Sailing Boat Bunting

Hi all, i hope you've been enjoying some Autumnal sunshine this week?! We've had some lovely days here which has meant some precious opportunities to get some product photography done, as well as some beautiful country walks and blackberry picking, yum! :)

Sailing Boat Bunting

New in my shop this week is this sailing boat bunting, perfect for a coastal themed decor scheme or little boy's bedroom and available now from my Etsy shop, priced £9.00 for a six flag length.

The design features fabrics from my On The Open Ocean collection,

and matches with the sailing boat doorstop also available from my Etsy shop.

A slightly unseasonal offering this week but hopefully one my fellow seaside fans will enjoy :) I'm trying to hold off from showering you with festive delights too early... but that time is fast approaching!

See you over at Handmade Monday :) x 

Sailing Craft Papers And Easter Gifts For Handmade Monday

I've made some progress on a few ongoing project this week. I've been having fun with some of my 'Spring Fresh Collection' fabric samples (pics coming up) and i've also developed my 'On The Open Ocean' designs too... more on that in a minute!

Mini Easter Chick Egg Baskets

I decided in the end to make some mini Easter egg baskets with the sample swatches of my Easter chick fabrics.

They are fully lined and have pretty ribbon handles, secured with buttons. They are 6.5cms in height and 6.5cms across - as you can see this is ample room for a fair quantity of mini eggs! (is it bad that i ate a few during the photo shoot? :)) Larger ones like creme eggs would fit too.

I'm selling them as a set of three, available now from my Etsy shop priced £9.00. These are a one off for this year so its first come first served!

Spring Bunnies Lavender Pillows

I used the spring bunny and spring flower swatches to make some little lavender pillow sets.

As with all my lavender pillows they are stuffed with a combination of pure sheep's wool and top quality cotswold lavender. The fabric is a linen/cotton blend which has a lovely texture and feeling of quality.

A set of two of these cute bunny pillows would make a lovely 'non-chocolate' Easter gift i think... they are available now from my Etsy shop priced £9.

I had hoped to get a few more things made up this week but other demands on my time got in the way... i've a few more ideas up my sleeve though, hopefully i'll get the chance to turn them into reality soon!

'On The Open Ocean' Craft Papers and Fabric

Thank you to everyone who left lovely comments about my 'On The Open Ocean' fabric collection last week, i'm really happy that you liked the designs :) This week i've created a coordinating set of printable craft papers.

They are priced £2.50 and available now for instant download in A4 size from my Etsy shop.

I have also added a couple more designs to the fabric collection... one with larger sailing boats,

and a couple more nautical stripe designs to bring the collection together.

And that's it from me for another week! I look forward to finding out what you've all been up to on a pleasant spring evening stroll around Handmade Harbour :)

Thanks for visiting! x

Sailing Fabrics For Handmade Monday

A big thank you to everyone who left kind comments about my Spring Fresh and Garden Room fabrics last week... i've started work on making some bits and bobs from the sample swatches and your suggestions came in very useful :)  Hopefully i'll have some pics to show you next time!

This week though i'd like to show you a new collection i've been working on... as always i look forward to hearing your thoughts!

'Alone With The Ocean' Sailing Fabrics

This collection is inspired by the peace of being on open water. I started off by drawing the image of the sailing boat and its reflection at the top of this post and i used it to create this fabric...

... this is the equivalent to an 18x21 inch piece - i wanted to have quite a lot of blue in between the boats to create that feeling of sailing alone on still water.

I'm a little bit fascinated by ships in bottles so i knew i wanted to include them in this collection. To give you a better idea of how i go about creating a new design, i first set about drawing and colour editing a simple outline...

... then i filled in some details and colours...

... before drawing a 'swirly waves' background to complete the design.

As with the previous design, this image represents an 18x21 piece of fabric. I hope the 'Free Spirit Designs' watermark isn't too distracting! Once i have sample swatches printed i will be able to take photos that give you a clearer ideas of how these designs look in real life.

Okay, who would like to take some time out on their very own tropical island...? Well here it is! In fabric form anyway... ;)  I have to say just drawing this image made me feel a little bit more peaceful...

... and i'm really pleased with how the finished fabric turned out...

I could see this coming in useful for holiday related projects like beach bags or sunglasses cases, i hope you like it too!

I then adapted the bottle image to create a fun 'message in a bottle' design...

... the colour palette matches well with the tropical island design so they could easily be used together in the same project.

I've also created a couple of simple nautical stripe patterns in colours that coordinate well with the other designs... one in a mid blue...

... and the other in a paler tropical blue.

And that's it from me for today! If you'd like a closer look at any of these designs you will find my complete 'Alone With The Ocean' collection in my Spoonflower Shop. They're not available for sale yet but they will be soon!

I hope you have had a chance to soak up some some lovely spring sunshine this week... As i write this i'm about to spend a happy hour or two making the most of today's glorious weather with a spot of gardening and a lovely log dog walk... i look forward to hearing what you've been doing on the crafting front over at Handmade Harbour when i get back! x