New Notebooks And Awesome Cutesy Pouches

I recently brought a fancy new printer that has amazing colour and detail output so im exited to produce some new products with it. I've been creating some little A5 notebooks with my illustrations on them.  My lovely friend Donna Lum brought a heap from me and loved them soo much she even made an adorable felt bunny pouch to protect them. Isn't the pouch adorable. Shes hoping to open an online shop selling her kawaii felt creations, ill post a link when its open. And hopefully ill have some notebooks up in my shop soon.

April Suitcase Rummage

These are some of the pics from the Suitcase Rummage I attended on the 1st with my friend Kelly. It was a lovely day with lots of wonderful people. I think we will probably be attending again next month but id like to find another market in the brisbane area to sell my wares. im hoping to find somewhere i can reach the right demographic with a more traditional stall, maybe the brisstyle indie designer markets, not sure just yet. If there are any others you know of id love to hear about them :)

Making A Ball Joint Doll - Part 1 drawing up my plan and making the core

So Ive started working on my ball joint doll. Above is my 1:1 scale plan. For my first doll I'm not trying to follow standard BJD sizes, Bella Flora will be 25.5 cm (not including the antlers, not sure if ill put them on yet).
On my plan Ive penciled in the core sections(areas that need to be hollow). There are a couple of methods Ive seen for creation the core and Ive decided to combine 3.

For the head I'm using a 40mm styrofoam ball that Ive trimmed back to fit better. Its important to check both the front and side view.

For the body cavity I made a template from tissue paper and cut out 2 front and 2 side from a cereal box. Then used sticky tape to connect the pieces and create a box.
For the template I highly recomend making the front panel symmetrical to reduce twisting.

For the top and bottom i just covered them with tape and added a piece of thin straw to create the neck.

Ive been collecting various sized straws for the arms and legs. Im using thin bendy straws for the arms and medium straws for the legs.

So now Ive got my very strange looking skeleton and I cant wait to get started on the sculpting.

If you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer them.
Here is an great youtube video that helped me out a lot.

Ball Jointed Dolls

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I love ball jointed dolls!

For those who dont know a ball jointed doll or BJD is a doll that has ball and socket joints which allows for movement very similar to a person. Their bodies are hollow and are connected with elastic. They can vary quite a bit, some are very realistic others more stylized, the number, location and design of joins also varies.

I came across these beautiful creations a couple of years ago and have dreamt of possessing one ever since. But unfortunately they are not exactly a cheap item to collect. These last few weeks I have been doing a lot of research into them and the process of creating one. Its not an easy task, the process is very time consuming but all those i have come across say that it is an enjoyable and rewarding journey. So I have decided I am going to give it a go. I know I'm crazy but I enjoy setting myself a challenge.

At the moment I'm still rounding up all my supplies but when I get started I'm going to try my best to document my progress and maybe create some tutorials to add to the info that's out there (this is assuming it turns out half decent). Because there isn't heaps of info out there and even less that's in English.

Wish me luck : )

Echoes of Yesterday Etsy Store Now Open!

After much procrastination the Echoes of Yesterday Etsy store is finally open. Its about time I know. So to celebrate all customers will receive a free gift with their purchase.


More items will be posted soon. So stay tuned for some bow ties and other goodies.

Beautiful Bows

I am well known as a lover of bows. So I decided to start making some sweet little bow ties for the ladies.
Im still in the production stage, fine tuning my ideas and sorting out packaging. But I hope to be selling them soon. I'm considering packaging each bow tie with a paper doll like above. Any thoughts?

Etsy Obsession- The Black Spot Books

Ive been very bad at posting lately so I thought I'd quickly share with you another Etsy love of mine, The black spot books.
I have been an admirer of this shop for quite some time. It is so beautiful just to look at. The banner and photos are beautifully layed out with a strong atmosphere. I highly recommend  popping in for a browse.
My personal favorite at the moment are the little book earrings, they make me think of Harry Potter.

Etsy Obsession- Tiny Toadstool

I am in love with this girl, she makes the worlds cutest berets and scarves. Each item is handmade, hand dyed and hand embroidered. They are beautifully made filled with hours of love and hard work.

Oh how I want one for Christmas...

You can check them out here at her etsy shop.
I also recommend visiting her blog the outfit posts are amazing.

Handpainted Accessories

I have been busily collecting supplies, scribbling down ideas and experimenting. As always I have far too many half finished pieces. But I'm perfecting my processes and working toward new ideas.

Things are happening in twos at the moment. 

Wood is my material of choice. 

And for some reason I can only find one of each sock.

Somewhere between the moments that I'm running around like crazy and avoiding my work I have managed to finish a few pieces. My doll face pendants, eye brooches and cameo twins. I've also started a new painting which I'll post another time.

For Ever And A Day

This is a set of 4 handpainted coasters that I made for my mums birthday present.

Swing Tags and New Projects

Just finished making my new swing tags. 

I have used a dusty pink embossed card.

Think I may go on a hunt for a corner rounder, loving rounder corners right now.

Latest project- hand painted eye brooch.

Today I'm going to make some more of these, each one will have an individual eye colour. I'll also be giving them a coat of laquer soon.

Anyone else got some creative plans for the weekend?

Creme Dream

Ive made myself a new skirt from an adorable creme fabric that is adorned with little golden embroidered flowers and a soft wavy edge. My girly gathered mini sits snuggly on my waist and fastens with pearly buttons that run all the way down the back.

Flowers in your hair

My new handmade bobbie pins with new and vintage flowers, $5 a pair.

Two Hands

Brand new bangle design just painted today.

The design is based off one of my old paintings.

Two hands wrap around the bangle, lightly touching each other.

I have joined their wrists at the back where I plan to have some text.

But what to write? Im really not sure.

If you have any sugestions I would love to hear them!

If I cant come up with anything I will leave it blank for the buyer to personalise.

I think this my even be better as it will make the bangle more meaningful to its owner.

Let me know what you think : ).

Sundays

I have just completed the Sunday pinafore.

Bright and girly.

Candy stripe skirt.

Sunday hankie featuring an adorable little bunny riding a rocking horse.

Adorned with a blue deer button.

She's up for sale, $60(aus) Contact me if your interested.

The waist will be finished to your measurements so it fits you perfectly.