I finally bought a direct to garment printer

I have been waiting to release this news for what feels like weeks, which really only been a few days. I feel like I have been a kettle ready to let out steam.

For the last 12 months I have been wanting to buy direct to garment printer so much, but needed to grow my business I felt a little more. I also had doubt & worry about the money side of it as I would have to finance it which is a massive step for me. I stress a lot about having a lack of money, it's just one of those worries for me. The last 12 months I have literally work my batooty of in order to grab this dream. I did it!! 

Early this year I contacted a supplier & went down to his show room to check it all out. I had been researching & reading reviews about it as much as I could alone before I decided to enquire. I also had to make sure it printed all of my current products, because if it didn't do that, well whats the point? I had a page of notes & questions to ask, a bag full of products I currently make, as well as the future cotton I wanted to printed on. My dad came with me to have a sticky nose he says, but I think he wanted to make sure I was not going to be influence into anything I didn't want. Being protective never ends. But once he saw my bags of products & goodies & page of notes I think he felt at ease.

The man who sold me the machine was wonderful. He showed me how it worked from inside to out. What it couldn't do & what it was capable. Here it is.

direct to garment printer

He printed a sample of my work on to a t-shirt for me, I was very impressed. Please note it was a daggy white large adult tee so looks a bit odd. But it was all about quality & hand feel.

My monster mash personalised cushion design on tee

I found myself at one stage day dreaming a bit, as he was telling me about it as my mind was literally racing. The ideas & so much inspiration was churning around inside, I have to admit I felt a little nauseous. I snapped out of it though & asked him to repeat himself hehe!

My excitement s a bit out of control at the moment. I have so many thoughts & opportunities to finally create new products I have always wanted. As my current products are really purely decorative, it is brilliant beyond belief that everything now will be completely machine washable. I am also wanting to tap into many DIY areas & projects. Being able to sell my panels for kits will be a great idea for those who sew well. Last but not least, I am seriously think of some clothing being added to my Tiges and Weince brand.

I am not sure exactly when I get the machine I am assuming later next week & then I will need some training. So I am assuming the first week of Feb I will be able to get some photos of how it looks & so forth & share them. Oh do you think I need to name this machine LOL? Any suggestions?

I'm excited!

My DIY Loves

Did you know that I can be a bit of a DIY wanna be?

I look at these amazingly talented women who can repurpose something old & make it unbelievably functional & incredibly beautiful. the main reason I do not do a lot of it myself is I lack time, & I don't consider myself a real crafter. Lately though I have been feeling brave & have decided to start getting involved & do it. I have jars, containers, paper & a tonne of other things I have kept for so many, "I'll decorate or remodel that purposes"moments, it's time to make it happen. I need to stop looking & wondering...JUST DO IT. The weather is getting better with spring in the air, so inspiration is striking.

I found this superb idea....Holder for charging phones, made from a lotion bottle....& I am going to give this one a go. Like most households my husband & I have mobile phones & charges, & they loose cords drive me nuts. I can't stand all of the messiness everywhere.

Just take a look at this, in't it fantastic? 

You can find the direct source right here for a full description of details & how to's.

I hope to have this created really soon to share. My biggest challenge at the moment is finding the bottle required to make it. 

Lets see how it all works out. Stay tuned for some crafting goodness.

Finally finishing one of those 'pending' DIY jobs.

Do you have an every growing ist of DIY projects? I do, you can see them here.
I had such a simple itty bitty task I have been been meaning to complete for ages. So simple, I am talking a 10 minute job. I still don't know how sometimes I just cant find 10 minutes.

Anyway I have an ugly whiteboard in my kitchen. It's soul purpose are for notes & items I know I will be needing at the supermarket. If I dont write them down, I forget them.

I own a small collection of washi tapes & have been wanting to use this lovely turquoise ditzy floral on it. It was the simplest task ever, literally sticking the tape over the wooden perimeter.

Have a lovely Sunday.

DIY Project - Revamping old cork boards to hang kids artwork

I am not a huge DIYer, I am a total fan, I am an absolute wanna be DIYer & have a long list of tasks I eventually would like to have a go at. I popped some time aside last weekend to have a go at something I have been wanting to do for a long time. I have had some large cork boards and thought they would be great to use to hand the kids artwork. Having a 4yr old and 2yr old you can imagine a fair bit of artwork comes through this house.

This is what I completed (above), & below is my step my step (below), on how I got there. Be warned, this is basic stuff for the professional DIYer, but for me an accomplishment that I actual started & completed something.

Step 1 - My cork boards, 2 of them which will be one for each of the kids.

Step 2 - I covered the board with some junk mail to protect the cork from the paint. Mind you, I should have used masking tape, but didn't have any, so improvisation was a necessity. 

Step 3 - Colour selections of red & green. A lot of basic bold primary colours are used in the kids playroom, catering for both boys & girls tastes.

Step 4 - I painted a coat of white paint first to make sure the colours looked bright & bold. This was just in case the colour of the wood altered the colours of the final result. Oh I am also using Hudson's Spider Man gumboots as paperweights!!

Step 5 - Paint on the colour. I did one nice thick layer of each colour as it was a warm day & new it would only take a couple of hours to dry completely.

Step 6 -  I mentioned these boards were old. As you can see they are a bit bowed around the frame, so hubby bought some hanging wire for me, which was attached with a staple gun on each side & pulled tight to bring the shape back together. Also it was now ready for hanging. 

Step 7 - Hang them. I always use command hanging strips so if I make a boo boo it can be fixed.

I hung them up above the kids couch, & popped the number wall decals in between them, just to create some space & add some interested. I think by the looks on their faces they like them.

Lastly the most important component.....their artwork. Hudson's board is the green board & Charlotte's is the red board.

As I said it was a very simple task which didn't coast me a cent really except the hanging wire. I used the kids water based poster paints, to pain them & that's it. There is definitely a lot of satisfaction for me doing this, as I think about things I want to complete all the time but never get around to doing it.

Now that I have accomplished this, it has got me thinking what I can do next?????

My quilt project - part one

I have been wanting to tackle a quilt for a while now. I just want one about 3x3, big enough for Charlotte in her cot. To keep her warm, & also something she can snuggle with on the couch. We all have blankets to cuddle up with here, (except hubby), especially when we watch movies.

These are the fabrics I have decided to go with, & the binding I am using. It's going to be be basic, squares only, nothing flashy at all. I haven't even got any instructions to follow yet. I'll let Google solve that for me. I have read so many quilt tutorials, I feel slightly confident I will manage.

How well it turns out is another story.

The exciting part is that I will be adding some squares in myself of my own designs. They are still being worked on, but I will reveal soon.

Any quilting tips are always welcomed.