Some people are just so talented!

So I thought it might be time to share some of the work my design team has been up to lately.

We're really lucky to have Kate as part of our 'crew', her work is so detailed and so artistic I'm half-tempted to send her my photos to get her touch in my own album.  In this first layout Kate has used the 5cm Cream Daisies, giving them a personal touch by stamping directly onto the flower.

Anyone who knows me knows I would have everything in my life navy blue if I could get away with it so I was very excited to have Kate play with the blue range of washi tapes and what an amazing job she did creating flags and layering flowers.  This layout features the Dark Teal and Aqua Gingham tapes as well as our range of paper daisies and coordinating daisy brads.

And as much as I might not want to think about it, the christmas season is almost upon us.  Our red and green spotted tapes are perfect for christmas crafts, be it elegance with a little red bling like design team member Rhonda's card.

Or even as a subtle addition to a sweet stamped card. Design team member Alishia is so in love with her new range of Wild Rose stamps (which she also sells so check her out on facebook at The Scrapbooking Palace) I was not surprised to see her partner her love of stamps and colouring with her love of washi tape!

Washi tape is so versatile, for your craft and home decor projects alike. I know my christmas presents will all be adorned with tape this year so all I'll be needing is a very large roll of white wrapping paper to go to town on. 

Happy Crafting,

Tatum

Ophelia is flying!

Somewhere over Asia 2,000 little rolls of fabulous washi tape are winging their way to WA ready for all those creative hands to turn them into great works of art.  Production of these new designs has been a real labour of love for me, I can't imagine what it must be like for bigger companies releasing new product lines every few weeks.  But then I suppose they have staff, to date my 'staff' consists of one toddler whose primary contribution is closing the tape stock drawer when I am finished, picking up the rubbish I drop on the floor and 'hepping mum' by popping brads I have had to count out into bags (no this does not speed up the process, but how can I knock back the 'hep').

And yet somehow I still have all these plans for the next phase.  I am about to start the process all over again to design the next line, a process that seems to also include changing my mind about what direction to go in (anyone with suggestions for new tape design greatly appreciated!). So over the next few weeks I will go back and forth, design, re-design and then commence the production process again - it's a good thing my staff keeps me entertained!

In the meantime stay tuned, Ophelia will be hitting our shores in about 7 to 10 days!

NEWSFLASH - Sharing the washi love!

Thankyou to all those who submitted their blogs to take part in our washi challenge.  It was a tough decision, so much so that I have ended up with not one winner but three!

The first is:

Jessica Theodore's Bits and Pieces

Jessica is an Aussie mother of three girls with an exceptional talent and I so look forward to seeing what Jessica can create with our tapes.

The second is Chloe & Her Clip On Koalas. Chloe is also an Aussie mum but just to mix it up Chloe is a mum to boys so we'll be likely see a different take on the Ophelia range.  Chloe's scrapping has a fun and eclectic edge.

And finally we're heading north...far far north, as in the Northern hemisphere to Tracy in the US and her blog Scrappin' in the woods with a bug! Being a cricut fanatic myself I couldn't help but be drawn to a fan of the bug.  And seriously how cute is the little Cricut bug on this jar that Tracy created?

So, that's it for now, I will contact each of the winning bloggers by email and arrange postage of the new Ophelia range of washi tapes, so watch those blogs (and ours) to see what amazing creations these three talented women can come up with!

O! what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!

Ophelia, Ophelia...truly my favourite of all of Shakespeare's characters and only fitting that she be the namesake of my very first foray into designing. A few years ago I stepped into the import business, driven for the most part by my desire for bargain scrapbooking supplies - something living in a scrappers desert could not provide.

Hundreds of thousands of flowers and brads have winged their way to my door since then and I have toyed many times with the idea of designing my own line; though my imagination and ideas were many, my artistic skills could not deliver. So I continued to have idea after idea and would often see them come to life - branded with another company's logo. I am, at times, damn sure Martha Stewart Crafts has a portal right into my brain!

This year, however, I have taken the plunge and Ophelia is slowly coming to life, with all the complexities and nuances of Shakespeare's heroine this collection captures what I hope is both the beautiful regality and the exquisite insanity of my princess.  In just a few short weeks the new Ophelia range of Sawyer's Place Washi Tapes will be released and I can only hope you all will love her as I do.

Phew..is the week finally over?

What a crazy busy week we've had...hard to believe but 98 rolls of washi tape went out the door this week! NO wonder I am feeling a little overwhelmed at the end of the week.  Even more exciting is the over 800 rolls that arrived! A veritable rainbow of goodies, lush and rich new plain colours, some patterns to coordinate with our existing range and a few wild cards thrown in for fun.

I've spent the last couple of days back and forth with the designers in our factory in Japan, since they don't speak English and I don't speak Japanese it's a lot of back and forth and we've had a few interesting translation hiccups along the way.  It seems the phrase 'hit the ground running' translates into something along the lines of 'run fast to make my tape'  ooops!

We've also seen some fabulous work from our design team this week, and particular mention must go to Michelle Miller who has created some gorgeous pieces that really showcase the washi tapes in particular. The christmas wreath is a releatively simple project with stunning results, taking a styrofoam ring shape Michelle covered it with the Red Starburst Washi Tape and brought it to life with seasonal embellishments. oesn't it feel like christmas already?

Can't wait to see what everyone else comes up with - a package winged it's way to Design Team member Rhonda today with a very distinct christmassy feel.