A carry bag using off-cuts and fabric inspired by nature

When I purchase pants, I usually need to shorten the leg and find it hard to throw out the off-cut. Over the years these off-cuts have been re-purposed into cleaning clothes, fabric buckets, pin cushions, zippered purses or cut up and stitched into a quilt... How do you utilise offcuts? With this off-cut, I particularly liked the stitch detail and wanted to keep it intact. The pant leg was reinforced with fusible wadding and became the flap on a message style bag. The lining is leftover shirting fabric, and the body of the bag is using one of my nature inspired fabrics called 'bottle tops round 2'. 

The BottleTop Trees located at Lake Annand Park in Bright Street, Toowoomba inspired this fabric. We had a brief stop at Lake Annand Park while out day tripping, the shape and size of this unique tree caught my eye; I've since learnt the tree in this park is thought to be over 50 years old and is listed on the Natural Trust Registry.   

When you select a textile design, you have over twenty varieties of fabric that the design can be printed onto, making it really easy to get the right weight and type of material for your chosen project. For this project, I have used organic cotton and interfaced it. The linen canvas is my favourite fabric for bags and really lovely to sew.

Sustainability is at the heart of the Spoonflower process, and less than a thimble full of water is used to print 5 yards of fabric. Being able to combine offcuts with something new that has used sustainable manufacturing methods is quite satisfying.


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Nature influences us in many ways

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Nature influences us in many ways, dare to explore

As an artist, we know inspiration is about finding someone or something that is inspiring and drives us to take action to create. Taking the time to explore and enjoy our local area is something husband, and I enjoy together, the fresh air, simple discoveries and an invaluable opportunity to gather and collect inspirational moments. 

These short discoveries not only influenced my first solo exhibition 'Sunday Drives' they also have an ongoing impact on my well being, artworks and fabric collection. A camera and/or sketchbook accompany me on most explorations. With these tools, I capture images, sketch and record thoughts. A resource I can return to for research and inspiration. 

Texture, shape, colour and 'out of place' items caught my eye in our earlier explorations. Over time, I've dived more in-depth into the theme, taking a closer look and exploring different angles. My sketchbooks and digital library are filled with images of bark, trees, trunks, fallen logs, rocks, ants, flowers, leaves, insects, rusty items, canopies, foliage, feathers, seed pods...etc. And lots of skies inspired images.

Recently we returned to Karawatha Forest Park, located South East of where we live. The park is approximately 900 hectares and is one of the most significant remnant bushlands situated just within the city. There are picnic tables, barbecue facilities, and walking tracks at the park. 

Karawatha Forest Park is an essential refuge for over 200 species of wildlife, including a selection of threatened or endangered species such as the greater glider, squirrel glider and rare frogs. The forest also supports red-necked wallabies, swamp wallabies and eastern grey kangaroos. Birdlife is the most visible form of fauna in the park, with over 100 bird species found in the park.

Karawatha Forest contains mainly open eucalypt forest with areas of heath, wetland and woodlands. There are over 320 native plant species in Karawatha. The area includes a variety of habitats from freshwater lagoons and sandstone ridges to dry eucalypt forests and wetlands. It also contains some of the last remaining water heathlands and melaleuca wetlands in Brisbane.

Natures' diversity influences us in many ways, enjoy the moment and dare to wander without purpose or reason. 

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Out exploring under blue skies

Everyday we walk our calico cat

Creativity and inspirational moments surround us every day even when performing daily routines. Every morning we take our indoor cat, Calico, out to explore the nearby parkland. 

Calico is a rescue kitten from the RSPCA, from day one we accustomed her to be on the lead every time we left the house, our morning walk is now something we both look forward to. 

We head out pretty early, and often we watch the sun pop over the horizon, most mornings are spent exploring, but some are spent absorbing the early morning rays. During these quieter days, I get to take photos of her and our surrounds.

Getting up early can be a struggle but the early morning smells, noises and sunlight are very inspiring. The purses are featuring newly released fabrics, 'In the Park' and 'Seaside lattice' both inspired by our early morning adventures.

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Make a Simple Sketchers Go Bag

Preparedness is about being ready, having a system in place enabling you to grab and go at a moment's notice. In a previous post we looked at six ways to find and collect inspiration, we saw that our daily routines be with inspirational moments. Smartphones enable us to take a photo but, what if we could also further explore these moments through sketching or writing.

While sketching is an integral part of my practice, I often leave it to the last minute to put together sketchbook, pens, etc. and usually forget something. While sorting the pantry, my mind drifted to how preparedness might apply to be ready for recording inspirational moments — thus evolved making sketchers' go bag, having a small bag set aside to grab and go at a moments notice.

Over the years I've tried several size sketchbooks, and my preferred size for out and about is A6. The sketchbook size sets the dimensions for the sketchers' go bag, next I considered the items I would like to include in the kit and culled a few to keep it simple and the bag small.

Items chosen for this sketchers go bag:
A6 Sketchbook
Pen, pencil and two black fine point pen
Watercolours and a small selection of coloured fine point pens
A paintbrush pen
Glue stick, eraser and a small pair of scissors

With the size and contents sorted I headed across to 'Let's Sew' board on Pinterest. A board I've filled with tutorials and ideas for sewing projects. I knew I would be cutting the zip to size and wanted to try using the zipper tabs, so for this project, I referred to a tutorial by Amanda at Jedi Craft Girl.


For the main fabric, I selected two fabrics from my range "Together We Soar" & "Jasmine Balcony." I captured the image that inspired jasmine balconies during a previous sketching day out.

To the right side of the outer fabric, I applied "Iron-on Vinyl" which will give the bag some water resistance, I've used Iron-on Vinyl previously and been quite happy with its durability. Decide which size sketchbook will suit you best and cut the materials accordingly: 

Materials for Sketchers' go bag to fit an A6 size sketchbook
Cut 2 - 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" cotton fabric for the front & back
Cut 2 - 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" cotton fabric for the lining
Cut 2 - 8 1/2" x 6 1/2" Iron-on Vinyl to apply to the outer fabric

Materials for Sketchers' go bag to fit an A5 size sketchbook
Cut 2 - 10 1/2" x 8" cotton fabric for the front & back
Cut 2 - 10 1/2" x 8" cotton fabric for the lining
Cut 2 - 10 1/2" x 8" Iron-on Vinyl to apply to the outer fabric

Materials for Sketchers' go bag to fit an A4 size sketchbook
Cut 2 - 13 1/2" x 11" cotton fabric for the front & back
Cut 2 - 13 1/2" x 11" cotton fabric for the lining
Cut 2 - 13 1/2" x 11" Iron-on Vinyl to apply to the outer fabric

You will also need 1 x zipper to fit the bag and if you are cutting the zipper to size also cut 2 - 1 1/2" x 4" pieces of cotton fabric for the zipper tabs.

6 Ways to Find & Collect Inspiration

Inspiration is the force that drives you to the studio. It is a state of mind where everything is possible and everything is clear. Inspiration motivates you to keep working. For the most part inspiration flows, but on occasion, the white page can be nail biting. Gathering and recording ideas along the way is very handy for those nail-biting times. Having a pool of ideas means you can dip your hand in and pull out a starting point.

Every day we are surrounded by inspirational moments, moments that are often taken for granted. With trained eyes, these moments will seem different, as if you are seeing them for the first time. Step out of your own way, open your eyes and mind, and start seeing, gathering and recording ideas every day. Once you start you'll be surprised what catches your eye.

Everyday Objects - Often items that we take for granted can be a source of inspiration. While doing the dishes one morning, the sun glistening across the vintage bread knife sitting on the sink caught my eye. I used the camera, firstly in color then in monochrome to capture several aspect of the moment.

This captured moment later became the inspiration for "On the Edge". Take a walk around your house or garden, have a new look. Set the camera to monochrome or macro mode and snap a few of those everyday objects, be inspired by the new perspective.

Urban Surrounds - Beyond our house, we are surrounded by urban landscape. A landscape filled with natual and man-made objects. A great source of architecture, colour, interactions and smells. Even discarded items can be a source of inspiration. I was once a part of an exhibition where the curator chose 'Pallets' for the theme. All works selected to exhibit had to respond or reflect pallets.

Travel - When on holidays we are usually relaxed and ready to embrace the opportunity to observe and explore new landscape and architecture, see unfamiliar plants and animals, try a different cuisine, explore new cultures, and our camera or sketchbook is usually close to hand.

Sketchbook pages from a trip to Tasmania

Nature - the natural world is filled with some of the best starting points for creativity. Take a walk around your own garden, visit the local park or Botanical Gardens, stroll along the beach, close your eyes and listen to the sounds, go hiking and remember to enjoy the four seasons.

Clear Blue Sky – nature provides us with a canvass in the form of a clear blue sky. Looking up or positioning yourself so you can observe various objects or elements with the sky as the background is another source of inspiration. 

Inspiration behind "Dance through the Reeds"

The clarity of the blue sky is mesmerizing and a big source of inspiration for my creative practice.

News headlines – we are surrounded by many forms of media, presented in many forms. What we observe through the media often provokes a reaction. Take a moment to ask yourself why, and see where it goes. 

The world is full of inspirational moments and often those moments are closer than we think. Take action and begin to collect inspirational imagery, record thoughts, sketch or take photos, organize these together to create your own inspirational pool.

"Creativity is intelligence 

having fun"

Albert Einstein

Framed purse and floral beauty fabric

 Framed 4" purse featuring "floral Beauty" fabric inspired and designed during an artist-in-residence

For the 3" coin purse I combined "Floral Beauty" with "Progression" a fabric inspired by urban surrounds both fabrics available through Spoonflower.

fabrics inspired by leaf litter, seasonal change & urban events

Zippered cushion (45cmx45cm) featuring fabrics inspired by palm trees, fern leaf and fallen leaf litter

Work in progress using white on whites from my stash teamed with fabrics tales unfold, light reading & urban texture daily life

A collection of fabrics inspired by urban texture, daily surrounds & routines

Fabric "Light Reading" has been inspired by the above image. An area of our humble home that we converted to be a mini library. A place to pause and of course, a place to create, be inspired or have a cup of tea.

Framed purse using a four-inch frame and fabric 'Autumn Sky.'

Fabrics available through Spoonflower

Totally enjoy getting inspiration from my surrounds both at home and further afield.
Inspiration really is everywhere, every day

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yards of inspiration

The background image for this months calendar is an image from a new fabric collection "Yards of Inspiration" released last weekend.

Husband and I do enjoy our day trips and in particular the Scenic Rim. When I was accepted into Open Studios as an Artist-n-Residence, I was thrilled and looked forward to working with the many images I've captured across several trips to the area. 

The image used for the calendar background and the middle four fabrics is inspired by captured moments during visits to Aliquilts Studio at Tarome. I then integrated these with images captured within our own humble yard and home; an artistic response, an integration of two communities, two artists and our creative havens. 

The bottom fabric is inspired by images captured during a day trip to Mount French near Boonah and the grass trees that grow there. 

As each piece evolved, I enjoyed remembering our visits to this beautiful part of South-East Queensland and my mind flowed with additional ideas. It seemed natural to name the collection "Yards of Inspiration". The Yards of Inspiration collection is available through Spoonflower.

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A creative day in the country 
A perfect day for...
Texture, the element of art that stimulates sight and touch
A couple of cushions

a couple of cushions

pieced together a couple of cushions with fabrics from my stash and fabric range

tables to cushions - stack them up

further explorations with finding inspiration
everywhere, everyday

 the hue, softness and peacefulness of early morning sunlight streaming through a window

a stack of side tables or a collection of shapes and simplicity

all contributing factors to this collection of shots

A few modifications were made to one of the images, then printed onto Kona Cotton through Spoonflower. The cushion covers are using spinning around and my new fabric.

inspiration everywhere, everyday

paper, fabric, wallpaper

Just added a couple of new fabrics to my Spoonflower Gallery The fabric at the top is inspired by the Jacaranda tree. I took so many photos of these trees last year. I enjoy the flowers on the tree but when the flowers fall to the ground and create that beautiful blue flower carpet, it's very hard not to be anything but inspired. The middle fabric is the third release in an evolving series of fabrics that are all inspired by crushed paper. I wrote about the first & second fabrics in this crushed series in a previous post and also shared a bit of the process.  

The bottom fabric has been inspired by the various varieties of flowering grasses/weeds that grow along the sides of the roads. When your speed (to the speed limit of course) along the highway the flowers on the verge grab your attention for a short moment as you drive past. Spoonflower has expanded their range as well. As well as fabrics their range now includes wallpaper, wall decals and as of this month wrapping paper. The wrapping paper comes in rolls on either gloss or matt paper with each roll being 66cm wide by 1.8m in length (26inch x 6 ft). So all those yummy designs that we various designers have available in our galleries are now available on fabrics, wallpaper, wall decals or wrapping paper. Pop across and have a look.

new fabrics inspired by crushed paper

 Drawing inspiration from the everyday and a couple of pieces of crushed paper
I had a ton of fun taking many shots of the crushed paper from various angels then wedging & weaving two pieces of crushed paper together and taking more shots

had a pause from the camera to do a few blind contour sketches of the folds and wrinkles of the crushed paper. Once the contour lines were down I've filled in a few areas to add depth. The sketches and the images were all loaded onto the computer and I've used Photoshop Elements to alter and overlap the images further.

A couple of these altered images have then been printed onto fabric through Spoonflower.

for the piece on the left (Crushed) I've started with the image on the left and altered it a couple of times

For the piece on the right (Blue Crushed Porcelain) two images have been used. One of the crushed paper and one of a cup and dipping sauce plate. The images have been altered, overlapped and then further altered.

Both fabrics are available through my Spoonflower Shop