Crafty thoughts from Crafts forum Members

These shoppers are sturdy jute bags which I have decorated in a variety of styles using vintage fabrics and buttons.

They sold very well at my last farmers market.  They should do very well in the coming months as my local parish council is currently talking about making the village a plastic bag free zone.

I’ve been asked to create custom designs so coming soon will be an ice cream, a hedgehog and a yatch.

 I’ve finally had enough of grey skies and have turned my thoughts to fresh, crisp spring days.

This was where my thoughts took me this morning….

The colour is more of a duck-egg blue.  Something else I can blame on the grey skies … poor photographs!

As I sat helping my daughter to knit recently I was bitten by the bug and am now in the process of creating a series of bags for crystalvelvet.co.uk using textures yearns.

The first completed bag is the Mocha chocca bag which is created from eyelash wool. It is lined with a cotton ochre lining.

Now back to the knitting needles where I’m working an autumned toned sholder bag.

So what is Deadly Nightshade?

Well Deadly nightshade off

Many setions on the shop haven’t yet been updated but it seems to be growing by the day..

The bag section seems to be complete and here is an example of the work:

To find out more about Deadly Nightshade Accessories

For other UK fabric crafts try http://www.ukcraftwebsites.co.uk/fabric.php

A patchwork of velvet and woollen fabrics combine together to create this autumn toned bag.  Lined with deep brown lining.  Velvet shoulder strap completes the look.  Can be used front or back depending on the mood.  Embroidery and applique design along with buttons and a beaded tie fastening complete the embellishments.

A friend of mine has made these dinky bags.  I don’t get the chance to visit her very often but when I do we always have a good catch up on what she has been creating.  On my last visit, she showed me a handful of these little bags, made from thick paper and using various techniques.

My favourites are the wax crayon and ink wash effect – very bright and unusual, and each one unique.  Also shown are the flower and leaf stamped bags.

Shirelle makes these on a very limited budget but it always amazes me to see what she has created from very little outlay.  They are ideal to use as an unusual gift bag for when wrapping something so small becomes a sellotape nightmare. 

I have requested 20 of the little bags as I use them to put loose die cuts in as a thank you for website orders.   And I hope that Shirelle can make many more and I can offer them exclusively through Tip Top Toppers.

 Dazald design offers a wide range of handmade items including:

• Handcrafted bracelets

• Handcrafted wine glass charms

• Necklace and earring sets

• Handcrafted ladies bags

 As with many small businesses it started out has a hobby and then became an obsession which in turn became a business venture.

It began with an evening class in soft furnishings, then another in watercolour art that led to a two year interior design course, which then led to a BA in textile design!

An example that I just saw is Vintage style Ladies handbag..

Very cool bag…   Have a look at some of the other handmade item here: dazaldesigns.com

For similar crafts from the UK try http://www.ukcraftwebsites.co.uk/fabric.php

Here’s a funky squidgy shoulder bag I’ve made over the last couple of days in between processing orders.

I used a pair of adult jeans that I bought from my local thrift shop for 20p, a piece of funky fabric bought from the remnant bin in a charity shop for probably no more than £1 and some buttons from a huge tin  I bought at a car boot sale last summer for a pound.  Total spend = £2.20

From this :

To this :

Over the past couple of months I have been pulling my hair out and gnashing my teeth (not a pretty sight).  The cause of all this anguish?   Mr site! 

Having previously set up my bead store on a templated system,  (through EKM) and been very pleased with it, I thought I can do this myself.  The Mr site pack came from amazon for about £16.00 and arrived quickly.  Once I started to do it I began to get doubts.  Perhaps if I’d read all the instructions or looked at the online help! (I hate being told what or how to do something!)

Anyway, several weeks down the line, much tweaking later, I am proud to launch www.crystalvelvet.co.uk .  This is the complete experience in online andcrafted accessories with ranges of Jewellery, bags, tiaras, hats, watches and more!

I’ve started out by putting a few things on in each catagory and now I’m adding more and more!

This is the bag that inspired the name Crystal Velvet!

As somebody who is currently making, what seems like, a neverending supply of wedding and evening invites for friends, I thought Id look to my fellow crafters sites for encouragement.

My case study is of a person that goes by the name of Swirlyarts.

Not only is she a busy wife and mum but she has the energy to run her own card making website.From here I have found that she makes a wide range of hand made cards under many themes, birthdays, men’s cards etc, my favourite being the Alphabet range of children’s cards, complete with T for tree and G for giraffe.

She provides a one off service and commissions and is currently developing a wedding stationery range, not just invites but menus and placecards etc

Now, the jewel in the crown is what she sells on her etsy site www.swirlyarts.etsy.com In an age where recycling is essential, Swirly has made enevelopes out of magazine pages!!Perfect for the card of a fashion fanatic birthday girl! also available are colourful woollen scarves and blankets, a necessity in the recent weather.

So I have decided to stop being negative about my card making marathon and praise the likes of Swirly and many others who take joy in providing these products.

See her etsy store here:   http://swirlyarts.etsy.com