Bows and Booboos

Hey my peeps!

OK so I haven't been updating as often as I would like but I forget to update and then when I DO go to update I really have nothing to update about. However! I do have a couple of little things to share with you guys.

Firstly my owls are doing well! By 'doing well'...I mean look good! I have made two...well three. I have made two for my niece and nephew as well as one for myself and then have another two in the works for my older nephew and my friends little girl. All of their birthdays are within 2 weeks of each other as well as mine in there too so I will be all birthday'ed out. My youngest niece and nephew are twins and their owls are above with their initial on the bum. I thought it might be a nice personal touch. I have also added the initial to the other two I am working on. When I eventually get to selling these cute littls hoots, the personalised initial will be optional and at an extra charge.

I really need to find a reliable felt supplier as I can never count on Spotlight to have what I need. It's always the way that when you need something they don't have it. *sigh* Anyway so thats what I am up to tonight, sourcing felt! (as well as updating my blog).

As I mentioned in my previous post I am now making 'mini bows' which are super cute! One of my customers bought some for her Blythe dolls. Don't know what a Blythe doll is?? Well just Google it! hehe They are rather cute, spunky and got some serious attitude! Here is a pic she sent me of her girls modelling their new accessories. I think they are perfect!

 

So getting back to my owls. I have made a smaller pattern to make a 'baby' owl which is looking great so far. But the other day I ran into some trouble...not with the owl....just with my own clumsiness. So I was putting some fray stop on the opening where I turn the owls inside out....or is that outside in? Either way...right side out! I do this so that the material doesn't fray as I am working with it and this makes it easier to stuff and sew up in the end. Well I was doing this and forgot to put the lid back on the fray stop and bang....spilled it all over my sewing table and almost all over my bobbins (thank god I didn't). So I took everything off the table including the little table cloth thing which got wet in one corner and put that in the sink to soak. As I was wipping up the liquid it started to go sticky (which it does when it dries) and I did the best I could to clean it all up.

HOWEVER...it obviously happened for a reason because this made me make a little sewing caddy type of thing to hold my scissors and a few bits and pieces. Since I had the table all cleared off I thought it would be the best opportunity before putting it all back on. So here is my little master piece.

I could quite easily make another section to hang down lower or have a wide pocket if I wanted to further down the track. But at the moment it gives my scissors a nice little home and keeps them off my tiny sewing desk. I did the stitching in hot pink to match my 'table cloth' which you can kinda make out in the picture. Ignore the mess in the background =)

Hope everyone has had a good weekend!

TTFN xx

Todays Makings

Today was supposed to be a day where I would get ALOT done....well it didn't turn out that way. Although I must say I am reasonably happy with what I have done so far.

I have decided instead of posting pictures as I go in my blog I will just create a little grid with a bunch of photos relating to my post. I'll see how it goes and as long as it isn't too time consuming then I will keep doing it!

So back to today. I bought some really nice ric rac the other day at Cobbity markets and wanted to try it in my korkers. I was tossing up the idea to just cut it straight and pop it in but then I didn't think it would sit properly. I did have an idea in my head that I wanted it to not be as tight as my korker curls but semi curly/straight, sort of like a loose pretty curl in hair. So instead of doing the tight curls on the dowel I just spaced it out a heap and it turned out exactly how I wanted! So that was a positive to take out of today. You can see the outcome of the kooky minikin korker in the bottom left corner of my picture. The ric rac did make it twice as hard to secure but overall I think it looks pretty good! Just wish I had some more colours now *hmph*.

The top left corner has a new headband which I am offering. It's a cute little sequined butterfly with a feather (marabou) puff behind. It's quite amazing how far out those feathers actually go so I think this would suit a baby (perfect for a wedding or christening) right up to an adult!

Lastly I have TRIED twisted bows once again. This time I have tried it using the 3/8 ribbon instead of the wider ribbon. These make cute itty bitty bows. Personally......my verdict.......it look ok. I think I am very critical of my work and while I was everything perfect, with handmade items that isn't always going to happen. So I am hoping the girls on my bow forum agree and think I am on the right track :) The one in my picture isn't finished, that is just the bow itself. I still need to add a centre piece and and put it on a clip!

One negative from today was that one of my glues has died. This is my third bottle and for some reason once it just gets past 1/2 way it seems to crap itself and I can't work with it. I am going to email peeps who make it and see what they have to say. I really like the glue because I use it for lining my clips and my 'other' glue leaves marks whereas the 'crap' glue doesn't. *Sigh*

TTFN xoxo

This thing called 'work'....

I tells ya! This week has been so hectic at work and I only work 3 days a week. I have massaged around 30 people over these three days and it has been a killer. I honestly didn't think I was going to get through it because Wednesday morning I woke up with a really sore shoulder and then struggled at work. However thanks to some handy work from my lovely man beast, he was able to fix it up for me for today :)

So my hands are pretty much killing me at the moment and needed some well earned rest however I did have a little play with something that has been floating around in my head the last two days.


A double fab bow! I know the black is a little hard to see but I reckon this is a winner! I can't wait to put it on a headband.

TTFN - I'm off to catch some Z's.

Big Update!

Well since making the polka dot headbands I have wanted to make some out of the pastel solid colour fabric that I have. So this is my colour palette that I have to work with... Light Pink, Lavender, Buttercup, Light Blue and Mint. I was going to add in cream but I thought that might look a little bit plain.

Then this is what I have come up with..so far! I think they look really cute and will be great once they are all finished. I love bright colours but I also love pastel colours, they are so soft and relaxing.

Of course I have to wrap all of the headbands which is quite time consuming and takes a toll on my hands. So I am doing it bit by bit...still have four left to do!

Here are a couple of patterned bows I made the other day. I am really liking the floral purple/pink printed one. I also have a blue/aqua/green floral print the same which I'll need to try! The bottom one is light pink with white spots but it's very pale and hard to tell in the photo. It's left over material from a custom bow holder order last week.

On a side note I got one of my parcels from the US the other day! My fluffy little feather puffs. I can't wait to find something to make with them...I already have a few ideas floating around in my head. I'm not usually a 'red' person but I love the colour of the red feathers.


Here is a close up of one of the purple ones. These were considered mess ups or not big enough for the supplier. I think they are plenty big enough!


Then once I am happy with how much work I have done tonight I am going to be painting my nails! I haven't had them painted since late last year because with work the oil just eats away at the polish so normally I can't be bothered.


So that's just a brief catch up!