The Badger Sett has a really lovely new collection of badger-inspired crafts and goodies that make perfect gifts for Christmas.  We also all donate a percentage from these sales to the Badger Trust’s badger vaccination project – a positive alternative to the badger cull.

The brilliantly talented Amanda of Maysie Daydreams has some very special Christmas decorations:

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EVERYONE, I finally made it! The Limited Edition Badger Hearts are here! They are £10 each and made to order, you can choose if you want wool felt, or vegan ecofelt, you even have a choice of ribbon. You could use them as a Christmas decoration but I might leave mine up all year round! There will only be 5 available and every penny will go to the @badgertrust . (PS I've only made this available to the UK but if you are from elsewhere and you are ok with the fact that it might not arrive in time for Christmas let me know and I'll open the listing to you!) #badgertrust #stopthecull #animalwelfare #wildlifeconservation #consciouschristmas #thoughtfulgifts #vegan #vegangifts #animalrights #handmadechristmas #christmaswithlove #handmadehome #feltcrafts #slowstitching #ooakgifts

A post shared by Amanda Dixie (@maysiedaydreams) on Dec 3, 2018 at 7:04am PST

And some beautiful brock textile art pieces that are just adorable!

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Help us raise money for badgers. These two badger hoops are now listed and ready to ship over at Etsy #linkinbio £15 from the sale of each will go to The Badger Trust’s vaccination project a wonderful alternative to culling. A group of creative people have got together to make things for this project why not head over to @samdrawsthings to see what else is going on. #badgerween #badgervaccination #badgertrust #inspiredbynature #badgerlove #wildlifeart #somersetetsyteam #protectourwildlife #hoopart #makersgonnamake #craftivism #shopsmalluk #idealchristmasgift #savethebadgers

A post shared by Amanda Dixie (@maysiedaydreams) on Oct 15, 2018 at 2:58am PDT

MAD Scientist Yarns still have their gorgeous Trufflehunter colourway, as well as two new festive badgers too…

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Our #badgerween yarn is still available for preordering and if you fancy some along with any other yarn in the shop then we are happy to post it all once your yarn has been dyed . And remember £5 will be donated for each skein sold . #yarnlover #yarnspiration #yarnlove #yarnaholic #indiedyedyarn #indieyarn #handdyedyarn #handdyed #indieyarndyer #iloveknitting #igknitters #iloveyarn #igcrocheters #crochetersofig #yarnstagram #madscientistyarns #yarnaddict #yarns #yarnologist #yarngasm #yarndyersofinstagram #yarndyers #iamarealknitter #imarealknitter #ukdyer #yarnporn #specklesaresohotrightnow

A post shared by MAD Scientist Yarns (@madscientistyarns) on Oct 26, 2018 at 5:01am PDT

This special Badgermas colourway can also be ordered with an exclusive print from me!

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Will be dyeing the #badgermas pre-orders on Sunday once we are back from our mini break so if you want yours sent out next week – get your order in quick as it will get dyed Sunday – this applies to any other pre-order items as well. . #madscientistyarns #yarnpreorder #savethebadgers #yarnlove #xmasyarn #badgeryarn #knittersofig #knitstagram #crochetstagram #crochetersofig #ukdyer #indieyarn #yarn

A post shared by MAD Scientist Yarns (@madscientistyarns) on Dec 7, 2018 at 2:22pm PST

The Crimson Rabbit is busy writing up a pattern for some leg warmers, which look just stunning in the Trufflehunter yarn.  Do follow Debbie on Instagram for news of when the pattern is released.

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Brock's leg warmers in progress today 🤗 These use the same pattern as my super colourful Autumn Leg Warmers, which I'm in the process of writing up 🤓 I'll be selling the pattern to raise funds to support The Badger Trust as part of #thebadgersett – a group of creatives supporting Badgers with things we make / design. This yarn is from @madscientistyarns who also belong to our group – it's a gorgeous BFL in the Trufflehunter colourway – all details on my Ravelry page. . #knitting #legwarmers #savethebadgers #samdrawsthings #lovebadgers #canthecull

A post shared by Debbie Seton (@the_crimson_rabbit) on Dec 8, 2018 at 3:34am PST

And I am really excited to add some new things to the Sam Draws Things shop!

The Yarn Badger very kindly donated 5 Goose Eye hat kits in different colours (with a name like that, they had to get involved).  100% of the sale price of each kit is going to the badgers!  They include yarn and instructions, and are selling quick, so do order soon if you want one.  You can find them here.

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⭐️I HAVE YARN IN MY SHOP!!⭐️ so excited, for the first time since starting my yarn adventures, I’ve got yarn in stock! It’s part of the Goose Eye Hat kit, all from @theyarnbadger, and 100% of the safe price is going to help badgers! 🦡 There are only 5 kits, one in each colour combination. 🌈 My knitting is not up to Fair Isle level yet, but if it was I’d totally go for the purple one! How about you…? 🧶🦡 #knitting #fairisle #hat #gooseeyehat #knitahat #giftsforknitters #imarealknitter

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Dec 6, 2018 at 3:56am PST

My lovely and talented friend Jane Brumwell made beautiful Stirling silver and copper progress keepers.  They are each rolled with the impression of a skeleton leaf, and are so delicate.  Each one is unique! You can find them in the shop here. 

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Copper or silver…? 🍃 One of my favourite things about learning to knit has been discovering all the accessories! And I’m really proud to be stocking these in my shop. These beautiful knitting/crochet progress keepers were made by the super talented @knittingjane 😍 and donated for me to sell to raise funds for 🦡 #badgermas. They really are beautiful, and super hard to photograph! They are live in my shop now and you can choose from Stirling silver or copper. Each one is unique, and has the beautiful impression of a skeleton leaf 🍃 #badgermas #progresskeepers #knittingaddict #yarnaddict #giftsforknitters #magpie #alltheshinythings

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Dec 5, 2018 at 12:28pm PST

And there are also badger prints and Christmas cards 🙂 You can see the whole collection here. 

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Wow, it was so nice to get some light good enough to take some pics today! It’s been so grey and dreary. ☁️ I hope you’re having a cosy Sunday whatever you are up to. ☕️ I’m feeling festive because Christmas cards are here! There are three designs and I can’t decide which is my favourite… each pack gives a £1 donation to @badgertrust as part of #badgermas 🦡 🎄 #greenchristmas #shopsmall #recyledchristmas #savethebadgers

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Nov 25, 2018 at 7:29am PST

Huge thanks to all the super creative members of the Sett, and to everyone who has bought something so far.  It’s so wonderful how the craft-y community gets together for good causes.

Badgerween is a black and white stripy celebration of Halloween from the Badger Sett – a group of compassionate creatives fundraising for the Badger Trust.  We are supporting their badger vaccination project, a positive alternative to the cull which is being increasingly rolled out across the UK.

How gorgeous are these textile are badgers from Maysie Daydreams?

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Help us raise money for badgers. These two badger hoops are now listed and ready to ship over at Etsy #linkinbio £15 from the sale of each will go to The Badger Trust’s vaccination project a wonderful alternative to culling. A group of creative people have got together to make things for this project why not head over to @samdrawsthings to see what else is going on. #badgerween #badgervaccination #badgertrust #inspiredbynature #badgerlove #wildlifeart #somersetetsyteam #protectourwildlife #hoopart #makersgonnamake #craftivism #shopsmalluk #idealchristmasgift #savethebadgers

A post shared by Amanda Dixie (@maysiedaydreams) on Oct 15, 2018 at 2:58am PDT

The badgers are available in Amanda’s online shop here.

And you can pre-order some of this scrummy Truffle Hunter Yarn from Mad Scientist Yarns:

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Some 'Trufflehunter' drying on Fractal (MCN) and Element DK . So if you would like some posted this week head to the shop and buy some and support the badgers for #badgerween . £5 for each of these skeins is being donated to aid in vaccination instead of culling of Badgers in the UK . #yarnspam #yarnlover #yarnspiration #yarnlove #yarnaholic #indiedyedyarn #indieyarn #handdyedyarn #indieyarndyer #iloveyarn #madscientistyarns #yarnaddict #yarnologist #ukdyer #yarnporn

A post shared by MAD Scientist Yarns (@madscientistyarns) on Oct 14, 2018 at 10:41am PDT

You can get your hands on some Trufflehunter yarn here.

And there will be lots more coming soon, including project bags from Annie at Busy Pottering, who has found the cutest fabric!

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Success! I found some badger fabric that I liked to support the Badgerween fundraiser organised by the lovely @samdrawsthings! There's foxes, deer, hedgehogs, pheasants, hares, owls and mushrooms on it too, but today you just see the badger, who prefers to be vaccinated against Bovine TB, rather than culled. Project bags coming soon!😍 #badgers #badgerween #badgervaccination #badgertrust #busypottering

A post shared by Annie Bee 🐝 (@busypottering) on Oct 16, 2018 at 4:23am PDT

I’m also still busy drawing things,and have been following some of the prompts for #mabsdrawlloweenclub on Instagram.  I wanted to draw something that touched on why the Badger Sett exists – so drew some ghost badgers, a haunted badger cage and a laboratory…

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These drawings for #Badgerween and #mabsdrawlloweenclub have turned into a little story about why I started the Badger Sett, a group of creatives fundraising for @badgertrust 🐾👻🐾 1. The #ghost badgers haunt the silent fields in their thousands. The wild landscapes they used to call home bereft of their digging paws and soft sounds. Uprooted and lost, they search for their old setts, crossing roads and drifting through supermarket car parks, meandering through dead grass where bees used to buzz. 🐾 2. If only each badger trapped and shot could warn the next badger not to enter the cage… #hauntedobject. 🐾 3. In the #laboratory, scientists plot and plan and explore less deathly ways to deal with bTb and keep our badgers safe…

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Oct 9, 2018 at 12:20pm PDT

and I’ve added some colour to my mushroom badgers and they’re now available as a print:

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Little mushroom badgers with a splash of colour 🍄 this was for the #mushroom prompt for #mabsdrawlloweenclub and has blossomed into a print to help fundraise for @badgertrust and #badgerween, a stripy celebration of Halloween 🎃 . I’m really enjoying all the drawings and creations other people are making, there’s some jaw-droppingly magical things, go check out #mabsdrawlloweenclub it’s INCREDIBLE 😍 🐾👻🍂 🧙‍♀️

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Oct 12, 2018 at 11:57am PDT

You can find my Badgerween collection here.

The Badger Sett are celebrating a black and white stripy Halloween this year, fundraising for the Badger Trust.

We are a collective of creatives making things to support the badger vaccination project and help end the badger cull, and the first few items for sale have just gone live.

There’s a little and growing collection of black and white and badgery things in the Samdrawsthings online shop…

And I am really excited to announce that MAD Scientist Yarns have just launched a Badgerween colourway!

This beautiful hand-dyed yarn is Trufflehunter, and it’s available for pre-order now:

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‘Trufflehunter’ created for #badgerween to raise money for vaccinations instead of culling of UK badgers . £5 will be donated to this great cause for each skein sold . Pre-order yours today on – Fusion (75/25 Merino/Nylon) – Element (plied Merino) – Fractal (MCN) – Singularity (Singles) . . #yarnspam #yarnlover #yarnspiration #yarnlove #yarnaholic #indiedyedyarn #indieyarn #handdyedyarn #handdyed #indieyarndyer #igknitters #iloveyarn #igcrocheters #crochetersofig #yarnstagram #madscientistyarns #yarnaddict #yarns #yarnologist #yarngasm #ukdyer #yarnporn #knitstagram #knittersofig

A post shared by MAD Scientist Yarns (@madscientistyarns) on Oct 7, 2018 at 3:55pm PDT

Other members of the Sett are busy developing ideas for Badgerween (and Badgermas!) so I’ll keep you posted as more creations are unveiled.

I’m also attempting to keep up with the drawing prompts for Mab’s Drawlloween club over on Instagram, adding a badger theme to each prompt, and will be developing these into prints and things…

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Happy #badgerday! These tiny wee badgers are asleep under a 🍄. Or maybe it’s a giant mushroom with normal size badgers… 🤔 either way, it’s a handy umbrella for sleepy stripy animals. #mushroom day for #mabsdrawlloweenclub and #Badgerween

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Oct 6, 2018 at 10:29am PDT

Happy Badgerween!  🙂

A recent commission from a friend has lead to a new product line in my shop that I am really excited about: baby name prints!  I’m growing my nursery art collection as babies LOVE my work – the high contrast and black and white I use basically hypnotises small people, making it quite a handy distraction tool for a grouchy or distracted baby.

My son Tristan spent a long time gazing at my work around the house, and as he’s growing and recognising the animals he’s still getting a lot out of it.

Little Percy was the recipient of my first baby name print.  He was born in June and has one of the best birth stories I have ever heard – he was caught by his mum’s best friend in the kitchen!

Each letter on the name prints is a different animal, and there’s the option of adding the date of birth underneath.   I think they make lovely birthday presents for older little ones too.

I’ve found someone making really nice frames in the UK that are purple, which coordinates really nicely with the colours in the print, and you can add one on as an option when you order.

You can order your print in my online shop here.

You can include a message with the name and date of birth, or I’ll get in touch with you to check the details.  I’ll send you a preview of the print before popping it in the post to you.  I offer gift wrapping and can also post straight to someone else if you are buying it as a gift.

Wow.  September is here.  At the same time as feeling like it’s been a really long summer this year, I also can’t quite believer we are now heading into autumn.  If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know I’ve been a bit of a mess as my little boy starts a new preschool (he’s absolutely fine of course).

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🍏 new beginnings 🍎 whenever I’m freaking out about things ending or time passing too quickly, being outside with some trees really helps. It reminds me that endings are beginnings, that endings and change are natural and therefore ok. So after dropping my 2 and a bit year old at his new preschool and crying in the car (he was fine) I came home and drew some apples and blackberries 😍 to feel the juicy ripening of new things… #newterm #newstart #newbeginnings #mumlife #toddlerlife #firstdayofpreschool

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Sep 3, 2018 at 3:31am PDT

We are also into month 9 of the lovely Flower Power Fund, and onto our 12th flower already!

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Wow 💐 it’s September some how and time for a new flower for the @flowerpowerfund! Here are the 11 flowers so far – there will be a Nigella print in my shop update later today to match the beautiful @edencottageyarns skein. I’m loving drawing these flowers. They’re all available as prints in my shop, with the update coming at 8pm. Happy Saturday! #drawing #illustration #flowers #botanicalart #flowerpowerfund

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Sep 1, 2018 at 3:32am PDT

Every month, new indie dyers and makers create lovely things for cratfers on a flower theme, with a % of all sales going to Marie Curie.  This month, it’s all about Love-in-a-Mist, with a beautiful new yarn from Eden Cottage Yarns , a bag from Betsy Makes (both of which have sold out already!) and a new print from me:

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And here’s this month’s print for @flowerpowerfund! To compliment the beautiful yarn from @edencottageyarns, a lovely Love-in-a-mist 😍 it’s live in the shop now, with lots of other goodies (some of which I’m still adding!) #flowerpowerfund #nigella #loveinamist #drawing #botanicalart #blue

A post shared by Sam Goodlet🌸Thoughtful Design (@samdrawsthings) on Sep 1, 2018 at 12:03pm PDT

You can find the print and everything Flower Power Fund related in my online shop here. 

Woah, this year feels like it’s going really fast!  We are just over half way through the wonderful Flower Power Fund project (which looks like it’s going to happen again next year) and there have already been 9 lovely flower-inspired yarns, created by talented independent yarn dyers from all over the UK.

It’s been a gorgeous way to practice my own take on botanical illustration as I’ve created matching prints for each month.  Here they are so far:

This month feels like a really special one, as it’s the turn of Jane from Hedgerow Yarns.  Jane and I have been friends for a long time and had some lovely adventures together, and it was doing her branding that lead me into the wonderful wooly world that I’m now part of!

Jane’s yarn is STUNNING.  Inspired by pretty country garden lupins, it’s just so subtle and beautiful.  You can find the Lupin yarn in her Etsy shop here, and my matching print here.

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Phew! I’ve just finished wrapping all of last weeks dyed to order @flowerpowerfund Lupins yarn 🌸 Thank you so, so much for your support 💕 if you placed your order before this morning then your parcel is now on its way x The listings for dyed to order Lupins are still in my Etsy shop and will be for the rest of this month 🌿🌸🐝 £3 from every sale of the Lupins colourway will be donated to Marie Curie 🌿 . My lovely Lupins print arrived from @samdrawsthings ~ thank you so much Sam x It’s lovely! 💕🌿 #hedgerowyarns #flowerpowerfund #samdrawsthings #handdyedyarn

A post shared by Hedgerow Yarns (@hedgerowyarns) on Jul 9, 2018 at 7:18am PDT

The latest prints that I’m selling to support the wonderful Flower Power Fund are available now!  You can find them in my online shop here.

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The latest prints from @samdrawsthings are now live in her shop – link in my profile. A donation from every print goes to Marie Curie. Aren't they gorgeous? #flowerpowerfund

A post shared by FlowerPowerFund (@flowerpowerfund) on Mar 2, 2018 at 10:34am PST

There are two flowers this month, to match to lovely yarns from Beth at Beehive Yarns  –  Cuckoo Flower and Vintage Daffodil.

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Look at this beaitiful Cuckoo Flower print by @samdrawsthings, isn't it stunning?! Sam is creating a print to go with each of the Flower Power fund months 🌸 Find these in her shop this evening (check out Sam's IG bio for the link)… #flowerpowerfund #mariecurie #samdrawsthings #beehiveyarns #cuckooflower

A post shared by beehiveyarns (@beehiveyarns) on Mar 2, 2018 at 11:17am PST

I’m busy adding all sorts of new things to my online Etsy shop at the moment – over the summer I have been working on a new collection of art for babies and children including a really cool collection of prints.  The idea is that you could get the whole set and arrange them together, or you can pick your favourites 🙂

Since having my little boy (now a whirling toddler of 17 months) I’ve felt extra inspired, particularly as he really loves my drawings.  When he was really small, like all babies, he was mesmerised by black and white and would go into a bit of a trance gazing at my monochrome work.  He was a few weeks old when Goldilocks and the Waterbears was published, and loved looking at it!

The Sun and Moon art cluster is designed to capture the attention of small babies and to grow with them as they discover the world of colour and start learning about the sun, moon and the weather.

They are printed onto a lovely archival quality paper made from bamboo, and it’s made the colours really vivid and deep.  Each print is also mounted in a slightly flecked white board with a black inner frame – all designed to add more details for baby-hypno purposes (they would look extra hypnotic in black frames).

Here are the prints all together:

And here are some more detailed pics of them individually:

You can find them in my online Etsy store here, or drop a message to info@samdrawsthings.co.uk if you have any questions or would like to place an order 🙂

One of the things I’m working on at the moment is a collection of nursery prints.  Inspired by our sky-themed nursery, they feature moons, stars, clouds and rainbows.

Creating Tristan’s nursery was so much fun and really therapeutic.  It was a great way to displace any antenatal anxiety – I would just go up there, move things around, suss out storage, play with paint and add to my nursery Pinterest board.  You can have a look at my Blue Sky Thinking nursery decor mood board here.  It was also really healing when I got a bit of time (thank you grandparents) not long after Tris arrived to finish some of the things I’d been too pregnant to work on.

Our nursery is a converted attic room, and I created some fluffy ombre paint effects to play with the angled walls and corners and fade from sky blue into brighter and darker colours.  Even if Tris hadn’t been a boy, our nursery would have had sky blue as it’s base colour, it’s just what I could see in my head from the very beginning.

I painted and drew a sun and a moon in different corners of the space, and added clouds onto the walls and blackout blind.

The rocking chair and stool my dad found on eBay, and my mum made new covers for them as a Christmas present.  The hammock and most of the other furniture were also eBay finds.

The cloud lampshade and murals look really lovely at different times of day.

Post c-section, we actually set up camp downstairs for a couple of weeks, and then Camilla our wonderful doula helped me to get back upstairs and get the nursery in use, and took the photo below when we were all settled.   Shadow the dog loves the cloud rugs.  The useful drawers with baskets are from B&Q, and we have them in the bathroom too where they are the perfect size for nappies.

It’s very much an evolving space, and with Tris now almost a toddler, things have completely been moved around.  From use every night, the cushion on the chair is looking pretty well loved.  The nursery is the only room in the house that looks this pretty or gets this much attention!  In the beginning I guess it was very much about us, but as its evolving it’s becoming more Tris’s space.  The first time he noticed the sun and moon and the lampshade was magical.

One of the things that made me really happy in the beginning was how much Tristan loved my black and white illustrations.  Babies are fascinated by black and white and high contrast imagery for a surprisingly long time, even as their sense of colour develops.

Tris loved my frog print – I think because out of the artwork I had around the house to show him, it was one of the more complex images.  The first time I showed him he stared at it transfixed, and then it made him smile.  We could use it to hypnotise him a bit, and he would spend ages staring at our black and white curtains.

You can find some baby-friendly artwork in my Etsy shop here, including the frogs.  And I am really excited to be developing more prints and images to hypnotise small people. They are going to have a mix of pure black and white with splashes of colour.

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