Christmas Card Designs

With it being that time of year agin, I thought I would share some of my most recent Christmas card designs! I'm really excited for the festive season and I love to explore by creating new designs and illustrations.. It's also fantastic to hear any feedback from family, friends or even the public over social media. I have decided to pop these on my Etsy shop as well if anyone wanted to take a look.. Not long now!!

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Handmade Christmas Fair 2015

Over the weekend of the 20th November, I attended the Handmade Christmas Fair in Manchester! I was working on the Craft Asylum stand, hosting workshops all weekend and teaching people how to make this cute Winter Bear gift box using the Sizzix machines, Winter Wonderland dies and the Candy papers..

It was lovely to see people using the dies and papers I had designed! Although, we worked through the project together, everyone added their own personal touch and hearing the comments from the public was just so rewarding. I love to hear what people think!

We also spent Thursday (and Thursday night) building our stand and creating a fantastic Winter Wonderland! We wanted to make everyone that stepped into our stand to feel festive and happy to be there.. I think we did a great job in the end with our garland, decorated using the dies from the Winter Wonderland collection in a variety of different ways...

Handmade Fair 2015

After a brilliant weekend exhibiting at Handmade Fair, I thought I would share a few snaps from the weekend. I was involved in some of the workshops at the Sizzix stand as well as creating the Bird House project in the Craft Asylum skill workshop.. There was such a great atmosphere at the fair and with the sun shining, everyone was extremely keen to get involved! We got some great feedback and it was lovely to see creations made from the collection I have designed for Craft Asylum.. As well as the workshops, we also tried our hand at a bit of celeb spotting! It was lovely to see such a wide range of talent and so many people excited about the craft...

            

It was such a great weekend and I have returned feeling very inspired and happy to have been out and networked with other designers! I hope to be involved next but in the meantime, look out for news on the Handmade Christmas Fair...

Handmade Fair

This week, in the studio, we have been extremely busy working on some eye-catching decorations for  the Craft Asylum stand at Handmade Fair. We will be attending the show all weekend, providing make and takes as well as being involved in the skill workshops! Wish me luck! It's always amazing to be involved in the shows and get valuable feedback from the consumers. We also love having a beautiful stand to exhibit how versatile the patterned papers are and to create a buzz around our products. We think these pinwheels do the trick!

Baby Animals

I have recently been working on some cute Baby Animal designs for Sizzix dies. These will be exclusive  Hobbycraft and include a really nice set to help create a hand-made card for a new baby/christening or ideas for children birthdays or invites.

I have included a photo below of the die set made up with gorgeous pastel colours and embellishments..
I have posted about these on my other social media networks such as;
Instagram - https://instagram.com/athertonemily/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/atherton_emily

Love Birds by Emily Atherton

After working with the Sizzix brand for over a year and a half, it makes me really happy to announce that my first collection is available now. This collection, 'Love Birds', is something I have been working on using my hand-illustrations and transforming them into shapes and design, perfect for die cutting. The collection includes different technologies by Sizzix, including Thinlits and Bigz. This means that crafters have a great supply to work with, allowing them to create beautiful cards and home décor in their homes. This has been a highly anticipated collection, with many dies on offer, with the idea that they may possibly be used as a helping hand for a wedding theme. It's also very exciting to see my name being promoted right there on the front of the packaging! For those of you that would like to learn more about the Sizzix brand, click here to visit their website. Also, have a look at the catalogue page, explaining a little more about me as a designer for Sizzix and the collection! Enjoy..

 

 

Best of British

I recently noticed a competition to design a range of prints for the theme, 'Best of British'. I thought this would be a great opportunity to enjoy some design work outside of daily working! I set about with the theme and thought about different ideas that could represent this 'Best of British'. I have always loved working with nautical ideas and, from living close to the seaside, have always grown up with trips to the beach and sunset strolls. I thought this would be a lovely theme to work on. Below, are a couple of the designs I produced..

Candy collection by Craft Asylum

Recently, I spotted my first paper collection for Craft Asylum in the Chester Hobbycraft store. This was such a great achievement having worked with the brand for over a year now. I love to think of crafters taking it home and transforming the patterns into brilliant projects. The collection consists of a 12x12 paper pad, a 6x6 paper pad and some stamps, which all co-ordinate really nicely with one another, meaning the crafting possibilities are endless! Below are a couple of the designs featured in the collection and a store snap. I have also shared some of the designs on my Instagram and website here! This collection will also be a major part in the skills workshop we are doing at Handmade Fair in a couple of weeks, more on that soon!

Promotional Ideas

Along with working and doing small commissions here and there, I like to think about new ways I can promote myself as a designer. After visiting a couple of consumer shows, I felt inspired to show the design industry what I was capable of and thought about ways to push to promote my designs from my on-going portfolio. I decided to pack together some promotional material, to send out to companies and to help expand on my own little brand.

Wedding Design

So, after a couple of months of working hard to get the design exactly right, I posted the Save the Dates for everyone a couple of weeks ago. Everyone involved was very happy with the final design and it was lovely to see how the printers did such a great job of helping me choose the correct paper and doing a super job on the colour matching! Next up, is the main invite, which we would like to send beautifully packaged with a belly band and ribbons. We have discussed using the same detailed drawing throughout the wedding stationery, to keep the theme consistent..

Instagram

I have moved into the world of Instagram and I would love for you to take a look at my page and keep up to date with my day to day goings on! My username is athertonemily.. Look forward to hearing from you!

Wedding Design

Recently, I have been asked by my cousin to design a collection of wedding stationery for a very special commission. It was so lovely of her to ask ad I can't wait to get started on this new project. It's in the very early stages at the moment by after a chat with her new week, I'm hoping to begin developing my drawings and get some draft ideas together!

New Logo!

Been working on a new logo that will be placed on the Sizzix UK branding for the die collections I have recently designed. Below are a couple of snaps from the studio including die sample we have received of my first collection, 'Love Birds', some colour ideas and my finished logo...

Travel

I have been lucky enough to travel to Dubrovnik, Croatia recently for some relaxing time away with my boyfriend. It is such a lovely and inspiring city with gorgeous city streets and buildings as well as clear water beaches and trips to tiny unspoilt islands!

I have also enjoyed some gorgeous sunsets in my hometown of Wirral, particularly West Kirby...