Everything's Famtastic

May 25, 2023May 24, 2023

Unlocking Sewing Success: Why Tracking your Sewing Projects is so Valuable

Does the phrase “Dear Diary…” bring back any teen memories for you? Those youthful moments of recording your wishes, worries, dreams, and memorable experiences? 🥰

Keeping a journal isn’t just for teenagers anymore and there isn’t only one right way to write out your plans, gratitude and hopes.

Just search around online and be prepared to be overwhelmed. 😳 You’ll find all sorts of ideas from bullet journals, gratitude journals, dream diaries, travel diaries and more.

But what does this have to do with sewing? 🤔

Do you ever find yourself knee-deep in a whirlwind of exciting projects and ideas, always buzzing with inspiration and itching to create something awesome?

Well, my creative friend, I have a little secret that can help you make the most out of your creative journey: keeping a sewing journal.

May 11, 2023May 9, 2023

Fun Spring Projects to Make: Simple Sewing Tutorials Round-Up

It’s an undeniable fact: Spring is the best season of the year!

Nothing says warmer weather and sunshine like bright colours, a garden full of flowers, bees humming, pottering around in the garden, the taste of strawberries **drool**, Spring cleaning and some refreshing updates of home décor.

After cleaning through my own fabric ~~mountain~~ stash, I decided to go researching for some fun Spring sewing patterns to put to use some of the fabric bits and pieces that have been saved with good intentions (and long forgotten).

In this blog post you’ll see some of the favourite ideas I’ve collected as a great way of adding some colour and whimsy to your home and make sweet gift ideas for others too!

These sewing tutorials are a mix of fun décor and useful projects and all can be created fairly easily. No need to spend days labouring over these cute Spring sewing projects!

Check out the tutorials to see for yourself how simple and sweet these Spring sewing projects are!

April 27, 2023April 26, 2023

5 Wonderful Ways to Make Your Own Fabulous Flowers

When the warmth of Spring finally arrives, the burst of colours from flowers in the garden outside are always a welcome sight! Shaking off the grey of winter, who doesn’t like to decorate the inside of the house with some fresh bright colours too. And what better way with flowers?!?

Flowers are a beautiful addition to any home. However, fresh flowers can be costly and don’t last very long. Luckily, paper and fabric flowers can provide a budget-friendly and long-lasting alternative.

In this blog post, I’ll share with you 5 unique ways to get crafty (on your own or with the kids) to create bouquets of beautiful blooms that you won’t need to remember to water!

All of these tutorials are easy to follow, totally budget-friendly, and require just a handful of simple supplies (scissors and a hot glue gun, anyone?!?).

AND you DON’T have to be the craftiest person on the block to be able to create these fabulous flowers! They’re THAT easy!

See for yourself!

April 13, 2023April 26, 2023

Irresistible Young Adult Fiction that Teens Love to Read

It’s never been a secret here that all 3 of my kids LOVE reading. And as they get older, so does their taste in books. Given that we now have a teen and 2 tweens in the house, Young Adult fiction novels make up the largest part of the pile of books that get lugged home after a family visit to the library.

When I say that my kids love reading, what I mean is, if they aren’t eating a family meal or physically out of the house, they are at home perched somewhere comfortable with a pillow and a book.

And if there has ever been an excuse for kids to celebrate a love of reading, then World Book Day on April 23rd is a pretty darn good one!

Over the past couple of years, each of my 3 children have put together their own personally recommended lists of book series for different ages of fellow bookworms here on my blog. (You can find the links to them all at the bottom of this blog post 👇).

But in this blog post, my Miss 14 wanted to share her picks for YA fiction. With a mix of fantasy and relationships, mystery and manga, your teen will be sure to discover a new book here to get lost in!

March 30, 2023March 29, 2023

Easy Easter Sewing Projects to Brighten Your Home This Spring

What better time to pull out the sewing machine to create some colourful happy vibes around your family home than Easter! And my, are there a LOT of Easter sewing projects out there to choose from!

For us Northern Hemisphere types, Easter also means Spring has started! Which means even more reason to create some bright and fun colours to surround ourselves with and shake off the grey of another long winter!

I’m not actually even from the north side of the planet (I am Australian💪), so I’m always on the lookout for every new glimpse of colour and sunlight after the German winter.

So, I’ve done some research to narrow down your Easter sewing ~~overwhelm~~ choices to put together this brilliant blog post filled with 10 fabulous Easter sewing projects to make. Whether you’re a sewing beginner or an expert quilter, you’ll find some sewing gems in here!

March 9, 2023March 28, 2023

Sewing Made Simple: What Sewing Beginners Should Know Before Starting

One of the best things about sewing is that you never stop learning! But everybody has to start that learning somewhere, right? What are the most important things that every sewing beginner should know? What tips and tricks can help to soothe sewing nerves and set you up for sewing success? What sewing tools do you really need to have at home? And what are some of the common sewing mistakes you can avoid?

Sewing is supposed to be fun, not overly-stressful! But like any new skill, it’s good to have some basic know-how before diving in.

Not everyone is able to attend a sewing class in person, so having basic sewing tips and terminology within easy reach can be a lifesaver when you are just starting out!

In this blog post you’ll discover links to loads of pages with easy-to-understand sewing information that you’ll refer back to over and over again. Hint: save this post so you can get back to it every time you need more sewing support. I’ve got your back! 😉

February 23, 2023March 28, 2023

Learn to Sew with these Simple Straight Lines Sewing Projects!

Being able to sew is such a fun and useful skill to have. But what if you’re new to sewing and not sure where to start? I can help you with that!

In this blog post I’ve bundled up my simplest sewing projects for you to peruse and try creating with your sewing machine.

Yes! Even if you’re a beginner with the sewing machine still in the box! 😉

But these sewing tutorials aren’t only for those people brand new to sewing. Even if you have been sewing a while, dive in and choose a fresh, new, quickly-done sewing project you can make today!

There’s one big reason why I have hand-picked these sewing projects to share with you today. They all have one thing in common with each other. And not just because they are uncomplicated, fun and stress-free to make!

Ready to find out more about these simple sewing projects? Keep reading!

February 9, 2023March 28, 2023

Avoid a sewing disaster! How to easily clean & oil your sewing machine at home

If you own a sewing machine and hate the idea of it, or any of your precious sewing projects getting damaged, there’s a really simple way for you to not get stuck halfway through your creative joy: cleaning and oiling your sewing machine!

It is easy to do, quick to finish and clean up, and your sewing machine will love you for it! 😍

In this post I’ll walk you through how to give your sewing machine some regular care and attention. Read on to find out how (and how I found out the hard way why maintaining your machine is so important!)

January 26, 2023May 15, 2024

13 Smart & Simple Sewing Machine Hacks You’ll Love

If you know anything about me at all, you’d know that sewing is a passion of mine. I think that being able to sew is an awesome skill to have and a brilliant hobby for anybody to fall in love with. 🥰

Which is why I can’t stop talking about it!

But you may not already know this: I do remember (not so long ago) when I was a complete sewing newbie. I hadn’t even touched a sewing machine until I’d already had 3 kids of my own.

And I remember being VERY nervous the first few times I sat down to sew. I mean, what if I pressed something wrong? What if I broke something? What if my fabric went sailing sideways out of the machine and I just ruined everything?!?

Because I think that sewing is so fantastic and I want to help you to feel more confident when you sit down at your own sewing machine (without fear of pressing the wrong thing!), in this post I am sharing a bundle of helpful sewing tips and hacks that you may never have heard before.

Are you ready to enjoy your sewing time with more confidence and less stress? Then take a few minutes to read through this list of sewing tricks before you take hold of your sewing machine!

December 15, 2022April 4, 2024

10 Terrific Last Minute Gift Ideas to Sew Fast

There’s nothing quite like an upcoming holiday or special occasion to make me get my butt into gear and plan some interesting DIY gift ideas. And if you are anything like me, sometimes those gift ideas are going to be of the “last minute gifts” kind. 🙈

Luckily, I have been searching for a while now and compiling sewing projects that make perfect handmade gifts. Yes, even for those of you who leave your sewing projects to the last minute!

In this blog post you’ll find 10 terrific DIY gift ideas that can be made in a dash, some of them even in 10 minutes!

Whether you are looking to make lovely gifts for family, friends (or even yourself 😉) you’re sure to find the perfect one here.