Skip to main content

Beads, birds and bees

 

The Christmas decorations came down before Epiphany, but I must've felt the front room needed extra sparkle as I had the idea yesterday to string several handmade beads across the fireplace.  It's not a working fireplace, unfortunately, but only houses an ugly gas fire that's no longer used as the central heating does a more efficient job.  So the fireplace is home to a cheap (and not so cheerful) MDF mantelpiece and a cluster of plants.  I threaded 15 beads in all on to a length of narrow pink ribbon and used drawing pins to attach my DIY beady bunting. 
They look pretty near to my random collection of postcards, prayer cards, feathers, poppy seed heads and other assorted bits 'n' bobs.  
I thought displaying the boho beads was a better option than keeping them tucked away in a tin or box, out of sight.  
The other crafty thing I got up to yesterday concerned these pieces of embroidered secondhand tablecloth that I'd already strengthened with iron-on interfacing.  I had the urge - as you do - to add a couple of applique birds to two of them.  I ironed scraps of blue/green fabric onto off-cuts of interfacing, then sewed them on to the tablecloth background.  With the third block there wasn't space to applique a bird unless I covered up a large part of the embroidery, which someone in years gone by had taken great pains to sew.  Instead I added very simple embroidered bees.  Just using black sewing thread for the body and single strands of gold metallic thread for the stripes and wings.  I'm now tempted to embroider lots more bees all over the place.  
Hope your Sunday's gone well, and you're getting ready for a whole new week and who knows what that'll bring!


Labels:

Comments

  1. kjsutcliffe9 January 2024 at 06:56

    Oh - I love the beads across the fireplace idea! Our fire is a working one but not during summer, hmmm, might make something similar to hang below my mantle piece for the warmer months - lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Valerie blogs at rubykittyruby9 January 2024 at 09:50

      Thanks for commenting. The beads do look really pretty, and making them is addictive. You should definitely give this a try.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sari scraps, PVA, a couple of books and a necklace

  I'm typing this as snow's falling, and has been steadily all day.  It's not settling to any great extent, though I bet by tomorrow morning the paths will be slippery with ice.  Which always makes me paranoid about falling over and at the very least looking undignified, but at worst breaking a bone or twisting an ankle.  Oh well, it's ideal weather to stay inside and craft, isn't it?  I finally got around to listing packs of sari scraps on Etsy this morning.  I only made up six bundles as I've no clue whether they'll sell or if I've set a reasonable enough price point.  Time will tell.   This is a link to the listing, if you're interested.  This vaguely pink fabric isn't from one of my Etsy packs.  It's from a bit of experimenting I was doing yesterday.  I'd seen a post on Instagram showing how a DIY version of batik could be done without using hot wax.  The Instagrammer used PVA instead, and I wanted to try this out....
4 comments
Read more

In praise of wool

Just a quick post today. I'm offering you a short but peaceful break from the overwhelmingness (is that a word?) of Christmas.  By now you've probably eaten your bodyweight in sweets//roast potatoes/pigs in blankets/cake/After Eights ... whatever your festive indulgences are.  You're under-exericsed, over-stimulated, feeling broke and possibly guilty about an argument with a relative or friend you've never entirely got on with.  So, here's something to take your mind off all that.   I've two videos to refresh and revive, and they both concern wool.   Interesting fact.  Well, I found it interesting.  About 1% - yup, one per cent - of the world's textiles are made of wool.  Out of curiosity, I also googled how much is made of cotton.  That's higher, but it's only about 24% and that's heading downward instead of up.  Synthetic fibres are the bulk of all textile manufacture.  Anyway, back to woolly wonders.   My firs...
2 comments
Read more

HOW TO MAKE: these decorative birds

 I suggested yesterday that I'd run through how to make a fabric bird wall or window hanging (can't think of a snappier title for it than that!) so here goes.  I'll start with the first decorative hanging I made.   It's something you could make in any colour combination you want, and would look good hanging at a window with translucent beads that'd catch the light   I used five birds for this, but you could make it longer if you prefer.  (Incidentally, if you're wondering about what's hanging off the bottom on this, it's a metal Christmas decoration, shaped like a lantern.  For some reason I thought it looked appropriate to leave it there, looped over the end.)   WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO GATHER TOGETHER:  Assorted scraps of fabric for the front of the birds - aim for a mix of colours and textures.  Silk looks good, as does anything with embroidery or intricate patterns.  You might aim for a hippy-ish boho look, or maybe you're ...
4 comments
Read more