Saffrons Blog

I'm a fabric designer, mum and creative crafty person. A blog about fabrics, projects, ideas and things that inspire me.

How to cover a folder - a glueing project for the "I looove fabrics but I dont sew (yet)" people

Saffron Craig - Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Sometimes the easiest things to do are the the things you put off the most. Sometimes I think, "yep this is so simple every one knows how to do this so why bother and who cares?" However, again today I heard someone say "but I don't sew!"

Well, all you people who do not sew yet love fabrics, here is a glueing project for YOU. Yes you. When I was covering an ultra dodgy looking $3.00 folder (bought way back when) for the trade show three weeks ago I thought to myself, "take some pictures and explain how easy this is." It's so easy it's 5th grade easy. I might have even have made several in third grade...

Saffron Craig glueing project - covering a folder

To start your new project you will need cool fabric that you want to look at, touch and makes your life a whole lot happier. I chose my Dandelion circles on white. You can too if you fancy! Apparently it might have been smarter to cover the black folder in paper first to hide the black. However I didn't and I can't see the black. So up to you.

The equipment you will need

a folder or ring binder
glue that sticks fabric to plastic—the clear glue is the one I like, they call it craft glue
scissors or rotary cutter
ruler
cutting mat
Oh, and 2 x 40cm of fabric to cover inside and out

Step 1 - cutting:
Lay the folder on top of the wrong side of the fabric, the right side is the side with the print on it. Cut out the fabric with a good 5cm (2 inch) around the folder, which you will use to glue to the inside of your folder. Cut a another piece of fabric the same size as the folder and trim off 3mm all around. Then cut this piece in half so you can cover the insides of your folder. Leave out the inside spine so you can open and close the folder easily.

Saffron Craig project - covering a folder

Step 2:
Glue the outside fabric over the edge of the folder's top and then the fabric at the bottom to the inside of the folder, make sure the pattern is facing out.

Step 3:
Now fold in the sides and glue to the folder. Some might worry about corners, you can do a mitered corner but you will cover all your work in the next step when you cover it with fabric on the inside. But first close the folder to make sure the fabric's not too tight. If it is, loosen it and reglue.

Step 4:
On the inside of the cover glue in the two pieces of fabric a couple of mm from the edges of your folder.

Step 5:
Once the glue is dry trim any wayward threads.

Step 6: Fill your funky folder, yes your very own creation with your stuff.

Yes you can go crazy and cover your tissue box, your diary—or are they called journals when you are over being a teenager? :) With school holidays around the corner you could make it a family affair.

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2 comments

Rachel Koopmans commented on 04-Jul-2010 09:33 AM

My 14 year old daughter will absolutely love this simple project, and for me it means one less day of the school holidays where she's saying, "I'm boooorreeedd"!!!!

Paper Trimmer commented on 19-Nov-2010 01:01 AM

Anything specific I should look for with the glue? I just get the feeling is is going to give at any moment and want to make sure I have something the really sticks.

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New Tree quilt - 4 months in the making

Saffron Craig - Thursday, June 24, 2010

I thought I should share one of my projects in its progression from start to finish. This Tree quilt started with a simple idea, trees in straight lines with the fairies as the leaves. It originated from a simple drawing I did a while ago.

I started with 4 fat quarters of white fabric as the center pieces appliqued with Fairy Circles fabric for the trunk and branches and a lot of assorted paper-pieced circles from the Fantastic Fairy range. Fairies love nature and so I aimed for an organic, earthy feel and the Tree Quilt evolved from there. Each fabric piece was pinned to the background fabric and hand appliqued one fat quarter at a time.

After I finished the middle panel of the three trees I thought for a while that the quilt was complete. I intended it as a smaller wall hanging, but soon I realized that I should make into a single bed size quilt. What to do? I experimented with lots of different borders and colours but didn't get anywhere.

At that stage I was calling in everyone I knew for advice. My mum even made me take the entire quilt apart at one stage. Thank goodness she did. I had realized I would need to wait for The Forest Elemental range in aquamarine and chocolate to arrive. Back in the cupboard for a few weeks.

Once the Forest Elemental fabrics had arrived I played around with what will go where until I finally decided on putting the fabrics in a strip pieced border on the sides. I just love the Elk Landscape design so I chose to use a 20cm strip of it at the top and bottom adjoined by a big strip of the Fairy Love hearts to suit a girl's bedroom. It's got a real strawberry and chocolate feel, the earthiness of the greens and browns contrasted by the sweetness of the reds and pinks. Organic yet girly.

In the end I think the aquamarine Forest Elemental fabrics worked in very well. And I was my fiercest critic for this quilt. I don't think I have ever laboured so much over a quilt!

To finish off the quilt was long arm machine quilted all over with big love hearts. Then it took me about two weeks to decide what colour to bind it with. In the end I choose the Fairy in Flowers for its light and random feel.

I always like to make a couple of cushions to go with a quilt so I made a love heart cushion, much loved by my little girl.

Then I had to wait nearly 4 weeks for the rain to stop to take some pictures to share the making of this quilt.

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10 comments

Angela commented on 24-Jun-2010 10:21 AM

This is divine ... I think I might have fallen in love!

amy commented on 24-Jun-2010 10:56 AM

You should offer a kit for this, I would sooo buy it up in a minute!

Anne commented on 24-Jun-2010 11:25 AM

Love it

joyce commented on 24-Jun-2010 11:33 AM

Oh this quilt is so pretty. Such lovely colours.

karen commented on 24-Jun-2010 09:40 PM

love it! its given me some ideas for a quilt i abandoned years ago. Thanks

Kate Conklin commented on 25-Jun-2010 01:43 PM

Its wonderful to see a quilt bringing together so many of your beautiful fabrics. And those appliqued trees in the centre are just Stunning!

Sharon Feigl commented on 25-Jun-2010 02:18 PM

Gorgeous...just love love love it.
Hugs, Sharon

Tania commented on 30-Jul-2010 02:41 PM

Adorable prints :) I really love the birdie.

Marcia W. commented on 31-Jul-2010 01:23 AM

When I first saw these fabrics on Kate Conklin's site, the purple and oasis green grabbed my attention. The birds as leaves, et al, is wonderful. Looking forward to seeing the other colors. Thank you for the giveaway, and please enter me into the drawing.

Sara H commented on 01-Oct-2010 07:41 PM

Wow I am absolutely in love with this quilt! Do you have a pattern for it anywhere? I am so glad I found your designs. They are so refreshing and there is not a single one that I dislike!

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Biennale 2010

Saffron Craig - Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Sydney Biennale 2010 is always an amazing time of the year for me. I love art and creativity so I could not wait to get out and see what I could find. It's also a great thing to do as a mother explain all the stuff to Sequoia who actually got nearly all of it! These are some pictures we took on Cockatoo Island.

The shape, form and colours are so pretty and Sequoia snuck in to make it my favourite photo of the day.

I loved the runny shiny paint. The freedom in this work is so inspiring.

Amazing what a ball of orange can do. Colour inspiration for me. I wish I could have taken this one home. It reminded me of swimming with turtles on the Great Barrier reef.

Light projection in an utterly dark room.

We danced on the roof tops. It was hard to stop. This was my favorite installation of the day, by far the most creative installation I thought. I took so many pictures. Most of which are blurred in some way. But that's OK! When do you ever get to run on roof tops?

Huge sculptures.

Calm and relaxed on the ferry enjoying a spot of sunshine. So nice. Cockatoo Island we will be back.

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1 comments

Ivy commented on 21-Jun-2010 03:43 PM

Oh Saffron thanks for sharing. Nice to see where you get your inspirations from.

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Our first trade show

Saffron Craig - Monday, June 14, 2010

Meeting so many successful Australian business women over the weekend inspired me. I felt complemented and humbled by the support they showed me. I feel fueled with energy and passion to have found new shops to stock my fabrics from Newcastle through to the Blue Mountains, rural NSW all the way down to Tasmania with even a prospect for a Perth shop.

I am so pleased the new range of Bird Trees has excited all the wholesalers agreeing that these designs are going to be great for the boys. So for me all round a very enjoyable weekend.

And thanks to Kathryn and Jim, Mel and Kate.

You can find more photos on my facebook page or on my flickr page.

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3 comments

Andi Herman commented on 15-Jun-2010 06:49 AM

Congratulations.
Your stall looks amazing.
Andi :-)

elle commented on 30-Jul-2010 10:27 PM

These are delightful and should appeal to just about anyone.

charlotte commented on 31-Jul-2010 12:13 AM

congratulations on another amazing fabric collection!!! simply love all the shades of purple!

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Getting ready for the 2010 Quilt & Craft Expo in Rosehill.

Saffron Craig - Monday, June 07, 2010

The first trade show we will be attending is this weekend. The 2010 Quilt & Craft Expo in Rosehill is upon us. We are organizing everything we need to make the booth look homey and modern at the same time. Such as cushions, quilts, little girls dresses, etc.

We have had the printer running hot and we will have a few free patterns to give away of the Elk Landscape quilt kit.

I made a couple of aprons. I am really into purple so I choose to make mine in the Goose Bubbles, and as it's winter and I am wearing a lot of black I included some Bird in Leaves. Kathryn chose the Fantastic Fairies, she's a Pink Lady.

Kate Conklin is coming along on Saturday morning to set up her gorgeous quilts and we will be selling her patterns too. She is also going to give away a few of her patterns, so if you are coming please drop by.

Mel from Seilke Smith, who makes funky fabric bags is also coming along on Saturday morning. She is driving down from the Blue Mountains with a very cool coat rack to display the bags on. It's lovely to have help and support.

The Market bag in Aquamarine is my favorite and it has been with me everywhere.

Lists are handy at this stage, tick tick. Lucky I have a few more days.

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3 comments

Kate Conklin commented on 07-Jun-2010 04:22 PM

I'm so excited!! Your stand is going to look GORGEOUS! Thanks so much for letting me tag along. What fun!

Melinda Smith commented on 07-Jun-2010 11:13 PM

I'm excited too, can't wait to see how the stall turns out, I sure it will look fab! I second what Kate said : )

Live a Colorful Life commented on 09-Jun-2010 11:51 PM

Hi, Saffron: My daughter-in-law is starting a digital scrapbooking shop on etsy and used Kate's quilt, Sierra's Forest, as an example of how quilters might like to document their process of making a quilt. I also linked to your fabric. Thought you might like to take a look:

http://aroundtheblockdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/06/meet-and-greet-fairytale-pumpkin_09.html

Hope things go well for you this weekend!

Cindy

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Bird in Leaves skirt and bag

Saffron Craig - Wednesday, June 02, 2010

On Saturday I was sketching little girl's skirts. I thought to myself "stop procrastinating Saffron and sew one up"! At least my sketches nutted out how easy it might be to cut and sew.

I set the sewing machine up in front on the computer and sewed up a few skirts for Sequoia. She loved it so much she might just have slept in it. Hmm, yes I don't do that every day.

I spent Sunday afternoon in the park. The rain stopped for an hour or two and it was very social, it felt like the neighborhood had been staring out the windows waiting for the rain to pause so we could get outside. I chatted away to my neighbor until it was dark.

We took a few pictures of our daughter, she was so happy to be outside, she was a blur in the park.

She grabbed her bag made by Selkie Smith Design loaded it with cars and puppies.

I thought I should show a detail of the skirt . This is the kind of image I had in my mind all those months ago when the Bird in Leaves and Goose Bubbles designs were simple black and white sketches.

I thought I had better show the love: I snatched her into a tight hug! At least most of her stayed still for the second the shutter closed capturing us.

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1 comments

kendall langford commented on 02-Jun-2010 12:38 PM

Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Both your work and your gorgeous girl. I just LOVE the bag. Do you have the pattern for that to share?