Etsy Store Closing Mon 21st July 2014

I will be closing my etsy store until further notice as we are moving to London and I need to pack up my lovely laces and fabrics etc...  I am guessing it will take a while to find a home, settle kids into school and get re-established.  If you have anyone you know that might benefit from my big sale, please pass this on... they only have a few days left!! 

Thank you for your patronage x x

Anna Karenina Millinery

The costumes in Tolstoy's, Anna Karenina were truly stunning, created by award winning designer, Jacqueline Durran.  The theatrics of the movie was fabulous, the story line not so much - so I focused on the beautiful pieces of art worn throughout.  

 

Apparently the millinery was done by elusive milliner, Sean Barrett. 

Via Vogue

When I did my millinery workshop with Julie Fleming in Melbourne, I got to see some gorgeous vintage veiling up close and it is so much softer and finer than the veiling available these days.  There was a heavy use of veiling throughout the movie and I was drooling over nearly every piece.  

There is a more in depth post on this blog covering more of the fashion from the movie.  Which was your favourite outfit or hat?

Watercolour Workshop at Canberra Creatives

A few weeks ago I treated myself to a workshop at Canberra Creative's fabulous Makers Hub.  It was my reward for getting through a few weeks of solo parenting after having my hubby overseas!  I took a watercolour workshop which was a nice, relaxing way to spend two hours. 

We learnt lots of different techniques then attempted to use them by painting something in the room.  You'll never guess what I painted... yes, flowers!!! 

I enjoy learning new things and would recommend you check out all the wonderful courses Mikaela has on offer, there is something for everyone.  In fact, Mikaela is running a few workshops at the Handmade Market next weekend, so go along and check both of them out - it will be worth your while.

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.

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.

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. 

DIY: Bed Side Table Project

I paid a small price for this bed side table from the Salvo's.  It was the first time painting something with grooves, which were fun to sand!!   I used a Porters VOC free Paint again from the Paint Place in Mitchell. 

This is the before shot on my Instagram feed!  It was dark brown... Eleven months later, I finally found the time to renovate it and knocked it over pretty much in one weekend.  I now have Anya's bed and bed-side table waiting for me and my lovely cabinet :-)  Lucky for me I received a sander for my birthday!  Thanks family.

Large Paper Flower: Handmade Grace Designs

It dawned on me recently when hubby threw this flower out of our tiny backyard shed that I didn't ever share any photos of it!!  It was one of the prototypes I made for a show in Australian Fashion Week 2012. 

 

I don't have the dimensions or instructions but here is a photo of hubby holding it to give you some idea of the size.  The thin dowel wasn't really strong enough - I would have used thicker dowel for more support, had I of gone ahead with the order. 

Pretty if I do say so myself!  I really do love my hot glue gun, I used to say when I was little my dream job would be to make stuff all day long :-)  Some days I see a little of that dream, what a lucky lady I am.  Have a great weekend.

Crocheting a Necklace with Beads

Happy New Year and welcome back!  If you have noticed my blogging has dwindled it has most likely been replaced by my use of Pinterest and Instagram.  I am Rosalind Grace Designs on both!  In the past, my blog was always a place to catalogue things I liked, creative ideas, to show some behind the scenes of my work and a platform to share cool designers/advice I discovered along the way.  So, I'm still around, just not as regularly in this space.

One of my creative goals in 2014 was to tackle knitting and crocheting.  I thrifted a variety of needles for both and spend spare time practising in between my personal sewing and shop projects!  This is a necklace for moi!  The needle is tiny, thank goodness for my reading glasses.  I found a tutorial on Beadaholique's Youtube channel, they also have lots of tutes on their website.  Great images, good light, no banging on with unnecessary info - wonderful!