Shopping for supplies

So I have been to London and I have been supply shopping, I bought some lovely white washed linen, it is so soft and drapes wonderfully it is the backbone item in my shop, so many items have this wonderful material as the foundation. It is strong yet beautiful and eco-friendly compared to cotton. I also got some more ribbon and cotton lace as I can not resist having more, but this time I also came across some wonder roses as ribbon, pink and dark pink with  green it is wonderfully romantic and gorgeous! Last but not least I bought some wonderful romantic white ruffle fabric, this I just adore to hold it up and shake it and watch all the ruffles quiver and shake. I have no plans for these at the moment, one day soon I should be able to show you what I have come up with though.

roses ribbon

white ruffles

I moved in the last quarter of 2012 and the area I have moved to while lovely and quiet it is not equipped for a shop-a-holic like me. There is is only one haberdashery about three miles away and she does not sell anything out of the ordinary so I am still relying on trips to London to get my supplies this is a long round trip for me approximately two hours each way so it is not something I do frequently. Do you have problems getting supplies for your crafts? How do you get around this? Do you buy online? I struggle with online buying as I am self taught and so I do not know the terms for the fabrics I want, so shopping can be fraught with expletives and nothing purchased. Oh well I will now be saving my pennies for my next shopping trip in London town.

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Love Clara x

Valentines the handmade way

Sick of sickly satin hearts and fake flowers for Valentines Day decoration? Make your own sweet little candles with a tea light candle and some Washi tape! These can be made to fit any occasion with the right tape but I had red tape left over from Christmas so decided to do something for the day of love with it.

all you need is some washi tape, tea lights and scissors!

sick tape around the metal part, so easy!

 an instant simple table or mantel centre piece.

Here comes the safety stuff: never leave a candle burning in a room unattended or near an open window, make sure you fully extinguish them.



Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClarasHandMade
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/clarashandmade/
Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/clarashandmade


Love Clara x

Shabby Chic

What does Shabby Chic mean to you?
To me it means a decorating style, although shabby and chic do not normally go together, in fact they kind of clash. But when incorporated in home décor who can deny the beauty? Something that is chic is not normally shabby. This style has been around a long long time in Europe, where we appreciate well loved pieces:
Colours are pastel shades like blush pink, ecru, lavender, stone and ivory
Fabrics are: linens, faded velvets, cottons, ticking, lace and crochet thread made in to lace ribbons and delightful doilies.

A stack of white doilies

Patterns: of roses, peonies, country scenes, elegant birds of paradise decorate walls in wall paper or in oil paintings, pictures, wall hangings, decorations and ornaments.

a Rococo style frame with a picture of peonies and roses.

chipped painted swallow, vintage find in Essex.

Finishes on furniture are soft paint, wax, distressed, Rococo swirls and carved wood

It is relaxed, soft, romantic, opulent.

my humble chandelier in shabby chic style

a painted wooden frame with a Mother of Pearl heart

 Think of cottage gardens, gentle sea foam waves of the sea across the sand. 

It is about taking comfort and not worrying that imperfection makes something ugly. It is about embracing vintage pieces and objects. Shabby chic is about loving old velvet cushions that have thread bare edges and your grandma's set of china that is mismatched and has seen many parties and breakages and additions added to it along the years. Shabby chic does not span one period of time, it is not Victorian, nor just Rococo it can work in many styles of homes and houses. It is about loving the old and maybe reusing it in a way other than what was originally intended. Like the frame and heart above, the frame was a charity find for 30 pence, I re painted it to fit in with my colour scheme and the heart is handmade. I have married them to together to make something I find beautiful. Another example is the odd tea cup and saucer, perhaps this is the last surviving piece from this set, so who ever owns has re purposed it so they can carry on enjoying the piece.

image taken from google images

What does Shabby Chic mean to you? 

Love Clara x

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClarasHandMade
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/clarashandmade/
Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/clarashandmade