hearts & crafts in Toronto

as i write this, my eyes are heavy and fogged over with dream 'cause it is past my bedtime so don't mind any gibberish but more importantly, it was high time i blogged already nes pas?

some pretty great things have been in the crafting brew pot in these last few months and it has all decided to simmer down to a sweetie craftlife nectar roughly within months of each other...wait, what am i talking about?

ah yes, part one: you can directly buy some of my handmade goodness at the wonderful Freedom Clothing Collective shop in Toronto at 393 Bloor st. west.
i was pretty lucky to hook a placement with this little handmade hotspot last year for school and have kept in touch with them neato ladies. yesterday i dropped in for hello's and to give up some pieces of mine to see how they do in a consignment setting.

12 vintage styled envelope journal jackets, three felted moon cuffs and a handful of snap pouches made with recycled materials and reclaimed vintage wedding lace.

these journal jackets were originally for a clutch design but without any interfacing to make them stiff, they work perfectly to protect most 8"x 5" journals, sketchbooks or even for just a bit of tote organizing.
dyed naturally with coffee on a cotton canvas, they can take a bit of knocking around and even a pinch of staining which only adds to the aged look. each has different buttons that match both the hand/machine embroidered stamps and linings.
i tried to keep the anchor stamps ones with more masculine or unisex lining for them boys and the chubby birdy ones a little more feminine for them ladies.

i have to admit letting go of these three moon cuffs pulled on a heart string for me. made with some scraps of a hand and lock project in my final year in textiles, there was buckets of heart poured into these pieces. i decided to keep the first one i did for myself so i could put these three out into the world.

i love the texture of the beading clusters and the crewel embroidery on felt.
i'll eventually be felting similar ones in different color ways to play around with what my heart's mind dreams of when thinking of what the surface on other planets make look like. though i'll tell you now, it is mighty sweet on the eyes.

these few snap pouches i made over the summer with a stash of vintage wedding lace i've had for a good few years and finally decided i just had to use them in something.
the other materials used were reclaimed scraps from thrift stores or sample pieces of interior decorating fabrics.

i'll post again soon with more parts/servings from the crafting brewing pot soon, in the meantime skip on over to my twitter feed and keep up with the beating of my simple (and deliciously busy) craftlife until then.

internally yours,
sister valentine