my best friends wedding . . . . .

As per usual i was totally disorganised and started on this the night before their wedding,
they had the nicest, low-key and laid back wedding EVER
they wanted no fuss - just their friends to come and enjoy their day
they were not in it for the presents. . . . . .

BUT
Lisa is my very best friend
we met twenty years ago
when we both worked here
http://www.bluegallery.co.uk/
she was there for me through good times and bad
she was like an extra parent to my daughter for her first five years
and if you can't make something to celebrate your BFF's wedding . . . .

^ LOOK LOOK LOOK ^
french knots
i can do them at last!
it's only taken me twenty odd years of trying
and now i know how there is no stopping me!

the photo's aren't great
but i gave it to them now so it's too late to take more

***CONGRATULATIONS***
Lisa and Sam
Mr & Mrs
wow does that mean you're grown ups now?

*******

to make this little sampler i used a vintage embroidered doily,
i drew on a heart with water erasable pen but it was really old so seemed to be fading as i worked!
i worked the hearts outline with chainstitch and filled it with french knots http://stitchschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/french-knot.html
i used the full 6strands of cotton so i got a very raised heart
then i added the date and names
i would've prefered to have marked them out too as there was no room
for correction as the floss marked the fabric if i unpicked a stitch
so i had to embrace freehand
i actually really like the more hand written effect
i finished the hoop using my tutorial
i used black cotton velvet and some sweet little heart buttons.
{the doily had a cotton lace edging which i was going
to leave showing but it was a bit too kitsch tbh}

just adding a little bit of colour on a cold wet day.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/scrumptiousdelight/

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

http://lilfishstudios.blogspot.com/

http://bluefishhandmade.blogspot.com/

http://kitschensinkuk.blogspot.com/

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

they definately cheered me up
:o)
hope it worked for you too!

more upcycling - pjs to lunch bag!

my boy's glow in the dark skeleton pajamas are sadly outgrown!
i've been "trying" to take them to the charity shop
but i just couldn't do it
so inspired by MeridianAriel
i did this instead!

no it's not a ribcage vest
although that would be cool!

after sewing along the bottom edge
{please ignore the awful stitching
me and my machine have a love/hate relationship
mostly based on pure spitting hatred}
i slightly shaped the bottom
and i also hemmed the other edges.

and now my son has a new school lunch bag!
cool!
i was inspired by this tutorial
by MeridianAriel

http://meridianariel.blogspot.com/2010/04/upcycled-tshirt-projectbook-bag.html

she just got a fancy new sewing machine for her birthday
so watch out for other new sewing projects on her blog :o)

matryoshka sewing kit!

i cannot resist russian doll sets
and went really crazy buying them
like they were going out of fashion a year or so ago
i have sold a few sets in my Etsy shops
but i also have quite a few sets who have sadly lost members of their families
:o(

poor Mama here has lost her littlest baby,
her other daughters are growing up and getting underfoot
what they all need is a vocation in life . . . .

Mama gets to be pin-cushion

big sister the spool keeper and
little sister is in charge of buttons!

no matryoshka were hurt to create this set and
they are very simply reverted to a stacking doll set

Mama and her girls are heading off to Etsy
to find a new craft room to live in
:o)

i've got pins and needles . . . .

i've been thinking about making this for AGES

today i had literally minutes to make something
so i gathered up my ingredients
and jumped in with both feet!

ingredients:
an orphaned russian doll
a scrap of fabric
some plain pins
some fancy pins
a styrofoam egg

open up your doll
cover the egg with the scrap of fabric
you want to pull the fabric tight - i used stretch velour
pin fabric to bottom of the egg
cut of excess fabric

pop the covered egg into the doll body
i didn't use glue as it was a perfect fit

load with a few pretty pins
and you're done!

this was so simple
but
i love her!

business cards :o)

i got a pack of 50 business cards using my own images just for the price of postage
you could choose 50 different designs if you wanted but i narrowed it down to about 20
these are some of my favourites :o)
because they were "free" they had a strip of advertising on them
so i trimmed it off and also rounded off the corners

i had meant to order the mini sized ones to fit in my new button box but must've ticked the wrong box but hey ho these fit perfectly in an Altoids tin !

they make me feel like a proper grown-up
"ooh let me give you my business card"
la~di~da
:o)

*******
oh by the way they were from moo.com
super easy to order and edit
fast delivery
and they came with a 10% discount code
MJY2UNW
although i think the free for postage offer is still on
:o)

pincushion swap - what i sent

talk about great timing
the two parcels arrived on the same day
so now i know Jenny's has arrived too
i can show you what i made for her

i bought a set of plain cardboard boxes from Ikea last time we went and thought that one would be perfect to house the pincushion,
i decorated it with my button stamps and embossing powder

I made the pincushion from vintage embroidered linen.
I made a large suffolk puff - stuffed it - added a button - bound it tightly into four sections and then made a large covered button to cover the hole at the bottom.

i think i will be making more of these covered buttons
i don't get on with the metal buttons with little teeth i just can't get them right so i found a cheaper and easier and upcycle-ier way
i will blog what i did soon :o)

the brief was to make and send a pincushion and a few crafty supplies
so i picked out a few vintage bits and bobs
added a button stamp kit
and of course some new pins!

i really enjoyed this swap
:o)

see what everyone else made/received
here
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1371627@N21/

and thanks again to the lovely Claire Payne
for organising the swap and letting me play
:o)
http://clairesblog.paynedesign.co.uk/