Spoonflower sampler arrived!

I bit the bullet and ordered samples of a handful of my fabric designs. They arrived today in a very cute packet wrapped in tissue with a spoonflower label. I couldn't help but photograph my precious bundle! Now that I have tested them (and they really are cute!) they are available for sale.

So if you are in the mood for a super cute shower curtain or are wanting to sew up some adorable sun dresses for your winter holiday, or new curtains for your bedroom, or a table cloth for your dining room or pillows for your couch, check out my new fabrics for sale at spoonflower!

More DIY fun

With one calendar finished, I thought I should try to put together another version that was a bit more dressed up for gift giving. So I took out my pattern paintbox and put this calendar package together. This pdf prints on 8.5 x 11 sheets that are cut in half. A pretty cover and back cover are also part of the kit as well as a band to tie it all together and gift card to make the package complete. This 5.5 x 8.5 set will fit into a standard 8 3/4 x 5 3/4 envelope. So your set. this can be a holiday card and present all in one.

You can find this printable pdf listing at my shop.

Embracing DIY

My etsy shop is on holiday mode while I take a short holiday and also prepare for Chanukah, Christmas and the Ketubah busy season after the winter holidays. Lots of great stuff going on in the backgorund while I come up with fresh creations.

DIY is really high on my list. In fact, I have a new folder on my computer dedicated to just that!

My first project will be a 2011 calendar you can print yourself. Each 8.5 x 11 page you print out will have two months on it.

Each page will have a  5" x 7" pattern painting on the left side, so that when the two months are over, you will have a pattern painting to frame in your favourite off the shelf 5" x 7" frame.

Here are a couple of the images in the works... I hope to have two or three different calendars available in 2011. 

Cheating is just not right—Pattern theft

I am a big fan of Orange You Lucky by Helen Dardik. Recently I stared following her with more regularity, only to find a very distressing headline: Pattern Theft. You can read all about it on her blog. She has had at least one of her patterns copied almost exactly and manufactured and sold under another name. The worst of it is that she happened on it herself while checking out one of her favourite blogs.

More distressing still is that several comments to her story had links to other designers sites where similar things had happened.

Such as a blog post by Made By Girl. Embarrassingly, the culprit—Jack-in-the-box designs is a Canadian company. Shame on you!!

and this post by Tula Pink  about hearing that her beautiful fabrics had been poorly copied and were getting sold at Walmart.

It is easy to let your guard down with all of us so freely blogging and sharing our ideas. My heart goes out to anyone who has worked so hard to get where they are, only to find that someone has underhandedly and against the laws of every country copied and profited in such a despicable way.

Each of these links gives you information on how to email the retailers involved. I am sure that there will be follow up so keep posted. Unfortunately, there are many more stories to be told.

Birds of a feather—Jenny Mendes

It started with a message from SherriConley on Etsy that my Kitty pattern painting was in her "Hello Kitteh treasury". I am always excited to see what the treasury is all about and who else I am sharing the treasury with.  This kitty salt and pepper shaker caught my eye.

I was hooked at first glance, but what I found next really blew me away. I am a folk art fanatic and Jenny's bird collection swept me off my feet.

There are bud vases, plates and much more at her shop and you can view more work at her website. The birds are by far my favourite. All of her pieces are hand built and painted. Each one is a masterpiece.

Enjoy!

Hey, I made a new friend—Valerie Krohn

It has been an exciting and exhilarating  three weeks. My etsy shop has kept me busy with five ketubah orders, three sets of new years cards and my first sale of a pattern painting. Each transaction is so much fun. Many buyers are etsians themselves, and it is always a treat to see what they make and how they are doing.

Valerie Krohn (aka NovaFolia on etsy) purchased my Kitty pattern painting after seeing it on the  craftcult gallery. I got in touch with her for some shipping info and then noticed that she was a shop owner herself. I of course went to her shop so see what she was up to. She has a small shop like me with the most striking jewelery!

Her earings and brooches are one of a kind, crafted with a combination of polymer clay (in her words) "(no paint or other media) using a technique that combines inlay and marbleized clays. "

She packages each item beautifully in a gift box which is an added extra. She also gives you good ideas of how to wear her brooches:

"In addition to your lapel or shoulder, here are some other ideas for how a brooch can be worn: on the neck of a turtleneck, to fasten a cardigan (a la Michelle Obama), at the waist, as a belt buckle, on a hairband or clip as a hair accessory, on the back of a dress or jacket (pleat the fabric in the center of the garment at the waist, and pin it with the brooch so the garment will be more fitted). Or, use a brooch to add interest to a purse or hat."

As doodle and colourful pattern fanatics, we were naturally drawn to each others work. By the end of our first etsy convo, I felt like I had made a new friend. Valerie now owns two of my pattern paintings and I am going to get in touch with her this week to order my own NovaFolia one of a kind wearable piece of art. You should do the same. Her shop is irresistible.  You can find her at etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/NovaFolia.

The Etsy community is awesome!

Fresh Idea I can relate to — St Jude's

Thanks Leslie for directing me to St Jude's. What beautiful fabric. This design by Mark Hearld is amazing. Here is one of his prints.

You can view more of his work here.

What I really love is that they not only offer fabric but other paper goods and even mugs with designs by the same artist. Hum...I think I need to get in touch with these guys.

Here is a yummy gardening notebook by Angie Lewin. So of course I Googled to find out more and of course there is a lot more. Angie is extremely talented and you should take a look for your self at her website.

Here is just one of her prints. Amazing!

Doodle flowers collection

I took a break from Ketubah development, search engine optimization and etsy organization, to look back at my doodle flowers. I think I am starting to understand the theory behind collections finally! I am also having fun with my new Illustrator CS5 brushes. It is great to finally be able to feel like I am actually drawing digitally. Can you tell which flowers are drawn with a pencil and then colourized and which ones are drawn directly in Illustrator? You probably can but still it is quite amazing what is possible.

Way too much work to do and the days go by so quickly. Feeling pretty sleepy right now as a matter of fact.

Back to actual paying work tomorrow!

I did it! A ketubah pattern painting.

I have been trying for months to find subject matter and patterns that together would become a Ketubah. I think I have done it!

I haven't finalized a name for this one yet, but it will be available  17" x 17" and a smaller size yet to be determined. Maybe 14" x 14".  I will sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.

Fresh Idea I can relate to — Michael Gibbons ALFABETFOTOS (spell it with an F)

As a designer, found typography is one of my most favourite things. Michael Gibbons, has made it his life's work to find and photograph these gems. I discovered him on etsy (no surprise). At his shop, you can order individual letters to create your own typographic art, or you can commission a special piece from him. The individual prints are 4 x 6 and are absolutely adorable. He has 500 different letters to choose from which is amazing in itself.

You can view his letters at his etsy site, or you can find out more at his website. Either way, you will be hooked if you love type.