New Designs

It's been very busy at JoSara HQ. A couple of new designs have been and gone from my shops already, and I've just added another.

The two that have new homes are the bees with flowers designs. One was Bees and Blossom, and the other was Bees and Blue Daisies.

Bees & Blossoms / Bees & Blue Daisies Mosaic Garden Bird Baths

The other new design I've just added to my website and Etsy shop is an abstract design that represents land and sea. The colours all match perfectly and make a lovely calm design.

Land & Sea Mosaic Garden Bird Bath 

Mosaic Bumblebee Bee Hanging Heart Decoration

Daisy and Forget-Me-Not Mosaic Bumblebee Hanging Hearts

Been really busy over the last month, so the blog posts have been a bit sparse. If you want to keep up with new makes and new ideas that I've got, the best way is to follow me on Facebook - josaradesign - I also show new things I've made on there first and my page followers get first chance to buy them too.

Like these Bee Hearts, a daisy version and a forget-me-not version too. All sold out now, but when I make some more you'll see them on Facebook first.

Mosaic Garden Ball Sphere Decoration Ornaments

Mosaic Garden Ball Sphere Decoration Ornaments

I've made a couple of new garden ball decorations using some bird bath designs. The first is a Canal Folk Roses one which is a lovely bright design to add colour to a border. The other ball is the Daisy Bee and has a design with a combination of bird bath motifs on it, including daisies in 2 sizes, a bee, and mini butterflies. Another one that would look great in a container, or on a patio as part of a pot display.

Summer Daisies Mosaic Garden Sphere

Summer Daisies Mosaic Garden Sphere Decoration

I've been meaning to make a garden ball for a while now after it was suggested that one of my rose designs would look good as one. In the end I decided to adapt another of my designs to make this Summer Daisies Mosaic Garden Sphere. It's come out really well. A perfect little ball of summer to add colour to your garden in a border, as a lawn ornament, or on a patio, you could even use it as decoration indoors. All the butterflies are iridescent to add metallic shine to the design as well as the bold red and orange colours. I think I'm going to end up making one of these for myself. And I can definitely see me trying more sphere designs. They are actually very relaxing to make, considering the shape.

Vintage Flowers Mosaic Garden Bird Bath

Vintage Flowers Mosaic Garden Bird Bath

The lovely neutral, natural palette used for the mosaic in this Vintage Flowers bird bath give the flowery pattern a fab vintage fabric look. The neutral tones are used in a graduated style on the border of the bird bath. It's a bird bath that would suit any style of garden, contemporary to cottage.

Dragonflies & Daisy Mosaic Slate Garden Decoration

Dragonflies & Daisy Mosaic Slate Garden Decoration

The three iridescent dragonflies are flitting around the rose pink daisy flower. All the materials used are suitable for all year garden use so this slate decoration is great for adding a splash of metallic colour in the garden.

Rose Daisy Mosaic Garden Bird Bath

Rose Daisy Mosaic Garden Bird Bath

I made a mosaic for a bird box recently with a pattern using the smaller, lighter coloured porcelain daisies. I liked the end result so much, I've decided to add it to a bird bath. The porcelain daises are a light matt rose shade, and the larger daisies are made with glass tiles and have a deeper slighty more translucent pink tone.

I've got other bird baths designs in my shop with the larger daisies on them, but on those I've used them like a fabric pattern so they are evenly spaced over the base of the birdbath.

On this Rose Daisy version I've randomly placed the flowers in a semi circle spray, and filled the border and background with one colour, a pastel aqua shade. It's created a lovely, soft effect to the design.

Ditsy Daisy Mug and Flower Pot Set

Blue and Yellow Ditsy Daisy Mug and Plant Pot Set

I had the idea for this Ditsy Daisy set after I wanted to put together a set as a gift for a gardener which would include a handpainted mug. Actually, this set could be used by anyone, anywhere. You could put the pot on the kitchen table with a house plant in it, and drink your tea at the table with the paper. Or you could put something like a geranium, or a small strawberry plant in the pot and use it outdoors on a garden table where you can sip your tea in the sunshine.

Purple and Orange Ditsy Daisy Mug and Plant Pot Set

It would still make a great gift for a gardener, with it's daisy flower design that I designed to have the look of a stylised flower border. The set currently comes in two colour versions. One with blue, yellow, mint, and lime flowers. The other has  magenta, orange, purple, and mint daisies. The design has a vintage feel to it with it's ditsy flowers, but it's also got a very contemporary look with the design being restricted to a band of colour. It would suit lovers of traditional. or modern. So, everyone.

Ditsy Daisy Suncatcher Cards

Blue and Yellow Ditsy Suncatcher

Blue and Yellow Daisy Card

Pink and Orange Ditsy Suncatcher

Pink and Orange Ditsy Daisy Suncatcher Card

Back in stock for Spring, these suncatcher cards are designed to let the sun shine through the handpainted ditsy daisy design, making it light up and spread colourful shadows.The design has a vintage fabric look, and is available in Pink and Orange, or Blue and Yellow versions. Something a bit different and perfect for brightening the recipients day.

Grow Your Own Accessories

Mosaic Daisy Plant Pot Cane Toppers

Mosaic Daisy Plant Pot Cane Topper

I'm going daisy mad this year with my new items. Following in from my new daisy bird bath colour version, I've now got these decorative daisy plant pots that can also be used as cane toppers. I have always wanted to try and glam up the veg bed a bit. It looks nice when all the plants are in flower, but sometimes it all goes a bit green and flat looking. So this year I am making a proper effort to get some decorative items that can be used to add colour and interest in the veg bed. But, if you haven't got a veg bed, they can always be used as cane toppers in the flower border. Or just left empty and put in amongst other pots as a feature. There are loads of uses for them. And you're getting a pair, so twice the fun of deciding what to do with them.

Ditsy Flower Suncatcher Cards

Ditsy Flowers Suncatcher Card

I'm still coming up with ideas for my suncatcher card range. This time the design is fixed, unlike my other designs which can be removed to use as a proper hanging suncatcher, or a bookmark. These are just pretty cards that if displayed on a windowsill, or somewhere where the light can shine through them, will throw the pattern onto other surfaces. Which makes these cards something different from the norm. I'm trying to design things that would be good for gardeners, to keep a theme for my shop. But these cards would be perfect for anyone that likes flowers, vintage, or just fun, bright things.

Blue Ditsy Flowers Suncatcher Card

The cards have vintage fabric style, ditsy print daisies on them. One with orange, magenta, mint, and white flowers, one with blue, lime, yellow and mint flowers, and the other card is called Double Ditsy because it uses both colourways back to back to create a very deep, rich pattern.

Double Ditsy Flowers Suncatcher Card

As I design all my patterns, and hand-paint them all, you know you're getting something very different from anything else you can buy. Which is all part of the fun for me. I love creating my own designs, because I know no one else is doing the same. It's what handmade is all about, for me. Individual styles that make the items special and unique.

Wildlife Mosaic

I've created a couple more of my mosaic Dragonfly and Bee designs. This time on some fab slate paddlestones. The colours of the slate really come out when they are wet. The purple slate becomes a gorgeous dark plum. The grey slate becomes mottled with a pastel green. They look really good. The mosaic dragonfly has misty grey wings with pastel pink, blue and green in some light angles. But when the light catches them just right they shine with metallic blue, magenta and gold. The bee has translucent blue wings that shine electric blue and gold.



More daisies! (And some anemones too.)



Daisy and Anemone Flower Loom Embellishments



Bunched daisies could be used on a hat, bag, cushion....

 
I've been considering selling these loom flowers for a while now. My Folksy shop has been leaning towards garden items, and I think these can fit in with that theme, so I've listed them.

I was experimenting with colour combinations and I realised that the best ones are the true colours you find together in nature. So I've got a selection of Anemone and Daisies. (I still can't get away from Daisies. I'll have a whole field of them in various forms in my shop soon.)

I've also decided, as I'm not the greatest at sewing, that I'll just add them to the Folksy Supplies section as embellishements and let people decide for themselves how to use them. I might come up with some items using them as decoration at a later date. I need to drag out the sewing machine and have a refresher session before that though. I'm sure that sewing machine doesn't like me. This might not be pretty.

Daisy, Daisy.




Aqua Daisy Mosaic Garden Metal Plant Support Stake

  


Aqua Daisy Mosaic with light shining through

 

I have been perfecting the design for these plant stakes for a while. I've come up with a decorative stake that is secure enough to be used practically too. The metal rod for the stake can be screwed into the bottom of the mosaic ball topper meaning the stake can be used at an angle without the mosaic top falling off as it could do if it was just perched on top. And it's lightweight enough not to fall over with it's own weight.

The pebble daisy design on the top is raised above the ball so the light comes through and really makes pebble colours shine. If you look at the stake from the side it looks a bit like a poppy seed head.






Blue Daisy Mosaic Garden Plant Support Stake





These plant support stakes come in two colour versions, the Aqua Daisy and the Blue Daisy, and would look great just to add interest and colour in a border or container, as well as being useful for holding back flopping plants. I have enjoyed 'engineering' this design.







Pastel Mosaic Daisy Bird Bath

 







I seem to have a thing about daisies at the moment because I've got my new folky daisies all over my banners and blog (not sure if the daisies down the sides of the blog are staying, I think they may be a bit distracting. I'll live with them for a bit because I like them, they remind me of vintage embroidered trim), and I've also got a Pastel Mosaic Daisy Bird Bath on my website and in my Folksy shop at the moment too.

I think I'm pining for the spring and summer. Not long now.