Paddle Project!

We are so honoured that Campfire Circle asked us to paint a paddle for the paddle project auction. Campfire Circle is an amazing camp where kids who have cancer can play, grow and enjoy new experiences all in a safe environment. We have created a paddle with some of our most favourite childhood cartoons that always make us smile. Growing up, summer camp was such a sacred and special place for us to go be ourselves, be in nature and have the best time! We have teamed up with #campfirecircle to auction off our paddle to raise money for kids to have this kind of joyful experience where kids can be kids. There is also a #bonfirebash gala in November to celebrate! When creating the paddle, we first started with outlining in pencil, used markers to colour in the cartoons and then painted it with paint. We wanted the colours to be vibrant and happy. See how we made it here!

The final step is that the paddle will be be varnished so it can be used in the water for canoeing! 🛶 Stay tuned for details on the auction and how you can help!

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Patch it up DIY and embroidery magic!

We're totally obsessed with patches and embroidery and anything thats nostalgic with pop culture mixed with a vintage vibe. I ( Cailli) took my vintage levi's jeans and hand sewed vintage patches from Etsy and Ebay. Also waiting for the patches to arrive was the slow part. I also hand sewed a vintage 70's yellow happy face patch on this 70's vest I snagged off Ebay. This outfit is a hardcore #BeckermanDIY outfit. Sam is feeling an embroidery British rock vintage Harry Styles vibse so she threw on this Gucci skirt to mix and match it up!

The Look: Patch it Up DIY and embroidery magic!

Fun Fact: It took Cailli and month to make these jeans but it was worth all the hand sewing and stabbing my fingers with the pin a million times! lol

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Cailli- 80's + 90's Patches + DIY

The Look: 80's + 90's + Patches +DIY

  Fun Fact: I started this DIY as one of the things I check off my bucket list. It was to create a bomber jacket and a pair of jeans filled with my favourite patches from the 80's and 90's and it didn't matter how long it took to create. It took two years!!! Ahhhh! And I don't think I will ever be finished because the back and the sleeves of the jacket still needs some. It sounds insane because I didn't want the pressure of just buying a bunch of patches and throwing them on to fill up the jacket and jeans. I wanted it to mean something. I wanted to collect the patches slowly and figure out certain patches that are super hard to get and hunt them down on the Internet.
For example, the Nintendo controller patch is super hard to find and I had wait for another one to come up because I was in a bidding war on EBay and lost! Hahaha! Also, the Mario Brother patch.. but Mario as a racoon, is a difficult one too! But by far, the hardest one to find was the Archie comics circle patch and the Ghostbusters vehicle. So waiting for patches to pop up again and deciding the placement of them on the jacket and jeans, was the hardest part. I even created my own trolls for the jacket. I found vintage plastic troll faces from the 60's on Etsy and then added/sewed faux fur for their hair on the jacket. This is because troll patches don't exist. Or I have never seen them. I also found a bunch of patches at the flea market and my friends and designer friends started collecting them and making them and sending them to me as well because they knew about my on going project. The hand sewing also takes forever! (And a lot of screams from pricking myself). A ton of them started as iron-on's but what happend is, since a lot of the patches are old and vintage, the glue isn't as great as it used to be. So, I end up sewing them on, which is a challenge in itself, because these patches have a mind of their own! lol! So, even though I am technically still collecting patches..., this DIY is pretty much finished! YAHOOO!!!
I hope it's inspiring and hope that everyone tries to make one. They are super fun.. just don't limit yourself on time!

Get the Look:

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Our Pomeranian Dog Pillow DIY

We teamed up with Commonthread this month to create a DIY Pomeranian hand-stitched embroidered pillow and we are OBSESSED with it! It's the cutest to create your own personalized dog or cat pillow with your own furry pet as inspiration. And this pillow is a hit! Everybody wants it and you can bring it everywhere because it's small...perfect for back to school, on the bed and your pet will love it! The cuteness factor is a definite 10! Lol! So first, we found an adorable pic of our dog Marni's face, picked up these supplies below and got right to work.

What you need:
DMC Tea-dyed Linen fabric (its really soft beautiful linen)
Acrylic Paints Paintbrushes
DMC Embroidery Thread
Scissors
White Thread for hand sewing
Hand Sewing Needles
Black Felt tip Marker
Stuffing for the inside of the pillow
Velvet Fabric (we picked up for the back of the pillow) but you could technically use the Linen.

1.So, this whole dog pillow project is all about having fun and being free while painting. Make sure to let loose and don't worry about going outside of the lines when painting. 'We free-handed this with a black felt top marker and painted Marni's face with paint.

2. Cut half an inch around the face of the pillow. This will be the front of the pillow and the extra seam allowance will help you sew it together.

3. We took the DMC Embroidery thread and highlighted her fur by making it look 3D. We also gave Marni black eyelashes and basted in black around her whole face

4. Now cut the back of the fabric. We took the velvet and cut the back of the fabric by just tracing the face with the velvet facing flat on the table. You want two of the same shapes for the head.

5. We hand stitched the front and back pieces together. Hand stitch the two right sides together with little tiny stitches. Leave some room at the the top of the pillow to flip it inside out. Once the pillow is flipped inside out, you can then stuff it with the pillow stuffing.

6. Then you can finish up by sewing the last ear up and adding on those whiskers!
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Chocolate Bar DIY JEANS!

It is officially chocolate day! We teamed up with Commonthread to create the chocolate bar jeans of our dreams. And we are talking about a whole lot of variety! We painted them by hand and embroidered them with DMC thread. Not only did these jeans put us in a chocolate frenzie but we had the best time making them and eating some chocolates along the way.

SUPPLIES:
A pair of jeans Pants
Paints and brushes
Permanent Marker
Pen
DMC Embroidery thread
Hand sewing needles and thread
Scissors
Fabric Glue Optional
Jean patches- extra denim

We used an old pair of vintage Levi's jeans because we love how they fit. Make sure you use jeans you love, because with all the time and effort of making these, you gotta love them when they are finished. We then washed a bunch of cut up denim swatches and threw them in the dryer so that they would have frayed raw edges. We had different color denim scraps which you can use as well. We love the trend of patches on jeans. But this is taking it to the next level by making your own patches. Next up we printed some chocolate bars that we are obsessed with to follow as a guide. On the darker denim swatches we used a permanent marker to free hand the chocolate bars. On the lighter denim swatches, we mapped it out with pen. We think its better just to free hand and have fun with it and not worry if they look a little kooky. It makes the jeans look more hand made and have more personality. We almost ran out of room when doing the last "s" on the Snickers bar and now it looks extra cute. After painting the jeans on the patches we then took the embroidery thread and stitched highlights and creases in to the hand painted chocolate bars. Up close you can see the stitching, but from far away it just blends right in. Its those special little details up close that makes it look exquisite. The last step is hand sewing the patches on the jeans. We did this with a needle and thread and a quick whip stitch up all sides. It's helpful to use a piece of cardboard in between the pant leg to help the hand sewing process. You could also glue the patches with fabric glue to the jeans instead of stitching them..... and VOILA! Our Chocolate Bar DIY JEANS are done! But don't forget to take a BREAK a la Kit Kat while you are making these jeans for an extra sugar high! Happy Chocolate Day!  Also, make sure to check out Commonthread by DMC where we got our supplies from and sign up for an all access VIP pass for fabulous deals --we are so excited for their launch next week!
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