A love affair

So, I love buttons, as I'm sure you already know. I found myself looking through my jars (well boxes :S) of buttons today when I came across some lovely little charms I'd forgotten all about!
I new I simply had to use them, and seeing as though they'd obviously spent a long time making friends with my button collection I decided to make them a permanent home together on a bracelet. Here's the result:





I'm rather pleased with how it turned out, it's now listed here on in my shop. Waiting to be sent to a new home :)

*ETA - should I worry that I am personifying my buttons?*

Inspiration

Lately I have been looking for a way to incorporate my love of textiles with my love of jewellery. I began experimenting with some designs for fabric and felt necklaces but I wasn't too happy with the results. Something was missing... Then I came across Fabric Rehab


What have I been missing out on all this time?! The fabric is beautiful and there's such a wide selection. I suddenly found myself filled with inspiration for my necklaces. I bought fabric with owls, lovebirds, quirky 50's patterns and of course polka dots. Here's how it's going so far..



Some other shapes i've been experimenting with:



I'm going to add chain and a pretty clasp to the fabric pieces today. More photos to follow.

Happy crafting days. I love them.

How to make bunting!

Having had a rather busy time lately what with wedding planning, work and DIY (eek) I've not found the time to do this tutorial...until now! So here goes, this is how I make my bunting. I don't profess to be a sewing expert or anything but I've found this method works for me.

You will need:

Fabric - any old fabric will do but the thicker cotton duck fabrics (usually used for curtains/cushions) are easier to work with if you're a sewing virgin!
Sewing cotton and embroidery thread - in colours of your choice, I've just used white.
Scissors
Greaseproof paper
Headed pins
Sewing needle
Bias binding - again in a colour of your choice
Sewing machine - although you can hand sew but it may take you a while!
Two large buttons
Iron
Felt - optional

If, like me, you're making bunting for a special occasion like a wedding, birthday or christening then you might like to personalise the bunting using appliqued felt letters. Applique basically means sewing an embellishment (in this case lettering) onto another fabric.


I've included the 'happy birthday' print templates at the end of the tutorial as well as a template for the pennants - posh name for bunting flags don't you know ;)

This tutorial will go through the steps to make Happy Birthday bunting so if you just want plain bunting miss out steps 2-4

Step 1
Choose your fabrics. You might like to pick a colour scheme or do what I did and go for a rainbow of colour.

Transfer the paper pattern to greaseproof paper and pin to the fabric.


Carefully cut around the edge. You'll need to do this twice for each flag.

I made 17 flags - 13 for the 'Happy Birthday' and 2 for either side.

Step 2
Print out the letters you need onto paper or card and cut them out.

Draw around the template onto the felt using a tailors pencil, vanishing pen or just an ordinary pen as it'll be hidden when you sew it down. Reverse the letters so they're the right way round when you turn them over (if that makes sense!)

Then cut them out.

Step 3
Lay the flags out and decide on the order you would like them to be positioned. Lay the felt letters on top of the flags to check that you like the colours and layout.

Step 4
Pin the letter to the front of one of the two flags and use a whip stitch to attach it to the flag. Repeat for all flags with lettering.


I decided to use a thick embroidery thread so it would show for a fun effect but you could use a thin cotton in a matching or contrasting colour for different effects.

Step 5
Now pin the two flags together with the 'right' sides facing inwards.

Repeat for all of the flags

Then stitch 5mm from the edge along the two diagonals creating a fabric cone. The top will be sewn up later.
I used a tight running stitch setting on my sewing machine. What ever stitch you choose to use it needs to be a straight, tight stitch so it is secure and can be turned inside out easily without losing too much flag.
Repeat for all of your flags.

Step 6
Turn your flags the right way around and use a pen or the end of your scissors to ease out the point of the flag. Iron the flags flat and take a moment to appreciate how pleasing a little stack of ironed flags is! NOTE: Always iron felt applique flags on the reverse of the flag.

Step 7
Lay your flags out again and decide how far apart you would like them to be, if at all. Then measure how much bias binding you will need, I used about 2.5m. You will need to allow for at least 10cm of binding free at each and to create a loop for hanging.

I like to use bias binding as it has a neat finish but you could use ribbon. If you're not very confident when sewing it is better to use a wider ribbon or bias to allow room for error when sewing the flags on.
Iron the bias in half to make positioning easier then pin your flags in place, tucking the tops of the flags into the fold.

Step 8
Use a wide zig-zag stitch to run along the bias to secure the flags in place. You could use a coloured thread for extra cuteness!

Step 9
Create a loop using the ends of the bias and sew in place, use a cute matching button to hide the end of the loop.


Step 10
Let your bunting take pride of place either for a special event or as a gorgeous shabby chic decoration all year round.

PS: If you use my tutorial to make bunting I'd love to see a picture of what you've made!

TEMPLATES

Procrastinating

My name's Beverley and I'm a procrastinator. Having had lots of planning and other 'day job' related tasks to do lately I've found my mind tends to wander to more interersting pursuits such as cutting out hundreds of little felt flowers for my new fascinator designs. It all began when I made these brooches last week. I had a few little flowers left and turned them into this:



This is my prototype version of the design and i'm pretty happy with it. It has a hair comb stitched to the back and is measures 10cm in diameter. It was fairly labour intensive to make but when it comes to a chioce between sewing and paperwork, I know which I'd choose every time.

Look out for these fascinators/cocktail hats in my Etsy shop in the not too distant future.

PLUS as it's half term I can finally get around to posting a couple of fun tutorials I've had lurking in my WIP basket. Keep an eye out for those in the next few days.

In the meantime I shall be putting these little flowers to good use



x

Spring is in the air

..well kind of. Although we've had a fleck or two of snow today my mind has been firmly on spring. I've been experimenting with new spring colours and styles including some bouquet brooches and cute button jewellery. I've loved cutting out lots of little flowers and it's kept my mind off my bad back. I've used some simply devine felt from Lupin it's so soft and the colours are so vivid. Highly recommended.

I'd love to know what you think of my new spring designs:



A closer look



A rainbow of colour to cheer up a dull day!



Oh and of course..BUTTONS lots and lots of beautiful cheery buttons




And finally, drum roll please...a NEW BUTTON NECKLACE DESIGN made with a collection of vintage buttons, each one totally unique!



Don't you just love it when you see a design realised and it's exactly what you'd imagined.

Ruby <3

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!