Sunday 3 February 2013

'Rose Garden Collection' My First Fabric Designs For Handmade Monday



This week i've been taking my first steps towards a new and exciting venture... fabric design! Its all part of a decision i've made to be more organised with my output and create more cohesive collections and fewer random one offs (although there will always be a some of those around i suspect!)


Rose Garden Collection

If you popped by my blog last week you may remember the rose garden inspired cup and saucer i showed you - if you didn't catch that post, this is what i'm talking about.


Rose Garden Cup And Saucer

Thank you very much for you kind comments by the way :) They helped me decide to make this design my first 'collection'! I've painted some coasters to match but the weather is too gloomy here for photos today so i'l need to show you them another time. I also have plans for a tea pot... watch this space!

Rose Garden Fabric


What i can show you though is the fabric! Well, a digital representation of it anyway... when i have the real thing i will be sure to show you what i make with it :)

If you're wondering how i made these designs and if they are available to buy, bare with me, all will be revealed a little further on in this post...

There are five designs in the collection. The first is a small print, perfect for little projects and details. There are three to five roses per square inch to give you an idea of scale.




I'll be using this for things like lavender pillows and tea cosies i expect!

The second in the collection is the same design but on a much larger scale. This image represents what a 16.5x16.5 inch piece would look like - perfect for cushion covers.




Next is a variation on the theme - a small/medium scale print made up of lots of little 'bunches' of roses.




To give you an idea of scale, one little bunch like this will take up approximately one square inch of fabric.



The last two designs are very simple and intended to compliment the more complex rose patterns. I have used the pastel pink and pastel green from the colour palette and created two fabrics covered in tiny white dots.




Its a bit hard to see the dots on the green one in this image but they are there! To give you an idea of scale there are about 16 dots per square inch.

I have had so much fun with this new creative avenue i'm just itching to:

a) make some things with these fabrics

and

b) work on some more designs!!

First though, i'm going to tell you a bit about how i created these and also how you can buy them if you'd like to and create your own designs too!



Spoonflower




I suspect some of you reading this may have heard of Spoonflower but for the uninitiated it is a US based website that allows you to upload any digital image and have it printed onto fabric! There are a range of types of fabric to choose from and you can even have your design printed as wall paper or as a sticky backed vinyl decal!

The next exciting thing is that you can also allow your designs to be sold on the site in your own in site shop (think Etsy/Folksy) - here's my Spoonflower shop if you'd like to take a look. My designs aren't for sale quite yet as i need to order and check a test swatch of each before they can be made available but that shouldn't take too long.

The way it works on the money side is if someone orders your fabric design you get 10% of the sale price - you don't have to do anything, it just get deposited in your account. When you buy your own fabric design, you get a 10% discount on the usual purchase price.

There are also lots of other fun aspects to the site like the ability to 'follow' designers who's work you like and comment on people's designs too. There are designing competitions to enter and of course loads of gorgeous fabrics available to buy - its going to be hard not to go on a mad spending spree! :)


Fabric Design


I created my designs using an image editing app for Macs called pixelmator - i bought it recently after it was recommended to me and i'm sooooooooo glad i did! I'm not a computer wizz, nor am i made of money, so to able to do pretty much everything i would do on photoshop (if i owned it or had the slightest clue how to use it...) on a very user friendly platform for just over £10 was well worth it!

The next thing will be using it to improve my product photography... another thing on the 'to do' list!

* On this subject, has anyone else noticed how a lot of the features that used to be free on Pic Monkey (online photo editor) are now 'Royale' features, i.e. you have to pay to upgrade... very annoying although i'm glad it pushed me into doing a bit of research and discovering Pixelmator :)



Handmade Monday


That's it from me for this week folks! I'm off over to Handmade Harbour now to link up with Handmade Monday and enjoy a mooch around everyone else crafting world... maybe i'll see you there!

Thanks for dropping by x

48 comments:

  1. Your roses work very well as a fabric design. Good luck in your new venture.

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  2. Very lovely fabric designs- I look forward to seeing what you make. I think the rose garden is a good choice for a collection.

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    1. thank you!! I'm very excited to get making :) x

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  3. Is there no end to your talents? I loved the rose design and I think it will make a gorgeous fabric. Yes I noticed picmonkey have made lots of things royale. I've downloaded something called Gimp. It's free. My daughter's says it's as good as Photoshop. I have no idea about things like that and don't know if it works with a Mac. I will definitely be checking out spoonflower. Have a craft week.
    Ali x

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    1. Aww thank you for the encouragement Ali!!

      I have heard of Gimp.. i hope it works well for you :) xx

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  4. What a great idea! Your rose garden design should make a lovely fabric. You should make lots of extra sales having your own design collection and I think the fabric will sell well on Spoonflower. Good luck!

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    1. Aww thank you very much! I'm really glad you like the idea :) x

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  5. Ohhh gorgeous! I think the designs will look lovely as fabric - I can't wait to see some of the beautiful things you'll be making with it! I've heard of Spoonflower, but not come across anyone who'd actually used it, so good to hear your feedback. Have a great week, Simmi x

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    1. Thanks Simmi!!

      I'm glad i could help shed some light :) x

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  6. I love this design and think that it is a very exciting addition to your work. The Rose design is so summery and cheerful, I am sure that it will be very popular. Good luck :)

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    1. Thank you very much!! It is quite summery isn't it, i always seem to be thinking ahead :) wishful thinking perhaps! x

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  7. WOW is all i can say! I loved your modern, cottage style design on the tea-cups last week, but to see it evolve on to fabric as well is great. I know its very hard to link things together! As I do knitting, crochet, felting and paper crafts I do have a tendancy to go off on a tangent, jump from one thing to another, and nothing connects, although i'm trying to restrain myself and rectify this. I'm going to have to take a peek at this Spoonflower sight, it sounds very exciting!!! Looks like it may make my restraining even harder to do though!

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    1. Thank you!!

      Oh i know just what you mean, i go off on so many creative tangents i don't know where i am!

      Spoonflower is fab, i hope you enjoy it :) x

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  8. Such a beautiful design - wishing you lots of luck with your new venture. I am sure it will be successful, it is so pretty. Hope you have a good week.

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  9. Thank you so much for sharing all that information - and your fantastic designs. I'll have to pop over and investigate Spoonflower very soon!

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  10. Oh you are so clever! I love the designs, especially since they are in one of my favourite combinations, pink and green. I am sure the fabric will look gorgeous, as will the lovely things that are created using it!
    Wendy x

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    1. Thank you Wendy!!

      I love pink and green too, its so lovely and fresh i think :) x

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  11. What a really good idea. I think people would love matching crockery and fabric products too. I had not heard of Spoonflower, so will click and investigate.

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    1. Thank you! I hope so :)

      I'm sure you will enjoy your visit! x

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  12. Really love the fabrics to match your teacups....I'll bet they'll be very popular!! Have a great week xx

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  13. what an interesting post full of info and details! thanks for sharing it with us.
    i think your design is great - delicate, modern, a bit retro and very trendy. well done on your designing. oh! i love that cup with this design A LOT! gorgeous painting!

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    1. Thank you Martha! You'e very welcome :)

      Aww i'm really glad you like it! x

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  14. I discovered Spoonflower a while back and was amazed! it's a fantastic site which I need to stop myself from visiting too often as I can't afford it! I really like your rose design - it's an interesting modern take on the traditional rose theme. x

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    1. Oh i know, amazing isn't it!

      Thank you very much :) x

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  15. Wow amazing. It's beautiful. I love the idea of having themed collections too. Good luck. xxx

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    1. Aww thank you!! I'm really glad you like it :)

      Thank you for popping by xx

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  16. How exciting to be able to design your own fabric! I've not heard of Spoonflower so will be off to take a look as soon as I get some time.
    The design is lovely, and so nice to be able to do a range that you will be able to combine in lots of different ways.

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    1. Thank you!!

      Yes i recommend checking out Spoonflower, i'm sure you'll love it :) x

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  17. WoW! JEALOUS !!!! Ive always wanted to create my own fabrics ! Thanks for finding spoonflower & sharing, must go & have a poke around there soon ! LOVE the designs - sooo professional looking ! Well done you x

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    1. Thank you!!

      I look forward to seeing your designs soon! xx

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  18. What a lovely design. I look forward to seeing what you make with the fabric. And exciting that you get to sell the design as well - I hope you get lots of sales :-)

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    1. Aww thank you! I'm itching to get my hands on it and start making! :)

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  19. I love the rose designs, a lovely set of fabric napkins to go with the set would look ideal.
    Jan x

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  20. Your designs are beautiful, I can't wait till they are avaiable to buy. It would be a really nice gift to give someone one of your cups and saucers with a matching placemat or tea-towel or..... the possibilities are endless! Good luck with your new venture - it'll be really successful

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    1. Aww thank you very much Natalie!

      I am really excited to get started with making the kind of things you've suggested :) Thank you for the encouragement! x

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  21. Fabric Design sounds great - this way you can create something that really nobody else has!

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  22. ooo, fabric design. Now i'm really envious. Love the designs

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  23. Fabulous design! I shall go and peruse when it's all up and running! Have a good week-end, Jo x

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  24. Love your fabric as much as the cup and saucer! I dabbled with Spoonflower a couple of years ago but didn't follow it up. They didn't have the shop option then, I will be revisiting!

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    1. Thank you Penny!

      Ooh yes do, its well worth a visit, i'm a big fan now :) x

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Your lovely comments are much appreciated x