wishes

Farewell 2010 - it was wonderful!

-:+ Best wishes for a wonderfully creative 2011 +:-

an inspiring gift

A beautiful notebook cover made for me by my friend Pam using some of my own fabric...

The perfect gift to inspire some dreaming, doodling and designing. Thanks Pam - I love it!

Hope you're enjoying the festive break ...

merry christmas & thankyou

It's Christmas Eve ... wishing all of you who read this little blog a very merry, safe, creative and relaxing festive season.

Thankyou for reading, commenting and supporting Yardage Design over the last year - it has been a wonderful time in blogland. I especially want to thank Kirsty from Kootoyoo - you do so much for makers trying to make it all over the world. You are a gem - thankyou.

Yardage Design is taking a break over the Christmas and New Year period. The shop will remain open and operate as per usual, but there will be no special orders or custom printing until February.

I'll probably still blog here and there and post on facebook occasionally just for fun - I have grand plans of starting and finishing some creative projects over the holidays!

Have a cracker christmas!

on the door

The fabric rag wreath I made over the weekend is on the front door, and can be seen properly now that there is a bit of sunlight! (it looked almost black in the last photo's)

Hope you're enjoying this festive week!

completed :: a rag wreath

A very satisfying project completed last night and shown here on a hat hook as it was the lightest place in the house this morning (very dark and gloomy in Melbourne today) ...

Made using some fabric I originally bought earlier in the year for something else, but turned out to be perfectly suited to this application - two colours of taffeta and some sheer red. It was just a matter of poking small squares of fabric into the foam wreath with a screwdriver. The idea orginally came from here (via Google), where there is a tutorial if you want to have a go at it too.

I really love the texture of the fabric done this way, and the deep red and turquoise work well I think. I used about one metre of fabric all up for this project, although the back of the wreath is not covered so it would sit flat against the wall/door or where-ever in the house it ends up! This project is absolutely perfect for using up scraps and offcuts of fabric - hence the name - rag wreath!

Have a wonderful Monday!

progress

The "possibilities" project is progressing with the help of some fabric from the stash and a screwdriver.

It's nice to just create, isn't it?

possibilities

Is it a therapeutic device, a small space ship, a belated ode to Oprah or the start of a craft project? ... you be the judge ...

Back later!

agapanthus

"Agapanthus" (white on natural linen) is now back in stock after selling out. This is the third bolt of this design I've had printed - it is one of my most popular designs, and it's been lovely seeing what people have made with it - take a squizz here if you're interested. I'm not sure why it's so popular - I love white on natural linen in almost any design, but I know lots of people who don't. Is it the flower itself or the simplicity of the hand drawing? I'd be interested in what you think.

I have just reorganised my fabric - I'm now storing it standing up rather than lying down - to save space, mainly, but also so that I can see it and enjoy it more. However, as the rolls are rolled print side inwards, it's not as pretty as I would like! Still, it's very satisfying to see a whole bunch of bolts of my very own fabric - having a reflective moment here ...

That's probably enough fabric rambling for today! Don't forget to take advantage of free postage for all Australian orders until Monday. Have a lovely Wednesday!

elephants + coffee

A few months ago I did a custom print job for the lovely Jen from Red Parka Designs. I met Jen at the Stitches & Craft Show in May. She needed some tea towels to go with her new coffee business - how exciting! Jen is a big fan of red too, so it was a pleasure to print these very cute elephants that Jen drew by hand ...

Pop over to the Loud Coffee website to find out the relationship between coffee and elephants. Have a lovely, sunny Tuesday!

'tis the season to give lollies (and do some more block printing) ...!

I finally got around to block printing some more twill tape - just in time to wrap around a jar of lollies for the guys who do all of my heat setting ...

I really enjoy block printing - it's really tactile and instantly tangible. I hope to get time this week to do some more!

Have a wonderful Monday!

kitchen art

Something a bit different ... small canvases (15cm x 30cm) covered with fabric hand-printed in tram roll menus. Nice for that little space on the wall in the kitchen.

A small number of these canvases are now available at Little Shop of Handmade in Carnegie (Melbourne) and Shop Handmade in Canberra, so you'll have to be quick if you'd like one!

Enjoy the weekend (hard to believe it's just two weeks until Christmas!) ...

a gift around a gift

Those of you who get my online newsletter would have seen this, but I thought I'd share how most of my gifts will be wrapped this year ... with a few tea towels and some pretty ribbon - kind of like a gift around a gift, which is nice I think?

Tea towels in the shop with free postage until the 20th December. Hope your silly season is in full swing, but in the right kinds of ways!

cushion making

By me ... custom ARTichoke print in white on natural ...

By Jane ... Agapanthus white on natural ... thanks Jane! I love to see what people make with my fabric - some other people have made lovely things here.

More cushions for your place here!

a VERY good weekend!

To round out a lovely day, my Back Vintage Tram Roll Menu Tea Towel was featured in the Good Weekend gift guide today thanks to one of my lovely stockists, State of Green. How cool!

Almost exactly a year ago I made my first ever sale on Etsy. I never would have dreamed to be in such esteemed company just a year on. Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement.






P.S. Handmade Living has just flown out of the virtual door of the shop today - just a couple left!

I'm in a book!

It seems like such a long time ago that I put together a feature for the Handmade Living: a Designer Collective book. The book is released today, so I can finally show you my page ... it's all about bunting. Three different ways to create an everlasting decoration for your home - with linen, felt and canvas ...

It was such a thrill to see how beautifully Tania and the team put my page together. The photography throughout the book is beautiful, as are the projects. You can now buy your very own copy of the book in my shop - free limited edition bunting panel and free shipping. Enjoy!

handmade living {the book} in my shop tomorrow + some freebies

At last, the Handmade Living: A Designer Collective book will be released tomorrow, which means I'll be able to show you my very own page in it! With more than 70 unique projects from Australian designers, the book is just beautiful. A small number of books will be available from my online shop from tomorrow. Each book that you buy from me comes with a limited edition make your own bunting panel in cornflower blue, along with free postage. As they say ... just in time for Christmas!

Have a lovely Friday night!

my creative space ... away

Yesterday, we got back from five days at the beach ...

Walking on the beach at sunset ...

Gaol remains ...

100 year old prisoner hand stencil (early interior design)

Interesting wire work installation

It was a welcome break, mid-silly season! Warm weather, warm water and sunshine for all but the last day. There was time to photograph, play, explore, read and eat. It was bliss, and just what was needed to ignite some creativity. I started a new sketchbook and have some ideas for next year that I can start work on.

For more creativity around the globe, visit Kootoyoo!

P.S. Free postage for all Australian orders from my shop until 20th December.

an early christmas pressie ...

The Yardage Design online shop is offering free postage for all Australian orders between now and 20 December 2010. Enjoy!

ARTichoke Tea Towel used as wrapping paper

Have a great weekend!

a lovely evening @ maker handmade

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Maker Handmade grand opening/christmas shopping night in South Melbourne. It was such a lovely evening perusing the treasure trove of lovely things that owner Rachael has stocked her store with. Combined with a glass of bubbles and the knowledge that 10% of all sales would go to the Ardoch Youth Foundation to help disadvantaged kids, it was always going to be a great night! Thanks to Rachael and the team at Maker Handamde for such a lovely evening. There wasn't much time for photo taking, but I did manage a couple ...

Rachael (Maker Handmade) & Nic (Yardage Design)

You can find a large selection of Yardage Design handprinted homewares at Maker Handmade, including cushions. You can keep up to date with what's happening at Maker Handmade by reading Rachael's lovely blog! Have a lovely Friday!