sewing Challenge is open to anyone of any age.

You may enter once only using your blog. 

If you do NOT have a blog, then you are more than welcome to email your entry to me at kellyannegray@ymail.com.  I will post your entry and link up for you.

Please make sure you link back to my blog so that others can find out more about the challenge and hopefully enter too.

There must be at least one photograph of your finished project in your post (or email).

Acknowledge where you got your inspiration or pattern from.

NO back-linking allowed please.

Link up using INLINKZ (be sure to leave the actual link to your blog post so that I can find your entry easily and leave you some love) below.

Comment on one or two entries around yours if you can – everybody loves comments:)

Entries close on the 31^st of May.

I will post the prize anywhere in the world!

There you have it – the rules for entering in Sensational Sewing Challenge ‘Anything Goes’.

Now for my sample sewing project...

 

Gabrielle, my little blue-eyed sister, turned five on the 17^th of April.  I put together this apron for her as a gift.

 A big felt flower jazzed up the apron and gave it a colourful and fun appearance, perfect for a little girl!

And there you have your sewing challenge for the month of May!  I hope you are inspired to get creative and join in the fun!!  'Anything Goes' really does mean anything goes, so be sure to try your hand at something, however large or small.  You don’t have to be an experienced seamstress to enter in this challenge:)

Blessings for the month of May!!

Kelly

The Winner of Sensational Sewing Challenge #6 is...

Well done to the winner of Sensational Sewing Challenge #6 - Fantastic Felt! 

My sister, Nancy made these adorable felt hearts for Valentine's Day and she wins...

Six pieces of brightly coloured felt and...

This beautiful button for her blog:)

Don't forget to join me in this month's sewing challenge for 'Cross-Stitch and Embroidery'!  You can enter HERE!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

Sensational Sewing Challenge #7...

Hello everyone! As you can see, I am rather late with posting the new sewing challenge!

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity! The whole house has had to be sprayed down with special disinfectant bought from the vet. Zak died of a very contagious and dangerous disease, and, because I want to get another puppy soon, I have to make sure everything is safe!

We also got a cow which we named ‘Molly’ and tonight will be the first time we will milk her. Besides that, March is full of special birthdays of family members and close friends, so we have been making lots of presents...I’ll share more in another post soon! (No peeking, Granny)!

But now, onto challenge number six, which is ‘Cross-Stitch or Embroidery’!

You can embroider any design onto anything or make a small picture with cross-stitch! This is a very easy challenge, so I want to see lots of entries! Remember, you don’t have to be excellent at sewing to take part:)

My example is a little cross-stitched heart which I will use as a card-topper.

The rules for the challenge are as follows, so please take a quick read through before you link up using the blue frog below!

You can enter using your blog, or if you don’t have a blog of your own, then you are more than welcome to email your entry to me!


Create a new post (no back-linking allowed!) on your blog with at least one photograph of your finished product.
Or
Email me your entry to me with also at least one photograph of the finished product. I will enter it on your behalf, so make sure you come back and check out your entry!


Make sure you also acknowledge where you got your pattern or inspiration from.


Please link back to Beautiful Girlhood so that others may enter too, or use my sewing challenge button in your post. (Email entries don’t apply)


You may enter as many times as you like, but with a different project each time!


Leave your entry with Inlinkz below – please note that you must leave a direct link to your blog post so that I can find it easily and leave you some love!!


Leave a comment on a few entries around yours, everybody loves comments!


You are more than welcome to have a little help with your sewing (my mom helps me a lot)! This challenge is open to anyone of any age!

NOTICE: Sensational Sewing Challenge will be posted on the 5th of every month from now on. And the winner will be posted on the 6th!

P.S. My verse for the week is Matthew 18:3-4

“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.”

A very apt verse for me:)

Have a blessed day everyone!

Kelly-Anne

Sensational Sewing Challenge #6 - Fantastic Felt

I do apologize for being late with the new sewing challenge. I should be on time every month from now on, because we have just moved to our new house which is situated on the most amazing farm! We pray this will be our home forevermore, so I look forward to many happy hours spent in this room, writing lovely things for all of you:)

Due to the stress and chaos of moving (with lots of little ones, too) I am unable to even show you an example for this month’s challenge:( However, I do have something wonderful to make you smile and hopefully start getting creative!

...I am offering another prize to the winner of February’s sewing challenge! In order to be eligible for the prize, you must follow the guidelines below. But now, the theme for this month is...

FANTASTIC FELT!!!

Enter all your felty creations with Mr. Linky and stand a chance to win this beautiful prize...

Six pieces of colourful felt that will be shipped anywhere in the world to one wonderful and creative reader!!

Below are the challenge rules:

You can enter using your blog, or if you don’t have a blog of your own, then you are more than welcome to email your entry to me!


Create a new post (no back-linking allowed!) on your blog with at least one photograph of your finished product.
Or
Email me your entry to me with also at least one photograph of the finished product. I will enter it on your behalf, so make sure you come back and check out your entry!

Make sure you also acknowledge where you got your pattern or inspiration from.


Please link back to Beautiful Girlhood so that others may enter too, or use my sewing challenge button in your post. (Email entries don’t apply)


You may enter as many times as you like, but with a different project each time!


Leave your entry with Inlinkz below – please note that you must leave a direct link to your blog post so that I can find it easily and leave you some love!!


Leave a comment on a few entries around yours, everybody loves comments!


You are more than welcome to have a little help with your sewing (my mom helps me a lot)! This challenge is open to anyone of any age!

Happy sewing!

Kelly-Anne

The Winner of Sensational Sewing Challenge is...

I am proud to announce the winner of Sensational Sewing Challenge – Christmas! The Christmas themed challenge was run from the 1st of December till the 31st of January.  Unfortunately, I only received two entries, one being from my best friend, Heidi, and the other from my dear sister, Beth.

The wonderful winner, chosen randomly by my mom is.......

HEIDI-MARI!!!

I will post your prize to you as soon as possible, my friend! For now, you can grab your winner’s button below and proudly display it on your blog sidebar with a link back to this post!

I would also like to welcome my new followers – thank you so much for joining Beautiful Girlhood!  I hope and pray you will feel blessed and inspired each time you visit this blog!

Don’t forget to enter my {HeART} Giveaway, open till February 7th!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

Email Entry into Sensational Sewing Challenge

Hello friends! My seven year old sister, Beth, made a gorgeous little snowman out of felt to enter into my sewing challenge for ‘Christmas’. I decided to run the Christmas themed challenge throughout January to give people who were too busy to enter their Christmas makes over the festive season, a chance to join in! I would love to have you join this month, so maybe you could make a decoration to add to your Christmas tree this year? Maybe you made something small during December for your table or house that showed a bit of Christmas cheer? Enter all these things in Sensational Sewing Challenge – you may enter as many times as you like (each time with a new creation) and stand a chance to win the prize I am offering! Go HERE for more details!  But now onto Beth’s email entry...

It is very easy to make this little snowman.  Cut two body shapes out of white felt.  Cut out two arm shapes (twigs) out of brown felt and a carrot nose from orange felt.  Sew two funky buttons to the front body shape and sew the nose onto the face.  Attach the brad eyes and thread your needle.  Using straight stitch, sew all around your snowman and don’t forget to pin the arms inside so you can sew them into the body!  Leave a little gap open so you can stuff the snowman.  Finish off.  Make a little beanie out of jersey material and attach a pom-pom to the top.  Make a scarf out of jersey material too and attach to snowman.  You are done!  Use as a pretty little Christmas decoration for 2012’s tree!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Kelly-Anne

Sensational Sewing Challenge #5...........

Yippee! The festive season has arrived and with that comes activities and things to do in order to get ready! My new sewing challenge theme then is..........Christmas!!! I would love to see anything to do with Christmas! Decorations are fun to make so why don’t you get sewing and enter my challenge?

I have another surprise for you........The winner of this month’s challenge will win a PRIZE!!!  I will send the prize anywhere in the world so now you have to enter:D

This is what you can win!  Buttons, ribbons and flowers to add to your sewing kit!!

My example is a mini felt Christmas stocking.  I found this idea in a book called 'Fun to do - Presents' by Irene Newington.   

up on your Christmas tree!  Your are done!

1.  Trace a stocking template twice onto a piece of red felt.  Cut out.  Cut a snowman shape out of white felt and a hat shape out of black felt. 

2.  Using blanket stitch, attach the snowman and hat onto the front piece of your stocking. 

3.  Glue some gold stars onto your stocking for decoration.

4.  Sew a piece of lace on to the top of the stocking, then join the two stocking pieces together with blanket stitch.  Draw a little face on your snowman.

5.  Attach a piece of gold thread to your stocking so you can hang it

Before I go, I would like to thank my mom, Hazel, Celiah Ann and my sister, Nancy, for entering my sewing challenge last month for ‘something useful’. The winner, randomly drawn by meee is.......

Hazel!!!

Who made these adorable little crayon rolls!

Congratulations, Mom! Here is your winner's button:

Now it is your turn to show me your Christmas makes:)  Below are the guidelines for entering so please just take a short moment to read through them before linking up:)

You can enter using your blog, or if you don’t have a blog of your own, then you are more than welcome to email your entry to me!

Create a new post (no back-linking allowed!) on your blog with at least one photograph of your finished product.

Or

Email me your entry to me with also at least one photograph of the finished product. I will enter it on your behalf, so make sure you come back and check out your entry!

Make sure you also acknowledge where you got your pattern or inspiration from.

Please link back to Beautiful Girlhood so that others may enter too, or use my sewing challenge button in your post. (Email entries don’t apply)

You may enter as many times as you like, but with a different project each time!

 

Leave your entry with Inlinkz below – please note that you must leave a direct link to your blog post so that I can find it easily and leave you some love!!

Leave a comment on a few entries around yours, everybody loves comments!

You are more than welcome to have a little help with your sewing (my mom helps me a lot)! This challenge is open to anyone of any age!

Sensational Sewing Challenge – 'Christmas' closes on the 31st of January, 2012

I cannot wait to see your creations this month!!

Kelly-Anne

Another Email Entry into Sesational Sewing Challenge!

I asked my Mom to please enter my sewing challenge this month for ‘Something Useful’ with her gorgeous little crayon rolls she made for dear friends of ours. You can find the tutorial on ‘Skip to my Lou’.

Aren’t they just too adorable? Mom chose sweet fabrics and had a ball putting these crayon rolls together, even though they were quite tricky to make!

 Untie the ribbon and unroll...

Tie up again when you are finished colouring in your picture!

Please go HERE to enter my sewing challenge for ‘something useful’ which is open till the 7th of December, so you have plenty of time to still enter! Remember, Sensational Sewing Challenge is a challenge, not a contest, so you really don’t have to make professional looking sewing projects. It is aimed at inspiring others [and myself] to make at least one item a month!

With love, Kelly-Anne

Entry into my Sensational Sewing Challenge - Something Useful

I received an email entry from Celiah Ann who made a girly pin cushion for her 9 year old niece who also loves sewing!

She got the pattern from thediydish.com.  It was episode 1 of season 4.

 

Please go HERE to enter my sewing challenge for ‘something useful’ which is open till the 7th of December, so you have plenty of time to still enter! Remember, Sensational Sewing Challenge is a challenge, not a contest, so you really don’t have to make professional looking sewing projects. It is aimed at inspiring others [and myself] to make at least one item a month!

With love, Kelly-Anne

Sensational Sewing Challenge #4 - Something Useful!!!

Hello everyone!  Welcome back to another sewing challenge here at Beautiful Girlhood!  This month’s theme is ‘Something Useful’!  So you can make anything that is useful to you in any way!  My example is a small ‘Tooth Fairy Pillow’ for Beth.  Beth, age seven, is losing teeth (and becoming quite rich as we get a small amount of money for each tooth we lose), so I decided she needed something other than a shoe to put her tooth in while it sits and waits for the tooth fairy, (Daddy. Ha!) to come and collect it.

I learnt to do chain stitch while making this pillow.  Beth’s name is embroidered onto a piece of white felt with chain stitch and I used blanket stitch to attach the heart to the pillow.  Everything on this pillow is handsewn – I didn’t use the machine at all!!  It was so therapeutic sewing up this little pillow and with some help from Mommy, it didn’t take long to make at all!

I saw a picture of this ‘tooth fairy pillow’ on one of my Mother’s (many) bookmarked pages.  Together, Mom and I figured out how to make it.

Now it is YOUR turn to show me what you’ve made! Remember, it can be a very simple project or an intensive week-long project – you decide! Mine didn’t take long at all, but I learnt how to do something new. Sensational Sewing Challenge is aimed to encourage others, new and old to sewing, to make and do new things, showing off their projects as they go along! So if you would like to participate in Sensational Sewing Challenge – ‘Something Useful’, then read the following guidelines before linking up with Inlinkz!!!

You can enter using your blog, or if you don’t have a blog of your own, then you are more than welcome to email your entry to me!

Create a new post (no back-linking allowed!) on your blog with at least one photograph of your finished product.
Or
Email me your entry to me with also at least one photograph of the finished product. I will enter it on your behalf, so make sure you come back and check out your entry!

Make sure you also acknowledge where you got your pattern or inspiration from.

Please link back to Beautiful Girlhood so that others may enter too, or use my sewing challenge button in your post. (Email entries don’t apply)

You may enter as many times as you like, but with a different project each time!

Leave your entry with Inlinkz below – please note that you must leave a direct link to your blog post so that I can find it easily and leave you some love!!

Leave a comment on a few entries around yours, everybody loves comments!

You are more than welcome to have a little help with your sewing (my mom helps me a lot)! This challenge is open to anyone of any age!

Sensational Sewing Challenge – ‘Something Useful' closes on the 31st of November, 2011

Have a wonderful month ahead,

Kelly-Anne

Sensational Sewing Challenge #2!!!

Wow! I received four stunning entries for last month’s challenge which was bags! Go here to see all the beautiful and creative bags!

This month’s challenge theme can be as easy and simple, or as glamorous and elaborate as you like – the choice is yours! And that theme is..........

‘Accessories’!

You might want to make a bag, if you didn’t have time to enter last month’s challenge, or a summer scarf, or a brooch! Basically I want to see any funky accessories sewn by you!

My examples are summery and colourful hair bands!

What you need;

Material of your choice

Matching cotton

Velcro

Interfacing

Free Hair band pattern from Patchworkids

Step 1:  Trace the pattern onto your material.  Start by tracing around the one half of the pattern, then flip it over and continue.  You will need two pieces like this.  You will also need one piece of interfacing, so trace the pattern onto the interfacing as well. Cut out.

Step 2:  You should then have two separate pieces of material and one piece of interfacing.  Iron the interfacing onto the wrong side of one of the hair band pieces.

Step 3:  Then sew the two hair band pieces together, right sides in, leaving the one small side open so that you can turn it right way round.

Step 4:  Turn the hair band right side out and iron the seams flat. 

Step 5:  Cut about an inch of Velcro and sew onto the ends of the hair band. 

Step 6: Top stitch all the way around the hair band with matching colour cotton.

You’re done!

I have altered the rules just a little, so please just take a quick second to read through them before entering!

You can enter using your blog, or if you don’t have a blog of your own, then you are more than welcome to email your entry to me!

Create a new post (no back-linking allowed!) on your blog with at least one photograph of your finished product.

Or

Email me your entry to me with also at least one photograph of the finished product. I will enter it on your behalf, so make sure you come back and check out your entry!

Make sure you also acknowledge where you got your pattern or inspiration from.

Please link back to Beautiful Girlhood so that others may enter too, or use my sewing challenge button in your post. (Email entries don’t apply)

You may enter as many times as you like, but with a different project each time!

Leave your entry with Inlinkz below – please note that you must leave a direct link to your blog post so that I can find it easily and leave you some love!!

Leave a comment on a few entries around yours, everybody loves comments!

You are more than welcome to have a little help with your sewing (my mom helps me a lot)! This challenge is open to anyone of any age!

Sensational Sewing Challenge – ‘Accessories’ closes on the 30th of September, 2011

Now its YOUR turn to show me your accessories - I cannot wait to see them!  With summer on the way, we want to have all sorts of pretty things to put on our handbags or wear on our hats, jeans, etc!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne

Linking up to:

SSC #1 - Winners and Favourites!

Hello everyone! Time to announce the winner of last month’s Sensational Sewing Challenge, ‘It’s a Girl Thing – Bags’!

I would first like to say a big thank you to Heidi-Mari, Nancy, Sarah and Gabi for participating in my first challenge! Since I am just getting started with my challenge, I thought that I would only choose a winner. Once more people know about my challenge and start entering, I will choose the top three!

....But, now onto the winner of my first challenge which was chosen randomly. I wrote each of your names on a separate piece of paper, and then Gabrielle, age four, randomly selected one by putting her hand into my new drawstring bag (below) and drew out....

Gabi made this very creative bag out of the thigh of an old pair of jeans!

Here is your winner’s button:

Just right click on the image and ‘save as’. Use it as a picture on your blog’s sidebar. Remember to link back to my blog so others can join in!

I thought I would also show you another one of my bags which I made last month...

The pink crushed velour ‘Pouch Style Drawstring Bag’!

My mom bought me some gorgeous ribbon roses to put on my bag as finishing touches! You can find the instructions here.

This month’s challenge theme is – Accessories!!! You can enter here!

Thank you again to everyone who entered – I really loved looking at all your gorgeous bags!

Blessings,

Kelly-Anne