Spoonflower love…

March 2, 2012February 8, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

I love Spoonflower and really wish I had more time to sit and play, I must make time soon. They have regular competitions and I’d like to enter one in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, I received an email a couple of weeks ago from a lady called Beth who had seen my tulip lampshades on etsy but wanted to order the fabric in a different colour to decorate her new baby’s bedroom. I can mix different colours for screen-printing but if you live in another country then Spoonflower is just amazing. I uploaded three new colours, Beth chose one (peachy pink) and we both ordered swatches. Mine arrived today and it looks gorgeous, hooray!

I really hope she likes it and goes ahead and orders fabric to make curtains and bedding for her new baby. You never know, maybe later this year I’ll be posting some photos of the finished room on here, here’s hoping!…

Textile Design

gilhoolie lampshades are go!

January 26, 2012February 8, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

gilhoolie lampshades - butterfly, tulip and windmill

My hand screen-printed lampshades are all ready to go to The Bowery in Leeds next weekend, each carefully wrapped in cellophane, don’t they look pretty?! These ones are all 30cm diameter pendant lampshades but they can be made in different sizes and for table lamps (and different colours too if you like). You can also buy them in my new Etsy shop – come and have a look!

Textile Design

Is this cheating?…

November 16, 2011February 8, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

A friend of mine told me about this amazing website called Spoonflower recently and as they are offering free postage tomorrow I thought I should have a go at uploading some of my gilhoolie patterns. Spoonflower allows you to come up with fabric designs which they will then digitally print onto a choice of fabrics, how amazing is that?! Okay, so maybe it’s cheating a bit as the fabric won’t be ‘lovingly screen-printed by hand’ but I’m very excited about it. It means you can print large runs of fabric and play as much as you like with lots of colours and patterns, no exposing screens and getting messy! (That’s fun too but I’m all for making life a bit easier you know!)

I’m going to order some swatches of these gilhoolie patterns, then other people will be able to access and buy my designs (you won’t be able to see them until then). Fabric lovers should have a look, there’s lots of gorgeous designs; I especially like Holli Zollinger’s work, that’s someone to aspire to!

I’ve added links to some other fabric websites I like on the right hand side of my blog page, just so you know.

Interior Design · Sewing projects · Soft Furnishings

Dreaming of spring…

November 9, 2011February 8, 2025 Julie GardnerLeave a comment

My favourite seasons are definitely Autumn and Spring but if I had to choose between the two I guess it would have to be Spring, with the last remnants of Winter fading away as the days gradually get longer and the sun’s rays get warmer. My favourite flowers are tulips too; I love their sleek curves, simple lines and bright, cheery colours. So it’s no surprise my first designs included tulips; at least I can dream of Spring…

And while I’m dreaming, here are some of the things I have made from my gilhoolie tulip screen-printed fabric. The large turquoise tulip lampshade and the pouffe are for an order I took at the shopping evening last month. They’re a Christmas gift for a little girl’s bedroom, I hope she likes Spring and tulips as much as I do!