Wink Designs

Merry Christmas

Signing out until the New Year.

Hope you and yours have a happy festive season.

See you soon.

Sweet home

Just continuing my little experimentations with Photoshop.  This time rotating the image on canvas and using the text tool.  Fun and games!

The fabric is "Grandmother's Flower Garden" by Rosalie Quinlan teamed with some pink gingham and crochet lace with a little house motif.  They are destined to be a become a pillow case (another stash-busting idea....)

Hello to new visitors who've landed via Pink Chalk and thanks to Kathy for featuring me in the latest ChalkTalk newsletter!

Doggie dress-up

If you ever dressed the dog when you were little, or if your kids are currently up to this sort of mischief, this photo may appeal to you too:

That's one chic doggie.  Loving the pom-pom trim.  Image Rice via Decor8.

Etsy favourites on a Monday

What's inspiring me today are blues and mustard with a dash of brights thrown into the mix:

Candy Shoppe Ponytail Holders; Sunglasses Case; I Am Sew Creative Print; Angel's Breath Garland

Summer Garden Pillow; Vintage Typewriter Cards; Abstract Design Print; Sophie Fabric

Aztec Pillow Cover; Dragon Scales Notecards; Chirp & Tweet Gocco; Passing Shower Print

Campfire Top in Turquoise; Outside Oslo Fabric; The Merriam Pendant; Felted Balls

Hope you're having a great start to the week!

Loving Lauren Child

It's Book Week in these parts and so I thought I'd do a little tribute to Lauren Child, who would be well known to anyone who has kiddes of pre or primary school age.

Image Source: Good Books for Young Souls

We did a very basic outfit for Book Parade based on That Pesky Rat (a huge favourite of Cee Cee's).  Nothing fancy, just some faux fur ears and a tail teamed with some tatty shorts and a jumper.  

Fortunately Pesky Rat doesn't need impressive clothes: he just wants to be loved and to be someone's pet.

Lauren's aesthetic in this and other books is a total delight to anyone of a crafty persuasion. She uses gorgeous origami paper, wallpaper and fabric motifs to create her collage-style illustrations, all of which are totally awesome. 

And to top it off, she entered into a partnership with Liberty of London to create some truly amazing fabrics.

Check out this link in her official website milkmonitor which tells, in characteristic style, how she developed her inspiration for the fabric collection:

 

A doubly good reason to love Liberty! Long live Lauren.... (and happy Book Week!)

Scandinavian Stitches

I know I'm a little late to the party on this one as this lovely book was released way back before Christmas but I only recently bought a copy (the price came down on Fishpond!).

Kajsa Wikman, who creates under the label Syko, is pure genius when it comes to applique, free motion and creative stitching.  My favourite image in the book is definitely the "Love Machine" - how incredible is that tiny patchwork quilt?  (And I see you can buy the image as a stand-alone print in her etsy shop.)

 

While we were in Finland last year I was lucky enough to stumble upon an original Syko.  I found this little pouch in the crafts shop attached to the tourist office on the main square in Helsinki.  There were quite a few of Kajsa's original items in the shop: cushions, prints, pincushions and her signature little stuffed houses.  All so lovely.

The work on the pouch is really amazing.  I've been playing a bit with free-motion stitching lately but it'll be a while before I'm anywhere near this good.  Look at the detail on the daisy!

 
P.S. I haven't bought much fabric of late - just the odd bit here and there - the prints above are some cute Lecien spots and stripes from sewdeerlyloved.

Ladybird

A ladybird landed on the stroller the other day and ever since, for the toddler of the house, they have occupied top place on the bug fascination list.  

Do you know how to say "ladybird" in French?  The answer is in the pretty selvedge below:

 
And who could resist this cross-stitch ladybird by Plushka? (I couldn't):

 

Hope you are having a happy mid-week.  Am looking forward to the soon-to-be-here school holidays and, with them, hopefully, a bit of a sleep in?!

Lego wonderland

We took the girls to see the Olafur Eliasson exhibition Take Your Time at the MCA on Saturday.

Eliasson is a Danish installation artist who spent time growing up in Iceland and creates amazing visual experiences with lights and structures based on inspiration from the landscapes there.

The best part of the exhibition as far as the younger visitors were concerned is what was called the Cubic Structural Evolution project.  (This is better explained on the National Gallery of Victoria's website, so I've included the link from there).  It's basically a room full of thousands of pieces of white Lego, partly constructed into the most amazing array of fairytale castles, loop the loop freeways and all manner of both familiar and make believe creatures and buildings.

 

Image source: National Gallery of Victoria Website

There's a total wow factor when you walk into the room and visitors are invited to sit around tables and use the lego to build their own pieces.

 

Image source: National Gallery of Victoria website

The exhibition is ending in a few weeks (10 April) so if in Sydney it's well worth a visit (especially for Lego fanatics!)
 

Bedroom blahs

This is not my bedroom but I wish it was!  You could say I've got a severe case of the bedroom blahs.  I wish the interior design fairy would come and wave her wand because I think I'd feel more inspired, relaxed and just plain happier waking up in a space like this:

This photo is from Amy Butler's website and is part of her Inspiration gallery.  I love trawling through the pages from time to time.  They're just so......, well,...... inspiring!  I actually have some of that print used for the pillow cases at the front - maybe I should just get sewing.  Where to get a yellow alarm clock like that one though???