Design Inspired Contact Cards

I come from a design background, and I have plenty of intrests. My etsy shop is a way for me to explore more areas of art and design.

 I will have contact cards soon in my shop. I have been doing crochet, and I even have a few sewn items that need to be photographed and placed in my shop, but my first love is design, and I had been neglecting that part of me while I was exploring other areas. I am glad to be doing more design work again. I am very excited about this new chapter of foreverfruitful!

I did say that foreverfruitful was a work in progress. We will see where it takes me!

A little this, A little that

A beautiful dress, in a beautiful color. I have been drawn to this peachy pink color lately, I am actually working on what to make of some fabric in the same color.

A mens shirt refashion worth noting. Makes me want to search the back of my closet for something with refashion potential.

A great site to pass time. (try not to do this at work!)

A set of photos I could not stop staring at.

Revitalize your business

Hello All!
 I have just posted (or reposted) some items on etsy again. In the beginning, I was pregnant and bored, with a bunch of time on my hands. I was under the impression that I could continue producing new items and promoting my shop after having the baby. (Well, we all know how that played out.) My baby is a toddler now, and I feel like I need to move forward with my creative endeavors not only for myself, but for her. I want her to see that she can do anything through my example. But enough about me, here are some tips I came across that helped me get motivated, and can probably help you!

*ReFocus  Meditate. This has really helped me to focus in on some things I was sweeping under the rug, and it can also spark your creativity.

*ReMix your line  Take a look at the products you are selling. What can you do to improve them? Have you received any negative feedback about them? Also try adding a few new things to the line, something that you might have thought about but never completed or started.

*ReBrand  Maybe your logo just is not working for the products you offer. Make it work so that you don't need to explain what your product is. Your branding should really speak for itself (This is something I am working on in my own shop)

*ReThink  You must always speak positive things into existence. Do not say things that are negative, and remember that your past business mistakes are in the past. They happened, and you learned from them (hopefully)!) and now its time to speak your business goals out loud each day. Negative thoughts find their way into everything, and you don't want negatives in business!

I hope these tips helped or encouraged some of you. Happy Selling!

Floral Inspiration

Hope fully these beautiful floral arrangements inspire someone else but me!

There was a bonus with this link too! Past Domino Magazine articles have made their way to this site!

How to make a T-shirt scrap baby quilt

Do you have an abundance of old t-shirts that you can't bear to throw away? I did.  I decided to give them new life as a blanket for my daughter. Here is how I did it.

Grab a bunch of t-shirts and cut out different sized pieces. The goal is to create a mosaic-like appearance.

Cut two pieces of fabric to the desired blanket size. As a shortcut, I used a receiving blanket for one side and some grey leftover fabric from my stash.

Cut a piece of batting and sandwich it between the two pieces of fabric.

Arrange your t-shirt pieces and pin everything together. Topstitch the pieces around all edges.

(If you are making a reversible quilt, stitch your collage pieces only to front side of fabric. THEN you can pin the batting and back piece of fabric and baste all around for a more uniform look.)

Almost done!  Now this is the point where you get extra creative. Add ribbon or bias tape to the edges. Add fringe to the edges. You could embroider to decorate the top. You can write a name, anything you want! Make it your own and post a link so I can see them!

Happy Sewing!

Cool Reversible Laptop sleeve

I made this really awesome laptop sleeve out of some corduroy fabric I got on sale. Not bad for under five bucks! This is my first sewing project, and I am super excited about it! Let me know what you think!

New Fixation

Hello! I am sorry that I have not posted in what seems like an eternity. I have a new fixation- sewing! This holiday season, I was blessed with a new sewing machine! no more borrowing! I am so excited that I have been using wayyy too many of these!!!
I also took the wardrobe refashion pledge for 2 months. ( I want to start small) I have a lot of clothes that I no longer wear, and a huge craft stash. Should take me more than two months to use it up, and keep some cash for myself instead of going to the mall, where I end up overpaying to look the same as everyone else!  I have posted some of my past favorite projects here if you want to have a look. Wish me luck!

Who is Foreverfruitful?

I have had to ask myself this question among others. What is Ff? What will it come to represent? Who is the woman behind the green tree? After quite a bit of thought, here are the answers.

I am the woman behind the green tree. My name is Ashleigh, and I love things that are imperfect and natural, I love to be outside on nice days, and I love the sunshine. I am a work in progress, ever changing, yet keeping core values the same. Foreverfruitful will come to represent me, and function as an outlet for my many creative hobbies/ideas/endeavors.
I want this blog to be interesting and informative. This blog will change as I change, and hopefully it will continue to be a good read for those who want to follow my journey.

The best free resource around

Has been my local library. Libraries are no longer the buildings with shelves and shelves of old books. They are media centers that you can access from the comfort of your own home, in front of the computer. Libraries offer online supplements and access to digital books and other media. I have been taking advantage of this during my time home with new baby. In my down time, I can get online, check my emails, and read a chapter or two in one of my digital books, or I can search databases and have an item shipped to my local library to pick up. When the book is ready, I get a phone call and go pick it up. The best part of all this is that it is absolutely free! I can dig that.

New arrival

I am happy to announce that I did not post a blog in awhile. WHY? because I welcomed my baby girl into this world, and have been spending every moment with her. Cuddling, bonding, feeding, changing her. And the best part is that she is my beautiful empress-in-training.

On the Style List

Hello all,
I just wanted to share that I was featured on Stylelist's Indie Designer Interviews. Read my interview, and interviews of other designers here.
A big thanks to Mallory for the interview opportunity!

Let me know what you think!
-FF

Awesome chicks of Etsy

I have just joined a group called the Awesome chicks of Etsy. I took a photo of myself, VERY early in the AM, and I look sorta mean, So I thought I should probably include another pic of myself that was actually wearing a smile! I am excited about what the group will offer this year. Check it out!

Valentines day will be here before you know it, so I have already put together a list of some of my favorite items.

This cupcake bottle cap ring is great for the gift giver who does not want to bake! The ring will look this good forever!


Jewlery not your thing? check out this yummy soap!
It looks good enough to eat, but please don't try to! its SOAP! :)



And for your garden lovers...These love bugs are sure to be a hit!


I could see this photo as a beautiful gift too!



And sometimes a valentines day card is the best gift of all


Check back for more Lovelists in the future!

Giving thanks after thanksgiving

Hello all, I just wanted to put in a quick post to thank jolijoli for featuring my ruby convertible scarfette in her "Please Be Mine" Treasury. This was a great curation of work, and all should check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=31510

Earthly Treasures

I got another one! I have highlighted some etsy sellers items here based on a earth and tree theme. Check out this collection and tell me what YOU think of it!

A few of my etsy favorites!

I got a treasury on Etsy last night, and I have put together a small collection of the wonderful things etsy has to offer.
I was inspired by the textures and colors of the items, and these are all things I would love to have for myself! So I guess it gives a bit of insight on what I like for all of you who forgot to get me a gift... (Lol)
Check it out at
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=30247

Looking for a niche?

I have been thinking about what it means to have a niche and how important it can be. I am not sure where this new idea will take me, but I made a few earrings based on a pair i got from a store. I added my own creativity of course, and these are my first prototypes.

I am hoping they go over well on etsy.  Let me know what you think! I would love some suggestions! I have made larger sized hoops, but I will also be experimenting with smaller ones.

Until next time...

Winter Baby!

Hello!, I am sitting here, in my nice warm apartment while outside the weather has decided to be cold, wet, and slippery. Yes, the northeast is having a storm! I am sort of excited though because I am featured in an accessories showcase all day today! check it out at etsy.com.

I made this set of cute baby booties and a hat for a friend of mine...She will be having a girl next month, and what a great way to bring her home in handmade style? She loved them of course, (I used two of her favorite colors) and I can not wait to see her baby next month!

On this cold wintery day, I need to do something, but I am not sure what to make... should I do jewelry, hats, more baby stuff, something new?
I am not sure what to do yet, I am till enjoying my yummy cornmeal porridge.

Till next time...

Camo-Crazy!

This weekend, I was sitting home with a pinched nerve in my neck, waiting for my muscle spasm to STOP HURTING, and I decided that I would try to get my mind off things. I picked up my crochet hook and didn't look back. I have been in the mood for texture, so I decided to revisit the basketweave stitch. I wanted to make a hat for myself, and I have always liked that stitch, as well as popcorn, and puff stitch for texture. So, I made this hat over the past weekend.

This  was a prototype, so the size was a bit off... I thought to myself, "Yeah, make it big, so I can wear it longer..."( I have locs and my hair is growing me out of hats these days) Well, I made a bit too big! I can still wear it, (and I will) but I wanted it to be a bit smaller. 

I couldn't just leave it alone... I finished that hat, and started on the camo one. This one is going well, just the size I wanted. So now I am camo crazy, and I will probably finish that one tomorrow.