I have been trying to mix things up and have a theme for each shop update! This month’s theme was hand painted laser cut wood (with one or two exceptions)

I went through my old sketchbooks and picked several designs that I thought would make neat brooches. They are all based off my own taste, but I will be open to suggestions in the coming months.

I also went through some of my fabric designs and took out a few elements here and there as tests.

All in all I’m very proud of all the new pieces and love seeing them up in the shop.

Oh and I also threw in some new XL Wall Scissors to mix things up a bit! These are made from 1/4″ MDF with Designer Fabric fused to the surface before laser cutting. They are a great addition to any sewing room (or any space really).

You can find all of these pieces plus more in the shop!

I was super excited when I heard the word combo this week! I love drawing houses and was expecting to do something intricate when I thought of the word, but then when I heard Folk my mind switched gears and I couldn’t stop thinking about simple block houses and lots of swirly vines and flowers.

The word Folk is very broad. One of the definitions is “of or relating to the traditional art or culture of a community or nation” which is what first came to my mind and is the idea I ran with. I have always associated the word with Amish and/or Scandinavian art. So I decided to blend the two a bit, which is where I came up with the above design. Every single part came from hours of doodling in my sketchbook. I drew so many swirls, vines, tulips and houses. If I illustrated all of them I’d have a few dozen fabric lines. I loved this theme!

I may have loved setting up the examples even more! I had never used Photoshop mock-up files before, but I think i’m hooked now. I want to see how all of my designs will look as bedspreads, sheets, couches, dresses and more. This may be a new addiction, just saying.

The saddest part of this project is I don’t have a way of making the actual set. Technically I could piece some stuff together, but pieced fitted sheets aren’t very comfortable. The closest I could get was Society6 and their Duvet Cover option. It’s not exactly the same though because the back isn’t that cute little bird fabric, but it’s still neat. Oh and I made a matching rug too, because, “why not?”!

I’ve also ordered swatches from Spoonflower of those two fabrics shown as sheets, along with a baby cheater quilt version of that comforter. I’ll post photos once they come in!

Phew, I think that’s it! Heidi is on vacation, so were taking a week off since she won’t have time and I need to catch up on a few other projects. I’m excited to hear what the next set of words will be though, These challenges really were just the thing I needed.

If you’d like to read more about this project, check out the first blog post I wrote about it.

Most of my sketches were embarrassing and ridiculous, so I won’t be sharing too many of them this time around.

In the end I felt like a Dachshund wearing a trendy all over print shirt covered in cameras fit the bill enough. I made it a double sided card where the front half of the pup is on the front and the back is, well, on the back. I can’t decide if I’m done with this, or if I want to revisit it. I don’t know.

Heidi actually did really well with this challenge and created an entire Stationary suite! I mean cards, letterhead, postcards and more. It’s crazy awesome! You should check it out.

The next theme is already in progress, and I can’t wait to share what I made!!!!

If you’d like to read more about this project, check out the first blog post I wrote about it.

I have a few projects coming up using some of these little drawings! I will obviously share them. I also had someone suggest a coloring book, which sounds pretty neat to me, so i may try that out too. All I know is I love drawing again, and that’s all that matters. Who cares if its good or bad!