Dear forgotten blog, I have been busy...

Clay buttons for giftwrap

 Clay decorations for giftwrap and tree

 Clay numbers for my homemade advent calendar - still half-made!

Ghostie halloween brooches

Crysanth felt brooch - quick and easy to make.

Rose bib detail

 Rose Bib Necklace

 Pretty Hairbands

Typed tape for xmas

I have soooo many tutorials I want to share with you on the blog but time is against me as usual!  Who knew babies took up so much time eh!?  Here are a few images of things I have made recently, tutorials to follow soon, fingers crossed.  If someone can show me a tutorial which shows you how to create extra hours in the day, I would be very interested to read it!!   

Baby Label Lion

My little baby daughter LOVES labels.  If I buy her a new soft toy, you can guarantee the most exciting partof it for her is the label, not the bright shiny parts or the noises it makes!  So with that in mind I decided to make my own baby toy using LOTS of labels which I had cut out of old clothes.  It was a very simple toy which took only about 40mins to make, so you could even do it in your baby's naptime!

 1.  Gather your material.  You will need an old carrier bag, lots of fabric clothes labels, some yellow cotton cloth, some stuffing (I used some from an old cushion) and some embroidery thread.  You will also need a sewing machine and a needle.

2. Cut 2 circles from the cloth and from the carrier bag.  My circles were about 20cm in diameter.  Take one circle and lay your labels all around the edge facing inwards, like above and pin them in place (I didnt bother as Im a bit lazy!) and sew the labels in place using your sewing machine.  Sew approximately 0.5cm from the edge of the circle. Stitch round the circle a couple of times to make sure the labels are extra secure.

3. next you need to sandwich all your components together.  So the sandwich should go in the following order, starting from the bottom of the sandwich:

-a circle of carrier bag

-the blank yellow cotton fabric

-the yellow cotton fabric with the labels sewn on (this MUST have the labels facing downwards so the labels are sandwiched between the two pieces of cotton, if you lay it so that the labels face upwards, when you come to turn the fabric lion the right way out after sewing you will find the labels inside the lion instead of acting as his mane!)

-a circle of carrier bag.

Once you have then sandwiched together in the right order you can pin the layers in place and sew round the edge, 1cm from the edge of the circle but DON'T SEW ALL THE WAY ROUND, leave a gap of about 5cm.  Next turn the lion the right way out through the gap you have left.

4. Next embroider a cute face on the front of your lion, like this:

5.  Stuff your lion with the toy stuffing.  Sew up the gap in your lion by hand and Hey Presto, you have a crinkly crunchy labelly lion.

Racy Lacy Net Curtain Lampshade

Net curtains and old standard lampshades are two things that scream 'Granny' in the world of interiors.  But what do you get itf you cross a net curtain with a horrible old lampshade?  A net curtain lampshade of course.  I'm calling it 'old folk's home chic!'  If you want to know how to make such a thing, please see below: 

For this project you need a hideous old lampshade, some old net curtains, scissors and a glue gun. 

1. I found this monstrosity in the local charity shop for the grand old price of 50p (a bit steep if you consider the state its in!).

2. Remove the existing fabric, this one had a outer fabric and a lining.  I tried to keep the outer fabric to use as a pattern for the new covering but it got a bit mangled in my excitement to get the nasty pink fabric off, so I used the lining fabric as a rough pattern guide.

 (lining fabric which I used as a pattern for the net curtain fabric.  I added a good inch all the way around the edge when I cut out the net curtain - sorry forgot to take a pic of the next few steps!).

Once the net curtain fabric is cut out, you need to sew the vertical edges together (about a cm from the edge).

Then turn the fabric the right way out and slip it over the lampshade carcass. As the net curtain fabric is a bit stretchy it is quite easy to get it to fit.

Starting with the top of the lampshade turn the edges over the lampshade carcass and, using the glue gun, attach the netting to the lampshade carcass.

Repeat the process with the bottom of the fabric on the lampshade (as seen below), pulling the fabric tight as you go.  Trim any excess fabric from the inside of the lampshade and you are done! 

I have since added some bright pom pom trim the bottom of my lamp to jazz it up a bit (will add photos when I get a minute!)

For more tutorials, workshops and surface pattern, please visit my website at http://www.bettyjoy.co.uk

Easy Peasy Covered Buttons

This is a really easy covered button tutorial with the most basic of supplies.  No fancy schmancy machine to get to grips with, instead just some old shank buttons, a scrap of cloth and a good old needle and thread.  Read the 'how to' after the jump