Saturday 13 June 2015

Liberty, Unicorns and Rainbow Make For A Little Girls Paradise

I just have to share pictures of this gorgeous unicorn doll that I finished making for my unicorn-crazy-daughter Isla today. The pattern is Dolls and Daydreams. I think I've found my next obsession! There are so many gorgeous dolls to try. The elephant is definitely up next!!
So here she is. We named her Skyla Unicorn. Her sweet little body and crown are made up in Liberty Art Fabric - Garden Wonderland print. I wrapped her horn in gold wool, and tipped it to the side a bit for something different.
Liberty Print Unicorn Doll Handmade in Australia Laura Blythman Toucan Print Sonny Angels
Skyla Unicorn, handmade with Liberty fabric - seen sitting here next to Laura Blythman's Toucan print.
I couldn't wait to see the look on Isla's face, and it was worth all the hard work. Her face lit up like the sun and she asked if that was her unicorn. She was absolutely thrilled and cuddled her for hours.
Skyla Unicorn, handmade with Liberty fabric - seen sitting here next to Laura Blythman's Toucan print.
Liberty Print Unicorn Doll Islas New Softie Rainbow Room Liberty Bedhead Flora Flamingo By CastleHandmade Ava Unicorn By Ladedah Kids Print Tall Blank Wall Feather Crown Rainbows and Whimsy Adairs Canvas Prints Liberty Art Fabric Patchwork Cushions Harlequin Quilt
Love at first sight.
Cuddles
Liberty Print Unicorn Doll Garden Wonderland Libertygram Crochet Unicorn Ladedah Kids Flora Flamingo Castle Handmade Girls Toy Interior Rainbow Room Decor Handmade
Sitting with her new friends
Here's a picture of the view of Isla's bed and her wall on this side of the room. To say we love to display our favourite things is an understatement! There's plenty of unicorn love here. The sweet little crochet unicorn is from Ladedah Kids. I made a wall decal of a unicorn for Isla several weeks ago from Liberty Art Fabric print Kayoko. There's printed unicorn pictures from the internet and a gorgeous picture that Isla's nanna drew for her to decorate.


Also on the wall, from the left, is a Love Banner from Captain & Co. Tasmania. I made the bunting from triangles left-over from Isla's harlequin quilt. The canvas prints are from Adairs. The "Just The Way You Are" print is from Tall Blank Wall. It is hanging from a Down To The Woods Cloud Hanger, with a Rainbows and Whimsy Feather Crown perched on top. To the far right is a Zilvi Heart Dreamer. And at the very top is a flower that Isla made at school.


On the bed is a bunch of Liberty fabric cushions - more available in my Rhapsody and Thread online store. The crochet flamingo is the beautiful work of Castle Handmade.


Both quilts are my handiwork. The harlequin quilt was a project I tackled to compliment the Liberty Art Fabric print Small Susannah that I used to cover the bedhead. I'm a big fan of harlequin and couldn't resist adding such a huge splash of colour to Isla's room. And the quilt at the bottom of the bed is Isla's first quilt and my first ever patchwork project. I wanted to showcase my favourite Liberty print Marina Seaflower. I chose a pattern that looked like the print would be framed and surrounded by a wider variety of Liberty prints. It will be treasured forever.

Rainbow Girls Room Interior Decor Barnrum Colour Harlequin Patchwork Bunting Love Banner Captain Co Canvas Prints Adairs Print Tall Blank Wall Feather Crown Rainbows and Whimsy Zilvi Dreamer
Islas handmade quilts and unicorn collection
And this is the view of the other side of Isla's bedroom. There is so much love for Australian handmade in that picture!!

The Liberty Bow Garland is available in a wide range of Liberty prints in my Rhapsody and Thread online store. The felt ball garland hanging underneath is Little Rosie and Me. The "IslaSkye" wall hanging is a gold mirror by Arlo and Co. The Liberty Cloud Mobile is Little Puddles. The Gold Heart Wall Hanging is also available in my Rhapsody and Thread online store. The stunning Harlequin Dress and Pom Pom Tutu hanging on the dresser are both Rock Your Baby. The Toucan Print on top of the dresser is Laura Blythman. My hubby made the house shadow box for me so that I could store special trinkets such as Isla's first baby Sketchers and her gorgeous Feather Crown from Rainbows and Whimsy.

The gigantic print is Helen Dardik, which I purchased from Ollie Rose Online. The Lion Face cushion on the chair is Dias Delana in Madrid, Spain. The chair and the dolls bed are repainted Ikea pieces. And on the floor is a felt ball rug available from Little Rosie and Me.

Rainbow Girls Room Decor Interior Wall Art Helen Dardik Rhapsody and Thread Liberty Bow Garland Felt Ball Garland Rug Little Rosie and Me Arlo and Co Mirror Little Puddles Liberty Cloud Heart Banner Laura Blythman Toucan Print


Wednesday 10 June 2015

Boys Rooms Are Meant To ROAR

An update on Logans room! He's growing into such a, well a BOY! He's loud and crazy, and jeepers he loves to ROAR! Even when he's in trouble - especially at the dinner table... I raise my voice and point my finger and threaten no jelly... and he just roars in my face. It's so hard not to laugh.

 

His personality shines in these photos. He absolutely adores dinosaurs and carts that giant t-rex around all the time. He loves chasing Isla with it! Recently I bought him a beautifully made crochet dinosaur from Ladedah Kids. The RAAAA pillow is Freddy Alphabet. The Big Bear Cushion and bedding are both Adairs. And my favourite piece is the RAWR print by Tall Blank Wall.

Boys Animal Theme Room Decor Interior Dinosaur Roar Rawr Print Tall Blank Wall Freddy Alphabet Cushion Little Rosie and Me Felt Ball Garland Essi and Co Crown Ladedah Kids Crochet Dinosaur Adairs Bedding Harvey Norman Bed Target Circle Shelving

 

Dinosaur Animal Boys Room Decor Interior Ladedah Kids Crochet Softie Dinosaur Adairs Bear Cushion Bedding Sonny Angels Barnrum Australian Kids Rooms Rawr Tall Blank Wall Print Wall Art

 

Dinosaur Animal Boys Room Decor Interior Ladedah Kids Crochet Softie Dinosaur Adairs Bear Cushion Bedding Sonny Angels Barnrum Australian Kids Rooms

 

Dinosaur Animal Boys Room Decor Interior Ladedah Kids Crochet Softie Dinosaur Adairs Bear Cushion Bedding Sonny Angels Barnrum Australian Kids Rooms

 

Saturday 6 June 2015

Learning Courthouse Steps Via Jen Kingwells Quilt Lovely Book - In Liberty Of Course

The latest quilting book "Quilt Lovely" by the incredibly talented Jen Kingwell is nothing short of amazing. I still find myself quite intimidated by most quilting blocks - until I've tackled and mastered them (after much cursing and usually two bottles of wine).

 

I couldn't resist learning the Courthouse Steps Block through this gorgeous heart block. The pattern in the book actually calls for a bunch of blocks to make that very sweet cushion as seen below. I doubt I'll complete the entire project... I wish I had/made more time for personal projects. My heart is actually set on creating a hoop wall of newly learned blocks... Fingers crossed I can pull it off. I'm certain there will be plenty more Jen Kingwell blocks to learn and proudly display!!

 

So here's a look at the inspiration and Liberty scraps I want to use. Oh and I chose the Liberty print Travelling Threads as my 'neutral/low volume' print - which isn't exactly what Jen means by low volume... but I wanted to use Liberty and this was the best I could find in my stash.

So I found the pattern quite easy to follow. The only trouble I found was working out the order in which the cut pieces had to be arranged as this is not explained. I know that more experienced quilters would work this out very easily. But as a novice, I had to do a bit of deducing and scribbling on my book. I kind of pieced them together the way I thought they would go - as you can see below! I balanced the prints as best I could. In hindsight, I wish I hadn't included the yellow Kayoko print as it draws the eye too much in the finished block - but I found it hard to resist that gorgeous yellow.

I laid them out in the order to sew - that made the most sense to me. Well it kind of made sense, in the sense that I had to recheck every step 5 times to make sure I was doing it right!

And this is how my little blocks worked out. At the time I couldn't envision the end result, but they pieced together easily once I got my rhythm.

Sewn together, amazing!

Overall, I really enjoyed it! I find that I get really stressed when I'm learning a new technique and don't just relax and enjoy the time. I worry that I'm making mistakes and hate not knowing how it's going to work. I think that's because I'm a step-by-step person. I can't read a pattern or recipe and just figure it out. Maybe in time, with practice, learning, experience, and wisdom, that relaxed nature might develop.

 

Next up, I want to learn Jen Kingwell's Pinwheel Block. Can't wait!!

#inlibertyofcourse #libertyprint #libertyfabric #travellingthreads #betsy #kayoko #john #gemma #tatum #jenkingwell #jenkingwelldesigns #courthousesteps #quiltlovely #patchwork #rhapsodyandthread

 

Liberty Fabric Unicorn Wall Decal

Liberty Fabric Unicorn Wall Decal Kayoko Print Girls Rainbow Room Colourful Decor Wall Art
The welcoming party

In keeping with Isla's unicorn obsession, I thought I would attempt to make a wall decal from Liberty Fabric! And it worked, hooray!! It's not a traditional moveable vinyl decal like the huge range available these days. But it's a unicorn and it stuck on the wall, and it's perfect really so no complaints.

 

Isla named her Rosetta and sings to her at night. How gorgeous is that?!

Here are some pictures of her talking to her and playing on her bed with almost every single teddy she could get her hands on.

Girls Rainbow Room Decor Interior Barnrum Liberty Fabric Addict Handmade Rhapsody and Thread Adairs Unicorn Love Three Little Foxes Heart Top Zilvi Dreamer Tall Blank Wall Print Rainbows and Whimsy Feather Crown Softies Toys Harlequin Australian Kids Rooms
Girls Rainbow Room Decor Interior Barnrum Liberty Fabric Addict Handmade Rhapsody and Thread Adairs Unicorn Love Three Little Foxes Heart Top Zilvi Dreamer Tall Blank Wall Print Rainbows and Whimsy Feather Crown Softies Toys Harlequin Australian Kids Rooms

Happy days.