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.)

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.) 

Update and BiTM reminder!

Hello! I apologise for being sporadic with posts lately. Oops. 

Just a little update on the home front - 2 days after I posted Decisions, Decisions, my hubby got a job offer! Yay! Lovely confirmation of my choice to stay home with my kidlets being the right one for us at this time.However, while the blessing of a new job has been marvelous, there has been a difficult adjustment period. Just getting the family into a new routine. Miss Three finds it especially hard, as she is such a Daddy's girl, and relished his period of unemployment. Just this morning, she was suggesting that she go to work with Daddy. When I explained that it would be dead boring for her, with nothing for her to do while he worked on his computer all day, she reasoned that surely somebody else could "have a try at Daddy's computer and he can stay home with me". Awww...

In other news, the BrisStyle indie Twilight Markets (BiTM) are on again in King George Square this Friday evening, 5pm to 9pm. If you are in the vicinity, pop in and check out the awesome handmade goods. I finally bought my lights yesterday (nothing like last minute, huh!), so I'm set to go! I'll be in the middle of the market, in the co-op section. 

(My pink felt dress brooch even made it into the BrisStyle promo collage this month - woohoo!)

For more info on the BiTM, go to the BrisStyle blog.

Hope to see some of you on Friday night!

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?

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. :)

It's the Little Things...

Belinda aka Moonmum blogged today about "Small and Random Things". I love this concept - taking a moment to reflect on the little things in life that are making me "quietly contented" (as Belinda says). Doing that right now, here is my list for today:

• Beautiful Autumn outing to the park with my kids and some friends
• Watching my 6 month old son exploring/crawling on grass
• Drinking lovely tea from my favourite tea cup passed down to my from my grandmother
• Having an unexpected free evening to create
• Hearing from a new friend that she wants to do a blog feature on Candykins Crafts
• Making some fun tiny felt dresses for my latest project

What are your small and random things today?

*Washing Day* and *Dress-up Doll* Completed Set

Remember that *washing day* set I was telling you about the other day? The one inspired by the Quiet Book? Completing it was on my list to try and get done by the markets. It was one of the few things that I did manage to complete. I chose my outfit for the day around the brooch and necklace set. It's just that kind of set! Makes a statement, that's for sure :)

I must say, I did get a lot of comments about the brooch and necklace on Saturday. I even got an order for a brooch like this one, with four changes of clothes in different colours (not on a necklace, so they don't need to match).

Just thought you might like to see the finished version. 

Kids' Drawings Into Wall Art

Can you believe it is almost the weekend again? The time is going way too fast. My daughter put herself to bed a couple hours early today, after getting home from an outing. Thankfully, the little man was also ready for bed soon after, and I had a lovely couple of hours doing some needlework. 

My gorgeous niece (my only niece so far!) is a wonderful at drawing. She is three and a half, and comes up with the most amazing pictures. I love them. I have been blessed to receive some of her drawings in the mail, and some others via my sister who put them away for me (thanks, Kirsty!). 

I  have been wanting to do this for ages (I say that about so many projects because it's true!!!). To transfer her drawing into embroidered wall art. And here it is:

The original drawing

The finished wall art version.

The embroidery hoop is only 10cm, so the photo of it on my screen is slightly larger than the actual size! I think it would look really cute to hang several of these embroidered children's drawings together in a cluster on one wall. What do you think?

A Glimpse of My Latest Project - *Washing Day*

This idea has been brewing for a while now. It began almost two months ago. I have been itching to give it a shot, but also scared that it would not turn out like I have it in my head! Do you ever get that? But I'm happy to say, this time, it is shaping up nicely!! Especially considering that this is my first time to attempt to use chain and jump rings...

So...it's washing day!! Remember my Quiet Book dress up doll page?  Well, the inspiration for this little statement necklace and brooch set came out of that. I loved making the little 50s style dresses out of wool felt and embroidery, and the idea just popped into my head and I haven't been able to shake it since.

 

I have not actually sewn the yellow dress yet, just cut out the pieces. It is going to have a cute little peter pan collar. What do you think of the *washing day* concept?

Now here's the punchline...I have a little doll outline waiting to be made into a brooch, with a little dress like the one below to go on the doll. The dresses will all have the soft side of velcro on them, and the doll will have the scratchy side, and...you guessed it! You can change the doll's outfits!! Hurray!! I just get so excited about this idea. 

Now I know this is not for everyone, it's a bit too out there for some of you. But what about you mummies with little girls? Or aunties with nieces? Is this not a totally cute idea for a piece of jewellery that can also be a fun game for a toddler to play with her Mum or Aunty? 

Well, I must leave you now as my children are both asleep and I am longing to get this little number finished in time for the markets on the weekend - not to sell though! It's my prototype so I am not so keen to sell it, plus, I really want to wear it! If someone wants to buy it, they can order it and I will make more. These are just so fun to make!

(I think I exceeded my exclamation mark limit today. But in the words of my two and a half year old daughter, "I soooooooooo excited!")

First Sales on Etsy

My first Etsy sale ready to go into a postal bag

 Wow! A few exciting things have happened in the past couple days. But the main one for me to share with you here is my first Etsy sale! I had a visit from my lovely friend Carly who decided to buy up a few pre-made Etsy items as well as a couple custom orders. 

Custom felt 50s style dress brooch, inspired by this.

Custom cupcake, similar to one here, but puffier.

The full order in its cute little box.

I got my second order today, thanks to my lovely friend, Rach. I am excited about making the custom items she has ordered also, but they may need to wait until after the markets (thankfully she is not in a hurry).

You know what? This is not as scary as I thought. :)