Green Things

Confession time: instead of finishing Molly's formal dress or cooking dinner etc, I've been delving into a heap of fashion blogs. With grand pretensions of doing an Ellen von Unwerth (it's okay - I know I'm not even close), I've put together my own fashion story. Source of inspiration? My new green boots - I love them! 

Loving green in general at the moment and have put together a small collection of my favourite green things. Starting with.... my new green Arche boots! Aren't they cute? Teamed here with Paul Smith green paint marks scarf and Gold + Wood sunglasses (which are faintly green in the translucent acetate!) 

In need of some genuine green? Greenest of all are the kaffir lime leaves we had to prune off our tree, looking all gorgeous on the chair waiting for me to bag them and freeze them.

Rose's gift

I think it's about time I actually posted something I've made! This is the birthday card and beaded brooch I made for my sister-in-law, Rose - my first experiment with papercuts. I tried to do as much as I could with scissors and then did a few little details at the end with the blade. You'd think that would have been the tricky part... Nah-ah - try sewing a papercut to a card! As you can see it ran away from me a couple of times, but thankfully such an organic scene could handle a bit of random chaos!

I used a hole-puncher to make a couple of holes in the card for the brooch to be threaded, and so it could be easily removed. The brooch is a wood block print I did on fabric. I beaded the fabric and then hand-sewed it to a couple of layers of felt, the back layer of which I'd sewn on a brooch pin clasp.

Wood block prints?

Relief print of a Hemlock tree stump by Bryan Nash Gill

Have you seen this post about Bryan Nash Gill's relief prints of tree stumps? Apparently Bryan literally scratched his fingernails into every groove to get this detailed relief - it's just stunning. This Hemlock stump measures 52" long by 38.5" wide. So, it's not exactly insubstantial, but only if you have that spare $4000.oo hanging around!

Want to try this at home? Spread ink evenly across the wood face with a roller and place some high quality paper over the top. (Bryan used handcrafted washi paper.) Then, buff those fingernails and start exploring every single groove and tree growth ring. Don't let that paper slip now!

Thanks to Printeresting for leading us here.

Is this Your Luggage?

I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this... There's a site that displays lost luggage and all the contents for people on the look out for their stuff! Appropriately named Is This Your Luggage?, you can have a squizzy here. I came across it on the swiss-miss.

Love is Sweet

Some things just must be shared. Divine carving by Julene Harrison.

Eyewear Tray

Fiona Carswell eyewear tray

As you may already know, we have a bit of a thing for eyewear and associated products in our family... So, no surprises then that I'm all excited by this amazing eyewear tray. Designer Fiona Carswell has used a thermochromatic ink and pressure sensor to make the eye chart appear in focus when the glasses are in the tray... Take them off and it's all a bit fuzzy around the edges :)

Find the tray on Fiona's site. I found this on BBlinks' blog.

Rain worship

A Little Goodness Drops Japanese Fabric

Otispepper's Love the Rain Drops art print

I'm enthusing about the rain again, I know.... I've found some things that remind me of this luscious weather, but they're sites you might like too... Firstly, I found a link on one of my favourite blogs, Printspace, to fellow Melburnian Nick Girling's shop, Otispepper. From there I found his etsy shop and this wonderful print Love the Rain Drops (above).

Then I remembered some Japanese raindrops fabric I purchased from another website, A Little Goodness. This is a beautiful blog detailing Leslie Good's life in Japan. But it's soon to be no more! Leslie is moving back to Canada and there's an enticing 40% sale on all fabric, tape and stamps in her shop. Worth a look.

Brisbane Talent

I've just discovered a very beautiful local site where they print invitations + cards with an old-style letterpress, Bespoke Letterpress Boutique. What is it about the romance of these things? I am totally seduced! Just the thought of the meticulous labour in producing the imprint of letters on a page has me ga-ga. Even better - they have a shop! My favourite is pictured above. I can see my friends getting this as a gift - what a lovely tribute to friendship. There's a blog too - if you'd like to go straight there click here.

Beautiful rainy day

It's a gorgeous rainy day in Brisbane today - as good an excuse as any not to work! We've had a lovely day on the back deck with our friends Rosie + Steve, eating and chatting, while the kids played cricket in the rain. I love that lush feeling of abundance that rain gives me. The plants are happy and the world feels refreshed.

Web Finds: Cottage Industrialist

I've just found the most fabulous blog of Cameron Blazer at Cottage Industrialist. Not only is it a great read/look-see, they have a very generous offer at the moment - the patterned business cards above can be downloaded on your computer free. Type in the text of your choice and print! How cool is that? Cameron Blazer, I think you're going to be one of my favourite blogs. Click here to get the free PDF.

Molly's Dress (work in progress)

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I found myself agreeing to make the formal dress of the lovely miss Molly. (I think it was meeting such a lovely 16 year old and getting all carried away with talk about which fabrics and styles etc!) 

I have cursed that decision many times over the past couple of weeks... not because of Molly... but what was I thinking?! I've never attempted anything this grand before and have had a mounting feeling of doom about wrecking Molly's formal. 

For the first week I just stared at the fabric, terrified of cutting (and destroying!). Then my terror turned on the deadline and I jumped into it, not entirely relaxed until I'd made my first mistake (!) and then I was fine. :)

I think I truly relaxed just moments ago when I reached this stage - all the planning about which part needs to be sewn first etc is done - just zip, hem and embroidery on the tulle bodice to go.

Web Finds: Helena Horstedt

Helena Horstedt Collection No.2

Helena Horstedt Collection No.3

Helena Horstedt ss2008

Helena Horstedt aw2008

It must have been three years ago now that I came upon this beautiful website for Helena Horstedt, a Swedish designer who appears to handcraft her pieces for sale exclusively in her home country. (Anyone please feel free to correct me on this!) I've tried all kinds of searches to find her work elsewhere without success. 

I've posted one example from each of her collections as a taster. They're all high drama pieces, but so is all her work - all black + all bold. The sculptural quality of her designs is breathtaking, as is her fashioning of fabric into a 3D work of art. She brings out my inner Goth Queen!

Welcome to 3 Sheets!

Three Sheets actually began from a discussion with my friend Sarah who thought it'd be a great business name, "Three Sheets to the Wind". It still may be, but for now I've pinched it from her (with permission). I've left off the Wind part because... well, this a craft blog and nothing to do with drinking at all, I'm afraid. Its other beginning came from an amazing window display at Selfridges in London, in about 2006 - pictured above. I've clouded out the faces of the people who walked past when the photo was taken. It was the most incredible set of displays - each one taking a popular phrase and reinterpreting it, for this one it was as sheets of fabric on a line. It could just as easily be sheets of paper or felt, or any of the other materials I love working with. So, here it is... the beginning.