DIY Dandi Christmas - Free Download

Click here to download the pattern

Mindi's Birthday

Yesterday the Dandi ladies all celebrated Mindi's Birthday! We sampled two different types of cake, Chocolate Mud and Orange and Almond flourless, as well as delicious cupcakes from My Little Cupcake (courtesy of a friend in Cairns - how cute!).


We also sat down to the traditional Dandi birthday lunch of yummy sushi and present unwrapping....


Two pressies! + a gorgeous handmade card by resident dandi Artist, Manny


Pressie number 1: The very cool new book by Sydney chick Kelly Doust : The Crafty Minx

Some projects from the book: Top: Beach Bag - a summer essential! Bottom: Elegant clutch? Yes please!

Pressie 2: Speaking of elegant clutches... how gorgeous is this Organic Cotton clutch from aussie company Apple & Bee? Now Mindi just needs to go shoe shopping for some killer heels to match!

Pumpkin Carving

Halloween seems to become bigger and bigger each year in Australia. This year, with the day falling on a Saturday, it seemed that lots of people, young and old, were embracing the festivities and dressing up for trick or treating.
Out of curiosity, Mindi decided to carve a pumpkin for the first time. It turned out to be a bit of fun, and the flesh that was scooped out was used to make some delicious, very Australian, pumpkin scones - you can get the recipe from Gourmet Traveller here

New Stockist: Kelani Fabric Obsession

Dandi are thrilled to be newly stocked by popular Australian online fabric shop, Kelani. Kelani Fabric offers a great selection of fashionable fabrics suitable for home decorating, kid's decor and crafting and sewing projects.

Fabrics come from all over the world, in particular gorgeous fabrics from Japan, Europe and the US have a large presence on the site. However, Elissa from Kelani is also very passionate about promoting Australian designs too! Dandi are joining a number of other special Australian designers such as Sprout, Pippijoe, Lara Cameron and Kristen Doran.

Dandi also love the Handmade Inspiration Gallery on the site which showcases finished products made by satisfied Kelani customers. (Image above from Kelani)

You can shop online at Kelani Fabric now, or even Subscribe to their newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest from Kelani.

DANDIFIED: Amelia's Lunch

Amelia has been a fan of Dandi for some time now, she recently organised a beautiful birthday lunch for her lovely mum, Belinda. Amelia used two Olive Branch Tablecloths and decorated the tabel with vases of protea flowers repeated down the centre. The Olive Branch designed worked wonderfully with the leafy surrounds of their courtyard. As a special touch Amelia hand made place cards for each guest. The Dandi ladies are so impressed and inspired by her efforts (and artistic photography!) that we are awarding Amelia with the first ever Dandified prize.

Pink proteas and Pistachio Olive Branch, a match made in Heaven

Place cards and repeated vases set and elegant scene amongst a leafy back drop

For sending in her pics Amelia wins an Olive Branch mini tote. If you have pictures of your Dandified space email them to us for inclusion on our Blog

DANDIFIED

The Dandi Ladies are pleased to announce a new contributors section to our blog. Dandified is a new segment which allows us to showcase the handi-dandi work of our customers.

Entries can include photos styled using Dandi products such as food shots, table settings or kitchen scenes, as well as things you've made using Dandi fabrics such as cushions, stretched canvases, softies, clothes and accessories.

Simply email us images of ways in which you have 'Dandified' your space and if we post them on the blog you win a dandi product of our choice. Winner's will be notified via email before we publish your images.

DIY Wedding Details

As promised previously here are a few amateur photographs of Leezar's DIY Fabric boxes which were made using plain dyed berry fabric. Pictured above you can also see that Leezar made CD's for everyone using her and Corey's favourite tunes to take home with them. Leezar and Corey had requested everyone to write down their favourite song on the RSVP notes so that they could play them on the night, and this was a really sweet way of returning the favour.

Mindi holding her fabric box and a chocolate from inside it! YUM!

Leezar made up a pin board from plain dyed berry fabric and had guests leave their mementos on it. She also place pictures from her's and Corey's parents weddings and pictures of their dogs Polly and Keira. The whole evening came together so beautifully due to Leezar's great attention to detail.

2 Weeks to go...

We've previously posted about Leezar's DIY Fabric Box bobonnierre which she is currently making for her wedding in two weeks! Here are some 'work in progress' snapshots, how cute are the little leaves! They look just like crispy red apples. As previously promised there will be professional shots coming after the event. Stay tuned!

The Only Neat Corner of Mindi's Home

Mindi has just moved house (well two weeks ago actually...) and everything is still in boxes strewn across the place. However she managed to clear enouch space and make a quick custom covered canvas to have a proper 'dandified' corner in which to relax and get crafty. What do you think? The gorgeous cherry blossoms were a present from Caroline.

Spring - New in Store

Following on from their success at the Stitches and Craft show we have decided to place fat quarters up for sale on our online store. We've also added a few dandi sewing patterns which can be purchased - these are designed to be used with our fat quarters (50 x 56cm) of fabric.

1 MONTH TO GO!

Our Leezar has just one month to go before her wedding. Leezar has been busy making over 100 Dandi DIY fabric boxes to have as table decorations, place cards and bonbonierre all in one. We'll post the professional photos after the big event!

Fat Quarters and a Quilt

For the first time at the fair we sold fat quarters (56 x 50 cm) of our fabric to go with the patterns we had put together. We think they look realy cute all stacked up together, waiting for someone with some inspiration to come along and get crafty with them! Leezar made her first quilt for the fair using five different fat quarters and one meter of plain dyed fabric for the trimming and backing. Stay tuned as the dandi ladies sew up some more creations for the home.

It's over!

We have a back log of posts to get up and it has been a busy week winding down from the fair and gearing up for Christmas (already!). Here are a few images of our stand from the show.

The Dandi stand, very bright! People kept visiting us and saying "We heard about your stand and had to come and see it!"

We showcased our fabrics in old re-painted picture frames. A DIY tutorial on this will be posted soon.

Dandi Puddle Ducks, these were a hit amongst the little ones!

Fabric Origami box kits, a very popular purchase during the fair.

Mindi dons her pini and gets ready for the first day.

New Crafty Projects for the Fair

This week the Dandi ladies are out at the Stitches and Craft Fair to promote some new projects, sewing patterns and to sell our fabric as fat quarters and by the meter. Here are some images of our new wares.

Dandi Apple and Pear DIY Mobile Kit - $25.00

Dandi Fabric Flower Box Pattern - $10.00

Dandi Fabric Bucket Pattern - $10.00

Dandi Puddle Ducks Pattern - $10.00

Dandi Panel Cushion Pattern - $10.00

If you are able to come visit us we are at stand 8B on the ground floor, we'd love to see you! The Fair will be open all weekend - visit the website for more details.

Winner! 2 Tickets to Stitches and Crafts Fair

Congratulations Jessica! Thanks to everyone for entering. Hope to see some of you at the fair.

Stitches and Crafts Show, Sydney, August 2009

We are excited to announce that the Dandi ladies have just signed up for this years Stitches & Crafts Show in Sydney during August. We will be showcasing all of our printed and plain dyed fabrics as well as some fine and dandi DIY projects. Be sure to pencil it in your calendar now - its only a month away!

The Stitches & Crafts Show
19-23 August

Rosehill Gardens
Unwin St, Rosehill
(Sydney)

Stay tuned to the dandi blog as we unveil some teaser DIY projects before the show.

DIY: Baby Shower Presents

A recent invitation to a baby shower had Mindi itching to get creative with dandi fabrics to make some unique gifts for her friend. Using remnants of Geo Duckegg and Plain dyed Duckegg fabric she created this whimsical cloud mobile which will look stunning hanging in any babies room.

This little stuffed toy kitten is made using a pattern from Amy Butler's free pattern collection which you can download here. It is super easy to make and very cute. As you can see from the photograph it could be used as a regular cushion on any couch and also as a cushion or soft toy for a baby crib.

If you have purchased dandi fabric and made your own projects we'd love to see them, please email us some pictures and we will post them on our blog!