Interview + Giveaway: Grace Design
Categories: Giveaways, Interviews | 21 comments
Alison of Grace Design recently wrote in about her new line of beautiful bags, clutches and home wares using found obi’s and kimono’s from Japan. I love the originality in her work and use of vibrant textiles. She graciously agreed to do a mini interview and a giveaway!
Tell us about yourself.
I am a girl livin’ in Toronto Canada. I’ve been making stuff as long as I can remember and the entrepreneurial urge has always been a natural inclination for me. I went to school for graphic design but strangely, sewing and working with textiles has always been a way more natural medium for me. One of my favourite pastimes is rifling through thrift stores and that is really how Grace Design began. I used to come home with bags of interesting found textiles and just started making stuff and selling it at local consignment shops. Eventually I went on a big adventure to India at the ripe age of 19 and came back with a backpack full of sari silk. I later went to Japan and discovered the gorgeousness of Japanese textiles and I haven’t looked back since.
What inspires you to create?
I am constantly looking at blogs, design books, magazines and flickr and it never ceases to amaze me the creativity that is out there. I need that constant nourishment to keep excited about making new things and coming up with fresh ideas. I keep images that inspire me on a big wall in my work area and I have various sketchbooks and journals that are full of yet more images. I love to see what others are doing and what is possible with different materials and then get new ideas from that. I am mainly excited by colour and pattern; searching for fabrics is very exciting and the process of mixing them with other fabrics in new and unexpected combinations. I love nature, I grew up on the west coast of Canada so the ocean and forests are a big art of who I am and what keeps me going. I love to write in my journal, collect my thoughts, morning coffee time is my favourite time of the day and, of course, my weekly trips to my local thrift stores!
Inspiration from Alison’s flickr stream
What are some challenges you’ve had to overcome as an artist?
I am always trying to find ways to work around the many restrictions of using found textiles. (eg stains, weird dimensions, fraying, making things last etc etc). Many of my counterparts have degrees in fashion design and I do not so I am always trying to become a better sewer and keep things looking polished and professional. I still have a full time job so finding time to run a business and keep my job is a struggle. Staying positive and inspired when sales aren’t always what you had hoped or anticipated. Being a home based business and the CLUTTER. Oh my god, the clutter.
Tell us something random about yourself!
I collect a lot of different things ranging from vintage Chinese tea tins to 1950’s angora and beaded sweaters. My home is about as crowded as you would imagine.
The giveaway: This is a little bag made from vintage metallic Japanese obi fabric. The backing is made from a solid red micro fibre ultra suede and it is lined with unbleached cotton.
To enter: Simply visit Alison’s etsy shop and leave a comment below with your favorite item in her shop. I will randomly draw a winner a week from now on Tuesday the 21st. Good luck!
I’m Giving Away Free Ads on evie s.
I was told last week about a neat project that I want to involve my readers in – 25 leading letterpress printers each created 50 limited edition notebooks with Loop paper donated by Mohawk. They are being sold on a special storefront on Felt & Wire Shop. 100% of the proceeds benefit kids via School: By Design.
In thinking of ways I could support this project, other than just blogging about it, I decided to offer anyone that purchases one of these $15 notebooks a little ad on my blog for a whole month! It’s a great deal – not only do you get to support a great cause, but you get a beautifully crafted notebook, AND ad space on evie s. for a month.
RULES: Go to the Felt & Wire Shop and purchase a notebook. Then email me your receipt (info at evie-s.com) showing your purchase. Then after approval you may send me a non-animated graphic (gif, png or jpg) 125 x 70 pixels with the URL it will link to. I will then add it to my blog on the sidebar. This is on a first come, first serve basis so act quickly!
Limit one per person. **I reserve the right to reject any ads that I deem inappropriate or unfit for my blog.**
School: by Design is a youth mentoring initiative that asks high school students–in collaboration with their college or professional design mentors–to redesign their school. A $10,000 award will be granted to the high school with the most innovative project to implement their idea. The program was created to give youth in under-served communities a real world experience using design thinking to communicate their ideas, exhibit their potential and take action in their own lives. {via the school: by design website}
Give Thanks – Free Download
Categories: Art, Downloads | 6 comments
Often times when we are going through a high point in life, it almost passes us by unnoticed. Everything is going just right, life seems perfect. Then, somewhere at the highest peak of the mountain, something happens. It could be a death of a friend or loved one. A shattered marriage. Maybe a job that fell through. Something that sends you plummeting down right into a deep, dark valley. It’s in this low point of life, we forget about the mountain we were just on, and the good things God did for us back there. Remembering the good things keeps us grateful – no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. Remembering God’s blessings gives us hope – that we won’t be in a valley forever.
I want to always take into account the wonderful things that happen to me and my family. I don’t want to overlook them and take it for granted. Inspired by some friends of mine, I created a “give thanks” list. Something we can keep at the center of our home, and when we encounter even the smallest blessing, we write it down. I have a feeling we will be surprised at the things we might have otherwise failed to notice, and that the list will get quite long. It will be a great record to keep track of the good things, and to be thankful and look back on during rough times.
I’m offering this as a free download, for you to enjoy and do it at home! Just print on 8.5 x 11 paper and post it on your fridge or other prominent place. I’d love to hear how it goes for you if you implement it. The great thing about this list is you can save iit when you fill it up and just print out another!
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Week of Paper: Fringe Garland
Well, I ran out of energy and daylight to get tutorial pics of this project, but I managed to get some of the finished product! This project is so easy, and if you create a bunch of them, it would create quite the festive look for a party!
What you need: Paper, scissors, stapler
Step 1: Start with an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper and cut in the four equal strips.
Step 2: Fold each strip in half.
Step 3: Start creating your fringe. (To quicken the process, cut two or even three strips at a time.)
Step 4: After completing all your strips, you can staple the ends of the strips together to create a garland. Give them a twist around before stapling to give the spiral effect.
Tada! You can make this as long as you want and would look great in bunches of different colors.
Now go decorate something with your festive fringe-y garland!
Week of Paper: Gift Toppers
Categories: DIY | 12 comments
Day 3 of paper week! It’s been a fun challenge doing this every day. A lot of work though! Today we are making cute little gift toppers.
What you need: Paper of two different colors, scissors, glue
Step 1: Start by cutting a large circular shape out of paper. Gift it some wavy edges so it looks like a flower.
Step 2: Continue doing this, making each successive circle a little smaller than the last and using two different colors of paper.
Step 3 & 4: Using just a dab of glue in the center, start glueing the layers, largest to smallest. Continue until you’ve worked your smallest circle.
Step 5: Start cutting lines in towards the middle, leaving the center intact. I cut in a total of 8 lines.
Step 6: Start pulling, crinkling and bending the layers to give some depth and structure. Continue doing this until you achieve the desired effect.
Voila! A pretty easy way to liven up a gift for a loved one.
I’ve got a fun project for tomorrow. Until then!
Week of Paper: Flowers
Categories: DIY | 2 comments
Here is day two in our paper week! Today we are making beautiful paper flowers, like the ones I made for this baby shower. The difference with this project is I’m using vintage music sheets, which is a bit thinner paper and thus these have a little less structure to them. So, the thicker the paper, the more sculptural your flower will look.
You will need: paper, hot glue gun, cardboard, scissors
Step 1: Cut out a half moon shape out of cardboard (an old cereal box will do). This will be your template for the flower petal.
Step 2: Create a fold in your paper wide enough to fit your template on.
Step 4 & 5: Trace and cut out your petals. You will need 8-10 petals to make a full flower.
Step 5 & 6: Cut out a circular shape out of cardboard as your base. Begin hot glueing your petals one by one using a small dab of glue in the center only. Continue this with all your petals, staggering their placement evenly.
This should be what you end up with!
Again, use this idea as a jumping point for your own projects. These can be made in all different sizes, and petal shapes. You can also embellish the center of your flowers with large buttons.
Alrighty, let me know how you like paper week! I’ll be posting another great project tomorrow.
Week of Paper: Pinwheels
Categories: DIY | 12 comments
After last weeks baby shower post, I had several requests for a tutorial on the pinwheels I created. So I thought it would be neat to do an entire week of projects that use nothing but paper. First up, pinwheels!
What you need: 8.5 x 11 paper, hot glue gun, double sided transparent tape, cardboard from cereal box
Step 1: You’ll need 8 sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper to make a large pinwheel. Start by taking the paper (portrait, not landscape orientation) and accordion folding it, making the folds about 1 inch wide. (To speed up this process, you can fold two at a time.)
Step 2: After folding all 8 sheets, you’ll want to take them one by one and cut a round edge on one of the sides. Or you can skip this step, but I love mine looking a little bit curvier.
Step 3: Next start taping the folded pieces of paper together using your double sided tape.
Step 4: Continue step 3 until you have all 8 pieces taped together creating one long strip of folded paper.
Step 5: Fan out the strip in a round shape creating a circle and close it up using double sided tape.
Step 6: Cut out a circle of cardboard from a used cereal box and hot glue to the back of your pinwheel. This will give it stability and then you can punch a hole and hang it or press a thumb tack in to stick it on the wall.
And you are done! To make the smaller pinwheel, just cut an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper in half long ways, giving you two 4.25 x 11 strips of paper. You will need a total of 4 of these strips to make a pinwheel. Experiment with different sizes, and papers with patterns! Try stacking the smaller ones on the larger to create a layered effect. Another idea is to use a decorative edge punch before folding to give the outer edge some added charm. You can do no wrong with these.
Happy pinwheel making! Stay tuned tomorrow for another fun project.
Color Burst Baby Shower
Categories: DIY, Things of Beauty | 19 comments
Hey ya! Today is my b-day and my gift from my husband is FREE TIME with no kids. So I’m blogging! Ha! It’s been a great day so far.
Anyway, I’ve felt so fulfilled lately since I’ve been able to work on some creative things again. Recently, I hosted a baby shower for a friend of mine and I got to work on invitations and decor. I loved it! Many of my friends asked how I did it with a new baby…my answer: I planned a month and a half in advance, and did a little bit each day. Here are some of the highlights:
Invitations – I loved how these turned out. They are bright, colorful and so pretty.
Favors and party decor – I really didn’t spend a dime on decorations. I used colored paper that I had on hand to create pinwheels of different sizes, large paper flowers, confetti garland and a name garland. It’s amazing what you can do with paper!
More pinwheels! So easy to make and so inexpensive, but really creates a festive look!
Cupcakes by a friend of the expectant mama’s, and beautiful flowers.
Let me know if you have any questions about any of the decor…I can post a tutorial if I get enough requests. *Wink*
Utterly Beautiful
Categories: Things of Beauty | 1 comment
I’ve blogged about Utterly Engaged before, and I thought I would post some inspiration I found from their most recent issue.
beautiful product tags from lovely bridal shop in New York // creative display at the lovely store // Lace and painted paper flowers // artistic cookies by sweet heather anne
If you haven’t looked at an issue, check it out…even if you aren’t getting married it’s a terrific source of inspiring and beautiful ideas.
Giveaway Winners!
The winners have been randomly drawn and here they are!
For the RoseyKate onesie: Alex
And for the 3 hair clips: Megan, Sarah, and Shayna
Congratulations ladies! I’ll be in touch to get you your prize!
