SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE! SALE!

DAISY JANE DESIGNS UK IS CLOSING HER WEBSITE AND FOCUSING ON OTHER AREAS OF SALES ............SO ALL ITEMS ON THE WEBSITE ARE NOW FOR SALE WITH A HUGE 25% OFF!!!!!

FROM THE SMALLEST ITEM, TO THE LARGEST, GRAB YOURSELF A TRULY 'ONE OF A KIND', HANDMADE IN ENGLAND, GIFT FOR YOURSELF, OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE.

SEE YOU THERE.................... www.daisyjanedesigns.co.uk

A perfect day for starting the Christmas decorations!

My friend put on Facebook how delighted she was that our local garden centre had already opened their Christmas shop!!!!!! She was spending several hours there and really enjoying herself!

My response......how MAD, go away, it's too soon etc etc!!!! We are still having extremely hot days and I'm still in a summer dress......except today......it's chilly and dark where I live and it's been raining most of the day.

I'm too ashamed to put on Facebook so my friend can see, but guess what I've been making???? Yep that's right.......Christmas decorations! It's been a perfect day for hiding away in my sewing room and getting creative and here's what I did today.

'Raggy' Christmas Wreath. Very Country!

They take ages to make and I think I'll be dreaming of tying knots tonight! They have (what seems like hundreds!) strips of fabric, lace, hessian and organza ribbon.....

Now for sale at www.daisyjanedesigns.co.uk

Happy crafting...

Nic x

Buttons who knew eh?

Buttons and button-like objects used as ornaments or seals rather than fasteners have been discovered in the Indus Valley Civilization during its Kot Yaman phase (circa 2800–2600 BC)^[5] as well as Bronze Age sites in China (circa 2000–1500 BC), and Ancient Rome.

Buttons made from seashell were used in the Indus Valley Civilization for ornamental purposes by 2000 BC.^[6] Some buttons were carved into geometric shapes and had holes pierced into them so that they could be attached to clothing with thread.^[6] Ian McNeil (1990) holds that: "The button, in fact, was originally used more as an ornament than as a fastening, the earliest known being found at Mohenjo-daro in the Indus Valley. It is made of a curved shell and about 5000 years old."^[7]

The earliest functional buttons were found in the tombs of conquering Hungarian tribes from the late 9th century.^[8] Functional buttons with buttonholes for fastening or closing clothes appeared first in Germany in the 13th century.^[9] They soon became widespread with the rise of snug-fitting garments in 13th- and 14th-century Europe.

Wikipaedia

 Well do I feel enlightened. All I've ever used them for was clothing!!!!!

But now I'm selling them on my website because I have found that the humble button is used by so many 'crafty' people in an incredible number of ways....... here are some ideas to name a few.......

Card Making : as decoration, as a centre for a flower motif, as a fastening so the person receiving has to 'undo' their card. (Clever eh?)

Scrapbooking: The list is endless! Depending on the size of button a thin ribbon can be threaded through 2-3 to make a neat border. They can be stuck onto other border embellishments, as corners to photos and again as centres to flowers.

Patchwork/Quilting: Eyes for appliqued animals! They look especially cute on a teddy bear, not only for eyes but also down his waistcoat.Bird house buttons, bear buttons, gingerbread men buttons can all be used on wall hangings.....I have tractor and red barn buttons I use on American style farm wall hangings!

Cross stitch: With the many different button designs these days they can be used to add depth to your cross stitched picture....

And still there is clothing!!!! 

Wow the humble button has made itself incredibly useful don't you think?

Have fun being creative....

See ya next time

Nic x

Almost Over!

A few of my new jugs!

Well the school holidays are almost over....the summer will soon come to an end and we will be pulling out those winter woollies once again. How do you feel about that?

Some days I don't like the thought, but then I start thinking about all the days I will have to sew and I pick up a little. Coming from Australia I didn't think I would be able to abide the cold, but when it's reward is hours of quilting it ain't so bad!!!

This summer has been so enjoyable. We spent 3 weeks at my dad's place in Normandy. Apart from gardening and visiting various beauty spots (and eating loads of cakes, galettes and crepes!) I enjoyed going round a fair, an antique shop, a charity shop and a huge Brocante (second hand/junk shop!) I found so many treasures lurking in the dust and can't wait to create something 'up-cycled' with them. I also went mad and bought 7 jugs of various sizes!!!!! I think I've found another hobby!

Medieval town of Fougeres

Medieval town of Domfront. They just happened to have a Medieval Fair on while we were there!

A fantastic creperie in Bayeaux....I had crepe suzette for the first time......YUM!!!!

New things will be appearing on my website all the time as my thinking about what I will sell 'evolves'! I had a great deal of success at the St Giles Flower and craft Festival and am already looking forward to the Hylands School Christmas Fair at the end of November.

I hope you have had a lovely August and are looking forward to the rest of the year. All my best wishes to your children who are starting a new year and especially for those who are starting in high school.....I remember it being a very scary time!!!!!

Cya

Nic x

GREAT WEBSITE FOR PATCHWORK BLOCK DESIGNS!!!!!

Forgot to mention in my previous blog....if you have any spare time in the hols....HA!..... check out this website for some awesome patchwork block designs.....

www.quilterscache.com

Marcia Hohn runs it and I have been using it for years.....a site well worth saving....

Nic x

What a glorious day!

Well ladies it's come round again, the end of another term and the summer holidays. For some I know they are a headache, constantly handing out money for this, money for that and feeling tired most of the time, in body and mind!

I guess I used to feel the same sometimes, but now my 'kids' are 26 and 28 I look back and wish I could do it all over again.....yes....even the hard times!

I know a lady who is 24 and just had her first baby, such a cutie! Life in this first 6 weeks has been so tiring for her, but I like her attitude.... she says... 'cherish it all because we will never get this time back and who knows if we can have any more children.'

This year I have been a bit slack with my blog because my 26 year old daughter has had several health concerns. When each has arisen, so has the horrible C word (cancer) and it has made me continually keep coming back to how we have no idea what is around the next corner....

So have fun in the sun and enjoy those you get to spend time with.....it's worth it!

See you in September and I hope you all have some great memories of this summer holiday to cherish.

Nic x

Everything's coming up Rosettes!

I find that these lovely rosette flowers have been the perfect decorative finish to the pencil cases that have been my most recent creative project. 

However, I now realize that this isn't the first time I've used these little beauties

 

 

Embellishments of any kind are a really fun way to finish a craft item and allow a little more flair into your finished piece!

Hope you like......cya next time!

Nic x