Sneaky Peek - Favour Labels!

Little name tags for the wedding favours!!

My hands ache from all the cutting and threading, but that's one more thing to tick off the list!!

Wedding preparations . . .

Sneaky peek of the current preparations . . .

I've been featured!!

How excited to find I have been approached by a couple of lovely blogs to feature my Wedding Invitations!!

Check them out here -

I made this!! Rag Pom Pom!!

Now I promise I am not being sponsored by Clover, but, I must urge people to buy one of their amazing pom pom makers! They are such a clever design that makes pom pom making so easy and professional. They come in lots of different sizes from tiny 20mm to big huge ones - and even heart shaped! I bought mine on eBay, but you can get them from lots of different craft supply shops too. Here's what they look like . . .

To make a pom pom you just wrap your wool, embroidery thread, fabric etc around each pair of semi circle arms (which hinge out of the centre) - there are two pairs of arms by the way - make sure you wrap your chosen material around the two together. One you have filled up the two semi circles you push back to the centre, making sure everything is together securely then using a sharp pair of scissors or snips cut all the way around. Loop a ribbon or strong thread in between the two discs - give them a wiggle to make sure the they reach the centre then knot very securely!!

To release the pom pom I find it easier to open the hinged arms on each side then pull the whole thing in half (the two discs are held together with a pin in the centre). Give your pom pom a fluff, trim off any straggly bits with a pair of scissors to tidy up and hey presto - a pom pom!!

Here I have shown a pom pom made from very roughly cut scraps of leftover fabric. Some of these strips were only a few inches long but that doesn't matter - they just need to be long enough to wrap around the arm once. So this is a fantastic way to use up all your leftover scraps of fabric. What do you all think?

I made this!! Flower Corsage Ring Cushion!!

Apologies in advance to the Best Man, but I have made a ring cushion for my wedding.

This may not be the final version - want to try a small one in silk next, but I wanted to put some of my new Heather Bailey fabrics to good use (and of course my pom pom makers!!)

Wedding Invitations . . .

Originally my plan was to make these myself - I have a decent printer - know my way around a computer and am known to be a little crafty - but after researching other peoples invites on flickr I came across some beautiful examples of Letterpressed invitations by Bella Figura.

This led me on a search to find a UK based Letterpress company - it wasn't long before I came across the wonderful Blush Publishing! The ever diligent and eternal night owl Mark Moran was extremely helpful and patient whilst I dithered about what design I wanted. Originally I had planned a funky square invite with motifs representing myself and Wayne. Wayne would be easy - an xbox controller (!) and maybe mine would have been a pair of scissors or a needle or a mouse? But as the wedding plans took shape and the vintage element really kicked in I just had to work this into the theme!

Quickly I decided on a 1950's postcard style and used an example from the fantastic resource which is deviantART to use as my inspiration. I really wanted to incorporate my own artwork for this and knew deep down that computer graphics would look too stiff so I dusted off my sketchbook and got to work . .

Once the artwork was finished, I scanned it, tidied it up in Photoshop then turned it into paths for Illustrator where I could work on the text. I have always loved the look of old fashioned typewriter fonts, they remind me of my art school days when I used my old Olivetti to create many a bizarre text based piece! But I also love the trendy carnival style fonts you see a lot these days. Every waking minute I spent trying to get the look and the wording right - I even sent what I thought was the final proof off to be printed with several errors in my haste and bleary-eyed state!

But shortly after everything was finalised Mark and the clever bunch at Blush turned my design into the loveliness which is below. Even the cute wrapping added to the wonderful experience which is letterpress!

Even after all the agonising over the design and wording the hardest part was writing on them - so wish I had nicer handwriting . . .

Craft and Cupcakes Day!!

My friends are very encouraging of my "sewing stuff" and I decided to call their bluff the other day and invite them round for a craft and cupcakes day. The house was filled with chatting, babies, buttons, fabric and high calorie treats and we all had a splendid time!!

It gave me the opportunity to make use of some of my new fabrics and my array of notions.

We started off with a tissue pom pom blitz, as these are so easy to make. Everyone chose their favourite colour, Jo of course had to have the pink which matched her nail polish! Baby Sam chose not to participate - but boys tend not to get overly excited by pom poms!!

It wasn't long before the cakes were out and we ever so daintily stuffed our faces! We then moved onto woolly pom poms courtesy of my new clover pom pom makers. The wool turned out to be highly unsuitable for pom poms, but the colours were nice anyway!

We finished up by making some fabric corsages. Must have been too tired to remember to take photos at this point, so the first one is a photo taken the next morning of my effort made from some lovely dupion silk. The second one is Jo's lovely corsage which works wonderfully on her denim jacket!

It is far too easy to get lost in your own world when you craft, and as wonderful as chatting online to fellow crafters is, nothing beats the hands on fun of a group of girls making lots of pink things!!

macarons . . .

Mini post just about the lovely macarons - which are just sooo pretty!!!

Is there such a thing as too much research??!!

Since the 21st of January (the day we booked the date at the Registry Office) I have spent EVERY spare moment thinking, planning, researching and breathing the wedding. Is this normal? I have a tendency to over think things, and over plan. I can never go on a holiday without reading all of the tripadvisor reviews about the hotel, and seeing all of the guests photos, or checking which airplane we are booked onto and in which seats, checking traveller forums the best sights to see, restaurants to eat at, which rooms to ask for - yep basically I go over the top.

I'm sure that most women tend to go into this mode when planning a wedding - but I'm surprised that I have enjoyed it so much. Especially as the starting point for our plans was to have a simple, cheap, informal wedding. Would things be easier if we were spending 30k? Probably not.

I think I can be a resourceful person, and I know my way around the internet, which has been my lifeline in researching and planning. I have made the mistake previously of buying wedding magazines. These in fact scared and depressed me so much that I was dreading getting married!! How silly is that? I found their budget and time planners dangerously silly - especially as I came over in cold sweat when realising that I should have sent my invites out 4 months ago and my flowers should cost a 10% of my budget!! But then I came to my senses - but the magazines away (in the bin) and made my own plan!

So a month since setting the date and 126 days until the big event we have achieved a lot. For the moment I am feeling less panicked, and am reveling in ideas for things I can make or silly ideas I can work into the day. I have an album filled with pictures, a large notebook filled with lists, a computer filled with research images, emails and budget spreadsheets and a flickr gallery filled with more inspiration than I know what to do with! But my efforts are being focused as much as possible - I made myself concentrate initially on the big things - whilst the little voice inside me kept saying *look at shoes!!*, *fairy lights*, *envelopes* etc etc!!

Now most of the "big things" are sorted I can indulge myself in silliness and all the pretty little things that really excite me. My other half is maybe not so excited about all of this - in fact he has probably wisely decided to let me get on with it. Something I found hard to understand at first, but he knows me VERY well after all these years and will make himself useful when the time comes - or when I freak out at him!!

So here's a peek at some of the things I have been thinking about the past couple of days -
Doughnuts, invites (sneak preview of the design if you look closely!), my increasingly cluttered dining table and tissue pom pom tutorials!!

The Big Day - preparation . . .

Been busy lately - spent a lot of time online researching and sourcing things for the wedding - must be enjoying it based on the amount of time I have dedicated and the lack of sleep as a result!

Really trying hard not to become Bridezilla and have to remind myself from time to time that it is just one day - the most important part is making the commitment to my partner and our lives ahead - BUT - I still want it be an amazing day - I want it to be fun and relaxed and silly - no stuffiness and pomp allowed!!

The image above represents the last week or so of planning, photographing, making, buying, watching, emailing, freecycling . . .

I made this!!! Felt Button Brooches!!

Haven't given much time to crafting lately - what with all of the wedding planning - but had a blitz last night and made three of my felt button brooches - I had ordered some beautiful merino wool rovings from forestfibres and hadn't had the chance to use them until now - the colours are wonderful!

Have listed them in my noths store if anyone fancies one!!

Darling Buds of May 1950's Summer Fete Handmade Wedding!!

Apologies for the crazy title - but it gives an indication of the feel I am after - shame our budget didn't stretch to hiring out a barn - but hopefully we can get a small scale version of this look in our back garden!!

My simple but complicated wedding!!

Last year my boyfriend of 9 years proposed to me - we have lived together for most of this time and to all intents and purposes were like a married couple anyway - but now we are both in our 30's we thought it was the right time to do it!

Now probably unlike most women I have never dreamt about the big white wedding, in fact the whole idea scares the life out of me - but I realised not so long ago that I could actually make this a day I would enjoy - it might not be everyone's idea of the perfect day, but for me it's just right!

So, the plan is to get married in our local registry office - which luckily for us is a beautiful old building by a river with a small park next to it. I am not religious so getting married in church wasn't the right thing for me. Of course I want to arrive at the registry office in a car - no Rolls Royce for me though, I'd much prefer a convertible Morris Minor!!

Oh I forgot - the dress. Well being on the plumper side of plump I really didn't relish the thought of finding a dress - and especially not one made from Duchess Satin, in fact I really don't want a wedding dress at all - but I realised that I do need to it some way look like I am the bride and not a guest so I have designed my version of a wedding dress - it will be a 1950's style tea dress, calf length, in white linen with a colourful patterned waistband/sash. Then to add a bit of drama - I want to have a pink tulle netting underskirt and possibly colourful flat shoes (cannot walk in heels!)

Luckily I know a lovely lady who will be able to make this for me - so I have avoided the horror of bridalware shops and the embarrassment of trying to find a dress I can squeeze into!! And although spending a lifetime trying to lose weight I am not crash dieting for my wedding day - if I lose weight that's good - if not,  well my OH still loves me!!

So over the next few months I will be blogging about my preparations and inspirations in the run up to the big day - which is on the 26th June this year. We haven't left ourselves much time to prepare, but I am really trying to keep things simple - 50 or so guests for the wedding and meal then 80 in total for the evening reception which we are holding in our small backgarden!!

I have put a few of the many, many images in the collage above - and if I achieve a fraction of this loveliness I will be happy - I have also put together galleries on flickr if anyone is interested - Wedding Galleries

Wish me Luck!!

Charity Auction - Marty the Handmade Felt Mouse!

Wanted to do my bit to try and raise some money for the people of Haiti after the terrible earthquake so I thought I would donate one of my latest creations - Marty the Needle Felted Mouse.

I have put him on ebay - the auction ends just before 8pm on Sunday 24th January 2010. Here is the link to the listing - Link to Ebay I have started the auction at £5.99.  

All proceeds will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee

I really hope that Marty raises a good amount as they really do need all the help they can.

x

Update 24th Jan 2010
Marty has sold - to the lovely Michelle! Thank you to everyone who bid, Marty is extremely flattered and impressed by your generosity!!

Shelley
x

I made this! - Felt Buttons

Just a quick post to show off my new felt buttons - love making these!!

Thinking of making them into brooches, hair clips etcs.

What does everyone think?

Needle Felting

For those who have seen my flickr photos recently you may have noticed my latest obsession - needle felting!

I received a book for Christmas called "little felted animals" by Marie-Noëlle Horvath (click here for the Amazon link), and this inspired me to try my hand at needle felting, which up until then I had been completely ignorant about if I'm totally honest!

For those who may equally be in the dark, in simple terms needle felting is the art of making shapes out of wool fibres (carded or combed). You need a special felting needle for this which has little barbs which cause the wool fibres to knit together when you jab into the wool with it. I bought myself a little starter kit on ebay (click here for the listing link) which is ideal for beginners.

Above I have shown some of the things I have made this week. My first item was the mouse (Marty) who wasn't initially supposed to be a mouse but just an experiment, but strangely enough a mouse started to appear!! Then I made a toadstool - just because I love toadstools!! Then I made a piece of cheese for Marty, see the steps below which show how this turned from a cloud of yellow wool into a slightly strange looking piece of emmental!! My last piece was a corsage flower which I attached happily to my new grey woolly jacket today - can't wait to make more of these, can see these being a favourite of mine!!

You can buy so many different colours of wool - or if you are feeling adventurous you can dye your own - might leave this to the experts though!!

The great thing about needle felting is how quick and easy it is. You will probably end up stabbing yourself a few times along the way as you do jab quite quickly once you get the hang of it - but it helps to keep your eye on the ball!! Before I started, I watched a few videos about needle felting on Youtube as I couldn't quite believe that all you had to do is jab at the wool - it seemed too easy!! And there are no hard and fast rules, just the more you jab the denser the shape gets - simples!!

There are some amazing felt artists out there such as Kit Lane, Lil Fish Studios (Lisa Jordan) and Vria Lee (Victor Dubrovsky) to name but a few - please do check out their links - you will be amazed!!

Craft Review 2009

Well, I finally had a few minutes spare to gather my thoughts about 2009. For me it was a year in which I re-discovered my creativity and finally felt that others appreciated what I made. Ironic really considering that my day job is as a product designer!! And for the past 9 years most days I have been designing and developing giftwares for thousands of people to buy and give as presents.

When you work in mass produced products you lose your connection to the item. It is produced rarely for its aesthetic beauty or to win design awards - it is created purely to make the most amount of profit - 70% usually for the big High Street guys!! (Don't tell them I told you that!!). Don't get me wrong, I do like my day job - much better than previous jobs (chambermaid, cleaner, checkout girl, office junior, pound shop worker, call centre salesperson, canteen assistant, graphic designer), and I still get excited when a DHL arrives at work from one of the Chinese factories with my designs inside.

But it's different when you have crafted something by hand, tweaking the design along the way. Wondering whether it is something you could sell, something a friend or family member would like - or even something to keep myself!! Not overly caring that you have just spent £20 on materials, thread, books, a new pair of scissors, buttons, ribbons or just had to buy a new desk, or chair or storage unit to house your ever expanding stash! It's not about the money for me - it's about the sense of achievement and the thrill of other people noticing my work and commenting - and when I sell something I get a real rush of adrenalin - followed usually by a tinge of sadness knowing that I cannot keep it for myself now!

Learning to sew again and embroider, appliqué, lino printing and needle felting have made me a much happier person - and the friends I have made - mostly online through this blog, flickr and twitter have opened my eyes to a whole new world - one that suits me down to the ground. Not only can I be creative with pretty fabric I can also indulge my inner geek and learn about blogging, seo's, keywords, meta tags and nettiquette (still need to work on that!!).

Before I blether on too much, just a wish for 2010 - that I can find more time and energy to do the things that I love!

Happy New Year everyone!!

x

(these are just a few of my creations from the past year - the whole collection can be found on my flickr page)

 

I made this! - Velvet Stocking!

Made this Christmas stocking for my Mum. Used some lovely metallic mink velvet which worked beautifully with the Designers Guild cut velvet on the top trim. I still had some of the turquiose velvet left to make a piping trim and then I bought some turquiose dupion silk for the lining.

Luckily most of the presents I had bought for mum this year were small enough to fit in the stocking so it ended up being useful!!

The Christmas wrapping dilemma!!

Each year I spend far too long thinking about my wrapping paper.

Now I don't know about you but I must confess that I am a wrapping paper snob. I truly believe that the way a present is wrapped indicates the thought and care that has gone into it and is just as important as what is inside!!

And for Christmas, the present also becomes part of our decorations, spending several days under our trees before being unwrapped.

Last year I bought a giant roll of brown paper along with 100 metres of brown grosgrain ribbon and a circle punch to make my own gift tags out of cream card with buttons and hand drawn stitching. Quite a rustic look, and I was really happy with how the pressies looked, but oh my god, the tags alone took forever and I really don't think anyone really appreciated it apart from my sister who is a fellow crafter! 

This year I planned to make my own paper (red paper with handprinted white polka dots) but had to admit defeat last week when I accepted that I really didn't have the time to do this. So then I searched around for unusual and beautiful (and affordable) handmade or designer wrapping paper - to no avail!! If anyone knows of a good supplier do please let me know!!

My search ended up in Sainsburys where my other half made me choose there and then (knowing how fussy and annoying I am about wrapping paper!!). My final choice was half green damask foiled paper and hot pink and green damask to compliment. The tag selections were awful so I bought plain silver and am jazzing them up with bits of the wrapping paper. Then of course there is the ribbon - a costly detail, but I just couldn't resist - this year I opted for thin velvet ribbon in pinks, purples, greens and kingfisher blues.

Am I one of the last remaining gift wrap snobs? Is it crazy spending so much time and money on something that just gets ripped open and thrown away!?

I made this! - Christmas Cards!

Wanted to attempt to make some of my own cards this year for my family. Of course somehow I had to incorporate some fabric. After a few unsuccessful experiments I decided to use this simple tree design which was machine "embroidered" in several colourful threads before being cut into the tree shapes.

I then stitched the felt to the front of the card and hand sewed the wooden sequins on to finish!!

Really happy with how these turned out - bright and colourful and simple!!

Less than two weeks to go now!!

x