Fabric Key Fob.

Lately, I have been looking at things to make so that I can start a new little online business and the other day I came across some cute little fabric key fob thingies. I think they are awesome and very practical so I had a look on the internet to try and find the clasp things so I could have a go at making some. They were a bit difficult to track down, mostly because if you put keyfob thingy into the browser, it thinks you've gone mad and comes up with lots of weird and wonderful stuff :-)

This is what they look like. Little clamp-like things with two teeth that stick into the fabric.

I eventually managed to track some down from a wonderful lady on Etsy and when they arrived yesterday, I was itching to get on with making one, as a prototype, to see how sturdy they are. They're easy to make, just a strip of thin wadding sandwiched between two pieces of fabric and a key fob thingy ..... sorry, I still don't know what they are called. I just searched for key fob hardware and picked the one that closest resembled the ones I saw on the ones on the internet. 

There are loads of tutorials out there on the internet and they're super easy to make ...... it only took about 10 minutes to put together. I did manage to destroy one of the little key fob things though, because when I had put it together, I tugged on it and yanked on it and pulled it around for a while to see if it was secure. It wasn't completely secure to start with because the teeth weren't sunk deeply enough into the fabric so I wrapped the clasp in some fleece and hit it with a hammer a couple of times to close the clasp further. Unfortunately, I managed to squash one of the little teeth things .... several times in fact because although I managed to flip the little point back into an upright position so I could try again, when I flipped it back up the third time I managed to break it off completely! Oooppps :-)

Anyway, this is my prototype key fob. I think they're lovely. What do you think??

Does anyone have any tips for closing the little key fob clasps securely?

And does anyone know what they are actually called :-)

A Bit of a Catch-Up

Hi there everyone, how's it going? It's been a while since I posted anything because not only do I have an arthritic knee to contend with but I now also have a badly damaged hamstring to further complicate things! It's been a nightmare few weeks because everything seems to take so much longer when you're limping. It also takes so much more energy to do the smallest of tasks, not to mention being near impossible to carry a bale of hay while using crutches! Still, I'm hoping that a bit of rest and some pain killers will do the trick and it won't be too long before I'm back to my usual self, rushing about the place trying to get everything done. 

I have some photos to share with you of things I was doing before the accident ..... I tripped over a cat while I was hobbling at great speed down the corridor and hyper-extended my leg causing the hamstring injury. Painful!!

Some lovely liberty fabric arrived.

I took a picture of the eclipse.

I made my first attempt at freehand machine applique. Not bad for my first attempt I don't think. 

The letters were transferred using a marvellous product that you put through the printer to print out the lettering or design then peel off the paper backing and stick it to the fabric. You then simply sew over the letters through both pieces of fabric and when you're finished, you simply dunk the cloth into a bowl of water and the top layer of fabric just dissolves away ..... it's amazing!

Then some more fabric appeared and with it I made another tortoise

I am hoping to start a little Etsy shop to sell some of the things I make. At the moment I am just working out the kinks in the patterns of the things I'm planning to sell so lots of people have been given the prototypes. I'm sure they get sick of me sending them random things in the post but I like to make sure the process is easy and the pattern works for me even if I have to do several before I get it exactly right.

Then this cute picture arrived. It's the artwork for my new logo for my little venture "The Patchwork Hare". I'm busy working on labels and logos and business cards at the moment because I can do it sitting down and it doesn't hurt my leg. The artwork was done by a lovely lady at Flapdoodle Designs. There is a link HERE to her facebook page if you want to check out her other work.

I also managed a little bit of weeding and planting before I pulled my hamstring. I finally planted the everlasting sweet peas that had been abandoned on my patio table in a carrier bag last year and that, against all odds, had survived and thrived throughout the winter.  I planted them in a nice deep black bucket which although not pretty, was ideal for them and then I hid the bucket behind some giant, moss covered  logs from my log pile. I stuffed some compost between the logs to keep them in place and have since planted between the logs with some lemon thyme and a couple of rockery plants which seem to be doing well. Hopefully, by summer, the black bucket wont be visible at all.

And that's about it. Now, I am sitting on the sofa relaxing with a nice mug of tea, waiting for the pain killers to work before I hobble to the kitchen to put the gigantic leg of lamb I bought, into the oven ready for Sunday lunch. 

Happy Easter to Everyone out there in Blogland 

XxX

A Little Bit Of Seasonal Craftiness and a Bit of a Bargain

Well, my printable fabric arrived and I finally managed to have a play with it. It's amazing! It's so easy to use and the results were fabulous. I printed off a little picture that I found on the internet and added some wording to it and made a cute little sign to hang on the bedroom door on Christmas eve. It's for a friend's grandchildren. 

It's hard to believe that this picture is actually printed onto fabric! The other good thing is that the fabric still feels like fabric, it doesn't have any of the stiff, plasticky feel to it that you seem to get from the iron on sheets that you can print and you can even hand wash the fabric once you've printed it. I have actually read on the internet that you can wash it in the washing machine, although it doesn't recommend this on the instructions. So, after Christmas, I think I will do a little bit of experimenting with a couple of printed pieces of fabric to see how they stand up to being machine washed.... it's always good to know. I have to say, though, I am so impressed with it. Just print, leave to dry, peel off the paper backing, rinse under a cold tap and then dry. It's so simple. I will definitely be ordering some more. The only limitation is the size of the paper. It's A4 width and it comes in either A4 sheets or, like the stuff that I bought, on a roll so you can just cut however much you need. 

I also nabbed another massive bargain this morning. I was rushing around Liskeard posting parcels and running errands when I saw a sign for a craft sale at Stuart House, a lovely old building in the centre of Liskeard. Of course it was totally impossible for me to ignore the prospect of a sale so, off I went to seek out some crafty bargains. 20 minutes later I emerged triumphant, with several lovely pieces of fabric for between £1 and £4 per piece and considering some of those pieces are at least a metre in length and some of them are pieces of cotton velvet and silk, I was incredibly pleased with myself. 

I also discovered that Stuart House is actually rather old. King Charles stayed there in 1644 and Liskeard is in fact over 1000 years old and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. 

Stuart House

 Domesday Book

I think I shall be exploring this in a bit more detail over the next few weeks .... I find it totally fascinating. 

Fabulous Fabric Friday

I just wanted to share some of my recent fabric purchases. It's so exciting. For the last couple of days, lots of exciting parcels have been plopping through my letterbox. I can't wait to get started. I have loads of ideas but I'm going to wait until everything has arrived before I start creating things because I have ordered loads fabulous fabrics, trimmings and stamps to start building up the stock that, over the last five or six years, has just dwindled down to nothing. 

I'm hoping to start earning a few pennies from my crafts again, maybe a stall at a local market, (I had one several years ago and it was fabulous fun!) and definitely some craft fairs, probably with my daughter, who makes beautiful jewellery. 

I have been looking for inspiration and ideas and have found some lovely things that I'm going to be making and of course, I will be sharing the end results with you on here. So I guess ..... watch this space. This is what has arrived so far. Oh .... and you might have noticed I'm loving the giant ricrac .... it's fabulous and I'm going to get more in every colour I can find and at 67p per metre it's a total bargain! I have a feeling it might be featuring prominently in my future creations :-)