Happy Christmas to all P&P readers, sponsors, and everyone who submitted designs in 2016. Thank you so much for being there and sharing a love for design. I'll be back on January 9th 2017 with lots more prints and patterns as we move into the new SS17 Spring season. 

I am so pleased to be able to announce today the arrival of my new book Print & Pattern Nature published by Laurence King. This is the fifth book in the P&P Series and focuses on design using flowers, leaves, birds, trees, butterflies etc. 101 fantastic designers have kindly submitted their work and given an insight into how they create their works, their inspirations and influences. Just some

This is a my final post on Christmas designs for 2016. (Although I do have something different to share tomorrow for P&Ps final post.) But for now we round off this current holiday season with a last look at some fab festive designs. We begin with The Art File where this colourful Christmas Tree pattern on cards and wrap was one of my absolute faves this year. Below : Two gorgeous

Kristiina Haapalaisen and Sami Vähä-Aho of Polkka Jam have produced another beautiful Christmas collection for 2016. This Finnish based studio work on their own ranges and take on all kinds of freelance projects and collaborations. This year Polkka Jam's Christmas designs on cards and wrap feature colourful little houses, trees and cities set against starry skies, mountains, and islands. Also

My next Christmas post features packaging design. The "Sweet Snuggles" collection is a gift range created for UK high street retailer Superdrug. It features a selection of sweetly illustrated creatures such as bears, reindeer and penguins. The packaging is a mix of boxes or wrap around cards and products include ear muffs, gloves and hats, mugs, and beauty gifts.

And we end today with a look at a small selection of Christmas cards from stationery store WH Smith. They generally specialise in the more traditional card designs but I was able to pick out some interesting design work.... Read the rest of this post

Cinqmai is a French Paperie brand created by designer Caroline Briel. For 2016 you will find simple but ultra stylish Christmas postcards and gift tags. As spotted online here at Cinqmai where the festive "Noel" designs are available along with many more postcards, prints, etc.

These beautiful Scandinavian style Christmas cards are by design company Summer will be back. The Copenhagen based business was founded in 2014 by Danish artist and designers Lisa Grue and Denis Sytmen. They found Christmas inspiration in their wintry Northern landscape with sleigh rides and the contrasts of colour between the sky and the snow. They regularly exhibit at trade shows in London

The dotcomgiftshop have produced some lovely retro style cards and wrap for Christmas this year. The nostalgic designs feature Snow scenes of people having fun and fifties style baubles. dotcomgiftshop are well known for having gifts for all the family and it can be very handy to pick up some cards and wrap at the same time.

With just one week to go before Christmas I'll be taking the opportunity to show a few last minute cards,etc as well as some of the seasonal  creations designers have been making for their portfolios and instagram challenges. We begin today with a few contemporary cards, wrap and decorations spotted at the fantastic Oliver Bonas.

Four Corners Art Collective is a group of seven illustrators and surface pattern designers based in the UK, the US, Australia and France. Since the group launched their collective a year ago they've exhibited at Surtex, Premier Vision and Blue Print. In 2017, the group will be flying to New York from all corners of the world to exhibit at Surtex for the second time. They are currently running

It's time now for part 2 of my Paperchase Christmas 2016 round-up. We have more lovely cards today - most of which are not own branded but selected by Paperchase from other publishers. I loved the bold tree above by Rifle Paper Co. and the painterly brushstroke cards below. Scroll down for more Christmas cards, wrap, and decorations which this year included a Mexican theme.

Today I am posting just some of the fabulous Christmas designs spotted at Paperchase. I especially loved the inventiveness in these graphic tree designs used on wrapping paper, cards, and tags. Other highlights include stylised watercolour trees in various shades of green and turquoise and a highly detailed decorative deer. I took these snaps at Paperchase's main flagship store in London's

I am still talking Christmas design today by looking at Marks and Spencer. But to break things up a little I thought I would look at some of their everyday cards first. So below I have picked out some favourites that I hadn't blogged before and some new arrivals.... Read the rest of this post

And here we have a selection of Christmas card designs from Marks & Spencer. They have some nice contemporary designs in their 2016 collection featuring fun typography and stylish touches like the perspex tree above.

I am still showcasing some Christmas designs this week - to either inspire you creatively, show you what cards are available to buy right now, or maybe even to spot your own designs. We begin the week with cards from Waitrose, which is the supermarket arm of John Lewis. For their own brand exclusive collection Waitrose have gone for mainly black, gold, red, and white on kraft card to create a

One of London's most famous department stores is Selfridges, and I was lucky enough to be able to pop into their Christmas store recently. I found stylish festive paper goods from Meri Meri, personalised wrapping paper, stylish packaging on chocolates and games, and a selection of stylish Christmas cards by publishers such as 1973, Caoline Gardner, and Belly Button Designs.

  I am looking at Christmas designs this week and I really liked these four contemporary designs spotted in Sainsbury's supermarket. They have bright colours and a bold painterly style that made them stand out against Sainsbury's more traditional designs. Also snapped below are some fun children's designs featuring Santa's elves that has been used on gift wrap, bags, and crackers.

Our next range of lovely Christmas cards come from Whistlefish, an art company based in Cornwall which creates greeting cards, gift wrap, stationery and gifts. Whistlefish have a wide selection of designs from modern to traditional priced at just £1.00 plus you can shop online in the UK and internationally. Here are some of my favourites from their Christmas 2016 collection... Read the rest of this post

John Lewis have created an Alpine collection for their Christmas ranges in 2016. The theme for the range is 'Chamonix - inspired by The Alps' and features on food gift packaging, decorations, cushions, tablecloths, cards, wrap, and more. The motifs are folk inspired but very contemporary in style. A modern red, white and blue theme is used throughout the whole collection to create a coherent

Also today we have a few interesting Christmas cards spotted in book store 'Waterstones'.

Now we are in December Print & Pattern will be going full steam ahead on Christmas design. I'll be posting the various cards and wrap I have spotted online and in stores, mainly in the UK. We start the week with Britain's favourite department store John Lewis. Here are a selection of cards from publishers such as Caroline Gardner, Hammond Gower, Cardmix, The Art File and of course John Lewis' '

Just before we go Christmas crazy for December I wanted to post some other store snaps today. The first are from H&M where I snapped some cute characters and fun patterns on kidswear. Black & white has been extremely popular for children's clothing and textiles this season and at H&M there were plenty to choose from. Here are some of my faves especially the variety of bears!

Manuela Lima is a designer based in Rio de Janeiro. Manuela has experience working with illustrations, for various types of destinations including stationery, cards, prints for clothes and furnishings. She is in the last year of architecture school, then intends to work with illustration and turn her passion fir interior decoration and incorporate it into her work. Manuela likes to mix with

I spent a couple of hours in Bristol last week and managed to take a look at some of the shops in Park Street like 'Rise' and 'Guild' and also popped into the Arnolfini Gallery. I mainly visited book and record stores but still managed to find some inspiring prints and patterns. Here are my snaps from the day featuring mainly book covers, some cards and wrap, and a smattering of homewares.