This is the part of my job I love the most, creating bespoke items. I get requests from artists wanting books made from their favourite watercolour paper or using a favourite fabric; both these books are examples of that. Just email me or leave a comment if you would like some specific that you can't find elsewhere and I'll see what I can do!
Readers of my Kala blog will have seen this already but I am bringing a new range of books to Chalk Hill, all covered in my own fabric designs so you won't be able to get them anywhere else!
The covers are printed digitally onto a gorgeous soft 100% cotton fabric and so long as the are handled with care should last as long as my normal shop bought fabrics.
There will be an every growing selection of designs to choose from and you will be able to buy ready made ones direct from the website or order one with your favourite paper and to your own requirements. Full details to come soon.
This little beauty I have decided to keep for myself but I am busy making more so watch this space!
I have neglected Chalk Hill and the blog whilst I went on my journey of rediscovery (as seen on my Kala blog) and I even considered giving it up at one point as I wasn't sure if it really did what I really set out to do. But after a bit of reorganising and a good kick up the bum from a good friend of mine I decided to stick with it and give it a facelift. So here we are. I have already started to list new cards and revamped old favourites, soon to be followed by more sketchbooks and other little goodies I have in the pipeline.
Oooh took the kids to London yesterday and met up with my brother who knows all the best bookshops in town and look what I found! I saw both of these on the print and pattern blog so being able to look at them in the flesh was pretty cool (plus my brother paid for them as an early birthday pressie so even better). Go ahead and drool....
Another of my clients is Brian Halls of Sudocard.com who produces sudoku style puzzles for puzzlers who like general knowledge too. Large format postcards to collect or send and lots of fun - check the out here!
I've been asked by the fabulous Moopf to produce books with his own designs on the covers and here are the results - super chunky coptic stitched watercolour sketchbooks.
These are other funky designs are available only from Moopf's etsy store - go check them out!
Like most crafters this side of the hemisphere I have been coveting the gorgeous Japanese craft books available overseas but as yet been unable to buy them, so imagine my surprise when I saw these two on Amazon - and in English! I had to snap them up. Admittedly they are not the most challenging of crochet books but for a relative beginner like myself they are a good place to start and it is interesting to see old fashioned english lace reinterpreted and brought up to date. Will be keeping an eye out to see if they are bringing out any more!
Stepping into Scorpienna's store is like walking into a sweet shop. Wonderful candy coloured treasures and elegant simple pieces makes it difficult to choose!! Emily is an engineering student by day, she says "I like to use tools, to make things, and to play with beautiful colors. I also love to procrastinate my studies, and I've found that making jewelry is a great way to relieve stress while putting off my homework just a little while longer!"
She is happy to do custom pieces too so if you don't see exactly what you are after don't be afraid to ask. Her etsy shop is here, her blog here - enjoy!
Deabus Amour (which roughly translates as Goddess of Love) is an artist and jewellery designer from the USA that loves to create, being it photography, art or polymer clay jewellery! She says 'Art has always been important to me but only recently did I discover that tactile art -- specifically sculpture and sewing -- was a required daily dose for my sanity.' I think most of us can relate to that! Find out more at her blog and purchase her gorgeous work at her etsy shop.
Craftymoose is a fun shop full of gorgeous beaded decorations, flowers and animals. Debbie named her store after her love of crafts and her husband's love of moose, she even made a 4 ft moose for him which takes pride of place on her avatar! She is a self taught artist and also produces wonderful painted and collaged ACEOS as well as being very skilled with polymer clay but her main love is beading.
Visit her etsy shop here and her blog here.
Anyone who regularly reads my personal blog will know I love making beaded jewellery so when I came across Regalbeads work the magpie in me 'ooohed' and 'aaahed' and instantly wished I had the time and patience to learn beadweaving.
Regalbeads pieces are elegant and skillfully put together, you can tell that she does this because she loves her craft and in her profile she says 'I started beading over five years ago and took to it like a fish to water. I love the feel of the beads in my hands, the challenge of a new pattern, and the joy of a completed piece!'
You can buy her delicious pieces in her etsy shop and read more about the lady behind them in her blog of the same name http://regalbeads.blogspot.com/
Well not quite, this is the last one which I've moved over to my etsy shop while I await the arrival of more yuzen paper. Gone for different colours this time, can't wait!
These dichroic glass beauties are made by Peggy of Lucky Girl Trading co. The business started when she met her now husband who was already selling jewellery and she not only took over the business but started creating her own glass pieces, more of which are available in her etsy shop of the same name.
She says in her profile 'I truly am a Lucky Girl! Every day I gather pretty, sparkly things and send them to people. I imagine a person opening their mail and taking out their new pendant or chain or pouch. It's perfect--they have a huge smile on their face--and so do I. I'd love for that person to be you!' I couldn't agree more!
http://luckygirltrading.etsy.com
http://www.myspace.com/luckygirltrading
http://luckygirltrading.blogspot.com/
These stunning beaded creations are the work of retired Home Economics teacher Marylin. These and other beaded beauties are available in her Etsy shop Cigarboxbeads, named after the three vintage cigarboxes stuffed full of beads she bought at a flea market and kick-started her love of beadweaving. She also has a second shop Suchandsort which stocks wonderful vintage goodies that she has found and made - a must see!
...and the first daffodil has popped up in our new garden, spring is on it's way :D. I am sending out lists of questions to a selection of wonderful makers and designers from the UK and am picking up the 90 day challenge where I left off so expect to see some fantastic talent featured. I've got new designs of my own in the pipeline for the shop and somehow need to find time to get into the garden to stop this little bloom disappearing under a pile of weeds. The next few months are going to be hard work but I wouldn't have it any other way. Exciting times.
Oh and if you happen to make handmade wares for weddings and other special occasions please drop me a line, I'll add you to the feature list.
Throughout the whole of the Christmas period get 15% off your first order when you spend £25 or over at Chalk Hill Studio, enter the code CH1107 at checkout to get your discount. If you live outside of the UK then the same offer applies to items in my etsy shop - quote the same code at checkout before you pay and I will send you an adjusted invoice. Merry Christmas!
Well it's been a month since we moved now and it's taken me that long to unpack and then catch up on business stuff since unpacking, now I've got to catch up on everything else before christmas comes and goes in a 'blink and you've missed it' kind of moment. So here goes *takes deep breath*...
Pippit Carlington's jewellery shows a love and affinity with nature that is impressive to say the least. Her Etsy shop, aptly named Giftbearer, carries an array of original and well designed pieces that also reflects her multicultural heritage of Iroquois Indian, Hawaiian, Russian Jewish, and French Canadian. Pieces are named just as carefully as they are created, such as 'Hint at Something Deeper' for the oxidized copper flower necklace shown above and the 'Bruised all Over' earrings below.
Pippit works with a varied range of materials and techniques such as precious gemstones and beads, Precious Metal art clay, copper wire and beadweaving. Pippit has received formal art training as both and artist and jeweller, at Callenwolde Center for the Arts, The Atlanta College of Art, and Atlanta Jeweler’s School and Studios and has exhibited and sold works in many shows over the years. She is happy to take commisions for weddings and other special occasions and you can learn more about her on her blog.
My Fairy Babies came about because mum of 3 Hyla Waldron couldn't find fairy items suitable for her new baby daughter. Based in New York, Hyla not only produces these bright snuggly fairies but other baby items such as burb cloths and pacifier buddies and hand decorates gorgeous little t shirts and onsies, all adorned with her favourite fairy and fantasy creatures. My particular favourite is the fairy bank (shown below right) to catch all those pennies and help them grow!
Hyla also creates these wonderful pieces of jewellery in her second shop Faewood Creations that no self respecting fairy would be seen without. Just watch out for the pirates! More can be seen too at her blog.
New York based Dina Cuomo is the creative force behind Elektra Jewelry. Dina's love of jewellery began at the age of fifteen on a trip to Greece and years later she took a jewellery making workshop to learn how to make her own sumptuous greek inspired pieces.
Dina works primarily with gold vermeil, Bali sterling silver, semi-precious stones and vintage glass beads. Just of late she has started using Venetian glass beads, the colours of which are strikingly rich and add another dimension to her jewellery. Each piece is one of a kind so you are guaranteed to recieve something unique and she also works to commission is you need something extra special! Find out more about Dina at her Blog.
Sparkly Strandz is the creation of Occupational Therapist and mum of two Jamie Hinson from Friendswood, Texas. Jamie has been crocheting since she was a child and was introduced to bead making whilst at college 10 years ago and has never looked back.
Jamie says "During college, i developed a love for beads--not just because they're sparkly, but because beads have such a rich history to them from around the world, and can be made from almost anything imaginable. Also, as an occupational therapist, I am able to use a variety of crafts and activities in my therapy to make it more fun!" She combines her love of crochet with her beadmaking and also makes baby gifts and pet jewellery which are all available in her etsy shop and you can learn more about Jamie in her blog.
I was delighted to find that Paulette Insall was taking part in the 90 day challenge as she is easily one of my favourite artists on etsy. Her paintings are deliciously vibrant and textured which contrasts wonderfully with the serene and enigmatic look that occupies the faces of the women she portrays. Each character looks like she has lived life and has a story to tell with just hints of words collaged into the painting to give you a clue as to what that is.
I was equally amazed to discover that Paulette has only been painting for 2 years, despite this she already has a reached a level of acomplishment and connection with her chosen medium that I'm still struggling to find after 12 years of painting! She says "My art is about the search for connection…to self, to like minded spirits, to family, and to God. Most of my work depicts a sole woman because these are the stories of my own personal search and the emotions they invoke within my soul. My hope is that the visual stories I create with my art touch people from all walks of life and let them know that they are not alone…and find comfort in that knowing."
You can buy prints and originals of her works (as well as the stunning cards below) in her etsy shop but make sure you also visit her blog and website, and the artist herself in action on you tube!
Plastic Pumpkin is the creatively named etsy shop from artist Ren Adams. Ren works in a variety of media such as acrylic, oil pastel and collage but it's his beautiful Chinese brush paintings that stand out in particular. As a Taoist Ren states that his paintings form part of his daily meditation and reflects his spiritual pathway. "If I'm not drawing, painting, or otherwise expressing myself (however badly), I'm not in harmony with everything around me." 
"Art is a sensation, a sense of humor, a sense of elation, a tantalizing window... it's pure energy, pure thought, and pure darkness, and pure light. I explore themes, people, and places that intrigue me..."
You get a real sense of this when you enter his shop as his work is varied and exciting and he offers prints and ACEOs as well as original artworks so there is something for everyone. And if not you can always commission something! To find out a bit more about the artist himself visit his blog and his website where you can also find information on the classes he holds in at the University of New Mexico, Alberquerque. Shame I live the other side of the pond!
These distinctive pieces of jewellery are the creations of Franklin (USA) based artisan BJ. Unbelievebly BJ has only been making jewellery for about 18 months. She has a passion for natural materials such as semi-precious gems tones, rocks, crystals, shells, wood and believes that jewellery is selected subconsciously, the stones chosen reflect your persona.
BJ will happily produce custom pieces for a special occasion and judging by the pieces in her etsy shop you will not be disappointed! Here is her beautiful myspace blog too.
Tiffany Teske is a photographer living and working in Banff, Canada. Her etsy shop showcases these wonderfully atmospheric and sensual poloroid image transfer prints which explore a love of nature and the human form.
Tiffany discovered her taste for photography at the age of 7 when she was given a 110 camera to record a family trip. After a few detours she became a professional photographer in 1998 and at the same time earning 2 degrees in Art and Photography. Her skill and passion is reflected in her main website where she specialises in black and white photography. She accepts commissions from all the world and you can sign up for workshops - go see! 
Jansing is an artist from Sweden who produces gorgeous prints using both contemporary and vintage imagery. She has a self professed love of kitsch, colour and whimsey which comes across wonderfully in her work.
You can buy her prints from her etsy shop and she has also started a lovely new blog. The proceeds to her latest two prints go to the Swedish Dog Rescue Organization which makes them all the more special!
