Christmas at Pink Flamingo Handcrafting!

I know it's only September and summer's still in recent memory (just about!), but I feel like it's December already! I've been busily working on my Christmas cards ready to sell at the markets I've booked, in my online shops and for actual 'real' shops too. I thought I'd share with you some of my festive creations and the ideas that brought them to life.

Keep reading for a SPECIAL OFFER for blog readers!

One of the main things I liked about selling at markets in the summer was listening to customers and their feedback. One comment a heard a few times was along these lines, 'That's a lovely card. It's a pity it's for a birthday as it would have been a great thank you card for my friend'. And this got me thinking. Something I can offer with handmade cards that it's difficult to do with printed cards is a personalised greeting; so this is what I'm going to do with my Christmas cards this year. I'll display the different cards I've made for a customer to choose from and then have a range of greetings which I can add to give people more choice. And even better, the cards sold online can have any greeting added to include names, date or occasions too! (This also explains why some of the cards in these pictures don't have greetings on.)

Love Bird Robins

I first made a card similar to this last Christmas to send to my family. I love the little robins who visit my garden in the winter and wanted to add them to a card, but I'm not a great drawer so they became stylised robins! I played around with a few designs and favoured them sitting on their branches with some little hearts in between. Each card is made with a different variation of patterns and colours to make them unique - and so I can play around with all my different papers!

I also make a version using an old falling to pieces copy of 'A Christmas Carol' and have great fun reading through the text to pick out Christmassy words to use and colouring the pages.

Festive Mrs Fox

I love little foxes and especially all the cute ones that have been around recently on stationery and clothes, so I designed one of my own. At first she was on some birthday cards but to make her more festive I've sat her next to a Christmas tree - each of which is unique. I've given her eyelashes to make her extra cute and think she's perfect to send to sisters, best friends, mums and daughters.

There are some urban foxes that I see sometimes in the early mornings wandering around behind my house which I always like to watch, but they're not as cute as these!

Christmas Russian Dolls

Anyone who's seen my bookshelves will know I have a thing about Russian Dolls. I can't even remember when I got my first set (and anyone who knows me will also know my memory isn't that great!) but I've always been fascinated with them. I love the patterns and colours which are so intricate and the stories that can be told with the images going down the dolls.

There's a continental market which visits Sheffield city centre a few times each year and there's a stall there that sells dolls from the Ukraine. I can't resist looking at them all and buying a set (and a brooch, and some Christmas decorations, and a magnet, and a jewellery box...well, you get the idea). I have a few sets of Christmas related ones too so thought it only natural to include Russian dolls in my cards. Again, each one is unique with a range of different colours and patterns available.

So, there are some of the inspirations behind my Christmas range of cards. I've also started work on decorations too and I'll share the story of those as the festive season gets closer (only 98 days til the big day!).

To help you get a head start preparing for Christmas and as a SPECIAL OFFER for blog readers, you can get 25% off all personalised Christmas cards in my Etsy shop until 30th September 2013.  Just use the code XMASBLOG25 at the checkout! Pink Flamingo Crafting on Etsy

My Favourite UK Crafter of the Week - handprinted gift wrap and gifts by Handmade and Heritage

While I was writing my post on gift wrapping earlier this week I was reminded of some beautiful hand printed gift wrap I'd seen before. So I looked back to where I found it and it's become part of the latest feature in my Favourite Crafters series. I love wrapping gifts (sometimes I buy extra gifts just as an excuse to try more wrapping ideas!) and finding beautiful ways to present items I've spent time finding for friends and family to make them extra special and thoughtful.

As usual, this post is in no way sponsored or influenced. The crafter featured is genuinely a favourite of mine; all quotes are the crafter's own and the opinions are mine. So, with this in mind this week's UK Crafter of the Week is...

Handmade and Heritage

As well as gift wrap, I also love birds (as anyone who's seen how my bedroom is decorated will tell you!) so I was intrigued when I first saw some brown paper gift wrap with owls printed on it. Looking into it to find more details, I discovered that the wrapping was in fact handprinted using lino printing and based on original drawings by Amiee, the creative talent behind Handmade and Heritage. I love that each piece is handmade and unique with slight variations because of the production technique and, as it's made to order, is made especially for you, the customer.

Barn Owl Rustic Gift Wrap, 3 sheets £6 Etsy

Amiee has an artistic background having studied fashion and clothing and working as a milliner. She was also inspired by her creative parents and their 'ability to make something out of nothing' which I love the idea of; it also reminds me of how Amiee's gift wrap is made to order so when you buy it is essentially 'nothing' waiting to be created! I think this makes it a truly personal and thoughtful choice as a way to share the present you've chosen for a loved one. She describes the creation of Handmade and Heritage as an ' evolution of many creative ideas over the years' inspired by and combined with a 'love of traditional craft, baking and gardening' into which she could 'incorporate my love of British nature and birds'. I love all these elements and think they truly come across in all her work. 

Hand printed brown paper gift bag, £2 Etsy

I've tried hand printing on brown paper before to make my own wrapping, but I'm not very neat and end up with smudges, inky hands and streaks all over the paper! I really admire the quality of Amiee's work and patience to hand print all her items. She describes it this way, 'there is something very calming about printing, I think its the repetitive nature of it', maybe I could learn something from this in my own crafting! Amiee turns her dining room table into her workshop in the evenings after her looking after her two young children but is 'hoping to have a studio space soon so I can claim my dining table back!'

Robin Red Breast Gift Wrap, 3 sheets £6 Etsy I think it would make great birthday or Christmas paper

As well as gift wrap, Amiee also creates embroidered gifts (perfect for having something to wrap up!) using her crafting experience from over the years. These include hand stitched bird buttons beautifully embroidered onto wool felt which make great accessories for clothes or making into unique jewellery or accessories. I love adding items like this and vintage brooches to my bags as I can change them to match my outfit, mood or the season. I think the button below would look lovely for the upcoming autumn months with its soft moss green and rusty orange. 

Hand Embroidered Chaffinch Bird Button £7 Etsy

I love the rustic, natural and traditional look of all of Amiee's work and if you'd like to discover more too you can find here in these places:

www.handmadeandheritage.etsy.com

  

www.facebook.com/HandmadeandHeritage

twitter.com/_H_and_H_