Busy Sewing Bee...My mojo must be back!?

 It was those Button Bouquets.... i swear! They got my mojo back and SUDDENLY i felt the need to sew.... En Masse!

 Piles and piles of lovely hearts. Pieced together from random 2" cotton strips in lots of crazy colourways.

 Finishing touches are scraps of trim - new and vintage.

And Buttons (of course)

 Stuffed to burst with Organic English Lavender.

I was asleep by the end of this!

 A Girlfriend asked me recently "is there Lavender in your bedroom?"

"Darling" replied i (i'm so theatrical) "Where isn't there Lavender in this house?"

I do, in fact, store my hewgggee bag of it IN the wardrobe so it gives off all that delicious fragrance into my cottons. (Clever me)

 These look so delicious all bundled together for photographs and hanging round the house.

I hang some in my wardrobe - and in my daughters.

One or Two in the bathroom.

A few on cupboard door handles...

 These are going into a *real* shop as this is where internet selling fails.

I don't feel the photos can do justice to the colours and the patchworky-ness...

and naturally NOT to the fragrance :)

 But i did list a few in Etsy PaperFish >>>>

and i sold one already so i was really pleased about that. I feel a bit 'shy' sometimes, selling stuff i've made.

How awkward of me when this is, essentially, my job!

So much lovely stuff to come...

Organic Cotton Stripe Ribbon... and work avoidance...

 Just the word ORGANIC makes me go all weak.

I swear, chocolate tastes better with the word 'organic' on the packet.

Bread has no fat or calories if it is 'organic bread'

I am a gooood person if i use organic cottons...

 Aaaah, the lies i tell myself.

The fact that these new cotton tapes are 'organic' is really just a PLUS, incase there are crafters who need / like to use very earth-friendly products or they are sewing with babies and children in mind.

I bought some because they are very pretty and have a vintage look and feel to them.

 http://www.lovepaperfish.com/ is selling them as a mixed bag of 3metres - 1 in each colour: sage green, periwinkle blue and a strawberry pink. yum-yum.

I have been keen to get a bit of sewing done, just so i can use them. I try to NEVER sell a craft product that i haven't used myself. I think then iam a more trustworthy retailer? you know, i know, what i sell is good etc....

 I made a bit fat quilted Lavender Heart and you can too, if you want.

I had scraps left over from a cushion. 2inch wide strips of cotton fabric.

You can sew them together to make up a block of fabric.

I then quilted this (actually the wadding is also Organic and made with Bamboo - it is gorgeous to work with ) i just did any random quilt pattern all over the top.

 My piece was big enough to slice in half - so i did - 'just like that' - no planning or thinking. Let's just freestyle this whole thing.

I cut out a paper heart as a template and cut around it on both pieces of quilted blocks.

 Go back to PHOTO.1. and you can see i added a few embellishments on top - scraps i had from previous failed projects plus 2 small strips of the organic cotton tape. Very nice.

I placed this finished heart block FACE DOWN on top of a very loose weave fabric.

Sewing machine around the edge and leave a 2inch gap.

Turn it inside out - so correct sides now facing out.

 I stuffed these big hearts mainly with lavender - and yes! it was organic lavender.

but i popped a little stuffing in also, to help keep it's shape.

Sew it up at the gap by hand.

I also used the Cotton Tape as the final hanging ribbon and fastened it in place with a big button.

Happy Lavender Heart Gift! with lots of organic elements.

And this sobering picture is really what i should ahve been doing today, rather than quilting Lavender Hearts....

 Do think again before you assume that selling crafty supplies is all fun and games.... those packets need a great deal doing to them before they can be ready for sale.

(I am waving happily to *my best girl J* as she knows SHE is helping me out with this large task)

ToodlePip Craft fans!

I am off to do some Half-Term stuff and pop into the Post Office en-route.

MAKE STUFF! it is good for your soul xxx

I saw my first Christmas advert on TV...

I am one of those rare people that doesn't mind Christmas quietly arriving.
I am naturally thrifty and crafty, so i am making, cooking, shopping, buying for Christmas all year round. I am not ashamed to admit, i like it. So, aswell as talking about the beauty and crafting of Autumn, i might start showing off a few decorations and 'how to's' on the blog, if that's ok....

Shaker style felt heart: red and white is such a winning combination for christmas.

I did an entirely WHITE Christmas home last year. This year i will be going for: Pumpkin Orange, Chocolate Brown, Red and White x

Why d'ya have to go and put stars in my eyes?

New Buttons....
I know!!
...in some ways I am perhaps overwhelming a customer with choice?

But as a 'seller' of buttons, if i make a decision that i want a certain type of button for my own projects, then it makes sense to sell a few too? How could i resist their colour?

Their vibrancy?

Their spots (and stripes!)

These are the sort of buttons that get a project noticed... I actually feel 'stressed' as my head is exploding with ideas for them.

They are the most expensive sets of buttons i sell.

I worry, maybe they are too much for people to want to indulge in? But they aren't the sort of button you will smother a project with? They are the last embellishment. The 'icing on the cake'. The button that makes people look twice?

I can't wait for my next Craft Fair as these buttons will look so yummy on the PaperFish stall - my first plan is make some Bobby Pins / Hair Slides and matching rings as I'm sold out of these thanks to my lovely girls at Weston Fair last week (***WAVES*** at the young ladies - you know who you are!)

But it has taken me FOREVER to price these, bag them, list them in the shops... I now have button fatigue - YES, it is possible!

I NEED to sew some bunting or a brooch or some Schrooooms to help me feel human again.

IF you want to see where i sell (it isn't compulsory y'know, i don't charge for drooling over the pictures! haha)

BUY ME in GBP £HERE

BUY ME in USD $HERE

It's Crafty Tuesday!

You wouldn't believe what i accomplished today!
Even i couldn't believe it...
Up early and get on with my usual Crafty Tuesday - i only have Tuesday's till 3pm to 'work' so you can bet i make the most of it... So, i cut out 20 or so felt hearts in many colours. So satisfying to see them all lined up, ready for action. Ready to made into fun Brooches.

I cut all the contrasting polka dot ribbons to clash and compliment with the heart colours....i love watching this build up of colour.

And when they get to look like THIS in a big pile.... i am in-love! I want to make them into a huge mobile of dangling colourful rainbow love, hhmmmmmm.

I spent a while bundling them into different places / into jars / onto trays .... just photographing their lovliness.

One by one, there comes the fiddly stage. Felt discs, button choice, thread decisions....

They are for a couple of wholesale orders which i really enjoy doing BUT only in minimum quantity. I don't like to feel like a prodcution line.

Although i only pay myself a minimum wage, the work place is comfortable and i can take a tea break whenever i like! I also get to email my friends when i like and arrange treats.

I did make more today (yes, i did!) but i shall save that surprise for another day x

What's new KFish?

New Year... a few new crafty products...
Firstly my Matroyshka 'squashy' broorch that has been waiting to be listed in the PaperFish store for agggeeesss but i was busy... (other colourways also available HERE) A positive plethora of new PinPots to be arriving slowly into the New Year...

Oooh, new fabrics to play with x but these are for me not you (sorry x)

And my new 'Juicy Pup' NeedleBook - totally in love with the new tropical colourways of the needlebooks and especially using the cute Dachsund puppy fabric (dog lovers unite here)

And another BUTTON option that has been ready for listing for so long. Forgive my tardy nature but they are HERE now x