The Craft Begins

I am thinking about flying to New York, just to be able to visit this amazing resource.  A man who was a packrat but also had an amazing vision for what could be useful at a later date.  Apparently, he was known as the guy who would buy anything!

Vintage floral embellishments, glass glitter, ribbons, antique buttons – you name the decorative tidbit, and they’ll have it.  The store apparently has much more going on, but they’ve also got a small web shop if you don’t live in New York.

Has anyone ever had the good fortune to visit the Tinsel Trading Company?

After finding so many delicious fabric bunting examples on the internet, I thought that it was time to try to make one myself.  I have a big box of vintage hankies that I used.  It’s easier when the edges are already finished, it looks a lot more polished, and it gives it a fun eclectic feel.  Want to make your own? Here’s how.

1.  I picked 8 handkerchiefs that didn’t match but coordinate.  I thought that blues and whites would be a nice look for summer.  Don’t worry about them all being the same size – the variety is really charming.  You’ll need more or less depending on the size of the hankies and the length of your bunting, but 8 is a good starting number.

2.  Whenever I’m digging around at the flea market or in a thrift store, I always look for vintage sewing bits.  This fabric binding works really well with the blues in the hankies, but you could use anything – ric rac, quilt binding, or just a piece of fabric or ribbon.  Contrasting thread pulls it all together.   Cut a piece as long as you want your bunting (I made mine 12 ft.) and make sure to leave enough on the ends to tie it to something.

3.  Lay out the hankies along the length of your binding – this gives you an idea of how many hankies you need, as well as how far apart to space them.  I just eyeball it.

4.  Pin the hankies to your binding, with the hankies on the back side.  Again, the spacing doesn’t have to be exact, but make sure to leave enough space between the hankies that they can fall well (6 inches, more or less).

5.  Run it though the sewing machine, making sure that the thread goes both through the binding and through the fabric of the hankie.

Trim your ends, and find somewhere to hang!

Single strands look great over windows, or as a backyard party decoration.  Or you could make a lot of them and hang them up for a wedding!  The possibilities are endless.  If you make one, I’d love to see it!

Since I wasn’t able to do it on Friday, I figured, why not start out the week with some lovely fresh new finds?

1.  I can’t believe that I just now found Tiny Bazaar.  She has these beautiful prints in a really great color palette that are just full of fun and whimsy.  She has some great prints and photographs in addition to some really creative jewelry. Apparently everyone else in the design world has taken notice, as she’s been featured in some great design blogs, but I thought I’d share in case anyone else was as out of the loop as me.

2.  I’ve just discovered 5 Dollar French Market and I’m delighted to report that everything is actually just $5!  They have all sorts of chic finds, like beautiful seam binding and vintage laces, all packaged really nicely.  Would be a beautiful way to wrap a present or embellish an art project you’ve been working on.  And you won’t break the bank!

3.  If what you’re looking for is fun and funky paper goods, then Earmark is the place.  This shop is chock-a-bock full of beautiful graphics and tongue in cheek humor.  I love their colors and the variety of fun things that you can find.  My favorite is their dinner party kits. What a great idea for a hostess gift!

4.  Photo Bird has long been one of my favorite photographers on Etsy.  I bought a set of her breakfast series cards a while back and have yet to actually send them to anyone, I love them so much.  Her photography is always slightly shy and disarming – lovely little quiet moments in our everyday lives.

Thanks to this week’s favorites for all the beautiful work that they do!