2014 Umbrella Prints Trimmings Competition

Do you know about the Australian fabric company Umbrella Prints? Their fabric is so lovely! Gorgeous vibrant colors, and modern yet classic patterns.  Earlier this spring I was perusing the Umbrella Prints website and learned about their annual Trimmings Competition. Umbrella Prints trimmings are sweet little packages of "offcuts" from when the fabric is printed...or in other words scraps! My favorite!

The goal of the competition is to make something, anything out of the trimmings. I loved the blue package - after all, at least half of my fabric stash is blue...but I was also very drawn to the Earth trimmings. Just look at those pink, red and orange hearts! I decided to branch out of my usual blues, and the Earth trimmings package arrived at my door about two weeks later. Aren't these trimmings pretty?

I had SO much fun creating a little home for a rabbit out of my trimmings package. Here's my finished project!

In addition to my Earth trimmings package, I began with a set of three suitcases from Land of Nod.

I used the largest suitcase for the rabbit house. The first thing I added was some pretty gold hexie vellum. 

Next, I made my rabbit out of soft pink/blush jersey.

And every good rabbit deserves a soft quilt to sleep under, right?

Hooray for Rain - log cabin quilt strips.jpg

It was a little nerve wracking to cut into the trimmings! I made a log cabin quilt out of one-inch wide strips of various lengths.

Hooray for Rain - log cabin quilt top.jpg

Finished mini quilt top!

These little scraps were left over from my quilt cuttings. Perfect for making tiny bunting!

Hooray for Rain - bunting_.jpg

Other scraps transformed into a rug and the top to a night stand.

Hooray for Rain - rug.jpg

And the rabbit received a vibrant petal skirt.

At this point my remaining trimmings were dwindling.

I turned a few scraps into fabric frames for pictures of tiny animal friends, which were from old Madison Park, Rifle, and Petit Collage catalogs that were going to be recycled.

With the rest of the scraps I made pillows, curtains, and an apron on a tiny hanger. A few more wall decorations, forget-me-nots in a vase, and the rabbit's room was furnished!

Hooray!

Hooray for Rain - rabbit in room.jpg

I'll put out a tutorial for the rabbit and the petal skirt in a later post.

I had such a blast making the rabbit's room. I am really happy that Umbrella Prints came up with this incredible idea to send their trimmings out into the world and eliminate waste. There is something so satisfying about creating something out of little scraps of fabric. I can't wait to see all the other amazing trimmings competition entries!