Shop Feature: Polka Dots for Christmas

It's December already.  I've been easing myself into the Christmas way of things -- decorating, shopping, baking -- for a couple of weeks now and it's such a relief to hit December with a not-too-long To Do list.  How are preparations coming along for you?

I was really channeling Christmas when I designed these lovely Red Polka Dot Placemats for the Etsy shop.  As with all my hand-printed items, these are cut and sewn from a premium natural burlap that has a relatively even weave and very little of the characteristic burlap scent.  They're printed individually, so no two are exactly alike.  They're in the shop now, along with lots of other pretty things.  Please visit.

SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT:  I'll be closing the shop down for a Christmas holiday on December 10.  This is also the last day that I can guarantee pre-Christmas delivery.  Dapple Design Shop will reopen on January 4, 2017.

As Summer Fades

Yesterday we had a misty morning and a rainy afternoon.  Today I ate lunch on the sunny front step.  And so the days bounce back and forth between summer and fall.

Last you heard, here, I was taking a month away from blog land to settle into a new house.  A month away became summer vacation, but that back-to-business September energy has finally caught up with me.  I'm here with a few tidbits to share.

From Home:  This fuzzy friend crashed our front-step lunch.  I'm no naturalist, but I would like to know what sort of butterfly he will become (assuming he survives Miss S's adoration).  Does anyone know?

From the Studio:  I've been adding new listings to the Etsy shop almost daily.  Getting the photos right has been tricky this time around, but at some point the listings just have to go live.  As fall creeps in, I'm enjoying the simplicity of this burlap table runner.  What do you think?

Linking to Mosaic Monday hosted by Lavender Cottage.

Works in Progress: Crochet Cloths

It's really starting to look like we're moving.  Piles of boxes line the dining room walls and the cupboards and cabinets house-wide are increasingly empty.  This is all very good, but I've had to slow the packing a bit as we still have to live here for another 4 weeks.  

Somewhere in all those boxes are my sewing things.  As luck would have it, I'm feeling especially inspired to sew this week.  Pawing through fabric and patterns (to pack them) will do that.  

So I've been expending my creative energies via crochet.  I needed some new dish cloths, so I tried out a couple of patterns and picked my favorite.  Then I kept going.

I''m a little obsessed with these flower-topped bundles.  They're great fun to line up and admire.  These are already up in the Dapple Shop with a few more colours to come.

I've also begun something on a whim because I saw it on Pinterest.  Oh Pinterest.

Just one square doesn't look like much, but maybe I'll make enough for this retro circles blanket.

What colours would you combine with this blue?

Burlap Birdies

These adorable little birdies are the result of an bad bout of boredom and an overfull scrap box.  They're bright and cheerful in a simple way.  They make me smile.

I'm repainting a small wooden frame to catch the blue one in.  Something fresh to hang in my new house.

Given the popularity of my Simple Burlap Place Mats over on Etsy, I'm wondering about making a set of Burlap Birdie Place Mats.  Which design do you like best?

Tags Tags Tags

The Great Sorting Out has begun in advance of our May move (yep, we're moving; more on that later) and the craft room is at the eye of the storm.  I'm coming across the most amazing things.  Projects begun and never finished (terrible, I know).  Supplies for projects never begun (cringe).  And a few real treasures in the bottoms of boxes.  Like these . . .

and these . . .

There're left over from my book paper crafting bonanza of a year or two back.  I punched my way through thrift store copies of Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice in a matter of months (if you're interested, you can view some of the results here and here).  Then the obsession passed.

Today I came across a very few leftover tags.  Guess what.  They're still as cute a can be!  Creamy paper.  Black typeface.  A little jute.  A little love.

But I'm moving, so these pretty little tags are going into the shop and you (lucky you) may have them if they call your name.

Be My Valentine

It's February and that most romantic of days is just around the corner.  To celebrate, I've marked down all the pink and red items in my Etsy shop by 10%.  Head on over.  You just might find something that you love at a great price.

Interviewed

Debbie over at Work Your Art is launching a new series where she features creative business owners.  Her first interview published over the weekend featuring yours truly.  I was so proud to see my words on her site.  When I read them over again I didn't hear the voice of a stay-at-home mom with a hobby; I heard a legitimate creative entrepreneur.

Here's a little sample to whet your appetite.  If you're interested, you can read my whole interview here.

How would you describe your work? 
I find a lot of joy in surrounding myself with pretty things that I can use every day, so that’s what I make – small luxuries that can be indulged in frequently.  I make home décor items – such a table runners and place mats – in a variety of styles and materials.  In many ways I’m still looking for my true aesthetic.  My work is always changing.  I’m really excited about a line of new felt table runners that will hit the shop before the end of January and I’m starting to experiment with printing my own textiles. 

In other news, I'm slowly working toward a couple of new table runners for the Dapple Shop.  I've appliqued these little leaves to wool felt and used my sewing machine to "sketch in" in some detail.  The final produce turned out very well, so I'm work on a similar one featuring these little flowers.  Stay tuned.  I hope to get these into the shop soon.

Cold and Sunny

It's finally turned cold here -- and beautifully bright and sunny.  There's frost in the mornings and I've revived my winter ritual of sitting in front of the pellet stove in the mornings with a cup of coffee.  Ah, the little pleasures!

Other little pleasures:  fresh air and a glimpse of the world through a toddler's eyes.  We've been collecting sticks lately.

This deck of this boardwalk was slick with frost in the shady spots but thawed and dried instantly when the sun hit it.

Miss S's older cousin sometimes visits for the morning, so we had company on this walk.  The girls got their gum boots wet in the lake then sat side by side on the dock for a snack of oranges and almonds.  There are some very sweet pictures of them together, but I try not to post other people's children here.

I'd be interested to know what others do with photos of other people, especially kids.  Do you get permission, completely avoid posting them, or just go for it?

Finally, I have finally posted these new placemats in the shop.  It took longer than expected to finish them off, but here they are.  I think they're perfect for winter -- not overtly Christmas-y, but filled with mountains and forests and woodland critters in cool snowy colours.  

Thanks for visiting, and please remember to leave me a comment if you have thoughts on the photo issue.

Stitching on a Rainy Saturday

And the rain rain rain came down down down.  Not in torrents, but persistently as it does here on the coast.  This afternoon Miss S is sleeping, Hubby is performing surgery on the wood stove and I'm curled up with some hand stitching -- at least I will be in a minute, when this post is done and the kettle has boiled for tea.

First, I thought I'd share a few of my many works in progress.

In the sewing room I'm working, slowly but surely, on a new set of table linens for the Dapple shop.  I absolutely love this combination of fabrics.  Grey and pastel.  Mountains and waves.

Miss S sometimes sits on my lap while I do this type of sewing, helping by pulling the pins out when I tell her it's time and meticulously storing them away in the pin cushion.

But in the evenings I've been parked in the living room with my hand work.  These leaves are a bit of scrap bag fun.  I wanted to doodle stitch -- no project in mind.  If you look closely, you'll note that my embroidery skills needed dusting off.   I might chalk this piece up to practice and return it to the scrap bag.  It was fun.

So much fun, in fact, that I've jumped into another little project.  Felt appliques and a little embroidery.  It's quick and simple.  Cozy work.  I have a vague plan of making a enough of these for a bunting-style garland.  

And that is what I'm planning to curl up with right now.  Happy weekend to you.

Still Life

I had a wonderful time with this month's Photo Challenge on still life.  I'm eager to show you my pictures and tell you all about them, so let's jump right in.

Aperture Priority setting     Shutter: 1/250     f/5.6     ISO 100

Tomatoes.  They're rolling in from the garden -- beautiful and sweet and so photogenic.  For this photo shoot I dragged the dining room table close to the patio door and threw a blanket over one of those tri-fold science fair booths for a background.  It was a sunny morning and the tomatoes are in direct sunlight while the backdrop is not.  Can you believe that the backdrop is actually a white blanket?  I didn't expect it to look so dark, but I like the effect.  The tomatoes certainly stand out.  Looking at my pictures now, I wish I had played a little more with depth of field.    The glare is disappointing too, but overall, I'm happy with this one.

Aperture Priority setting     Shutter: 1/100     f/7.1     ISO 200

Confession:  My enthusiasm for this particular challenge on still life photography is strongly driven by my Etsy shop.  Good pictures are everything when you sell your handiwork online and I still don't have a product photo set up and I'm truly happy with.  This is one of my crochet baskets.

Getting enough natural light is a huge challenge; I'm far too dependent on the weather.  For this photo, I took my cardboard science fair backdrop and a white table cloth outside to the patio table.  It was mid-morning, a sunny day but not in the sun.

The first thing I notice here is that outside at this time of day the light is soft and less directional.  It doesn't make for a very dramatic photo, but it does show my product well.  I think I'll experiment further with the outdoor option.  As long as the rain holds off, that is.

 

Manual setting     Shutter:  1/30    f/6.3    ISO 500

Finally, a small Hydrangea bloom from my front garden.  It's another simple composition, but I had several experiments in mind.  For starters, I wanted to try using a paper backdrop like several of Donna's recommended articles suggested.  I've always used fabric simply because that's what I have, but it wrinkles.

The set up for this shoot included a meter stick stuck through a roll of kraft paper and balanced between two bar stools.  I pulled the paper down and taped it to the front of my daughter's colouring table (just the right height).  I moved the whole works around a couple of times (note the wrinkled paper) and landed up beside the family room window.  

Then -- drum roll, please -- I switched my camera to manual.  For the first time.  I don't have much to say about that as I didn't really know what I was doing.  See the results for yourself.

Several of Donna's recommended articles waxed eloquent on how controlled still life photography is, how leisurely and drawn out the process can be.  I had to laugh.  Clearly those photographers did not have two-year-old helpers.  Miss S was involved, to some degree, with all of these photo shoots.  She especially likes climbing up on a chair beside the tripod and pushing the button.  Leisurely, no.  Fun, always.

A big thank you to Donna for hosting this Personal Photo Challenge and to all the other participants for joining and visiting.  I'm excited to see what you've done.

Treasury Tuesday: Red

I love having my handcrafts featured in Etsy Treasuries.  It gives me a little thrill to think that someone likes what I made and wants to show it off.

This Treasury, by KittenUmka, has lots of saturated fall colour.  As a collection, it's eye-catching but not overwhelming.  Lovely.  In the very first spot, you'll notice my princess crown.

'Red' by KittenUmka

Crochet Princess Crown for D... DappleDesignSh... $15.5	Slouchy beanie hat orange fl... Johannahats $44	Etsy Mosaic Stained Glass Tr... earthmothermos... $45	Warm Forest Barrette with L... neesiedesigns $10
Triangle Necklace, Ottoman S... eacarjewelry $52	Ceramic Baby Platypus Bowl i... Barruntando $14	Drizzled Red Lampwork Glass ... bstrung $28	Red Wedding Shawl, Winter We... beyazdukkan $48
Spiced Cranberry Gourmet Jar... everythingdawn $5.95	domed folded copper round st... LetitiaPintili... $23	Flower lace necklace! Vict... semajewelry $12	Heart Design Anniversary Car... PlanetStreetSt... $6
Broken China Necklace Penda... MaroonedJewelr... $35	White dress for baby girls w... MonikaMagdalen... $90	Sterling Silver 14K Gold and... SilverSirenStu... $350	Adorable Annalee Sliding Gra... Jjantiq $12

Powered By Handmadeology

Does anything from this Treasury catch your eye?

Another Busy, Sunny Day

The sun is streaming in through the windows.  Hubby is industriously chopping tomatoes and jalapeno peppers, doing his bit to keep the mound of tomatoes on the counter in check.  This is the mound.  I can't help showing it off a bit:  45 pounds of backyard garden goodness with more to come.

I've been taking advantage of the bright afternoon to take a bite out of my own mound -- all the handmade Christmas goodies that I've been making for the Dapple Design Shop.  Here's your very first sneak peak.

Yes, my Cloth Gift Bags are back for another season.  They're reusable, easy on the planet, and oh-so-pretty.  I'll be listing these very soon, so keep your eyes open.

Today I'm linking up with Angela at Pretty Little Inspirations.  Please drop by and visit a few of the online shops joining her link party.

Finding Joy

It's all the little things that are bringing me joy these days.  All the seasonal treats, the pleasures of early summer. 

A bowl of itty bitty, sunny sweet strawberries -- still among the first from our patch.

Leisurely strolls with my favorite people.

Arugula pesto and goat cheese for breakfast, lunch and snack.

Watching some things fade so something else can take their place.

Something like a new colour of Columbine from the farmer's market.

Quiet evenings with pretty yarn and new ideas.

Puttering in my Etsy shop and adding these pretty crochet baskets to the line up.

What's bringing you joy these days?