Monday 26 November 2012

red heart brooches - tutorial

This is another idea I came up with for my mini Christmas market stall next week, and I must say I'm in love with these sweet Scandi-inspired brooches (making and wearing them!)

I thought they would be a nice, simple Christmassy project to share as a tutorial, so I have posted a tutorial on crafty website Cut Out and Keep, which you can find here. I hope you enjoy making them!

Any unsold after next Friday will be listed on Etsy as cute stocking-fillers, so if you don't fancy breaking out the embroidery threads, just watch this space!

If you do try this yourself, please let me know - I'd love to see photos. Click here to go to the tutorial.

Thursday 22 November 2012

Christmas market stall


My friend, artist and musician Helena, runs a lovely music group for little ones called Shake, Rattle and Roll. She invited me to take part in the Christmas market to be held at 2 of the December sessions!

I'm so excited to be taking part. I have never participated in a craft show of any kind, and to do so among friends, toddlers and babies seems the perfect, and least scary way to start. Above are some of the things I'll be selling (and continuing to make frantically in the next couple of weeks!) Check out the website for photos of more lovely handmade things that will be on sale...

Monday 19 November 2012

fabric advent calendar


Yay! Finished it this weekend. I machined on the pockets in the end since I'd done rather a lot of (very pleasant) hand-sewing. An old sheet for backing, some batting for solidity, red ribbon ties and ric-rac, et voilĂ !

I couldn't resist sewing on some felt holly leaves and berries at the bottom.

My gingerbread No.19 is possibly my favourite pocket. It is certainly my son's (he saw me sewing it and gratifyingly knew what it was!) I am going to make gingerbread men tree ornaments very soon - perhaps one will find its way into this pocket as a present.

It's bright and fun, and very obviously handmade. It's just what I had in mind and has put me right into the mood for Christmas (already, I know!)

It was also the perfect, satisfying project to get me back into sewing again. And I'm hooked. Next stop: Christmas stockings and tree ornaments!

Friday 16 November 2012

Russian dolls


I wrote about my love of Russian nesting dolls in this post (and you can see the cute nesting owls I bought here). Last weekend, I took my little boy to visit a friend who has the most beautiful collection of matryoshka dolls. My son was fascinated - and thrilled when she gave him one of his own!

We kept thinking we'd reached the final doll and then finding another tinier one nestling inside. I could have played with them all day! Look how very tiny the final doll is. My son likes to put the smallest one into the largest mummy's fat tummy - it's her baby. Then he pats my big old pregnant bump...

Wouldn't you love to have this incredible collection?

Tuesday 13 November 2012

making something!


I knew it would happen - it had to or I would have gone crazy - I started making things again (I mean other than food, which along with doing art activities with my 2 yr-old has been my lone creative outlet lately!)

I'd seen this fabric advent calendar kit (by Buttonbag) in John Lewis and knew I didn't need a kit to make something like that. I had this...

... a great hotch-potch stash of pieces of felt, sequins, buttons and embroidery thread. the very next day, I got cracking and have been addicted ever since.

It's the most therapeutic thing to make. Sure, you could do something lovely and tasteful, in red and white perhaps, but I wanted a bright rainbow of colour and things that would make my son smile (like this teddy-bear button - a gift from Miki).

I'm loving sewing by hand. I've prioritized a timely completion over neat stitching (though to be fair to myself, getting some daytime sewing in recently made me realise how badly poor light is effecting my stitching skills!)

I can't wait to share the project when its finished and filled with little daily December treats for my son. I'm on the last two pockets now, then just need to sew it all together...

Is anyone else making a fabric or reusable advent calendar this year?

Monday 12 November 2012

Autumn light


These glowing days inspire me - the light through the leaves, the bright cold sky... As I write this it is raining, damp and grey. I need to squirrel away the clear Autumn light in my mind's eye for darker days.

All these photos were taking walking from one place to another during a working day.

I'm not a good photographer, but the light was really making it easier for me. The whole world looked like a photograph waiting to be taken.




you may also like

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...