Crafty Ladies: Meet Laura Harris

Say hello to another Crafty Lady - Laura from Laurafallulah. 

Laura's shop is filled with pretty, colourful, vintage-inspired jewellery and accessories. I especially love her stylish felt flower brooches!

Laura & I have been crafty chums since the early days of Etsy and it's been lovely seeing her shop develop over the years and to meet up from time to time to chat about the ups and downs of making and selling and being your own boss.

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Hiya, I am Laura also known as Fallulah, hence the Laurafallulah.

I am a designer/maker from SE London who uses my interest in vintage design along with my love of bright colours and bold pattern to create fun individual accessories. I work from the spare room in my flat, which I share with my partner Richard, although I can often be found stitching on the sofa in front of the telly.

I spend my weekends walking, be it in near by Greenwich park or round galleries, and eating! I just love food and London has a great thriving street food market scene which I am gradually working my way round. I am also a member of our local cinema and the ICA so spend a lot of time watching all kinds of movies from arthouse to mainstream.

Recently I’ve been making…

I am currently working on new flower brooch designs to add to my classic collection as well as some new paper products to add to my Garden Party range which includes a few different cake topper designs. I like to have a range of things which are all year round items as well as a few seasonal things.

For summer I have a new range of jewellery based on the bright colours and intricate style of Papel Picado, Mexican paper cut banners. I love taking influences from all over and the mix of bold colours and patterns of Mexico really appeal to my taste.

 

I’ve been working on…

I have also been trying to spend some time working in my sketchbook on my drawing skills. I haven’t spent too much time perfecting my drawing recently as it is easy to get caught up in technology and the practical side of making. I would like to some day use more illustration in my work, but for now I am enjoying doing something a little different just for the sake of it.

I’ve been reading…

I love blogs, they really appeal to the nosy side of me as its like looking in on a little section of peoples lives. I have a few blogs that I have followed for years such as the classic design blog Decor8 and the lifestyle blog SFGirlbyBay . I have also more recently started loving the more journal type of blogs such as Dainty Squid and Skunk Boy, I love both of their mix of fashion, design and just life experiences.

I am also really interested in health and nutrition so I regularly catch up with Whole Heartedly Healthy and try out Lauras great recipes and health tips.

While I sew, I’ve been watching…

I will pretty much watch anything! I love all different kinds of TV and movies and can usually be found binge watching RuPauls Drag Race or The Office (an American Workplace).

I am not really the kind of person who can sit and do nothing so I frequently irritate my partner by punching confetti while we catch up on which ever latest American drama we are watching at the time. I also like catching up on some classic movies which I can’t believe I hadn’t seen like Fargo and City of God, which I saw recently and both of which I adored.

Laura’s 3 Top Tips for Running a Creative Business:

1. Inspiration: Sometimes it is hard to feel inspired when you work alone, my advice it to switch off the computer and get out, go for a walk, go to a exhibition, meet a friend for a cuppa. Sometimes technology can be as much of a hindrance to your creativity as it is a help. I love my computer as much as the next person but sometimes you just need to switch it off and talk to people in real life or see things in the flesh to get those creative juices flowing.

2. Comparison: So this is a kind of buzz phrase at the moment, the kind that pops up in your Pinterest front page about 10 times a day but “Comparison really is the thief of Joy”. This counts for all kinds of areas in life but definitely when running a creative business. Just do you, and do you to your best ability.

3. Take it easy on yourself: I know I struggle with this, sometimes beating myself up for not completing my to do list one day or worrying about where I am spending my money. From speaking to many people, who chose to work in the creative sector and specifically those of us who chose to work from home, it seems many of us suffer with anxiety. Try some mindfulness training, taking the issue, dealing with it (or not as the case may be) and then letting it go. It is a hard practice to get in to but it can make a huge difference to you work and also your work/life balance. Few things are unsolvable and most are not worth losing sleep over with worry. Easy to say, hard to do but working on it every day does wonders for your mental health.

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Click here to visit Laura's shop and see her full range of pretty accessories. You'll also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read more posts in the Crafty Ladies series.

Things in my workbox #2

After making my fancy cocktail hat I adapted the design slightly to make some "statement" necklaces using some lovely shades of 100% wool felt and there's a whole pile of them sitting half-finished in my workbox:Each necklace will be one-of-a-kind, some light summery shades on white backgrounds and some richer jewel colours on black backgrounds. The flowers all need lots of beads added for a bit of sparkle, which should keep me busy for a while.

Custom Birdies

I've been sewing lots of bird brooches this weekend, including a special set for a customer who wanted them facing in the other direction:
I'm also making some bird ornaments like this set I made last year:I hope to have the ornaments in my shops soon, but if you'd like to pre-order one please do get in touch!

New Colours + A Short Break

I've almost run out of the blue and pink butterflies for my butterfly flower brooches & hairbands (I must remember to order some more) and while searching for the last few butterflies I discovered unopened packs of red and yellow ones, sitting neglected in my supplies stash. Gosh, I am so disorganised sometimes!

So today I'm working on some new colourways for the butterfly flowers - red and yellow, and yellow and lilac. Better late than never, eh?On a totally unrelated note - I wanted to mention that I'm taking a holiday next week. I'll still be making things and blogging but after a busy couple of months I really need a break from the daily routine of running my shops.

I'll be on my hols from Tuesday 20th October to Monday 2nd November, and all items purchased from my shops between those dates will be posted on my return.

How To: Make a Button Bib Necklace from Felt

You know when you get that sudden urge to make something? Well, I got that urge this weekend and made LOTs of things... all destined to be fun tutorials, coming to this here blog very soon. Woop!

First up: a key accessory in fashion this autumn, the statement bib (or collar) necklace. I am becoming increasingly obsessed with these - they seem like such a bold fun way to jazz up the most simple outfit. A plain dress (or jeans & a tshirt) plus a bib necklace equals POW!

To make your own necklace you will need:
A paper template (see the bottom of this post), or you could draw your own shape
Thick felt (because of the weight of the buttons). Quality wool felt, or that thick (and wonderfully cheap!) synthetic stuff you get in sheets in stores like Hobbycraft. I used black to make the other colours really pop.
Matching thread, sewing needle, scissors, and pins.
Matching wide ribbon to make the ties
Buttons - I used a mix of bright colours for mine, but you could use any colour palette you fancy, perhaps an assortment of shapes in one colour? All black buttons on a grey background would look particularly chic. For some extra bling, you could add sequins, beads, and any other shiny doodads you can lay your hands on.

1. Pin the paper template to your felt, and cut around it. Do this twice, so you have a pair of matching felt shapes. One of these will be the decorated front of your necklace and the other the back.

2. Lay out your buttons on one of the felt pieces and play around with them until you get an arrangement you're happy with. This piece will become the back of your necklace.

3. With the back piece (covered in buttons) on the table in front of you serving as a guide to where to place them, gradually sew the buttons one by one onto the other (front) piece of felt. Make sure you stitch the buttons on securely, using a double thickness of thread and several stitches per button.

 

4. Cut two lengths of ribbon, long enough so you can easily tie a bow to fasten your necklace (I cut mine to each be 14 inches long so I can wear the necklace low or high). Cut the ends at an angle to help prevent fraying.

5. Place one piece of ribbon at the top left of the back felt piece, so half an inch or an inch of the ribbon overlaps the felt. If your ribbon has a "right" and a "wrong" side, make sure that the "right" side is face up on the felt so it will be visible when you wear the necklace. Sew the ribbon in place securely. Repeat this for the other piece of ribbon on the other side of the necklace.

6. Now place the front and back pieces of your necklace together, so that the buttons are facing outwards and the stitched ends of your ribbon are sandwiched between the felt pieces. Pin the felt pieces together carefully. Finally, use a whip stitch to sew all around the edges and finish your stitches at the back of the necklace where they won't be visible.

7. Wear your necklace immediately and feel fabulous!

Double click the template below to to view it full size and print out.
If you print at 100% your necklace will be the same as mine, just change the % to make it smaller or larger.
This tutorial is for non commercial use only: you can use it for as many necklaces as you like for yourself or as gifts for friends but please don't make any for sale. Please feel free to borrow photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!

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365 / 259 - Covered in Felt!

Last night I spent a lot of time doing dull things like catching up on Etsy feedback, but I did manage to watch the end of America's Next Top Model and finish this:
I like to think that watching 10 whole seasons of ANTM has instructed me well in the art of modelling... but perhaps not!
Hopefully (fingers crossed) I may have some volunteer models soon so the rest of the designs I'm planning can get listed without me pulling silly faces at the camera and relying on a bit of blur to hide many a blemish!My boyfriend thinks I have gone off my rocker (110% loopy bananas) with this one, but I think it's pretty awesome. It's designed like a garland, so you can loop it round yourself or hang it in your house (I wanted to make one of these for a felty Christmas but never got round to it).
Smaller and simpler versions of this should be coming soon but you've got to start with the showstopper, right? (in ANTM vocab: this one's couture, ready-to-wear is coming soon!).

365 / 236 - Experiments with Bracelets

I've been wanting to make felt bracelets for a while now, and yesterday I finally sat down and made some prototypes....
I thought first of all to try using a snap fastener to, er, fasten the bracelet and with a bit of wishful thinking dreamt of using some of my inherited supplies for them. Unfortunately the vintage snaps won't even un-snap from their cards - I shall just have to keep them in their packaging and frame them or something: oh well :) - and a modern snap fastener is still a little too stiff to work well with the softness of the felt. I was rather pleased with the look of the thing though! I think the orchids are so sweet and romantic-looking, I can't wait to wear one of these during the summer ...
Then I tried using velcro - softer fastening, slightly adjustable, great, right? Unfortunately it turned out to be a bit chunkier than the look I was going for (more a solid cuff than a delicate floral bracelet).
So today (day 237) I am trying out more ideas (this time experimenting with elastic) and my two "not quite right" prototypes will get listed in the shop at bargain prices... I just wish my hands didn't look so rough at the moment! All this decorating, etc, has made them so dry. Note to self: moisturise like crazy and keep my fingers crossed my skin becomes baby soft and lovely looking in time for the next bracelet-modelling session...

Oh, and late last night I made a quick attempt at a viola, in the same sort of style as my orchids. I didn't have time to turn it into a brooch, but here it is anyway:It's about 1 1/2 inches high. Here are the violas which inspired it. There are even more of them now than when I took that picture and they make me smile every time I see them!