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

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. 

---


... 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 :)


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

production series: tea pots -- part 3

we continue on today from part 1 & part 2 of this production series to show you what products i have made using this new tea pot print.

 its a similar post to the one i did about my 'apple' prints. some items are available to purchase in my shop now, others will be there soon after a bit more refining.

tea towels - these started out in just red. but thanks to a custom order request (via my madeit shop), yellow and blue are now featured there too. (ps: i actually LOVE the blue best!)

then onto a bit of creative sewing to make a birthday gift for a friends 2 year old girl...i used a natural linen fabric for the print patch & then appliquéd it onto a bondsie.

important announcement...i have fallen in love with hemp fabric! (organic of course!)

i have begun to experiment with this wonderful textile & i am addicted. you will certainly be seeing alot more BIRCHseed hemp products soon.

 ... and here we have a tea pot coaster to place underneath my tea pot. i have used hemp for the print and some vintage floral fabric from my own stash - have you seen my stash btw?

and finally, i am toying around with the idea of creating a little 'tea party' softie set for toddler-girls imaginary playtime.

i have an amazing tea cup collection to use for some new blockprint designs that will be added to the tea set over the next few weeks. 

---

:: Do you think some tea cup tea towels would be good too? i know i will be making some for my kitchen!

ps: this post was featured in this weeks 'our creative spaces' blog spot... some great designers & makers over there so go check it out!

production series: tea pots -- part 2

ok, so in part 1 of this production series, we left off at the carving stage... & then i was going to take you through some printing.

so... carving lino is all about cutting away the lino where you don't want it, & leaving it in place where you want to have your print highlighted onto the fabric (or paper, wood etc). i made a little video for you... it shows how i carved the inner detail of the tea pot.

 you will notice the line i am carving is very fine... i am using the narrow-est carving tool of my 5 tool set. i use this tool first to carefully go around and cut along the drawn design.

you use various size tools to carve away different levels of detail & surface area. use a bigger tool for quick removal & not so precious areas.

i also use this large tool to carve all the edges away, so i don't leave too many cut marks visible on the final inked print. (a few is good as it adds to the appeal of a hand-pressed blockprint).

... to also help prevent these marks, i cut (with scissors) the outer edges  - leaving about 1cm all around the design

next i glue the my design onto a wood block. mounting onto a block aids the inking & pressing processes of printing.

after the glue dries overnight, its into the shed we go for some printing. i gather my fabrics and sit & ponder for a while about what colours i want to print with...(sometimes this decision is made for me when i have custom orders -- i like custom orders!)

but for today i want some red tea pots! and so i get out my tub of red water-based printing paste, sponge up & ink my block...

flip it over... press into some fabric & hurrah!! we have a print

next week i will show you all the lovely items i have been making with my new tea pot print. 


---


:: for a sneak peak, you could head over to my madeit shop and check out 'this' & let me know what you think?

production series: tea pots -- part 1

ok. here's the beginning of a new series... i am going to share with you how my BIRCHseed -- printed by hand products are made. 

---

1. it begins with thinking of an idea for a new product. in this case its a tea pot print for toddler girls a range of products like: t-shirt print / toy softie / scarf & fabric for clothes making.

i source inspiration from online / mags & books / thrift stores (yes! where i found this awesome tea pot) / my garden / nature walks etc. everywhere really - my brain does not stop.

---

2. i then start sketching & getting my design in some sort of order

3. i select the design i am happy with the most 

4. then draw it onto the lino (in reverse as all blockprinting is mirrored when pressed)

5. & then the carving begins...

& thats all i have done so far... 

i am working on this project now so you will see part 2 shortly that will take you through the carving & printing processes in more detail.

---

:: until then you can follow daily posts with my 'thrift finds week' over at my facebook page -- oh & i would love to hear any projects (big or small) that you have in progress :)