Frida Kahlo Softie by craftyclaudes

For the last few weeks I have been working on this little Frida Kahlo softie/cushion as a Birthday gift for my sister.   The idea came to me watching a short film on Frida recently.  I loved her unique style, passion for her Mexican heritage and her colourful self portraits.   So after spying this gorgeous fabric on one of my recent shops

I got to sketching and practicing my pattern making skills.  Using a template of a babushka doll that I had made recently, 

Raiding my fabric stash I found these cotton napkins that I got to use for Frida's face.

 More cutting and many hours of sewing by both machine and hand.....I finally completed her in time to give to my sis.

A little poncho with pom poms made me smile.......arribaaaaa!!

 Hand stitching felt flowers for her hair piece....

 Martino let Frida enjoy a little bit of chill out time in his fave chair. She enjoyed it for a little while.  We got used to seeing her around the apartment in all stages of creation......

but now she goes home with my sis to hang out in the Queensland Sunshine.  I think Frida was a hit!  

A quick refashion:: sheer top to infinity scarf

I have been giving my wardrobe a little bit of a tidy up as we enter the cooler months.  Deciding on what to put away, what to donate and refashion. First refashion on my list was this top. 

An old top that was starting to fray.  I have always loved the colour and pattern, but was not so happy about the short sleeves and the fraying on the neckline that could not be saved without an over locker.  So I took to it with the scissors.  Basically cut it off from below the sleeves in one straight cut:

Once cut, I pinned a hem all the way around.  Sewing this proved a little tricky as I have never worked with such sheer,delicate (read: very slippery)  fabric so I had to do a little bit of research on the best way to sew a hem.  Lucky for me I remembered that back in February,  the the very clever Jenn from mytwobutterflies had kindly put up this technique for a refashion she had completed using similar fabric.  So I got to working on it and now.....here is my completed sheer infinity scarf!

I am pleased with the result and happy that I was able to save the fabric.  Now I have a little sheer scarf for all seasons....

Craftyclaudes handmade:: Pretty little Babushka Doll Softie

I have been working on a new softie/doll.  For a while now I have been researching Babushka dolls but hadn't found any that incorporated a little bit of hand sewing as well as up cycled fabrics that I liked.  So I set about designing one using a simple pattern I made on my own.

The pattern allows me to use double layers of fabric for extra strength and colour possibilities.

So on my recent visit to the Salvos I found these beautiful linen knickerbockers in a light grey. The quality of the linen is A1 - no pesky knots (slubs) in the fabric.  Although they are a very tiny size 4, for a couple of dollars I couldn't resist.  

snip snip - off with the leg!

I also found this lovely fabric napkin.  This one has a sweet, hand embroidered trim that sets off a little  applique flower.  A lot of  hand made love was put into this napkin, and just my luck, I rescued it from the fabric miscellany bin.

After cutting out the fabric pieces, I did a little hand embroidery.  A quick refresher from mum allowed me to chain stitch the eyes in a sleepy little look. A peaceful babushka ready for a nap and many hugs.  Here she is all finished!

The new Brother NS20 is working a treat. Allowing me to sew through many layers of fabric and with 40 stitches I get to experiment a little with some machine embroidery.

So there she is all finished. She is very cute and plump like a good cushion and soon leaving me to go to a new home.

Ombre Ombre - Everywhere.......

and I don't mean (misspelt) Spanish men! haha.....I mean  Ombre::  shaded or graduated tones.

Lately everywhere I look, every design, lifestyle or fashion blog I follow mentions this look.   I must admit at first I was not that keen on it, but after seeing it in different shades and looks,  I really like it.   What do you think?

image via here

images via Pinterest

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Ok I am sold.....

Apartment inspiration:: A little Anthropologie comes to Sydney.....

Recently we went looking for some deck chairs for our balcony.  So we headed to our local Freedom store *yawn*......Umm hello.....what is this we find? Did Freedom magically turn into Anthropologie overnight? Colourful rugs, cushions, knob handles, prints. The store that usually sends me to sleep with their bland (safe) colour choices simply blew me away!  Here, have a looky at just some of the pretties that caught my eye:

See what I mean? Gorgeous huh! I love these colours and the little touch of handmade and mix of interesting textures and designs. Si porfavor!

My obsession with Doilies is satisfied for another hour.....

Oh cozy, yummy teal wall....how you inspire me!

So of course now, I come back to our apartment and want to grab one big paintbrush and give the whole place a makeover - crafty stylee! 

oh and we never did get the deck chairs. How could we?  After this colourful assault on our senses, grey just felt so...meh.

Before and After projects I am loving

all images via Design*Sponge..