One A Day Challenge 1950's Inspired Tweed Bow Bag

I thought I was being tad keen promising to post this yesterday!  Anyhoo, better late than never here is today's  offering a Purple Tweed Bow Bag and it is going straight into my Folksy shop. Bows were really big in the 50's and have recently made a fashion comeback. 

For some reason whilst making this bag I was reminded of one of my favourite B&W films Noel Cowards A Brief Encounter, I don't know whether it was the tweed or the fact that I have been listening to chick flick soundtrack whilst sewing.  I feel like I should be sat in a railway cafe waiting for my gentleman friend and on that note I will leave you hope you all have a simply, super evening!

Day 5 Button Comb

Todays post has been a little late as I have been busy banging my head on the keyboard!  I have been busy setting up my new Folksy shop and revamping my website.  So far I only have 6 items but will be adding the rest of my stock over the next few days, have a look at let me know what you think.

So here is todays make a cute comb adorned with some of the gazillions of buttons that I have accumulated over the years.

Ok I am going for a lie down in a dark room now!

New Year New Ideas!

So we are all back to work, well in a fashion.  The snow has meant that I have had 1 child off school for the past 2 days and little one has had to go because hers is open (she was not a happy bunny!).  Hubby is a salesman so travels a lot this means I have had him working from home as well.  So back to business! 

Web design course is now over and I am waiting on the results.  To be honest I was not that impressed with the course and if I had the ability of hindsight I would have saved the money and bought myself a book!  So now time to put it all to the test with a new sparkly website which is currently being constructed.  Eldest daughter had new, do everything camera for Christmas and will be taking me some decent photographs of my handbags and accessories for the new site, no more shaking or blurry!  I have also been asked to create a website for gentleman next door who has driving instructor business, my first commission!

Over the holidays I went shopping for fabric and yesterday dusted off my sewing machine, gosh I have missed her!  This is the front piece of a bag I am making with the new material.  The picture doesn't do it justice but the silky green fabric is an amazing colour and the buckle is from my local charity shop, I love mooching about in there. 

I have also been looking for inspiration to kickstart my new year and stumbled across this lady, Hopscotch Corner, on UK Handmade.  Her work is amazing and made me immediately want to get my machine out and start embroidering!  Have a look at her work on Flickr. 

Apologies for this being a bit of a whistle stop post but I am suffering from too much to do and not enough hours in the day and now hubby is asking for another brew and biscuits...mmm!

This week I have been concentrating on getting my website http://www.notjusthandbags.co.uk/ spick and span, whilst trying to organise it into a more professional layout.  However, my copy of dreamweaver is not working and I am having to resort to a combination of windows publisher and html coding which whilst it gives you a buzz to know that you are doing it all 'by hand' so to speak leaves you at times banging your head on the keyboard! 

I am going to add an accessories section to my site and capitalise on the success of my fabric brooches at the recent fair.  So fingers crossed.


Also, this week I have discovered something called crazy quilting.  Having partially assembled some Christmas fabric into patchwork cushions (photos in later blogs) I was mooching on the internet and discovered this practice, amazing!  At last something that a) uses up all those bits of fabric you keep because they will be useful one day! b) I don't have to think about the layout and c) allows my creativity to flow as it is made up as you go along.  Some of the pieces I have been working on already scream to be bag fronts so will keep you posted!

I have noticed that I know have 22 lovely people following my witterings so hellooo to you all, I also have 39 on my facebook page,  ooh I can feel a give away coming on??..............

These are a few of my favourite things

I have been avoiding this post as I have been desperately trying to be very businesslike with this blog and not deviate. However, I can refrain no longer returning from taking the kids to school this morning I looked at the trees and I thought yippee autumn is now here! I adore this time of year, people moan and say about dark nights but I love it. I truly know that winter is approaching when one of my favourite programmes begins Autumnwatch and I know it is really sad and the kids moan but I don't care. Autumn also means that Christmas is not far away and all I have to do is endure Halloween which has got to be the biggest pain in every mums bum. I must admit the decorator in me loves decorating the window and seeing the little ones coming around, it is just the big teenage ones that scare me to death and half of them don't wear a mask!



I also love sitting in my nice, warm, cosy house watching the tv and sewing. This year I will be mainly sewing these little beauties that I found trawling the web. If I start now they will make excellent pressies for my girls to give their friends for Christmas. Click here to see fab tutorial and pattern of how to make them. Thanks Sarah. x