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Posts Tagged ‘alice in wonderland’

Everything Alice, by Hannah Read-Baldrey and Christine Leech.

I added this book to my Amazon wishlist after stumbling across it one day (and no, I can’t remember what I was looking for originally!), and was delighted to receive it as a Yule gift from my sister-in-sin.

The book starts off well, with a couple of lists of things which you’ll find useful.  Experienced crafters (and those who cook) will have these things anyway but everyone likes a good list, don’t they?

There’s a good range of projects, from simple sewing projects like the little lavender stuffed dormice pictured above to more complex things like the white rabbit pictured below.

I’m particularly tempted to make these gorgeous envelope cushions…

It’s not just sewing either.  There are papercraft projects too, including Mad Hatter cupcake boxes and this pretty tea time themed stationery

There are also edible treats in this book, cakes, confits, cookies and cordials…

… and if you want to make these beautiful cookies, don’t worry because there’s also a tutorial on how to make your own cookie cutters out of aluminium takeaway containers.  Brilliant!

As well as being packed to the brim with tutorials this book is also packed with gorgeous photography and imaginative illustrations.

I’d definitely recommend this book, even to those who aren’t especial fans of Alice in Wonderland.  It’s a great read, there’s lots of inspiration to be had and, unlike some, the writers don’t assume that you have access to unlimited funds and supplies.  Many of the projects are ideal for beginners, but the range of projects means that those who like to challenge themselves won’t be disappointed as there are more complex patterns to follow too.  There’s fun to be had with paint, glue, paper, fabric, beads and food – and the whimsical themes will appeal to children of all ages.

I’ve already tried my hand at one project (the Red King Slippers) and will no doubt be dipping back into this book very soon.

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Don’t be fooled, I have been doing some bookbinding this week but I’m saving the show-and-tell of books for later.  This post is all about something I did for fun.

Yesterday I made some slippers for my teddy bears.  Yes, you heard that right!  Let’s skip over the fact that I’m clearly way too attached to my bears, and get to the point.

One of the gifts I received over Christmas was this fabulous book (from Sarah of Vintage Retro Kitsch), Everything Alice by Hannah Read-Baldrey and Christine Leech.  It’s packed full of projects inspired by (surprise surprise) Alice in Wonderland, and when I was thumbing through it for the first time this project in particular caught my eye.

Red King Slippers.  Now, I don’t need any slippers for myself but I did really want to make some, which is where the bears came into this.  The pattern itself is pretty straightforward, as you can see:

The instructions tell you to enlarge the patten by a certain percentage, but that for a proper fit you should draw around the foot of the slipper wearer and enlarge the templates os the sole matches the outline of the foot.  All well and good for humans, but bears have differently shaped feet (they’re round and very plump, and are completely disproportionate to the ankle size of the bear in question).  A bit of a challenge then!

In the end, after much mucking about with paper templates and a couple of failed attempts at slippers (too small, and then too big), I finally got the size right.  I also changed the stitching a bit near the top so that instead of blanket stitch I used a loose stitch (don’t know the name!) to make it look like the slippers have laces.  This gave them a bit more leeway to get over the bears’ feet without leaving them gaping too wide around the ankle once they were on.

Two pairs of perfectly fitted slippers, fit for a king.  I have to say that apart from the difficulty adjusting these to fit teddy bears they were amazingly easy to make, and if you fancy making a pair for yourself then I highly recommend them as a quick project.  Buy the book, it’s full of quirky and fun things and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Now that the last of the festive fairs is past and my stock cupboard is looking respectably… well, bare isn’t the right word, but it’s not overflowing any more… it’s time to restock some of my old favourites.

A lot of the books I make are one-offs, either through choice or circumstance; and I like that, I like that customers can have something that no one else has.  However I do have some regular items which seem perenially popular.

My Alice in Wonderland books are my longest running range and includes six different designs, each with a quote from the original text on the back.

I also like to make Novel Notebooks – simple but elegant notebooks that use reproductions of their first edition covers as part of the design.  These Austen in Miniature books are a good example.

I’ve also reintroduced the Shakespeare in Miniature set this week.

I’m planning on bringing back the A6 sized versions of these, but probably not until the new year.  For now though one other old favourite has made it out of my studio:

 

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My mini Alice in Wonderland notebooks were kindly featured in an Etsy Treasury by BlindPsykhe:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c0e1de8bd348eefb48b9967/alice-in-wonderland

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One of my Alice in Wonderland notebooks was kindly featured in an Etsy Treasury by ThePaintingLibra:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c0595a6c3196d915acdfc20/were-all-mad-here

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A blog article which kindly features one of my Alice in Wonderland notebooks:

http://heartsnskulls.blogspot.com/2010/02/all-things-alice.html

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Corynne Pless of Lilacfox.com kindly featured one of my Alice in Wonderland notebooks in her blog:

http://lilacfox.com/2010/01/27/wednesday–on-the-road.aspx

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Lotus’s Workshop kindly mentioned one of my Alice in Wonderland notebooks in their blog:

http://barbedlotus.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/down-the-rabbit-hole/

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