Rachel Found

Vintage Findings

2012-02-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

I've had an idea brewing around in my head that I just had to get out. The outcome of sewing and pattern making today is a dress for a toddler girl made with vintage findings. I can picture them in all sizes and colours! I have some very cute pink doilies, and some with flowers on them, so of course more dresses to come!

Valentine's Sister Tea Party

2012-02-16T14:40:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I hosted a tea party for some very lovely sisters of mine, as well as two other sister friends that we grew up with. It was a lovely afternoon, all things hearts and roses were there. A new tradition may have been stared...

Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Love Banner

2012-02-10T10:27:00.000-08:00

A simple felt banner. Made with hand cut felt for the triangle pieces, pre-cut and already sticky and glittery felt L,v,e letters from the store, and a heart embroidered on the banner for an "o". The heart was out of necessity, as I didn't have an "o". It looks pretty cute though. I did want to make a "Happy Valentine's Day" banner, but that would be WAY to many letters! Maybe next year?

Hansel and Grettle

2012-01-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

I did lots of needle felting on Sunday and designed these two characters. They are sturdier than my other characters and quite a bit taller too. Accidentally taller, they stand about 4 1/2" but still fit in their house quite comfortably. I made the house today using a similar style to the 3 bears house, but rounded the roof and added some lovely pink frosting, and a red and white candy.

Hansel is sporting some green lederhosen

comfortably inside the house

This project was inspired by some lederhosen (leather breeches) I saw at MCC thrift store in the silent auction. They were made of REAL leather, a beautiful pale blue. The bid was only at $35! They were too big, so I didn't bid on them...

Valentine's Crafting

2012-01-30T21:32:00.001-08:00

I'm getting a head start on Valentine's Day crafting. Here is a sneak peak...

felt heart confetti!

some Valentine's paper and ribbon
(Martha Stewart paper none the less)

Finds of the Week

2012-01-27T11:36:00.000-08:00

Weird cake toppers? Not sure what these are used for. I bought a bag of new looking plastic decorations. I only wanted the mushrooms for cupcake toppers, but of course had to get everything in the bag.

the mushroom cupcake toppers, very little

velvet pigs

velvet rabbits

princess carriages and doves

shoes...I don't understand these...

another bunny

weirdest of all, TONS of these. Anyone need any of these
for your cake decorating projects!?

More Little

2012-01-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

I made another little piece of clothing! I had some nice fabric left over from a happy birthday banner I made in the summer. I used another pattern out of the Handmade Beginnings book by Anna Maria Horner. The patterns are really easy to follow and I love the finished products.

Felt and Feathers

2012-01-23T15:45:00.000-08:00

Felt is a fun and versatile medium; it comes in lots of great colours, when you cut it the edges don't fray, you can sew on it, embroider it, hot glue gun it, add buttons to it, add wire to it, basically whatever you can imagine with it is possible.

I started this felt feather project a very long time ago and haven't given it much thought until about a week ago. My sister is putting on an event centered around a Robin Hood theme. So I thought FEATHERS and FELT! Isn't that what his hat is made of? I got the half finished project out of the drawer it was living in and decided to take a stab at finishing it. With a couple of the ingredients listed above and some problem solving skills I managed to make a sturdy feather headband! I love it, I'm going to make some more in many different colours. Any requests?

Wear it up like Robin Hood

Or down to look like Peter Pan's Adventures!

Leather and Felt Roses

2012-01-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

I put together some roses made out of felt and leather for a leather purse I made. It needed an extra somethings special. It made the not so feminine colour into a very feminine design.

I used this tutorial

I made it into a broach so I can take
it off if I get tired of it

Small finds of the week. A really cute cup on a stand, and some black and gold/silver buttons.

Tiny Trousers

2012-01-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

Another snowed in day, and I made some tiny trousers. I got a few really good crafting /sewing books for Christmas. This trouser pattern is from Handmade Beginnings by Anna Maria Horner. I have heard about these trousers on other blogs so I thought I would see what all the hype was about. They are completely reversible, so its like two styles in one, it looks like they have lots of growing room too. I think I'll pass on the hype now!

front

back

random snow day picture

Snow+an Idea= Aviator Hat

2012-01-16T18:38:00.001-08:00

Ever since I watched the Walton's TV series a couple years ago, I have wanted to make one of these aviator hats. Jim-Bob Walton would wear a hat like this as he dreamed about becoming a pilot. So today, while I was stuck in my house due to snow, I made this!

It went from a sketch on a piece of paper, to a paper pattern, to a couple of muslin drafts to cut up, to a finished product all in one day! I am happy with how it turned out, the shape is exactly what I had in mind. I was looking around on the internet for shapes similar to this, but couldn't find any, so it was trial and error for a while here.

Finds of the Week

2012-01-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

I found a plaid box filled with these adorable vintage doll clothes. They needed lots of TLC, washing, mending and patching. But so many cute little outfits were inside it was worth it; 2 pairs of PJs, 2 skirts, 3 dresses, 1 shirt, 1 cape, 1 pink cardigan, 2 coats.

creative patches were required, an ivy leaf
on the middle coat and pink felt dots on the
pink cardigan

the coolest clothes trunk ever!

I found these 2 as well, though I am thinking of reselling them, as I have too many boxes like these now...
If your interested let me know, I've seen them on the internet for around $30, but $23 each is what I am asking.

flocked panda skipping on the front

silver stars on the inside

grey patterned inside

a cow boy and a cow girl on the front

Winner!

2012-01-11T18:37:00.000-08:00

Rachel won the buttons! So I am shipping them to England this evening, a trip I wish I was taking. Enjoy!

Valentine's Mouse

2012-01-10T21:41:00.000-08:00

I made another mouse! They are just so adorable I had to make another one. I changed the arms on this one, and I don't think I like them as much as the first mouse. I figured out how to do the chain stitch, so chain stitched the facial features which turned out really well. I wanted to try stripy legs, and I think I'm hooked. I like realistic stuffies to a certain extent, but enjoy colour too.

little mouse in her not so puffy dress

stuffing the legs using a technique found here,
best tutorials for making great stuffies. She has introduced
me to using smaller stitch length, and using forceps to
stuff and inside out stuffed animal parts, it really has made
things easier.

the shirt used for the mouse legs
(Thanks Holly!)

all mice need shoes

Buttons Galore!

2012-01-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

I listed some buttons in my etsy store today! The button sets were fun to put together, finding colours and sizes that worked well together.

I made a mix match set to give away right here on my blog! This set sums up the coolest colours/designs that I came across. I am also giving away a plain red set to go with the mix matched ones. If you would like to win this set of 12 buttons, just leave a comment on this post and on Wednesday Jan 11 I will announce a winner (chosen by random number). One comment per person please! comments closed.

Mousie Mousie

2012-01-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

My Mum had a Mouse stuffed animal that she played with when she was a child. When my sisters and I were kids we were allowed to play with it too. This Mouse was in the middle of hours of fun and entertaining ourselves making up stories while playing.

Because it was such a loved toy and a really cute design I wanted to try to replicate it, putting my own spin on it.

Here is New Mouse!

I added some shoes!

same cute face

New Mouse Old Mouse

Old Mouse

New Mouse!

City Mouse, Country Mouse to come!

Finds of the Day

2012-01-06T16:39:00.001-08:00

I found some awesome vintage buttons
today. They are such great colours and designs
I'll have to sort them out. To share the love
I'll be putting them on etsy. Sometimes its hard
to find cool buttons for small projects, so hopefully
they will come in handy for someone!

I also found these two glass bottles! I don't know
what they say, I hope something creepy wasn't
stored in these!

A few feathers here a few feathers there

2012-01-03T12:27:00.000-08:00

I spiced up a couple birds for my sisters-in-law for Christmas gifts.

I found the original birds at Michaels, and thought they were boring so added a bit of glam.

before

after

before

after

The Start

2012-01-02T19:32:00.000-08:00

I got to start this yesterday!

Its a calendar journal that I get to write in everyday. I mark the year down next to what I write, so in the years to come I can look back on what I was doing each of those days. Meaningful things, mundane things all in point form. My friend Erica made it for me and its such an incredible gift. I got it mid december and have been anxiously waiting to start!

Christmas day Croquet

2011-12-26T19:14:00.000-08:00

It seemed like a good idea at the time, and don't get me wrong it was fun. But playing croquet on the frozen ground is much more difficult than we thought it would be. There was no stopping the ball from rolling once it got started. I think we'll wait for the spring to play again.

Christmas Crafting and Games

2011-12-22T17:30:00.000-08:00

finally time to play Agricola!

working on gift exchange presents

presents under the tree ready
to give away

Australia Bound

2011-12-14T22:06:00.000-08:00

I made this little polar bear by needle felting. He is made with nice marino wool, and his scarf is crocheted cotton. Although he liked living up north, he is on his way to live in Australia with my amazing aunt and uncle. Thats why his scarf is cotton not wool, so he won't over heat.

thanks dear Husband for the beautiful

backdrop drawing

I made him into an ornament for the tree!

Genius Idea

2011-12-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

Some ideas are just brilliant. Here is one of them: a toy sac that folds up! Here is the link. This version is done by pinksuedeshoe, and is for thicker canvas fabric. Its perfect timing because I just got this fabric from a thrift store today. Pounds and pounds of it, it's so heavy! I probably won't make this until after Christmas presents are finished being made, but a project to look forward too!

Guys on horses playing polo maybe?

I wish

2011-12-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

So I had the option in fashion school to take a machine knitting class. Most of the things I saw people working on in that class didn't look too exciting. Of course the instructor had to cover lots of basics and techniques and those looked quite boring to me. I never heard of anyone wearing the things they had constructed in machine knitting, so I thought it would be a waste of time for me.

Yesterday I was at the One of a Kind Show in Vancouver with some friends and I found an artist who makes incredible socks, im Strang is her company. Wool socks, silk cashmere socks, cotton socks, striped socks and not to mention many dresses and sweaters also done by machine knit. If I knew of all the things a knitting machine could do I would have given the class a second thought. I probably won't take it up now, (maybe another day or year) but I remain very impressed and a proud supporter. (There is a pair under the tree for me thanks to a special someone!)

Baby Cardigan

2011-12-09T10:40:00.001-08:00

Here is a cute little cardigan I revamped for a friends baby shower. She's going to be a winter baby, so I thought a baby red bird would be nice. I was going to put trees on it, but sometimes things turn out different and maybe better than planned. A hand sewn felt bird, and vintage red buttons to replace the white ones.

These Days

2011-11-22T21:03:00.001-08:00

I have been needle felting this week. Its been fun just to jump right back into it again. I'm working on a garland for my Christmas tree. As well as some small ornaments.

Paint it all Purple

2011-11-19T12:11:00.000-08:00

I have the tendency to paint things purple. I was given the task some years ago to pick out paint for my Mum's outdoor furniture. I came back from the paint store with a beautiful purple for the chairs and green for the table. It did take me a while to paint the furniture but I got inspired to paint something else purple too.

When my Mum came home she was interested to see the front door painted purple too. Maybe she wasn't too surprised though, dealing with her crazy kids throughout the years. It stayed purple for a long time, until one day the door had to be replaced. Now its back to white.

And lately I painted something else purple too. It wasn't what I was planning from the beginning but one thing led to another I guess...

where it was originally found

sanding it down in the summer

the second coat is finally on

and a cushion is attached!

of course it doesn't match anything

in my house but its still amazing

New Items in my Shop

2011-11-11T11:41:00.001-08:00

I have recently designed a few new hats, they are up and ready to be purchased in my shop. I have more things coming for Christmas just wait and see!

Christmas Hats

2011-11-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

I have been busy making new hats! These ones are very festive and I am excited to put them in my etsy shop soon. They are made of wool and wool blend fabrics and vintage faux mink fur.

Cupcakes!

2011-10-31T21:11:00.001-07:00

Halloween cupcakes with special bug sprinkles! I got a new icing tip and I love it!

No craft time this summer!

2011-10-01T09:34:00.001-07:00

Here is a recap of all the things I have made this summer, a birthday clutch, and this birthday banner. The banner was made for my two nieces in August and only now I have had time to write about it. It turned out beautifully! I love the fabric colours and designs. Fabricland does have a good thing or two from time to time.....

Birthday Clutch

2011-07-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

I whipped up a cozy grey wool clutch for a friend's birthday. I thought wool would be the most appropriate fabric for this cold summer we are having. The clutch is about 12"x 7" and would fit all essentials perfectly.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the items (or another one similar) that you see on my blog just ask me! I'm not doing any markets these days, but I still love selling my things to people who are interested.

Art in Nature

2011-06-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I did some visiting in the Okanagan. I made some succulent gardens for my Mum back in the spring, and haven't seen them since. They have matured beautifully. I love creating with nature, its very satisfying and a lot of the time nature fills in the blanks and makes what we create even more beautiful.

Make-A-Monster

2011-06-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

I got some crafty books from the library recently and "Make a Monster" is one of them. My sister Kelly and I decided to try making one of our own monsters out of nice fleece. I made Dilly, and my sister made a cute blue monster called Rufus. It has great picture instructions and full size patterns! I can't stand when craft books don't have full size patterns. Although the designs in the book are super creative and cute, we had to make our own modifications of course!

Dilly has a skirt made with her, but we didn't

get that far in an hour.

We customized his horns to be pointy

and made out of felt, not round and out

of stuffed fabric.

Fun West Coast Days!

2011-06-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

I went hunting in Hope B.C. for treasures. They had a throw away day where residents put their unwanted items on the curb for other people to take. The find of the day was an arm chair with a wrecked seat. It needs a lot of work, but it will be a fun project. Easy compared to the other chair I did!

The Fraser River is VERY full

The family of chairs, I only have room for one

in my house, so I took the sturdiest

Cleaning the chair with a snow brush.

A colony of red ants were living in it, so we

left them in Hope and took their home.

Bag of Scraps

2011-06-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

It feels like the summer is finally here, and with that means I have full time work. Its nice working and making money and things like that, but it also means I have less time to sew. I made a skirt this afternoon out of a bag of cotton and linen scraps I got from a store in Vancouver. Of the fabric I got, some is hand dyed some hand block printed and some hand woven, all made in India. They are such beautiful colours and designs, I instantly knew what I wanted to make out of it when I was digging through the bins of scraps.

New Paint!

2011-05-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

Getting new craft supplies is always fun, and normally the possibilities are so wide there's not enough time to do them all. I have dabbled in paint a bit in the past mostly painting on furniture and other objects (like the table in the picture). But I got some canvases along with this paint. I already painted a picture of a castle with some princesses and a prince for some little friends of mine. Its the first time a painting took me more than a few hours, and I was really happy with it. The more time I take, the more I am pleased with it I have just discovered. I am getting better with patience I guess.

Flower Garden

2011-05-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've been back creating after a couple months of getting used to doing my real job again. I'm not pumping out ideas and products like I was in the winter, but a few things here and there; like this green scarf with 3 shades of purple silk flowers.

the scarf looks great on my new $8 dress

from a recent thrift store shopping trip!

Chair Complete!

2011-03-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to say that my chair project is complete! Finally after a week of endless hours working on it, the chair I started last tuesday is done! It's far from perfect but I know how to do it better next time I tackle something like this.

Before

After!

Side Angle

Side After

Naked Chair

Happy Chair!

Chair Recovering

2011-02-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

I'm working on recovering a wingback wood frame chair for my Mum this week. What I thought would take an afternoon is taking the whole week! I also recovered some kitchen chairs last week. It was a good place to start, but what a learning curve this is.

before of wingback chair

(after picture soon to come!)

kitchen chairs before

kitchen chairs after

Blog Facelift

2011-02-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

A special thanks to Andrea for inspiring me to give my blog a facelift with her beautiful art contribution! The lovely wardrobe and dress in the field is by my friend Andrea. This design is going to be a stamp someday soon to make hangtags and improve packaging for the things that I'm selling.

Monster Evolution

2011-02-11T12:04:00.000-08:00

I didn't know monsters could evolve, but these lint monsters seem to keep doing just that.

Here are 5 so far, from left to right, the first one I made down to the last one. The are getting more cute and awesome each time!

Newest Hat Designs

2011-02-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

I'm doing the farmers market this week and have loads more hat colours! Here is one of my favorites, the lining is even better! You'll have to come check it out.

the mess I made while making hats

Mexican Fiesta Hairband

2011-01-29T16:21:00.000-08:00

I made this colourful hairband out of crochet cotton! Circles and flowers in red, pink and blue.

Lint Mosters

2011-01-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

Another rainy day today and more felting was in order. I thought I would try something different and make a couple of felt monsters. It was my first time making monsters but I found a perfect home for them. The dryer; a warm and spacious place and best of all plenty of lint to eat!

pink monster

blue monster

two monsters

Custom Bridal Hair Pieces

2011-01-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

Over the past month I've been working on these four beautiful feathery hair pieces for a bride and her bridal party. I'm finally done and really happy with the end product.

Big and Beautiful Ivory one for the Bride

Three Smaller black ones for the Bridesmaids

A story telling January

2011-01-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

inside this house

live 3 curious bears

on photo day

the littlest one stares

around the corner in another part of the woods

a wolf and a girl with a little red hood

play hide and go seek

for the rest of the week

Well that was my story for these needle felted little friends. At least this time. They are like a never ending book that keeps retelling itself in a different way every time. I made these out of wool for the sake of making something, and I am so happy with the outcome. The wolf is my favorite, but he still needs a nose.

The house is a little bag that all the fairy tale friends can fit in for easy transportation to different places to tell more stories! I should do some field research on some small and imaginative children I know, maybe they'll come up with some more friends I can add to my collection.

Posting Hats on Etsy

2011-01-12T15:18:00.000-08:00

I've made some more hats from my favorite self made pattern yet. Hoping to sell some on etsy!

Woodland Wonderland

2010-12-31T14:20:00.000-08:00

I've added some new listings to my etsy shop. I've had lots of time to work on some projects with all my time off lately. With Valentine's Day coming in the next few months, I made some felt and polymer clay necklaces to sell on etsy. Here's a couple pictures.

Coastal Daydream

2010-12-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

I have been working on a wearable arts piece for the last half a year and finally entered it into a show. So I'll find out soon if it even gets in. I love how the gown turned out, so either way I'll be happy. Here's a sneak peak.

A Day at the Abbotsford Farm and Country Market

2010-11-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't have gotten out of bed to go to this market on this particular morning if I didn't have to, so its not surprising that only a few people were shopping at the market on saturday morning. Every experience I have selling things at craft fairs or markets I learn something new. So I'm not discouraged after this saturday, only just making the cost of my table back. It gave me motivation to make 2 more hats of the new pattern I came up with, it also gave me a deadline to finish the hat rack I helped weld for my displays. It turned out much better than I ever could have imagined. The next market is on December 4th so we'll see how that one goes.

In the mean time I'm working on a wearable arts project that will hopefully make it into the next Port Moody wearable arts show. And some winter themed decorations. Its the perfect weather for thinking of project along the winter theme these days in the below freezing temperature.

Here's a couple pictures of my hat stand with a variety of hats from the farmers market

New Designs

2010-11-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

I have a new creative space to work in with two big windows and a flat work space! The first thing I've designed in this new space is a ruffled tailored hat. They are so much fun to make!

Fall Goodies

2010-09-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

Making felt magnets, not sure what for yet, but its fun!

Etsy Day!

2010-09-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

I spent all afternoon working on updating my etsy, things are looking pretty good.

Mad Hat

2010-09-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a mad hatter costume so far and two elven princesses its a mixed bag this time of year!

Craigslist Find

2010-08-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

The perfect thing to organize my life!

Summer Sale

2010-08-09T10:05:00.001-07:00

Backyard Summer Clothing and Accessory Sale.

Success!

Happy Grads

2010-07-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

The two dresses that I made this spring,
for two very happy graduates!

The first one is the Hydrangea dress,

Second, Old Hollywood Glam.

Little Gnome Hats

2010-06-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

Walking in the woods I came across a little gnome wearing some of the hats I just made. I've been learning new felting techniques and cant stop felting.

Textures from Blaine Art Tour

2010-05-26T22:51:00.000-07:00

Some textures of the art tour on mother's day weekend. Many great artists and creative people it was very inspiring!

Broaches Bracelets and Bangles

2010-05-05T21:13:00.001-07:00

I am finally posting some felt jewelry on etsy! I've been making many bracelets, broaches and bangles!

wet felted purple bangle group

wet felted broaches embellished with glass beads

and embroidery ribbon

wet felted bracelets embellished with glass beads

embroidery ribbon with a button closure

Hat on a Ball felting

2010-04-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

I've been felting again experimenting with making hats! There is a wonderful tutorial on the internet by a girl named Oli; have a look at the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EP_5JXkFWg.

Here are some pictures of my hat.

Finished hat

Wool draped on the ball

It wasn't as easy as it looked on the video, but still fun to make! It seams I always want to rush the process of felting, but it takes time.

Felting Projects

2010-04-07T16:54:00.001-07:00

It finally feels like spring is here. Things are getting greener, days are getting longer, and I saw the first humming bird. Along with all these things, my creative life is heating up too. I have discovered something new that I really enjoy -- Felting.

humming bird

felted bracelet

felted bead necklace

wool rovings from Aurelia wool & weaving

dyed merino and corriedale wool

scarf made from the wool

bracelet

Creating with Nylon

2010-02-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

These are some recent projects that have been keeping me busy over the winter. Also check out my internet store front on etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/rachelfound?ga_search_query=rachelfound&ga_search_type=seller_usernames

heavy nylon messenger bag

Traveling back pack

Card holder

A couple fun zipper pouches

Zipper Clutch wallet

with very heavy vinyl

Christmas Crafting

2009-12-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

pine cone elf

elf and blue juniper

light and vine spheres

Endless days of sewing

2009-11-26T22:48:00.001-08:00

These are some picture from my crazy few weeks getting ready to show at some craft fairs in the lower mainland. First one didn't go too well, but its all a learning experience.

my work space

bits and bobs for different projects

inside of the bird bags

stencil bird bags

fur hat design

November, the Month of New Beginnings and Brave Attempts.

2009-11-05T22:22:00.000-08:00

I am in the early stages of fulfilling some long lost ideas and dreams. I have been creating and creating to come up with some products and designs to start selling. Starting at craft fairs, maybe online, after that what can't I do! Here we go!