designerlicious

Those who know me have a fair understanding of my obsession with crafts…  obsession being an understatement. I am not sure why, but I feel the intense desire to learn every craft know to man, and as such I have hundreds of UFO’s (no, not the flying kind - un finished objects, though I know if aliens came to earth I would want to learn all of their crafts as well).

Anyway enough waffling on, you get the point.

One of the crafts I have taken a small obsession with recently is Scrapbooking (or paper crafts).

Next Sunday at our lovely Brown Owls monthly meet I will finally be able to pass on some of the skills and techniques I have learned in this craft through my tag making class. I am so excited!

Below are some images of the little projects we will be making. I have tried to keep them small and uncomplicated, though at the same time teaching as many techniques as possible. (has to suit beginners through to experienced paper crafters - and at the same time only take a maximum of 3 hours to create)

I’m charging $5 for the class; God only knows that scrapbooking is one, if not the most expensive craft/hobby to start up (I don’t even want to think about how much I have spent over the years…) so keeping the costs to a minimum was also a factor.

I think the tags I have made are cute, if I do say so myself, and really hope my friends like them and enjoy making them!

Thank You tag.

Techniques learned

• Using a handpunch
• Basic paperflower making
• Using Brads
• Distressing
• Handstitching

Dream tag.

Techniques learned

• Using a corner punch
• Embossing
• Using Stickles
• Using Electronic Cutting machines (Making memories slice)
• Hand stamping
• Using Acetate
• Making basic 3d Butterflies
• Using coloured chalks

 Last but not least…

Sweet tag

I haven’t yet finished this one, so I don’t want to spoil things by showing the unfinished item. A quick trip to spotlight tomorrow to pick up some pink buttons and It’s all done, but I thought I would post up a sneak preview just to wet your appetite a bit.

 That’s all of them. So let me know what you think.

Hard at work, our design team…who only stopped designing to pose for photos or eat from the cheese platter.

5 pairs of hands do NOT make light work.. especially when you are working on a miniature model!

I have decided to post every Tuesday about things I love designed and made by other bloggers…..









Today I love BESPOKE PRESS. (Blog) (Shop)




If I ever got married again I would love to get some gorgeously decadent invitations made by the talented people behind Bespoke Press.

Letterpress (in my opinion) is one of the most beautiful forms of printing. In a world where everything is going digital and mass produced, there is something spiritually soothing about the tactile and embossed surface of a letterpress print.




There are quite a few places where you can acquire letterpress invitations, stationary, prints, business cards etc, but I think it is the intricate and detailed work of Bespoke Press that sets them apart. Reading their blog gives a great insight into the amount of work that actually goes into each and every individual print, from design stage up, to the finished product.




Bespoke Press along with doing custom orders, also sell a range of prints, cards and note cards.

I have often thought of maybe getting some business cards done, but I do not think I could bring myself to hand over “my precious” gorgeous letterpress cards to random people.

I absolutely adore the stunning typography below……









Rich colours with intricate detail designs…. (*droolworthy*)

These are the type of invitations that you couldnt bear to throw away.




All Images courtesy of Bespoke Press.




I am sure I am not alone when I say I wish I could learn this beautiful style of printmaking. If anyone knows of place that offers courses in Letterpress in the Brisbane area, please let me know.

I attended the Euroluce showroom opening last night in Brisbane. There were heaps of gorgeous light fittings, which looked great in the semi industrial / warehouse space.

Here is one of my favourites……

Cicatrices
Designer: Philippe Starck
Year: 1998.

Below are some images of the night….. did I mention it was a beach party.

Ethereal - the things dreams are made of.

The Field of light installation by Bruce Munro, is so beautiful and ethereal it should have been called field of dreams.

This installation project was installed in October 2008 on the grassy roof of the visitor’s centre at the Eden Project in Cornwall.

“ The field of light  was originally conceived fifteen years ago during a trip through central Australia. The red desert had an incredible feeling of energy; ideas seemed to radiate from it along with the heat. The field of light installation was one idea that landed in my sketch book and kept on nagging at me… it just had to be done” Bruce Munro

All Images courtesy of Field of light website - click here

How beautiful would an installation of these look in a quiet corner of the garden. A special whimsical place that brings back childhood daydreams of faeries in the bottom of the garden.

Only just recently I realised the importance of surrounding myself with things that I find beautiful and inspiring. This is not a new concept by any means, but I think it has taken on new meaning and importance in the last couple of years. With everything that is going on in the world (fire storms, financial crisis, wars… to name a few) there more and more things that cause stress and anxiety in our lives.  How refreshing to have that little thing; wether it be a painting, a special peice of furniture, a handmade bag or anything else, however simple,  that makes you smile just once a day.

The Stitches and Craft show is on again in Brisbane. (One of my favourite craft shopping events).

And you only have a few days left* to grab a copy of “Real Living” magazine and score yourself a coupon for 2 for 1 entry. Considering entry is $16 per person, this means a huge saving. If you grab your closest crafting buddy to split the cost, you can spend the dollars you save on more crafting supplies! (heaven forbid)

*(the new April issue of Real Living magazine is due out at newsagents approx March 3rd, and Im not sure they will have the same offer again)

The same offer is valid for Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide Shows as well.

A little while ago I became a prefect for the Brisbane chapter of Brown Owls, a crafting group and the brain child of Pip from Meet Me at Mikes.

So today, after a lot of busy organizing behind the scenes by myself and the other three wonderful prefects

Rebecca, Belinda and Emily we had our first Brown Owls meet.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect (being that I had never met any of the other members before) but i ended up having a great time!

Turn out was pretty good (approx 15 members) and the atmosphere was friendly and chatty.

Bel baked some delicious cupcakes for the whole group….yes, those are icing owls on top (genius!)

Bel and Em, two of the other prefects hard at work.

A lot of the girls chose to make my badge kits at the meet, and I felt like such a proud mother! It was great seeing how everyone personalized their badges and I was jealous of how skilled some of these ladies were with a needle and thread.

One of my problems with crafting and finding time to make things is that none of my friends are really into it. The meet today made me realise exactly just what I was missing by hiding away in my craft room alone.
Wonderfully talented people to inspire, and share your joy with, to help you when you hit a crafting snag (yes the letters do have to be written backwards when you transfer on an embroidery pattern) :p , and just to have a good old fashioned giggle with.
I had heaps of fun today and hopefully I will make some great friends from the whole experience.

Probably not what you were envisioning, and defiantly not one of my good photos (11pm photo shoots aren’t my forte) but I hope you like it anyway.

One of my big passions is crafting using recycled or utilized materials, so of course my first ever tutorial has to include this element.

You Will Need :-

• Scissors

• Sewing Needle

• Thread or Embroidery floss

• Scrap pieces of felt and fabric

• Badge pin

Instructions

1. Print out the oval template.

Here - oval_template

2. Cut 2 oval shapes from felt.

3. Take 1 of the felt oval shapes (this with be the back of the badge) and sew a badge pin to the back.

4. Take your scrap fabric peices and cut 3 circles of different sizes.

Note - these circles do not have to be perfect or even, but must be smaller than the oval felt shapes.

5. Arrange the circles on top of your other felt oval (this will be your badge front) until you are happy with how it looks. Remove the top 2 circles of fabric. (you should have one still positioned)

6. Using a running stitch, stitch around the circle remaining on your felt 3-5mm from the edge. Then using the blunt edge of your scissors fray along the edges of your sewn circle. Note - Do not fray too close to the stitching; The frayed area should look uneven and rough.

7. Using your scissors, neaten the frayed area by evening it out.

8. Now arrange the second fabric circle and use running stitch to sew 3-5mm in from the edge. Once finished, fray and trim the edge as before.

9. Now arrange the last fabric circle and use running stitch to sew 3-5mm in from the edge. Once finished, fray and trim the edge as before. If you plan on embelishing the badge further, (with beads, or decorative stitching) now is the time to do it.

10. Line up and place the oval badge front good side upwards on top of your badge back peice. It should be assembled exactly how you want it to look when finished.

11. Starting between the layers (to hide the knot) use running stitch to sew both pieces together.

YOU ARE NOW FINISHED!!!!

As this is my first ever posted tutorial, I would love any feedback and would absolutely love to see images of your finished project.

Watch this space….well not exactly this space, but this blog. I had promised that I would be posting a tutorial here today for the above mentioned badges, but unfortunatly due to circumstances beyond my control, I will not get time to post this up tonight.

Its comming… I promise!

After ages and ages of toying with the idea I finally opened my own little shop.

Making cute gifts for family and friends is always rewarding, so I love the idea of being able to share this with other people.

My first little project has been to create some little badge making kits for my Brown Owls craft group here in Brisbane.

My little blue bird kit is only $4, so pretty much just covers materials costs, but I have found the whole process so rewarding, that I am happy to make them. I am excited to package all the kits and at the same time nervous thinking about handing out the purchases on Sunday and hoping everyone who bought one will love them as much as I do.

My other little kit is the cream or brown owl badge kit for $6. Making the prototype was quite an effort and made me decide to substitute the cream knit fabric in the kit (which frayed terribly and was difficult to sew through) with a more user friendly felt.

Hopefully the feedback is all positive…fingers crossed!