One-of-a-Kind Design

A number of years ago, while watching one of my favorite shows — Project Runway — the week's challenge required each of the contestants to design their own fabrics before creating their fashions.

Hold the remote!!  Design their own fabrics?  How cool is that?

Afternoon Tea tea towel designed by yours truly

Not long after that episode, I ran across a number of Pinterest project ideas where people were taking images, such as their grandmother's hand-written recipe cards, letters or signatures, and had them printed on fabrics.  Once they had the fabric in hand, they would create giftable family heirlooms with them such as quilts, wall hangings, throw pillows, and aprons.

What a truly special and meaningful memento for family!

A little more time on Pinterest led to the name of a company that would create these fabric masterpieces with whatever design you provided.  What a fabulous idea!!

I didn't have a specific project in mind at the time, but it did occur to me that it would be rather cool to create an Afternoon Tea tablecloth and tea towels.  I was up for the challenge!

I'm not much of an artist, much less a graphic artist, but I took a shot at a handful of designs.  Nothing too complicated or ambitious ... just a few, simple designs.  The first one was just our logo repeated over-and-over in a multitude of colors.  I thought it looked darling!  Next, I took a few Afternoon Tea -type images, and created composites with the logo and the images.

My tablecloth (edged with a purple satin ribbon border) and tea towels

I'm sure more creative types could have come up with much better designs than I did, but I was still rather pleased with my results.  Not bad for an amateur.  I ordered the fabrics and embarked on a few small projects ... making a tablecloth, putting borders on my tea towels ... some projects are still pending!

I was tickled to discover that this company also printed gift wrapping paper.  What a great idea!  Custom wrapping paper with my own design on it ... how special is that?  Once again, I put my designs to work and ordered some gift wrap.  It seemed like the ultimate custom-touch!  They were absolutely perfect for Birthday and Mother's Day gifts!

Now they also offer wallpaper with your custom design, and if you're not that crafty or handy with a needle, there's even a referral on their site for a company that will make home creations for you using the fabrics you pick.

As if that weren't cool enough, once you've created your designs, this company allows you to sell your patterns on their site!  You can turn your talent into a business, selling your distinctive designs to others who are interested in buying them.  All the clothing designers out there now have a resource for exclusive one-of-a-kind designs to create their unique pieces.

Not only do you get your own customized wrapping paper and fabrics, but you can become an entrepreneur and make your designs available for sale to others.  Simply brilliant!

A sweet print for gift wrapping paper

The design possibilities are as endless as your imagination.  This site features a ton of fabrics for kids' clothing or projects, or to make your own clothes and home decor.  So, if you don't want to create the designs yourself, you still have access to an endless amount of unique prints to create one-of-a-kind clothing for yourself and your children.

I'm thinking of a few more future projects, myself.  How about a WordArt project consisting of the family's surnames, and using the fabric to cover Family Photo Albums, or stretching it on a wood frame to hang on the wall in your house?  Or vintage family photos — sepia-tone photos from the early 1900s or earlier — collaged together into a print, would make the coolest custom tops, shirts, or bedding.  There's also a number of documents I've collected with our ancestors' embellished signatures which would make a really special throw pillow for the family room, with a very personal touch.  It's a genealogist's dream!

And that's just the tip of the iceberg ... there are an endless number of unique patterns and materials available for various projects:

• Clothing

  

  Various Afternoon Tea gift wrap

• Scarves
• Tote Bags and Purses
• Tablecloths
• Placemats
• Napkins
• Aprons
• Tea Towels
• Dish Towels
• Throw Pillows
• Pillow cases
• Bed Sheets
• Quilts
• Wall Hangings
• Curtains

It's fun to get crafty every now and then.  And if you've got some serious skills, between your exclusive designs and sewing skills, you could easily launch your own business creating one-of-a-kind creations that everyone will soon want to have!

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Enjoy previous seasonal blog posts:

Never Forgotten Remembering those who gave everything so that we can live.	Donate if you can! Healing Warriors Program, my sister's nonprofit, does very important work for our vets' and soldiers' complete health and wellbeing.
Scones for Spring An absolute must for a spring brunch or tea party!	The Buzz About Bees Bees are precious, industrious & endangered. We can do our part to make sure we don't lose these amazing creatures.
Hello Spring!  Hello Cookies! Our latest cookbook is out!  A book full of Afternoon Tea's cookie and bar recipes!	My Favorite Mugs A menagerie of mugs ... one of life's simple pleasures.
Who Really Needs An Egg Plate? Not me.  But I'm probably going to get one anyway!	Happy Mother's Day! Wishing all of the Moms out there a very wonderful, healthy and happy Mother's Day!
Mother's Day Tea A perfect way to celebrate and spend time with our Moms.	Breakfast in Bed A time-honored tradition for Mother's Day!
A Bridal Shower Tea ... the perfect way to entertain!	A Baby Shower Tea Party Celebrating a little one's imminent arrival.
May Flowers Surrounding yourself with flowers!	Love Tea Sandwiches? Spring is for Tea Parties, Baby & Bridal Showers, and Garden Parties -- that means lots and lots of delightful tea sandwiches!
First Sign of Spring Quiche Spring means quiche, at least it does at my house!	Our Current Obsession: French Macarons Light, airy, delicate pastel puffs of mouth-watering deliciousness
Fruit-Infused Waters Well beyond lemon, refreshing flavored waters for summer	Sunshine In A Jar Preserved lemons are a game-changer!
The Soundtracks of Summer What music will be playing through your head this summer to get you into vacation-mode?	Summer Entertaining ... the perfect way to entertain.
Camp Summertime! a.k.a. What did you do during your summer vacation?	The Fruits of Summer There's fruit in my salad!
Cooking with Herbs Herbs are making a tasty appearance in some of your favorite desserts!	The Problem with Pesto ... It's so darned easy, you'll be making it all the time!
The Icing on the Cake Does a bakery really need to make frosted layer cakes?	What's Your Favorite Cake? If only I could pick just one!