In the post Christmas lull, after the excitement and excesses of the past week, I'm really looking forward to new year. I don't think I can handle another mince pie!!  I usually get quite reflective at this time, and full of optimism about what the new year will bring.

Plans for the coming year...

• to undertake a short business course at Morley college (Feb-Mar)
• to continue to develop my ideas for printing - mainly cards but also experimenting with fabric, incorporating themes inspired by my recent trip to Thailand
• to develop contacts in Thailand with a view to importing products that complement my own hand printed designs
• to get to grips with social media and the technological side of developing a business
• to have an online shop up and running by Autumn 2014
• to stay positive and inspired, and above all to enjoy what I do!

Regarding the last point, this venture is mainly for pleasure, and if I make any profit out of it, that will be a bonus (albeit a welcome one).  There may be weeks when I  have no time to do any printing - I have a job, as well as a very active 7 year old, who is my priority.  As for this blog, I will update it from time to time, but most of my efforts will go towards developing designs and learning about what it takes to set up a business.  This may be my last blog for a while....

In the meantime I wish everyone the best of luck in all endeavours in the coming year. 

Vicky, Tiger and Toby at the London Eye (Dec.2013) 

Happy 2014!!

First of all, a big thank you to all those who showed an interest in the gift tags and festive bunting. Through online sales and those who have bought directly from me, I have sold £48 worth of products, in the form of donations made by individuals directly to the Children in Need website.  By next Christmas, I hope to have my own online shop up and running with a greater range of products and continuing to donate a percentage of all Christmas sales to Children in Need.

Other news...

Unfortunately I have been unable to meet the target of 30 cards for my brother-in-law due to a bout of ill health from which I am still recovering.  I have however managed to produce one or two cards for family and friends...

                     

As for my plans this Christmas, Toby (son) and I are spending the week with my sister, brother-in-law and their two boys at their beautiful home in the heart of rural Lincolnshire. It's proper countryside here - country walks, fresh air, and plenty of space for the boys to burn off all their energy!  They also have a couple of cows....


Poppy the cow with her baby Cema

And I've found time for a bit of printing.  Here's a lino print of my sister's house...



This is what you would see if your were to peer through the ground floor window...
 

 The night before Christmas....

The boys are super excited about Christmas! It will be a job getting them to bed tonight!  So I will get back to my preparations.  I wish everybody a fantastic Christmas Day tomorrow and I hope to catch up with you next week for what will be my final blog of the year.

Merry Christmas and good night!

In one way or another November has been a pretty busy month.  Nevertheless, in between work life and family life I have managed to find some time for printing.  The kitchen table has become my work station; meals are now eaten on a mat on the kitchen floor. 

My workshop/kitchen

The focus this month has shifted from Christmas cards, to decorations and gift tags.  The reason….ribbons!  I’ve built up a small collection of them (working in the East end of London, I’m surrounded by loads of Asian textile shops selling cheap and colourful adornments), and I enjoy combining them with the prints that I make. 

Here is some Christmas bunting that I made earlier…

 

 

And these are some gift tags…

 

 

Products for sale...

In my ‘mission statement’ in the first blog, I wrote that these products “will be offered up for sale” and that “all profits will be donated to Children in Need”.  I am not yet ready to set up a shop on Etsy – I need to develop a range of products that I am proud to sell and to have built up plenty of stock. So far only two of my products match that standard, and, true to my pledge, I would like to make them available for sale.  Since I do not have an online store through which to process the payment, I ask anyone wishing to purchase these products to:

(1)    send your postal address to vicky.startprinting@gmail.com stating which product you would like

(2)     upon receipt of the product,  make the payment by means of donation direct to the Children in Need website: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008dk4b/features/cin-donate

The following products are packaged and ready to be shipped:


    Christmas Bunting

 

Price: £5.00 + postage

Product details: 5 hand-printed cards suspended on 80cm length of quality ribbon.  The cards measure 8x8cm.  The card is stiff watercolour paper (300gsm).  The prints are in black pigment ink (acid free), embellished in gold and with red glitter candles.

Quantity available: 10

 

 

   Vintage gift tags

 

Price: £3.00 + postage

Product details: 6 gift tags (3 with red ribbon, 3 with green).  The cards measure 8x5.5cm.  The length of ribbon is 30cm. The card is stiff water colour paper (300gsm). The back of the card is printed with "to/from".

Quantity available: 10

 

 

 

 

Please note that..

• the price quoted above is merely a suggested price for recipients to donate directly to Children in Need at their own discretion.
• due to the cost of postage, these products are only available to UK residents.
• this offer is subject to availability.

Targets for this month...  

My brother-in-law has made a bulk order of 30 Christmas cards to distribute to his colleagues at his hospital.  So this month I shall be designing and printing cards to meet that order, including customised envelopes.  The results will be posted on the blog before the end of the month.  In the meantime, I wish everyone a festive and enjoyable month!