Cute quirky Cushion covers From…..Patchwork Pooch….to a ‘Knitting Chicken’ !

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Artist and crafter, Artistic moment, Bored moment, Buttons, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Cotton fabrics, Crafty creation, Creative crafting, Cute Quirky Patchwork, Cute teddy cushion, Feature cushions, Fun throw pillows, Fun with fabrics, Handmade cushion covers, Knitting chicken cushion, Quilting and applique, Super cute Dog cushion

My Super cute applique felt patchwork dog design throw pillow/Cushion cover.
Finished yesterday, though, after adding a few more quirky items – In plenty of time for Christmas..;-) – to my Etsy shop, I’ve only just gotten around to posting!…After spending much of the day out in the garden, What a beautiful day it’s been, a mixture of monstrously dark threatening clouds and masses of sunshine at the same time with not a drop of rain!! 🙂

Super cute dog square from a section of preprinted fabric was again the inspiration to create a centre feature panel for the strikingly colourful cushion.

My fabric and felt version of the small printed square is approximately 10.5 inches and the red floral fabric from my stash was as close a match as I could find to the little square version, though I think it worked out well 😉 A couple of felt flowers with button centres and a little hand stem stitching before quilting over the whole panel to finish. 

Another cute little cushion creation with Bears and bees!

And…not forgetting the quirky ‘knitting chicken’ cushion cover wearing her brass ring specs!! 😀

After another busy day – there’s never a bored moment!! – I need to try and organise my random creative ideas into some kind of order…or who knows what jumbled creation might pop up next 😉

”Merlin’s magic musings” – An Original Oil Painting on 14” x 11” canvas panel –

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Art, Artist and crafter, Artistic moment, Arty, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Crafty creation, Merlin's Magic Musings Oil painting, My garden statue, Oils on canvas Origina, Original art, Original oil painting, Painting from photographs, Still Life Original Art, Unique creations

”Merlin’s magic musings”
– An Original Oil Painting on 14” x 11” canvas panel – Painted from a photograph of my garden statue!
Somehow, within this week, I managed to clean just about every inch of our house and wash anything which wasn’t too big to fit in the washer…in readiness for our family get together planned for tomorrow….as well as…starting and finishing this little oil painting ( I think I did sleep at some point ..??!) 😉 But, feel completely satisfied that both house and picture both got finished in time!!! 😀
Merlin can now sit along with the other drying oil canvasses on my window ledge before finding him a slot too in my Etsy shop 🙂

‘Poppy duo and Pincushion trio’ – Original 14” x 11” Oil Painting

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Art, Artist and crafter, Artistic moment, Arty, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Crafty creation, Creative craft, Garden flowers, My garden flowers, Nature, Original art, Original Poppy oil painting, Painting from a photograph, Painting in oils, Photography, Poppies and pincushions, Poppy duo and Pincushion trio, Red poppy art, Still life

‘Poppy duo and pincushion trio’  an Original 14” x 11” Oil painting on canvas panel    
Having spent the last couple of days, moving from room to room around the house in order to ”get straight and tidy’ for the family invasion next week – I finally abandoned my mop and bucket and grabbed my paintbrushes for a rest! This little oil painting has been done with the attempt to soften the background almost as if it’s out of focus allowing the main poppies in the foreground to take their place centre stage. I wanted to try and see if I could imitate, somehow, what photographers do by fading out the background and focusing on the main image. To try and do this I have merely blended blobs of colour without any firm shapes graduating the shades back to give a hopefully somewhat diffused perspective and depth to the foliage. Overall it passed a quiet Saturday afternoon, and, I’m happy with the final look and feel of the little still life scene! I must say, my conservatory window ledge is starting to look very colourful as, the now five canvas boards, are lined up to dry  🙂

A Penchant for Poppies!  – Original 14” x 11” Oil Painting

Two by two!

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Art, Artist, Artistic moment, Carens canvas and craft My ETSY shop, Cotton, Cotton fabrics, Crafty creation, Custom cot quilts, Cute fun nursery gifts, Fabric creations, Handmade creations, Jemima Puddle Duck, Patchwork quilt designs, Peter rabbit

Deja vu on a mega scale!!! I soooooo wanted to finish ALL my little gifts before the happy arrival – and I DID!! 🙂 Exactly 3 & 1/2 weeks saw the creations of two cot quilts, 2 cot tidies, 2 lots of bunting and an extra request from my mum as a special gift! And I have been prompted by Sarah       (the expectant and very happy mother to be – to do a little post!) With literally only a matter of days, at most a couple of weeks to go!!

I’m happy to report that I’ve not been kidnapped by aliens!….. and I’m still on this planet…even though I’ve been missing for a short while…….as you’ll see during the post…I’ve been a little preoccupied of late for a multiple couple of good reasons :-D!

And so the first one was finished!!!…I had to prepare myself, for every time I made one, with love, care and plenty of attention to detail….a second was to be just as well and carefully completed! I drew and separately constructed every little piece of applique on all the items. My mind was always on the attention to detail and safety – every thread was double knotted at the beginning and end and every fabric was painstakingly turned back on the quilts, and, treble stitched into place – leaving no doubt that anything could ever fray, or indeed, ever become loose! With two special little additions on their way, nothing could ever be left to chance!! Absolutely everything on the quilts is made from cotton, including the wadding so that care and cleaning, and of course steam ironing to kill germs is always possible! All fabrics have been  pre-washed (for shrinkage and dye removal) which should mean that nothing, or very little, will effect or change their condition in the future years. Maybe they might even become little heirlooms 😉 What else have I been up to ???…Well……….Sarah had a couple of other ideas for her nursery — but I must point out that she wanted a complete surprise as to all the things I was making — I did ask if she wanted to check out the fabrics before I started……..BUT , ”No!” was her response….” I trust you completely,and I like surprises ;-D!!” OMG… no pressure then????!! Our Nephew, Richard and Sarah, his wife, had a very definite desire to do their nursery in a Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle Duck theme( even though they don’t know the gender of their babies) though whilst popular in the eighties, they couldn’t source new of what they wanted now! – So, I offered to try and create something for them as a gift!

To give you some idea of how many (and how tiny my hand stitches are) I placed a little pin for scale!

A little close up of the cot tidy applique – everything drawn, cut and placed by hand before hand stitching in place….Jemima looks so cute, even though she is only half the size of my hand overall on the little pockets…definitely worth all the effort  🙂

Some of Sarah’s wish list………… Bunting! Cot tidies! (What on earth are they???? – some investigation later and my own take on them – of course produced………….

Cot tidies x 2! With coordinating straps to firmly and safely attach to the end of the cots. You might have guessed by now, that Sarah Has planned an apple green nursery (even though I’ve thrown in a PEA GREEN accent colour!)  I did warn her about my ”strange choice’ ..but I’ll let you know what she really thinks! Oh My! I do hope she like it!!

A surprise gift! A Peter Rabbit doorstop mini Dumpy! I even managed to tailor a fully lined jacket from my own pattern design!

”Yay! my ears are amazing and I have carrots too”………OMG as soon as my fingers recover, I’m ready to start more new wonderful things! 🙂

Button craft – ”Button Buddy” OWLS and other cute creations in button craft

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'Button Buddies', Art, Art with buttons, Artistic moment, Arty, Being me, Button art, Button characters, Button craft, Button creation, Button obsessed, Button wall plaque, Buttons and bits, Character button things, Characterful creations, Crafty creation, Creative button characters, Creative crafting, Decorative wall hangings, Fun craft ideas, Fun creations, Handcrafed items, Handmade, One off designe, Original, Recycling Old Buttons, Unique, Using bits and pieces in craft, Vintage buttons

”Button Buddy” Owls

 

I really do seem to be feeding my button-fest mood at the moment, every shop I go into which sells buttons has my custom almost guaranteed !!! Along with the thousands of vintage buttons I have in my collection I have been adding many new ones too. I just love to create and what better than with the odd button or two…or three…or four and more… and other bits and pieces (most people would throw away) too! :-).

My ”Button Buddies” range started a few years ago, when I went to a button flower craft workshop, everyone was making button flowers – except me- I wanted to create something much more exciting and individual, so I set about making little characters instead. At the end of the class, people sat with their creations in front of them. Needless to say, mine were not anything to do with the class and entirely unique! Yay!!! Since then I have been incorporating each and every indivdual unique button character creation into many different things, these deep box framed wall plaques are another in my range

Creative Patchwork and Appliqué –

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Art, Artistic moment, Arty, Caren's canvas and craft, Colourful collages, Cotton collages, Crafty creation, Creative crafting, Cute fun art, Fabric art, Fabric craft ideas, Felt, Handmade Patchwork and applique, My Etsy Shop, Original, Original art

DALLYING DUCKLINGS DAY OUT Fun framed fabric art collages

Cute creativeness freshly framed!

Another of my little fabric collages. Simple ideas to use small scraps of leftover fabrics. Green cotton prints to form a background panel, floral prints for flower meadows and a little strip of shaded blue fabric for the stream, a strip of cross stitch backing for a fence, some simple embroidery for grass and flowers along the edge, a little quilted sky and hand stitched felt pieces for the appliquéd ducks.

All those little bits that were once a jumble in my scrap bags have come together to form a pretty picture – no two will ever be exact copies  – my imagination has too many different things to get out there to make more than one exactly the same!

Framed fabric art Collage – Sheep knitting

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Applique, Art, Art and craft, Art collage with fabric, Artistic moment, Arty, Caren's creative canvas and craft, Cotton fabrics, Craft, Crafted by hand, Crafty creation, Creative crafting, Cute crazy ideas, Dyed fleece, Embroidery threads, Fabric pictures, Framed fabric art picture, Green, Green environment, Green pattern fabric, Green sheep, Handmade designed ideas, Handmade original ideas, Handmade pictures, heep in the countryside, Imagination, Knitting on toothpicks, New, New craft ideas, Origiinal ideas, Original, Patchwork, Quirky designs, s, Scrap craft ideas, Sheep dip, Sheep in the countryside, Sheep knitting picture, Toothpicks, Unique creations, Weird and wonderful art

Sheep knitting
Framed fabric art collage

This little picture has been made from a selection of different fabrics to create a cute quirky scene. whilst I have machine stitched the background fabrics together, all the little applique pieces after that have been hand drawn, cut then stitched in place. The sheep sitting on the fence is one of my own drawings and though I may do a similar scene no two are ever completely alike, making them a unique piece of art!

If its been made by me at Caren’s creative canvas and craft there is only ever one like it in existence. If you find there isn’t something you want on my Etsy shop, please feel to contact me about a new creation idea! Items seem to ”fly off the shelves” sometimes before I even get to show what I have made, as in this case, which I don’t mind at all, but if you feel you might have missed out on something, a request can always see another unique similar creation happen!!

For fun I knitted some embroidery thread on two tooth picks to give the impression that the sheep is knitting from the wool of the smaller green sheep in the dye dip tub. For the effects of fencing I used small strips cut from a tapestry backing and stitched them in place too. Some simple embroidered grasses and flowers to decorate the foreground, with the final finishing touch of placing it on a felt backing and bordering it with cream cotton and then quilting the sky fabric to create texture on the plain fabric!

Photographed again without glass for added detail without reflections then safely mounted and glass replaced.

Now back to that ever growing pile of fabric……

Handmade and designed Bag – I love buttons tote!

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Art, Artistic moment, Arty, Button bag, Buttons, Caren's canvas and craft, Colourful bag, Cotton fabric handmade bage, Craft ideas, Crafty creation, Creative crafting, Designer handmade bag, Gift ideas, Hand quilted design, Handmade bag, Handmade original unique, Handmade patchwor, My Etsy Shop, Novelty tote, Tote, Unique bag

This is just the start of the buttons!

Ever eager to design something new and unique this was the result.

After much routing through my new buttons (I really never will have enough of them – okay in most people’ terms I already have too many – but they are so exciting, and to get a new batch is well …:-)  Simple pleasures – I don’t ask for much !

As always I like to keep things fairly simple but original so all my own design, no other one like this exists anywhere and never will be reproduced again in this exact manner. Constructed from a variety of cotton fabrics its perfect for anyone having a ”purple day” In fact is probably perfect for anyone have any a colour day, there are so many coloured buttons that I have hand stitched it could be an accessory for all occasions for extra close ups. Available for a limited time only this totally reversible bag with two different designs OR two bags for the price of one!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/177696636/i-love-button-tote-handmade-fabric-bag?ref=shop_home_active_1

It is my pleasure to produce handmade unique items with love and care and I hope their new owners enjoy them as much as I did making them!

Below are some other views of the bag and the clever multi-pocket feature I like to incorporate into my designs, which is always uniquely different too

I love buttons reverse

Flat view of Multi-pocket design feature
(scissors not included)

 

 

 

 

 

Handmade patchwork, quilted and embroidered ‘Golden Goose’ tote/bag

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All year patchwork bag/tote, Buttons and craft, Caren's canvas and craft, Christmas tote/bag, Craft with buttons, Crafty creation, Creative crafting, Designer bag, Designer tote/bag, Embroidered duck and flowers, Golden goose design, Hand quilted bag, Handmade, Handmade patchwork bag, Multi pocket feature, My Etsy Shop, Old button, Original, Original handcrafted bag, Patchwork, Recycling buttons, Red green patchwork, Unique

Golden goose tote/bag

For a little variation in my week away from ‘sheep’ pictures and Elephant ‘Doorstop Dumpies” I decided to make a Handmade patchwork tote/bag.

As the reds and greens are all around me after making Christmas decorations too, I thought I would put some less traditional red/green fabrics together from my collection for a more modern twist. The fabric surrounding the centre cream panel was the one I started with, It has a very eye catching combination of bright red, green and black in the printed design, I then found a simpler green print which coordinated very well with it and threw caution to the wind by using the red and white polka dot for the outer border and shoulder straps. Having decided on the fabric combination I needed to come up with a little something for the centre panel I wanted to have on the front of the bag. Torn between a Christmas creation and something which can be used all year round I came up with a compromise. I decided to put a little goose on the square, which has reference to the upcoming season, but, because it is waddling through a ‘flowery grassy scene’, it can be used at any time of year!

I drew my own goose design and hand embroidered it in a golden coloured thread in stem stitch then used a selection of green threads to create the ‘grass’ and stitched a few red ‘flowers’ to bring everything together.

For the reverse side of the tote/bag I went a little simpler in design

Reverse of the ‘Golden Goose’ Tote/bag

Still using the same materials as the front. After hand quilting both the front and reverse I found some old coordinating buttons to jazz up the back, meaning it can be used either way. Inside I made one of my multi-pocket features, one large open pocket at the back with a zipped one in front of that then a smaller open pocket at the bottom,

‘Golden Goose’ multi-pocket feature

Fully lined in a cream cotton and finally finished with a small magnetic clasp on the little flap.

Perfect for any time of year – including Christmas too!!!

 

Cushion Cover – Handmade Patchwork Quilting and Applique – Cushion Cover

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Applique, Butterflies, Cotton, Cotton satin, Craft, Crafty creation, Creative, Creative craft, Cushion cover, Decorative, Different materials, Fashion, Feature cushion covers, Flower fairy, Flower print, Hand appliqued, Handmade, Handmade cushion cover, Handmade feature cushion covers, Handmade patchwork cushion cover, Handmane Patchwork, Home furnishings, Lace, Original and creative, Original patchwork, Patchwork, Patchwork and quilting, Patchwork cotton, Quilting, Recycling scraps, Ribbon, Satin ribbon, Style, Unique patchwork

Flower Fairy Appliquéd Cushion Cover

For this patchwork cushion cover I used a variety of different materials. I first designed the centre panel flower fairy, all the tiny pieces were cut separately and hand appliquéd in place. Subsequent borders of satin ribbon, flower printed cotton, lace and then cotton satin for the outer border. After hand quilting, I then appliquéd the butterflies again by hand. Another unique piece of patchwork!