Face furniture, foot furniture and a fresh new first!

Greetings lovely people!

It's been an interesting week I can tell you! Having had a few days away and come back with a cold, or whatever it was, things have been a shade slow on the creating front.

However, having promised the OH I would go for an eye test when we were back home I finally did it! (Yes, a few years late and I have had a word with myself).

I've never had an experience like I did on Tuesday before - I actually enjoyed it! I told everyone how I got freaked out by eye appointments, and eyes in general, (it was the only surgery in my nurse training that made me feel faint) and by the end of my test I was looking at pictures of my own eyes!

Plus, I had a fab time choosing my new specs and even though some (mainly my eldest brother) insist on calling me "Olive" (as in 'On The Buses') I love my new face furniture!!

Hello Sunshine!

 Well, Olive or not, I figured new face furniture meant new foot furniture and these little beauties just happen to fall in my (new and improved) eye-line and I just had to make them mine!

Olive Davis Jnr?

 On the creative front I have managed a couple of things this week and my favourite is a design of my very own, tentatively named the "Spring Meadow" infinity scarf!

The yarn was an impulse buy, just because it was pretty and I played around a bit and then boom! The idea struck me so I hit Pinterest for pics of meadows and moorland covered in blooming Heather.

The scarf came from a headband pattern which I altered, and the flowers were, again, borne out of trial and error and a bit of playing! The maverick crocheter strikes again!!

 I'm hoping that this scarf could be a little beginning for me in terms of selling.......

This is how it started......

 Hopefully you can see why the yarn inspired what it did. It's very soft and lovely to work with too!

Almost infinite!

 So, once I had an infinity scarf (or cowl as some prefer) I wanted to pretty it up with some bright pops of colour so.............

Spring-like blooms!

Having attached the blooms to the scarf I donned it, and of course my new specs, and headed out to let the people see my new creation..............it did attract attention, as did my specs!

So, here's Olive  ahem, Me, complete with both fab new items!

Until next time,,,,

Big Love, Loli B xxx

Don't worry, bee happy!

So lovely people, since the last post the sun has been out, I have made more Elderflower cordial (obviously!) and the prototype handmade gifts I mentioned have made their way to the recipient, my sis Heidi-Jo! Thankfully they were very well received!

I was nervous to be honest- she's known me since I was 8 yrs old (that's a very long time!), when she started going out with my big brother, and she doesn't mince her words. in fact, she's a writer! Anyway, I knew that she had been researching bee-keeping and uses for beeswax for the next novel so I decided to hand stitch a little patchwork bag and a teeny notice board for her.

I have never made the bag before and choosing the right fabric took a little while. The original idea was from a patchwork quilting book I recently bought, but I adapted it to make it more individual and added a little key ring with the bee fabric inside it. Through making the bag I learned about English Paper piecing, how to make my own binding, how to make corners so the bag stands up and how to sew a zip on a curve -  a lot of firsts but I enjoyed every one!

Sewing squared-off corners x

The zip, stitched on the curve x

The fabric I used for both came from a local craft centre (the bold brown), the internet (the bee/honeycomb) and my best friend's Grandmother! (The vintage brown paisley).


























The notice board was a total flash of inspiration! I found some beehive templates on the internet and, again, adapted one to suit my design. I then decided to embroider the outline onto the fabric and wadding to give it a slightly quilted look.

The little yellow buttons and ribbon were from my (gradually ever-increasing) stash of craft bits and bobs and I used the brown fabric again on the back. I also had to learn to sew 'invisibly' to give the board a neater finish.

The back of the notice board x 

The 'invisible' stitching on the notice board x

All in all I had a lovely time making these items and to know they made the recipient happy made it even more worthwhile! The new skills I learned and the positive feedback I've received have been a real boost and spurred me on to work on more of my own creations.

The next post will chronicle more learning and show you what I did next...................................

Big Love, Loli B xxx

Welcome one and all!x

Well, hello and welcome to my first blog post! I'm Loli Belle and I'm just starting out.......

This blog is about my journey from being a nurse into being a crafter; and not just in my spare time. I have been a nurse for 9 years and fibromyalgia has meant I can no longer do the job; for the time being at least.

So, I've turned to my love of craft and all things pretty and vintage inspired and have begun to create bouquet's made with hand-stitched felt flowers, vintage brooches and rings and a few little embellishments. The plan is to sell these bouquet's and the jewellery I make and create a little business.

We all know that the world has gone crazy for all things craft and vintage, but that's really not the reason I want to do this. It will allow me to still make a difference to people, use my creative skills and thoroughly enjoy sourcing materials while learning new techniques and skills!

I have always made jewellery and had a fascination with the 40's and 50's. The clothes, hairstyles and general 'way' appeals to me and I am a fully subscribed member of the 'make do and mend' philosophy. That said, I am also a huge fan of the modern day pinup -  tattoos, bright hair and all. I love the fact that many of these beauties are sporting ink depicting old school pinups while they show their own modern twist on it.

Right, creating and planning to do so I must close my laptop and get to work!

There will be photo's of my work posted soon!

Big Love,

Loli B! xxx