I saw a tutorial for a fairy house online so decide so design my own and do a tutorial for it :) 


First you need:
thick felt- i got some from eBay and is about 5-6 mm thick
thinner red and white felt
thread
thick strong needle
scissors
cardboard
stuffing
beads, buttons and other decorative items including felt scraps


Step one:
I cut out a circle approx the size i wanted the top part of my mushroom to be and cut it into 4. placed on the red felt and cut out as shown.

Step two:

Cut some white dots however you wish to decorate the top of your mushroom be sure to not sew any spots too close to the edge of the triangles so they don't get sewn into the seams or you can skip to next step then come back to do this step :) 

Step three:
You can chose to do this step before previous :)


You need to now sew your quarters together i sewed them straight however later on realised you need sew on a slant so starting at outer edge about 10mm from edge sew to a point so end up with slanted line

Once all sewn should end up with slight pointy type dome :) Also note front centre why its good idea to sew spots on after this stage lol .

Step four

You now need to decide how raised you want your 'dome' the smaller the circle underneath the more raised up your dome will be but you may need to adjust your original seams so don't end up with a pointy lumpy dome.

I laid my dome as above pic shows and measure from one end to other to determined the diameter of my circle

I cut it out of felt and then again 1cm smaller out of thick card

Step five:

Next place dome on top and pin in place so cardboard is inside. because your cardboard is smaller you have a 1cm seam allowance meaning can use machine without fear of sewing through cardboard and breaking a needle. Sew all way around leaving a 10cm gap 

Stuff with well stuffing!! so its nice and plump no baggy areas but don't overstuffed as the based will bulge and it wont sit straight :) Once you have stuffed enough close up using machine again

You have now done the top :) 

Next is the house :) 

Step one: 

I started by deciding what height i wanted my house. my thick felt was 30cm square so decided to just roll it and that would be size albeit a tall house :)  if you want smaller a craft knife would be neatest option for trimming

Step two :

Decorate your house i hand sewed a door, 2 windows and various other things including beaded flower vines 

I also cut out felt flowers and laid it all on before sewing to ensure its how i wanted. if you look on right side the flower isn't as close to edge as left side this is to allow for sewing up house afterwards without losing the 'garden' 

Step three:

Sew everything on you can also chose to stick them down to make it a bit quicker :) 

My finished design

Close up of beading

Step four:

Sew up the house I overlap the 2 edges and straight stitched all the way up

Step five:

Admire your handy work. you can also add things on or make smaller houses make a village or a lil garden to accompany your fairy house :) 

I added a tree and swing to mine :) 

Have fun and hope to see pics of any houses you make xxx

Handmade Shopping

So something that comes up a lot for sewers and other makers is who can the big stores sell something for about 3 times less than I'm able to make it for. How am I suppose to compete and is it really worth making and selling my handmade goodies.


Well yes it is and here's why:


Pros of mass production


Cheap to make and buy so therefore can make more and sell more


Can get same thing in lots of colours very cheap


Cons


Cheaply made so break easily


Buy more so spend more money on cheap item


Everyone else has the same one maybe in different colours


However what happens when you need something really unique where do you go ?? well to your local or on line custom maker :)


Pros of handmade


You get something unique that no one else has


Can chose any colours, patterns, have a name on it so can get lots of the same thing and everyone will be different


Good quality so lasts for life but certainly a lot longer than mass produced items


You helping a mum, single person a family lots of different people make a living from selling their items


If can't ind what need in shops you can get it made and it will be exactly what you wanted 


Can get it personalised without paying a fortune


Not all but majority of makers are mums or dads so they know what its like they understand and they also have good minds for organising and planning meaning your item will be the best it can


Cons


Little profit for the maker


More expensive than shop bought 


Takes longer to arrive because has to be ordered in advance


However i believe the cons are outweigh because for every con there's a pro to make it ok for the buyer.


Here are some comments from my sewing group ladies to tempt you even further to the handmade side:


"I used to only buy mass produced items because they were cheaper. Once I had Abby and I was looking for some items for her bedroom that I couldn't get in main stream shops I had no choice but to find someone to make them. I have never looked back"


"When you buy from a small mum and dad business, you're not helping a CEO buy another  holiday house. You are  helping a little girl attend dance lessons, a little boy get a new pair of footy boots, a mum and dad put food on the table or pay the mortgage payment. Their customers are their priority, not their shareholders and they are the ones they strive to please. Supporting small business and shop locally!"




"there's a lady that owns a pub by me as well who only ever buys handmade items because
 of the love and care  that goes into making them, she hates buying mass produced "tat" as she calls it"


"We provide a bespoke service so that people can have something tailor made their wants/needs. We don't all want to be sheep following the herd. You just don't get a personal service from big companies and there is also the danger that some poor child in a foreign country is being paid less than peanuts to produce it. Each item we produce has love, care a little bit of us in it. Plus we wrap beautifully when we post out, so the goods feel like a little present, I always give returning buyers a little gift too. I like to think we proved Handmade Goodness that is not available anywhere other than the handcrafted market place. All power to us I say!!"

"I love handmade items! They are definately more unique and personal and by buying handmade i knowim helping to support other people like myself and the ladies in this group"

"I love buying handmade and now im learning to some bits myself a lot of my thought and love goes into making something. No two handmade items are ever exactly the same, that can't be said for mass produced stuff "

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  So what are you going to chose? I know what i chose any extra thoughts would be fab x