Suffolk puff and singed flower brooch

i made this brooch as a birthday present for my Aunty Jane
it is made from some textured silk that was left over from bridesmaid dresses
some recycled netting and two different silky/satin fabrics

continuing with my suffolk puff obsession i made two puffs
added a vintage dark mother-of-pearl shanked button
and then cut differing sizes of net and fabrics singing the synthetics
but leaving the silk rough edged

i then sewed them altogether and added a brooch pin.
i hope she likes it,
i feel bad as it is a week since her birthday
but i've still not got it together to see her or get her gift to her.

it has been a busy and difficult week and this week i think will be busy too but hopefully less difficult,
it is the boys birthday on Tuesday and i have no idea how those five years went so very quickly.
Right i'm off to soft play hell for his party, where's the nurofen?

a suffolk puff ball

so i've gotten totally addicted to making
Suffolk puffs!

there's something really satisfying about sitting in front of the tv sewing and watching the little pile of puffs mount up!

i've been looking to make something new for christmas and bought a bag of large baubles from the charity shop the other day, i was going to glue buttons on to them but i couldn't get them quite how i wanted, so whilst sewing puffs i thought ooh i could cover the baubles with these

so i did!

really bad light for photo's right now

i sewed the puffs on to the bauble which was very
time consuming glue would be quicker but i hate glue!

not very christmassy colours

but i really like it :0)

*******
when i had the idea i really thought i was being original
then whilst blog hopping i found this photo on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruthsinger/4070112366/

and remembered that i'd seen it before and this ladies lovely blog

http://mantua-maker.blogspot.com/

it's not so easy being an original crafter!
things tend to lodge in your mind
and if you're like me you forget where you found your inspiration!


check out Ruth's lovely etsy shop too

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ruthsinger

Alice in Wonderland craft swap

http://meridianariel.blogspot.com/2009/12/alice-in-wonderland-swap.html

my friend MeridianAriel is hosting an
Alice in Wonderland craft swap
how could anyone resist that?
sign up by 31st December and post out your swap by 22nd February
to coincide with the launch of the Tim Burton movie version {which i'm very excited about!}
so no excuses about being too busy because of Christmas either!

go on, go on, GO ON !!!!
or i'll chop off your heads

suffolk puffs or yo-yo's

i've been meaning to try making these for AGES
and today was the day
i followed this lovely clear tutorial

http://heatherbailey.typepad.com/photos/how_to_make_a_yoyo/index.html

here's my first attempt which i made into a hair clip
using a clip i got as part of a giveaway i won from
Gone to Earth
http://www.gonetoearth.co.uk/primrosecorner/

then i made this
i'd already made the lace and duck button part
but it needed something else so i made a puff with one
of the fat quarters i'd won in the same giveaway

then i added another vintage doily from my stash
and a brooch pin on the back

here's a brooch i'd made awhile ago
but i've finally added a brooch pin
i'll be adding these to my Folksy shop today

********

look what i found in the charity shop
oh so fragile vintage glass baubles
they were a complete steal at 50p

yes really 50p !
i'm so pleased with my thrifting skills right now!

crochet cameo brooches

i've been making these sweet vintage cameo brooches
with thrifted brooches and thrifted crochet doilies
and ribbons

but as is the way with using thrifted supplies
i only have one of these cameos!

which is a shame 'cause i'm trying to make things to go in my shops
but i really want to keep this one!

so next i made this one with an altered button,
i have stamped a bird on a distressed/aged metal button and then varnished it.

i actually LOVE this one too but it is going in my FOLKSY shop!

http://www.folksy.com/items/121802-crochet-and-cameo-style-button-brooch

80's fantasy movie swap - received

oooohhh look what the postman brought me!
after trying to excuse the state of myself
{wild-haired,un-washed and still in my pj's at lunchtime}
by giving the flu warning
i signed for my parcel and ran off to open it!

ooh heavy parcels what's inside?

a fancy papered box

containing a set of Labyrinth themed coasters

phwoar at David Bowies leggings!
and gasp at the amazing 80's BIG HAIR!
i shudder to think of the ammount of time i spent
back combing and spraying my hair in the eighties!

yummy sweeties and sweet fairies and irridescent glass buttons

and last of all a really clever photo of the Goblin King himself
it's made up of a mosiac of stills from the movie - cool eh?
thanks to Carmen http://whoopidooings.blogspot.com/
for cheering me up with a present during the misery of 'flu
and a big thanks also to Meridian Ariel for organising the swap!

bleurgh we've had 'flu . . . .

but i did make a couple of button bracelets

i really like them when they are on my wrist BUT
when they aren't on the buttons twist every which way
and it really bugs me!

i've tried making these bracelets on elastic cord
cotton cord & wire but i just cannot get them right

i think perhaps i'm just being too fussy but grrrr
i've tried two different fasterners too -
i think i prefer the bottom bracelets t-bar fastener
what do you think? any suggestions welcomed!

sorry about the fuzzy photo but the weather has been sooo awful
so i've been stuck indoors being poorly
reading Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer getting more and more annoyed with Bella
drinking honey'n'lemon, feeling sorry for myself and occasionally playing with buttons
My son is sooo desperate to go back to school - there's only so much T.v and Lego building and drawing you can do before you miss your friends eh?

i'm definately on the mend now and i think i'll try to get the boy back to school tomorrow,
I'm pretty sure we didn't have the piggy flu as it was only a few days we were really sorry for ourselves and we're just left with annoying coughs and sniffles.