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| Autumn Leaves Linen Cushion By Free Spirit Designs |
Hello :) How are we all...? Enjoying some rays of lovely late Summer sun i hope! Thank you very much to all those who left lovely comments about my sailing boat mug last week - i suspect it will be my last Summery make for some time as a change of season is almost upon us, so i'm glad you liked it! :)
Autumn Leaves Cushion
As you may have spotted by the picture at the top of this post, today i am sharing with you the first of my 'Autumn Collection' :). I actually really like Autumn so i was quite happy to be working with this theme, and i love love love the Michael Miller fabric that i have used for the appliqued leaf shapes - it has a hand written postcard print which i think is sooooo pretty.
The cover is a gorgeous pale cream linen (from Tinsmiths if you are interested). I've embroidered a few 'swirls' of wind in the same threads that i've used to outline the leaves, and i'm pretty pleased with how the design has worked out. I especially like the femininity and romanticism as i haven't made anything this 'girly' in a while! Here are a couple more pictures so you can have a better look...
Once again i have surprised myself by managing to get it listed before writing my Handmade Monday post! So, you can find it on My Website, Esty Shop and WowThankYou Shop priced £44.
Boy's Personalised Drummer Mug
My creativity this week has also ventured into a place not often frequented - the sphere of masculinity... man land. We've had a birthday in the family for a lovely 17 year old young man who also happens to be a drummer so i thought i would paint him a mug as my gift (i haven't actually given it to him yet but the chances of him reading this post are slim to none :))
I'm actually pretty happy with it, so much so that i'm considering including more of this sort of thing in my shop, although i don't want to stray too far from my regular style and end up with things looking really disjoined... what do you think? It could easily be personalised to someone's requirements - on this occasion i have put his name and birth date on the reverse side in a graffiti-ish style.
Fun With Pretty Linen
This weekend i made my first sale on Folksy! I don't spend too much time and energy on promoting this outlet for my work (there is only so much of my day i can spend on such things and still actually make stuff!) However, this happy news has got me thinking about adding a few more items to my shop there (it is now officially on the 'to do' list :))
The item that sold was my blue whippet cushion cover (which i love as it reminds me of my own little whippet :)). Today i have made a little 'extra' to include in the package that i will send off tomorrow - i hope she likes it!
I have also been making something else with these two pretty linens... can you guess what it is yet?!
All will be revealed next week :)
Selling Handmade -The Pricing Dilemma
Before i urge you to wander off for a mooch around the other Handmade Monday crafty blogs i'll just let you know about a post i published earlier in the week about the tricky and confusing issues surrounding the pricing of handmade goods. There are a couple of links to articles that i have found very useful and also some interesting comments from other craft bloggers (thank you Jenny aka Mythological and Zoe of Coast!) If this issue gets you in a bit of a tangle, or seems easy as pie, i'd love to hear your thoughts!
Have a wonderful week! x
I love that cushion! and the swirls of wind are really effective.
ReplyDeleteOff to read your post on pricing now as it is always an interesting question
Wow - the cushion is amazing (love that fabric!), the drummer mug is also amazing! When I first did a campervan (on a clock) I thought I was wandering away from "my style". Turns out I wasn't, I just needed to join up my styles a slightly different way, and now the campervan is my biggest selling image. Don't be frightened of trying new things - it can lead to something good that you hadn't expected. Love the article about pricing, had just read it before HM went live. Excellent stuff! x
ReplyDeletethank you Wendy! i really appreciate you sharing your experiences. What you say makes sense (and i guess that anything i create must be a version of my style as i made it!)
Deleteit is a great confidence boost to hear that you like my makes, and thank you for your insightful comment on my pricing post - i will reply to it over there :) x
I am super impressed with the drummer painted mug Natalie! I think you are onto something with that style and a masculine theme! I may have a little commission for you if you're interested for my hubby's birthday...will mesage you on Facebook :)
ReplyDeleteLove the cushion too!
thank you Zoe! i'm really glad you like it, you have boosted my confidence in taking this style further... :)
Deleteyour commission sounds intriguing! i look forward to hearing more about what you're after... i'd love to create something special for you :) x
That cushion is amazing I love it!!! Such a good idea, I love the postcard style theme! X
ReplyDeletethank you!
Deletei love the fabric print too and was really pleased when i found the right project to use it on! :)
That fabric is gorgeous! I too like the autumn and this cushion captivates it really well without being over the top so it can't be used at other times. Congrats on the sale. As for my view on the mug..I think that you should go for it. The male species are so hard to buy for. A definite gap there.
ReplyDeletethank you! i had hoped that people would feel that it wasn't too Autumny to use at other times of year...
Deletethe boys are hard to buy for aren't they, i will have to get my thinking cap on for some more ideas! x
I love the fabric you have used for your cushion especially the leaves, so pretty :)
ReplyDeletethanks Hannah, i love it too :) x
DeleteYour cushion is absolutely beautiful! I love the fabric that you've used and the leaf shapes.
ReplyDeleteYour mug is a nice style too- and looks very professional.
awwww thank you! i'm very happy that you like my cushion :)
Deletegood news too that you think the mug looks pro, yay! x
Gosh, what a really pretty cushion. Nice mug. I like how you are increasing your range of mugs to include males.
ReplyDeletethank you!
Deleteyes, the more i think about it it doesn't seem fair to leave them out :) x
Your cushion is really lovely, but I don't want to think autumn yet, as that will mean summer is over.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed reading your post on pricing. I find this tricky, and it has so far put me off putting any products on Etsy, as any price that was a true reflection of the time put in would be too high. But maybe I should test the water. Even pricing patterns I tend to just look at what other similar things are priced.
i know what you mean, i want to enjoy Summer while it lasts too - my 'makers brain' feels the need to stay a step ahead though!
Deletei can understand why you would have reservations about prices that reflect the time and effort you put into your products not being competitive on Etsy but i think you're right and it is worth testing the water. After all, although some people have made the choice to hugely undercharge for their work, that doesn't mean that we all should... perhaps by charging appropriately for yours will encourage some others to do the same! :)
Beautiful, just realised I have some of that fabric but what you have done with it is perfect
ReplyDeleteawww thank you :)
Deletei can imagine you liking this fabric :) x
The cushion is beautiful! Making me feel very autumnal despite the last minute heat wave!
ReplyDeletethank you!
Deleteits always funny being on the brink of a new season isn't it - one day i feel like Summer has barely begun and the next i'm thinking about getting the woodburner sorted for Winter! :)
Hi. The cushion is absolutely stunning. You're such an inspiration. Love it so much.
ReplyDeleteawww thank you very much! that's really kind of you to say :) x
DeleteThe fabric you have used for your cushion is really gorgeous - lovely against the plain background. Love the mu g too. Many thanks for the post about pricing - a tricky problem for handmade. Hope you have a good week.
ReplyDeletethank you! :)
DeleteThe cushion is gorgeous. I really like autumn as well, but I am still hanging on summer because it seemed we had so little of it this year.
ReplyDeletethank you!
Deleteperhaps we will have a sunny Autumn to make up for a dreary Summer :)
what a beautiful cushion very autumnly
ReplyDeleteYour cushion is beautiful and your mug is a great idea the painting on it looks fantastic. I am looking forward to seeing what your 'bunting' triangles turn out to be.
ReplyDeleteI read your excellent post on 'pricing' with a great deal of interest and I have just been back to read all the comments. All very valid points and I felt I couldn't add anything of further value except perhaps to say that I am trying to go down the route of providing workshops rather than selling as I think you will agree crochet is one of those crafts that is very time consuming and difficult to get a fair return on for the product made.
thank you! i'm very glad that you like them :)
Deletethank you too for popping over to the pricing article... i definitely can see what you mean about crochet being a craft that it is hard to get a fair return from... (i cannot begin to think what you would have to charge for the magnificent Chester to get a reasonable return on the hours you must have put in creating him!) I am very interested to hear about how you get on with your workshops as this does seem like it could be a good route to take... i don't know if you saw my post about 'Blink Collective' (there's a link in my sidebar) but when i heard about that it got me thinking about branching out into this as a sideline myself at some point. I guess, as Wendy points out in her comment on the pricing post, having a variety of different outlets/markets for one's crafting skills might be the most satisfactory way to go...
thank you for your thoughtful comment :) x
Everything is so beautiful, I just enjoy looking. I have to say, Autumn is my favorite season and I live where we never have it. My goal in life is to move back to a part of the country that has fall and winter (yes, is that crazy?!) this perpetual summer is not for me. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing that.
awwww thank you Susie! that is so lovely of you :)
Deletei can completely understand you missing Autumn, there is definitely something wonderful about living through four distinct seasons every year - each has something special to offer :) I hope they are all back in your life some time soon! x
Love the cushion!Autumn's my favourite time of year and this is perfect.I love the fabric you've used for the leaves.
ReplyDeletethank you! i'm glad you like :) x
DeleteYour cushion is absolutely gorgeous a perfect start to kick off the autumn, I must admit I'm a bit slow on the uptake of Autumn themes though I'm starting to see it everywhere :)
ReplyDeletethank you very much Clare :)
Deletei find hard to know how seasonal to go with things sometimes as there is quite a small time slot for these things to sell... maybe that's why i keep seeing Christmas stuff everywhere when it is still Summer! :)
Love the cushion. Reminds me of the amazing colour changes of Autumn, although I can see some of those changes occuring already where I live. The silhouette style on the drummer mugs looks excellent too.
ReplyDeletethank you very much!
ReplyDeleteyes, i am seeing some of those Autumny changes too... :)
I love the cushion. I love autumn and the fire colours. It's a very mood uplifting design too so good luck with the sales! Lesley
ReplyDeletethank you very much Lesley! x
DeleteYour cushion is beautiful, a lovely idea...
ReplyDeletethank you very much Penny :) x
Deletethat cushion of yours with autumn leaves rules!
ReplyDeleteautumn is when i was born so i love this season. i like how you combined postal theme with leaves - how clever!
amazed at the painting details of your masculine mag! you must have extremely precise paintbrushes!
awwww thanks Martha! i'm really glad you like my cushion and mug :)
Deletelike you, i love Autumn and yes, i have a couple of quite small brushes although i always wend up wishing i had one even smaller when i'm painting! x