Garden Fairy?

Constantine's classmate is having a Pirate & Garden Fairies themed birthday party soon, so i have to think of something to make, that is so special that it can not be purchased anywhere else. Most importantly, it has to resemble the birthday girl!

So, i asked the mommy what dress the birthday girl is going to wear on that day...she sent me a photo...

Based on this dress theme color, i started to check on the fairy's design. I found this from www.flowerfairies.com...this is perfect!

 I like the 'petal' dress...so I'm going to make one, using the same design as my sunflower petals...

Since the birthday girl's dress is Green & Peach, i made the top Green & petal dress Peach...

Then, i made the matching Peach ballerina flats with a Yellow flower on it. The flower has to be small or else it will cover the shoes...so, no fancy flowers...

Then, I started to think of the head of the fairy...Hm...how should I make it? Oh well, since I'm also into big head small body dolls (like my friendship Kokeshi Dolls collection, read here: http://designedwithpassion.blogspot.com/2014/07/presentingthe-friendship-kokeshi-dolls.html), I might as well make it the same!

I changed the hair color to Brown as I am using Beige color as the skin tone. (Black hair won't stand out). I love the outcome!

And since it is a garden fairy, no harm to wear a garland with flowers, right? :D

Oh, I also put a piece of pipe cleaner in each of the fairy's leg, so that the leg can be bended to sitting position...pretty cool! See how her legs bend at the edge of the table?

She can stand...well...not too stable...

She can sit...

Oh...I made a pair of Yellow wings too...how can I miss it...:) i wanted to make a large pair of wings but i'm afraid it will cover the dress, so I made a small 1 instead...

This fairy is too cute!

I hope Constantine's little friend will love it! :D

Material used: Acrylic Yarn, Polyester Fiber Fill, Safety Eyes, Pipe Cleaner

Duration of Completion: 5 man hours

Experience/Satisfaction level: 😍 hope to make more too!

Looking for a unique Clutch? Make One!

Last Saturday, i had a wedding dinner to attend. I wore an Indigo long dress, with a pair of Light Grey heels. I planned to take a Light Grey dinner clutch, but it has to be able to fit my iPad Mini inside.

I bought many clutches before, but still most are not up to my expectation. So, i decided to STOP looking & make one myself.

1st, I need to look for the stitch design that I like. For bags, usually I use Star Stitch, as the stitches are unique & it makes the bag the 'thick' feeling...

Then, I make sure my iPad Mini can fit inside...

Next, I decided to add on the wristlet hook, so that I can put around my wrist.

Oh, I have also decided that the clutch can match other dresses as well, in case I want to use it for a different colour theme. Plus, the clutch must be able to be taken out to formal events or to simple outings.

ps: thinking about the design of the clutch makes everyone think that I'm a very demanding person...LOL...well...I AM! I expect nothing but perfection!

Here it is!

My very 1st clutch...it is simple enough to be just a pouch for my iPad Mini. 

I can put an iPad Mini, an iPhone, my mini purse, 1 lipstick & a compact powder! Small, but wonderful...

Best of all...i added this Flower brooch with a bling bling Rhinestone in the middle...:D The flower matches the colour of my dress...

I can bring this to any formal events...

Or, just as my iPad Mini Pouch...

And, if I want use it to match my other dress colour, I just change the brooch...:D

Just to let you have a visual how it matches my dress...

Super love this clutch! I will be making another clutch. This time it will be Peach color as I have an upcoming wedding dinner & my dress will be Peach in colour! Cant wait to start.

Material used: Acrylic Yarn

Duration to complete: 10 man hours

Experience/Satisfaction level: Priceless

Happy Birthday Elaine! Hope U like Your Sunflowers Bouquet!

Recently, I have an order from an ex-colleague. She wants to order a half dozen bouquet of sunflowers for her colleague cum best friend's birthday.

To be honest, I have always wanted to make sunflowers but never get a chance to make it as I don't know how it will turn out. I have no confidence to even try it last time!

So, when I receive an order, I told myself, somehow I need to overcome it. 

I begin with doing a lot of researches on sunflowers, the shape, the back of it, the colour, etc...thanks to the Internet, I managed to find what I am looking for!

This is one nice bouquet, photo downloaded from the Internet...

Of course, this is a huge bouquet, so, I need to reduce the number of sunflowers to only 6 stalks.

Then, I started to research on flowers that represent friendship, since this is a custom make bouquet with a personalised touch!

I found two flowers: 

This is White Hydrangea. It symbolises friendship & devotion. It represents understanding & it is seen as 1 of the purest ornamental flowers. Its magnificent bloom is a bouquet of dedication & it can be described as heavenly beautiful & charming. (Source: onlineflowerguide.com)

This is Yellow Acacia (photo source from Environmental World of Australia). The symbolic meaning of Acacia are friendship, secret love, beauty in retirement & chaste love. You can find a lot of this plant in Australia.

It took me about 3 hours to do all the researches & to find a sample that I like...then, it is back to my thinking zone.

According to my ex-colleague, she doesn't want the bouquet to be too huge or too heavy; & I have to include the White Hydrangea & Yellow Acacia into the bouquet...

So, this is what I made...

A bouquet of White Hydrangea, with some fern leaves...

Up-close pictures of it...

Then I made 3 stalks of Yellow Acacia. Each stalk contains 3 little yellow balls. Again, I added some fern leaves.

Up-close pictures...

After completed these 2, now the most 'fun' part...the SUNFLOWERS!

I started the experiment with the centre, then the petals...here's what I got...

This is a very large sunflower! Just so you know how huge this sunflower is, I made a comparison with my iPad mini...

I think I'm very satisfied with the outcome, so I continued with the other 5 stalks. I've decided to put 2 large stalks & 4 smaller ones.

Here's the small ones...

For comparison...the small flower is as big as my palm.

If I put both large & small together, you'll see a huge difference...

Now, I need to make the back part of the flowers...

Here's the picture I downloaded from the Internet...

Hm...very complicated back...so, this is what I made...

OK, all the flowers are ready, now the stems! I used lots of lots of wire stems for this bouquet as the flowers are rather heavy...I need a good support for it to stand up...oh, I also used balloon sticks for the very 1st time...loved it so much...I think I will continue to use it from now onwards. I then wrapped my stems with 8-ply green yarn. My 1st time too! If you know me, I always use ribbons to wrap my stem. I think the outcome is not bad huh...

These 2 are the large ones...

And, these are the small ones...

Ok...all done...except...where to put the name card? So, I made this, together with a clip beneath it...yes, it's a butterfly...:)

All done finally...now, this is a very challenging part for me as I am not very good with flower arrangements. But I think I passed...what do you think? :D

I asked a friend to hold the flowers so I can take the pictures...

The butterfly is so cute & prominent huh...

Final touch...the red ribbon to hold all together tightly...

And, it is ready to be delivered...

Oh, since I also know this colleague who is celebrating her birthday, & since she had requested a bunny rabbit as a present from me...here's what I made...I also bought her a cake...

On the way to meet her new owner...

This is a picture that my ex-colleague sent me when the bouquet & bunny rabbit is received....

All in all, my 1st bouquet of sunflower is a huge success! :D I might even consider making some for myself, when I have time...:P

Total duration took to make this bouquet: 48 man hours, not inclusive of research time. The experience: priceless! :D

Happy birthday to you, Elaine! May your year be blessed with more happiness & joy!