Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Saturday 16 December 2017

Sale Time


The countdown to Christmas is here, there really is not long to go now!
To celebrate I am having a flash sale in my etsy shop.
10% off all remaining items until 10pm tomorrow, Sunday 17th December!
To redeem this offer, enter the code FESTIVECHEER when checking out.
All orders will be posted 1st class Monday so this is a great chance to buy or gift a handmade present this Christmas.
PLEASE note there is only one of each item available to purchase. To get shopping click here

Monday 11 December 2017

Gift Guide Thinking Grey

Baby Gifts Grey


Thinking Grey.
Today's colour gift guide is Grey.

Grey has got to be one of my favourite colours for a baby and their nursery. It's an easy colour to work with and is perfect for either a baby boy or baby girl which makes it a great safe gift option for a baby shower when you don't know yet the gender of the baby! 
Take a look below for more inspiration and don't forget to have a look at my Colour Gift Guide for more gift ideas.

        Grey Cloud Basket                         Grey Scallop Basket 

                     Grey Stag Basket               Grey Baby Dribble Bib

                                           Grey Gift Set            Grey Lines Storage Basket 

                     Grey Cat Baby Bib Gift Set            Grey Buck Head Nappy Caddy       

                       Bears Storage Basket      Bark Storage Basket   Tulip Storage Basket           
  

Wednesday 6 December 2017

Thinking Teal

Baby Gifts Teal

 Thinking Teal
Looking for teal accessories for a baby this Christmas? We’ve put some ideas together in our Gift Guide this week, take a look below;  
  
Clockwise from top left 




Clockwise from top left;

Looking for more gift inspiration? 
Head over to our colour-grouped Gift Guide for more of ideas.

Ordering deadlines for delivery before 25 December:

US and Europe shoppers – 10th December
UK shoppers – 16th December
 

Tuesday 20 January 2015

January 2015



A bit like a wind up toy, I feel exhausted after a Christmas spent celebrating whilst also nursing 3 poorly children, who of course couldn't be ill all at the same time, no they feel ill one after the other until every day of the holidays was spent looking after a sick child! So I am finding January quite difficult. I can't seem to get myself going. If only someone or something could come along and wind me up! The dull days, the cold, the rain, lack of sunlight, non of it helps, it really is a case of digging deep and trudging through these first few months of the year, hanging on to the thought that Spring is just around the corner! I am not one for making New Year resolutions. I have tried in the past and in general fail. I do like however to spend the start of a new year thinking about the past 12 months. What can we learn from it, what did we do wrong, what should we change, what could have been better. But there's the thing, its often easier to think and to stress over the 'things' that went wrong, the things we shouldn't have said, the things that we didn't do, than to think about what we got right. As a parent especially I think we often worry and beat ourselves up mentally about how we are bringing up our children. We worry if we are doing it correct, are we saying the right words at the right times, are we there for our children when they really need us, do we spend enough time living in the moment, are we listening to them and each other, which is sometimes so difficult in our busy lives. I think its good to try and learn and possibly change but we do need to remember what we did right. Remember the moments of harmony, the moments when life seems perfect, the times when we all laughed together, the times when you think this is it, we are happy.
I found myself on New Years day sat on the sofa with my laptop, the kids happily watching a movie, the fire was lit, we were warm, we were full of food, a moment of calmness. I found myself going back over my Instagram account, laughing at some of the photos, smiling at others. It was good, as lets face it most of us that have Instagram accounts use them mainly to show moments of joy, of happiness, snap shots of our 'perfect' lives! So I set about making a photo book using only photos from my Instagram account to remember our best bits of 2014. And there a couple of weeks later it was. My first ever photo book. And it couldn't be any more perfect. So easy to make, I used Blurb Books and found it very straight forward to use. It's the first of many to come. It's such a lovely reminder of our year. A reminder of the good times, glimpses of the past, a great way of capturing time and giving us memories and reminding ourselves that sometimes we do get it just right!

Tuesday 31 December 2013

A Happy New Year





Christmas 2013 has been and gone and New Year is upon us. We've had a lovely time celebrating, quietly with close family and friends and quietly is exactly how we will be seeing in the New Year. It's been quite a few years since we celebrated lavishly in fact I will probably be tucked up in bed long before the chimes at midnight begin to ring! Tonight I will be curling up on the sofa admiring our Christmas tree with all its decorations that hold many happy memories, being warmed by our wood fire and enjoying a glass or two of wine!
2013 has been a good year for 'a crafty hen' and I'm looking forward to seeing what 2014 brings. 
Thank you all so much for your support, A Crafty Hen' wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you! 
Now where is that glass of wine!  
Whatever you are up to tonight enjoy and stay safe and I wish you all a 'Happy and Healthy New Year.' 
See you in 2014!

Monday 9 December 2013

On my Sewing Table - New Baby Bibs








I have added a few new baby bibs to my shop, they can be found here. I am not sure now why I thought adding new stock at Christmas would be a good idea, especially as the light levels are so low at the moment which makes taking decent photos of items that bit more difficult! I have had an amazing busy few weeks, which I am so grateful for but it does mean that my shop is looking a little bare! I am now unable to replace gift sets as they sell out, so if there is something you like now could be the time to buy it!

Friday 29 November 2013

Thursday 28 November 2013

Handmade Christmas: Greeting Cards


With only days to go until December now is a good time to start thinking of writing those Christmas Cards. For those of you that haven't yet bought the cards (that includes me!) here is just a small selection of the wonderful cards that can be found on handmade sites like Etsy, Not on the high street, and Folksy. For more handmade gift ideas take a look at my other Handmade Christmas selections.

1. Pack of five 'Crap Cat' Christmas Cards by a very talented artist Angela Smyth whose facebook page is worth having a look at as well.
2. 'All I want for Christmas' card by Ashley Phal whose Etsy shop is filled with wonderful papercut stationery.
3. 'Fairy Light Deer Christmas Card' by Draw Abiding Citizen which is a fairly new shop on Folsky. I have treated myself to this card as decoration! 
4. 'Cardinals in Snowy Tree' by Man vs George, a great modern greeting card with an added bonus of a another design on the flip side! This card comes in a set I also love their Retro Red Scandinavian Reindeer card set.
5. 'Penguin Card' by Seeing Stars. This is a lovely shop on Etsy, her work reminds me slightly of the artist Eric Carle whose books and illustrations my children adore. I have my eye on some of her prints especially this Lightning Bug print.

I'm back off to my sewing machine to get today's orders done. Please check back tomorrow to see what offer I have in store for 'Black Friday' - 'Cyber Monday'!

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Handmade Christmas: Stocking Fillers


One of the things that I struggle with when it comes to gift buying for Christmas is finding stocking fillers for my children. Managing to find small, relatively inexpensive items, yet worthwhile gifts can be difficult, and you can usually find me Christmas Eve in my local toy shop with a last minute handful of plastic bits and bobs that I know full well will end up discarded on the floor of their bedroom by the end of Christmas. So in an attempt to a: find gifts that will be enjoyed and cherished and b: support small handmade businesses here is my third part in my 'Handmade Christmas' series - Stocking Fillers.

1.  Sticker Set by Minifanfan on Etsy this shop is full of quirky stickers described by the maker as 'Happy Drawing for Happy People' and I completely agree!
2. Ninja Bookmark by Fiona T on folksy. An amazing unique shop full of zombies and ninja's what more can young boys want!
3. Apple Compact Mirror by Katie Few perfect for girls of any age including mums!
4. Forest Tattoos by Wee Gallery I can imagine these going down very well with my kids. Wee Gallery is a lovely shop on Etsy as well as temporary tattoos there are baby art cards and rubber stamps that also look very good.
5. Monkey Crayons by Colour Me Fun, a jam packed shop on folksy full of different crayons perfect for your little artist!
6. Wee Bird by KraKra I can imagine one of these poking out of my daughters stocking. It is well worth checking out this lovely colourful shop, especially her dolls, this one is my favourite.
7. 'We are all here' pocket notebook by Mossery Co. Stationery items go down very well with my kids and especially notebooks. They happily spend hours writing in them, filling them with drawings and stickers. 
My 8year old boy has a little stack of notebooks by him at night and I find it fascinating to see what he has drawn in them in the morning!   

If you have any ideas for handmade stocking fillers I would love to hear about them. 

Tuesday 8 October 2013

Handmade Christmas: In the Woods

 Image credits 1.2of2, 2.Inkkit, 3. Gunnaydri, 4.Lessandmore, 5. Peacelovebeach
Second part of my series 'Handmade Christmas' where I am featuring items made with love and passion by independent small businesses, like myself. This week 'In the Woods'. Gift ideas for me, for the gardener in my life, a stocking filler for my little artist and ideas for the rustic home.

1. A Tabletop Forest by 2of2 a very talented brother and sister design team.
2. Twig Pencils by Inkkit, a pretty stationery and packaging shop on Etsy
3. A Scandianvain Retro Deer Cushion from Gunnaydri, on Etsy and based in London. I love this shop and would be happy to have any of it as a gift!
4. A Tealight holder/Seed starter holder by Lessandmore. Their desk organizers are amazing too! 
5. Modern metal Bird Cuff/Bracelet by Peace love beach. I am deeply in love with the jewellery in this shop, and have about five of Beth's cuffs on my Christmas wish list!

Wednesday 18 September 2013

Handmade Christmas: Cosy Knits

Image credits 1. InnerWild 2.Sally Nencini, 3. Oeuf, 4. Homelab, 5. Moaningminnie

I have spent the last couple weeks getting ready for my son's birthday which is at the end of the week. I will then quickly turn my attentions to my daughters birthday which is a couple of weeks later. My OH also celebrates his birthday in November, so I feel it's impossible to even think about the big 'C' until after these events! But Christmas (there I said it) is coming, and quickly! One of the problems of celebrating birthdays towards the end of the year is that I usually use up all of my gift ideas on the birthdays and then draw a blank when it comes to Christmas. 
I also like to support small businesses like myself and buy handmade items where possible. Even with my boys who are star wars and lego obsessed I try and balance it out with handmade gifts. So I thought I would start up a new series of weekly blog posts featuring items I have found and liked, ideas for myself, for the home, for the kids and not forgetting men who can be so difficult to buy for! So here it is my first 'Handmade Christmas' feature this week featuring 'Cosy Knits' which seems very appropriate considering the temperature drop here in the UK!

1. Gorgeous fingerless gloves by InnerWild a lovely shop based in Scotland and selling on Etsy

2. Knitted Lambswool Tapestry Cushions by Sally Nencini, found on 'Not on the High Street

3. Eye Mittens for kids by Oeuf, perfect for playing peek a boo!

4. Legwarmers by Homelab, I've had my eye on these for a while, along with other items in her shop on Etsy 

5. Men's Neckwarmers by Moaning Minnie bought as a present for my OH last year, I can highly recommend.


 

Sale Time

The countdown to Christmas is here, there really is not long to go now! To celebrate I am having a flash sale in my etsy shop . 10% off...