the weeks end

This week has felt a little surreal.  I (like most of New Zealand I imagine), feel as though I have been moving in slow motion.  All thought and conversation has centred around Christchurch and the Earthquake, and we have been glued to the television in disbelief...

We have a few family birthdays this week and it feels strange to think about celebrating when there is clearly so much suffering going on. But I guess, if anything, this weeks horror makes you aware how important it is to enjoy every moment!

To show my support, I will be donating the proceeds from all sales in my Felt shop this week to the 2011 Red Cross Earthquake Appeal.

hope

Yesterday, around lunchtime, New Zealand suffered one of its worst natural disasters, as Christchurch was rocked by yet another huge earthquake. This time, the devastation was so much more horrific.

A huge search and rescue mission is currently taking place, and whilst there has been so much tragedy, I'd like to think there is still a lot of hope... If you would like to make a donation to the Canterbury Earthquake Appeal, there are various options here. Alternatively, if you would like to help in other ways, there is a bit of info here.

Kia Kaha Christchurch, our thoughts are with you all. xx

party bags

So, wanting to use up a little of my paper stash, I decided to make some surprise envelope bags for bella's party on Sunday. I found a whole packet - unopened - of translucent paper in one of my folders, that is about 10 years old! I used 2 sheets per bag and just zig zag stitched them together with red thread to enclose the goodies inside.

I have a love affair with Japanese things, so lucky for me we have a Japanmart nearby. I found some super cute stationary sets (notepaper, envelopes and stickers), sweet stackable stamps and some lovely wee rubbers. Add some chocolate into the mix and you have the perfect ingredients for some 7 year old party bags.

paper

So you've probably already worked out that I am a bit of a hoarder... not only do I have an overwhelming fabric stash, but I also have a bit of a paper addiction. This can come in handy though, as I found this past week when Bella and I were making her party invitations.

I have a few folders that are just bulging with all the papers that I have collected over the years. Whenever I design an invitation for someone, I always get extra paper 'just in case', and then pop them into my folders. I have that 'can't throw it away, as it just might come in handy one day' disease, so there are even folders full of paper bags and kraft papers of all different grams and shades!

I also have bags full of scraps from the vintage children's books I use for my upcycled envelopes. I just can't seem to throw them away in case they'll be useful one day.... although I am wondering if I should take a leaf out of Heleen's book and have a big sort out and start up an Etsy shop for all the wonderful bits and pieces that could do with a new home....

stitching

I have just finished stitching some new fabric coasters. I love sifting through my scrap drawers and using a mixture of vintage and new linens. And I have actually managed to list these in my felt store too.

Hope you are enjoying a lazy Sunday. I have no children today - for the first time in weeks, so am enjoying some quiet me time!

colourful

As I mentioned the other day, I have made a few commissioned buntings lately, and still have a few on my sewing table which I hope to finish off today... I thought I would share some of the finished products with you. 

Hope you are all having a productive and colourful Friday. We are off to the Lantern Festival this weekend which is always fun!

birthdays and bunting

I have been busy with lots of custom bunting and birthday invitation orders of late. So busy in fact, that I almost completely forgot to sort out my own daughters birthday invitations (for a party that is next week!). As she is turning seven, and is completely 'crafty', Isabella wanted to hand-make her invitations, rather than me design them on the computer... So we had a bit of fun last night putting these together.

Bella is having a small party at a bead shop, so she wanted 'bracelet' invitations. We used some scalloped card and attached a small bracelet to each, then popped them in petal enclosures, and sealed them with round stickers with the girls names. Bella had a ball putting these together, and was really pleased with herself when she was able to tell her friends that she made them!

long weekend

The girls and I are heading away for a long weekend. In preparation my beautiful 6 year old informed me she needed a new sponge bag for her toothbrush, toothpaste etc,  so I let her loose in my fabric stash. I actually made one for Lucy too (in pink which used to be her favourite colour), but was promptly told - after the fact - that she no longer likes pink, just what Bella likes! So they now have the same sponge bags - hopefully one less thing to fight over!

I have to say, these were a little fiddly, as I lined them with laminated cotton, and covered them with plastic to make them waterproof. Just as I was turning the first one out I was politely reminded that they needed to have 'handles'. So there was a little unpicking involved, some bias made and voila, some handles added!

I hope you enjoy your weekend - whatever it may involve!

the day the cow sneezed

Whilst Lucy and I were at the library the other day, I was lucky enough to spot this book on the edge of one of the shelves.

The colours and composition of the cover automatically grabbed my attention, then when I saw that it was 'The Day the Cow Sneezed' by James Flora (1957) I quickly grabbed it and popped it in our pile. I remember loving this book as a child, and now as an adult the illustrations are even more alluring.

James Flora died in 1998, but, thankfully there is still a lot of interest in his art. You can find more Jim Flora here, or etsy shop here, blog here, facebook here!