the bridesmaids dresses

earlier this summer i was asked to sew all the bridesmaids dresses for a wedding. my friends mitch and amada got hitched last week and it was a beautiful wedding on a beautiful day. i was fortunate enough to get to spend about 10 minutes with the bridesmaids to get some pics of the dresses, here they are!

and of course i had to make a little dress for aya to wear to their wedding as well. this one is made out of all recycled materials. most of the laces used on it are antique or vintage and i drew the butterflies and screen printed them.

thanks charlene, clarissa, and kassy for looking gorgeous in the dresses and thank you so much amanda for having me contribute to your very special day! congratulations mitch and amanda, hope you're livin it up in maui!!

upcoming craft projects

every spring i get super inspired, i become more productive as an artist/ crafter than any other time of the year. so i've been taking on new projects. i was going to build aya a dollhouse from scratch but when i saw this handcrafted one at an abbotsford thrift store (mcc) for $20 i decided to do some doll house reno's instead. it's now one of ayas favorite things ever, it entertains her for hours. we have filled it with all sorts of animals (mostly mamas and babies) and it's the 'animal house'. it needs a serious paint job (inside and out) and all new flooring. i will be posting after pictures once it's finished, i'm pretty excited about this little/big project i've decided to take on!

and i had been putting off fabric shopping for quite some time. it's one of my guilty pleasures. i find beautiful fabric and know exactly what i want to make out of it and then don't always find the time. so my fabric collection goes back quite a few years (seven years give or take). so when i got it more organized, cleared out some of what i'd probably never use, and finished some old projects, i decided to reward myself with a trip to fabricana. i picked out some fabric for some baby dresses i'll be making aya this spring/ summer. i looove the butterfly fabric. i got tons of it so i can do upholstery with it or whatever.

i've been buying some shirts for aya as well to alter and turn into baby dresses. i love altering more than design even. i just love turning something ok into something great. these aren't something i would personally wear but i think they'll make super cute baby dresses. i've almost finished the owl one. when they're finished i'll be posting a diy on how to turn a shirt into a baby dress so when moms grow tired of old shirts they never wear, their little girl can have something cute & 'new' in a few simple steps!

 

happy crafting and happy spring!

♥

tibetan skull dress

i really really want to go fabric shopping!! however, i have so much fabric and minimal space for storing it. i am going through it all and making whatever comes to mind out of whatever i feel somewhat inspired to use. i'm really liking making baby clothes and accessories lately because they are small, pretty easy, and don't use much fabric. i used to screen-print, a lot! every time i did i would do a test run on some scrap fabric. i saved most of them. so when i found this old tibetan skull print i decided to turn it into a summer dress.

i've also been covering baby hangers (like the one in the photo above). i got the idea from this blog and have been adding bow ties to them.

tibetan skull drawing by jamie macpherson

 

happy crafting
♥

diy baby bow

here's a little diy tutorial for a really simple button bow that can be sewn onto a shirt, dress, or headband. all you need is: cool fabric, scissors, a button, thread & a needle...& maybe an iron if you're feeling ambitious.

step 1: cut fabric. i cut this piece 4.5"x6" for a bow on a small dress. once cut, fold your fabric in half and hold it up to the garment to visualize the sizing (remember it will be missing a 1/4" seam allowance once sewn) use your intuition! 

step 2: fold  fabric in half lengthwise (ironing is optional) and sew along two edges with a 1/4" seam allowance. leave one side open for the next step.

step 3: turn fabric right side out. sew an invisible stitch along the side that was left open.

step 4: sew a loose stitch along the middle of the fabric (double up your thread to prevent breakage).

step 5: pull thread to tighten fabric and secure with a few knots. you might want to do a few back stitches for this step to tighten a little more.

 you can then attach the bow to a garment (dresses or shirts work well) by sewing a button onto the middle of the bow and through the bow and garment.

hope you enjoyed this little tutorial

♥

aya's 1st birthday

we had aya's first birthday's these last couple Sundays, one with family and one with friends. i was telling a fellow mom at the park that i threw two and she was saying it's not really worth the effort because they don't remember it anyway. but in our ideal state we live our lives in the here and the now...i think all babies live like that. and aya had fun! she loves hanging out with people and especially other babies, so it was well worth it for me. plus she'll have 1st birthday photographs to "remember" it by:)

my mom got her this little rocking horse which she loves!

happy birthday aya! xx

crafting

i've been doing a lot of crafting lately, i made a bird mobile...

and hung it above ayas bed...

 

 i stumbled upon the idea here... http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/2008/05/16/bird-mobile/

and you can download the pattern here...  http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/birdpattern1-1.pdf

i made a doll for alice and a doll for aya. they didn't turn out how i was expecting them to, they're more like little aliens but aya loves hers!

 i've been making more owls...

i decided it was time to start doing more upholstery, it's one of my favourite things to do; taking something old and turning it into something new. i found this beat up old chair at a garage sale and had to have it. i wish i had a before picture, but here it is now post refinishing and recovering...

and these are pillows i made for aya, i had to get this fabric when i saw it!

lots more crafty things to come <3

i ♥ crafts

i've been feeling so inspired this spring & doing lots of crafting. here are some boxes i made, i can always use more boxes for my trinkets...

i would like to note that the lid of this box is a collage of paint, lace and the piece of art is by anahata katkin. i almost bought one of her paintings in hawaii but got a book of her art instead...i am in love with it! you can check out her stuff at http://anahata.typepad.com/my_weblog/

 i drilled some knobs on and the boxes tie shut with lace

every spring i plant new life, this spring i decided i will only plant lavender and lots of it. it loves the sun and i face west with a huge wall of windows so it makes sense and will smell lovely.

 and i made a family of owls for aya. i used cotton prints and linens. she loves them! i think babies love stuffies with big eyes

happy spring!

 

38 weeks

me & jamie are having a baby! probably in two weeks! here are some photos of 30~36 weeks in no particular order...

i've been making critters for the baby & so have some of my friends, it has a pretty odd but hilarious collection. right now i'm making a really stitched up sad teddy bear. i think he'll fit in great with these guys. they can be friends.

& then somewhere along the way my feet started to disappear...