Rejoicing in the little things

I love tiny things!

Sometimes the best things aren't big and showy, they are little and have to be searched for. I love looking for the littlest prettiest shell on the beach, spotting a tiny wild violet in the grass or finding the cutest button in a tray of bric a brac.

So when I found an old torn piece of doily that I had space dyed I thought it would be the perfect thing for making a page for my stitched Nature Blanket Book.

I found some gorgeous vintage velvet ribbon and placed it across the middle of both pages. I attached it with cross stitches on one side and feather stitches on the other side and then stitched on velvet flowers and little pink beads.

It is backed with a piece of old blue blanket. Such a lovely surface to stitch on!

On the left page I couched on a piece of wool roving with silk thread and added dyed felt leaves and weensy glass flowers. The bird was cut from felt with a Sizzix die and sewn on with detached buttonhole stitches. Her beak is needle felted on.

The right page is stitched with buttonhole stitches and straight stitches in variegated silk threads and the words done in back stitch.

I think the whole book will be a celebration of tiny beautiful things. Things to make us rejoice about the tiny pieces of nature all around us!

A Tiny Bridal Shop

My lovely friend Maureen had a special birthday this week.
There was a surprise party for her yesterday and part of her Birthday surprise was the present from her husband. A dolls house shop!

Maureen is a very creative lady she sews all kinds of things and makes beautiful quilts and she has some very crafty friends. Not just crafty because we managed to keep a good secret ha ha, but because we are all quite thrilled with the idea of helping her decorate her lovely tiny Bridal Shop.

She got some darling little presents for it, like a little scroll work wire  mannequin some little display cabinets and some cute furniture but we also thought we'd make some handmade things for it too. 

so I made some bunting...

Each piece is less than one centimetre high, made from painted watercolour paper, and is hand stitched  together with crochet cotton.

Then I made some little bouquets, about 1.5 cms in size, with some glass beads and very fine green beading wire. I made a little sign for the shop with a bridal sign on the front and a friend quote on a the back.

Hope she likes them! I had fun making them.