Create because you can, not because you have to.

We've just returned from a week in North Devon, celebrating a lifelong friend's wedding which was so so beautiful, pretty much everything was hand-made, with so much time and love gone in to every lasting detail it really was one of the most beautiful weddings ever - some images from the day can be found on the official photographer's blog here.

What with the wedding, days lounging on the beach until darkness, watching the sunset, fighting through crashing waves, walking for hours along riverbanks and through sand dunes with no real destination, upon returning home I've never been so inspired to create - I even found inspiration for a new dress in a washed up pile of rocks at Putsborough Beach (of which I've brought a few home as a reminder).. I'll be collecting fabrics for this over the next few weeks or so.

As for dresses, I actually started on a brand new dress today and have spent the last few hours playing with materials and my Singer, the living room looks like a fabric bomb has hit it. It's very much based on the dress I made for my wonderful friend in Canada which you'll find here.

Some progress shots?

I've been having so much fun these past two and a bit years growing my tiny little business that I completely forgot to slow down and take a break - even throughout my holidays I'd continue working..! I LOVE running my little shop, it means everything to me and I love all the people I've met who support me and make it possible for me to do what I love - over the last couple of months it's sort of exploded into something so much bigger than I ever imagined, every spare minute of my days and nights have been spent working hard on my etsy shop and bookbinding, I totally forgot about all the other things I love to do as well! 

Some of you may have noticed my etsy shop is currently in 'vacation mode' and will remain that way until at least the end of this week and possibly a little longer whilst I re-visit all the stuff I've not had time for like dressmaking, illustration, photography and generally being creative.

I'll announce on facebook / twitter once I've re-opened and if you really want to stay up to date, you can use the 'notify me' button in my etsy shop using the link above. 

Until then, never forget - it is ok to slow down from time to time. Don't miss out on the other great things life has to offer and always take time to create because you can and not because you have to. 

Happy creating - I'm off to explore my fabric boxes..

♥

Secret Garden Dress

Francesca

On Sunday 22nd July I drove from my little home in West Sussex across the border and through the stunning landscapes of Surrey to photograph my lovely friend Francesca in some of my dresses. We hadn't seen each other for well over three years, it was so lovely to see her after all that time!

We spent our afternoon wandering the local area. For the first set of images we strayed from the path into the woods, tunnelling through a forest of fern taller than us until we came to a clearing with a tiny stream and dappled light glittering from the treetops onto our feet - it was like we'd stumbled onto the set of a fairytale film! Francesca wore my newest Ragdoll dress with bare feet and looked like a little elven princess, she looked amazing. A-MAZ-ING!

Emerging from the woods having momentarily lost our trail we headed back up the track and followed the sandy paths leading across the colourful heathland. Surrey is so different to Sussex, there are towering pine forests and valleys filled with heather and bumblebees. The colours were incredible, an ocean of purple as far as the eye could see. Francesca lay amongst the flowers and did her thing - she's a natural.

 

For the last set of images we drove a small way eventually ending up at a small lake surrounded by fallen pine cones. The sun was slightly too high for the light I usually crave so Francesca paddled out into some shade and we shot the atlas dress in all it's glory.

All I can say is what a glorious day. Amazing weather, beautiful surroundings, a perfect opportunity to pick my camera up, lovely girlie giggles and a long over-due catch up. 

♥

Photography Lull

Over the past year I've been going through what I can only describe as a photography-lull. It seemed everything that could possibly get in the way of me being creative would get in the way - First of all my favourite lense died. Then my favourite camera started flashing the dreaded "ERROR 99" at me (that's it's way of saying - something's wrong, but I don't know what. I still don't know what over a year on even though I've tried everything). I have been stuck with my back-up camera ever since. Don't get me wrong, it's a great little camera - a Canon 450D, but there are little things that annoy me about it. Mainly cosmetic things, but reasons to be annoyed all the same. It's too light. It's too small. The electronic "PSCHHHHH" shutter noise annoys me.. to name but a few. Then our PC died. Then we spent hundreds of pounds on a new one and I treated myself to the newest version of Photoshop to get me back into the swing of things. All was well for approximately one month until my hard drive died, we moved home twice, studio once and my back up camera went in his bag and didn't come out again, and all my lovely old film cameras went to the back of the attic never to be seen again. The combination of all the above issues made me feel so.. I don't know.. 'meh', about it. Getting the camera out became more of a chore than an adventure and medium for creativity. The only time I took any photos was shooting stock for my etsy shop or embarking on a sadly very rare photoshoot with friends (which I ALWAYS have a blast at!).. 

HOWEVER - Something's happened. I don't know what it is, but I'm slowly falling back in love with my camera and rediscovering my love for photography. Finally! Perhaps it's the first signs of spring? I don't know. I don't even care right now! I'm just looking forward to getting out there with the camera again and shooting and what better way to get things going than a quick afternoon shoot over the weekend?

Back in this blog post I mentioned that Miss Miller and I would be returning to the chapel ruins to shoot. It was a bit of a last minute thing in regards to ideas, but Nat already had something in mind so we went back down at the weekend with Lizzie. I ended up with some beautiful portraits and I'm playing with a new editing style which is less contrasty than my previous work, with soft subtle colour changes and this shoot suited the new style perfectly. We put ivy and paper flowers in Lizzie's hair and Nat played artistic director photographer lady and mover-of-big-branches. The ground was a bit sludgy from rainfall earlier in the day - it must've been a miracle we missed it, it rained before and after the shoot, but remained nice and dry in the middle - perfect!

FEATURE - Flutterbydaisy

Meet Natanya Waybourne, brainchild of her very own magical world and creation - Flutterbydaisy. I've been following Natanya's work for a few years now after seeing her photos on DeviantArt way back in 2008/2009 and remember always being intrigued by her style and work. Wearing flowers in her hair, lace, torn fabric and her make-up like a little doll.. She makes beautiful dresses, perfect for hiding in the woods and running through fields, writes enchanting words and takes some gorgeous photographs.. Here's an interview for you all to enjoy with images of pretty people in pretty flutterbydaisy dresses:

Self Portrait by Flutterbydaisy

Isn't it Beautiful, Jackdaw? My Leaf Dress . .

Yes, the amazing girlie who I made the dress for in this post, made me this one in return.. isn't it just.. stunning? When I opened the package my jaw dropped to the floor...



it's the most intricately created masterpiece I think I've ever seen!
Have some detail piccies!







There's not a single area of the dress without something to look at! She made it in such a way that it will photograph beautifully from every angle, she sure didn't get that wrong!

It laces up at the back like a corset, and there's a lovely chunky zip at the side. the straps are pretty lace that you tie to fasten.

I can't stop looking at it.. it's just.. amaaaazing!







Those gold leaves are gold dipped! The dress is jam packed with vintage linens, laces, buttons.. ribbons, just.. everything! I can't wait to take more photos of it!

You can read all about the dress in this forum post over at Craftster.org

Cass if you read this, thank you SO much for creating such a breathtaking work of art for me!

Love x x

Beautifully Tattered, and Gratefully received!

Remember my post back in May about the super-secret dress I was making for someone super-special? Well I finally finished it, and she received the dress yesterday and is SO happy with it, which makes me amazingly happy - and THAT means that I can now post pictures for you all to see!

The entire dress consists of both new and vintage materials. There's some really old lace mixed up in there that is so, so delicate. Also some hand-crocheted lace that my great-grandmother made herself. There are vintage doilies, shreaded silk, vintage buttons, scarves, ribbons.. I tea-stained a lot of the materials so they all went really beautifully together.

First up, a little self portrait I shot when the dress was 'in-progress'. I couldn't bear to send it off without taking a few little photos to remember it by!

And of course, some standard shots of the finished garment:
(I left the straps pinned like that so she can choose whether to have a halter-top or 'normal' straps)

And some close-ups:

Soon I will show the simply AMAZING dress that I received in return. Honestly.. it's stunning, I've never had anything so beautiful in my wardrobe :)

Enjoy ♥

Beautifully Tattered . . .

Currently I'm working on a beautifully tattered dress for a friend over at craftster.org

It consists of shreaded silk, vintage fabrics, lace, tea stained doilies, scraps and more.. all draped together on my dressform and stitched lovingly under my sewing machine, and with a few personal touches here and there such as trinkets and possibly a little bit of hand embroidery - I hope to soon have a wonderful dress to hand over..

Here's a sneak peek :)

I can't believe how much fun these are to sew.. I was going to sketch out some designs and work from there but I already had an idea in my head so I just went with it, I'm in love..

Although.. my machine isn't so impressed, but she's holding out!

I will update on the dress again once she's received it.. it's supposed to be a surprise ;)