Rita Carol Buttons

wow!
i just got totally lost and absorbed in this ladies amazing button collection!
Rita makes amazing fabric buttons from photographic images

i love this cute "doll face" button

and how cool are these?
custom made buttons from your family photographs

i love them!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31898060

Rita also has a great blog here
http://ritacarolbuttons.blogspot.com/

and a flickr stream here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ritacarol/
in which you can see her amazing button collection
and her freeform crochet and button bracelets


i think i need some of her gorgeous buttons!
shop here = http://www.etsy.com/shop/sewdream

hALLoWeEn FuN & gAmEs

we had a fantastic hallow'een

my family painted but not costumed!

apparently were-wolves are blue!

i wish i could say i did this one!

savaging the neighbours - but it's ok as it's my grandad!

my daughter in her homemade tutu
from the cut out and keep tutorial

best friends

the vampire and the witch

Me, the were-wolf and the witch went trick or treating with my aunty, cousin and her kids and my friend and her kids who just happen to live opposite my Aunty - the men opted to stay home *YAWN* - the kids got so many sweeties and there were loads of people happily receiving visitors!
When the we got tired of trick or treating we went back to my Aunt and Uncles for a little party, the grown-ups sat around the fire in the garden toasting marshmallows and drinking tea with the kids bouncing about on a huge sugar rush!

It was the best Hallow'een EVER!!!

* hApPy hAlLoWeEn *

i made up a card of halloween themed buttons and charms
as a gift for a friend - i'm too late to make more for the shop now
but i think i'll make some christmas themed sets very soon.

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I now have a page on Facebook if you'd like to be my fan!
(link in the side bar}

80's fantasy movie craft swap - sent.

so i finally sent out my 80's Fantasy Movie swap to Carmen from
http://whoopidooings.blogspot.com/

i was so excited to do this swap and even happier when i discovered that
Carmen's favourite movie was the Labyrinth {same as me}
and then the dreaded loss of mojo happened
i had so many ideas whirling around the maze of my mind but i couldn't settle on anything
i'd had an idea to make a needle-felted poisoned peach but didn't have the supplies
in the end i decided on a set of cards and a brooch



i got busy with glitter and vintage book vandalism
to embellish these images from the film


i also made a kilt-pin brooch with a small needle felted peach
- a dangling turquoise bead as this is a stone linked to friendship -
- a mother of pearl disc with the word "wish" -
- a diamonte tear drop -
- a heart charm - some clock hands -
- and a tiny black key -

*******

then i posted it out half expecting it to take a week to arrive
due to the postal strikes and was amazed when it arrived two days later
yay for the Royal Mail !
and even better Carmen liked her gifts - phew!

*******
i'm going to take a break from craft swaps - i'm getting really bad at hitting my deadlines
and i felt terribly guilty about being late this time
my saving grace was Carmen also being behind schedule.

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

if you have never seen this blog - Grosgrain
do yourself a favour - go and have a look
especially if you are the proud owner of a little girl
there are regular giveaways of the most amazing clothes and costumes
how she can give this work of art away i really do not know!

AMAZING!

needle felting

hmm not quite sure what happened here!

i appear to have made some kind of one-eyed moss covered slug creature

and in the process broken a felting needle
and stabbed myself several times!

i'm enjoying trying my hand at a new craft
but i don't really know what i am doing
i think i may need to try wet felting as a less dangerous alternative!

button jewellery swap - sent.

here's what i sent to my swap partner Suzy
i made a new button stamp and used it on a small box
which i filled with two antique crochet doilies
a tiny glass jar wich i filled with pretty buttons
the button bracelet and a handfull of shells
Suzy said she liked dark chocolate so i sent her a bar of Thornton's
i don't need much of an excuse to frequent that shop!
i also sent a vintage card of buttons.

suzy collects shells
so i included some that i have beachcombed locally

here is the actual button jewellery part
a double layered and multi-coloured
vintage mother-of-pearl button bracelet!
i think i will make myself one of these!

see what she thought of the swap here

http://georgiapeachez.typepad.com/georgiapeachez/2009/10/a-successful-swap.html

on Suzy's lovely blog