Buying some new screens recently, inspired me to do some hand cut stencils again. I used to do a lot of placement printing when I was uni and really loved the creative process of building up layers of pattern.
Today I remembered how much fun this was and have decided to incorporate this into my Jersey Scarf range. I particularly love the idea of selling patterns that are  unique, in that each scarf is completely one-off and never exactly the same to another. Isn't that the beauty of not purchasing mass produced products?

sweet little chairs

I have always loved the look of these chairs, however have never really been a huge fan of the bright, fluffy fabric that usually adorns them. Lucky for me I have a talented partner who is an upholsterer!
Yesterday he revamped these little treasures using a sample run of my new pattern. I was really pleased with how they turned out and am inspired to print more!

colour and pattern love

One of the bonuses of living in a small country town is they are a mecca for op-shop and garage sale bargains. We have recently tapped into the online swap buy and sell in our little town and came across this gorgeous dining setting. It is in immaculate condition and I just LOVE the pattern and colour. And when I say bargain, I mean BARGAIN. I would hate to think what price tag this would have had on it in one of the funky little retro shops in my old inner-city hood. One chair would have cost more than what we paid for the whole set.
Excuse me while we go and christen it with the bottle of wine!

something old, something new

Today I took an old design I drew about 5 years ago and repeated it into something new.
Recently when I re-ordered decals for my ceramics, I arranged my patterns into neat rows to save time in cutting out the shapes. I was really drawn to the new patterns that these neat little rows created. Today I put the "lumpy" shape row into Illustrator and created a repeat pattern. I really loved the pos/neg shapes that this created. All of a sudden there were pebble shapes (which I LOVE) and diamond shapes. What I really love the most is that I have a new pattern to complement my ceramic range without having to order a whole new batch of decals!

Here is a snippet of today's creative process:

1. The decals and their pretty little rows

2. Digital design

3. Printed designs

4. Cutting stencils

 5. Test printing

6. Repeat pattern

7. Tea towel.

 8. Matching ceramics!

yep, i'm liking it indeed

A little mock up of my new print on a product. I am liking it a lot!!

happy accident

I just love a happy accident. Re-colouring one of my signature designs today, I was hurrying and accidentally filled the area of pattern, rather than the stroke. This is all good of course when you can simply press undo, however I was really excited by the simple, bold shapes that appeared. In fact. I can picture this becoming part of my range. Accidental WIN!

around the studio

 

Blue scrap metal yard bargain and words to live by.

 

 

 Ponies, Owls, pretty chairs and succulents. A window display in progress.

 

 Studio Xena enjoying the sun :)

 

Pretty colours

 

The studio decorating is a work in progress. Building the table and getting busy was the first priority, however, being a creature of my surroundings, it is important for me to have an organised space and be surrounded by things that inspire me for the designing process.

 

We have been colecting bits and pieces over the past three months from garage sales and the space is becoming to feel more and more alive and creative. Am really looking forward to spending time over the holidays with a paint can and putting in a feature wall and arranging more pretty things.

 

 

the table that eddy built

 

 First pieces put together in place. I really love how perfectly the dimesions of the table fit into this space. It was as if it was meant to be there.

 

Base complete!

 

 Bench top and stotrage complete!

 

 

 The exciting part. Once we put the felt down, we unrolled the canvas. This is when it really began to feel real. Eddy got to put his upholstery skills to use and staple the canvas down.

 

 

 I must have been way to excited to photograph the table complete with backing cloth but this was pretty close!
 

 

First repeat print sample to test the registration bar. Win!

 

 

Covered in freshly printed tea towels. 



suitcase rummage

 

Yesterday we set off to enjoy the sunshine at the Suitcase Rummage Market in Canberra. Not only was the weather perfect, the atmosphere was really relaxed and friendly. We met loads of lovely people, especialy our friendly stall neighbour Marie - Nicole whose company made our day extra special.