Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts

Tuesday 17 June 2014

Rainbow of Baby Burp Cloths


Summer has arrived and it feels great to get the shop back open and to start filling the shelves with gorgeous fresh and bright new stock! It reminds me of the feeling you get when you fling the windows open and let the fresh air and the breeze flow in! Over the next few days I will be adding quite a few new items including 4 new storage baskets, but the first of the new stock in store now are these lovely fresh and bright baby burp cloths. Take them out with you in a changing bag to protect your summer outfit when winding and feeding your little one. They are such useful things and so much prettier than your average muslin!










I have grouped the burp cloths into sets of three, which I had fun doing and hope that I have arranged them in sets that complement each other. Though if they are three fabrics that you would prefer together in a set then just let me know. I could quite happily play with these fabrics all day long! I even adore their names! Names like 'Sprinkled in Noon' and 'Summer Grove in Night'! These cloths are made using high quality 100% cotton fabric and backed with very soft, super absorbent bamboo/cotton towelling. They are machine washable so they are perfect for everyday use and being in a set of three means you can always have one to hand. They are listed here in my shop
Right I better go as I am off to help at my sons sports day event at their school. Apparently I am helping with the space hopper race! 
Thank goodness they no longer do a mum's race!

Sunday 1 June 2014

A Little Shop Update

My Etsy shop is closed at the moment just for a couple of days while I 'regroup'. It's the last day of the kids school break and I always try very hard to juggle entertaining them whilst still working and fulfilling orders but for some reason however hard I tried it just didn't seem possible this week! So I eventually closed up shop. 
I am up to date with all orders but have decided to remain shut whilst I settle the children back into their school/nursery routines and also to try and get some of the new items I've been working on for what feels like weeks finally finished and listed in my shop. 
I'm very excited with my new work and fabrics and can't wait to show you. 
In the meantime here is a little taster of whats to come!


Friday 9 May 2014

Lovely Flurry of Traffic!



A Crafty Hen has had an extra flurry of interest over the last couple of days and it was so lovely to find the traffic had come from here a lovely Spanish blog called Eternamente Flaneur. This lovely blogger has included three of my Storage baskets, my yellow 'Free as a Bird' baskets and also my Black and White basket in two lovely storage and nursery combination ideas. It's so nice to see people visualizing my work in this way. I just wish I could cut my images out as well as she has done!!

Friday 25 April 2014

A Huge Fabric Leap!



Possibly the most exciting parcel ever arrived this week. 
A box full of fabric. A box containing full bolts of fabric. A box full of fabric just for me!
Not only is this the largest amount of fabric I have ever bought but this is also the biggest commitment I have made so far to 'A Crafty Hen'. Usually I purchase one or two meters of fabric, make for example a baby gift set, if the item does well then I will order more of the fabric, and this method works ok most of the time. But sometimes an item can be a 'slow burner'!! It may not fly of the shelves for example, but slowly and surely after say advertising the product it may start to sell well, but this is when I often encounter problems! I go to reorder the fabric and find that it is sold out or the fabric shop has reordered it and then there is a delay, or worse still that it is no longer being printed! However much I like working with lots of different prints in small quantities, it is a lot more time consuming and really is not the most efficient way to work or to sustain a business. It takes time and effort to get traffic to your shop, to an item you have made so it makes sense once the the traffic is there to keep it coming! So I made the decision in the New Year to take more control of my fabric stock and the most sensible way to go about this was to choose a few 'key' fabrics that I can create a collection from and order these fabrics in bulk, making stock taking a whole lot easier!



And so there it was in the box! Five full bolts of organic fabric. 
Grey elephants has long been a favorite of mine which is luckily shared by many of you. The deer never stays around for very long, so I've not had the chance to play around with the fabric, and the multi coloured elephants is also a favorite. The grey spots, well that's a staple fabric! But maybe it is bolt number 5, that excites me the most, as this is organic cotton fleece. I've been searching and searching in the UK for cotton fleece and have not had any success. I use to make baby dribble bibs and the occasional baby blanket and started by backing them with fleece, which is the most common fabric to find a dribble bib backed with. But I was never that keen on the fact that the fleece was polyester. Yes sure it absorbs and wicks away moisture and dries very very quickly, but to me, and this is only my opinion, a baby's delicate skin should have the kindest and most gentlest fabrics placed next to it and for me polyester doesn't cut it. But organic cotton oh yes! And it doesn't disappoint!  It is very very soft and cosy making it not only perfect for dribble bandana style bibs but also for backing blankets. So watch this space, as they say! I am going to continue working with lots of different prints. I can't help myself! But these three key prints, the two elephants and the deer fabric will soon be available in bibs, dribble bibs, burp cloths, storage baskets and blankets and no doubt a few more items will slip in along the way, which I know will please many of you who get in contact with me asking for more of a range for your baby and nursery in these delightful fabrics.

Wednesday 2 April 2014

New Storage Baskets






Introducing my new range of storage baskets. I feel very much like I have gone full circle with these baskets as portable toy storage containers were one of the first things I started selling when I opened my first shop online. I'm not really sure why I stopped making them as they were always very popular, but somehow and somewhere down the line baby bibs took over! But now they are back! The collection ranges from baskets to match the most popular of my baby gift sets for use as storage in a baby's nursery or child's bedroom to baskets like the Glitter Gold' one and the 'Black and White Monochrome' that would not only fit into a stylish modern nursery but would also not look out of place on a dressing table, in a hall filled with post and keys to your living one. Made using a selection of cotton and linen fabrics all the baskets have a white lining and a natural linen base. They are available now to buy from my shop.

Saturday 15 February 2014

Favourite Finds

Image credits: clockwise from top left lmkremerTheBlueberryElephantRGideasMarinskiHandmades, BagDoRi,

Some of my favourite finds on Etsy.
  • Wonderland T-shirt from Imkremer retro inspired clothing for kids. This shop is colourful. I really wish I'd found it when my children were still babies!
  • Wool baby booties by The Blueberry Elephant another shop I wish I had discovered when my children were young. The colours of the woollen goodies in this shop are beautiful, Anja obviously has a real eye for colour. The layout is stunning such a gorgeous feast for the eyes.
  • Knee high knitted socks by RGideas these look amazing. I've liked so many of the items in this shop. And if it doesn't warm up soon I think I will have to treat myself to these socks or maybe the leg warmers!
  • Ceramic Bowl from Marinski Handmades this is a gorgeous shop filled with sweet hand painted bowls and ceramic jewellery.
  • Yellow Backpack by BagDoRi now I really don't need another backpack, or do I! This shop is full of practical, modern bags to tempt!

I keep telling myself that I should be thinking of spring but I'm finding it difficult, what with the horrendous weather we have been having of late. I've started working with some lovely yellow fabrics but keep getting drawn back to my pile of greys! Well the colour does match the sky outside! I've even found myself back window shopping for warm cosy woollens, thinking that a pair of knitted knee high socks like the ones above wouldn't be a bad idea for this weather! Oh come on Spring hurry up and come!

Friday 7 February 2014

On my Sewing Table




This week I've been busy working on custom orders. I've had a lot of interest from people asking me to make baby burp cloths to sell separately from the bibs, which I'm very happy to do and are hoping to place some for sale in my shop next week. Though I can't quite decide whether to sell them in pairs, in bundles of threes or as single burp cloths! Decisions decisions! I've also been busy sewing some patchwork bibs for an order. I love making this style of bib as I get to delve into my fabric stash and have great fun playing around with prints and colours. These three lucky bibs are heading of to Hong Kong but more will be popping up in my shop soon!

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!

Tuesday 19 November 2013

On My Sewing Table...............




It's been a busy few weeks and it doesn't look like it's going to let up, well not just yet anyway! I finally finished two custom baby blankets. 
One using my favourite deer fabric mixed with lots of grey and mustard prints. I was so happy with it and could have quite happily kept it! 
And in my excitement and hurry to get it sent out to its new owner completely forgot to photograph it finished along with the other blanket! 
Yes I could kick myself!! It's also been a busy time for baby gift sets, there are a few new ones in my shop and also lots of favourites in stock!

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. 

Friday 18 October 2013

New Organic Baby Bibs







I am busy editing photos of new organic baby bibs that I will be listing in my shops over the weekend. These are some of my favourite images of my bibs. It seems a shame to crop them, but square photos work best on sites like Etsy, so that's my job for tonight!

Wednesday 25 September 2013

Fabric Post





Fabric post has got to be one of the best types of post to drop through your letter box! And I've been eagerly awaiting this pile of goodies.
The strawberry and clover prints are from Heather Ross's Briar Rose collection, which is just beautiful and the other four prints will mean lots more organic cotton gift set and bibs coming very soon to 'a crafty hen'.

Wednesday 11 September 2013

Sneak Peek!


A 'sneaky peek' of some of the new baby bibs and burp cloths that I've been working on over the last couple of days and will be added to my shop, once back open!

I feel very excited about these new additions. Theres an organic bear, Scandinavian seed heads, a Japanese inspired cloud set and even a bit of linen going on! All are fresh, modern and stylish and the colours are very Autumnal. All I need now is some sunshine so I can get them photographed!

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...