Halloween Decor For Handmade Monday

Hi all. Halloween is the theme for this week's makes. A little early i know, but that's a crafter's life for you! As always, i look forward to hearing your thoughts :)

Halloween Bunting

I have to say, i'm really pleased with how this bunting turned out, i wouldn't mind a set of my own if i find the time! I especially like the bats as they are one of my favourite animals :)

The applique figures have all been carefully stitched to the flags and the ghosts have 'Boo' hand embroidered alongside them. I used the warm tone polka dot fabric from my Autumn Naturally range for the pumpkins which ties the bunting in nicely with some of my other autumnal makes.

All the flags are stitched around the edge to prevent excess fraying and should last for many Halloweens to come.

This set is available now from my website and Etsy shop priced £10.99.

Trick Or Treat Sign

My second make is a 'trick or treat' sign, perfect for decorating your porch ready for spooky visitors!

The applique figures and lettering have been carefully stitched to the central hessian panel, with the hanging twine secured behind the hat and pumpkin.

The main body is the warm tone polka dot from my Autumn Naturally collection, the reverse side of the sign is un-dyed organic cotton and there is an internal layer of interfacing to make sure it hangs flat.

This sign is also now available from my website and Etsy shop priced £13.99.

In other Halloween related news, we have been harvesting pumpkins from our allotment this week, 11 in all. The time for decorating them always arrives when i'm in the thick of Christmas makes but i'm determined to put aside some time to carve at least a couple this year... anyone else growing pumpkins or planning to decorate them?

Don't forget to pop over to Handmade Harbour to find out what crafty lovelies everyone else has been working on! x

Autumn Bunting And Thanksgiving Sign For Handmade Monday

Hi all :) Its been another week of Autumn themed makes for me, part of me feels like i should be getting a head start on Christmassy things but i love Autumn too much to give it up just yet!

This week's offerings are some seasonal bunting and a little something for Thanksgiving, as always i look forward to your comments :)

Autumn Bunting

I used some of the fabrics from my Autumn Naturally collection (available to buy from Spoonflower) to create a couple of sets of Autumnal bunting.

The first features falling leaves and polka-dots in lovely warm colours.

The second set features my squirrels, and hazelnuts designs as well as a nutty coloured polka-dot.

I decided to make the flags single sided, they just have enough of a fold over at the back to accommodate the rustic twine hanging string and have a line of stitching around the edges to prevent excess fraying.

They are the perfect length for decorating something like a mantlepiece, bookcase or dresser where the reverse side will never be on show and using less fabric means i can sell them at a more affordable price - they are £9 each and available now from my website and Etsy shop.

Give Thanks Sign

Thanksgiving is a big deal over in the USA and Canada but i think that the sentiment of harvest celebration is far more widespread, certainly among countryside communities, so i'm hoping this 'Give Thanks' sign will have universal appeal.

Do you celebrate harvest time in your house/school/church?

I've stitched the applique letters on to a central rustic panel. The reverse side of the sign is organic cotton and the edges are neatly finished with top stitching.

It hangs from a bamboo stick with rustic twine and is available now from my website and Etsy shop priced £13.99.

That's all from me for another week!

In wine making news, we have now finished the strawberry... I did manage to get a pic before it all disappeared though!

Thinking of getting some blackberry on the go this week :)

And now i'm off to Handmade Harbour to find out what crafty lovelies you've been working on! x

Mushroom Cards And Giant Paperclip Bookmarks For Handmade Monday

Its been a wonderful Autumn so far in these parts... lots of beautiful colours appearing in nature and some lovely sunshine to appreciate them in too. I've found it very inspiring and have more ideas for autumnal creations than i have time to make!

This week i have some new mushroom greetings cards to show you and also some super cute bookmarks - as always i look forward to reading your comments :)

Mushroom/Toadstool Greetings Cards

I took the photos for these three cards last Autumn and i've been looking forward to getting them printed up and into the shops as i really love the images - there is something so characterful about mushrooms and toadstools i think, i can quite understand how they have got a reputation for being magical fairy dwellings! Here are some pics...

Mushroom Card No 1

Mushroom Card No 2

Mushroom Card No 3

Ad with all my cards they are available from my website and my Print and Paper shop on Etsy priced £1.99 if bought alone, or £1.75 if you buy more than one card.

Another bit of card related news is that i have had some success selling my cards in a local shop - yay! :) I'm thinking of approaching some more shops now, i'll let you know how i get on!

Giant Paperclip Bookmarks

I've noticed a few crafters selling 'giant' paperclip bookmarks recently and i thought it would be a fun thing to have a go at myself. I created a few designs and got them printed onto fabric, then made up the flat backed buttons to attach to the wire frame of the paperclips.

I'm really pleased with how they've turned out so i will definitely be making more! I'm selling them in sets of three - here's a selection of the ones i've made so far.

Black Cat Giant Paperclips

Mini Mushroom Giant Paperclips

Autumn Leaf Giant Paperclips

They are useful little things that as well as working as bookmarks could be used for organising papers in lots of fun ways and even for embellishing gifts. I'm packaging them in sealed cellophane bags so they would also make lovely little gifts or party favours in their own right too.

These three sets are available now from my Etsy shop priced £5.99 each. I hope you like them as much as i do!

That's all from me for another week, time for a glass of strawberry wine i think (my first go at home brewing is a hit! :)) and a wander around the other crafty blogs over at Handmade Harbour. Thanks for stopping by! x

Autumn Newsletter And New Notecards For Handmade Monday

Its been a busy couple of weeks in my household with family from far and wide coming to stay. It was so lovely to catch up and i had fun getting creative in the kitchen too... anyone else have a go at ciabatta after last week's Great British Bake Off? Mine ended up being a funny shape but its tasted delicious :) Sorry no pics were taken!

I haven't got much crafting done but i did manage to get some new cards listed for sale - they're coming up in a moment but first i wanted to let you know about the latest Free Spirit Designs newsletter...

Autumn Newsletter

As regular readers may already be aware, Free Spirit Designs has a quarterly newsletter. The autumn edition is just out and as well as featuring seasonal products it contains an exclusive discount code enabling you to get 10% off throughout September!

If you would like to receive future editions straight to your email inbox, just click on the 'subscribe' button in the top left hand corner.

What do you think about newsletters...? Do you read many?

New Notecards

Now as promised, here's a peak at some of the newest Free Spirit Designs notecards. As always, they are priced £1.99 if bought individually or £1.75 if you buy two or more and are available from my website and Print and Paper shop on Etsy.

Sailing Boat Card

Squirrels And Hazelnuts, Set Of Two Cards

'Small Tortoiseshell' Butterfly Card

'Love In A Mist' Floral Notecard

I'd love to know which you like best!

After missing last week's Handmade Monday i'm really looking forward to catching up with everyone's crafty projects over at Handmade Harbour this week - see you there! x

Autumn Aprons For Handmade Monday

Has anyone else noticed an Autumnal feel in the air this week? I know some of you will be trying to block it out :) I love this this of year though and am quite excited to see the berries ripening in the hedgerows and the fields speckled with harvested straw bales, it feels like a time of plenty.

On the home front we're reaping quite a harvest of our own - squashes, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic and more, all making their way in from the allotment and sitting in cheery looking piles around the kitchen waiting to be turned into tasty meals. No surprise then that i've been inspired to make some aprons this week!

Red Apples Apron

The fabric i've used for this apron is a linen/cotton blend featuring the Red Apples design from my Autumn Naturally collection (available to buy for your own makes from my Spoonflower Shop).

 Its a classic apron shape, with a useful pocket on the front,

and cotton webbing neck loop and ties.

I've made the ties long enough to tie at the back, but not so long you can bring then around to tie at the front as you can with some aprons as i always find the extra length annoying. What do you think? Are you a front tier or a back tier when it comes to aprons?!

Gardener's Apron

For the second apron i've used my Garden Tools design (also available from Spoonflower). I had in mind that it would work as a kitchen apron but also for light gardening tasks too such as harvesting veg.

The design and size is the same as the red apple one (the body measures 77cms from top to bottom).

I had a go at modelling them to give an idea of how they look on :)

Both aprons are available now from my website and Etsy shop priced £23 each. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on them in the comments!

As always, i'm also looking forward to my weekly nose around Handmade Harbour... See you over there :) x

More Pumpkin Pincushions And New Notecards For Handmade Monday

I've had a busy week fulfilling customer orders (isn't it funny how they all come at once!). I do have a few new makes to share with you today though and i'm continuing the autumnal them of last week's post...

Pumpkin Pincushions

Thank you for all the lovely comments about my pumpkin pincushion last week, i rather liked it too so i've used some more fabric swatches from my Autumn Naturally collection to make a couple more.

One features my squirrel and hazelnut fabrics...

...and the other features my autumn leaves fabrics in two different colourways.

As before i had fun photographing them with some real life squashes too :)

The one i showed you last week with the spotty fabrics is now available to buy from my website, Etsy shop and other outlets priced £4.50. The others will be joining it soon!

New Notecards

I have also listed three new notecards in my shops this week, i look forward to hearing your thoughts on them :)

First is this one featuring my garden tools design (also available to buy printed on fabric from my Spoonflower shop). I'm really pleased with how it looks, as always the print quality from Moo is superb.

Next is the latest of my nature art cards. As soon as i saw this leaf, i knew i had to try and capture its beauty in a photograph. I'm really happy that all the detail comes across in the image and also the amazing bronze colour.

Last but not least is this card featuring a cotswold stone bridge with a sparkling river running beneath. Its in the most beautiful spot, i hope the magic comes across in the photograph.

As with all my cards, these are available from my website and Etsy shop priced £1.99 (or £1.75 if you buy more than one).

And that's it from me for this week! What have you been up to? I'm off over to Handmade Harbour now to find out :)