DIY Tutorial - 4 hair clips in 4 mins!

Yes, you CAN make gorgeous hair clips with not much fuss & no sewing skills whatsoever!

What you need:

• Hot glue gun (you can pick these up at the local hardware store or even $2 shops)
• Fabric flowers - I used a vintage pink peony available HERE; a hot pink, felt-backed tulle flower with bling center available HERE; a light pink chiffon/tulle flower with diamontie centre available HERE & a gold ribbon flower available HERE.
• 1 x pink pearl & clear diamond mini button available HERE
  
• 3 x brooch tray/alligator clips available HERE
• 1 x grosgrain-covered alligator clip available HERE

 Clip 1:

• Plug your glue gun in to warm up
• Take one metal brooch/alligator clip & the pink chiffon flower
• Squeeze lots of glue into the brooch tray & quickly place the felt part of the flower onto the glue
• Hold for 3 seconds then you're done!
• Cost: $1.85 (plus glue)

 Clip 2:

• Take one metal brooch/alligator clip & the hot pink tulle flower
• Squeeze lots of glue into the brooch tray & quickly place the felt part of the flower onto the glue
• Hold for 3 seconds then you're done!
• Cost: $1.80 (plus glue)

 
 Clip 3:

• Take one metal brooch/alligator clip, the mini pearl button & vintage pink chiffon flower.
  
• Cut off the excess mesh from the back of the flower
• Squeeze lots of glue into the brooch tray & quickly place the flower onto the glue & hold for 3 seconds.
• Place a dab of glue in the centre of the flower & hold the flat-backed button in place for 3 seconds - then you're done!
• Cost: $2.95 (plus glue)

 

 

 Clip 4:

• Take one ribbon-covered clip & the small gold flower.
  
• Squeeze a fair amount of glue onto the back of the flower then press it in place onto the clip.
• Hold for 3 seconds - then you're done!
• Cost: $1.10 (plus glue)

 And there you have 4 pretty new hair clips to match so many different outfits ... and all for under $8.00!

Happy Creating

x

Doilies

Doilies.... When I think of these, I think of my grandma.  She used to crochet doilies in bed. We have a few of her creations in our house. It’s strange how what I consider an old artform is getting a revamp of sorts. Gone are the days of just planting them on the dinner table or as a coaster for your cuppa. Now they can be made into anything.

Here are just a few that I loved.

Doily Lampshade by Shannon South

Doily bib necklace by owlandsparrowvintage 

 

Sweet girls dress by taraKdesigns

 

Crochet bag by BangDollVintage ...

Sweet cushion by Koochie Koo

if these pictures inspire, you can create something amazingly unique with your own doilies - if you don't have any your grandmother made, you can always buy a few from Little Tee Tee Laces, trims and more  Here

How to dye crocheted lace/doilies. Tutorial.

Dying fabric can be quite a daunting idea if you haven't given it a whirl before.  I decided to bite the bullet & dye some doilies for my daughters birthday party.  It was actually a very simple, pain-free experience so I'd encourage you to give it a go too!

Purple was the colour of choice so I purchased a box of Rit from the local fabric store.  I was decorating milk bottles so cut the crocheted lace a little bit longer than what was need to go around them (ie allowed for a little shrinkage).

There are really good instructions in the box - sumarised here. First I soaked by lace in hot water to make them more receptive to the dye.

I half-filled an ice-cream container with hot water & added some powder dye. I didn't want  a really vibrant or dark colour so we only added a little bit of colour.

 Stir the dye until it dissolves (just like you do with jelly!)

 Add your lace / doilies to the dye ...

 And stir.  I stirred them for about 5mins.  You can leave them but I wanted to try for an even colouring & I wanted to make sure they didn't take on too much colour & become too dark.  Check the colour by lifting out of the water.  The colour will darken once dried.

 Rinse under warm water, slowly cooling to cold water, until the water runs clear.

Next I stuck them in the dryer for a quick dry - because I'm impatient!  You could line dry to avoid shrinkage though.

We LOVE how the colour turned out ...

Need doilies to dye?  Little Tee Tee stocks a large selection of pretty doilies to play with HERE.

Buttons for Hair Accessories now available!

How could I resist adding buttons to my array of embellishments & laces?!?  Our fabric roses, bows & butterflies are finding their way into the hands of so many creative hair-accessory-designers that I thought these little treasures would make a nice accompaniment to the range.

Here are the first three types of buttons I have chosen to sell - a gorgeous heart-shaped rhinestone button, a round cluster of pearls, and a stunning square-shaped rhinestone button.

All of these come with and easy-to-remove shank at the back.  Perfect for sewing onto clothes or hair accessories, or after removing the shank, gluing flat onto your creation.

Buttons available in my www.littleteetee.com store HERE.

Happy Creating!!!

FREE Singer Limited Edition 160 Sewing Machine

Yes, you read correctly!!!

Little Tee Tee is excited to sponsor The Sewing Library's 1st Birthday celebration by sponsoring this FABULOUS prize.  Ohhh how I covert this vintage-looking sewing machine!

For full details of the competition please visit HERE.  All the very best!!!

How to Jazz Up Old Trainers!

There's nothing like a nice comfy pair of trainers but I do like a bit of pizazz on the ol' footwear.  That's why I am loving a post I found over on the brilliant Budget Beautiful blog site HERE.

The finished product looks a little like this.

Soooo, want a little more motivation in trying your hand at your own version?  Well, I think the new crochet flowers in our online store could be just the trick!  Purchase yours HERE

Happy creating!

DIY - How to use doilies on kids clothes!

It's no surprise that I'm a huge fan of shabby chic childrens clothes.  I not only make my own creations for sale in my online shop (ie www.littleteetee.com) but I also happily sell the different elements so you can design your own!

One of these crocheted doilies ...

Plus one of these hearts ...

Equals one of these!!!

You can purchase the crocheted doilies, hearts plus many other sewing embellishments instore here .