'GB Runs On Tea' Tea Towel, Tea Cosy And Mug

Despite being distracted (in a good way!) by Easter related celebrations and family activities this week, i've had the satisfaction of completing a project i've been working on for some time. Those who are familiar with my work may recognise the design i'm talking about, so without further ado, let me tell you about the latest developments!

GB Runs On Tea

'GB Runs On Tea' started out on my large hand painted mugs about a year ago and has become one of my most popular designs...

Large Hand Painted 'GB Runs On Tea' Mug

...especially with my overseas customers (Candace in the USA who wrote this lovely review about the mug i painted for her).

All things British were in vogue last year with the spotlight on the UK for the Jubilee celebrations and London Olympics (my mug was included in this little feature in the Evening Gazette in August).

'GB Runs On Tea' Press Feature

Although all the excitement and Union Jack craziness has died down a bit now, i think there is still a special place in many people's hearts for Britishess, both from its inhabitants, visitors and also expats, even generations on who love to have reminders of their origins.  So, i've decided to encorporate my most British of designs in my latest ranges of printed fabric and porcelain.

'GB Runs On Tea' Tea Towels

You may remember me telling you about these during the design stages a little while ago and now they are here in tangible 'real life' form...

I'm really happy with how they turned out, i wouldn't mind having some in my kitchen! :)

The quality of the linen/cotton mix fabric from Spoonflower is fantastic, its hardwearing with a gorgeous texture and is super absorbent too, perfect for tea towels!

As with all my textile products these tea towels have been lovingly stitched together by myself in my home studio in Wiltshire.

They come as a set of two priced £25 and are available now from my Etsy shop and other outlets.

'GB Runs On Tea Tea Cosy'

Next in the fabric range with this design is the tea cosy. It has the wording and steaming tea on one side,

and Union Jack heart on the other so matches nicely with the tea towels.

It is made from the same top quality linen/cotton blend fabric as the tea towels and is lined with natural cotton wadding to keep your tea nice and hot. I'm really pleased with how the Union Jack heart trimming worked out, i hope you like it too!

This tea cosy is the perfect size for a two person tea pot.

It is priced £15 and is available now from my Etsy shop and other outlets.

'GB Runs On Tea' My First Printed Mug!

Who spotted this little mug in the picture at the top of this post?

If you popped by my blog last week you may remember me mentioning getting my designs printed onto ceramics. Well, i chose to use the 'GB Runs On Tea' design as a tester and this cute little bone china mug is what i got!

Here's the reverse.

I'm very happy with how it turned out. The mug has a wonderful feel to it... fine but not too delicate, its quite small at 8.5 cms high but the shape is perfect for my requirements and i've ordered the larger size with some more tester designs... i can't wait 'till they arrive!

The design is printed using 'ceramic transfer' and then fired to a high temperature so they are resilient and the colour reproduction is great. I'm soooooo excited about this new adventure and my head is buzzing with design ideas!

The printing takes place in Stoke-On-Trent amongst all the potteries so there is a wealth of bone china ware on hand to try out my designs on... i'm thinking plates, tea pots, jugs... even light pulls! :)

On that note i will leave you with a link to Handmade Monday, home of lots more crafting fun :)

Thanks for stopping by and thank you too for all the wonderful comments on my last post, i am so grateful for your feedback and support xxx

'GB Runs On Tea' Fabric For Handmade Monday

I've had a tricky time trying to decide what to share with you today as i seem to have soooooooo many projects on the go - none of them finished! I have been well and truly bitten by the fabric design bug and in my excitement have been starting new collections here there and everywhere!

Thank you so very much if you were one of the lovely peeps who left one of the wonderfully encouraging comments i got on last week's post about my first ever fabric collection :) I was a little nervous about how it would be received... thank you for putting my mind at rest!

Excitingly, a lovely fellow Etsian contacted me after reading the post and has now become my first ever fabric customer! If you are interested to find out what she bought, you can visit my Spoonflower shop. I must add that i haven't received my own sample of the fabric yet (to check that the colours don't turn out weirdly or anything) - i should get it in the next few days - do contact me for more info.

'GB Runs On Tea' Mug And Tea Towel

As well as developing new design ideas i've also been working on translating some old favourites to the  medium of fabric. My 'GB Runs On Tea' mug is one of my most popular mugs (although it almost always ends up outside the UK which surprises me!)

I felt that the design was perfect for turning into matching fabric accessories - tea towels, tea cosies, coasters etc. I was particularly drawn to the idea of creating a matching tea towel, so this is what i've come up with (i'll show you the finished design in a minute but first i thought some of you might be interested to see how i got there...)

Fabric Design

I don't have any experience with fabric design but i've found that by breaking things down into their component part i've got along quite well (so far!)

I started by drawing each element of the GB Tea design in pen and ink (i could have used a script editor for the writing but i think that this design suits having a slightly 'rough around the edges', hand drawn look... what do you think..?)

The next step was to photograph my drawings, load them up to Pixelmator (photo editor), and change the colours from dull blacks and greys to pretty blue, pink and white!

The final step was to put together the finished design. This involved creating a tea towel sized blank template (brief interlude while i wrestled with DPI, pixels and a 'basic maths' blind spot) and then assembling the component parts.

I ended up with two tea towel designs (which will be sold as a pair) - this one...

... and this slightly simpler design...

It will be a few weeks until they are available to buy but i will of course keep you updated! Alternatively, feel free to contact me to let me know you'd like to be notified :)

What's Next?!

Before i pop over to Handmade Harbour to read about the crafty escapades of my fellow Handmade Mondayer's, i'll give you a sneaky peek of what my next fabric collection is inspired by...

Have a wonderful week :) (and stay warm!)

Autumn Apples Linen Cushion For Handmade Monday

Autumn Apples Linen Cushion By Free Spirit Designs

Hi all :) I've just nipped in to write this post in the middle of making bagels for the first time... i'd love to show you photos of how pretty they look but i'm afraid they're not looking too pretty! and it all looked so easy on The Great British Bake Off... :)

Thank you so very much for your enthusiastic responses to my Autumn leaves cushion last week! I am thrilled that you like it as much as i do :) Thank you also to those of you who left thoughtful and insightful comments on my post about pricing handmade goods, you have really helped me to get to grips with this issue a little better and i will write a follow up post about it soon.

Autumn Apples Linen Cushion

As you have no doubt noticed from the picture at the top of this post, i have continued the Autumnal theme this week with another cushion from the same beautiful pale cream linen i used for the last one. This time i've used a pink and pale blue paisley fabric and an apple design. Unlike the leaves on last week's cushion, the apples have been straight stitched leaving a 'shabby chic' frayed edge. I think this adds a softness that goes well with the pastel colours... i look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Here are a couple more pictures...

If you would like to see more details and images it is now listed on My Website, Etsy Shop and on WTY, priced £40.

Harvest Banner/Bunting

You may remember that last week i also showed you a 'mystery' work in progress... well, here is the finished article! I'm actually really looking forward to Autumn and was inspired to make this banner as a celebration of this beautiful season. It is also now listed on My Website, Etsy Shop and WTY priced £12.

Amazing Customer Feedback For 'GB Runs On Tea' Mug!

In other news... i've had some amazing customer feedback this week from a lovely lady called Candace who bought a 'GB Runs on Tea' mug from me. You may remember that i recently featured the inspiring story of how she turned her passion for craft into a successful business on my blog... well, it was when i approached her about doing this that she took a liking to the mug and bought it from my Etsy shop - and this week she generously wrote a post on her blog all about it! Not only has she taken the time to write a fabulous review of the purchase, she has taken some gorgeous photos of her new mug!

My 'GB Runs on Tea' Mug Featured On Candace's Blog Paper Polaroid

Candace is one of those people who exudes an infectious positivity about everything and i feel so blessed to have connected to her on Etsy. As i said in the post i wrote about her story, she has helped me to believe that i can progress with my own handmade business as well as given me a healthy reminder of just how far a positive outlook can get you in life. Thank you Candace! you are a real gem x

Handmade Monday

That's all for this week folks! I'm off to try and rescue my bagels before i pop over to Handmade Harbour to find out what you've all been up to!

Thanks for visiting! x