Friday 27 April 2018

Dusky Dreams Collection

Dusky Dreams is the latest collection from Liliflora Pretty. Combining original watercolour botanical art and the simple elegance of silver and pearls, this collection evokes a shabby chic romantic sensibility.

The Everyday collection includes the classic ball chain and pendant necklace, a 6-charm bracelet and lever back earrings. It's comfortable, wearable and versatile. Suiting professional and casual styles, you can use these pieces to compliment your everyday look with a touch of floral flair.



The Pearl collection brings the luxury and charm of pearls and more hand-assembled pieces. Pendant necklaces, stacking charm bracelets and dangle earrings combine to create a romantic set, perfect for weddings and other very special occasions.



As ever, the centre of the collection is the floral art. I just adore flowers and every chance I get to paint them is pure joy. As the name suggests, this collection is featuring pink flowers and in particular Rose, Gerbera Daisy, Lilium, Peony, Sakura and Rosebuds. Each product listing on Etsy includes the options for the images.




 The Pendants are available in Rose, Gerbera Daisy and Lilium. The earrings are available in Rose, Gerbera Daisy, Lilium and Peony.




The items are available individually or in sets. You still have the option of separate images for the pendants and earrings in the sets. Make it your own!

Oh, and if pink isn't really your colour, keep watching this space! New collections will be released in the coming months in beautiful blues and lovely lilac!

Don't forget, if you're not already on my mailing list, Liliflora's Pretties, you can use the form at the top right to subscribe. You'll not only receive a 30% discount code for immediate use in my Etsy shop, but you will also be given the link to a growing library of gifting printables. Including tags, pillow boxes and other printable templates featuring my original designs, the library will grow over time. Any suggestions for templates you would find useful are always welcome!   If you would like to see an example of what's in there already, check out this tutorial.

Take care,

Emma

Tuesday 24 April 2018

Printable Pillow Box Tutorial

Hi there!  In this post I'd like to share the first designs in my new printable gifting library and show you a tutorial for using them!  To get the link to the library, use the sign-up form on the right to join Liliflora's Pretties.  Not only will you get the link to a growing library of gifting printables, but you will also receive a 30% discount code to use in my Etsy shop to thank you for your support!

Pillow Box with Gift Tags.

Materials:

  • Bluebird's Song Printables x3.  Print onto sturdy cardstock.  I used 200gsm Quill Board
  • Scissors and paper cutter (optional)
  • Ruler
  • Bone folder or embossing tool
  • Double-sided tape 5mm wide or less
  • Hole punch
  • Thin ribbon, bakers twine or embroidery floss.
  • Pen
  • Optional: Ribbon, paper flowers, washi tape, resin embellishments, charms etc.

 

 
Method:

 
  1. Cut out around the outside of the pillow boxes.
  2. Using a bone folder or embossing tool, score the semi-circles marked at each end of the pillow boxes.  Note: you have more control if you pull the tool towards you.  Use a ruler to assist in scoring the centre line and the flap line.
  3. Fold along each scored line to create a crease and start forming the box.
  4. Apply double-sided tape to the front of the flap on the left.  Fold the pillow box along the centre fold and bring the other side in line with the folded flap.  Press the edge down to adhere to the tape, being careful to keep the box square.
  5. Fold in the curved bottoms of the box.  Place your gift inside the box and fold it closed at the top.
  6. Select a belly band that you feel matches your box and cut it out with scissors or a paper cutter.  Trim the band if it looks wider than you would like.  Optional: experiment with patterned scissors.
  7. Wrap the belly band vertically around the box and secure at the back with double-sided tape or Washi tape.


  8. Cut out a tag of your choice from the printable, use the hole-punch where indicated and write a note or the name of the recipient on the back.  If using a card, score along the centre line before hole punching.
  9. Using the twine, thin ribbon or embroidery floss, tie the tag to the belly band.  You could also try wrapping the stringing material around the package a few times for decoration, either vertically with the belly band or horizontally.


  10. Your box is finished and ready to gift, or you could experiment with embellishments.  Add paper flowers, ribbon, charms, resin flowers or whatever you wish to make the gift personalised and gorgeous. You could also try using a strip of bellie band to make an origami star embellishment.  Check out a tutorial for that here!


Thank you for following along with this tutorial.  I hope it helps you to make a special gift even more personal and lovely.

I would love to see what you create!  Tag me @liliflorapretty on Instagram, or share in the Liliflora's Pretties Facebook group here.

If you have any suggestions for the next templates, let me know!  Also, have a look at the gallery tabs above and let me know whether there's something there you think would look great on these Printables.  I'm building this library to be useful to you, so suggestions and feedback is always welcome!

Take care,

Emma

Saturday 13 January 2018

Bluebird's Song Collection launch!

Liliflora Pretty's first pattern collection for 2018, Bluebird's Song, has launched on Etsy and Spoonflower!

The collection was inspired by a friend who suggested that I create something with bluebirds.  Living in Tasmania, the blue birds here are Superb Fairy Wrens, and they are absolutely adorable and it was a pleasure to draw and paint them.  Along with some roses inspired by vintage and shabby chic graphics and some tiny forget-me-nots and butterflies, a collection was born!


This is a male Blue Wren showing off his iridescent blue plumage and pretty song.  Adorable!

There are 6 repeating patterns, available for sale now on Spoonflower.  I was so happy with how well the test swatches came out, that I immediately ordered them in Spoonflower's sumptuous satin fabric for some personal projects!


I'll save further details of the fabric collection for another post, today I'd like to focus on the products that I've created using this collection that are now available in my Etsy shop.

The jewellery collection includes pendant necklaces, lever back earrings, bracelets and anklets.  They are all created with rose gold plated findings and reproductions of Bluebird's Song motifs which are secured under flawless glass cabochons.  The glass protects and magnifies the images underneath.

Bluebird rose gold pendant earrings anklet bracelet jewelry collection superb fairy wren vintage pink floral shabby chic roses
Just a sample of the 30 individual jewellery pieces you can mix and match!

 

There are 5 illustrations in the collection, 3 of which feature quotes and words of encouragement in hand-lettered watercolours.  The 'Bloom Gracefully' print is an 8 x 10 inch, while there are 2 sets of 5x7 prints.  One of these sets features images of Superb Fairy Wrens perched on branches of blossoms, while the other set includes quotes over a floral repeat.

blue bird art print watercolour inspirational quote hand lettered superb fairy wren bird in flight vintage shabby chic floral rose illustration
The art prints come carefully packaged to protect them in transit.

Finally, there are 4 notepads, featuring the same illustrations as the 5x7 prints, and 6 notebooks which are covered in the 6 repeating coordinates.  They each include 100 removable pages, are A6 in size and come with a complimentary rose gold and crystal pen.  The differences are that the notepads have plain paper, a cardboard back and open vertically, while the notebooks have dot-grid pages perfect for bullet journaling, a place-marking ribbon and open horizontally.

notebooks notepads bullet journal bujo dot grid rose gold pen bling blue bird inspiring quote watercolour illustration
The pen writes in black ink and is as reliable as it is pretty!

Developing these products has been a labour of love and I'm grateful for the feedback I received from the markets I attended over the Christmas period last year.  While it may have been the season, I feel that my work is best suited to items which will be given as gifts to show love and appreciation.  It's an honour to think that most of the items I sold during the markets will be used to make someone else happy and express feelings of admiration.  Selling in person was a wonderful experience and I look forward to participating in the Etsy Made Local market in Hobart again this year.

Don't forget, before heading off to explore the Etsy shop to see all the items in the collection (with all variations on all items there are 43 in total!), make sure you use the form at the right to get your 30% discount code.  As one of Liliflora's Pretties, you'll also receive advance notice of upcoming releases and can even influence what products and designs get produced next!  The confirmation email will give you the link to head straight to the shop, but if you already have your code, jump straight into the collection here.

Take care,
Emma

By the way, let me know what you think of the new branding in the comments below!