Little owls patchwork lap quilt – Handmade and hand quilted for my mum’s birthday

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Art, Artistic moment, Arty, Birthday surprise, Caren's canvas and craft, Colourful cotton fabrics, Colourful patchwork lap quilt, Crafty creations, Creative crafting, Day quilt, Fun gift ideas, Hand quilted creations, Hand quilted patchwork quilt, Handmade colourful patchwork throw, Handmade patchwork owl quilt, Little owls, My Etsy Shop, Nap quilt, Original, Original creative crafting, Patchwork owl throw, Patchwork owls, Patchwork quilt, Unique, Unique creations

Little owls lap quilt

After scratching my head over what to get my mum for her birthday, I decided I would make her a little day quilt for those afternoon naps she has in her chair, she says she only has then due to boredom – nothing to do with her age of course!

If only, I had thought to do it sooner though, with just over a week until her birthday, I really didn’t know if I would finish it in time???   So, decision made, I set off like the clappers. rummaging for a suitable centre for my simple patchwork squares. Aha! then I remembered, the half yard of little owl fabric! Hmmmmm!…now, where did I put it though…..? I looked at my stack of fabric boxes which are sorted by colour….but the little owls had many colours, so….which colour did I file them under??? (Mental note!- Get another box for things like this!!!) Again, I looked at the boxes stacked two deep floor to ceiling…and sighed…as I started  pulling them down one by one for the search of the little folded piece of fabric! After much box rifling, and rebuilding the stack behind me, I eventually found it….in the purple box!-third to last!! -Aaaargh!!! Now, I had to re-stack them all back again in their rightful place – but, not before collecting coordinating fabrics for the rest of the quilt.

As ever, no pattern involved,  just a matter of a ‘go for it’ approach, which I seem to have with all the quilts I have made so far. After cutting the little owl squares, I got the matching material which coordinated with the different colours on the owls and set about slicing and dicing, then, systematically built the tiny owl squares into larger ones, after connecting the pink border strips, it was ready for hand quilting. The last thing to do was to add the polka dot turquoise binding. “Et voilà !” Finished a day before I needed to be as well! I was pretty please with my eight days work – another unique crafty creation!

And, Yay! My mum loved her surprise Birthday present – I have been informed it has had a nap test too! 🙂

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Colourful Christmas Creations

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2014, Artist, Artistic commissions, Artistic design, Arty, Atistic, Caren's canvas and craft, Christmas, Christmas creations, Christmas customised, Christmas gift ideas, Cotton creations, Created from my own ideas, Creative crafting, Cushion covers, Custom creations, Design your own, Father Christmas, Hand crafted, Happy New Year, Heirloom, Merry Christmas, My Etsy Shop, New friends, Original, Original creative crafting, Original gifts, Patchwork, Patchwork pillows, Pillow covers, Quilted, Something unique, Traditional Christmas, Unique, Wordpress

 

Joshua’s giant stocking/sleeping bag!

Over the last few weeks I think I have almost worn my fingers away creating very individual custom ordered creations. (Though I am more than pleased to be able to do so – if any one should have a request in 2014 please feel free to email me about it and I can arrange to create something special for you or a loved one)

The clients who asked me to make the gifts gave little more brief than the names and ages of the recipients, allowing me to go into an enjoyable surge of creativity – which is completely fine with me, though I always wonder while I am making things ‘will it be what they perceive, will they like it or will they be disappointed?’ The children were aged between two weeks and six years so I tried to cast my mind back to when my children were of similar ages and what they were interested in and build a theme around it. The patchwork, appliquéd and quilted feature handmade cushion covers are all hand cut and each separate piece has been stitched into place to form the overall picture.  The youngest was Elliott (with 2 T’s- I didn’t do it wrong) and for him I felt the little bear was most appropriate and the oldest was Oliver for whom I guessed a space theme was more grown up (probably because of my daughter at that age, everything was awesome to her about space back then….in fact some things never change… as she is now in her final year of her PhD of planetary seismology, studying ‘Mars Quakes’! And, indeed, when she came home for the holidays yesterday, I showed her pictures of the order, which had already been picked up, she admitted her favourite cover was the space one after confessing to loving them all. More to the point though, the client absolutely loved them, and, without knowing, I had apparently got each name matched with what they most liked, which I was thrilled about 🙂

The last minute order was for a giant stocking (the first picture) ”As big as you can make it with Joshua on it, Please” was the request.  For the rest of the day after the order was taken, was spent designing and conjuring ideas to create a stocking for a little boy which would be used year on year. I wanted to make something more than just your bog standard red stocking with a fluffy white top which is what most people would have expected on a last minute order. I wanted to create a potential heirloom stocking with a timeless quality, inserting all my self taught sewing skills from the past year or so and something which would bring a’whoop’ of delight that first viewing from Joshua… SO, a giant penguin, in my own style, it would be!!! In the rush to get it ready I have worked for twelve hours per day for the last five days sketching, cutting and sewing each piece, adding tiny beads to the trees and then hand quilting over the entire front and back of the stocking. When I handed it over this evening to Joshua’s father, he was so pleased with it and totally unexpected from the ””Red stocking with a fluffy top he had imagined”’ he said, ”He couldn’t wait to go home and show Joshua’s mother”. Literally as he must have gotten home and shown her, I got a text to say how over the moon they were with it and they couldn’t wait to show it on face book. That means so much to me as a creative crafter and artist, to be able to share a mini creation, or in this case, a very large one. The stocking had a final size of 40.5 inches long by 23 inches wide at both top and toe. just perfect for a three year old to camp out in! 

These handmade and designed pieces will be winging their way via ‘Father Christmas’ to several little people as part of their exciting presents to be opened on Christmas morning. After finishing the last one today I think it an appropriate time to hang up my needle, threads and paint brushes and spend the last week preparing for our own family holiday as I have much shopping to do.

I wish each and everyone a Merry Christmas and a VERY Happy and Healthy 2014.

It has been quite a journey being on WordPress this last year for me, I have loved discovering exciting sites, following people’s journeys of creativity, expressions, expertise, or day to day living. One which I am very please I ventured into, after coming across many lovely people. I look forward to a better year next year and hope the same for you too!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Below are the custom handmade cushion covers…

Harry’s dinosaurs

George’s pirates

Elsie’s bunnies and hearts

Elliott’s teddy

Joshua’s jungle

Oliver’s space theme

A very special Jenny bunny cover for a very special girl

 

 

 

 

 

Bags – Handmade Designed Patchwork and Appliquéd – Shopping Bag

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Caren's creative canvas and craft, Colourful bag, Colourful buttons, Colourful cotton, Coordinating cotton fabric, Cotton fabric, Craft creation, Creative crafting, Echo and ditch quilting by hand, Felt applique, Felt toadstool, Gingham, Good shopping trip, Green cotton, Hand appliqued, Hand quilted, Handmade, Handmade and designed patchwork bag, Handmade designer patchwork, Handmade mushrooms, Handmade patchwork, Handmade patchwork bag, Handmade Shopping Bag, Handmade toadstools, Multi pocket feature, Mushroom bag, Old buttons, Original bag craft, Original creative crafting, Patchwork and applique, Patchwork and quilting, Patchwork coordination, Patchwork cotton, Red and white toadstools, Shopping solution, Stylish handmade bag, Toadstool designer bag, Unique handmade bag, Unique patchwork

‘How “mushroom” do you need in a bag?!”

This handmade and designed shopping bag was made from green linen and cotton canvas for the main structure. Each little piece of felt has been hand appliquéd to create the overall picture on the front. On the rear of the bag is also a picture of a toadstool/mushroom which I hand embroidered and then stuffed slightly to make it three dimensional. I hand quilted, with a combination of echo and ditch quilting. Inside there is one of my multi-pocket features, a double pocket – one with a zip, and a coordinating lining of green gingham. Finally I finished off the bag with some colourful old buttons!

I reckon there is as “mushroom” as you need in this bag for a good shopping trip!!!

Button Craft – Recycling Old Buttons – Trinket Box Button Craft

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'Button Buddies', 'Button Buddies' my creation, 'Button Buddy Brooches, 'Button Buddy', Beautiful button art, Beautiful button ideas, Brass buttons, Broches, Button artwork, Button brooches, Button Buddy Characters, Button characters, Button craft, Button crafts, Button wall plaques, Buttons, Caren's creative canvas and craft, Caren's creative craft ideas, Crafts and ideas, Crafty creations, Creative, Creative crafting, Decorative buttons, Fashionable buttons, Old buttons, Old fashioned buttons recycled, Original, Original button ideas, Original creative crafting, Original ideas for buttons, Pewter buttons, Recycling, Recycling Old Buttons, Trinket box, Trinket boxes, Unfashionable buttons, Wall plaques, Wooden button box

Recycling Old Buttons

Having acquired probably thousands of old buttons over the years, my main idea is to give them all, at some point, a second chance. Recycling them, usually not in the way they were designed to be used, as fasteners on clothing, but as decorative and creative pieces of artwork. Also in this section, of Button Craft, you will see my original idea of creating little character “Button Craft – ‘Button Buddy’ Brooches – Recycling Old Buttons ” as Brooches and on Button Craft – My ‘Button Buddy’ Characters. This little wooden box has been covered with what we now consider to be out of fashion old brass and pewter buttons. On their own they seem worthless, not so, now arranged as decorative and beautiful on this little trinket box!

Below are other little trinket boxes covered in Recycled Old Buttons