Happy New Shed (and a quick sale to celebrate)

Down in my back yard is a magical place.  It's a place I've dreamed of for years, a little place that I can call my very own, a quiet place to create.  

Since being in here, with my tools spread out and feeling like I have space to breathe, I've been inspired and have been working on my next collection named "Down the Garden Path".

I feel like it's a fusion between the greenery I see out my window everyday and my memories  of the Japanese temple gardens I used to go to when I didn't have a garden of my own.

This little piece in the front will be filled with an orangey-red resin representing the glittering scales of koi in garden ponds.  I would sit and watch them for hours as they would glide through the water.  

Near my apartment in Japan, there used to be a large glorious Gingko tree.  The leaves would flutter onto the footpath and would make me smile as I walked over their carpet.  My gingko leaf will be done both in a green and an autumn yellow.

The koi will also be turned upside down and filled with a beautiful sky blue resin reminding me of fluffy autumn clouds.

A Zen garden without stones just wouldn't feel complete, as they represent longevity and happiness.  I've taken a slightly different approach to my "Zen Stones", each one is hand carved out of jeweller's wax, cast in silver and filled with resin.  Each and every one is completely unique just as the stones in a garden would be.

I love when I carve them, they get surrounded by filings, reminding me of sand.  Maybe I should start raking it every now and then as I work.

Once filled with resin, just a single facet on each side shows colour.

Without rain those gardens would never grow, so added to the collection are little raindrops, coming down from the sky to kiss the flowers as I tell my little one.

To celebrate my magical new space (and just before I need to put some prices up), I'm having a quick sale that will end on July 1st.  Using the code "HappyNewShed" will get you 20% off either my webstore or my Etsy shop.  There is only one of the raindrops available in the sale (in the Etsy shop) and limited amounts of any of the sterling silver pieces. 

This is what my creative space has been looking like lately, to see more or add your own, head over here.

My Creative Space - The Catch Up Version

You know how when you're in the middle of something, cleaning the kitchen, driving to work, and you think "Oh, I haven't spoken to my dear friend for ages, I must call her", yet the time just seems to pass by and the next thing you know months have passed.  That's how things have been with this little blog space this year.  Lots of things I have meant to share, but time just seems to run away with me...

So this is what it has looked like in my studio lately...

I've done a bit more organising and findings have been making their way into little Ikea drawers - so much better than the container stacks I'd been using that need to be unstacked each time I work.

I've actually finished all my granny squares for my floral blanket.  Now I just have to join them all, I'm using this method but have to say, mine doesn't look nearly as neat.  Now that it's warming up though I think the yarn might be packed away and I'll get back to work on my kimono yoyo quilt.

Not my creative work, but this is what happens when your tape obsessed three year old knows where you keep the Japanese washi tape and you forget to lock the studio door....

I've finished a couple pieces in the "Folded Silver" range... a chatterbox (did you used to make these when you were young?)

... and a little, simple fox.

And in my silversmithing class, I've been working with some more wax.  There are a few touches of bling that is being set into this after it has been cast in silver.  

What's been happening in your creative space lately?  

For more creative spaces this week and to add your own, here's the place to go.  I just see that there's a month long instagram / twitter / facebook game to join in too!  It looks like fun.

My Creative Space - Steel Cuts

My new stainless steel pieces arrived yesterday.  It's always so exciting to see something that's gone from sketch book to computer screen into something you can finally hold.  And they are such a surprise to hold, so light and delicate looking, yet so strong.  

They now need some finishing touches and chains put on.  I can't wait to introduce them to the world in a couple of weeks time.

There's lots of other creative spaces to peek into over here.

Small Space Inspiration

Today I worked super hard on the studio, de-cluttering, tidying and reshuffling.  I need to get a third work desk in here which will also act as a sewing desk.  My poor sewing machine hasn't been set up for over a year now.

With two bookshelves and an industrial shelving unit as well as the two desks, the space is a little tight.  My hope was to clear enough to take out the industrial shelving and put a decent length desk in its place.  I also had visions of lots of lovely clear wall space to put artwork.

Alas, despite my best efforts, it's not to be.  I still need those shelves to store supplies and so can only squeeze in a little desk.  To assure myself that it would still look ok, I went looking for inspiration and found this gorgeous image of Lotta Jansdotter's studio.

Image by Lotta Jansdotter via Pinterest

Hopefully I'll have some before and after shots to show you of how my space is looking on the weekend.

My Creative Space

Lots of polishing and finishing is the order of the day... I'm loving working with these new pieces.

To see what other crafty people are up to this week, drop by Our Creative Spaces.

My Creative Space - Kokeshi Brooches

I'm working on Kokeshi brooches today.

Firstly, I paint their hair and faces....

Then their "kimonos" are prepared, all tiny pieces of fabric taken from vintage kimonos. 

I even love the little scraps that come from trimming the kimonos.

I've been saving them and popping them in clear Christmas baubles, an idea I nicked from Kootoyoo a while back.

To see what other creative types have been up to this week, make yourself a cuppa and drop by here.

My Creative Space - Going Yoyo

There is some slow progress happening on my kimono fabric yoyo quilt.  I haven't dared calculate just how many I'm going to have to make, but for now, I'm enjoying the moments I get to sit down and hand stitch the little puffs.

As the collection grew, it came to me that as I plan it to eventually cover our queen size bed, I was going to need a queen size bed cover sized space to keep them in.  For now, they all live in my great-grandma's hat box.

To see what other creative folks have been up to this week, drop by Our Creative Spaces.

My Creative Space - Mummy Afternoon

The little one and I had a mummy and daughter afternoon today.  In my "mummy time", which isn't as much as I'd like,  I try to make/ paint/ draw something together.  Today it was collage work.  While this isn't technically my creative pursuit, I think at times parents forget to give themselves credit for the creative energy that we put into raising a child. 

In Amanda Blake Soule's book, The Creative Family, she talks about giving children access to high-quality art materials.  She writes "The materials we give our children to create with send them a message about how we value their creative endeavours, their time, and their work.... our children will know that their work is important to us.  They will know we believe they are worthy of the "good stuff"."

This really struck a chord in me.  I look at all the beautiful materials I love to use, I'd love to bring my little one up appreciating their gorgeousness.  So out came the (handmade, hand-screenprinted)  Japanese paper scraps and she had a ball.

It's funny though, you look at this picture and you could possibly imagine a quiet peaceful day, with a quiet peaceful child.  But rather, this was one of the few moments in the day she took to slow down.  Amidst toddler tantrums and a wilful child trying to assert her independence, there was this creative time, some lovely puddle splashing and a trip to the sushi shop, where we ate sushi in the store together just like grownups.  Those are the moments I want to remember.

For more creative spaces, here is the place to visit.

My Creative Space - The Ugly Truth

So here's the ugly truth about part of my studio at the moment. It's rather out of control.


My resin working table is well organised, my stocked neatly and safely arranged, my fabric folded and stacked, but this wall has somehow exploded from neglect.


This is the area I plan go completely clear for a third table. Please wish me luck and stay tuned over the next couple of months to see if I can make it happen!

For more, possibly neater creative spaces, drop by here.

My Creative Space

I'm working on the fabric inlays for brooches today.  It's a fiddly job and I end up with fingernails that have been filed down with a dremel and bruised thumbs, but somehow I still find it enjoyable.  

It's one of those tasks that I can work with something on in the background (unlike when I'm creating something new and need quiet).  Last night it was Little Dorrit, I think I might put Tess of the D'Urbervilles on for this afternoon's shift.

And over the last couple of days I've finally had a chance to start playing with some of the kimono fabrics I bought on my Japan trip.  I'll show you more soon.

For more creative spaces, drop by Our Creative Spaces.

Are you doing anything creative today?

My Creative Space

I'm playing with mixing some leather offcuts and old buttons with vintage kimono fabric today.  Challenging myself to create a piece with as much recycled material as possible for Reverse Garbage's New Beginnings Exhibition.

For more creative spaces, drop by Kootoyoo.

My Creative Space

Once upon a time there was a girl who lived in an exotic land.  Every couple of months she would take a train that snaked past patchworks of rice fields, tea plantations, industrial estates and one gorgeous snow-capped mountain.  The train would transport her from the little town of vegetable fields and bicycles she now called home to a metropolis of buildings that touched the sky and people that moved in waves.

This not-so-young girl was a Japanese-fabric-ophile and she had arrived in the promise land.  A place that had an entire "Fabric Town" where five story buildings were filled with gorgeous print after gorgeous print.  A city with craft stores so large they needed seven whole buildings to hold them.  Somewhere that you could not only buy materials for almost every craft imaginable, but also be inspired by all around you.

That girl wanted to share her new-found knowledge with the world.  To map out the places to go and how to get there.  To help those navigate the foreign language and customs of the land.  With each trip, she would explore a new area, madly writing notes, subway exits and drawing maps.

But alas, while she had filled notebooks with her excited scribblings, before she could put them in order for others to read, life took over and the guide was carefully put away, but never forgotten.

But now, the not-as-young girl has only eight more sleeps until she visits this exotic land again.  The maps, the writings are all seeing light again and are being put into careful order.  It has been a number of years since the girl has visited the fabric promise land so with the guide in hand, she can see it with new eyes, check her maps, add new findings into the book so that she can then finally share it with the world.

There are many more magical creative spaces to explore, Kootoyoo is where you'll find the map.

My Creative Space

My stack of crocheted flowers for the rug continues to grow, as does my speed for making them.  I'm really enjoying the relaxation that comes with playing with the wool and hook.

I'm thinking of taking some yarn on the plane to Japan with me in a couple of weeks.  I have a nine hour flight on my own, so am thinking I could make real headway with the project.  I think I should be able to take it on, shouldn't I?  The hook is blunt and maybe I could take some nail clippers with me to cut the wool.  What do you think?  Has anyone tried it before?

It's funny, my very first flight to Japan was pre-September 11 and I took needle, thread and scissors on with me.  Being a Queensland girl, I had never needed an overcoat, but I was to be arriving in the middle of a Japanese winter where I would freeze without one.  I had this funky old coat of my mums from the 60s/70s.  It had a great cut, a cool collar and was a deep maroon colour, but had ugly buttons.  I sat on the flight, trying to distract myself from the nervousness that came from moving to a country on my own, one where I didn't know anyone and could hardly even speak the language, and gave the coat a lift with new buttons. 

It's a bit funny to think that once again, I'll be on that flight, twelve years later, again on my own, but this time heading to a country I know well, while crafting something for my daughter.

For more creative spaces, drop by Kootoyoo.

My Creative Space

I'm letting my creative spirit take flight for a few days....  I've booked the weekend out so that I can complete my work for the Reincarnated Kimono Project exhibition that is hanging... next week!

I'm so inspired by the amazing creations that I've been getting sneak peeks of, and I feel like I need to lift my game a bit.  You can see a few for yourself here, here, here and here.

Today, I'm experimenting a little.  I'm not sure if it's something that will make it to the show or not,  but I'm playing with kimono wings and resin.

For more creative spaces, head to Kootoyoo.

My Creative Space

... or rather the entrance to my creative space.

My little creative space lives in a bedroom at the top of a set of stairs.  It's a good sized room with large built-in cupboards, but somehow I still find it's just not big enough.  Until last week outside the room was an ugly brown set of shelves piled with packing boxes and envelopes.  I'd had enough of feeling like I was living in a warehouse (and subjecting my family to it as well), so did a big clear out of the linen cupboard to store the boxes and envelopes in there instead.

That then gave me a couple of thin, but deliciously clear, spaces to play with.

On the then wall between my room and the bathroom, I hung a canvas and popped Molly the Mannequin.  The canvas has had vintage kimono fabric stretched over it.  Molly is wearing a few of my kanzashi necklaces.

Then at the top of the stairs, a vintage suitcase (thanks mum!), a pile of current reading and some embroidery hoops.  Some of my kimonos are stored in the suitcase and it looks so much prettier than the ugly bags they were being held in.

The embroidery hoops have some of the vintage kimono fabric that I created my first three piece crane brooch from, and the brooches have now been added onto the hoop as well.

It's so lovely having a pretty entrance to my space.  I feel inspired before I even enter the room.

For more creative spaces, hop by Kootoyoo.

My Creative Space

The less sexy side of crafting today.  The plastic gloves, the oh-so-bright yellow and green chemical mask, the cheap disposable beer cups.  And we won't mention the fact that I always do resin pours pre-shower and hair wash...

How about you?  Do you craft?  Is your crafting sexy?

For more creative spaces, hopefully ones that are a little more glamourous, Kootoyoo is the place to go.

My Creative Space

There are lots of "should-be-doings" going on in my creative space at the moment... I should be working on my new website.  I should be working on some new designs.  I should be preparing for a trade fair next month... 

Instead, I've been taking a break from all those "shoulds" and thinking about my dream studio space.  No, not that I'll be moving into one anytime soon, but it's certainly fun to visualise.  I picked up some paint swatches the other day and one was called "Teal Goddess".  How can I resist a colour called Teal Goddess?

And I should say that I haven't been completely ignoring all the "shoulds", here's the mock-up for one of my wall for the trade fair.

What's happening in your creative space this week?  To check out some others, Kootoyoo is the place to go.

My Creative Space

I'm playing with my The Man's dremel today.  I bought it for him as part of his birthday present at the beginning of the year and well... he hasn't been able to use it yet as I've kind of claimed it.  It's lovely and light and fits comfortably in your hand.  I can't say I'm using it to do anything pretty at the moment though, I'm scuffing up the backs of brooches to give the glue for the brooch backs a better hold.





Once the scuffing is done, they'll be getting made into String of Cranes and Evolution of Cranes brooches, with a few singles thrown in.


For more creative spaces, drop by Kootoyoo.

My Creative Space

Experimenting.  Testing.  Trying.  Playing.

Twisting.  Turning.  Wrapping.  Tying.

It's small, but I think I want it smaller.  It's fine, but I think I want it finer.  It's strong, but I think I want it stronger.

 So for now, it's back to experimenting, trying, playing and testing.


For more creative spaces, Kootoyoo is the place to go.

My Creative Space

Sing it with me.... "It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas..."  I know it's November but I'm already getting excited about Christmas this year.  It will be the first in ...gee...  five years... that we're spending it with family.

I'm starting to think of the Christmas tree and how to manage one with the little one who gets into everything.  I've had some great suggestions on Facebook and seen some cool ideas online and magazines of tree alternatives.  I'm not sure which way I'll go yet but I do want something that I can hang decorations from.

So this week, I've been making some "Kimono Baubles" for the tree-that-isn't-yet.  If anyone is interested, I'll put a tutorial up for them in the next week or two.  They are super easy and a great  in-front-of-the-tv craft (as long as you're not doing it in the dark like I was last night - I've ended up with some rather dodgy stitches!)

For more creative spaces, Kootoyoo is the place to visit.