Newborn Gift Ideas For Boys

I have created some personalised gifts which are just perfect for a new born baby boy. I am not a huge fan of the 'teddy bear' unfortunately, but I do LOVE me a baby bunny!! There is something so sweet about their floppy ears & big feet. I don't create a lot of really newborn baby items so it was such a sweet change to create something so darn cute. I wanted to keep the colours minimal, & as you would be aware my work is normally overloaded with colour, so created these pieces force a little bit of restraint I have to admit.

I am really happy with the result. A birth cushion is a wonderful keepsake. The baby boy print designed, are words from my own heart, & I am positive every mother can relate to them. The pillowcase, is the perfect next step. Hudson was quite young when he moved to a big boys bed, (only 18months), & to be honest I found it really hard to find some individual pillowcases that I could buy with having to buy the whole bed set. 

Each of the items can be found in my shop, & incase you're wondering yes I have a girls version available in the birth cushion, print & pillowcase.

How I put together my product collections - Step 2

In the first step of creating a cohesive collection, I talked about looking for and going wild with finding inspiration. Now that you have you ideas all sorted, laid out on a big inspiration board, it's time to plan the next step.

What is the primary material you work with?

It could be a type of fabric like cotton, leather or felt, or it could be metals, clay, gem stones, taking photographs, or even creating digital products.

It's really important to know every inch and specific detail about the material you use.  The different versions of it, it's composition, and all of the amazing ways it can be used to create your incredible collection. Having a great understanding and a passion for your material will become part of "your story",  and also very prepared when customers ask questions.

In my Tiges and Weince collection, it's primarily all about cotton. But I also use matte card for printing & MDF wood for clocks. I LOVE cotton for it's natural hand feel, it's softness on the skin, it's breathability, it's sturdiness to create decor products from it, it's washability, which is brilliant from a care perspective, and also because it has a low fire danger. This is essential for my brand as my products are predominantly directed towards children's. It also is perfect for printing on, which is vital as my illustration are my entire business.

examples of cottons I use

It is really important that you choose products that you are passionate about, and a base you know you will continue to use as your business grows. It really is lovely if you can be known for the fabrics/materials you use. For example, my customers know I create children's decor & are aware I used 100% cotton. They could become quite confused if they came to my shop for a printed cushions or decor, to find that everything was now being knitted, or I was printing on leather. Consistency is essential.

However sticking with your chosen main materials doesn't mean you can not experiment with anything else, it would be crazy not to! I am also starting to introduce linen into my collection (soon), which is working well as it's another natural fibre.

Having a material that is a dominant factor in your collection is another step closer to it becoming far more cohesive from a visual perspective.

Have you chosen a primary material for your collection? I would love to know what it is :)

Missed the other steps? Find them here.

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New!! Tea Towels

I have just recently added a new product range to my collection, gorgeous linen/cotton printed "tea towels".

It's so lovely having something in my collection that I personally can use for myself. I have had a real urge to start creating products for my home lately. So many of my family & friends say to me flippantly, "geez Ky, when are you going to create things I can use for my house"? As much as I live for, & love creating & illustrating my kids collections, I am needing a change. It feels good, a fresh start, & additional focus without derailing from my main business. A fun way to expand & grow. I really hope you love them also?

Each tea towel is a generous sized measuring 50x70cm & made in a rich linen/cotton blend, & are an off white in colour. They wash beautifully, & prints are bright & vibrant. Perfect gifts also, and I am currently working on my fathers day collection, & of course Christmas!

You can see all designs & read details here in my shop.

A dance bag for Charlotte

Charlotte has become quite fond of her dancing, far more than I could ever imagined. I have been lucky to find her a great dance school & a supportive teaching environment. She has some lovely new friends, & has found some great role models she admires, & tells me all the time she will dance like the big girls one day. So as long as she enjoys it I will do what I have to do to give her the best opportunity. Who knows she may not want to do it anymore in a few years, but I am not holding my breathe.

Every week at dancing her ballet, jazz & tap shoes end up all over the place. Drives me batty, as I can never find one of them. So today I fixed that issue & made a "dance shoe bag" for her. All of them can go in there safe & sound. I based it on the same design as my tooth fairy bags, but it's giant sized!

I based it on the Ballerina print in my shop. On the back I found such a beautiful quote, she won't understand it but I loved it. So tomorrow will be an organised day so when she comes out asking for her next shoes, I will know where they are. A little bit of organisation can make everything so much easier.

Have a lovely weekend.

Pattern Play

There is nothing I love more than playing around with patterns. It's something I absolutely ADORE that I don't do enough of unfortunately. Time stands still when I make these I could go on & on for hours.

I had an hour to play around with today & ended up putting this together.

The plan is that these will be used in the future for something.

How I put together my product collections - Step 1

I have created product lines for many years now, from children's & women's to wear, to my own art and decor line. Creating cohesive collections is a process that's is relatively simple and with some basic outlined steps, it's actually such an achievable process, you can't go wrong.

Following these steps makes it much easier to promote your product via social media, on your blog, and when pitching your products to blogs, magazines, or PR companies. It's even easier for customers shopping if products are grouped together in a category or design story. Keeping it visually simple is the key.

I have been asked how I put my collections together, which first allow me to just say, that my way not be the text book way so to speak. It has worked for me for years now, and I think keeping it fun and simple has helped.

I use 6 steps when building my collections, which I will break up over the next few posts. here is the first, & for me the most fun......ideas!!

#1 Whats your idea?
This is the fun question. Do you have a theme in mind? What are you inspired about? What makes your heart beat? Are you following a trend or will you create your own?
Grab your magazines and start tearing out all the images that are making your mind go crazy with ideas. Start surfing the net and check out to see what all of your favourites brands are doing, and that includes your competitors. Make sure to see whats on sale also, as that will be a good indicator of whats not working. After a few hours of losing time web surfing, you should start to see some trends emerging.
Another good idea is to hit the streets and see whats happening on the retail floor in your main shopping district, and high end boutiques. Not only does it get you away from the computer, and walking, it's brilliant for seeing products first hand and having the whole sensory experience of see, feel, hear and smell. So much better than a computer screen

It's important to take into consideration are you working a season ahead or further? I try to work 6 months ahead. I say try. The fact I manufacture my products locally (in Australia), I can have a faster turn around, so sometimes I will work a little closer, it depends on my current workload. But I do try to aim to work much further ahead, especially for celebration times like Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day.

Here are a couple of mood boards examples I found online to show some different options.

fashion inspiration - image source

food inspiration - source

This was my ballet inspiration board from a while ago.

Colour inspiration - source

Once you have collected all of your images that are inspiring the pants off you, it's time to get them all on to a mood board. I personally like to print things out and pin them on a cork board, I believe this is the best way to get your ideas out. From images, sketches, yarn colours, fabric and paint swatches, words, photographs, literally anything that makes your heart sing. Or create them digitally on a computer, or via pinterest, it doesn't matter as long as you can see them all the time and you don't lose track of your vision.

The next step I use is sketching which I will discuss next time.

I hope that's has helped? Enjoy finding amazing images for inspiration.

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NEW - Little Indian bedroom decor to love

With the inspiration created from Monday's post I am really happy to finally show all of my products I have created around this one theme.

Little Indian personalised cushion.

Teepee Doorstop

Mummy's Little Indian tee - available in 4 colours

Dreamcatcher Personalised Pillowcase

All of the items are now available in my online store.

Some new tooth fairy bags

Last week I created some brand new tooth fairy bags, & had a couple more designs on the go to share as well. Over the weekend I managed to get 2 new designs created & samples made. I am loving making these, they are so cute & fun to create. As I said in my last post I forgot what an exciting event it is to lose a tooth.

So here are 2 newbies to be released.

Superhero Tooth Fairy Bag

Pretty Tooth Fairy

Just a reminder that each tooth fairy bags comes with it's very own official certificate. You can now also buy additional certificates if you feel you need to with each tooth lots for only an extra $1. There are 3 to a page, so you can reprint until each tooth has gone.

Little Indian Inspiration

I have fallen head over heels with all things that remind me of American Indians. It's such a cool theme. I have to firstly admit it's all a visual love, & that I have no knowledge of American Indian history.

I love the idea of living in a teepee, although it probably wasn't very luxurious at all. Mmmmm dirt ground, no thanks! But how cool are they as an inside tent, it really make the regular concept of cubby house really boring.
The super large feathers on the headdress are absolutely breath taking. The colours on the tips, the workmanship, the tribal symbols are just amazing & inspiring.
Now bows an arrows I am not a huge fan for the obvious reason, but they are divine. So earthy, natural, & fierce, I love the made by hand quality in every piece.
The dream catcher I found here isn't very traditional, but thats OK, it is however absolutely stunning. Such an ancient & traditional tool created into a beautifully crafted piece with a vintage feel.

Image Sources  - 1  2  3  4  5  6

With the above inspiration I have created my own "Little Indian" pieces, which are in my own bold style, bright & will be perfect for boys bedrooms. I opted against a natural colour palette & used what feels safe & bright for me. I would almost consider them muted brights. I love turquoise & grey together with he pops of re & olive, ideal for a little indians bedroom.

Above is the hero piece which has been created into several other bedroom decor pieces which I look forward to sharing soon.

New Tooth Fairy Bags

I have finally finished creating my tooth fairy bags. With my son having lost 2 teeth this year, the occasion is such a HUGE milestone, I had absolutely no idea. It's quite a build up with it wobbling, & then there is the anxious wait of it coming out. Hudson is not one to consider inflicting any pain, or creating risk which would cause pain or blood. He waited patiently for it too fall out, until it got to the point where it was just hanging there. So I tugged it in the end & out it came. I was terrified he'd lose it at school or swallow it.

With such a big event brought me to understanding the need for a tooth fairy bag. I created a sweet little bag to pop your tooth inside, & it also comes with a certificate so you can document the date & when each tooth comes out.  On the certificate is a sweet verse I created talking about how teeth are created into a magical glittery dust.

Each tooth fairy bag can be personalised with your child's name.
Is made of 100% cotton & approximately 17.5cm x 13.5cm.

At the moment I have only finished these 2 designs, but have more to come which are being created into samples as I type. I look forward to sharing them.