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Niki Jin Crafts is Back!

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Last you heard from me (from this blog, anyway) was almost two years ago when I said goodbye and went exploring new directions. I started another blog (it ... didn’t last), and wrote a post here and there for my portfolio website, mostly talking about my professional art and design work. Nowadays I stick to posting mostly to Instagram.

So what have I been up to? Life has been busy, taking care of two young kids and building a freelance career doing book design and illustration. In between, I keep myself busy with various projects related to my art.

I let go of Niki Jin Crafts for a little while, but recently, it came back to my mind. I thought about what I want to do with this site. Just let it sit there? Delete it? Well no, I’m not ready to get rid of it quite yet! It could use a little updating, though, that’s for sure. I’ve given the site a new look (I hope you approve!) but that’s not what you’re here for, right? We need some new content, of course. I promise, new stuff is coming…
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Real-Life Floral Patterns

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I love, love, love floral patterns. Much of the time, I can be found doodling and painting them, but ever since I discovered people making art with real flowers (see links at the end of the post), I've been inspired to try it myself. And let me tell you, I LOVED IT. I picked up a colorful bouquet from my local grocery store and used the different flowers and parts of the flowers to create both all-over and round patterns. I can see potential here for incorporating photo prints of my favorite pieces into my home decor. See the results below...

The original bouquet

The bouquet disassembled
























I really enjoyed making these, and I plan to find time to do it again soon. I hope you are all enjoying the wonderful spring weather and take time to admire the colorful blooms of the season.

Make something beautiful today!
Niki



LINKS

Here are a few of my favorite Instagrammers who create wonderful pieces of art with flowers and other plants.
Flora Forager (@flora.forager)
Face the Foliage (@facethefoliage)
Helen Ahpornsiri (@helenahpornsiri)


RELATED POSTS

May Flowers



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**UPDATE - 2015** The miniature sweater knitting pattern has been revised.  View/Download the new pattern here:
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A gift tag template for creating a Christmas ornament from this sweater can be found on my Templates and Patterns page. Additional sweater patterns are available for sale in my Etsy shop.


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