Home-made, recycled baby bunting

Some of the second-hand children's clothing bought from the Salvo's for the bunting

Pinning the paper triangle template onto the washed fabrics and cutting out the shapes.  A very interested Jolly cat comes to investigate the crafty activity   

All the fabric triangles pinned face-to-face ready for sewing.  Jolly cat 'helps' by pressing the triangle pieces so they are nice and flat!  

After sewing the sides together the fabric triangles are turned inside out - so the front of the fabric is now on the outside   

The fabric triangles are stitched to the tape mixing up the colours and patterns 

And here is the finished bunting suspended from each corner of the ceiling - very cute!  

I've also made a few toys recycled from gloves and socks below (the monkeys rather fabulous jumper is an old pair of my thermal leggins!!)  I used the book Sock and Glove - Creating Charming Soft Friends from Cast-off Socks and Gloves by the very clever Miyako Kanamori.  There is a link here with some images of people who've made much better toys than me!   

Well, things are getting ever closer here in preparation for the baby!  So, I've been busy making a few things for the baby's room.  I recently made some bunting recycled from second-hand children's clothes, some old pyjamas of mine, and some offcuts of fabric.  

It's been fun to make the bunting, and I love the mix of all the different coloured and patterned fabrics!  I've used different fabric on each side of the bunting, and as we don't know what 'flavour' baby we're having I wanted to make something suitable for a boy or girl - and using the children's clothing has been perfect to get some cute patterns and colours for either.

The bunting was really very easy to make, and just requires a sewing machine and some time.  You could use any old or second-hand fabrics for different looks - vintage fabrics and teatowels would be cute, or un-used clothing and bedding for example.

Here's what I did:

1. Firstly I washed all the second-hand clothing (and pressed any particularly wrinkly fabrics so they were nice and flat), and made myself a paper triangle template.  Because I decided to have different fabric on either side, I made sure my triangle was about 1cm larger than I wanted the finished pieces to be, to allow for stitching the pieces together.

2. Then, I pinned my paper triangle template onto the different fabrics and carefully cut out the triangle shapes.  I made sure I had lots of triangular pieces of fabric in different colours and patterns - including some plain colours.

3. When the triangular fabric shapes were cut I pressed them to make sure they were all nice and flat, and then started to pair them up, making sure there were different colours and patterns on each side.

4. I then pinned each pair of fabric triangles face-to-face (i.e. so the front of each piece of fabric faces each other) and using the sewing machine stitched along the two sides of the triangles only - leaving the top unstitched and open.  The stitched pieces are then turned inside out - so the front of the fabric is now on the outside.

5. When all the triangles have been stitched and turned inside out, press them again so they form nice flat and neat little triangles!

6. Organise the tape you want to hang the triangles from, I went for a natural coloured twill tape - but there are lots of different coloured and patterned tapes depending on the theme of your bunting.  I made sure the tape was quite wide (about 2cm) and thick enough to support the weight of all the fabric pieces.  Measure the length you need the tape to be depending on your room size (or wherever it's to be hung) and make sure you include extra to allow the bunting to drape. 

7. Then pin each triangle onto the tape, making sure you get a mix of different colours and patterns dispersed along the tape length.  To do this I placed the top (open) part of the triangle halfway up the width of the tape and then folded the tape over, this way you should have an even amount of tape on either side of the fabric triangle (about 1cm each side) and when pinned the triangle should be firmly attached to the tape.  I also left about 10cm of tape at each end free of triangles to allow for hanging.

8. All you need to do now is to stitch the tape to the triangles using the sewing machine.  Et Voila!  Your own bunting is completed!           

Pretty vintage florals

Pyrex stacking bowls with pretty vintage roses

James Foley Old Kent teacup and saucer with rose pattern

Johnson Australia ceramic plate with vintage floral pattern

I've been without any e-mail or internet for a few days - its been horrible and I feel like I've lost an arm!!  I think I've had withdrawal symptoms.....although I have found I've got a lot more work done without any interruptions or distractions from hopping online!!

I hadn't been out on a second-hand jaunt for a while, but last Friday I was out-and-about and popped into a vinnies store I was passing - and found these lovely collection of pretty vintage floral ceramics.

The two stacking bowls are pyrex, made in England by JAJ (J.A.Joblings).  Pyrex is no longer 'in favour' for kitchens - but I love the old designs you can find on pyrex dishes.  Click here to read a little about the history of pyrex manufacturing in the UK.

The little bone china cup and saucer set (which don't match!) are also from England, made by James Kent.  James Kent (Ltd.), Old Foley Pottery was established in Staffordshire, England in 1897 and was in business until c.1989.

And lastly, the very pretty vintage floral plate in an Australian produced plate by Johnson / Sovereign Pottery.  After the second world war Johnson Bros needed larger and more modern facilities to keep up with increased productivity, and plants were purchased in Canada and Australia to aid production.  1957 Johnsons opened a tableware factory at Croydon, Queensland, Australia, which was run through a firm also known as Sovereign Pottery Ltd. 

Its such a shame these production facilities in England and Australia don't exist anymore, but its great to have examples of their fine wares still in fabulous condition today.  I wonder if some of our current modern products so cheaply available will still be sought after, collected, admired for their decorative qualities and be in perfect condition in 50, 60, 70 years time?....

Birthday weekend

 My big stash of reference books and some of the latest UK and Australian magazines!

Fab patterns on the inside of envelopes from Kikki K 

Lovely floral patterned wrapping paper from The Wrapping Paper Co.

 'Acanthus' by William Morris and William De Morgan c.1876

 'Seaweed' by John Henry Dearle c.1901

'The Merchant's Daughter' by Edward Burne-Jones c.1864

It was my birthday over the weekend and I had a lovely time catching up with friends and being very spoilt.  I received a big pile of art and design reference books, as well as a stash of UK and Australian home and interior magazines!  I always love having a pile of books and magazines to flick through, so these should keep me busy for a while!

I had some gifts wrapped in this fab wrapping paper from The Wrapping Paper Co, and I'm also loving the patterned inside of envelopes from Kikki K - so much fun to open up a plain envelope and find such happy colours and patterns on the inside!  Very cute.

And how lovely are these stamps from Royal Mail.  The stamps are from a collection called Morris & Company - and feature some of William Morris' designs, as well as some of the most significant designers who worked with the company, founded in 1861.  I was much inspired by William Morris whilst studying Textile Design - his designs are timeless, he created the most amazing intricate repeat patterns, and his design philosophy 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful' is a good one to live by!

Funky floral fabrics

I've found some funky retro floral fabrics and tablecloths at various second hand shops recently....

This cute little seersucker fabric with simplified orange florals was from the local Vinnies.

This gorgeous tablecloth was picked up from the Mornington Antiques Centre closing day sale.  I love the overscaled bold flower pattern, and the mustard and olive colours.  Its a lovely soft drapey cloth too.  I need to find a table now to use it on!

This fabric featuring giant yellow, orange and brown flowers and leaves is also a tablecloth.  I love the linear detail with this floral print, and the bold scale keeps it really fun!

I want this dolls house - for my home!

I've found my dream home..... sadly it's a dolls house!

I came across this article in the fabulous Frankie magazine about a lady who has a 'secret world of dolls houses' - and I found myself wishing I was one of her dolls as I'd love to live in such a pattern-crazy retro house!!  

Just look at this kitchen! O.M.G!!  It's perfect with its retro style coloured cupboards, green deluxe fridge and enamel cooking pots.  Too cute!!

A perfect example of a 1960's / 70's lounge with brown and orange striped couch cushions and coordinating chairs.  Do you think they are a terry-toweling type material - I do hope so!

The level of detail in the dolls house is amazing.....from the patterned wallpapers, vintage and retro furniture, food packaging in the kitchen, posters, to old telephones, tableware, lamps and and glassware etc.  The sewing desk complete with folded fabrics, old sewing machine, cutting matt and cup of coffee is adorable!

And lastly, an orange bath and matching toilet - what more could you want! 

The scanned pictures don't really do the dolls house much justice or show up all the little cute details - so head out and check out issue #38 of Frankie magazine.  I'm off to join the other dolls to do some sewing, stick a record on and plan a dinner party to utilise that fabulous kitchen....

Singapore Tiles

I was reading the fabulous Design Files blog a couple of days ago and saw the home of interior designer Sonya Marish.  Sonya runs a business Jatana Interiors that specializes in sourcing rare and antique tiles from around the world. 

Seeing the wonderful array of tiles reminded me of some photographs I took in Singapore last year of the most amazing decorative tiles featured on the exteriors of the original colonial buildings.  The colour and pattern elements were stunning - and I loved the mix of pretty floral designs contrasting the geometric structures.

Too cute!