That Time Of Year

Yep, it's that time of year when all the hearts come out and its time to remember those we hold close to our hearts. In celebration of my love of hand screen printed fabric I have been finally been able to make good use of some small pieces of Pippijoe's Daisy fabric that I just knew one day I would find something special to use them for. Presenting..... my heart garland. Available in my etsy store now. I just wish I had a bright, breezy widow to photograph it on (all my widows have ugly security screens) to show how pretty it is. But anyway I made do with screeching at the girls to hold the garland still while I photographed it against a boring old wall. Doesn't quite do it justice though.

And keeping with the whole heart theme is a pretty heart purse that is also in my etsy shop. The fabric is the heart fabric by Carly Schwerdt from Umbrella Prints. The colour is Storm Boy Blue. I think it is the whole name of the colour that I love too as Storm Boy was one of my favourite books as a child.

Lovely Weekend

All weekends should be as lovely as the one I just had.  I was lucky enough on Saturday to catch up with the wonderful group of girls for BrisStyle for a meet up.  It was lovely to meet some new faces and to get together for lots of crafty talk.  At one stage the room was just humming. 

Amanda from Twinkle Star Art also brought along a present I had purchased from her for Miss Tayla for her upcoming birthday.  The print is currently hiding at my Mum's place as I have a few sticky beaks who might spy it before the big day.  It is just beautiful.  

We were lucky enough to go around to the wonderful Funky Fabrix store after lunch.  What an amazing range of fabrics.  I picked up some new ones to add to my currently depleted stash.  All of the ones below except the pippijoe black and white print I purchased from Funky Fabrix.  

Then Saturday night it was off to Tara Thai in the Valley with the girls from work for a very yummy dinner with much laughter and just a few drinks.  

On Sunday morning I headed off to the Boutique Markets at Portside to partake in a grand amount of handmade loveliness.    It was the first time I had managed to take a peek at this wonderful market.  I had so much fun chatting to many of the BrisStyle girls and Thea from Thea & Sami.

This is the very fun shirt I brought from Thea for Miss Cait.  It is so soft and the print is so cute.  I just hope that she shares with me.  

A friend's daughter has just turned 16.  I wanted to get her something little but special also.  It a world that is so gadget orientated it is not always easy to find a gift that fits that bill.  But Little Jane St had the perfect gift that I had been looking for.  This little paper garland is made out of recycled story book paper. Now I'm pretty sure this lovely 16 year old doesn't have one of these.  

Back on Board

So the best thing about moving has to be the plethora of large boxes to play in doesn't it!  The park around the corner has a huge grassy hill that the girls have been begging to slide down on the flattened boxes.  Well that sure is one good way to reuse and recycle.   

All moved, done and dusted.  I still have about 10 boxes left to organise and a very messy garage but I am nearly sorted.  Most importantly the fabric stash has been given a brand new home.  I can't wait to sit and sew and look after my neglected etsy shop again.  I really miss it now.  

Looking for something fun to do?  Head on over the fab BrisStyle blog for a wonderful giveaway.  

Grateful Day 5

I'm grateful that my girls can see materials as one thing and make them into another. Some of you who do know my little etsy shop know I have a love for Pippijoe's Orchard fabric. When I cut this fabric, I try to use every bit I possibly can. I hate throwing away even the smallest bit. The artwork on this fabric is so unique and engaging it seems such a shame for any of it to go to waste. Recently I did have to cut these small strips to fit the pattern square on a bag. Well they were pounced on by Little Moo. I think she has been just waiting to get her hands on some. So with much excitement with her treasured gift she busily set about creating wrist bands with the left overs and good old Velcro. Sweet. Apparently they even have special powers or so says Little Moo. I wonder if that includes getting children to brush their teeth and eat their vegetables?

While the cats away

Ok so the girls were all off to school today, so lucky me was able to hang out with these lads working on a very special project. The skipping boys are from Sprout Design. If you'd like some of these lads too to hang out with you can find them here.

I love the vibrant red in the ink and the happy, smiling faces on the boys. So much fun.

Australian Fabric Loveliness

I still find it quite mind boggling the amount of incredible hand screen printed textiles that come out of Australia. We are definitely spoilt for choice. I adore their originality, design and colour. Below are a few new purses that have found their way to etsy. All of these purses have front panels constructed using Australian hand screen printed textiles.

I am so glad I found this designer. Butter Creative has come up with some fresh funky designs. I love her use of colour and the boldness that is used in her design. You can check out her great blog here.

The two purses above are made using the wonderful Woodland Fabric from of paper and thread. I have been looking and loving this fabric for the longest time. I am so very glad I finally purchased some just after Christmas. The design is so unique and the cotton/linen blend is beautiful to work with. You can check out of paper and thread's blog here.

Last but far from least is Aunty Cookie. I made this purse using some of the eggshell fabric I had in my stash. I had previously used this fabric for market totes and I am kicking myself a little for not realising earlier that it comes up so well in the little purse. You can check out Aunty Cookie's blog here.

Doll Love

Market Tote

Messenger Bag

I adore the Matryoshka Dolls fabric by Kokka. These are two bags I have made over the last few days with some new fabric from Kelani Fabric. Matryoshka Dolls fascinated me as a small child (they still do to be honest).

We all have one

Meet Me at Mikes is having a most lovely Share your Stash. These are a few of my favourites I though I would share.

Above is a picture of the half of the linen closet I have packed away in order to make way for the most favoured pieces of my stash. I live in a very little house and I love having all the fabric neat and stacked at my finger tips.

I see red... I love red at the moment. I think that the most wonderful Aunty Cookie and Pippijoe have had a lot to do with my obsession with red. How can you resist such fantastic original fabric.

I can't wait to see everyone stash.

Wee Ones

These wee ones are about to find a home in my etsy shop. I have to say I am liking Japanese fabric more and more. I love the sweet characters, the feel of the cotton and how the fabric can hold its structure. I was lucky enough to buy this fabric from Tokyo Mommy. What a lovely little etsy shop and such a pleasure to shop with.

Lovely Finds

I had the most wonderful pleasure of attending The Hearts for Africa fabric sale at Greg Hayes Upholstery on the weekend. Wow, there were some of the most beautiful fabric, many pieces for just 40c. The girls, my Mum and I had a fantastic time. I have now been able to add a whole 90 litre container full of fabric to my stash. Some of the finds were unbelievable, I even managed to snag the end of a roll with 2m left of lovely Osborne & Little fabric for only $5. The girls loved going through the 40c pieces (some were up to 2m in length and still full width!) and selecting some very vibrant colours and textures to make clothes for their dolls.

But I have to say that the best parts of the sale were the lovely ladies that volunteered at the sale and the fact that the proceeds of the sale go towards The Hearts of Africa charity that helps fight poverty in Tanzania. It was such a lovely treat to go fabric shopping like that. Now I just have the hard job of deciding what to do with it all! My head is certainly swimming.