Hello Reader,

This month's newsletter is quite bit longer than normal, so get yourself comfy, grab a coffee or cup of tea as I unveil some goodies for you...

As I send these emails monthly, I want to give you more value from them, so you'll notice that they will become a little longer than normal. Having got some great feedback about what you want to see in the newsletter, I've tailored the content to fit and hopefully you'll get even more value from it than before. Right, have you got that cuppa ready? ☕

Inside this month's newsletter

News from my life as a designer
Some exciting news
Some helpful links to blog posts
Free pdf guide
3 free on trend colour palettes

News from my life as a designer

I haven't spent that much time this month creating new designs. I feel like time has evaporated and I didn't get as much time to devote to creating new artwork, but some month's are like that! Instead I've spent a lot of time working on something that I hope will help both you and me!

As we're heading into the last part of the year, I wanted to create some resources that will help us both get more organised and focused so we can start the new year with more clarity and intention. More on this in a minute where you'll find out what I've been cooking up....

When I first started creating patterns, I had NO clue as to what I should even be drawing, let alone what colours I should use. I didn't even know where to go looking for that information, even though I knew I needed it! Which leads me onto some exciting news below...

Exciting news!

Since the Masterclass in September I've received tons of feedback and the frustrations and struggles that you told me about were:

a) You don't know what colours to use

b) You need direct information about current trends

c) You want information about creating seasonal colour palettes

With this in mind and my passion for wanting to help others, I've been busy creating some digital pdf resources that will be available on Friday 20th December to purchase in a new online shop! To say I'm excited is an understatement!! I wish I'd had these resources when I was a new designer. I'll certainly be using the resources myself as well, to further push my own skills and knowledge and hopefully get more productive...

As a valued subscriber, I want to offer you an exclusive 30% discount ONLY available to you when the shop opens! This is my way of saying a HUGE THANK YOU for being here with me. I'll be offering these resources through my social media channels at full price nearer the time, but you'll get the first sneak peek and can browse the shop and purchase the items before anyone else!

I'll be popping into your inbox early next month (because of Christmas) and I'll be sending you a discount code on Fri 20th December to use at checkout to get 30% your ENTIRE order. There is no minimum spend or item restrictions here!

I know what you're thinking... That sounds great Nicola, but Christmas is coming up soon so how will I be able to take advantage of these items? The digital pdf resources are very affordable and if you've been with me a while, you'll know that I like to put a lot of value into my pdf's and these are no exception. I wanted to make these resources as accessible as possible to you at a low cost, so they won't break the bank, even with Christmas coming up.

Christmas Colour Palettes PDF

If you love creating Christmas patterns, this pdf is for you!

Having Christmas and festive patterns in your portfolio is a must for designers and this pdf will give you some great inspiration and clarity around designing within a set theme for maximum impact.

The pdf includes:

4 festive themes to choose from
8 pre-done colour palettes per theme
A list of key words to use for further research into the themes
Accompanying illustrations to inspire you per theme
27 pages

10 Trending Themes

This pdf is perfect if you want to create on-trend designs that customers and companies are looking for right now. It's so important to be creating artwork that buyers and customers are searching for and this pdf will ensure that your designs resonate with their needs right now.

This is the pdf to get if you're serious about creating on trend artwork and want to give your portfolio a serious boost!

The pdf includes:

10 of the top trending themes right now
25 colour swatch suggestions per theme
18 photos/or illustrations of motif ideas per theme
A written list of motif ideas as a handy reference
Pattern design planning worksheets
Colour palette checklist to keep you on track
3 pages of neutral & muted colours
75 pages in total

Autumn Colour Palettes

If you love creating Autumn patterns, then this pdf will suit exactly what you're looking for. I personally love creating Autumn patterns, though sometimes we need some direction and extra inspiration to ensure we aren't creating the same type of patterns over and over again. This pdf will give you plenty of inspiration!

The pdf includes:

4 Autumn themes to choose from
8 pre-done colour palettes per theme
A list of key words to use for further research into the themes
Accompanying illustrations to inspire you per theme
27 pages

These are just some of the items that will be available in the shop!

Helpful Links to Resources

This will be a new section to the newsletter where I share useful and informative links, both from my blog and from other designers that have great content.

From my blog:

HOW TO ACHIEVE CONTRAST IN YOUR PATTERN DESIGNS

5 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR PATTERN DESIGNS

HOW TO CREATE A CALM AND TRANQUIL MOOD

From other designers:

(Pitter Pattern) LEARNING ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR EASILY

(Liz Kohler Brown) 5 PATHS TO PATTERN DESIGN

(Cat coquette) MODERN PATTERNS: FROM SKETCH TO SCREEN

This Month's Freebies!

This month's free guide is to help you if you're a beginner to surface pattern design as well as a refresher to those of us who have been doing this for a while. Starting a colour palette can be the most daunting task especially if you don't know where to even begin. Other times, we need to take a step back to see if we can improve our colour palettes and designs in some way, even a small way, to make them the very best they can be.

DOWNLOAD THE PDF HERE

Colour Palettes

Find below 3x on-trend colour palettes that will give you the competitive edge. All of the palettes are inspired by current trends in the marketplace so use them in your pattern designs and if you upload and sell your designs on print-on-demand sites, get them into your store quickly to take advantage of this.