Here is my contribution to Black friday deals. Name cushions that will make it possible to fit the whole family into the sofa. Great christmas present to the ones that have everything already and can be difficult to buy for.
They are for sale in my Etsy shop and until the 8 dec you can receive a 20% discount if you go to VillaPernillas Facebook page and get the coupon code there.
The photograph is taken in my hallway. The sofa is a find from a fleamarket, loppisfind that I made years ago and it was all purple and now it is painted in a lovely egg tempera paint in a dark pewter grey. The scandis like their graffic black and white and I normally use more colour but I thought this made a bold impression. Here are some more pictures.
This is my sons cat Sixten who always have to check up on things.
I found some nice printed cotton jersey and have made som leggings and matching hats. They are for sale in my Etsy shop. You can buy them separate but if you buy them both there is a good deal on the shipping cost. They come in four different prints. With colder weather around the corner legging are great for wearing underneath winter overalls.
So last Saturday was the Emil i Lönneberga day at the local library. I helped arrange the children craft section and then there was a storytelling room, fika, film session and a quiz that I also wrote.
At ten o'clock the doors opened and there was people hanging on the door waiting to get in. We estimated about 80-90 kids and parent turned up. A lot more than we expected so we had to arrange for more tables and chairs so that all the kids could sit down. So I dont have that many pictures to show of the masks the kids made but they where all great.
We made masks based on the theme Emil and his friends. For the youngest I had cut out various shapes the were a cat, the pig, a frog and face out of paper plates. The children then decorated them using watercolors , pens and colored paper. We also made some noses out of egg cartons. Th older kids cut and made their owns shapes. It is very fulfilling doing this with the kids and I think I will come up with some more ideas . Me and Anna, the local librarian have started brainstorming ways of collaborating and making the library a much needed meeting place for families in Högsby.
I also mad a wallpaper collage that is now placed on the wall in the childrens section. Next post will be showing pictures of VillaPernilla first public art!
It's that time of the year again. Halloween has become something that we now also celebrate in Sweden. I found these images via Handmade Charlotte while researching for a project with my local library.
Funnie shaped leaves on the first picture but since the leaves are tumbling down I wanted to include them. I like my craft to be achivable for kids and that is what I like about picture number two.
Take a piece of cardboard, score it and bend it an draw a face. Great
The last picture is a great combo of dream mask, the shark and then there is the apple that is the realistic version. I'm making prototypes myself now inspired by Day of the Dead in Mexico.
I dont normally show pictures of my costume work but I received these photos the other day from Matilda and Magnus who run a two man show theatre for kids calledLilla Vilda Teatern .The Little wild Theatre.
They wanted new costumes for their shows and I designed a 70s inspired base outfit made in baby blue corduroy and then different tops for the different shows.
Here are photos from their Bakery show.
What fun to receive pictures off the costumes in action. Its so fun and rewarding doing stuff for kids and the actors where a joy to work with!
Found this on Pinterest and been playing it a bit in my studio. Just love the illustration. Someone told me that Paul andLinda only spent one night apart from each other during their marriage and that was when Paul spent a night in japanese jail. Not sure if it's true. Any one knows?
This Saturday Högsby my local town( well with a population of 1800 people and the borough has a total of 6000 I'm not sure what to call it) had a small festival to celebrate the town. I thought it would be a nice idea to have a stall and meet some customers. So many returning customers ! Good to get feedback on the products and to get some new ideas. I should try to reach out and do more craft shows and markets so if you readers have any suggestions of good places please let me know. Many of my readers are international so it might be a bit tricky:)
I have now invested in a small party tent. I think it works better against shade than to keep rain out.
I decided to have big sale on my cushions and they sold very well. Great to have some more storage space here at home but Leon my son felt a bit attached to the cushions and jumped into the old laundry basket.
Being busy is good but as you can see my dear blog has been tragically neglected. When I started blogging my maternity had just finished and I was finding my way back to work and being a mum. I started VillaPernilla and selling stuff I needed myself as a mum on Etsy.com and in a few shops and museum gift stores. The biggest room upstairs became the VillaPernilla head quarter and sewing studio.
Since this picture was taken I've repainted and bought new fittings and another table.
My costume work picked up again and I'm actually having to turn down work at times. It is harder to say no to work than one can imagine. I worked for Skånes dansteater wich is Swedens largest independent dance institution pretty much all last autumn. Very nice work and very nice people to work with.The pictures are from a double bill called HAZE and it is now touring in Germany and then Norway.
On Invisible Pause, choreography by Christopher Arouni, a part of Skånes Dansteater’s performance HAZE. Photo: Mats Bäcker.
Devious Paths, choreography by Helena Franzén, a part of Skånes Dansteater’s performance HAZE. Photo: Mats Bäcker.
I also do some tailoring and sewing jobs that people drop by with. Not sure why I do it but it seems nice to offer the service to people that live locally. Today I had a visit by a 80 year old man that came wading threw the snow to get his jeans turned up. He sat reading the local paper while we did the job.
Now I feel like things are ready to take to level two whatever that entails. In my head I have a dream version of what that is but I have to make one that will work when there is only 24 hours in a day and I'm a mum that lives about 60km from a desent shop. So careful planning and internet shopping for supplies are key to make it work. I would love my costume website to look great if you look at it using an I-pad or mobile.Oh and if I am making a wish list here I will add that blogs,websites,facebook pages etc could update themselfs. So on that note I will finish my first 2012 entry and hope that there will be many more to come.
As you probably noticed I've been neglecting my dear blog. All for good reasons I might add since the work have just been rolling in. That is the problem with freelancing and just wanting to do lots of stuff you just can't get a balance. So I have been dying fabrics...
When I moved back to Sweden after years in London I just had to bring my Burco boiler.
This was the first time I used it for work and I couldnt have done the job without it. My version looks like stonage compared to the new one I realise but it still works.
The fabrics where dyed to become shirts for a musical at Malmö Opera house. The show, Les Miserable will open in september.
My lamp project that I've written about in this blog earlier turned into an exhibition along with some of my other textiles and together with a ceramist , Annika Sonntag we laid a table with our creations and my lamps above it.
Got into outdoor cooking in a big way. Specially my own grown vegetables. The vegetable patch was the part of the garden I enjoyed the most in the garden this summer.
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Made some more costumes and meet some very nice people at the same time. Here are two videos
from the production. It's all in swedish I'm afraid..
I did go to the beach as well but next summer I will I will spend more time here.
It won't cost an arm and a leg to take advantage of EtsyKids Christmas in July SALES! Christmas in July doesn't last much longer. Sweeten up your Sunday with special savings!
It is coming up to holiday season and I thought it would be nice to list a few great things to do on journeys. Not sure how my own holiday will turn out since freelance mayhem has got its claws into me the last month and doesnt seem to stop for the next 6 months! So if my blogging is somewhat sporadic you just have to picture me sitting in front of my sewing machine or leaning at the cutting table staring into space thinking about some pattern problem to solve.
We always used to play with paper dolls an draw new clothes for them.You could find them in back of magasines and if I remember rightly sometimes you could get famous people and that was just the best!
I love the crayon wallets perfect for taking with you on journeys instead of the kids watching dvds or when going to restaurants you can have this as your secret weapon when the kids start playing up and getting bored!
And the spool knitter is brilliant just check out the shop with lots of different faces.
Car bingo cards frompersonalityplus from Etsy again. Not many trams where I live but that will keep the kids busy!
The lamps I saw in a little shop on a backstreet in Malmö last weekend. The patch work quilts I make from old handwooven kitchen towels that is quilted with organic cotton wadding. It is a great way of using towels and I sometimes leave the old monograms showing to give it a special feeling. They can be made to fit any size bed or kitchen sofa. To order send an e-mail of size bed you want it to fit and I will give you a price estimate. I can even use your old towels with your grandmother monograms to make it a special heirloom.
I like the idea of these floorbeds for when the kids outgrow their cots. Maria Montessori recommended beds like these from the age of 6months or older. You dont have to worry that they will fall out of bed, the kids themself can get into the bed when they feel sleepy and its big enough that you can lie down and read a bedtime story and maybe sleep a little bit yourself.
Click picture to find out more about it. I try to promote Etsy to nearly every one that comes my way. I think it is a great source of inspiration and a place to find unusal and special gifts to friends and family. Why buy dull massproduced stuff when you can get well made one of a kind products from Etsy.
So some of the fabrics got stuck in customs but now they are here and it's great to see them together for
about 2 minutes . Now they are cut out and ready to be stitched.
So got my tags to go on my products now. They look great and I'm very happy with them. Next step is to punch holes and tie strings to them and then attaching them to VillaPernilla Spring and Summer Collection 2011.
Today I built a light box to start working on my photo skills. You don't get much light up here this time of the year and it's cold standing outside trying to make a cosy scene with some cushions and a chair when it's minus whatever. Then M turns up with this tripod from out of nowhere and I feel like I'm in a different league now. Next time I complain about about hoarding stuff and never throwing anything away I will try to
I found this great site and I thought I'd share it since it just made my head full of great ideas. We have had a lot of days now being snowed in and new ideas for playing inside is needed. Maybe I'm the one most excited about making these. No great sewing skills are needed you could even just staple them together for a punky look!
The measurments are in inches . 1 inch is 2,5 cm if you want to follow the instructions carefully or you just cut them how you like it.
Fabric Nesting Dolls
Instructions
What you need:
Fabric (I used a natural denim for the front and fleece for the back.)
Scissors and/or rotary cutter
Sewing machine (or hand sew)
Fabric pen (I use Painters Opaque Paint Markers by Elmer's. They're non-toxic and great for fabric.)
1. Cut two rectangles of fabric for each doll. Round the tops if you'd like. (From largest to smallest, my rectangle measurements were about 9.5" x 6", 8.5" x 5", 7.5" x 4.5", 6.5" x 3.75". For the denim leave an extra 1/4" at the bottom for step two.)
2. On the denim pieces, fold a 1/4" at the bottom and sew across. This will keep the bottom edge from fraying.
3. Stack the two fabric pieces for each doll, right sides together, and sew around the edges of the sides and top, leaving the bottom edge open
4. Turn the dolls right side out.
5. Using a fabric pen, draw a figure on each doll. (Your child may draw the figures if he or she is old enough, or you can even use previous drawings as a template and draw it yourself.
6. Using a hot hair dryer, blow the pen ink dry. It will then be permanent and even withstand washing.
I'm sure you could use a normal felt tip pen or just anything you could get your hands on. Just like the kids do!
7. Start the play!
This is the site where I found this http://madebyjoel.blogspot.com/
He's also coming out with a book this autumn with modern toy/ craft . Great I think but what does the kids think about it?
My handtinted version, using an old family portrait and my partybib
I love these kind of handtinted photos. I found them just on Google search.
It's like an old version of photoshop and the proof that people always have touched up photos! So when I made my partybib I thought it would be great to use an old photo of my partners dad and stick the bib on. Its not easy to get a kid to sit still so this is one way of dealing with it. But with my limited photo skill I got a friend to help me with the photoshop bit. She does some great arty stuff too. http://www.mariannewie.net/
Then I tried a life version with my son and made him eat some icecream. I think him and his grandfather look very similar and we all felt a little bit sad looking at the pictures since his grandfather is not alive and will never see this little boy growing up.
I still cant keep away from kitchy stuff! So when I saw this plastic fabric really supposed to be used for tablecloths my head thought fancy party bib. Just wipe down and ready for next party !http://www.etsy.com/listing/42479560/bib-haklapp
Stared planning for 2011. Some people are just great at bying gifts but for some of us it can be a bit tricky coming up with a personal gift that says I really thought of you. Recognize this? If people only knew how many hours you spent chasing that perfect gift in and out of stores. You could say , here is your present but I actually spent a whole day looking for it. Or like me this Christmas. I have bought three presents and then when I told the parents what I bought for their kids they said oh no he already got two of those or she's got that book.
So I'm going to make presents now . That way you are safe. So I figure name cushions are a great thing to give a way. These ones are made in organic denim and appliqued names in colourful fabrics. They are large enough to use in a pillow fight , looks great on a bed or to use snuggled up on the sofa. So keep an eye out in my Etsy store after Christmas because that's where they will be for sale.
.http://www.etsy.com/shop/VillaPernilla
