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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Saved by the Snail Mail

There is nothing like a parcel in the mailbox to brighten up a crappy day, and yesterday I got three, all handmade! The Christmas swaps I signed up for are now in full swing - I better get mine to the post office...


My swap buddy through New Zealand Handmade is Amber, from the amazing blog MamaMoontime. Not only did she make this beautiful robin ornament, but also another felt bauble and... a handmade book with the story of Robin Red Breast! I don't think I have heard this story since I was little, it is so sweet. You can imagine how excited Miss 3 was as we unpacked everything, and although we don't have a tree up yet the ornaments had to hang on the wall right away (along with some of Aimee's Christmas bunting, so cute!).


There are five crafters in my group for the other ornament swap I'm doing and this is the first to arrive, from the lovely swap-organiser sew-funky. Lately I have been developing a little crochet obsession so I love this look! In real life it is a really pretty blue too. And look at the sewing on the address label! So crafty...


And finally, a gift to myself, I couldn't resist this personalised ring made from a vintage typewriter key, Etsy seller The Apple was a pleasure to deal with.

At OTLP we love snail mail, especially at Christmas - I can't wait to fill up my lily pad designs Christmas Card Keeper!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Quilled Christmas tree

*This is another clear stamp (Christmas wordings) that I got when I bought a craft magazine. :)

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Small and cute little Christmas trees lined up! Another simple Christmas card I made last night. I wanted to make something really really fancy but I just don't have the time. So I thought of something really simple for my green and red theme Christmas card. 

I love the clear stamp I got from the craft magazine I bought some time ago. I wanted to use another design but when I checked, the clear stamp was not usable at all huhuhu. Couldn't print out anything out of it. Luckily I got another one left, which is this "Merry Christmas" wording for me to use. Sometimes free stuff are not always in good quality ya huhuhu. If we are lucky, we could get something very beneficial for us to use, if not......it's just fit for the rubbish bin.

I've been observing a few of my fellow quillers online who have tried quilling using monochromatic colors. It's just awesome! I love how they combine the different hues of colors when they make their quilled flowers, leaves etc etc. I myself don't have that many choices of colored paper available at home. And it's not easy to find them here in Alor Setar either. So, I just make use of what I have available and make the best of it. I tried making the Christmas trees using 3 different hues of green. I liked how it turned out! From bright green to dark green :). The shape of the tree reminds me of an Elf's hat! haha! :D



Fabric trends for Summer/Spring 2011


It’s been an absolute delight researching the new fabric trends for the start of 2011. The colours are ‘yummy’, eyecatching and happy: and this is exactly the feeling they are trying to evoke.

The main thrust of the design aesthetic behind the new (Northern Hemisphere) Spring and the (Southern Hemisphere) Summer 2011 fashion and interior design fabric collections is still escapism from the drudgery of the global financial recession. We’re still looking for images, prints and colours that remind us of the happier times gone by.

For children’s fabrics, the key is providing them with ‘safe harbour’ from the outside world – so much like the second half of 2010, you’ll see more timeless, old fashioned, joyful colours and prints of animals like birds, dragonflies and butterflies, or old fashioned bicycles, unicycles, hot air balloons or trucks for boys.

However, it’s not just more of the same in fabrics – we’re looking at a fresh new palette of colours to brighten our days.

FRESH NEW COLOURS




Pantone, the world’s foremost colour forecasting expert, has declared “Honeysuckle pink” the colour of the New Year in 2011. Turquoise, which was the 2010 colour of the year, is still in the ‘top 10’ palette for 2011, (see top of this post), which Pantone compiles from from all the designers' runway shows at New York Fashion Week in September each year (including our own Rebecca Taylor) . For 2011 the top palette includes minty greens (called peapod), teals, blues, purples, beeswax yellows, oranges and corals, paired with the basics of chocolate, russet, silver and oyster grey.

On the street, for us everyday mums, the new fashion trends translate to breezy kaftans and maxi dresses with flowing designs, paired with our everyday basics of khaki and brown seperates. You can particularly see these colour trends in the Country Road, Karen Walker and Max’s new collections I’ve gathered up and pasted here. Pantone’s comment was that designers have been mindful of consumers’ need for practicality and have offered options to “extend and embellish” our current wardrobes (hurrah!).




At the Dulux Colour Forecast Roadshow last week in Auckland, their global experts presented their paint colour forecast for 2011-2012, and mirrored the same colour trends for our homes. Absolutely fabulous New Zealand interior designer Sarah Kerr described them as luscious ‘heirloom colours’, noting in particular greens, smoky ink blues and purples coming through, paired with furniture in distressed finishes and a range of textured, natural upholstery materals. To show you what they both mean, check out these interior images from the latest US High Point Market report.










In children’s rooms, the most popular colour for both boys and girls is still blue, whether pale, turquoise or duck egg - or every blue tone in between.

GLOBAL INFLUENCES ON PRINTS

Prints dominate new fabric collections this season. As Dulux’s colour expert Andrea Lucena-Orr noted, “minimalism is so out”. The key trends are:


1) Traditional and vintage prints – our desire to reconnect with the past and with wholesome, authentic experiences continues, bringing us more vintage, damask, tapestry, baroque and now also lace-inspired designs. Karen Walker’s range (pictured) showcases this trend in particular. A new point of difference in this group of styles is a new geometric edge, credited to the phenomenon of the TV show Mad Men – there's a 70s, retro, ‘mad world’ nostalgia creeping in.


2) Exotic, Eastern adventures – often described as the ‘tribal’ trend, designers are looking towards travel and adventure in exotic destinations like Africa, India, Peru and Turkey for inspiration in pattern. Pantone says it is to “satisfy consumers' need to escape everyday challenges with intriguing color combinations that transport them to foreign lands.”


(NB: I’ve noticed an exciting mix of these two trends: tribal influences blurring traditional damask with the introduction of ‘ikat’ motifs – see the Country Road examples pictured further up here. )


3) Parisienne chic – bringing the nautical stripes and military focus of our recent winter forward into the new season, this trend of old style French influences focus on pinstripes, reds, blacks and whites, and also bring us “Heraldic symbols, fleur de lies, and quarterfoils fit for a castle on the Seine”, High Point says.

4) Botanicals – there’s a strong return to plant imagery, classical florals, water and bird imagery, mostly drawn by hand, so that they become less fussy images than in the past and more artistic. As well as owls, peacocks and birds in antique cages, butterflies, dragonflies, insects and fish come through strongly.

5) Old fashioned vehicles and play toys – timeless treasures and fairy tales continue to dominate prints for children or family rooms, and several speakers at the Dulux Roadshow pointed out the Union Jack image used particularly for little boys.

NEW FABRIC CHOICES

Our huge commitment to 100% cotton fabrics – both in terms of quality and the environment, continues. However leading designers are also including cotton/linen and hemp combinations (see Yardage Design for my favourite examples). In yarns, there’s a growing interest in crochet and Japanese amigurami patterns (see this cool post on lil magoolie ); while beautiful patterns in oil cloth are now being imported, for easy-wipe surfaces (see my column here). A sneak mention at a trend for next winter: flock geometrics, velvet and velveteen!!!

MY NEW FAVOURITE TEXTILE DESIGNERS

While I still adore Amy Butler and Heather Bailey’s textile designs, I’ve widened my heart to the whimsical fairy tale imagery of Heather Ross, the gentle sophisticated botanical and French designs of Patricia Bravo, and the stroppy vintage/boho delight of colours coming through from the amazing Anna Maria Horner. The amazing Japanese textile manufacturers such as Kokka and Echino particularly showcase the trend in prints for vehicles, old fashioned cameras and radio cassettes for kids too.

Check them all out and watch this space for how these designers have influenced my new lily pad pram liners Summer 2011 collection, launching at my retailers from mid December!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

My mum-made effort on Mum Made


I had a lovely surprise this morning to wake up and see my Christmas Card Keeper featured in the front page image on Mum Made. It looks pretty cute with their flash website work inserting those photos and notes doesn't it! I love the design of this website, so outstanding!

I've started compiling a list of items in their store for Christmas presents, and will be going back tomorrow to see the new exclusive Christmas products Brenda tells me she's stocking..for your stockings!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Snowman

* I got this clear stamp (Christmas wordings)  free when I bought a craft magazine! I'm so excited that I can use it now for this Christmas card.

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I remember years ago I made a similar Christmas design such as this. But no quilling or rubber stamping designs on it. It was really really simple. It's really funny thinking back  now how I did it because I remember not having any glitter glue to decorate the card with, so I had to apply clear glue on the card and sprinkled silver glitters on it. It was a disaster! hahaha! The glitters would drop everywhere. It was a mess. You can check that Christmas card HERE and see for yourself how I did it and compare the difference hehehehe! :D

I enjoyed making this simple Christmas card....especially the quilling part... :). It was easy to think of doing the snowman because the technique is similar to the teddy bear. I just had to change the color that's all. From brown to white :). Added the red ribbon around it's neck and added the black foam hat at the top of it's head and walla! It's done!

I love the "snowflakes" I made using white foam hehehehe! It's so tiny.....I cut it so small to resemble snowflakes falling on the ground. I am making this design for my friends who are celebrating Christmas. Last year, I didn't send any to anyone.....didn't have the time. Hopefully I could send some to my closest friends this year. :)


Mini Stocking Stuffers



My Mini Stockings have had lots of attention this week (at the Devonport Market and on the amazing Li'l Magoolie blog), so I thought I would put together some gift ideas for what to put in them (as always we would love your feedback so please feel free to add any other suggestions!).


I fell in love with Nut and Bee a few months ago and just made my first purchase - 'cute' is a serious understatement! Annette M Russell designs kawaii-style illustrations that often have a New Zealand twist - my daughter will be getting the native bird magnets in her stocking. There are 132 designs you can pick from for magnets (4 for US$6.50) or pin buttons (4 for US$4).


These finger-puppets are self-explanatory I think! $10 for the set from Kazzalblue.



Upcycled crayons are everywhere on Etsy but I haven't seen any in NZ lately, have you? As an alternative these Crayon Rocks look like fun, available at Bubbalooz from $9.90 for a bag of 8.


Songbird Designs has custom hair pins ($4 each) that can be made from your choice of 120 fabrics!


p.s. I have added listings to my Felt shop for Two Stockings ($22) and Three Stockings ($33) so it is easier to buy for all the kids at once  :)

Thankful. Oh.So.Thankful. (GIVEAWAY!)

(the Thanksgiving spread at my friend Robin's house - so yummy!)

I have been doing some real soulful thinking lately --- about what this past year has brought me and my family --- and about all the amazing blessings in our lives. And this kind of thinking is very good therapy for the seasonal-affect crud that I go through at the start of these all too short days. Life is good --- even when its not. The old adages about counting your blessings have become more than just overused quotes for me now. I am beginning to "get it". Life is so good when you take deep look at all the beauty that surrounds you.

So, if you will join me, I would like to share some of the blessings of this past year with you and I invite you to do the same.

In no particular order ...

...but this one being the most important of all ...

* Meg has moved in with us for good. Amen x infinity. This is the greatest blessing to ever happen to our family --- and I hope it is true for her as well. She is safe, loved, supported, and she is family now. Truly. We could not even begin to tell you how thankful we are for her. And how very proud.

* Isaac's biological relations were found safe after the horrible quake in Haiti. What an incredible blessing. After all the devastation and loss of life in that country - we were able to locate the Metellus family and help them in whatever ways we could.

* Because of this dog, this dog and this fundraiser --- I have made the most incredible lifelong friends. I could have never imagined being so greatly blessed with the bounty of friends that I have now --- and I am so incredibly grateful! All my peeps at the Bangor Humane Society are such amazing blessings --- as well as all my "downtown" peeps --- my clients --- my mommy friends, my crafting friends, etc. Such a blessing to be surrounded by wonderful people.

* My dream of becoming a professional photographer has been realized. Studio 36 is a dream come true ... and within one year has become so successful that we needed a bigger, better location! It is still a long way from paying all the bills. But I am blessed by the clients who have come into my life, by doing what I love and by the growth potential of the biz.

* This past year has been a healthy one for all. How awesome is that!?

* Uncle Jamie got married. And Isaac was over the moon that he was the "ring master". It was a lovely day ... a beautiful, enchanting ceremony ... and a fresh start to my brother's life.

* We got a kitty! And I love her. Big. Much.

* Disney World! We were blessed with a hard earned trip to DisneyWorld! Ahhh --- the memories are simply awesome. I love that place. So magical. So family oriented. When I think of it, I have this intense urge to go back --- but also this calming, joyful sensation that I have experienced some wonderful things there. (Of which I have yet to post on this blog --- I am so behind in my posts!). And Isaac got to meet Spiderman. For real. So totally cool.

* Love. I --- we --- are blessed by the love in our family on a daily basis. Our little foursome has its ups and downs --- but we are so in love with one another. That is so worth waking up for :)

How about you??? Please leave a comment on the blog about what you are thankful for from this past year.

Heck - let's make this into a giveaway! Post your thankful thought and I will draw a random winner from your messages to receive a gift from my shop.

Thank you for reading!

Love,

Jodi

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Teddy bears in love...

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:) I have a big smile on my face as I am blogging about this new quilled teddy bear card because one of the teddy bears is wearing a TIE!!! hahaha!! Funny isn't it?? But I like it anyways :). I just didn't know what else to put on it and suddenly I thought of a tie....a black tie to match it with. Made from black paper which I cut out using plain scissors of course. Just a simple looking tie :).

I made this card for a customer of mine who wants to give it to her future hubby on her wedding day hehehe. Hope she likes it. Otherwise I would have to think of another design for her...hehehe. :))

I filled up the card with the teddy bears and all......so much so that there is no space for the wordings.......then I thought of stamping the wordings inside and added two cute little hearts of red and blue to symbolize the two lovely couple :). 

*Wish I had someone to give this card to.... :P (booohoooohooooo) LOL!


Babybites column: Lunchbox pretties!!



This week my BabyBites magazine column was a "DIY or Buy" special - something you can either give a go yourself, or buy from a local crafter and support the handmade community.

"Lunchbox pretties" explores reusable kids (or parents!) lunch bags. With reduce, reuse and recycle such an important lesson for our kids, I loved the idea of reusable fabric lunch bags banishing my piles of plastic snack bags the minute I heard about them. The most popular style being made by several handmade crafters are lunch bags made of vinyl – specifically, oil cloth, which is made from a vinyl material set onto cotton mesh and is durable and washable. Simply choose a colour or pattern for each child, reuse the bag at school each day, and teach them good habits about recycling and picking up their left overs off the mat!

More than just useful for sandwiches, you can use them for storing cut fruit; chips and crackers; biscuits; whatever you use plastic bags for usually.

This seems like a neat idea you can have a go at yourself. I found this incredibly simple tutorial on children’s television show Sticky TV’s website. Oil cloth is perfect for projects for young sewers because it doesn’t fray and doesn’t need hemming, so you can even get your child involved. To buy oil cloth you’ll need to visit a specialist fabric store – shop around because the price varies dramatically – or hunt out a bargain on Etsy or "Me Too Please" in Australia, and get it posted to you. Me Too Please is the online retail store of local importer BenElke, who not only sell Mexican oil cloth by the metre, but also make products made of oil cloth including lunchbags like the ones I've pictured here. Their lunchbags are handmade in a sheltered workshop for people with disabilities in Sydney, through the Endeavour Foundation, which makes their products even more meaningful to support.

Alternatively, if you'd like a bag with lots of features, you could buy a pattern, like this one from US designer Heather Bailey, or follow a fabric tutorial like the one here on Vintage Mum/Modern Baby and use a cotton outer and a nylon lining and velcro for the top.

If learning a new craft just seems too much, you can also buy them from local crafters: as mentioned check out Me Too Please, or Edan Rose in Australia (her lunch bags are pictured here and the colours are so yummy!) or ‘She Wears’ on Felt.co.nz. (Although not lunchbags, one of my colleagues at the Devonport Craft Market, Cat Taylor Design, also makes gorgeous zip purses out of oil cloth- check them out too).

There’s still some debate about using plastic with storing foods, and the argument covers traditional cling film, zip lock bags, manufactured chippie packets… and even the types of laminated fabrics I’ve described above. So if you have concerns, 4Myearth is a new New Zealand owned and operated company that has sourced a special, highly technical fabric and is making lunch wraps and bags out of these. Check them out too!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

My creative space: custom orders...







This week my creative space has been filled with lots and lots of custom orders, specifically personalised Santa Sacks for Bay Bee Cino, and a range of children's aprons. I found fantastic little wooden utensils to go with them and hope they sell well for Christmas. I get Greta to hand make the appliques - aren't they gorgeous?

It's been a little hard to concentrate in the past 24 hours though, with all the tragic news about the miners and their families in Greymouth. We are sending them all our love - it's unbelievably horrible in what should be a happy, festive, family time. We are thinking of you all day and night. xo

(NB: for loads of other creative projects happening around NZ and Australia this weeek...head over to Kirsty's and play our regular Thursday bloggy crafty game.)

Giveaway and Freebie alert 3!



One of the coolest NZ blogs for crafty goodliness in my view is Megan at Mousehouse. Amazingly, Megan says she only started crafting a year ago - but she's one of the busiest workers around, with a fantastic range of free tutorials to follow. I recently made her Personalised Children's Photo Art- where you take a gorgeous photo of your child, and insert text, to create a kind of "time capsule" or memory photo. She was even kind enough to link back and show my version to her readers at the end of her blog post.

Right now Megan has the most gorgeous Christmas giveaways going that I have ever seen. While I desperately want it for myself, you should hop over and check it out too.

chechi girl Neha Dhupia Green Bra Lingerie Pictures

Monday, November 22, 2010

Freebie/ giveaway alert no 2!

As I promised in the weekend, as we don't have a crafty giveaway this month, I've decided to share with you the giveaways happening at our favourite blogs, online magazines and online stores, so you can see what we're reading, entering and buying...


In my first post it was a free downloadable alphabet poster promoted by online magazine Baby Bites, and a competition at Holly Chic Baby online store. This time I want to alert you to CoolCrib's groovy little baby shoes discount, and the competitions over on Kiwi Mummy blogs.

CoolCrib does the most amazing little soft shoes made from designer fabrics just like our creations. We recently entered an 'Amy Butler' project competition with other designer fabric lovers around the world together and lots of people commented on how much they loved CoolCrib's shoes. She has recently launched a new range in 100% organic cotton and has a groovy discount going where if you follow her on facebook you get 20% off. Yay! (I need to get a special 12-18 month size as my bubba is still bum-shuffling, not walking yet).




CoolCrib's shoes were also the prize up for grabs last week on Kiwi Mummy Blogs - the FANTASTIC blog site where all the mums in New Zealand contribute their posts and we all get to keep in touch with what happens in every day Kiwi families around the country. Maybe that's how we discovered you, and you discovered us. Either way, we love this site. This week the giveaway is for a gorgeous lap quilt from Vintage Mum/Modern Child, another blog we follow. Join up and maybe you'll win!








Sunday, November 21, 2010

Teddy bear couple

 
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I received an order for one of my quilled teddy bear cards but with a different twist! Instead of one teddy bear, I was asked to make two! Yup! A couple! How romantic hehe! ;)

My customer's fiance' is a sailor.....so she requested I make a sailor cap/hat or whatever you are suppose to call it for the blue teddy bear. I'm not sure of the right word for it hehehe. I quilled a hat for the blue teddy bear but it didn't look nice....so I drew one instead and pasted the hat on top of the teddy bear's head hehehe. I also added a tiny white flower sequin on top of the pink teddy bear's head hehehe! I thought it looked cute that way. Just to symbolize a girl. :)

The card had to be a bit bigger than the usual card I used for my teddy bear card designs. Because I had to put two instead of just one teddy on it. This one is 13cm x 18cm in size. Just a little smaller than the half A4 size card.

There are no wordings inside....I left it blank....but there is a paper inserted inside the card for my customer to write her own personal wishes. :)


Introducing Our New Etsy Shop: BELOVED BOOKS.


I have always wanted to own my own used book shop that specializes in vintage childrens' books. Ad now I do - sort of. At least online. And although I always wanted to serve coffee in said book shop, I am thinking that perhaps you can grab a cup in your own home and surf through the fabulous books while still wearing your pjs.

Here is a sample of the goodies you will find there:


Please stop by and take a look around. From now till Christmas we are offering a 20% discount when you enter the coupon code: NewShop. Discount will be automatically taken off your total bill (a new Etsy function!).

Thanks for your continued support in all our endeavors. And ENJOY!

Love,

Jodi