Taking more photos of pillows today… it always amazes me how long it takes to photograph things for the shop. Working hard to get more stuff added, I know many of you are working on spring cleaning already, and will want a fresh new pillow to liven up your newly organized living room.
2012 was a great year here at Cotton & Flax! It was our first year under the new brand, and it was wonderful getting to debut new products and patterns all year long. I loved sharing my process and behind the scenes peeks here on the blog, and I am excited to share even more with you all next year. I thought it would be fun to look back at the top three most popular posts on the Cotton & Flax blog for 2012!
Every month, I share a new iPhone wallpaper featuring one of my pattern designs, and it’s absolutely free to download! My third most popular post this year was the wallpaper download for October.
The second most popular post on the Cotton & Flax blog this year? My gift guide for guys! Gotta love a good set of coasters, right?
My most popular post, by a pretty wide margin, was the hand printed gift wrap DIY I posted in August! It’s a great, simple DIY that can be personalized in so many ways. The hand stamped envelope liner DIY was similarly popular, as well!
So farewell, 2012! It was a great year, but 2013 promises to be another year of fun projects and new products to share. What are you most looking forward to in 2013?
Spotted this great illustration by Lydia Nichols, which she submitted for the To Resolve poster project. There are tons of great illustrations for that project, certainly worth perusing the index.
Writing more letters was one of my resolutions for 2012, so I can definitely relate to this one. Are you making any resolutions for 2013? I would highly recommend setting a goal to write my handwritten letters. For me, it’s meant developing closer friendships with my faraway friends and relatives, and getting to enjoy that lovely feeling of having more in my mailbox than just junk mail and bills.
Can you believe this is the last Print of the Week post of 2012? This year has flown by so fast, and I find myself thinking about 2013 and what’s in store for me, creatively speaking. I am proud of the work I made this year, but in 2013, I want to take more risks, and be more adventurous in my creative life. I thought this John Baldessari print, titled, “I will not make any more boring art,” would be a witty way to ring in the new year, and to look forward to all the amazing things yet to be created.
This week, I’d like to share one of my own relief prints for Print of the Week. For those not familiar with this technique, to create a relief print, you carve away at the printing surface (usually a block of wood or rubber linoleum) to create your image, and the areas left behind are coated in ink and printed onto paper. It’s a labor intensive process, but I love the bold, graphic lines you can achieve using the carving tools.
I created this print to symbolize the ways we stay connected to the ones we love, even if we are faraway. Something I’ve been thinking about more often as the holidays approach…
I’ve been featuring traditional prints here on the blog every week since May, I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing so many modern examples of what you can achieve with printmaking techniques. I’m planning to continue this series in 2013, do you have any favorite printmakers you’d like me to feature?
If you’d like to purchase this print, you can find it in my second Etsy shop. Edit 5/1/14: my print shop has closed, but send me an email if you want to inquire about my printmaking work.
The coasters I debuted this year turned out to be a huge hit! In fact, I only have one set left, the adorably festive red wool coasters with the white plus pattern. In the spirit of the holidays, I’d like to give this coaster set to one of you lovely readers!
TO ENTER:
1. Leave a comment on this post, telling me your favorite holiday beverage. Make sure to leave a way for me to contact you (email, twitter, etc.)
2. For an additional entry, follow Cotton & Flax on Twitter or Facebook, and let me know that you did in the comments here on the blog! If you’re already following, just let me know as well.
The giveaway is now closed, congrats to Kaitlyn Miller who won the coaster set! Thanks to everyone for playing, hope to do another giveaway sometime in the coming months.
