Shine bright like a diamond

Thanks to a demand for diamond and other wedding anniversary invites and party supplies. I decided I needed to add another design to my selection for special anniversaries. Fortunately I discovered a necklace I had tucked away with a diamond heart cut so I painted this using pan and tube Winsor & Newton watercolors.

Koala purple hazed wildlife art with a twist

Inspired by the smoke haze floating over the Gippsland countryside, for many days in late April. The planned burn left a purple blue touch to everything. It got me thinking of those poor koalas in the fog of choking smoke. The interesting hues influenced my decision to experiment with this haze of purple and to push my boundaries using bright non standard colour on this interesting and iconic Australian animal. 

I took a further risk and added touches of orange to the eyes and around the animals face to echo the beautiful flaming autumnal leaves and of course those fires. I have a thing for koalas they have an innocent quality but behind the cute face they can be quite feisty when they need to be.

This piece of artwork, I hope will make the viewer think about the plight of animals subjected to unpleasant smoke inhalation during burn offs.

This experimental acrylic painting is currently for sale on boxed canvas (20cms x 20cms x 1.5cms). For best price contact me directly or you can purchase from me via Saatchiart. If you want your own print check out my koala art on Redbubble.

Stork new baby delivery art

My latest stork baby art collection was originally created for my cute now not so new baby nephew.

Painted with pan watercolors this cute design was based around my brothers previous jobs as a postman and his current job dealing with parcels and deliveries and the fact that I now live thousands of miles away it seems most fitting. So I drew a cute flying stork with a baby bundle. The stork has a postman's style hat which on the original version that I sent to my new nephew had the logo of the large firm my brother is now store manager for as a personalised touch. 

I also created a simple wash sky background which I have added together to create baby shower invitations and baby shower party wares, maternity t-shirts and more available through www.mylittleeden.com on zazzle
and my redbubble store.

Stork baby watercolor art by Sarah Trett

Going green

Colour company Pantone has declared green as its colour of the year for 2017. The colour, aptly named Greenery, is described by Pantone as a "tangy yellow-green that speaks to our need to explore, experiment and reinvent". 

It seemed therefore fitting to go green whilst taking a more relax approach to a bit of watercolor art, I produced for my little eden weddings store. 

I started with some loose foliage forms then added splats of paint by gently flicking the brush in a controlled way to give the work more vitality, interest and life.

I then decided to grab a pot placed in the center of my paper and produce another piece of art in a wreath design using the pot as a circular template.

I was quite pleased with my little painting session, although I did color adjust the artwork to match and be a little more green with the tone of the greenery theme.

My new greenery wedding set now available at www.mylittleedenweddings.com just in time for a spring wedding. See the whole set here













I also have a few other hand painted greenery collections for weddings in www.mylittleedenweddings.com store. 

Spring greenery leaves watercolor art wedding
by Sarah Trett for mylittleedenweddings
Green Oncidium orchid wedding
by Sarah Trett for mylittleedenweddings
Green catkins willow watercolor art wedding
by Sarah Trett for mylittleedenweddings

The wonders of a new Spring in the UK

Having returned back to the UK from Australia this was the first UK Spring for me in over five years. It has been a delightful revelation to see the transition from the miserable dullness of winter, to the amazing mass flourish of green leaves and pretty flowers. Despite being time poor and still without space to produce my art. I managed to complete a few paintings of the blooms that really caught my eye this spring here in Dorset, England and I have taken plenty of sketches and photos for potential future works once I get more time and space to work again. Below is links to my new Spring watercolor artworks, designed to work on various products including wedding invitations, cards, gift papers and fabrics.

Pink tree blossom watercolor wedding
by Sarah Trett

Spring snowdrops, primrose, bluebell art flowers
by Sarah Trett

Camellia pink wedding
by Sarah Trett

Yellow catkins willow watercolor art wedding
by Sarah Trett

Zazzling fabrics

Zazzle have recently added a choice of fabrics into it's ever expanding range of products, ideal for adding a customized touch to your sewing and crafting projects. This is a very exciting product addition to get creative with, but what are the fabrics really like? 

Zazzle kindly asked me to take a closer look. Here is what I discovered.

Getting to touch and feel  

Once you have been wowed by the shear variety of designs and options Zazzle have on offer you can expect to wait (depending on your shipping option and location) a week to two for your unique fabrics to arrive. If you live in rural Australia however like me expect nearer three. 

The first thing that I noticed, on receiving my fabrics from Zazzle, was just how well wrapped and protected they are. The fabrics arrived in a sealed poly pouch (that even the wettest weather could not penetrate). 

On opening this protective outer layer I found my fabrics, wrapped individually in a clear poly bag, so you can rest assured your fabrics will arrive in tip top condition. 

So what is the fabric really like?

The sample swatches I received were impressive, clearly printed and durable. Samples were even hemmed, a nice touch to prevent fraying. 

Fabric Types

Polyester poplin

My 100% polyester poplin fabric sample has a stiff durable feel and it reproduced my personalized daisy name design impressively. The fabric colors were very vibrant and the material doesn't crease or wrinkle easy which I like. I could see me using this for upholstery and curtains, as well as for bags and craft items. The fact that you can personalize this fabric makes the fabric extra special and unique.  

Cotton twill

I chose to print my personalized watercolor rag doll design as a test swatch with a view to purchasing more to cover a chair in my daughters room. 

The cotton twill was thicker than I thought and has a lovely diagonal rib pattern and a robust stiffness but a soft feel, making it an ideal choice for kids upholstery. 

This fabric would certainly work well for cushions or seat covering. Not wishing to waste my beautiful swatch, I have decided to cut and sew my sample dolly print on to a denim dress and a bag, personalized with my daughters name it will make my handmade creations for her even more special and unique.

Shown in the photo is the final fabric, you can see there is a little loss in overall color strength, particularly with the pink purple tones, but the general detail is clear particularly the text. Overall I think this material lends itself to home interior use. However, because of the strong rib lined texture stick to bolder strong art design to really get the best from this fabric. 

Ivory linen 

  

For my sample of this thicker tinted fabric I decided to see how my orchid botanical fine art would translate. The minute I designed this one, using the pattern tiler in Zazzle, I knew I had to have a sample. 

The fabric I received was of a good quality and much more robust than I was expecting. Even though the weave is clearly visible the artwork translated very well on to it. I think this was helped by choosing to keep the image on a larger scale. I would certainly recommend to keep patterns large or graphic on this fabric option.

The tones of the fabric again were more muted than my original artwork. Compared to my original and the screen output, they seemed to be more red, this was due to the underlying ivory color, but it didn't distract from the design or artwork. Having seen the fabric, I would love to upholster a classic winged back chair in this bold fabric! The orchids detail come out really clear and overall I was impressed. Pillows, home decor, reupholstering and crafting projects would look fabulous in this fabric choice.

Polyester weave 

This material is floppy and soft with an almost silky feel to it and is crease resistant. I chose my swimming turtles watercolor art  to print on this fabric and the colors were spot on, as you can see, most impressive. Such a pretty fabric, even though my turtles were a bit small in comparison to the weave size, they translated on to this fabric superbly. Due to the more fluid nature of this fabric, uses could include curtains, pillows, throws, quilts and craft projects.



My final two sample designs were selected from other Zazzle designers to see how well other artists work translated on to Zazzle's fabric.

Natural linen  

Whilst a bicycle is hardly natural I could not resist this simple black graphic on this brown natural fabric. The penny farthing vintage bicycle by shabzdesigns worked well. With a textured darker linen like this choosing a simple bold graphic is really the best option. The natural linen had a closer weave than I was expecting. A lovely fabric that works well with mono art.  

Combed cotton

I chose this sample to look at how well photographic designs translate on to a finer fabrics. Lobelia flowers remind me of my childhood and I just love the color blue, so I selected bebops pretty photographic lobelia fabric.

The combed cotton is thin, 210 thread count light weight with a tight weave, making it a great choice for detailed patterns and photographic printed designs. I would use this fabric for clothing maybe even for lined curtains. 

Overall the printing was a little duller than on screen but I liked the tones and the detail of the flowers translated well. This material was not only one of the cheapest options, but one of the thinnest, making it a versatile fabric, superb for crafting. 

Zazzle also offer a top end prima cotton, 246 thread count, fabric for extra special projects. 

Designing and choosing fabrics 

Choosing the right print on the right material at the right scale has been the biggest challenge for me, as I am pretty new to sewing and designing fabrics online. Fortunately Zazzle have made creating, re-sizing and reviewing your fabrics clear and very simple. You can even vary the pattern design, to display side by side or staggered and alter your pattern angle. The other aspect I enjoy when designing my fabrics on zazzle is that the pattern sizing is clearer and easier to visualize than on another site I have used in the past.

Other fabric size options 
Fabric can be purchased in three size options; swatches as seen here (ideal for quilting and smaller crafting projects), fat quarter (ideal for projects that require pieces larger than 9" or for 5"quilting projects) and finally go the whole 9 yards or just one with the yardage option. 

Washablity
Unsure as to how well this printed fabric would performs when washing, I have hand washed (warm water and lux flakes) a couple of the samples. I was delighted to see that it not only softened the fabric slightly but best of all the color remained true. 

Conclusion
Overall I was really impressed with Zazzle fabrics. My Zazzle fabric samples are clear and with good depth, graphics are strong and bold and my watercolor printed fabrics have much of the original detail preserved even on the courser and looser weaved fabric options. 

My only caution is, be aware the fabric may be be little duller and a shade or so lighter than on screen. My advice would be to purchase a swatch before you buy yardage, particularly if the project is large and color sensitive. 

It is always important to note that printing is a very different process to the way your computer, or device display screen works, therefore colors on your screen tends to be a little bright and stronger than an actual real life print. However, if you are looking for a really special fabric, personalized or just a print that is a little different, then it is time to discover Zazzle fabrics. 


Encouraged by the quality of this product, I have been busy creating many more new designs from delicate floral botanics to personalized graphic fabrics, explore my extensive fabric collections to find out more.    

Winter pine cone wedding

Having a rustic or country wedding? 

Take a look at my pine cone wedding stationary and table items collection, available from
my little eden weddings zazzle store. Pine cones taken from original pencil drawing.

All Wrapped Up

Just in time for Christmas wrapping paper has just grown wider

Christmas wrapping paper has been super sized on zazzle. Wrapping paper products have changed size from 24 inches to 30 inches wide. Zazzle now have added even more paper type options, choose from Matte, Glossy, Linen and the new Tyvek® (a super strong paper, ideal for heavy and awkward gifts).

High quality, custom designed wrapping paper puts a unique, finishing touch on any gift.

I have extended my selection of gift wraps in my little eden, zazzle store to include even more bright, fun and creative designs.

Some of my most popular wrapping paper designs can be personalized with your own photos and are available in numerous color ways, to match your Christmas holiday color theme.

I have selected some of my favorite designs for the holiday season. Many have customization templates that allow you to easily incorporate your own photos and messages directly to the wrapping paper, making a really special and very personalized gift by itself.

Available in a choice of colors this star patterned Christmas paper is ideal to add two or three of your favorite photos and your family name.

Poinsettia Star red photo gift wrapping paper
by my little eden
Star pattern green Christmas photo wrap
by my little eden
Santa star pattern blue Christmas photo wrap
by my little eden

Wrap your Christmas gifts in baubles of joyous sediments and add three of your family photos or business images to give your gift a special custom touch to family, friends or clients. Seasonal words include Joy, cheer, holiday, bright and merry.

Red green white photo Christmas wrap
by my little eden
Blue orange yellow photo Christmas wrap
by my little eden
Red green yellow photo Christmas wrap
by my little eden

This unique Christmas wrap not only has your photos framed with partridges and mistletoe, but you can also customize your paper with 5 of your favorite photos, ideal for those with 5 children or larger families.

Mistletoe partridge green Christmas photo wrap
by my little eden
Mistletoe partridge blue Christmas photo wrap
by my little eden
Mistletoe partridge green Christmas photo wrap
by my little eden

Finally if you don't want a photo on your wrapping paper this Christmas you will also find a selection of wraps featuring my unique artwork, with many allowing for message or name customization. You can find more Christmas wrapping paper designs here.

Santa with gifts art  wrapping paper
by my little eden
Christmas kitten in a shoe holiday gift  paper
by my little eden
Rabbit in the snow Christmas wrap
by my little eden

Christmas reindeer holiday wrap
by my little eden
Fox cub winter art Christmas paper
by my little eden
Christmas red white Santa beard  wrap
by my little eden

Dollying up dolly

Original  first draft sketch

Just finished my latest artwork of a cute rag doll loosely based on my daughters cherished rag doll, Kate.

I even remembered my blog and finally got out my camera to record several stages during the drawing and painting process for you to see the progression of this piece and how I as a artist work.

I needed to buy a new pink watercolor tube for this painting. Pink is one of those colors in watercolor that is best used strong to keep it vibrant. I am delighted with my new opera rose Winsor & Newton tube. Opera rose proved to be well worth the investment giving the painting a lovely vibrancy to the pink and purple tones.

The biggest challenge I found on creating this artwork was the woolen hair, one the changes I made from the original doll. I guess that is why I left it until last to do? As always my completed dolly art prints are available from my stores on a variety of products, ideal for any little girl who like my daughter loves dolls.

Second draft in my sketch book

Redrawn on watercolor paper with paints used

Working on drawing in and painting up the hair

Kate with her caricature

If you like this doll art you can get your own personalized copy on various items sold by Zazzle is my doll collection

Horsin’ around on a whimsical rocking horse

I have been busy horsin' around in pan watercolors to create my latest rocking horse artwork. This cute whimsical artwork was produced for my daughters bedroom initially. However I decided to scan this little rocker and create various products for other little girls whom love toy rocking horses to enjoy too.

Picture shows my artwork at the finishing stage and the paint pallet and brushes I used. Here are just a few of the products and color variations I produced from this cute watercolor painting.

Rocking horse kids nursery poster
by my little eden
Purple rocking horse name wallet
by my little eden
Rocking horse nursery name clock
by my little eden

Pink rocking horse baby blanket
by my little eden
Aqua personalised birthday gift wrap
by my little eden
Wishes for baby postcard
by my little eden