Update!

Can't believe it's been 6 weeks since I last posted, there has just been so much going on!

What I've been up to

- Dissertation (Has technological development resulted in cultural anxiety)

- Self Initiated Project (VG Dance Design Rebrand)

- Make Project (Keep thinking this is too fun to be a project)

- Etsy shop (Holiday season and it's busy!)

- Making new products

- MOVED HOUSE.

So first up, bought a house, it's beautiful.

I have my own room that I am using as a studio with 2 desks and storage galore. It's brilliant!

(This was a little while ago and it's now in some ways much tidier and in some ways much messier, but I do now have a beautiful floral blind!)

You can keep up to date with my self initiated project VG Dance Design over on it's own blog http://vgdancedesign.blogspot.com

Currently going through feedback and fine tuning the logo. Really excited to move onto the colour and application next!

Ahh the make project, this is definitely too fun to be a project! The brief is: 'Make something interesting. Explain how it's made.'

Now I would call myself a maker, I LOVE to make. (as you've probably noticed by my growing Etsy shop!) So this project leapt out at me as something I had to do!

There's a whole long story of how I got here, but I won't bore you with it! I'm looking at the idea of using dissolvable materials in the product I'm making, my tutor pointed out to me how it would be really interesting to apply dissolvable materials to something that you used in wet weather such as a hat or umbrella. This instantly jumped out to me as a great project so I am now working on creating an umbrella that dissolves, changing it's appearing, when water is applied to it.

I'm not sure what the technical name for the fabric is, but when you run it under water it turns to liquid glue and washes away. I have been experimenting with ways to use it..

I researched lace umbrellas as I love the pattern they have and think this would be a great thing to 'appear' when the fabric dissolves. Currently working on samples to achieve this!

I'm looking to make a business card or label that explains how the product is made, with a sample of dissolvable fabric. I've bought these lovely kraft business card sleeve and plan to cut a shape out and replace it with dissolvable fabric.

Finally, Etsy shop and making, it's been busy! Holiday season, Etsy's busiest, is upon us, and I had 6 sales in 2 weeks! So I've been busy not just making the products to post off around the world, but also making shipping postcards to go inside the packages and designing fabric labels to go on the products. Also been making new products, new style bracelets, new fabric keyrings and my favourite heart handwarmers which you put in the microwave and then they keep your fingers toasty warm!

Cute jersey heart handwarmers. 1 minute in the microwave and warm hands for up to an hour!

This next collection was a commission I received on Etsy, I was asked to create 6 heart and 6 tree Christmas decorations from 'Lilly Pulitzer' fabric which the buyer shipped over the from US. 

Another commission up next, again Christmas Decorations, 2 stars and a tree in beautiful Indian fabric. You can buy the Christmas tree from this set on my Etsy shop here.

This set I created for a friend for her 21st Birthday, matching headband and keyring.

Last up, my new shipping cards that I send with a personalised note on the back for each order I send out.

Ah, back to work I get, will post again soon with more design for Make and VG Dance Design projects!

Today I made..

Customised tees!

A family friend in Australia is due to have a baby in just a few weeks and I wanted to make something to send over for the new baby, so I customised some bodysuits! I don't know what sex the baby is so I wanted to create things that could be worn by a boy or a girl, but then my girlyness took over and I made a really girly one with a flower on!

(Please excuse the awful photos they were taken in a hurry!)

I cut out shapes from patterned fabric and sewed them on using a close zigzag stitch. This holds them on well, stops them fraying and looks nice too! I made a star using blue and white polka dot fabric, a heart using purple and white polka dot fabric and a flower using mocha floral, pink polka dot and purple polka dot fabrics.

I didn't want the older kids to feel left out so I decided I would customise some tshirts for them! I bought a grey tshirt for the boy and a purple vest for for the girl (both from h&m, the only place I could find individually sold plain kids tshirts!)

I used the same technique as with the body suits, sewing fabric shapes onto the tees. For the girls tee I chose to sew 9 hearts, all cut from different pink and purple fabrics, and for the boys tee I made 'big bro' from demin, blue polka and blue stripes!

They have come out quite well but jersey material of fabrics is hard to sew onto as it stretches a lot, hoping with a wash and an iron they will straighten out a bit!

Today I made..

A tablet case!

This is similar to the phone case I made a few months back but this time using 2 layers of fabric, one either side of a piece of wadding. 

It is a simple sew, just made slightly trickier by the stretchy fabric I had chosen to use!

I know it looks very plain and boring, but it's soft, plain and practical which was the brief given to me and the owner is very pleased with the outcome! 

Here are a few pictures of the finished result

Today I made..

Two things!

First up, a little cosy case for my phone! I've been asked to make a tablet case and I decided to make a small one first incase my technique for making it went totally wrong! I didn't want to waste loads of fabric!

I sewed a pouch using white fleece for the inside and a very slightly larger pouch for the outside using floral jersey material and then sewed the two together to make a nice neat top.






My phone is super cosy now!

Second thing I made was a fabric photo frame. Someone asked me if I could make a pretty fabric photo frame so I said, I'll give it a go! And this is my prototype! It actually worked really well, next time I will make the hole very slightly smaller as the photo only just tucks behind the edge!

The tutorial I used to make it was this one by how about orange although I couldn't work out how she made the back so I made that bit up myself! And I am now considering whether to attach magnets or a ribbon so it can hang.






It's been quite a successful day! Now to make more frames in different fabrics and a bigger tablet cosy!

Chicken Doorstop

So, here is my chicken doorstop.. she still needs some eyes to finish her off but i think she is rather beautiful and i hope my mum will like her :)

I got the pattern from Bake and Sew's blog which you can find here..