Friday Favourites - my new Amy Butler patterns

How thrilled was I when a parcel came for me yesterday from Amy Butler Designs and it had not one but three patterns in it!!!!!! Not only that but a card kit and a lovely hand written note from Dianne. I have to admit I did shed a tear, people can be so kind, it restores your faith in mankind - I can't wait to start sewing something! The Barcelona skirt first, then a gum drop pillow (which was the other pattern I umm'd and ahh'd over) and the Velma bag. You do know Amy has FREE patterns on her site also. I have never been into quilts but I think I might even want to make one... oh so little time so much to do....

Etsy - My first treasury

My vintage-inspired linen headband made it to an Etsy treasury today called "Softly, Softly on a quiet spring afternoon" - thanks to Penny Glass Girl! Thanks also to Pascale's lovely photography I am sure it was her stunning photo that caught Penny girl's attention! If you aren't familiar with Etsy, treasuries aren't around for long! So it's possibly if you read this in a few days, it will be gone but hopefully you can still read the shop names to have a gander at the other lovely items.

Living Creatively - publicity for your projects

In addition to the Projects they already have on their site, Living Creatively are calling for submissions for FREE project templates for their website. I have submitted my FREE ridiculously-easy bunting pattern. If you don't already subscribe to their newsletter, jump on board. Send your submissions to: enquiries@livingcreatively.com.au

Soft Book re-visited

A far cry from lovely hair accessories I have been making lately, but I had a request for a soft book for 'Master A', from a friend who originally asked me last year to make her one as a gift and even though I said I wasn't going to make them anymore I had to honour my word... so here it is! Filled with lots of tactile pleasures and a few interactive features for little learning hands.

Crystal Organza ivory flower - any suggestions?

I am a decisive person, really I am but I can't decide for the life of me what to do with this flower!

1. Hair Clip
2. Hair Comb
3. Brooch
4. Both - hair and Brooch pin
   

HELP! Suggestions welcome.

Sweet things

Miniature brooches for the miniature people in your life....

MACRO Monday

Furry clover-like natives - I like them, I like them a lot :-) I have no idea what they are!!! These are part of my Canberra Botanical Gardens series. I hope you had a great weekend. I had a lovely time at the Handmade Market on Saturday. On Saturday night around 2am, Anya decided to party for a few hours. She ended up in our bed chatting like it was the middle of the day, asking me to kiss her stuffed puppy and trying to forcefully share my pillow - good grief girl. I think her brain keeps her awake with all the new things she is learning (almost 20months). I really feel like I have a newborn again lately...

Friday Favourites - Addicted to Fabric

Addicted to Fabric is possibly the best fabric store I have ever been in, not for the great prices but for quality and quantity! It has the widest range of to-die-for fabrics in the one spot and I can't wait till the next sale :-) It is a rare and special occasion when I get to go there without Anya and just wander, last visit I spent over an hour in the shop!!! They stock all the big names, run quilting classes, employ lovely staff and always have cool new patterns. If you are in Canberra, go check them out!

Amy Butler Designs - lovely encounter

I received the loveliest email in my inbox today from Dianne at Amy Butler Design. It seems Amy's staff are as lovely as her designs. I had written to Dianne only yesterday with my birdie sling tutorial link and photo, not really expecting a reply. Since I have had 220 hits on my blog tutorial, I thought it might interest them to know the gusset was a struggle for quite a few sewers. (I told Dianne it was 160 but I doubled checked now and it is 220!!!) Anyway, I got a lovely reply back and Dianne is sending me an AB pattern of my choice for my email - how cool. I picked the Barcelona Skirt. It was a tough decision. So, between the free pattern coming my way, the sounds of Lior and a Voucher for a MASSAGE my mother-in-law sent in the post yesterday, this is shaping up to be a much better week than last!!!
{photo - Amy butler designs}

Handmade market - Winter Warmer

Don't you love a local market that is well run and advertised. Julie from Handmade is a lovely lady who has brought some style to Canberra's local market scene without being over-the-top exclusive. Free admission (as it should be) and lots of great stalls including the lovely Jen from Posie Patchwork. I hope to debut at this market in September! It is on this Saturday from 10am - 4pm at Albert Hall, Yarralumla.
{Photo - Tango and James}

Kitchen Props

I do love taking these photos for Etsy. I use things out of my kitchen cupboards as props - this is an egg cup upside down - i think it looks like a little flower in a vase, cute hey. Nothing seems to turn out exactly the same twice, each flower is unique and has it's own individual look and feel.

Ostrich Feather Hair Comb

Ostrich Feather with Crystal Detail Pin from I do I do tiaras in Brisbane. Very cute! Leanne has a lovely range on-line, I love all the fascinators and the diamante clips - I am a sucker for a bit of bling.

New in my ETSY shop - hair accessories

New hair piece on fascinator comb listed in my Etsy shop. Made from 100% silk chiffon and thai silk with my trademark diamates I love - yummy.

MACRO Monday - African Violets

For a florist I am terrible at keeping plants alive! I say this is because I am not a horticulturist. But these are African violets from my very own bathroom plant that have flowered under my watch... so proud. I hope you had a nice weekend.

Grace Designs on Pascale Wowak photoblog

Had to sneak this weekend post in and show you these gorgeous photos that American photographer, Pascale Wowak has taken for ZozoBugBaby. Pascale was my very first Etsy customer and I am thrilled that she loved the headband and was able to use it in her photo shoot, as the headband conveniently arrived on the same day. Pascale's work is as honest as it is stunning, her shots are contemporary, fresh and the newborns are my absolute favourites! It is lovely to meet other creative Mum's on the other side of the world and share a connection. Her lovely blog post and an email from Lior have really helped to cheer up my week :-)
{photos - Pascale Wowak}

Friday favourites - travel

I lurve to travel... When I was young, single and loaded I went overseas every 2 years or so!! My very first trip was to America when I was 19yrs old. I had saved hard but no-one could afford to come with me or had the holidays so I decided to go on my own because I didn't want to miss out! Now that is character building and determination :-) This photo however was taken at Milford Sound, NZ in 06. It was our post-uni and pre-baby holiday - yeah baby.

LIOR

Last Sunday - Mothers Day was the best and worst 24hours one could possibly experience. I had a lovely day with my hubby & daughter, then enjoyed the ultimate musical experience with Lior and my dear friend, Jet. I was really blessed by Lior's talent, voice and loved the Jewish prayer he sang as his third and final encore - you could have heard a pin drop. I went home elated and crawled into bed dying to tell my sleepy husband all about it. Then at 5am someone broke into our home while we were sleeping and I woke to find that person in our bedroom, it sends shivers down my spine and I wish I could forget the whole experience. I don't wish it upon anyone. We are all ok and the only thing of value taken was my sense of security and sanctuary in my own home :-( It will come back I know with time and lots of prayer. In the meantime every time I start thinking about that horrid morning - I try to think about Lior's music and the fantastic experience I enjoyed instead.... I haven't been able to focus on a whole lot this week and had made a few things to send to a product call for a magazine but will list them on Etsy instead.

I'm a complete free-styler

Photo: My Pocket

When it comes to cutting out shapes and petals for my flowers, I am such a free-styler with the old scissors. Nothing is the same twice and I guess that makes things more unique!! I can't help it! I do use the very occasional template if it is for something particular but mostly no rules apply. Oh yes, I am so hard core :-)

GIVEAWAY - Make it perfect

I have bought the Make it Perfect versatile wrap skirt pattern but not made it yet... I am almost ready to sew a winter version as I am ready to make something for me... I can guarantee it won't be perfect!!

I digress, Make it Perfect is having a lovely giveaway so get on over to Toni's blog and enter! Simple and stylish.

Something new in black

Headbands for the grown up girls, monotone black felt & chiffon with diamantes and warm charcoal and black felt with beads and blanket stitching, on soft elastic - in the shop!

MACRO Monday - ladybird

Aren't these the sweetest insects! I love the colours on the beautiful Autumn leaf. It was very hard to get a focused shot with no tripod and the wind blowing the leaves about. I had to hold the branch with one hand, take the photo with the other!! We were having a little garden inspection with Anya on Saturday :-)

My headband on: Style Collective

One of my headbands was featured on Style Collective in the Junior Style section recently. It was a little interview Amanda did on her girls wardrobes :-)
{photo: Amanda Keeys}

Friday favourites

French toast is a firm favourite in our house. We eat it for brunch, lunch or dinner (weekend food!) We eat it American style - bacon, strawberries and maple syrup! mmmmm [Correct me if I am wrong about the USA, ladies.]
Photo: Rosalind Grace

Something for Kate - felt hair clip

My lovely sister-in-law Kate, asked me to make her something to wear to an upcoming wedding. She wanted some:

• Red
  
• Felt
  
• Hair Candy

She is a stylish chicky with lovely long dark hair, so I hope it looks fab!

Dancing Ink

I love the photo on my dye packet! How cool is that. It's like capturing spraying water, sloshing wine or raindrops.... I love the way the ink dances in the water. I hope I haven't been duped by a really good photoshop job! Anyway... I was being all resourceful and re-dying a few clothing items black as they had faded and started to look shabby even though the quality was still OK! I highly recommend this dye. It is a washing machine dye - which made me very nervous! It didn't stain my machine, although I recommend emptying the packet out closer to water :-) I bought it at a craft store and the woman behind the counter said she can't keep it on the shelf - which is a good problem to have. Popular for good reason! Now I am on the hunt for more things to dye :-)

Thai silk flower

I love the paper-like delicate nature of this Thai silk flower - it reminds me of ice-cream or fairy floss - I want to eat it.

Back to reality today

With all the excitement of the shop opening yesterday and actually selling something... I am back to reality today - off to take Anya to get her 18month needle (a month late) - the older they get the wiser they get :-( Hopefully this sweet face won't be unhappy for too long. It may require a babycino and extra cuddles to get me through, I mean Anya! I am happy to be taking a trip to the post office too.

First Grace Designs ETSY Sale!!!

I just sold my first headband :-) Thanks to the buyer, I will have to include a little something special for being my first sale. How exciting, I hope the lady at the Post Office gets used to my face.

EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT - RosalindGraceDesigns.etsy.com

Macro Monday is on hold today for my exciting announcement.....Finally my ETSY store is open! YAY! I'm so excited, after lots of planning and dreaming... I am taking the plunge. It is a rather low-risk way of enjoying your hobby. There have been some very helpful articles on some fabulous blogs such as designsponge that have really helped me plan and focus. And the fabulous book "Craft Inc. Turn your creative hobby into a business" which I have banged on about a lot - was invaluable. I have also got great support in my husband (who is a clever and patient graphic artist) family and friends who have encouraged me to 'have a go'.

Thanks to the other helpful crafty ladies who have:

• Given me great advice - thanks Posie
• Allowed me to use their photos - thanks Amanda
• Cheered me on - thanks Gret, Lisa, Jenn
• Inspired me with their lovely online stores and blogs - Cakies, Sarah Jane and Grosgrain

If you do a search on etsy, my shop name is: RosalindGraceDesigns.etsy.com if you don't have an Etsy account just yet and do sign up, then feel free to say I (rosalindgracedesigns) referred you :-)

I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed styling and taking the photos. Hubby took the ones of my head and the gorgeous photos of the girls are Amanda's kids and photos.

What fun!

Ikea Tree - Prop: Shadow

I took this photo this afternoon and couldn't resist posting it! How cool is that shadow. I have painted one tree black... 2 to go.

Friday Favourites - The Creative Family, Amanda Blake Soule

The Creative Family - how to encourage imagination and nurture family connections. What a fabulous title and great book by Amanda Blake Soule. Yes, I have been on a bit of a book bender recently! They have all been worth it and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them. I will do a bit of a review on Craft Inc. soon because it was excellent and it is the only one I have finished. The creative family book is a little different to what I imagined it was going to be.... but it's better. For some reason I was expecting it to be full of patterns? But I was pleasantly surprised and even my hubby wants to read it. I will review this one when I am finished... Amanda is also releasing a new book 11 August, titled: Handmade Home, simple ways to repurpose old materials into new family treasures! I will be adding that one to my mental 'to buy' list. If you have been living under a rock you may have missed her blog, Soulemama. That was a bit cheeky :-) Happy Weekend!