613 Pop-up Shop, in Almonte, this Saturday!

Come to Almonte this coming Saturday, October 25th for Support Local's lineup of awesome events! 

I'll be at the 613 Pop-up Shop at the Old Town Hall, 14 Bridge St, Almonte, from 10am-4pm. Featuring makers from all over the area with local bands serenading your pop-up shopping experience. I'll have a fresh new batch of Gnome Stuffies as well as all my regular wares: wee fabric houses and puppets for all!

And if you need a ride, there's a shuttle for $15 per person, and includes a return trip from downtown Ottawa to Almonte. Visit uniiverse.com/supportlocalshuttle to book your tickets.

Happy birthday to my Etsy shop!

Exactly one year ago today, I opened my Etsy shop! And what an exciting year of designing and creating it has been — it is such a joy to be able to do what I love, and I am so thankful for all of your wonderful support and encouragement! Thank you so much!

And though I'm taking a bit of a break now to focus on my new little bundle, I am looking forward to many years to come!

Baby quilt, all done!

My quilt recently came back from the quilter's, leaving the final (and very enjoyable) step: adding the binding. I made a double-fold binding as per the method described in my cousin, Mary Elizabeth Kinch's excellent book, Small Blocks, Stunning Quilts. I can't speak to other techniques, since this is my first completed quilt, but I found this worked so well, and really made for a lovely finished edge. And had the added benefit of requiring some very zen hand-stitching, which we all know I love!

I am so thrilled with this bright and summery quilt; now just to wait patiently for the little one to arrive, so I can swaddle him up in it!

There are two bits of "charm" (two same fabrics accidentally adjacent) in the quilt, but they're hard to spot!

Huge shop update!

I've recently added a bunch of new items to my Etsy shop: finger puppets, hand puppet kits, itty bitty wooden houses, and so much more!

Bear Hand Puppet

Fox Hand Puppet

Raccoon Hand Puppet

Hand Puppet Kits!

Itty Bitty Wooden House

Another Itty Bitty Wooden House

The Barn and Friends

Farm Animal Finger Puppets

Urban Craft Market: tomorrow!

I've been busily preparing for tomorrow's craft show, and am looking forward to premiering my new designs! I'll have Gnome Homes, Barns with farm animal finger puppets, some new puppet friends to introduce you to, and some brand new itty bitty wooden houses (a mere inch wide!).

So if you're in the Ottawa area, escape the heat (not that I'm complaining, it's been a long time coming!) and check out all the talented vendors! It's going to be a fantastic show. It's all happening at the Glebe Community Centre, from 10am to 3pm, and admission is free! Can't wait to see you there!

A good old-fashioned barn raising, except much, much smaller.

One end of the barn's exterior.

Farm animal finger puppets! Each barn comes with a set, but I will also be selling the sets without barns.

Gnome Homes being sewn and assembled together.

Three new puppets to introduce you to: Fox, Raccoon, and Bear!

I've hand-painted a series of itty bitty wooden houses — just an inch wide!

Save the date for June 28: Urban Craft Market

I'll be a vendor at the summer edition of the Urban Craft Market on Saturday, June 28, from 10 am to 3pm, at the Glebe Community Centre in Ottawa. It was a great show at Christmas, and judging by the list of talented vendors, you won't want to miss this one either!

I've got some new designs that I'm excited to premiere: a Gnome Home, complete with Gnome stuffie, a Barn that comes with farm animal finger puppets, and three new hand puppets to introduce you to: Raccoon, Bear, and Fox! And, rumour has it that the puppets will now also be available as kits, so you can make your own!

Gnome stuffie

Whether you want an extra Gnome to live in your Gnome Home, or a new little pocket friend to accompany you on your travels (and photobomb your selfies!), this wee little Gnome is the perfect companion. But be sure to keep an eye on him, because he has a tendency to wander!

This double-sided stuffie features my own hand-drawn illustration printed onto a linen-cotton blend, and is now available in the shop!

Shop update: Gnome Home

My Spoonflower fabric order arrived, and I've busily building Wee Fabric Houses and puppets, and will reveal my new designs over the coming weeks. First up: the Gnome Home, now in the shop! I'm really excited about this one — I had a lot of fun illustrating all the travel-themed details inside, and all the flora on the outside.

The permanent home of the traveling Gnome! When he's not off galavanting the globe, Gnome calls this forest dwelling Home. Surrounded by flowers, mushrooms, and sheltered by a thick moss roof — Gnome curls up by his fireplace, reading travel books, and getting inspired for his next adventure (suitcase always at the ready)!

Each Gnome Home comes with a wee Gnome stuffie.

Even though he travels light, Gnome still needs to get caught up on laundry when he gets home.

Dandylions, tiger lilies, mushrooms, acorns, and clover.

Mementos and souvenirs of his travels — including, of course, a selfie in front of the Taj Mahal!

His front yard offers a peaceful respite from all the business of traveling.

Globe and travel books for planning the next adventure!

Chickadee stuffies — now in the shop!

Just added to the shop: chickadee stuffies! Whether you want an extra chickadee to live in your Chickadee House, a new little friend to carry around in your pocket, or just a toy for your favourite feline to bat around (that won't harm any actual chickadees...), I've got chickadee stuffies for all!

In the last blog post I shared a little bit about my process, and today I thought I'd illustrate the entire process in pictures, from sketch, to finished stuffie.

It begins with a sketch...

Then that sketch is traced, and the trace is scanned...

And then I paint (digitally), layers of texture and colour...

I upload my final files to Spoonflower, and they arrive a few weeks later, printed on fabric!

I sew them together, and add them to the shop!

Behind the scenes: a sneak peek at my process

A lot of what I make is directly tangible from the outset — the Wee Fabric Houses that I make from upcycled thrifted fabrics come together physically, piece at a time. On the other hand, the houses and puppets that I make from fabric custom-printed with my illustrations have quite a lengthy process behind them before there's anything physical.

I've been working away on some new house and puppet designs, but since it will be about a month before my latest fabric order arrives, I thought I'd share a bit about my process, and give you some sneak peeks on what's coming!

When I have an idea for a new project, I begin doing some preparatory sketches, and then move toward refining those drawings. Each piece for each puppet or house is drawn separately using template pieces that I created for myself, but if I've got a new house shape in mind, then I create a new pattern to work from. For instance, my Japanese Teahouse and Chickadee House use the same pattern (except of course for the hole/door in the side of the birdhouse!), but for my Gingerbread House, I changed the width of the house and the pitch of the roof, to suit what I was trying to achieve.

After I'm happy with my pencil drawings, I trace them with a marker-like pen, which gives me a looser, more expressive quality of linework. I then scan these tracings, and begin the process of colouring on the computer. Through a series of layers with various digital brushes, I build up tone and texture, often reworking areas repeatedly until I'm happy with how it's coming together. Each new house takes about a week and a half to finish illustrating, and each puppet about 4 days.

I then prepare my files for uploading to Spoonflower, fitting my pattern pieces as efficiently as possible (like Tetris pieces!) into the 42" by 36" yard dimensions. After submitting my order, I *patiently* wait the 3-4 weeks for my fabric order to arrive, then cut out all the pieces and sew them together into happy little puppets and houses, and voila!

Sketch for one of the sidewalls for a new Wee Fabric House: The Gnome Home!

Each Gnome Home will come with a wee Gnome stuffie.

Gnome after he's been digitally painted.

Sketch for the head of a new puppet: a raccoon!

Preparatory sketch for a new fox puppet. 

Finished cover for my new fox puppet kit (yes, kits!)

Sketches for a new Wee Fabric House: a barn, complete with farm animal finger puppets.

Some of the final pieces for the barn, laid out for printing.