Free 2016 Calendar Printables

Happy New Year! H and I are so glad to be back, we took a little break over the festive season to get ourselves rested and ready for all that 2016 has to offer us. We are changing things up a little and we hope you will enjoy what we have planned, I can tell you that it includes some new features, a little revamp of some faves and lots more exciting stuff to come.

With all this planning going on over here I designed myself a couple of calendars to help myself keep everything straight. I ended up designing three different versions so I can keep a track at home, at work and on the move with an A4 full page, a slim version and a planner calendar for my filofax.

I wanted to include a little something on each page to keep me motivated each month. I had seen on social media that it has become popular pick a word or mantra for the year to come. I do love that idea but I am far too fickle and impatient to pick just one that will last me a whole year. So I have chosen a feeling or intention for each month and made it a part of my design.

Each has a hand written month and my chosen 'word' to help remind me of what I am planning to work on that month. I am planning on sharing these on my Instagram too if you fancy joining me. @SamanthaClaridge don't forget to follow us @liveit.loveit.makeit while you at it.

As you can see January's word is resolve. It is a month of new beginnings and resolutions to do better than before. To be brave and try new things, to eat refreshing food, de-clutter and make exciting plans for the year ahead.

When I was printing out my copies I thought it seemed only right that I made them available to you too, so you can download them for free, just click on the one you want below.

Download full page A4 pdf  /  Download Slim A4 pdf  /  Download Planner A4 pdf

I love how January makes me feel like anything is possible. I am so excited for the year ahead and now that I have a great planner and calendar assortment to keep me in check it will be even better.

Sammy xxx



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Make it: Unicorn Hobbyhorse with free PDF download

This month of DIY gifts is so exciting for us because we get to share so many things to make for your family and friends. Today I'm going to show you how to make any of the little princesses in your lives squeal with joy. We are making a Unicorn Hobby Horse!  We have included a PDF download for this too so you can print it off and keep it handy for birthdays as well as Christmas time.

You will need: 1/2 metre of white fleece, 3 x 15cm by 75cm strips of coloured fleece, ribbon, toy stuffing, thread (normal and extra strong), a pole or stick, scraps of felt or fleece in black and a pretty colour, pins, scissors and a sewing machine (optional) glue (optional).

Start by drawing out your pattern or use the one we have provided and scale it up to size. Place the unicorn head piece on top of two layers of fleece and cut around the template leaving a 1.5cm seam allowance all the way around. Do the same for the ears and horn, making sure you cut two extra ear pieces from a pretty colour of felt to make the inside of the ears. Stitch all the way around your head shape leaving the bottom open and snip into the seam allowance at all the curves. Next, fold over the horn, pin down the straight edge and stitch it down to make a cone. Also stitch the ears leaving the flat edge at the bottom open, then turn everything right side out.

Next, take a square scrap of fleece and a handful of stuffing and make a ball on the end of your stick by wrapping some thread around the base, I have used an old fabric pole, ask at your local fabric shop if they have any spares you can have, or head to a DIY store and pick up some dowelling. Start to stuff your unicorn head until you reach the bend at the top of the head then insert your pole. Continue to stuff down the neck until you are about 7-9 cm from the base of the neck. Take some strong thread and stitch around the neck pulling it in tight at the base, wrap some pretty ribbon around to cover the stitching and to help keep it in place on your pole.

Next you are going to make the mane. Layer up your three colours of fleece strips and pin them together along the centre. Stitch all the way down the centre of the strips. Take your super sharp scissors and start to snip the strips all the way along both sides leaving 1.5 cm between the end of your cut and the centre line of stitching. You should end up with a lovely fleecy hair do for your unicorn.

Stitch the mane to the base of the neck and tack it in place along the neck seam until you get to the forehead of your unicorn, then fold it back on itself and carry on tacking it on until you reach the end of your mane piece.

It should look a little bit like a horse now, so it is time to make the horn. Take the cone you stitched earlier and stuff it. Stitch up the bottom of the cone with some strong thread and without cutting the thread take it and wrap it up and around the cone, pulling it tightly to create the spiral up the horn. Finish off by stitching through the tip of the horn and tying off your thread.

Fold the ears in half and taking your strong thread again, stitch them to the head either side of the mane, then stitch around the base of the horn. Lastly take a scrap of black felt and cut yourself some cute eyelashes and stitch or glue them onto the unicorn's face.

Here is a picture of the template I drew, you can easily download this picture (right click on your mouse and choose save as or download our PDF) scale it up and use it for your own template.

I am in love with this girl, I am going to be hard pushed to let her go, but the little girl who is getting her for Christmas is going to just love her even more than me I'm sure!

We would love to see what gifts you are making for your loved ones this year, link in the comments or #livelovemake on Instagram or twitter to show us your goodies. 

Sammy xxx

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Make it: DSLR Camera Pouch with PDF Download

Hey there and welcome to another gift idea for Christmas, this time it's for the camera lover in your life.  Whether that be your brother, sister, mum, dad or friend, this tutorial is super easy and with so many different fabrics out there, can be tailor made for the person in mind.  Plus it is the perfect project for using up some fat quarters.

First things first, you will need: 2 Fat Quarters (the same or use 2 different ones like me), scissors (I used the Fiskars Servocut scissors which are a dream), pattern (download PDF), measuring tape, wadding, tailors chalk and a Sewing Machine. (you could hand sew this too, but just would take more time)

Cut out both pieces of fabric using the pattern.  You will have to scale the pattern up as the download is a third of the size.  I scaled it up onto a sheet of A2 paper.

For this tutorial I used my Canon DSLR 1100D and so for whatever camera you are using you may want to check the measurements against the pattern.  Most cameras have their specifications online and so a sneaky look at what your recipients camera is, will help you make sure the pouch is the right size.  When I made mine, it could have done with being a bit smaller in the end for a snug fit.

Once you have cut out both of your pieces of fabric you will need to sew the top part together (the part with the curve) which will form the flap to go over the camera.

Sew along the two parts that will make up the flap to make it into a curve, you will need to do this on both of the pieces of fabric.

Once you have made the curve on both pieces of fabric, lay them down right sides together and sew along the outside of the fabric piece.  Making sure you leave two gaps in the bottom diagonal corners as below.

Cut out the wadding so that is is slightly smaller than the sewn edge.

Pull the wadding through as you turn the fabric right side out.

When you have pulled it through you will be able to put your hands inside the gaps you left to make sure the wadding is in the right position.

Nearly there.  Place the bottom section right sides together.  This was where it was tricky to decide which fabric I wanted to be on the outside!

Sew along the bottom edge and along the the section where you left it open previously.  Then you are done.

The camera goes into the bag with the lens down and the flap protects the camera from all angles.  At this point I decided to top stitch around the edge of the opening of the pouch to ensure a neat finish.

All done!  What do you think?  Its quite simple when you have the pattern, it took me ages to get the pattern right, but making it took me less than an hour.  So its a really nice simple project to make.

Don't forget you can download the pattern as a PDF here.

Who would you make your Camera pouch for? This one was for me, but I am thinking who else I can make them for!!
H

Please note: Fiskars were kind enough to send us the Servocut scissors but we were not required to use them in this post or give a positive review.


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