First Shop Update

Well we have started adding things to our madeit shop. Over the weekend we came up with two different pin cushion designs - a ladybug and a flower. We had great fun trying to make the circle for the petals line up using a compass that didn't want to play fair! Many holey pieces of paper later we had a pattern for a simple eight petalled flower and a cute-as-can-be ladybug. The ladybug that Avid Crafter worked on was so much easier to make than the pattern for than my "simple" flower!

Anyway have a look at the end result.



Three felt creations have now been listed in our shop - the ladybug and the felt flowers with the dyed petals and cream centres. We have a link to the shop in our sidebar. The extra bumpy looking flower was an experiment with a piece of felted knitting on the top and a circle of acrylic felt on the bottom. Putting all that under the presser foot of my machine was interesting!!

Avid Crafter is keen to tell you that her ladybug is super cute and the legs are pony beads knotted on to a length of cord that is sewn into the body of the bug. She has actually made two but at the moment only one is listed in the shop as the other is waiting for a photo shoot opportunity.

Crafty Things has to report that hand dyeing the petals of felt pin cushions is an interesting experience. Acrylic felt melts if too much heat is applied (whilst trying to heat set dye) and stuffing absorbs lots of unwanted dye if you try to dye the petals after sewing the two parts of the pin cushion together. One flower pin cushion of the three I produced yesterday is definitely staying at home - complete with little melted patch and dyed innards. It went nowhere near a camera either. The fourth - the piece of felted knitting - will also be staying home at the moment.

Avid Crafter was much more successful with her design. No troubles at all!! Her prototype was good enough to list in our shop.

The other little item we have listed is called a Helping Hand. It is a little felt clip that Crafty Things used to make many, many, many years ago (in fact probably when she was the same age Avid Crafter is now!!!) Gosh such a long time ago. The pattern was found in a basket of embroidery threads. We still use one of the original ones made by Crafty Things to hold our stamp booklets together and stop them from getting lost in the drawer they are kept in.



The clip, an old style, flat hair clip, slips inside the two felt hand shapes to make a very pretty little holder. Finding the clips was not easy - one place we asked said they had not stocked any like it for years, one was more helpful and directed us to a place selling hairdressing supplies. I remember my Nan using this type of clip to hold her beautifully done hair in place at night, under a little net scarf, when she went to bed.

We would love it if you dropped by our shop to have a look. Unfortunately, at this stage, we are restricting ourselves to Aussie buyers only.

and Avid Crafter.