Easy mobile phone pouch

A mini treasure trove of crafty goodness

In this age of social media, internet, emails and going paperless with bills and bank statements, we rarely receive anything exciting in the post unless it's a special occasion such as Christmas or birthdays.  So you can imagine my delight when I received a package from my lovely friend and fellow blogger Donna Trinder from Lost and Found and Donna's room for reading (if you haven't already check out her blogs, they're fabulous!).

Donna emailed me a few days before saying that her mum had received her monthly subscription from Crafty creatives but had decided she didn't want it and Donna didn't think she would make use of it so she very kindly thought of me and my recent craft adventures and thought 'I reckon Kate would like that!'.

How to make a lined zippered pouch

How cute is this, even if I do say so myself.  This is my first sewing project and I am soooooo pleased with it.  I know if you look closely (or may be not so closely) you will see the lace trim isn't straight but that's mainly because when I cut the fabric I didn't do a great job.

♥Friday Delights♥

I've got lots to share with you today.  I've discovered some fabulous things on the internet and in my local area this week.!

First things here's the motley crew at our masquerade  dance. We had a fabulous time and it was so lovely for us all to get our glad rags on for the evening.

Now one of Pete and I, unfortunately I closed my eyes but it's still a nice picture.

Pete and I went to the B&B early afternoon and then had a potter round Dorking.  It's only a small village but I discovered some fabulous shops. The first one is called Shrewd.  It is a gorgeous shop which sells all kinds  of vintage stuff from men's and women's clothes to jewellery and accessories.  I didn't have time to look around at all the clothes but that is definitely something I'd love to do.  They have a seamstress that works there who can alter the clothes to your size.  I suspect some of them might be a little pricey but they are all definitely wonderful.

http://www.shrewd.biz/  The lady who runs the store said the website is a work in progress.

I went into the shop looking for a skinny belt to wear with my dress that evening. They did't have one but the clever owner suggested I bought a vintage Rhinestone buckle and attach it to my own piece of ribbon. I loved the idea but explained, I needed the belt that evening and wouldn't be able to do it.  The lady kindly offered to do it for me if I went and bought some ribbon and then pointed me in the direction of the 2nd fabulous shop I found, your gonna love this, it's called The Fluff-a-Torium! what a fabulous name.  More about that in a bit.

I nipped to The Fluff-a-Torium and got myself some black ribbon, then the wonderful seamstress sewed the buckle I bought on to it for me! How great was that.  I love those random moments.

Here's a picture of my vintage 1920's buckle, I stupidly didn't actually take a picture of me wearing it but it did suit the dress well and I love the idea that the buckle was vintage. It makes me think of how it may of been warn originally and by who.

Here's a couple of the homemade belt placed on the dress, you can kind of get the idea. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, they really don't do the dress or belt any justice but it's getting late and I'm afraid they're the best I could do this evening.

Now I mentioned earlier The Fluff-s-Torium. I think that's a fantastic name for a shop.

There is so much gorgeous stuff in there from craft making to haberdashery bits and bobs.  There are several classses and workshops tha tare run here. I am seriously considering doing one to help get me started with my sewing.

 Here's the link to the fabulous webiste and blog, http://www.gilliangladrag.co.uk/.

As you may have read in my Christmas posts, I was a lucky girl and Hubby bought me my first sewing machine. Finding out about the classes at The Fluff-A-Torium got me thinking, so I started searching for some other local classes or workshops and I found another 2 great places which hold workshops.

http://www.makemeworkshops.com

Make Me workshops our held in Cobham Surrey. They have workshops ranging in all sorts of DIY crafts, jewellery making, paper crafts, sewing and knitting and Embroidery to name but a few.

I also found a shop called Thread Bear, which is about 10 minutes away from me and I never knew! It's a place to buy fabric, haberdashery and patterns  I popped into there today and apart from having lots of great stuff, it's such a friendly place.  They're happy to give you any advice you need and they also run workshops and regular meet ups there.

http://www.thread-bear.co.uk/

I bought myself a piece of fabric, lace and ribbon trim and a zipper in preparation for my first sewing project.

Well that's if for now, there was more stuff I wanted to show you but that can wait for another week, it's getting late and I'm feeling kind of tired. I should be more organised and get my posts done earlier but there you go.  I'm afraid most of the stuff I shared is all about my local area not much good for my readers who live many miles away, some of which are all the the way over the other side of the pond.  What I'd say to you is, it's worth taking some time (when you have it, I know time is precious) and checking out what's happening in your local area or investigation places you haven't been to before.  You never know what you might find and what's been right under your nose..  Thread Bear has apparently been open for 25 years and I've only just discovered it! I bet you discover something you never knew was happening or was there in your area.

Oh one last thing, my Blogiversary Giveaway is ending next Wednesday so if you haven't already get your entries in, it's open to both the UK and Internationally and there are 3 cute prizes to win.

Link to original post, take a peek it's easy to enter!