"Cait" 2016 Tea Towel

   Its that time of year again - when Spoonflower puts out the call for tea towel designs to enter into their yearly contest.

   This year I went back to blue & white, after straying to other colors the last 2 years.
I used an older design of mine: Swedish blue rose heart and vine on a fresh white background.  Sprinkled in a few flutterbies for whimsy.

    I don't ever expect to win - the winners/top 10 are always trendy/kitschy, illustrator-created designs in weird color combinations - lol.  But the motivation to create the design is what I'm mostly after!  And I definitely have my following outside of Spoonflower's crowd.  Gals like me, who love old-fashioned florals in fresh, pastel colors that are easy on the eye - and easy to live with in their homes.

   Made from 55% linen, 45% cotton, its not only pretty but super absorbent!
Not just for display or drying dishes, these tea towels on linen/cotton canvas fat quarters also make great placemats, napkins, table runners, tray liners and even one half of a pillow case (use a plain cotton for the backside).
I think it would work well as gift wrap too - around a kitchen-based gift or even to wrap a loaf of homemade holiday sweet bread for someone special.

    Its for sale in my ETSY shop, HERE.
It comes pre washed, ironed, hemmed with my pretty cotton tag and a convenient hanging loop on the back.
Its ready to use, right out of the package.
(makes a fabulous gift too, especially with the holidays coming up)


   Or you can purchase it by the yard through my Spoonflower shop, HERE.
You get the raw fabric which, if you sew, is a better deal for you!  Pre wash in cold water with a mild detergent that is phosphate free.  hang to dry.
Finish your own way.

"Cait" 2016 calendar tea towel in blue and white

"Cait" 2016 tea towel with my beautiful paper packaging.

Gift Cones

   The old fashioned holiday craft fair season is upon us!
I have always looked forward to hitting up church bazaars and community center fairs for hand made, home made and one of a kind for gifts for family and friends.
In particular, I love the baked goods!

   I decided to enter a few craft fairs as a seller this year to help further my introduction of fabrics and wallpaper designs to the public.
I look forward to meeting all those folks and talking shop (decorating with fabrics and wallpapers)!

   To compliment my linen cotton tea towels, cotton pillows and lavender sachets, I am adding decoupaged gift cones and serving trays to my assortment of goodies on my sales table!

   The trays aren't completed yet but the cones were mostly completed last weekend (except for the four tartan ones).
Not a big fan of a lot of drippy, faux-Victorian ornament, I wanted to keep these simple yet festive, with the possibility they could be used to give a gift other then just at Christmas time too!

   I used inexpensive pastel colored hem tape as ribbon (something I have done for 20-odd years), along with thin silk embroidery ribbons and some special sparkly lace trims, pompom ribbons and velvets.
  The interiors of the cones are painted with chalk paints and the bases are paper mache so these cones are made to last!
   The outsides are covered in paper gift wrap from my fabric and wallpaper lines.

A New Soup Tureen

   My creative/art projects have fallen by the wayside temporarily as we get the house ready for fall weather.
   That includes yard clean up and installing new chimney piping for the wood stove.

   But I've also switched the menu over to more fall-inspired dishes.
I love soups and stews and make them at least 3x a week when the weather turns chilly.

   I found this tureen on eBay for....wait for it....$55!!
Its a Danish made, hand painted soup tureen in Royal Copenhagen's Blue Flowers Fluted.
Mint condition - its like no one ever used it!
Had to have it.
   I collect RC Blue Flowers but in the Curved version - but who cares!  When a beautiful Danish soup tureen presents itself for that price, I'm not passing it up because of technicalities!  LOL

   I couldn't wait to get it home - and yes, already used it!  Its pretty big though, and its just the 2 of us.  But it will look spectacular on the table Christmas Day with my traditional lobster bisque in it. SIGH

Kitten Stuey in the background: he is fascinated by candlelight so I have to keep flames up high where he can't reach them!