New Foxy Designs

I have a couple of new designs to share with you. 

Foxes are still loitering around, so felt the need to create some of my own. I actually really loved drawing these, so much cuteness & fun.

Both are available in my shop.

Have a beautiful weekend.

FRESS SHIPPING for only 48hrs

Nothing is more exciting than sharing new products that I have created with you. I have had lots in the pipeline of late , drawing, drawing, drawing & I have been so excited to finally share them. From initial sketches to deciding what illustrations will go on what decor pieces, & to finally see it being printed, makes me jump & squeal with excitement. It really does!! I have released a fair portion of them all, but I still have a few to photograph & get organised.

Now that school holidays are over I can focus & get cracking on the rest.

Here is a taste of whats new & you will be able to find them all here. Lots of new cushions, door stops, & clocks to make your child's room the brightest & happy place in their little world!

Until tomorrow night at midnight (18.07.14), I am offering free shipping on everything in store, all you have to do is write the code FREE SHIPPING & thats it. It's that easy :)

Stay in touch x

New mini collection called Pretty Kitty

I have just released today my new mini collection called Pretty Kitty. Each piece has such pretty & playful feel to it. With the kitty cat coloured in a soft grey I had to surround her in lots of pink as the colours look beautiful together. I can't help but draw flowers, it's one of those pretty additions I add to so many pieces of my artwork. What can I say flowers make me smile. I created this collection for little girls who love their kitty cats.

Buy adding any of the items, or all of them for that matter will make your little girl bedroom feel sweet & so very pretty. There is nothing like loveliness in a bedroom.

As you can see the cushion & clock are personalised, but if you don't want a name thats fine jut write none in the box. The wall prints ca be purchased individually or as a gorgeous collection.

Email me with any queries, I'd love to hear from you...Stay in touch.

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.

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.

Chevron patterns - create your own colours!

Who doesn't love the chevron design? I would have to say it's probably the hottest pattern that has been used for well over 12 months now. I can't see it fading off anytime soon, & I can I put it out there, I think it maybe be here to stay. Could it become a classic? Only time will tell.

I love the chevron design for its interesting yet simplistic structure. There are basic lines, zig zag zig zag, yet not too bold, overpowering, or in your face. No obvious icons? No clashing patterns to make your eyes sting. Personally it's become a strong feature in my illustration work, a great move on from the straight line. As my work has lots of details, full of fun icons, patterns, & whatever else enters my mind (haha), the chevron design has done a fine job sitting in  the back ground. Using it like I used a basic stripe for so long, kinda, bores me now!

Today I haven't created the wheel, design anything that is going to blow your socks off, I have designed a basic chevron personalised cushion & wall art. It was so obvious I never thought of doing it! A friend ask for this cushion, for her girlfriend who just had a baby. She asked for a basic chevron design in 2 colours. Nothing else at all. Grey & yellow. Thats was it. It was for a nursery & the new mamma is keeping it simple.

Basic Chevron wall art - you pick your colours!

Thats when I thought thats not the only person who wants something simple, to maybe co-ordinate in a space already swamped with other themes & designs. Or something where a pop of colour is needed, but nothing fancy. Or even for a baby shower where the sex is unknown with a cute slogan, or a question mark.

Chevron Personalised cushion - you pick your colours!!

What's great about this is that YOU get to choose your own colours. All you will need to do is select the colour of the name or word, the colour of zig zag #1 (white) & the colour of zig zag #2 (grey). All of the colours available are in the product listings.

So simple.

How to make a stuffed cushion in 10 steps

Wow I am really excited to start my first tutorial using my own cushion panels. It's been a a bit of a dream I have had to create as many products with my printed panels as I can. I have had this inner creative nudge going on for a while, & I feel it the right time to start!!
Not only will the things you create be personalised & look really fantastic, it will be a HUGE saving, & most importantly fun & rewarding.

So here we go......

Making a stuffed cushion.

1. When you receive your panel it will need to be cut out. You will receive the panel with some excess fabric around it.

2. Select your backing, have a hunt around for scraps, or select something that is really tonal & co-ordinates beautifully. Make sure to cut it out the same size as your panel.

3. Place your panel & backing fabric together, lay down right sides together. You are about to machine it together, so grab your pins & pin each side to hold it stable.

4. You will only be machining around 3 edges, those that are the 2 longest, & only 1 of the shorter ones. I suggest a 1cm seam. 

Tip : At each corner I like to reverse stitch to make them really secure. Turn your cushion cover inside out so it's in the right way.

5. So your panel should be looking like this now. I use a chop stick to gently push those corners out so they are lovely & square. You can use anything similar.

6. At the open edge of your cushion cover, fold it down 1cm all around & press. 

I measure each time & then secure with a pin. Then I use a warm iron press around the pins until the crease has been made, remove the pins & press firmly across.

Tip - It's really important to have the 1cm turn down even all the way around the opening. It's so your cushion looks rectangular when finished with both edges measuring the same. Otherwise it could look wonky.

7. Now the cushion is starting to take shape! 

It's now time to stuff it, I just use toy fill from my local sewing & craft store. 

It's really a personal choice as to how fat or thin you'd like to stuff your cushion. I love mine nice & plump. As you're stuffing it make sure to push the fill into the corners, & to keep the pieces of fill as evenly sized as possible. It will just solve that potential lumpiness. 

Once you are happy with it, push the fill towards the bottom, so your opening is workable & relative flat.

8. Grab hold of your opening & pin the front panel & backing panel together. Make sure to pin them so they are secure.

9. Place your pinned opening just underneath the machine foot. You will need both hands to guide this through. If your stuffing is too close to the edge it can make the machining of this step a little bit of a challenge. I suggest sewing the opening edges 1cm in from edge. 

10. Steadily machine down your opening about 1cm in from edge & reverse stitch for a secure finish. Continue machining down & as you get closer to a pin just remove it. When you reach the end another small reverse stitch again.

You're finished !!

Fluff your cushion up, give it a bit of a shake so the filing can be moved around evenly.

Your cushion can be washed in cold water only. Please be wary of throwing it in the machine on a regular cycle as it could make the fill a bit lumpy & a funny shape. I would use a gently cycle or just hand wash it.

This tutorial can be used for any cushion you're wanting to create. Any cushion shape, same steps!

As of today you are able to purchase any of my personalised panels for you to create your very own personalised cushion. Just visit my shop for all the details.

To launch my personalised panels I am taking off $3 each panel until the end of Sunday May 11th. 

Large personalised panels will be $18.00 but the special launch price is  $15.00

Small personalised panels panels $15.00 but the special launch price is $12.00

And FREE SHIPPING 

Make sure to email me what you have made as I would love to share it on my Facebook page.

My top 5, best selling boys personalised cushions

So here they are my 5 top selling boys cushions. I find it's amazing as a designer, no matter how many new boy personalised designs I can create, no matter what the super cool trends are, these guys always sell the most. Over & over, & I am so fine about that.

It really shows how much boys love their cars, trucks, & machinery is all shapes & forms. From the farm, to the street to the air. My intention is always to keep colours bright & relatively classic. I know a lot of people get bored with the blue & reds, but you know what, its classic & always co-ordinated perfectly in the majority of boys bedrooms. 

Did you know that the trucks & tippers cushion was the second cushion I ever created? Thats was about 4 years ago, & like I said it literally just keeps trucking along.

They are all listed in the shop section in my store under "boys cushions" section of my shop & still available in 2 sizes. 

Although I talk a lot about classics, I am in the vey near future going to add a new colour way for each design. Just to freshen things up, but don't panic these boys will always be available.

My top 5 top selling girls personalised cushions

I am often asked when somebody wants to buys a personalised cushion from me, which is your favourite? And which ones sell most? Great questions & sometimes tricky to answer.

I never release a personalised cushion design that I don't love, or that I wouldn't think would look beautiful in a girls bedroom. I actually don't have a favourite. I take a lot of time, effort & pride into everything I create. Each design evolves from something I am inspired by right then, sometime created after many requests for the same things, & definitely from trends that I see developing from international brands.

As for the top 5 selling girls cushion designs, it's hard to completely narrow it down. However I definitely know which personalised designs are frequently ordered. Here they are & are all available right now in my shop. In no particular order Summer Garden, Pretty Owl, Pretty Flower Christening Cushion, Elephant & Hot Air Balloon, & the very first design I released, the Charlotte Classic, named after my daughter of course.

Much loved flower pod pattern

I have been playing around the with below design for a couple of weeks not really sure where to go or what to do with it. I drew it originally about 6 months ago while doing an art class with Lila Rogers. You can see the original work here.

I always knew they would be used somehow, but until last week I wasn't sure. After a bit of recolouring I decided to put the designs on some linen cushions to create a small capsule home collection.

After finishing those I knew I to play around with a repeat design so I took all of the elements & had the best fun playing around with them. I think about 2 hours passed & I had finally finished.

And then finally onto my last cushion.

I am printing on a new fabric, 100% linen in a natural colour. It's really great playing around with a new texture.  I am so happy with how they have work out & look forward to loading them into my shop.

Easter 2014

It feels so early to talk about Easter today, yikes, I feel strange even bringing it up.
Should I or shouldn't I?

Every time I walk into the supermarket there seems to be more & more Easter eggs on the shelf, which means more hounding from the kids for me to buy some. Telling them to wait is becoming a challenge. They are still really young, so trying to explain that it's 2 months away, or 9 weeks away means absolutely nothing.  Easter this year is April 18th-21st.

I have created a couple of lovely items for the Easter season & wanted to first share my cushions with you. A lovely idea to combine with a delicious Easter egg, a prefect 1st Easter choice, or a great chocolate alternative.

Pretty Easter Bunny Cushion

Handsome Easter Bunny Cushion

As mentioned I have a couple of other things for Easter, one of them is a download which is so new for me. It's a lot of fun, & I am sure you will like it.

What's new in cushions

Amongst the Christmas madness I have found some time to get a bit of drawing done. If I don't stop sometimes & make time to draw & create, I get incredibly frustrated. In a way it's my meditation!!

Here are some new designs I have just added to my web site.

Folky Bird  - A pretty bird inspired by the boldness of folk art. A personalised gift that will definitely be treasured.Gorgeous pinks, soft jade, purple & lemons this design will surely co-ordinate in every girls bedroom. 

Monkey Business - A personalised cushion with a little bit of super fun monkey business. A superhero monkey, a biking monkey & a skate board monkey. Great bold boys colours & a design so full of fun.

Miss Camping Bunny - For lovers of camping will be able to capture memories with this sweet design.

Say hello to Missy Bunny as she plays around her groovy chevron patterned tent, catching butterflies butterflies while the sun is shining brightly.

All designs are now loaded in my shop.

Just a reminder that cut off for international orders is 30th November & Australian orders December 10th to ensure they are posted in time for Christmas.

New boys cushions

It's taken me a little while but I have finally complete all of the images for my new boys cushions & wanted to share them with you today.

Boys are always a little difficult to design for, however I am always ready to embrace to challenge.

Having a little man myself I have come to learn little boys can be so similar in play & habit, but so different when it comes to taste. Girls are always generally quite similar at this age, it's just has to be pretty & generally pink. I find boys are quite set in their tastes, they either love animals, trains, cars, pirates, or superheroes.

All of the above styles can be found in my shop.