April 28, 2014

Anzac Day at the Arboretum

On Anzac day we went to the Arboretum to explore new places and visit favourite spots - the obligatory pod park of course.  The first stop was to the Eagle's nest which we hadn't seen before.  A cool sculpture by Richard Moffat made from recycled metal.
Canberra is so pretty in Autumn!  The white house (Government House) you can see just off center is where Kate & Wills stayed while they were in town, not forgetting baby George!
Anya was all about this....
Josiah all about this.... avoiding eye contact with my camera at every turn.

My favourite park of the day was our last stop at the woods for a teddy bear's picnic, complete with 'honey' (torn orange paper) for the bears.  I loved getting out my real camera and capturing us having a mini adventure - I'd forgotten how much I love to take photos (not on my phone).

After afternoon tea we foraged for sticks to build a 'fire', climbed trees and explored - the kids absolutely loved it and so did this mama.  Such a nice change to do something a little different - I feel so refreshed after being surrounded by nature.

April 26, 2014

Mothers Day Tutorial: Paper Flowers

These blossoms are made from tissue paper and a few other materials as seen below, it's amazing how a few modest items can be transformed into a lovely flower!
First step - cut your tissue paper up into petals.   I did cut the petals as I went graduating to larger petals for the outside of the flower. 
Some I doubled thickness, some tripled, depends how fluffy you want that layer around your center.
Speaking of center's I drew some lines on my gold tissue paper in white crayon and then wrapped it around the polystyrene ball, twisting slightly at the base - it is an old technique used in millinery flowers actually - using fabric of course and sometimes just cotton wool.  Add the stamens then wrap with floristry tape.  I also poked a wire into the middle of the ball as you can see below, so I had some length to tape the stamens to.
Once the petals were cut I pinched them all in at the bottom ready to tape and start the construction of the flower.
Work your way around the center, layering the petals alternatively, odd numbers work best.
I just kept adding layers until the petals got too heavy to add without wiring first - use this wiring technique.


When you are happy with the shape and fullness, cut a calyx out of tissue and glue carefully to the back - a great way to hide your mechanics.
I made these for the opening of the Makers Hub with a few other smaller flowers I'll post about another time.  Leave a link in my comment section if you make some of these flowers following my tutorial!  Enjoy.

April 11, 2014

Real Wedding: Grace Designs Hair Accessories, Canberra

The best compliment of my work is to see it on the lovely bride on her special day.  I really love how this piece looks in Melissa's hair and with her dress.  I made small elastic loops either side of the suede flowers so they could just be pinned in - it would have been super light and comfortable, not a headband headache in sight.
This is a free motion embroidery piece on suede, embellished with Swarovski crystals, quite organic in its form and creation.  Melissa paired it with a gorgeous gown from Leanne Marshall (the Leanne Marshall - winner of Season 5, Project Runway ;)  She wanted something not overly fussy to go with the lace top and this looked just perfect!

Thanks Lauren for the gorgeous photo of Sean and Mel, you can see more photos on Lauren's blog