New jewellery creations

I just wanted to share with you my most recent jewellery creations. I made these for the market I attended and will either pop the the leftovers on etsy or take some into the gallery I supply now that the market is over.

Above are some little pins I made from vintage brooch fittings and tiny optometrist test lenses.

Above are simple mild steel chains with freshwater pearls.

A few pendants made from mild steel chain, made by me, vintage optometrist lenses with images from my collections of antique French postcards and freshwater pearls. I quite fancy the close up image of the Eiffel Tower.

Above are some chains and a bracelet made from mild steel and antique shoe buttons.

And above is a brooch made from silk dupion, a 1940's German glass heart button and a faux pearl drop. These were a bit of a hit so I will definitely be making more.

There you have it!

I have some new scarves too that I will show you next time :)

Have a good day!

xx

My Parisian pouches

Thank you for all of your  supportive comments about my Parisian Scarves the other day.

It makes me feel I am on the right track. Only 2 days to go until it's market day for me so I thought I'd share more goodies with you.

Here are my Postcard Pouches.

Handmade by me from digitally printed organic cotton sateen I had printed by Spoonflower.

It's a lovely fabric. The designs have come from my postcard collection and the pouches show the front and the reverse of the postcards, with a zipper and simple calico lining.

"Red Stamp"

"Eiffel Scene"

"Bois de Boulogne"

"L'arc de Triomphe"

What do you think? I'm pretty happy with them.

I have my jewellery to show you as well, but that might happen after the market. I still have a few things to do and am still avoiding the pricing.

Below is the details of the market. It's a good one and hopefully a few of you can drop by to say hello.

Well, thank goodness for Friday. It was been so warm! Today is another warm day but might end in a bit of a storm, so that will bring us some relief.

Also, a friendly reminder that if you wish to join in on the Christmas Good Mail Club, sign up ends on Sunday night. Info here.

xx

Designed by me... Parisian Scarves!

Silk chiffon scarf approx 1x2 metres.

I am really thrilled to be sharing my new creations with you. I have been working on these for what seems like a year and finally it has happened!

I present my Parisian Scarves! Using digitally printed images from my antique Parisian postcard collection, I have created a range of scarves. The fabrics I have chosen are silk chiffon (it's a nice, weighty one), a simple cotton voile and a very soft 85%wool/%15 silk blend stole. There's also a modal fabric stole that I am currently waiting on.
 

So why has it taken so long and what and I going to do with them?

Well, I have been trying to source a printer for such a long time. Spoonflower in the US is great, but the fabrics do not print through to the reverse, making them unsuitable for scarves. There's a printer in Australia but when I investigated with them, they did not print on scarf fabrics, plus their higher costs would have made it very difficult for me to make a dollar from selling them (though I would have loved to have sourced locally). I found another in the UK whose fabrics looked good, but the costs were just beyond my means. Then, earlier in the year I spoke with a scarf designer at the Finder's Keepers Market in Melbourne and she suggested India as a place to look. So, tonnes of emails to different companies later, I found one (a family business) with reasonable pricing, good communication who could offer a range of fabrics that I desired. Yay!! I took the plunge, sent off my massive image files and waited for my parcel to be couriered to me just a week later!

Cotton voile approx 1x2 metres

Cotton voile approx 1x1 metres - more of a necktie style

And I'm really happy. I had a couple of samples of the wool/silk stole printed, though as these are ready-made they are much more costly, I think they're worth it. The other fabric I had printed in lengths that I have cut into a couple of different sizes and hemmed the edges myself.

Sorry about the creases! This is my (almost) square Eiffel scene in cotton voile.

I am going to present these at a local design market this coming Sunday, but have to admit, I'm rather shy to put these new goodies out there. What if no-one likes them? How do I price them so they are affordable, but make me a little money (so I can get more designs printed)? When I look at stores in the city, like Country Road that sells their scarves for around $60 or more, I think that a similar price for my scarves must be reasonable as they're much more exclusive! I'd like to get them up on Etsy as well, but I'll wait until after the market.

As usual, I'd love your thoughts and feedback here :)

xx

My art practice - what have I been up to?

It seems like so long since I have posted about my art/craft practice. Maybe that's because it has been a while since I have created something. I have been feeling a little bit enthusiastic lately so thought I'd share a few bits with you.

After three attempts I finally finished my Paris zippered pouch! I just couldn't get the lining and zipper in neatly enough for my somewhat exacting standards. I was trying to create a little lip so the zipper wasn't very visible, but it was just impossible given I was also trying to sew in lining at the same time. So frustrating. So I did a bit of Googling, bought a metal zip and had another go. Success! I'm happy with it and think I might make a few more.

I have also been busily creating a bundle of jewellery - necklaces, pendants, bracelets and the brooches above (also showing the reverse side of the pouch ). I am loving the vintage brooch fitting on the right so much that at the moment I know I am unable to part with it. I'd like to get some fabricated from this design, but that's a whole other story.

The final thing that I have been working on for SUCH A LONG TIME is getting my fabric designs printed so I will be able to make them into lovely scarves. These will feature vintage images similar to above. It has not been an inexpensive exercise, but one I really wanted to do. Hopefully my samples will arrive soon, some lengths of chiffon and cotton and a sample wool/silk stole. Exciting.

I'm contemplating a redo of my Etsy store to stock these bits and pieces and perhaps doing a market, but I'm yet to decide.

I'd love to know your thoughts and get a little feedback on my designs (good or bad) :)

If you look closely you can see that ABC reporter Airlie Ward is wearing one of my necklaces! She has had it for a while now so it's nice to see that she still enjoys wearing it. This image was taken from the tv on 21 September. She has good taste, no?

xx

ps I'm joining in on Jane's Post of the Month Club 

 

Parisian needlecase

Despite my frustrated efforts to make a prototype Parisian Postcard pouch I eventually gave up (for the time being). Why is it so difficult to get a neutral 15cm long zipper in Hobart? Uggh!

So, I decided to make my mangled bits of fabric into a needlecase.

I stitched it all together, added a nice woolen felt inner and a very old button with a nice old brass shank.

Here is the interior, the image being the reverse side of the postcard.

You can see the original old 1905 postcard in the image.

I rather like it. I haven't given up on my pouch idea, but am thinking a might make a few of these guys for the Etsy store. Still a bit undecided. Opinions welcomed :)

xx

ps thank you SO SO much for your lovely comments about Molly following her operation.

I have passed on all the hugs and pats to her. She is doing well, but has a tendency to want to lick her wounds and scratch all that shaved skin. I can't blame her . The other night she managed to pull out a couple of stitches so off to the vet we went. A bandage, plastic cone thingamy and a sedative later, she came home feeling very sorry for herself. That night was horrendous! No sleep for anyone, the sedative made her very restless. Not fun! Last night was much better and we are off to the vet this morning to have the wound dressed again.
Have a lovely day friends :)
Xx

I'll do a follow up post soon x

Bloggy award!

The lovely Nellie from McCarthy Designs and Hilary from a gal and her dog passed on an award to me last week. Thank you ladies!

I'm to list 7 things about myself and pass it on to fellow bloggers.

Righto, lets see if I can think of anything interesting...

1. I have always loved animals. If I won the lottery I'd buy a big parcel of land and create an animal sanctuary where any neglected or unwanted animals could live out their lives happily.

2. I like to sew and create art and when possible, I like to combine the two. I am strictly a jeans wearing girl but when I sew I like to use sparkles and beautiful lace. I have been lucky enough to win a few prizes with my creations, including a great prize of a brand new Bernina. Cool.
3. I'm a fire bug (in a good, legal way). Having the wood fire here at Molly's Maison has helped me discover my talent for getting a good fire going. I can get flames out of a half warm coal and a bit of patience. I think it's a genetic skill passed down from my mother.

4. I'm a fan of Musicals. I grew up watching The Sound of Music, Hello Dolly, My Fair Lady, just to name a few. I love the happiness, the costumes, the songs - they're so much fun. Strangely, I've only been to see one stage musical, Wicked. I just loved it!!

5. I must have been a Bower Bird in a previous life - I just love the colour blue. I live in blue jeans, love blue flowers, blue china and secretly think all bathrooms should have at least something blue in them. I've always loved blue and while I go through phases of liking other colours, I always come back to blue.

6. I'm mildly obsessed by all things Parisian. I spent a couple of days there about 12 years ago and have been thinking about going back ever since. Standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower was simply beyond exciting! I can't explain the attraction..hmm, maybe something to do with the art galleries, gardens, the beautiful accent, fashion designers, croissants, champagne...  :)
7. When I was a child I wanted to be an Egyptologist. My friend Zeta and I planned trips to Egypt where we were going to make incredible discoveries. Zeta was going to write about them and I was going to illustrate our discoveries and adventures. Mum and Dad said no to me studying Egyptology so instead I studied art. I'd love to see the pyramids but my rather romanticised view of it wouldn't include sharing the experience with hundreds of other tourists. I like the idea of sitting there on my own to ponder the mysteries. I girl can dream...

Why is it so challenging thinking of 7 remotely interesting things about oneself?
Well, passing this on to other bloggies I invite the following ladies to take part...only if they feel inclined...
Now I sort of ignored the versatile blogger award theme and chose people who's blogs I enjoy and a couple you might not heard of...
Anja from Everyday Angels- Everyday Beauty
Annelie from Nature As I See It
Janette from My Sweet Prints
Brismod from Fun and VJ's
Edwina from the Weekend Island

Please visit their blogs for a look!

Image credits: 1 my mum, 2 google images, 3 House of Turquoise, 4 The Cherry Blossom Girl

A French treat pour moi

J'adore Etsy! This is one of my latest treats to come in the mail recently - some beautiful old ribbon, all the way from France. It was wrapped so beautifully as well! Love it!!

It has such a Parisian feel I had to snap it with my old postcards...

Now, what to do with it. I don't have any plans as yet but maybe a bit here and there on a cushion or a wearable art piece?

Trying to cool down

It is sooooo hot here today!
In fact it is currently 35degrees celcius. I'm inside trying to keep cool. I discovered these stunning pics of winter in Paris on the Cherry Blossom Girl blog via Create.

Doesn't it make you wish you were there?

Today I went to the Antique Fair in Hobart and did make a small purchase for the house. Will post later.

Hope you all have a good NYE and best wishes for a great 2010!

New jewellery

Finally!!! It has taken me months to get these finished. I have been so slack and very distracted by all the DIY-ing around the house. Now I need to get cracking on some more and hopefully I wont take so long. They are made from vintage optometrist lenses, handmade steel chain and images from a little collection of French postcards.

I so need my studio set up as I have so many things I want to do. I have some good ideas for brooches using the skills learnt at the Anna Davern workshop.

Anyway, I'll deliver these little guys to Handmark Gallery tomorrow.