Etsy shop

Yeah - managed to put lots more stuff on Etsy today - 12 things in total. Thats not bad when I've been trying to do it in between being a mum etc etc. Hopefully more stuff going up this week but Matt is having a minor op tomorrow at the doctors and won't be able to do a lot for a while so we will see.

Fame - well sort of!

I've had my brooch tutorial published on craftsforum in the article section and I also submitted it to craftzine I love craftzine - especially the blog because you get so many different crafts on there to give you inspiration. I've decided to make more fabric brooches but the last few were a bit simple and plain so I am going to be adding more 'bits' to them - watch this space! Oh and here's a sneaky peek of some things that will be listed on etsy soon. So go buy, buy, buy!!

Check out the cute Peter and Jane badges!

The Dorothy bag to match the Dorothy scarf already on etsy.


These will hopefully be going up onto Etsy soon as soon as I have a couple of child free minutes! Also some more cheeky chickens are nearly made (well the fabric is cut!) so again as soon as I have some child free time then I will get some made. It probably won't be for a while though as we are busy preparing for Tara's Christening next weekend......

Brooch tutorial

How to make a fabric brooch

You will need:

• Fabric
• A pen
• Circular shape
• Pinking shears/scissors
• Ribbon
• Buttons
• Brooch back/safety pin
• Needle and thread

1. Assemble all your things. I find it easier to select my fabric and ribbon first and then match the buttons to them later.

2. Use your circle shape – I used a sticky tape roll – to draw out a circle on your fabric. Then use the pinking shears to cut it out. If you want more of a “shabby chic” look then just use normal scissors and the edges will start to fray after wearing a few times.

3. Next you need to decide how long you want your ribbon pieces to be. Do they extend over the edge of the circle or stay well within it? Again for a “shabby chic” look use regular scissors rather than pinking shears. Cut your ribbon to the desired length – I cut mine so that they just reach the edge of the circle.

4. Lay your ribbon onto the fabric circle and sew into place – you only need a couple of stitches at this stage as your button will be sewn onto the same place later on. It should look something like this:

5. Next, sew your button on! After this you will need to attach the brooch back/safety pin. I’m using a safety pin as more people are likely to have these lying around. However, for a more professional look, use a brooch back. This is the part that can be quite fiddly. I lay my pin down like this:

I then sew around the back bit of the safety pin (the bit that doesn’t open) and voila your fabric brooch is finished!

Here are some variations.

Enjoy!

Today's clothes

Here's a close up of the shirt I was wearing today with a navy blue tank top and yellow beads!! I did take some body shots of me but I really need to work on my pose before I show some more!!

The shirt is vintage, found in a charity shop many years ago and the tank top is second hand from a jumble sale. Isn't the pattern of this great?

Some clothes I've been wearing recently

I've been putting together some funky outfits recently - well I think so anyway! Here's what I wore yesterday. Remember that I am a working mum of two please!! Also ignore the cheesy grin :->

The jeans are from Asda, the shirt is vintage lace (close up below), the jumper was a gift from my mum and the brooch is vintage too.

Here's the lace shirt with a close up of the buttons - not sure yet if I am going to change them. I quite like them with the brooch.


Here's the outfit I wore today - this was taken just before I posted this so quite late at night so please ignore the hair! I have also taken off my green beads that matched the top nicely. The top has a cupcake pattern on it - I will take a close up later and post it up tomorrow.

The cupcake top is from Asda as are the jeans. White top is from Tesco and the ballet pumps were 20p from a jumble sale - score! If you make any comments please be nice!

My first bag!

I am so pleased with myself - I have finally made Anya the book bag I have been promising her since Christmas! It's the first bag I have ever made and it was a fairly simple shape but I am still pleased with it - only took a couple of hours too. Here it is in all it's glory on the bench in front of the house.

The next one I make - there's going to be more - I will add something on the inside (interfacing?) to make it a bit sturdier. It's strong enough to hold a couple of books but ideally it should be stronger. The handle is very strong as it's doubled over corduroy with thicker material inside. It was a bit of a nightmare to sew on but you live and learn!

Here's a close up of the pin I made to brighten it up. I really like this and I think I'll have to make myself one tonight. It comes off so if Anya ever fancies a change then it can be done quickly.

French fancies

Phew - busy weeks are hopefully past us. Matt flew back from Goa on Wednesday 4th April - he landed at 10.30pm and we were on the road to France at 10am the following morning. Had a nightmare journey - it took 10 hours to get to Folkestone (!) - and consequently we missed our crossing. We were then booked onto the 12.20am crossing (original crossing was 6.20pm) but we didn't get onto the train until 1.20 and we finally arrived at the hotel at 3 am. Anya wouldn't then go back to sleep and lay kicking me until 4.40!!! I was not a happy person :-(

Anyway it was lovely to finally see Matt's sister's house which is about 3 1/2 hours south of Paris. As you drive into the village you are greeted by the sight of the river and the canal merging in a marina type area - it's beautiful but my attempts to describe it are horrendous!! The location and the house itself were well worth the traveling time.

Obviously being me I manged to fit in a few trips to the local brocante (which translates as second hand trade) It was like heaven on earth for me - nothing upmarket - just a glorious junk shop full to the brim of stuff!! I restrained myself and only bought a few postcards which I am hoping to turn into notecards with humorous captions. Here's a few pictures of them.

This little one is from the selection at the top of the page - he doesn't look too happy in that knitted outfit does he?

It took me ages to work out what the woman in the postcard on the right was doing - I first thought that she was cuddling a chicken! I think she is spinning wool though - I had to have it! My favourite postcard though is this one below - sooooo cute!


In the brocante I did spot the most wonderful little calender that was a burgundy coloured dog with a holder for little plastic bits with the names of the days of the week etc that you turned over to change the date. It was 1 euro and I didn't buy it!!! How daft am I? I then tried to go back but the owner has a mind of his own and varies the opening times on a daily basis and whenever we went back he was closed. Luckily (my husband disagrees!) my sister- in- law saw the calender and will try to buy it for me when she goes back to the house in May. I hope she can get it - I've been kicking myself for not buying it there and then.

We also managed to get to another brocante in another town but this was obviously the creme de la creme of brocantes. It was more like a traditional antiques fair and it was very pricey. One print that Matt looked at of the local area (thinking it might make a nice present for his sister) was 300 euros! We left that stall pretty quickly. We did find one reasonably priced stall and I bought the cutest buttons from him - just got to figure out what to do with them now!

Yellow dungarees - cruelty or not!??

I'm sure that when Matt sees the photo's of Tara in these dungaree's he will think I am being cruel but I love them!! Bright yellow 70's flared dunagrees with a cute chick embroidered on the front - whats not to love?? Anya didn't get to wear these as by the time I'd remembered that we had them, she was too big. I'm sure that Tara will be wearing them lots to make up for it!

Doesn't she look cute!!

On a crafty note I have sold my first cheeky chicken on Etsy. I am very pleased and I'm currently cutting up thrifted fabrics to make some more! Keep an eye out here and on Etsy for more updates.