More Vintage Finds

Despite having little space left in our flat, I can't resist adding to my collection of vintage finds...

A glass fruit/desert stand and two pieces of lace:

After giving various pieces of china as Christmas presents, I decided to start my own collection.  I found these tea trios on eBay (one of which is identical to a Christmas present I wanted to keep for myself). I think the mismatched pieces work really well together:

I'm also on the lookout for vintage birdcages, the bigger the better.  I don't consider that they count towards the clutter quota because I plan to put them in the garden.  They look beautiful just as they are but I plan to fill them with plants or outdoor candles.

My Craft Stash

In common with many crafters out there, I have a stash of fabric, buttons, ribbons, trimmings and everything else sewing related you can think of.  My collection often outgrows its storage space!

I never spend a huge amount on any of these items; I think part of the fun is sourcing a bargain.  I find it helpful to lay out my supplies for inspiration and sometimes, I can actually bring myself to use them!  Anyway, I thought I'd share a few photos of my craft stash for those who are interested:

I currently have a bit of a thing for ribbon...

and for bias binding...

and trimmings...

I have collected lots of vintage buttons over the past few years and plan to use them to embellish kisslock frame clutch bags (watch this space).

I love vintage jewelry and have kindly been given various pieces by my Grandma (an antiques dealer!). Some were missing a few stones, but I fixed them using items which were beyond repair.  Some of the brooches don't have pins, but they will still look stunning stitched to the front of a bag.

 

I have a lovely collection of vintage buckles, which I am yet to use. My favourites are those made from wood or mother of pearl. I'm currently pondering whether to make some belts or incorporate them all into my bag designs.

I don't limit my shopping to vintage items.  The clear and pink butterflies were originally attached to hairbands and cost around 50p each (80 US cents).  Obviously I had to buy every single one on the shelf...

I often pick up keyrings in the sales, which make for unusual bag charms or zipper pulls:

I have so much fabric, I think it deserves an entire post to itself...

Handmade Gifts and a Happy New Year

A belated Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.
We had a great Christmas spending time with family and friends, being really lazy and eating far too much.  Despite travelling up and down the country by train, we pretty much avoided the travel disruption caused by the recent snow.

We spent New Year with my boyfriend's parents.  This year's fancy dress theme was Old Time Musical; he and his family enterntained their guests with renditions of old music-hall songs and wore fantastic costumes.  Here is a picture of me in my outfit, which was kindly supplied by his Mum at the last moment (who has an enviable wardrobe to say the least!). 

I've decided to stroll into 2010 and slowly contemplate my priorities for the year ahead.  I can't see the point of setting unrealistic goals and starting brutal health and fitness regimes in the first week of January...anyway, we still have a lot of chocolate left which I would hate to see go out of date.

As always, I did my best to give as many handmade and vintage gifts as possible. Here is a selection of this year's items.

I made these pen and crayon rolls for my four-year-old niece:

 

I also made my neice and her younger sister each a matching set of three appliqued t-shirts (brown as below, one pink and one white). My four-year-old niece loved the pink and white ones but we heard her say, quietly, "Mummy, I'm not wearing the brown t-shirt....ever"!  Fortunately her little sister is too young to object, see below:

I also gave various pieces of vintage china as Christmas giflts (I wanted to keep these for myself, but I just don't have the space).  Hopefully my friends won't hate me for cluttering up their homes.

I also made an 'upcycled' cake stand and transformed a battered picture frame into a beautiful mirror. Photographs and tutorial posts to follow...

Autumn in London

Autumn is my favourite time of year!

Here are my attempts to capture some scenes in Regent’s Park and our local cemetery.  These photos were taken with my Sony DSLR camera.

The colours in these photographs reminded me of this piece of vintage fabric - so 70s! It had been stashed away for so long that I had forgotten about it.  It will probably end up as a clutch bag with a kisslock frame.

A little bit about me

Hello, my name is Lucinda and I live in London, England.  I have an Etsy shop called 'LuliBags', which I opened in late April 2009.   I sell a range of handmade bags and purses, using a mix of modern and vintage fabrics.

I work full-time in the City but my passion lies in sewing and music.  I also enjoy cooking, photography, ashtanga yoga, vintage shopping and gardening.

I set up this blog to share Etsy finds, simple sewing tips for any would-be crafters out there and anything else creative or inspiring which takes my fancy.

Feel free to comment on my blog, I'd love to hear from you.  You can email me, convo me via my Etsy shop or find me on Twitter and Facebook.