Hello, and welcome to Bumblebee Boutique. I am absolutely delighted to be taking part in the Bush Gum Blossoms Fabrics Blog Tour.

This blog tour is celebrating the release of two fabric ranges by Sydney designer Amanda Brandl making her debut for Kennard & Kennard Fabrics; Bush Gum Blossoms and Taking Flight. Each day of the tour a new 'maker' will inspire you with something they have creative from these beautiful fabrics.

If you have found me here then you have most likely seen the gorgeous dress and obi belt made by Kelly at Sew Mimi K in the Taking Flight fabrics yesterday. If you missed them pop over and check out the luscious quilts by Sarah from Piccolo Studio and Ali at Arabesque Scissors (Ali is also running a giveaway!). And some beautiful baby accessories by Kylie at Wombat & Poss. The blog tour will take you through creative examples using both ranges which will fill you with inspiration and admiration. Tomorrow it will all be happening at Cole and Taffy  Then to follow the blogs yet to come see the list of links at the end of my blog. If you are so inspired as to want to own these fabulous fabrics for yourself, pop over to the Amanda Brandl Designs web site and browse her shop and list of stockists. (you can also check out the other new designs Amanda is creating for Kennard & Kennard…)

 

I was privileged to meet Amanda, along with the wonderful crew from Kennard & Kennard at the AQM (Australian Quilt Market) in Melbourne last November. Amanda was there with samples of her Bush Gum Blossoms and Taking Flight collections. Amanda is as lovely as she is talented! Both collections are so contemporary, beautifully drawn, colourful and on trend (so unlike traditional Australiana!), and as soon as I saw them I fell in love! The fingers needed to touch, the eyes started watering, the brain filled with a strobe-like slide show of design ideas that flashed through my mind at a gazillion a second – you know, the kind of speed with which an under-25-year-old scrolls through Instagram…

The Bush Gum Blossom prints reminded me of a beautiful weeping Swamp Bloodwood we had at our last house. When we moved to our newly built house in 1991 my son planted the small tree. Well, it was really just a skinny 6 inch stick with two huge leaves dangling off it. One leaf fell off the next day and frankly we didn’t expect it to live much longer. But as is the enduring nature of Australian natives, in the 23 years we lived at that house it survived droughts, torrential rains and cyclonic winds to grow into a beautiful tall tree that produced masses of huge gumnuts and stunning pink blossoms.

Amanda has captured the deep pink blossoms and dusky green leaves so perfectly. As soon as I saw the fabrics ideas began to flow for little girls’ outfits.

My little girl’s romper is inspired by the frilly pink gum blossoms bursting out from under the cover of the musky green gumnut as it opens. The peplum and collar are a nod to the vintage era of May Gibbs (author of Snugglepot & Cuddlepie). The romper can be used as a cake smash outfit, or just for general wear. In keeping with the cake smash theme I’ve also made a matching party hat and frilly mob cap.

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I chose the main large blossom fabric for the body of the romper – such a pretty print for little girls! I then added a double circular peplum using the small green multicoloured print and the small pink & yellow floral print, and I edged them with a dark pink rolled hem.

The green layer represents the gumnut or bud and the pink layer is of course the blossom. I chose to use a circular rather than gathered ruffles for a softer slightly vintage look and less bulky seams.

Making a girls’ outfit for use in cake smash is always a challenge. As well as coming up with a design that is original and doesn’t look like every other outfit, an adjustable style is important. Because many photographers buy them to keep in their studios, the outfits need to have a bit of leeway with fit as not all one year olds are a perfect size 0. On rompers this usually means ties at the shoulders, neck or back because body length is one of the biggest variables.  For this one I chose to use slightly wider over the should straps, tying into loops in the back creating a large bow.

In keeping with the idea of the gumnut and bursting blossom, and the vintage style touch, I used a double Peter Pan collar in the same green and pink fabrics as the peplum layers, taking this around from the front neckline and into the start of the shoulder straps.

Matching trims for the party hats is not always easy, but I did find a braid that works perfectly, with a kind of fringed effect in pink, green and white a bit like the gum blossoms. Then came felt for the number 1 and the yarn for the pompom. These are a little more vivid than I would have liked but they still work well.

 

Lastly comes the frilly mob cap – an essential for the after-cake-smash bath photos! Again I used the main large blossom fabric and edged it with broderie anglaise. I opted for a soft green bow on this for a change from all the pink.

I’ll be sending it off for a model shoot in the next few weeks and I think it will look fabulous. I can’t wait to get my hands on the full range of the fabrics soon and play around with more designs!

I hope you have enjoyed your visit with me, and that I may have inspired something creative in you. 

Watch for tomorrow's blog post from Michelle at Cole and Taffy. She is sure to have something pretty in store for you! 

Follow the full blog tour on the dates here:

Wednesday March 14th: Sarah Scott | Piccolo Studio
Thursday March 15th: Kylie | Wombat & Poss
Friday March 16th: Ali Phillips | Arabesque Scissors
        Monday March 19th: Kellie | Sew Mimi K 

Tuesday March 20th: Robyn Macwilliam | Bumblebee Boutique
Wednesday March 21st: Michelle Hickson | Cole and Taffy
Thursday March 22nd: Anne Boundy | Said With Love
Friday March 23rd: Ange Hamilton | A Little Patchwork
Monday March 26th: Vickie Zaleski | Crocheting Vixen
Tuesday March 27th: Wendy Gontier | Wehago Designs
Wednesday March 28th: Elise Baek | Elise and Emelie
Thursday March 29th: Samantha Green | For The Love Of Fabric
Friday March 30th: Sharon Burgess | Lilabelle Lane Creations 
Monday April 2nd: Rose Johnstone | Threadbare Creations
Tuesday April 3rd: Jess & Laura | Two of a Kind
Wednesday April 4th: Raylee Bielenberg | Sunflower Stitcheries
Thursday April 5th: Blog Wrap up | Amanda Brandl