{handmade treasures} ticky tocks and bibs

It's been a while since I shared some of the treasuries I've been featured in. First up, is a very cool Olympic themed treasury featuring my adult sized ticky tocks. It's their treasury debut!

 curated by Sam Osborne, maker of gorgeous prints

Followed by a treasury of summery green things including one of my banditos:

curated by Ruby Button (a mum & daughter shop)

And finally, my toddler ticky tocks feature in a collection of brown and pink items:

curated by redappletr, maker of crocheted accessories

49/365

Grace in small things.

1. I have an interview on Wednesday to be a part-time school librarian! Wish me luck...

2. Dom and Kristine are back from Dubai. Yay!

3. I've nearly finished Adele's fb gift.

4. I've now come up with the basicbandito. Basically (har-har), it's still just as cute and absorbant but not waterproof. And it's half the price. But this project has served an additional purpose - to trial a multi-size bandito. We'll see how it goes.

5. I made a maxi skirt. It's purty.

42/365

Grace in Small Things.

1. Mending my Diesel jeans for the third time. I know I should be fuming that such an extravagantly expensive pair of jeans should fall apart so easily (and so frequently), but I'm just not. I actually enjoy the process of bringing them back to life, and I relish in that stubborn-as-an-ox feeling of absolutely refusing to let them die. I love them as much as a human being can actually love a pair of jeans.

2. Watching Dhari make everyone laugh at his weekly music and play class. That's my boy!

3. The sweetness of a sleepy two-year old. "Want to cuddle Mummy..."

4. A hermit day. I love sunny days, and getting outside to bask a bit, but I also love being a hermit - just hanging out with my little guy and getting stuff done and hanging out with my little guy a bit more. I suppose, if we get stir-crazy and it doesn't rain, we might go to the park for a bit.

5. Getting lots of positive feedback about my bibs. That feels good.

{handmade treasures} all things small

An Etsy grandma-to-be has been daydreaming about all things small, and all things purple and pink. I feel charmed that my one-of-a-kind bandito has captured her imagination.

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Grace in small things.

1. A glorious Mother's Day weekend. The weather was kind, Dom and Kristine flew in from Dubai, and somewhere in Portland, Oregon, there is a talented lady making me a dress! I love Etsy.

2. Dhari's Hindi vocabulary is coming along nicely. He can now count to das (ten) and name his fingers: chichi, ungli, ungli, ungli, unguta! I have no idea about the spelling. Hindi uses an entirely different script/alphabet, so I guess it doesn't matter? He has also been going around reciting a little nursery rhyme that Shiv does with him. So cute.

3. Bike riding weather commences. Yes, I am a fair weather cyclist. Mainly because I don't often get the opportunity to hop on my bike anymore (the kiddie seat we bought for Dhari but never used won't work on my fold-up). Back when I cycled to work, I didn't let the rain deter me, simply because I couldn't face doubling the time of my journey by using public transportation. Now I can't wait to cruise down the road in the sunshine, wind in my hair, bug in my eye.

4. I've made my first attempt at amigurumi. I made a carrot. There were some ubiquitous penis-jokes of course. In the end, I assure you, it became a carrot.

Almost good enough to eat. Almost.

5. A while ago, Esther asked me to send her some pink animal bibs. I didn't have any fabric that suited, so was "forced" to buy new fabric, which is one of my favourite things to do. Two out of three have made their way to my door in the last couple days. They are SO cute. And the cutest is yet to come. I can't wait!

{handmade treasures} curated by waterpenny

If there ever was a greener being with greater taste in green things, I sure as heck ain't met her...

My friend Dana, aka Water Penny, did an Etsy treasury! And of course it's beautiful and green and lush. And as she is an awesome friend, she included me in it as well. Take a peek:

Dana made the lovely quilt that looks like rows and rows and rows of lush green mountains. 

{handmade treasures} by Ark Ceramic Arts

Gordon over at Ark Ceramic Art curated a lovely treasury just for boys and men. And, I suppose, also for female types who like stuff generally made for boys and men. For example, the plush fox on the lower left corner (right next to that adorable child in the green spotty bib!) looks like Lola's favourite toy (from Charlie and Lola).

Take a closer look here.

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Grace in Small Things.

1. I've been invited to sell my stuff at the Crafty Fox Pop-Up Market in April! This is really exciting. It's a craft market at a bar (!!!) and is enthusiastically endorsed by Etsy UK, so it must be good. If you live anywhere near The Dogstar in Brixton, you need to come. We can make it a drinking game. Every time I sell a bib, you take a shot. I really hope you get wasted.

2. Dhari is giving away free kisses today. And I'm hogging them all. Mwah-hahah!

3. Old episodes of Mock the Week on Dave. I laugh. And laugh. And laugh. It's like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but with a quiz format. I can't wait for the new season to start.

4. Esther has helped me to Celebrate the Boy by ordering some more boy bibs. I made six last night!

5. "Sausages" and mash for dinner tonight. Mmm...

Valentine's-ing up the shop.

{handmade treasures} Feelin' the love again!

Another shout out for my chicken bib! Do you recognise any familiar items? Like maybe the bicycle bag? Yep! It's been in one of my own treasuries and sits quietly on my favourites page, just waiting to be bought. Maybe this is a sign? That I should just go ahead and buy it? But then...I have a lot of bags...And I think I might end up buying the golden lace necklace. 

16/365

Grace in Small Things.

1. Baking three different kinds of cupcake in one day. Even better, tasting them when I've finished. Speaking of which, where on Earth can I buy hazelnut oil?

2. Giving Dhari piggy-back rides around the lounge.

3. Selling FIVE bibs in one go. Thanks Esther! High five!

4. Second try with the slow cooker was much more successful.

5. Dubai gets closer and closer.

{handmade treasures} Feelin' the love

I'm feeling extra-special this morning because one of my bibs got featured in a treasury on etsy by KandiceInWonderland, who makes lovely photo albums and fancy boxes. My bib (charmingly modelled by Maisie, on the bottom right) is made with the same fabric used on the lavender eye pillow on the bottom left. How funny!

It's always a nice feeling when a complete stranger sees something you made and thinks it looks nice. x

anatomy of a bandito

I apologise for the weirdness of this post. It's been hanging out in my unfinished posts list for far too long. So I completed it whilst watching The Inbetweeners this evening. You can't write a sensible blog with all the crude jokes and general ridiculousness going on.

1. I cut a big triangle of PUL 1ml fabric and an amputated triangle of organic bamboo/cotton fleece, then stitch them together.

2. This bib was a custom request, so I sourced a black and white classic bandana, then dyed it with Dylon Bahama Blue, the closest thing to teal they had.  

Unfortunately, it turned out way too blue and not teal at all. I suppose if I was really smart I would have thrown a bit of green in with it?

3. Then I pin the decorative cotton (very blue) triangle to the PUL and fleece triangle and stitch all the way around, leaving a few inches open so I can turn it right side out. The fabric should be stacked in this order: fleece on top, PUL in the middle (shiny side up! Otherwise the machine doesn't like it) and decorative fabric on the bottom, right side up.

4. And the label goes in here! Just like this!

5. I learned something extra clever from Bernadette. To make extra sharp corners, you make one diagonal stitch before turning the rest of your corner. It works. Really.

6. Here is the moment of truth. Next I turn my project inside out (or right side out, depending on how pedantic you want to get). 

7. It should look like this. Phew!

8. Then I press it flat and topstitch all the way around the edges for a neat, tidy look. Sometimes I use contrasting thread, but not today.

9.  Tie a snug knot in the corners. 

10. But not at that third corner at the bottom, obviously.

11. Step 11 is the Loud Step. I pick out a coordinating pearl snap button and hammer it into the bib, next to the cute little knots. I can't do this while Dhari's taking a nap, because it's the Loud Step. 

12. All done! After admiring my handiwork, I run around back and snap a bunch of photos. Dhari is awake now, so he's probably sitting under the dining table (my workspace) hammering something, because I have forgotten to put the hammer away.

babybandito, in a salon near you...

My mom goes to the coolest salon in downtown Kansas City. It's called Skyline Salon, and it's a loft space just a hop, skip and a jump from Bluebird Cafe (yum!). Being in a loft space has its benefits, mainly lavish amounts of space, which enables the owners to also house an eclectic boutique in the half you can't see in the picture below.

Salon boutiques are becoming increasingly fashionable and Skyline Salon (along with a couple others) was featured in this article of Ink Magazine for doing it exceptionally well. They stock handmade items from local designers and display them in a wonderfully creative way. For example, when I was there, all the merchandise was dotted around on top of giant rock'n'roll tour cases.

Lucky me, Carmen and Arlen (owners - and Arlen did my hair when I was in high school) love my bibs and want to sell them when they start their next season of merchandise, which is next month. So as October rolls around, book yourself an appointment at Skyline Salon, browse the boutique while you're waiting, say hi to my bibs, and then treat yourself to lunch at Bluebird Cafe. I recommend the polenta with veg. 

patches of sunlight

beginnings of buntings

After dipping my toe in the etsy forums to seek out some advice on making my shop better, I have pounced on the suggestion that babybandito needs more. More is more! I've had plans in the pipeline for other products besides just my super-cute and incredibly useful bibs (ahem - then why hasn't anyone bought one yet???). One of them includes festive bunting, which I never would have thought of if I hadn't begun reading Bernadette's blog and tried out her tutorial for Dhari's first birthday. I love the 50s feel of it. Nostalgia rules. Anyway, I've changed the shapes to make it my own and have come up with Wonky Bunting. I have all the material I need, now I just need some scissors and my sewing machine. Watch this space!

In other news, I'm lucky enough to have Hazel volunteer her adorable little Sophia (monkey extraordinaire) to model my more feminine bibs. This is good, because the photos I took of Dhari with the pink bibs weren't that great anyway. It was a rushed job and there was no sunshine that day.

It's done! It's done! It's really done! (16 November 2009)

I’ve finally put some bibs up for sale on etsy! It’s only three, mind you, but I still feel way proud of myself. I zoomed out behind our flat with Dhari after he had his nap, biscuit and milk and snapped a few photos before it got too dark. I think I came up with some pretty cute ones. Thank goodness he’s been modelling behind our backs, because he’s a great little poser.

This is the prize picture:

Except now I realise if you look hard enough, just under Dhari’s arm, you can see our neighbours’ trashy patio area where they keep their weight bench. Ew. Oh well.

In other news, today Marcus used Foucault to deconstruct Mean Girls. Yes, I said Mean Girls. And yes, I said Foucault. Both in the same sentence.

I love it when a plan comes together... (5 November 2009)

This whole babybandito nonsense is finally starting to take shape! My parents came to visit last week, and brought along with them some essential material I ordered for my amazing new-fangled bibs. 

Last night I made my trial bib for Dhari, and here it is:

I’m not one for boasting, but this is the most awesome bib ever. Dhari wore it between about 2pm to 6pm. It soaked up loads and kept his chest completely dry. This is something, because if it were an Olympic sport, Dhari could drool for England.

On a completely different note, Marcus has just given Dhari a bath, and this is what he discovered:

He’s been modelling in his spare time and never bothered to tell us.

baby bandito! put 'em up... (3 September 2009)

When staying at The Elms after Angie’s wedding, we forgot Dhari’s bib at breakfast, so folded a black cloth napkin into a bandana and tied it around his neck. It was absolute genius. He was still chucking up like no other at that point, and the little folds made by the bandana were perfect for catching it. Previously, it just ran down his front, past his knee and into my lap. Sometimes it would completely escape his outfit and just total mine. 

Gross, I know. I’ll stop.

So, I got the idea to make more of these for Dhari out of cute fabric. He looked like a little bandito. He just needed spurs and a pistol. It was so good, I decided (with much encouragement from my mom and Melissa) to sell them on Etsy. Yep. I’m a genius. Except eight or so other people are doing the exact dang thing. Oh well. I can do better.

I tried it out, and ended up with the bandana (and three others like it) above. No good though. He’s teething now, so his gallons upon gallons of drool soak right through. Defeats the purpose. 

I’m on a mission, though, to improve the concept. Especially since I got some super-cute new fabric from downshadowlane.etsy.com.

Yeehaw!

I’m on the hunt for polyurethane coated fabric to line them with. And pearl snap buttons for authenticity. I’m a nerd. But I’m a happy nerd.