Saturday Supplies

Today I bought my first pair of pinking shears. They create a beautiful border that doesn’t need to be hemmed because it won’t fray. I’m very excited to use them on all kinds of felt projects!! 

I also bought two zippers and some hair clips today for upcoming projects that I’ll hopefully be sharing very soon. I move into my new place on Monday so I might be off of here for a bit but I promise to have lots of new creations up soon!

Higgins

Sorry I haven’t had any of my own crafty stuff up lately but this has been a very busy week; I signed a lease, started a new job and bought my very first car!! May I present to you all Mr. Higgins. 

He is my soul-mate and I already love him dearly after less than a day of ownership. I didn’t think I’d own a car for years, and certainly not a brand new one! Being a grown-up is awesome sometimes.

Lulu's Lamb

I am back from vacation and had a lovely time at a small cottage on a little bay with no phones or computers to speak of. I’m working on some crafty stuff of my own but until that’s ready I’ve quite fallen in love with some hair accessories over at Lulu’s Nest.   

Laura (aka Lulu) makes these beautiful little hair clips from 100% wool felt and each one is completely self-designed, hand cut and hand stitched. Though I really like the little birdie in the top photo, the little lamb is probably my favourite. I hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend!

Mini Vacation

Hello all! Tomorrow I'm off on a mini-vacation to a cottage on the Bruce Peninsula. I start my new job on Monday so this will be a nice little pre-employment break. I’ll be back Sunday with new crafts and maybe even a couple of pictures from my trip. I can’t wait to dive into that crystal clear (freezing cold) water!

Sweltering Strawberries

It’s been very VERY hot here the last few days. Trying to put a positive spin on this heat I was thinking about some of my favourite things about summer and besides swimming, I think strawberries might be near the top of the list! 

It feels really nice to get back to something simple and straightforward (of my own design) after the deer terror of last week. These sweet strawberry brooches were very easy to make and will look perfect on a nice white summer blouse. I think I might need to go to the beach this afternoon to try and beat this heat. I hope you’re all managing to stay cool today!

A Dear Deer

She’s done! Finally! I don’t think it has ever taken me so long to finish a plush project. I must say I'm pretty pleased with the final product but I did not like what it took to get there. 

The pattern was awkward to cut and sew and the instructions were very cloudy sometimes. The unclear instructions also led to me making some very silly mistakes which made the project last even longer. Even following the pattern exactly, I can’t help but feel like my deer’s head is a bit too large, even for kawaii aesthetics. 

I don’t think I’ll be trying anything new from Felt Friends anytime soon but I guess doing was the only way to know. Despite the days of frustration, I am very happy with my new deer friend who will look very sweet hunting for berries in my backyard.

A Little Bird

My deer sewing project is frustrating me quite a bit right now so I decided to take a break from it today and finish a painting I’ve been working on. I’m moving to a new home in a couple of weeks and thought it might be nice to have something pretty for it. 

I like birds, I even had a pet bird when I was little. This painting was done on a wood canvas with acrylic paints. I think this will look very sweet on the wall in my new bedroom.

Felt Friends from Japan

A few weeks ago I ordered Felt Friends from Japan: 86 Super-cute Toys and Accessories to Make Yourself. The first thing that attracted me to the book was the sweet deer on the front cover so I decided that would be my first project. I’m finding the pattern a bit complicated and I’ve made some silly mistakes but I’m hoping to have pictures up of my deer tomorrow soon (hehehe)!

A Pamplemousse Pincushion

I’ve never used a pincushion for my sewing. After stepping on a needle for third time this week though I decided it might be time to look into getting one. Jenny at SeaPinks by far makes the cutest pincushions around. 

All of her pincushions are hand sewn/embroidered and are made from wool blend felt. I'm just amazed by all the loving detail that clearly goes into each one, especially the ones that look like fruit! In order to save my feet, and to have something cute to look at, I think I may need to get myself one of these charming little cushions.

A Taste of Honey

There’s nothing I like better than getting back to crafting after being away for a little while, I feel full of motivation again! All of the flowers in our garden are blooming right now which happens to be attracting some busy little friends. In honour of the bees in our backyard, I created some honey themed brooches.

First I made the bottle of honey, which was inspired by the bear shaped Billybee honey containers. After that, I thought I should make a more traditional honey jar. I really loved how Messrs. Toast and Jam turned out so I thought I’d make a honey version! I hope all of you have a very sweet Wednesday.

New Orleans Doll Company

One of my favourite parts of my trip was exploring the dozens of little shops in the French Quarter. On one such outing I was lucky enough to discover the New Orleans Doll Company. 

In addition to some really cute little voodoo dolls, there were these beautiful handmade animal pillows in a rainbow of fabric colours. They weren’t like anything I’d ever seen before and certainly made me wish I was back home sewing up a storm.

The not so little owl pillow guarding the door was so adorable, I didn’t really want to leave without him but I knew it would be too tough to fit in my suitcase for the flight home. To all my Canadian readers happy belated Canada Day!! I went to a family barbeque and saw some fireworks and I hope you all celebrated with family and friends too.

New Orleans

I'm back from my week away in The Big Easy and it was just amazing! We went on a ghost tour, took a carriage ride through the French Quarter, rode the streetcar through the Garden District, and even got a chance to visit some of the old plantations outside the city.

I took about 200 photographs (one of the great things about digital cameras!) but I just wanted to share a couple on here before I get back to crafting. The above photo is the famous entrance to Oak Alley plantation (part of Interview with a Vampire was filmed here) and the below picture is one of the beautiful old buildings in the French Quarter, I fell deeply in love with wrought iron during my trip.



The last photo is one of the old slave cabins at the Laura Plantation (a very neat place that was run by creole women). I just love the contrast between the falling apart building and the bright cheerful sunflowers! I’ll have lots more to share from my trip, including a very unique doll shop, but for now I think I need to unpack!