A peak at my sketchbook...



I've been spending some peaceful hours sitting in my garden drawing flowers whilst listening to the birds and watching my guinea pig munching on the lawn.  (Kitty made an appearance too but soon got bored and disappeared again!)  Here's a peak at some of my sketches...

I'm planning to use these as inspiration for new pattern designs.  I've taken lots of photos but sometimes there's nothing better than to draw something from life to really understand how it works. 

Treasury Challenge Winner!

Remember I entered the British Sellers on Etsy Treasury Challenge #10?

I love finding new items on Etsy and bringing them together to make treasuries (they normally take me ages to do so I don't get around to doing very many) so it was really exciting to hear that my treasury was picked as the winning entry to the challenge!! :D

It means that I get to choose an item from my shop to be the inspiration item for the next challenge.  I decided to pick this Fish themed printable gift box as I hope that it could inspire lots of different themes!



To enter the challenge simply create an Etsy treasury around this item - the winner will get to choose something from their shop as the inspiration item for the next challenge.  For more information on the challenge please go to http://www.etsy.com/teams/6966/british-sellers-on-etsy/discuss/10386824/

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with! :)

Cookie nightmare!

Maybe I've been living in a cave or something but I only heard about the new EU cookie law a few days ago so have spent hours reading up on it and finding out what I need to do to comply.  From 26th May it became law that websites based in the EU (and targeted to people in the EU) must tell people what cookies they use and get consent for non-essential cookies to be used.

See the ICO website for full details: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-pecr/cookies-and-similar-technologies/

I am certainly no computer expert but think I have a good basic understanding - although it turns out I really didn't know that much about cookies!  And according to the ICO's statistics only 13% of people fully understand how cookies work.  I hope if I share some of what I have learnt it might help someone else!

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file downloaded onto a computer to send useful information back to the website.

Some cookies are essential to the running of the site and if cookies are disabled parts of the website might not work - for example cookies used to remember the contents of your shopping basket when proceeding to checkout.  These cookies are exempt from the law.

Other cookies are used for things like tracking visitors to your site (Google Analytics) and even plugins from places like facebook use cookies.


What do I need to do?

This is a bit confusing - especially as they changed the rules to say that 'implied consent' is a valid form of consent now.

Some websites now have pop-ups with a tick box for agreeing to the use of cookies.  But as most people don't understand cookies they will probably tick 'No' which will mean websites won't be able to properly analyse how people use their sites to improve them.

Even a lot of large websites aren't using the pop-up technique yet and with 'implied consent' something along the lines of an updated privacy policy page seems more sensible.  A few lines to explain that you use cookies, what they are for and what to do if visitors are not happy about cookies being used.

Do I have cookies on my website?

The ICO recommends that you conduct a cookie audit.  Apparently it's easy to see some types of cookies you have and you should get your IT department to check for the rest.  I thought that sounded great - it's just me, I don't have an IT department and don't want to pay someone else to do it for me.
After much research I've found that you can see exactly what cookies are on websites using Google Chrome (free to download!)

When your website is up, click on the spanner symbol (top right - 'Customise and control Google Chrome').  Go to Tools >> Developer Tools and a window comes up along the bottom of the screen.

Under Resources there's a drop down box for Cookies - listing all the cookies on that page (remember to check all the pages on your site).

This site has more information on doing a cookie audit: http://www.equimedia.co.uk/how-to-do-a-cookie-audit.html

Can't I just ignore this and hope it goes away?

There are probably thousands of websites now breaking the law and I really doubt whether they will go after every small business or blogger.  But there is a maximum penalty of £500,000 and I'd rather do something now than pay a fine later!  The ICO wants to encourage compliance so you at least need to show you are working towards complying (eg cookie audit) and they're more likely to help you before handing out a large fine.

I suppose there are some cookies where this law will be a good thing and it is probably targeted at larger companies, but it seems over the top to me when most cookies are safe.  It's already annoying coming across websites that keep asking for you to accept cookies and as most people don't understand them it's more likely to scare users and turn people away from using the sites.  By adjusting the privacy settings in your browser options you can already choose how you want cookies to work on your computer.  Perhaps it should be up to users to make sure their settings are correct to protect themselves from intrusive tracking cookies, like you use anti-virus software to protect your computer.
Hopefully I have done enough to now comply with this law! (Here's the piece I have added to my website)

Colour Inspiration #2 - Daisies

I've been enjoying the sunshine and taking lots of photos in my garden of the flowers...

Embellishing printables

Today I have a couple of ideas for embellishing printable gift boxes and tent cards.  They can be made very simply - just print, cut, fold and they're finished, or if you have a little more time you can make them more unique...

On this Pastel Buttons gift box I used some fancy scissors to make the front flap a little different.  The box is tied with lilac cotton yarn and I made a tag from one of my matching cupcake toppers.  I punched rounded corners on the tag and stitched a pretty vintage button to the centre.

I think the tent cards look nice simply printed - but I also love to add an extra dimension to cards with embellishments.  This thank you card has some pink ribbon glued along the edge of the button pattern.  As they're only small cards (3.5 inches wide) it's a good way of using left over pieces of ribbon too!

Baby birds

The weather has changed this week and it's starting to feel like summer is on the way!  Our garden is filled with birds at the moment.  We have at least 2 blackbird nests and we're waiting to see the when the babies leave their nest.  They've been more active the last few days and we keep seeing them peaking out from the hedge - we think there are 4 in here!

We also spotted a pair of goldfinches feeding their baby - I don't think I've ever seen a baby goldfinch before.  It looked like the adults except for having a brown head instead of the disinctive red / black / white.

How to make lined envelopes

All sorts of stylish lined envelopes are available for adding an extra special touch to your invitations and cards.  If you're looking for a coordinated look you can make your own...

I wanted to make a lined envelope to match my Pastel Buttons wedding invitation so have used the coordinating paper from my printable scrapbooking paper set - you can of course use any paper you like!

You can line ready made envelopes or make your own from scratch.

I found an old envelope which I carefully opened out and used as a template to make my own envelope from off white cartridge paper.

Make the liner template from an envelope.  The liner should be about 0.2 inches smaller than the envelope and level with the gummed part of the flap.

I layed the liner in the envelope and folded the flap down before glueing to make sure it was in the right place.  Only glue the liner to the flap so that it has room to move when the envelope is opened or closed.
If you're making your envelope from scratch it's easier to glue the bottom flap to the sides after attaching the liner.

Keeping with my button theme I finished this envelope with a little button stitched to the flap..

New Pastel Button printables

I have two new Pastel Button themed printables to show you today...

Experiment with your fancy handwriting to personalise these cards for parties!  I used a brush tipped pen for the card above.  There are 8 different designs in this set of name place cards...

 Also new is this set of personalised cupcake toppers (great for using as tags and labels too)...

The set can be personalised for birthdays (like above with name, age and Happy Birthday) or for weddings (with the name / initials of the bride and groom and date of the wedding).  Each sheet of toppers has 4 different designs and is available in a green, teal or cream colour sheme.

I still have more new pastel button themed designs to share in the next few days - and a tutorial too!

British Sellers on Etsy Treasury Challenge #10

I missed the last few challenges so thought it was time to have another go!
So here is my entry - inspired by Blossoming Silver's lovely lampwork bracelet (top left) I chose a British glass theme...

You can view the treasury in full here.



Please go to www.etsy.com/teams/6966/british-sellers-on-etsy/discuss/10246208/ to find out more about the challenge.

Printable Button Paper and New Wedding Stationery

My new button themed printables are ready to add to my shop!! :)
Inspired by my collection of vintage buttons I drew a range of different shaped / patterned buttons in pen.  Then scanned the drawings and used them to make into repeat patterns which I coloured digitally.
This set of pastel scrapbooking papers contains 8 designs - 3 colourways of one of the button patterns with coordinating simpler stripes and spots, and 2 colourways of a second button pattern...

As part of my new range of party printables I am now starting to design wedding printables.  What do you think of my first wedding stationery set?

The customised set contains a save the date card, invitation, R.S.V.P. card and thank you card.  There are three colour options featuring my button pattern - green, teal and cream...

If you like these button designs look out for more printables in the next few days! :)

So what are printables?

It's only a little over a year since I started designing printables and not long before that I didn't know anything about them.  The more papers I design, the more ideas I have - I never knew how much I would enjoy designing patterns! :)

I thought today I would write a post on how the printables work for anybody who's not familiar with them...

Unlike buying ready printed scrapbooking papers and embellishments, printable papers can be printed and used as many times as you like.  (So they save you money and you have no postage to pay!)  You receive a jpg (or pdf) file with the printable design and then print it at home onto any type of paper or card you like that will go through your printer.  If you don't have a printer you can take it to your local printers.

In my shop I currently sell printables for craft projects - like cardmaking/ scrapbooking and more recently I've introduced party printables - from personalised invitations to bunting and cupcake toppers.  You can keep things simple or embellish them with as much glitter, ribbon, gems etc as you like!

Here's an example of how an order works when you buy a set of scrapbooking papers from my shop.  After you have placed your order and I have received payment I will send you an email with a link to an album containing the high resolution 300dpi jpg files.  Click on the link and this screen will appear...

You will see thumbnails of all the papers in the set.  Click on a thumbnail to view the full size image...

From here you can open or save the file to your computer by clicking on Download.

Now you can print!  For best results I recommend using photo paper and your printer's highest quality setting - play around and see which papers you like best!

If you have any questions about printables please let me know!

Buttons Preview

Here's a sneak peak at my newest set of paper designs inspired by my collection of vintage buttons...

Colour Inspiration - Allium

I like taking photographs and I like playing around with colour so thought I'd try this as a new regular feature on the blog - colour palettes picked from my photographs. 

I used the colour picker tool in Photoplus on this photo I took in my garden last year of an allium.  I've tried it with a few photos and it's interesting seeing the colours you can pick out - it's making me think more about colours which could go together in my paper designs too.

Blog Giveaway Winner!

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway!  The names were all put into a bowl and the winner was picked at random….

Congratulations to Natalie from Free Spirit Designs!  Natalie has very generously decided to share her prize with the other entrants - so everyone who entered will each get a free printable!

I hope you all enjoy using the printables in your craft projects! :)

Jubilee Party!

There were quite a lot of fish on the blog last week so I thought it was time for something a bit different with some inspiration for parties celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee...


I love the bright colours of these cupcakes :) They're really easy to make - I used this recipe to make strawberry flavoured cakes.  Half the cakes were iced in blue glace icing and half were iced in red.  I left the icing to set before piping white glace icing on top - that stopped the white from sinking into the colour underneath.


I finished off the cakes by making some toppers with my Rule Britannia printables.  I made the toppers by sandwiching a cocktail stick between two circles.  Some of the circles were hand cut with scissors and some were cut with a 2 inch scalloped circle punch.

I also made some bunting with my Rule Britannia scrapbooking paper - you can print this template and use it to make your own bunting.  Plain red, white and blue papers would look good too.

Some royal facts...

• The Queen is the second longest serving monarch - only Victoria has reigned for longer at 63 years.
• There have been 12 Prime Ministers over the Queen's reign.
• The Queen has owned more than 30 corgis during her reign - she currently has 3; Monty, Willow and Holly.
• In an average year the Queen will host more than 50,000 people at banquets, lunches, dinners, receptions and Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace.

For more facts on the Queen take a look at this website: http://www.thediamondjubilee.org



A Fishy Party!

I have 3 more fish themed printables to share with you today...
These invitations are part of my new party range...

They are available in 2 sizes (5x7 inch or 3.9 x 5.1 inches) and come blank for you to fill in the party details.  I am also offering the option of customised invitations so all you need to do is print them.

What party would be complete without some bunting?  This printable bunting comes as 5 sheets for an easy to make 'Happy Birthday' banner...

And my last printable for today is this sheet of flags - simply print, cut out the strips and wrap round straws to jazz up a drink or wrap around cocktail sticks to decorate cakes...

All of the party printables are available to buy individually from my Etsy shop - so you can mix and match the items you would like.  Or if you like them all, I will also be offering a party set with customised invitations, cupcake toppers, tent cards, name place cards, straw flags and bunting which will save you money compared to buying them all individually. :)

Fish Printables part 2

I'm launching the next 3 products from my fish range today...

First up is a pair of printable gift boxes...

The design of one box features lots of fish and the other has a simpler pattern of spots and fish scales.  I've decorated the box photographed using a little fish tag, some fancy eyelash yarn and blue stranded cotton.  These little boxes are perfect for giving small gifts in a unique way - they could also be used as favour boxes at parties.

I have decided to expand my range of printable products by designing more items for parties.  It's simple to achieve a themed party with little more than a printer and scissors - if you're feeling more adventurous the printables could be embellished too.

These tent cards (there are 4 designs in the set) come blank with the option to personalise - they're great as thank you cards but could also be used as food labels...

Also new in the party range are these name place cards.  The full sheet includes 8 different fish designs...

More printables in the party range will be released tomorrow! :)

If you like these fish printables why not enter my giveaway for a chance to win any 4 printables from my shop!

New Fish Printables!

I'm excited to announce my new fish themed printable products are ready for release! :D  The new range includes printables for craft projects and parties - I think they would be especially great for boys' birthday parties.  They are all my own designs made with a combination of hand drawn pen drawings and digital art - I think the hours of work have been worth it and I'm really pleased with how this set has turned out (even if I do say so myself!) :)

For anyone interested in fish, this set features illustrations of a clown fish, angel fish, regal tang, copperband butterflyfish, emperor angelfish, harlequin rasbora, black neon tetra, cardinal tetra, siamese fighting fish and guppy - 10 points to anyone who can recognise them all!

Today I am launching the first 3 products from my fish range...
A set of 10 scrapbooking papers, each is 12 inches square and the designs include a full sheet of fish, fish scale patterns, spots and stripes...

Cupcake toppers - these can be cut as squares or use a 2 inch circle punch to decorate cupcakes, make into gift tags, use on cards and more...

Printable labels which you could use in scrapbooks, cardmaking or as gift tags...

More products will be launched over the next few days so keep an eye out for them!

If you like these fish printables why not enter my giveaway for a chance to win any 4 printables from my shop!

Postcards back in stock

I was getting quite low on my Clockwork Bird postcards but they are now back in stock! :)
I've also had some new postcards printed with my Francis Jenning illustration, these are available to buy from my Etsy art shop ....

I had some new bookmarks printed too.  The image side came out really well :)  Unfortuanately I sent off for the wrong text to be printed on the backs :( I was so annoyed at myself for doing that!  It seems such a waste not to use them though as there is nothing wrong with the fronts at all - so I will be selling them as 'seconds' at a lower price than normal.

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Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win some of my printables to use in your craft projects - the giveaway runs until next Monday (7th)