Handmade Christmas: Greeting Cards

Image credits: Angela Smyth, Ashley Phal, Draw Abiding Citizen, Man vs George, Seeing Stars.

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'!

Inspiration - A Handmade Success Story

A few weeks ago I was invited to Jane Foster's book launch at her new studio and lets just say I was very excited! I have been an admirer of Jane's work ever since I stumbled across her vintage fabric cushions on ebay a good few years ago. She has a stunning collection of vintage fabric including a lot of Luicenne Day's classic prints which she often showcases on her blog and it was for that reason I become a keen follower of Jane's work. One of Jane's other passions is screen printing and she cleverly combines vintage fabric and her screen prints to produce gorgeous soft toys, which she sells along with her other work worldwide. She is a 'handmade' business success story, the sort of success that myself and many others with handmade businesses dream off. And the story of how she got where she is today is one that many of us can relate to. Jane started selling her vintage fabric cushions and vintage finds whilst still teaching and it was the success of how popular her stuff was that finally convinced her to give up teaching. Along with the help of her partner, Jane set up a studio in her home, working whilst also bringing up their young daughter, juggling the care between her and her partner which meant working late into the evenings. It's clear that it's taken a lot of hard work and determination to get where she is today. And it was lovely to see her partner and daughter sharing in the excitement of her latest project her new book 'Fun with Fabric' and also in the delight of having her first ever studio away from home! Her new space is amazing and what really struck me was how she had different areas for the different aspects of her work. A space to sew, an area to screen print and a packing area, every one as inspirational as the last and I can clearly see the benefits of having these different spaces to work in and how much smoother they can make the day to day running of a business but I can only dream of having this much space. The other thing that really stood out was how strong Jane's branding is. I read a lot of articles before setting up 'a crafty hen' all full of advice of how to start a business and the importance of branding came high up on the list of priorities but I couldn't really understand it at the time, surely having a good item that sold well was the main concern! But standing in Jane's studio it suddenly become clear and it got me thinking!

It also reminded me that I still have so much to learn!

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!

Handmade Christmas: Stocking Fillers

 Image credits. 1.Minifanfan 2.FionaT 3.KatieFew 4.Weegallery 5.ColourMeFun 6.KraKra 7.MosseryCo

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. 

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!

On my sewing table.......

This week it's all been about catching up with orders, including an order to a stockist. It's nice to occasionally batch sew. It gives you a chance to build up a rhythm, all the cutting can be done, then the sewing up of the bib fronts, then attaching the towelling, etc. It gives you a chance to build up a bit of speed as it cuts out the stopping and starting. It is also very satisfying when you end up with a pile of bibs at the end of the production line! 
This pile of bibs have gone off to Inside Out a lovely shop who are now stocking a great range of goodies from smaller handmade businesses like myself along side items from Cath Kidston and Orla Kiely in their stores in Tavistock, Exeter and Dartmoor. 
I always find though after concentrating on sewing one item that I am desperate to let my creative juices flow! So expect lots of new gift sets to start appearing in my shop next week!

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!