Treating myself

Last week I was browsing through some blogs and I followed a link which took me to a Flickr stream of a polymer clay artist.  Her work was stunning so I followed the link to her shop.  I fell in love with a brooch.  I clicked away.  10 minutes later, I found myself back at the listing.  I tried to think who I could buy it for but it was my style more than anyone's.  The price was just £10.  I clicked away.  I found myself back there again and this time, I clicked "buy".  What made me hesitate?  It wasn't the price, it's was excellent value.  It wasn't the quality, the brooch showed serious skill and workmanship.  So what?

The fact it was for me.  Not for a practical purpose, not for a specific occasion   Just a little treat for me.  That was my stumbling block.  I see handmade as luxury and why should I buy myself luxuries?  I pondered on this the day I received the brooch.  It was even more stunning close up and so well made.  I love it and it brings me pleasure to look at it, so why the hesitation?

I wouldn't hesitate to spend £10 on a luxury gift for a friend.  I treat myself to Costa coffee and cake which isn't cheap.  I'd buy myself perfume because I "need" it.  So why did I have to convince myself to buy this brooch?

I decided to write about this today as I want to show you the brooch in question, but I also would like some feedback.  Do you buy yourself little treats, little luxuries?  If so, are they handmade?  Would you have hesitated to buy yourself a £10 handmade treat that you loved?  

I suspect that some people will think the same way as me, and if you're one of those people then I urge you to go over to Etsy/Folksy/NOTHS, any handmade shop, and treat yourself.  I work full time and I work hard, I may be hard up at the minute (rebuilding a falling down house will not be cheap!) but I can afford a tenner on something special now and then.  I'm going to do it once a month.  Each payday I'm going to bag myself a handmade item that I fall in love with.  Not for any practical reason, just because.  Join me?

Oh, and the brooch in question:

It's by Pat's Paraphernalia, you can find her shop here and here.

I would love to know what you think about this subject, and I'd love to know if you bought anything handmade after reading this!

Watch the birdie

Good morning!  I'm up bright and early today, well actually I'm usually on my way to work at this time so actually I'm up later than usual, but it's fab to be at home at this time.  I've got the second jewellery workshop today so no work! I'm just having a quick blog hop whilst I drink my first coffee of the day, then I should really go and do some exercise... we'll see how that goes!

I had so much love for my polymer clay cane post that I wondered if you fancied a tutorial?  Let me know in the comments and if there is enough interest, I'll put one together.

I had a super productive Sunday, but I don't want to show you everything together so I'm just going to show you the cards I made in this post.  It's a friend's birthday on Monday and I wanted to make her a card.  I had a bit of an idea...

It started with this sketch:

And then I thought I might as well make 10 as make 1 as I hope to be able to sew some at a craft fair I've signed up for.  I got my scrap bin out and started cutting...

I sewed a strip of fabric on the bottom of each card to be the grass.  I used a very long stitch length so as not to perferate the card.  Some went well, others are a little buckled...

I added the birdies.  Now, I didn't do this the easiest  or best way.  Originally I was going to applique the birdies on to the card, so I didn't want to back them with Heat and Bond as I had problems sewing through the stuff.  By the time I got to adding the birds, I realised that stitching round them with a long enough stitch not to perforate the paper would be messy, so I stuck them on with glue.  Should have gone with the H&B...

Then came the bunting, that was fun.  I cut tiny triangles, stuck them down with a mini-dot (little glue circles), then put a piece of ribbon over the top and sewed down it.

Loads and loads and loads of thread tying later... I had my 10 cards, all slightly different.

I seem to have forgotten to take a photo, but I added a rectangle of pretty patterned paper which went well with the fabrics to the inside of each card to hide the stitching.

So what do you think?  Success or mess?

 

Don't forget to enter my Something Old, Something New competition.  The deadline is 31st July and there is a prize!

Pretty Crafty Home - Kitchen shelves

Now I know that a lot of people in the Pretty Crafty Home challenge have deep cleaned and decluttered their entire houses, but for me the challenge is moving a little more slowly.  I have deep cleaned and decluttered these small (22" long) shelves in my gross kitchen. 

Panic-yee not people.  The picture above is the BEFORE!  First things first, they came off the wall and went out side to be spray painted.  I thought spray painting would be easy.  It's not.  The result is very shabby chic, though that's not what I was aiming for!

Back on the wall they went and I did some serious decluttering before replacing some of the stuff.  It didn't look right, it needed something else.  I completely neglected to take a photo so you'll just have to take my word for it.  I know!  Shelf edging...

I dug out a teapot applique pattern from one of my old Crafts Beautiful magazines and got to work Bondawebbing and cutting.  My plan was to applique them onto a strip of scalloped linen.  I thought a test piece on an old piece of shirt was in order...

Yes, this does look alarmingly like a bum.  That's not the problem though as I was planning on 5 scallops.  Look at the middle bit, the bum crack if you like.  How do you stop that happening?  I went downstairs to make a cuppa and looked at the shelves.  Then it hit me.  Measuring might have been in order, if I carried on with my plan, the edging would basically obscure the entire shelf!  A new plan was hatched.

Mini bunting!  I've bought some fabric for curtains and it features red, blue, green and yellow so I dug out some scraps in those colours and made these little 2" tall flags then sewed them onto the tiny pom pom trim.

Love it!  I took it down stairs and pinned it into place with drawing pins. Perhaps not the best solution but the only one I have for now.

It makes me smile every time I see it.  The strange thing was that Mr CA was at work yesterday when I made this.  He came home and doesn't seem to have noticed... He'd already seen that I'd painted the shelves, but seriously, how could he not have noticed the bunting?  Unless he has and hates it!  That's tough though, it's staying.

The banning of the bunting

I've been admiring bunting for about a year.  I keep promising myself I'll sew some but I just haven't got round to it.  Then I saw this tutorial over at Bunny Mummy and decided I was going to give it a go.

So I crocheted, and I crocheted, and I crocheted.  I made 24 little triangles.

Then I strung some of them together.

Then I wanted to put them on the mantlepiece in the living room but Mr. Crafter's Apprentice said no!  What?  Why wouldn't you want bunting in your living room?  He says it's too Christmassy?!?  But look at those colours!  They're not christmassy at all!

So I've hung it up in my craft room.  This is as high as I could reach.  The pictures are rubbish as I was taking a picture directly into the light.

I've still got tons of triangles left...  what am I going to do with them???

You've been given a sneaky peak of my craft room there.  I'm on the second floor (that's the third floor to you Americans), not a bad view.  If you look closely (and are so inclined) you can spot:

card from Nancy

charcoal sketch of a shaman bought in Mongolia

Amy Butler pattern I won in a giveaway

Shapes crackers (lovely!)

my 2011 sewing calendar

horrible photo of me and the husband

boxes of ribbon cunningly disguised as washing powder boxes

random earrings (I don't have pierced ears anymore though I used to have 3 in each side plus two at the top on one side and one on the other, 2 rings through my nose and one in my belly button.  I have a bit of a phobia about piercings and don't understand how i managed to do that) intended for use somehow someday

p.s. don't forget it's the Friday Night Sew In this Friday.  Follow the link to sign up.

  P.P.S. 100 followers!!  Where did you all come from?  Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it!