Echino Scooter Tote Bag

Just made this today - I have so much Echino fabric I thought a tote would be a good idea

New Handbags

I finally got around to using this laminated cotton.  It has a feel like oilcloth and is waterproof so can be wiped clean.  I made 2 handbags, with slightly different strap variations. One has the straps sewn into the bag and the other has them attached to the outside.  Both have a long strap so you can wear the bag across your body as well as over the shoulder and have magnetic closures.  .  The fabric is 'Carnival' by Michael Miller.  Both bags have a matching coin purse with wrist strap.  They both also have 2 internal cotton pockets and a keyring with clip so you can attach your keys and always find them!! I'm going to put these in the Pod Collective shop for $59.95 including the matching purse - a bargain!! 

December

I have slowed down a bit lately on making stuff....  have been painting Max's room and other things so haven't had a lot of new things to put on the blog.....here are a few pics of what's in the Pod Collective shop at the moment - my website/online shop has started getting busier which is great - most of my stock is in the shop at Boyne Island but I still have quite a few things in the online shop

Satchel Bags

I've been a bit slack with updating my blog lately, too much time on the computer!  So I thought it's about time I put something on.   These are the latest satchel bags I've made.  I'll have some new purses on here soon too!

Bits and Pieces

I've been making a few Kokeshi Doll Pendants lately in a couple of different sizes.  They look really cute with coloured or black leather cords.  

This is a custom order.  I just made a bag like this with recycled denim and this is a request from a friend for a birthday gift.  

Now this is something for a special person who might have a thing about cats!  It's all squashed up in this pic, but it's a hand made glass tile pendant made into a bracelet with big beautiful pink Swarovski crystals and pearl beads and a gorgeous flower toggle clasp. 

Free Envirosax!!

I just posted a special on my online shop - for any online orders between 10th and 20th of November I will be giving away a FREE envirosax shopping bag!!  these are great, I use mine all the time for groceries, kids swimming bags and they are so light and fold up in your bag.  You can check them out here

More painting

This is my latest painting of the Boyne River - acrylic on canvas.  It's about 90cm x 60cm

pegs

I love how these pegs look - covered in Japanese chiyogami papers and waiting to made into magnets...

recycled denim bag

This bag was made using the leg of a preloved pair of jeans, then I used some Japanese print fabrics to do the bird.  I love music notes fabric so used this for the leaves and the vine and legs are hand stitched with embroidery thread. 

Kombi Van

I made this Kombi Van glass tile pendant today and also started a bag like the one in the last post.  This time I putting a bird applique on it and a really cute Amy Butler brad/button.  Will post that one next...  Didn't do much else this weekend in the art or craft department but enjoyed sleeping in for a change...

Special gifts for a special birthday girl

This set is a birthday present for a special little friend of ours turning 3 - and I hope she loves it.  The applique hearts are made from a gorgous textured Japanese 'Sakura' cotton and the bag is made from preloved refashioned denim.  The necklace is hidden inside the bag and is made with some beautiful freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals and silver alphabet beads... we can't wait to give it to her tomorrow...

More little taggy quilts

Here are some I finished today...

more sewing coming very soon.....

Recently I have been doing more painting than sewing - but I am now feeling the urge to start sewing again, especially since receiving this fabric yesterday! Isn't it beautiful!   It's great having the granny flat to do all my sewing in but it's a bit dark so I've been looking for a really good lamp so I can sew at night too.  We don't have a huge range of choices around here, and after trying unsuccessfully to get help from a local business over the phone, I found a great lighting shop online where the staff were more than happy to help me and I will shortly have an excellent new lamp and be able to see what I'm doing!


So... soon I will be much more productive with my sewing and looking forward to making some special new things in time for Christmas!!  I have already been out to the shed and found some old flyscreen so plan to make some groovy beach bags with that -  like Jacqui made in an earlier post.  So keep your eye on this blog for some new interesting things coming soon.....

Little Tag Play Quilt

I recently had a market at Calliope Historical Village, a few weeks ago anyway, and had a request to make a little soft quilt with ribbon tags for a baby to use as a comforter.  So anyway, it's taken me this long to get around to doing some and this is the first finished one.  The cupcake fabric is a soft flannel and cotton polka dots on the other side.  With 12 ribbon tags it makes it something I'm sure a baby would love to hold and feel.  I have 4 more ready to sew and hopefully they'll be in the Pod shop this week.  

These would be great to take shopping and in the car to keep your baby occupied, or to lay baby’s head on when on the floor.  They have a layer of wadding in the middle to make them soft and you could clip them to your pram and baby will be occupied by all the textures of the ribbons and the colourful patterns.  They are approx 28cm x 24cm.

Cupcake excitement

I have just ordered some amazing goodies made from felt for a certain little girl for Christmas....  Aren't they gorgeous! I got them on this blogsite.   They will go very well with some special things Ali Bird is making for me.

Super crafty friends

I had to share this totally awesome bag with you.  Made by my clever crafty friend Jacqui, it's made from recycled flyscreen and made to take to the beach.  I love it, and she has used the Echino 'Migratory Birds' fabric by Japanese designer Etsuko Furuya and her own funky bias binding made just before dashing out to the beach today.

  I think I might have to make one for myself too!

Kokeshi Doll painting/collage

These were really fun to do.  They are acrylic on canvas and using Japanese Chiyogami paper for the kimono.  There are also some rhinestones to make them sparkle and some white ink for Japanese words in the background.  The top one is 40cm x 50cm and the bottom one is 30cm x 40cm. 

paintings

I've been on a bit of a roll with paintings the past week - here is one of the latest ones. This one is 'Looking to Facing Island' which is opposite Boyne Island/Tannum Sands, and it's from the perspective standing on the beach at Boyne Island. It's 75 x 60cm.

Excited about buttons

I can't wait to get these Japanese buttons, they are from an etsy shop in Taiwan. I thought it was nice to find something in Taiwan as I lived and worked there for a year in 2001. One thing that Taiwan had lots of was very cute stationery - Chinese and Japanese. I bought a heap of it so will have to post some pics on here as I still have a lot.

Pottery pendant - a joint effort!

I love this pendant! My friend Penny, who is also a member of Pod Collective made the pottery pendant, one of many she has made. It was so hard to choose which one I liked the best! So I added some brown cord with a handmade teal glass bead, an amber Swarovski crystal and a round stone bead, then put it on a leather cord. So nice to have something made by both of us! Can't wait to make some more..

Finally I have done a painting!

It's been a while since I've done a painting, and seeing my sewing machine had to get serviced I thought I'd finish this painting of the Boyne River.. I really enjoyed painting, it's been ages and now I feel like doing another one!!

a Poky Little Puppy bag

I've been dying to make this bag and finally got around to it. So it's made from pages from an old copy of 'The Poky Little Puppy' Golden book and covered inside and out with PVC. I put some orange and white polka dot fabric with it for the handles and an insert which sits in the base and added a cute badge and glued on some coloured buttons. It has a velcro closure so your things won't fall out. Now I'm off to start on the next one....

A nice surprise

Someone was very excited yesterday when she got home from school to find a parcel waiting for her!

and look who was inside! It's Lily Anne - hand made by TullyKat Alley and what I won when I entered her Blog Competition!! How exciting. Lily Anne is so beautifully made and gorgeous and she is now much loved in her new home. Holly read her a story and put her in a special place in her room so 'she won't get lost'.

Thanks Samia - we love Lily Anne

You can see more gorgeous hand made dolls like this one at

http://www.madeit.com.au/storecatalog.asp?userid=1310
and check out her blog at
http://tullykatalley.blogspot.com/

Kokeshi Doll Glass tile pendants

just a couple of pendants I made recently..

The Poky Little Puppy

How can you not love the 'Poky Little Puppy'? Well I do and so does someone else I know (and her mum). This is her 16th birthday present. It's a purse and it's made from a page and a bit from an old Poky Little Puppy Golden book - covered in PVC inside and out and it fastens with a strip of velcro. Now my next project is a shopping tote made from the other pages... better start that right now! I am having such fun today!!

Collage on old atlas page

This is what i made today...

Inspirations

I love it when I see something and it gives me lots of ideas. Well i saw these groovy patterned papers on Tuesday and thought they would go really well with some cute owls so made up these cards. I am also on a run making baby blocks, they are such fun to make, I love choosing which pieces of fabric to use. I have only had positive responses from the babies who own one and their mums all tell me how much they love looking at their bright colours and feeling them. I recently found some Amy Butler button brads which are going to look great on a linen clutch purse lined in Amy Butler fabric.

I went to Calliope Markets last Sunday and the most significant thing was the amount of dust I inhaled and how much dirt blew around over everything. I got to meet some interesting people including a couple of ladies from Belgium who were travelling around Australia and who had been in Asia the past 4 months (lucky things!). I told lots of people about the shop at Boyne Island and my online shop and had a very nice bacon and egg burger. Thanks to Vesna and Jack who came and helped me for the day and made the experience much nicer, when you have some friends to chat to.

I am in the process of doing some shadowboxes and my next one is a vintage style little girl chasing after a bird or butterfly, not sure which yet!? Looking forward to doing that one.

Things for the markets

I've been busy making new satchel bags for the markets and these tea towels. The tea towels are just a one off thing for something different but I love doing the satchel bags. After the markets I'll be putting some on my online shop and some in the Pod Collective shop. I love these owls in Sprout Design fabric!

Drink Bottle Holders

This is my latest product that will be great for summer. Put your child's (or your own) drink bottle in this towling lined holder and it will soak up all the condensation that drips off the bottle! These will soon be in the Pod Collective market shop and online (and at Calliope markets this Sunday!!)

Headbands

Here are some pics of my headbands on some lovely models... There are 2 widths in the headbands, 5cm and 10cm wide. Sets are on my online shop now too with matching coin purses.

Little Birdie

I am a bit obsessed with doing different designs on satchel bags right now - I just finished this one this afternoon. I love these fabrics... Also, I have done up a fish skeleton design, it will be lime green on black and also red on black. Looks great, just have to sew it all on. this photo is slightly blurry and then i sharpened it so not the best photo, but I don't like using the flash in any photography, took this about 5.30pm so getting a bit dark then. My next plan for the natural satchel bags is an owl design using some beautiful natural linen with a retro circles fabric for the wings.

Headband and purse sets for girls

I love these sets - matching fabric headbands with coin purse. The purses are denim on the reverse side and I have lots of sets just about finished. The sets all come with a matching gift card made from recycled cardboard - ready packaged for gift giving. At only $24.95 they are a great birthday or Christmas gift. They will soon be on my online shop, in the Pod Collective shop and at millarubydesigns.com.au over in W.A.

Birthday Card

I made this card for my friend's birthday, and of course it was at the last minute - it turned out to be appropriate as she was wearing a gorgeous dress she had made for the occasion!

Satchel bag

This is my favourite satchel bag at the moment. This design was inspired by that 1966 kids book I mentioned in an earlier post. Little birdies flying across the bag, I used the 'Dick and Jane' sentences fabric as the background then the red polka dot fabric is a Japanese cotton and hand stitched the legs. I might do another one similar but with some leaves on it as well...

Lilac Lillys - New Coffee Shop in Tannum Sands!!

Wow, it's exciting - Lilac Lillys Coffee shop has opened and is in the best spot in Tannum Sands - overlooking the ocean! Beautiful decor, great food and friendly service! I was lucky to be lunching there today for Ali's birthday and what a beautiful place... you can see for yourself from the photos. Go up and try it for yourself and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Open from Monday to Saturday 9am - 5pm.

Purses in Greens

here is a little selection of purses I just made in greens - I love the tree fabric, it's Japanese and I also love the owl fabric. Some of these are for sets with matching headbands and some of these sets are off to Perth to MillaRuby Designs who will have them on her site and also at the Mathilda Markets!

Satchel Bags and tea towels!!

Someone suggested I make up some tea towels for the shop - so I have bought 10 which I am now working on. They are looking pretty groovy - they are 'not nanna's tea towels'. I've been looking at hand printed or appliqued tea towels on the net and there are a few around but haven't seen any modern looking ones around where I live. So hopefully these will appeal for a gift idea. I just need to find somewhere to put them! Also making a few new satchel bags up. This photo is not the best as I took it at night without a flash but I had to put it on here, I love the bird design which has hand stitching and machine applique. I love the colour combination. That book I talked about before inspired this design.

Red and white

This is a cute little bag I made from denim and this bright red and white fabric. The lining is the same fabric as the flower.

My favourite find this week

I went to a different op shop this week and discovered some amazing kids books. My favourite is this 1966 book 'Understanding Numbers'. The pictures are so cute and are giving me some inspiration for some designs... Here are a few pages..

Watch this space!

Watch this space for some pics of the newest coffee shop in Tannum Sands - Lilac Lillies. It is next to the Power House gym and should be awesome. I am going there on Tuesday for Ali's birthday and will make sure I take some pics and put on here for you!

Carolyne

Recycling for card making

There are so many things you can use to make interesting greeting cards, these ones are made from 1. an old Western comic book 2. and 3. some old school atlasses. I have a big collection of old Golden books now - going to make a bag with a couple, but it's hard to cut them up as they are so cute!

More fabric!

Here's a pic of the latest fabric I got in the post today... There are two types of laminated cotton, Spring Rain polka dots, and 'Carnival' by Michael Miller, some cupcake fabric in flannelette, nice and soft! and more of the Carnival in cotton - I ran out of this as every purse I made in it sold pretty quickly. I am going to make a couple of bags from the laminated cotton, you can wipe it clean which is great for people who like just dumping their bags down or who have lots of grubby little hands all over their bags.....

September Special - discounted and FREE postage for Ruby Lime Design

During September, for all online sales from my website I am offering a flat rate of $5.95 postage. OR, if you spend over $60 you get FREE postage. This offer is for Australian customers.
Have a look at what I have on sale at

http://rubylimedesign.com.au/category_27/On-Sale.htm

Bunnies

I've been having fun making these bunnies - they are made with recycled denim, their ears are recycled fabric, an imitation suede type of fabric, nice and soft. Their heads are a beautiful natural linen and their faces are hand embroidered. The bottom is felt which is blanket stitched to the denim. They are $24.95 each and will soon be on my website and some are already in the Pod Shop.

collages again

Well I finished my bird collages and one of them sold today! The one with 2 yellow birds... I am planning to do a few more as I love the antique look they have about them. I finished my first bunny toy too, and this one's face is made of calico, but today I bought some beautiful natural linen so the rest will be in this - also got some beautiful oriental style fabrics which will look great on these bunnies! Just doing up a big batch of headbands, some will be gift packed with matching coin purses for Christmas gifts and a new batch of baby blocks are also on the way... I am hoping to be at the next Calliope markets so want to have lots of interesting things for that - including a couple of tote bags made from golden book pages - I really need to get onto those..

a productive day

Today has been very productive. I have half made 4 cute Japanese style toy rabbits, almost finished 3 collages and sewn about 15 headbands, as well as playing tennis this morning and cut out some more coin purses. Something to note: When busy, check which jar you are sticking your finger in - it's not good to stick it in a jar of Gesso when it should be the impasto gel....

I am getting excited about some new ideas I have for the Calliope markets. I want to have some new and interesting creations for that! I have a 1949 Womens' Weekly and am thinking of some things I could do with it. You'd be surprised what you can do with an old magazine like that!

Ok, back to the sewing room before the young ones get home...

Custom Collage

Here is a pair of collages I did for a custom order...

Collages

I had a crazy day today.....my desk looked like this

because I was making these...the bird collages aren't finished yet - but nearly there..

New cards with local scenes

I've just been taking photos down at Tannum Sands Beach and Wild Cattle Creek and have sources some excellent 100% post consumer recycled cardstock. So some new cards will be in the Pod Shop this week with these photos on them... aren't we Tannum and Boyne people lucky to have such a beautiful beach!

Glass tile pendants and a set of cats!

I just made another set of cats as the first one was only in the shop for 5 mins (Hmmm, wonder who bought that?) These ones are lucky to be wearing scarves from the Amy Butler Daisy Chain line of fabric. I also made a few new glass tile pendants and here are some of them...