Wednesday, August 29, 2012

A Fabric Explosion


That's right, another market on the calendar for little cloud factory. And not just any market but the Perth Upmarket at UWA!!!!! Hoot hoot!!! I'm so excited (and more than a little nervous) about my Upmarket debut. I've lost count of the amount of times I've attended the Upmarket but last year I said to myself and family 'I'll be there one day' and that day is Sunday September 23rd.

At present my craft room looks like a fabric truck has lost it's load everywhere. I've got some items ready, have patterns laid out with their selected fabric and have a few more items in transit to show off some new designs. I'm excited about these new items and have received some great feedback already from friends and members of the handmade community. In addition to the softies I have a little project idea floating around to jazz up my stall.

If you come along to next months Upmarket, please come and say 'hi'

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Oh dear!

Eeekkk, I completely dropped off the blog radar; sorry. Unfortunately no exciting explanations like winning the lotto and flying to New York on a private jet or even boring ones like my Internet was down.......nope just the simple reason of running around with the kids, fitting in some sewing where possible and running out of steam at the end of each day.

So, I'll try to bring you up to speed with what I/we have been up to in a flurry of photos.

The four of us went to the zoo and here I am with the girls on the carousel. Sorry it's a blurry snap but it's the best one of us. Getting three people to look in the same direction while on a moving horse is just plain ridiculous. The carousel and the crocodile were the highlights of our day according to Miss 3.


I have decided to create a Christmas softie this year to hopefully take to a couple of upcoming markets. This boy elf will have a female friend too and I plan to have them completed in the coming days. I am participating in a Facebook showcase titled A Handmade Christmas where I will be offering a pair of elves (once my new chrissy fabric arrives!)  


I am also part of another Facebook organised showcase which was meant for me, a Babushka and Kokeshi theme. Here is my completed offering which turned out beautifully using Amy Butler fabric and some gorgeous Japanese linen with babushka print. I had the linen in my stash for ages so it was great to use it for this lavender creation.


And here is my OOAK Kokeshi softie. I played around for a few days with this pattern and all the details; open or closed eyes, limbs/ no limbs etc and so this little girl came into being......and I love her. As with any new creation, the process is often full of uncertainty and even when it looks good on paper and even as a flat softie, you don't know what it will look like til it's stuffed. The shape changes, limbs look disproportionate and expressions can change but it's so rewarding to see that pencil drawing come to life, and be able to give it a hug. (Excuse her wonky bottom, I still need to sew her shut.....)

 

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

A Bunting Themed Birthday Party

This is part II of Harper's first birthday party. I had decided on a bunting theme a few months ago, I'm a fan of all things bunting actually and figured I could use it in a number of ways.

I made each of the invitations (previously blogged about here) using some kraft card, cardstock from my stash and a little ribbon.

I found some bunting scrap booking card at Spotlight which I popped in a frame with a couple of photos of Harper.
My talented mum made the cupcakes with first birthday and bunting inspired toppers, gorgeous right?!


Using the same kraft card and cardstock I made a little 'ONE' bunting for Harper's highchair.


I made a mini-bunting for the top of the birthday cake. I cut out the little flags from cardstock, punched a heart in the centre of each one and handstitched them together. The ends were secured with some hot glue to two skewers and a ribbon attached to hide the end of the thread.


And purely by coincidence actually, here is Harper in her birthday outfit, complete with bunting on the front! She looked so grown up on the day walking around with her 48 hour walking legs! 


Lastly, I printed off these cute 'thank you' cards too to send out to those who sent cards to Harper and gave her gifts.