I'm still here - barely

I am thoroughly ashamed of myself.  I've been back from my travels to England for three weeks now, and I haven't updated this blog of mine.  I have thought about it many times - whilst in the middle of doing other things - but never actually opened it up and done the deed.

My dear blog - I haven't given up on you, and hope you understand that I had a ton of crafting work to catch up on.  Yes, blog, you enabled me to get a few crafting orders that all came in,  not serendipitously at all, whilst I was away and unable to access the internet.

So 100 and a few rosebud bouts later, ten silk button bouts underway, and an order for an entire invitation suite for close to 300 guests, I am not even remotely able to emerge and try out new crafts!   I've even got some stuff to make for family baby showers.  And I am excited to do that because not only is it family, it's different and  I suppose a natural progression from wedding accessories!

 But, dear blog, I have purchased a new item that I badly need to investigate and master.  After learning about it from a post from All You Need is Love Events blog, I took a look at some reviews and some online tutorials.  At the time I decided the learning curve was just too much for me to bother with, so I gave it a very reluctant thumbs half-way down.  But the call of a new craft was just too much to deal with, and I caved.  Daughter and Linker-to-crafts-that-you-must-try-out, sent me to Overstock.com who had this new tool for several dollars cheaper than the regular stores (so I guess it wasn't THAT new).

Oh, guess I should mention its the Silhouette cutting machine, and since it cuts fabric, I thought it might end up being something useful for me.

Anyway, it arrived the other day and on Sunday I bought it out of the box, connected it to the computer, downloaded templates with the freebie gift card and practiced with some old cardstock paper I had in the drawer.

I'm still undecided on it - it's great for scrapbookers and one-off card-makers but I think I still have to investigate it's potential to fit in with my style and type of crafting.  When I have some down-time I will practice actually making items, rather than just cutting.  But I will say that I LOVE the fact you can create
your own designs, and via some connection to a printer and back to the machine, make some pretty interesting cut-outs.  And damn, but there are some GREAT designers out there who have made some wonderful cards and such.   Check out the Silhouette blog.   Only time will tell, and when I actually have some time........Silhouette blog

Lack of blog posting

While I take a quick coffee break, thought I should explain my recent absence from my blog.  Who knew that 36 yards of linen and 36 yards of lining and several yards of grommet tape could take over one's house so fast?  I don't possess one of those huge worktables so my floor (cork wood - very nice soft wood) has become my work space.  The furniture in my living/dining room has been pushed to the walls and I've got a nice big empty - and clean - space to work in.  I have nowhere to sit except for the office and I think that's going to be out of the picture for a while!

Who also knew that cutting a straight line in  linen would be so difficult?  Apparently not me.  And I even used a T-square to achieve a nice straight cut.  But I have since discovered this is next to impossible.  So you get as close as you can, apparently, and then let the drapes hang for a while before hemming.  So soon I guess I'll be hanging temporary drapes at my windows too!  These aren't for me so I have to do a really really good job - yes, the pressure is definitely on!

And you can add the fact that my dishwasher no longer washes dishes and I've got a pile of dishes to wash by hand.  Honestly, this week I can easily justify eating out every night!

So, having said all that, I won't be doing any fun crafty things for a while, unless I suddenly become an expert drapery technician and things start moving along a little faster.

Perhaps I'll post a picture or two in the next couple of days - the mess and the finished product!

Forgive me lack of posting

My goodness, it has been a while, hasn't it?  I've been busy fulfilling a couple of orders from my etsy shop, getting ready to advertise some new stuff,  start preparations for a wedding I'm helping with in May, design some wedding stationery AND make curtains for my daughter's new home, AND start thinking about my upcoming trip to England.  It's amazing how much sitting in front of the computer eats up all your time.

So, anyway, I've put up one of the bridal fascinators - the vintage-looking one - in my etsy shop, and as bridal shopping season seems to be in full swing, hopefully I'll get some interest.

Betwixt and between doing all this stuff, I was sent a little idea for a new product.  I'm repurposing it just a tad and once it's done I'll post a pic here.

Must go and get dinner - it's cold and a nice curry is in order!

Flowers for the little ones

I've been working on these Kanzashi style flowers for a while, trying to get the technique just right.  They are quite time-consuming if you're really striving for accuracy in size and shape.  But when it comes right down to it, nobody is running around with a tape measure, so as long as it looks reasonably symmetrical, I'm not going to spend my life in search of perfection.  It's imperfection that makes life interesting.

These can be made in a variety of materials, different sizes and three different petal shapes, put together in any pleasing combination.  A little button or novelty shape is used in the center to hide the little hole that is part and parcel of these flowers.  I'm making some stretchy headbands that babies and little girls wear to attach the flowers, but they could also be placed on those stiffer headbands, combs or clips and placed in the hair, or on a sash.

Don't you think they'd be great for your little flower girls or junior bridesmaids?   Or even as an adornment to the ring bearer's cushion, if you're using one of those?

Yay Packers!

Spent yesterday pacing up and down as I flitted between watching the game on TV, watching the score on yahoo, and, yea, making flowers in an attempt to keep the stress level low!

So in honor of the Packers win, I hereby name the following bridal creation "The Packers are Superbowl Champions" fascinator.  There's no gold, there's no green but it was made on Superbowl Sunday.  By the time this baby gets to Etsy, I'll probably change the name so no worries, non-Packer fans!

I have to find a model to wear any of the combs I make as it's really hard to show what the piece looks like in a photo.  This one basically is a new process for me.  I made a backing of buckram and then attached a handful of flowers in two different styles and colors, a bunch of feathers, a length of ribbon, stamens and a piece of tulle (stiff but not quite french netting).  I think it came together pretty well for my first time out, but I'm not quite sure how to attach it to a clip or a comb.  At the moment it seems to work with an alligator clip (the ones with teeth actually hold quite well), but I think it would probably need an extra bobby pin or two to keep tightly in place.

This one is created on the usual hair comb, but one that is supposedly better than the cheapies and it does seem to grip the hair really well.

Actually, I think I've posted this one before, but seeing as this post is about fascinators, here it is again.
Three flowers, silver grey leaves and white feathers.

Here's another one with vintage appeal

One central silk chiffon flower,  two silk duppioni cabbage roses at either side, and a brown feather.

If you're interested in ordering one from me, you can always contact me via this blog.  No need to wait until they're up on etsy.  Each comb is original and unique, and no two are ever exactly alike.  You just have to give me your color choice and style choice and I'll create one for you.

Chalkboard love

Sorry for the lack of updates to the blog - real life has taken over for a while, you know - all the stuff you hate to do like shop, clean, do the laundry, vacuum.  When there's a pile of feather bits, thread and fabric trailing down the stairs you know it's time to do housework.

Anyway, during coffee breaks I've been flipping through "Handmade Weddings" and when I saw that the girls at All You Need is Love had a couple of teachers about to tie the knot, and knowing how much the girls love chalkboards, then I had to try  out this project.  Please forgive the unusual location (my staircase) but I was too lazy to dig out the lightbox for a good photo.

This a regular wine bottle double-sprayed with chalkboard paint and the table number written with chalk.
As I'd spent a good deal of time shaking the can and setting up a spray box to protect the work area, I thought I might as well spray a few more items I had lying around.

The picture is a little dark, but I think you can see another bottle and then one of my little pre-cut pieces of wood (originally used for coasters), sprayed with chalkboard paint, and set up on a little easel.  Actually it's a little plate stand, but I found these online.  Wouldn't it be cute to set up the chalkboard table number on this little easel at each table?

flowers and feathers

While the creative juices were flowing - and it rained outside - I put together a new hair accessory.  Three blooms, silver grey fabric leaves and a couple of feathers, attached to felt with an alligator clip on the back.  The central bloom has links from an old silver chain as its centre.   I suppose the whole thing could also be put on a comb, but I've found that these alligator clips (with teeth!) work really really well on all types of hair.

Probably etsy bound once I've mastered the construction details.  Or you can get in touch with me directly.