Bonjour!!

Hello my lovelies? How are you all today?

I've been super poorly over the last few days...some sort of extra strength cold...I've only just gotten my voice back and I'm left with quite a good raspy cough (which makes me sound like a velociraptoroff of Jurassic park...that scene when they are in the kitchen...remember?)

Needless to say...i was knocked for six...soo much so that i couldn't even sew 'Woe is me!' But that didn't stop me thinking about what i wanted to sew! Which leads me onto some pictures... (and probably some explanations...)

That lightly drawn moustached critter you can see in this picture is called a Crabbitz; we've had a recent invasion of them at the shop... not that El or I are complaining. They are a cross between a cat and a rabbit and like most things in the shop we kind of came across them by accident. I decided i wanted to embroider a picture of one due to a few reasons 1. El recently drew some super cute pictures of them 2. we had a few embroidered pictures in frames at the shop but sold some in the last few weeks so needed some more and 3. i was probably hallucinating on cough medicine when the thought crosses my mind!!

Anyway onto the next picture...half way through sewing... please excuse the slightly blurry picture...I'm using an old camera which was kindly given to me by a friend (my other one gave up the ghost!) You can see that the Crabbitz has a speech bubble...inside that speech bubble you can see that he is saying 'Parlez-vous francais?' The idea is to do a little series/collection of them all saying funny little french sayings...What do you think? we are going to put them into some cute little wooden frames we have...i think they would look really cute up on a wall and i have to admit I've grown a little fond of this one...he might have to stay...well its always best to test run new ranges right??Here he is with his body all finished. i plan to keep the colours quite simple...black with one other colour...here it is green in his bow tie...I'm also thinking of doing the outline of the speech bubble in green too, i think it will bring everything together nicely, what do you think?

I'll post you another picture when I've finished embroidering the words (i get an hour break at work so I'm going to save that for then!)

Anyway...I'm off for a quick browse around the charity shops before work (first shift back since i got sick...fingers crossed I'm OK for it!)

Speak soon

xx

My Bargain Sense Was Tingling...

Soooo...

i wondered into town with Arthur (i say wondered but really i battled my way through near Arctic conditions...that's right followers, Cheltenham has finally got the snow!), at the time he thought he was going in to work but they called him on the way in and said he didn't have to come in because of the snow (later on i had to tell work that there was no way i would be able to walk in to town from our house...its literally a skating rink!.) Anyway, i digress, we thought we might as well have a wonder around the shops which were open. We enjoyed a delicious bacon sandwich and coffee,and i also picked up the most recent sew hip (FINALLY Smiths got it in). However i was satisfied...i had an itch still, i knew there were bargains to be had...so we wondered around a few charity shops, and by the end of it had definitely found the source of my tingling bargain sense.

In one shop i found 2 hand knitted bunny shaped egg cosies, a new Richard Scarry book, and a lovely little mouse ornament for the grand total of £2.50.

In the next one i found 8 square metres of some lovely heavy grey and black tweed fabric for £10, (an absolute bargain as i was looking at some similar stuff in a fabric shop and it was just under £10 pounds for 1 metre!) This fabric is going to come in sooo handy for the shop! I also found a brown leather belt for £1. (apologies for the paint pots and untidy bedroom picture, we are in the midst of decorating and this was the only room which had any where near enough light)

But the best was definitely saved for the last shop we went in. The weather was terrible by this time, i couldn't see a thing because i had to take my glasses off (they were getting covered in snow!) But we battled through and as a reward for our Arctic Explorer skills i found the most wonderful hand embroidered throw/wall hanging. It was priced at £5 and i didn't hesitate to take it to the till it was beautiful, love at first sight! But it got better, when i went up to the till the lady told me that all linen was half price! This beauty cost me £2.50!! Just look at it...

I am in awe of the time and skill this must have taken. It's lined with a linen type fabric, but this is only sewn on the sides...leaving the top and bottom ends open which is why i think it may be a wall hanging...I'm probably going to use it as a throw on our bed tho'.i think this is my favorite part...thousands and thousands of little stitches all hand sewn on. i consider myself quite a patient sewer (who spends 2 hours sewing on sequins onto a cardi) but when i think of how long just little piece took the person who made this....Those pretty pink flowers...yep...french knots!i wonder how many?I'm in love with this stitch, I've no idea what you call it but it looks soo intricate, i love the colours too.Lovey blues and satin stitch, this is one of the many flowers.

O.K. I'm going to stop bragging about my finds now...i may be snowed in but that doesn't mean i can't potter about the house.

Ohh, before i go...i made five more of the little monsters for the Indoor Picnic on Sunday...

There are a few more snaps and info of the event over on the shops blog.

Stay Warm and Safe! (and sorry for a rather long post!)

xx

Back So Soon?...

I know. I can't believe it either...but here i am...and its only been a few days since my last post!! (Well i said i would try didn't i?!)

I'm writing this after a shift at the cinema. Its quite bad there at the moment, and most shifts are a struggle for me. There will always be something which irks me or upsets me. i had a shift on Wednesday which was one of the worst I've ever had. the queue was constantly out of the door and almost to one of the entrances to the complex which the cinema is in. It was horrible. People were trampling and shoving an old lady who was struggling to get off the escalator because the foyet was soo crowded! an old lady for petes sake!! COME ON PEOPLE! its a cinema not a sinking ship! There were also people who found it highly amusing to watch me clean up a drink that they had spilt...yeah cos its funny that i get paid a pittance to clean up their mistakes! Seriously guys..it was such a bad shift i rang Arthur up and cried at him on the way home! my mantra whenever I'm in there is 'think of the shop' and 'this is a job not a career';if you see a crazed looking lady mumbling these words to herself then you know that's me...pop over and say hello because (despite the tirade of abuse that has just spilled out of fingertips and onto this blog) I'm actually a nice person!

Right...where was I?ohh yep...i just thought you might like to see some frosty pictures i took whilst on my way into town ( i was on a paint buying mission...but more of that later!)

i like this one the best. it was a really peculiar type of frost...it looks super spiky but soft at the same time!
ohhh....just wanted to let you know about this event which El and I will be at this Sunday...Bristol Biggest Indoor Picnic. Its to celebrate the launch of The Love Of It website, and it looks to be an awesome day...soooo many cool stalls and what nots going on! if your local please come and say hello. El and I will be teaching people how to make little critters that look a little bit like this guy
Right....

And So To Bed

xxx

Take A Deep Breath...

This feels strange.

I've been so absent from this homely space i have created here, and I've missed it. I think i got out of touch because I've been soo busy with the shop and about a million other things on my plate; so Ive decided to try and get the wheels rolling on this little baby again. I can't promise that there will be as much talking and typing as before but I'm really going to try.
I've spent the best part of today making me a little something. What with everything that's been going on I've not given myself anytime to make for me...if that makes sense? soooo I've decided to give myself a bit more time to stitch for me. anyway...back to what i did today...

It involved three pretty bowls with sparkly gold sequins and twinkly gold beads, a lovely red cardigan (Christmas isn't over yet!) a needle and some thread...ohh yeah and about 2 hours sat on the sofa....

The outcome??....

A rather fetching cardigan for me to wear out this new years eve. What do you think?? Ive been craving an item of clothing adorned with sequins but everything out on the shops was a little bit pricey (either that...or not quite right)soooo what would any self respecting craftster do??

Yep...make it herself (or at least sew the sequins onto a cardigan she picked up in a charity shop herself).

Well...i feel like I've only been her five minutes and its time for me to go all ready. Id just like to finish this off by saying that things are pretty hectic in my neck of the woods at the moment so i could really do with the company of you lovely people out there.....if there's any of you still there??

Have a very merry and super fantastic new years this evening.

I'll see you soon

xxx

Sorry Sorry Sorry

Sorry i have been absent from bexsbuttons. T

he shop is getting busier every week and im not sure how much i will be able to post here...especially with Christmas coming up; StuffedNonsense needs regular stock, the shop in Cirencester will want some more stock before the proper festive season AND StuffedNonsense has been accepted to do a craft fair in Bristol on the 12th of December...PHEW! Its brilliant and i'm not complaining at all...just wanted to let you guys now that i do still exist.

Hey!...here's a thought...if you want to catch up on on StuffedNonsense a bit more (well...at least once a week anyways!)

Anyways...see you soon??

xxx

Recent Thirfty Finds...

Hello all!! i hope that you are super fine and dandy! Ive had a few good finds at the charity shops recently and Ive been meaning to let you all know about it! Times a little bit short at the moment...because of the shop it turns out that i only get one day off a week where I'm not at the cinema or the shop...so I'm afraid I've had to keep putting this back!

Anyway....

Onto the main topic of conversation! Bargains of the vintage kind!!!

First up we have some very very pretty china found for 50p each!!Such a cute little cup...I'm pretty sure that the plate i brought to match isn't a saucer but its close enough for me!

And two equally cute cake plates. i've been looking for some for ages (for a cake themed project i have in my head!)...i think that these two were worth the wait.

The next one is new today!!

No No No...your eyes are not deceiving you...this lovely find was only 35p! its one of those wooden block games where you have to make the different parts of the picture match up.

AND its still had instructions!

I think the picture are great and they kind of remind me of some of Richard Scarry's illustrations (who i love!)

This is probably callede saving the best until last... This suitcase! i have had this for a while now...it has such a great story behind it. you see the RAF tag on the front? well the main i got this from had just left the forces. this was the suitcase he was given when he first joined... the date and the name of the ship he was on are written on the front, as well as a few other doodles. It sounds silly but i feel like i have a little bit of history there! Do you want to know the best bit?....

It was free!!! i saw it outside of a rubbish bin on my way into work...i walked pass then did a double take...as i cautiously stepped a bit further towards the bin the man came out of his front door and i started to walk away! it thought i was going to shout at me!! instead he called me back and told me if i wanted it was mine!! my grandad (an eternal skip hunter and bargain spotter should be proud!)

Well...that's all for this week. its looking like I'm only going to get the chance to do one post a week so I'll save up all the lovely bits of the week and give to you when i can! deal?

Righto...dinners nearly done!

Take Care!

Some Secret Sewing...

My younger sister had some rubbish news last weekend. She is in her final year at a Performing Arts and Dance School, but she has just found out that she can not receive any funding for her last year. this is bad bad bad news because mum and dad don't have a huge amount of pennies so Rachel is stuck....unless Rachel and the school she is at can talk some sense into the people who fund her accommodation. I'm not 100% sure of all of the details but i know for a fact shes down in the dumps so i thought a surprise present was in order. sometimes mum and Rachel read my blog so I'll only give you a glimpse...you've always got to put some buttons in it haven't you?!Sleepy time??

I thought i should pop a little something in for my mum and also my nanny (as shes visiting on Sunday)Well...that picture isn't too ambiguous really is it?!

I also listed a load of children's bits and bobs over on StuffedNonsense's folksy shop... a load of bibs like this one...

and also something new we were asked to make by the shop in Cirencester...

We kept a few back for the shop. We've called them 'Dummy Tamers', you attach one end to the dummy (with a press stud) and the other connects to the push chair/pram (with a button and hole)

I found this great looking new magazine called Cloth Magazine, you can find their website here. When pay day arrives tomorrow i think I'm going to order a copy!!

Righto I'm off for a bath and some book...have a nice evening dearies.

xx