Beautiful butterflies

I created this butterfly print a while ago and it's now available in my Spoonflower shop on a variety of different coloured backgrounds. 

The black version of this butterfly print shows off the colours of the butterflies beautifully and looks great as a cushion cover.

The pink butterfly version is very vibrant and would look great in a little girl's bedroom.

You can find it on a selection of bedding options in my Spoonflower shop, including this butterfly duvet cover.

The cream version is nice and fresh.

This would look great as a butterfly table cloth. It comes on a variety of shapes and sizes.

And last, but not least, this fabulous turquoise background.

It looks great on napkins.

Juicy jewel tones

I'm regularly adding satin clutch bags to my store and the most recent addition is this pretty turquoise version made from a Chinese satin. It has a butterfly motif on the outside with touches of pink in it and I decided to use the same colour pink for the lining for a flash of colour when the bag is opened. I also added a fab decorative turquoise tassel to the zipper pull.

This bag is perfect for a night out and is big enough to fit purse, phone, keys and sunglasses.

This could also be used as a handbag organiser, gadget pouch or makeup bag.

This clutch looks great with the hot pink version with the same butterfly motif.

Each Cheeky Leopard item is gift wrapped in pink tissue paper and can be sent as a gift straight to its recipient with a personal gift message included.

 

Kimono scrunchies

I have so many lovely kimono fabrics in my collection and I often find myself sorting through them and getting inspired by new ideas for my store. The most recent find were these stunning kimono belts that come in shades of red and white.

I love the stylised butterfly design and modern chrysanthemum motif and realised they would make the perfect selection for the next set of scrunchies to hit my store.

The scrunchies come in sets of two and I love to use colours and designs that compliment each other.

The butterfly design has butterflies fluttering randomly across the fabric.

Both fabrics are vintage but look very modern in their colour and design. I love the contemporary feel of this chrysanthemum print.

They are great for using on ponytails and top knots but also make perfect wrist decorations.

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Mother's Day gift ideas

Mother's Day is fast approaching (31st March in the UK) and I'm always thinking of new ideas for Mother's Day gifts in my store. When I went to the Knitting and Stitching show on Sunday, I picked up some rather scrumptious Chinese satin damask fabric and thought it would make the perfect fabric for one of my clutch bags. I love these fabrics as the colours are so vibrant and they sit next to my kimono fabrics rather nicely!

I gravitated towards the butterfly motif which is a symbol of long life in China, as well as representing young, undying love. If two butterflies are seen flying together they are regarded as the perfect emblem of love.

The fabric will be made up into clutch bags rather like the one below.

I love the vibrant pink of this clutch bag and used a lovely turquoise lining to contrast with the outer fabric.

Each clutch bag has a detachable chain strap that can be removed or simply tucked inside the bag.

The clutch is big enough to fit all the essentials for a night out and makes the perfect gift for Mother's Day.

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Two new necklaces

I've been a busy bee recently and have added two more kimono necklaces to my store. I'm really happy with them! Each one uses a motif cut from a vintage Japanese kimono fabric and bonded onto a matching leather base, which is then hung from a simple chain.

This blossom necklace uses a very simple, stylised blossom motif in orange and white. It has an orange leather base and is hung from a gold chain.

 The necklaces look stunning against a dark top, but would also look great against the skin or with a white summer dress and matching Cheeky Leopard clutch bag.

 This butterfly necklace uses a pretty red, white and gold butterfly motif and is attached to a soft pink leather base. It has a gold chain that goes around the neck.

You can find these beauties in my store here.

Green goddesses

Check out these green goddesses that have recently been added to my store. Each one is an envelope clutch bag made from a selection of vintage Japanese obi fabrics from my collection. The obi is the 'belt' that goes around the kimono and they are often thick and heavily woven. These ones use a combination of greens, along with a good dose of metallic gold to give it some bling.

This gorgeous envelope clutch is made from two Japanese obi fabrics. The main body of the bag is a vibrant green satin, and the flap is made from a green and gold Japanese design. The lining is a turquoise blue cotton and the bag is held closed with a silver metallic snap.

This clutch bag is made from a decorative vintage obi fabric on one side and a vibrant green satin fabric on the other side. I gave it a bright yellow lining for a shot of colour.

The bag is held closed with a vintage button and elastic loop closure and then folded in half.

Unfold the bag and it also doubles up as an iPad case!

These bags use the same fabrics as the large clutch bags in my store. They are the smaller, cheaper option but have no less of a dramatic effect and are the perfect accompaniment to a night out.

You can find them in my store here.

Fabric Friday

There's nothing like a spot of hot pink and tumultuous turquoise to brighten your day! I bought these two stunning fabrics last week and can't wait to make them up into some gloriously bright clutch bags. They both have a butterfly motif and each will be given a suitably bright lining to compliment the outer fabric.

The turquoise blue clutch bag will have a hot pink lining.

The hot pink clutch bag will have a bright turquoise blue lining.

These fabrics match a bag that I already have in my store. It's a beautiful emerald green fabric and also has a butterfly motif. You can find it here.

Fabric finds

So, after a fabulous and manic trip to Tokyo, I am now safely back home. My case is unpacked, clothes are being washed and I am back at work. But I'm still going through the stash of fabric I managed to buy when I was there.

A big reason for going to Tokyo was to sell my bags at the International Bazaar, but another reason was to stock up on more fabric for my collection. Tokyo is great for its vintage kimono and obi fabrics that can be found at the endless antique markets and shops around the city, but it is also a haven for any fabric lover. Its supply of fabric shops, most of which can be found in the aptly-named Fabric Town in Nippori, would keep any fabric addict happy for a very long time! My favourite shop is Tomato, a haven that is comprised of five floors! Each floor focuses on a different fabric type, cottons on one floor, silks on another, with bargains on the ground floor - this is the busiest floor and some gems can be found there with a degree of foraging and polite elbowing.

These two cottons caught my eye for their vibrant colours and fun themes. Pineapples are a popular image and I liked the juicy turquoise ground and loose rendering of the fabric above. I loved the sunny yellow ground of the origami birds below, with the odd addition of pink to break it up.

Another sunny fabric is this blossom design below. You can't get much brighter than this yellow and red combination which has touches of gold in the centre of the flowers. It will work well on both clutch bags and cosmetic bags and I see a vibrant red lining working very well with this design.

This cat fabric below was a must. Cats are very popular and this fabric would be fab made up into cosmetic bags and coin purses, or even a tote bag. Here and there is a silhouette in gold.

On top of finding new designs, I also like to buy more of the designs that have been popular for me. One of those is the stork fabric below that I have used for clutch bags and cosmetic bags in the past. It's a furoshiki fabric and is a lovely graphic design of storks in flight. I will use a red lining to match the red of the stork's beaks.

The other fabric I often pick up is a furoshiki fabric with happi coats on. It's such a typical Japanese image depicted in a very fun, graphic way. This will also have a red lining.

Along with a number of stunning obi fabrics I bought, which I mentioned in a blog post while I was there, I also bought some pretty vintage kimono fabrics. These are much finer and softer than the obi fabrics and have a totally different feel. I tend to home in on the vibrantly-coloured kimono fabrics and this one below is such a fun one in vibrant reds, greens and purples, using traditional stylised images of chrysanthemums and leaves.

The kimono piece below is slightly more subdued for me, but I loved the design and combination of flowers and bamboo.

On top of the multi coloured kimono fabrics, I also like the black and white versions and picked up two pieces that I liked. The stylised chrysanthemum is a nice allover design and I like the touches of orange and mustard in the centre of the flower here and there. The butterflies would work well with a contrasting colour, maybe a vibrant obi fabric?! Watch this space.....

Shades of green

Over the past few days I've been adding some stunning green clutch bags to my store. They are all made from Chinese silk fabrics that I bought in New York in the summer. Each one is a slightly different shade of green and vary from luxurious emeralds to rich olives. I've also added a suitably bright lining to each bag so that there is a flash of colour when the bag is opened.

You can find all these beauties in my Etsy store.

The fabrics remind me of some of the fabrics seen at the recent Dries Van Noten show in Paris.

I love the bamboo design of the clutch above and matched the yellow lining

to the yellow of the leaves in the design.

The clutch below has a stunning magenta pink lining, one of my favourite colours.

The clutch below is a stunning shade of emerald green and has a stylised peacock feather motif.

Summer butterflies

It's a beautiful sunny day today which I hope means summer is officially on it's way! To celebrate, I just added this stunning kimono clutch to my Etsy store. It is made from a vibrantly coloured child's kimono which has a bold butterfly print in multi color shades on a turquoise ground, and check out the bright red lining. This clutch is the perfect accompaniment to a summer dress - all I need now is the tan!

You can find it here.