Memory wire bracelet, quick and super easy!

I have been hearing a lot of people say that they have always wanted to make their own jewellery & they will get around to it one day.

Today is the day!

If you can thread beads on to a wire, you can make this!

{why not make one for yourself for valentines day?}

This is the easiest of all to make.

It is a memory wire bracelet.

Memory wire is wire that keeps it’s rounded shape. There is no need for clasps or findings.

It is a simple as this.

Gather your supplies

Memory wire for bracelets

a packet of beads of your choice

a charm or 2 for that added extra bling

Needle nose pliers

Using your pliers, make a small loop at one end of the memory wire.

Line up your beads in the order that you want them to go on your bracelet.

Thread the beads on to the wire.

I put the charm on the wire after threading half of the beads.

When you have threaded all of the beads, snip the wire so you have around 1cm of wire after the last bead. Make a loop at the end as you did in the beginning.

Now you have a one of a kind bracelet that is a perfect fit!

For all of your beading supplies, head on over to

and make sure to let Donna know that you heard about her here at Sew, cook, laugh & live

Baby girl Peasant Dress Free Pattern and Tutorial

Ok, so I don’t have any babies in my family but if I did, I would make this dress in a flash!

You can find the free pattern & tutorial

HERE

There is step by step photo’s which I know you all love!

It is such a pretty little dress & I could imagine that one would just not be enough!

Here are some fabric options that I think would look beautiful.

{click on the pics of the fabric to take you to the Wrapped in Fabric shop}

         

         

         

         

Montville, A beautiful place to go for a drive

If you live in South East Queensland or you are planning a holiday here this year, you must add Montville & the Sunshine Coast Hinterland to your list of places to visit.

Today, we decided to pack a picnic & drive up to Montville.

We hadn’t been there for many years & we were pleasantly surprised.

It is still a small country town but has it is also very sophisticated.

The amazing handmade craft stores, fabulous restaurants, beautiful scenery & the spectacular views make it worth the drive.

I could have spent hours in the beautiful shops looking at all the beautiful quilts, soaps, candles, trinkets & fabulous clothes

Mr P just had to have a Crème Caramel ice-cream.

Everyone enjoyed the Candy Addictions shop. You can even watch them making the candy in store.

These are some of the things that we came home with.

On our way home, we stopped at a swimming spot & waterfall that both hubby & I used to swim at when we were teenagers. We watched all of the boys swinging from a rope into the water hole & I couldn’t believe that I used to do that when I was 16 years old! I think that as I have gotten older, braveness has been replaced with fear. It is a beautiful spot for a picnic & a swim but it was a little too cool for the girls to swim today.

The girls are already making plans for our next trip back to Montville.

Beautiful butterfly pendant necklace, DIY

When I received this stunning pendant in the mail…

{BUY HERE}

From Donna J Craft

I squealed with delight!

I knew straight away that this would look fabulous with black glass beads that I already had in my jewellery stash.

I wanted the butterfly to stand out & “pop” so black beads are perfect for this.

Jewellery making is very easy & once you know how to use crimp beads, the possibilities are endless. I came across a video tutorial on how to use crimp beads that is perfect for a beginner to watch.

Using crimp beads

Once you learn how to use crimp beads, you can attach your toggles or clasps, then just thread your beads on to your beading wire. You then use crimp beads to secure the other end to pendants or the clasp or toggle.

Now if that all sounds a little mumbo jumbo, watch the video above & it will all become clear.

To make this butterfly necklace, I used these..

{from top}

7 strand nylon coated beading wire

black glass beads

silver toggle set

silver crimp beads

Large lightweight butterfly pendant

You will also need a pair of needle nose pliers.

Attach a strand of beading wire to the pendant using crimp beads as shown in the above video.

Thread your beads on to the wire. You will know how many when you place the pendant on your chest, where you want it to sit when worn, & the beads reach the middle of the back of your neck.

Attach one of the toggle findings to the strand of beads as shown in the video above.

Repeat the process on the other side of the pendant & attach the other toggle finding to the end.

And there you have it…

Head on over to

For all your beading, jewellery making & crafting supplies & let her know that you found her here at

Sew, cook, laugh & live

Ahhhhh, the beach & quilting. Perfect day!

WOW! Today summer was in the air! It was hot hot hot!

We headed off to the local lagoon by the beach at 7am before it was too hot to be outside.

Then while the girls were busy watching movies & playing in the pool, I squeezed in a bit of quilting & finished the top of a single bed quilt.

This was the first step in my new years resolutions to make more quilts & use up the huge stash of material that I already have.

This is a close up of the fabrics before I finished sewing them.

I brought all of these fabrics back at the beginning of last year & couldn’t decide what to do with them. I used a little bit of the fabric a few months back when I made these Babushka Dolls.

{Free pattern & tutorial found here}

I am thinking that this quilt would make a great second quilt for Georgia’s room or the “craft” room when we get around to buying a bigger house.

I have also managed to sew a couple of matching pillow cases for this quilt & I have cut & pinned a patchwork pillowcase to add to the set.

I know that next week is going to be chaos with back to school shopping & organising so I will do some blog posts of things that I have done lately but have not had a chance to blog. I have made a couple of pieces of jewellery that are quick & easy to make. So if you love jewellery as much as I do, keep an eye out for them!

Summer display

The Christmas decorations are now all packed away. Kiara was very upset to come home form a friends house & find that they were all gone the other day.

I have replaced our festive decor with some things that I want to use as a reminder everyday on the things that make me the happiest.

As you walk in the front door, you see this on the top of a low line bookshelf.

I catch myself smiling every time I see it.

It is everything that makes me happy. It reminds me to relax, enjoy my home & remember all the great beach holidays that we have.

All around my house I have glass bowls, jars stands, filled with shells that I have collected over many years of holidays. When I look at shells, I automatically feel relaxed & at peace.

A cool refreshing drink for these long hot summer days.

This is my second blog post for today but I need to share this one! 

It is summer here & if you live in Australia, I don’t need to tell you that because I am sure that you are feeling it right now.

This is the temperature in my house right now…

35.5 degrees Celsius is the equivalent to 95.9 Fahrenheit.

So it is pretty hot in my little house right now. Some of you may say “Turn the aircon on!” but we don’t have air-conditioning. It is a choice we made that we did not want the added expense on our electricity bill.

We do however find other ways to keep cool.

This is one way that we keep hydrated.

In the morning, I slice up a lemon (you could use any citrus fruit for this), place it in a jug & fill with water.

Each time I pour a glass, I top the jug back up with cold water.

It is a lot more tastier than plain water & satisfies a thirst more than soft drinks or cordial.

It also has no added sugar, preservatives or nasties that you find in bottled drinks.

Another take on the no pattern required dress {this one is also a skirt!}

Yesterday, I posted a blog on the new take on the no pattern required dress.

Today, I am going to show you another version of this dress that can also be a skirt!

Yes, you make one & get 2!!

Here it is!

This is the same as this dress…..

But it is just shorter & doesn’t have straps.

This red & white striped dress is made from a soft knit fabric & is perfect for travelling as it does not crease. I wore it on our recent beach holiday & it was perfect.

You can find the instructions to make this 30 minute or less dress HERE

A new take on the no pattern required dress! {even easier!}

The other day on the Sew, cook, laugh & live Facebook page, I shared a photo as part of the January photo challenge. On day 5, it was to be a photo of something I wore. This was the photo {& dress} that I posted.

{Kiara designed her dress herself!}

This was a dress that I made in under 30 minutes & I wore it to 2 important events. I first wore it to my husbands work Christmas party & I also wore it to Kiara’s graduation. I received so many compliments about this dress. It was also the most super comfy dress that I have ever worn.

What I did not tell everyone who paid a compliment, is that this dress cost less than $10 to make & is essentially just 2 rectangles sewn together with elastic & straps added.

{There are some secrets that don’t need to be shared!}

What makes this dress fit so perfectly, is the addition of a nice wide belt. Check out the pictures below & you will see what I mean.

As you can see from the picture on the right, it really is just 2 rectangles. The material is a big part of this dress as it must hang right on your body. I chose a patterned silky type material that feels like liquid on the body. I brought it from my little local fabric store when they were having a sale so it was also a bargain!

I am going to now divulge my secret to how easy this dress is to make.

That is how easy it is to make the basic shape of this dress.

You then just need to measure a piece of elastic so that the length sits comfortably on the top of your bust.

Thread it through the elastic casing pocket at the top of the dress & sew it securely in place.

Try your dress on & hem it to the required length. I chose to use the rolled hem setting on my overlocker so that the dress kept is flowing feel all the way to the bottom.

I made 2 straps for this dress but it can also be strapless.

In the next picture, I had also thrown a little cropped denim vest on over the top.

It is such an easy dress to make & I hope that you make one for yourself so that you understand why this is my new favourite dress!

Here are some other no pattern required dresses that I have made. Click on the photo’s to take you to instructions on how to make them.