Tin Dog mark 1

I have been thinking of making some tin 'creatures' for a while and I have just this week made my first tin dog using tins from the secondhand store and some metal odds and ends I had in my 'collection'

I used a 'Jodekoek' tin for the bodu and an old tea tin for the head. His tail is a candle snuffer and his ears and legs are offcuts from coffee machines ( I used to work in the coffee machine factory)

I have quite a few more tins all in nice shapes or with nice Dutch writing or pictures on them and so I am intending to makes a few friends for the dog.

Guerilla patchwork

 

Recently there have been a lot of stories about guerilla knitting. I love these impromptu works of art but my knitting skills are somewhat limited and so i have decided to adapt the idea to my own ends.

I have been coppicing trees in our garden and regularly save the young tree trunks never quite knowing what for but they are so nice it's a shame to cut them up and burn them. I also have a lot of fabric offcuts and was looking for another use for them too.

I am happy with the effects and the pieces are just tacked with glue into place but i intend to oversew them now with embroidery threads for the proper patchwork effect.

I am now looking for a suitably gnarled trunk with a few branches intact which is room height so I can wedge it into place in the livingroom from floor to ceiling.

Mushrooms growing on logs

Theses mushrooms have been inside my head for a while now. It's quite a relief to get them out and into 3D. Each mushroom is a mix of both new and recycled fabrics and they are fille with fibrefill.

 They are embellished with an assortment off new and old charms, beads, buttons and other little nik naks like crocheted ladybirds and flowers.

 

  I love to reuse old jewellery and clothing and I scour secondhand shops and markets for nice fabrics I can use.

 

 

 

Each one is totally unique and handmade by me. The logs are from young trees whichhave been coppiced to avoid overcrowding. The rings are clearly visible and there are in this group five rings in all.
 

They are for sale in my Etsy shop called MrsBellybuttonsfluff. There is a link top right of this page.

I really enjoyed making this first batch of mushrooms and am cerrtain to be making more as I have an idea for an entire pole covered in sprouting multi couloured fungi.

Mini patchwork brooches

These mini patchwork brooches have alocking pin on the back so they won't be lost. They are made using old and new recycled fabrics and are adorned with stitchwork, buttons, seed beads, bells and other assorted bits and bobs such as found objects and old jewellery.

Each one is different and they are approx 4/5 cm square.

I really enjoy sewing these little items as they are easy to handle and I love the fact that each one is unique and very colourful. On such a tiny little thing it's great to have such an assortment of things to see.

Mini art works framed as gifts.

Ok so I love reusing old jewellery and found objects in a way which means they can be looked at as opposed to being in a box under the bed.

Recently I've been busy making some hand sewn mini works of art using old fabrics and recycled duvet covers and pillow cases as well as the usual selection of old bits and pieces of jewellery and beads that I've been keeping until I thought of an idea for how to use them.

I like all sorts of coloured buttons and threads and tiny crocheted flowers and butterflys and whilst I have no discernable skills with needlework I do love making things up as I go along.

As an 'experienced' collected of all things tiny, found or broken this means I can justify my collections by turning them into art.