DIY Handmade Wedding - The Flowers!

For the forth installment of my DIY Handmade Wedding posts/tips, I am talking flowers!

When searching for flowers we decided to shop local and for local flowers, so we chose to go with Australian natives! Luckily a friend of my mums knew about a wholesale flower store who sold to the public. Everbloom in Leederville had a large range of native flowers. 

 
We ordered the flowers and I picked them up the day before. They kept well in the laundry in buckets overnight. I suppose it was probably a good idea to get Australian natives for a DIY Australian summer wedding.

Having the Australian theme meant that I had to have Banksia's and Kangaroo paws. Mum made a lovely flower arrangement in an old vintage wooden box (You can see it in the first image). 

 For the table settings we chose the New South Wales Christmas bush.

For the bouquet we ran out of time to practice before the day, so we were arranging 2 hours before the ceremony (as you can see from the image below, I am still in my pajamas at like 13:00!)..... I probably should have sorted this before, HOWEVER! I loved our bouquets. Some how, mother and daughters got it done just in time. The mixture of eucalyptus, misty blue and pale pink flowers, I just LOVED it. Super proud of our last minute, inexperienced efforts.   

Our flower concept really worked well for our theme. So overall I was SUPER happy! and ready JUST in time for dad to walk me down the isle.

Posts still to come..... making the grooms suit, making the wedding dress, making the cake toppers, how to do a backyard wedding AND MORE!

DIY Wedding - Creative Name Places with a sewing twist

I wanted to inject as much of our personalities into our wedding as possible and the name places expressed my love of sewing! I found an image on pinterest which had made use of the spools for the name places so I borrowed the idea.

I purchased the spools on Etsy from Crafty Wool Felt. You can buy different quantities of the spools and they also have the plain wooden cake toppers to paint.

We varnished the spools by dipping them in the varnish and leaving them to dry. Thanks mum for your help!

I then wrote the names on plain paper with a Deco inspired font and used a pin to fix the name to the spool. Sometimes the wood was too hard to stick it into the wood, so I had to place some blue tac in the middle of the spool and fix the pin that way.

All in all, I was pleased with the result. The wedding guests were impressed with this small injection of sewing love:)

Handmade Wedding: Sewing the Bridesmaid Dress

Today I will be sharing the process of making my sisters bridesmaid dress!

The bridesmaid dress was a little challenging as most of my ideas didn't end up working.  I wanted my sisters bridesmaid dress to be art nouveau inspired with a casual twist and mine to be more art deco inspired..... the nouveau never really eventuated. But one thing which saved me was a last minute fabric buy. When buying the wedding silks and chiffon's, I saw this orange flower print and couldn't resist a reckless purchase. Little did I know that this decision would save the big day!  The theme of the dress also needed to be casual garden wedding friendly.

Fabric manipulation

For the bodice, I used a basic block pattern and shaped the back piece. I started using this fabric manipulation technique that I saw Christopher Palu from Project Runway do on a number of garments. Not having a great deal of experience working with silks and chiffons I decided to use tissue paper as a stabilizer. Firstly I ruled lines 1cm apart on the paper. And layered the fabric and paper; silk, chiffon and then paper on top. Following the lines, I sewed across each pattern piece. 

I then ripped the tissue paper off (which was not a fun job) and cut between each sewed line. 

Things aren't quite going to plan:(

I was planning on continuing this technique for the skirt but had to forfeit the idea when the chiffon on chiffon skirt version ended up totally warped. No one wants a wonky skirt! Time was running short so I had to make a decision fast. When I get to this point of 'sewing despair' I sit in front of my fabric stash, waiting for the solution to bare its wonderful head. This wonderful fabric was like a beacon of light, shining amongst the other fabrics.
So the solution was to cover the peppermint fabric with the chiffon floral. It did feel sad abandoning the initial concept and cover up my hard work:( But something had to be done

Circle skirt and Hand Sewing

I cut the 1/4 Circle skirt (using the calculations in my circle skirt tutorial) and started to drape the chiffon on the dress. Hand sewing all the way. 

Sewing and the sun
During the summer months I find it hard to be inside, so I often take my sewing outside!

 

Hair 

Kass got her hair done in a braid. I initially wanted her to wear it out, but living in one of the windiest cities in the world could potentially be a problem for long hair. I really like how it all turned out.

All in all I am happy with the dress and feel that it fit the garden theme of the wedding very well:)

Thanks sis for being such a great bridesmaid!


Still to come...... the grooms suit, my wedding dress, crocheted cake toppers. Plus much more. 

DIY Wedding - How to Design and Create you own Wedding

It is no secret that I love to make and create! So it was only natural to apply this passion to our wedding. Creating our own DIY wedding was a great experience and certainly challenging. There are a heap of advantages to having a DIY wedding 

 1. Budget - For those of us who do not want to spend our life's saving on a wedding, a DIY wedding can be super cost efficient. We saved a heap of money!

2. Unique - It gives you the opportunity to have a unique wedding with a heap of personality.

3.  Pride and Experience - It was a great experience and I am proud to have pulled it off!

So, in the coming month I will be sharing my experiences and tips! 
Today I am starting with collecting inspiration and deciding on themes

The following list/reminders helped with the decision making process throughout the DIY wedding planning and reduced headaches

- How much are you going to DIY -

I would have loved to DIY everything, but that was unrealistic for me. (e.g. I wanted to make our cake but it just was not possible, so I had it made in a local bakery, but I made the stand (stay tuned to see our cake!))

- Season - 

Consider the time of the year when planning. Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn. e.g. you don't want a long sleeved wedding dress in the summer.
(We had our ceremony under this tree in the Australian summer)

- Colour scheme - 

Choose a colour (red, pink, green, yellow etc) or a colour theme (e.g. pastels, bright colours, metallic) 

(We had pastels with peppermint green and apricot as the main colours)

- Formality - 

Formal, semi formal, informal/casual 
(Our wedding was casual, which suited the backyard theme)

 - Venue type -

Garden, Backyard, Beach, Hall, Barn, Restaurant, Country, city, tent

(We had a garden, backyard wedding)

- Add your own personality/quirks - 
Put some effort into injecting your personality into the wedding

e.g. Music, hobbys,interests  
(We took our cameras with us for the photos, I sewed our clothes, had cotton spool name tags, crocheted our cake toppers,created our playlist etc.)

- Inspired by an era - 

Period, Deco, Nouveau, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, modern
(The Art Deco period inspired my dress, jewellery & make up)

- Verbs - 
Choose some relevant descriptive terms:

eclectic, quirky, fancy, elegant, rustic, classic, romantic, party, rock, punk, natural, ecological, ethical, vintage, indie, local, organic 

(I chose these verbs Eclectic/romantic/ethical/local/vintage/party)

- The dreaded budget - 

Every decision needs to be made with the budget in mind! 

(Ours was low!)

- Be practical -

Think practically, try not to get carried away. The reality is that you can not achieve every fantastic thought/inspiration. You have learn to edit and have a relaxed attitude! What ever happens, happens.

-Be organised -

Create a timeline (find some basic one's on the internet), create excel spreadsheets to help you organise, assign roles/jobs for the big day

- Avoid internet saturation and be confident - 

If you are struggling to make decisions, step away from pinterest and wedding blogs. Be confident and trust you decisions

- Think about your journey -

Think about your journey together as a couple and the current stage in your life. How can you incorporate this into you wedding. 

(We had a photo wall which reflected our journey and the people in our lives. The music was also a reflection of our journey together)

- Mood board and keep on track -

Use all of this information to create a mood board and keep checking back at your theme ideas. It is easy to get carried away. Make a decision and stick with it. Or have a solid reason to change!

Posts still to come...

- How to set up your garden/backyard wedding

- Making your wedding dress

- Making the grooms suit

-  Crocheting the cake toppers

- Making the bridesmaid dress

- Creating your invites

- Choosing your flowers

- Choosing your jewellery

-Choosing a phtographer

Eco Sewing Bag: Illustrated & Screen Printed Cotton Spools

My passion for sewing resulted in this little bag!

I am in the process of creating a number of crafting bags (e.g. crocheting & knitting) .... and here is the SEWING BAG. I illustrated these adventurous cotton reels, then screen printed them onto these eco bags. All my items can be found in my FS Screen Printing Etsy store. Woo!

UPDATE: My progress with the Fickle Sense knitted shorts. I need help!

Here is the update on the Fickle Sense knitted shorts......

Short Front

I have committed the most basic of knitting crimes... I have run out of yarn. I had the idea of knitting this second pair of shorts a few years ago and since then the yarn that I bought is discontinued:( I have visited all of the yarn stores in Berlin and have searched the net..... with no luck:( I think I only need one more ball of yarn. Can anyone help?

Yarn: GGH, Big Easy. Colour: royal blue #18. 

At the moment the current solution is to start the ribbed waistband with a yarn of the same size (5-6) and similar colour, which I have found at the Berlin knitting store knit knit.  This version of shorts will have to be the Hip version. I will probably knit the high waisted version with another colour... thinking of knitting a  burgundy version.

Fingers crossed my solution works! 

Short Back

The famous 'mahaila knitted shorts' are back!

Remember my 'mahaila knitted shorts?' 

Back in 2011, as a challenge I created this pattern and knitted my sister these shorts. Since then, I have had many inquiries from fellow knitters requesting the pattern for my mahaila knitted shorts. And the good news it that I am actually getting around to knitting another pair, with the aim of writing the exact pattern down and sharing it! 

This is how Kass styled the knitted shorts in Aus.

So, I am slowly knitting the shorts and these will hopefully be ready for June! This time I have picked a 100% cotton Royal Blue yarn!

Hopefully I can reach my June deadline. I will keep you updated!

Knitting and Crocheting Bags from FS Screen Printing!

Today I finally finished my two new bags for knitters and for crocheters! I have been illustrating quite a bit lately and will have some sewer bags ready soon too. I screen print my illustrations onto ethical, organic bags. I also added some little pockets in both bags for placing needles/hooks. 


I made these for a couple of reasons. 

1. I am not the neatest person and need to contain my projects within a confined space. So these little fella's help me out in that department. 

2. I am a knitter/crocheter who likes to travel about with my projects in my bag.... you never know when you will have a spare minute to keep your hands busy

3. I like things which help define me. I am a knitter and crocheter... and sewer and proud of it!  

Both bags can be found in my etsy shop FS Screen Printing. 

Mr & Mrs: Our DIY wedding

After months of hard work I am happy to report that our wedding went really well and I am now a Mrs.! 
   
I will be sharing my DIY wedding tips in some upcoming posts

- Sewing the bridal gown
- Sewing the grooms suit
- Sewing the bridesmaid dress
- Creating the cake toppers: Crochet and sewing
- How to create a complete DIY wedding.
- Creating your bouquet
- Making your own wedding invites: illustration and printing


So watch this space!

The Year of the Productive Sewing Blog

 

photos: Michael Dooney

Welcome 2014, goodbye turbulent 2013!
2013 was certainly a difficult and full on year. Perhaps this was reflected through my lack of involvement on the blog. BUT! I am looking forward to 2014 and am definitely starting with a positive and enthusiastic frame of mind. It will be a productive year for Fickle Sense! & for my sustainable fashion blog 'i give 2 hoots'.


I hope to mindfully make some of the following changes within the following weeks.  

Organisation
I have that many things on that I really need to make more of an effort to be organised. I do have an unorganised, fleety, creative mind which makes it hard for me to remain tidy. I know how to do it, I just have to put it into practice for more then one day. 

Keeping healthy
I am someone who "needs" to exercise daily to function. It is a de-stressor, it helps me release some of my energy and helps to clear my mind. Plus I just love it! Training for last years marathon made me realise how fantastic sprint work is, I will continuing with this. I will also continue with my green tea drinking and super healthy eating. 

More adventure, experimentation & risk taking .....with confidence!
This year I aim to experiment more with our photography, designing, sewing and printing with confidence. My frontal lobe is always urging me to sensor myself and inadvertently dulling me down at bit. This year more of my primitive self may emerge.... don't be scared, i might just add a little more quirk. 

German
Yes german is still... and will probably always be on my 'much needed for improvement' list. If I was taking German at school, I would be achieving at an unsatisfactory level 'she exhibits desire to improve, but unfortunately she rarely completes her homework. She seems to be focused on other areas of study. I am looking forward to seeing improvements in mahaila's German study habits within the following semester'. Lets hope I get there! as with all of my goals.
 
  

Now to the clothes in the post.

The blouse was purchased from the second hand/vintage shop, Broken Doll in Fremantle last year when I was home in Australia. I am always on the look out for interesting blouses, especially with frills of some sort. Coral was my favourite colour for 2013, and I think I will continue to source coral coloured items\fabrics.

These Large print Houndstooth shorts have made a few appearances on the blog, I made them a while ago from this Burdastyle shorts pattern (I think it was this pattern, I actually can't remember). I wear them so much, that the zipper broke. They broke on a Friday night out. Luckily I had a cardigan to cover the large slit. Now they are sitting on the 'need to mend' pile. 

Anyhoo, Happy 2014 everyone. It is going to be a good one!

What are your plans for 2014?

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TUTORIAL: Horse print on How.do

After a long few months of 'wedding adventures' I am back to my full fickle sense power! With a tutorial! 

I will be posting about my bridal party sewing ventures within the following weeks.... but for now I am sharing my love of printing through the how.do application. I am sure everyone has cottoned onto the fact that I am not that technologically inclined, however thanks to Melissa from how.do I have actually put together a tutorial through the website. The tutorial was inspired by this years Chinese New Year animal: The Horse. An array of bloggers & creatives have developed numerous 'horse' inspired tutorials. Check out the many tutorials here.

Here is the full Fickle Sense tutorial on www.how.do/guide/horse-print

HORSE PRINT a micro guide by Fickle Sense on How.Do

Click on this image to generate the free template for the tutorial.

 

Check out how.do and the many amazing available tutorials on their website as well as their blog. It really is a whole new world of DIYing! Anyone can create a tutorial (as long as you have an iphone.... How.do is currently in the process of opening the application to android phones, I am waiting for this, so that I can make more tutorials with the application).