Today I brought.....

This Vintage yellow cup and saucer - for 20p

Plus the Marshmellows £1.00 (only half what you see are left....)

I have been wanting to get to grips and play around with photoshop fillers for a long time and am liking bluring a little, soft lighting and colour burning.

Old Jug - £1.50

Flowers picked from my pots in the yard.

I love spotty or stripy jugs, small or large, but of course can't bare to spend more tham a couple of quid!

Vintage side plate 10p

Pink cup and saucer 20p

Flowers from the garden

I did quite a bit of blurring and soft lighting on this photo, now I know how to get those dreamy looking photo's, wonder if it will look good on pictures of me..........

Finished hand sewing last night.

Pink hot pot mat

Log cabin sewing is like meditating

Black hot pot mat

Tilda Fabrics in the blues

Blue hot pot mat

Green hot pot mat

Happy Weekend, now have mug rugs to make....

And a Gin and Tonic to drink..

Kxx

Whoop whoop

15 Entries so as promised I am giving away 2 sets of the mixed bias binding.

Using a random number picker the numbers are:

4 14

Random numbers generated Aug 5 2011 at 20:28:18 by www.psychicscience.org

Free educational resources for parapsychology, psychical research & mind magic.

 

Which means taking the replies in order of leaving a reply.

 

No 4 - Madbrilliantideas - who also likes the turquoise ones

No 14 - Lucy - who likes the turquoise ones

 

Congratulations - just going off to mail you.

 

Kxxxxx

Purchases

Hot Pink Pom Pom

Largest I could find on Etsy

Patty Young Flora & Forna in mustard

Hot Pink Pom Pom
Largest I could find on Etsy

Patty Young Flora & Forna in mustard

All the Full Moon from Amy Butler

Maybe somebody will be able to help but getting my eyes opened to fab fabrics means I have come accoross the odd piece on Etsy for the Flora & Forna collection. I love it including the hummingbird fabrics but it looks like all the pieces left on Etsy are starting to be put in the sale.

Can anybody confirm if this is discontinued as this was only brought out in sept 2009!

or is it not a popular one.

I am going to make cushions with the fabric and edge them in the blue and pink pom pom trim. Kind of Kitsch!

I am running low on my Full moon fabrics as they are so useful to pop in with other fabrics use in pincushions buttons, brick set cushions, underside of hotpot mats........

My next mission is to stock up on Ta Dots and Dumb Dots.

I am dotty Mad but my owl tea cozies love them!

OK so don't forget giveaway on previous post

http://blondedesign.blogspot.com/2011/08/giveaway-mini-mix-stash.html

I wish there was more hours in a day

6.30 alarm (5.30 if catching train)

7.20 driving

8.00 finish work

5.30 finish work

6.15 home

7.30 try and sew, relax watch a bit of TV wash up, wash hair, tidy up, take photos, upload photos, put orders together, find lost siscors (even though I have 8 pairs), just can never find the small tiny ones for the dam threads...

11pm sleep

 

Giveaway - Mini Mix Stash

Mini Mix Stash Collection

Time for a give away!! From my blondesbackyard stores, these are 3 x 1 metre lengths. Which are perfect for binding tea cosies, place mats, girls skirt hems, pencil rolls, dolls quilts........

On Folksy they are £3 on Etsy they are $4.75 .

Blondesbackyard - Etsy

Blondesbackyard - Folksy

So first all you have to do is leave a comment below

psst. pass it on.

If I get 15 comments 1 will do 2 giveaways

If buy golly chance I get 30 comments I will do 3 giveaways

and so on.....

All you will have to do is say in your comment which colour range you would prefer from the below.

Well the sun is shining!! plus somebody left me a little comment on binding she just brought;

"YOU HAVE AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL SHOP!!!! I will for sure be returning!!! I found just what I need to wrap my bridal bouquet!! I couldn't be more ecstatic!!!!! I LOVE YOUR SHOP! And no need to worry...I will post this on the feedback wall as well!! Thanks for making my day!"
 

Super Cute

 

 Tangerine

Bubblegum Pink

Cherry Red

Mint Green

Turquoise

Hot Pink

Lemon Drop

Lime

blondedesigns - Etsy

Also I sold Peanut the Owl Tea Cozy today.

Bye Bye Peanut

I do get attached to my Owls, but they seem to be flying the nest fast.

She is off to sunny OZ

Oh and almost forgot I will do the giveaway draw this Friday evening and post out to anywhere in the world.

Happy Tuesday

Kxxxx



Sewing Overdose Weekend

Lavender Scottie Dog

Bag of Love

Tilda Quilt in Blues

Do you see a theme going on, I seem to have been drawn to making every thing in blues with a hint of green, maybe next week I'll have to go down the pink colour range!! The Dog is in vintage fabric, the bag in Amy Butler fabric and the Quilt in Tilda blues by Tone Finnanger.

I'm back to work tomorrow so wanted to cram in the sewing and overdose as keeping fit, sport, lifting (housework - yippie!!) and sunbathing is out the question for at least another 2 weeks (sunbathing forever) .

Finished off with a stack of oilcloth peg bags.

I love making these as no over locking! a doddle to cut and just kitsch fun.

I will do a tutorial for these if anybody thinks they want to make one, just using a kids plastic hanger.

Tonight's sewing is stuffing and hand sewing Scottie dogs and pincushions hopefully in front of a good TV program..... well we all but hope.

Kxx

A Growing Family

Meet Peanut the owl tea cozy

She loves chamomile tea, elephants, and strawberry milkshakes.

 Meet Pixie

She loves green tea, forests and fairies and cupcakes.

Meet Rosie.

Rosie loves a cup of 'Rosie' 'Rosie Lee' tea (Cockney Slang), visiting country houses and blueberry muffins.

The cutest doll mini quilt set
Containing 1 quilt, 1 pillow, and removable green floral pillow sham and 2 reversible throw pillows each with Robert Kaufman urban circus one side and pink Micheal miller dumb dots on the other one with pink Ric rac the other with yellow Ric rac. The quilt top is Urban Circus and the reverse is Amy Butler Midwest modern, free hand quilted and bubblegum pink polka dot trim, the main pillow cover matches the pillow shams and top and cute yellow Ric rack and trim to finish it off.
Quilt Measuring 18" x 22"
Pillow Measuring 4" x 8"
Throw Pillows 5" x 5"

Cottage Quilt

LARGE Lap or Toddler quilt - or fit over single bed
Measuring 50" X 88"

Selling this for under £50.00 as should be over £100.00 for the size but pieced it together wrong, you will see on pictures on Etsy site, I started this a months ago but never got around to finishing it off probably because it wasn't perfect and just needed 2 hours in front of the TV to hand blind stitch the binding on.

Yippie I can now leave comments! this is fab.

After having surgery last week I now have 3 very itchy holes in my stomach, and then following 4 stitches in my back for mole removal on Tuesday, my back is tight and ITCHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I can't scratch, can you go insane from itchy skin....

Happy Friday all and its almost the weekend.

Kxx

Can't leave comments on blogs!!

Dolls Quilt set - SOLD

Having a great problem at the moment can't seem to leave comments on peoples blogs, keeps sending me back to signing in then telling me I am anonomous and then asking me to re sign in, over and over again.

So i have been reading blogs but can't reply!! So appologises for lack of conversation in the blog worls, I will shut down again later and hope all is ok!

Anway when I did my made making a couple of weeks ago with the tea cozies (WHICH HAVE ALL SOLD), I also made a doll quilt set, this also sold within 5 days. So my mission is to finish the 5 tea cozies cut ready to sew, and to mke up another 5 doll quilt sets, as if this is what I am going to sell then had better make more!!

I also have been making more hlaf aprons and sold 12 to one customer alone in OZ for her bidesmaids, these always go down well, and I think its because I dont price them to high, but still make a profit.

I was In hospital last Monday for keyhole surgery and thought I was going to have a week off, but was signed off for 2 weeks, I went back to hospital yesterday for another op (mole removal), 4 stitches later, and yesterday when the injections had worn off I didnt know what to do with myself as I have sore tender stomach, told not to lift do anything and sore back as cannot streach and again told not to lift twist bla bla for at least 3 weeks!!! I was In bed with my codine at 9pm feeling sorry for myself. I feel OK at the moment but can feel as the day wears on (even though all I am doing is sitting) my stomach gets tender,sore and tight, and my back is going the same way (and its only 10am). I can't shower again until Friday, luckly I am not at work as my hair will look manky (is that still a word  from my youth!)

 Few more pics of what has been made in the last couple of weeks....

Mouse Coffee Cozy

 Orange Hot Pot Mat

Elephant Oven Glove

Skull & Roses Oven Glove

Urban Circus Oven Glove

Skull Oven Glove

Camouflage Oven Glove

Have a great week

Kx

Life in Miniature

 I have gained another addiction......

 Mini cushions for Dolls Houses 12th scale

Like any sewers out there I can't bare to throw out scraps,

I wanted to find even more excuses to use the small pieces up with.

I'm not into applique like some of you are, mine just are not 'right'.

So I turn mine normally into buttons and log cabin hotpot mats etc.

BUT now a new outlet mini dolls house cushions and soon mini quilts!

I don't own a dolls house and I don't own a child (yet...)

But since sewing mini cushions I really can see the appeal in making mini rooms perfect (not these shop bought plastic rubbish) but loving make furniture and fabrics.

The difference is those stitches you use to hand sew say a 16" cushion shut, then have to become quite invisible on a 1 1/4" square!! now where did I put those glasses................

Kxxx

Time Flies! What a Hoot!

 Nellie the Owl Tea Cozy - SOLD

Honey the Owl Tea Cozy - SOLD

 Sam the Owl Tea Cozy

Lilly the Mouse Coffee Cozy

http://www.etsy.com/shop/blondedesigns

Well time has flown and after taking time out, sewing things for me (dresses and skirts!), I am still trying to restock my Etsy shop before I even start to think about my folksy shop.

At the weekend I made 3 tea cozies and one coffee cozy and have already sold 2 of my owls and and older retro owl in 3 days. You just know when you are onto a good think, problem is I just need to keep up with demand, so it now looks like any other projects can sit unfinished and look to make one tea cozy a night for the next 2 weeks! in hope that I keep getting the sales - oh why didn't I win the lottery.

Anyway hope you are all well and next week I go into hospital for a small op and have the week off, so will be catching up on blogland, with a lot of tea -  can't wait!!

Next week time to rearange the blog and pages and get updated, but in the meantime i'll pop a few more pics of what i have been making over the last couple of months, and get going on a few more tutorials.

Love and Hugs

Karen x