Dress Up Dolls

Well hello there! I feel like it has been an age since I've last posted, but I think it was just last week. I just wanted to share the project that has been consuming a lot of my time in the last week. The prize from my most recent eNewsletter giveaway - a custom made Dress Up Doll brooch, with four dresses of the winner's choice. And here it is, ready to be posted out to our lucky winner, Stephanie. Apparently, she and her daughter are a wee bit excited.

Here's a barefoot dress up doll with different colouring:

(Please ignore the fact that I haven't done her shoes yet!).

It is my goal to have some ready made Dress Up Dolls - some as brooches and some as toys - in my Etsy store and available at the next markets (dates to come soon.)

Completing Another Unfinished Project

Belated holiday greetings! And Happy New Year to all. I hope you have all had a lovely time over Christmas and New Year. 

Here's another unfinished project that I completed prior to Christmas, and this one has a little "full circle" kind of story. The pink patchwork panel on the front was made by my Grandmother-in-law more than 15 years ago. It was intended to be a cushion cover, but never got finished. Grandma gave me several panels of different patchwork designs that were in various stages of completion, as she said she is never going to finish them now. She hoped I could find some way to make use of them. 

When my Father-in-law asked if I had anything in my store that would be a suitable present for his Mother (the same Grandmother-in-law), I immediately thought of the unfinished patchwork panels and said I could whip something up. 

So I made a simple tote bag, using this tutorial to get me started (though I altered dimensions and a few other elements).

I made a kanzashi flower brooch to use as the centre of the patchwork panel as a decoration, or it can be removed and worn as a brooch.

I made the outer portion of the bag with an upholstery-weight cotton canvas that I purchased at a thrift store, and the inner (lining) portion of the bag with a vintage sheet (also thrifted). The inner pocket was from thrifted linen. 

I always love the satisfaction of completing something, especially using thrifted materials. But with this project, the greater satisfaction was in knowing that the finished product would return a piece of lovingly-made textile craft to its maker in a form she can use every day.

eNewsletter Giveaway

I have got to say, last night's BrisStyle indie Twilight Market was the best market I have ever been to. There was such a great festive vibe, and plenty of people coming through. I got to share a table with the lovely Sharyn from Gutsy Girl Art. And to top it off, I was not expecting to see any on my friends outside of the BrisStyle community, but saw quite a few after all! Including a lovely friend of mine from high school who came and hung out for the last hour or so, and even helped me close a few sales. (Thanks, Karen!)

Thanks to all who made purchases, it is truly exciting to see things I've designed and created going to new homes. But do you know what satisfied me most of all? Watching people's reactions as they walked past the stall. Of course, plenty of people walked straight past, but there were many who stopped and squealed with delight - either at the rain cloud brooches, or the dress brooches, or even the embroidery hoop art pieces. I just loved seeing those reactions! I loved the exclamations of, "Oh, that is SO CUTE!" and "KAWAII!!" and seeing people do a double take for a second look...I loved seeing people smile in reaction to my little pieces of wearable art. So thank you, to all of you, for making my night so memorable!

Okay. Down to business. Another GIVEAWAY!! You can win...drum roll please...drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...a Dress Up Doll Brooch with four outfits - entirely custom made just for you! You can be in the running just by signing up to my brand new eNewsletter here. You get to choose the doll's hair, skin, and eye colour, as well as each of her dresses -  style and colour! Feel free to share the news with your friends.

Good luck! Perhaps you will win! (Giveaway open internationally, and will be drawn mid January)

Have You Met Hazel, Freda, Mirabel and the Others?

Here's a little something that I have been busy with recently. Well, a few weeks ago now, but I did not get a chance to blog about it at the time. 

BrisStyle, supported by Brisbane City Council, runs wonderful FREE monthly workshops on a range of topics to help crafty types in their making and selling ventures. Basically professional development for crafters. Thanks to the super advice from Melanie from Kimono Reincarnate at a recent session on photographing your creations, I was inspired to have another try at getting my product shots right. And thanks to the incredibly supportive Homespunsociety team on Etsy,I have had a lot of helpful feedback. My new product shots of my miniature felt dress brooches are certainly far from perfect, but I think I'm heading in a positive direction. 

I also FINALLY got around to making little stories for each felt dress brooch style, and have included them on the Etsy description! Just thought I would share some with you.

JEMIMA owns a dress boutique. She has a passion for helping other women find the right outfit for that special occasion. She has a keen sense of style, and just the right blend of tact and frankness. 

RITA is your average girl-next-door. She is fresh faced and fun, with a keen sense of adventure. She is a most loyal pal, just the kind of friend you want to have with you when you get into trouble. Which is just as well, as trouble seems to follow her!

VALERIE is an air hostess. She takes her job and its associated responsibility very seriously. She will be the first to tell you that it's not all glamourous. She does, however, like to look her best, especially when she hits the town.

 

MABEL is a girly girl who loves to dress up. She only owns one pair of flats, and she only wears those on the tennis court. She is in her element planning parties and baking up a storm – wearing an apron to cover her good frock, of course!

PENELOPE is a warm, compassionate counsellor at the local high school. She loves playing scrabble and drinking tea while her cat keeps her lap warm.

 

MIRABEL is sweet and kind. She is a primary school teacher who is well-loved by her students. She loves to knit in her spare time, and donates the blankets she makes to those in need. 

 

MOLLY is a librarian, whose favourite part of her job is reading books to little kiddies during storytime. She likes to go dancing in her spare time, and travels when she can. She collects spoons from her travels and hangs them proudly on her wall at home. 

 

EVELYN is all about understated elegance. To unwind after her days at the office, she loves watching Audrey Hepburn films with a glass of wine. She paints landscapes on the weekends, with her loyal golden retriever by her side. 

 HOLLY is an aspiring actress who is currently doing TV ads for yoghurt. She has dreams of one day making it big on Broadway. She is into fashion in a big way.

 

HILLARY is a smart, ambitious career girl, with a great sense of fun. She's your go-to girl if you need to take care of business (in a totally non-mob kind of way).

 

SALLY is an athletic sort, who loves nothing better than a good long run first thing in the morning. She has a sharp wit, which she frequently uses on her clients at the local country club, where she coaches tennis. 

LUCY teaches piano to children in her home-based studio. She is a fun teacher, with a flair for the creative. She collects figurines, and loves to make up stories about them.

HAZEL has a childlike playfulness. Maybe it is her impish smile, or her large, round, twinkling eyes. Or perhaps it is her propensity for playing practical jokes on her dearest friends. Whatever the cause, Hazel is well loved by those who love her. 

 

  

FREDA is a graceful, softly spoken dance teacher. But she has a secret wild side - she loves to drive her sports car far too fast with the hood down. 

(All available at my Etsy Shop, or at the BrisStyle indie Twilight Market tomorrow evening.) 

Teatime in Spring Sneak Peek

Hello!

I've been a busy little bee lately. I have finally jumped on the Instagram bandwagon and find it a little too easy to just post a photo to IG instead of taking the time to write a blog post! I must endeavour to find a balance in this as in all things.

Anyhow. I just wanted to share a little sneak peek of something I've been working on recently. Inspired by the beautiful spring weather we are having here in Brisbane, I am working on a little spring brooch collection. I know, I know, I'm supposed to work a season or two ahead, but I'm not that organised (yet). This is a bit of an expansion of some ideas I have had previously, including some products I have made. I am making a small run of these items in some limited colours. Mint, pastel pink and purple, bright pink and taupe are featuring in my colour scheme for this range. 

As I sit here typing this, I glanced down and noticed for the first time that the colour scheme of the little car my learning-to-walk baby pushes around is very similar to this! Maybe it subconsciously inspired me. This gorgeous floral fabric that is background in this photo was also part of the inspiration. 

So think afternoon tea in spring - cupcakes, donuts, cups of tea and macarons feature in my spring teatime collection. It's hard to work on these as they make me hungry every time!

What is your favourite afternoon tea treat?

Photography Props

I finally found time to have a little play with creating some props for my photography of my felt dress brooches. I have never loved the basic photos on white backgrounds that I have on my Etsy shop - they do serve a purpose and are great for getting my items in treasuries, which is great for exposure. BUT they don't do a great deal to tell a story about my items. 

I have had the idea for a while, just no time to execute it. Well yesterday I found the time! While by no means perfect, I am quite happy with the initial result. (I say initial result - but that is after lots of sketches of girls that got dumped because they didn't have the right retro quality...)

What do you think? Do you think the girl and the wardrobe drawings are a distraction or add to the story?

I intend to work them together as well - as in, girl standing by her wardrobe, maybe as a sort of paper doll...which made me think of making an actual cardboard wardrobe and cardboard stand-up doll...but maybe that is too much. I get so excited by my ideas, which sometimes don't work out quite how I saw them in my head. Do you ever have this problem?

How To: Make A Doily Brooch Display

Doilies can be re-purposed in so many ways. Check out House of Humble's great article on many ways to re-purpose and upcycle doilies. One example is to pop a doily into a timber embroidery hoop and hang it on the wall. These doily hoop art pieces also make a great way to store and display brooches. It is super easy, and rather effective, in my opinion.

Materials:

• Crocheted doily
• Timber embroidery hoop that is slightly smaller than the doily
• Bias binding or ribbon that is slightly less wide than the width of the hoop
• Fabric glue
• Scissors

Method:

1. Put the doily in the hoop and tighten the screw, making sure the doily is centred and tight across the hoop.

2. Cut off any excess doily, but leave enough width that the remainder will fold over the back edge of the hoop and sit inside the back of the hoop. 

3. Fold the raw edge of the doily over so that is sitting flat against the inside of the back of the hoop all the way around the hoop.

4. Spread fabric glue on the wrong side of the bias binding and press against the raw edge of the doily on the inside of the hoop, making sure the actual raw edge is covered. The glue stick to the timber through the doily holes.

5. Attach brooches to the front of the doily hoop art and voila!

I plan to use mine for as a way to display my brooches at markets. But I also made two smaller ones out of matching doilies for my brooches and earrings to hang on my dresser.

New Dress Brooches

Just dropping into the blogosphere to say hi, and to show you some of my latest creations. I cut out a bunch of new dress brooch pieces, using some vintage patterns from my op-shop haul as inspiration. You can find the brooches for sale here.

 

On Finishing Things I Start

Finishing what I start. Something I am not always very good at. Take the tea challenge, for example. I have been keeping up with drinking my different tea each day. I have not had many coffee cravings, and have not given in to the few I have had. However, I have been lax in writing it all down. Oh dear. It has all become a blur of lovely moments of quiet in my mind. I can tell you the teas I have been drinking - just not the order I drank them in. I have had:

• Turkish Apple
• Russian Caravan
• English Breakfast
• Earl Grey
• Marco Polo
• Rose with French Vanilla
• Jasmine Green Tea with Pear
• Chocolate Mint Rooibos
• Cranberry and Pomegranate
• Chamomile, Vanilla and Honey
• Apple and Cinnamon
• Acai Berry Rooibos
• Lemon and Ginger

And I enjoyed every moment of each cup of tea. :) In fact, I have rather developed a habit of enjoying several different types of tea each day. 

Another example of not finishing what I start is the Quiet Book I was making for Eliza. I started it last December, and jokingly said I just might be finished by Eliza's birthday. It has been complete except for the cover for many months now. Today marks one month until Eliza's third birthday, and it strikes me that I must complete it in time for her birthday. Whenever she sees it perched on my sewing desk shelf, she wants to play with it. At least that is a good sign that she likes it! So, my mission is to complete the cover in the next month. 

Right now I am feeling quite hopeful, as in the last few days, I have completed a few small projects that I started (by cutting out the pieces) back in March. Hurray! What a great feeling it is to finishing something I have started, that has been sitting on the shelf for months. I even pushed on and photographed them, and listed them in my Etsy shop.

While I bask in that lovely feeling of achievement and completion, I am setting some small goals for the evening...to get the Quiet Book cover design finalised, and cut out the pieces. I reckon I might be able to whip up this cover over the weekend.

Maybe.

Time for a Cuppa

Yep, it really is that time of afternoon here. I think I'll just go make a pot of Earl Grey...

Oh, and here is the latest item from the Candykins Crafts workshop. Made especially for my lovely friend and tea supplier, Karen, from Artful Tea.

Dress Up Doll Brooch

Completed Dress Up Doll Brooch Set

 

Hi there, friends. Remember me? I feel like I just do not get to blog as often as I would like to lately. Anywho, here I am on Monday evening, finally getting to a post I have been wanting to do for a few days. All about my latest project which I have just completed - a custom order for a felt Dress Up Doll brooch with four interchangeable 1950s style dresses. The request was for dresses in hot pink, lime green, purple and one other colour that I could choose. The concept is based on my Washing Day and Dress Up Doll set, but without the necklace. This actually made it a lot more versatile, as I did not have to make the dresses match each other (even though they kind of do anyway).

Original concept sketch and watercolour for Dress Up Doll custom order

I was really excited to make this set. I just love making these little vintage-inspired dresses, they are so much fun. Plus, the details are really satisfying to complete. This time, I plaited the embroidery floss for the belts and bows, used french knots for buttons, stem stitch for pleats and running stitch to stitch the two layers of felt together. Each dress is two layers of 100% wool felt.

I got a little thrill when I heard back from the customer after she received the brooch. She said: "It is perfect! I love all the outfits and the detail is just right. Thank you again for making these for me. I'll be wearing them to work this week to show them off."

Mmmmm...satisfied customer = satisfied maker. :)