Once upon a time there was a girl who made things…

Following on from my last post about one of the things I have made that I am most proud of, here is another set which I sold a while back which I rather enjoyed making.

I had been thinking back to when I was a child and had those paper dolls that you could dress up by folding some tabs from a paper outfit around their bodies, and I thought about felt and velcro and how they would be good alternatives.

I then made a little clothes-free lady with some velcro hiding her modesty and made her some different dresses to tell the story of Cinderella.

So she had her shabby rag type dress, peasant style, then her dress to go to the ball in – complete with glass slippers which I attached on using those hook clasps for fastening skirts and dresses at the top of zips. I also made her a Prince Charming and a wedding dress for when it all worked out with the happy ever afters!

Of course I had to make a little pouch for it all to be kept in to keep all the bits together.

I just hope that whoever has it now is enjoying playing with it as much as I enjoyed making it!

Roll up roll up….

As I haven’t made anything new for a week (a whole week!) I thought I might write some posts about some of the items I have made over the past few months.

One of my favourites is this fabulous set of Circus themed finger puppets. The Travelling Popolino Troupe!

Initially I sat and made the Lion and I thought to myself – what would go with this lion? I was thinking other animals but then the idea of a Lion Tamer / Ringmaster came into my head and I set to creating him – The Great Popolino! (His real name is Alberto Popozinski…) And his co-performer Samson the Lion (who is a strict vegetarian.)

His top hat is a bit ludicrously tall but I think it adds to the drama. His whip is made with a bit of black wool with a felt handle – but not to worry the whip doesn’t come too close to Samson!

Then came Alberto’s wife Arrabella Linguini – the trapeze artist and her pet snake Edith and the rather morose Herbie Onions – the Clown (he is secretly in love with Arrabella…)

 

I used a sparkly sock remnant for Arrabella’s outfit sort of stretching it around as I stitched it into place (she even has a slightly padded out chest area…)

I also rather enjoyed working on Herbie, his top is glittery although it doesn’t show up too well in the photo, and his trousers are made of this fabbo denim fabric. I even made him a little squirty flower.

Then my favourite of the bunch – The Strongman – Gustav Von Trump. With his hairy chest and bushy moustache and manly tattoos he easily lifts his 200lb weights!

After I finished making them I lay awake most of the night thinking they needed a bag to keep them all together in and I knew just the fabric to use – so the next morning before I headed off to work I whipped up this little drawstring bag out of this great striped fabric – looks a bit like the Big Top itself!

The set is of course in my shop and ready for some awesome performances!

A Retrospective

I’ve had a weekend to relax after my challenge last week, so I’ve been pretty quiet on here and in the shop.

I got to thinking the other day about how much I have come along in recent months. It took me quite a long time to get into sewing. I remember as a young child doing sewing projects at school, not being too bad when it came to hand sewing. Although the first project when I was about 4 or 5, my teacher had to call my Mum to get her to let me know it was ok to use needles as I had apparently said I shouldn’t use them…

I still have one of my first ever sewing items – somewhere in my loft. A pale pink rectangle, probably just under A4 size with different types of stitching around the edge, a bit like a placemat. I have a feeling someone helped me with it as it just looks too good for a four year old! Then there were the obligatory Christmas decorations – a yellow felt star when I was about 6.

Then when I got to secondary school we did Design and Technology lessons, taking it in turns throughout the year doing woodwork, metalwork, cookery and textiles. I was truly awful at the first two, passable in cookery (I remember one lesson pouring cheesecake out of the tin as I had forgotten to add the cream and then pouring it back in and a rather gross attempt at mushroom pate.) Then textiles, what can I say? I was so far beyond awful there are no words. I think the first thing I made was a drawstring pouch. Navy blue with a red cord. I think I had under-measured and my original idea of it being a pencil case soon faded as all the pencils stuck out the top, so my teacher suggested maybe it could be a glasses case.

Then there was a pot holder, I decided to do a yellow circle with a bears face. My teacher ended up sewing it for me. My Mum still has it in her kitchen, it’s eyes are still only just tacked on with a couple of stitches. I couldn’t even thread the sewing machine properly and I kept asking for help (from one boy in my class in particular but I think that was just me flirting.)

My lovely Auntie used to own a craft shop in Stockport and every now and then she would give me bits and bobs from there to try. She got me interested in doing a bit of embroidery and I did a picture of sunflowers using mainly french knots. My Mum thought it was great and my Auntie framed it for me. I still have it – again somewhere in my loft!

Then some years later my Mum got me interested in cross stitch. I figured I couldn’t go wrong with something that had proper instructions to follow… I made a Charles Rennie Mackintosh style bookmark. Oh my life. I almost went insane with frustration and I think my Mum had to finish it off for me. And then some time later I did a Piglet bookmark – same frustration levels applied and I steered clear of sewing for a while.

Then probably about 6 years ago I bought a few of those sew your own toy kits. A mole, a koala bear and a lamb. The mole ended up looking like it had some serious nose disease. The koala was so wonky. The lamb however was pretty good. I bought another lamb kit to do for my then sister in law who was expecting a baby. My plan was to put a little bell inside for it to be a baby toy. My ex produced a sewing machine – he had amassed a few including an old Singer complete with table. I couldn’t be doing with the hand powered Singer so I gave the electrical beast a go. I started to sew an ear and got about a minute into using it thinking I was doing ok before it went beserk and the foot pedal started smoking and caught on fire. The lamb and the other toy kits I had bought with my high hopes all went away for quite some time. I daren’t even look at a sewing machine again.

Then just over a year ago I unearthed the toy kits and ummed and aahed about them. I dug out my needles and thread and I hand sewed them all. Then I started to think about what else I could sew and my lovely husband bought me some books and I was away!

I borrowed my sister’s sewing machine for a while before my husband got me one for my birthday last year. It’s still a learning curve for me. I am getting my head around thread tension and trying to not just do straight stitch all the time. Plus I bought a free motion foot a while back and have tried it out – was super weird but I really should experiment some more with it.

I probably still prefer hand sewing to machine sewing but maybe when I get a bit more experienced that will change. Perhaps one day I might take some classes to learn how to use a sewing machine properly!

Challenge – Day 7 – The End!

Ah ha! I have completed the challenge my husband set me a week ago – to make five things a day for a week.

Each day I have racked my brains for ideas of what to make, surfed Pinterest and even dreamt of things. Each time when I asked my husband for ideas he kept saying Pumpkins and Crocodiles. We have a running joke about making a crocodile after some time last year when he drew me an idea for a crocodile on a Post-It note and I have always avoided making one.

So the first thing I made today was… a crocodile!

The Beast was an utter gem with this one. We might become good friends one day!

I then made… hanging pumpkins!

Next it was another set of hair grips – this time I went for a pirate theme – because girls like pirates too you know! These are done on glittery felt for that extra bit of zing!

Then finally after being inspired by the knitted hedgehog from my Mum I decided to make a little hedgehog brooch out of felt.

So after this week of making things I am a bit pooped. Like I’ve said before, I don’t work fast, I make mistakes, I unpick things, I glue myself to the table, I shout at the sewing machine, I jab myself with the needle at least 8 times a day, I drop stuff all the time and I get easily distracted by the interpipe.

I have also finally added the items from the last couple of days and today to the shop so you can find them here:

Lobster, Kangaroo, Sock Pig, Camera Brooch, Daschund, Crocodile, Hedgehog, Hanging Pumpkins, Pirate Hairgrips, Anenome Hairgrips, Grey & Blue Pearly Hairgrips and Dragon.

Thanks for following me on this challenge!

 

 

Knitted Love

A wonderful present arrived in the post for me yesterday – my Mum had knitted this little lady for me! I have decided to call her Hetty.

My Mum is aces at knitting as well as all kinds of other creative things, like embroidery, cross stitch, painting, drawing, and she also makes super awesome jams, marmalade and chutneys not to mention lemon curd! She has even given a talk to the WI on jam making!

Thanks Mum!

Challenge – Day 6!

Today has been a fairly good day. I have not shouted at The Beast once! I have only dropped things a few times and haven’t sworn that much!

Day 6’s efforts are these wonderous items!

A rather lush little daschund….

A set of lovely anenome felt embroidered hair grips…

A camera brooch!

And a quite awesome kangaroo finger puppet!

Hopefully will get the last two days worth of items up on the shop tonight or tomorrow!

Only one more day of the challenge to go!

Challenge – Day 5!

So today I ended up cheating a little as I finished off something I started to make over a year ago! I found him looking a little sorry for himself in my sock bag with no eyes, no tail and a messy looking rear end! Now he is looking somewhat better!

Then I made a set of two hairgrips – and the little card to present them on.

And lastly two rather cool little finger puppets – The Green Dragon and The Lobster…

They will be in the shop tomorrow!

Oooh Liebster Award Nomination…

Ta Da!!! Fudge & Poppy has been nominated for a Liebster Award by the lovely Jennifer over at jenniferwindram.com – big smiles!

The award is a way to recognize up and coming bloggers and encourage people to visit new and interesting blogs. First, I must answer the following questions set by Jennifer…

1. What is your best summer memory?

Playing badminton in garden in the dark with a rolled up ball of foil with my Mum and my brother when I was a kid.

2. Do you sing in the shower?

No, unless there is music on in the house when I might sing along to it.

3. Have you ever put an empty carton of milk/juice back in the refrigerator?

Not to my knowledge no. I have attempted to put other items that don’t belong in a fridge into it, like cereal when I haven’t been particularly with it in the mornings.

4. Which bug do you like better: Roly Poly (pill bug) or Ladybug? Why?

Mmm as a Brit we call these Woodlice and Ladybirds. I would go for Ladybirds every time. Woodlice freak me out a little bit.

5. Who is the person who makes you laugh so hard soda comes out of your nose and tears stream down your face?

That would be Dom. I have known Dom since I was 4 – with a 16 year hiatus while we went to different schools when I was 5 and I moved away. He is my best friend and we have what we term – Brain Toobs. We pretty much know what the other is thinking and there have been many times I have sprayed whatever is in my mouth on him while laughing and have been in hysterics plenty of times. (He also has a rather cool blog – see below!)

6. Where do you go when you need to get away from it all?

Either at my kitchen table making weird things out of felt, at my computer doing family tree research, or in bed – sleeping (or trying to.)

7. Do you ever hide from door to door salespeople?

Definitely. In fact I did this twice only yesterday. I tend to not answer my door unless I am expecting visitors or a delivery. Helps me avoid people trying to sell me things, convert me to some crazo religion or force me into giving to charity because they are at my door and I hate saying no (not that I am against giving to charity I must point out!)

8. When do you decide it’s time to get gas? 1/2 tank? 1/4 tank? Warning light has been on for 10 miles?

I don’t drive – but my husband does. We tend to wait until the light comes on and we hear the little ‘bing’ that reminds us. The good thing is the fuel gauge tells us how many miles we have left so we can make the decision based on our journey!

9. What is the one talent you wish you had?

I really wish I could draw / paint better. My Mum is a fantastic artist, as are both my siblings. My husband is also uber amazing. My drawings are usually weird cartoon type things, or I copy other pictures reasonably well, but it’s not quite the same as having the ability to just pick up a paintbrush or pencil and do something amazing.

10. If you could time travel would you go to the future or the past?

I would probably go to the past. As I hinted at earlier I do family tree research (not just for me but also for other people professionally as well as making weird stuff out of felt.) I would love to go back and see my ancestors, get the answers to some of the mysteries I have. Who the father is on illegitimate births? What part of Ireland did my 4x great grandfather Elias come from? What was life like in early 20th century Rio de Janeiro for my grandfather and his parents?

So now, 10 other blogs I nominate for the award:

Kingdom of Appetency – Dom’s lovely food blog!

Photos of Doors – some really yummy photos on here – yes they are doors – but lush!

G r a m p u s – a great mishmash of topics – particularly liking the Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass post.

Phoenix or the Flame – I like her bedroom photo (not in a weird stalker way – it’s just nice!)

Adopting Cats – because of cats! (My cats were adopted – RIP Molly & Poppy!)

The Fashionable Foodie – making my mouth water!

LoftyLoves – just oh so pretty.

Avevoneg – loving the pretending to be inspired…

How Not to Kill Your Parents – made me chuckle!

Everything’s Rosie – really loving the fish tails post – some lovely photos!

Okay, so here are the rules: 

-Each nominee must link back the person who nominated them.
-Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.
-Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award who have less than 200 followers.
-Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.
-Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them

Here are my 10 questions:

1. What is your most overused word?

2. What is the weirdest dream you have ever had?

3. Who or what is your greatest inspiration in life?

4. Have you ever had a security blanket and if so do you still have it?

5. If you have a significant other – how did you meet?

6. Pirates or Dinosaurs? Which do you prefer?

7. Why do birds suddenly appear, every time, you are near?

8. Nosey neighbour or friendly neighbour? Which one are you?

9. Can you dance like a robot?

10. What is your favourite board game from childhood?

Aaaaaand go!

Challenge – Day 4

So I have already made my items for today’s challenge. (Get me!)

I was a little inspired by my dino magnets yesterday with the whole felt and fabric thing and as I have this great die cutter my husband bought me for my birthday in July, it is just perfect for doing repeatable items for precision especially when you want to make a set of something and consistency is key.

I have this great fabric with a bird motif and I thought perhaps they might help accent some star shaped hanging decorations.

And I am not sure why I haven’t done something like this sooner, as they are my favourite animal ever – Behold the Platypus brooch!

I also made this little bookmark – with a cow parsley embroidered detail.

As usual you can find them for sale in my shop – Stars, Bookmark and Duck Billed Love.

Oh and one of my challenge items has just sold on Etsy – my awesome little bat from Saturday! Whoop whoop!

Challenge – Day 3

Monday I felt a bit manic and rushed. I spent a couple of hours sorting out photos from the weekend’s work and listing things on Etsy and finishing off painting the front door…

At one point The Beast (aka the sewing machine) decided it hated my sock material and all it wanted to do was chew it up in its feed dogs and I started to get a bit hot and bothered.

Then my Dad sent me a text asking if I was around that afternoon as he wanted to call me for a chat so I was feeling under pressure to get things done. In the end we spoke at around 8pm so the whiff of desperation had faded by then!

So Monday’s efforts went like this… Bertram the Bunny…made of (clean) socks and buttons and a scrap of felt.

The coolest little dino magnets – cunningly displayed here on the magnetic wall in my kitchen which is plastered with magnetic poetry, family photos, the alphabet, numbers and a handy reminder that 7am is morning time for my stepson – rather than 6am or any other unholy hour.

You can also find these little beauties on my shop – Bertram and The Dinos!