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 

organic hemp and cotton tea towels... a scrumptious new textile for BIRCHseed

:: time to show you my new cream-de deluxe BIRCHseed tea towels...

they are made from a blend of hemp and certified organic cotton. 

these are the type of tea towel that you will have in your home for the next 20 years.... they are heavy weight and strong, because hemp is the strongest natural textile of them all, its even stronger than linen!

i have predominantly printed my tea pots so far in these colours

... and chookies in green and brown

(... the piggy chopping board was handmade by my pop some 25 years ago)

i feel a bit funny about selling a tea towel around the $30 mark.... i had to save long and hard to be able to purchase a bulk amount so i could print on them. but if you could reach out right now and just touch these.... 

you would see why i have gone to the effort to include them in my BIRCHseed range, as they feel and look amazing. and they only get softer and sweeter with each wash.

.... oh and did i mention they are certified organic? and made in Australia!!

so there you are... my new tea towels will be added to my madeit and etsy store this week.

 i will post alerts via my facebook page when i list each one (oh and i will continue to sell my $12 tea towels too, as  i know paying $30 for a tea towel is not for everyone :)

:: have you ever paid $30 for a tea towel for your self or as a gift for someone special?

more creative spaces today here

making my own stationary -- swing tags & stuff

nothing pretty to show off this week...rather its about being practical. 

i like to make everything myself... you could call me stubborn, but i guess i am just a little bit frugal in life.

... plus i just want to make sure that when someone buys a BIRCHseed item, they get a little bit extra handmade goodness, that tells a touch more about what i do.

a few weeks ago, i decided i needed (wanted) a BIRCHseed stamp i could use for letter head, business cards, on the back of envelopes etc. 

but i did not want one of those ugly mail-order self inking rubber stamps. so i got my carving tools out, and after a bit of freehand carving in reverse (not so easy!) i ended up with this. 

and i here are some individually hand-pressed business cards using this new stamp...

... and had to make some more swing tags for my retail sales

... and some name tags stamped with a flower

...and some stickers (its the leaf block you saw above) used to seal the wrapped BIRCHseed items, instead of sticky tape.

... and some cards to write nice messages on.

mmm, things have come a long way since my first attempt at a business card last year when i began BIRCHseed. 

oh,... i do make my own cotton clothing/product labels too.

... in a few weeks i will pop up a free tutorial, that reveals the ins and outs of 

how you can do this at home too :)

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:: is anyone as crazy as me and makes their own 'everything' things?


pop over to our creative spaces for more thursday goodness

blockprinted textiles at home

online shopping is a handy thing for a new mum... 2 days later a speedball knife & lino arrived in the mailbox & i began carving... 

this was around the time my son was beginning to eat solid food. he was into things like pureed apple & pear. 

carving, carving...(fingers getting sore)...carving. 

thought... 'babies first foods on a bib' ticked over in my mind.

organic fabrics of course - along with non-toxic inks. bib designed a little different to the norm... hand sewn, wood button fastening at front, lined with soft bamboo terry on the back.

ended up with different 4 prints in 4 great colours which you can see in my shop.

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humble beginnings -- the inaugural post

the humble beginnings of BIRCHseed started with an idea & a strong desire of 'wanting to hand-print beautiful eco fabric that could be used to make things'

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