Home Sweet Home

Just a small creation from the weekend...

A bird house; carefully created from cardboard and layers of book pages. Made all the more complete by the felted bird perched elegantly on the top, and the stamped word 'home'.

It's a bit wonky, but I love it for that all the more.

...Miss Jones...

Cupboard Love

So lovely readers, it has been too long since I last posted!

I bought this cupboard a few months ago; it was a plain dark wood, with some rather plain beige fabric on the back and shelves.

As I was driving home I could already see it's potential...

It is now a rather sophisticated cupboard painted in 'Smoulder' and 'Carragheen', polished and tastefully arranged with a few select items.

...Miss Jones...

Crafty Girl

 

This week I have carefully crafted four felted creations...

 

 

A mushroom.

 

 

A bird.

 

 

An elephant.

 

 

And a dog.

They were all created using the aid of a pastry cutter; simply stuff the wool in the cutter and then proceed as per usual. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?!

 

 

I have also been experimenting with making an origami bow; at present I’m not sure what this will be used for…

 

And a collection of hearts, made from the pages of a dictionary. I quite like the symbolism of that - words are needed to make a heart complete. (In this case it is only words beginning with ‘a’!)

 

This pair of hearts I thought would be quite well suited as earrings?

 

 

 

 

 

...Miss Jones...

Peg It Up

Following the success of my stamping session, I decided to embark upon another; this time using clothes pegs. Once again I had the most fun ever, and the results are quite fabulous (even if I do say so myself!!)

 

 

 

 

...Miss Jones...

Stamp It Out

I spent this afternoon regressing to my childhood; squandering away a couple of hours stamping. That's right, stamps! I haven't had so much fun in ages! These are the results...

...Miss Jones...

Bunting in a Box

Whilst trawling Pinterest over the New Year I came across someone's genius idea for 'Bunting in a Box'. The box is a matchbox covered in vintage sheet music. The string is bold red and white stripes, and the flags are pages from a book.

I think the candy cane string brings a welcome splash of colour to the bunting. I think it's rather cute and would make a wonderful present for a fabulous friend.

...Miss Jones...

More Tea?

Having had such fun making the last tea cup I constructed another one! Making a few subtle changes so it was slightly less wonky...

The message along the top reads;

'Her heart was a secret garden and the walls were very high'

If I was at all good at felting I would have liked to make tiny strands of ivy to climb delicately up the walls of the cup.

...Miss Jones...

p.s. Merry Christmas!

Time for Tea

 

 

I found a tutorial for a paper teacup the other day on pinterest. And, as I was on a paper creating roll I set about making one.

 

I didn't particularly follow the template or instructions; so my teacup is slightly wonky looking.

 

With its slightly crooked handle, wonky sides, and uneven bottom, it is quite charmingly rustic.

Carefully cutting out the letters for the words 'Time for Tea' was perhaps the trickiest part of all. Small letters like those were just designed to fly across the kitchen table at the slightest bit of breeze!

 

 

 

 

...Miss Jones...

 

Just a Little Bit of Origami

I have been experimenting with origami today. The folding is very therapeutic and I'd never before realised quite how much fun it was!

I successfully created a star, a dress and lots of little boats (the boats are my favourite!)

The boats are made from a mixture of music sheets and book pages. They have teeny tiny flags and sit quite elegantly on their little sticks. 

...Miss Jones...

Fine Lines.

 

 

It was one of my best friend's birthdays on 18th November, and (as an awful friend) I have only just finished making her present. It is compiled of quotes I know she loves, and ones I feel suit her perfectly.

 

 

They are taken from a variety of places; Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, Roald Dahl, Shakespeare and some from the wonderful Pinterest. I love the difference in fonts; some fine and elegant, some bold and abrasive. I'd forgotten how much fun writing and drawing in fineliner was - might have to do this more often!

 

 

 

...Miss Jones...

'Get Off of My Cloud'

 

 

I have had this project half finished for rather a long time... So I am happy to report that it is finally finished! It is a happy cloud - quite appropriate considering I am writing this on a dull, drizzly day!

 

 

It is made from pretty scraps of fabric, which were really too small for anything, but far too nice to throw away! The intricate lace of the cloud perfectly represents the many droplets of water which hang suspended in the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

...Miss Jones...

 

p.s. 'Get Off of My Cloud' by The Rolling Stones, of course.

Handmade Wreath

I know I promised to blog everyday, but once every couple of days is just as good, right? It's certainly better than my previous track record!
 
With Christmas fast approaching, once again I started to make another wreath a couple of days ago. But a combination of things - waiting for glue to dry and going away for a couple of days - meant that I have only just finished it! I decided I would challenge myself to make it entirely from scratch - here are some instructions in case you are ever tempted to make one yourself!

Step One
Cut a ring out of cardboard - I found it easiest to use a cereal packet - and use two different sized plates to draw the circle.
 
Step Two
Coat the ring in papier mâché (newspaper and glue) to make it stronger. I repeated this several times, letting it dry thoroughly in between. If it still doesn't seem very strong you can, like me, always add a ring of wire. I simply cut a length of wire to fit inside the circle and then used masking tape to attach it to the card; before adding another layer of papier mâché.
 

 

Step Three
Choose a book - I used the remaining pages of Oliver Twist. Cut out three different sized leaf templates - you need one large, one small and one narrow and long. With the large leaf cut out 30/32 leaves from the pages of your chosen book (I only did 28 because that's when the pages ran out).
 
Step Four
Stick these large leaves to the wreath (which is now hopefully dry!) You need to place one under the wreath and one on top of it so you make a kind of wreath sandwich. I left a gap of about 1cm between each leaf.
 
Step Five
While that dries cut out 15 of your small leaf template and 15 of your narrow, long leaf template.
 
Step Six
Stick a short leaf underneath the wreath in the gap you have left between each of the larger leaves. Make an arch with the longer leaf over the top, so you stick just the two tips of the leaves to each other. Leave to dry.

 
Step Seven
Find some gorgeous ribbon and thread it around the wreath, or alternatively tie it in a beautiful bow.

Voila! Your very own handmade wreath!
 
 
 

 

...Miss Jones...

Passion.

Very much inspired by this quote today:

'If you can't figure out your purpose, figure out your passion.

For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.' T.D.Jakes

I have many passions - I guess I'll wait and see which one leads me into my purpose!

...Miss Jones...

Fine Feathers

As I am now, officially, 'unemployed' I decided to start my first day as I mean to go on - by blogging!

Today has not been the most creative of days; but I have succeeded in getting my hair cut and making some paper feathers. I had seen some similar feathers on Pinterest, and after admiring them for some time I figured it should be easy enough to accomplish (if I was careful and patient!)

I began by carefully drawing and cutting out some templates; which I then traced onto some pretty wrapping paper from Paperchase (it has some of the nicest patterns, doesn't it?) before, once again, carefully cutting them out.

I haven't quite decided what to do with them yet - perhaps mounted on a piece of crisp white card and elegantly framed?

...Miss Jones...

Memories.

Many weeks ago I set about creating a memory holder made from a vintage book. I had only vague ideas of what it was to eventually look like, but with a little bit of effort I quickly finished it.

 

Unfortunately I was so busy in the weeks leading up to the Frome Vintage Fair that I completely forgot to take a picture of my masterpiece. I sold it to my friend over at Vintage Jane, who was so enamoured by my 'book' that she decided to blog about it too! You can find a link to it here.

I therefore decided to create another one...
 

 

I've matched the plain beige cover to a subtly patterned fabric; leaving more of it showing this time to provide a bit more colour. I carefully wrote out a quote from Alice in Wonderland - 'Curiouser and Curiouser' - quite apt don't you think?

 

 

The memories included are a newspaper cutting from 'The Nursing Mirror' circa 1921 and a poem entitled 'The Sweet-Brier Rose'.

 

 

...Miss Jones... 

Quick Game?

I spent a happy half an hour today tinkering with Scrabble tiles.

Arranging them this way...

... and that.

...Miss Jones...

Trio of Birds

So after a rather prolonged absence, I have finally got back on the blogging bandwagon! It's not that I haven't been making, just not blogging about it!

My first creation was this trio of delightful little birds. They are all hand-stitched and have perfectly mismatched wings.

...Miss Jones...

Spring Bunny

With the arrival of Spring and the sun I decided that a 'Spring Bunny' was crying out to be made! The shape is slightly better, but still a bit wonky - I'm working on improving my technique!

He's got cute ditsy floral patches, pink whiskers and a floppy ear; and is all set for a weekend of sun!

...Miss Jones...

Hey Dolly

So with the (relative) success of my Easter bunny, I embarked upon a new project. A doll. This time I was all on my own; no pattern, no instructions, just a rough idea of what I wanted the finished project to look like.

The pattern was not too hard to make, the fabric was easily cut and sewn, but the problems began when I started to stuff the body. I cannot sew shoulders. No matter how even they look when pinned neatly, the moment I start sewing, the machine takes over, and ... well, suffice to say, the results are never pretty. 

She also suffers from a serious case of double chin... Unfortunately this cannot be rectified, and is probably not noticeable to others, but that is all I can see (as it often is when you've made a mistake!)

After sewing the body together, I set about making a pair of old fashioned bloomers and petticoat. And, surprisingly, I managed this very well!! A top (slightly more difficult) and skirt (complete with belt) finished off her outfit. Now I just had to give her some defining features; bright blue eyes, a pretty rosebud mouth and golden flowing locks. The locks don't 'flow' so much as hang, or stick out awkwardly, but not everyone's perfect!

So, there we have it, one (slightly) imperfect (but beautiful all the same) doll!!

...Miss Jones...