Makes Using Felt Flowers

Last week I shared this How To showing you how to make felt flowers and I so was so chuffed to receive such a positive response- it seems that lots of you are in the mood for Spring inspired makes! Today I'd like to share just a few of many many ways you could use your felt/fabric flowers...

Add details to your flowers... 

There's no need to buy anything for this make as chances are you have everything you need already!

This is a really thrifty make, using scraps of felt or other fabrics left over from other projects and you can raid your stash of embroidery thread, beads and buttons to add different centres to the fabric blooms and create your own unique flowers. 

Cut leaf shapes from scraps of green felt and stitch to the back of flowers to create foliage

Crochet a chain (or use ribbon) and either stitch or glue the flowers onto it using small pieces of felt to create a pretty garland

Attach a felt flower to an elastic hairband and wear flowers in your hair!

Glue a flower onto a ring base to create a great statement ring

 There are so many ways you could use the flowers. I'd love to know what you are making with yours- share your makes in the comments!

Happy making!

A Roundup of my How To Blog post series this year so far!

Today I thought I'd share with you a roundup of my How To... blog post series from this year so far! One of my goals for the blog this year was to start a How To feature, creating lovely things using thrifted, recycled and inexpensive materials. I wanted to inspire others to create things from the materials they already have at home- from coasters made using old CDs, lace and paint tester pots, fabric wrapped bangles embellished with broken jewellery and a fabric scrap photo frame, I hope my How Tos inspire you to get crafting. Happy making!

How To... Make a set of coasters using old CDs and lace

This has been my favourite How To... so far, I love using these coasters!

How To... Transform a Vintage Metal Tray Charity Shop Find

You see lots of these trays in the charity shops and this is a great way to give them a new life

How To... Make Recycled Fabric Wrapped Bangles with Two Variations

A triple wammy of a recycling How To... Old bangles, broken jewellery and fabric scraps

How To... Make a fabric remnant Tote Bag

A handy way to use up remnants in your fabric stash

How To...Make tea light holders using glass ramekins from GU desserts and lace

(The perfect excuse to have desert! Nom nom nom...)

How To... DIY Lace Collar Printed T-Shirt with Cover Buttons

A really easy and effective way to customise an old t-shirt

How To... Embellish an old jumper

I used the beads and gems I already had to give a suggestion here but there are no end of possibilities for embellishment! Give those expensive embellished jumpers a run for their money!

How To... Make a D.I.Y Fabric Pin Board

Inexpensive to make and a good way to use up fabric from your stash

How To... Fabric Scrap Photo Frame DIY

Great for using up small scraps of fabric

Make Do and Mend, Chelmsford!

I was lucky enough this week to visit the brilliant Make Do and Mend shop and workshop venue in Chelmsford! I am also lucky enough to now have a cabinet space in the shop for Louise Dawson Design jewellery, alongside the work of some very talented Designer Makers.

 It's a lovely shop, and the workshop program is really extensive, ranging from beginners knitting to Book Binding and Screen Printing and lots lots more in between! I think that the local area is so lucky to have a place like this that offers the chance to learn new skills and encourages a return to the ethos of days gone by- creating as much as possible by hand and making things that will last forever. In this age of fast, throwaway fashion, it's a breath of fresh air and I can't wait to book myself up on some workshops and learn something new myself!

I love the quirky decoration in the shop!

As if lovely handmade pieces and workshops weren't enough, you can also buy yarns and haberdashery at Make Do and Mend!

My display

A return to necklace making...

I've spent today in the studio working on some new necklaces which will have fabric embellishment. I haven't made any necklaces for a while because I've been mainly focusing on the brooches, but I thought it would be good to include a couple that tie in with the new collection.

The basic necklace is made from a strip of knit that I make on my knitting machine and then stitch around ribbon strung wooden beads. These necklaces were my starting point in jewellery making, having organically developed from their origins as parts of huge conceptual knitted hanging pieces (I will make a post on those at a later date, all will be revealed!) and they are something I like to return to and continue to adapt in different ways. Here is the navy one taking shape!

Stitching the knit around ribbon strung wooden beads

The base necklace ready to go, alongside the brooch that I would like it to match

I've spent the evening cutting out hundreds of tiny circles of  scrap fabric!

I coat the fabric "sequins" in fabric stiffener to prevent fraying

I'll hand stitch the fabric pieces onto the necklace over the weekend and post a pic of the results!