Don't know what to do? Go to Whip-up!

I have just stumbled on Whip-up and maybe it is old new for most of you but I guess I must have been hiding under some kind of cyber rock.

This website has so many great patterns and tutorials. The best of it, it is uploaded by the online crafting community and it is all for free!

Things I like from the recent posts are:

hyperbolic crochet pattern by The Sydney Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef

Spring dragonfly from Small Magazine

Studio Junction - Courtyard House

Oh boy! This must be the hottest little piece of architecture on the planet at the moment! The whole net community is buzzing with how FANTASTIC this house is. I was sent a link to some photos by Nat a few weeks ago and then Khoa gets sent a link to the architectural practice's website.

Drop whatever you are doing at the moment and head to studio junction's website for some incredible photographs of their courtyard house project. The attention to detail and the thoughtfulness of the spaces are by far the best I have yet to see, even by the masters of architecture I dare say. Just look at the drainer by the sink! I must say I am particularly enamored to the project because it is an adaptive re-use of a warehouse.

Images taken from Studio Junction's website

The sliding partition between the master bedroom and the child's bedroom might just be the right answer for an easy transition for Zach from our family bed to his own room.

Japanese sewing terms

To follow on from my previous post.

I found this really useful blog maintained by Jennifer who lives in Tokyo and reads Japanese: Moving hands

Invaluable!

p/s: I'm currently hunting down issues of Cotton Friend.

Extraordinary Mondays - Crafting Japanese

I chanced upon this website and thought I should share it with you in case if you are like me who finds the japanese aesthetics absolutely attractive. The simplicity and its "wabi-sabi" are things I strive towards in my work. This website contains a large resource for the japanese crafter/artist enthusiast.

Keen to know what I am talking about? Go to Crafting Japanese and check it out!

I love making party invites!

There is nothing more that I love doing than to organise a good party. I love the whole creative process! I particularly like to make the party invites. There is just something so delightful in making invites because you are inviting a friend to create memories that would last more than the event itself.

We just recently celebrated Amelia's first birthday. Amelia's party was themed around her nickname which is Mini Mouse. The invites took me AGES. I had to send out "save the date" emails because I was so tardy BUT I must say it is my best invite yet.

The invitation consisted of a package "sent" from a 21 year old Amelia. I even designed a fake postage date stamps for the year 2029 to extend the "back-to-the-future"-ness of the package. In that package was a letter "written" by Amelia to the invitees explaining that something has happened to her time capsule her parents had prepared for her when she was one year old. She invites them to restock her time capsule when they attend her first birthday party. As a token of gratitude, she has given them a softie mini mouse and tells them that they will find out the significance of that mouse at the party. (The softies were meant to be used during the party in a game but I kinda run out of time designing the game so that bit was a disappointment to me.) In the package was also some cards where she asks them to help her fill details and messages from the people at the party.

Neat, huh?

Here are some photos of the invites:

These are the mice I made for the invites.
I must admit, they are not of the best sewing quality.
Many of them were produced post midnight.

Here they are, waiting to be packaged.

The packages in the car en route to guests.

The softie mice are sewn from Terese Levy's free pattern which you can find here. Her blog, Sewing Stars, is always an inspiration if you are stuck in no-softie's-land.

Felt star - my very first pattern!

Edit: There were some problems with the big image file, so I've made some changes to the way the pattern you can download the pattern.


I've just finished my very first pattern EVER!

Click here and it will bring you to another website. Click to download. Print to A4. (If you can suggest a better way of providing you files for downloading, it would be much appreciated.)

Please share your felt stars with me when if you have made one from the pattern. Better still, try varying the pattern by adding your personal touch and share them here. These stars could be made into bookmarks, brooches and hairclips. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Willard Wigan -- you have to HAVE TO watch this!

Saw this on Susan Lomuto's Daily Art Muse blog and just had to share it!



WOW!