Autumn Naturally Fabric And Craft Paper And Apple Bunting For Handmade Monday

A busy week for me but well worth it as i've finally finished my Autumn designs! In digital form anyway, there's still a little way to go on the making front. I'm looking forward to sharing them with you today, as always your feedback is invaluable and much appreciated :)

'Autumn Naturally'

I've called the collection 'Autumn Naturally'. It includes the apple and nut designs i've shown you recently and also some falling leaves and colour coordinating spotty fabrics you haven't seen yet. These designs are available to buy as printable craft papers and fabrics and will also feature in items i make for sale in my shops.

'Autumn Naturally' A4 Craft Papers

There are twelve papers in the collection and they are available for instant download from my FSD Print And Paper shop on Etsy for £3.50. As with all my printable papers, once you have downloaded them you may print them off as many times as you like for use in scrapbooking, card making and other craft projects. They may also be used for making items you wish to sell on a small scale (please credit Free Spirit Designs :)).

These papers are available in printer friendly A4 size but other size options could be available - just let me know what you're after.

Incase anyone was wondering, i'm also working on making a range of pre-printed papers available - i'll keep you update of course!

'Autumn Naturally' Fabrics

I've already shown you the Autumn Apple and Nut fabrics in previous posts (links in the sidebar) so i'll just show you the newest Autumnal designs today (you may be interested to know that the Autumn Apple fabrics are now available to buy from my Spoonflower shop, and the rest of the Autumn Naturally fabrics can also be seen over there and will also be available to buy soon - if you'd like to be notified just let me know).

Here are the falling leaves, available on crisp white or mellow yellow...

... i'm happy with how this design turned out, i just love the warmth of Autumnal colours :)

I decide to also create some simple spotty designs as part of this collection. I always find when i'm making things that i'm looking for simpler fabrics to use alongside those with more complex patterns in colours that are complimentary, and its not always easy! The beauty of designing my own fabrics is that this problem is easy to solve, its just a matter of using the same colour codes for the complimentary designs.

In this instance the reds and greens of the 'Apple Tones' spotty fabric matches with the colours i've used in the 'Autumn Apples' designs...

...the browns and creams in the 'Nut Tones' spotty fabric matches with the colours i've used in the Autumn nuts designs...

... and the reds, oranges and yellows in the 'Leaf Tones' spotty fabric matches with the colours i've used in the falling leaves designs.

I'm really happy with how these turned out, i could see them being useful for lots of Autumnal makes, they make me think of bonfires and fireworks, pumpkin soup on halloween and all that's warm and lovely about this time of year.

Apple Bunting

At the risk of overloading you with information i do have one last thing to show you today. The samples of my Autumn Apples fabrics arrived this week and as promised i've made some apple bunting.

Its double sided so would work well hung across the centre of a room, i could see it on a beam of a country style kitchen :)

Here's one side...

...and here's the other.

Its a bit hard to see from this picture but each flag has an applique apple like this.

It will appear in my usual online outlets for sale in the next couple of days priced £18.

Handmade Monday

That's more than enough from me i think, its time to find out what you've all been up to! I'm off over to Handmade Harbour ... see you there! x

Autumn Apple Fabrics And Nature Postcards For Handmade Monday

If you popped by my blog last week you might remember me mentioning that i'd like to have a go at creating some apple fabric designs... i think writing it down helped spur me on as i've already got some to show you!

I'm also full of enthusiasm about nature postcards at the moment - remember i showed you some last week? Your comments we so helpful that i've got a few more to run by you today... :)

Autumn Apple Fabrics

The first design was inspired by the apple trees in my garden as they will be in a month or so - laden with apples waiting to be picked!

Here's what a 16x16 inch swatch would look like.

Next are some simple rows of apples - i know there isn't a shortage of fabric designs like this around, but i love this style and wanted to have a go at my own version :)

All three represent 16x16 inch swatches (average cushion cover size).

My final apple design is all about the best bit - eating them!

Here's a 16x16 inch swatch,

and also, as its a smaller print size, here's an 8x8 inch swatch so you can see it more clearly.

I've used the same colour palette for all my apple fabrics so they would work well combined with each other in a project - i'm thinking of making some apple bunting with the sample swatches when i get them.

You can see these designs in more detail over in my Spoonflower shop - they're not for sale yet but i'll let you know when they are.

Nature Photograph Postcards

Thank you to everyone who left comments about my 'nature finds' postcards last week, as always you've been super helpful in enabling me to clarify my ideas and i've gone ahead and ordered a few of them to be printed up (if anyone is wondering i'm using Moo, they offer a great service and i've always been happy with there products in the past). I'm sooooooo excited to see them - there will be piccies with next week's post!

As well as a growing bank of photographs of treasures i've brought home from country walks, i also have a fair number of nature photographs i've taken whilst out and about and this week my mind turned to the possibility of turning some of them into postcards too... Here are some examples to give you an idea of how they would look - as with last week it would be really helpful to know which ones stand out and what you think of the idea in general.

Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts!

A4 Craft Paper Update

For anyone interested in printable craft papers, i just wanted to let you know that my colourful cats collection is the latest to be available in printer friendly A4.

* As an aside i now know why printable papers are generally available in 12x12 inches - its sooooo much easier to calculate sizes! Converting to A4 has taxed my brain to the max - i'm not a natural mathematician... i'm sure its very good for me to give the grey cells a work out though :)

Once i've gor a few more, if not all of them converted, i'll get to work on making them available in paper form which shouldn't take long at all.

Handmade Monday

As always, i'm off now for a peak behind the curtain of some superb crafting over at Handmade Harbour.

Thank you for popping by my corner of blogland today! x

Heart Lavender Pillows With Wool (Apples And Sailing Boats) For Handmade Monday

Happy Autumn everyone! Yes, the season has officially changed and much as i love Summer, i'm quite excited by the new crispness in the air, turning leaves and ripening berries. There is something wonderfully cosy about Autumn, the temperature might go down a bit but the colours are warm and its nice to snuggle into woolly scarves and big slouchy socks again :) have i sold it to you yet?!

Thank you everyone who left kind and thoughtful comments about my Autumn Apples cushion last week, and also my 'Harvest' banner :) It seems a lot of you are Autumn fans too which is good news as the new season has inspired what i have to show you this week too!

Three Red Apples

I have combined three of my absolute favourite materials (lavender, wool and linen) to make these little Autumn apple lavender pillows (you can see all three pictured at the top being cuddled by my teddy bear :)).

Linen

I've used the pale cream linen I often choose for my sewing projects (because of its gorgeous texture and subtle natural colour) to make the hearts, and the appliqued apples are cut from some pretty striped and checked linens from my collection. There is something so appealing and tactile about linen, despite its tendency to crease i just love working with it. What's your favourite fabric to work with by the way...?

Lavender

Lavender is so soothing and comforting and yet invigorating at the same time, no wonder its so popular! I bought a big bag of Somerset lavender last Christmas and that's what i'm still using - running low now though so will have to stock up before this Christmas i think!

Wool

I looooooooove wool. We have a wool duvet, wool filled mattress and wool pillows in our house - it really does give you a great night's sleep! (you can find out more about this and the other benefits of wool on the Campaign For Wool website). Like many people i find the smell of wool really comforting and i thought it would be the perfect thing to combine with Lavender for these little pillows.

I have kept the design really simple and they are not large or over stuffed. As well as being ideal for popping into a draw to keep clothes smelling fresh, I think they would be perfect for putting under your pillow to aid sleep or even to slip into a bag or pocket if you have something stressful like a job interview - a few (subtle) deep breaths of their calming aroma before hand could be just the thing! :)

Sailing Boat Lavender Pillow

I have lots of ideas for different designs... here is a cute little sailing boat - expect to see more next week when i've had a chance to make them!

I haven't listed any of these lavender pillows on my website, Etsy shop etc yet but expect to see them there in the next few days. Individually they will be £4.50 and a set of three will be £12.

CRAFTfest And Other News

As you may remember me mentioning a few weeks back, i have a stall at CRAFTfest (online craft fair organised by crafters network Creative Connections). It is running all this week (from the 1st to the 8th of September) and there are lots of lovely stalls to look around! There is going to be another CRAFTfest in November so this is also an ideal time to pop over and suss out what its all about if you are interested in getting involved.

So far i have definitely had a lot more views to my Etsy shop (you give a link in your 'stall' to a shop where people can buy your products online) and as part of the promotion i have been introduced to some interesting social networking sites such as Stumbleupon which i hadn't got around to investigating yet... i will let you know more about how it has all gone next week!

I have also been keeping busy with some festive bits and bobs this week (as no doubt you have!) as well as working on a fun commission which i hope to tell you more about soon. Now though, I will leave you with a link to a lovely post that Sarah of A Cat Like Curiosity wrote last Sunday about my blog after reading my last HM post - thank you Sarah! And a link to Handmade Harbour, home of lots of fabulous crafty blogs!

Thank you for visiting x