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Wet Weather and Pretty Graphics

I have been working on so many things of late (which includes this beautiful new website), and it can be hard to keep focus on each task – but I am doing my best to enhance the Hunny + Bee brand. The weather here has been very wet these past few days and heavy rains continue to fall, even as I type. My family and I just had to get out of the house and my husband thought that it would be a good idea for a drive down the Arnhem Highway today to check out the flooding across the Alligator rivers. It was a pleasant enough drive, especially with the lush greenery, however it was also nerve wracking when we had to drive over water on the road (especially coming after his talk on not crossing fast flowing water (this wasn’t) and not to mention the crocodiles!). Mother nature was beautifully on display, and thankfully we returned home intact.

Not only has the weather been dreary these past few days; but to my dismay when I was working on patterns and printing them out, I inadvertently ruined my printer. After many unsuccessful attempts of trying to fix it (as it is something that I absolutely need to help me with my pattern testing), I admitted defeat and purchased a new one.

Luckily though, in between breaking my printer and getting my hands on a new one, I had fun creating a beautiful new graphic to help promote my Hunny + Bee brand!

I feel like a proud parent when I look at it! Can I tell you- behind the scenes here at Hunny + Bee I have been working hard on being able to present to you a pattern of a beautiful fawn. As part of that process, I want to be able to present to you a professional looking digitised pattern. The skills that I learnt from attending to that task then led me on a journey of discovery, leading me to create this graphic.

It was created as a tracing of the very first fawn I made with my designed pattern, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. It was created with Photoshop, and this YouTube tutorial was instrumental in teaching me skills that enabled this. The pen tool is tricky to learn, but once you get the hand of it, it is an amazing tool.

I love how with a bit of determination, practice, and the right tools you can make something really special!

 

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Stash-busting Bows Tutorial

In a previous life on a previous blog, I created this tutorial on how to make stash-busting bows (so you may have seen this before!). This can complement both male and female dolls beautifully. The following tutorial will demonstrate how to make a bow that is fully enclosed and revealing no raw seams.

Continue reading Stash-busting Bows Tutorial

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What to Expect

Here at Hunny + Bee, I love creating things that excite me!

When I was in my mid to late teenage years in the early Noughties, I became fascinated in the Japanese art forms of Anime and Manga. 

What drew me to love this art form was their exciting use of colours, and the large expressive eyes. I myself enjoyed drawing the eyes in particular, wistfully hoping to emulate the style; and it is something that I still enjoying doing to this day, after rediscovering the style during my early years at University.

So what can you hope to expect from Hunny + Bee?


The two dolls that you see here on this post have been created using base patterns from other pattern designers; however the faces are original designs which will be a part of the Hunny + Bee aesthetic. As I develop my patterns, I want to stay true to the elements of design that hold important meaning to me and hopefully they might spark happiness within both yourself and I. 

My base dolls will not be copies of their style; but will be one developed by me personally – to be fair to not only the other designers but also to myself and my creative heart.

I have included them for you so that I can acknowledge where I have come from, but also that you might get a peek at where I am going. The face design especially is something that means a lot to me.

 

The design of the Fawn is still in its testing stages, but I am so excited about this one and it is the first sewing pattern that I plan on releasing… Yay! 

I cannot wait to be able to provide you with my first pattern. To be the first to learn about any updates, asked to be added to my mailing list or come to my Facebook page to follow me on this journey!

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Welcome to Hunny+Bee

Hunny+Bee is all about crafting beautiful dolls that are made to be loved. 

Hunny + Bee has been created to combine my love of sewing with creating for others –- hopefully inspiring you to create your own family treasures. My designs are for the young and young at heart alike.

My mission is to provide you with patterns and tutorials for you to make your own cherished creations. Items made with purchased and free Hunny + Bee patterns can be made and sold in limited quantities (i.e. what you can make yourself and sell). I would love if you would share your creations with me in our exclusive Facebook group, where I will be sharing my own creations and inspirations with you.

There are plans to offer different methods of constructing the all important features of your dolls; including hand embroidery instructions, HTV (heat transfer vinyl) files and even embroidery machine options. This will hopefully allow you to utilise your existing skills or to embrace new ones in your pursuit of a doll of your very own creation.

The name Hunny + Bee comes from the nicknames of my two little people, Hunter and Bronson.

About Me:

I grew up in the Australian Outback in a small country town known as Katherine. One of my earliest memories of crafting was a time when we moved house when I was young and I recalling packing into the car some paper, tape and a pair of scissors. I can’t remember when I first used a sewing machine but my mother assures me that I would attempt to use hers and leave it in a tangle. I credit my mother with nurturing my creative side and she herself makes beautiful creations and has always been one of my greatest sources of inspiration.

I refined my sewing skills in high school, and to this day I still have friends who fondly remember the times that I assisted them with their own projects in class, even though I don’t fully remember this myself!

In my early twenties, I combined two of my greatest joys: sewing and cosplay (costume play). I enjoyed taking on the challenge of replicating a beloved character’s costume and in aid of this, I participated in the local senior college night classes where I began to learn more refined finishing techniques.

In 2009, I commenced and graduated from Certificate IV in fashion design where I learned more about pattern making and design of original garments.

You can see some of my sewing journey at my Facebook Page, A Rainbow of Colours and from my previous blog: I Do Things I Love.

My doll making journey has so far been short, after falling in love with the craft late 2014. I have been feeling the calling of creating my own pattern and am happy to provide support to my doll-makers in arms to help others to create their own cherished keepsakes or even produce and sell them to compliment your own handmade businesses.