Contemporary Australian Xmas Fabrics!

Kristen Doran has just released this sensational limited edition Christmas Tree craft panel. Hand screen printed in the loveliest shade of red on a gorgeous natural cotton/linen blend basecloth. Turn into Xmas wall art, cushions, tea towels, stockings, table runner, placemats, napery, advent calendar or any other festive craft project!

We have just added a brand new shopping category "Contemporary Australian Christmas Fabrics" to showcase some of the amazing Australian designs for this festive season. Pop over and grab a little inspiration and celebrate this Xmas in true Aussie style!

Below are more gorgeous Australian designer fabrics perfect for decorating your Xmas table or home this year.

Shannon Lamden's 'Oh Deers' in raspberry on birch above and duckegg blue on hessian below. I think these would make great Xmas stockings, napery, cushions and kids Xmas clothing. (a hem on a linen skirt for the girls or a hem or pocket on shorts for the boys)

'Papercuts' raspberry on birch by Shannon Lamden.

Pippijoe's red 'Orchard' would make the perfect 'partridge in a pear tree'!

A little belated but elated welcome to 'Dandi' fabrics into our store! Dandi is made up of a four-women team of Industrial Designers who share a passion for beautiful and functional objects for the home. Drawing inspiration from Mother Nature the Dandi team weaves whimsical, beautiful and functional elements into its designs. 

Dandi Blooms oilcloth above makes the perfect tablecloth for the festive season and beyond and it wipes clean in a jiffy. The Dandi team have done a magnificent job at decorating this table! The key is keep it 'simple' and the Dandi Blooms really speaks for itself.

Dandi Olive Branch Pistachio sets the scene with a real Australian vibe above.

and here are a couple of fantastic ideas by the Dandi girls using the gorgeous Dandi Holly Berry!

Whatever you may choose.. Happy Xmas Decorating everyone!

Too Cool For School!

Hot off the press are these adorable craft panels by Australian textile designer Shannon Lamden aka Aunty Cookie. Who said learning can't be fun! Limited edition, fun and funky alphacookie craft panels are an extension of Shannon's creativity using her adorable and quirky 'cookies' characters!

Creative opportunities for this unique panel are endless! Frame and hang or make a cushion like Shannon's above, use as a feature panel in a funky quilt, aprons, bags, pin boards, library bags, applique tees, clothing etc etc....

Available in black, fire engine red and our Kelani Exclusive Raspberry almost hot pink shown below. I decided on this exclusive colourway for those who have girls like me who no matter how hard you try just keep going back to pink!

Aunty Cookie "NEW" Papercuts Design

Shannon's latest gorgeous 'papercut blooms' and coordinating 'papercuts' design was Hot! Hot! Hot! at the Stitches & Craft Show and I am so pleased to have it in the store.

Available in raspberry on birch and grey on black (divine!) 'papercuts' is a great all-rounder for craft, sewing and light home decorating projects. I also think this design would lend itself to lovely applique as the papercuts range in size from large to small and would suit either adult or children's apparel.

Wall Art and Magnetic Noticeboard in One!

When I first laid eyes on Shannon Lamden's fab new fabric design 'letterhead' I knew exactly what I was going to make! I had filed away in my DIY file a fantastic 'make it' idea from Real Living magazine - a 'magnetic mood board'. Unfortunately I didn't make a note of the issue it came from so if someone may be able to help me out with this one that would be great!

I covered my canvas with the Kelani exclusive colourway for 'Letterhead' white on hessian, but there are three other exclusive colourways here in Shannon's latest funky design. See below image for how to make the canvas with this useful magnetic feature.

Once you have decided on the size of your canvas, take the inside dimensions or the actual canvas to a steel supplier and request a thin sheet (approx 0.8mm) of galvanised metal to fit inside the frame. I went to a local steel supplier who had a large offcut, enough to make about 10 of these and who only charged me $10 as it was buckled in some areas which I was able to work around and this also gave me extra to make more as presents. I was lucky and had a friend who was able to cut the metal to size for me, but the steel supplier should do it at a small cost.

Sourcing and going out and buying the metal is the hardest part. The next step was simple, I just spray glued both the metal and the inside of the canvas, inserted the metal sheet and placed some heavy books to help the metal to adhere to the canvas surface. Heh presto I have myself a new funky noticeboard!

I was so thrilled with my new noticeboard (thanks Real Living!) that I made another straight away in Amy Butler's 'Fresh Start - Moss' from her latest home decorating 'August Fields' collection.

What I love about this Real Living DIY project is it has a dual function of being both wall art and a noticeboard in one! I must say I have been loving Real Living mag with its fantastic 'make it' ideas and look forward to more as easy and effective as this one.

Shannon Lamden & Lara Cameron Exclusive Colourways

Firstly, I would like to thank both Shannon and Lara who have both been fantastic with their assistance in answering all the questions I have thrown their way over the past few months. I have had a lot of fun with colour choices for some exclusive colourways of their designs currently in store. Such lovely girls, not to mention their talent in hand printed textile design which is evident in their global popularity amongst the large crafting community both here in Australia and increasingly overseas.

Exclusive colorways currently in store by Shannon Lamden:

Nesting in fawn on chocolate and Nesting in chocolate on birch


Cookies in white on red and Knit One in white on red

Exclusive colourways currently in store by Lara Cameron:

Ginkgo in gold and Ginkgo in robins egg blue

Riverside Adventures in olive and Birch Forest in olive

Riverstones in raspberry and Flowing Dots in raspberry.
This fabric won't last as Lara has unfortunately had to retire the screen used to print these designs.

Rainy Day Ice Cream

Fantastic colourways and great specials at 20% off RRP in store now!