Button Fayre loves having lots of fun with designing and sewing and loves even more to be able to give something back to all the loyal followers.
So, here's the end of October giveaway to win a gorgeous custom designed ' Button Fayre Street ' house decoration.
So many people love to share and spread the word and so a massive thank you to all for the wonderful support so far and the giveaway will run until Sunday 2nd November with the winner being announced shortly after 8pm.
Best of luck to all!
Lucy x
I was recently asked to design and make a ' rainbow ' themed item for a joint giveaway which was fantastic for Button Fayre but at the time I was going through some turbulence at home with one of my daughter's being poorly.
I already have one daughter with severe Crohn's disease which isn't at all easy and so when another one became poorly in February, and remained poorly since, it was quite stressful to say the least and all came to a head a few weeks ago with a stand off battle between my GP and I. He repeated that it was simple anxiety and I repeated that it was more....I know my daughter and so insisted on having blood tests and a scan for starters.
When they found a congenital kidney abnormality ( nothing serious but just needs monitoring ) it was such a huge relief after all of those months of knowing that something was wrong and being told it was nothing, but I found my head spinning with it all, especially after a two day hospital admission for further tests which threw me off course in family life and with Button Fayre and orders of course. These things can't be helped though and so I let everyone know what was going on work wise and had a ' mini holiday ' ( this is what I've come to call the hospital stays since my other daughter with Crohn's was diagnosed 4 years ago at aged 9 ) in hospital, purchasing girly magazines, sitting and playing Hangman and Scrabble and getting on with the necessaries.
My time in hospital was very anxious as a parent of course but it also gave me some time to think about the future of Button Fayre, organising which kinds of Christmas gifts I'd like to sew, and for the rainbow giveaway. So, sitting at the large window, looking at the outside world ( it's very pretty and green, orange and red around here right now ) it gave my muddled thoughts inspiration and I love nothing better than these moments in life because they're actually the best times to find inspiration, when your mind surpasses the ' norm ' and you can float off into a make believe world where the clouds are fluffy pink candy floss, the sea turns into green jelly and you realise that life is actually there for the taking and that you must appreciate every single second of it, taking every single opportunity that comes your way and loving all of those amazing people around you......family, friends and the folk that give the world some colour.
When I got home I set to work on my rainbow themed giveaway prize, a pretty textile art piece and nothing extraordinarily extravagent but something a little special because as an artist it was so close and personal to me.
I decided to do a little house with a beautiful rainbow above it but already being the kind of artist that loves the abstract side of life, and with the recent anxiety as a parent, my rainbow became all muddled up. This wasn't an unhappy muddled, to the contrary, it was me, the happy person that I am, the person that loves to fill the world with colour and just so happened to feel all topsy turvy at the time, hence this gorgeous rainbow that may not be conventional but it was my little escape from reality, I hope you like it.
This is now on it's way to it's new home, and owner, and I hope she loves it.
If you would like your own Button Fayre textile art piece, representing some of me and maybe some of your own input too, then please do get in touch with me on Facebook, it's always a pleasure.
I hope you enjoyed the story behind my recent piece and I'd love to hear about your inspiration and thoughts too.
Lucy x
Super duper 8,000 likes giveaway over on Facebook!
www.facebook.com@ButtonFayre
If you're like me then you'll know what it's like to fit a full time job around family but I love it so much and I think I'm giving my children some good life's lessons too about being organised, running a business from home, having patience, time skills, and general happiness in the household because good old Mum's doing what she loves.
I've been feeling really quite overwhelmed for a few weeks now and even more so recently since reaching 8,000 likes on Button Fayre's Facebook page. It was only a month ago that I reached 7,000 likes and I'm only now sewing up a family tree cushion for the wonderfully patient lady who won it because I've been fitting orders in too of course. So, whilst sewing up a 7,000 like giveaway prize I'd decided to run another wonderful giveaway to celebrate reaching 8,000 likes and decided upon a freestyle, freehand machine embroidered piece.
As you can see in the above photos, those two pieces couldn't be more different in design and texture and so I can't wait to see what theme the winner comes up with, just so that I can push myself into a new challenge and find out what I can accomplish. Doing giveaway's for me is mostly about being given challenges, setting goals to see if I can stick to them and getting to know what potential clients like, I love it.
If you'd like to enter this latest giveaway then head on over to Button Fayre's page, link above, and allow me the pleasure of a new challenge.
I've also recently been involved in another giveaway, a really massive joint one which went super well and I'm currently involved in another joint giveaway, details on Button Fayre's Facebook page, where I had to design a woodland themed item and so came up with this, a gorgeous toadstool Christmas stocking. The stocking was appliquéd, freehand machine embroidered, and hand painted to give it a uniquely special handmade feel and I hope the winner loves it.....plenty of time to enter this one as it only started yesterday.
I love twisting and turning the ' norm ' into something different and magical and so these toadstools kind of remind me of Christmas lollipops.
Best of luck to everyone that enters any of the giveaway's and so much is happening right now, so many new designs, that I'll write another blog very, very soon, to tell you all about it.
Lucy x
I'm very guilty indeed of absolutely loving every single season and after having quite a rubbish summer here in the Limousin I'm now looking forward to the warm Autumn days and the colours they bring.
Children are back at school next week and we have a huge thing going on because our twins are starting nursery which will feel very strange. There's not been a day go by in the last two and a half years that I've not spent with them both and now all I want to be is a fly on the wall, he he he.
So, looking on the positives, this is going to allow me more time to work which will be fantastic and I can really start to get Button Fayre going, fitting in more orders and generally having a fab time with fabrics and my sewing machine, plus more time to write regularly on my blogs, updating Pinterest and fitting in chats with other crafter friends.
Somehow I've actually managed to come out with some beautiful designs over the summer but it's not hard when there's so much going on around here with festivals, carnavals and general French going's on's, I'm very lucky!
The above cushion was designed during my two week holiday time actually and as I wasn't under pressure, time wise, I was able to pick it up, put it down, and relax with it which was nice. It's the first time I've added quite a large design using fabric paint too ( they're the rays of colour on the left hand side ) and this design is so wonderful simply because I'm able to offer a piece of Button Fayre at a very affordable price and there will be more coming in this range which is exciting.
This gorgeous cat cushion is one of 5 orders I've had under a special offer and turned out so beautifully. I really love it when I'm asked for certain colours because it changes the whole look of the basic design and so I've had real fun with these and am still designing and sewing the last two.
I've also managed to sew up a few Kindle Paperwhite cases too which are all quite beautiful and I love adding vintage buttons to the modern fabrics, it always looks so quirky and works really well.
I'm able to sew up any size case and was asked to make a Samsung Galaxy 2 tablet case which was super fun and these might just be popular in the festive period, hope so!
I could show you more but I'll stop there so that I can tell you quickly about the giveaway I recently run.
It was an amazing experience and I had lots of new visits to my Facebook page which was brilliant, it's always good to keep things fresh and up to date so that when new visitors come, as well as old, things are exciting.
The winner was Sam Belsey and she's very excited about her family tree cushion that's going to take me a couple of weeks to complete but I'm very excited too, even more so by her enthusiasm, and so a huge congratulations to her.
I'll be talking a little bit ( nooooo, it's not too early for crafters, he he he ) about Christmas and the upcoming range ( already started on Button Fayre's Facebook page ) in the next blog post because it's such an exciting time of the year to work towards it all, I love it.
Lucy x
My goodness, it's that time again and I don't think I've ever done such a huge giveaway either!
I'm thrilled to have recently reached 7,000 likes on Facebook and so to celebrate I'm giving away a beautiful family tree cushion. These take me anything from 15-20 hours to design, cut, prepare and sew and so it really is a fabulous opportunity to own something gorgeously unique.
If you would love to win this cushion then please head over to Button Fayre on Facebook, link below, and follow the rules....they're actually very easy and so it won't take you long.
www.facebook.com/buttonfayre
Best of luck to all and I'll be back soon with a more lengthy blog post and lots of summer holiday news.
Lucy x
For those of you who've never attempted a textile art piece before then this could be the tutorial for you.
For this tutorial you will need only you, your sewing machine and a freehand machine embroidery foot ( although not obligatory ) and some spontaneity.
The above piece is part of a piece I made a few months ago now and is rather complex and took a lot more time than the piece will do if you follow the instructions in this tutorial BUT it gives you an idea of what you can complete if you have the passion and time for it and creating art using fabrics is really something super special, another way of using your imagination and letting yourself go into a whole new world.
Everyone has their own unique way to sew, their own style, the colours they like and the fabrics they choose, and no one way is more right than another and so this is an opportunity to really let you hair down and have some fun.
I started this tutorial by deciding that I wanted to challenge myself a little, given the time limit of 3 hours and by means of the fabrics I chose . So, I chose fabrics that are all completely different in textures, strengths and thicknesses.
There's some pink netting, hessian, 100% wool fabric and some velvet cord, oooh, I also decided along the way to add some blue corduroy.
Have a feel of the fabrics in front of you, do they already shout an idea out to you? Do you have a particular style you like, or a particular style you're used to? I followed the theme of flowers that Button Fayre loves so much and everything else was quite literally done and decided as I went along.
Next I started to think about the design I could create with what I had in front of me and used some templates I already have ( I make all of my own templates and then keep absolutely everything for future use ) to start cutting out some flower shapes.
You can make your piece as simple or elaborate as you wish too, you can add ribbons and embellishments, laces and buttons, anything you want to!
I love working with different coloured cottons and so chose a bright pink for the sewing work in my design and then started to cut out strips of the pink netting, twisting it around, to make flower shapes.
Now you're starting to get somewhere, it's an exciting feeling isn't it?
Next I set up my freehand embroidery foot to my sewing machine ( this isn't obligatory at all, I felt it easier with the thicker fabrics I have but you can sew like this with a normal foot too, I even freehand machine embroider sometimes with no foot at all! It all depends what you're used to and feel comfortable with ) and started to sew, twice, around the edges of my flower shapes.
Once I'd sewn all flowers into place I started to prepare the pink netted flowers, just by sewing along the bottoms and cutting any excess away so that it'd be easier to sew them on to the hessian and overall design.
Things really started to take shape at this point but I was also running out of time and so here's a photo of the completed flower design.......don't stop just yet though, there's still some more sewing to do.
I freehand embroidered a name into my design at this stage because I'd decided it would make a lovely gift for a friend and I also added some sequins and a hand embroidered flower. You can add anything you wish to!
The next stage involves securing your edges and you can choose a backing fabric to cover the inside of your sewing piece. Once you've measured your outlines and are happy you have the shape you would like then simply set your machine back to normal, with the normal sewing foot, and sew a tight zig zag stitch all the way around the outside of your piece. This is optional. I'd already decided to turn this design into a wall hanging and thought the outside edges might look nicer if they were finished neatly.
I then simply pinned some ribbon into place and sewed it along the zig zag stitching I'd already done to hide it a little.
Isn't it an amazing feeling once you reach this stage? I'd started this spontaneous piece with no real idea in mind of what I wanted or how it might look once complete and at this point you can sit back and admire your finished work, giving yourself a huge pat on the back.
Don't worry if it didn't turn out as you'd hoped, it's all a learning experience! I'm not a huge fan of hessian but thought this piece might look interesting with so many different textures involved. It was also a relatively fast piece to complete, all in the time limit of 3 hours but you can really go to town with lots of designs once you feel confident enough and never be afraid to try using as many types of fabrics, ribbons and embellishments as you can find.
The finished piece, a unique, handmade, piece of textile art that you can proudly hang up in your own home or give as a gift to someone special.
Enjoy!
Lucy x
I'm feeling very happy right now, so at ease with myself and life around me.
The summer is unfolding beautifully here in France although we've had our fair share of storms and rain now. I quite like it though because it's nature's way of clearing the air or we'd all suffocate with the heat.
Button Fayre's been extremely busy recently completing orders, designing a wonderful Robot blanket for a commission, and of course with the auction to raise money for CICRA.
I'm very happy to announce that the total raised is £231.51 and the donation has now been made. A
massive thank you to everyone involved for your wonderful support, it was a huge success.
I lovely lady approached me on Facebook recently and asked if I could design a cuddle blanket for her two year old son. I was hot on the case and ordered in some lime green fleece ( which is delicious and wonderful to work with, I think I'll be ordering more in lots of colours! ) I suggested doing a robot as I knew this would be a fun thing to work on and she very happily agreed.
Working on a robot design was really great and designing with boys colours in mind and different shapes...well, it was super duper.
Here's the finished blanket and the photo doesn't do it justice but it's so rich, vibrant and fun to look at! My two year old twins have been extremely drawn to it and their faces lit up when I showed it to them, so lovely to see their smiles at my work.
I've called him ' The Raggedy Robot ' because with time, the freehand machine embroidered squares on the main body will fray slightly and really give him some texture and life, I love that effect in my work!
I'm hoping that the next blog post I write will be a tutorial for a quick piece of textile art and so keep your eyes peeled.
Lucy x
This is just a quickie to make sure everyone's in on the action!
I'm holding a fabulous giveaway on Button Fayre's Facebook page and so please do head on over to enter as it's ending this-evening!
The prize is for a gorgeous flower brooch made from vintage linens and laces, vintage and modern buttons and hand sewn embroidery.
The ' GREAT BUTTON FAYRE SEWING BUZZ AUCTION ' is going amazingly! Goodness, what a fabulous group of people there are on Facebook. It's ending this-evening at 9pm and so please do check that out on Facebook too as all items are of an exceptional standard and all very beautiful too.
As always, I LOVE and celebrate handmade!
I've also posted some useful information about Liberty's ' Best of British ' and the ' PopUp Britain ' schemes on Button Fayre's Facebook page and so that's worth checking out too, I think as designers/makers we should grab every opportunity that comes our way.
Lucy x
Great news for everyone!
I've worked for over 2 months to organise the fabulous competition that gave me the entries into the amazing auction to raise money for CICRA ( children with Crohn's and Colitis ).
The auction is now officially open and runs until 9pm on Sunday 13th, best of luck to all as there are some gorgeous handmade designs available and all starting at only £3.50.
Here's the link to take you straight to the Facebook album on Button Fayre's page;
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.262506723929227.1073741901.115156331997601&type=1
Best of luck and hae some fun,
Lucy x
Inspiration comes from so many places, I've even been inspired by smells in the past and the memories they hold.
I've often found that breathing deeply and taking a few minutes out of your day simply to think about nothing, can lead to some quite inspiring off thoughts which in turn take you on a journey of inspirational discovery. I'm pretty good at turning an idea around in my head too as I have a very overactive imagination and when you're very heavily inspired by colour, it's not difficult to think up something new and fantastic.
So, on the way to our local capital town for shopping, I must have passed a certain house dozens of times in the last 6 years since living in the Limousin, France, and although always found it very compelling and quite mysterious, it's always just passed me by and I admire the beauty of it for a few seconds and then it's gone again until next time. This house is nothing extraordinary, quite a humble small village corner house on the main road, but what is really quite amazing is the fact that there are red roses growing inside all of the downstairs windows! I've never actually seen something like this in this kind of setting and yes, we're used to walking into a flower shop and seeing flowers indoors but in an actual house AND up all windows? They are really so beautiful to look at, the bottle green paintwork on the exterior of the windows really looks pretty against the reds too, it really is very picturesque. Little Shop of Horrors also comes to mind and it makes me giggle, especially yesterday when we went past and I saw a super trendy old lady, really quite eccentric looking, cleaning the outside of the windows! She's now added another part to the intrique I have and I found myself imagining what it's like inside her house, what kind of life she's lived, and quite possibly if she's an artist of some kind. I even found myself imaginging a giant, man-eating plant inside calling and singing to her ' Feed me Seymour, feed me now! ' he he he
Anyway, this house became the inspiration for some of my work, mainly the technique I use to create textile art pieces using lots of little flower shapes that I freehand machine embroider to make into a super design like the ' Flowery Snail ' and now my latest.....wait for it......' The Flowery Caravan '.
' The Flowery Caravan ' is a work of art and designers, artists and crafters have the patience of a saint! I spent 20 hours in total on this design and it took me one week of thinking, designing and cutting in preparation and then sewing in stages because this kind of work does actually make my brain all dizzy when I look at the colours and fabrics for too long, 3 hours at any given time is quite sufficient to be sat at a sewing machine under these conditions!
Without further a do here it is and you've been given a brief insight into the inspiration behind it and what motivated me into putting so much time, love and effort into this design. I must say that it's turned out rather beautifully too.
Love it or hate it, everyone has different tastes, BUT one thing's for sure, don't you find it incredible what can be done with fabric?
Lucy x
I've always found the imagination fascinating, especially after studying for my psychology degree, the whole thing really gives me a buzz knowing that we're all so different, so unique and individual.
I had a very vivid imagination as a child and it's something that I seem to have carried into adulthood. Call it childish or be fascinated by it but I have to admit that I'm the first to think high thoughts in any given situation.....a floorboard creaking is a world of fairies living under the floor when it's just the cat coming into the room or a noise in the room is maybe a monster, he he he. I don't seem to think of a logical explanation first, it's always something from fantasy land which I think is quite endearing in a way.
On an artistic level this seems to have given me opportunities throughout life. I love all arts, including dance and music. I play the piano and I even tap danced with the Royal Academy of Dancing for 10 years. I adore the theatre and always have an urge to just jump up with them all to join in and I'm fascinated by the history of art after studying it on my BTEC interior design course in the 90's, in fact, this is a subject I want to investigate further one day.
Understanding art and it's origins is quite complex but boy what a ride and I loved studying evolotionary psychology too where even in the process of natural and sexual selection psychologists have asked why illnesses such as Bipolar have managed to survive but in fact, it's because a lot of people who suffer from Bipolar are very artistic which gives them a huge advantage in the world. It would appear that in life there's always a reason for everything and this fascinates me.
Moving back to my own personal imagination, I'd decided a few months ago to start designing a range of cushions to do with animals and creatures in nature. You've already seen a few of them but one of the recent ones is just adorable and really something. It's called ' The Flowery Snail ' and I already love using the technique of freehand machine embroidering lots and lots of shapes ( the shape depending on the design ) into a design and so following a summer and garden theme I decided to decorate my snail with flower shapes and each one was sewn separately and so you can imagine how long it took. It's so worth it though, see for yourself.
I love this design so much, it sums up who I am and what Button Fayre is with one glance. Anything goes with me, I love trying new things and adding different techniques into my designs and I also love mixing different techniques into one design too which I find gives it texture.
We all have different life stories, dreams and ideas which is what makes us all so unique and depending on our personalities, things can sometimes be a little repressed or extremely extrovert but one thing's for sure, we all have the ability to have an imagination, and to use it too.
Lucy x
Button Fayre has been very busy lately designing and sewing for an exhibition, now on 20th June and celebrating the ' Féte de musique ' here in France too, completing orders and generally designing.
Of course it helps to have some sunshine in your life and mine not only comes from up there in the big blue sky but my family is also my sunshine and inspiration, especially my children whom help me to grow and evolve as a person and as a business in so many wonderful ways. Their faith in me, their joy and happiness when they see something I've designed and sewn, and even their moments of frustration when I need to get something complete and ask them for just 5 more minutes, it's all a huge learning curve for both myself and for them and I hope I'm giving them a wonderful example.
The ' GREAT BUTTON FAYRE ' sewing buzz competition is closing in 3 days, 1st June. It's flown by and there are the most beautiful entries so far with lots more on the way, it's an incredible example of human nature and kindness and I'm so proud to have set it up and even more proud to have the most amazing friends and colleagues in the crafting world.
Here's a photo of some sunshine on a daisy cushion I recently made, I love it! Where's the sunshine fallen upon in your home recently? Do you have a corner of the house that you just love when the sunshine comes in?
I hope the sun is shining wherever you are in the world today,
Lucy x
I thought this might be interesting.....I'm not going to say much on this post because I want it to be visual and I'm going to post a few photos of a work in progress, from start to finish, as I love photos like this!
Let your imagination go wild, even try and get into mine through these photos if you want, and most of all, I hope they inspire you to get creative.
' Ooooh, which ones shall I choose for this brooch project today? '
' I've just spent the afternoon freehand machine embroidering these and then machine sewing the flowers on to give a 3D effect, cute! '
' Let's prepare them to sew up into a brooch! '
' Here we go.....action shot! '
' Et voila! '
They're cute aren't they? They're called ' Folie Mixture ' jug of flowers brooches. Folie because it's French for a bit of madness and rhymes with ' Dolly ', because these really do remind me of Dolly Mixtures when I look at them, it's the mix and match of buttons I think, he he he.
4 gorgeous brooches sewn up in 5 hours but of course I've not shown you every last detail about how to sew them up, it's my little secret BUT I assure you it was great fun choosing the fabrics, working out the design, freehand machine embroidering and then sewing them up.
Lucy x
I really, really, love mixing old and new, I always have and used to drive my Mum crazy with finds from out and about that she would call ' junk '. I would put new life into my treasure though and still do, in fact, living in France really helps my addiction of looking for ' treasure ' with all the flea markets, vides greniers and brocantes, you really could go wild with it all and at such great prices too. Lucky just isn't the word!!
I'm now on the hunt for all things textile or textile'ish and want to start using lots of different mediums for my work to really start bringing a 3D element into Button Fayre.
Here's a recent hoop ( available in Button Fayre's Etsy land ) and is just so lovely, using found bits and bobs, new Liberty fabrics, sequins and more, it truly is so beautiful but boy these hoops take some time, this one was a 5 hour job but oh so pleasing to the eye.
More of this to come but I've also just spent the last week and a half designing and decorating my new studio. This room used to be my therapy room when I practiced reflexology and hot stone massage but was then somewhat of a ' squat ' for my teenage son and I've now reclaimed it, yay!
I've gone for white....something I don't think I've EVER done! My whole house is a hive of colour and I've never been afraid to use some of the most vivid colours but I wanted a peaceful room, pure even, in which to think, design and create. However, I did find a wonderful vintage piece of wallpaper that I could never afford as a whole wall piece and so decided to buy just enough that I could frame to the wall and it looks amazing.
I've once again mixed old with new and come up with this, my own little haven to sew in.
I love it and of course will be adding to the walls in the way of my work and shelving but some quirky narrow shelving I think in which to display smaller pieces as I don't want the room to feel cramped, I need a good feeling in here to keep my thoughts clean and alive.
The ' Great Button Fayre Sewing Buzz ' is going so well, 40 entrants so far! Only a couple of weeks to get all entries in though so finger's crossed for everyone, I can't wait to get them and I truly thank you all so much for your love and support.
Sewing magic to you all,
Lucy x
Maybe the title of this blog is a slight exaggeration but wouldn't it be great?! I can just imagine bright, colourful, beautifully sewn, Button Fayre hoop art all over the place and I know it would make me happy, he he he.
What's going on right now? Well, I suppose a blog is a great place to kind of put a little bit of you into things too and so it's a great time to say that I have a couple of rather hectic, stressful, weeks coming up so may be a little slow with Button Fayre but will do my best to stay on top of things ( and thank goodness I do have Button Fayre to keep me sane! )
My eldest daughter will be getting on a bus from our small town at 8am on Saturday 3rd May and heading towards St. Raphael on the French Riviera! She travelled up to Paris for a job interview last week, a two day trip as the travelling itself took 7 hours with several train changes and the metro to deal with, which was pretty nerve wrecking for both of us ( I was calling her every half an hour ) and we were over the moon to receive a phone call the day after she came home to say she had the job!
So, now my problem is the fact that she's leaving, it's pretty heart breaking and I didn't think I'd ever feel this way. The last 20 years has flown by and feels like she's always been with me and now she's flying away but I'm so incredibly proud and so happy for her too, she's a wonderful young woman and I know I've done a great job with her.
I also have to travel back to the chidlren's hospital in Limoges this Friday with my other daughter ( the one with Crohn's disease ) for an appointment with the anaesthetist as she's being admitted on the 8th and 9th for further examinations under a general anaesthetic and of course I'm going to stay with her....I've told her we're going to buy magazines and take books and just have a really girly time together in our pj's, he he he.
So, as you can see, it's a bit of a turbulent personal time for me but I'm taking it all in my stride and positively, it's onwards and upwards in this house!
I've been super busy today getting a 4 inch hoop order done and it's beautiful, truly stunning. It took me a lot longer than I'd anticipated but that's just because I'm a perfectionist and love designing too, I can't help myself but to add extra things here and there and although I have a fixed idea of the design, once I start sewing it's inevitable that things may get changed slightly or added to....that's the beauty of sewing though!
Here it is and I hope you like it, I was asked for specific colours and used mostly Liberty fabrics for the flowers which look so pretty on their own, nevermind the hand sewn embroidery which really makes it fly.
I LOVE doing hoops, I'm loving them more and more as I evolve with them and what better way to decorate a wall!
Next time I'm going to tell you more about my new studio/craft room plans as the focal point wallpaper's turned up, I'm skipping with excitement because it's gorgeous.
Oooh, don't forget about the ' Great Button Fayre Sewing Buzz ' competition on my Facebook page too, a wonderful opportunity to use your design and sewing skills to the max, really let go, and be in with the chance of winning some beautiful prizes! There's a children's category too and all entries are extremely, warmly, welcomed because I'm running an online auction with them all in July to raise money for CICRA ( research for children with Crohn's and Colitis ). Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to all entrants so far and to all who are in the middle of sewing their hearts out especially for the competition.
Lucy x
I'm a colourful person, in fact, I'm a very colourful person. I've always loved filling my home with colour and have never been afraid to go for bright colour schemes. I seem to have mellowed somewhat in my 30's however and now use colour that doesn't clash too much although I make up for it in Button Fayre's design work....it has to come out somewhere!
I'm about to start decorating my new craft room, well, it was my therapy room when I practiced reflexology a few years ago and then it became somewhat of a ' squat ' for my almost 18 year old son ( if you have a teenage son then you'll know why I called it a squat ). My eldest daughter is about to fly the nest which is exciting for her but it means that my son moves into her bedroom and I get my room back, yay and yippeeeee. This time around it's being painted white, yes, plain old white. However, there's a good reason for this in the shape of some gorgeous vintage 1970's wallpaper that's on it's way to me as I type and I'm going to use the paper as a focal point on the main, largest, wall in the room, almost as though it's been framed. I obviously can't show you until it's done so you'll just have to imagine for now but trust me, it's going to look amazing.
Spring has well and truly sprung now and some of my first bulbs have already blossomed and started to whither but fresh ones are always coming through and I spent some of last week out in the garden, in the sunshine, planting some gorgeous plants in my secret garden, I even have a rose bush now, yay!
I love the spring so much, the world seems to come to life again with colour, but I don't forget the winter time as it's a moment full of colour too, darker colours yes but still colours!
I've been run off my feet lately, bursting with new ideas, and just haven't found the time to get them all going properly but have been treading the water with them bit by bit and am feeling rather proud at the start I've made. I think the biggest thing I've been doing has to be hand sewn embroidery. I've been doing this for as long as I can remember and adore it but it's just so time consuming and considering that one cushion design can already take me anything up to 18 hours to achieve then is it any wonder I've not yet considered adding some hand embroidery into things? This spring I've forced myself and so happy I did, the results are astounding and I've loved mixing machine appliqué, freehand machine embroidery and hand sewn embroidery together, what gorgeous results!
I'm only going to talk about my latest cushion design for today though ( if you'd like to know a bit more about the other things going on then take a look at my blog over on my website, www.buttonfayre.com ) and what an amazing design it is too, something really and truly unique. I've used my appliqué and freehand machine embroidery skills to bring something already gorgeous into the world and not only that but I spent, quite literally, hours on some hand sewn ideas. We're talking sequins, pearls, beads, in fact, anything sparkly and creative that adds colour and real life into the design.
Take a look for yourselves and it's available to purchase on my Facebook page or Button Fayre on Etsy, I've not had the time to add it to my website yet but will do so asap.
It's such a stunning design and almost 20 hours of work from start to finish which is why I feel so proud, whoever purchases this is kind of purchasing a piece of Button Fayre history too, it's wonderful.
I love flowers and I love sitting here drawing them and then cutting them out to use as templates. Some of the flowers I used in this cushion design are cut out from vintage flowery fabric but the rest have been cut out from my very own templates ( and I use my templates a lot throughout all of my designs ).
I hope you like it and I almost forgot to say about the giveaway over Button Fayre's Facebook page! It's gorgeous and you could win a fabulous newly designed brooch, a ' House Meadow ' design, super pretty with some machine and hand sewn embroidery work.
Happy Easter Monday to you all!
Lucy x
The great thing about the spring is that summer is almost upon us and when the days are longer, brighter and warmer, it makes you feel ' full of the joys of spring '...I love that expression.
I had a great week-end designing a wedding present which also gave me the idea of what I'm planning on making for the summer CICRA auction. I've been spelling CICRA wrong all this time and feel awful about it, I'd gotten it into my head as CIRCA and so a huge apology to everyone for that.
I'm extremely excited about the ' Great Button Fayre Sewing Buzz ' competition and there are well over 20 entries so far which is amazing and a massive thank you to all because every penny counts towards the research into Crohn's disease.
https://www.facebook.com/events/236763479781446/
Abbie and I are off to Limoges on Wednesday to the children's hospital to see her specialist and I'm feeling apprehensive because after Abbie's recent flare up with absolutely no help at all from the specialist I do feel rather cold towards her now and am not sure what I'm going to say yet...I'm quite an impulsive person and do tend to say it how it is and so hopefully she'll appreciate my honesty! he he he
Helping CICRA means so much to me because they were there when I had no-one else to turn to and it would feel so good to be able to donate towards the research that may one day find a cure for these awful IBD illnesses.
I've managed to catch up with all recent orders and so this week will be working on my own designs, the wedding present, items for the auction and a few other ideas I've had over the week-end.
I do really adore mixing old with new and my house house is like it, there's nothing more exciting than adding something you've found in a brocante to your decor and I'm a bit of a hoarder for vintage tea cups, plates, jugs and vases.
Last week I made some coasters and bunting with some vintage fabrics I've recently found ( I've already told you about the coasters ) and so here's a photo of the bunting. I find things like this super funky as not only are you re-creating something modern out of old but you're kind of adding something unique to history too.....that's a bit deep! he he he What better than using a part of history to re-create more history in the world of art and craft?!
It's gorgeous isn't it? I've started this off at a special price too and there are over 4 metres of bunting in this photo too, it's just such a fabulous way to brighten up your home or garden.
Have a super day,
Lucy x
I've absolutely no idea yet, how Blogger works, nevermind Google Plus! I really need to spend a few minutes looking into how I might find fellow crafters on here and even friends. If you're on Blogger then give me a shout! I am really enjoying this blog though, it's so easy to use.
I've spent a lot of time designing behind the scenes this week and managed to sew up 12 coasters today, yippeeeee. However, they've disappointed me somewhat due to the time they actually take, that as a small business I just have to take into consideration when pricing, but their originality and the fact that they're lovingly home made just has to count. The second however is that they're so super funky that I could actually go mad designing and making them, I'm filling my garden tables up with these this year and am sure they'll be a pleasure to put my glasses of home made lemonade on. I think I'm going to make some table mats next but as usual my time is precious and I already have so much to be getting on with..... they're on their way though!
So here they are in all their funky glory, if you look closely you'll see an appliquéd apple on one of them and it's adorable.
I do love mix and match and my whole house is this way, and everything in it! These coasters have been made with some vintage fabric finds and a couple of new fabrics too and so not only are they a set of 6 totally different coasters, they're also a set of 6 different coasters that have been made with fabrics from different generations, how cool is that?!
These things float my boat, he he he.
Lucy x
Lots of entries have been coming in for ' The Great Button Fayre Sewing Buzz ' competition on Button Fayre's Facebook page, it's brilliant!
As most followers of my work will have gathered by now, I love colour. I find inspiration in absolutely everything as my eyes are always open to the world around me and I adore mixing and matching fabrics to create art work by means of sewing, it's such a beautiful, and elegant, form of art.
Here's my latest cushion design called ' Acorn Squirrel '. This has taken weeks in the design, preparation and sewing and sewing the tail up was a task and a half, it's true when they say that sewing makes you squint.!
What a vibrant and unique design, I adore it and those fabrics are just lush....a lot of them are Liberty in fact and I must admit that I'm not a fan of all Liberty fabrics but I do love the smaller, brighter patterns.
If you're wondering about my sewing competition then please follow this link and take a look, it's free to enter and I'm hoping will be a massive success as the main aim is to raise money for CIRCA ( Children with Crohn's and Colitis ) by holding an online auction during the summer with all entries.
One of my daughter's was diagnosed at the age of 9, 3 and a half years ago, with Crohn's disease and she has it severely which is why it's so important for me to get involved and to help with the ongoing research.
https://www.facebook.com/events/236763479781446/
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Lucy x
My first post on Blogger, yay and yippeeeee!
I'm on a high right now because I've lots of new designs planned for the coming spring and summer months and I've also just posted a fabuloooooooous competition to Button Fayre's Facebook page.
' Read all about it, read all about it ', here at https://www.facebook.com/events/236763479781446/
This competition will celebrate sewing at it's best, the design process, creativity and imagination, and I can't wait to see what entries I receive.
Button Fayre is growing in ways I could only have imagined a year ago and I'm a sharer, I love to give, it's what motivates me and keeps me the strong person I am. If you send your entry in it will be showcased and then put into an online auction over the summer to raise money for CIRCA ( Children with Crohn's and Colitis ), a UK based charity.
I'll keep you updated but for now ciao and enjoy your week,
Lucy x
