Exciting news!

As you can see, we're going to be expecting a little one in 2013. This should mean that I always have a willing model on hand to try showcase my designs and try out some new products. Although, whether I'll have any time for crafting remains to be seen!

I've already started lusting over lots of gorgeous baby products, so I will have a go at making some new things and will post some tutorials and inspiration along the way.

Homemade Christmas Cards

Now it is December, it's officially OK to start getting excited about Christmas - yay! After a failed attempt to buy some 'nice' cards for my close family that didn't cost about a fiver (when did cards get so pricey?), I decided to make my own. Here are my first attempts:

 To create something similar, lay out your buttons on a different card or blank piece of paper and then gradually sew the buttons on the card you're going to use in sequence - easy! I used double thread and taped down the knotted ends on the inside so that they don't come loose. And I even added a little bell on the top for that Christmas sound effect.

For my second design, I cut out some mini stockings out of red felt, attached a bit of silver ribbon to the top and then secured them to the card by sewing on the buttons. I've left spaces on both to sew on people's names and I think next time I might sew the stockings on the card with a blanket stitch and even fill them with little presents.

With some Christmas carols on and festive biscuits to nibble on, making these was surprisingly therapeutic so hopefully I'll have time to make some more and maybe get a bit more adventurous with my designs.

A Fine Fox

The boy and I managed to escape to the country last week for a few days in beautiful Devon. We were absurdly lucky with the weather with lots of sunshine which is highly unseasonal for October.

On the way back, we stopped off for a night in Wiltshire with the lovely Robin and Mould to meet the gorgeous new addition to the family, their beautiful daughter Edie.

And they gave me a belated birthday present which is such a cute idea that I wanted to share it. It's a teatowel that is also a Sew Your Own Fox!

It comes complete with instructions to cut out and sew your fox and they even have a video online at www.mibo.co.uk. They also have sew your own owls, lions and squirrel tea towels. Now I just have to work out if I want to keep it as a teatowel or cut it up. Think the temptation to sew it will win.

I liked it so much that I've since been lusting after all kinds of lovely stuff on the Mibo website. They are a small UK company based in Hove in Sussex and they make all kinds of things from paper animals to adorable printed T shirts. I'm already planning to get organised and buy some Christmas pressies from the site.

Mibo website

Enjoying Autumn

Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year. You can't beat a walk in the woods as the leaves change colour, ending up in a warm country pub.

And you get mushrooms and amazing toadstools like these! They make me think of children's books when there is usually some sort of fairy or woodland creature who lives under the red and white roof.

Orla Kiely Excitement Overload

It was actually quite a few weeks ago now when I walked past the Uniqlo window and did a double take. Was it… could it be… Orla Kiely prints in Uniqlo? Why hadn’t I heard about this? I raced in, convincing myself that the stuff would probably all be really expensive but I was wrong. Not only was there a whole range of scarves, dresses, jumpers and tops in the instantly recognisable print but they started at under £10!

So I guess I’d better get this out of the way early, I went a bit nuts. I bought a hoodie (so nice, so soft, so cheap!), a top and LOADS of scarves. Admittedly I justified the huge initial outlay (credit card) as most of the scarves were gifts (October and November are busy birthday months) but obviously I bought plenty for myself. And I figure I can always sell them on eBay where the scarves alone are currently selling for twice the original price.

Of course, I’m sure I’ll find it hard to actually part with any extra stuff and I’m already thinking about crafting projects that I can make with the lovely soft scarves. A skirt or dress for a toddler would look cute but can I part with them…?

Helping hens to be crafty

A few weeks ago, I ran my first craft workshop at a hen party which was great fun. The lovely bride Hannah is a keen crafter herself, so her sister and bridesmaid organised a relaxed afternoon of tea, cakes and crafting at her house before the ladies headed out on the town.


As most of the hens were crafting novices, I needed something that they could sew by hand and decided on a zip up make-up bag. The finished bag looks professional, so I think it is really satisfying to make and is also useful which is important for converting newbies to crafting!

When I arrived to set up, I was pleased to see that the cake stands and containers that I'd chosen to display the materials fitted in very well with the vintage, tea party theme that the bridesmaids had gone for.

Set up and ready to start

The yummy cakes provided for afternoon tea

After the hens arrived and had a chat over tea and cake, they came up to choose their material and I showed them how to do the first few steps in small batches. Over the next few hours the ladies set about sewing while catching up and nibbling on more tea and cake. The best bit was seeing how  genuinely chuffed the hens were with their make-up bags when they had finished.

The beautiful bride-to-be Hannah

I also learnt a few crucial things:

1. Running a workshop means that you will be so focused that you will forget to take any photos once things are under way. So apologies for the lack of action shots - here are a few that the bridesmaid kindly forwarded on to me. The main thing I forgot to get pictures of were the completed bags which all looked great. So you'll just have to trust me on that one until I can get hold of some photos.

2. Beginners are nervous to start with and so sew relatively slowly. Sounds obvious I know and although I sort of knew that this would be the case, I think next time I would get the hens to make something a bit smaller.

3. Crafting workshops are fun! I had a great time and realised that my experience of running workshops in my day job meant that I really enjoyed the whole afternoon and wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be. I would definitely be up for running more and now I'm thinking about a whole host of options and I have lots of ideas for other things to make at hen parties, or even birthdays and kid's parties.

Happy Birthday Holly

My goddaughter and very first Stars and Buttons model celebrated her 2nd birthday this week. Cue usual laments about how quickly time flies/they grow up etc.

I think she's getting even cuter, even if I am a bit biaised. Now I need to start working on some more toddler outfits...