What a Truly Great Week

What a lovely week it has been! My poor blog has been neglected as I've been in the garden all week making the most of the weather. Well, either the garden or a lovely new shop I found... It sells CK and Emma Bridgewater and all the lovely stuff I, well, love. Today this bag just hopped onto Master C's pram and demanded to be taken home. It was only £5 and it is EB and in keeping with the union jack trend so really it would have been rude not to.

 

Also this week I have been building. My fabric stash that is! Ooops...

I've gone Grandma-Chic and love it! Loving the florals at the moment. The candy stripe stuff was a CS find, a lovely jacket that had it of been my size I would have kept in my wardrobe I think! I'd actually gone 'thrifting' for the first time when I picked this lot up, or that was the plan. I didn't find anything minus the shirt and a man's white linen shirt and was quite disappointed. I didn't find any of the wonderful things that the girls on SCC had blogged about!

I made these little flower yo-yo's with my new stash. I had never done them before and I knew they were meant to be easy, but not that easy! I love them. I'm going to turn them into hair clips and brooches. It's quite addictive, but I think it's because they are so quick and so many of my craft projects take so long, it's nice to see something come together immdiately.

I made them in the garden today whilst Master C was playing in his make shift paddling pool which is actually a long stacking box. It was so quick and easy to fill up that he might have that all summer. I also built him a tee pee...

 

That my runner beans have now adopted... Master C can actually run in and sit inside his den if he so desired. He actually prefers to shake the sticks so maybe this will be more suitable for next year? The pale pink hanging basket is Laura Ashley and comes in pale blue and green too, very cute.

Oh, and in between all of that I covered this lampshade for a friend for her little boy's room.

So this week has been satisfyingly good and I have enjoyed it :) x

Beach Huts Bag

So yesterday I got my new Clarke & Clarke fabric in the post and all day have been wondering what I can do with it. It's such a beautiful fabric that I really wanted to find the right make to show it off to it's best potential. I also wanted to make something that not only would be useful, but that would actually be used regularly.

Master C's new spare clothes bag.

Perfect for spare clothes, PE kits, bathrooms, hair bobbles, shoes, ribbon bags...the list goes on and on...

I love the beach houses and yachts and just looking at this makes me go all dreamy. It looks so pretty and whimsical just hanging on a door knob too. I love to make the everyday items just a little more lovely : )


xxx


I'll be making more of these and will have them for sale for:

Small £5.00
Large £6.50

Bunting, Beads & Beach Huts

Last week a friend asked me if I would make a piece of bunting for a new baby girl. All she said she wanted was something sweet and in pastel colours. I decided on a sweet bird idea and drew a free hand bird template. Sometimes when I try to overcomplicate things they tend to look a bit messy and the look I wanted was sleek and simple and hopefully something that could be kept and used for a few years at least!

The picture doesn't really do it justice but you get the general idea!

 Each bird has a tiny glass bead eye so they can see to catch all those worms...

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On the back of one of the flags I stitched the baby's name on to make it more personal.

After the bunting some more post arrived for me...

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One thousand buttons for hours of fun! I love to customise my makes with buttons but don't do so often because I bought my buttons from my local haberdashery shop at 10p each. It doesn't sound a lot but when you're making items to sell, those 10p's add up and it pushes the price up. Ebay is definitely the place to bulk buy buttons :)

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 I also found this beauty. Lovely beach hut fabric from Clarke & Clarke. I'm not sure what to use this for - any ideas? I thought maybe some drawstring bags for boys (or girls), or maybe some cushions or even bunting although the pattern may not be shown to it's best advantage.

Have a lovely afternoon all, I am going to go and dream about beach huts by the sea...

xxx

Look at what arrived in the post this morning...

Oh, what a lovely surprise from Miss Postie this morning. 

 My fabric from Patch, which I only ordered yesterday. I am so impressed with the quick postage, and it was wrapped in lovely tissue. Inside was ...

Almost edible I tell you!

I love it and am so excited planning all the uses for it! Even Master C got stuck in on the act and was 'helping' me chose his favourite. If I remember rightly they were all Michael Miller prints and they are the perfect thickness for all things crafty. Since I have been buying fabric, I have noticed that you can definitely tell the difference between quality and the cheaper stuff.

I also got some bias binding which was very reasonable and for £3, I got enough to keep me going to months, and some Bondaweb which was a lot cheaper than I had seen in any shop.

So altogether a very lovely morning for me :) I also ordered some gorgeous beach hut fabric from Clarke & Clarke and a mixed bag of buttons approx 1000 from Ebay and so it's going to be fun in my house for the next few days! 


I highly recommend shopping at Patch, the friendly and quick service made shopping even more pleasurable and I can't wait until payday so I can buy even more!



p.s. I am so glad Mr C doesn't look at this page, but as I keep saying - these purchases are an investment!

His & Hers - Made for each other

As you may have guessed from previous posts - I do love hearts! My husband, however, likes things to be a bit more manly. He lets me do my thing though and to be honest, doesn't seem to take a great deal of interest in the décor, which is great for me! He has a sort of lukewarm approach to all things heart-y and doesn't understand my need for bunting. What my husband is though, is patriotic. 

Luckily for him union jack printed items are the must have items at the moment. Below is the window display for one of my favourite shops.

I love that shop. It's called Macouti, they have two shops in Cheshire. They sell your typical Emma Bridgewater stuff and Gisella Graham ranges but they also source things from around the world so you can get some really amazing things for not too much money and that nobody else has. Currently Mr Cole and I are saving up for our dream house. We're hoping that dreamworld becomes reality in 3 years but I am collecting precious items along the way so that by the time we have the house, it will be perfect. Or at least have nice things in it.

Anyway back to patriotism. Mr C loves all things English and so the current trend is perfect for him. A couple of years ago I bought this red velour heart with red button detail and beading from a shop selling work from local artists. I didn't have anywhere to hang it and so looped it round my bedpost and there it has stayed.

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I always felt Mr C's bedpost looked a bit lonely in comparison but realised that maybe a heart like this would not be appreciated. Anyway, this last week I have been sewing like a mad thing again, it had been a while. My creative spark had gone. We'd moved house and with an 18 month old monkey, not a lot got done. This week I had got my mojo back..or sew-jo!! In a few spare minutes I had created this...

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I hadn't made it for Mr C but when he saw it his face lit up and he said he thought it was really cool. The union jack appliqué counteracted the heart (in his opinion) and thus made it manly enough for his lonely bedpost. I love it and in a mis-matched way it goes really well with my red heart. His & Hers hearts. Together they work.

 ♥♥♥

I have been making lots more of these union jack hearts and am selling them at £4.50 each p&p £1.

The hearts are made from vintage & recycled materials. For every two hearts sold I will give one away to a lucky recipient.

A little birdie told me...

Just how cute is this little one? It's a china salt dish! Just the right shade of yellow green and oh so sweet! I say it's for salt, but you could put anything you like in him. I bought this one for my sister in law's birthday but I think I may just have to go out and buy myself one too..! He would look just adorable on my dining table. Little touches to your home like this, is what makes your home your own, and a little bit different to everybody else's.

I think it's love!

Home is where the heart is

I know it's a bit of a cliché, but I really do believe that home is where the heart is. Now, by that I don't mean bricks and mortar, I mean wherever your heart is at, that is home. Or, it could be a person even. Have you ever felt that when you met that one special person who you plan on spending the rest of your life with, that you felt that when you met them, you had come home?

Regardless of your definition of home, I just like hearts! I hang them on door handles or sometimes a random nail or hook which just happens to be there waiting for something pretty to hang from it.

Sometimes when I am a little bored and feel like I have nothing better to do, I make a little heart. Because I love doing it, and because I feel like we live in such a negative, bad world, our home should feel like a safe haven. Protective and snug. When you enter, it should feel like you have entered your own little world. Personally I like my home to be warm, full of hugs and smelling of sunshine. Well, I bought some fabric conditioner which apparently smells of sunshine so that's good enough for me!

Where or what is your home? And what makes it special for YOU?

Oh, theres a kitty in my basket!

Last year my mum and I had a little find in a charity shop. They were selling bags of vintage buttons roughly sorted into colours. They were just beautiful so we had to buy them, obviously, but we didn't no what to use them for. Sometimes we would take them out and play with them, sorting them out into colours and patterns but then we would put them away again, ready for the next time.

The last time I visited my mum she was showing me some antique fabrics she had found in her loft. Whilst we were sorting through the fabrics her naughty little kittens were just playing with everything, throwing themselves at the ribbons etc and just generally getting in the way. We had laid out a beautiful golden velvet fabric and picked out a handful of the lovely buttons and randomly thrown the buttons onto the fabric. It sort of looked like a little kitty had been playing in my work box!! Throw in some rich golden ribbon to set all the colours off, we thought it looked a little bit special.


The thing I particularly like about these cushions is this - it's all about the interpretation and imagination of the person viewing them. We saw two little kitty's playing with pretty buttons and ribbons.


My sister saw a rainforest type scene with a beautiful pure stream flowing through big tall trees. Make with them what you like.

And...breathe...

Have you ever had one of those days where it's a case of 'blink and you miss it'? I think I had one of those today. All I did was rush around, busy busy busy. Of course, I did manage to get lots of little jobs done that had simply mounted up. But now I'm tired and I didn't get anything creative done today. I think that I would rather have been here though...

That is Mermaid Street in Rye. I love it. The houses all have really funny names, there is 'The House With Two Front Doors' - it does indeed have two front doors. There is also 'The House Opposite' which is opposite The Mermaid Inn. I would really recommend a visit to Rye, it's a very fascinating place. We went for a few days after our wedding in August '08.

And, it's full of lots of lovely little shops down tiny little streets. If anybody has read the Mapp & Lucia books, Tilling is a fictitious place based on Rye. Whilst we were there we picked up a few little items for our house. They have lovely galleries and such. Yes, I definitely would rather have been there.

my baby bunting

I do love myself a little piece of bunting. The bunting above was made for a first birthday party. It has his name, Emile, and some teeny tiny animals! Natalie wanted to be able to hang the bunting in Emile's nursery all year round and so I bought the material in the same shades and with similar animals to the theme in his nursery. When I presented Natalie with the said bunting she said she loved it. Yes! Another bunting convert.

In my opinion, bunting can change a room instantly. For christenings, weddings, birthdays or just because.


I do think this red bunting is rather funky. It's double sided and fully lined. I have a habit of buying random metres of fabric just 'cos I like it. This all seemed to go together rather nicely.

Eeeek!!

Life - it's a wonderful thing

Sometimes life is just a little bit grey around the edges. You know, the pavements are damp and the sky is oh so dull. It makes me want to stay in bed, or else snuggle on the sofa with my leopard print slanket, a good book and a pot of nice coffee. Unfortunately, we in England are currently in the depths of a cold winter. It all feels a bit slushy. Nice crisp snow is wonderful for a day or maybe two, but then it all starts to melt.

On days like these, it helps to be surrounded by little bits of gorgeous-ness. Things to just help bring a little bit of colour back into life. Sometimes it needn't be something big, just something to help you remember that - Life, it's a wonderful thing.