The future's bright! The future's scary!

This week I have been stressed trying to get everything sorted, but also I have been thinking about the future and come to some tough decisions. I have printed a business pack to work through via the Princes Trust website; I have been reading through it and I feel daunted by the prospect of owning my own business in the future. The negative feelings didn't last long, I had some great news this week that will change my life for the better.

I have been working really hard this week preparing for my stall at Frighten Brighton, the horror event I have been advertising through the powers of the Internet. I have taken into consideration that it is December and I have made some spooky yet festive decorations for my stall. I don't know how a Jason mask is festive, but for me horror is part of my life all year round. I have been making hair slides and brooches which is something I make on a regular basis, but I have made cushions and prints to sell along side my crafty treats. 

My little spooky treats

New work!

I have been working really hard for my Frighten Brighton stall making cushions, corsages and printing Christmas cards. I have never been so busy and I am absolutely loving every minute of it. I am feeling it of course, but I am working through the headaches and the pain because I get so much out of it. I thought I would share some photos of what I have been working on.

SCREAM!

This week I made the Jason mask and I have been looking for other iconic horror villains to make into scary cushions. I watched Scream 4 on Saturday night and I was surprised that I forgot how iconic the mask has become! Monday morning I sketched the mask and made a stencil for my cushion. I had a few problems with the tension on my mashine, pleather is a real pain to sew at times. I finally got it semi right and I finished the cushion today. I am pretty happy with it and it looks a little spooky sitting on the bed. 

Corsages!

I ordered some buttons from a random seller in Asia and after waiting for what seemed an eternity they arrived this week. I was really happy with the quality and I was instantly inspired to make corsages! I make a lot of fabric corsages for fascinators, but I decided to make brooches with a corsage frame I sat on my bed with my sewing kit and put on Swiss Family Robinson! What a great way to spend an afternoon! Sewing, films, tea and relaxation. I love how they turned out and I am excited to sell them. 

Hair Slides!

My favourite! I love making hair slides! Little gems in a girls hair, effortlessly stylish and lots of fun. I have a few of the skull buttons in my sewing kit, but I have never never used them for hair slides. I decided to add two little beads as eyes for a bit of fun. I am going to make them in a variety of colours

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I have become hungry for more and I have decided that I am going to try and start my own business. I feel slightly surprised at myself for even considering it! I have been reading material online, what I need to research, business plans and the problems finding money. It's a lot of work! It will take time and a great deal of effort, but I think it will be worth it! 

What's Doll Doll Dolly All About...

I thought I would explain what 'Doll Doll Dolly' means to me. A few years ago I decided I would start making things, but I didn't really have the confidence to show my work and it has taken a long time to get to this point. Ever since I was little I have been creative. I studied Textiles, Fine Art, Photography and Music at college and gained great skills for my creative future. I suffer with a confidence problem- I find it hard to put my work out there in due to fear of failure or people will think my work is rubbish. I was really motivated to work at the beginning of the year, but I had a really bad patch and put everything on hold. At last things have been picking up and I am a lot more confident in my abilities because of my boyfriend Dan, who constantly pushes me to keep working.

I have M.E, a condition which effects your energy levels and it can make life pretty tough. I have been unsuccessful in employment as I can't keep up and I slowly get run down. I really struggle with my concentration, so much so my favourite tool is my seam ripper. Life can be difficult at times, however one thing that keeps me going is my work and my determination to be 'someone'. I have noticed my health has improved over the last year and I can maintain a really fulfilling routine. 

I want to to make my dreams become a reality and I plan on making Doll Doll Dolly a success. I hope to get on the craft fair circuit, sell more on my online shop, and eventually open a shop with workshops and provide a platform for craft enthusiasts. This is a long road and it may not happen, but I want to make the first two a reality. So, here I go on my creative journey and I am putting it all on Blogger for you all to read.

Skull Pillow

After making the heart pillow, I was thinking about how I could develop my ideas further and so I came up with this skull idea. This afternoon I sat down and made this Mexican inspired skull. I am really please with the outcome and I plan on making miniatures in different colours.  

Pleather Collection

Last night I made this 'Love' cushion (above), it was a real labor of love but, I loved making it and I am really happy with how it turned out. I made the Metal heart earlier in the day and I was inspired to make something bigger and better. I plan on developing my pleather project, getting inspiration from horror films, cartoons and tattoo art.

My Metal Door Hanger..Thing..

I went into town yesterday to buy some new fabric for my little pin cushions but, I ended up leaving with pleather in three different colours! I often go into craft shops, get crazy ideas and end up leaving without the thing I went in for! I saw the pleather and I immediately got a flash of heavy metal. I wanted to take my pin cushion idea further and develop it into other designs. So, today I made a 'heart' shaped door hanger which reads 'metal'. I love heavy metal and craft but, I can never find anything that mixes the two and this leaves my room bare. I have recently taken up making things for my room, that reflect my personality and maybe for others with similar taste to mine.

 I began by cutting out my shapes and getting myself organised. I like to have everything out in front of me ready to go! I glued the letters on to the white banner to keep then still, I then stitched the edge of the letters to keep them in place and for decoration. I have a little obsession with studs (ok, huge obsession!) I cant help myself. I was always told in my textile classes that you want to add texture. I always try and add a little in every project but, it's not always easy in every single project. I added a ripped detail on the heart and studs for a little extra fun. I pretty much just sewed the entire thing together, added a fancy loop and sewed two buttons on for decoration.

New Projects! Make Your Own!

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I have been working on some new projects on the run up to Christmas. I have begun by printing my own Christmas cards. The photo above is of he first layer of polyblock print. I wanted to create a background with some texture and carved the patter into the foam block. I chose red as one of the most popular Christmas colours. 


Christmas is a difficult time for me and I find all the rushing stressful and annoying. I have decided this year to take my time and be prepared to minimize the stress and actually enjoy myself.. My previous post about 'buying handmade' this Christmas is handy if you want to find different gifts this year. I like to make my own if I can and this year I plan on making or buying a handmade gift for each person on my list.

I have been exploring 'felt' recently and I began by making a mini pin cushion as a little experiment. I want to make large felt hearts and other shapes for wall hangings or door handle decorations. My pin cushion experiment (above) came out 'ok' but, the writing was a little rushed on my machine. I want to explore with different fabric, wadding and stuffing, to see what works best with my designs.


The reason I have decided to make very 'kitch' designs is a simple one; I can never find anything I like at an affordable price. The highstreet feeds us 'what's in' and I genuinely like 'what's out'. My taste is becoming more and more popular but at a price. I want creative designs at affordable prices and what better way of doing this is to make it myself! 

I have purchased some pleather (fake leather) to make heavy metal inspired designs for my boyfriend and I to enjoy. We are massively into Metal and it's not easy to find anything metal inspired in the shops. I collect studs and weird buttons, which will be perfect for my creative madness! 


'Home Sweet Home' signs, 'Love pin cushions, 'House Of Metal' pleather cushions,wall hangings and maybe a few little brooches for fun. 


I think in this day and age where we live in a consumerist, demanding, mass produced, frightening society, we have to be more creative to keep our individuality. People bang on about growing your own veg, making food from scratch, I think we can apply that to textiles and MAKE OUR OWN!