ramblings, a GIVEAWAY and an end of summer sale..

(fyi, giveaway and sale info is right down at the very bottom of this rather drawn out post so if you don't care to read through my ramblings, just go ahead and scroll down to the bottom. I won't be offended :)

Hello friends! I had a super busy but very fun couple of days. On Sunday, I was back peddling my wares at the Blim Community Market, only this time, instead of in a back lane on a cool evening, it was right smack downtown in the afternoon of probably the hottest day of the year so far. We were lucky enough to have the shelter of a tent but even so, we were meeelting! But, it was still a great turnout and a fun time!

view from my booth

On Monday, it was all play and no work at the PNE Fair here in Vancouver. I love love LOVE this fair and I haven't been in a few years. So this time, I selfishly left the kiddos at home with the grandparents and went with friends. There are a few 'must dos' for me when visiting the PNE. 'Oooing and awwing' at the Superdogs show, watching live 'infomercials' at the marketplace, purchasing gadgets that you 'really hope will work but know that there is a 50% chance they will not' at the marketplace, eating a bag of those little donuts all warm and sugary, and playing a few of those silly and often impossible games at Playland. My favourites are Roll a Ball and Wac a Mole. Seriously, I LOVE Wac a Mole. I think it's quite possibly one of the most fun ways for a mama to release some stress!

 Me looking a little crazed with excitement! (and I won!)

Me in action but lost to the guy on my right :(

So in Vancouver, the PNE pretty much signifies the end of summer. It goes until Sept 5th and then, whattaya know, it's back to school for the kids, the air is significantly cooler and the leaves are falling from the trees. (actually, with our strange summer, the leave have already been falling off the trees for a while now..) So, even though I don't really want to admit that summer is coming to an end, it is. So I thought it might be fun to do a little giveaway and to have a bit of a sale in the shop.

First, the GIVEAWAY. I've been having a super fun time whipping up these little zippered pouches. They are made from a textured vintage cotton fabric and lined with really fun and colourful prints because, well, I love having little secret bursts of colour and fun prints! The zippers are a hint to what you'll find inside..

Would you like to win one of these? If so, then leave a comment on this post. Anything is fine, but if you're feeling chatting, you can tell me a bit about yourself, if you like the fall or if you're sad about summer ending.. OR, if you have a good 'knock-knock' joke cuz kiddo #1 is all over these and I'm running out of good ones to tell him. Contest closes on Sept 5th and TWO WINNERS will be picked by the good ol' random number generator. Winners can choose from any of the black or white rose pouches available. One comment per person please.

 BUT, you can get bonus entries if you
1) follow my blog
2) follow @ohhellorabbit on twitter
3) tweet about this giveaway mentioning @ohhellorabbit
4) 'like' this blog post Just realized I don't have a 'like' button so change that to 'share this post on Facebook'
Please leave a separate comment for each of these bonus entries. Yup, I know it's pretty much bribery, so if you're against that, then a simple comment below with some way for me to contact you will suffice.

Now, on to the sale..

From now until September 12th:
ALL CLOTHING in the shop will be 25% off (with a few items at 40% off!)
ALL POUCHES will be FREE SHIPPING (in North America only. Discounted shipping for International)
No coupon code required. Prices and shipping have already been adjusted. Now go on, have a look!

xo mel

{this moment}

'A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.' -words and inspiration from Soulemama

If you have a moment you'd like to share, please leave a link in the comments. Wishing you and yours a lovely weekend!

zipper pouches

I've been busy making little zipper pouches for an upcoming outdoor market. I love having a classic (dare I even say 'classy'?) exterior with the vintage black and white rose fabric, and a punch of fun colour on the inside. The zipper is just a little hint of what you'll find inside :)

{this moment}

'A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.' -words and inspiration from Soulemama

If you have a moment you'd like to share, please leave a link in the comments. Wishing you and yours a lovely weekend!

beep-beep whirl-whirl

Finally, I can show off this little dude! I made him as a gift for a baby shower, and he has been happily received by his new family today!

The best part about putting one of these guys together is picking out the fabrics and colours. I'm really pleased with how this one came together with bits and pieces from my stash. It's for a baby boy so I obviously didn't want to add any buttons or choke-able parts. This guy is made with cotton fabrics, wool felt and is stuffed with 100% wool roving. Fully chewable!  And my favourite part? The number 'buttons' on his computer panel which was taken from the selvage edge of some fabric.

The pattern is from Hillary Lang's Wee Wonderfuls Robot & Spaceboy pattern book. I simply adore her toy animal and doll patterns and if you haven't noticed yet, I have recently become a licensed maker of her soft toys and have been slowly adding them to my shop.

{this moment}

'A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.' - words and inspiration from SouleMama

If you have a moment you'd like to share, please leave a link in the comments. Wishing you and yours a lovely weekend!

bloomers and a cape

A friend of mine recently gave birth to a sweet little baby girl so I thought I would whip up some bloomers as a gift.

The pair on the left was made with the Bloomers pattern from Simple Sewing for Baby by Lotta Jansdotter and the pair on the right was made with the Diaper Cover tutorial from the ever so awesome MADE blog. Both were fairly simple to whip up and they are both pretty darn cute!

I do think I prefer the idea of just rolling up the fabric to form the casing as instructed in the Diaper Cover pattern as opposed to using a bias tape/strip to make the casing as in the Bloomers pattern. It's easier and looks just as good. And if you use a soft, fuzzy flannel, the leg-holes stay nice and soft. It's funny how both are the smallest 0-3mo size but one pair looks like a full brief and the other a bikini. I guess the choices start early!

Next up is a cape I custom made for a 5 year old boy who LOVES red and Batman.

Here is big C modeling it. I made it with another shirt collar from my stash of UPcycled Shirt Dress leftovers, same as the other super hero cape I made over here. I'm sure I'm not the first person to use shirt collars for capes, but I have to say, I'm pretty smitten with the idea and I love that another part of the shirt can be used for something fun as opposed to being tossed in a landfill. Now I just have to come up with something to make with the cuffs. Ideas anyone..?

Btw, please pardon my rather crappy pictures. I tend to take most of my pictures with my iPhone (or more recently Android phone) because, well, it's just always right there. I really have to get myself organized and start taking proper pictures..

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.' - words and inspiration from SouleMama  

If you have a moment you'd like to share, please leave a link in the comments. Wishing you and yours a lovely weekend!