getting market ready

its raining & my son has a day at preschool today, so i am making some little things to sell at my next market...

zip purses in assorted shapes and sizes....

a new butterfly print...

the signature apple print... (shape 1 above & shape 2 below)

up-cycled metal zips from my mothers sewing collection she handed over to me last year

vintage floral sheets used for the lining...

organic hemp denim on the back (and organic hemp base cloth for my prints too)

such fun to make, especially as no two are the same...

:: which shape do you like best?

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& lots more exciting things over at our creative spaces each thursday too so click here to visit

House & Garden magazine feature

my apple mac linen cushion was selected by the House & Garden Stylist for inclusion in a fruity feature of their March ed.

it came about through me listing a shop on a great new online market place called down that little lane . 

Check them out on FB here and the Blog here.... (...and if you like what you see apply! ((you must apply as this market place is full of unique and top quality items)) ... & yes, they are currently looking for new shop sellers... )

Tessa, the lady behind this new market place was contacted by the H&G stylist who had selected out of all the amazing products - my cushion! 

yippee..... free advertising and its quite exciting seeing my BIRCHseed stuff in a mag :) 

:: i would love to hear if your goods have been featured in a magazine/s 

Q: what does a native australian tree and a baby rattle have in common?

A: .... they both feature in v.2.0 of the BIRCHseed organic fabric APPLE softie baby rattle.

 this rattle is now 100% unique to any other baby rattle sporting a timber teething ring.... how? because the rings are hand-turned by a local wood-turner near my home town in northern nsw. 

wood-turning is one of those forgotten crafts of high skill (and bravery)....  a block of of timber is cut and centred into a super fast spinning machine called a lathe. 

the wood-turner then uses various sharpened carving chisels, held down hard with two hands, to progressively carve away the timber until the desired shape of the item being made is achieved. 

depending on the item being made, this process can take days/weeks/months. to give you an idea..... it takes roughly 1 week of production time to source the timber and turn out 10 rings for my rattles. its a slow process (kind of like my blockprinting really...) & whilst they cost 7 x's more than a curtain ring made in China, i think its worth it!

... and what is the timber he uses?

it comes from the native Australian tree .... Grevillea robusta, commonly known as Silky-oak. 





it is the largest species in the genus Grevillea.... its a massive version of those common bird attracting native shrubs often found in most gardens around Australia. it is found in eastern coastal, subtropical environments..... and lucky for me it is found in my local area, making this a sustainable choice for the BIRCHseed rattles. 

it produces a stunning bloom of golden flowers in spring that last for many many months....





not only is the tree beautiful... but the timber is equally stunning, with a unique grain that is only seen in this species of tree. it is prized timber for fine furniture making, and wood turning of course!

its fine grain is a perfect match for using with the rattles. 

oh and they still feature organic fabric, that sweet sounding bell and compostable corn fibre stuffing inside and double all stitched for added safety.

so there we have it....the BIRCHseed baby rattle is a totally unique, more sustainable and eco friendly product than before. 

perfect gift as for baby showers, new baby arrivals or just a tad irresistible not to get for you own bubba. 

:: available in red and green... do you think other colours could be popular too?

more over at our creative spaces today

handprinted organic canvas totes - part 2

back a couple of weeks ago, i wrote a post about some wonderful organic canvas bags i was printing as a custom order for mel @ the organic mamas. so, now i happily announce.... that my printed versions are ready and listed for sale in my shop here. 

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... here are some more snaps if bags are your thing?

the 'victor lawn mower' man bag

'pea pods' tote

the 'apples' tote in red, green, blue or orange

pair of 'pears' tote

'apples' shopping bag in red

'apples' shopping bag in green

'chookies' shopping bags in brown, blue or orange

 '2 tea pots' in red

'2 tea pots' in orange

'2 tea pots' in yellow

did i say how wonderful the texture and feel of these awesome organic canvas bags are? and how totally 
suited block printing looks on them? 


another fun & great collaboration between BIRCHseed and The Organic Mamas :)


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:: i would love to hear from my blog readers what YOUR favourite print is?

handprinted organic canvas totes

this week has been busy, busy, busy with filling orders and sending stuff around the world.

these wonderful organic canvas bags are sourced from The Organic Mamas - a sydney based company with lovely organic fabrics, bags, baby clothes and great ethos to boot!

Mel, the person behind The Organic Mamas is a passionate mum whose search for organic cottons came about from her growing concern of the amount of fire retardants, chemicals and synthetic dyes that are used in the production of commercial grade baby clothes and bedding. she also has a great blog here.

BIRCHseed and The Organic Mamas have been working together for some time on joint projects here and there, as our service and products blend perfectly together with the wholesome look of a block print suiting the wonderful organic textiles and textures found in Mels products.

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:: more bags and designs to come... I will post a link when the bags are ready for sale in my shop

ps: these gorgeous heart printed bags are a custom made design requested from Mel, so i will let you know where you can purchase them if you love as much as i do!



more from great makers and creators over at our creative spaces

DIY -- how to make brown paper gift wrap with a homemade block print stamp

here’s a quick & easy way to make some ooak sweet brown paper gift wrap, using a simple handmade stamp & some paint.

so make yourself a cup of tea and clear some space on the kitchen table, because this is paper is simple and homemade!

materials you will need to complete this project -

  1. roll of brown parcel paper - or brown paper bags

  2. stamp

  3. paint & paint pad

  4. some nice string or twine to add the finishing touch

  5. good size table to print on

  6. a long room to unroll your paper as you print so it can dry

  7. an old thin towel to lay on the table under the paper

ok so let begin with designing & making a stamp to print with. because i am a blockprinter, in this project i used one of my hand-carved lino blockprints.

if your up for the challenge to make one of these, you will need a few extra materials... i.e. lino, carving tools, mounting block, & a stamp design in your head. there are many great online video tutorials of how to carve lino on youtube, so i recommend heading over there & linking with one to get the basics. it is quite easy once you get going. (i have made a couple of brief videos linked on this blog, but they are snippets really, rather than instructional).

but for a simple stamp - grab yourself an apple from your fruit bowl and slice it in half from top to bottom with a good size kitchen knife. if you want the stem to be a part of the print as well, use a sharp pair of scissors & snip the stem in half lengthwise before you cut the apple with your kitchen knife. using an apple for your stamp will make the prints look more organic!

next get your stamp pad ready. i found these non toxic kids hand-painting stamp pads at a local store for around $3.00. if you can't find these, simply make one at home by placing a thin piece of foam onto a dinner plate and add some acrylic paint to evenly saturate the foam. but you don't want too overdo the paint (just enough, so that when you press your finger into the foam, you can make a nice finger print onto the paper without skidding across the paper).

next you want to get your printing table ready. I wipe my table with a damp cloth and then smooth out the towel onto the table. this helps the towel to kind of stick to the table surface a bit. get your roll of paper and roll across the towel so you can start printing.

to ink up the stamp... simply press the apple or lino-cut block into your stamp pad a few times whilst checking the stamp surface. you want the paint to be evenly blotched over the entire raised surface, yet minimal paint any where else if you can help it. i tend not to worry about creating 'other' accidental marks, as i think this adds to the charm of this printing method. once your happy with your practice prints, think about what pattern (random is also good) & stamp away!

and keep stamping.... and stamping.... and stamping - but make sure you 're-ink' between each pressing if you want a bold even pattern like i have done. soon you will have beautiful printed brown paper strewn across your floor!

change colours if you want.... but make sure you wash your stamp in between colour changes (or swap to the other half of the apple, easy!)

and there you are... your very own way to make gift paper. this is a great activity to share with your kids... your could use so many other another veggie or things like leaves, or even jar lids will give some lovely circle patterns. imagine your own handmade christmas paper? after trying this project, & you become hooked.... you could then take it one step further & start printing on different surfaces - fabric, wood, t-shirts, walls and things like tea towels....... 

the world of block-printing awaits you. enjoy!


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:: don't forget to come back and tell me if you tried this...i am sure you will come up with some clever new ways to do this for yourself....you can even upload a pic on the BIRCHseed facebook page if you dare!!

ps: i put together this DIY when BIRCHseed was featured on the Poppytalk Handmade market. it was featured on their The Homemade Artist blog. if you have not heard of Poppytalk, i highly recommend checking it out, because its loaded with wonderful things, inspiration and creativity.


pss: also features today over at the our creative spaces blog

top ten tips for shooting your own product photos -- at home with kids!

let me tell you that photo shoots with kids are not easy! you will find yourself crawling around on the floor, twisting and contorting your body to get the right angle, right light, no dribbles & you have to do this as fast as speedy gonzales before your kid runs off in the other direction & starts eating chocolate biscuits.

i have been taking photos for over 15 years, working from time to time as a freelance photographer. it is my belief that anyone can take great photos... you just need to know a few tricks of the trade and have camera that has a good portrait function (i use my trusty old nikon d70 that is about 8 years old now and quite outdated, but it works fine for me). 

:: so just to help you along here are my 10 tips for shooting great product photos with kids:

1. choose a nice light filled room in your house. using alot of natural light means you won't need a tripod or flash, therefore no harsh shadows reflecting all over the place from a flash.
2. think about the background, plain white walls bounce light off the best. you can always tape a sheet or some calico up on the wall.
3. have all your products ready, ironed and clean in one pile ready to dress as quick as possible
4. make sure your little models are fit, fed & happy - do not attempt this just before nap time!
5. having a friend over is handy for quick outfit changes, as toddler-age kids do not tolerate the whole on / off redressing thing to well. 
6. have a stack of toys and props ready to hand them and keep them occupied.
7. have a dry face washer to catch dribbles before they run down and leave wet blobs on their chest (my boy is a big dribbler, as you can see below!).
8. don't get upset of things are not going your way. praise and cuddle them, whilst trying to make the whole session appear the two of you are just hanging out playing with some toys.
9. also do not get too in their face with the camera, as they will then want to grab the camera the whole time. this means use your zoom on your lens and distance yourself back a little bit from them.
10. i normally love shooting my pics on a full manual setting, but forget about that with kids. i use a full automatic setting with auto focus and make sure that the flash mode is disabled.

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... here are some shots from a quick photo session i did this week.... obviously i culled & choose the best from the 100 plus shots (thank goodness for digital cameras!)

talking to them about the product may help to engage and direct their attention

i am under the rocking horse on the floor shooting upwards to get this pic. move around constantly to find your best angle

remember to shoot all angles of the garment / product

use props & toys to add interest both to the shot and for your little model

kids love rolling around on the floor. for some reason they think it is hilarious when you stand above them and take their photo, who knows why?!

so there you have it... some tips that may help you to get some great pictures of your products with kids. if you rely on selling your products through online shops like me, using pictures where kids are wearing or using your products, will make you stand out & 'pop' amongst items that are photographed on coat hangers or the dining table.

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:: if any of these tips appeal or work for you, drop a comment below or send me an email... i would love to know that what i have offered here today is useful in anyway :)

ps: head over to my madeit or etsy store for your own lawnmower singlet (or apple bib)... where singlets are selling for just $12!