It's been a while...

Well, yet again, it's been a while since I wrote.

What have I been up to I hear you ask?

Well let me tell you:

In January, I joined The Arts and Crafts Emporium.
A team of Artists, who collectively sell their Artwork, once a month, based on a Theme, creating 'One off' and 'Bespoke' items, which link or are inspired by the theme.  Some Months sell out well, but if the artist does not sell that month, they have usually learned loads, been able to challenge their creative juices, sell elsewhere and have had a lot of fun developing their new piece.

The first Theme I joined in was Fibonacci.  

Now to tell you the truth, this theme scared the living daylights out of me, as maths is not my strong point.  But once I got my head around it, I realised that the spiral was used in dance, and so inspiration kicked in and I created this Ballerina Canvas, using a mix of Free Machine and Hand Embroidery.

Fibonacci is a series of numbers which creates a spiral
1,2,3,5,8 etc

'Four Seasons' Spring

'Four Seasons' Summer

 Next was 'Four Seasons'.
By this time, I was knee high in Commissions, and only had time to create 2 Seasons, Spring and Summer.
These, I thoroughly enjoyed making.

They are still available here:

Michelle Corbin Design

'Under the Waves'

Developing new techniques, was something I was keen to do, with inspiration from ACE, so here I tried a technique I had played with previously, but never really created anything with.  

I decided to take advantage, a Coral Inspired bowl developed.  

With the use of Water Soluble Fabric, this bowl, was created purely by interlocking the threads using a Free Machine Embroidery Technique.  The bowls were very well received I'm happy to report.

A Poem I created to accompany my Mermaid Embroidery

Ace, has been an incredible experience for me.  I have been inspired, developed new techniques, and learned so much from my peers.

It has really encouraged me to develop my work further, and not to be scared of trying something new.

It has also helped me to enhance my Commission Work and be more inventive with my designs, and I hope that it shows in my recent work.

Words Of Wisdom

If you have been tempted to try a new skill, but your self doubt has stopped you, I would like to encourage you to ignore it and GO for it!!!  What have you got to lose?  

It might not work the first time, hell, most things don't, but practising and practising will help it to become great.  Ignore self doubt, ignore those people who don't believe you can do it, and prove them all wrong.  If it is something you want bad enough, you'll do it.  

You CAN do it.  Give it a try, and most of all - ENJOY!

I'm so happy I joined Ace, as it has given me the chance to ignore my self doubt and be a little more adventurous. 

Please join us on Facebook for our next theme 'Rainbows and Butterflies'

Here's a sneak peek of my Work in Progress

Thank you for reading.  If you have any comments, I's love to hear them, perhaps, you have tried something new and would like to share your experience?

Happy Stitching (and painting and drawing and knitting and baking and designing and.......)

Much Love

Michelle

xxx

Keepsake Bunnies

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Creating Keepsake Bunnies, is something I enjoy doing very much.  I love the whole process from start to finish.

Sisterly Love
Both hold special memories

 Being ask to create something from some outfits and blankets, that hold special memories in the owners heart, is always an honour, and to be trusted with these special garments was just that.

A Flower Girl Dress worn by big sister to mums wedding
A dress big sister bought for little sister
Little sisters Baby Blanket

See how these Little Bunny Keepakes Began

The Process:

A sketch and a plan for layout and design

Next comes the details.  Carefully unpicking the details from the garments, placing and cutting the pattern, then adding the embroidery and appliqué.

Keepsake Bunnies are then born

Nicole's was predominantly made from her beloved Baby Blanket
Details were picked out and appliquéd to the body and ears
A little part of the dress big sister bought her, was used on the ears
Hand embroidered details were added for those finishing touches

True memories wrapped up in a Button Jointed Bunny xx 

Chloe's was created, using her Flower Girl Dress form the '90s
Picking out the details, so it still looked like the dress.
Lace overlay some of the fabric for more interest.
Parts of the dress she bought for her little sister was added for interest, details and of course memories.
A little part of Nicole's blanket was added for the ears, as a special touch.

True memories wrapped up in on Original Keepsake Bunny xx



See how I create another Original Keepsake Bunny here

From every cut and stitch, each one is carefully tailored to suit the client's needs. 

Michelle Corbin Design - Find me on Facebook
Maker of all things to treasure, from Keepsakes to Soft Furnishings

Thank You for reading
Happy Stitching
Michelle xx

*Little Bunny Keepsakes, are 'sit on the shelf' items and are not suitable as toys, due to the fabric and small parts used.  They should not be left with a child under the age of 14.  They are a Collectable, potential Heirloom, which should bring lots of your love and memories to life*

DIY v Hand Crafted Skills

We've all done it haven't we?  We see something we like, look at the price tag, then think

 "I could do that"!!

But truth be known - can you really??

Take my bathroom for instance, we moved into our house in 2002, and not long after, the bathroom leaked, so we decided to refit the whole thing.  We both had good jobs and were able to afford good fixtures and fittings, so we purchased exactly what we wanted.  

We then had a couple of tradesmen round, to give us quotes on the work.  Mr C, didn't like those quotes and decided to do it himself.  Now to be fair, in our old house he had refitted the bathroom with the help of my dad and it was great, so I was pretty confident.

This time though, Mr C started well, but then as time went by, he lost interest, and things didn't quite go to plan.  I was incredibly disappointed, because I had had a vision, and my vision was of a high standard.  Unfortunately it took 2 years to complete the bathroom, and it was ok 

(yes, good, but not great).

We married in 2004 and received vouchers as gifts to refit our kitchen, during the refit, I found out I was expecting baby no 1.  Then, the bathroom leaked!!  So here we went again!!

Whilst pregnant, we also had the bathroom and kitchen in turmoil!!  Luckily the kitchen turned out well, but the bathroom needed redoing in preparations for baby! 

A couple of years past and another leak occurred, and then in 2010, 2 years after baby no 2 had arrived, DISASTER STRUCK!!

We had just decided to redecorate our lounge (do you see a pattern?) and just as we were getting started, yes, you guessed it, the bathroom leaked yet again!  This time it was worse, and had actually been leaking for some time, unbeknown to us.

It was worse this time, as the tiles needed to come off, but the plaster behind all came off too, and the room got worse.  Mr C did what he could, but his skills were minimal, I had just started my part time business, and we had 2 small children, money was tight, so we had to leave it in dismay until we could afford to finish it.

This is the only photo I dare show you of before :(

As you can see, we were left with Breeze Block walls - so not what you want in the room you use to get clean!!

The room remained like this for 4 whole years, as the economy had changed, and things were tighter than ever.

This year however, things are beginning to brighten up. :)

This is how my bathroom looked yesterday, and today, tiles are being put on the walls - by a Tradesman!!

The moral of the story:

Expensive lesson!!

If we had paid out for a Tradesman in the first place, we would still have the original bathroom, to the standard that we really wanted.  I will update you in my blog of the finished bathroom.

So now, what does this have to do with sewing or crafting?? 

Well, if you sew, or craft, how many times, have you designed something, sourced the highest quality of components, then spent hours creating your design, with such love and care, only for someone to say "That's too expensive, I can't wait that long to have one made, I will make one myself, or get Joe Bloggs to, as they are cheaper"!!?

Hurts doesn't it?

Or

Do you look at lots of hand crafted items and think they are over charged for what they are and that you or a friend can recreate them, for half the cost, only for it to come out, not as great as the one you saw in the first place?

This is because:

Professional

Trades People, Crafts People, Crafters, Artists, Sewists etc

They all spend a lot of time and money learning and perfecting their SKILL.  They do their job day in and day out and gain lots of experience in their field (as with any profession).  

They spend hours designing and preparing ideas, sourcing the best materials to create their vision, and usually they do this because they absolutely love what they do, they have passion, and want to create the best of the best item for the customer to love.  

Please bear the Experienced Skilled Person in mind, next time you see something you think you could make or do yourself.  *Editted to say, I am not against trying something new, but just consider the professional and consider whether you really can make/create something to the spec you see in front of you.  And please also be aware that if you are wanting to make things to sell, please do not copy.

We learned the hard way, that we weren't capable, but tried.  

Trying is good, but getting it right is better.

Michelle Corbin Design

 Maker of all things to treasure, from Keepsakes to Soft Furnishings

Happy Stitching

Michelle xx

A Crafty Meeting in York

Having spoken to Jolene from ArmadioAmore, we decided we would like to meet up.  We had built up quite a good friendship, sharing knowledge, tips and ideas for our Facebook Pages and Keepsake Makes over the past year, and thought it would be really nice to meet at a crafty event.

We looked at a couple of options, and decided that York was a halfway point for us and what better than to visit a Craft Fair!

fortheloveofyork

Having heard where and what we had planned, Suzanne from IStitch asked to come too!

We agreed the time and place to meet, and it was as though we had known each other for years.

We laughed and joked, chatted and shopped - fab!!

Myself, Jolene and Suzanne

We indulged in a little fabric shopping - well it would be rude not too!!

We spoke with fellow crafty peeps.

A new crafty friend ;)

All in all we had a fab day.

Can't wait until we do it again

IStitch  Suzanne makes beautiful soft furnishings, so why not pop over to her page and take a look.  You really must check out her TeePees - they are amazing

ArmadioAmore  Jolene is an amazing Keepsake Maker, she has designed beautiful jointed Bears and Bunnies, and creates them from treasured items of clothing, they are really incredibly made, so much so, that her order book is jam packed full!!  I highly recommend her page and work - very talented

Michelle Corbin Design  And this is me, maker of all things to treasure, from Keepsake items, to Soft Furnishings

Thank you for reading

Happy Stitching

Michelle xx