17 Jun 2012

Clarabel

Introducing the finished Clarabel ...


Isn't she lovely? She is just how I imagined in my head except for one small thing. The choice of fabric was a slight compromise. It is exactly the right colour to match with the red wall but I would have liked white hearts instead of spots as there are already hearts featuring strongly in the decor of this room. I did find the perfect fabric online but you never know exactly what colour something will be when buying online and reds can be funny to match. So I'm going to keep a swatch in my purse and if I happen to come across the exact right fabric I will get it and make new curtains and re-purpose the spotty ones. So pleased with it though, I just need to put everything away now so that the room can be used again and I can get on with other sewing for Belovedly. Not bad for a grand total of £35 eh?

If you are new to my blog you can view the before pictures of Clarabel here...

10 Jun 2012

Beautiful and beyond

Believe it or not bag-making and related activities have been very slowly continuing behind the scenes (and I shall be blogging about them again shortly!) However, they  are on hold for a few days.

I bought a beautiful yet dilapidated display cabinet today which I'm in the process of giving a new lease of belovedly life. So far I've only removed the glass (I have v.young, v.boisterous children) it needs some reinforcement at the front, a couple of plywood panels in the sides, a sand down, a few coats of paint and some fabric panels making for the little windows and then it will be even more beautiful than it is now in its worn out, faded, graffitied state. (Did I mention it was super cheap?) Anyway here it is ...

 In the shop

Glass removed

When I saw it I immediately knew I needed it in my life, Mr Belovedly needed some persuading but I wore him down in the end. I think he was getting hungry and realised I wasn't going home without it! I even agreed to get rid of one of my many beloved blanket chests as a trade off ... I'm secretly hoping he forgets about that particular part of the deal! Anyway when my cabinet is finished it will be used to store all the bits and bobs from Belovedly bag-making that currently reside all over the place in our dining room so Mr Belovedly will actually be a happy chappy as he is always complaining about the many homeless bits and bobs.

I think my cabinet will be so lovely that she will need a name. Normally I like things in my life to be masculine, My husband is a man, my children are boys, my car 'Bernard' is male, I have always without exception opted for male pets (okay, maybe I wasn't too sure about the gender of my fish,) other household items etc that I've named have also always been male (I'm sure I'm not the only one to do this as my husband has a plant named Stuart ... maybe that's my influence though thinking about it! Hmmm - Actually I know I'm not the only one as my sister in law had a hoover called Bob.) But to get back to my point, the cabinet is most definately a girl, she will need an old fashioned but cute name that starts with C.
Any suggestions?