Self portrait

Last week's drawing challenge from The Tuesday Collective on Instagram was 'Self Portraits' which I found quite hard to do. I decided to choose recent photo of me as my inspiration, taken last weekend on a sunny day in Windsor. I'm wearing a hot pink scarf, my favourite colour (see my Cheeky Leopard logo) and my big green cosy Uniqlo coat. I'm also wearing my signature green sunnies, that come everywhere with me!

I love the colour palette I used for this drawing challenge. The teal background really sets off the green of the coat and the pink of the scarf.

 

Fabulous floral

 I originally designed this floral in a simple colour palette of blue and white, but I thought it would be interesting to try it in a bright colour palette and I'm really happy with the results! I chose a hot pink and bright orange and added yellow and turquoise. The cream background brings out the colours beautifully. This design was inspired by block printed florals that give it s stylised feel.

This floral print looks great as a cushion cover. It's a great way of adding colour to the home and can be mixed with other cushions in solid colours such as orange or hot pink to add variety to a living space.

This floral print can be bought by-the-metre and made into anything you want. There is a wide selection of fabrics on offer, but I especially love the linen cotton canvas.

The floral print is great for using in the home on tableware such as this table runner. It comes in three different lengths and would be great for decorating a table at a garden party.

Another way of adding colour to the living space is with throw blankets, such as this one. It comes in a velvet fabric but can also be bought in a minky fabric.

Sheet sets are a great way of adding colour to the bedroom and these are fabulous! They are made from a cotton sateen fabric and come with a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and two pillow covers.

Stunning storks

I love a stork print and this one comes in my favourite colour, a fabulously vibrant magenta pink.

The stork zipper purse is fully lined in a black and grey cotton polka dot fabric and has a pink zipper closure to keep everything safe.

This stork zipper purse is perfect for using as a handbag organiser and can fit phone, keys and sunglasses in. The bright colour makes it easy to find in your handbag.

It could also be used as a makeup bag. The purse is machine washable, so easy to keep clean after any spillages.

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Ice cream purse

 I'm channelling summer vibes today with this cute little ice cream zipper purse. It's made from a fabulous pink and orange ice-cream print on a vibrant blue background.

This little ice cream purse is perfect for using as a makeup bag and fits all the essentials in. It's fully lined in a hot pink lining and is machine washable too!

It could also be used as a handbag organiser, somewhere to store all the small items that get lost in your bag such as phone, keys and glasses. The zipper closure keeps everything safe.

This is the perfect gift for an ice cream lover.

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Magenta madness

I love the colour magenta and there is a lot of it in the stores right now, from fabulously sky high stilettos and damask dresses from Marks and Spencer, to a bejewelled suede clutch bag at Dune.

It reminded me of all the pretty pink items I have in my store.

The coin purse below is made from a lovely thick linen fabric.

The clutch bag below is made from an Indian sari that I collected on my travels in India. The sari has touches of green in it so I decided to make the lining green to match!

The fabric for the handbag below was bought on a trip to Istanbul. It's made from a stunning ikat fabric, where the design is dyed onto the threads before they are woven.

And if you're looking for something a bit smaller, this card case below is perfect. It can be used for storing credit cards, business cards or travel cards and is lightly padded.

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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.

Paris Fashion Week - Dries Van Noten

Paris Fashion Week is now in full force and I dipped in to have a look and was blown away by the collection of Dries Van Noten. It's heaven for anyone who loves textiles and colours, with an array of jacquards, ruffles tweeds and pleats all thrown together to produce a juicy melting pot of design. I love the clashing of colours that work so well together.

In the pink

I had to mention this fabulous fabric as my Fabric Friday choice. I just love the combination of hot pink geometric on a natural linen ground. Even better, the design has been embroidered onto the fabric to create a luxurious feel! This fabric had to be bought and I made it up into a rather fabulous clutch bag that has a long detachable chain handle. This means the bag can be worn over the shoulder or across the body, or if you wish to keep it as a clutch (which is my preference!), just flip the chain inside the bag and your'e good to go!

You can find it in my store here.

The fabric is a modern piece that I bought at Cole & Son.

The chain fits snuggly inside the bag to instantly transform it into a clutch.

I gave the bag a sumptuous magenta pink satin lining.

Wear your clutch with a crisp white summer dress or team the bright pink with an equally bright blue ensemble!

Happy Monday

What a beautiful weekend it was here in the UK! After days of grey skies and rainy weather, the sun came out and all was forgiven! I spent the weekend catching up with good friends, cooked good food and hung out in the garden. I also got busy with some sewing and came up with these three stunning gems, made from one of the saris that I bought from Bazaar a while ago.

Bazaar is run by my good friend Joanna Hall, who travels to India several times a year to source beautiful fabrics, jewellery, clothing etc to adorn yourself and your home. I went to one of her barn shows a while ago which you can read about here. While I was there, I stocked up on stunning fabrics, including an array of brightly coloured saris. I have finally started using them and this is the first attempt which I'm really happy with.

These three beauties are all made from the same sari. What I love about the saris, apart from the vibrant colours, is the fact that each one is about 5 yards long, so you get a lot of fabric to play with. They are all vintage saris, so have a story to tell. They have been carefully hand washed, and then cut out by me, incorporating the beautiful woven design into each clutch bag. You can find all three clutches in my store here.

The sari I used was mostly magenta pink, but had a green section at one end and this drew me to it.

I loved the teal green design against the pink so decided to give this clutch bag a teal lining.

The green of this clutch bag really makes me smile!

I couldn't resist adding a hot pink lining for a juicy flash of colour.

The original sari had a border edge to it, so I decided to incorporate that border into this clutch bag.

I carefully cut along each edge and then pieced it together with other magenta sections of the sari.

Go green!

Go green with this stunning green Indian block printed cotton clutch!

I just couldn't resist the fabulous bright colour and I've given it a hot pink lining for a flash of colour when the bag is opened. This would make the perfect accessory for a summer party or an accompaniment to a country wedding, paired with green heels or a statement necklace.

 I bought the fabric whilst shopping in Amsterdam recently, found in a lovely shop called Bloom Prints in the heart of the Nine Streets area. The shop is owned by Gon Uppal who designs all the textiles and jewellery herself. She is inspired by ancient royal India and most of the products are made by hand in small workshops in India. All fabrics are natural and many are hand printed, woven, painted or embroidered. The cotton used for this clutch bag has a paisley motif and was printed using a wooden block print and a resist technique. You can find the clutch in my store here.

Monochrome Monday

This Monday there's a bit of monochrome madness going on at Cheeky Leopard!

I recently created these two clutch bags using a selection of black and cream fabrics that I had in my collection. Each pattern is quite different to each other, but works well together and I spent time finding the right combination for each bag. This often involves laying out the pieces and playing Solitaire with them - moving them around and trying out different combinations. Sometimes I will leave them and walk away for a while, and then come back with a fresh eye. Once I'm happy with the combination, I sew each strip together and neatly top stitch each one to ensure it lies flat.

I added the Cheeky Leopard trademark of a bright lining to each bag for a pop of colour on the inside.

You can find both clutches in my store here.

The clutch pictured above and below is made from a selection of home furnishing fabrics and Japanese kimono fabrics pieced together. I love the delicate black and grey leaf design.

This bag has a vibrant purple lining.

The clutch above and below is made from black and cream home furnishing fabrics pieced together. I love the dramatic black swirly design on the cream taffeta. This bag has a hot pink lining.

Fabric Friday

This week's Fabric Friday is brought to you from the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour. I decided to make a last minute dash there this morning as I realised it was their last day of London Design Week. They open their doors to people in the trade for the first few days, and general members of the public on the last few days, giving talks on design as well as allowing us to see inside their showrooms. It's great to dip into and I always find something juicy to inspire me, whether it's for my bag designs or for my design work. This time I gravitated towards the vibrant brights and especially loved the fabrics I saw at the Colefax and Fowler showroom.

This was my favourite design, based on an Indian sarasa design.

It is embroidered and uses hot pink and vibrant orange.

I do love a bit of kilim and why not make it hot pink?!

The pretty hot pink medallion motif in the design above is fab.

I love that it is mixed with the natural colour of the linen.

The addition of a vibrant green into the design of the cushion above really adds zest to the floral and I love the idea of pairing it with the green paisley cushion. Check out the orange piping!

Such a nice touch of contrasting colour.

The picture above and below show how these gorgeous fabrics can be made up. I love the medallion design on the cushion above and look how beautifully the fabrics work on the bag below.