Fabric scraps

After about 6 months of non-stop sewing I am finally sort-of on vacation.

Its been a crazy, fun, tough, exciting time and I wouldn't change any of it.

And after all of the craziness I'm left with fabric scraps.

Tons (ok maybe kilograms) of scraps. I'm not a hoarder but if something is pretty, no matter how small it is, I think it deserves a chance to be something. So I haven't thrown away any scraps yet - When I start drowning in them I might.

Most blogs I look at seem to only generate scraps like this...

 Mine seem to look like this....(these are not all the bags ;)

So I've decided to save what I can and try make something of all these little pretty pieces. In my head I'm planning on doing hundreds of beautiful sewing projects that will be uplifting to many. In reality I might make one or two small things before I move on and close my scrap cupboard door for another few months where the scraps will probably grow to double the size. 

Here they all are in a more sorted, trimmed fashion. Still not like the first photo but way better than the second ;)

Come back and visit to see what I decided to do with them :)

Blessings

xxx

A bit of home decor

Let's pretend that I haven't been missing for 6 months and pick up where we left off ;)

In between starting a business I haven't had much time for decorating the apartment that we are renting. I drove past a second hand store a few months ago and saw a beautiful old ladder that only has one side. (I have been wanting one for a while and thought that I was going to have to make it.)

After convincing the owner that it would fit in my car, (and removing some things from my car that shouldn't be removed) I had the ladder and was ready to start my project. 

We are not allowed making holes in the walls in this apartment that we are renting and so I decided that I would have to make a plan to display some of our beautiful traveling photos.

Here is the end product: 

 

All it took was a few frames that fit into each gap, some hooks and some fishing line. 

Let me show you the back so that you can do it yourself.

Screw two small hooks into the back of each frame (space them well) and then do the same on the rung of the ladder above the frame. And attach with some fish line. Do the same for all the frames.

And you are done!

xxx

Inspirations

Life on this side is a bit too fast for me to keep up so I have decided to step out and take a breather. Luckily blog land never fails to leave me feeling inspired and amazed by all the creativity out there. 

If you don't have time to take a relaxed stroll through all the beautiful blogs out there, here are some goodies to give you your weekly fix. 

1. A DIY ruler table runner from Country living.

2. A collection of packaging ideas from oh, hello friend.

3. (YAY free stuff) Printable mason jar labels (they even have blank ones) from Limeshot Design.

4. DIY paper airplane garland from Studio DIY.

If you have any special blogs that have inspired you, on this busy Monday, please feel free to mention them in your comments. I would love to take a look. 

I hope you have a great week. 

Blessings

Puppy finds a home.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and all the lovely names that were given. 
I might have to give each of the puppies I make a different name because I was given so many good options. (I must say one of my favourites was Jack McBarkington;) 
But this lucky puppy is called Gilbert.

And the winner is...

Cherilyn. 
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Check your inbox because you've got mail.

If you would still like to take your own puppy home, I will be putting them on our website over at Pickalilly from the 2nd week in June. 

Pop in again anytime - I love visitors.

Blessings

Sew mama sew giveaway week

 Sorry this giveaway is over.
Its giveaway week over at Sew Mama Sew and I'm excited. (Welcome to everyone visiting)

A friend and I recently started a business for handmade baby clothes and accessories. It's called pickalilly. Go on over and take a look.

I have been designing a few new items for our online shop and today I will be giving away one of them.

Here he is. He is still in the process of being named. If you would like to give this puppy a home you need to do the following: 

1. Leave a comment with name suggestion for our friend in the picture.

2. If you are not a follower please leave an email address (you can type it like this: inspired(dot)gabi(at)gmail(dot)com) so that I can let you know if you have won - I will not spam you ;)

3. For an extra entry follow/like us on facebook and let me know by posting an extra comment.

The giveaway ends on the 25th of May 5pm PST.

I will choose a winner randomly and announce the winner on the 27th of May.

Anyone from anywhere can enter :)

Thank you for stopping by and good luck!

Blessings

A new look!

As you can see Bee-inspired has a new look. I absolutely LOVE IT!!! 

A few months ago I was getting really frustrated with my blog design and I really wanted a custom design. I first tried doing a ton of free tutorials and after HOURS (more like days) of trying all I had was a sad attempt, which is what was on my blog before. 

I want this blog to be a source of inspiration for others and I was super uninspired by the design so I prayed about it (yes I pray about anything and everything) and a week later I found a competition for a custom blog design by (my now new friend) Jennie from click.snap.swoosh.laugh. I was sure I was going to win. 

I didn't. 

BUT a few weeks later she messaged me and said she wanted to do it for me. She is an amazing women with many talents and has more than one blog (she seems like bit of a super women to me.)

So here is the end result of her hard work. 

THANK YOU Jennie you were REALLY an answer to prayer.

  Here are her two blogs - go and take a look and say hi.

   

Here's to more exciting changes in the future.

Blessings 

Inspirations

I'm back from all my travels in the States and SA and I will still blog about it when life returns to perceived normalcy. 

For now here are a few inspirations. 

1. DIY hand lettered gift wrap from The Sweetest Occasion. 

2. How to sew with knit fabrics from Ask Dana on Made (if you haven't been to her website yet you are missing out - she is possibly one of my favourite bloggers.)

3. DIY fabric labels from Just Love.ly

4. Make your own photo props from The Letter 4.

I will be back soon and watch this space because some exciting changes are going to be happening on bee-inspired in the near future. 

Blessings

Making a slimline pen on a lathe

Today's tutorial is pretty intense. My brother is super talented and extremely detailed in all the things he creates. His latest hobby is making pens. So if you are interested in making pens I doubt you will get a better description than the one he has put together for you. If, like for me, this seems like too much effort you can order and buy them from him. Just email me and I will get you connected. Enjoy the tutorial :)

Turning a Slimline pen on a lathe

You will need:

The Custom Up-cycled Hat Tutorial

Here is another great tutorial from Lindsey, who you met a few weeks ago. She blogs over at Ovenlesschef.

I leave you in her capable hands: 

Lindsey: "Disclaimer: All photos have this atrocious yellow flooring in them, so please view at your own discretion.  Thank you and happy crafting." 

iPod/ iPhone holder tutorial

My iPod has many scratches on it. It gets dropped often and its home is my chaotic handbag, shared with many sharp objects like lost hairpins and sometimes sewing needles. So for today's tutorial I thought I'd share a quick iPod/ iPhone holder tutorial. 

Jersey knit baby quilt tutorial

Today's tutorial was done by a talented friend of mine, Karin. She is the Asst. Prof of Craft Design at a university in Daegu, South Korea. She is someone who inspires me to not just do what others do but to be original and use the creativity that God gave me.

She doesn't have a website/blog for me to link to but if you have any questions for her please leave them in the comments box below and I will pass them on. :)

I leave you in her capable hands.

Crochet 101 and DIY baby booties

Today's post is from a blogger friend of mine, Katelynn. She is super creative and a soon to be mommy. Go and say hi over at Waygooken Housewife.

She was kind enough to not only do a tutorial but also a crochet 101 for people like me who have yet to venture into that area of craftiness - she made it look so easy that I might just have to find those crochet hooks that I was given as a gift...

I leave you in her capable hands.

 **********

Hey everyone! I am so excited to be over here today! Gabi is seriously one of the coolest people I know and she is so talented! Some days I just sit at my computer and wait for her to post something because I know it is going to be awesome and inspire me!

Today I want to share with you some super simple, super cute crochet baby booties.

Uh oh, I just saw your eyes glaze over. Come back to me now, it'll be alright.

I've met a lot of people who say they tried to crochet, got one long chain finished and got confused. I FEEL YA! The crochet "code" can be pretty hard to crack, but in reality, it's pretty simple. All you're doing is tying lots and lots of knots using one string and a hook. 

I found the pattern for these booties on Ravelry.com and they are FREE! (Don't you love free stuff?) If you want to look at the pattern for yourself you can find it at Bev's Very Easy Booties. I modified the pattern just a little.  

Ok, let's get started. You will need some yarn and a crochet hook.

Decorated gift bag.

This particular post was done by my wonderful mother. I get to see her in 3 days time, for the first time in 15months!! I let out tiny yelps of excitement every few seconds. 

Here is her tutorial.

Heart brooch

Here is a quick tutorial on how to make your own felt heart brooch.

Tutorial: Vintage ‘Alice in wonder’ hairband

I am really excited about today's post. Claire is a friend that I made while living in Cape Town. She is super talented and well known for her beautiful hair accessories. 
Here we go:


Make this exquisite vintage Alice band using bits of trim found in haberdashery or fabric shops. Better yet, rummage through your gran’s sewing box to find all sorts of treasures to embellish with!

Use colours like ivory and off-white for an olden-day feel. And if you use coloured satin ribbon for the hairband, stick with pale lavendars and lilacs, or light sea greens and translucent honey yellows.

Made by Claire of Bella Chiara

Monster Mittens

(Tutorial no.2 . Come and visit again next week for no.3 of 11)


I'm excited about today's post. It was done by a good friend. I will be ever grateful that our paths crossed while we were both passing through Korea. She has a blog called Ovenless Chef, and not only is she a great cook and mom but also a super inventive crafter (she will deny this.)

Over to her:

“Monster Mittens”

What you are about to witness may be a little scary for regular crafters/creators…

Step into my laboratory… aka bustling household with two boys (a four year old and a four month old) and my big boy, lovingly referred to as my husband.

I typically stick to the food blogging over at Ovenless Chef, but every now and then I stray into the sewing/crocheting arena of creative talents and pretend that I am as good as Gabi here on Bee-inspired and well… I am an amateur wanna-be, beginner. That is all. So don’t judge.

Origami crane on the brain.

For the next 11 weeks I will be posting one tutorial per week (every Wednesday). There are going to be quite a few talented guest bloggers making an appearance, so don't miss it.

I was never really an origami fan, not a hater either. Just not opinionated. But take away my sewing machine and force me to sit at my office desk from 8:30am till 4:30pm with nothing to do (yes that is correct, there were no kids at school but according to my contract I only have a certain amount of vacation. So there I sat...) And so started my love of origami. 

Inspirations

This will probably be my last inspirations post for the next few weeks. 

My husband and I are leaving South Korea on Sunday, to start some new adventures. Even though the inspirations will be put on hold for a while there will still be tutorials to look forward to over the next few weeks. And of course some updates while we travel ;)

Here are some sources of inspiration for this week.

1. UK free online magazine for the vintage style and craft lover : 91 Magazine

2. Wallet tutorial from Lola Nova. 

3. Babron (baby apron) tutorial from Craftiness is not optional.

4. Boy's bowties from Papernstitch.

5. A collection of teacup inspirations from College Life DIY.

6. A DIY tack free message board from Martha Stewart.

Have a great Monday and a superb week. I will be packing ;)

Blessings

Gabi

Monday Inspirations

Here are some ideas for you to get you inspired for this week.

1. A needlepoint purse tutorial from Craftzine.

2. An owl themed/striped party from Kara's Party Ideas.

3. Homemade meringue candy necklaces from Bakingdom.

4. Paper scrap recycling from Design Sponge.

5. Zippered pouches with personalized iron-on vinyl from make it and love it.

6. Photography tips, guides, resources, and tutorials from Shrimp salad circus. (my favourite inspiration for the day, seeing as I want need to work on my photography skills.)

Have a great week!!

Blessings

Gabi

DIY leather strap tote

 Today's post has me especially excited.
A while back I made a bag for a friend and I decided to share my tutorial with you. You can find it (and me) over at Sew Sweetness - YAY for guest blogging :) 

Pop on over for the full (free) leather strap tote tutorial. 
If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment below or on the post over at Sew Sweetness and I will try my best to give you some good answers.

This is what it looks like: 

zoom out

Zoom out some more.

There is also some more exciting news. 
I told you a while back that a friend and I will be starting a business.

The name is Pickalilly. (I LOVE that name)

The business, for now, will mainly be focused on baby accessories and clothing. My friend, whom I had the pleasure of teaching with for a few years, is starting things up from TODAY! I will be joining her from June 1st this year (when my travels are over.) Here is the website - go take a look :)

And if you want updates on what's happening then here is the Pickalilly facebook page.

 For now purchases can only be made by South Africans, but give us time (its only day 1) we will spread out soon :)

Some more love

Last week I shared 25 Valentines day projects and because people are just getting so darn creative lately I decided to share a few more.

1. A DIY GIANT paper flower from Pepper and Buttons - loving this blog :)

2. 21 Valentine's day printables from Tatertots and Jello

3. 3D book page heart mobile from Being Brook

4. Red heart pillow tutorial (by Noodlehead) on Ucreate

One more week before Valentine's day, better get crafting :)

Blessings

Gabi

Free Feb desktop calendars

I love a good desktop calendar, one that makes me smile when I turn on my computer at the start of a new day.

If you don't have a desktop calendar for Feb yet, then here are some free options ;)

Feb wallpaper from Insights Into Me.

A few good Feb wallpaper options from Double Mesh.

Love this one from rottencupcakes

A cute one from Studio of Mae

And my new desktop calender from Pepper and Buttons.

Happy February!!!

Blessings

Gabi

DIY notebook/ sketchbook/ whatever-I-want-to-use-it-for-book.

Here is a quick tutorial on how to make your own little notebook.

You will need:

Card stock (I used a cereal box - of probably the worst cereal I have ever tasted, hence why you won't see the label in any photos)

Paper (preferable blank paper, but if you want to do something different I'm not going to stop you) I used 10 small sheets.

Needle and thread

Washi tape

A marker

Mini (savoury) pies

I'm just popping in quickly to share this miracle snack with you - one that I accidentally found (and modified a bit). I hardly EVER share food on this blog so this is definitely something you should make a note of.

Ingredients: 

Cream cheese

Bacon (fried)

                 Jalapenos (chopped/fresh or bottled)

                  Puff pastry (store bought or home made) 

   1 Egg white

Cut small circles, I used the lid of a glass jar - 6cm/2.4", out of the rolled out pastry (about 3mm/0.1"thick) and layer as follows: 

Blob of cream cheese, piece of fried bacon and a piece of Jalapeno.

Brush some egg white on the edges of the pastry and place another pastry circle on top of it. 

Press down the edges with a fork (the top pastry will stick to the bottom one because of the egg white).

Brush the top of each mini pie with egg white to allow it to brown easier.

And bake at 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15min or until brown.

AND TA DA!! 

(Sorry for the ugly plate, they where about to be eaten so I had no time for nice styling.) 

If you want to do something more, which only adds to the delightfulness, then get a bowl of salsa and dunk the pie in it before taking a bit. 

Do it - trust me you'll thank me later.

Blessings

Gabi

Sharing the love

If you know me well you will know that I absolutely LOVE hearts! I really couldn't care if it's seen as cheesy - bring on the cheese!! And seeing as Valentines day is coming up I thought I'd share some ideas (25 to be exact) to get your creativity going. 

1st up is my  packaging tutorial that I shared a while back.

Hong Kong madness!!

I was on holiday in Hong Kong recently and I loved it!! My husband reminded me before we got there that we are moving to another country in a month and a half so we don't need any more 'stuff'. I said "You don't need to tell me that. I don't need anything. I am only going for the sights, the food and the culture."

HA

If you have ever been to Hong Kong (which I hadn't when I made that statement) you would know what a joke that was)

I bought tons of stuff, and had I not had a logical person with me I would still be there, buying more stuff.

Thanks to a friend, who has been living there for a few years, I found the cheap fabric market - which looks more like a shack from the outside, I would have NEVER guessed they sold anything legal in there. And then we struck gold and found the row upon row of button and ribbon shops - we went back there twice... 

We also went to all the tourist markets and walked till we couldn't anymore but it was worth every moment. 

And although this blog is not about non-craft stuff, I feel I will have done you a great injustice if I don't tell you the following: if you are ever in Hong Kong - get a mango, coconut milk, sago drink (you can find them quite easily and its not the same as bubble tea). I got my fix of liquid joy every day, sometimes twice a day while we were there.

and here is some of the stuff I bought:

Yes those buttons are huge and don't you think those ribbons are stunning (and they were super cheap!!)

 Some more fabrics to add to my collection.

Baby bibs (no I am not pregnant) but they were so cute and so cheap.

And my favourite item - my new purse!! I absolutely love it.


OK that is all for now :)
If you want to read more about the travelling part of my life then you can go on over to my husbands wonderful blog: Gregandgabi.

Oh and in advance: Happy lunar new year for those of you living in Asia - Whoop whoop for the extra vacation days.
^.^


Blessings
Gabi

Giveaway 2 RESULTS:

Thank you to everyone that entered the giveaway, I was really blessed by some of your comments AND welcome to all the new followers.

So here is what you were waiting for - 

And the winner of the Melanie bag is:

 And no. 37 is...

KHBride!!

Congratulations and check your inbox .

^.^

For those of you that didn't win, don't worry there will be more giveaways in the future.

Blessings

Gabi

Monday Inspirations

Well I'm back from Hong Kong - and it was soo much fun, I have some photos to share with you but I'll do it in another post.

Today's inspirations are:

1. DIY fabric button earrings from Post Grad Crafts. A perfect use for scraps.

2. My favourite for the day - DIY paper pencils by Scissors Paper Wok. 

3. DIY for Bokeh photos by the hobby room.

4. A DIY pincushion thread/scrapbooking bits catcher by Merriment design. (I have wanted to make one of these for a while so I'm thankful for the tutorial)

I hope you have a great Monday!

Blessings

Gabi

^.^