So what do you think? Notebook gift tags are here. I am really digging these. I had a lot of scrap paper around and I wanted to do something with it. The artist/hoarder in me said “don’t throw it away, you might need it someday!” Well, here is what I did with the scrap paper. The paper is really nice too. It is leftover printing paper so it is nice and sturdy and it great for writing on.

Each gift tag measures 2″x4″ and I sew the lines in to them one by one. Then I punched a hole in the corner and added some twine so you can tie them on a present, wine bottle or really any special gift to a special someone. I also thought they would be good for labeling in general. I would personally use them to label drinks or food at a party so people would know what they were consuming. What would you use them for?

There is 6 in a pack and they come in a cute little brown envelope at $3 a pack.

More pics below.

Like always these will be available on my website once it is up and running and I will have these at the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival this Saturday, May 21, 2011 from 12-5pm. Look for my booth and come visit. Keep checking back here on my blog too because I will be featuring and announcing new products everyday this week to get you all ready for the festival so come back and visit.

Cheers.

I have added a new product to my hand made card line and I am pretty happy with how they turned out. They are fabric and paper cards.

I took lined paper (5×7″) and sewed a piece of scrap fabric on the back and there they were. They are packaged folded, with kraft paper envelopes. In each package there are 6 and I am selling them  for $16. I chose this price because of how unique they are and each pack will be different. I am using scrap fabric (a.k.a what ever I have in my fabric scrap bin) and sewing it on the back. They are a little time consuming but totally worth it.  Below are some pictures.

I think these are great because they are blank and can be used for anything. They are great for a birthday card (especially since you forgot) because they have a little “something, something” to them and seem thoughtful. These cards can be used as a “thank you” card, “get ready cause we’re pregnant again”, “get well”, or “I’m thinking of you” card. I hope you all like them as much as I do so let me know your thoughts.

I will be selling these at Trenton Avenue Arts Festival on May 21 so if you would like a pack come buy one then. You can order them right now by emailing me but soon they will be available in my store. That should be up and running soon as well. My goal is to have that up before TAAF so I will keep you posted.

Hello all! I am here to introduce my latest product. I have decided to add another product to go with my fabric name banners. Above is a picture of my “fabric letter wall art”.

I decided that my site and inventory needed a product that was quicker, cheaper, fun, different and easier to make. I love doing the fabric name banners but since they are made to order they take longer to make so I wanted something available for people to buy as is. So that being said, I have created a new piece for wall decor. I think they are a great way to label a kid’s door or add color to their bedroom. I also see these as just an interesting and unique wall decor for any room.

How are these made? I take stretcher bars and stretch a piece of sturdy fabric over the bars and staple it. Then I sew a letter on a colored or patterned piece of fabric, iron, then stretch that over the bars and first piece of fabric. I do the first piece of fabric because the cotton fabric I use for the background color is too thin and can be a bit transparent. I wanted to add a little substance to the piece. I then add some hardware used to hang it. It is quick and easy for me to do and fun!

Here are the details. I will have two sizes available. The sizes are either 11×12″ or 8×10″. The smaller size is 18$ and the larger size is $22 and does not include shipping and handling. There will be hardware on the back so it is ready to be hung. I am not sure if I will give the option of choosing colors but that is still in the thought process. I am thinking of making a few and having them for sale and hopefully someone will buy them as is and I can also have the choice of the customer letting me know the colors they would like and I would go from there. I could even have the option of a patterned background or solid background available as well. Below are some more examples.

So far I have made three pieces. The letters “m”, “c”, and “a”. I am working on many more now and they range in colors and letters. My “store” on my website is still not quite there but soon you will be able to order Fabric Name Banners and the Fabric Letter Wall Art. I hope you like the latest product and I would love some feedback from you all.

Would you buy one as a gift or for you own child’s bedroom? Do you think this is a good product? Should I have the option of colors or just make them?

I’ll let you all know when they will be available to buy through the website. For now, you can email me or message me on facebook if you want one.

Thanks for visiting and pass the word on and look for me at the 6th Annual Trenton Avenue Arts Festival. I will do a post about that later in the week.

I think this might be my best idea yet. Well, I hope so. I have started to make Fabric Name Banners, targeted towards babies and children. To my adult friends that are big kids inside, I would be happy to make one for you too

It all started when I wanted to make something for Annick’s first birthday party. So I decided to make a banner with just her name on it. I didn’t want to do “Happy Birthday” or “congrats” because I wanted it to be used for decorating her room. I didn’t want to limit the use of the banner. I like to sew and I had some really cool fabric around so I went at it. Along with her name I added a bear silhouette on either side because her middle name is Kuma which means “bear” in Japanese. There is a story behind this but I will tell some other time. Below are some pictures.

I have gotten quite a few orders since announced on Facebook that I would be selling these. I began a page on Facebook called Unique Annick.  I started posting pictures of the banners I make and have gotten 4 or 5 orders since then (friends of course) but still they are orders. I’m hoping that once I get everything set up here on my website that I will get more orders and really get this thing going.

I love what I am doing and would love to see it grow and become a business. Making these name banners allows me to be creative and gets this “antsy” feeling out of me. Creating artwork is just not suitable for me right now so I thought this would be a good way to “make art” and make some money at the same time. My goal is to make my website here a place where people can order and buy the Fabric Name Banners. It is in the works and I hope to have it all set up, ready to go by tomorrow morning. Of course, my wonderful husband Nic is helping me do this.  For now, people can email me or message me on Facebook to put in an order.

So here are the details about the Banners. Each Fabric Name Banner is $35 for the base cost. That includes up to 7 letters. There will be about 12″-18″ on each side for hanging and 1″ separation between each letter. There will be 3″ separation between animals/character silhouette and also words. If you have a name over 7 letters, it will be an additional $4 per letter. If you would like silhouette (like the bear seen above), it an additional $5 per panel. Each banner comes with it’s own handmade mesh drawstring bag with a little brown envelope and piece of blank card stock. This can be used for gift wrapping or just to store. Shipping and handling is an additional $4.95 through priority mail. People can pay me through Paypal or send me a check.

If you have any questions, please let me know and I would love some feedback so let me know what you think. Below are some more examples of name banners!

Thanks for visiting!

My time as an artist without children is running out so I have really started to produce some artwork again.  This isn’t the only reason I have started new pieces.  I got some new maps from a friend and just found the colors to be great.  The picture above is the latest addition to my body of work.  Again, the colors I thought are just fantastic.  The map used in the piece is of Greece.  I love the green and pink together.  It is an older map, from the 1950′s I believe. 

I have found that not producing artwork is hard.  It calms me, keeps me focused and clears my head while I’m working.  Producing is a necessity for my happiness.  This most recent series of work has made it clear that the process is why I love to create.  The reason I say this is because there was a lot of steps to this piece.

I began by sewing into the paper by hand.  I went back to old doodles in my sketchbook and just found these organic shapes to be perfect for this new series so I started with them.  After sewing into the piece I found the map of Greece that my friend Mikey got for me and just fell in love with the colors so I cut up the map and drew a grid on top of the thread.  I measured the grid of the map and made the same grid on the paper.  Of course I did this somewhat backwards but I then added squares of the map to the grid.  Using the exacto knife is always fun for me becuase it takes time and makes me slow down to really look at what I am doing.

 After adding the map I began filling in some empty sqaures with watercolor.  I used watercolor pencils because I have really gotten used to using them and they are less expensive and easier to store.  After adding the watercolor I knew that it needed something so I started thinking about pulling the road off the surface.  I had some balsam wood scraps around and decided to put the roads on that so it would connect some of the space without maps to the spaces with maps.  I needed the eye to flow better so that was my solution.  After I spend time on that I decided that making more levels can make the piece a bit more complicated without losing the color or the sewing.  Again, I used balsam wood and started raising some pieces of the surface high, some low and others leaving directly on the surface. 

The whole piece is mounted on a wood board so it makes it sturdy and a lot easier to hang.  I’m still debating another layer of some sort but I might sit on it a while.  In the meantime I have two other pieces going and have another working in my head so I will probably start that this weekend.  I will definitely keep you posted on the new work and progress.  Also, keep checking back because I hope to have a show this spring.

Thanks for visiting and let me know what you think on the new work…I would greatly appreciate the feedback, good or bad.

Don’t forget to check out my Etsy store too…I just added sketchbooks and more jewelry.