Print-on-demand Stores

 Starting a print on demand store is a easy way to make merchandise without loads of upfront costs. You basically place your designs on products and another company makes them and sends them directly to the customers and you get a percent of the profit. You don't get as much profit as you would if you brought merch wholesale to start with but to do that that would mean spending loads before you even start selling and of course they will need to be stored too so these print on demand services are handy for start ups or someone who doesn't have the time or space to personally deal with the orders.

There are many companies who offer this service offering different products, commission percentage and locations so you will need you have a browse to find one that meet your needs. 

I went with TeeMill. They are UK based and have the same values as me. They use organic cotton and send out their items plastic free. Even their factory is run on renewable energy. There are other companies that offer a wider range of products but their ethics really was the point that made me choose them. With them I also know where the product are coming from where others aren't as clear. Some of the larger names use different places for their printing all over the world and even though they say the mostly print in the same country the order comes from it also says some product can only be made in certain countries but are quite vague about which product so you might end up ordering and end up with surprise import charges if it comes from somewhere else.

Celebrating SharkFest & Shark Week

 So this week and next is SharkFest on NatGeo Wild and next week is Shark Week on Discovery. Here in the UK we get a very watered down version of these, for instance SharkFest this year is four weeks long in the US and here it's only two and Shark Week is even worse as there is only one shark show a day. Either way I love sharks so I thought I would design a couple of t-shirts to celebrate.

I have a couple print-on-demand shops that's just really a hobby for me I don't expect to make it into a full time business I just like designing stuff. One of them the t-shirts are all ocean themed and there's even a special shark section because that's what most of the designs are and this week I added two more. 

My designs aren't realistic, some are a bit quirky including a shark/Labyrinth crossover. Here are the new ones I came up with. 

The C word!

 That's right we are in the middle of a heatwave and the Christmas designing has started.

I had a couple of ideas for Christmas cards so I thought why not make a start. Last year I painted my own cards and was looking to do it again. I couldn't be bothered getting my paints out so decided to do some digital mock ups and because it's me I did them pixelated.

Unlike most of my stuff these ones aren't gamer themed but are inspired by Studio Ghibli.

I did use inspiration for both designs I made from one of my Christmas t-shirt designs I made last year.

Crochet PlayStation Blanket Tutorial

 I have finally completed my PlayStation blanket and the tutorial is up and ready on YouTube. It's the first non granny square blanket I have made and I quite like the way it has turned out.

As I have stated in previous posts you can find the patterns for the patches free in my Ko-fi shop and if you didn't know how to crochet and was waiting for the tutorial then here it is.

You only need to know 2 stitches to make this so you don't need to be a pro, just take your time and you will get there. 4 patches make a nice baby blanket, 16 covers a double bed so you can make it as big or small as you want.

My blanket was made up of 16 patches, 4 of each button in different colours and each colour I used three 100g balls of dk yarn so this blanket used a total of 12 balls. You don't need to go fancy and buy expensive yarn, I used the 99p balls from HomeBargains and it's is still nice and soft and looks good.

Let me know what you think of the tutorial and remember if you make one share a picture.

Happy Crafting!

Ice Cream Sundae Candle Kit

 I have had this kit stuck in a drawer for a few years and never got round to trying until now. I got it from The Range for £5, it was on sale and I think the original price was £10. It makes one ice cream sundae candle. There were four different types and  you don't know what one you get until you opened it.

Posters are coming!

 I have been working on a few things to add to my Ko-fi store (there's quite a few freebies there now too) and one thing I have been wanting to do is printable posters.

I have a sketch book that I have been filling with sayings and quotes for a while now, I have a couple of flip through videos on my YouTube channel showing them, and I wanted to update them and turn them into posters.

I wont be selling the actual posters (maybe in the future) but I will have a downloadable version in my store for you to print off at home. Like with the crochet patterns I've made some will be available for free.

This is the free one I did for pride month

PlayStation Blanket Panels

I have a tutorial planned for my YouTube channel that is going to take a while to do but I am going to preview it on here. As you probably guessed from the title I will be making a PlayStation themed blanket.

It will be a crocheted blanket that features 4 panels repeated. Each panel represents a button from the PlayStation controller.

 This is a very simple pattern that is beginner friendly so you should be able to make it even with no crochet experience. The pattern uses only 2 stitches.

I will be repeating each panel 4 times so that's 16 in total and that will make an adult size blanket. Just one of each would make a nice baby blanket.

I have other projects going on to so this tutorial may not be ready for another couple of weeks but if you wanted to make a start on the panels the patterns I did for this are available on my Ko-fi page to download.

I have all the yarn I need so it's just the time I need to find to stitch up the other 12 panels. I will be posting progress to twitter so if you want to see updates of this then follow me there.

That's all for now

Happy Crafting!

Turning more pixel art into crochet patterns

 I have created another two c2c crochet patterns. These ones are based on some pixel art I have done in the past. The first is a pattern I have done quite a bit and is one of my favourites. It's the Princess Peach stained glass window, based on the N64 version. I have cross stitched and painted it multiple times so it only made sense to turn it into a crochet pattern and I cant wait to make it myself. Here is what it should look like.

New C2C Pride Crochet Patterns

 I have created my first C2C crochet patterns. These are basic charts that show you the layout and row count but not how you exactly do the c2c stitch so you need to know how to do that before attempting it.

With it being pride month I thought I would use that as inspiration for these patterns so I made 2 flags.

The first one I made was the progressive pride flag.

More crochet patterns.

 I have added 2 more crochet patterns to my Ko-fi store. They are only £1 each and can be used in so many ways. you can use the pattern with other projects or repeat it to make a blanket and much more.

Like most of my designs they are based on my pixel art and here they are.

Baby Yoda Panel. This is based on my original cross stitch design that took an absolute age to get right. Luckily though it stitches up really quickly with this design.