Vintage Button Heart

Since getting into all things 'crafty' I have fallen in love with two things: fabric and buttons. Unfortunately beautiful fabrics tend to be expensive, but you can pick up buttons very cheaply. Hobbycraft do tubs of buttons in all sorts of shapes, colours and sizes. Buttons may have been designed for a specific purpose but there are hundreds of cute ways to use them, the only limit is your imagination. So far I have used them in card making and embroideries.

Recently I was researching craft projects online and came across a gorgeous little button heart. I had to give it a try so after buying some craft wire and chosing some buttons I was ready. I have now made a few as I love them so much. I thought I would attempt a tutorial as the button hearts were so easy to make and they look so pretty.

Here's what to do to make your own button heart.

Gather all the buttons you have chosen and lay them out in a heart shape. Ideally use around a 24 gauge craft wire (the wire I bought was too thin so I had to twist two strands together, which worked fine but was very fiddly) and measure out the length needed plus a bit more. It is easiest to start with the button at the bottom of your heart and continue stringing the buttons on in a clockwise direction. It can be a bit fiddly but persevere the end result is worth it. Once you have got all the buttons on to the wire stretch it out in a line. Find the button in the top centre of the heart and bend the wires on both sides up to make a 'v'. Now bend the wire into the heart shape and twist the wires together to join the sides. Congratulations you have your very own button heart.

Less haste more speed

Thought I would carry on the theme of 'making stuff' and share this little fabric number book I made for my nephew's first Christmas present. I started back in October, which was a good thing as I finished it just in the nick of time. One tip if you are inclined to make Christmas presents for all your family and you have no idea what you are doing don't leave it until the last minute. My deadline was Christmas Eve so that I would be able to buy everyone presents if it all went totally wrong.

I love working with felt because it is so cheap and easy, no fraying or hemming necessary. As a total sewing beginner I have used felt to make lots of things. The great thing is if it looks naf you can throw it away and it will have hardly cost you a thing. If you are like me and totally uncreative the internet is a wealth of ideas you can copy from, which is what I did for all the little pictures in this book. After making, sewing and gluing all the pictures and numbers together I sewed them onto the cream felt squares. Then cut up a long piece of blue felt into 6 parts and sewed the cream squares in the right places. Well not quite in the right places as number 2 ended up between 9 and 10! I also managed to glue 10 raindrops onto the number 9 page. Luckily I spotted my ridiculously stupid mistakes before it was too late. I was pretty pleased with the outcome (although page 4 is a bit wonky!). I just hope my lovely nephew will learn to count in spite of it.

Make me, Make me, Make me

Ever since I had my first baby last year I have been obsessed with making things, absolutely anything and everything, from shampoo (disaster) to chutneys (yummy). I  don't know where this need comes from all I know is that it is there and if I don't have at least 5 projects on the go I am twitchy! And I wonder why I am exhausted.

My latest triumph, which nearly killed me, was making Christmas presents. I must admit my motivation also came from being rather strapped for cash, what with being on maternity leave. I decided upon Christmas hampers as I had already made a large batch of chutneys from surplus fruit and veg we had back in the Autumn and figured one hamper will do for each couple. Although they did take time I was really pleased with the end result. I tried to put a mix of mainly home made stuff in them, which included: lavender bath salts, hazelnut and baileys truffles, vanilla fudge, hot chocolate pack, chutneys and of course wine and beers and focussed on a rustic decoration theme.

You can sort of see the finished product in the photos above. And I worked out that each box cost me just over eight pounds. So I would definitely recommend hampers if you want a lovely home made present and you're on a tight budget.