What have I been sewing now ?

With the house elves safely settled back into school , I have had a little bit of time this week to get creating for my shop, if you follow me on Twitter you might have noticed me jumping up and down announcing opening a new shop, so there are now two places you can purchase Martisanne handmade goodies, you can click on the tabs at the top of the screen to be transported to my Etsy shop as before, but look there is a new tab for my new shop my Zibbet shop yay twice the handmade fun.

Some of the items available to purchase in My Etsy store are also available to buy in my Zibbet store , but there a couple of new goodies that I have been sewing this week that are only available in my Zibbet store so far .

A few weeks back I purchased a length of gorgeous satin feel balloon print fabric that just screamed celebrations, birthdays, Christmas PARTY TIME !!!
I just couldn't make up my mind what to do with it, but with the school holidays over with I started thinking about Christmas, I know I know but us crafters always have to be one step ahead of you buyers you know.
So I decided to create these little money wallets/gift card holders, a gift card just fits snugly inside , perfect for any gift giving and here they are

Handmade gift card holders

Gift card wallet

You can purchase them in my Zibbet shop

Also around the same time I purchased the balloon fabric, I also bought three beautiful lightweight fabrics in shades of blue and purple, they all looked so
pretty together I bought all three, and have waited as to what to do with them , as I have so many ideas for new designs I couldn't decide what to do with them, to procrastinate or not to procrastinate, so I just got on with it and put them all together in a pretty patchwork cosmetics purses.
The lovely little crochet bonnets on them I had already just waiting for the right project and I think this is it

Available to purchase in my Zibbet shop

 

Again this is available to purchase in my Zibbet shop

I am off for more procrastination now perhaps a little sewing thrown in, have a great week and pop back next Tuesday to see what I have been up to.

Easy Peasy Cherub Upcycling

At the minute we are thinking of redecorating our bedroom, I want a colour scheme of red and silver, so with this in mind I am keeping my eyes open for materials that can be recycled to fit the scheme or will go with the scheme I have in mind. I currently already have a few cherub items that I have collected over the years, that will go perfectly with the bedroom scheme I have in mind.
On Sunday at a local car boot sale I found the following cherub plaques

Original cherub decorations

As you can see they are not silver or red, but they were solid undamaged, easy to hang and just what I was looking for apart from the colour, and they were only One Pound for the three, so out came my trusty plastikote silver spray paint , apply liberally and you have

Finished upcycled cherub decorations

A little tip with the paint, it is better to spray a few light coverings than one heavy one, you will get better non runny coverage this way.

The three silver cherub plaques will fit in perfectly in my new bedroom scheme now.
A lot of my moneysaving comes from pre planning, I am collecting items for my new bedroom scheme now to decorate in a couple of months, I also want to redecorate the lounge so I will keep my eye out for the next couple of months for paint and items for the room. Always look at a piece of furniture or ornament with creative eyes and ask yourself is it Ok as it is ? can I change it or add to it for it to be what I want or need it to be ?.
Plan ahead to avoid I need it now scenarios, I buy Christmas cards and wrapping paper in January, I make and buy presents for Christmas and birthdays all year round, I have two spare pairs of oven gloves for when mine are ruined again because they were in the sale, I buy lunchboxes when they are on sale for when the children ruin their current ones, plan plan plan !!
Planning ahead will save you time , money and stress, so will upcycling and recycling, embrace them both.

Preparing to go to a car boot sale

Before going to a car boot sale there are always items that I pack to take with me, as its not a bargain for 50p if I have had to spend an additional five pounds on items I could have taken with me.Below is a list of preparations I make, and items I pack in my 20p car boot sale bargain rucksack, I hope this will give you a starting point of things to consider before setting off on your bargain hunting adventure.

First make a list, I write it on a memo on my phone of items you are on the look out for, I have my children's shoe and clothes sizes, lists of presents I need to buy etc. Always handy to refer to so you are buying the right size etc, it is not a bargain if it's 2 sizes too small


1) Check time and day and location of the car boot sale you are going to attend and make sure you know the way, try if you can to get there near to the opening
time so you don't miss out on bargains.
2) Try and make sure you have loose change for your entrance fee and also for paying for items as sellers won't necessarily have a lot of change it's pot luck if
they do or not
3) Little packs of tissues , I take these for toilet use as frequently with portaloos there is inevitably not a lot of toilet paper
4) Hand sanitiser again for toilet use, especially if you are taking children
5) Raincoats,suntan lotion, caps and sunglasses, to cope with the typical British weather
6) Snacks and drinks as you don't want to be spending money you are aiming to save on food and drink
7) I frequently give the kids an ice pop in the car in the summer on the way there saves them begging at the ice cream van as they have already had one
8) Don't forget your list as mentioned above
9) Make sure you are wearing comfortable footwear as some of these boot sales can be quite a way around and you want to be comfortable.

In the next post I will be discussing etiquette , what to do when your there

Car Boot Sales, What are they ?

Before I start sharing my makes finds and ideas, I thought it might be best to first explain what a car boot sale is as there are many people who may not have experienced one.
A car boot sale consists of an organised event , of everyday people mostly selling off unwanted items, you will find everything from toys to toiletries to clothes and ornaments and craft items dvds and books and much much more. You will generally see car boots local to you advertised in local newspapers and they usually run from Spring to Autumn as they are generally outdoors , on a field or a car park.
As a seller you will be expected to pay a fee that will be advertised and will vary from event to event , our local ones charge approx. £6.00, as a buyer you will have to pay for entry, a small nominal fee our local ones charge 50p each but children and oaps are free .
You will also find what I refer to "traders" at car boot sales , people selling generally food and household items, discontinued lines, items nearing there best before dates and items with damaged packaging, these too can be a treasure trove of finds and moneysaving .
Facilities will vary from sale to sale but they will almost definitely have toilet facilities, generally portaloos , and usually a food and drink outlet ,which will vary from event to event but generally a burger van and ice cream van or something along those lines.
In the next post I will cover what to pack to take to a car boot sale to make your visit comfortable and economical and I will also be posting soon a little car boot etiquette guide.