Ink Tree Press

A Woodland Nursery

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!

 

The new phone books are here!

There is a scene in 'The Jerk' where Steve Martin is running around with excitement because the phone book has arrived and his name is PRINTED IN THERE with a phone number next to it, which means HE'S SOMEBODY!  One of my favorite movies because it's just plain dumb humor, and I love that.

Well, that's the level of pure unadulturated joy and excitement I felt this week when a shipment of my Spoonflower fabric arrived in the mail.  I was giddy like a child on Christmas morning! 

 
Delicious textile treasure wrapped in tissue!  Even though the design and color revision process was a bit long and tedious, the final results are so wonderful!  Thank you Spoonflower for providing this awesome and entirely unbelievable service. 

 
I'm a fabric designer!  Who knew?  Sounds fancy. 

I have yardage of several more prints on order, and a few other design ideas I'm brainstorming, but I'm happy to announce that my Ink Tree Threads shop is open for business!  I'd love to hear your feedback, suggestions and ideas! 

Bakers Twine Divine

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!

 

Have a seat while I .... take to the sky!

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!

New designs in my shop!

Several new and wonderful designs and products in my Etsy shop!  Stop by and check out my brand new canvas Growth Charts with FREE PERSONALIZATION!

All of my growth charts are printed on high quality artist's canvas, have finished seamed edges, with a sturdy wooden dowel and satin ribbon for easy hanging.  There is something for everyone, featuring artwork from my popular Woodland series, Animal Alphabet & Counting series in 8 different colorway options, and my Cosmic series.

 
And I also have a new series of designs that feature some of my favorite words, quotes, and song lyrics. 

 
 

Ohdeedoh ... again!

Remember this post about Noah's nursery?  It made the cut on Ohdeedoh.com and is one of their current Top Nursery Tours!  VERY exciting! 

You can visit Susan's blog here.  Congratulations, Susan, who designed this gorgeous sunny space.  I feel very honored to have my Alphabet Animals design adding cheer to such a fun room, keeping company with other fine artists and wonderful handmade goodness. 

Vanessa's Nursery

One of my favorite bloggers, Vanessa from The Crafty Nest (formerly Designs by Vanessa) just welcomed a handsome little boy to the world.  I'm so thrilled for her!  I've anxiously been awaiting photos of her completed nursery, which she has been sharing sneak peeks of throughout her pregnancy. 

 
This week Vanessa's Woodland-themed nursery is entered in the 'Our Real Nursery' contest over at TheBump.com, so head on over and cast your vote!  There are so many stunning nursery designs to look at, but I'm kind of partial to this one.  I can't imagine why!  

Best of luck, Vanessa.  I hope you win!  And congratulations on that sweet little boy.     

Ohdeedoh, here I come!

I was tickled to discover that a nursery with my prints on display was selected by Ohdeedoh last week as one of their popular 'My Room' posts.  I know that Ohdeedoh probably gets oodles of submissions for nursery & kids rooms, and only the best make the cut and become featured on the site.  It's an honor that my artwork is mentioned!

NEW - Sugar and Spice - Alphabet for Girls

This one has been in the works for several months, and I finally found time to finish it!  I decided I wanted to do an illustration for every letter, which can sometimes be challenging, especially when working within a certain theme!

Not all of the illustrations are necessarily 'girly' objects, so I have plans to design a coordinating 'boy' version with some different colors and a few decidedly boy items substituted here and there.   

Noah's Nursery

Remember this post about color love?  I finally got to see that pretty aqua sunshine nursery finished and just had to share it with you. 

It's so refreshing to see a gender-nuetral nursery that has so much COLOR!   

Susan has since had her beautiful baby.  SURPRISE, a boy!  His name is Noah, and he's one lucky boy to have such an awesome nursery to grow in.  I love the mix of traditional and modern styles, the fresh and fun colors, and all of the little personal and handmade touches.  Gorgeous nursery, Susan!  Nice work.  And that baby is pretty darn cute, too!