A Visit to T.O.

I have just returned from a little vacation in Toronto visiting family and friends. It was pretty short and wish I could have stayed longer.

Both sets of parents organized a wonderful shower for both my husband and I where all our family and friends gathered to socialize and eat (that was one of the main requirements...lots of food for the preggie lady).

Thanks to everyone who attended and for your kind words of encouragement and wonderful swag!

Now that we are back home, it's time to really start cracking on this baby thing. Prenatal classes to attend, a nursery to prepare and baby stuff to sort through. We are both very excited and can't believe how fast the time has flown...November is just a blink away...

Projects - some for moi and some for you

What have I been up to recently...

Well, I have slowly gotten into baby mode and started to make a cover for the soon-to-be scrapbook for our new arrival. I used a light green linen and embroidered with purple thread:
"Baby, Belly & Us" with of course the year when she will be born...Yes you heard it hear "it's a girl".

I have also started collecting some different fabrics for a quilt I am going to make for our little bundle of joy to be. These two fabrics were the colour inspiration for the quilt. The alphabet fabric will be for the backing and the circus fabric cut into squares for the front.I am also going to play around with these colours and add them as different colour blocks. A very vintage inspired quilt.
Not only have I been busy for myself but I did add a couple of other things to the store. Two new bags. As seen in a previous post, I have a bundle of this orange 1960's bed sheet set, so I figured I would put it to good use.
Made from white crisp linen and the bed sheet with embroiderey and flower ribbon detailing, these two bags are perfect for holding books to read at the park
I also made one in a natural linen with the same detailing as the white bag.

These two totes can be found at my etsy store. More to come soon...

Pommes Madness

I am now currently on an "apple kick". I bought this cute apple fabric from Namolio (Her shop is filled with lots of great goodies). I was holding off using it because I didn't want to "waste" it. I wanted to make sure whatever I made I would love. I think they turned out pretty good.

The bags are made from a cotton/linen fabric with the apple fabric patchwork. I used some red and white polka dot ribbon. With some red embroidery I embroidered in French "Mon Petit Sac" - which in English means "My Small Bag".

I also made a couple of Pommes Wallets with the same fabric and I used a cute little red button and red and white string to close the wallet.

See how to make both wallets and bags under my Video Tutorial Section.
Both bags and wallets are now available at my etsy store.

Just a couple of goodies...

Well as promised here are some goodies...some are newly made and some are older and did not make it to the blog until now.


Here is a custom ordered Petit Sac that someone ordered through etsy. She chose the fabric and colour and asked that the bag be dedicated for her mother. I think it turned out pretty good. It's made form linen and cotton with a vintage button for closure.


I had forgotten how much I enjoy making these bags. Definitely more to come.

This was a make-up bag I actually made a while ago and it has been sitting in a box waiting to be posted.
Some French Cafe tea towels, made from some Japanese patchwork. Yes, I did say French with Japanese fabric. Very french red, white and blue.

All products available at www.pikapeeks.etsy.com

The BIG News...

Well...here it is the big news...

We are preggers!

So now you know. I haven't been so busy with creating as I was trying to overcome the nausea and other good stuff, but I am feeling much much better now and the creating has begun. We moved my sewing room around and now I am organizing all my goodies, so I can get creating. More bon bon bags for sure, and I am thinking of creating some baby stuff as well (for obvious reasons..one for me and one for sale).

About the shirt...

This tank top was given to me by my cousin, she was playing up my business name by using my husbands name instead of "moi" . I found an other use for this shirt, I just added my name with marker and there you have it...

more to come...

I'm Back

IMG_2137
Originally uploaded by handmadebymoi

Well, first I must apologize it seems like FOREVER since my last post. A lot has happened since our last conversation.

We have moved to Perroy, Switzerland. It took about two weeks for our stuff to arrive so two weeks on an air mattress was just a little uncomfortable.

We finally organized all our paper work for Switzerland...visas, insurance, banking all that fun stuff while trying to cancel all our services in France.

My husband's parents arrived three weeks ago for a visit and we explored parts of Switzerland and France (since it is so close). Switzerland reminds me of Canada a little with it's wide open spaces and lots of greenery.

We have met our neighbors, the wine makers, the cows, the horses and the donkeys. Polly (our doggie) is absolutely loving it here...no more scooters.

I really haven't done much sewing since we have moved and yes SHAME ON ME I know, but I have good reasons (which I will reveal on a later post).

So all in all things are going well.

I am in the middle of changing my store name (and don't worry I haven't forgotten about the contest - winner to be revealed soon) and updating my blogs, still working on the new website soon to be finished.

Another update to follow very soon I promise!!!

Oops!

One final final thought...



Au Revoir!

My Tribute to the South of France

(Our Old Home - Blue and Cream Building above)

Well...this is it. The boxes are stacked, all documents have been filled and we are off to embark on a new adventure. I will definitely miss this place. Although the mediterranean had its frustrating moments, overall this has been one of the most rewarding life changing experiences for my husband and I.

As we move into our new home in Perroy, Switzerland (see photo),
I decided to dedicate this post as a reflection of our French Adventures. I have only included some photos of some of the fantastic moments here in France, but to see more go to our flickr site (see right box).

St. TropezMentonNice
Lavender FieldsGorge du Verdon
Tourettes Sur Loup

So there you have it...stay tuned for the new adventures in Switzerland.
p.s. I am still deciding on the new name for the shop...don't worry I have not forgotten!

C'est Fini

Well, here she is all finished. She is definitely colourful and whimsy and I love her. It was very hard to give her up but I know she was on her way to a good home.
And now I am working on doll number two...all for me!

I will probably have put her on the back burner for a while as we are now in the midst of moving...eeeks!

Still browsing through all the great new names for my store. The contest is coming to a close and one lucky winner will be announced shortly!

Stay tuned...

Almost finished...

Well, my Jackie doll is almost finished. I call her Jackie because that is the name of the lady I am giving it to. Jackie (the real one) has salt and pepper hair, loves to garden, and has a cat named George. I have finally put a face on her and now I am just playing, adding more and more bojangles (bits and pieces, but bojangles sounds better). I am thinking of making another one (for myself) and then using the doll as an example for my etsy store. The premise would be: you send a photo, tell me all about the person and I will customize and doll for her/him or you.

Still thinking about cost though, as it does take quite a while to finish.

On another note, I finished 25 pouches (another custom order) for a lady in the U.K. She wanted these for her female guests at her wedding. I wanted to send them out before we moved. I am so happy to have finished them.


I have also been checking out all the suggestions for a new name. I must say you people are very creative. it is not an easy name to change since "made by hand in the South of France" has a romantic ring to it, but there are some serious contenders in the running.

Keep them coming!!!

A Work in Progress

Every time my mom comes to visit, we create, create and create! We are working on a doll for a friend of mine. She has offered her villa to us while she is away in South Africa. So we thought we would make a doll for her that looks like her. Even big girls love to play with dolls.


More photos to come!

It's Official!

Well, it is official. We are moving AGAIN...
My husband is being relocated to Geneva (Geneve in French with an accent on the E, but I have a North American keyboard) Switzerland.
We both a mixed emotions about this move, we made a list:

Geneva, Switzerland compared to Nice, France

- everything and everyone is on time in Nice, not so much
- high speed trains perfect for travel in Nice, again not so much
- center of Europe (again perfect for travel) but in Nice beautiful travel throughout provence
-chocolate available in both places which is better Swiss or French...they are both pretty damn good
- alps in Switzerland but the sea in Nice
- very international city while in Nice it is very french
- international food available everywhere in Geneva where as in Nice mostly French food (which I will miss)
- weather in Geneva is not as perfect as it is in Nice (the sun is always shining)

well the list goes on and on...

And then there is the question of the shop name...handmadebymoi in the South of France...not so much anymore, that would be false advertising (even though France is only 10 minutes away)

SOOOO...I need your help...

I am keeping the handmade by moi bit. Geneva is in the French part of Switzerland but I wanted to add a little something underneath, not quite sure what? So I thought, why not make it into a little contest.

Leave a comment/suggestion of a name that would suite and if me likey I will send you a "pour un artiste roll with a couple of other goodies :The contest in closes: March 21, 2008

Bonne Chance!

Business Time

Okay, I know not very crafty, but I watched this on youtube and just couldn't stop laughing. I thought I would share:



ENJOY!

A couple more goodies...

Here is a custom order made for a lady who owns a shop called Tangerine Dreams. She wanted the bag to be "en francaise" so...voila...although, the word tangerine doesn't exist in French...I made some adjustments.

I had a little bit of this fabric left over so I made a couple of these little pouches to hold make-up, lip balm and other goodies. Even used the last bits of fabric for the buttons (you see that is why you never throw anything away).

Here are a couple of other little pouches, perfect for business cards and loose change. Again, also made from left over bits of fabric I had.

All can be purchased at www.pikapeeks.etsy.com

Look How Cool...

I am so honoured to be featured in another blog: Vintage Indie

It's a great site that features independent artists (like myself) and showcases some of their work. Here's a little sneak peak...

The Daily Swank - Vintage French

Today's Daily Swanky is so dreamy, I have to admit I want everything from this indie shop. I'm seriously drooling!

Can you say Bon Bon Bag? No, I'm not talking about those little delicious treats that all of us work at home moms spend all day eating.... ha ha. I'm talking about these fabulous handmade Bags from pikapeeks.

Each little bag is filled with delightful treasures of French and vintage items. I have to tell you I think they would make a perfect gift! I'll take one in every color please!

What little girl wouldn't love a Petite Sac? One with her very own favorite colors and her name right on the front! Made from French Linen and cotton patchwork you can have one custom ordered!

Head over to Vintage Indie to see more.

Easter Came Early in Vence

I have been holding on to these egg cartons for about a year now, and I had this idea to create something with these for easter. The I visited Matabi's esty store adn found this great egg fabric.
I had some vintage ribbon I bought a while ago and some other goodies. I decided to put them all together to create a starter sewing kit.

Included in the kit: 1 felt egg pin cushion with 9 matching pins
1 egg cup linen needle holder
4 safety pins
4 sewing needles (various size)
6 white vintage buttons
1 yard of rick rack
1 yard of white 10 inch cotton vintage ribbon
1 yard of red and white bakers twine
9 heart candies
1 rocket

These cute kits will be available at my etsy store on saturday feb. 9