Exciting post

Isn't it just lovely to get lovely things in the post. I arrived home yesterday to find not only a fab needlebook from Paper Fish but also my new iPhone i've needed a new one for a long time so I thought why not treat myself! So here I am, sitting on the sofa, sewing, taking photos and blogging! How very modern.

Here's my needlebook, already being put to good use

A love of polka dots

Okay...I confess...as you've already guessed, I LOVE BUTTONS. But I also harbour another passion; POLKA DOTS! So you can imagine how giddy I was to find these buttons over at Big Fish on Etsy. A simply divine supplies shop that could be disasterous for my bank balance.

Here are the little sterling silver earrings i've made using them (and cute flower buttons I had lurking in my stash too)

Spreading the polka dot love, a button at a time.




Ruby <3

Busy crafty days...

Being a Teacher is hard. Being a Supply Teacher is arguably even harder. I've done both, supply is my title at the minute as it allows me to fit in time to work on my little business. Waiting for the phone to ring is always tense, sitting in my work clothes and wondering what the day will bring; day stepping into the unknown or day snuggled up on the sofa crafting. I know which i'd choose but I also know which one pays the bills!

Due to the snowy snow this past week the majority of the schools were closed so there was plenty of time to make my coffee table look like this:



and experiment with my newly aquired Cath Kidston fabric and make this:



Still unsure about the folds and trying to get them more 'even' but for the time being I shall be wearing this brooch on my coat as I can't bring myself to put it in the drawer, unloved and alone (gosh I'm sad)

I've also spent quite a lot of time stitching together these little button brooches that I've now listed over in my shop (watch this space for more styles in the near future)







Ruby Reloved <3

I'll find a tin and put it in

So far today I've been organising my craft supplies in my 'office'. My office is currently half of the kitchen and a part of the spare bedroom. I've recently managed to rehome the crockery that used to live in my red dresser and now it's on its way to becoming the home of all my bits and bobs. It's a work in progress and I still need to find a home for quite a lot of beads, buttons and fabric but here is how it's looking...






I've labelled what goes where here
Oh how I long for a little craft room all of my own..sigh

Crafty ambitions...

Having had a few days rest through Christmas, my thoughts have once again turned to crafting, mainly how to coninue to develop my shop. I have a huge 'to do' list which includes; regularly blogging and remembering to take lots of photographs, updating flickr more often, adding extra details to my product descriptions on Etsy, making thank you cards, ordering supplies, taking photographs of my new gift packaging and making thank you cards to name but a few things.

When I find myself faced with such a list my mind tends to wander to somewhere where I feel entirely more relaxed..making things! Here is a new style of brooch that is soon to appear in my Etsy shop:



I'm loving teal at the minute! I also made a slightly larger version using navy and mustard fabric and felt.




These brooches will be on sale in my shop soon.

Now on with that list - eeek!

The final countdown

Christmas is nearly upon us and I am putting the finishing touches to my christmas gifts (pictures to follow after they have been given to their recipients) The snow has really made me feel like it's Christmas and has meant i've had an excuse to curl up on the sofa and do some sewing. I've always loved sewing and rarely have the time to sit down and do some; I'm hoping to add some more fabric and felt accessories to my shop in the new year. My 'would like to do' list is growing bigger by the day. I'd love to add some tutorials to this blog and begin to market myself a little better. I'd also like to mingle with other crafty types and maybe sign up to a team, oh and get a shop set up on the fabulous Folksy. As you can see it's rather a long 'would like to do list' and i'm hoping that 2010 will be the start of some new crafty adventures...

Christmas, crafting and a jar of buttons...

Here goes my first blog... Having finally managed to create a Google account I am very excited to be part of the Blogging world!

Chrismas seems to have crept up on me a little too quickly this year. Thanks to my long suffering other half we now have a beautiful Christmas tree! Dug up with his own fair hands at a fab little Nursery in Ricall. I love decorating the tree, carefully unwrapping all the baubles and wondering how I managed to be so organised when putting them away last year, deciding which little trinket should go where and clipping my gorgeous jewelled robins on the ends of branches. So here it is, my tree in all it's multicoloured glory:



And after 'borrowing' some foliage from my darling mothers garden and Lisa @ Lisa's Florist kindly making a moss ring, we (my dear OH and I) made a wreath:








And now to a more pressing matter, crafting! Specifically the jar of buttons i've had sitting in my dresser for ages; So this morning, in a flash of inspiration I decided to turn them into button brooches filled with a mix of colours, shapes and sizes. I'm planning on doing some more exciting things with this technique but I shall keep it a close guarded secret for now:



And here's the finished brooch, although I like yellow, a lot, I'm going to try out some other colours for the background....




Phew, that was a long and rather photo ladened first post. Now...on with my much neglected housework.