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.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ClarasHandMade

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/clarashandmade

Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/clarashandmade

Love Clara x

Day off?

So I work four days a week to make sure the bills are paid each month. But my passion is sewing and making! Sadly my passion does not make enough money for me to do it full time and pay the bills, hopefully one day it will. Today was my second day off in a row and I had the desire to sew after resting yesterday. I find if I am tired or rushed I can not be creative at all. But more of this in a later blog post. On the days when I am too tired to create I just gather ideas on my boards on Pinterest. (http://www.pinterest.com/clarashandmade)  My gosh how I love that site. All the pretty images collected together. I find them so appealing that sometimes I forget to blink for ages staring at the screen I have boards for Shabby Chic, white shabby chic (my favourite board), for linens and lace (ooo this is also my favourite board) for baskets and colourful objects, for pretty buildings and for industrial pieces I am in love with, plus more, so take a peek via the link above. I also read lots of blogs and I will look through www.etsy.com for hours adding favourites and making lists of items I want to buy.
I always have scraps of paper laying around with lists on. The lists include: Supplies I need to buy, things I want, things I NEED, ha ha ha my needs are never ever anything practical this list is in fact the pretty objects I must must must own as soon as I can afford them or find them if they are vintage/ antique. My biggest list, and the one that gets made and remade several times and never ever get completed is my things to make list! I find writing down what I want to make, with a quick sketch really helps when I have time away from the day job. It focus' my mind and steers me in the right direction. Otherwise I can waste a whole day trying to make a decision on which piece of lace I love the least so I can bare to cut it up to make something else from it. Or which piece of linen/ cotton I should use. The lists help me keep that clarity. Today was such a day where I actually crossed some things off my lists. In short it was a great day!
I made a new pocket pillow for my Etsy shop and I took the photos for another piece and I listed a vintage display case. So not really a day off as I was still working of sorts. But I was working on my passion and that is never a wasted day or a day spent in vain. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to do something I adore, and I squeal with delight when someone purchases one of my items as I know nothing is promised or forever. But that is another story for another day. Thank you for reading.

Love Clara


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

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/166199375/remote-holder-pillow-pocket-pillow-doily?ref=shop_home_active_21

Handmaking and selling

Today I made a new pillow for sale in my Etsy shop, but once it was completed I was struggling to list it for sale, not because I physically couldn't do it or because of a bad Internet connection but because I loved it so much!

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/175269562/white-decorative-pillow-appliqued-doily?ref=shop_home_active_1

Sometimes as a maker of one off items and when I purchase vintage items for sale this is what happens. I love unique one offs and I struggle to let them go. I have to convince my self about the new happy home they are going to!
What a silly billy I am. I hope you like my new item here a few photos of the making of it.

Love Clara x



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