Brooches, bargains and bills!

I absolutely adore Lea Stein brooches. If you google her work, you will probably recognise them. The most famous ones are the foxes and cats and they look very Art Deco in style. There are a lot on ebay and in antique shops but at around £50, they are way out of my budget at the moment. They are made from plastic, and are very colourful, she developed the technique with her husband which allowed her to insert fabrics, colours and patterns onto the plastic. 

I saw this necklace in Primark last week...

 and something about it just reminded me of the Lea Stein style. Out came the epoxy resin and a brooch pin......



Ta-da!!!! A DIY Lea Stein inspired brooch for £3.00!!!

 

I also bought these beauties this week...

Brand new Cath Kidston red polka dot sandals for only £8 on ebay (were £28 new!) I was over the moon with these as I have a quite serious polka dot obsession. God knows if I'll get to wear them with all the rain we're having. I decided to make a little shoe bag to keep them in out of a Cath Kidston bag which was a free gift on Living magazine ages ago. 

First I cut the handles off, then made some loops out of red polka dot ribbon and sewed them round the top. I stitched the handles together to make a long drawstring, threaded it through the loops, and there you go-a Cath Kidston drawstring shoe bag!

 

We got a couple of Charity Shop bargains last week. Geordie got this gorgeous silver and glass dish, it's so lovely. We think it's a butter dish but I'd quite like to keep mints in it or sweets...

I also got this fabulous Goebel duck creamer! I love ducks almost as much as owls so I was over the moon with this.

Both of these came to less than a fiver.

Another bargain I got last week was these really cute butterfly pyjama shorts in a gorgeous mint green. These were two quid in Tesco!! Total bargain!

I've started a new blanket this week, for the bedroom this time (no use making anymore picnic blankets is it?) I've wanted a ripple blanket for ages and had a couple of goes at the pattern, but now with the aid of the ever fabulous Attic 24 ripple step-by-step guide, I have finally cracked it! This one is going to be big.....

I've been working on this having cosy days in with my poorly Geordie and the cats. The rain has been beating against the windows and Oliver decided he'd better see how warm and comfortable my crocheted cushions are....

And this was Sammy after his emergency trip to the vets last week. He started foaming at the mouth and shaking his head and we totally panicked and took him straight up to the vets. They kept him in for observation and then rang us to say they think he swallowed an insect which he didn't like the taste of! The vet said "Oh they are dramatic creatures...." as she thrust the credit card machine in my face.

 Hope everyone has had a creative, bargain-filled weekend! xx