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...

Feel the Burn...

 This is a message:

to PipEm, to Mel, to EmmaM

 to my BigBro, to MrsB and to Mari (the latter two inspire me so)

 to Richard who mocks me,

to the school run mums who watch my chubby bum wobble off down the hill

 to the silly 'boys' at the gym who think grunting is a good idea.

to ENDOMONDO! (you rock my world)

to shaking muscles and wheezing chests

 to running tights, with a pocket at the rear for my i-pod

to trainers who stink

to those moments when i think "Nnnnaaaaa, not today thanks"

Feel the Burn my friends!

Feel the burn and feel good.

If i could, i would fill my every days with Eating, Drinking, Laughing

Crafting, Weight Training, Running and Yoga.

Who cares how it looks? What people think?

There's no goal here. No school PE lessons to kill me with their shame.

It's me, trainers, stretchy clothes and feeling the burn.

A little 1950's Frippery...

 My Multi-layered CAKES tin - 'Tala'

Just the name Tala brings me out in a nervous sweat "Tala, what Tala?"

Awesome cream and pistachio green - oh yum! i love that Green so very much.

 Excellent condition inside and just nicely scruffy on the outside.

There was a pleasant and amusing incident at the Unit where i bought this (in the Antiques Cellar)

A lady had it in her hand, and i asked her "What price have they got on that" .... "£22" she said.... we both sighed and said "Fair price tho...."

We got in to a right long discussion about life, vintage, ebay, fairs, buying, selling, BMW Mini, and the fact we had both ONLY popped into the Cellar on our way back from Cath Kidston!

 Nice to come across a kindred spirit now and again. It made me desperate to be a vintage kitchens buyer . seller.... another lifetime maybe? This one is a little busy.

Also - Kitchen prettiness - this cute set of measuring cups from Waitrose.

I love the USCups system... now i only want US cookbooks as i am so into using cups!

 A new CathK cup and saucer to add to the ever-toppling stack.

Building up quite a little stash, didn't mean to....

 Cute, cute, green handled SSscccoooop!

"UGHhh" to the other lady at the Cellar who tried to get off, telling me

 "you're only buying this coz it's trendy right now"

 - No Love, i am buying it because it is very useful and pretty. Ignore the fact i have stuck it in the sugar jar, this will be used for scooping lavender into lav cushions as it so much easier than using a funnel, or my fingertips!

And a great picture i bought years ago from Etsy.... must go see where i got it from... give a link...

Frippery? i must be getting my Mojo back a bit?

Button Bouquets! Pure JOY!

Maybe these Button Bouquets are not everybody's idea of GORGEOUS!? Maybe you have to be a bit of a button nut to appreciate them? But I have had a commission from a  Hetro-man for these, so not just 'girly' fun.

 Having found myself in a total crafting DESERT of late, these button stems have been the perfect thing to get my head and heart back into 'creating'. I haven't had a thing in me that has wanted to create or think about prettiness at all. I haven't been shopping / scavenging for vintage and i haven't even been sewing. Broken life and broken heart maybe? Tired..... whatever the reasons, i have a mini-mojo returning.

 I swear, if the buttons themselves don't turn me on, my Tungsten Carbide cutters would do it alone. I love a gadget. I love a bit of technology. As MrsB said to me, when she poked into the studio, "How very You Kirsty, to use high tech digital scales for weighing, but have a vintage bowl on top to the hold the buttons"

 Anyway - Button stems are truly addictive and many many people make these sooo beautifully on Etsy. The Americans have this craft 'licked' my friends. They use them in a big explosion as wedding bouquets!! for baby showers and for their interior decor.

I am thinking that these would be STUNNING on the tables at a wedding? You could have them in the centre and tie a placename to individual stems - making it a favour too?

 The more stems you have in a bunch, the better they look.

The possibilities are endless. It is so calming and satisfying and QUICK (You know i have no attention span for a lengthy project) So many variations. The more buttons you have to choose from, the better, which is obviously easier for a crafter like me, hey!?

I have put mine in a big jar of bells because they need to be sat in something that can spread the stems out - otherwise they'll just fall to one side in a heap. OR the other option is to use a very narrow necked jug or vase - remembering that these stems are made using thick gardening / floristry wire so you can bend and manipulate their shapes.

You can add felt bases and leaves. I chose not too as i have been 'off' sewing :( but i think they do look very special. You could use leather or even cardboard as a base - that would look awesome.

Ever lasting Button Bouquets.

I have listed some for sale in my http://www.lovepaperfish/ shop online but really they are more fun to make yourself. If you are going to do these for a huge party or wedding or event you could buy bunches / stems off many different people, for starters and inspiration, then make a load yourself.

Make it cheaper by mixing new and more expensive buttons with a load of vintage / jumble / ebay button finds? Just make sure you have plenty of bigger ones... that is why i bought the Zebedee buttons as they are the perfect base size.

Have fun - whatever you're making x

If i called these Zebra Buttons, does that matter?

 Because i do knooooow that Zebras are striped. But they just say ZEBRA to me.

So i called them Zebra Buttons.

*a bit happy with these*

 And then i listed a mixed bag of the Zebra with the new Mushroom Stripe and i called this bag the

"Zebedee Button Bag" don't ask me the logic behind this. I just get a feel for a button bag and i have to name it so.

Again, i bought lots of these as i have been making Button Bouquets and they are nice n fat n big to have at the bottom of the stack.

 Never seen a Button Bouquet?

Fear not - i'll blog what i have been doing in the next day or so. They are super fun but very addictive!

Customers ask why i sell in my buttons in so many mixed varieties and it is because:

a) they look pretty and inspiring

b) if you buy them in bulk, rather than in ones or pairs, i can give a much better price on them.

c) some people want many buttons the same / identical and some crafters need a real mash up of stuff so i try to get a balance of both.

 Inspired by the sunshine, i decided to make a few flower brooches too, with the felt flowers.

Too, too easy but now i have some brooches to add to my basket for Summer shopping trips.

 AND.... get me, i have been sewing again! I know, it seems like so very long since i did any sewing, but i got the urge and so i went with it. Patchwork Lavender Hearts (as yet un-photo'd)

 In between a few long dog walks, to make the most of this sunshine before the wet weather finds us again.

Aaaaahhh, Pooch... i did, in fact, need that Tennis Ball before you punctured it, you beast.

XXX

Nauty but Nice...

 All the Nice Girls luv a Sailor

 Nautical loving - salute the Captain

Anchors away.... and all the rest of it.

 Loving playing with my buttons at the moment. Just lurving it.

The sunshine is strrreeaaming into the Studio and the buttons are just calling me.

I'm feeling the need for Kitschy stuff and Seaside Tales.

 I am listing a load of button brooches in the http://paperfish.etsy.com/ shop

 And, quite frankly, who minds if they sell or not? I love them so much i want to GIVE them away!

(just had an idea for a SEASIDE themed Giveaway....hhhhmmmmm, watch this space)

Ahoy There Me Hearties!

Belated Royal Crafting

 Belated crafty greetings re: The Royal Wedding!

Due to my Broken technology i did not have the chance to show you the latest sessions and creativities from our CRAFT CAFE!!

So here is a whistle stop tour of my gorgeously talented bunch of 'Littlees' and what we made a week before the REAL wedding happend.

 In the top picture you can see, we made our very own Kate and Will wedding puppets and popped then on sticks. Very satisfying.

Then there was the sewing table and we decided to make BookMarks with felt and Buttons.... 'marking' the occasion...! Some kids did the most amazing sewing and i think they felt a bit chuffed with themselves.

 The EVER popular Junk Table - involving boxes and cardboard and staplers and paint. The kids FLOCK to this giant table, for obvious reasons. The parents curse my name as they stagger home with sticky painty castles and the such....

 Royal Bunting - these were awesome. I was struggling to make these as a 'demo',  as i had the 'concept' but my creative head was stuck in my own 'sewing fabric pennants' - no need to worry, the children had so many cool ideas and their bunting was superb.

 "Hello Bride Kate" (presumably made by Ella?) you look better here than you did on the day! If only you had let us design your dress!?

 Cake.

Naturally.

We neeeeeed sustaining for the 2 hours.

 Quick stall set up for crafty pocket money and mums who also love the handmade / crafty scene.

It is always a bit of a 'throw it on the table' type stall on these occasions.

 *whimsical longing for a real shop, where i can put together real displays*

 Then there is me. Tired. Satisfied. Had great fun but glad it's over now.

A tremendous amount of work goes into the setting up and clearing up! of these events.

Thank goodness for friends and family.

Long live the King!