Three Little Birds & a Sleeping Fox

Three Little Birds & a Sleeping Fox Find a Home

A nursery story

This blog is a continuation of previous post covering the introduction to the commission for this nursery. 

These lovely photos were procured through Ursula Young who is my client and friend, and also an amazing painter,and illustrator.

She was fond of these pillows and other works I have done in the past and commissioned these pieces for a dear friends baby shower. 

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I am in love with the play of chartreuse and blush, topped with

rusty orange, adding warmth. Chevron print pairs perfectly with the grey rug texture. 

This sweet sleeping fox pillow was inspired by my friends style requests of modern, woodland, and whimsical. It was helpful to have photos of the bedding her friend chose from Dwell Studio to use for a color pallet reference.

To make this sweet room even sweeter this little owl mobile was born. This piece is complete with a matching fabric color story, handmade tassel, and fuzzy white pom pom balls. Three little owls watching over the crib amongst the flittering chartreuse fabric leaves above and below. Butterflies dance among the clouds painted along the nursery wall.
It is a sweet sweet honor to have my creations in this warm and wonderful place.
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An owl Ursula commissioned for her daughter last christmas.

Other custom work like this is available through my Facebook page just send me a private message, contact me through this site, or www.idletimecreations.com
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Enchanted: a collaboration of art

Cult of Gemini Presents

Enchanted

Part Gallery, part oddities boutique, shapeshifter Cult of Gemini is a spellbindingly brilliant addition to the downtown Grass Valley Shops. The sorceresses behind this sacred shopping experience have just unveiled their third phase since being open. Ginger and Kathy are a dynamic duo that completely transform their shop seasonally in a meaningful way.

Cult of Gemini
 157 Mill Street, Grass Valley, CA

Collaborating with local artists, collecting seductive antiques, and carrying a wide range of unique gifts, these ladies work their magic to create a cohesive space that centers around an evolving theme. This boutique is more than a retail shop it is a workshop center for self improvement and self expansion. Cult of Gemini offers a variety of workshops each month focusing on themes of self transformation. 

Wednesday night November 18th local artisans and curious citizens gathered in the dusk of the cold downtown streets, eagerly waiting to tear the paper from the windows of this cocoon like space. You wouldn't blame them if you have had the pleasure of experiencing this magical place in person since opening last spring. 

Warm light spills out of this glittering space into the darkness of the night. Beautiful white feathers, rose gold stars and a whimsical swing drip in the portal like windows, revealing a space that leaves a feeling much like Christmas morning. Enter into the deep turquoise cave to find hand crafted dolls, handmade soaps, hand sewn clothing, large paintings, hand crafted jewelry, antique furniture, books, and even manzanita trees that seem to grow right out of the floor. 

 My latest submission for this space is the Ouroboros Mandala vest (women's size 8-10 $160). Featuring removable oversized sherpa lined hood that can be worn as an a la carte winter accessory. In addition to featuring a wide array of festive juicy fabrics, a corseted side opening ads custom fit and a sexy flair to layer your wardrobe. 

Red velvet lines this cozy piece making for a warm shelter from cooling 

temperatures. Gold and copper accents ad sparkle to this enchanted quilted soulmate of a garment.  Trimmed with silvery velvet lace, red upholstery embellishments, and warm fuzzy pockets.

In addition to the usual sewn garment this manzanita chandelier ($60) was part of the menagerie of goods Idle Time Creations added to this space. Other goods include the "Earl Grey Hooter" a stuffed owl toy for children and those with a present inner child, the "Winter Hooter" a festive owl for the holiday gift giver, and the "Napping Raccoon" a throw pillow with hand drawn appliqué.
It goes without saying that photographs can not serve justice to the beauty of this space and the goods inside, so go see for yourself. All artists featured here, including myself, are eager to share their creations with you and many offer custom work for those with an interest in something more specific. 

Halloween: Welcome to the Dark Side

Brothers in Common: a Halloween story

two brothers joining the dark side for Halloween

Hand sewn Darth Vader Costume 

 During halloween I can get pretty busy, but it was such a treat to work with this client who hired me to make her two sons costumes. The oldest of the two requested a Darth Vader costume, and he wanted his little fifteen month old brother to be a storm trooper. How cute is that!? The best part about this project was working with new materials and challenging myself to create something similar to the actual Star Wars character while still being comfortable and play worthy.

I had a lot of fun learning about new materials and interfacings that added to the sculptural element of some of the pieces of armor. Using vinyl was a new challenge and allowed my ingenuity to surface when the fabric wouldn't quite slide through my machine. It was especially fun to work with measurements and custom tailoring, my client was gracious and allowed me two sessions for measurement and sizing. 

It is hard to say which costume I enjoyed making more, Darth Vader or this cute little storm trooper. I used a toddler PJ pattern to make the base layer. I used snuggly flannel and a stretch knit to make this costume warm and comfy. Felt paired with thick interfacing made the armor come together nicely. The outer details had a slightly rigid quality that hinted at armor while still remaining practical for play and comfort.

Flannel base layer with felt accents 

Because the littlest of the two boys wasn't big into having a mask on his face I fashioned this felt storm trooper helmet out of felt and made a small stretchy beanie to sew it to. 

Felt mask sewn to a stretchy beanie hat

All in all I was super pleased with how these came out, if I did it again I would sacrifice the warmth of the flannel in the Darth Vader costume for a stretchy knit fabric after hearing back from my client. 

Feeling A Little Witchy

Raven's Best Vest

a black addition for your witchy wardrobe

Raven's Best Vest $280

This fall weather and my partnership with Cult of Gemini during their "Dark Wings Dark Words" exhibit is luring the witchy seamstress to the surface. I dove into the dark depths of rich black, and grey velour, velvet, denim, and pleather with this steam punk inspired vest. Even more alluring was the FULL BLOOD MOON IN ARIES during the time I was creating this piece, infusing me with the energy to "create new forms." 

I took my seamstress skills to the next level by using darts on the back to really bring the form and tailoring to this piece.

Lavish velvet and wool make a yummy collar sandwich that screams "motorboat my clavicle please!"

Layers upon layers of stretch velour ruffles frame the chest opening making for a perfect layering piece when paired with a scarf or high necked top. The details never stopped flowing out of me while seaming this beauty together, adding details with pleather goddess moon, and raven wing pocket accents. All pockets are lined with rich buttery fabric inviting the wearer to delve into the garment for a tactile treat. Inside breast pocket is a great secret stash spot for items needing a place closer to the heart. Photos can only capture so much of the opulent texture and form, for a closer look visit Cult of Gemini in downtown Grass Valley, CA.

This garment can be altered to some degree for fit needs one to two sizes in either direction. Look for more pieces in this story coming soon. Later this month I will be delving deeper into the dark side with my upcoming children's star wars costume series, stay tuned. 

three little birds and a sleeping fox: a shower gift

Three Little Birds and a Sleeping Fox

a baby shower gift

Custom Sleeping Fox Pillow and Baby Owl Mobile

A good friend, artist, and inspiration to me Ursula Young ordered these sweet little presents for her friend who is expecting a baby girl. This sweet mommy to be has yet to pick a name for her unborn little bundle of joy, but boy will she be a happy mommy when she opens up this gift. 

Ursula has been a big supporter of mine always thinking of me when she is buying children's gifts. I am so flattered by her appreciation of my work. I had just finished up a custom order for Ursula about a month ago and she placed her next order when I delivered the last (I am one lucky girl). What she wanted to see was an "etsy/modern" take on some of the work I had already been producing to match this adorable bedding from Dwell Studio:

Treetops Nursery Bedding Collection from DwellStudio.com            

It took some gutsy decision making at the fabric store to walk out with chartreuse, and pink polka dots on rusty orange, but I am stoked with the outcome! 

three little birds mobile $70

Turning my little baby owls into a mobile was inspired by Ursula, the sweet chartreuse hand sewn leaves and fabric tassel were a happy accident that came out of this project. More pictures of this project and other work can be found on my Facebook page. If you want to see more work in person it can be found in stores at Cult of Gemini in Grass Valley, California. 

Dark Wings Dark Words Art Submission

Dark Wings Dark Words: Third Eye Raven Pillow

A submission for Cult of Gemini Show

The local shop here in Grass Valley, CA recently opened this summer, this fiery female duo brought us Cult of Gemeni a unique business offering an array of oddities. Each season they choose a theme for their space and curate local artisans through a unique and beautiful display of merchandise handmade, imported, and otherwise. I was immediately intrigued by this space, this power team of two beautiful women, and the opportunity to be part of it. After the last show opened, Murky Depths, I immediately started inquiring about when the next show would open and what the theme was. 

Dark Wings Dark Words had no real meaning to me when I first heard that this was the theme I would be making a submission for. After a bit of research on this phrase I found a lot about the folklore of ravens and their role as the messenger of death. When looking at ideas for which direction I wanted to go I opted to highlight an interesting little fact about these black birds, their capacity to show empathy for each other. I immediately had an image of two ravens curled up with one another in the shape of a heart. 

third eye raven pillow-$45

I will definitely be making more for this show while it is up through November 17th, I have an archive on my pinterest page of an array of images that are inspiring to me for the next piece. 

Join me at the window unveiling September 9 @ 6pm 

156 Mill Street

King of the Wild Things: a birthday suit

King of the Wild Things

a costume for a child's second birthday

"Let The Wild Rumpus Start"-Maurice Sendak

Most of us remember reading this beautiful childhood story Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak, some of us have read it to our children. If you haven't had the chance, familiarize yourself now with the sweet childhood tale of fantasy and rebellion.

This project was commissioned through the use of community Facebook page Nevada County Peeps, through a publishing I did for the Hot Summer Nights Festival back in July of this year. I was contacted by Nancy wanting to commission the piece for her grandsons second birthday. I received a few photos from her on Facebook and used them as inspiration. 

This is one of the inspiration photos for the piece. Nancy sent this to me and asked if I can make something like this for her grandson and how much it would cost. 

I sourced the fabrics from JoAnne.com for a fair amount, the sherpa cotton was on sale, along with the chevron flannel fabric I lined it with. I purchased a pajama pattern to use as a size reference as the boy who would be wearing it was out of town. 

I used a panel of stretchy gold fabric on the back of the crown to allow for some size variation. 

The costume was made to be big on him, so that he can grow into it for some time. The composition of this piece will make for an adorable warm winter snuggle. All elements of the costume are soft making for more comfort when playing. 

All in all I spent about seven hours of cut and sew time on the project, sourcing and prepping the fabric was an additional two hours. I would love to make more of the characters from the story.