Pip n Milly Creations » Christmas

Get in the spirit!

admin — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 15:09:26 +0000

The Oh my! Handmade Goodness giveaway is now in full swing! Jessika has put together two fantastic baskets of handmade loveliness showcasing the work of more than 30 artists and craftspeople from all around the world. One of the most unique aspects of this giveaway is that you can nominate yourself and/or a worthy cause or organization that could use the basket to generate income through a raffle, silent auction etc. Honestly, it doesn’t take much – check out a couple of the artists and leave a comment on the post at OMHG. Just follow the link. Good luck!

http://www.ohmyhandmade.com/2010/what-we-love/oh-my-handmade-holidays-giveaway/

Winter in Nanaimo

admin — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 04:44:20 +0000

The snow is hanging around and the forecast is promising more will come tonight. Yippee! I am embracing the season, especially now that I have a warm pair of boots! The children are thoroughly enjoying the snow and hoping it stays all winter. The change in temperature has been, I think, instrumental in a resurgence in P’s interest in knitting and she has found a willing and able teacher in Grandma. A Grandma who hadn’t picked up a knitting needle in 24 years, yet was able to knit a beautiful cable wrist warmer at her first attempt! She is definitely a better bet than mommy!
Here are a few photos of the happenings around here over the last few days:

M. shovelling snow

Snow shack

Sunrise over Departure Bay, Nov 2010

Sunrise, Departure Bay

Christmas stockings

Craft-tastic weekend ahead!

admin — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:14:54 +0000

If you live in the central Vancouver Island area, you won’t want to miss the 22nd Annual Self-guided Christmas Tour, organized by the Cedar and Yellow Point Artisans’ Association. This year the tour features 27 different venues scattered throughout the beautiful Cedar and Yellow Point communities, including woodwork, textiles, paintings, jewellery, culinary products, ceramics, willow furniture … the list goes on! This is a fantastic opportunity to see the work of a wide variety of local artists and artisans in a stunning setting. The tour runs from today, November 18th – Sunday, November 21st from 10am-5pm.

PS Some of my work will be available at The Stilted House Gallery, number 18 on the tour. The owners, Toby and Lisa, graciously offered other artisans the opportunity to show their work at the Gallery.

The Beban Park Christmas Craft Bazaar takes place in Nanaimo this weekend:
City of Nanaimo Parks, Recreation and Culture Christmas Craft Bazaar, Beban Social Centre, 2300 Bowen Rd., Nov. 19-21: Friday noon-8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. $2 admission

The annual Kris Kringle Market is also taking place this weekend, at the new Parksville venue.

The Waldorf School in Duncan is holding its annual Christmas fair this weekend, too! Sunrise Waldorf School Christmas Fair

For information about many other events, check this link from the Time Colonist: Craft Fairs

Have a fantastic weekend!

Holiday shopping event

admin — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 03:40:18 +0000

Hi folks! November is here already and it may seem like it is too early to be thinking about Christmas, but in the world of handmade these last few weeks are hectic! I am working on custom orders for Christmas and new projects for a shopping event I am participating in this weekend. The event is going to be taking place on Saturday 6th November at 2547 Stampede Trail, Nanaimo from 16.00 to 22.00 (4-10pm). It is going to be a great afternoon/evening to check out some wonderful gift ideas for the special people in your life, in a relaxed and happy atmosphere. Please let me know if you are interested in attending, so I can give the organizer an idea of numbers to expect. Many thanks!
I will have stock on hand, including suggestions for stocking stuffers, teachers’ gifts, tableware, advent calendars and bunting. I will also be taking a limited number of custom orders and will have gift certificates available. Hope to see you there!

2nd Annual Girls’ Night Out

admin — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:41:09 +0000

The 2nd Annual Girls’ Night Out is a special event celebrating all kinds of local business women, from designers, photographers and craftspeople to those marketing culinary concoctions, children’s toys, clothing, chemical-free cleaning products and accessories. The event is taking place tonight, Tuesday 26th October, at the Wellington Hall, 3922 Corunna Ave, Nanaimo from 6-8pm. Admission is free, but a representative from Shaw will be at the door collecting non-perishable donations for the food bank. If you can bring something, that would be amazing! Inside there will be a wide variety of vendors, including Pip ‘n’ Milly Creations, Discovery Toys, Hudson & Saige, Shanna Morgan Photography, Arbonne and Epicure, plus many others. There will also be some snacks, a variety of prize draws, a great atmosphere and lots of opportunities to find gifts for the special people in your life. Come out and enjoy a stress-free shopping experience away from the mall. Hope to see you there!

Merry Christmas!

admin — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 03:54:17 +0000

A very quick note to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy 2010! Thank you for stopping by over the year. I hope there will be many more posts in the year ahead.

Market update

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:04:09 +0000

Apologies, again, for not writing more often. I have been very focused on sewing lately and not had much opportunity to use the computer. I have also been in substantial pain with my back and leg, so have had to limit sitting time. I have new medication to help, but it makes me feel nauseous and very fuzzy in the head, so not a good combination!

Anyway, the market went well. It was good to be doing it on a relatively small scale with a select group of people. We had a really great turnout and saw lots of new faces, as well as some very good friends who came along to support us.

First market set up

I worked really hard to make enough stock to fill the table and offer a variety of items, from aprons, deluxe baby bibs, handbags, crayon rolls, colouring sets (lined book bag and coordinating crayon roll), reversible coffee cozies, tutus, zippered pouches, Grab ‘n’ Go placemats and felt crowns. If we do any markets in the future, we will definitely work on some better display structures!

One more sleep

admin — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:29:25 +0000

Just one more sleep until the big day – the EllaBella Designs’ 1st Annual Christmas Market. This will be my first market and I have been sewing every night to make enough to fill a table. Normally I make items to order, so I don’t usually have much stock on hand. Well, now I do! I will have aprons for children and women, tutus, one of a kind handbags, reversible coffee cup cozies, cosmetic pouches, Grab ‘n’ Go placemats and crayon rolls. I will also be taking orders for custom pieces for Christmas.

If you are in the Nanimo area and are interested in locally made, handmade, high quality pieces, please stop by. Here’s a link to the map. Hope to see you there!

Aprons

Getting ready for Market

Save the date

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:08:45 +0000

I know that Halloween is just around the corner and many people will be focused on that, but Christmas is also fast approaching and now is the time to start thinking about gift ideas for your friends and family. Over the next few weeks I will be hunting down some great gift ideas and posting about them here.

This year I will be participating in the first Christmas Gift Market at the EllaBella Designs Studio. The market will feature the work of several local businesswomen. There will be more information available soon about the other vendors, but I know it will be a great event. The Market is being held on Sunday 22nd November, from 1-5pm. This is a perfect opportunity to choose unique, handcrafted gifts for your family and loved ones – perhaps even a special treat for yourself! I am anticipating a great, fun-filled afternoon in a cozy environment with some very talented ladies.

I will be selling a variety of items, including children’s aprons, deluxe food-catcher baby bibs, coffee cup cozies, crayon rolls, colouring bags, tutus, zippered cosmetic pouches, handbags and Grab ‘n’ Go Placemats.

If you are in the Nanaimo area, please stop in and show your support! You’ll be glad you did!

I made this!

admin — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:26:19 +0000

Apologies in advance for what will no doubt seem like boasting! I am so very pleased with myself for tackling this project when I knew it would be a challenge. We are attending a winter solstice party and I wanted to have something special to wear. We don’t go to any parties normally, so I really don’t have much to wear (honest!). This is a modified McCall’s M4491 – hopefully not modified beyond recognition! It is the first time I have used a pattern to make something for myself. My dressform, affectionately know around here as “Maggie”, was very helpful indeed, as I needed to take the dress in. I changed the sleeves and added a button and ribbon loop at the back so I could hook the skirt up, rather than have it trailing around under people’s feet. I left out the lining and made the back plain. Some parts of the pattern were just too fiddly for me to deal with right now. This was made a little more challenging by having my 4 year old take the scissors to a random piece of fabric laying on the table. Not so random, as it turned out to be a sleeve! Lesson of the day: keep the scissors well out of reach.

I will try to post a picture of me wearing the dress, if I can get said 4 year old to cooperate! I found the perfect belt to wear with it, but have yet to decide on shoes. I have my beautiful gold wedding shoes, so will try those and see how they work.

My grandmother, who is now 94 and lives in Scotland, was a hugely talented seamstress and I am inspired by her. Every item I ever saw of hers was always finished with great attention to detail, down to the under garments on doll clothes. Whenever I make something, I have her in mind and I hope she would be proud of me.