Daisy Janie

in search of | summery tops & tanks

1. black cotton jersey necklace top from out of line, $60
2. asymmetrical, t-back halter from lamixx, $26
3. organic v-neck w/ koi batik from organic urbanite, $38
4. peonies sleeveless tunic from alison tauber, $32
5. little bits tee w/ raglan sleeves from sue bradbury, $44
6. ruffled fitted tank from treehouse28, $55

free printable | set of 3 decorative patterned papers

The forsythia is in full-bloom right now, and the gold, yellow and amber tones have been calling to me and insisting they be used in a patterned design. I was happy to oblige with these recolored & reworked designs, which were originally created in 2006. I can't keep them to myself, though, b/c what good are designs full of sunshine without some friends to share them with?

There are 3 free printable designs included in this set of decorative, patterned paper.

1. tondo ~ rounded squares w/ hand-drawn circles | download
2. alta ~ mod stacked sticks | download
3. bella ~ nested ovals/squares | download

Click on the download link for each design, then simply print onto standard 8.5" x 11" paper or cardstock.

Tip: When I used a 'general everyday' printer setting, the colors were more vivid & bright than when I used a custom printer setting with a better paper. I thought the quality of the everyday setting was just fine for most of the applications below.

Use as you wish in any personal projects. Not for commercial use.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
All designs © 2010 Daisy Janie. All rights reserved. Designs/papers the sole property of Daisy Janie and may not be sold and/or redistributed without prior written consent from Daisy Janie.

I apologize for the low-lit pics - we are in the throes of rainy, gloomy week, and if you are as well, that's all the more reason to get this sunshine sent on its way to you asap!

Above: Using cardstock, I made some mini notebooks, matchbook notepads, bookmarkers and gift tags. The pillow box in the background was created using my snowflake printable as a template.

Above: The designs make a hip gift wrap for small packages when printed onto paper. Nice matte finish!

In the near future, I will be introducing decorative patterned papers similar to these in my etsy shop...at the prompting of a few friends and wonderful customers! Thanks for your support!!

What other ideas can you think of for these papers?

Below: Notecards made with cardstock prints.

getting back to art for art's sake.

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time."
~ Thomas Merton

For more than a year, I have felt a strong need to make art that begins and ends with my hands. What started out as a muffled whimper from my heart to make / draw / do art has developed into a full-blown burning ache in my soul. I've been so focused for so long on business goals that involve ad infinitum computer design and other work, and while I'm pleased as can be about where that steadfast focus has gotten me, it doesn't satisfy the creative fire inside waiting to breathe life into a purely hands-on endeavor.

When I look back at projects, crafts or gifts I've made in the past, I seriously can't remember what it felt like to make those things...sometimes I can't even believe it was me who made them b/c that part of my creativity has been untapped for like forever. It's like it vaporized or dried-up like a raisin b/c it went without use for too long. (Did you ever go so long without talking that you blurt something out to yourself just to hear your own voice?) Yeah, it's a little like that.

Don't get me wrong, fabric design and running a business require an immense amount of imagination (esp when you're doing your taxes), but sketching a design and making a repeat out of it is just not the same action-packed, thrillride as the days when I found myself surrounded by tin plate, dremmels, miter boxes, 2x2s, scroll saws, drills, paint, glass tiles, cork, cork, cork, a whole lotta time and no pressure.

I miss making. I miss doing. I miss action. I miss finding myself & losing myself all at once.

[Seeming contradiction coming...] Despite the yearning I feel, I truly enjoy sitting at my computer, plotting my next business decision and creating design after design for fabric or paper...my work has become my outlet, my hobby. I really have to pry myself away at times not only b/c I love it so darn much but also b/c the next level of success is right around the corner - and I want to get there asap! For now, I will have to find a way to satisfy my itchy-twitchy need-to-make within the context of designing and selling fabric. Maybe therein is where the true creativity will emerge.... we'll see next month when 6000 yds of my first organic wholesale collection comes knockin' at my door.

Are you in an artsy zone these days?
Do you ever wish you were doing something else?

organic fabric love in words, featuring Harmony Art

Welcome to organic fabric love in words, where I'll highlight organic fabric producers with a short, informative Q&A about their businesses. Although we'll be brief here, I encourage you to visit the websites of those we feature to learn more & find out what wonderful options are out there in the land of organics! Thought I forgot about this little feature, didn't ya? Not quite. Just a tiny delay while my schedule matched up with our first featured guest: Harmony Susalla.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Business Name: Harmony Art organic design Year established: 1998 - strictly organic since 2005 Website: www.harmonyart.com
Retail, wholesale or both: wholesale directly from Harmony Art; retail through our fabulous distributors who are listed on our retailers page.

What types of organic fabrics do you produce?
Wide width sateens, twill, flannel, denim, interlock, jersey.

How would you describe your design aesthetic?
Nature inspired. Instead of trend shopping, I go trend hiking.

What types of applications have you seen for your fabrics?
You name it! Clothing, bedding, furniture, curtains, dog beds, leashes, bags, bibs, blankets, stuffed animals and many more. For a list of products made using our fabrics, visit the products page on our website.

What sets your fabric apart from other fabrics in general, and from other organic fabrics in particular?
What sets us apart from other fabrics in general is our use of organic cotton fiber and certification to the Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS) for the processing (weaving, printing, dyeing, finishing). For a breakdown of the differences between our organic fabric and conventional cotton, see our comparison chart: http://www.harmonyart.com/organic-textiles/OrganicVSConventional.html.

What sets us apart from the small (yet growing!) number of organic fabric companies is our wide width (110" and 90") fabrics, our experience working with organic cotton due to our length of time in the industry (5+ years), our focus on education, by speaking around the country, and our design. One of the things I love about textile design is that every designer has their own style "voice." The more designers offering organic cotton, the more people we will appeal to and together we will lead the industry by example.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thank you, Harmony!

It was important to me to start the first 'organic love in words' with Harmony - having just celebrated her 5th anniversary in January, she is a pioneer in the organic fabric category. Passionate people and organics seem to go hand-in-hand, and Harmony has set the bar pretty high in bringing her passion, generosity and scrupulous nature to this industry. I am extremely privileged to have gotten to know her a little bit, and I'm lucky she chose a path that would have a measurable impact on my future - we're all lucky for that matter!

seeing | a color lover's dream

Which color stands out to you and / or which color do you gravitate toward when you look at this image?

Assuming you were going to buy Fiestaware, would you mix-n-match or would you collect only one hue? 

random things listed. cotton/linen fabric bundles.

This week's items can be found in the remnants section of my etsy shop.

From my 2008 Damsel Collection, these are cotton/linen blend fabrics that were professionally printed on-demand. Although I still print some of these designs on organic base goods, most have been discontinued. These mix packs are all that remains of those cotton/linen prints. I have more mix packs & random Damsel pieces to list, but none will be as nicely mixed or comprehensive of the original collection as these 4 bundles.

Individual listings include:
- Pack 1, 9 fabrics, all 54" wide
- Pack 2, 8 fabrics, all 26" wide
- Pack 3, 8 fabrics, all 26" wide
- Pack 4, 7 fabrics, all 10.5" wide - SOLD

As I create these random listings in my etsy shop and my destash shop, I feel a little lighter each week. When you've been thinking about doing something for sooooooooo long (like 2 years), and you finally make some headway, it's so liberating. Then, in the style of the old V-8 commercials, I clonk myself in the head, "Why did I wait so long?" Even better, I'm actually enjoying the process of the weekly random listings - looking through my studio storage each week to see what I can pull together and shooting & editing the pics. (Never thought I'd say that about taking pictures after all the hair-pulling sessions I've had, but I may have finally found the right time of day in the right spot in my house with the right camera setting - nobody move!)

how to make a staple-free matchbook notepad.

In an effort to use up the damaged & small surplus of 2010 calendars I have on-hand, I've been experimenting with ways to repurpose them. These matchbook notepads were this week's project. They are easy to make .... and adorable ... and completely practical. I'll be making these to drop into my customers' packages as a token of thanks. The paper is from the offcuts of my shipping labels. You could use any scrap paper with at least one blank side for this project.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To make these staple-free matchbook notepads, you'll need:
- a piece of cardstock / coverstock for the outside
- 2 or 3 sheets of paper
- sewing machine or needle & thread

Cut cardstock into 9" lengths and whatever width you desire. In my examples, the colored stock is 3" wide, and the b & w stock is 2-3/8" wide.

Cut sheets of paper into 4-1/4" lengths and the same width as you chose for your cardstock.

Make a 5/8 - 3/4" creased fold on one end of your cardstock.

Tuck a stack of 10 pieces of paper into the fold. Make sure it fits neatly and tightly.

Sew or handstitch across this edge, leaving a 3/8" seam allowance. In my case, I aligned the fold with the very edge of my presser foot - which yielded a perfect 3/8" allowance.

Tip: I experimented with various thread weights and needle sizes. What seemed to worked best was a #16 denim needle and a Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP Heavy thread (it might say 'upholstery thread). When trying out different combinations based on what you have, look at the back to make sure the needle holes aren't too big or unsightly. [edited: I originally suggested using hand quilting thread. A reader advised against this b/c it has a wax coating on it that could adversely affect your tension discs. She's right! I checked some sources, and they concurred. And that explains a whole lot about some of the issues with my machine. Thank you, Cherie!]

Fold opposite edge of cardstock over the paper, aligning fold with edge of paper. Crease. This is basically eyeballed. Just make sure it overlaps a little bit when it meets the stitched side.

Tuck the edge of your cardstock under the lip of your sewn edge. It should come pretty close to the stitches.

The stitching serves as a perforation for your paper - so you can tear sheets out if you like!

These are so simple and fun - try it out!

The calendar pages have designs on the front & back, so the inside of the notepad has a sneaky little design, too! Sweet. These ecofriendly calendars are on clearance for $12.50 in my etsy shop. Maybe you can find a way to repurpose these pages!

beautiful chair reupholstery in daisy janie fabric.

These two sitting chairs have been recovered in my Annika Avalon fabric, an organic cotton/hemp blend canvas. This is an extra-special fabric sighting b/c these chairs live here...with me! I'll be able to visit them everyday, maybe with a good book or crossword in hand, too. Or perhapsies I'll just gaze admiringly at the pattern until my eyes become nap-heavy. Can't wait!

Until now, I've never given myself the privilege of indulging in this much of my own design work at one time, and it feels pretty, pretty cool! When the upolsterer unloaded them from his truck today, I was in full-on-happiness-runneth-over mode and his craftsmanship did not let me down!

above: Piping details are well-done! Pillow cover is from Sam at Inklore. (Sam, you'll be happy to know adorning this chair with your pillow was my first order of business - it's been wrapped in tissue waiting since you sent it!) 

below: This is a vintage chair rocker I antiqued 2 summers ago. Right now, I'm enjoying the patina of the arms - but I may spruce them up a little bit this summer now that I see what the fabric really looks like next to it. Or maybe not.

Here's where they'll be staying. This living room is a work-in-progress. The lamp & round table are placeholders for now. I'd like to find a big, chrome lamp with a swooping arm since we don't have an overhead light in this room. I also hung the artwork knowing that a table w/ a lamp would be placed btw the chairs, too. Will be on the lookout for a very slender loveseat to sit opposite these chairs. Something in a solid color - like garnet or gold or chartreuse or tiffany blue. It's a very small space - the 9' ceilings make it feel taller than it is wide or long. I'm trying to achieve a cozy, casual look without overwhelming the space.

What do you think?

snipping the green.

And later, with any luck at all lassies, I'll be sipping the black of a properly poured pint of Guinness. In the words of a dear & memorable Irishman: Cheers big ears!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

new item | flourish collection of quote prints.

'Why push the envelope when you can shove it the hell through?"

Introducing the new Flourish Collection of quote prints.

Each art print includes a well-spoken credo combined with a rich hand-painted striae background texture and original hand-drawn flourish embellishments. Available in 12 custom colors and printed on acid-free, archival quality, ecofriendly coverstock. 8" x 10" - in the Daisy Janie etsy shop. Please inquire about 5" x 7" or 11" x 14" - I am happy to accommodate!

'Make time. Don't kill time.'

These quotes are part of a sweet & empowering letter my husband gave to me in 2004, when my work as a decorative painter was part of an emotionally & physically exhausting Designers' Showcase. The ideas represent what he learned by observing my work process during those long, draining weeks. I've had the letter posted on my bulletin board ever since - a visible reminder to focus on what allows my work to  'flourish.' Maybe they will prompt others to flourish, too!

'Talent may start it, but attitude willl finish it.'

below: You can choose from this yummilicious rainbow of colors.

above: Close-ups of the handpainted striae texture. Looks like linen - a technique I used a lot to 'build' my wall designs for clients back in the day!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Thank you for reading!