Water-Colour Travel Kit

This is one of my favourite products :)  I'm still testing the water with them and learning as I go along, but the last 2 years have gone down really well so now I'm streamlining the process and hopefully having more available for you guys.

2014 watercolour kits

Initially I made the cases out of fabric I had screen printed with a bike print pattern.  This bag was my first attempt, it was unlined but sturdy, and housed the paints, jar, watercolour postcards and mechanical pencil.

2015 watercolour kits

Last year, they had the same contents, but the material was digitally printed (with a pattern made up of a silkscreen print I'd done) and this time was lined.  HURRAH!  Finally, it is reflecting the amount of time and effort that goes into it.

This year, I'm planning on designing a new pattern/design, continuing to have them lined but I will rethink the shape.  Last year was a struggle with the lining (we won the struggle and they turned out great BTW), so this year I'm going to take the time to master some more sewing conundrums.


You can follow my hashtag on Instagram and Twitter #watercolourtravelkit and see the postcards I paint while I'm out and about or on holiday.  If you have a kit, then use the hashtag to share with me what you've been painting on your travels.


All of last years kits are sold but there are a couple of cases left, in different sizes, if you wanted to snap up something with this fab fabric!

www.charlottevallance.etsy.com

Home Sweet Home

 I thought I'd share one of the lovely commissions that I worked on last year, they all make me so proud and happy but this one in particular from 2015.  People get in touch with me from all over the country/world with requests for these, and luckily, thanks to digital cameras, it is very easy to accomplish!  This is the largest size I go to currently and is just a bit smaller than A1.  Painting on such a large scale is quite daunting but such an accomplishment when it's finished and in it's new home.

If you're interested in having a house/home illustrated by me then just get in touch, charlotte_vallance@hotmail.com prices are very reasonable, starting at just £35, and there is one that should suit every budget.  You can see more information in my Etsy shop under the commission listings.

10 Handmade Holiday Postcards

My family hasn't had a proper big holiday with all of us together in years!  Life I guess has got in the way with each of us doing things with our partners or friends.   This year, we felt the need to change this and booked a big house in Turuc, Turkey for all of us to bring our partners as well.  Never done before, to have all of us for so long under one roof but it was a success and I can see it happening again soon!

Being the illustrator I am, it's always strange for me to not be drawing, painting or printing in my spare time so the idea of a two week holiday away from what I love doing was a bit daunting.  To balance it out, and not put any pressure on myself to work on certain projects or ideas I simply packed up my watercolour travel kit with the idea that I'd paint a few postcards.

It's great because you don't have to bring anything extra back with you - simply pop them in the post to send to friends and family!

I take my watercolour travel kit pretty much everywhere with me.  It's fab, and I add to it or keep it minimal depending on the journey.  I love it so much that I've put together a kit that you can purchase through my online shops - hurrah!  It includes a book of blank watercolour postcards, watercolour travel paints + mini brush, mechanical pencil, jar for your water and all comes in a lovely case sewed by myself and my Mum.  Fab.

You can find this in my Etsy shop : www.charlottevallance.etsy.com


Do you love to send postcards too?  Do you paint your own or seek out lovely ones from local shops?

Tea towels...Salted Caramel Kisses

I received lots of lovely feedback when I produced this recipe as a screen print.  So much so that I've splashed out and printed it onto tea towels!  So if you've run out of space on the wall, or aren't sure that a friend would want a print, this tea towel offers a nice alternative.  Practical, useful and pretty!

Printed in a dark pinky-red (aka maroon) onto a 48mm x 78mm cotton tea towel, pre washed and ironed, ready for use straight away.  Just £10 plus P&P, and available from my 'Not on the High Street' shop.

Homemade Christmas Presents

I love giving gifts, creating gifts, and of course receiving gifts!

Christmas is for me a lot about family.  I care about getting the right presents for them.  I don't buy something for the sake of giving a present!  In fact, people I love will often get a present from me when it's not Christmas, their birthday, or some other present giving occasion, just because I have seen something perfect for them, or that perhaps made me think of them.

This year I have tried to buy handmade, or make my own.  Twitter, Facebook, various Blogs, craft fairs and Etsy have over the year given me endless inspiration.  I use the 'Add to favourite items' on Etsy to remind myself of gifts for people, and the 'Add shop to favourites' to bookmark shops by friends, inspirational shops and suppliers.  All this has helped me track down the perfect gifts for my friends and family!

1. Lolly print by Sean Mort via HelloDODO

My sister spyed this gorgeous print at The Renegade Craft Fair earlier in the year and fell in love with it.  But with a small budget and small flat she couldn't justify buying it.  She's now moved to a slightly bigger flat, so what a perfect present!  HelloDODO had written up a blog post here about the fair and I was able to buy the print via Sean's website. Perfect.

 

2. Jewellery by Wear Me Out @ The Handmade Makers Market in Oxford

The Handmade Makers Market was in fact my first 'real' craft fair - HURRAH! You can read about the day here.  Myself and Chloe seemed to have a mutual love of each others crafts.  My sister declared she loved everything, so I selected a matching necklace and set of earrings for her main Christmas present.  'Wear me Out' jewellery is made to be worn everyday - none of that keeping it for best malarky!  With that in mind I chose something I knew would go with everything and was suitable for work too - she's got no excuse!

3. Tote bags inspired by a conversation with Anna Jane Searle on Twitter

I've followed Anna for quite a while now on Twitter and love her jewellery in her Etsy shop.  She also has a gorgeous illustration style that is clearly well liked as she's had issues recently with people stealing her designs for t-shirts!  We were having a chat about this and the outcome was that I should try out some designs of mine on tote bags :-) and I am so glad I did!  I did 4 tote bags for some of the ladies in my life (Mum, sisters, friends) instead of gift bags - they pretty much cost the same!  As well as this I put some of my Untapped Cities building illustrations onto some for the craft fairs I did and had a great reaction, which was ace.  So Anna, thank you so much for the inspiration!

4. Handmade soap.  Kit bought from Soap Basics

I can't quite remember how I came up with this idea...but it went down really well.  I got a mix of clear and opaque, green and purple, pumice powder and poppy seeds, grapefruit scent and see breeze scent.  Wrapped each in waxed paper and hand wrote a nice label for each :-) I only got a standard rectangle shaped soap mould, but there was a little gem mould in it too!  So cute!  So I was able to do a bag of mini soaps for a friend of mine who is 8, she loved them.



5. Felt iPhone case with felt sourced from Piglet's Pincushion

I had intended on buying one of these from a shop on Etsy but after postage and tax were added, it was just a bit much for a present I wasn't sure would be used or not.  I then came across a tutorial (here!) and decided it must be fate as I had some felt already from a previous project, and got to work!  It was loved, and I think he does actually use it :-)

 

6. Knitting wool bowl by Little Wren Pottery

Browsing Etsy I came across Victoria Baker's lovely shop and thought that these bowls were such a great idea, I knew my Mum would love it too!  I didn't think that my Mum would particularly like the snail design but liked the garden theme so I got in touch with Victoria to make me one with a leaf design instead and the text 'Just keep knitting' round the side.  She was very easy to talk to and happy to do a leaf design for me.  I ended up getting two, one for my Mum and one for a friend :-) Gorgeous bowls, so lovely, and my Mum was amazed.

7. Cross stitch iPhone case by Miso Funky @ Renegade Craft Fair

Another one for my Mum.  She really is into her knitting and cross stitch!  I thought this was a great present, and will certainly get people's attention when she finishes it!  Looking on their website there are more designs and objects to cross-stitch too :-)

8. T-shirt by Tim Easley

I've followed Tim on Twitter for ages and love his selling blurb!  Makes me laugh out loud the things he comes up with to give you a reason to buy a magnet/tote bag/t-shirt/print - it's great!  When I saw this design, I knew my boyfriend would love it - he's a huge fan of The Big Bang Theory series.  The t-shirt came with other goodies too (which I kept for myself :-p ) and is a lovely quality.

9. Ship in a bottle screen print by HelloDODO

Two friends of mine love boats, sailing, and travelling in general and this print just seemed perfect for them.  Such lovely colours, the yellow I think is a great contrast with the blue.  It's going to look fab in their new house too.


So.  Did you go handmade this year too?  What did you make/buy?