Crafty Work

I'm working hard today on several projects - a magazine commission, something for a book, a quilt and some papercrafts. I just love my working days. I feel rather guilty to be saying I'm working at all as I love it so much! It's a strange thing being a freelance designer and working from home. I've always done it, apart from when I first graduated and I taught design and drawing at a college, but even then I was building up a collection of textile and wallpaper designs to exhibit in Holland and France. Those exhibitions and the commissions and contacts I made led to me being able to go freelance.

When my daughters were small I used to sell through design agents who took my work to customers and charged me a percentage. They would contact me with new commissions, sometimes visiting me at home to talk through the work, with the children actually there too! I used to do designs sometimes at weekends and in the evenings, during nap times - just whenever I could, I managed somehow.

It even counts as work when I go shopping - looking for props, spotting new trends, absorbing the newest colours and being inspired and of course buying crafts materials....soooo much part of my work!!
Time to stop and get BaCk to wOrK now...Have a great day! x

Crafty Supplies

This week a few interesting packages arrived from various crafty places - with some new supplies to add to my craft stash. I buy fabrics which catch my eye, often with no definite plan for using them, but if I like them I know they will fit in to a project at some point.

I usually buy small amounts of fabric as most of my work is small scale, and often mix different designers ranges together. If I want large pieces of fabric, say for a quilt backing, I choose these separately after the quilt top is completed. These bright and beautiful fabrics came from here.

Buying new craft papers and other embellishments for magazine projects is essential to the success of this type of work. I need to use new and current crafts materials so readers can get hold of the same ones, if they wish to, and to give the work a fresh look. (Well, that's my excuse anyway!)

It's Christmas designing time in my studio at the moment, so some new papers were ordered in ready to be included in the festive creativity. I love Christmas, fortunately, so I can even get enthusiastic about it in August - or any time of year I need to! These crafty Christmas supplies came from here.

Before I go I'd just like to say a great big thank you to the new visitors to my blog this week, especially those who have left me lovely comments. Please do come back again soon!

Have a wonderful weekend. x