Steampunk Valentine Contest Results

Yesterday I had some very exciting news – my Steampunk Valentine design came in the top ten in this week’s Spoonflower contest!!  The photo above is from Spoonflower and shows my design printed on fabric.  I’m so grateful for all the votes and comments this design received.  You can see the results list with all the entries on the the Spoonflower blog here.  My design came 8th out of 247 entries (with 427 votes) and it’s the first time one of my designs has been in the top ten :D

The winning design featured octopuses, gears and hearts and was designed by Francesca Besso.  I really loved her design and it was my favourite entry to the contest – a well deserved winner!

The top ten designs are available to buy as a fat quarter bundle printed on Kona cotton from Spoonflower or you can buy my design separately, on a range of fabrics, from my shop http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/3918760

I would love to see what people make with this fabric – so if you buy any please feel free to send me your photos!

Spoonflower Contest – Steampunk Valentine

Last week’s Spoonflower ‘Rockets’ themed contest had so many great entries! The winner was a retro style design – you can see it here along with all the other entries.  My design came 44th out of 255 entries (with 175 votes) – thank you to everyone who voted for my design! :)

This week’s contest is a little different as Spoonflower have teamed up with Urban Threads for a Steampunk Valentine theme.  The brief was to create a fabric design (previewed at the fat quarter size) with an element that can be adapted for an embroidery pattern.  This is what I came up with:

I have drawn lots of keys and cogs as part of my past Steampunk / Hexley designs and I wanted to combine these ideas with some more decorative elements so added the swirls and flourishes to Steampunk style hearts.  I used a colour scheme similar to some of my other cog / key fabric designs as I liked the way those colours looked printed on fabric but also added the ruby red.

You can see all of the other entries to the Steampunk Valentine contest here, and vote for your favourites too: http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=289

New Spoonflower Fabric designs!

Last week I received swatches for my new designs, which means there are now 15 new fabric designs available to buy from my Spoonflower shop!!  That almost doubles the number of designs I had on offer before.

A whole new collection I have added has a Steampunk theme and includes patterns made from my Hexley illustrations.  There is a Clockwork Bird pattern (with a robin, kingfisher, nuthatch and barn owl), an Aeronautical design, Nautical pattern, cogs, and a coordinating spots pattern.  My favourite design in this range probably has to be the keys, clock hands and cogs.

I created this collection after being approached by a customer who had liked the illustrations in my Etsy shop.  It’s really nice to be able to create designs based on customers suggestions and it often leads me to me creating designs I wouldn't have made otherwise.  So if there’s something you would like me to design for you please let me know!

As I needed to order swatches of the Steampunk designs before I could add them to my shop I thought I would create some other new designs and order all the swatches together.  So I have also added 2 new designs to coordinate with the Budgie range. I really like how the chevron pattern turned out as it’s quite different to any other patterns I have made…

This fish pattern started as the fish line drawing I made for the Steampunk Nautical set and I played around with colour to make something a bit bolder than a lot of my other designs…There are also 4 new floral patterns, inspired by vintage fabrics and sketches of flowers from my garden.  I tried out a few different colour schemes for these and will probably add some different versions to my shop in the future.

Finally, I created two patterns from my illustrations of rabbits.  These are so cute – I think they would be perfect for stitching things for nurseries!  Often I finish a project and spot all the things I would change, having spent too long looking at a piece of work.  So it's nice to be satisfied with these designs!

For those of you not familiar with Spoonflower, it’s really simple to order fabric – choose from an 8” square swatch, fat quarter or by the yard.  If you visit my shop you will find that you can buy these designs printed on 12 different fabrics, from basic combed cotton to heavy cotton twill.  You can also buy these designs as rolls of wallpaper.  Spoonflower is based in the USA, so if you order from any other country don't forget you might have to pay customs fees.  (In the UK you have to pay import VAT on goods over £15, if you're ordering small quantities you probably won't have to pay anything.)  So far I've been lucky and haven't had to pay any customs fees!

Inspiration for using Inky Doodles stamps – Create and Craft tv show!

The first two sets of Steampunk stamps have now been added to my shop!  They will be officially launched on Saturday on the Create and Craft show (see the bottom of this post for details), when Sarah from Inky Doodles will be sharing some ideas on using the stamps.  I’m so excited about the show – can’t believe my designs will be on the tv!!

I have been playing with the stamps and made a few samples which will be on the show too.  Here’s a little about the things I made in the photo above…

Gift Box (made with stamps from both the Clockwork Bird and Transport sets) – I stamped clock hands and cogs all over the plain box and coloured the hands with watercolours.  I then used soft artist pastels to colour the box all over (smudging the colour with cotton wool).  The pocket watch is from the Transport set and was attached to the box with baker’s twine and a mini brad.

Chaffinch Birthday Card – the background to this card was made with one of the corner stamps from the Bird stamp set and a cog stamp.  This card was also embellished with ribbon and 3 little gems.

Kingfisher Tag – I coloured the Kingfisher stamp with watercolours on this tag.  The background is stamped with key and cog stamps and I used one of my favourite techniques – wiping a gold ink pad around the edge of the tag – to give a distressed effect.  Finally it was finished off with some little gems.

Sarah has designed some complimentary background stamps and stencils to go with the designs I did for her.  I used her A6 Checkered Background stamp and A6 Circle Gear Background stamp along with my Hexley Transport set to make this card.  Everything on this card was stamped onto white card then coloured with artist soft pastels.  I love adding colours with the pastels and think it adds so much depth and texture compared to stamping on plain coloured paper.  I’m so glad that I finally found a use for my pastels – they have been sitting in the bottom of a drawer for years, waiting for me to think of something to do with them!

This set of stamps (Time Flies) was also designed by Sarah – I like how the Steampunk theme can be given a bit of a girly twist with the clockwork butterfly and dragonfly.  Again I coloured this card with the soft pastels and added some pink and purple gems for a bit of sparkle.  You can’t see it from this photo, but the card blank I used has a slight shimmer which still shows through the stamped background and pastels.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The Clockwork Birds and Hexley Transport sets of stamps can be seen in my shop here.

Sarah’s other stamps and stencils are available from the Inky Doodles website.  She also posts other ideas on how to use the stamps on her facebook page.

Don’t forget to watch the Create and Craft Show on Saturday!  It’s on Sky channel 671, Freeview 36 or Freesat 813 at 11am 25th January

First Exciting Announcement for 2014 – Steampunk Stamps

I mentioned before that I had some exciting things planned for this year, and if you are one of my followers on facebook you will already have heard a little about my latest project… Over the last few months I have been working with Sarah, who runs Inky Doodles, designing some Hexley themed stamp sets and the first 2 sets have just been released!

Each set is A5 and contains lots of stamps which can be used in so many different ways.  This is one of the things I really like about the Inky Doodles stamps, they are designed to be versatile so that you can make the most of any set you buy.
The stamps are made with high quality photopolymer which is transparent - making it easy to place the image where you want it and give the best possible impression.

Hexley Transport stamp set

This set features 2 modes of Hexley transport – a Steam Carriage and Balloon Carriage along with lots of other extras.  In this sample card I made you can see how the smaller stamps can be used together to create a repeat background pattern…

Hexley Clockwork Bird stamp set

This set features 3 of my clockwork bird illustrations – a robin, chaffinch and kingfisher, along with cogs, clock hands and other little designs.  I used the Robin stamp twice on this card – on watercolour paper and on shrink plastic to make a little charm (you could make jewellery or keyrings like this too)…

I've really enjoyed coming up with more designs around my Hexley concept – I’m working on some other sets which will be out very soon!  These two sets of stamps are now available to buy from Inky Doodles – www.inkydoodles.co.uk and I will be stocking them in my shop soon too.

If you would like some more inspiration on how to use these stamps I will be posting some other ideas I have been working on, or you can look at cards Sarah has made on the Inky Doodles site.  I’m looking forward to seeing how other people use them too – it’s amazing how different people can come up with completely different ways to use the same stamps!

Steampunk Stamps

I’ve been playing around with my rubber stamp samples from Queen Kat Designs and made this card…

I used the Clockwork Blackbird stamp and lightly coloured it with pencil and pen.  The ‘suede’ coloured card blank is made from recycled card and I have coloured the edges with a gold ink pad.  This is one of my favourite techniques at the moment – I coloured the edges of the scalloped circle and cream card strip (across the bottom of the card) with the gold ink pad too.

I also used some of the papers from my Steampunk scrapbooking paper set.  The mini spotty buttons and bakers twine are from my Steampunk embellishment pack.

The Clockwork Blackbird stamp comes with the Clockwork Robin – you can buy these stamps and more of my designs from Queen Kat Designs.  The stamps are laser etched and come unmounted – so don’t take up much space!  As you can see from the bird above, the stamps are really detailed.  I'll be making some more samples up with my other stamp designs - so look out for those on the blog soon!

3 New Hexley Postcards!

The sets of Clockwork Bird postcards have been so popular that I was getting low on some of the birds.  Since I needed to restock I thought it was a good time to get some new designs made into postcards too – so I now have 3 new postcards; the Clockwork Kingfisher, Clockwork Chaffinch and DORA (Deep Ocean Research Aid).

I updated my illustration of DORA for these cards – it now has a new background to match my Clockwork Birds and the border has been removed which makes it easier to print in different formats.

The new designs should be in my Etsy and Folksy shops very soon!

New! Steampunk Cardmaking Kit

This cardmaking kit is the latest addition to my selection of Steampunk craft supplies.  It contains card blanks, envelopes, backing papers, motifs and border strips to make at least 5 unique cards.

The cards in this set are made from 100% post industrial waste fibres, they are acid, lignin and chlorine free and come with brown Kraft envelopes.  I have included 5 different coloured cards (sandstone, suede, tuscan brown, ash and dark grey) to coordinate with the backing papers and motifs.

8 sheets of A5 backing paper are included in the kit - from spots to cogs, keys and clock hands.  Combined with the border strips and motifs they would be great for making men's Birthday cards, gift tags and more!

If you would like to make your own unique Steampunk cards this kit is now available to buy from my Etsy shop: www.hfcSupplies.etsy.com

Steampunk Printables Part 3

Here's the next product from my new set of Steampunk themed printables... a pair of gift boxes :)

As well as being great for Steampunk fans I think they would be a good way to wrap gifts for men.  I have designed two templates; one has clock hands, cogs and stripes on and the other has clock hands and a grey spotty pattern.

Each box measures 2.5 x 3.5 x 2 inches when made up.  You can embellish your boxes any way you like - I have decorated the box photographed using a brown silky yarn, a letter tag, photograph of an old key, tiny cog and some wire.

See a tutorial on how to make the gift boxes here: http://hazelfishercreations.blogspot.com/2011/08/printable-gift-box-tutorial.html

The printable templates are available from my Etsy shop and Folksy shop.

Printable Steampunk Labels

Here's the second product in my new set of Steampunk printables - a sheet of labels which you could use in scrapbooking, cardmaking, as gift tags, book plates....

The sheet comes as a high resolution 300dpi jpg file and measures 8.5 x 11 inches (A4).  There are 8 different labels; each measures 2.4 x 3.5 inches.  These labels are available to buy from my Etsy shop and Folksy shop.

PS. Remember the Treasury Challenge #6 I posted about last week? My 'Steel' entry was one of the runners up! :)  Congratulations to Jane who won with this treasury!

Steampunk Printables

I have something new for fans of Steampunk today... a set of printable Scrapbooking papers :)

This set was inspired by my collection of cogs, old keys and vintage clock hands (it's amazing how many different ones there are!).  I designed these papers from my pen drawings layered with scanned textures.  You could use them in scrapbooking projects, cardmaking etc...  They would go really well with this set of card blanks too :)

The set is available to buy from my craft supplies shop on Etsy and from my Folksy shop.  You will receive 8 high quality 300dpi jpg files, each measuring 12x12 inches (they can be printed on A4 paper too).

I have more Steampunk printables which will be released later this week!

Steampunk rubber stamps

I recently licensed my Hexley art to be made into rubber stamps and the first designs are now available to buy from Queen Kat Designs! :)

Three sets of steampunk stamps are available at the moment - two contain clockwork birds and one has D.O.R.A. the fish submarine.

The stamps are laser etched rubber and come unmounted.

Kat's Magical Patches

I had a really nice surprise through my letterbox the other day - these samples from Kat's Magical Patches featuring my artwork. :)

I have the 2.5 x 3.5 inch sized patches - they also come in 4 other sizes up to 8x10 inches.  The quality of these blocks is really impressive - I'll have to think of something to make with them now!

There is a really great range of artwork from lots of different artists available as fabric patches from Kat's Magical Patches - currently 9 of my designs are available to buy there.  See more on the website... http://katstamps.com

Clockwork Black-Headed Gull

Edwin Cracknell's recent trip to Hytheby proved a good source of inspiration for his latest mechanical creation.  Among the masts and rigging of the fishing boats tied to the quay lives the noisy Black-headed gull which has now been made into clockwork form...

This illustration (Clockwork Bird No.26) was actually inspired by my visit to Blakeney.  I think the shape of their beaks makes them look like they are smiling - did you know their scientific name means 'laughing gull'? The things you find out on Wikipedia!

You can buy prints of this illustration from my shop... www.hazelfishercreations.etsy.com

Sewing Project: Clockwork Bird Purse

Following on from my last post, here is one of my latest makes... a coin purse and keyring featuring two of my clockwork bird illustrations...



I did a bit of research online to work out how to sew the lining and zip in (as well as making it up as I went along!)  The bird on the purse was printed on transfer paper, ironed onto white fabric, then machine stiched onto the dusky pink fabric (next time I'll get some transfer paper that can be ironed straight onto any colour fabric.)



I love collecting fabrics and thought something like this combines my artwork with sewing, so if I make some to sell they will still fit in with the rest of my art shop. 

Clockwork Nuthatch

Edwin Cracknell's latest mechanical creation is a Nuthatch; a small but noisy bird good at climbing up and down trees!

I decided to illustrate a more colourful bird after the black and white Long-tailed tit, so picked the Nuthatch. It's No.32 in the clockwork bird series (another random number filling in the numbers up to 57!)

This bird will soon be available in my Etsy shop as a 5x7" print.

Hexley Transportation Centre - Vehicular Compendium

The Hexley transportation illustrations have had a make-over (and a couple of new additions too)! I liked the way the background turned out for my newest Clockwork Bird illustration, so added a similar 'aged' background to the transporation illustrations as well as a new title; 'Hexley Transportation Centre - Vehicular Compendium'.

Here are the updated versions of the Solo Dirigible Balloon, Land Strider and Steam Omni Carriage No.9...

And these are the new additions...

Steam Carriage No.3 - perfect for getting about town this carriage seats two people and has a storage compartment in the bonnet!

Balloon Carriage No.5 - this two seater carriage is ideal for exploring the countryside as with the larger tyres and balloon it can easily traverse most terrain!

It's great fun imagining vehicles for Hexley and to draw them too - I hope you like them!

These illustrations will all be appearing as 5x7 prints in my Etsy shop very soon. I also plan to make them available as 8x10 prints and greeting cards.

New Clockwork Bird - finished!

Clockwork Bird Model No.33 is now complete!

I decided to experiment with a different background to my other clockwork birds and have been looking at Victorian zoological/ botanical illustrations for inspiration. I like the simple 'aged' effect of this background (made using layered textures and digital painting) and the title - which is a combination of typed and hand written text.

My clockwork birds have been some of my most popular pieces - I'm just wondering how to continue the set... What do you think of this new background compared to the first two clockwork birds?

Clockwork Bird Model No.57...

Clockwork Robin...

New Clockwork Bird - work in progress

Here's a special preview of a new clockwork bird illustration I'm currently working on...



Can you tell what sort of bird it's supposed to be?

I have plans for a whole series of clockwork birds. When I drew my first clockwork bird I picked a number at random for it's model number - I don't know why I chose 57 but now if I want to fill in all the other numbers I still need another 54 birds!! I'll have to be more careful at picking numbers at random from now on! :)

Butterflies and Buttons Treasury feature

I've just seen that my set of 2 Hexley badges has been featured in a treasury on Etsy. The theme of the treasury is 'Butterflies and Badges' and was put together by juliafinucane. You can see the treasury on Etsy here (until Wednesday).