Phone pics.....

Owlies all sewn and ready for stuffing....a very productive week.

On my walk one morning I came across these bug looking flowers - 
Mother nature - A M A Z I N G !

Spring loveliness in Sydney...

Crafty studio

next sewing project underway....coming to Etsy soon

Freshness from the net - November

hoorah! Anthology magazine inaugural issue arrives in Australia....If you enjoy Frankie, Dumbo Feather or Extra Curricular magazines then check this little mag out - available now at Magnation

DIY Coasters via Design*Sponge

vinyl wall clock by Pavel Sidorenk

Made by.....my mama.

I have a very talented, resourceful and crafty mum.  She is always making things. Yummy food, lovely floral arrangements, cute cushions, table cloths, decorations.  She does it all.  A self taught crafter  - my favorite kind.     This Christmas she has made some tree decorations using scraps of felt left over from my various projects.  All carefully designed, cut and hand stitched.

Blanket stitching - so neat.

Christmas tree decorations ready to be hung soon.

Very beautiful, colorful and sweet - just like my mama!

Etsy Finds....Sydney artists

With Christmas less than 5 weeks away I thought I would 'Shop Local' on Etsy.   It is a feature that lets you find local artists, which if you are shopping for a last minute gifts, is a great idea.   The following artists are all from Sydney (or surrounding area), making it easier for your purchases to get to you in time.  Whether shopping for your family, friends or work colleagues, choose handmade where possible and support local artists if you can.

Little birds with flowers by Agent Indigo

2011 European Dreams Calendar by Elgarboart

Viva La Scooter coin purse by Seventh Sphere

Green Butterfly garland by Parper Klip Design

Bike love....

Sommer via Papillionaire

2011 - Could it be the year I start my bicycle commute? We have a government program here in Sydney that has been building cycle ways to make the cycle to the city safer, greener, and more shareable. Tho the program has not been without controversy (which keeps our local paper very busy)  I think it is a great idea.  Getting people to think of transport as more than just a car/bus/train.  Martino has been cycling to work now for almost 1 year. A comfortable 35 minute ride through leafy back streets or (if feeling a little more daring) riding along the local main road.   I think if I had a pretty bike like this one, I would feel more European and would carry home the groceries and flowers and get to wear a cool hat and scarf as I ride home from work.  So chic.   umm....back to the point.  Its all about health.  Health and fitness.....with a little Parisian flair thrown in ;-)

La vida en color......

paper fashions....vintage craftyclaudes c. 2005

I often think of what my life would be like if I had not taken the plunge and started creating the things my heart felt.  Probably not as colourful, exciting or appreciative of what others are doing to enrich this wonderful tapestry called life.   Here are some of the things that have continued to feed the creative flame in this girls heart......

Martino's parents garden comes alive in Spring!

Ride Exhibition - Bikes shown some love by the people.....

CraftyClaudes....loving the old. working on the new.....

Japanese fabric, Chinese Tea, Ecuadorian coffee

Spruce Austin - Chair love

These guys are just too cute. It makes me want to cry at how cute and exciting and interesting and fun they are!  Its like a group of best friends all working together on fun projects with access to amazing fabrics and pieces of furniture. I would love love love to do that!  
 

The team at Spruce Austin all happy and smiley!

They run classes on re-upholstery where you byo chair and get to spend the day learning the ins and outs of making a chair come back to life with the help of some  very talented instructors and of course gorgeous fabrics.  Here are some pretty before and after projects from their recent classes:

 

Lovely huh!  and here are 2 of my favourites......

 

 

Now to save for that plane fare....Austin ima' comin' !

Supakitch & Koralie - Feast for your eyes......

Martino found this video and shared it with me a while back. I watch this whenever I need a little creative pick me up!..hope you enjoy it as much as I do.....

Fabric Book Cover - Diary 2011

2010 - say hello to 2011....

This project takes me back to my school days.  Where we would take great pride in covering our school books at the start of the school year.  Back then we used brown paper or clear wrap to cover them, which although neat, was a little boring.  So for the last few years I have been covering my diary with pretty papers, pictures, stickers lots of colour and designs.

For my 2011 diary, I have decided to dip into my fabric scraps to create a fabric diary cover.    There are some great tutorials all over the net to help you get started if you wish to sew one.   However, a lot of the tutorials I came across involved much measuring, pining, sewing and using things like interface - which I don't have. I also get to use one of my absolute favourite craft material - double sided tape.  Double Sided tape is so easy to use, very forgiving if mistakes are made and also stays very strong.

Here is my step-by-step guide on creating a very quick and fab looking fabric cover:

You will need:
- Diary of your choice (hard cover preferable but not essential)
- 1 piece of fabric (enough to cover the diary with a 3cm seam all the way around)
- Fabric scraps in your choice of color (I chose cotton, both printed and plain, as well as printed linen)
-  Double sided tape
- 2 pieces of card stock in your choice of color
- sewing machine and thread in your choice of color

Step 1:  Open your diary and place it on top of the large piece of fabric you have measured and cut to size.

Step 2:  Place your chosen fabric scraps on top of the bigger piece of fabric. Arrange in the design of your choice and pin in place.

Step 3 - Head over to your sewing machine and sew the pieces in place.  I used a zig zag stitch and went in a crazy pattern.  It is totally up to you on how neat you want to keep this step.  I chose to go wild stylee!

Step 4:   This bit is just like covering your book with paper.  Take your double sided tape and line the edges of the inside flap of your diary.  Peel the backing and fold the fabric over pressing down as you go.  Do this to both the front and back inside cover of your diary.  It may look messy - but don't worry as you will cover all this up in the next step.

Step 5 - Using your chosen card stock,  measure and cut a piece large enough to cover up the inside flap.  You can use as much double sided tape as you like to secure this card stock to the inside.  

Tadaaaa!  Here is the diary all covered in pretty fabric - ready for 2011 adventures

Inside cover of the diary - hiding all sorts of messiness!

I hope these instructions are clear.  Its actually much harder than I thought to write a tutorial.  So if you have any questions just let me know.

Happy Monday everyone!

Highlights from Art Sydney 2010

 
This was the first year we attended Art Sydney.  Martino had to work there for a little while so it was a great opportunity to check it out.  We attended opening night on Thursday, which apart from the air conditioning failing, was a great night.  The event normally attracts over 15,000 visitors every year all looking to find and buy art.  For an emerging or established artist, this is a fantastic opportunity to allow your art to reach the masses over a 4 day event.  The number of stands was very overwhelming for a first time visitor.  So I decided to just go off on my own, no map or guide, and stop at the art that I found appealing. This worked out to be the best way for me, as it is how I met these three lovely ladies.  An artist, a sculptor and a gallery owner.  All of them very talented and inspiring.

To start off my crafty claudes interview series I present to you the artworks of Narissa Butler:

Narissa is an Australian artist who has been painting girls as her subjects for 8 years.  Inspired by a photograph of her mother as a child, her paintings feature these girls as innocent, wide eyed, sometimes awkward creatures.   Each painting expressing feelings of nostalgia and longing. The colours include beautifully muted tones as well as much black detail.  I was drawn to many of her paintings by the detailed nature of them.  Details such as peacock feathers, butterfly wings and garden settings.

"Plume"  by Narissa Butler

Narissa is based in Melbourne where her work has been exhibited in many galleries, group and solo shows as well as in magazines.

Lovely Narissa encouraging Martino to just give it all a go!

"Swoon" - detailed butterfly beauty.....

 

It was wonderful to meet Narissa and chat to her about what inspired her creations and what challenges she faced as an artist.   A very generous and talented lady. 

You can visit Narissa's website here

For commissions or inquiries you can contact Narissa here

Date for your diary - Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life 1990 – 2005 - MCA, Sydney

The Museum of Contemporary Art will be presenting an exhibition featuring the works of world famous photographer Annie Leibovitz.    Her work is recognizable to many who have picked up a Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair or Vogue magazine in the past 30 or so years.   She has also been responsible for many iconic pop culture photographs such as the  famous John Lennon and Yoko Ono picture (being the last photo of John Lennon before his assassination), Demi Moore's pregnancy pose and most recently the controversial Miley Cyrus photo.

This exhibition has been traveling the world for the past 4 years and features over 200 photographs personally selected by her. 

Details:


MCA Sydney
19 November 2010 -  27 March 2011
Admission:  AUD15

Photo of Annie Liebovitz by John Keatley

These are a few of my favourite things..Anthropologie

The November 2010 Anthropologie catalogue is out.   !!Hooorah!!  It is my favourite catalogue to pour through. Best done in a comfy chair with a nice cup of tea and a little biscuit or two.   Sadly, we are not lucky enough to have Anthropologie in Australia.  However, they do ship here.  Good thing with Christmas just around the corner.  No need to miss out on any of the lovelies.  Although some of their pieces are way above a crafty girls budget, the ideas are wonderful and sure to spark up some creative ideas of your own.  Catalogues are great for this.  Just check out this beautiful example.

Here are some of their new pretties:

All photos property of Anthropologie