Modish

Inspiring textiles

Hand screen-printed fabrics are so beautiful to me, patterned with slight imperfections that only a hand can create.  Aussie Lara Cameron designs some of the most incredible fabrics I've ever seen- her colorful designs are inspired by nature and are sure to inspire wonderful craft creations, including some of her own!
 
Kirin & Co is Lara's collection of hand screen-printed fabrics for sale, along with the crafty goodness that came from them, including stunning clutches with cut-out wooden handles and beautiful pillows to spice up your decor.  Take a peek at the entire collection at Kirin & Co!

Now you can be a Susie Homemaker too!

Keeping on with the cuteness of homemaking theme, I came across this submission in my inbox from Sew Bettie, creator of amazing sewing patterns, crafty tutorials and diy kits!  Now you can learn how to put your sewing skills (yet another thing I lack- damn!) to good use creating useful and fun accessories like headbands, wristlets and, dare I say it, aprons! 

Sew Bettie's patterns, kits and tutorials will have you looking sharp in your own handmade goods in no time.  They also have great original fabric for sale that you can use in your creations featuring bikes and bulldogs and birds, oh my!  Take a look at all the fun stuff they have to offer and give those idle hands something productive to do this summer!

**UPDATE: Cara from Sew Bettie has been so kind as to offer a discount to modish readers!  Just enter the code "MODISH" at checkout and you'll get 10% off your order!

A big-ass ain't so bad!

I recently received a new crafting book and have been looking over it with awe all weekend- with its funny, yet totally accurate title, the Big-Ass Book of Crafts is a great big book of diy goodness, packed full with over 150 project ideas that are fun, kitschy, easy and inspiring.  Written by Mark Montano who's a TLC designer and host, there's a wealth of ideas to get your crafting juices flowing- some of my favorites are the colored pencil vases, the popsicle stick lampshades and the fashion plates- there's tons of ideas for the home, a whole section on bath and body, one on outdoor projects, a papergoods section....it is looooaaaaded with great ideas.  Check out a little peek inside at Amazon and pick up a copy for yourself, or your craft lovin' friends! 

Knitastic!

The weekend is coming, yay!  And for crafty types, that often means time to work on craft projects (I'm hoping to at some point this weekend!)  And lucky for you, modish contributor Maddy turned me onto these wonderful handmade trims, fabrics, buttons and more by knitastic which may be perfect for a sewing project you're working on!

They're so bright and colorful, sure to add some summery pop to your creations.  Check out all the crafty supplies knitastic has to offer, along with finished pieces like cushions and a cool bolero!

I <3 you

Seeing hearts?  Here's some heart themed handmade gifts for you for Valentine's Day, yes, but also just because I love all you readers, so very much.  <3

row 1: for the love of baking by Thea Coughlin ($20), eyes for you card by Kaching Design ($6),  so happy together by Chromatics ($70)
row 2: bleeding heart blue by Anna Ruby King ($10), heart vinyl and sterling necklace by Nature vs. Machine ($50), brass heart fobs by Bonbon Oiseau ($50)
row 3: heart on your finger ring by  ehmeglass ($56), darling bag by Oprikka (70€)
row 4: sweetheart necklace by Nek ($50), love hurts cactus pincushion by Sheasy ($10), heart of glass II by Nanopod ($32)

Make somethin' this holiday season!

This Christmas I'm hoping to get a few days off to take time for myself and relax a little, finish a couple books and mostly, get back to crafting!  I'm so busy with blogging/shop keeping that there's no time to make any goodies myself and I miss it so.  I'm determined to have at least a couple days to play around with new jewelry designs and other fun stuff, and if you're in the need for a little crafting relief too, you may like this gorgeous hand block-printed fabric by jezze:

With beautiful nature inspired designs in fresh color combinations (that coral and with black print is so pretty!), these fabrics are the perfect inspiration to create some fun sewn goods just for yourself, because you deserve time to create and you definitely deserve a gift for yourself!  Check out these and more designs at jezze and see how she actually made the fabric on her blog!