Dig The Earth - colourful giclee prints and handmade eco-friendly cards

Pyramidica

2011-11-12T13:45:00.001Z

Hello! I have a new print to show you, this design is called Pyramidica – I've overlaid colourful triangles on a windswept landscape photograph, to create a vibrant tribal print. Pyramidica is available in two colourways from my NOTHS shop, though I'm hoping to get this stocked in my Etsy shop very soon too!

It's an old design from May that I found when I was sorting out the filing on my computer. It's amazing what you find when you look!

Hope you like it!

SALE! SALE! SALE!

2011-11-03T17:18:00.000Z

Hello! Just to let you all know that I'm having a surprise 'spur of the moment' Autumn sale over on Etsy. 20% OFF everything! I've no idea how long the sale is going to last, so grab yourself a bargain while you can!!!

You can see everything that's on offer by clicking here.

Thank you!

Chevron (Wallpaper)

2011-10-08T13:42:00.000+01:00

Hello! I have another limited edition print from my Chevron series available exclusively on Etsy from today. There are only 10 available of this size – so once again, very limited! You can see the print in my Etsy shop >>here<<

Thank you!

New Limited Chevron Print Now Available

2011-09-27T13:45:00.000+01:00

Hello! I have a new Chevron print available to own from today, it's exclusive to Not On The High Street and there are only 10 of this size available – so very limited! You can read more and buy a copy >>here<< or see my full NOTHS range >>here<<

Thank you! :)

Goodbye Folksy? Hello 30% OFF sale!

2011-09-16T23:07:00.000+01:00

It seems that a lot of the online market places are tightening up on their T&Cs at the moment – the Folksy forums have been on fire this last couple of weeks, as Folksy have been re-looking at what can actually be sold on the site.

More relevant to me at the moment, Not On The High Street have reminded their sellers about their exclusivity cause. This means that if I have an item listed on NOTHS, it is exclusive to NOTHS in the UK. I don't have enough work to split across different shops, so something is going to have to give!

To cut a long story short, all my prints from now on will be sold only on NOTHS and Etsy. So what about Folksy? It would be a shame to just close my shop, I may still have cards listed there for the time being and will hopefully re-introduce some prints in the future. Who knows...

All the prints I currently have listed on Folksy have been reduced by 30% (just to go out with a bang!) There's only one of each design available in the shop, so if anything takes your fancy, now is the time – they will not be relisted – and certainly not with 30% OFF! :D

All prints will be gone on Monday night – sorry.Please spread the word! :)x

>>30% OFF PRINTS – FOLKSY SHOP<<

Summer Break

2011-08-08T21:36:00.004+01:00

Hello!
Summer is well and truly here and it's time for a well earned breather. After a very busy couple of months, all my online shops will be closing this Wednesday and will reopen on Monday 22nd August.
If you want to grab a last minute bargain, all my prints have 10% off in the notonthehighstreet sale - hurry, you only have until Wednesday! :D
>> NOTHS SHOP <<

Exclusive new print available from Retro Roost

2011-07-23T16:36:00.000+01:00

Hello! Retro Roost, a brand new online design fair launched this week. Retro Roost is bringing back old school crafting techniques but with a contemporary flare. There will only be 99 featured designers & makers showcased at any one time, and the site has a lovely curated, cohesive feel about it.

I have some of my prints and cards available to buy >>here<< and have also created a brand new A3 print, which is exclusive to Retro Roost. Called Chevron (Bark), there are only ten of these, and each one is printed, signed and numbered by my very own sausage fingers!

Hope you like it!

I will be offering other limited edition Chevron prints in some of my other online shops very soon – watch this space!

Gone Phishing

2011-07-17T00:08:00.001+01:00

HAHA! Oh please! I'm a huge fan of phishing emails, so much effort goes into them, and they're always SO wide of the mark! Here's one from today…textbook.

Hello,
I write to confess what you are presently going through with my Boss. I was a member of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Local and Foreign Debt attached to the World Bank office in Washington, DC, USA. I resigned my official duty when I discovered the activities of my colleagues during a private investigation I carried out. I suspected some kind of foul play in their act which they would never inform me because they know I would never be a party to such as a Christian.

I discovered that my Boss was conniving with some top officials of the World Bank to divert funds approved to settle Lottery winners, International contractors and Inheritance. The World Bank has already given approval for the payment of your fund while they are deliberately delaying your payment. They continue to issue one fee or the other from different quarters. I wonder why you haven't noticed all this while. I can assure you this will keep happening if you do not do away with those officers.

Well I just hope you believe me, because if you don't, your fund is gone. Your fund is currently authorized to be paid to you from a financial consultant in the UK or US, approved by the World Bank with a Key Tested Reference/CLAIMS CODE Number, which was supposed to have been issued to you, but they have decided to divert your attention by telling you that they have something to do with one committee or the other especially here in UK or Africa and making you believe that the fund will be transferred into your account - FALSE!

The reason why I am giving you this information is because of the fact that I was aware of it and my doctrine does not permit me to withhold such information. The only help you can get from me now, is the actual link to your payment, please do not give this information to my boss as it may lead to them influencing a total blockage to your payment, so you have to be very careful with this information.

Upon your response to this message, I shall give you all you need to contact the affiliate Payment Office in UK or US.

Yours truly,
Ms. Tracy Sanson

Ooops!

2011-07-15T14:35:00.002+01:00

*tap tap*

Is this thing still on?

Special Offers!

2010-11-25T19:44:00.000Z

Hello! I've a couple of special offers this week. To celebrate the launch of Etsy coupon codes, I decided to give it a go and create a 20% off coupon that's valid for the rest of November. SO…all you have to do…when you purchase anything from my Etsy shop >>HERE<<, enter 'NOVEMBER2010' when you checkout and get a whopping 20% off! :) Simple as that! Enjoy!!

Next up…
I have one A3 Every Cloud print for sale at only £14 (as shown below). This is a slight second, it has a small white 'hair line' on the dark blue background, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist (OK, more like a control freak!) and won't sell this at full price. It looks like a tiny fibre had been stuck to the paper and came unstuck after it was printed, if that makes sense! This is still part of the limited numbered edition and is number 7 of 50. Just get in touch if you'd like more info, would like to see a piccie of the 'hair' or would like to buy! Price includes free UK shipping :) If you are outside the UK, shipping is just an additional £1!

Thank you!

Bradford Peace & Crafts Fair this Saturday!

2010-11-18T20:36:00.000Z

It's the 7th Bradford Peace and Crafts Fair this Saturday (20th November 2010) at Victoria Hall in Saltaire between 10am – 4pm. Myself and Ruby Spirit both have stalls selling our handmade loveliness, so please stop by and say hello if you are in the area! We are both in the Joanna Evans room which is just inside the main entrance to the right!

Here's a quick round up of what's going on:

Around 80 stalls with a wide range of quality crafts, plus campaigning, voluntary groups and complementary therapists.
Delicious veggie food from the PeaceCake cafe.
Live music and singing throughout the day.
Children's activities, storytelling, face-painting & more.
Christmas presents galore and a great atmosphere.
Entry 50p adults, children free.

Hopefully see you there!

New Prism print now available

2010-11-15T11:51:00.000Z

I have a new design available today, an online exclusive in my notonthehighstreet.com shop. 'Prism' is my latest abstract geometric giclée print, and comes in two different sizes, A3 and 297mm square. Prism is an open edition, and as always, every print is signed and dated. Hopefully arriving just in time to brighten up the dull winter days!

Reetsweet 7.11.2010

2010-11-11T17:07:00.001Z

Here are a couple of pics from the inaugural Reetsweet event that was held last week in Leeds Corn Exchange, which has to be my favourite building in Leeds. Between customers, I had the great pleasure of being able to stare at that amazing ceiling all day and watch it continually changing with the light. Fantastic! Becki @ Reetsweet is planning a second event at the Corn Exchange in December, sign up quick, places are very limited!

My Stall. Never enough space, so I 'borrowed' a door behind me!

That fantastic ceiling!

Not On The High Street!

2010-11-04T16:17:00.000Z

My poor neglected blog! OK, OK, I know you've heard it all before, so I'll cut to the chase!!

I've been really busy launching my brand new notonthehighstreet.com shop (it went live on October 14th) and have been busy with orders since then, it's been a fantastic initial response. Way better than I could have imagined!

I've also been 'officially announced' today on the notonthehighstreet email (above) that goes to a massive mailing list, so hopefully the orders won't slow down now!!

If you've not had chance to visit my new shop yet, here are a couple of screen grabs:

I'm planning on offering some exclusive prints and some new personalised prints too! So watch this space :D

Now if only I had some extra time to get ready for reetsweet at the weekend…but more on that later!

**UPDATE** Just noticed that my cards have also been on the front page today too! Result! :)

Makers-Online Community Networking

2010-09-16T14:38:00.000+01:00

Hello!
I'm trying out a new community initiative today, courtesy of Makers-Online. The aim is to promote fellow makers by sharing links to their websites and/or blogs. There are seven of us currently taking part all shamelessly promoting each other! So please click through to find out more about each of the makers and their sites. Hopefully you'll like what you see and maybe even spread the word – go on, share the love!

handmade accessories from the mighty Makers-Online

designer cards from Dig The Earth
upcycled stationery from Milomade
handmade silver jewellery from Rachel Lucie
fabric bags from Pipany
felt brooches by seventyseventyone
handmade crafts directory from handmade-crafts.co.uk

If you would also like to join us, you can find out more by clicking here.

I've been interviewed in UK Handmade!

2010-09-06T13:18:00.003+01:00

Sorry! I've not had very much time to keep my blog fresh of late. Work has been very busy and we've also been away on holiday (a relaxing family break in Northumberland (I'll post a few pics when I get chance)).

But…exciting news…I was grilled a few weeks ago by Mich Yasue from myfuroshiki about my other blog, I Love Handmade and about the role men have in today's craft scene, and last week the interview appeared in UK Handmade's magazine :D :D

You can see the current online issue here, my interview is on page 42 and I also get a lovely image credit on page 89. A massive thank you to everyone from UK Handmade for the feature!

Etsy Treasury Search O.D.

2010-08-11T16:56:00.000+01:00

Wow! Wow! Wow!

I'm loving the new Etsy Treasury search function, finally you can see if your work has been featured. If you haven't played with the Treasury search yet, just click here and type your shop name in the search box at the top right of the page. :)

There seems to have been an explosion in me cropping up in Etsy Treasuries of late – 13 new and undiscovered old ones at last count! I don't know what I've done – but I'm not complaining!

Many, many, many thanks to everyone who has featured my work, please click through to see the Etsy sellers and their fantastic treasuries!

motionham   Hello? Are You There?
gabrijoy   triangles
marianne0121   hello
paperpath   what a card
DFWM   Rainbow Bright
gabrijoy   hello there
punkscrapper   Warm colors
madamaRobe   EPL Blue Summer Rain
clevernamehere   Shops from My Favorites List with Under 40 Sales
atticspace   i love blue buttons . . .(UK)
metroline6   The British are coming!
AREjewellery   Atomium Explosion!
kraplap   BUTTON WEDNESDAY

Thank you!

New Button Print!

2010-08-08T17:51:00.000+01:00

Button (Multi), another new print in my Special Offer Shop – this went down really well at my last handmade fair – available during August for just £5 (and you get a free greetings card too!). Full details here.

August Special Offer Shop

2010-08-06T10:59:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post to show two new prints in my special offer shop. Only available during August at a reduced price and with free greetings cards too! What more do you need :D

First up, is this Button Square print – carrying on from my Button Hearts and Button Ninja! Only £14 and you get three free Dig The Earth cards too!

Next up, we have Small Red Cloud, yes, it's small, it's red and it's a cloud. Some people don't have space for my large A3 cloud prints, so this A5 print is for you. Only £5 and with a free greetings card during August. I also have a blue version too if you prefer darker skies…

I'll be adding more to my shop every few days throughout the month so keep checking back for exclusive offers! Full details here.

hello! hello!

2010-07-21T12:52:00.007+01:00

Hurrah! I'm in two brand new Etsy Treasuries today, many, many thanks to ThatSomething and gabrijoy who have both chosen my new hello! print.

You can click the images above to be taken to the treasuries and even leave a nice comment or two :D

The Button Ninja!

2010-07-16T11:16:00.001+01:00

Just added to my Facebook Shop, The Button Ninja! A master of stealth and camouflage. Always watching. Always waiting to pounce!

An A5 giclée print on archival matte paper, printed with Epson fade resistant archival inks. Signed and dated by my good self.

Only £4.50 PLUS you can get a special discount if you become a Facebook Fan!

You can see my fan page here, just click on the shop now tab to get your own Ninja!

**edit** I've now listed The Button Ninja in my Folksy and Etsy shops too :)

Monkey Business

2010-07-15T16:54:00.001+01:00

Monkey Business from Dig The Earth on Vimeo.

I've had these photographs knocking around on my computer for ages, so finally created a little stop-frame animation. I really don't think that Nick Park has anything to worry about! :D

For Your Amusement

2010-07-14T23:35:00.002+01:00

I was featured in an Etsy Treasury yesterday. It would have slipped by unnoticed, but popped up when I checked Craftopolis, a really handy website for checking your Etsy stats. Remember, if you curate an Etsy Treasury, always click on your 16 items when your treasury goes live – this way your featured sellers can find themselves easily using Craftopolis' Treasure Tracks. If you don't click, they may never know they've been featured! Anyways…thank you to EclecticOrchid for including my Carousel cards in 'For Your Amusement'. Take a closer look here.

Dotty!

2010-07-09T14:38:00.001+01:00

OK…this is the last of my very special offers for July – I've created a large giclée print of one of my Dotty! notecards. It looks great against a light wall, though there are loads of different colours in the dots that make it work with most colour schemes.

It's available at the special price of just £14 during July, a saving of £4, and you'll get three of my eco-friendly litho-print greetings cards completely free!

Why not treat yourself? Click here for more details!

New Facebook Shop

2010-07-09T12:51:00.000+01:00

Just to let you all know I've now added a shop app to the Dig The Earth facebook fan page. Yet another way to shop for my giclée prints – sorry! If you sign up to the fan page you'll also qualify for a special discount too! Not every print is available on facebook, but if you'd like something specific adding just let me know – I'll see what I can do!

Thank you!

2 sides to every story and 3 sides to every triangle

2010-07-08T23:00:00.000+01:00

A massive thank you to paperfinds for including my Triangles card in their latest Etsy Treasury. Click the picture for a direct link, where you can leave a comment or two (if that's your thing!)

New Pop! Giclée Print

2010-07-07T11:16:00.000+01:00

I've added another new A5 print in my Special Offer Shop, this time an old design that has been resurrected. I already sell Pop! in blue/green as a greetings card, this magenta/yellow version was created at the same time, but kind of fell by the wayside. I love it though, and it seemed such a shame to forget it.

This print is available for a specially reduced price during July and you get a free Dig The Earth greetings card too!

More details here.

Zen Earth Print Now Available

2010-07-05T15:02:00.000+01:00

I've added another new print into my Special Offer Shop. Zen Earth has previously been available as a set of three notecards, and now is also a brand new 297mm square print. It's one of my favourite designs, it works perfectly against a white wall as well as against the dark aqua in our kitchen at home.

I'm offering Zen Earth at the special introductory price of just £14 throughout July (a saving of £4) and you'll also get three of my A6 litho print cards thrown in for good measure! What more could you ask for!

More details here.

Whimsical Indulgence Treasury

2010-07-05T14:36:00.000+01:00

Thank you to dillondesigns for featuring my Dotty! cards in her new Etsy Treasury, Whimsical Indulgence – I really need to get back into making Treasuries! Please stop by and leave a comment if you have the time! :)

hello!

2010-07-03T09:38:00.001+01:00

hello! is another new print just added to my Special Offer Shop – this one is my first A5 giclée and is available for a special introductory price during July. I've got loads more coming over the next couple of weeks, so keep checking back if you want to grab a bargain!

This Too Shall Pass

2010-07-02T11:04:00.000+01:00

This Too Shall Pass, a brand new design, has now been added to my Special Offer Shop. It's an A4 giclée print and is available for the special price of just £9 during July – as a special treat you'll also get three of my eco-friendly greetings cards thrown in for good measure! These will be chosen at random from my stash of colourful litho-print cards!

I added the print to my shop last night, tweeted a link and the first one sold within the hour! Don't you just love it when that happens?! :D

Cor! Look at the legs on that Klimt sheep! The KAF Folksy Party!

2010-06-30T10:23:00.001+01:00

It's not very often that you get the chance to say, "Cor! Look at the legs on that Klimt sheep!", but Saturday was one of those times! Jo from Glassprimitif organised a Folksy gathering in Keighley's only gallery (please correct me if I'm wrong!) the KAF. Keighley Arts Factory (as it is otherwise known) is a fantastic space and nine Folksy sellers were given the opportunity to sell their handmade work amongst the latest exhibit – a flock of fantastic sheep all painted in the style of famous artists! Kandinsky and Klimt are my definite favourites…

I've already shown you my stall, the other Folksy exhibitors were: Ruby Spirit Designs, Mrs Sew and Sew , Quernus Crafts , Angels & Butterflies , Print for Love of Wood , Adeegan, Pamdas , My Furoshiki and Swirlyarts. A great cross section of the handmade loveliness that you can but on Folksy!

It was a fantastic bit of 'social'. You don't get it in the insular world of the internet! It was really great to meet Folksy artists face to face whose work I'd already bought. It was lovely to meet the people behind the blogs that I read and to put faces to names. Everyone was absolutely fantastic and all day was an absolute pleasure!

Jo pulled out all the stops and not content with her seamless organisation, she did a spot of baking too (I'm sure that other people did some as well, but I was too busy eating cake to catch all the details – sorry! Rest assured it was all very delicious!)

After the initial cakefest, Jo hosted the first workshop, an introduction to Wax Batik. It was all very messy and great fun. Luckily no one burnt themselves on the hot wax!

After lunch, Jax from Print for Love of Wood held an introduction to Letterpress Printing. It was great to finally have a go. Ruby Spirit bought an old Adana press from eBay 18 months ago, which we still haven't got up and running, but this brief intro has really made me want to go for it! Very inspiring!

Jax brought three old printing presses with her (one was from the 1880s) which were all fully operational. I was the guinea pig and got to ink up the Adana and set some wooden type. 'Hello!' seemed to be the word of the day, so I went for that…nice and simple.

Here's my feeble attempt at printing! The paper slipped, so it's at a rather jaunty angle – rubbish – and I didn't try to sort out the kerning. I love the dirtiness of the vintage wooden type, though. I really don't think that Jax has got anything to worry about!

All in all a fantastic day! Many thanks to Jo and everyone involved in the organisation, and to everyone who turned up (and even bought prints from me!)

Here's to the next one!

Oh, and yes, the Klimt sheep really does have very good legs!

Never Mind The Geometry of Black and White Football!

2010-06-29T15:36:00.000+01:00

There's nothing like a snappy blog title to attract the attention! I'm included in two brand new Etsy Treasuries this week :)

A massive thank you to taylorseclectic for The Geometry of Black and White…

…and rachellucie for Never Mind The Football!

KAF Folksy Party – My Table

2010-06-28T23:49:00.009+01:00

Yes, that's me looking very pleased with myself / gormless*.

My first ever table was at the KAF Folksy Party on Saturday. I thought I could make a couple of blog posts out of the day (well there was loads going on!), so this first post about my stall.

I just wanted to keep it simple – plain hessian and simple frames. I have so much colour going on in my work, I didn't want anything distracting from that.

I bought a new (well, it's new to me!) pre-loved giclée printer a couple of weeks ago. This has opened up the ability to simply create something and print it, without relying upon someone else to output my work for me. If you're familiar with my shop(s) a lot of the work will be recognisable, but some pieces were created especially for Saturday.

:D

*delete as appropriate.

Oh, just for the record, I HATE the new Blogger updates. Please accept my apologies for the ridiculous amount of space between the paragraphs. I have no idea how to fix it. It's late. I should be in bed! :)

From Britain with Love

2010-06-28T10:07:00.002+01:00

My red Button Heart popped up on From Britain With Love last week. Many thanks to Nicola from Ugly Be Gone for choosing one of my items to promote her lovely site!

Best Party Ever

2010-06-25T16:18:00.003+01:00

A huge thank you the the very wonderful and talented inaluxe for including my Carousel cards in her Etsy Treasury 'Best Party Ever'. You can take a closer look and even leave a comment or two by clicking here.

**UPDATE** Yay! This Treasury made the Etsy Front page on Saturday night, I was just answering a comment from Linden and clicked through and there it was! Lovely surprise! :) Thanks again inaluxe for including me.

Find Out About Folksy Party!

2010-06-22T12:27:00.004+01:00

I'll be organising my very first handmade fair table this weekend – no longer hiding behind Ruby Spirit Designs – a craft fair of my very own. Lordy!

Jo from the Keighley Arts Factory is holding a Find Out About Folksy Party in Keighley on Saturday 26th June. The Arts Factory is a contemporary arts gallery and will be open for their current exhibition Shorn Keighley as well as letting twelve Folksy sellers sell their handmade goodies to the gallery visitors. Me being one of them!

As well as copious amounts of tea and cake, there will also be two free workshops for any visiting Folksy folk.

11am to 12 noon Decorative Wax Batik led by Jo Whitehead of Glassprimitif
1pm to 2pm Letterpress Printing led by Jacqui of PrintforLoveofWood

It's going to be an absolutely fantastic meet and greet session and will be fantastic putting faces to names!

Folksy sellers who will be exhibiting and selling are: Me (of course!) | Ruby Spirit Designs | Mrs Sew and Sew | Quernus Crafts | Northfield Primitives | Glassprimitif | Angels & Butterflies | Print for Love of Wood | Adeegan | Pamdas | My Furoshiki and last but certainly not least…Swirlyarts!

Keighley Arts Factory
North Street, Keighley, BD21 3DF

I'll post some pictures of the event on Sunday! :D

Etsy Storque

2010-06-15T17:25:00.007+01:00

One of my greetings cards multipacks has been featured on the Etsy Storque today :D The post is all about the very fantastic Make Lounge in London (who have stocked some of my Just Add Cake cards in the past) hosting the Etsy Craft Party on Friday 18th June. Thank you for the mention!

Bad Taste Inflatable Sinking Feeling

2010-06-11T22:18:00.004+01:00

Yes. That really is a 30ft high inflatable 'Sinking Titanic' bouncy castle. Spotted on the way to see relatives on the outskirts of Blackpool a couple of weeks ago.

Words fail me.

POP pop POP!

2010-06-06T20:35:00.003+01:00

Sorry! I know it's probably very boring reading, but when I have chance, I really like to keep a record of the Etsy Treasuries that I've been featured in. It's very flattering to have an item picked, but I'm well aware that it's usually the only time that I blog! So not very interesting if you're not a Treasury fan! :p

Thank you AREjewellery for featuring my Ringo! notecards in POP pop POP! Please feel free to have a peek and leave your comments here!

Hello June!

2010-06-04T11:50:00.004+01:00

Another inclusion in a beautiful Etsy Treasury for me today! A massive thank you to thelittleprints for including my Zen Earth cards in her Hello June collection. Please click through and have a peek.

Hello to hello handmade

2010-06-03T15:55:00.005+01:00

The very wonderful Sophie from jodii contacted me recently to let me know about her brand new site. It's called hello handmade and is a wonderful mix of blog, gallery, market and competition site. Sophie has a great eye for design, her blog (sadly no longer updated) was always an inspiration and she even featured me once :D but…now there's hello handmade. Wow! What can I say! It's a beautiful, clean, well designed site with truly fantastic products.

hello handmade curate exhibitions that last for two months and each one has a different theme. The second one starts in July and is called 'High Summer', you can participate here. You get a great space that links to your online shop, and an interview/feature on the blog. Fantastic!

I've managed to bag a space for the first month linking to my Etsy - brilliant!

hello handmade will also be hosting competitions and a handmade market in Hamburg on 31st October!

Good luck with your new venture Sophie, it truly looks brilliant!

Cuteable!

2010-06-02T22:36:00.002+01:00

Short but sweet! I've been featured on Cuteable today! Yippee! Lots of photos and a great write up from Lynsey – thank you so much! Click here to see the full post.

The Monochrome Set

2010-06-01T15:47:00.004+01:00

Wow, wow, wow! I'm in a new Etsy Treasury featuring all UK products, 'The Monochrome Set' by memake (named after the very fantastic eighties band). Beautiful, thank you for including my Concentricity design! Let's hope that this is a front pager! You can have a closer look and even add a comment or two here.

I Love Handmade on UK Handmade!

2010-05-29T19:05:00.006+01:00

My 'other' blog, I Love Handmade, had a fantastic surprise feature on UK Handmade today. A very flattering write-up by Clare Bears INSPIRE: Blogs that make me go 'Wow'! Thank you so much, it really is appreciated!

Etsy Storque

2010-05-25T09:53:00.002+01:00

Here's my Zen Earth notecards on the Etsy Storque yesterday, in Amity's Bloom and Grow feature, inspired by RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Many thanks Amity, I had a couple of sales as a result of the feature, so all is good! :)

Stars, Hearts and Flowers Treasury

2010-05-17T10:10:00.003+01:00

A big, big thank you to Lazy Giraffe for featuring me in their Stars, Hearts and Flowers Etsy Treasury East last week. You can visit the Treasury and add your comments here.

I'm an Internet Whore

2010-05-13T10:07:00.004+01:00

So…a fellow Folksy seller called me an internet whore last week. I can't deny it. It's all true.

My name is Kev and I'm an internet whore.

You'll be glad to hear there are no webcams involved and my moobs are safely kept under wraps. It's just that I've opened another shop. Yes, yes, I know, I know. There's nothing like spreading yourself too thin! Ruby Spirit totally despairs of me. The thing is, it's a brand new site (it only opened last Friday). It has a very entertaining name. It looks fantastic. What is there not to tempt you in?

So, ladies and gents, may I present Ugly Be Gone.

I've opened a new shop to house all my prints and am very impressed so far. It's very, very easy to add new products and manage your shop – I'm going to give it a go for six months and see what happens. Nicola who runs the site is lovely, very helpful and has been on hand to sort out any teething problems.

If you're looking for a new place to buy or sell, why not pay a visit? Lot's of lovely gifts and homewares, but then I would say that wouldn't I? ;) Maybe I should rebrand myself as an internet pimp…hmmmn…

Shop Local on Etsy

2010-05-11T11:03:00.007+01:00

I managed to score an Etsy Treasury yesterday, so decided to use Etsy's Shop Local function which suggests other sellers in your area. A fantastic tool if you are wanting to support local artisans.

I've also been featured in some other treasuries this past week, so a massive thank you to:

PanicaLab

wallenvyart

maisychain

Sheep!

2010-05-08T12:40:00.009+01:00

A very belated post! April 24th saw the Arts Factory in Keighley host a Sheep Fair for St. George's Day weekend. Ruby Spirit had a stall at the outdoor market on Church Green, which also played host to a Medieval Food Fayre, wandering minstrels, Punch and Judy and some very fantastic sheep sculptures. The sheep are part of the Shorn Keighley Project, where local businesses sponsor a sheep to be painted in the style of a famous artist.

We were treated to Hockney, Cook, Mondrian, Magritte and Monet! Fantastic! Later in the day they were even joined by two lambs (real ones, not sculptures) who enjoyed being petted and having their photo taken by just about everyone that walked past!

More Etsy Treasury!

2010-04-23T17:03:00.002+01:00

Thank you SickoJewels for featuring my Zen Brights in their 'Vibrant Thing' Etsy Treasury! Lovely stuff! :) Thankyou very much!

Oh sod the copy!

2010-04-20T17:17:00.002+01:00

www.digtheearth.com

Two new Treasuries!

2010-04-20T08:00:00.001+01:00

Thank you ForrestConcepts and mirthmarket for featuring my work in their Etsy Treasuries this week. I love that I've managed to sneak into two completely different types of collection. Thank you it's really appreciated!

Writer's Block

2010-04-19T16:08:00.005+01:00

I've been toying with using one of the many website building sites to create a Dig The Earth website…nothing too fancy, something clean with big images!

I've created a few pages in Wix (using one of their templates) which so far has been very easy to use. I can picture how I want the pages to look, I'm just really struggling trying to get my head into 'copy mode'. What on earth do you write about yourself? Really not as easy as it sounds. Gah!

I know that my copy has to fully describe my business to any potential customer, but I'm laughing at how horrendously twee my writing is! I'm really trying to avoid the obvious 'this is me' approach, but failing miserably!

I've posted one of the pages above, it's just waiting for some creative blurb adding!

Another Etsy!

2010-04-14T18:17:00.004+01:00

A big thank you to The Merry Crown Society (what a great name!) for featuring my Carousel card in their Etsy Treasury yesterday – a very bright and colourful 'Springtime Happiness' collection!

Emmamaha does it again!

2010-04-09T09:51:00.003+01:00

Emmamaha has done it again for me this week and featured me in another of her lovely Etsy Treasuries :) I'm not sure what I've done to deserve it – but THANK YOU! This one is called Romancing the Stone and features my 'I Need To Say…' card, which you can see here.

Etsy Treasury!

2010-04-07T09:00:00.001+01:00

A huge thank you to Emmamaha for featuring me in an Etsy Treasury this week, 'A Golden Daze'. Lovely selection, thank you!

Drip, Drip, Drop, Little April Shower

2010-04-06T15:50:00.002+01:00

The Folksy front page has been everything April Showers this week, rain clouds, rainbows and umbrellas. I'm very grateful that my 'Every Cloud…' print has made it into the Featured Items list, which has meant heavy rotation on the Folksy frontpage :) Thanks Folksy!!!

MOO Cards

2010-04-06T09:00:00.000+01:00

My free MOO business cards arrived a couple of days ago…I had doubts about getting them printed when I could make my own, but everyone always raves about the quality, so I thought why not give it a go.

Fifty cards for just £3 postage! Bargain. The print quality is fantastic, each card has it's own image (if you have a spare hour to go through the simple upload process, I would recommend it, it's really easy to do) and they are printed on MOO Green – 100% recycled board – without the added chemicals involved with getting them matte laminated. :)

I've had these made, so that I can slip one in with each of my orders. If you're looking for cheap cards at way better quality than Vistaprint, look no further!

Carousel prints now available!

2010-04-05T10:41:00.004+01:00

Carousel No.1 (full image and close up)

I've added two new Carousel prints to my special offer shop this weekend. I've had quite a few people asking whether my Carousel cards were ever going to make it as giclée prints – so, here you go! – I've changed the illustrations, so they're a little different from the greetings cards, but just as vibrant!

Two A4 prints are now available here (at a special reduced price throughout April).

If you'd like a different size creating (these look great large!) just email me!

Carousel No.2 (full image and close up)

Close but no cigar!

2010-04-03T19:10:00.001+01:00

Makers Online recently ran a best product photograph competition on their website. Unfortunately, there was no £200 top prize coming my way, but photos for both myself and Mrs. Kev were shortlisted and made the final 27! The competition closed with 136 entries, so I'm really pleased with that!

The winner was Chloe Livingstone, with her lovely suede necklace shot. Well done Chloe, a well deserved prize!

You can see all the shortlisted entries >>here<<. We were all asked to submit a short paragraph about how each photograph was taken, so there are plenty of photo tips to pick up. There's also a very handy product photo guide, which is well worth a read if you need some extra photo advice.

Etsy Treasury!

2010-03-30T09:00:00.008+01:00

Hurrah! Another Etsy treasury featured my work yesterday, my giclée print of little clockwork monkey bums was featured in a lovely wedding treasury by mauvaiselephant. Thank you!

New Cloud prints!

2010-03-28T22:35:00.006+01:00

Finished! Two new prints, Rainbow Cloud and Every Cloud… are available throughout April in my special offer shop, at a special introductory price for my blog readers :) You can read more here. Every Cloud… has a hand applied silver foil raindrop in a numbered limited edition of 50 worldwide.

Thank you for all the constructive comments about the prints here, the third print has been shelved – though if anyone would like a copy, you know where I am! Just contact me and I can create a very limited edition custom order for just for you :)

Etsy Front Page!

2010-03-27T13:18:00.003Z

A massive thank you to Lupin, whose lovely treasury took me to Etsy's front page yesterday!!! It was during UK daylight hours, so I managed to see my moment! My Carousel card sold within a few minutes of me getting to see it, so my fame was fleeting but I'm very proud :D

If you'd like your own Carousel card, it has been relisted here.

Thank you to Craft Cult for the screengrab!

Treasury!!

2010-03-26T17:27:00.002Z

A massive thank you to atelierpompadour over on Etsy for featuring me in a very beautiful green Treasury yesterday. Fantastic! Thank you!!

Weather Work In Progress

2010-03-25T17:11:00.006Z

I've been playing with some new weather illustrations over the last couple of days…I'm really not sure where I'm going with these at the moment, so they may never see the light of day. I'd be really interested to hear what you think about them, good or bad!

The first one is of a rain cloud dropping fat blobs of colour, probably called 'Every Cloud…' or something. At the moment one of the white drops is going to be shiny silver foil collaged onto the print. Though I'll be doing some tests with acid free xyron glue to see if it will hold on the printed giclée ink. I'm playing with different textures too, so there are no flat pieces of colour, everywhere has some kind of subtle pattern, here's a close up:

All the designs are on a dark blue background, that has a mottled rose wallpaper pattern through it.

Here's the second, very eighties retro rainbow one:

And lastly, I don't know what's going on here! Sun, Rain, Rainbow. All I need is some snow and lightening and that's nearly every form of weather covered!

Probably A3 prints. What do you think?

Treasury-tastic!

2010-03-24T16:56:00.004Z

Like buses, there isn't one for ages, then two come at once!

A massive thank you to AREJewellery and Lupin for featuring my Carousel card in their Etsy Treasuries. It's Euro Week on Etsy, and both treasuries celebrate Europe and a whole shed load of colour! :D

New for Spring

2010-03-23T14:53:00.003Z

Just a quick update showing some brand new blank note cards that compliment my 'Butterflies' prints. Available in a set of three from Folksy and Etsy these cards are digitally printed on 100% recycled card, trimmed, folded and lovingly packed by my own fair hands :D

Sharing The Love – thank you missus!

2010-03-08T09:00:00.002Z

Thank you so much wifey for featuring me in your Sharing The Love Treasury on Etsy this week. x

Butterflies

2010-03-02T22:16:00.005Z

Hot off the (digital) press!!!

It's still cold outside, but my mind is already thinking about summer…my latest prints don't seem to hide this fact! Warm and summery colours with lots and lots of butterflies! 'Butterflies No.1' and 2 are both A4 giclée prints and are a little softer than my work of late – I'll have to see what I can do to redress the colour balance! Watch this space…

I've just added both prints to my 'Special Offer Shop' where you can get them from now until the end of March for the bargain price of just £10. More info here.

Thank you!

New Movers & Shakers Print

2010-02-24T15:38:00.003Z

I've just added a new A4 print to my 'Special Offer Shop' – something bright and cheery to shake off the winter blues! I've been planning on creating a Movers & Shakers print for ages and have just finished the pictures today…so here you go!

Movers & Shakers will be cropping up in my Folksy and Etsy shops very soon, but as a little thank you to all my blog readers, you can get hold of a copy from now until the end of March for just £10. More info here.

Thank you!

Etsy Treasury

2010-02-09T09:00:00.001Z

A huge thank you to Debbie @ FostenDesigns for featuring one of my Button Heart prints in her 'The tree of life springs green' Etsy treasury. The treasury will be up until the 11th, so why not have a peek here.

New Special Offers!

2010-02-07T23:10:00.003Z

I've just been filling my Big Cartel 'special offer shop' with some new pre-release goodies!

Hoopla! is now no longer just a note card, but also comes as a set of three zingy 12" giclée prints.

After taking new photographs in Ruby Spirit's Shed on Saturday, I decided to put the prints straight out into my Big Cartel shop (rather than waiting a couple of weeks, which was my initial plan).

Each print is available at the introductory price of £15 (a saving of £3 on the usual cost).

You can also get yourself a set of all three prints for £40 (saving £5 on the usual cost).

My special intro prices are only available until 28th February, so you've got a couple of weeks to grab a bargain! :D

Click here for more info!

Mentions!

2010-02-07T22:31:00.006Z

A massive thank you to everyone for featuring my work this week!

Mesdames Mitchell & Dent over on their fabulous Tittle Tattle blog, had my Dotty and Colourbox Cards…

Otherlovelythings, featured my Button Heart print…

Fairlygirly also featured a Button Heart, but this time in blue…

And last but not least, Leigh Shepherd featured Love Is Colourblind.

THANK YOU! :D

Etsy Front Page

2010-02-05T13:54:00.006Z

Amanda Sainsbury's treasury made the Etsy front page last night in the early hours! My first Etsy front page item :D I know it shouldn't be important, but it is! I'm so chuffed.

AND for all you Analytics geeks out there, front page does make a teeny difference to your hits, here's my Etsy store hits so far for today :O Lordy, just a few more than usual!!!! If only those hits translated into sales!

I was safely tucked up in bed, and unfortunately missed my hour of glory, but a huge thank you to otherlovelythings for letting me know, and to Craft Cult for storing all the items that get featured on Etsy.

Etsy Treasury

2010-02-03T16:13:00.000Z

My Button Heart in Green print has been featured in an Etsy Treasury today, 'yellow and aqua' by Amanda Sainsbury. Thank you Amanda! Great colour combo! Thank you!

More Mentions!

2010-02-01T16:26:00.001Z

Sorry if this is a bit boring, but it's really nice for me to look back on! :)

I'm logging all my mentions and linking back to the relevant sites as a way of saying thanks to everyone who has taken the time to mention me again this week. A huge thank you to both Lauren Ceramics and OOAK for featuring my work this week. Thank you!!!

The Button Heart prints have been really popular this valentine's day!

Folksy-tastic!

2010-02-01T15:01:00.003Z

Thank you Folksy!!!

I found out last night that I'm one of this month's four featured sellers, with my wares on heavy rotation on the Folksy homepage! Very exciting and a lovely unexpected surprise. I'm truly honoured! :)

A huge, huge thank you to everyone over at Folksy involved in the selection process.

Yippee!

UK Handmade Valentine's Gift Guide

2010-01-29T12:00:00.002Z

Yay! I made it into UK Handmade's Valentine's Day Gift Guide this week! I love the virtual magazine format that UK Handmade produces – and I like it even better when I'm featured in all my glory on Page 3 :D

Have a click through and check out the magazine, it's full of great ideas for Valentine's Day!

A huge thank you to everyone involved!

Feature Round-Up!

2010-01-28T16:32:00.005Z

A massive, massive thank you to everyone who has featured my work this past week…just click on the images if you want a closer look!

First up, the very fantastic Unni Strand who picked her favourite items from my Etsy shop and gave I Love Handmade a very welcome plug. Unni has an amazing shop on Etsy, you can visit it here.

Next, the wonderful MrsGKnits, with a very romantic selection of beautiful things from Folksy. She featured my red 'Button Heart' print. You can visit MrsG's shop here.

And last but certainly not least, also featuring my red 'Button Heart' is hjmart. Helen has also picked a very romantic selection – this time from Etsy. You can visit hjmart's Etsy shop here.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I really appreciate the mention on all your brilliant blogs!

Etsy Storque

2010-01-28T16:08:00.000Z

My Button Heart has been featured in the Etsy Storque today, in the Calling All n00bs post. You can read the post, and hopefully spot my work here (it's WAY down near the bottom! :D)

Mydeco update

2010-01-25T22:21:00.005Z

All my current giclée prints are now on sale in the mydeco design boutique. A huge thank you for the 'we love' stamp on my Button Heart design! I'm very flattered – thank you!

The same print has also been adapted and used as a web button for the valentine gifts section of the site.

Feature Round-Up!

2010-01-17T09:00:00.001Z

A big, big thank you to Bright, Bold and Beautiful and Papertastic for featuring my work this week!

Bright, Bold and Beautiful is a US blog that promotes "bright ideas…bold vision…beautiful living" and is well worth a look. You can visit here.

Papertastic "lovely things in paper" featured my Movers & Shakers card in a Best Moving Cards article! What an honour – I'm flattered! You can visit here.

Thank you to both sites for the mention!

Kate Banazi Blog Prize

2010-01-15T12:12:00.004Z

I found out a couple of weeks ago that I'd won October's Mailing List prize from the very talented and fantastic silkscreen print illustrator, Kate Banazi.

Well…the said prize arrived yesterday, a stunning signed A4 print on hefty board (shown above). It's absolutely beautiful! I'm very, very happy! The pic above doesn't really give a proper idea of the vibrancy and the number of intricate layers that have been overlaid. So lovely!

Not only that, Kate had also put in two additional stunning prints :O

I've managed to find a shot of one of them, 'Smoke' which is shown below.

What can I say?!? I really can't thank Kate enough, it has made my week - a stunning and very unexpected surprise! I'm going out to get new frames this weekend!

If you've never heard of Kate before, here's the bio from her site:

"I am an illustrator and silkscreen printer from London, currently based in Sydney, Australia.

I have a BA hons degree in fashion from Central St Martins and am rather deft with a pair of shears, a cotton reel and a slice of cake.

I am brown eyed, right handed and very often melancholy.

I am very good at multi tasking.

You will often find me eating, talking, drinking and drawing, all at the same time.

I think I make the perfect Yorkshire puddings, but I am more than willing to try yours."

I make a mean Yorkshire pud, but they may not survive in the mail! Otherwise you'd be inundated with them Kate!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Find out more:
Kate's Website
Kate's Shop
Kate's Blog

New Shop!

2010-01-14T15:57:00.007Z

Hurrah! A new venture finally opened it's (virtual) doors yesterday! Please say a big hello to Ruby&Dig.

It started out as a way of destashing some of Ruby Spirit's huge mountain of beads, and has slowly started to spiral out of control!!!

So…if you are looking for jewellery supplies, destash and assorted ephemera please pay us a visit!

We (or should I say Ruby!) started listing some beautiful seed beads in our Folksy shop yesterday – with LOTS more to follow! We will also be stocking an Etsy shop in the next few days for anyone who prefers to pay in dollars.

Just out of interest, it would be very useful to know if anyone who reads this blog from outside of the UK would even consider buying from Folksy, or is Etsy the only way to go?

Here are some of the first goodies that have already been photographed and listed:

There's plenty more to come! Why not add Ruby&Dig to your favourite shops in Folksy and Etsy!

Monkey Mania!! Special Offer!!

2010-01-12T14:28:00.008Z

Everyone loves clockwork monkeys right? Well so it seems! My 'Together' greetings card has been one of my bestsellers, since it's introduction last January, and it's now available as a beautiful A4 giclée print.

SO…I've another special offer for you over in my Big Cartel shop, 'Together No.1' (the image from the greeting card) is available at the special price of just £10 until January 24th 2010. A very special saving of £2! You can read more about this print by clicking here.

What do you mean you'd rather look at their little white wind up tails? OK, here you go! Available for the first time, may I present 'Together No.2' – a never before seen out-take from the 'Together' photo shoot, just for you.

Again 'Together No.2' is available for just £10 until January 24th 2010 – only from Big Cartel. Bargain!!! I'm sure you'll agree!

Make sure you keep checking my Big Cartel shop for very special limited offers! Lots more to come! Watch this space!

Blog Feature!

2010-01-06T15:52:00.005Z

A HUGE and massive thank you to Sophie over at jodii for featuring loads of my items on the jodiijodii blog today. It's great to see your items shown in a different environment, they take on a different feel! Fantastic!

jodiijodii is a blog after my own heart: updated daily to "promote everything handmade from Europe. It's made for people, who want to avoid mass-produced articles. It shares new ideas, designs, trends and inspiration." I can highly recommend it, it's a great blog – why not head over and become a new follower today!

Trend Bible

2010-01-04T12:06:00.006Z

Hello! Exciting news today…some of my work has been featured in the new Trend Bible (Kid’s Lifestyle Trends for the Home, Spring Summer 2011).

Here's what Trend Bible say about themselves (sorry for the cut and paste, but they can say it far better than me anyway!):

"Trend Bible is a trend forecasting consultancy based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, forecasting future trends and building ranges for retailers and brands in the home interior, food, automotive and electronics industries.

Over the past few months we have seen many brands and retailers become casualties of the recession: brands that didnt look far enough ahead, listen to their customers, who weren't prepared to change, or who weren't responsive enough. Trying to shape a picture of what the future will look like is essential to stay ahead.

We help brands envisage this picture of the future, evidencing what the future concerns of consumers will be and helping our clients develop ranges that reflect these needs.

We've been busy helping some of the worlds strongest brands anticipate future consumer behaviour, increase market share, develop new product lines and create inspiring and commercially successful product ranges.

Trend Publications: We product two unique biannual trend publications: Lifestyle Trends for the Home and Kids Lifestyle Trends. Our publications are available in 18 countries through our network agents.

Consultancy: We work with retailers and brands in the home interior, consumer electronics, beauty and food sectors to help align product ranges, forecast future consumer influences and interpret colour, material and product trends. Clients include Tesco, Nokia, Pottery Barn, Next, Mothercare, JC Penney, LG and many others."

I've been sent these PDFs from the final book – it's quite interesting to see my Hoopla Notecards reinterpreted as a duvet cover!!! If any bedding manufacturer out there is interested… ;)

Here's my Carousel Card design featured in the Print Direction section…

A big thank you to Trend Bible for using my work – I will let you all know if anything comes from it!

You can read more about Trend Bible here on their blog.

New! Love Is Colourblind print!

2009-12-26T09:11:00.004Z

I've added another new print to my Big Cartel shop today – Love Is Colourblind – it's on special offer to all my blog readers, for just £10 until December 31st 2009. The print will also be available in my Folksy and Etsy shops from January 1st 2010 for £12.

This design is based on the Ishihara Colour Test (which tests to see if you are colourblind). Even though I designed it, I really, really struggle to see the heart! For more info and a bigger piccy, click here.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T09:00:00.010Z

A very merry Christmas to everyone! A massive thank you to everyone for following my blog this year and for all your lovely comments and support!

Hope everyone has a fantastic time.

Kev :D

New! New! New! Button Hearts!

2009-12-21T11:01:00.007Z

Here's a special sneaky peek of my new range for 2010. I've created some beautiful and colourful A4 Button Heart giclée prints which will be in my Folksy and Etsy stores from January 1st 2010. These are printed on a premium quality uncoated paper with museum quality archival inks and will be available to buy for just £12.

BUT – I have a SPECIAL OFFER to all my blog readers! Prints are available to buy now at the special pre-sale price of just £10. This offer is only available until December 31st 2009 - so hurry!!!

Click here for more details and bigger piccies!

Available in four vibrant colours, Red, Green, Blue and Orange - these are currently ONLY available from my Big Cartel store.

Each colour is a unique illustration – you can safely hang two colours together, knowing that the hearts will be completely different.

Remember this £10 pre-sale offer is only available until December 31st 2009!

Click here to see my Big Cartel store!