I was taking a bit of a break the other day and weeding the garden when I thought... "It's about time we had a give-away on the Blog!" Our First Give-Away on the New Red Brolly Blog. So for all of you who love roses -I have this truly gorgeous Cabbages and Roses fabric- a whole Fat Quarter Pack- of more than forty fabrics to give to some lucky person. I love all the Cabbages and Roses fabrics. It always looks so pretty in whatever project you make. If you love the new Vintage look of soft muted colours and... Continue reading

We've discussed natural lighting, changing backgrounds and adding props to your photos to improve the shots of your handmade craft item. Sometimes though a well-lit shot and great set up just aren't enough, sometimes you need to add a little extra. It's all in the details! When selling on the web, whether it be your online shop, on Etsy or Ebay, try to include as many shots of your handmade product as you can. Buyers like to see as much of the item as they can. You may think that your product is extra soft and cuddly, well try and... Continue reading

As part of the new category on the blog-"Organic Home-" I'll be sharing with you hints and tips on how to live organically and lead a more simplified life. Part of the Red Brolly "Make life beautiful" campaign! This DIY strawberry skin cream is all natural and chemical free. It's made using anti-oxidant packed strawberries, which are known for their cleansing, anti-aging and blemish banishing properties. This skin cream is intensely moisturising, beautifully creamy and smells divine! It's perfect for applying after a long soak in your evening bath. Wrap it up with a bathrobe or a luxury towl to... Continue reading

Grandma always knew best...right? This time she has definitely got it right. A soft, vanilla flavoured tea cake with pockets of raspberries and chunks of white chocolate morsels, topped with a crunchy roast almond topping. This cake is super moist, not too sweet and will last (if you're lucky) for about a week in an airtight container in the cupboard. Almonds are one of those super foods and make a great snack- even if you are on a diet. These versatile little nuts are packed full of protein, vitamin E, cancer fighting properties and plenty of favour. Almonds can be... Continue reading

Aren't these sweetest flowers? Great for if you have a corner that needs a bit of a pick-me-up, a sewing room that needs a spruce, perhaps you have a nursery that needs a bit of colour or they would even be great to use on a present as gift wrapping. PLUS....the best thing is they will never wilt, they don't need any water, are very easy to take care of and they will never give you hayfever! These sweet fabric flowers are modern, cute and vibrant and very easy to make. These were made using the vibrant fabric range from... Continue reading

An important part of henkeeping is making sure your coop stays clean. The girls love having a clean space to lay their lovely eggs. Keeping happy chickens will reward you. Just before Christmas we had a fox come and take my entire flock of 13 hens. Over the following months, the time was used to take a break from the chickens and have a good clean out of the coop- ready for my next flock! As you can see from the following photos, my coop was taken over by my kitchen scraps starting to take seed and grow! An important... Continue reading

What a start to the year! Happy New Year and a huge Welcome back to a Red Brolly 2014! Hope you've all recovered from the Christmas break and are well and truely back into the swing of crafting and sewing for a new year. We are back on the Red Brolly blog after a brief break. There are lots of exciting craft projects, free sewing patterns and tutorials, photography hints and tips for the crafters, and delicious recipes planned. We also will be continuing on with the Girls Own Stitching club (hope you caught up during the holidays!), lots of... Continue reading

The Red Brolly Blog will be taking a small break- and will be back in the New Year with lots of exciting new projects and goodies for you... In the meantime...if you would like to do some holidays embroidery- my newest quilt pattern is now in shops. Do you remember the whole sad story about that crafty fox and my poor chickens? My poor girls- all gone! Every one! I've incorporated the story into a brand new quilt called "Country Holiday". Which tells the whole story in stitchery of the fox grabbing my girls and taking them to his Lair... Continue reading

Yum, yum, yum...yup these were pretty delicious. Mint and chocolate would have to be one of my favourite flavour combinations. These tasty little morsels are small enough so you don't overdose and big enough so you feel like you've had a sneaky little treat. Amazingly these tarts aren't overly sweet- I think using the semisweet chocolate pastry really helps to keep the sweetness down. These little tarts really aren't too difficult to make and the pastry is actually quite forgiving. They would keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week. If you didn't want to make mini... Continue reading

Remember this cookie bag pattern I gave you awhile ago? Well, I've jooshed it up a little and made it look a little more Christmassy. You can make it in under 30 mins and is a great little project for you to sew to put all of you home baked treats in. It's a perfect size for some yummy cranberry shortbread, Christmas Florentines, fudgy rocky road, fruit mince puffs, or perhaps some lovely handmade soaps or assemble together "A baker's delight bag-" include some cookie cutters, a mini recipe book, a mini rolling pin, perhaps some vanilla bean pods, a... Continue reading

Looking for something to make with the kids this weekend? Don't like gingerbread? Don't want the hassle of making the gingerbread and fussing around cutting out the pieces. Here's a really simple idea to do with the kids, it doesn't take too long and can be done with kids off all ages (I tried this with children aged 3-7) and, best of all, it's heaps of fun! Let's face it, the bit that the kids all enjoy is decorating the house with as much lollies as they can possibly fit on. These "gingerbread" houses are in fact made from pre-made... Continue reading

FREE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY GIFT TAGS Here's a few gift tags for you to download and print for free and use with your holiday gift wrapping. There's 3 different gift cards and 3 matching tags. They should print on both US letter paper and Australian A4. Print them onto card stock for a better result. If you are having difficulties- click on the image below and then print, otherwise download and print the PDF. Click to download Free christmas PDF. As usual, they are for personal use only. Happy wrapping! Shop Red Brolly patterns for Christmas Follow my blog with Bloglovin Continue reading

It's never too late to make your Christmas cake, and if you haven't done so by now you really should get a wriggle on. The earlier you make your Christmas cake the more time it has for the fruit to mature and develop their flavours. I've known of people making their Christmas cakes as early as July! Traditionally Christmas cakes were made on the Last Sunday before Advent- in November- on what was called "Stir up." If you haven't yet thought of a gift for someone, how about a mini-Christmas cake? They are just perfect as a small gift for... Continue reading

I want...no, I NEED a set of these gorgeous handmade cross-stitch Christmas decorations. Aren't they just divine? I stumbled across these at a friend's house and just instantly fell in love with them. Each decoration has been cross-stitched, then stiffened. Each individual piece was then carefully and very closely cut around and then glued onto backing fabric. Once dry, each little arm and leg was stitched into position with a single stitch to hold it in place. Amazing! Each divine decoration has little moveable arms and legs, heads and the grandfather clock even has a moving pendulum. I thought I... Continue reading

There's nothing more inviting at Christmas time than having the family and a few "ring ins" (aka "friends") huddling around the TV ready to enjoy and share a Christmas movie. Movies about Christmas always seem to carry with them a special message for the season- a message of kindness, humanity, emotion, thoughtfulness, family, generosity and giving- something to be reminded of whilst in the company of your loved ones. There are so many great Christmas movies available, how do you decide which ones to watch? What makes a perfect Christmas movie? So let's settle this debate. In my opinion, for... Continue reading

Sorry for the delay - but here it is- the last Le Jardin embroidery for 2013. The final embroidery in the quilt will be in February 2014. With the outer borders. This month's Block in Le Jardin Quilt is the Birdbath Block. And our stitch for this month.... is..... Bullion Stitch Rose. How gorgeous is that! With some Bullion stitch or Lazy Daisy leaves... Something I know you've all wanted to learn how to do! So thread your needle for some very sweet roses! Maybe a piece of practice fabric until you get the hang of doing them. Practise those... Continue reading

Copyright Red Brolly 2013 Stuck for something for your sewing friend? Perhaps you're a quilter and you're not sure what to ask for this Christmas? Here's some Christmas gift ideas I've piled together to give you a starting point. Some are luxurious "wants" others are at the lowere spending end of the scale. Sewers are always very easy to buy for- I think. A pile of beautiful fabric, some pretty buttons, a stash quality thread such as Cosmo threads, a few sewing kits or even a gift voucher for their local quilt shop. Too easy...there's lots of things you can... Continue reading

Here's a fun Christmas craft activity to do with the kids. Plus you will also need your free pattern (click here to download PDF version) OR, click on the image below and then save. 1. Download and print your free PDF pattern. 2. Trace around pieces onto coloured card and cut out as shown on pattern. To make the head piece, fold brown card in half and place head piece along fold where indicated. 3. Glue pieces into place as shown below. 4. Cut out antlers from corrugated card and glue into place. 5. Cut out poem and glue inside... Continue reading

Who Could it Be? Two Very Lucky People. A Year's Subscription each to Homespun Magazine. 12 issues jam-packed with fabulous projects, great ideas and fun times! Without further ado- let's find out who these two very lucky people are! All Entries go Into The Hat! And I'm drawing two names out of the Hat! The first name out of the Hat is: Agnes Gates! [email protected] Congratulations Agnes! Nothing up my sleeve!-(No trickery here!) The next name out of the Hat is: Jean Garretson- [email protected] Congratulations Jean! Our two lucky winners will receive a twelve month subscription each to Homespun Magazine!... Continue reading

You Could be A Winner! Enter now. Just leave a comment to go in the draw! And for some Jolly nice Christmas patterns ... Shop Now in the Red Brolly Shop Santa's Pockets- one of four designs. Night Before Christmas Bags- one of four designs. Jolly Snowmen Redwork Tabletopper. GOOD LUCK! Continue reading

Here's a quick and simple pattern which would make an easy gift idea. It takes no longer than 30 mins to make. These little Rudolph candy cane antlers could also be made from paper should you wish. 1 piece good quality brown felt/paper 27cm x 15 cm (10.5" x 6") 1 piece white felt/paper 7cm x 7cm (2.5" x 2.5") 2 goggly eyes- 1cm (7/8") diameter 1 red bead (could also make it using red felt) 2 candy canes 1. Download and print your free PDF Rudolph candy cane holder pattern and cut out. If you'd like you can click... Continue reading

How simple and easy are these little Christmas goodies? These Christmas Puffs are not only quick and very simple to make, they are also very Christmassy and very yummy. Filled with little mouthfulls of Christmas fruit mince, wafts of cinnamon and a slight hint of citrus. You can make these as easy or as hard as you like. Make your own pastry and fruit mince from scratch using a traditional family recipe, or, if you are in a rush, use store bought puff pastry and a jar of fruit mince. Makes about 8-10 puffs. Depending on cutter size. 4-5 sheets... Continue reading

A New Competition! This is a really big prize to win! I'll give you some hints........ Have you got any ideas as to what this week's give-away is? Here's a few more hints.... It's a Gift that keeps on giving.. What is it? If You Haven't guessed already- it's........ With an enormous "Thank-You" to Homespun editor Susan Hurley and to Homespun Magazine. Two yes TWO lucky winners will receive a year's subscription to Homespun Magazine! This is open to anyone worldwide. Anyone can enter. Everyone has a chance of winning. Just leave a comment in the comment section to be... Continue reading

*Disclaimer- I do not receive any payments, copies of free books nor am I asked to write reviews by anyone. The views and opinions presented are entirely my own, and are just because I wanted to.I receive nothing for them.* I just love a good craft book. You know, a really, really good craft book where you flick through it and instantly you want to run home and make all of the projects in it. Not just one or two projects, but most of the projects shown. How many times have you bought a book just because you've liked one... Continue reading

This post is a somewhat sad post and one that I didn't intend on posting. I guess it's part and parcel of raising chickens.....sad news.....we've had a fox in the hen house! During the week I awoke at 2.30am to hear a chicken squawking outside my window. I went back to sleep, then 5 mins later my eyes popped open....."Why was a chicken outside my window?" The coop is right down in the back corner of our yard. I instantly jumped up out of bed and ran outside, just in time to see a sneaky fox sitting in our driveway!... Continue reading