Forest Flower Designs gets featured...

I have been working very hard over the past few weeks, gearing Forest Flower Designs up for the Christmas craft fair season. I have my first one - billed as a Christmas shopping night - at a local village hall on the 21st October (that's less than two weeks! *gulp* ) Last year's event was very successful for me, despite a relatively small turnout so I am looking forward to this year's event... I have lots of Rustic Country Collection mini bunting garlands (more about those in another post...) hearts and birds ready to go plus some fabric covered diaries and address books, cute wallets and christmassy patchwork table runners and place mats in the making. So many more ideas but so little time...

In other news I was offered a trial run with online boutique Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous, including their full pr package which included uploading of hi-res images of my products onto Press Loft. This is where all the journalists go to source product images for magazines - monthly membership costs something in the region of £200 so to have someone do this on my behalf, for free (for a limited period) has been tremendously helpful in developing Forest Flower Designs, as you can imagine. Especially when I received an email a few weeks back to say that one of my images had been downloaded by a journalist from Living Edge!

To say I was a bit excited is possibly an understatement

Then, last week I got another email with a pdf attached of a page full of red and white loveliness!!!

Honestly I am so proud to see something I have made in print, alongside all those other gorgeous things - every one of which I would quite happily give a home to by the way!

So many thanks to Alison and Amanda at GWAG for giving me this opportunity and to Leanne who does all the pr stuff for keeping me in the loop!


I am currently building a new website using create.net which I am really enjoying working on. It is much more geared towards the creating of a great online shopping experience for my customers and much easier to use than the MrSite package I currently have. Hoping to re-launch by the end of October and I will be posting some exclusive 'blog readers special offers' so stay tuned!!

Forest Flower Designs - I'm dreaming of a (Red &) White Christmas...

I am very excited about my new Forest Flower Designs collection for Autumn 2011!
Inspired by my love of Scandinavian Chic, Rustic French country elegance and English Shabby Chic, along with my desire to create a stylish, co-ordinated red and white Christmas decorating theme that wasn't overtly christmassy and so could be enjoyed all year round.

It all began with these fabrics...

I spotted the cute polka dot and the gorgeous retro floral print at my local quilting shop The Patchwork Basket in Newent...

I am so totally in love with this fabric - from last year's 'Lumiere de Noel' collection by French General for Moda. I just knew I HAD to do something with it. Unfortunately for me it is, as I said, from LAST year's collection and, as I had the last FQ the shop had I then had to track down further supplies. There seemed to be plenty of it still available in the States but for UK sellers it was like gold dust. Finally found some at Thread Bear , thanks to the power of Twitter!! (or more correctly, the helpfulness of my lovely twitter friends!)

So this is what I have done with them

Six gorgeous felt birdies with patterned wings...

...six hand-stitched felt hearts with patterned fabric inserts...

...and these cute fabric hearts with felt panels and heart shaped shell buttons.

I absolutely love this collection I have named 'Rustic Country', and it seems other people do too! It has already been picked up by a gallery in Oxfordshire - The Tube Gallery - who want to feature the hearts and birds as part of their 'Wonderland' exhibition running from October into the New Year, alongside loads of really talented artists and designers whose work they consider 'an eclectic mix of all that is wonderful and covetable'. I am so proud to be part of that! If you live in (or are visiting) the Forest of Dean area, the full range will be stocked by Solid Objects Gift Store in Newent and the award winning Forest Bookshop will be incorporating them into their Christmas window display and selling a selection.

I have added these designs to my Folksy shop and I am in the processes of uploading them to my Gift Wrapped & Gorgeous boutique. (There will be some online exclusives being added there shortly too!)

All of these decorations would look just gorgeous anywhere in your home but I reckon they would make an amazing display on your Christmas tree for a relaxed and stylish red and white 'Handmade Christmas' decorating theme. Coming up in the next few weeks I hope to add some more new designs 'Rustic Country Christmas Collection' will include bunting (including one special design/idea I can wait to unveil), mini stockings, full size personalised stockings and garlands.

Following my popular Handmade Christmas Giveaway last year I have something bigger and better in planning for this year. Stay tuned!