Today is bought to you by the letter B

......and the letter B stands for buttons.

Today I am getting my hands mucky with some air harding clay and making buttons.

With a multitude of thick chunky and cosy crochet and knit shawls awaiting the autumn months, it is time to get those finishing touches on the way.

Thick chunky buttons are the way to go.

Just cut a 1.5cm square of the clay, roll into a ball between your palms, then press your finger into one side to create the dip. Wet your finger in some water and smooth the hollow out, making sure to smooth out any creases or cracks with a bit of water, then punch out the button holes with a toothpick, wiggle to enlarge them enough to take a woolen strand rather than just cotton thread, then leave to dry.

The clay needs one day per centimetre thickness to dry fully.

Once dried, they can be painted and varnished, you can stick beads, dried flowers or sequins and glitter into the clay while hardening, or press out a pattern using lace, then use a resin or varnish to set the button and the decorations.

Now I just have to contain myself to ensure they are fully dry before playing with them some more.

New bags and embellishments

It has not just been busy here the last couple of days it has been absolutely manic.

I think every one of our neighbours has been round with something that needs fixing, we have some friends over from the UK on holiday too and are trying to spend some time with them, as well as trying to get as much done as we can in the garden and house in between showers.

On the basis that we all have to draw a breath every now and again and take some zen time, I managed to find a couple of hours yesterday in my studio to draw up a new bag design and get the first prototype sewn up.  It took a bit longer than expected because of having to think everything through before committing my scissors to the cloth - what's that old adage, measure twice, cut once.

If I thought yesterday was busy today was relentless.  The current fix-it list for Brendan is: Polo, Clio, John Deere, seized tractor water pump, a dead VW 4x4, leaky tap, a broken rotavator,  and a non-running Renault tractor - this is all because he is off to the UK for a few days himself next week so of course everyone wants things done before he goes!  Oh well, looks like painting the bathroom will be a project for me then.

Earlier, while he sat cruising on the internet for a cheap car stereo for another one of our neighbours I ran away to my studio so I could get the trimmings onto the finished bags, one denim bag done, two cotton bags with embroidery and crochet flowers done, one cotton bag with felt flowers finished, now I just need Thea to model them so I can get them listed on Etsy.

Photos to follow when I can get the computer tower to work - I guess my Dutch is still not up to scratch on Microsoft gobbledegook!

Edited: Wednesday - as you can see I managed to get a couple of photos up.

For sale in my shop today......

I finished this cute little cushion this morning too, ready for sale in my etsy shop here.

This was made by cutting two circles of material, one from a vintage tablecloth and one from an old skirt, then I measured the diameter of the circles and cut a band of 10 centimetres width to create a band between the two circles to give the cushion more depth.

The band was then pinned to the two circles, right sides together for the top and bottom, then I machine stitched the top circle and then the bottom circle, leaving a gap in the band where it overlaps to create a small 'hole'to allow me to add the stuffing.


Firstly the cushion itself had to be turned the right way out, by being pulled through the small gap in the banding.

The stuffing was some polyester kapock, and the cushion was then finished with a handful of vintage buttons from my button drawer in some matching blue and green tones.

Wednesday morning in my studio for a quickie.....

Before shooting off to work this morning I had a couple of hours to myself so I got out the materials and the patterns for the bags that I want to make in the next couple of days and started to snip away.

 This bag will be made from a pair of old black trousers, a shirt in abstract greys and blacks, and the lining from a skirt.  Here are all the layers when I had finished cutting. 

 While I was in the studio I finished off the top that I made the other day with some little belt loops in cotton ready for the satin ribbon that will tie around the waist to finish it off - watch out for the appearing in my shop in the next couple of days - when I can get my model to stand still for long enough to put it on so I can photograph it.

The first photo you see today is a selection of the treasures in my bargain buy of the car boot at the weekend.  A bag of miscallaneous sewing items for one euro.  In there were some nylon threads, some cottons, some wools, some hook and eyes, some mohair sewing thread, some elastic, some ribbon, some bias trim and of course some buttons.

Not that I am button obsessed you know - after all - doesn't everyone have a kitchen drawer packed to the gills with buttons?

Boudoir cushions

I have no money to buy magazines but every now and again a magazine falls into my hands.

My ultimate favourites are home and garden style magazines. I know I can't afford the things in them, but sometimes they can be inspirational. I only wish I had the flair to copy what I see.

Anyway - some time ago a couple of these magazines fell into my hands ( I call them my porn mags - because I dribble and drool over them ).

Inside I found some cute boudoir cushion ideas in all sorts of fabrics, styles and sizes, so thought I would have a go at making some myself.

This one, available for sale in my Etsy shop here, is a small round cushion made from some recycled creamy linen from a shirt and some goldy beige satin trousers, that has been stuffed with some polyester kapok and finished with a simple tweed flower design and some vintage buttons.

I started this little cushion this morning, then finished it when I got back from the doctors (not a bad wait this time, just over an hour - wish appointment systems existed at our local quacks).

It was very easy to do, taking an old linen shirt, some old satin trousers (don't ask -  the fashion police have already been on my case about them) and a dinner plate.  Mark out two circles of material, then cut leaving about a centimetre of material for hemming, nip little triangles out of the hem to allow it fold in on itself more easily making sure not to cross over the line that marks the actual cushion. 

I then decorated the linen side of the cushion with some wool, some tweed leftovers and some vintage buttons, then baste right side to right side together with pins and machine sew on a small straight stitch all the way around save for a small gap of about 3 cms for stuffing, following the original line you marked around the dinner plate. 

Turn the cushion back through the hole and stuff with polyester kapok, real kapok or material scraps - what ever you have around, then sew the hole up in a matching thread making the stitches as small as you can.