Liberty Fabric Twig Wreath

You may have seen from my previous posts, that I've been having loads of fun with Liberty Fabric recently and had collected quite a pile of cut off bits.  In a pile on my floor they looked too pretty to just throw away and I felt sure I could use them in some way.... ta da!

What's more, this wreath not only turns my Liberty scraps into something quite pretty but the twigs are from our garden too so you could say this is a re-cycling project in its own right!

I've added a few tiny silk flowers and some wraps of embroidery floss and completely adore this twiggy wreath....and I still have scraps and twigs so I can make some more...yay!

Liberty Fabric Brooches and Hairclips

I'm not sure what I enjoyed most about designing and making these Liberty Fabric flower brooches.....choosing the fabrics or hunting through my many Bonne Mamam jam jars which house my button collection, stored by colour...naturally!  Miss M loves going through the jars and just checking that no rogue buttons have found their way into the wrong jar and sometimes challenging some of my colour decisions!  We have had many discussions about when does pink become red or does turquoise fir better with the blue buttons or the green ones!  Food for thought?  Maybe I just need more jam jars?  

Each flower brooch is unique as I cut the petals out by hand then sew and gather to create the flower shape.  Top with a button and pop one of these little beauties on your cardy and smile x

Liberty Fabric Flower Cushion

I have had such fun playing with these completely and utterly gorgeous Liberty fabrics which seems to clash and compliment all in one go!  I chose to create very simple flower shape templates and let the fabric do the talking.  The vase is Liberty Betsy Tana Lawn fabric from from 1933 and the flowers are a lovely mixed combination of Tatum, Capel, Thorpe and a touch more Betsy.

Liberty Fabric Birdie Cushion

Tweet tweet!  I made this handsome feathered fellow using Liberty Betsy J Tana Lawn fabric which was designed for Liberty in 1933.  I just love the fresh turquoisey greens. His birdie wing is cut from Liberty Thorpe Tana Lawn fabric which although it has a 1930s feel, it was actually designed in 1968.

Liberty Fabric Cuppa Cushion

A cup of tea cushion perfect for resting on whilst enjoying a steaming mug of Earl Grey,,,happy days!  

I first created this tea cup template for Sarah's cup of tea rug and have been itching to use it again.  Here I've complimented the bright and bold Liberty Betsy Tana Lawn fabric from 1933 with the softer 1978 pink Liberty Capel.

Just off to pop the kettle on....cuppa anyone?

Liberty Fabric Love Cushion

Love sewing....love cushions....love florals....love Liberty Tana Lawn fabric....share the love!

On this cushion design I've created a little Liberty Betsy sandwich...Betsy in greens, Thorpe, Tatum and finishing with Betsy in blues.

Share the love x

Granny Angels

I have some very special ladies to share with you....meet the Granny Angels!  I have had a ball creating these fabulous females.

They're just like super heros but a tiny bit slower and a whole lot greyer.  These gorgeous grey haired guardians are ram packed with real life experience which they're happy to share.

Although fun loving, they take their angel duties very seriously and will watch over you with unlimited love, care and attention.  

Who is your favourite?

Christmas Bazaar

A massive thank you to everyone who popped by to say "hello" at the Lethbridge Christmas Bazaar.  

I had a fabulous time meeting customers old and new and have been busy fulfilling orders taken on the day.

Clockwise from top left: Flowers on snap hairclips, pom pom flowers on twigs from the garden and pom pom garlands, the right hand side of may stall, my "cheery handmade, homespun accessories" sign, the left hand side of my stall, the middle section of my stall.

Clockwise from top left: Fabric flower hair bobbles, hearts and pom poms on sticks, "Noel" and "Love" bunting, Granny Angels (more about these coming soon), large bow hair bobbles.

Clockwise from top left: Denim corsages, felt message envelopes, hanging felt robins, felt teddy or dolly angel wings, felt message envelopes and teddy or dolly angel wings, denim corsages.

Denim Corsage Brooches

Now jeans are quite a staple in our house....Mr A wears smart jeans pretty much every day at work, Miss M is as happy as a pig in mud in her jeans, Miss E likes a pair of skinnies and a girlie top and I like a denim skirt and boots combo.  So all in all, we create quite a lot of worn out or grown out of denim which I was sure could be put to good use and so created these Denim Corsage Brooches.

Each one is different even if I create the same design several times due to the colour and thickness of the denim.  These ones below were born from a friend's cast off pair of Levis.

The petals of the two below are from a pair of my old Monsoon jeans and the centres are from a pair of Miss M's Gap ones.

I love how each one has a history and that it's having a second moment of glory in another form.

The circular corsages with large buttons (below) layer several types of denim together.  As much of the denim I have has a element of stretch, I have pulled the outer edges of these circular flowers to help give the flower a bit more texture and dimension.  I'm a bit fan of letting the denim fray as well so I'm purposely quite brutal with how I handle the fabric to help encourage the fraying.

 The five petal flowers are mounted on felt to give them a bit more body and strength and I have played about with teal, navy and red felt....ah now which one is my favourite?

Pom Pom Garlands

No snow here yet and it's not baring well for a white Christmas so these pom pom snowballs may be the closest we get to the real thing for the time being.

I find pom poms so addictive to make and so simple....the perfect TV accompaniment as I can watch and wind.

I have both the white and red versions up in my house at the moment.  The white one hanging with some delicately cut paper snowflakes and the red ones on my dining room mantle piece with twigs with red berries and pine cones.

I love this bluey grey garland so much and might well put this one up properly in the New Year once the Christmas decorations have come down.

Pom Pom Flowers

You might remember last month I'd shared this picture of a bag of pom poms I'd made in deliciously, soft,dusty, pastel colours with the idea that I'd make them into flowers...and now I have done just that.

I was so impatient that I took the photos as soon as I'd put the flowers in the vase rather than waiting till morning when I'd have lovely natural daylight,  so unfortunately there are some rather horrid shadows and the focus is a bit blurry!  Hopefully you can see through these misgivings to the gorgeous soft, fluffy pom poms. 

The twigs are from the trees in our garden so there's some lovely recycling in this creation as well.

Following on from the robins I felt I just had to hit the snow effects again...it's just too tempting!!

Candy Coloured Flower Clips

I remember as a child being told that red and pink simply don't go together...it's just not the done thing.  Well I guess one of the benefits of being a grown up is that you can bend the rules a little...or in this case, completely throw out the rule book and create a new one where red and pink can live in perfect vibrant harmony.

Each one of these clips will be ever so slightly different as not only did I stray off piste with the colour rule book...I did the same with my template.  I made a rough flower shape template but then let my scissors run a little loose in their own way.

Which one is your favourite?  I just can't decide but I do love the teal one with the light blue inner and the red flower with the pink inner.....and the pink flower with the red inner for that matter too...yep still can't decide!

Little Robins

So we're in November now and although I'm not ready to be all Christmassy yet, I have been busy creating these little winter robins to perch on your tree...tweet tweet!

As always I design and draw my templates by hand and then use them to cut out my pieces of felt and fabric.

A lovely pile of paired up little red tummies and brown flappy wings.

These birdie shapes are ready to have their little black brad eyes, lovely, plumb, red tummies and flappy wings sewn into place.

Then at the end I have a very satisfying pile of cut offs ready to go into my scraps box ready for when I need tiny bits of fabric and felt.

I just couldn't resist the Winter Wonderland section on PicMonkey any longer...I can see snowy overlays coming on everything from now on!! Brrrrrrr