Birdcage Tape

The newest designer item to GraceInk's collection is this fantastic birdcage tape, use it for wrapping your Christmas pressies in style, sending parcels to the far flung corners of the world, making notecards and gift tags or for jazzing up anything that's just boring! Want to buy a roll then check out my Etsy Shop where I currently have it for sale. I'll be stocking the shop with lots of goodies over the Christmas period so be sure to make your purchases when I do...

Over the coming weeks and months I'll be posting lots of different ideas for the tape...have an idea then why not leave a comment and I'll give it a go!

Christmas comes early...

GraceInk HQ has been looking somewhat like I would imagine Father Christmas's grotto would look like if he was into screen-printing as much as me. The elf (that'll be me then) has been busy printing and bejewelling Christmas cards all week for shops and my next upcoming fair, the Art Market in Holmfirth. And today the envelopes arrived in silvers and golds to finish off the cards a treat...looking forward to selling a few when the festive season starts! In true GraceInk style the images are a festive take on birdcages and russian dolls and have been waiting all year to take a bow...

Blombos Cave, Newcastle

Despite the heavy snow happening across the North of England and South of Scotland, I braved the wintry weather to exhibit and sell my products at an event to publicise Blombos Cave in Newcastle this Saturday just past. Blombos Cave are an online jewellery (and paper giftware) emporium which you should check out if you have a chance as they stock a huge range of hand-made necklaces, bracelets, cufflinks and much much more which would be great as a present and even better as a treat for yourself! GraceInk has a selection of the digital cards with various designs for sale on the website too (if you're looking for the connection!)

This is the GraceInk display of my work being admired at the event. I was selling quite a range of textile and paper gifts including my new birdcage notebooks and larger purses to fit a passport in. The wrapping paper which I had printed with the Trinkets design went down a storm along with the gift tags...must be everyone getting ready for Christmas.

My favourite jewellery item from the show had to be these brooches by Compass Alba, which featured parts of out of issue ordnance survey maps backed onto a beautiful beech wood. I even ended up buying one featuring my home and surrounding locations. Check them out here on the website.

'Prints of the Orient' Exhibition

Throughout October, GraceInk Design will be showcasing Hong Kong inspired interior furnishing products at the Pushing Print Event taking place in Margate. The work was selected by Qing Art based in Margate to work alongside their own collection of home furnishings and furniture, which is a beautiful selection of throws, tables, lamps and cushions bursting with colour and pattern from the Orient. The website is well worth a look if you can't make it to Margate yourself...check it out here! (I'm saving my pennies for one of the beautiful throws)

And below, I finally managed to transfer my hand-drawn birdcage design onto screen and here are two of the finished results below (that are currently making their way to Margate), this design has become so popular that it's also adorning tea-towels and notebooks and I'm sure in the near future a whole host of other products. The notebooks will be on sale from Saturday, launching at the WASPS open studios!

Arrows at the ready...

What a busy month September has been so far...my feet have hardly touched the ground. The weather has been a bit up and down of late but just over a week ago the sun shone for the annual Archery Competition happening at Abbotsford House (home of Sir Walter Scott) near Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. As well as the usual bows and arrows flying about there was a lovely little craft fair taking place which I took part in.

As well as my usual bits and pieces, I've just recently finished an old/new design (old as it was originally for digital, new because it's now on screen), which I have been using on tea towels in duck egg blue above (it's the birdcages). More of the tea towels along with a whole host of other bits and pieces will be making their way to Pushing Print in Margate at the end of this month...check out www.qingart.co.uk News and Events for more information on that or check back to my blog in the next few days for a separate blog all about it!

I also had to include a picture of the fantastic birdie pegs one of my sisters brought back from France while she was on her travels...they will be making theie rounds to all the other fairs I'm doing in coming months because as well as looking cool they also come in extremely handy!

And just to finish, one of the towers on Abbotsford House with it's Scottish Flag flying, it looks like an ugly grey cloud is gathering behind but it stayed dry all day, just the way I like to exhibit my work!