Australian Label: Uimi

I recently discovered Uimi, after seeing one of their divine chevron scarves in the lovely Style Emporium here in Canberra.  Uimi are an echo friendly knitwear company who make clothing and homewares using Merino wool and certified organic cotton, they are located in Melbourne.  

Uimi don't unfortunately sell directly online but you can look up their online or in-store stockists. Gorgeous work!  Keeping my eyes out for some end of winter sales!!

The homewares are just gorgeous with geometric and spotted throws and cushions etc.. You might have trouble resisting the he goodies for little people too.  

Quality Time is her Love Language

Josiah helped me pick out a beautiful bunch of babies breath for Anya this morning at the market.  I have put them in her room as a surprise with a little card which is an invite to a mother-daughter date tomorrow.  I read this post yesterday and slowly read through all eighty odd comments and had a bit of a reality check on my relationship with my first-born.

Anya is a vivacious, social girl who thrives on quality time.  She and I spend a lot of time together but to be honest there isn't always a lot of quality going on there with the routine of life.  As I read through the comments yesterday I was reminded of the simple acts I could improve on to help nurture our relationship;

• Spend quality time
• Listen to everything
• Be truly present
• Involve a village of women in her life that she can share and learn from
• Pursue God
• Lead by example
• Be honest about everything
• Respect her and her opinions
• Accept her just as she is - rejoice in her differences
• Be available
• Let her know I will always have her back
• Invest in her gifts

I haven't even decided what we are going to do tomorrow.... but it will involve nature, food and a spot of shopping!

Blog Love: The Red Thread

Image: The Red Thread

Don't you love when you rediscover something and it's better than you remember!!!  That sounds like a backhanded compliment but it's not meant to be... I'm just excited to have rediscovered The Red Thread's blog by Lisa Tilse and it is fresh and awesome.  Along with a beautiful series on Space to Create featuring loads of lovely artists from around the world, Lisa has some fabulous craft tutorials and is an inspiring artisan herself who recently started a monthly craft column on Decor8 called Make Me.  Visit Lisa's online store or for more information go to her website. 

Handmade Masquerade Mask

My friend turned thirty recently and had a masquerade party to celebrate.  I made her mask for the special event. 

I made a black felt base with buckram on the upper half to hold its shape and give me a solid base to glue my feathers too.  Then a layer of vintage lace over the felt, all hand-stitched, vintage sequin trim around the eyes and another layer of felt covering the buckram so it was lovely and soft to wear.  Not forgetting the mix of ostrich, coque and goose feathers to match the birthday girls shoes and to give it some flounce.  I was happy with how it turned out, so was the birthday girl!  I made a surprise replica for the cake but forgot to take a photo.  It was fun to make something different.

Paper Wedding Dress: Kathryn Godwin

At first glance, this stunning wedding dress could be mistaken for the real deal not a display made from paper.  Recently featured artist, Kathryn Godwin is the talent behind this beautiful creation and she has generously shared some photos of the dress being made which was captured by talented, Emily Chidester.

The dress was made for the grand gala evening for the American bridal summit, Engage! which was themed around Cornelia Vanderbilt's wedding and held at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina which the Vanderbilt's owned.  The Vanderbilt's were one of America's richest families, Cornelia was married in the 1920's and the reception was held on the estate.  Kathryn also created one hundred and fifty handmade flapper-esque headpieces, bow-ties and pocket squares for a dessert party. 

The dress design itself is stunning and the lace was inspired by the lace on Kathryn's own wedding dress and made from white kraft paper.  The lace design was hand-drawn and incredibly hand-cut, that is hours of work right there.  Cornelia's actual wedding dress was hard to see as it was hidden behind a huge bouquet and veil, so Kathryn drew inspiration from dresses in that era.

The lining of the dress was a double layer of cream mulberry paper, to create some contrast so the lace would stand out.  The following photos of Kathryn in action, I wonder how many glue sticks she used?

Wouldn't this be fun to make for a bridal shower, you might want to find a friend that owns a die cutting machine though!

 Cornelia Vanderbilt on her wedding day!

All images:  Emily Chidester.