It's 2021! And it's time to give you my overview of the 2021 Colors of the Year as chosen by various decor and paint companies, most notably Pantone. Whether or not you follow trends, I thought it would be fun (and maybe useful?) for you to see some of these all here in one place, with samples of how I've used them in my own pattern designs. Not surprisingly, most colours were chosen for their uplifting, comforting, calming, soothing, harmonious, optimistic and hopeful properties. If you're a designer looking for ideas and trends, or just someone wanting a 2021 re-fresh (don't we all?), see below. And scroll down to see summaries of how each company describes their 2021 color picks!

PANTONE: They say "Illuminating" ("warming and optimistic") and "Ultimate Gray" ("practical and rock solid") are "A marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting".

GLIDDEN PAINTS: They chose not a Color of the Year, but an ACCENT Color of the Year, "Aqua Fiesta", which they describe as: "Happy and muted, this beautiful color makes a sweet space that is not overly vibrant".

BENJAMIN MOORE: They say, "Take a moment to reflect and reset. Intriguing, balanced and deeply soothing...Aegean Teal creates natural harmony".

GRAHAM & BROWNE: This is how G&B describes "Epoch": "This rich, deep amethyst" is "associated with royalty as the cost of pigments were so expensive--the color has a calming effect on both the mind and nerves, and it can be uplifting and trigger creativity".

HGTV by SHERWIN-WILLIAMS: They say, "Rich and empowering, Passionate is a bold red, that's steeped in history, merging modern design with traditional charm".

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS: They say, "Tap into nature with a hue whose warmth and comfort breathe down-to-earth tranquility". 

And there you have it! If you have a favourite (or not?!), leave a comment here and let me know!

I think I'm in love (can I say that about one of my own pattern designs?!) The colours in this one just make me feel good (especially as I stare out at clouds and rain today)! This is my entry for this week's Spoonflower "Small-Scaled Geometric" Design Challenge. All the motifs are created with geometric shapes (maybe with a bit of cheating in only a few of the small details). Although the challenge called for "small-scaled" designs (for face masks and apparel), I couldn't resist also adding a large-scale version as well (love it on wallpaper, pillows, bedding and that blanket!) Now both scales are available in my Spoonflower Shop (link in bio). Check out all the entries (all 1150 of them, wowee!) at the Voting Page! Think warm and dry thoughts!

My "Christmas Cheer" Background Pack is now live in the photo-collage app PicCollage, and available for you to make festive photo collages to send to all your family and friends. I'm not sure what is happening where you are but sadly it looks like where I live we won't be able to celebrate the holidays in person except with people from our own households. Maybe making a cheery collage with photos from this crazy year might be a creative way to connect. See below for the 12 pattern designs that come in my Christmas Cheer Background Pack! Hope you're managing to stay cheer-y and I wish you Happy Holidays. Here's to a Healthy 2021!

A bit late posting about this, but last weekend Dec 5 2020, Janine of Uppercase Magazine featured my "Elemental Series" in its ​​​ALL ABOUT YOU Newsletter which is delivered to subscribers every weekend! In the feature, I talk a bit about how the Series came about and the ideas behind it. Thanks for the feature, Janine!

Here is my "Little Charms" design that I've entered in this week's Spoonflower "Microscopic Worlds" Design Challenge! It was inspired by the little gnome houses that I run by in my neighbourhood (scroll down to see a pic!) I'm sure kids must love playing here and I tried to keep that playful feeling in this design.
Check out the Voting Page to see all the entries, and have a look at my Spoonflower Shop! Something to inspire your imagination. AND Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends, all the best.

For those of you who know me, you know I am a pattern design lover with a BIG collection of design, art, craft, illustration and travel books that endlessly inspire me. So if you're like me and LOVE PATTERN DESIGN and ART BOOKS, I invite you to subscribe to my Newsletter List and download for FREE my 5-Page Full-Colour PDF: "My TOP 10 Absolutely Most Favourite Surface Pattern Design Books"! In this PDF, I describe what each book is about, why I love them and how they inspire me in my work. AND I give you a full-colour sneak peek into each one! SUBSCRIBE NOW and start dropping hints about what you want for Christmas (and get a Discount Code for 10% OFF your first purchase in MY SHOP too!)

OH THE NOSTALGIA! When my kids were a bit younger we played lots and lots of tabletop games: Sorry!, Labyrinth (our favourite!), Clue, Blokus, Monopoly, Scrabble, Life, Yahtzee, Othello, Battleship, Carcassonne...Now that they're older teens, it's pretty hard to get them to sit down and play with their...parents. But we still bring a duffle bag full of games on driving vacations and always have fun playing in the evenings! And now I don't feel like I have to let them win!
So for this week's Spoonflower "Game Night" Design Challenge, I entered this abstract geometric design (the first one on the dark blue background) that emulates all those board game tracks with playing pieces. If you would like to see all the entries, check out the Voting Page! AND all 3 colour ways below are now available on fabric, wallpaper and other home decor items in my Spoonflower Shop!

​I invite you to listen to the conversation I had with the wonderful Wendy of The Underbelly Project on the "Wild & Precious Conversations" Podcast (episode went live Nov 5 2020)! We talk about how I managed to start being creative again as a young mother, and to make creativity a permanent fixture in my life. We also discuss the on-going hard work it takes to be a licensed surface pattern designer, illustrator and artist, and how I keep on track, motivated and true to myself. We laugh a lot, and I hope you will too! Have a listen, and let me know what you want to add to the conversation!
Link to the Podcast here, or get "Wild & Precious Conversations" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere else you get your podcasts!

Here is my entry for this week's Spoonflower "Snail Mail" Design Challenge! I just love the doodle-y feel to this and it makes me want to keep on doodling...I had a hard time deciding which one to enter, but after taking a poll, I decided to enter the first version on the dark background. It is also available on a light background and in a pink/purple pastel colour way (all are available in my Spoonflower Shop!)
Do you think I entered the right one?!
And I might get that blanket for myself, hey, my birthday is coming soon!
Check out all the entries at the VOTING PAGE and you can shop all 3 versions in my SPOONFLOWER SHOP!
DON'T FORGET: Spoonflower's 50% OFF all FAT QUARTERS SALE is still on until tomorrow Friday Nov 6 2020!