thrifty kitschy owls!

i found these owls this weekend


now some people think they're cute

and some people think they're creepy


i myself think they sooo cute they're almost creepy!

and look they're not just decorative but funtional too!

and off they go to my etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50827443/kitschy-vintage-owl-salt-and-pepper

oh and they are unused and come in their original
but rather tatty packaging
which i thought was rather nice too

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/

vintage doily tote bag

so following on with the doily theme. . . .

take one plain natural cotton tote bag
{available from the lovely Vonnie's Folksy shop - Blottedcopybook's store of wonders - only £5.00 for 5 !}

pin on a pretty vintage embroidered doily -
then remember you need to sew on some buttons
{vintage of course!}
sew on the buttons, through the doily but not through the bag

machine stitch your doily to your tote with contrasting cotton,
i used different colours for top and bobbin threads
{try not to get too cross with your dumb-ass sewing machine}

select a small crochet doily from the ever expanding pile
using a matching cotton hand sew the doily to the centre of the first doily
remembering too late you should have done this before sewing on the first doily, sigh.
select a beautiful vintage mother-of-pearl button
to adorn the centre of the second doily
sew on with contrasting embroidery thread.

there you go - a cool new shopping bag!

unfortunately my photo's aren't so great this post
due to busy day with work and bad light
when i got the time to photograph
but you get the idea!
i will definately do the next bag in the right order!
you can click on any of the photo's for close up views!

vintage embroidery transfer overload!

on my way home from dropping
my son off at pre-school
i had an overpowering desire
to check out the charity shops . . .

ooohh - what do we have here then? my little heart skipped a beat when i saw what was peeking out at the edges . . .

an antique folder full of very very vintage embroidery transfer patterns

and vintage christmas cards

the more i flicked through the folder
the more i NEEDED it!

some are over a hundred years old!

it felt almost wrong to be looking through
someone elses treasures

every now and then i'd find a little newspaper clipping from the war on how to make and mend

i think this is my favourite pattern

love these snippets too

so much treasure - such an amazing find!

right at the back was this story
saved from the paper
dated new years eve 1940

skippity skip i went off to the counter
more than happy with my find

*****
then i noticed these

vintage woman's magazines -
these are definately good for a giggle
oh i would've been so bad as a 50's wifey!

Wow it really was my lucky day . . .

and d'ya know what?
i also scored three pairs of vintage knitting needles three of which are now bangles!

yep there are only two here
pesky teenage daughter strikes again!

carboot sale fun!

I've been poorly for the whole of the easter school holidays
quite a lot of it i spent lying on the sofa holding on for dear life
i had viral labyrinthitis - it was horrible
but i'm 95% better now - yipee :0)

*******
to celebrate my return to health -
i persuaded my long suffering partner to take us off to a big carboot sale
we found some fantastic BARGAINS!!
we even left most of them there!

this was the first thing i bought - how cute?
long suffering partner said "ewwww -they saw you coming"

now for all you vintage button fans
you would've been in HEAVEN
unfortunately they were SUPER expensive
and due to my dizzy head it was
really hard work looking through
all FIVE HUGE tins of buttons

long suffering partner just shook his head and walked away taking smallest child with him!

i only bought a small handfull
but it was a case of quality over quantity
LOVE the terriers
and do you think that is Dopey from SnowWhite?
i'm still thinking about this stall now it was FANTASTIC!!!

these items came from a stall that was selling everything for 10p each!
i also bought a birdhouse and
a random unspecified plant,
the man said it had yellow flowers
and was tall that's all he could tell me!!

and these gorgeous vintage 1974 playmobile red indians
were too nice not to buy!
i'm pretty sure i had some like this when i was little
my son has spent ages playing with them

cute !

oh yeah and as i stepped out of the car i found a fiver on the floor!!

*******

what i left behind :
an old rocking horse £2.00
aluminium jelly moulds - mummy rabbit {i have a set of babies} a baby hare and a fish
AND
five HUGE tins of all vintage buttons!!!

*******
i also got really bad sunburn on the back of my neck from looking at all the goodies!

mumsnet crafters vintage swap

i finished my vintage swap for dizzyday @ mumsnet crafters - i really enjoyed making this one , as i got to play with my buttons and vintage postcards - yeah!!!

felting

so here is my first attempt at felting just to make things more complicated i thought i'd dye the blanket too!

for some reason i can't get pictures in right order . . . .gggrrrr

anyway i bought an 100% wool blanket from oxfam , then i dyed it @ 60c then again @ 90c to rinse excess dye [and clean machine] .The result is a little patchy but i'm guessing that this is down to:

a/ not enough dye

b/ to big to agitate properly

c/ the dye is not for use on wool!!!

so after all this i did a test cut and felt[ha ha] it needed more abuse as it frayed a little - so i whacked back in the washer @ 90c again.

i think it is now done!!! so what shall i make?

i will be looking at BETZ WHITE'S lovely website

oh yes and i emailed Betz White for advice on dying woolen items for felting and was very pleased [starstruck] to get a reply on the same day :0) [thanks]

and here is the side effect of all this faffing about - there is a mass of candyfloss pink fluff everywhere!!!

i really enjoyed doing this and i'm all for recycling but i used loads of energy and water doing this.