June | 2011 | The Luulla Blog

{The Handmade Story} Merah Muda

Merah Muda means pink in Indonesian which is Misha’s favorite word, and also happens to be her daughter’s favorite color. Her colorful range of inspirational designs for bags offer a truly fun and personalized flavor for children and adults. We love that her designs are simple and unique at the same time, and she is not afraid to use a cheerful mix of fabrics, patterns and colors in creating one-of-a-kind bags that are so happy and cheerful. And, can you believe the bags are made out of used fabrics and tshirts? They are just so amazing and the details made them so special.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and Merah Muda. How do you get the name?

I live in Los Angeles with my husband and 4 year old daughter Sinta. My husband Thomas and I are freelance motion graphic designers. My husband was born in Bali and I have been learning Indonesian with my daughter. We learned to say all the colors and numbers. And my favorite words to say is “merah muda” which means pink. Which also happens to be my daughter’s favorite color.

2. How did you get started in doing what you do? How long have you been creating?

I was always into drawing and crafts. When I was little, I had some Cabbage Patch dolls and started making clothes for them. I was too young to use the sewing machine so I hand stitched all the outfits. Crazy, I know. I grew up with several creative talents in my family. My grandmother and aunts loved to sew and paint. And my grandfather made furniture. My grandmother made me my favorite doll. I called her Jingles. And she would give her “surgeries” every time we’d visit. Later on, my grandmother and aunt made quilts for all the women in my family. I have several blankets and quilts from them including a wedding quilt and a baby quilt for Sinta.

Merah Muda was started in 2010. Freelance work had slowed down so I took the opportunity to get my online shop going and it’s been doing great ever since.

Merah Muda bags

3. What was your first creation? Do you have a favorite?

As I mentioned earlier, probably the doll clothes. And my favorite creation is usually whatever I made last. I also made my daughter some skirts for her birthday.

Merah Muda bags

4. We absolutely love your one of a kind mini totes, they are all so colorful and fun. What inspires you?

My daughter. Also living in Los Angeles, there are a lot of trendy kids. I like to check out their clothes at the park or at school. Plus there are so many fabulous kid clothing designers online. They inspire me with their daily creations. It motivates me to keep creating. I also like to incorporate my graphic design skills into the bags. I like making original silk screen illustrations on the bags. My husband helps out with some adorable dinosaur, fairy and bookworm illustrations. It’s a family business.

Merah Muda bags

5. What is your favorite kind of fabric?

Knit, can you tell? I find it easy to work with. Plus I can embellish it with silk screen art. I really like using existing clothes to create my bags. It makes me feel better about what I’m doing. Encouraging the next generation to not be as wasteful.

Merah Muda bags

6. How do you find balance between your creative life and your family?

They are very much connected in our house. Since my husband and I are both graphic designers working from home, we often talk about work and design. And my daughter and I are always doing art/craft projects. I recently found her a bag decorating kit where she could put foam stickers on a tote bag. She loved it. I typically work from 9-3 then pick up my daughter from school. She has her activities then dinner. And I get back to work after she goes to bed when needed. I make bags and promote my business between freelance jobs. I find that evenings are the best time to sew. It’s the longest chunk of time that I can focus.

Merah Muda bags

7. Apart from creating, what do you do?

I like to exercise when I can. Running is fun for me. I like zoning out. I also love photography. Before my daughter came along, I was shooting weddings. A lot of work but really fun to be a part of a couple’s important day. And I try to enjoy my daughter as much as possible. She takes dancing and swimming lessons. Between that and her friends, she keeps me busy.

Merah Muda bags

8. Do you have a favorite color?

My favorite color is merah muda (pink) of course. I like paring it with greens and blues. I love working with vibrant colors in general.

More of Merah Muda’s creations:

Luulla store: http://www.luulla.com/store/merahmuda

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/merahmudaispink

Hello yellow, hello summer!

Nothing says summer like a splash of yellow tones. It is warm and happy and cheerful, a color that always brings a smile to any face. I’ve been scouring the web looking for some delicious lemon recipes and really love the idea of the lemon bars and lemon ginger jam. They simply add a nice pop of color to any birthday party or tea party. Oooh…the color is really starting to grow more on me!

yellow palette

A pretty little yellow house from Josse

yellow palette

Tea, Jam and Bread by Louise Wall Envy Art , Yellow Bunny by Minifelts
Lavender Bird by The Linen Cat , Chickadee Amigurumi Bird by Missus D

yellow palette

Yellow flowers by A Creative Mint , Knitted Cardigan by Caroline Briel
Yellow shoes from Style Me Pretty , Paper Pear from Freshtea

yellow palette

Lemon bars by bakedbree , Cupcake from The Sweetest Occasion , Lemon ginger jam by Studer T.V.

{The Handmade Story} Caroline Rose Art

Caroline’s cheerful artwork is a reflection of the style she adores, every piece of her work is as happy and inviting as a warm summer day. Inspired by gorgeous colour and pattern, her designs combine adorable characters from fairy tales, beautiful spring flowers, and her favorite animals from the zoo, with unexpected touches of whimsy. We adore her happy little workspace that is always surrounded by shades of her favorite colours from her collages and with beautiful sunlight pouring through the window right over her work table. Just simply lovely.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and Caroline Rose Art.

I’m an Australian living in the UK with my partner and our two children, Milly 8 and Tom 4. We are very happy here, but I do miss the sunshine. I started Caroline Rose Art while at home with my children, to see if I could grow a business from my art. It is really important to me to be able to take the children to school and pre-school and pick them up afterwards and to be there to hear about their day. My art is a celebration of colour and whimsy, two things which make me very happy.

Caroline Rose Art

2. How did you get started in doing what you do? How long have you been creating?

I can’t ever remember not wanting to create. My Mum is an amazing quilter, needleworker, cook and gardener and my Dad is a brilliant photographer, so I was surrounded by all sorts of different creative outlets. We had a box full of craft materials called ‘The Busy Box’, it was so wonderful to rummage through and then let our imaginations run wild.

I studied Fine Arts and Interior Design at Uni and was working as an interior designer until I had my daughter. When my son was 1, I really needed to get making again, so I took advantage of being at home with the children to explore different crafts. I thought I would settle on textiles as I really enjoy sewing and playing with fabric, but then I discovered collage, and I completely fell in love with it. I love paper, I love how clean a cut line is. I now have drawers full of paper and a box full of ideas!

I still sew as well. I make fabric giraffes and my newest creation – my owls. I really enjoy the process of pattern making (I am self taught so it can be challenging) and I love to rummage through my fabrics, especially my quilting fabrics, the designs, colours and patterns can be so wonderful, I often wish they were available as papers! It is really nice to be able to create using different mediums, I think it keeps it from getting boring and repetitive.

Caroline Rose Art

3. What was your first creation? Do you have a favourite?

My first collage was called ‘Whimsy and the Boat’, it hangs in my daughters bedroom. I made it using fabric and paper on a painted canvas, but I wasn’t entirely happy with the fabric, so I now just use paper. My art has evolved quite a bit since then. My favourite at the moment is ‘The Paper Peacock’ because it is quite different from my older works and I love the curves. I also love ‘Magnoila Blooms and Birds’ as it reminds me of what a beautiful spring we have had. It can be quite hard to part with my original collages, but I have held on to some that I just couldn’t give up, like ‘Twisty-Twirly Town’ and ‘The Town Around the Moon’, these two hang together in my lounge.

Caroline Rose Art

4. We love how you use lots of bright and vibrant colours in your designs. What inspires you?

I love colour! Colour makes me really, really happy. Clean, bright, clear colour, especially red, yellow and aqua. I have tried using pastel colours and ‘muddier’ colours, but I’m never happy until I have replaced them with bright ones! I’m inspired by random things, beautiful spring flowers, the changing seasons, a trip to the zoo, children’s books that I read to my son. Sometimes just a word or phrase in enough to pop a picture into my mind. I find it happens the most when I let my mind wander, like waiting for the kettle to boil, or walking to school.

Caroline Rose Art

5. How do you find balance between your creative life and your family?

I find getting the balance right is really hard, and as my business is growing, it is getting harder. I used to be able to work purely in the mornings whilst my son was at pre-school, but recently work has been trickling over too much! It will be much easier in September when Tom starts school and I can get all of my work done during school hours and then shut the door on it when it is pick up time (that’s the plan anyway). I’m looking forward to more quality time with the children and not having to work every spare minute I can.

Caroline Rose Art

6. What is the story behind the beautiful stuffed owls you made?

I have always loved owls and I use them in my collages a lot. I love anything whimsical. The first stuffed animal I made was my giraffes, I really enjoyed the process of pattern making and trying to solve design problems of turning a 2D image into a 3D shape. I wanted to try something a bit different and as I had made my children some various types of soft owls in the past, I was thinking that I would try making a really fat, round owl. So a day of trial and error, 4 patterns later, and I had my owl! They are actually based on a collage of mine called ‘Perched’. Of course, it was also another excuse to play with my fabrics!

Caroline Rose Art

7. What is your favourite animal?

My favourite animal is the giraffe! I love their towering height, their gorgeous soft eyes and they have the most amazing eyelashes! I can also spend ages watching the little birds hopping around in my plum tree, especially when all of the leaves have fallen. Most of my collages have a bird or two hopping around somewhere!

Caroline Rose Art

8. What have you made recently?

Lots of owls and a new herd of giraffes for a couple of Summer craft fairs! I am really, really itching to get back to cutting some paper and making collages again and I have a head full of ideas! Ooh I also have a fabric penguin in the making!!

Caroline Rose Art

More of Caroline Rose Art’s creations:

Luulla store: http://www.luulla.com/store/CarolineRoseArt

Caroline Rose Art’s facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Caroline-Rose-Art/166772936705497

Father’s Day Craft Ideas

This post is inspired by dad’s love for maps. He could talk about them all day long and they make him really happy. With Father’s Day right around the corner, we admire these beautiful crafts made of city maps. They are easy to make and absolutely lovely as Father’s Day gifts, and will keep him busy trying to analyze and figure out the world .

city map crafts

Photo credit: annalynnreilly , gus & lula

city map crafts

Photo credit: Oh, hello friend , Martha Stewart

city map crafts

Photo credit: Mr Yen

city map crafts

Photo credit: Craft Gossip

city of maps crafts

Photo credit: Kelly Purkey

city map crafts

Photo credit: annalynnreilly

{The Handmade Story} ModRocks Jewelry

How do you like bright and cheerful colors like cherry red, bright yellow, hot pink and robin’s egg blue yelling summer? Being the creative one in her family, Ashley is always inspired by bold colors, rich textures, and everything vintage. Her modern, earth inspired and unique style are also reflected in every piece of her Modern Rock collection. Flowers, leaves, trees, and birds in vibrant colors…they are simply beautiful and eye-catching!

ModRocks Jewelry

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and Modrocks. How did you come up with the name?

I have been making jewelry for as long as I can remember.. I would spend my allowance as a little girl on beads and baubles at the local markets. They were usually always spilling out of my pockets at some point in the day. I have many photographs of when I was younger with my beads and string spread out all over my parents living room table. There was a point when I was a teenager that my designs became “desired” by my other family members.. and that is how it all began. I started creating pieces for them.. and then soon my friends, and then their friends and so on. I came up with the name BodyRocks actually.. and decided to name my business that. After a few months of using it online.. I received a letter that stated it was taken and I could no longer use it.. so I decided to change it to ModRocks. Modern (jewels) rocks that adorn the bodies of women all over the world. It actually fit a lot better as I try to keep everything unique and as modern as possible.

ModRocks Jewelry

2. How did you get started in doing what you do?

I started selling locally to friends and family.. and then realized that selling online was the newest and best thing to do back then. I started listing my pieces on Ebay in 2004 and did quite well. My designs were original and that is something I have always tried to keep my focus on. I then moved over to Etsy and built quite a large customer base that have been with me since the beginning. I had many wholesale requests and my jewelry was being sold in boutiques around North America.

ModRocks Jewelry

3. What is your source of inspiration?

Ohh I love inspiration so very much. I am always inspired.. every single day. Bold bright colors, rich textures, delicate fabrics.. everything retro and vintage! I love to combine old with new. Bright bold glass beads with a fabulous flower brooch from the 50′s is perfection at ModRocks! I love to go to estate sales and flea markets and will spend hours and hours searching for the best pieces to take apart and create something new with.

ModRocks Jewelry

4. How long have you been creating? What was your first creation?

I like to tell people that I was that child that had a pair of scissors in the womb.. haha. I really have been creating since as long as I can remember. My mother always says “she is my creative one”. My mind is wired to work that way I suppose. I see regular random items and wonder how I can create something fabulous out of it. My first creation was the typical macaroni and glue necklace.. however, mine really “was” fabulous!! I remember wearing it for months until it fell apart. That was when I NEEDED beads.

ModRocks Jewelry

5. How do you find balance between your creative life and your family?

I am extremely lucky to have a fiancé and a son that totally support my crafting lifestyle. They understand when I see some incredible fabric or luscious beads at a sale and I get all giddy and make them wait around, whilst I make sure I get the best of the best there is to be had. They also understand when I go in my home studio and don’t come out for hours on end. It’s my happy place and they know how much I love being in there. We are all very supportive of each others passions.

6. Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry that you wear everyday?

I have a silver necklace that I created that is quite simple but beautiful. It consists of a lone silver bird on a silver chain. The bird is thick and solid and makes quite a statement without being too much. I have a really big thing for birds. They represent freedom and beauty to me so I use them quite a bit in my designs. It is quite hard having 2 or 300 pieces of jewelry made up.. and in your home, that you can’t wear. They taunt me on some days.. haha.

ModRocks Jewelry

7. Apart from jewelry making, what else do you create?

Well now, how long do you have? Haha.. I create “a lot” of things. My studio is fully stocked to create jewelry, art, mixed media, hair accessories, fabric art canvases, scrapbooking, magnets, fabric covered buttons, homemade stickers, purses, bags, clothing… etc. I also do photography and have sold many prints and do photo shoots in my own town. I also take vintage pieces like chandeliers and old frames and mirrors and make them beautiful. I will take them all apart and clean and paint them bright bold colors. Those pieces are very popular with my friends.. who usually end up owning them.

ModRocks Jewelry

8. What is your favorite pass time things to do?

I like to shop.. especially at craft stores and flea markets. I also like camping with friends and rollerblading with my fiancé. We do that a lot! And I spend a lot of my extra time with my 14 year old son. We play street hockey together and watch movies and end up laughing together until we are doubled over and silly. He’s my best friend and I wouldn’t have it any other way ♥

ModRocks Jewelry

More of ModRocks Jewelry’s creations:

Visit Ashley’s blog: http://www.hercreativepath.blogspot.com/

ModRocks Jewelry’s facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/ModRocks-Jewelry/130658496983592

ModRocks Jewelry

Alice in Wonderland Tea Party Ideas

Looking for some great ways to have some summer fun? Tea parties are a prefect way for everyone to have a lovely time together and to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine in the garden. Being a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland, I know it wouldnt be a mad tea party without the ace of spades, Drink Me potion bottles, and Eat Me cookies. Don’t forget to gather your teacups, make labels with words ‘eat me’ and ‘drink me’, and set a magical cuckoo clock to keep you on time. You don’t want to be late because you are invited to a very important date!

tea party