Sunday 10 March 2013

Butterfly Fabric Designs For Handmade Monday



Happy Mother's Day Mum's! I hope you're all being waited on by grateful offspring :) You deserve it!   I made my mum a little tea cosy which i hoped to show you today... however, due to unfavourable weather conditions i haven't been able to photograph it, so it will have to wait, along with a few other things i've been working on.

Happily though, i am someone who always has about 900 projects on the go so i've got some other things to show you - mostly works in progress so all input welcome!


Blue Morpho Butterfly Fabric




This is a painting i did years ago of a blue morpho butterfly. It struck me one day that it might work well as a fabric pattern so i changed the background of the image to a solid red, loaded it up to Spoonflower, and this is how the design turned out...




As it is a one off, without any related designs to turn it into a collection, i'm still thinking about what to do with it... For some reason i keep imagining it on a notebook cover... what do you think it would work well for?


Blue And Yellow Summer Butterfly Fabric

More butterflies now, although a different style altogether. I've been mulling over the idea of creating a summery butterfly fabric for a while... something reminiscent of a walk through a wild flower meadow in mid summer, where whole swarms of beautiful butterflies take flight as you approach them... one of my favourite summer time activities! :)

I started off by playing around with some flowers...




... and then some flowery butterflies.



All of the elements are hand drawn, photographed, colour edited and then assembled.






Then i had a go at putting some designs together. I started off by creating a small print - this image represents what an 8x8 inch swatch of fabric would look like.




I think this could work well for small details like a pocket, or perhaps as some summery bunting... what do you think?

I also decided to create a larger print design for making things like cushion covers and aprons - this image represents what a 22x18 inch piece of fabric would look like.





I'm happy that more of the details in the flowers will come through in this design, although i won't really know to what extent they will be visible until i have the fabric in front of me... computer monitors have their limitations! :)


Colour Variations

I chose the yellow and blue colour palette because it make me think of bright summer sunshine in a clear blue sky.  I'm also starting to experiment with other colour combinations for these designs though - here's the larger print design in purple tones and yellow...




... and pink and purple.




and pink and blue...




I'd love to know your favourites and any others you'd like to see!

When the range is complete, these fabrics will be available to buy from my Spoonflower shop (contact me if you'd like me to let you know when they're in!).



In The Pipeline

I have an idea for a design floating around in my head at the moment that i want to use for fabric and porcelain. I had a little play with painting some elements of it on a mug this week... here's a little peak.




Its going to be called 'Wash Day' and was inspired by my recent burst of spring cleaning during which even the pets had a wash and blow dry! (well... not a blow dry, although i was tempted! :)).

I've already decided that the cat is coming off the line - after all, cats are far to wiley to get caught for a bath aren't they :) It will instead be sitting, cleaning its own face with its paw observing the goings on from a safe distance!  I'm going to include a bird taking a dip in a bird bath i think, along with a few other things... and probably make all the elements a bit larger too.

Do let me know what you think... all thoughts/ideas welcome!


In Other News


Before i take a very enjoyable trip around all the other blogs joining in with Handmade Monday this week, i'm going to be watching the Crufts final.... there's a whippet in it!! Very exciting in our household :)

I will leave you with a photo our little 'Best In Show' watching all the woofers on the tele from the comfort of his favourite spot in front of the fire :)




Thanks for visiting! x

38 comments:

  1. I like the pooch and cat hanging on the line, brilliant. I really like your butterfly on red fabric it would look nice on a notebook. I wish I could do alterations on my computer like you, it's not going to happen anytime soon tho!

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    1. He he aww thank you :) we must have the same sense of humour! :)

      There are some v easy to use and not too expensive photo editing programs available now.. i would recommend giving them a go as i am definitely no computer whizz! x

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  2. I do love the pink and purple butterflies, but I like the pink and blue too!

    That fire looks lovely :)

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    1. Thank you!

      there's nothing quite like a nice warm fire is there :) x

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  3. I really like the red background for the blue butterflies. Really striking. The pink and blue is my favourite colourway of the butterflies and flowers. Very summery and pretty. A great weeks work :)

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

      i like those colours together too :) x

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  4. I think the pink and purple butterflis are my favourite. That dog doesn't look too happy hanging on the line :-D

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    1. thank you!

      ha ha i know,, he's not impressed is he! :)

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  5. I loved the red and blue butterflies (I like the contrast) but then I loved the other ones too. I love that you are designing fabrics!

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  6. We were rooting for the border collie in the Pastoral final - or the corgis - never mind! I'm sure yours and ours are far more normal than those powder puffs and prancers! Love the butterflies, by the way!

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    1. Everyone wants a different dog to win don't they! :)

      aww thank you :) x

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  7. Where to start? The blue butterfly with the red background is awesome - such a contrast of colours - and is my favourite of your designs this week. The flower butterflies are also beautiful, I particularly like the purple ones (but that is my favourite colour!). The flower butterfly on its own is also wonderful. I don't think it will be long till you're are an international fabric designer, your work is really inspired. Keep up the good work! And for the record......I regularly blow dry my Beagle after a bath, she loves it!!

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    1. Aww thank you so much for your lovely comment Natalie, it means a lot :) x

      He he oh really! that's so cute! x

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  8. The butterfly fabrics are lovely. Funny coincidence, as I went out shopping for a butterfly fabric yesterday, and couldn't find anything suitable. You will probably see why in a week or two. Nothing was as nice as yours in John Lewis. I think the one I like best is the blue and yellow.

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    1. Aww thank you, i'm glad you like them :)

      I look forward to seeing your butterfly make soon! x

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  9. awwww, what a nice mug (?) painting
    I actually love the cat being washed and put on the washing line to hang and air dry. please, dont take it off :) it's a good joke in the whole painting, as if someone was trying to wash a black cat to turn it into a white one :)
    white cat with black patches... dripping off him/her would be a another good painting joke :)I think :)

    some bold designs I can see today! they have that nice feel of spring freshness.

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    1. yes, its a mug, i probably should have mentioned that!

      I'm so glad you like the design and i love your ideas :) I will have to do some more experimenting! x

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  10. Your butterfly fabrics and I like your colour variations too perfect for Spring.

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  11. Oh I'm very partial to a butterfly. I really like the morpho butterfly. The last butterfly image with the blues, purple and pinks looks gorgeous but I think that just my personal taste in colours, they're all great.
    Ali x

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    1. Thank you very much Ali! I'm glad you like them :) I love butterflies too :) x

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  12. Oh wow - another veritable feast of lovely pics to look at this week :-) I really like the blue butterflies on the red background - would look amazing as a statement wallpaper section! And the flowery butterflies are really cute - I like all the different colourways, but prefer the larger images of them - the first one (the 8x8 - the detail is a bit small for my liking) - have a great week! Simmi xx

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    1. He he aww thanks Simmi that's really kind of you to say :)

      I actually thought of the blue and red one as a wall paper too! Great minds think alike :) x

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  13. Your 'best in show' really is the best - he looks so comfortable. lovely butterflies - your work is beautiful. Hope you have a good week.

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    1. Aww thank you! He is the loveliest little fellow :)

      Thank you, i'm glad you like it! :)

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  14. I love the butterflies on the red fabric background. How about a book bag made up in that fabric? The butterflies in pale blues look lovely too, especially the larger images.
    Wendy x

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  15. love all those butterfly prints - couldn't pick just one!

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  16. I love all the butterfly designs but the one on the solid red background's fabulous!Notebook cover was the first thing I thought when I saw it but files,pencil cases,pump bags etc.I can see it everywhere!

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    1. He he awww thank you! I'm really glad you like it! :)

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  17. I love the butterfly designs, they're so pretty and the humour in the washday mug is brilliant! Having actually blow dried a cat - after it went swimming in the loo - I think having it at a safe distance would be safer :-). I love your designs as they're so light and summery and spoonflower is a brilliant site!

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    1. Aww thank you Bev :) I'm glad you like them :)

      That sound like quite an ordeal for you and the cat!!! :)

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  18. What a lovely selection - my niece would like all of these - she's mad about butterflies! Sue

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  19. Hi, I have nominated you for a Leibster Blog award. Please see my blog for details.
    Wendy x

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Your lovely comments are much appreciated x