As requested - close up on brooches

Some of the brooch collection. Most of them are from charity shops. I would say that between us we probably have around 50 - 60 brooches, most of them vintage and some of them new.

Wall art

I made some wall art the other day, using felt, buttons and beads.

Draft excluder

A quick and easy draft excluder! I made it on my sewing machine the other day and stuffed it all with wadding, and finished it off with some buttons.

Compacts

I like collecting compacts, some of them have lovely designs. The blue one is a stratton. Even if you dont use them, they look nice out on a dressing table.

Vintage hair clips!

These were found in a vintage shop for about £1 each. They came in pairs because they are actually clip on earrings - but make great hair clips. (The one on the left of the picture is a collar clip for a blouse.) I love finding new uses for old things.

Homemade bracelet

I have been having a go at making my own bracelets. It really easy to do as long as you have a pair of pliers and steady hands. Im only able to do something very basic at the moment, but I think it gives a nice effect and makes a great gift. Buying beads can end up quite expensive but if you find some old or cheap necklaces you can cut them up and mix and match to your own designs. I put my beads onto thin wire, but you can thread beads onto anything you like! Its great fun and nice to wear something you have made. I bought the clasp and the metal bits from a craft shop which all came to about £3 to make 3 bracelets.

Paper weight collection

Paper weights can be picked up from charity shops quite cheaply and look fantastic all together in a collection.

Felt bag

Another felt bag using needle felting, broken jewellery, buttons and beads. My mum made this one!

Vintage ring

This ring was £1 from a charity shop. Its hard to see in the picture but its a lovely purple colour. A nice piece of bold colour at a bargain price!

£1 earrings!

These earrings were all £1 each from a charity shop. (Bought at different times).

A bargain find

I found this mirror in a charity shop for £2.50. I love the writing all around it, and its perfect for holding keys.

Another flower painting!

This was painted back in 2005 on an A5 size canvas. I think it was the first painting I did since college. I was inspired by some flower wallpaper I saw and took it from there!

Flower painting using acrylic paint

Flower painting using acrylics, (painted back in 2006). I find acrylic paint easier to use than other paints, I love the bright and bold effect it creates.

Needle felting

I had a little go at needle felting a picture, I enjoyed doing it but found it quite difficult to do small details. If you do fancy having a go, its a nice gift to give to someone.

Felt bag

I love this felt pouch my mum made for me. She created it using sheets of felt stiched together, and decorated with wool tops (needle felted), buttons and beads. This kind of idea makes a fantastic gift, and with a strap would make a cute little bag.

More cushions!

I made this heart cushion a few weeks ago, the actual heart material is from a old wool jumper that didnt fit anymore. The cushion to the right has large vintage buttons from my grandmas button box, which I love.

christmas decorations!

A quick look at how you can use salt dough decorations. They can be used for any time of the year though, perhaps hanging one heart on a door.

The rest of my tree last year was decorated using glass baubles, and pieces of a glass chandelier (which I bought from a vintage shop for around 40p each). I love the homemade look to a christmas tree, its a great time to use loads of felt decorations, something I have really got into making this year.

I made this cushion the other day on my sewing machine. I really liked the bird design which I found in a craft book, so decided to create it using different pieces of material.

zip up pouches

I have recently got a sewing machine, so I have been experimenting with a few ideas. I made these little zip up pouches, which can be used as wash bags/ make up bags or really for anything. I have given a few away as presents and my friends and family have been really pleased with them. I get the zips from charity shops (although they are uaually quite cheap from sewing shops too) and all the material I use is from charity shops for around 20p-30p. You can also pick up good quality material as scraps (which are sometimes quite large pieces) from sewing shops or places which make curtains or other soft furnishings for bargain prices too - if you dont ask, you dont get! I sometimes decorate my make up bags with beads, or like the one at the front of the picture - a material flower.

Cheap buttons!!

Buttons always come in handy for me when im crafting, but some shops are quite expensive for buttons, especially when you want to buy a few. Ive found the best thing to do is to start your own button collection. Save all the spare buttons that come with new clothes and pop them in a button box. Another fantastic way of collecting up buttons is to have a good hunt in charity shops, I got all these buttons in the picture above for around 50p because they were in packs for 10p each. Sometimes you can end up with some really funky vintage buttons. I will put up some posts that show different ways in which you can use buttons in your crafting.

Heart shaped fun

Late February is the perfect time to pick up cheap heart shaped biscuit cutters (after Valentines day). These can be used for novelty shaped biscuits (see photo), or even to use use with salt dough to make hanging decorations. I made some pink coloured salt dough hearts using: 1 cup of salt, 1 cup of flour and half a cup of water and a dash of food colouring (or you could always paint them or cover them in glitter when dry). Just mix it all together in a bowl, roll out and cut the shapes and then pop in the microwave for a couple of minutes or leave to dry by a fire. I put holes in mine so I could thread them with ribbon.

Crafty way of displaying brooches

My mum has lots of lovely brooches, which she uses on bags or coats. She wanted some where to display them and decided upon using a canvas. This way, her brooches are all on display and she has created a piece of art!