Follow me on Instagram

Here's a little look at some of my instagram photos! If you want to see sneak peeks of my work or what I get up to when I'm not designing.. follow me: rosietoesss

Instagram user? Follow me: rosietoesss

Preparing for the holiday season

The holiday season is a very busy time for sellers on Etsy so I am starting to prepare myself and my shop(s) for the busy period and using this quiet summer period to add lots of exciting new products, both gifty and holiday season related, and hopefully open a new shop!

My current Etsy shop, iheartrosie, sells fabric items. Braided fabric bracelets, fabric hearts keyrings and other fabric items, such as fabric christmas trees and stars. There are also super cute friendship bracelets! Many items that would make great gifts this holiday season! (I'm cringing a little bit saying that in July, but there we go!)

I'm currently working on new bracelet colours and styles, and special holiday items, plush fabric christmas trees, stars and hearts, plush fabric christmas tree garlands and other nice things!

Here's a sneak peek of some of the fabrics I'm using for the christmas collection!

I've also been working on items for a new paper based shop where I hope to sell my own designs as prints and greetings cards. It's starting to come together so I will be able to share that with you soon!

Here's a little sneak peek of some of the things I've been working on! Let me know what you think!

All images copyright Rosie Simons

My Moo order arrived!

Today my Moo order arrived, I have been eagerly awaiting it and I was not disappointed!

As a print nerd who loves the feel of paper and fantastic printed things it was unbelievably exciting for me to receive such amazing quality pieces, both in the print and the smooth glossy but not shiny paper stock.

Below are a few photos of my order, I ordered mini cards and stickers for my Etsy shop iheartrosie, the mini cards I will be using as mini business to hand out to people and also as tags (will upload photos of these when I have made them, they're gonna look AWESOME!) The stickers are for packaging, which I think will add a nice personalised touch to them :)

Finally I ordered business cards for myself, Rosie Simons Graphic and Surface Design. I paid extra to have the rounded corner business cards but it really adds to the design and makes them a beautiful object!

  

So happy and would thoroughly recommend Moo and their products! You can read about their wonderful silky matte laminate paper stock here! 

New iheartrosie items on Etsy

I've been busy making lots of new products for my Etsy shop iheartrosie recently, below is a run down of some of the new products available in the shop, I hope you like them!

First up a few new takes on existing popular braided fabric bracelets, with a simple lobster clasp fastening, button fastening and an exciting new colour!

Braided Fabric bracelets with lobster clasp, available in blue, pink, khaki, purple, mint or black and white AND *NEW* bright summer fabric, each with a choice of either silver or bronze lobster clasp fastening.

A new colour choice "summer" for popular braided fabric bracelet with button fastening available here

iheartrosie has also now branched out into braided friendship bracelets which are very trendy this year and the perfect accessory for summer, available in many different colourways with different charms! Custom bracelets are also available, please contact me for more details. You can view the selection of friendship bracelets available here

Below are a couple of special bracelets that I wanted to feature individually, first, a pink friendship bracelet with hope ribbon charm, $1 from each sale of this bracelet is donated to Breast Cancer research charity. Great for showing support, remembering a loved one or just helping by donating to charity.

Next are two bracelets especially for 4th July holiday, in red, white and blue with star and ball charms, great for showing patriotism and celebrating.

All braided friendship bracelets have sliding knot closures so are adjustable sizes and should fit most teenage/adult wrists.

I have a few new ideas in the pipeline so keep checking back for updates and to receive more news and new product information from iheartrosie follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook!

Update!

Can't believe it's been 6 weeks since I last posted, there has just been so much going on!

What I've been up to

- Dissertation (Has technological development resulted in cultural anxiety)

- Self Initiated Project (VG Dance Design Rebrand)

- Make Project (Keep thinking this is too fun to be a project)

- Etsy shop (Holiday season and it's busy!)

- Making new products

- MOVED HOUSE.

So first up, bought a house, it's beautiful.

I have my own room that I am using as a studio with 2 desks and storage galore. It's brilliant!

(This was a little while ago and it's now in some ways much tidier and in some ways much messier, but I do now have a beautiful floral blind!)

You can keep up to date with my self initiated project VG Dance Design over on it's own blog http://vgdancedesign.blogspot.com

Currently going through feedback and fine tuning the logo. Really excited to move onto the colour and application next!

Ahh the make project, this is definitely too fun to be a project! The brief is: 'Make something interesting. Explain how it's made.'

Now I would call myself a maker, I LOVE to make. (as you've probably noticed by my growing Etsy shop!) So this project leapt out at me as something I had to do!

There's a whole long story of how I got here, but I won't bore you with it! I'm looking at the idea of using dissolvable materials in the product I'm making, my tutor pointed out to me how it would be really interesting to apply dissolvable materials to something that you used in wet weather such as a hat or umbrella. This instantly jumped out to me as a great project so I am now working on creating an umbrella that dissolves, changing it's appearing, when water is applied to it.

I'm not sure what the technical name for the fabric is, but when you run it under water it turns to liquid glue and washes away. I have been experimenting with ways to use it..

I researched lace umbrellas as I love the pattern they have and think this would be a great thing to 'appear' when the fabric dissolves. Currently working on samples to achieve this!

I'm looking to make a business card or label that explains how the product is made, with a sample of dissolvable fabric. I've bought these lovely kraft business card sleeve and plan to cut a shape out and replace it with dissolvable fabric.

Finally, Etsy shop and making, it's been busy! Holiday season, Etsy's busiest, is upon us, and I had 6 sales in 2 weeks! So I've been busy not just making the products to post off around the world, but also making shipping postcards to go inside the packages and designing fabric labels to go on the products. Also been making new products, new style bracelets, new fabric keyrings and my favourite heart handwarmers which you put in the microwave and then they keep your fingers toasty warm!

Cute jersey heart handwarmers. 1 minute in the microwave and warm hands for up to an hour!

This next collection was a commission I received on Etsy, I was asked to create 6 heart and 6 tree Christmas decorations from 'Lilly Pulitzer' fabric which the buyer shipped over the from US. 

Another commission up next, again Christmas Decorations, 2 stars and a tree in beautiful Indian fabric. You can buy the Christmas tree from this set on my Etsy shop here.

This set I created for a friend for her 21st Birthday, matching headband and keyring.

Last up, my new shipping cards that I send with a personalised note on the back for each order I send out.

Ah, back to work I get, will post again soon with more design for Make and VG Dance Design projects!

Lately..

It's been a little while since I posted so I thought I'd better update on all my recent goings on and makings!

October is birthday time in my family, my dad and sister have their birthdays 10 days apart so at the weekend we had a family day to celebrate their birthdays. I wanted to make some birthday bunting items so I made some cake bunting with matching cupcake flags and a personalised scrapbook for my sister as it is her 21st, and I just think it is wonderful to have a keepsake from big birthdays!

(Sorry if the photos look like they need cropping and editing.. they do.. but I can't get photoshop to work properly to do it, so unedited photos will have to do!)

In other news, I'm back at LCC doing my final year of my degree.. so you will probably be seeing a lot of sketchbooks like this one!

I'm just starting work on my first project, I have chosen to do a self initiated project first and I am looking at the logo, identity and branding of the dance school I used to dance at. I am working with dancers, teachers, ex-dancers and anyone who wants to get involved with the project to try and come up with the outcomes right for the school. I have created a blog for the project so it is easy to share ideas and interact with everyone. To keep up to date with this project visit vgdancedesign.blogspot.com

I'm also still going crazy with the making!

New styles now available in my Etsy shop iheartrosie

Braided fabric bracelet with heart charm

Braided fabric headbands - single or double