A little shop that sells Sea shells

I wanted a  place where I could show off some of the tiny sea shells from my collection but it had to be small  and take up now room whatshowever. That is how  She Sellls Sea Shells was born.

It is a wall hanging shop that is only about 3 inches deep.

I bought a cheap picture frame ( thrift shop)  with the glass  and a wooden back to get started with.

I had seen the idea ( I cannot remember where, sorry) of making a shopfront by gluying the wood parts to a piece of glass so I would not have to add glass behind the door and window  and I would not have to do any real building.

I took the frame apart so I could use the wood for my shop.  

This shows the idea of gluing the wood part to the glass. I used a ready made door frame and window frame and some odd  pieces of wood and strips from the picture frame for mine but this gives the idea.

While the glue was drying I made a frame to add behind the front to create a little bit of depth for the shop. This was going to be finished with  the wooden  back of the window frame later.

To give the idea of there really being a shop I added some glass shelves behind the window. I also put wallpaper on the wood for the back of the shop and I painted the inside of the wooden frame to make sure it would look nice when you looked through the windows.

I painted the outside of the shop in a soft colour that would match the shells. For the stone parts I started with gluing on crumpled tissue paper.  The woodwork was painted with a brush  while the brick was sponge painted with white and the pink color.

 You have to fill the shop before adding the back which feels a bit odd.  I learned that it is very important to glue everything down  very well and check a few times before you add the back !

For sale  are little shell pictures that I made myself. Some paintings made from printies I found on the net.  The two boats came from broken ships in bottles that I got for free at the thrift shop.  The lovely shell decorations outside and   behind the door where vintage brooches  that I found at a fleamarket.

 There are lose shells and the little mermaid was once a Barbie pencil topper.  Her tail is stiffened fabric  painted and decorated  and she also got a bit of a make over.

I left the whole thing for a few days to see if I liked it and then I took the final steps.

   I glued the shop front to the frame and the back behind the frame and I felt very pleased when it all fitted and looked good.

 When all the glue had dried , I added the pavement  as well just to make it feel like the shop was not floating but standing.

Make a lovely dress from vintage lace by adding a bit of crochet.

What you need :

 A doll for  or dress form to fit the dress on. You can make the dress to go on the doll but I wanted mine to go on a hanger. I used a girl doll but you can use a baby or even a lady doll you will just have to adjust the sizes.

A piece of lace that will be long enough to make the skirt and wide enough to fit around the waist of your doll twice.

Thin crochet thread in a color to match your lace. I used DMC fil dentelles and a 60 mm crochet hook for mne,

Sewing needles, pins, tacky glue .

Measure the waist of the doll and make a strip of crochet to fit round it.  Chain enough stitches to fit round the doll and work in single crochet till it is high enough for your doll.  Mine just reaches the arm pits but you can make it higher if you like . I cannot give exact stitches here for it all depends on your model.

Gather your lace using tiny stitches till it fits the bottom of your crochet bodice.

 Sew the lace skirt to the bottom of the bodice.

Close the back seam of the bodic and skirt. I did sew first and then finished the edges of the lace with some tacky glue.

 Ask your model to help you find where the sleeves are going to fit.  Mark the spots where  you want the sleeves. I used thread.

 Attach crochet thread to one of the stitches marked on the front of the bodice.
Chain enough stitches for the sleeve opening and attach the last chain to the corresponding marked stitch at the back of the bodice forming a loop that will fit found the top of the arms of your doll.

Chain 3 and turn work, work 2 double crochet in every stich to create the puff sleeves.
Work a few more rows working 1 dc in every stitch, from now on you can word in the round  till the sleeves are long enough . Leave a long tail  of thread so you can use that to gather and finish the sleeves later.

For the front panel you will have to cut a small piece of lace that will fit  between the sleeves. Look at the photo for reference. Glue in place  with tacky glue. It is a good idea to put a little piece of paper inside the dress so you do not glue front and back together.

 If you like you can do the same thing for the back of the dress as well.

Gather the sleeves and add little bows. Glue a little silk flower to the lace pannel at the front and decorate the skit with silk ribbon bows if you like.

Some more candle making. tips

A while ago  I shared my tips for making candles using erasers. Here is a link to that tutorial.

http://herminiverse.blogspot.nl/2014/12/the-easiest-way-to-make-mini-candles.html

When I bought some new pens today I noticed that the protective caps fit my little candles perfectly. So tons of  new ways to use my candles. I used a pink cap for this photo because it shows up better. But you can use any color you like, clear ones look brilliant too. I added a bow and some  ittle flowers to make it into a little arrangement to go on a table.

On the bottom shelf ( right) you will see a similar cap with a little picture decoupaged  on it . It looks a bit religious now. I added a similar picture to a candle as well.

Then I played with some candles and plates. Glued the candles to the plates and decorated around them with some sand and tiny shells.

I wanted to try and fill a shell with some wax as well and turn it into a candle. Instead of the wax I used tacky glue. Much easier and less risk of burns .

The cups ar done in the same way. Here is how it works :

Select a cup ( any kind you like )  or whatever other container you feel like using. You will also need a cotton thread for the wick.

Glue the wick to the bottom of your cup at the center. Leaving a long tail. Leave to dry for a while and then fill up the cup with Tacky glue

Leave to dry at least overnight. Glue will shrink quite a bit so you may have to top it up with glue  one more time. Check that the wick is upright !!

The dried glue will become clear so you will see the color of your cup. If you want to have colored wax just paint the top with some glass paint or nailpolish. Cut the wick to the right size.