In celebration of my newest shop on Etsy, Ink Tree Printables, I'm offering FREE PRINTABLE VALENTINES! Click HERE to download a PDF with 5 little cute critter valentines, and 4 matching printable DIY envelopes.
EDIT: Now FREE PRINTABLE LABELS at WorldLabel.com!
Happy Holidays! I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving full of love and laughter. I have lots of wonderful things to tell you!
First, I'm kicking off the holiday shopping season with a BANG and a BOGO SALE! I will not have another BOGO sale between now and Christmas, so now is your chance!
Please read my shop announcement for terms and exclusions. Lots of things included in the sale this time not previously eligible!
Second, an unexpected and delightful milestone ...
It feels like yesterday that I closed Orange Ink Studio and opened Ink Tree Press. It's been a wonderful first year, and I'm looking forward to 2011!
Next, I have to tell you about a wonderful opportunity presented to a handful of very lucky Etsy artisans, myself included. Etsy paired up with HGTV to create a holiday gift-giving program called '15 Fresh Handmade Gift Ideas' where they had 15 gift giving categorys, highlighting a number of handmade items from Etsy sellers, and also 15 DIY projects for handmade holiday gifts. While not all artists invited to participate were able to be featured on the show, you can see them on on HGTV's website RIGHT HERE.
And here is a little screenshot of growth chart with a gnome you might now!
A dear customer of mine, Kristie, sent me these photos of the STUNNING nursery she decorated for her son Lukas, who is due just about any day now. I was delighted when she said I could share the photos with all of you!
I love the blend of earthy nuetrals with pops of mushroom red and forest green. I was so flattered when Kristie said the inspiration for this whimsical space came from my own Woodland Alphabet and Numbers artwork. They look so nice framed with the brown mats, and look at the wee mushroom nightlight!
The cute little mobile that hangs over the crib was handmade by Kristie from felt, also inspired by the Woodland prints from my shop. The gorgeous tree decals on the wall were an awesome Etsy find. The curtains are semi-homemade, using green felt on a pair of white curtain panels, cut to look like grass.
Kristie cleverly upcyled an existing and less-than-cute bumper pad on hand into the fun red mushroom dot bumper pad you see just be recovering it with new fabric. And what cute fabric! Can you guess where you've seen it? It's from the Celebrate Seuss! line by Robert Kaufman Fabrics.
More delightful handmade goodies in this space are the fox and raccoon plush, handmade by Kristie. The owl was a gift from a friend, and Mr. Frog was handmade by Kristie's grandmother and he's been in the family for 30+ years. I love stories like that. A whole new generation will be giving Mr. Frog a lot of love.
One of the things I enjoy about this space is how cozy it looks, but still roomy. Some might not think to orient a crib on an angle like this, but the round rug anchors the placement of each piece of furniture and allowed for things to be pulled away from the wall, but still leaving an open area for plenty of baby tummy time and floor play with Mom and Dad.
And I saved the best for last ...
I am IN LOVE with this big log floor pillow, also handmade by Kristie. LOVE IT! You can bet your bottom dollar that I immediately begged for tips on how she made it. Here is what she said:
"I basically created a tube per the specifications I wanted, took some scrap linen for the ends and just sewed a quick "swirl" for some rings, tacked it all together and stuffed away! It was pretty darn easy! I wanted something that I and baby can lay on when we're playing on the floor."
The wood grain fabric she used is by Joel Dewberry, and alas is discontinued. Anyone have a lonely yard left? Send me an email! Maybe I will just have to design some wood grain fabric of my own. Coincidentally, Kristie is the person who first suggested I should turn my Woodland illustrations into fabric designs, so I think it's quite fitting that she should also inspire some new designs!
I was so thrilled when I saw that Spoonflower would be hosting a Woodland-themed fabric contest. Now it's time to vote!
There are several pages of entries, which appear in random order. If you refresh the page, the order changes, so try to get through each page without refreshing. Once you see my design, click on it to highlight, then progress through the pages until you can submit your vote. Voting is open through Tuesday.
Thank you for your support!
Check out the Sale section in my shop for some awesome deals!
Some sale prints are studio overstock in perfect condition, some sale prints are 'Oops prints' with minor flaws. My printer is a sensitive creature and occasionally does what he wants when I've worked him too hard! His favorite tantrum is clogged printer head nozzles, which leads to prints with some faint tone-on-tone horizontal stripes. The striping is barely noticible at reasonable reading distance and these would still look lovely framed and hung.
Take home one of these misfits prints today for a happy 50% discount!
More to be listed this week!
Now through October 17th, head on over to the Making Lemonade blog and post a few comments to enter for a chance to win an Ink Tree Press personalized Canvas Growth Chart!
Baker's Twine seems to be popping up everywhere these days. I must admit that I'm drawn to its simple beauty. Whether wrapping a package, hanging tags or ornaments, or creating a handmade garland, it's a nice change from plain thread or ribbon. It has a kind of homey yesteryear feel to it that I love.
I think I'm kind of partial to the red, but baker's twine is popping up in a whole rainbow of gorgeous colors. I was sucked in by the 'ooooh pretty' factor of this sample pack and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival:
I think 120 yards will last me quite some time! I think I will use it to make some pretty hang tags for my new fabric line and probably will wrap packages with it during the holiday season. At around 12 cents per yard, it's not a bad price for such a color sampling. If you're looking to use baker's twine for your business and would like to buy it in bulk, you can find it at wholesalers such as Country Clean Paper Supplies for as little as $8.95 for a 2-POUND cone .... that's 3,400 yards of twine for less than 1 cent per yard! Their colors aren't quite as yummy, but you can get your basics like red, green, blue, and brown. I was also delighted to discover Divine Twine, a biodegradeble and earth-friendly 100% cotton baker's twine option made right here in the USA. Oh how those colors make my heart pitter-patter!
Long time no blog! I’m guilty of getting my nose buried in my design work sometimes and I forget to blog. I tend to Facebook more often because it’s fast and easy … well faster and easier. Honestly, I should blog more. I certainly always have something to say!
There are some wonderful new designs in my shop, including a few new Woodland Friends, a new color way option for my Animal series, and a super cute new spin on my Woodland Alphabet flashcards, using just a letter and illustration to spell out a name.
The biggest project on my plate right now, however, has nothing to do with PAPER. *GASP* From someone who adores the printed page as much as I do, that’s a shocker!
Nope, something else.
It’s funny how things meander their way into your life. Several months ago a lovely Etsy customer asked me if I had ever considered making growth charts. No, I hadn’t, so I said sorry and went on my merry way. Or did I? The idea stuck in my brain until I found myself doing research on inkjet artist canvas, which I knew my printer was equipped to handle, but had never bothered to try it. Why the heck not? So I ordered some canvas and dusted off the rolled media attachments for my printer and gave it a go.
Now they are a regular item in my shop and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they turned out!
Which brings me back to that something else that I’ve been working on, another one of those serendipitous happenings in your life that brings about big change.
Fabric.
Another customer asked if I had thought about designing some fabrics with my Woodland series artwork. To this one I could truthfully answer yes. It had crossed my mind several times, especially since Spoonflower showed up on the creative scene and opened up doors that crafters and artists might otherwise have never dared to go through.
Do I sew? Meh, not really. I aspire to so. I admire sewing. I have an alarmingly expensive addiction to fabric for someone who doesn’t sew. But do I consider myself a seamstress? Not by any means of the word! I have muddled my through some Halloween costumes and clumsily churned out a few patchwork quilts, all of them things I felt proud to have accomplished, but none that would won any awards!
My mom sews. Does she ever sew. She’s a whiz at it. She’s one of those people who might just use the right and left sides of her brain equally at times. She’s insanely creative, but also really good at logic thinking, math, and really understands the mechanics of things. She’s a self-learner and a go-getter, and a fall-down-get-right-back-up-er kind of person. All of my best comes from her.
Naturally I turned to mom for advice and suggestions for my fabric designs (and naturally I am eliciting her help in making a few sample projects to photograph using my fabrics). Several weeks ago I started brainstorming designs on my digital drawing board, and I made my first-ever seamless pattern. All the years I have dabbled in digital design and web design and I’d never made a seamless pattern. The mechanics of it ended up not being too difficult, but making a GOOD seamless pattern that has flow and movement and doesn’t repeat too often was more challenging than I thought. I’m getting to work with color and patterns in a way I never have before, however, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m still discovering what makes a GOOD pattern, and what kinds of patterns make up a GOOD fabric line as a whole. It’s an interesting journey.
It’s still a work in progress, but I’m picking up momentum and starting to find my groove.
More to come!
This weekend in my Etsy shop ... Buy ANY 1 print at full price and receive a 2nd print free, of equal or lesser value. No need to add the 2nd print to your shopping cart, just indicate your free print choice in the 'message to seller' field during checkout.
This 5-day sale ends Sunday August 29 at 9pm CST. Limit 2 free prints per customer. Open to US and Canadian residents only.
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