Area Thrifty One

British Craft Trade Fair

2010-04-09T08:45:00.002Z

This afternoon I'm flying to Yorkshire for the British Craft Trade Fair. It's the first time I've done a trade fair and I'm so excited, nervous, excited, nervous and even more excited!

This is such a great opportunity to meet some of Britain's finest designer makers as well as getting my products seen.

You can find out more about the fair here: http://www.bctf.co.uk/ It's open to trade only and runs from Sunday 11 to Tuesday 13 April at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate. I'll blog about my adventures when I get back. If all goes to plan, I'll tweet some adventures while I'm there too. (you can follow me here: http://twitter.com/nanetteregan)

See you soon!

Boxes

2010-03-17T17:38:00.009Z

The ideal box is very hard to find. There's a set of magic dimensions for the perfect box, when you see them the box calls to you. You just want to pick it up, you want to see if it feels as right as it looks. Then when you pick it up, it has to have just the right texture, a very slight roughness, it has to feel functional, serious, like it means business. Then if you wrap it in gift wrap it has to give off an air of slight mystery and the promise of glorious treasure. It's a lot to ask from a piece of cardboard...

I've been looking for the perfect box for my newest range of sewing kits. The old packaging was fine, it was based around a nicely sized plastic ziploc bag. It kept the fabric clean and dry, it was fine. Fine - but not perfect. I spent a lot of evenings measuring boxes and researching boxes. I'd find box suppliers online and draw out the dimensions of their boxes to see how they would look. It was a long long search... but then I found them! They are beautiful, not too big, not too small, the perfect gentle grey colour. Now my whole work room is covered in boxes and they are so perfect - I love them!

If you've made it this far through a blog post about boxes I am seriously impressed. I can't quite believe that my obsession has lead me to write an entire post just about boxes, but I'm not alone. The best ever description of box-obsession comes from Jerry Seinfeld. I couldn't find a youtube clip but follow this link and scroll to the bottom of the page where it says "Jerry Stand Up" and you can read the whole routine. Here's an excerpt:

"That's all you think about is boxes. Boxes, where are there boxes? You just wander down the street going in and out of stores. Are there boxes here? Have you seen any boxes? I mean it's all you think about. You can't even talk to people because you can't concentrate. Shut up I'm looking
for boxes. Just after a while you become like really into it you can smell them. You walk into a store. There's boxes here. Don't tell me you don't have boxes. Dammit, I can SMELL them."
Seinfeld "The Boyfriend" episode, Season 3.

Name That Mouse

2010-03-12T20:56:00.004Z

In my last post I mentioned some new mice that I've been working on. This dude is my personal favourite:

He doesn't have a name yet though. I wanted to find a name with a haberdashery vibe, like Mr. Petersham or Buckram or Bodkin.

There's a Dr Seuss poem called Too Many Daves, about Mrs McCave who "had twenty-three sons, and she named them all Dave", amongst the hilarious list of names she wishes she had used are the genius names "Paris Garters" and "Harris Tweed" those are exactly the kind of names I'm wanting to emulate for this mouse, I think he deserves an awesome name.... any ideas? What's your favourite haberdashery word?

Textile Showcase 2010

2010-03-12T20:25:00.008Z

If you're at a loose end this weekend and you're in the area, you could pop down to the Harbour Gallery in St Aubin, Jersey and catch the last two days of the Textile Showcase 2010. There's some amazing work by Bianca Padidar, Beverley Speck, Lisa MacDonald and lots of other textile artists and makers...

... and you might just bump into some of my guys there, too (on the second floor), the dinosaurs, rabbits and horses have been joined by some mice. There's also an early preview of some of the new sewing kits that's I'll be fully launching at the British Craft Trade Fair in April.

Events in 2010

2010-02-24T21:47:00.004Z

Here's all the places I'll be popping up in 2010, come and say hello if you're passing by:

March
Monday 8 - Sunday 14
Jersey Textile Showcase Harbour Gallery Jersey (more info)

April
Sunday 11 - Tuesday 13 April
Stand 372 British Craft Trade Fair Harrogate N.Yorkshire (more info)
Saturday 24 - St Aubins Market Jersey 10am-2pm
Thursday 29 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm

May
Saturday 8 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Sunday 9 - Liberation Day Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 9.30 - 5pm
Thursday 13 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 22 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Thursday 27 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 29 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm

June
Saturday 5 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Thursday 10 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Thursday 24 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 26 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm

July
Thursday 1 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 3 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Thursday 15 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 24 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Thursday 29 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 31 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm

August
Saturday 7 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Thursday 12 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 21 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Thursday 26 - Battle of Flowers Market Weighbridge Place Jersey
Saturday 28 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm

September
Saturday 4 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Thursday 9 - Craft Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 18 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Thursday 23 - International Air Display Market Weighbridge Place Jersey 5-8pm
Saturday 25 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm

October
Saturday 2 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Saturday 9 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm
Saturday 30 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am - 2pm

November
Saturday 6 - St Aubins Market Jersey 10am - 2pm
Saturday 20 - St Aubins Market Jersey 10am - 2pm

December
Thursday 2 - Sunday 12 - Spirit of Christmas Market Weighbridge Place Jersey
Saturday 18 - St Aubins Market Jersey 10am - 2pm

New Fabric Designs

2010-02-11T13:28:00.007Z

My new fabric came back from Spoonflower and I am so happy! The print quality is better than ever and these designs are printed on linen/cotton blend which is a beautiful weight fabric, and it washed so well as well - what more could you ask for?

The design is a patchwork cheater print in hexagons. It has a really nice retro, childlike look so it feels slightly familiar, as though it were part of a favourite, half-remembered quilt.

There are three colourways, green, orange and blue. These photos have been taken very close up because I had already dived into making with this fabric, before I remembered to take pics!

This fabric also makes great rabbit clothes, here's how it looks when modeled:

Adrift in 2010

2010-01-09T10:30:00.005Z

Hello again! There's nothing worse than arriving at a blog and seeing a Christmas post when it's nearly Valentine's Day is there? 2010 seems to be starting pretty quietly round here, mostly because my sewing room looks like this:

and all my sewing stuff looks like this:

So that's why I've been quiet and my sites are mostly empty. Anyhoo, I've been filling my time by trying to understand Adobe Illustrator, and overcoming the massive surge of panic that comes over me every time I open it. There are some fantastic, and clear and simple, online tutorials that have helped me enormously:

Spoon Graphics is filled with excellent tutorials to kick start the Illustrator-timid and this one in particular really helped me understand how to use some of the basic tools.

How to make a Perfect Seamless Vector Pattern at BittBox was the most easy to follow tutorial I found about pattern making and how to make sure everything lines up just right.

Jess Volinski's tutorial for creating repeat pattern swatches on Digital Arts was very thorough. It really focused my thoughts on making repeats and was very helpful when creating patterns for Spoonflower.

My swatches are on their way to me, I'll show you when they arrive!

Spirit of Christmas

2009-11-29T21:20:00.006Z

This is my cosy little cabin at the Spirit of Christmas Market, Royal Square, Jersey:

here are some Christmas shoppers and you can see some other cabins in the background:

and this is me:
I'll be here all week!

Christmas Craft Fairs 09

2009-11-17T18:31:00.003Z

If you'd like to catch up over Christmas, this is where I'll be:

28 November - 6 December
Spirit of Christmas Market, Royal Square, Jersey
10am-5pm everyday, except Thursday which will be 10am-9pm

3 December - 6 December
Fete de Noue, Harbour Gallery, Jersey
10am-5pm everyday.

19 December
StAubin Christmas Craft Market.
9am-1pm.

Come by and say hello!
x

17 Days...

2009-11-11T12:22:00.004Z

... to go until my biggest Christmas event! Finally finished my pile of zipper pouches/coin purses/pencil cases so now it's on with the softies.

When I'm making a big batch of rabbits or cats or dolls, I seem to spend a lot of time with a basket of limbs next to me. I save all the stuffing and turning bits throughout the day, then I can spend the evening simultaneously chilling out and being productive. Tonight I think I'll stuff rabbit legs while watching Demetri Martin which is a more innocent evening than it sounds.

Monda loves is getting ready for two big Christmas craft fairs so why not pop by and check out her lovely birds.

Behind Schedule

2009-11-09T13:45:00.005Z

Last Friday, I fully intended to sit down and write a post about my newly finished stack of pencil cases and coin purses. Then go on to chat about a big upcoming Christmas event I'm involved in. I was going to start off a kind of countdown so I could set goals, keep track of how I was doing, keep motivated, forge a solidarity with other crafters out there getting ready for a busy holiday season. Please let me know in the comments about which events you're involved in, either online or off - it would be great to know what others are doing.

So, here I am, three days late... and my stack of zip pouches is looking like this:

So very nearly finished, but not quite. Real life intervened (as it does, tsk), and I got behind schedule. Setting impossible goals is my modus operandi, so it's not usual for me to do a last minute creative editing of my to do list so that I can feel better about my progress. So, instead of starting last Friday, I'll start today:

19 days left to finish making stock for a Christmas event that will last for 9 days. That's a lot of sewing, better get going... unless I want to have a creatively edited to do list, simply displayed on a minimal empty table, amid a sea of fairy lights and Christmas shoppers...

Rabbits Rabbits Rabbits

2009-10-30T20:51:00.006Z

This week I managed to finish up these little ladies:

... and these little ladies:

... but these bashful little guys are still waiting for me to make them some trousers:

... I'll make them soon, I promise!

Workbox Magazine

2009-10-29T20:33:00.003Z

This falls under the "things I should have blogged about ages ago but I was crazy busy with summer craft fairs" category. Check this out:

It's the October/November issue of Workbox Magazine and it has a double page article about me and my work! It's a nice article, about how I came to be making my guys. It was weird having someone ask loads of questions about my process and then reading about myself, but weird in a good and very flattering way.

(If only the article didn't boast one of the most unflattering pictures of my face I've ever seen - seriously. My husband collapsed in uncontrollable laughter when he saw the photo, honestly, Awkward Family Photos has nothing on this.)

What's going on?

2009-10-28T14:11:00.003Z

Well, some new fabric came through my post box yesterday:

and today I've been embroidering 13 noses on 13 small rabbits:

and now I'm trying to sneek back to blogging by pretending that I've never been away...
... is it working?

Pirates Ahoy!

2009-09-09T20:23:00.002Z

1. Children Across the Sea--Volland--Janet Laura Scott-Book Cover, 2. Whales, 3. Shiver my timbers!, 4. Vintage Kidnapped Book Cover--Pirates, 5. Pirates of the Mexican Riviera, 6. "Pirate Story" from A Child's Garden of Verses, 7. Pirates, 8. Vintage Game Illustration, 9. Vintage Pirate!

Staycation

2009-08-10T11:39:00.004Z

Recently we had a staycation. It feels a bit like cheating on the staycation rules when we live in a holiday destination, but when you live somewhere you tend to keep to the same daily patterns and not look up at all the great stuff you have around you.
So we had absolutely no traffic delays, waiting for flights, or stressful squeezing things into suitcases. We just got ourselves a bit of beach time, a little history, a little sun, and lots of ice cream - it was the best holiday I've had in years!

New Guys in the Shop

2009-07-29T11:26:00.005Z

I try hard to make sure my toys work as objects to be played with, imagined with and loved, as well as being objects that make beautiful additions to the home. This retro inspired dinosaur does all those jobs. He is so soft and lovely and he stands up by himself so he looks great popped on a bookshelf or side table. His circles and ridges are made from fabric designed by me, so he is extra-specially one of a kind.

This little rabbit is so cuddly, the linen I used to make her is so soft and my favourite shade of chocolate brown. Remember a while ago I rambled on about my favourite new fabric print? Well, this rabbits dress is made from the green version of that print - so fresh, simple and stylish.

I've made a new range of little coin purses, to help "take care of the pennies". Only one is available in the shop at the moment, as the others are all on my market stall, but there will be more added to the shop in the near future. This purse features an applique of a little patchwork lion. It is such a great size for coins - its only 11cm (4") square but keeps all your change together and easy to find. Also, a great size for little ones to store precious pocket money.

... OK, shameless promotion over...

Little Bird

2009-07-27T16:07:00.004Z

all images used with permission
1. seaside donkey ride, 2. miss yum yum, 3. constellation boy, 4. Lets Go Fly A Kite
These amazing images are the work of Joanna, an illustrator who sells her limited edition prints on etsy. A range of beautifully soft organic tee shirts screen printed with her designs are available on her website Little Bird by Post.

I absolutely love the gentle colours that Joanna uses, and the vintage inspired imagery really reminds me of one of my favourite illustrators, Mary Blair. I ordered one of the Little Bird tee shirts for a friends newborn baby and it arrived so quickly and with such a lovely selection of little freebies - balloons and stickers - simple things that kids love. The whole of Joanna's tee shirt business is based on the concept of respect - being respectful to children by not covering them in inappropriate slogans or adverts, and being respectful to the environment by using only organic cotton and water based inks. You can read more about Little Bird here.

Joanna shares glimpses of her sketchbooks on her Flickr photostream so you can have a peek into her working process, and have a peek behind the scenes at her blog Little Bird Twitterings. Best of all she lives really near me! A fellow Jersey Etsyian! Yay!

Genuine Jersey

2009-07-15T12:37:00.004Z

I live on the island of Jersey, between the south coast of England and the north coast of France.

Jersey has long been famous for it's agriculture, the Jersey Royal is the king of potatoes Gordon Ramsay is a big fan and Jamie Oliver cooked some up for the Obamas. The Jersey Cow is prized all over the world for it's superior milk (I was always very pleased that a Jersey Cow makes an appearance in Anne of Green Gables ). Jersey has other things to offer too, stunning beaches, breathtaking cliff walks, an abundance of red squirrels and plenty of talented artists and craftspeople.

The Genuine Jersey group was formed in 2001 in order to promote the very best that Jersey has to offer. Only produce that has been grown or reared on the island and products created by accredited members are allowed to carry the "Genuine Jersey" logo. I'm very pleased to have been accepted as a member of Genuine Jersey, so if you happen to visit this lovely island drop by one of the many Jersey Farmer and Craft markets and say hello to me.

Soggy Gazebo

2009-07-03T20:27:00.007Z

Yesterday evening started like this:

a busy, bustling craft market with lots of exciting food stalls and live music. Then it got all British:

and it rained and it rained and it rained. The kind of persistant rain that has everyone saying "it'll stop in a minute", "it's just a passing shower", "it's clearing up over there, look", but it never does.

Frantically rearranging stock to keep it dry, my ridiculous trousers soaking up the water puddling round the edges of my gazebo and my feet turning lurid green from my hilarious flip-flops - weirdly, this generated some sort of buying frenzy at my gazebo. Then it all got a bit too soggy and the whole market packed up early.

I've just written a blog post about the weather - that's definitely gone all British. The point was meant to be that if you do a craft market and get stuck in a downpour don't panic. Just make sure you keep your stock safe and keep smiling at people. My hands-down favourite source of tips for a regular craft stall is Fluffy Flowers series "How to set up a Craft Booth at a weekly Farmer's Market". The summer is pretty much here so if there's a local Farmers and Craft Market near you go and get yourself a pitch - it's brilliant!

Thinking Talking and Doing...

2009-06-09T13:12:00.005Z

That's what today has been, so far. Though more thinking and talking and less doing... so a bit more doing later tonight, hopefully! These guys are on my work table today:

They will be turtle and snail zipper pouches. I love this stage where all the main shapes are blocked in and waiting for the details. If I'm working on a new design this is exactly the moment when I can tell whether or not it's going to work.

The thinking today has been about "business direction" and all those plates that need to stay spinning in the air. I really need one of those "experts" that you get on the TV that go through your whole life and sort you out, some kind of House Doctor/Alvin Hall/Gillian McKeith hybrid. (Come to think of it, that sounds terrifying!)

Thank goodness for having someone to talk to. Beverley came over to chat about craft business stuff today. It helps so much to talk to a "real life" person doing a similar thing, online friends are fantastic but meeting up with someone to talk about sewing machines, taxes, and the school run makes a real difference to morale. Oh, and this book is very helpful too for craft business advice, though some of it is only US relevant, I'm always coming back to it and it's very helpful.

Blogging - What's it all about?

2009-06-08T13:06:00.007Z

This blog has been wavering dangerously close to abandonment lately. Not intentionally, you understand. It's just that blogging keeps slipping further and further down my "to do" list.

Why is that? Partly, it's the old chestnut that the busier the blogger, the quieter the blog. Partly something to do with the distraction of Twitter. Partly the fact that I have become hopelessly disorganised. So now it is time to take action. Time to pull myself together, ask myself some questions, write a few lists...

Why did I start blogging?
To connect with other people doing the same thing - other crafters, other toymakers, other work from home mothers, other people who sew.

What do I like so much about the blogs that I like so much?
I like a regular glimpse into someone else's world, and hearing about the interesting things they are doing. I like seeing pictures of crafty, homely, beautiful things that other people are making. I love to see other people "nesting" and peeking at their homes. Sometimes, I like a piece of solid, useful information, but also I like chatty stuff (as long as it's relevant to the blog's main theme).

photo credit: Phil Regan

Why am I blogging this list instead of using a piece of paper?
Because this way I hope to kick start the regular blogging process. Also, now I've publicly promised to be a better blogger so I'll have to try to keep my promise instead of losing my piece of paper.

photo credit: Phil Regan

What does the future hold for the blog "Area Thrifty One - Scraps of my Life"?
Based on my answers to the above questions, there will be:

More 'work in progress' posts, perhaps some pictures from my sketchbooks too. I think it's time to let go of the paranoia I've had about showing the world my working process.
More posts about 'round the house' stuff. We rearrange our house quite often, and bicker over prints on the walls, how to organise the books, etc. I like reading this kind of real life interiors stuff on other blogs.
There will still be links to interesting, useful and inspiring things that I find around the internet.
Occasionally, there will be a tutorial or two and probably the odd giveaway.
More frequent posts.
Lots of great pictures.

Thanks so much for reading, especially as you pretty much just read a "to do" list, which isn't the most exciting thing in the world. If you have any tips on keeping up your blogging momentum, I'd love to hear them.

What would Benita Larsson Do?

2009-05-25T19:59:00.003Z

Everything has been driving me crazy lately. I'm naturally clumsy so when the house starts to get out of control it really stresses me out, I'm falling over everything at the moment. I pull out a piece of fabric and the contents of a shelf fall on me. I open the "thread drawer" and it's full of zips and rulers and absolutely no thread. This picture might not show the extent of the chaos, but it is chaotic, believe me. Everything needs a really good sort out but where to start?

So I turned to Flickr for some inspiration and there I found Benita Larsson of Chez Larsson. Oh my, have you ever seen such a fantastic home? So restful, so beautiful and so perfectly organised. Just a quick glimpse will be enough to make you want to turn out your kitchen drawers, or paint something white. Check out Benita Larsson's Flickr photostream here, her blog here and find Benita's Top 10 Organising Tips here.

My first challenge is my sewing room. I've made a great start at clearing it out, the whole time reminding myself of Benita's phrase "Edit, edit, edit". It's amazing how much stuff I've allowed to build up and I'm not even much of a hoarder. Hopefully, I'll soon have some "after" images to show off!

Pretty Fabrics

2009-05-20T17:55:00.004Z

I've been a bad blogger lately, but I'm hoping that some eye candy will go a little way towards making you forgive me. Look what the postman bought today:

Every once in a while I find a fabric which is completely perfect, from the scale of the print to the tone of the colour and the texture of the fabric. I just fall head over heels in love, everything about that fabric is just "right". The minute I opened the parcel I was totally in love with the red on white print in the foreground, it's from P&B Textiles, it's available in blue and green too. Normally blue would be my first choice but this red spoke to me. I wish I had some kitchen soft furnishing that needed doing. This fabric would be everywhere - covering stools, hanging in the window, probably a table cloth, find a way to turn it into oilcloth and line shelves with it... the list is endless. What's your most recent "perfect" fabric?

Upcoming Events 2009

2009-05-11T08:38:00.007Z

Come and see my and my work at these events throughout 2009:

May
Saturday 16 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Saturday 30 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm

June
Thursday 4 - Weighbridge Place Jersey 4-8pm
Thursday 18 - Weighbridge Place Jersey 4-8pm
Saturday 13 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Saturday 27 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Wednesday 17 June - Sunday 5 July Bromham Mill, Bedford (more info)

July
Thursday 2 - Weighbridge Place Jersey 4-8pm
Saturday 11 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Sunday 12 - Durell Day Jersey (more info)
Thursday 16 - Weighbridge Place Jersey 4-8pm
Saturday 25 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm

August
Saturday 8 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Thursday 13 - Weighbridge Place Jersey 4-8pm
Saturday 22 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Thursday 27 - Weighbridge Place Jersey 4-8pm
Saturday 29 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm

September
Saturday 5 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Thursday 10 - Weighbridge Place Jersey 4-8pm
Saturday 12 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Thursday 24 - Weighbridge Place Jersey 4-8pm
Saturday 26 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm

October
Saturday 10 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Saturday 17 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm

November
Saturday 7 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Saturday 21 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm
Saturday 28 - Victorian Market (venue TBC)

December
Saturday 12 - Spirit of Christmas, Royal Square, Jersey
Saturday 13 - Spirit of Christmas, Royal Square, Jersey
Saturday 19 - St Aubins Market Jersey 9am-2pm

Liberation Day

2009-05-11T08:10:00.009Z

Hello! I'm still here! Been away from blogging for so long because it's been crazy busy but I think I'm in the "eye of the storm" now - so time for a quick catch up.

photo credit: Phil Regan
This weekend we've been celebrating Liberation Day here in Jersey, every May 9th we remember the liberation of the island from Nazi occupation at the end of the Second World War. This years celebrations were truly amazing, with parades, speeches, re-enactments and a big open air market.

photo credit: Phil Regan
I have honestly never pitched my stall at such a massively busy event. Usually there are peaks and troughs in the crowd, but there were just no troughs at all - the people kept coming. There were solid crowds the whole day, I even got a little freaked out at some moments because there were just so many people! It was a lot of fun and surprisingly emotional at times.

photo credit: Phil Regan
Right, better get back to that sewing machine, via a mountain of boring admin jobs. The shops are looking a little empty just now but I promise to restock as soon as I can!

Snail's Pace

2009-04-15T19:49:00.004Z

Sewing progress is soooo slooooww during the school holidays, but I am still pottering away. New applique pouches are creeping along on my sewing table. There are all animal images and I'm using my Spoonflower fabrics for some of the details.

I'd really like to get something finished... but it is lots of fun spending the day building camps, going to the park, and playing hide and seek.

The Enormous Turnip

2009-04-03T10:18:00.009Z

The idea was simple and beautiful, at first. All the children were to come to school dressed as a character from a book. My son's class is the youngest in the school and they have been having "Elmer Week" so we were asked to send them dressed in bright colours just like Elmer "unless you have another book character you really want to dress as" - which is where it all fell apart. You see, my boy doesn't want to dress up as a patchwork elephant, he wants to dress up as (drumroll please) The Enormous Turnip...

If there are any other mothers out there who need a high-speed, no-cost solution to making their child look like a turnip, here is how we did it (this can be adapted to any vegetable that takes your child's fancy):

Brown paper bag, large sheets of paper, pipe cleaners, reference material. The pipe cleaners were completely essential, if you don't have any to hand some of that thin garden wire would probably do a similar job.

The leaves are the key to the whole thing, I cut out three pairs of leaves and taped the pipe cleaners in a vein-like shape to three of the leaves. This gave the leaves some structure and meant we could give them a graceful arching shape(!) instead of having them just flap down. Green paper would have speeded things up but I didn't have any, so I set Sam to work:

Paint would have made this job much faster, but I was worried about soaking the tape that held the pipe cleaners on, and I'd gone to far to turn back and start again, and there was a bolognese sauce needing my attention in the kitchen...

Once decorated and with a pipe cleaner 'skeleton' in place, glue the pairs of leaves together. So there are three leaves, each with pipe cleaners sandwiched in the middle. I made an inch long cut in the base of each leaf, at the middle point, making two small flaps. I folded one forwards and one backwards giving the leaf a small stand at its base.

I cut a quick face hole out of the bag (tip: you can find the right size for the hole by making your child stand with a paper bag on their head while you poke them lightly in the face asking 'is this your chin?' 'Is this your eyebrow?' and marking with a pencil).

Adding the leaves to the main vegetable head took a bit of patience (it would help to not have pasta boiling over in the background as you do this). I found the best way was to use lots of small pieces of parcel tape to get everything in the right place while Sam wore the bag. Then remove the bag and thoroughly tape everything on as securely as you can.

Next morning, get your child to dress in the colour of the vegetable they are pretending to be, add the bag/leaf/hat and bend the pipe cleaners to add a gentle arching shape to the foliage. Then stand proudly at the edge of the playground as you watch your turnip running around with a group of colourful elephants.

Fun with Glasses

2009-03-25T20:54:00.006Z

Today, I found a pair of glasses and so we all went on an imaginary trip to the library. This Rabbit likes books, he thinks they are very interesting...

...and this Cat likes the library very much. She loves being able to read and learning all kinds of new things from books...

...This Rabbit is fed up, she has had enough of the library and would like to go to the shops now please.

Happy Mother's Day fellow Geek Mums

2009-03-22T16:18:00.003Z

Today is Mother's Day in the UK - Yay! I got a lie-in, a beautiful handmade card, a campanula plant and a packet of chocolate biscuits that are firmly "for sharing".

Talking of mothers, I did enjoy reading this article about Geek Mums. It's pretty similar to how I wandered on-line and found this amazing community of bloggers and crafters. If you're reading this, then it's very likely that you are a Geek Mum too.

Happy Geeky Mother's Day everyone!

Plushapalooza!

2009-03-16T21:44:00.007Z

There's a Plushapalooza coming to a computer screen near you! What's a Plushapalooza? Why it's only an incredibly exciting event, where you can view some amazing soft creatures, meet the people behind the plush and explore deeper into the realms of Etsy, and you can do all this in your pyjamas if you like!

Come to the Etsy Labs at 3pm EST (that's 7pm GMT fellow Brits) on 24 March. You can get to the Etsy Labs here. Then just click on the Gallery room - don't be scared - I was at first, but there isn't any need to be - it's fun. (you do need to be logged into Etsy to get in, by the way).

Once inside, you might see my face (don't let that scare you either!) and the faces of some other members of the Etsy Plush Street Team.

We'll be live via webcam to talk plush, soft sculpture, and stuffed toys. We won't be able to see you though, just your avatar, so as I said, dress code is as casual as you like...

We'll show you a soothing, rhythmically changing parade of plush creatures, three at a time, and you can ask the makers questions and get answers straight away. If you especially like someone's work, you can click through to their shop and browse around at your leisure.

(left to right images property of: Emily Follow the White Rabbit, Weirdbuglady, Squirrel Momma)

If you've never been in a virtual lab before this is a great opportunity to try it out in the company of one of the softest and cuddliest Etsy Teams ever.

Get me! I won an award!

2009-03-15T13:43:00.003Z

Remember I was telling you that I had a stand at a local Textile Showcase? Well, I only went and won the award for Best Newcomer! Woo-Hoo! The competition was judged by textile artist Diane Bates who was very complimentary about the finish of my work.

My very talented friend Beverly won Best Soft Furnishings, and she has a new website going live any day now, so I'll post the link as soon as it's ready. Her work with folk art applique is seriously amazing.

Vintage Sewing Patterns

2009-03-12T09:26:00.003Z

Look what arrived in the post recently:

I bought these gorgeous 70's sewing patterns from Bec's Etsy Shop BeckyBean. They are in such good condition, one of them hasn't even been cut. I think that there will be a lot of 70's style dresses turning up at birthdays this year - I have so many small nieces to make things for.

Bec also included some beautiful fabrics from cool Aussie designers and some lovely buttons - thanks so much Bec, it was a very exciting parcel! The absolute best bit about this purchase, though, was that all proceeds go to the Handmade Help Bushfire Appeal. So, if you'd like a really cool retro pattern to make yourself some great outfits head over to BeckyBean, while you're there check out the stunning, vintage inspired handbags designed and handmade by Bec and her sister Jade.

Little Red Riding Hood

2009-03-08T22:28:00.004Z

Here's some more pictures of one of my newest animals. I've been working on a mini-series of rabbits as characters from Grimms Fairy Tales. This is Little Red Riding Hood:

I'm very proud of her removable cloak with the special gap which allows her ears to pop up and enjoy the gentle breeze on her walk through the forest.

And the shoes... oh the shoes were fun: a double layer of felt, all hand stitching and teeny tiny button shapes cut from the same trimming used for the cloak. Those little circle details on the shoes are my favourite bit of the whole outfit.

Pictures of the other Fairy Tale guys are coming soon!

Crazy Busy

2009-03-07T16:24:00.004Z

It's been very quiet round here lately. All due to busy-ness offline not plain laziness, I promise. I've been getting ready for the 2009 Textile Showcase at the Harbour Gallery in Jersey. These guys still need outfits:

and this little lady is one of a small line of very special rabbits:

more about her and her friends very soon. If you're one of my Jersey friends, or visiting the island next week come and say hello at the Harbour Gallery, there will be exhibitions and workshops all week. Now - back to that sewing machine...

Dinosew Sewing Kits have Arrived!

2009-02-18T11:55:00.006Z

Remember when I asked if you tell what this design was going to be? Well, here's the answer: it's the super cute new sewing kit - the Dinosew!

Make your own dinosaur who stands 8" (21cm) tall when finished. He comes in a choice of four colours: Blue, Mustard Yellow, Green and Magenta Pink. This sewing kit is perfect for people who have a little sewing experience and are looking to gain confidence. The completed dino makes a lovely gift, handmade by you, for any little dinosaur enthusiasts that you might know.

I made the patterns deliberately graphic and based on leaves and seed pods, so there is nothing overly girly in the design, making it great for boys. (There is a magenta pink version so girly girls can join in the prehistoric fun too).

This kit was designed by me and digitally printed onto a wonderfully soft light weight cotton.
Available here and here. EDIT: Sold out but more coming soon! Thank you so much!

Handmade Crafts for Boys

2009-02-11T14:26:00.003Z

Finding inspiration for girly craft projects is fairly easy, but finding something boyish can be a little tricky. That's why I love the Handmade Crafts for Boys group on Flickr, it's filled with loads of inspiring handmade items which are cute, fun and absolutely for boys. From this genius car track tote by Helicopter Studios to these amazing soft tools for babies by fede shop.

If you want to make something for a boy in your life, check out the greatest ever superhero cape tutorial at Puking Pastilles it's very straightforward and easy to follow. I used it to make this "Super Sammy" costume which was a huge success.

The eye mask is upside-down in this picture (bless!) it was made using Sam's sunglasses as a template, then sketching around the basic shape to make a super-hero-like mask. I fused two pieces of fabric together with bondaweb, cut out the eye mask shape and top stitched around the edges and eye holes for a bit of extra strength. Add a length of elastic and presto - complete super hero outfit! Now lots of jumping off the furniture...

Thinking of Setting up a Second Online Shop

2009-01-27T20:46:00.005Z

This is a mulling and musing kind of post, so you may need a cup of tea...

I do love my Etsy shop, but something has been nagging at me recently. I think it's partly my tendency to be a control freak, and I know it's definitely because of the fluctuating exchange rate, but Etsy is no longer enough. I love it and I'm staying but I need to spread my wings a little. I need to be able to mess up my own html. I need to be able to list and sell in pounds sterling.

So, a little research: I got Googling and it turns out a lot of people are way ahead of me, looking for second (or even third) online venues to run alongside their Etsy stores. By far the best article comparing the options is this Guide to Setting Up Shop Online by Asking for Trouble. This is a very well laid out, logical comparison of online venues. There is also a huge list of Etsy Alternatives here at Psilology. The Etsy forums are a mine of information too.

Choosing a second venue depends very much on what you need. For me, I need the Great British Pound to feature in my listings. I started doing craft fairs at the end of summer 08 and they snowballed and resulted in a lot of new visits to my online shop, but people were confused by the US dollar pricing. Then there's the need to control everything, I have no understanding of coding, but if there's one thing I've learnt from Blogger it's that fiddling with your code is fun - even magical at times. (When I started with Blogger the Page Element feature didn't exist, you had to search the help centre to change things on your blog).

So do you run more than one online shop? Have you experimented with online venues other than Etsy? Where would you recommend? Where would you not? For me, I'm currently "sampling" Big Cartel. I'm using the free plan so only five listings (but you can put multiple options in one listing, so really I'm listing nine things). If I upgrade it becomes customizable, which would be cool... This is how it looks now: simple, clean, a bit small... but it has those elusive prices in pounds... and it's all mine...

Brand New and Lovely

2009-01-24T13:27:00.003Z

Some lovely new toys made from linen have just gone up in my shop. This linen is such a wonderful fabric to work with. It's a really nice sturdy mid-weight but also very soft to the touch, it has that feeling of a fabric that will last forever and mellow with age. Up close it has a gorgeous slightly slubby texture that makes me want to cuddle it.

I hope I'm not the only person who goes all obsessive about beautifully tactile fabric, otherwise this is quite embarrassing... ;)

Can you tell what it is yet?

2009-01-19T11:19:00.005Z

An exciting, brand new sewing kit is heading towards the shop! It'll probably be a couple of weeks before it's all printed, packaged, photographed and ready to list but here is a little sneak peek.

After working out the sewing pattern shapes I start on the designs for the printed patterns. I do this the old school way with paper and pencil and scissors and sellotape and using the window as a light-box. Then I hand my art work over to my in house graphic designer (aka my husband). After that we spend romantic winter evenings arguing and emailing each other about colours, design and fabric width until the design is finished.

Just look how complicated the file looks when Phil's working on it. The finished item is going to be so cool - just you wait and see!

I'm in Sew Hip Magazine!

2009-01-16T09:34:00.003Z

Tea and biscuits time was even better than usual yesterday, as the postman had finally bought my copy of Sew Hip Magazine, and who's that lurking on p.35?

None other than one of my Babushka Bunnies! There's also some chatter from me about sewing panels and memories of Holly Hobbie. The same article features the amazing Kirsten Doran - I've been a fan of her work for ages, and the talented Shannon Lamden of Auntie Cookie who also writes one of the most hilarious blogs around.

Tiny Organizing Tips for Craft Rooms

2009-01-13T20:38:00.006Z

As soon as the craziness of Christmas crafting was over, everything in the sewing room got bundled into boxes and pushed out of the way to make room for visiting family. Now that things are reasonably normal it seemed a good time to try to make some positive steps towards organization.

I've started with teeny tiny steps, but it's better than nothing and makes me feel in control of the chaos. Everything that gets tangled, ie ribbon, thread and floss, have been carefully spooled up and put into glass jars. This is a huge improvement, everything is tidy, visible and won't get dusty (sewing generates sooo much dust doesn't it!?). Also, I can finally make a dent in my collection of glass jars "that might come in handy".

My other tiny step towards organizing was to make master copies of all my patterns. Some of them are getting very dog-eared, so each pattern has been traced onto thin cardstock and filed carefully into large envelopes with sensible labels (rather than the box marked "random pattern pieces"). The intention is to keep these master copies safe and make working patterns from them as and when needed.

The filing system got a sort out too, with seperate folders for consignment contracts, invoices, receipts etc. and I even created a file for events so that I can stay on top of planning for different craft fairs.

There are also some over ambitious and slightly crazy sketches and floor plans for my ultimate organized craft room... but really, there's a lot a girl can do with some left over jam jars and a bit of elbow grease.

Here are some great sources of organizing tips:
Sew Organized
Martha Stewart

and inspiration from Flickr:
no estendal: Craft Room Inspiration
ketutar: My Dream Craft Room

The Inspirational Pippi Longstocking

2009-01-06T12:38:00.005Z

This is my current bedtime reading, Astrid Lindgren's "Pippi Longstocking" with illustrations by Lauren Child. The illustrations are stunning and the book came with four prints, so two of them have formed the backbone of my 2009 inspiration board, it's still a work in progress:

What are your big inspirations for the coming crafty year?

2009

2009-01-02T11:10:00.002Z

Wishing all of you lovely readers a very very happy 2009! And a big thank you to everyone who reads my blog, and especially to those who write interesting and inspiring blogs that I love to read (my favourites are just there in the side bar!)

Victorian Christmas Fair

2008-12-07T08:11:00.003Z

The picture is quite dark because there was very little electric light. This was the most well organised, best fun Christmas Fair I've done so far. Set in the beautiful buildings and grounds of Hamptonne Country Life Museum in Jersey, the fair was a huge success. There were carol singers and lanterns and mulled wine and fancy dress and all the ingredients to get you in the mood for Christmas.

Parts of this TV Movie version of "Under the Greenwood Tree" were filmed at Hamptonne Country Life Museum, so you can get an idea of what a stunning setting it was for a Christmas Fair.

Tchotchke House

2008-11-25T09:08:00.003Z

Could there possibly be a prettier word in the whole world than "tchotchke"? I've only recently discovered it and think it has a lovely sound. Certainly much more romantic than "dust catchers" which is the term I would normally use.

Browsing Flickr I found this photo and my first sight of the word tchotchke. Doubly exciting because I'd just thrifted and repainted a small wooden house, to use as part of my craft show set up. It only cost me £2, some old paint and an argument with a 4 year old about what colour it should be. This image is my house in craft show mode, but after Christmas I'll have to start my very own collection of dust catchers.

Bazaarly Christmas

2008-11-23T15:03:00.003Z

This is "Area Thrifty One" on a signpost. Cool, huh?

bazaar_
Originally uploaded by SarahSpiralTree

This is my first Christmas with the "Bazaarly Christmas" Collective and it's been a great one. There were lots of talented sewists and jewellers there. You can see more pictures of the event on Sarah's Flickr Set. Big thanks to Sarah for being such a great organiser, and big apologies to everyone involved because I wasn't there in person to pull my weight.

I was in Yorkshire having a brilliant time at Katie and Brian's wedding. Katie makes very beautiful paintings, have a peek at her work here.

One Christmas Fair down and three to go!

The Panic Room

2008-11-12T21:04:00.003Z

Recently, my sewing room has been renamed "The Panic Room", I have no idea why ;)

"The Panic" is the result of THREE upcoming Christmas Fairs! I'm freaking out about having enough product... So I'm all over the place...

It's because of "The Panic" that I've been away from Blogland. No posts since Halloween! And now it's way past Bonfire Night, so I can't write a post ruminating about the charming English tradition of building an effigy of a man and setting fire to it...

Other things I haven't blogged about include the first issue of Sew Hip magazine, which has a great interview with Alicia Paulson of Posy: Rosie Little Things. Also, how much I love Belle and Boo and how totally awesome this print is in real life! Also, how I finally felt the fear and started Twittering. Also, I think Nepomuk is cool.

...See? All over the place...

Spooky Wishes!

2008-10-31T10:32:00.003Z

Hope you have a day that's creepy and kooky, mysterious and spooky, all together ooky - Happy Halloween!

Turtles and Limbs

2008-10-24T11:33:00.006Z

Well, "Friday Flickr Favourites and some Works in Progress" seemed too lengthy a title. Still churning away for Christmas Fairs, so the prettiest pile of body parts is lying around my work table (which is the weirdest thing I've ever seen myself write)

Also, a customer contacted me about making something involving a turtle. I'm quite excited by that because it means hexagons, and English Paper Piecing is something I have never ever been able to manage... and still can't. So instead, I'm faking it with a bit of applique, but it's still exciting:

If you'd like to see a woman who can genuinely piece hexagons check out Katy at I'm a Ginger Monkey, she is putting together the coolest quilt using hexagons and Aunty Cookie fabric. If you'd like to see what happens when a woman takes hexagon-love too far see my post here. Seriously.

So, my Friday Flickr Favourites are all turtle-y, be sure to follow the links, they are all images from Etsyians:

1. Neon Turtle Bank, 2. who loves a turtle?!, 3. neato sea turtle jar!, 4. Turquoise flock of turtles closeup, 5. Orange turtle, 6. new baby turtle, 7. Flower Bursts Turtle, 8. tropical island turtles, 9. Embroidered turtle pincushion souffle

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

This is... my favourite film(s)

2008-10-19T10:50:00.003Z

Thanks to Hokey for this weeks theme. I hadn't realised the similarities between my favourite films until I started collecting these clips from YouTube. First up, The Apartment (1960) starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine, directed by Billy Wilder:

Next, the Woody Allen classic, Annie Hall (1977) with Diane Keaton.

Both films are beautifully shot, hilarious, deeply sad and very real. I wish films like these were still made today, films were a female lead can be funny and smart and be beautifully imperfect. Where a female character can be a fully rounded complex person instead of an airbrushed, botoxed, cartoon pastiche of a woman. In 2008 we have movies like The House Bunny, for goodness sake. It makes me very grateful that I don't have a daughter, what would our mothers generation be like without Diane Keaton? What would we be like without Allie Sheedy?

I still have a sore face, hence the miserable post... sorry. I'll stop rambling now. Check out the scene in The Apartment where Jack Lemmon makes spagetti with a tennis racket - that's funny. There's more favourite movies at Three Buttons.

Roasted Chestnuts

2008-10-14T20:16:00.004Z

On the walk home from school today we went along a street lined with chestnut trees and gathered up handfuls of shiny brown nuts. Back home, we roasted them and then squished them open with teaspoons and scooped out the delicious kernals. Crumbs of chestnuts and bits of shell scattered across the table, Sammy smiled at me and declared "This is a brilliant snack!"

I'd love to pretend I'm an old hand at foraging and roasting chestnuts, but that was the first time I've seen so many of them lying around (we normally walk home a different route). It was also the first time I've cooked chestnuts. It was uber-simple, I googled this recipe. Best of all is showing a boy that it's possible, and plenty of fun, to find free food.

This is... My current reading material

2008-10-11T19:28:00.006Z

There's not much fiction-reading going on in my life at the moment. I am regularly dipping in and out of a few reference books though. Especially recommended is Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco, it's packed with tonnes of helpful information about making crafting your livelihood. Some of the information is only of use to people in the US, but overall it is an inspiring read. There is a great, full review here, written by Paper Stories.

The book on Japanese Art has been a source of inspiration for my snowy houses. Badge/Button/Pin is getting a lot of use, as Phil is "thinking" of getting a button machine, so we're both doing a lot of sketches of button ideas to see if we can justify the purchase.

This is also my current reading material:
On Wednesday I will be having all four wisdom teeth removed...eek! I'm enjoying the pamphlet though as it says I shouldn't use any kitchen equiptment for 48 hours after the operation. Woo-hoo! No cooking! and the washing machine is in the kitchen, so that means I can't do any laundry either! (that's my interpretation and I'm sticking with it)... now, what else can I put in the kitchen...

Thanks to My Champagne Dreams for this weeks theme, and as always to the "This is..." host Angela of Three Buttons.

Sleigh Bells Ring...

2008-10-09T10:36:00.004Z

... too early? Surely not! Ok, I hate Christmas muzak in the supermarket too, but I do so love seeing handmade ornaments and Christmassy bits and bobs starting to appear in blogs and on Flickr. I know it's only just October, but hey... I wanted to make some snowy things.

An applique Gingerbread House, in the polka dot snow. I made this into a little zippered pouch so it could be practical too. It would be such a great little gift with some Christmas chocolates hidden inside. Yum!

Then I made a little snowy scene of colourful houses with the tracks of friendly neighbours visiting each other with Christmassy wishes.

I'm having a minor identity crisis over whether to make more houses that are simple and cheery like the colourful snowy houses, or more fussy and elaborate like the gingerbread one. My heart says snowy houses style, but my hands and head can't stop the obsessing with detail like the gingerbread house. If you've got any thoughts about the houses, I'd love to hear them. Have you started crafting for the holidays yet?

Nice People Saying Nice Things

2008-10-07T20:37:00.003Z

Small Stuff is one of my favourite blogs. Recently, I had the chance to send a tiny surprise parcel to Bec and she has said some very sweet things about it. Bec also makes some very gorgeous bags, check out her shop. Especially lovely are the reversible bags - two beautiful bags in one!

Vintage Indie also had some nice things to say about my page at Handmade Parade. Its a great magazine style blog all about Modern Life with a Vintage Perspective.

Talking of people who make and do nice things, check out Kajsa's gorgeous Interactive Blog Project over at Syko - there's a chance to win one of her very gentle, whimsical and totally lovely applique pieces.

This is... showing off...

2008-09-28T12:17:00.002Z

Big thanks to May the Cloth be with You for the opportunity for some unashamed showing off. My first big show off is - I have stockists! There are actual shops (both online and brick & mortar) that stock my creations! (Check out the sidebar for a full list.) This is new for me. I have just recently become officially self-employed and "Area Thrifty One" has a year to prove itself a viable job choice. It was time to push myself, and - get me - some stores wanted my stuff! Including the stylish and totally brilliant FunkyFabrix. This is a picture of my sewing kit sharing screen space with the Sew Your Own kits from the truly awesome Angela! I am very proud of myself.

My next show off is one that everyone can join in! I learned this from Tricks for New Bloggers, which is a brilliant resource for blogger hacks and helped me put my blog back together after my non-back-up mishap. This is a great trick, you can get an email from Google everytime someone links to your blog. I'll do my best to explain it here:

Look up this URL:
http://blogsearch.google.com/?ui=blg
this is the Google Blog Search interface, in the search box type:
link:http://yourblogurl
replacing"yourblogurl" with the whole of your blog address.

The results will show a list of sites that have linked to your blog. (I got four pages of results - get me!) Scroll down the page, at the bottom is a list of options, including setting up an email alert. Now you will know when someone links to you. So you can pop in to their blog, say hi and thanks, get a dialogue going about something, cross promote, or just make friends. If my instructions make no sense at all, they are much better described at the original article here on Tricks for New Bloggers.

As always, thanks to Angela for hosting the "This is... " game.

Aaaaaaaaugggggghhhhhh!

2008-09-21T17:31:00.002Z

Hear that? That's the long, low, despairing yowl of a woman who did NOT back up her HTML before "experimenting" with blogger templates. And do I remember where I found all the useful info and various hacks that I used to customize my old template? Nope. I will now be googling and experimenting long into the night, and probably for the rest of the week...

...hopefully normal service will resume (and be a little prettier) soon.

Lions and cats and prototypes, oh my!

2008-09-18T17:39:00.002Z

Prototyping something new, I was aiming for funky, retro lion and ended up with a wistful cat in a shower cap!

Hey-ho, that's what prototyping is for, I guess. The main mistake here was to speed ahead, ignoring a seam allowance. I love to draw up new ideas, but it's easy to forget to add an extra quarter of an inch and end up with a skinny, slightly distorted shape. So that's how a proud, flowing mane ends up as a shower cap.

Clutter and Chaos

2008-09-12T11:29:00.002Z

You know how you feel in Spring? When you want to throw open the windows and scrub and paint everything. Breathe new life and calm into your environment. Well, it's September, it's autumn and here I am desperate to do Spring Cleaning. Everything is driving me nuts, I'm constantly tripping over, I can't find things, I keep running out of time to do anything.... I've had enough.

My sewing room looks like this:

Thank goodness for sites like OrganizedHome where there are checklists, printable lists and helpful articles. Also, as a brilliant bonus, there was a link to the inspirational FutureGirl who has the most stylish meal planners available to download. Thank you Alice.

There is also the FlyLady site which is very helpful, though a little more manic (in a nice way) than Organized Home. Hopefully some of these de-cluttering sites will help me take control of the living room, so it stops looking like this:

My poor neglected blog needs a good spruce up too. Time to dust and sweep the sidebars, and more regular tending and feeding is needed.

Anyone else feeling the "Autumn Cleaning" coming on?... Now, where's my Marigolds?

Laundry Day

2008-08-29T21:03:00.004Z

It's not every day that I feel the need to photograph my laundry...

...but then it's not everyday that my laundry is so darn pretty.

This is... my favourite children's book

2008-08-23T20:05:00.006Z

Woo-hoo! It's been a while since I played "This is..." it's great to be back in the loop! This week's theme was chosen by Potty Mouth Mama (fantastic name!) So, this is my favourite children's book:

Dr Seuss used to freak me out when I was a kid, I'm so glad I got over that! I love reading this book to my son. It's so beautiful, funny, mournful, crazy and very restful. Also, it really reminds me of Tom Waits. This is my favourite bit of the whole book:

"Five foot-weary salesmen have laid down their load.
All day they've raced round in the heat, at top speeds,
Unsuccessfully trying to sell Zizzer-Zoof Seeds
Which nobody wants because nobody needs.
Tomorrow will come. They'll go back to their chore.
They'll start on the road, Zizzer-Zoofing once more
But tonight they've forgotton their feet are so sore.
And that's what the wonderful night time is for."
Dr Seuss.

Want to see more favourite children's books? Check out Three Buttons, where Angela hosts the "This is..." game.

Matryoshka Winners...

2008-08-19T20:03:00.005Z

Wow! Thanks so much for all the great comments! You guys are awesome!

Now, onto the winners. Using my amazing "pieces of paper in a mixing bowl" technique, the two winners of a Babushka Bunny sewing kit are:

Paper-and-String
Ali of Charlie and Grace
Just let me know where to send them!

Thank you to everyone who commented, and don't forget to help yourself to a free downloadable bookmark from the right hand sidebar.

... off to unpack now...

Babushka Bunnies are Here! And a Giveaway!

2008-08-12T20:52:00.005Z

The Babushka Bunny sewing kits I've been chatting about are finally all ready and up in the shop. I'm so pleased with the detail on them, all my little seed pod patterns have come out a treat! The fabric in these kits was printed by the good folks at Spoonflower, who have done a great job.

These kits would be so great for someone who is learning to sew and starting to gain confidence. I think they would be a fun "mum and me" project for older kids. Also, these rabbits don't have to be filled with just toy stuffing. I think they would be lovely filled with dried herbs, like lavender or rosemary, then these cute colourful rabbits could pop out of your sock drawer to brighten your morning (and make your socks smell delicious!)

I'm giving away two of these kits to you guys out there, all you lovely blog readers and writers who make me smile everyday. As a thank you, one kit will go to someone who commented on my nervous post. If you'd like to win the other Babushka Bunny kit, just leave a comment right here on this post. (If you commented on the first post, you can still comment here too, y'know). Include a mention of your favourite colour kit in your comment, there's four to choose from: orange, yellow, blue and green. You can see more pictures of each colour in my shop.

I'm going away until 20 August, visiting family and drinking lots of tea. I'll do a random drawing of the two winners when I get back. See you soon!

This is... a work in progress

2008-08-10T20:08:00.005Z

This is a work in progress, not too sure why I spent so much of my weekend trying to create the perfect tomato... I think because I'm a bit preoccupied with doing some Farmers Markets, and they have vegetables, don't they? So better make some vegetables...

Plenty of works in progress turned into finished works this week too, here's some of them:

Thanks so much to Debbie of Kept in a Jar for getting me back into "This is..." to see more great works in progress check out the "This is..." blogroll at Three Buttons.

Oh So Quiet...

2008-08-05T06:53:00.003Z

My, it's been a long time... Sorry I haven't been around, and sorry I haven't commented on your blogs lately either. There are a few hundred feeds waiting for me on Bloglines!

It's summer, the kids are underfoot (in a good way) and I've lost my grip on time management. There are plenty of works in progress going on though and my first Farmers Markets are coming up later this month! There'll be proper blog posts coming up soon... promise!

This is... what scrambles my brain

2008-07-13T10:08:00.003Z

1. 6887, 2. letters & numbers., 3. CATHERINE Zipper Pouch - Numbers, 4. measured., 5. new perpetual calendar - craft 365 - day 234, 6. 222, 7. bean dolls on chair, 8. tape measures, 9. Numbers quilt

Numbers... they are my kryptonite. I just don't understand. They are so important and so useful and yet my brain goes to pieces in the face of numbers:

I write down a phone number and some of the digits switch places.
I try to work out which is the better deal in the supermarket, and I'm still there, twenty minutes later, with the back of my shopping list covered in maths, no nearer to understanding which one gives me more for my money.
How much fabric do I need to back this quilt? This can take days of scribbling numbers, sweat and tears.

I'm lucky though, I've always had understanding friends or family nearby who'll look at my pages of numbers and say "I've no idea what you've done here, but the answer is 3". When my best mate at college used to work out the utilities bill for our shared house of six people, the answer always came out to me owing her exactly the price of a pint! :)

Thanks to Juddie for this week's theme, and as always to the lovely Angela.

Oh, one more thing... if you're at a loose end in cyberspace over the next 3 days, could you drop by Threadless and vote for my husband's tee design? Thank you.

Friday Flickr Favourites - A Day at the Beach

2008-07-11T20:06:00.004Z

1. Beach Huts Fine Art Photograph, 2. Cobalt Blue necklace, 3. Spring Hopes...Summer Wishes 63/365, 4. Ocean Gift Bracelet, 5. Beach Cartwheels, 6. surfs up, 7. Susanna, 8. Beach snails, 9. jellys @ the beach 1

Today I spent most of the day at the beach with my son and niece (4 and 3 yrs old). We dug holes, built a pretend truck depot and made ourselves hilarious shoes out of sand. The day disappeared so quickly, leaving three sandy, exhausted and happy people.

All the above pics are from Flickr and all were originally posted by Etsyians, so click through the links for more information on some great crafters.

Pimping my Man - Threadless Tees

2008-07-09T19:30:00.002Z

You know how I mentioned my lovely husband, Phil, back in this post? He set up the downloadable bookmarks for me (please do help yourself to them, by the way). Well, he's submitted a design to Threadless and it's a great one.

Here's what Phil has to say about his tee:
"Yesterday you loved Radiohead. But today you hate them. And now your in love with some obscure Swedish electronic act that nobody's heard of which makes you the coolest. And tomorrow you might switch allegiance to a band with a distinct folk ouevre. Then this is the tee for you. This favourite band tee will outlast any fleeting loyalty to any band you happen to like this week, or even just for the next half hour. Ideal for those who like to have their finger on the pulse at all times."

If you're passing through, please vote for him. Thanks.

Plush Team Challenge - Favourite Childhood Toy

2008-07-07T11:17:00.002Z

There's a distinct waft of nostalgia round here. It's just coincidence that this weeks "This is" and this months Etsy Plush Team challenge have both been about favourite childhood memories. For the Plush Team challenge we had to recreate a favourite childhood toy, here is mine:

I first saw Monkey in 1978. He was hanging from a papier mache tree in a display window in a toy shop near my home. I loved him so much. One day we went into the shop and there was a big performance as the shop-lady had to find a ladder and climb into the display to get Monkey. "Does it have to be this exact monkey?" "YES."

I had to wait a few more days, til my birthday, before I got to have Monkey, but I already loved him. Two years later, my brother threw him across the living room and one of Monkey's eyes fell out but I still loved him. Monkey sat on my bed for at least another eight years, until I put him carefully away and hung up posters of Michael J Fox instead. But I still loved Monkey and I still do.

The original Monkey was made of a dark pile fabric and was very cuddly. Instead of recreating an exact copy I wanted to recreate the "spirit" of Monkey, a cheeky friend who came on so many imaginary adventures with me. We pretended to row down jungle rivers together and we climbed real trees together, he even used to come to Narnia with me. Would Michel J Fox ever sit in a hedge with me, pretending to be in Narnia?

This is... my most treasured childhood possession

2008-07-04T22:06:00.006Z

Not exactly "possessions" as such, though they do belong to me. My most treasured people from my childhood are my siblings. Here we are with our dad, on Christmas Day 1981. That's me in the bottom right-hand corner. My two older brothers and my younger sister have always been hugely important in my life.

At one time or another, one or all of these three people have: made me laugh til I wet myself, made me so angry I couldn't speak, taught me to ride a bike, jumped out of a cupboard at me, explained how the earth spins, spat on me from a height of two storeys, lent me music, tried to teach me to play the guitar, got me drunk for the first time, helped me move house, came to all my art shows, let me sleep on their floor after a messy break-up, and introduced me to my husband.

This is us on Christmas Day 1998. Man, I love these guys. Today's great theme was suggested by Teacups on Treetops. The "This is..." game is hosted by Three Buttons.

De-Stash-O-Rama

2008-07-04T21:34:00.004Z

There's nothing like clearing out some shelves, putting things in order, taking control. I'm not about to clutter up my blog with shameless adverts for my ebay listings, because that just isn't classy.

I am however, gonna draw attention to the very classy Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk Studio who has a five part guide to selling your surplus stash on ebay. She has even provided a free template so that your listings can look professional. Kathy's series of posts includes tips on photography, packaging, and creating a great listing. It really is a great resource from a very talented and generous lady.

Free Gift for you

2008-06-30T21:29:00.003Z

So, what happened to all the talk of screen printing, missus? Did you fall off the planet or something?

Well, I did drop off the planet for a couple of days, thanks to a bout of acute sinusitis which I've never had before and hope to never have again. So, I'm behind on everything from laundry to blogging and especially printing.

Also, while waiting for some new ink to arrive I chanced upon Spoonflower. You probably already know all about it, it's a site (still in beta) for printing your own fabric designs! It's awesome! The blog is here.

So, long story short, I am still experimenting in screen printing and I will be posting about it.

Also, there will soon be Babushka Bunny sewing kits available - in four different colourways, printed by Spoonflower. Having the kits printed by Spoonflower means that I can have a broader colour palette and keep the retail cost of the kits down, so a more interesting end result that will be less expensive, a good thing for everyone, I think.

Now, down to business, all you guys were so kind to me during my embarrassing needy phase and I promised a giveaway, so here's one where everyone gets a little prize. Over in the side bar there's a link to a downloadable pdf. It's for you. It's four bookmarks, each featuring a Babushka Bunny in a different colour scheme. Once you've printed them, trim them on the guidelines and either share your spare ones with friends or use them throughout your own library. I know I can never have enough bookmarks, I have scraps of paper sticking out of recipe books, craft books, design books, novels... Have fun with them!

Thanks also to my lovely husband for help with the more technical aspects of making a download. xx

This is... my best op shop find

2008-06-30T20:58:00.003Z

This is my favourite ever charity shop find:

It's a table runner in a cotton/linen mix, made in Austria. It has the best ever folk-style printed pattern. It cost me 50p, you can hardly get anything for 50p these days!

Thanks to Lino Forest for this week's theme and to Three Buttons, hostess of "this is..."

This is... an outfit that expresses my personal style

2008-06-23T10:19:00.003Z

I rummaged the family Flickr archives to find a photo of me expressing "my style" instead of modeling for a new pic. This was taken in autumn 2006, and I wear that outfit, and variations of it, everday.

The skirt is made by me using a pattern from Sew U by Wendy Mullin. I adapted the pattern to make it more a-line and forgiving. There's some applique because I can't help myself. The brown jumper is a hand-me-down from my younger sister, she's always been taller than me and we can't seem to get out of the mind-set that I should get her old clothes. I'm wearing a brown t-shirt underneath, and flat brown boots. I like brown, ok?

I wear those boots when it rains, flip-flops when it's sunny and green converse at other times. I have a small assortment of t-shirts and jumpers, two pairs of jeans, two skirts and three dresses. Everything is in brown, dark green or rust colour and that's it. My style could best be described as: frugal, long-lasting, and infuriating for my family:
Husband, despairing: "My god, can't you buy yourself some clothes?"
Me: "For goodness sake, I'm too busy... and my sister will be having a clear out soon..."

Thanks to Kitty's Kaboodle for this weeks theme. Check out Three Buttons for a collection of bloggers much more stylish than me! :)

More Awesomes...

2008-06-20T18:29:00.002Z

Mother Nature is awesome. Look how many carrots and peas I picked yesterday from my balcony garden - all this grew in a space measuring 1ft x 2ft.

Also awesome are:
Big Cat who has some really great vintage finds.

Ethel and Edna, who makes gorgeous brooches and who wins the award for "blog that made me jump out of my skin with a sudden loud burst of Bjork". This is a worthy award, by the way.

Leni and Rose has lots of pretties to look at and, most importantly, every tuesday is "Blogging Tips and Tricks" day. I could use some of those...

Anastasia C is pretty darn good at illustrating.

Sasparilla Sue is a vintage hunter with a flair for crafting.

Vicki has such very lovely photos on her blog, I wish I could hang out at her house browsing her fabric stash.

... and this concludes my mini-series of "awesomeness" which is a way of thanking other bloggers for being so kind to me during my insecure and needy moment. I wanted to give back some links and pimps as a thank you for all the comments. As all bloggers know, comments can really make your day, and you guys really made my day. Virtual hugs and/or high fives all round!

These Guys are Awesome... too...

2008-06-19T20:51:00.002Z

Heidi is a superb knitter who uses recycled materials. She also has some gorgeous recycled wool felt here. Heidi has lots of blogs one of which is incredibly moving.

Sharon of Iris+Lily is completely hilarious as well as being brilliant at the ol' screen printing. She also makes the best "spoon" aprons and tea towels, and very lovely bibs too.

Ali's blog Charlie and Grace has the best retro look and feel. She is so talented, sweet plush toys, handmade books, jewelery, art cards, is there no end to this retro-inspired gorgeousness?!

Paper-and-String, another awesome powerhouse of crafty talent. Is there anything cuter than these tortoises?

There has been a technical fault...
I like nothing more than talking up brilliant blogs and then having Blogger shut down in the middle of it for over an hour. Sorry for the interruption, normal service will resume tomorrow, with more great links and a photo of my carrots... I need a sleep. :)

These Guys are Awesome...

2008-06-18T19:39:00.002Z

... and I'll tell you for why:

Cass has a real eye for gorgeous fabrics, makes some lovely bags and very sweet hair slides.
Jenny has been on a dying course, with beautiful results.
Dawn Castro doesn't have a blog link but is lovely, kind and awesome just the same.
Spoonful of Sugar, a mother and daughter blog (such a lovely concept). They have made some stunning coasters, beautiful cards and scrummy looking cupcakes.
Nanette Merrill, my namesake from the other side of the world, a very talented quilter as well as a super sweet and lovely person.
Camilla, well she is just awesome! Badges, buttons, art, zines and ceramics. All this and she set up a summer school too!
SwirlyArts the talented lady who can make all these amazing things and be responsible for the beautiful Cuteable.

... there are some more awesome folks I need to tell you about, too... next post, ok?

First adventures in screen printing - Pt 2

2008-06-17T12:12:00.006Z

After a helluva lot of mess and not a little heartache, I have this:

If you're thinking "Hmmm, that's a weird image, think I'll sneek away without commenting", hang on and let me explain. It's a sewing kit, for a plush rabbit 'russian doll style', see:

Though I have "issues" with some elements of the process, I'm pleased with the level of detail:

If you're reading this, I have a favour to ask, please please leave a comment with your opinion on my design, I always follow back my commenters and read and comment on their blogs. I realise that I'm not offering you anything (it is high time for a giveaway round here, though, so you can be top of the list for that if you comment here. Whatever the prize is it'll be made by me and quite pretty).

I know this post stinks of needy desperation, but hey, new creative challenges make me needy and desperate for approval... I might just as well have mascara streaming down my face right now!

First adventures in screen printing

2008-06-16T10:21:00.005Z

So, having been into screen printing for all of 15 hours now, I feel I have the authority to blog about it...

Well, I haven't actually printed anything yet but the journey to get the screen ready has involved so many adventures already, I wanted to get some written down. I have made heavy use of this great Instructable.

There are a lot of great screen printing tutorials online. However, I think the world needs a "Housewife's Guide to Screen Printing" which I fully intend to put together once I have all the necessary research. So far, though, I have discovered the following:

- How to build a screen using my patented half-arsed carpentry method.
- Just how many rooms in the house will have to be put to screen printing use (4 and counting).
- How to make a reflector lamp out of a cereal box and some tin foil.
- Diversion tactics so no family members burst in on a light sensitive screen while it's drying.
- How to find 1hr 45mins when the bathroom will be free for exposing your screen.
- How much water will go all over the bathroom while rinsing out a screen (a lot).

and the most extensively researched points:

- How to (almost) remove the stain of dark green photo emulsion from an off-white kitchen surface.
- How to mentally blot out the bewildered despairing looks from your family.

:)

This is... the space in which I create

2008-06-15T20:01:00.002Z

Thanks to Michelle for this weeks "This is..." This is the space in which I create. It was supposed to be a family dining room for cosy family meals where we would bond, laughing together in matching jumpers. Also, a place to have elegant, sparkling and memorable dinner parties.

Instead, it very quickly and selfishly became my space for creating and I only feel a tiny bit guilty about it.

In other news:
A big thank you to the "This is..." crowd for being so encouraging about this post and urging me to try screen printing. Right now, this minute, I have my first screen of photo emulsion drying! I'll let you know how I get on...

And:
Miss Stacey's Summer School is now open so go join in if you fancy taking up some fun summer projects in blogville. It's the brain child of Camilla from Made by Milla.

Crafter's Block

2008-06-14T20:51:00.004Z

Not posted for two weeks - what's going on? This whole time, if I have even approached the laptop or the sewing machine, I have suddenly come to a complete nauseating standstill. Some kind of crazy crafter's block panic.

I find the best way to cope with a whirring blank brain is to DO something, anything, just take some action. So my sketchbook is full of about fifty-three-million ideas, but none of them have been pushed through to completion. So, gotta get some focus. Break some goals down into baby steps.

What do you do when you're drawing a blank? Any tips you'd like to share? These are my strategies:
- Get some inspiration. Go to the library and look at books and magazines. (I find surfing the Internet only adds to panic, because it's endless and I just lose focus).
- Keep a pencil and paper on hand all the time. Draw and write any ideas that occur to you, whatever they are.
- Choose just one idea and stick with it. What end result am I aiming for? Now, how am I going to get there? Break the whole process down into little manageable pieces.
- Now, work through each little step, being very careful not to get distracted or I'll start spiraling again.

Have you got any tips for working through crafter's block? I'd love to hear any ideas ;)

I'm Back! plus This is... my Pet

2008-06-01T19:15:00.003Z

Hi again! Thanks for all the good wishes for my holiday, it was equal parts fun and muddy with some very lovely family moments.

So, getting on with this weeks "This is..." which was suggested by Two Peas in a Pod: This is my pet. I don't have a pet at the moment, but I'll tell you about a very special pet friend I used to have, this is Nathan Arizona:

His name comes from the movie "Raising Arizona". He used to sit on my feet while I made drawing after drawing. He would go out to the garden through a cat flap and he would come running to me when I called him. I miss him.

Gone Camping - Back Soon!

2008-05-27T18:20:00.004Z

1. The Perfect Spot- Original Fabric on Wood art, 2. Vintage Patch- I'm A Camping Nut, 3. Camp Notes 4, 4. Camp Fire, 5. Square Roots (tm) Into the Woods, 6. Happy Camper (2-4T), 7. "My Love For You Is Intense.", 8. pleasure fishing handbag-back, 9. camp1

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Off camping tomorrow, on our first ever proper family holiday! Normally we stay with relatives but this time it's just us three in a tent! eek! No grandparents making me put my feet up while they fuss over my son!

So totally stealing an idea from Cuteable and posting a selection of Flickr images of camping. All these great images are from Etsyans, so check out the links!

See you on Sunday!

This is... something I've got but haven't used

2008-05-25T06:35:00.002Z

Thanks to Flossy-P for this week's theme, and for making me confront some guilt.

I bought this photo emulsion kit at least a year ago, possibly 18 months ago. At the time, I thought how exciting screen printing would be. I researched online tutorials, searched for inks and mesh, bought sheets of acetate to run through my printer. Soon I had all the kit ready, the last piece I needed was the photo emulsion fluid to make my screens.

It was so exiting when it arrived in the post, I read the instructions, panic started to set in, I put it away safely... and it's still safely in my craft cupboard. Good old insecurities! I realized once the emulsion is open it has to be used within four months: what if I don't get enough brilliant ideas in four months? What if I can't make a design brilliant enough to make multiple copies of? What if I suck at screen-printing? What if I suck at everything?? (**pauses to breathe into a paper bag**).

Now that I've confronted this again, time to get out a calm pencil and paper and come up with some decent designs...

Want to know more about the "This is..." game and how you can join in? Check out Three Buttons.

Friday Flickr Favourites - Blue and Orange

2008-05-23T20:16:00.005Z

Gorgeous images from Flickr in blue and orange.
1. Untitled, 2. Wool Felt Beads - Blue and Orange Swirls #1, 3. it's like they're in a monkees episode, 4. orange and blue, 5. Tigerton Kittlesworth & Bluregard Kittington, 6. something fun and new!, 7. Batch of Felted Woolly Soaps #4, 8. Fishie Bunch Hanging Decoration, 9. Retro!

Handmade Parade - Showcase of Craft Goodness

2008-05-22T10:44:00.005Z

Handmade Parade is a beautifully designed, bright new showcase site for handmade goods. It's owned and run by Claire Bone, from the Glitter and Grunge Co-Op site. She also has plenty of experience organizing "real world" craft fairs.

The aim of Handmade Parade is to offer "a more modern interpretation of vintage crafts". The site design has a real vintage/contemporary feel to it, all gorgeous green polka dots. It also has a Pattern Page, where artists can sell their own patterns and kits along with finished pieces. Each Artists Page contains links to their own website, etsy, dawanda, flickr etc. There are also pieces offered by each artist which are exclusive to Handmade Parade. Artists work is updated every month, so there will always be something new to discover!
The site is juried so that it can offer a focused selection of some of the great crafty talent that is available on bigger online venues like Etsy and ebay.

If you're interesting in finding out more, or for information on how to join, you can email Claire at thehandmadeparade@gmail.com she is very nice and helpful! Also, check out the Handmade Parade Blog which features handmade items from all over the world. At the moment there is a post about yours truly, complete with geeky photo!

This is... my way of recycling

2008-05-18T09:59:00.004Z

This weeks "this is" was chosen by Three Buttons' mum. I didn't really want to show the world the messy jumble of boxes behind my kitchen door which is my "recycling organization center". So instead, something about re-using.

I have a compulsion to save and re-use containers. My collection of glass jars, especially jam jars is bordering on the ridiculous, but they are useful as vases, pen pots, containers for seeds, and occasionally a batch of homemade jam or marmalade. Also, they will come in very handy for storing buttons and thread when I can sort out a sewing space with shelves.

I am most proud of my watering can, which is an old bottle of laundry detergent with holes punched in the top. It's got a handle, so perfect for pouring, and the screwtop means that my 4 yr old can help watering without me worrying about a deluge of water on the plants, or the carpet. I have a couple of these so that I can fill them at once and water everything without trailing backwards and forwards to the tap.

I can't believe that I've just written a whole post about my watering can. Well done if you've made it to the end and are still awake! Now check out Three Buttons' sidebar for some much more interesting recycling ideas.

Note to self: Get out more, stop talking about watering cans.

Etsy Plush Team

2008-05-16T20:47:00.005Z

The Etsy Plush Team are a very talented collection of folk who design plush, make plush and love plush. There's a great team blog, and an awesome team shop.

Recently, they let lil' ol' me join them. The first team challenge I got to join in with had the theme of fairy tales. This is what I came up with (it's much the same as my post on the team blog) :

My partner for this project was the awesome Violet Peppermint, she chose Little Red Riding Hood as her fairytale. It was great to hear Violet's views on the classic story, she was drawn to the conflicting elements of a morbid story where an innocent young girl triumphs, but only by committing murder. Violet said the dark tone of the fairytale reminded her of the movie Pan's Labyrinth and that she loved the iconic image of Red and the wolf.

For my plush I decided to combine the images of Red and the wolf, I wanted to reference the part of the story where one character eats the other. Also the idea that, in the end, Red is almost as dangerous as the wolf, she does kill him after all. By coincidence, just after I got Violet Peppermint's email about Red, I sat down to watch the movie Hard Candy, a contemporary re-telling of Red Riding Hood if ever there was one.

The plush has a girl's large eyes with long eyelashes, and a red cape and hood. Two ears point out of the hood, and on the back of her body I used machine embroidery to suggest the shape of a bushy wolves tail. Also, an oh-so-tragic red tear to suggest a trauma of some kind has occurred.

I kept to a red and black colour scheme to keep a bit of dark drama. The body is cotton, with machine embroidered details. For the face I designed and hand cut a stencil then used a dark fabric paint and red highlights on the eyes. She is up for sale in my etsy shop .

This is... what reminds me of my Mum

2008-05-11T21:22:00.004Z

This week's "This is..." is a special Mother's Day celebration. Which seems weird because it's not Mother's Day here in the UK, but it's always a great idea to do a bit of Mum Appreciation. So, this is what reminds me of my mum:

Tea and paintbrushes. My mum is always up late at night drinking tea and doing something creative. My childhood memories include watching my mum making cards, painting portraits, dying fabric, restoring china ornaments, repainting furniture, and once, dying wallpaper. In the middle of all this activity was always a cup of tea. I used to think my mum was a bit loopy, no one else's mum stayed up all night, accidentally dipping their paintbrushes in tea. Of course, now that I'm a mum I realize that staying up at night making things is the best way to stay sane!

This week suggested by Three Buttons and Zoesquid.

Selling your handmade plush/soft toys in the UK - Safety Standards

2008-05-07T14:09:00.003Z

I've been doing a lot of research lately into issues of toy safety and the legal responsibilities of toy makers. A lot of the information I found was overwhelming, or slightly confusing and contradictory.

So here is a summary of everything I found, along with useful links. I hope it can be of use to other crafters as a springboard for your own research. This information is relevant to people selling handcrafted toys in the UK and Europe only. Also, I have only included information that relates to plush/soft toy making. The following has been put together using various online sources (links at the end) and information provided by my local Trading Standards Office.

DISCLAIMER: This information is for your guidance only. I am not a legal expert. Please contact your local Trading Standards Office for guidance.

First, a little cold hard reality:
If you sell toys that are incorrectly marked or unsafe, you will be breaking the law and may be prosecuted. You could be fined up to £5000 and imprisoned for up to six months.

Is the item you make a "toy"?
A toy is defined as any product or material which is designed or clearly intended for use in play by children under the age of 14. Decorative or folk dolls intended for adult collectors are not considered "toys" and don't have to fulfill these requirements. However, they need to be clearly labeled "This is not a toy", or "Intended for adult collectors only".

BS EN71
The Standards dealing with toy safety are known collectively in Great Britain as BS EN71 (parts 1-8). Below, I've outlined those sections that I believe are relevant to plush making. Please contact your local Trading Standards Office for more information.

EN71 Part 1 - Physical and Mechanical Properties
- Must be sufficiently strong to withstand the stresses normally subjected to during use.
- Be designed and constructed so that any accessible edges, protrusions, cords, fastenings or movable parts do not inflict injury.
- Toys and component parts intended for use by children under 36 months shall be of such dimensions to prevent their being swallowed or inhaled.
- Toys and their packaging must not present a strangulation or suffocation risk.

EN71 Part 2 - Flammability
Toys to be composed of materials which are not readily flammable and inhibit the spread of flames.

EN71 Part 5 - Hygiene
All toys must meet hygiene and cleanliness requirements to prevent the risk of infection, sickness and contamination.

Labeling Requirements:
All toys supplied in the UK must meet the essential safety requirements set out in the toy regulations and carry a "CE" mark which is the maker’s declaration that the toy satisfies the essential safety requirements.

The CE marking is not a safety or quality mark aimed at consumers. Its purpose is to indicate to enforcement authorities that the toys bearing it are intended for sale in the EC and signifies a declaration by the manufacturer that the toys satisfy the essential safety requirements applicable to them and are entitled to access to Community markets.

The Regulations specify the form of the "CE" symbol, which must be at least 5mm in height and must be easily legible and permanent.

Toys must also carry the name and address of the manufacturer in the EU. (That's your name and address).

If the toy is small the CE mark, name and address may appear on a removable label attached to the toy. The label should also state "You are advised to retain this information for future reference".

Warning Labels:
Where necessary, toys must be accompanied by clear legible information and warnings to reduce any inherent risks, particularly in relation to:
- Toys dangerous to children under 36 months. These must bear a warning "Not suitable for children under 36 months" or similar, together with a brief instruction of the risk e.g. "small parts".
- Need for supervision.

Technical File
You will need to keep a technical file with information on your product and your suppliers. You will need to include:
- A description of your manufacturing process.
- An explanation of how the toy meets EN71.
- Details of any tests that you (or a third party) have carried out on the toy, with results obtained.
- A list of all suppliers of materials and components, including their names and addresses.
- All documentation you have that your materials and components comply with the requirements.
- The address where the toys are made.

Those who make toys should also be aware of the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 which makes the producer of goods liable for any damage or personal injury caused by unsafe goods.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Useful Links and Further Information:

Toymakers Guild Publications. They publish a very useful booklet titled "A Guide to Toy Safety" It's £2.50 and worth every penny, not only does it provide information, but also a gentle voice of calm and reassurance.

Trading Standards Central. Business Guidance leaflet from the Trading Standards Institute.

BERR: Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Toy Safety Quick Facts.

Cloth Doll Creations. An ultra informative page of this great site. Madeleine Sara Maddocks is a Devon based cloth doll artist, her site is full of information, supplies and patterns, she also has the most user-friendly page of information regarding toy safety that I found during my research.

Flammable Toys. Swedish Market Survey of flammable toys. Interesting reading regarding rag dolls.

Woven Labels UK. I've blogged about this company before, I have no affiliation with them I just think that they offer a great service and good quality labels. They supply industry standard Toy Safety Labels, bearing the CE mark and personalized with your business info.

What's on page 123?

2008-04-29T20:42:00.003Z

The lovely Bec at The Small Stuff extended an open invitation to join this meme, so I'm helping myself! What you do is this:

1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

It's pretty interesting to see what a book reveals about itself in only three sentences, and seeing if that small glimpse conveys the authors style and the overall tone of the book.

My nearest book is James Baldwin's "Another Country", and the three sentences are:

"The boy played the opening chord. The girl sang in a rough, untrained, astonishingly powerful voice:
I'm a stranger, don't drive me away.
I'm a stranger, don't drive me away."

The sentences do give a kind of feel of the novel as a whole, as it explores the slow inevitable self-destruction of a range of relationships, with characters loving each other while simultaneously destroying and driving each other away. This is not a happy read, but instead lyrical, magnificent and unbearably beautiful.

I've no idea who to tag, so please do help yourself if you're interested. Leave me a comment if you decide to join in, I'd love to see what's on your nearest page 123.

PS Thanks for this, Bec, I really enjoyed blogging about something that didn't come out of a sewing machine!

This is... my favourite book

2008-04-27T19:55:00.003Z

Dees choice for this weeks "This is..." was not just a favourite book but "My unconditional, passionately loved and favourite book". She also wrote: "Show me your bookshelf and I will tell you who you are." So I guess the title of my favourite book sums me up:

Though I've always read a lot of fiction, this is the book that I have picked up at least twice a week since I was seventeen. Rose Elliot's "Cheap and Easy" is full of simple, cheap recipes. This is the book that taught me to make pastry, how to shop and cook economically and the joy of stewed fruit. This book underpins my whole philosophy of life: why spend any more money than you have to? This book has been a vital companion throughout my adult life, that's why it's my favourite ... and it's got a hilarious title.

My Rabbit wears Kirsten Doran

2008-04-21T21:02:00.002Z

Last year I did a swap with Melly from Melly and Me. She sent me some stunning hand printed fabric by Kirsten Doran. I've been too intimidated to use it, but a couple of days ago I made this lil lady rabbit and I think I found a good home for the beautiful fabric:

and the back view:

See more of Kristen Doran's beautiful work here, and check out her blog Cheeky Beaks.

Go and explore in The Whimsy Patch

2008-04-16T10:20:00.003Z

Friendly Monster "J"
Originally uploaded by WhimsyPatch

I'm constantly bowled over by the creatures and dolls that come from The Whimsy Patch. Such sweet round faced little girls and friendly smiley monsters.

All the fabric choices are stunning as well, polka dots, checks and stripes all working together with gorgeous colour combinations.
See more lovely Whimsy Patch creations at the Whimsy Patch Blog

Or find a softie just right for you at Whimsy Patch's shop.

Image: Friendly Monster "J"
Originally uploaded by Whimsy Patch on Flickr

This is... my perfect dinner party guest list

2008-04-13T08:48:00.003Z

Thanks to Lily and Agathe for this weeks great theme and for her gorgeous blog. I can't believe how much thought I gave to this list, it's not a real dinner party! I chose people I thought would get lively conversation going and plenty of laughs. I think there would also be a lot of arguments at this dinner party. I don't have a seating plan, but here's the list:

Jeremy Clarkson, broadcaster and journalist. I've always thought he'd make a fantastic dinner party guest as he's so opinionated and has no fear of casually causing controversy. While I don't agree with a lot of his views I do find him hilarious and he can talk cars with my husband.

Simon Amstell, TV presenter and stand-up comedian. He is absolutely hilarious as the presenter of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and I love his fast sarcastic humour. Excellent dinner party material I think.

Stephen Fry, actor, author, comedian, technofile, all round amazing individual. I have had a secret crush on Stephen Fry since my mid-teens, but think I could manage not to embarrass myself if he came over for dinner. Again, I'd invite him for his humour and quick wit but also because he was the second person in Britain to own an Apple Mac, and as my husband is an Apple obsessive (and so was the next guest) I think that would make for some enthusiastic, albeit geeky, conversation.

Douglas Adams author, comic, musician. He is the author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series and my favourites the Dirk Gently novels. Douglas Adams was also the first person in Britain to own an Apple Mac. His novels and the cassette tapes of the Hitchhiker radio play were good companions to me during lonely adolescent times and I get a bit ridiculously sentimental at any mention of Douglas Adams.

Katherine Hepburn, another full-on outspoken and witty dinner guest. I have absolute admiration for such a strong, independent and genuinely funny woman. I have been reduced to tears of laughter by her screwball comedies, Bringing Up Baby and The Philadelphia Story are amongst my top favourite films.

Germaine Greer, writer, journalist and feminist. Another highly opinionated and outspoken dinner guest and another strong woman. I have to admit that one of the main reasons I've invited her is to create some heated discussion and a lively dinner party. I think she'd go head-to-head with Jeremy Clarkson.

I think I'd have this dinner party in winter so that I could serve really hearty casual food from the slow cooker, probably some very herby stew, with mashed potato and crusty, homemade bread. Apple crumble and thick cream would be the desert and there would be plenty of red wine, beer and ale.

Thanks to our virtual dinner host Angela for a lovely time on the This is meme.

Punk Plush in Pink Plaid

2008-04-12T21:55:00.003Z

This whole week has been taken over by a total obsession with this plush rabbit:

She's called Pinky Puke she likes to look tough and also loves pink. Pinky spends her time listening to Buzzcocks, Adam and the Ants and The Ramones, and railing against the establishment, at least until her mum says it's time for bed.

She's my entry in the 2nd Annual Softie Awards, check out the awesome talent of the entries at the Flickr group.

I Can Knit, You Know

2008-04-09T21:00:00.004Z

This was made in 2002, my hubs and I were recently engaged and had been on a romantic weekend to a teeny tiny island called Alderney. At the end of the weekend we sat in the tiny airport waiting for our flight. The only entertainment was a large cardboard box full of yarn and knitting with two knitting needles. It was a giant scarf that you could add to while you waited for your flight.

At that time I didn't really craft as such. "I can knit, you know," I said to my future husband, so he made a video documenting this weird new discovery about his future wife. (Turn your speakers on for full effect). Little did he know that in their future this weird secret "craft" side would be taking over her mind, her life and their spare room...

PS. You can now upload video to Flickr (90 sec maximum). How cool is that?
PPS. I no longer have that ill-advised haircut.

This is ... my Jewellery Box

2008-04-06T19:40:00.004Z

Thanks Anastasia for this week's theme. As I've mentioned before, I'm not much of an "accessories" person and don't wear jewellery much. It took a good twenty minutes of rummaging in my wardrobe to find my jewellery box - but here it is:

The contents range from silver to plastic, but each item was given to me by someone special. The tin was an impulse buy from ebay a couple of years ago, and I just love it more and more.

For more trinkets and jewellery boxes check out Angela's blog.

Were you a kid in the 80's?

2008-04-01T20:24:00.003Z

If so, you're gonna love this!

Tron! made of cardboard! Remember when Tron was the coolest, most technologically advanced and futuristic thing you'd ever seen? And here it is again, but made with cardboard, a material that is every crafters good friend.

Just had to share it. Reminisce and enjoy!

This is... the contents of my handbag

2008-03-30T20:17:00.003Z

Thanks to Angela of Three Buttons and Sharon of Iris + Lily for this weeks "This is..." and for making me turn out my handbag!

Here we go. A napkin, my purse, a thin moleskine sketchbook, my keys, my son's sunglasses, a hanky, a pair of my son's socks, two fine liners, an old shopping list, a key (I don't know what it's for, but don't want to be without it when I find out) and an old throat lozenge.

It's not a glamorous selection but I can survive pretty much any situation with this little lot!

Looking forward to seeing everyone else's posts, got to get back to cropping pictures for tomorrows update.