Secret squirrel stuff...Blogtoberfest day 22.

I've been delving back into some beading to stock up at the shop,

which has reminded me how much I love it.

Such a stress free fun way to pass time, so it makes perfect sense that it's an avenue I have chosen to walk down a little further with a new secret squirrel collaboration I'm working on.

I can't tell you much, but I'm very excited about the new range of jewels you'll see here.... soon.
Jay xx

Tops....

Blogtoberfest day 16:

After losing a few days of my life whilst I tried and tried and tried again to make a new pattern for a summer top......


I finally got to prototype number three and was happy.

After what seemed an eternity of preparation in finalizing and then grading the pattern, I could finally wash and cut out all my pattern pieces ready for screen printing.

I've ended up with a funky halter neck top, that the more risque could wear alone, bearing a beautiful back...but for the rest of us, it's designed as a layering piece.
In summer you could wear it over a singlet or boob tube and in winter over you fave long sleeve body tee.

I've made up 4 colorways with different prints on them and 3 of the designs were delivered to the shop on Friday.

Here's a quick snap of the purple ones on display with my new skirts using the fabulous 'Crush' fabric I showed you last week.

It's not the greatest pic, but you can sorta see the look I'm going for.
I promise to take a better pic on the mannequin, next time I'm In store.

For more great Blogtoberfest reading, be sure to head on over to Tinnies with a cuppa Joe.

Jay xx

Ship's ahoy.....

On the drawing board this week are some new screen printed tee's....

and some oh so versatile wool vests.

I'm in at work tomorrow with the camera in hand, so I promise to take some images that better display the promised versatility of said vests....

The majority were dropped of at the shop this morning, with a few extra sizes left on the drawing board till my machines come back from an overdue visit to the machine doctor.

So till the man lets me know they are all better there will be little break on the clothes front.

All the more reason to get my groove on with some new jewels.

Something new....

I've been a busy bee working away on a new pattern for my next addition the shop. Something versatile, practical and a little bit fun.

Back soon to introduce the the new 'Finki' tunic.

Time for a cuppa....

It's time for a cuppa,

Mr.Finn in his apron, helping me bake today.

cause against all odds, I finally finished my new pinnies for the shop.

I really wanted a plain denim pinnie just to throw over your basic pants and body tee, but once i got cutting and I couldn't resist adding some frou frou...
That's what we'd call garnish when i used to work with dad in the R.S.L kitchens...
Don't send that meal out without frou frou he'd say.

How could I send out a new frock without the frou frou too....

I sometimes think I can do conservative pieces, But I really can't. It's just not me.

So here's the new pinnie ready for the shop tomorrow, complete with contrast buttons and floral pocket detail.

Perfect with a plain body tee for warmth and even better with your fave red cardi.

I'm lovin' it.

Oh and by saying against all odds I meant, needle snapped, buttons not available and machine threatened to cark it on me.....

But all is well that ends well.

Amen to that.

Gettin' in to the groove again...

I'm getting quicker.... I think! At the whole have an idea, cut it out then make it, thing.
It's funny how when you sit down to sew after a spell you've sort of need to get you're groove on again. But once you do, you get into the flow and there's no stoppin yah.

Today I finished my flamingo skirts and matching tops ready for the shop tomorrow. They turned out so nice.
I decided to ditch the guipure trim and just go with a twin stitch in the white. Makes it not so dressy...a bit more of a wear any wear outfit.

I was soooo tempted to add red or teal buttons on the top cause it was coming across all a bit too conservative, but I'm glad I didn't cause now the splash of color can be the customers choice.
One could wear it with a striking red coat, a funky teal cardi or chunky green beads.
I like that idea.

It's my favourite Finki ensemble so far.
Yay!

Sail away....

Not one to be miserable about the rain and cold outside, I've taken advantage of the need to be indoors by putting pedal to the metal and sewing up a whole new batch of goodies for the shop....

My latest screen printed skirt... Sail away ships.

Red, Black and white....my favourites.

New boat neck tees' to co-ordinate with the latest skirts

and restock of denim and black peekaboo vests.

It's taken me ages to sew all the key pieces, just to complete two whole outfits.

But the hard work has paid off, cause I can stand back and look at them all on a rack and be really proud of how they go together so well to create some really funky plus size gear.

Modelled here with a cool scarf made by MIM at Olive Grove.

Next on the cutting board are some fabulous flamingo's....

A new screen printed skirt that's a hipster a-line, knee length design.

I've taken my size range in ever so slightly, so it's a better fit and I've reduced the flare in these ones so they aren't as flappy on the girls with less hips....
I screened a fresh white print on a heavy weight stretch black cotton and I'll probably team it with this geometric guipure trim.

There's a matching black/white stripe tee I'm making up to go with it too. Yay!

whrrrr......cut....cut...brrrrr....back to work!

Earring display...take two!

I revisited my new rack sooner than later and re-painted it black.

I was almost going to let the green stay but when I finished the second rack ...

a shorter version for Handmade Heaven that I painted black, I decided it looked much better.

Much more 'ME' and it shows off all the bright, bold colors fabulously. Yay!

Some other little cuties I finished for the shop yesterday too....

Check out my rack.....

Not that sort of rack! This sorta of rack......

I have been thinkin' and thinkin' and thinkin' of a better way to display my earrings, as I was never happy with the bowl arrangement I had.
It was a lovely wooden bowl with 6 compartments and I would color code them so that each section held one color. I tend to always work in bold color blocks, so that arrangement work well,to an extent............

You could see the few on top only, and people had to dig around to check the others out. Inevitably by the end of a market day they were all upside down with only my backing cards showing. So instead of spending my shift turning them right way round I figured there had to be a better way.

I noticed some people used pin boards or dangle two from a store bought earring display, but....I work in big quantities and tend to have 50 plus to choose from at each stall, so I'd end up having 50 little stands dominating my table. Not the look I was going for....

So after many months thrifting at local oppies and trash n' treasure markets hoping to find the perfect display solution, I gave up...

I gave up on the notion that I was going to find exactly what I needed already made up.

So off I went to Bunnings with my little sketch and basic measurements in hand, feeling very much like a tomboy in amongst all the blokey builders and craftsmen.

I wanted to fit 10 pairs on a shelf and have 6 shelves, so that the finished height was no bigger than 45cm. This was so it would fit perfectly on one of the shelves at the shop. (Olive Grove)

With that in mind, I grabbed some pine that was 60mm wide 240mm long. My idea was to have dowels as the legs that held it all up, so we grabbed 12.5mm dowel in 2 long lengths to be cut up.

I got the man in the cut shop to saw the wood for me as I only have a coping saw at home and why spend hours cutting little itty bits of wood in crooked lines, whilst risking finger loss.... when they can do it in 2 minutes flat. Too easy.

Back at grandpas we measured up hole placement and shelf alignment, sawed the dowel to even lengths (cause the Bunnings peeps could only cut the square wood) and borrowed a 12.5 mm drill bit.

Thanks for helping me nut out the finer details gramps, made assemblage a dream!

Next it was home with all the bitses for assembling.

First we drilled big holes.....

Threaded each shelf on....

checked on the visuals for spacing....

Nailed each pole in place.....

painted it....and put it in the shop!

I'm so happy with the end result.
It looks like there is so much more to choose from, and it takes up minimal surface area on the shelf. YAY!

I'm not 100% on the color. I wanted something quite neutral, but the washed out green is a bit girly...

I might revisit the finish at some stage, but for now it does the job.

To think, for all those months of shopping wasted when I could have just bit the bullet a lot sooner and made one. Oh well...now I know what I'm doing I 'll make a shorter black one for my space in Handmade Heaven.

But I want that one.....

Why settle for the little hat.....

When grandpa has a bigger one!

(grandpa lookin' fine in the t-shirt I got him for Christmas, screen printed by Roze at Olive Grove.)

Looks what new at the shop...

Like all fans of handmade , I too have greeted the new year with a sense of wanting new and exciting things to work on. I still love everything I do, no doubt about that, but..... you just become a little complacent if things remain...same old...same old.
So I spent last week on a new little range of beaded beauties to take in to 'Olive Grove'.

It's been so nice to have a little break away from my usual time takers and there is something about beading that is so meditative.


Standing back and looking at it I'm so glad I detoured a little. It's such a splash of color and fun. I luvs them!

All newly on display at 'Olive Grove' and available in Feb at Handmade Heaven (Qld)

Flashback on 2009......the year that was.

Joining in with Curlypops reflection of the year that was, I decided to revisit all the wonderful and not so wonderful things that happened in 2009.

I only started blogging in January 2009, and kick myself for not doing it sooner. What started as a crafty adventure to share my creations, has turned into so much more.....

An outlet for views and discoveries, a way of sharing my joys, fears and sorrows and most of all an amazing meeting point for all the new crafty friends I have.

I never...never expected so many great things to evolve out of a little online journal.

Thank you!

So without further ado, here are some highlights of my bloggy/crafty/personal year..... in '2009'

January:

I began blogging on Jan 9 2009. This was when i decided that i needed my own crafty space.......my blog post back then read:

"It's so liberating to make the commitment to having a special little place for being creative. It's like saying this is the real deal man. I don't JUST... knit, or paint or play with beads, this is serious stuff. This is my life. The handmade journey, the road I travel, my creative cul-de-sac."

February:

The month of Feb was overshadowed by the devastation of fires that were far too close to home, I wrote:

"By the time we left and hopped back in the car, the sky had transformed itself to a thick red and grey cloud. Ty said it was dust.......but I knew that it was that same sky I saw as a 7 year old, during the ash Wednesday fires, full of peoples dreams and hopes going up in flames. You could sense it in the air.
We turned on the radio, and sure enough, fires were blazing in Whittlesea and Kinglake. Only 30 minutes away. Going home we did everything we could to keep the house cool, and prayed for the cool change. Watching the news with fascination, awe and fear, we listened to the horror stories and the growing death toll."

March:

The first 'Made in Thornbury' market happened in march. It brought about the opportunity to meet so many bloggy peeps in real life, the best part...

"The highlight of my day was an adorable lady who bought one of my gift cards and said she loved it so much that she was going to frame it and put it in her lounge room. The artwork on it was a Finki original, so I was tickled pink."

April:
This month Ben and Jessamy tied the knot, My thoughts were.....

"Kierah (my daughter) was their flower girl for the day. I had fears of her picking her nose whilst walking down the aisle, but she was the perfect little lady all day. "

May:

My absence in blog land for 2 weeks out of this month was to take stock, refocus and put the hard yard in with some new designs:

So the scissor holder and recipe card holder were born....

June:

More markets under my belt....and I think I'm starting to learn a few things!

I realised:

"I am none the wiser as to 'what people want', which really just reinforces the fact that you should just do what you like, rather than guess what people might like. At least that way you can stand there and really love everything you have to offer, knowing it wasn't influenced by fashion or fad, just pure personal inspiration."

July:

I realised that working on new stuff, is what keeps this all so exciting for me.
Back then I said:

"I am always.....always...thinking of my next project and the next four after that matter of fact. But I try to focus on one new project a month to bring to fruition.
Between my day job, raising two kids, catching up on my cleaning, bills, website and blogging......... it doesn't always happen so effortlessly, but I try.
For me personally, this time is of essence, so life doesn't become same old, same old."


August:

Two crafty friends and one big idea saw the beginning of 'Northside Makers'.

I wrote:

"It's hard to stop your self going full speed when you discover other people with the same niggly feeling ........We could do this, we can do that, let's try this, how about that........ So we slowed down, took ourselves seriously and started planning.
A big part of me feels overwhelmed and scared, but a bigger part of me feels exhilarated and as though finally......this is where I'm meant to be."


September:

I reflected on Fathers Day, and how the meaning has changed for me over time.....

"I'm one of many who shares a touch of sadness on fathers day for a father who has passed on, but also celebrates the new father in my life. The father to my children."

October:

After incubating for the full 40 weeks and then some....bubba no.2 for my little sis finally decided to join the world.

I call her Lillie Pillie.....really, she is Lilliana Rose an absolute angel.....

November:

In November 'Finki' begun it's foray into a retail space...not once, but twice.......


Firstly by leasing a space at the fabulous Handmade Heaven in Queensland then by being accepted as a co-op member at Olive Grove.

Not only that....I also turned 34!

Such an exciting month!

December:

A full month of markets...up to four in one week at some stages almost led to a crafty meltdown, but I made it out alive.
The month ended with me quitting my day job...YAY...... and meeting my new little niece, born on the 20th, Miss Elsie Velvet.

So that's a glimpse of 2009 in my little neck of the woods. This year has seen more creativity, personal growth and obstacles over come then any other year of my life.

So 2010......all i can say is "Bring it on"

My year in craft.....

Nearly the end of the year, and definitely time for a little crafty break, so what better to do than Join in with Northside Makers 'my year in craft' meme:

1. In my twelve months of crafting, my crafty self made all these...

Hundreds of glass pendants and rings. hundreds of note pads and journals, many bowls, baskets, pen holders and pin cushions, stools, earrings, bracelets, art pendants, bill books and so much more......

2. If my year was a colour it would be...

Every color in the rainbow.....so bright and beautiful.

3. This year I spent way too many craft hours...

Dropping little itty bitty jewellery findings onto the abyss called my floor...I'd here the bounce as they hit.....but then they would just vanish! Grrrrr!

4. This year I wish I'd had more craft hours for...

Me!.......does that sound silly and purely selfish? Probably. I just spent soooo much time making stuff for everyone else, that I never had time to make fun stuff for me or the kids.

5. My proudest craft moment of the year was...

So many proud crafty moments this year.

Running our first Northside Makers market,

joining the team at Olive Grove,

Quitting my day job to devote my life to craft.....that was a biggy!

6. My biggest craft disaster was...

Crooked booties....not once, but twice did I attempt baby booties and failed miserably. Lucky they were to young to care! (The crooked one is hidden behind the good one)

7. This year I had stalls at/visited this many markets...

OOOh, big year. Had 22 market stalls and visited atleast 30.


8. My most enjoyable market was...

Our first Northside Makers market.
Perfect weather, eager customers and happy children.

9. My best handmade purchase/present/swap/acquisition was...

I'm always so excited when another seller likes my stuff and do swapsies at every market I go to.
It's the best part of doing markets I wreckon.

One of my best handmade purchases would have to be my newly aquired betty jo brooch. I have been admiring them for ages and only just bought my first one at the recent made in Thornbury market.

My best handmade present would have to be these GORGEOUS journals my sister made for my birthday.

and my best swap would have to be with the talented Roze, our screenprint teacher at 'Olive Grove'. She's printed me some so....... so cool t-shirts as a gift for my secret Kris Kringle family member. I can't tell you who and I can't show you yet.....but they are FABULOUS and I'm so happy that I could buy handmade even for the blokes this X-mas.

10. After this year I swear I'll never again...

Stay up till 3 in the morning making stock for a market the next day......!

11. Next year I'm determined to...

Find time to make new stuff....not just re-stocking, but whole new product lines....So excited that now I've quit my day job, this might actually happen!

12. But I'll probably do this instead...
Complain about the weather, sleep to little, and create till my brain melts.

Thanks for reading and now it's your turn to tell me all about your crafty year too!

Last one....

Well, the silly season of craft markets is finally coming to an end.
Tonight's Kris Kringle night market, will be my last market for the year.

Northcote Town Hall
5.30 - 10 pm.

It has been an insane month, with many....many highs and lows.

I look forward to spending the evening with all my crafty friends, doing some last minute shopping and putting out all my 'Finki' goodies on display one last time.

It's always so rewarding to see weeks of work laid out on the table.
A sign that I finished all that I set out to do, and a little reminder of how much I love this crafty life I lead.....

Although my markets will come to an end for a while, from Friday onwards you can shop for the entire 'Finki' range proudly on display in it's new home at 'Olive Grove'.

So one chapter ends and a new one begins........
Thanks for being a part of the journey.

Come and see my new space......

You probably don't need an excuse for a party.......
But here's some any way!

Lots of handmade goodies to buy,
drinks and nibblies for all,
prizes and give aways.......

What's it all about?

The team at Olive Grove have decided to open their doors later than usual so you can steer away from shopping center madness and enjoy some local handmade loveliness.

Olive Grove is an artists studio/ retail space that has been based on Sydney Rd, Brunswick for the last 10 or so years. They currently represent the work of 9 designers that focus purely on hand made, ranging from clothing and art to accessories and toys.

I joined the team at 'Olive Grove' in November and find myself constantly inspired by the creative people around me.

So I'd like to invite you along to have a sticky beak at my new space, see all the funky stuff the others make, and along the way you might even be able to cross a few Xmas presents off your list.

Olive Grove Studios
159 Sydney Rd
Brunswick, Vic

Hope to see yah there!