my creative space part 3

"Again! Again!" the Teletubbies cry. And here it is again, dear bloggers, my creative space this week :).

I'm choosing fabrics for my very first zippy pouch. I'm quite nervous with this project of mine as I have never sewn a zip before. If you find there is no mention of the zippy pouch in the new few days or weeks... well, you can guess what had become of the pouch at that time :D.

Also on my little nomadic space are two completed sumo babies.

Meet Bunnie, who loves Bunny with a Balloon.

And this is Mollie Buttons.

More creative spaces over at kootoyoo! Do hop over to Kirsty's if you're thinking of joining in the fun, or to check out the lovely spaces :).

That's all for now. I shall totter off to meet an essay deadline!
Bye bye!

I'm Coveting...

Meet Me At Mike's is having a Let's Play Tuesday, the theme being "I'm Coveting".
I love love this theme, and I could not resist joining in the fun. The list of things I'm coveting is crazily long, but I've shortened it to the bare minimum :).

1. KOKKA fabrics from cotton blue
Anything Kokka is on my list!
2. match* from tae*
A cute suitcase like this or any other vintage suitcase for me to
keep craft supplies.
3. Heather Ross Fabric and japanese sewing books from campfollowerbagslady
Cotton Friend mags - because they have such wonderful inspiration.
And some Heather Ross will be ever so wonderful!
4. Page 31 - Design Collection for Kids - from Warm 'n Fuzzy
This embroidery book which has the most awesome inspiration :)

Anything from Shinzi Katoh can be squished on the list :) :)

And the most expensive item on the list is a DSLR camera.Maybe this Canon one or this Nikon camera.
It will be ages before I'm able to get my hands on one (if I ever get one), but a girl can dream, can't she? ;)

What are you coveting for? Join in the fun at Meet Me At Mike's!

To Market, To Market!

It was a sunny winter Sunday :)

From the market in Takapuna...


To the hidden Asian cafe in Newmarket...

And finally, back to the familiar sights of the harbour in the city...

I tasted my very first Reese's Peanut Butter Cups too.
(So heavenly. How on earth did I live without Reese's before today?)
Can you tell that it was a good day? :)

Hope you're having a gorgeous Sunday too!

Rosey Buttons

I have an addiction...
...to sewing Sumo Babies.
I went through a Sumo Baby craze during the December vacation. None came back with me, and the clan is currently with family and friends in the sweltering heat of Kuala Lumpur.

And the fabrics all prepared on the previous posts? Well, they are all for producing more Sumo Babies. I cannot help sewing more of them. Chubby, tiny things do that to me :D. Also, mass producing them months ago meant that I could sew them easily from memory, 'tho they were most certainly time consuming to sew.

Anyhoo, here's the newest Sumo Baby.

Named Rosey Buttons :)

I love how the members of the Sumo Baby family have evolved over time, to reflect what I love more. More patchworky, more lacey, and more buttony than before :)

There's all for now... :)
Have a great Friday everyone! :D

Edited to add: I'm joining in Pip's contest for the chance to win her latest book *fingers crossed - I Want to win!*. If you would like to join in as well, hop over to Meet Me At Mike's to find out more!

my creative space pt 2

This week, I've been snipping into more fabrics.
Into tiny pieces for my tiny plushies.

*Hearts scraps*
And I've migrated to the floor too, for easy access to the iron.

And I've been furiously handsewing.
Oh, can you see the finished plushie peeking out from the right hand corner?
I Finally Finished One Plushie.
If you have read my (way way) earlier posts, you can probably guess what it is...
Pictures of it will go up soon!

More creative spaces over at Kirsty's!

Little Red Bunny

My first attempt at embroidery (does embroidering the eyes and noses of plushies count?), using simple backstitches, because I can hardly do more than that...

Blah. It looked so much better on paper!

Hoppity Hop, there goes the Little Red Bunny with her Red Balloon.
As she skips and hops, she says, in her little soft voice, "May your week be filled with lots and lots of balloons too!"

Today is...

...the first day of the semester 2.
One would think that I should get cracking on my course readings. Bleh. But that was not to be :D. I took a trip up to Dominion Rd instead, in a mission to find some crafty supplies. *Ahem - the shopping trip took place after my classes of course!* :D

Lace

The laces instore are really pretty. But as I chose my favourites, I was also wondering how these are to be sewn on. They look so dainty and easily torn. Ho hum ho hum. Some experimentation shall have to be done, I see... (Sorry, sewing newbie talking here) :D.

Buttons!

I finally tore open the bag of buttons I purchased earlier this month. I was so struck by the various colours, shapes and sizes of buttons stuffed in that little bag. And there were so many of them too. Looks like I'll be on a button diet for a little while.

Ahoy Matey and Learn-to-write Buttons

These pencil and spoke wheel buttons were bought in Kuala Lumpur last summer (Southern hemisphere summer). It was from a lovely shop conveniently named, "Button Shop" :).

And that's all for today... I shall be back Super Soon! :) Have a lovely Mondayyyy!

Vintage Postcards

Some lovely vintage postcards on sale on Trade Me. Too cute :)

Mabel Lucie Attwell

Phil Martin

This last one is my favourite.
The girl reminds me of a younger version of myself :D

Happy Sunday everyone! :)

My Creative Space

I love seeing crafty stations on "My creative space" hosted by Kirsty. And since I'm currently working on a project, I have joined in this week :)

Well... I don't really have a crafting space as such. I usually clear out my study table to set the sewing machine, or if I'm hand sewing, I simply bring sewing essentials onto the bed. I'm waiting for the day when I will be pricked by a homeless needle while sleeping...
So for today, my make-shift space is a mini bookshelf.

I spent last night choosing and cutting up 11 different prints for 11 plushies. It's an ambitious plan to sew up 11 plushies, considering that the new semester starts next week and an essay is due soon. But then again, I do not have a deadline to meet for the plushies :).

...Fabrics which I got this week and notions needed for the current project.

Would you like to join in the fun in showing off your creative space?
Hop over to kootoyoo!

Have a fabulous and super crafty day! :)

Lecien

I was supposed to be on a fabric diet.
But I ate a huge piece of cake yesterday :(
I should go for therapy. Or hypnosis. Anything which will make me less of a hoarder.

But what could a girl do when she found a fabric/quilting store in a Northshore suburb, selling Lecien fabrics?! *shrieks*
Have the cake of course!

1. minny muu by Lecien from Happy Zombie
2. My Folklore Fat Quarter Bundle from Phat fabric
3. Mrs March from miss matatabi
4. Lecien vintage collection from miss matatabi

I practically thrashed the boxes which held pre-cut fabrics. My friends helped me too :D. It felt good to be able to see the actual shade of colours and texture of the fabrics. It definitely beats browsing online. Also, the prices were quite reasonable - just a tad more expensive than those sold on Etsy. But I had to keep in mind that textbooks have to be purchased when the new semester rolls around next week. And the birthday gifts for several 21sts which are coming up. Bah.

So I came out of the store with only this:
Yes. Just This. Lol.


I just realised that this looks very similar to the Windham fabric which I got last month. There's something about storybook-like prints which catches my attention ... :)

My out-of-city excursion also brought me to Spotlight, where I indulged in more forbidden fabrics. That's for next time, lovelies!

Petite-ness

Browsing through the library's scarce supply of Japanese craft books, I found one on sewing Blythe (and some other dolls) clothes. I don't own such pretty dolls, but I found the photos so cute and lovely!

Japanese craft books have such lovely pictures :)

I love Green Tea :)

Green tea shaved ice from belle and rose

1. matcha souffle ＊ 抹茶スフレ from naoko123

2. matchapraline from jusan

3. Green Tea Ice Cream from Capt. Mouffette

4. Éclairs au thé matcha et histoire de pâte à choux - Matcha Tea Éclairs and Choux Pastry Stories from La tartine gourmande

belle and rose's first award :)

Some time ago, handmade romance gave me an award. Thanks so much :) I am so honoured and excited as this is my first! *Geeky, I know :D*

Me, you and blog-land:

I started reading craft-related blogs early 2008, when my family left Auckland, and what was previously "family time" became "free time". I read and learnt about things that have now become my obsession – sewing, handmades, kawaii, zakka, Shinzi Katoh and much more!
With all that reading and learning, I finally attempted sewing plushies. I started belle and rose soon after. At that time, I had little knowledge of sewing, and had no readers whatsoever. I blogged “just for fun”. And yes, I had fun, and I am still having so much fun!

It's fun because I get to share the things I made with you.

It's fun because I get to share the things I love from other sites with you.
And it's fun because I have a wonderful group of readers who support me by leaving comments, sending e-mails or just by sticking to my blog.

To me, one of the most wonderful things about having a blog is having readers like you. Thanks lovelies :). I truly appreciate it :)

BEAR HUG!

by Zari on Flickr

So here I am, passing on the blog lovin' award to 15 other bloggers. Let me tell you this: It is so DIFFICULT to choose just 15. There are so many amazing crafters + bloggers out there. From my outrageously long list of blogs in Google Reader, I somehow narrowed the list down to this:

Alcy's Hobby Room
Badskirt
Bexs Buttons
Blooming in Japan
Colors City
Hazelnuts
Hello Sandwich
Lovely Little Handmades
Mairuru
Paper-and-String
Melly & Me
Q's So Cute It Hurts
Sweet Tidings
The Dotty One
Zakka Art

Thanks again, and hugs to all!

Words + Pictures in Green

... hosted by the lovely Pip :)

Green is my favourite colour :), and I tried to find something green which I have made. This is it:

A sumo baby in green/yellow suit and a green party hat.
It was supposed made to be a clown, but it now looks more like an after-work party goer who looks a little tipsy :D.

And something even greener:

Albert Park in Spring 08.

Join the Green fun at Meet Me At Mikes! :)

The Maries

Do you remember Marie Cherrie?

The original Marie Cherrie is a brooch which I made 2 months back, and it was gifted to Hazel, Jacqui's adorable daughter.

Jacqui requested for more Marie Cherries as party favours for Hazel's upcoming party (a flattering request as Jacqui is an awesome crafter). Hence, the circle of Marie Cherries is formed :). These are for the girls, and the two Dinohs seen in the earlier post are for the boys.

The brooches were the focus of my attention for the last week. Completing this order taught me many things, mainly:

• I have to stop thinking that I am Superman (tucks red cape away in wardrobe). Grossly underestimating the time that should take in completing the brooches is not cool.
• Secondly, having a custom order is stressful. Jacqui was very nice in letting me do my "own thing" (so long they are ice creams and dinosaurs), but there is always the fear that the trust is misplaced.

Anyhoo, the order is now officially complete and was passed to Jacqui earlier this morning :). My first time selling my handmades! Hooray!
I have attempted to sell some of my stuff before. I started a Trade Me account (very similar to ebay, but TM is NZ based) a couple of weeks ago to sell the mounting handmades in my apartment. But more importantly, I needed the money to buy supplies. However, the response has been so terribly disappointing. I guess part of the reason lies in the fact that TM is mostly devoted to selling cheap, second-hand goods. Also, I think the word "handmade" scares most TM surfers off :(
I'm contemplating selling on Etsy, but taking a step towards this unknown is scary. Bleh.

Anyhoo, do visit Jacqui's lovely blog. She has a super tutorial on an adorable felt bunny that you may like to make! It has such an adorable tail, and really, who can resist adorable bunny tails? :)

Wishing you a super sunny and lovely day!

It's raining Dinohs

Hey hey lovelies! :)
I have someone - no, actually, two ones, to introduce to you all :)

I'll let them introduce themselves :D
Two Dinohs?
Hmmm...
How about Dinoh A (the one on the left) and Dinoh B (the one on the right) to avoid confusion?
Both Dinohs agree.

You Bite?!
Dinoh B: Nahhhh.... All Dinohs are super tame :)

And today was raining Dinohs!
In addition to the two brooches above, I got a new Rar Dinoh Tee!

That's all the Dinos for now :)

And before the Dinohs trot off to roam the hills
(or Albert Park up on the street I live. Whichever is nearer),
Dinoh A has something to say to you :)

Happy week to all Dinohs and to you!

PS: The Dinoh brooches are part of an order from Jacqui. I have brooches of a different design which were not as fun to photograph as the dinos. Will post photos of them as soon as I get some decent pictures of them :D.

Happy 4th of July

to all celebrating Independence Day today :)

While I do not celebrate this event, this day is special to me as it is my dad's birthday.

robin/Daddy cool by Wondermilk
4th of July Hot Dog Cupcakes by Ally Cake Designs

As some of you celebrate the night away with friends and family, I am in bed, watching TV and pigging out on junk food - my idea of having a good rest after a busy week :). For the last couple of days, there were many "catch-ups" with friends and leaving the city for the suburbs. I took the opportunity to shop for clothes and crafty supplies during my out-of-the-city excursions. This is part of my loot from Spotlight (where there was a 20% discount storewide):

I bought a bag of buttons, my first ric rac in pastel pink, polka dotted fabric in pink. And not seen here are fabric marker and a big bag of hobby/toy fill (this was a killer to carry to the bus stop and back home).
... and Three Little Pigs from an op-shop :).

I also discovered a section devoted to Japanese books in the library. There was one craft-related book, which is the art of basket-weaving. Gorgeous photos and funky creations made me squeal.

Wishing all of you a super weekend ahead!