New dolls coming soon...here's a little sneak peak.

For ages now I've been planning to make my own logo and then carve it into a rubber stamp myself. I love making things and thought this would be a fun and not too difficult or time consuming thing to do. I was wrong.

I think sometimes it's good to outsource those jobs that require just a bit of professional experience and skill. Like my logo and stamps. 

So I asked the lovely, talented and patient Annette from Ginger Blue Graphics here in the Northern Rivers to help me create this logo which I'm so pleased with.

And these awesome rubber stamps (with beautiful wooden mounts made from Western Australian Jarrah) are made by Scott at Penrith Rubber Stamps in Sydney. I could not be happier.

Matt and I had the beautiful task of making the arbour for my friend's wedding over the weekend. I made the flowers and he and the kids collected the branches and vines. It looked beautiful and was the most perfect day.

The flowers were really easy to make so I thought I'd share how I made them with you...

You will need:
Polyester or rayon lining fabric in cream and leaf green,
Candle and matches,
Scissors,
Needle and thread.

Instructions (for one flower)

Step 1:
From the cream fabric, cut out three circles about 10cm in diameter, and two smaller circles about 7cm in diameter. Cut one circle from the green fabric about 7cm in diameter. 

Step 2:
With your scissors, make five cuts (evenly spaced) into each circle from the edge of the circle towards the centre but don't cut all the way into the middle. These will be the petals (or leaves in the green fabric).

Step 3:
Hold each circle of fabric over a candle flame without letting the fabric actually touch the flame. The heat will make the edges of your fabric curl up like a flower petal and seal the edge to prevent fraying.  Turn your fabric slowly to curl all the edges. Repeat for all circles.

Step 4:
Arrange the layers of petals - green layer at the bottom, then the larger layers and finally the smaller ones. Make a couple of stitches in the centre of the circles, through all the layers and secure. You could leave your flowers flat and open or make a few stitches in the bottom to bring the petals up and together slightly like I've done. 

I threaded a large needle with thick cotton and sewed all of my flowers onto a garland. You could sew or glue yours onto a hair clip or brooch, or use it to finish off your gift wrapping, a corsage or make them into a bouquet. Whatever you like. Enjoy!
  

Psst...I'll be listing 3 new dolls, a large owl and some whales in my Etsy shop tomorrow night - Wednesday 22 October at 6:00pm (Australian eastern daylight time).

Busy busy busy... some new pieces will be available in my online store soon.

I'm busy working on some pieces for the upcoming group exhibition at Auguste Clown Gallery in Melbourne for November. It's called 'Return to the Wild' and will be featuring some of my favourite artists, which you can see listed on the flyer below. It's all very exciting. I'll share more in the coming weeks.

Finishing up my last made-to-order doll for a while. I'm going to start work on a new group of dolls and other new creatures which will hopefully be finished and available by Christmas. I'm really looking forward to making some new things...

Just bought 'Go to sleep Jessie!' by Libby Gleeson and Freya Blackwood. Such a beautiful little story... and if you look carefully, you'll see a little grey Willowynn fox hiding throughout the pages (thank you Freya!).

Arts Northern Rivers are hosting a fantastic pop up gallery space in Lismore this month displaying some beautiful local artwork (including some of mine). I'll be running a workshop called 'Soft Sculpture Creation' at the space on Saturday 22 August.

I'll be sharing some soft toy design and construction techniques, and helping you to transform a drawing into a three dimensional hand-stitched fabric shape.

Click here for more info or to book your spot.

Well it took me months and months to get this finished but finally the sewing pattern for my bunny doll (and bear) is ready for you to download. It's full of easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step photos and is the perfect project for the advanced beginner sewer wanting to tackle a slightly more complicated soft toy project that includes darts and gussets.

Some hand and machine sewing experience is recommended but really, I think anyone could give this one a go...and you get a cute little friend at the end of it.

I can't wait to see how you go...please just ask if you have any questions and I'd love to see photos of your finished bunnies or bears.

My fist royal doll is finished. She's wearing a little copper crown made for me by Maike of Maike Browning Jewellery and her dress is made from elderberry-dyed silk (also given to me by Maike - you can read about our exchange on my blog here).

This one set off for North Carolina this morning...