Join me at my new blog and a GIVEAWAY!

After three years as Forgotten Fancies, I have decided to move on and start a new creative playground. To celebration this small milestone, I have decided to do a giveaway for anyone who joins me in my new site carmenhui.com. Please click here for more details.

Fancy illustration: red panda

Hope the long weekend is treating you well. Saturday was spent nursing a hangover and finishing up this little fluff ball buddy. Red pandas can be such funny animals, I wonder what they dream about at night.

Fancy sewing: Colette Pastille dress

Can you believe it has taken me over 3 months to complete this sewing project? The main reason for this slow progress is due to sheer laziness, the other reason is because I handstitched quite a few components of this dress. I was inspired by the idea of couture clothing, and wanted to create something that is not only well fitted but something that will last you for years to come.

The Colette Pastille dress was actually quite difficult to make, the instructions were not readily available. I had to google stuff like how to do a knife pleat and had a redo the sleeves because I wasn't sure what I needed to do. To be honest, I didn't think I'll have a dress to show in the end, especially after reading about all the problems people have encountered when sewing and fitting this dress.

With all issues aside, I'm actually really happy with the result. Apart from the barely noticeable bulk at the back, everything about the dress is perfect. I'm glad I took the extra time to do the hand-stitching and will definitely do this extra step in all my future sewing projects.

Desktop fancy: June calendar

Winter in finally upon us. Finally I can look forward to sipping hot cocoa all day long, snuggling in chunky knits with the cat and weekend walks in the brisk winter air. This month, I am planning to make my own sassy librarian blouse from Craftsy, as well as doing some drawings with my newly acquired oil pencils as inspired by Paul White from Semi-Permanent. I am sure I will think of more projects as June progress, but in the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy this month's desktop calendar.

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Fancy travel - The changing landscape of Los Angeles to New York

These photos were taken during a flight from Los Angeles to New York. Am utterly in awe with the changing landscape during the mere 6 hour flight. Trying very hard to not sound corny, but we do live in a wonderful world after all.

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Fancy travel - Los Angeles travel diary

For the big US trip, Mat and I spent the first five days exploring Los Angeles. I have to admit, at first LA was a little scary. We stayed in the middle of Downtown, which was not the safest of neighbourhoods. But after a couple of days, we've learnt which strip to avoid and as a result have fallen in love with its grungy charm. I was in awe with all the art deco architecture and the abundance of old signage that the city has on offer. Devoured huge servings of extremely tasty food and explored many hidden bars and consumed gallons of super potent cocktails. Here are just some of the my favourite photos from the trip. All were taken with my trusty old Minolta.

Desktop fancy: May calendar

Another month has sneak up on us. What have you got planned for May? This month, I am determine to finish my Colette Pastille dress. It is the most difficult dress I've worked with and I have been hearing lots of horror stories regarding the fit. Hopefully, all will go well and something decent will come out of it. Apart from that, I am also working on a new crochet project, contemplating a short weekend day trip and hopefully sort out all our US happy snaps. Geez, lots to do! Hope you enjoy this May calendar. Don't you just love lovebirds?


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Craft fancy: Headband

My first finished crochet project for the year. I was originally working on a little collar, but got too distracted and decided to work on something quick and easy instead. This headband was really easy to make and it only took a couple of hours here and there to complete. My poor ears get cold very easily during the colder climate, so this little cutie will definitely come in handy come winter time.

Illustration fancy: songbird

Have been really into drawing birds lately. I love seeing the myriads of colours which you wouldn't pick up at first glance. Already on the lookout for another bird to practice my watercolour on. One do wonder when my obsession will end. In the meantime, expect to see more bird illustrations on this blog.

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Craft fancy: current crochet project

Picked up this too cute for words Japanese crochet book on the weekend, and since then have been crocheting every spare moment available. Now that the weather is cooling down, I am drawn to all sorts of wooly goodness. Can't wait to show you my completed project. In the meantime, can you guess what I am making?

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Desktop fancy: April calendar

Can you believe my last post was in January? Oh, how I have neglected this blog... Many things has happened since. Highlights included an amazing trip to the US as well as being interviewed by the lovely Ciao magazine in their Art Month issue. I do promise I will make a more regular appearance from now on. In the meantime, please enjoy this April desktop calendar. You know the drill, right click and hit download.

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Illustration fancy: new work

Been playing around with lots of new styles and subject matter lately. At the moment, I can't seem to get enough of cute looking girls with animal faces. Thinking of creating a series of the animal girls and maybe turning them into postcards for sale. Do let me know if this is something you would be interested in.

In the meantime, this illustration is available for purchase as a framed print at Sweets Workshop in Summer Hill. Em and John run the sweetest little shop/gallery, so do make a visit if you have a bit of time. I also have a couple of tea towels and a framed Breakfast Line-up available which I think would look lovely in a cute little kitchen. Hope you guys are having a super fun Australia Day and I will leave you with a picture of Miso hanging out with the new print.

Fancy adventure: Barrington Tops {part two}

Just a few of my favourite photos from Barrington Tops. Am saddened by how quickly one can adjust to working life. Even though we took the trip just two weeks ago, it now seems nothing but ancient history. Trying to hold on to that little bit of festivity still within me. Isn't it about time for someone to invent a time machine?

Hope you guys are having a great week. Click here if you would like to see more photos from my recent outing.

Fancy illustration: 365 sketching project update

The 365 sketching project is now well underway. I have to admit, this project is a lot harder than I imagined. Don't get me wrong, LOVE the idea of sitting down and drawing something each day, it is the deciding what to draw that I find challenging. Very often I would search high and low in our apartment for hours just to look for something decent to draw... On a positive note, I am already seeing snippets of how my style is evolving in just 11 days. What started off as detailed pencil drawings has turned into quick watercolour sketches. At the moment, I am content with experimenting with watercolour, but I do wonder what this will lead to.

These are some of my favourite sketches so far. I will be doing an update here every couple of weeks or so. I do however, do a daily update via Instagram and facebook. So look me up if you are interested.

Fancy adventure: Barrington Tops {part one}

During the Christmas/NewYear holidays, Mat and I took another small trip to Barrington Tops. It is about four and a half hour drive from Sydney and easily one of my most favourite weekend getaway spots ever. 

For this trip, I cleaned up my dusty analogue Minolta and took it out for a spin. I wasn't sure whether it can still take good pictures but was really surprised when the photos came back better than I imagained. Other than a few fuzzy night shots, everything was perfect. I love looking through the analogue viewfinder, it is so different to a digital and to me so much more easier to use when composing a picture. The images has such warmth and depth to them which I believe is very difficult to capture with digital. It is not a cheap hobby, but will definitely experiment more with film photography in the future.

Super friendly wallaby, he was greeting us the moment we arrived.

The view from our balcony. Love to wake up to this every morning.

Fancy illustration: 365 sketching project

Can't believe 2013 is nearly upon us. Instead of making a list of new year resolutions that will most likely be forgotten by February, I thought it would be fun to start a 365 project. Growing up, I was one of those kids who didn't care much for toys, give me a piece of paper and some colouring pencils and I could be sitting happy for hours on end. Many decades later, I still love drawing, but don't seem to have much time for it anymore. I don't have much confidence in my ability anymore which is very sad. I still do lots of illustrations, but I believe illustrations are very different to drawings. Drawings to me is about jotting down what you see in front of you at that moment, while illustrations are more planned, more designed.

Well, long story short, for 2013 I have decided to start a sketch a day project. The topic can be anything and the sketch can take as little as 30sec to many hours. I just want to see whether I can get back in the habit of drawing and see whether I can improve my skills in the process.

I will be uploading my drawings weekly so you too can follow my progress. Let me know if you are interested in joining a 365 project. It doesn't have to be about sketching. Maybe photography is more your thing, or cooking... Imagine doing a new recipe each day...

Fancy sewing: Cactus top {part two}

As a result of the over-indulgence on Christmas Day, Boxing Day turned out to be a super productive day in the Fancy headquarter. The sewing fairy must be on my side as this top turned out perfectly. Even though I was using the less than easy to understand BurdaStyle instructions as my guide it only took me less than 3 hours to put together. I love the idea of designing your own fabric and turning it into something which you can love and treasure. This top will no doubt be on high rotation in my summer wardrobe. 

You can read about part one of my cactus top sewing adventure here.

Fancy announcement: Merry Christmas

Wishing all you crazy kids a merry merry Christmas. May your belly be filled with yummy puddings and chocolate coated goodness. Thank you for all your lovely comments throughout the year and I look forward to seeing you all again next year.

Fancy design: Hammer & Hook brand identity

A little while ago the lovely Luke asked if I was interested in doing the brand identity for his craft and jewellery business Hammer & Hook. Being a certified crafty and branding geek, I jumped at the opportunity with no hesitations. For this project, I wanted to play around with the idea of modern and masculine contrasted with the notions of artisanal and warmth. The materials used in his craft is highly important, so it is only appropriate to turn it into a big part of his brand identity. I am always in awe of people start a business to pursue their dreams, so please if you have a minute, drop by Luke's shop and help support all things handmade.

Fancy sewing: Cactus top {part one}

My custom print from Spoonflower arrived the other day. It came a lot quicker than expected, which was a big bonus. The fabric ordered was the organic cotton voile and it is absolutely beautiful. The pattern came out a lot bigger than intended which was totally my fault. I was rushing and didn't read the fine print properly. For future references, unless specified, the default DPI for Spoonflower is 150, so if you were to design your pattern in Illustrator with a 300dpi resolution, your design will come out double the size as your original. 

In this instance however, I would definitely classify this as a happy accident, I love how bold the design end up being, and think it would be great to turn it into a little shift dress or pleated skirt if I have more fabric available.

Since I have only ordered a yard of it, a little top will have to do. This is also the first time I am trying out the BurdaStyle Print at Home patterns. It is a pretty neat concept, you buy the pattern, print the PDF at home and join the pieces of A4 together to create the dress pattern. I don't think it is a good idea for complicated patterns as it uses a lot of paper and can be a pain joining up the different pieces together. But for basic tops such as this one, it is quite convenient. This top consist of two layers, so I am thinking of getting a light blue or lemon cotton voile to go underneath, but will probably change my mind when I visit the fabric shop.

To be honest, I'm not totally sure whether this print will go with this top. What do you think? Do you think I have picked the right design? What would you do with this fabric?