'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

Linen Advent Calendar And Supporting Independent British Designer Makers For Handmade Monday

News flash! The Free Spirit Designs countdown to Christmas has officially started!

I have just listed this advent calendar in my website and Etsy shop :) Its the first of my Christmassy makes to be available to buy so i felt like marking the occasion..

woo hoo! :)

Re-Useable Linen Advent Calendar

I love the idea of having an advent calendar that you can re-use each year. Its always the first 'bit of Christmas' to appear and i like the idea of greeting it like an old friend in the same way that Christmas decorations are welcomed back into the heart of the home after their long absence.

I also like the idea of not wasting all that packaging every year, although i do think chocolate should be involved - as a child i always remember those little treats being a wonderfully tantalising reminder of the feasting to come.. proper 'grown up' calendars without chocolates are always a bit of a disappointment for me, despite the pretty pictures!

The calendar is not too large at 44.5 x 28.5cms and i've used a double layer of linen so it is a pleasing hanging weight.

The handle and trimming for the edges and the top of the pockets is a pretty Christmassy cotton with red, pink and green highlights. The corner protectors as well as the numbers (which i cut out by hand) are bright pink eco-friendly bamboo felt.

The pockets are 4x4.5cms and there is just room for a little chocolate in each one (the '25' pocket is 5x5cms leaving room for a slightly larger treat on the morning of the big day! :))

I used yummy 'Divine' organic chocolate hearts for the pictures - i have put them away out of site now though incase the new owner of my lovely calendar would like them as they do fit perfectly. If they are left in my field of vision they are bound to get eaten up at a weak moment! :).

I'm pretty pleased with how my calendar turned out so i hope you like it too. It is priced at £30 and is available from my website and Etsy shop.

Supporting Independent British Designer Makers

Like many crafters, although i sell from large online handmade market places like Etsy, Folksy and WTY i also have my own website. One of the tricky aspects of making the most of this selling point is getting people to find it! I am by no means an expert in SEO (search engine optimisation for the uninitiated) but i do know that when people follow external links to your site then it improves its rankings with google and other search engines (thereby increasing the chances of more visitors finding you little corner of cyberspace).

I've been thinking for a little while now that i would like to have a place on my website to put links to sites of other independent British artisans. Supporting the British Handmade industry is something i care a lot about and this seems like a nice way to do it. Also, perhaps some people will feel like popping a link to my website on their own links page, so everyone is a winner!

The thing with the big market places like Etsy is that by there very nature all individual shops are also connected to the greater network. When it comes to independent websites it easy to feel a bit out on a limb, so i like the idea of a bit more connectivity between us 'go it aloners'!

If you like this idea too and you are a British designer/maker with your own website then all you have to do is email me with a square image that represents your site and a link (free.spiritdesigns@rocketmail.com) and i will add you to my links page (there are no links yet but all that is soon to change!)

If you're not British or you don't have your own website don't worry, i would like to support you too! I am working on an idea to create a more comprehensive links list, possibly here on my blog... i will keep you updated!

Other News And Handmade Monday

Thank you everyone who left kind and generous comments about my red yarn wrapped vases and also my completed tomato soup mug in last week's HM post, your support, as always, is very much appreciated!

I have lots of ideas for other makes related to these but they will have to go on the back burner for a little while as i'm super busy coming up with some more Christmassy designs! I also have lots to do in the online world too.. i received the fantastic 'Beautiful Blogger' award from Claire of Lottie Of London (thank you Claire!) so i will be publishing my post about that soon and i've been asked by the lovely Sarah of A Cat Like Curiosity to complete an interview for a new series she is planning for her blog - all good fun!

Now though, i'm off to read about what all the other Handmade Monday bloggers have been up to over at Handmade Harbour... care to join me?!

Have a great week! x