Tropical toile

I designed this print for my Spoonflower shop a while ago and it includes zebras, leopards and tropical foliage in a sketched botanical style. The original colour was designed in green but I could resist trying some other colour palettes and am loving the results! The hot pink is probably my favourite.

It looks fabulous on this cotton sateen sheet set, which comes with a flat sheet, a fitted sheet and two pillow cases.

The yellow ochre colour palette was a bit of a gamble but I'm liking the outcome. It's a bit more subtle than the pink version and easier to use in the home.

It looks great on this table runner which comes in three different lengths.

The green version was the original version and it's lovely and fresh.

It looks great on napkins and brings an element of fun sophistication to the dining table.

The orange version was a bit of fun and adds a zing of colour to the home.

Keep it as an accent colour and use it on cushion covers like this one.

The turquoise blue colour is so pretty and fresh and feels very summery. It would work well for a garden party and comes in a variety of tableware options.

I love these placemats that come in a choice of fabrics.

Tropica

The 'Wildlife' print I designed for Makower UK comes in three colour palettes, but this is my favourite, I love the rich jewel tone colours against the purple background and think it would make a great print for various sewing projects.

If you're feeling really bold, a summer dress would look great in this print. I chose a 1950s style dress and added a bright pink belt to accentuate the waist.

If the dress is a little too much, adding accents of colour to an outfit is easy to do, using accessories. I love this roomy tote bag pattern, great for taking to the beach or for picking up provisions at the local market. The pink straps complement the pink in the main design.

I love this cute little top, perfect for using a tropical print with, The sash tie has been made using a solid dark pink fabric as a contrast.

Mix the little top with this full skirt, which also has a dark pink fabric at the waistband. Alternatively, wear it with a bright pink or bright green t-shirt for a more casual look.

I love these little shoulder bags, which are so versatile and fit in a lot more items than you would expect. The strap is adjustable so it could be used as a shoulder bag or as a cross-body bag.

 

Around the world

 I enjoyed designing this world map panel for Makower UK! As you can imagine, it took me quite a while to create as its actual size is 44"x24" and incorporates the traditions and icons from as many countries as I could fit in. The large size means that it is perfect for making up into a floor mat for babies or as a wall chart for a kids room and is a great way of playing I-Spy.

Look up close and you can see images that capture different areas of a country or continent. Can you spot the red lobster and the cowboy boot in North America? And how about the llama in South America?

I learnt a lot about the costumes and traditions of Central Asia. Can you spot the man with the extra long trumpet below?! And how about the Indian tuk tuk or the Russian traditional costume?

Sometimes it's very difficult to sum up one continent with a small amount of space. Asia is so varied, ranging from the plains of Mongolia to the tropics of Thailand.

Australia and New Zealand have an array of interesting animals, so I included those, along with the Sydney Opera House. Can you spot the shark fin in the ocean?!

I also designed some coordinating prints to go with the panel. The luggage labels above incorporate countries and images from the panel in a fun, bright colour palette.

There were so many sweet animals within the panel design that I decided to create an allover animal design with them. My favourite is the toucan.

I also created a selection of matching animal prints. The giraffe print looks great as a black and white version and the zebra print turns into a tiger print when coloured orange.

See full collection here.

Leopard love

With a name like Cheeky Leopard, it's a good job I love animal prints! I didn't realise how much I loved them until I decided to sort out my wardrobe. I lined up all the items I own with an animal print on them and there are at least 12 pieces! My collection ranges from shoes, a shirt and even a leopard print coat using the more traditional leopard colours..... 

....to the more unconventional colours of red and grey, like the skirt and shirt below.

This t-shirt is the funkiest combination in burgundy and hot pink, but it doesn't come out very often!

And it's not just leopard skin that I appear to be into. I also have some zebra print-inspired items including a sweater with a large zebra skin design and a shirt with mini zebras on it.

Along with wearing the prints, I also love to create animal print-inspired items for my store. This includes a funky multi colour leopard print as seen in the cosmetic bag and fabric pot below, both are perfect for storing cosmetics or bathroom items in.

I love zebra motifs and was drawn to this fabric below of a zebra on a turquoise blue ground. It comes in various products including coin purse, glasses case, card holder and tissue holder.

You can also find zebras on a red ground, with a slightly more novelty-inspired zebra. I love the combination of the red and black and white on this tissue holder and card case duo.

Or you can have the zebra print on its own with this tissue holder and card case combo.

Heres to flaunting your inner animal!

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Fabric Friday

This Friday I'd like to mention some fabrics I designed many years ago! The reason I'd like to mention them is that they were the starting point to the naming of my business - Cheeky Leopard.

It was about 18 years ago, I was living in New York and working for a textile company called Fabric Traditions. Back then, we created all our designs through hand painting and this particular group was based on safari animals. With each group of designs, we created a collection that included about 5 to 8 designs that compliment each other. The main print generally tends to be an allover design and is the one that guides the rest of the designs. Each image was hand drawn in pen and ink and then the colours were painted in using goache paint.

The design above was the main design in the group and shows a variety of safari animals on a black background. I was hoping to include a leopard in this design, but a cheetah got in instead!

The bamboo design made a pretty allover and was something that was quite versatile.

The fact that it doesn't have such a strong safari theme makes it a more usable fabric.

The fabric above is a stripe design and this is where you will find the cheeky leopard that is the namesake for my business! You will see him to the right of the image, cheekily looking over his shoulder.

The banana leaves above make a nice set design.

This chequerboard design incorporates many images from the group, including a leopard print and a zebra print. Many quilters like to use this type of format to create a cheater quilt if you have little time. It means that the fabric already appears to be sewn together in squares so that you can then just use running stitch over the top to quilt it.

I liked the idea of bringing in a green colouring so applied it to an allover leaf design.

Seeing these designs has made me want to go back to hand painting. There is something so therapeutic about using a paint and brush. I will have to find a nice project to start with. Maybe painting some of my bags would be a start?!