W.E.S.T. July Design Challenge Results

The design challenge for July was a delicious one!

Food.

The W.E.S.T. artists came up with some great results using this theme as their inspiration.

Pottery Sushi or Snack Plates Set of 2 by Adorn Yourself

Nancy Blokland Pottery designed a beautiful Blueberry Bowl for the challenge. Unfortunately for you, it's not listed on Etsy anymore. :( Sold perhaps? You can check out a photo of it on Flickr. In it's place, I chose another food inspired design from her shop below.

Rhubarb Red Leaf Plate by Nancy Blokland Pottery

Strawberry Cup Cozy by Daisypatch Designs

Aren't these all terrific items to help us further enjoy our food?

Well done!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the announcement of August's Design Challenge.

W.E.S.T. June Design Challenge Results

In honour of Canada Day on July 1st, the design challenge for June was all things Canadian!

And our team members delivered.

You may have seen some of the new Canada Day challenge entries in posts throughout June, but here is a round up of all the entries:

Canada Day Yarn Wreath by HeartFelt Yarn Wreaths
Beaded Micro-Macrame Friendship Bracelet - O Canada by Tawny Bee

Crocheted Strawberry Set by Daisy Patch Designs

Aren't these awesome entries? Each one shouts Canadian spirit.

Stay tuned in the coming days for the announcement of the July Design Challenge.

W.E.S.T. May Design Challenge Results

The W.E.S.T. May Design Challenge was May Showers Bring May Flowers?

Indeed, it is still raining in Winnipeg even though we are well into June. But both entrants opted to look on the bright side and chose flowers as their inspiration.

Scarf Flower Chain from Daisypatch Designs

Lisbeth from Daisypatch Designs writes:

At first, I wasn't sure if the colours were quite right but when I finished it and tried it on, it looked great!

I chose to do a flower chain in the spirit of spring. I crocheted 16 individual flowers (4 of each matching colour X 4 sets) and then stitched them together to create the chain or scarf.

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Gorgeous!

Evening Garden Large Softcover Journal from Prairie Peasant

Laura from Prairie Peasant writes:

I received as a gift some gorgeous cotton fabric from a friend who traveled to Japan last year. The fabric is so beautiful that I didn't want to cut into it, but I finally used some of it in this new Evening Garden Large Softcover Journal.

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Fabulous!

Way to go ladies! Both interpretations of the May Challenge are vibrant and beautiful.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the June Design Challenge tomorrow!

January Design Challenge Projects

This was the inaugural month for the W.E.S.T. design challenge, and we have some great projects to share with you! We worked with the theme of winter forest. It is so interesting to see what direction a couple of words will take creative people in.

Nancy of Nancy Blokland Pottery created these gorgeous mugs and plate. Nancy was inspired by the tranquility of winter and the muted colour palate found in this season. She writes:

"I often find that winter is a blurry sky, cloudy time. The colours I chose for the plate and the mugs are muted and soft, like snow. I am happy with them, subtle as they are in their suggestion of a winter forest."

Lisbeth of Daisy Patch Designs knitted a sweet DS cozy for her son and a beautiful cabled hat and mitten set. Lisbeth had this to say about her projects:

"I made the Nintendo DS cozy for my 5 year old son (a special request he made, how could I refuse) and listed it on my Etsy site as a made to order cozy. I think that cozies were part of the Etsy January challenge but may not fit so much in the winter forest theme...

As for the hat and mitten set, I bought the wool at an estate sale. It was very soft (and vintage). I ran into a few problems finishing up the right mitten as I ran out of wool. Try and find some vintage wool!!! So I had a skein of extra virgin wool that was very close in colour that I used to finish the project. It was a close call! LOL

My set is something you would wear on a wintry walk in the forest.

I listed it on my site however, my husband took a shine to it and decided to buy it for himself."

You can find the DS cozy and a very similar cabled set at Daisy Patch Designs.

I've been wanting to change up my packaging for sold items in my etsy shop for awhile, and this was a great opportunity to create something new. My winter forest inspiration came from our drive to The Pas to visit my in-laws this January. If you've ever made this trip, you know how lonely this road is. It's literally nothing but snow and trees in the winter. The landscape is absolutely pristine, and incredibly beautiful. I wanted something that would look wintery and since I've been seeing birch bark almost everywhere it's really grown on me. So far, I've been using them with white tissue paper wrapping finished with natural hemp cord as ribbon. These are balsa wood decoupaged (for lack of a better term) with birch bark and then varnished.

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in January's design challenge!