our BIG news

ooohhh I kept you waiting a bit didn't I?  sorry!
our super-duper amazing news is:.....paper-and-string is moving!  see the barn down there, that is the all new, all singing and all dancing paper-and-string headquarters!
it is rather ginormous and rather fabulous - and it will become even more fabulous once it is full of felt :-)

The reason for the late-in-the-day blog post is that first we had to wait for the lease to complete through the solicitors and then we had a massive rush to get in the car and start to drive to the barn, we're not moving just down the road -we're moving all the way to Dorset (you know, where the 80mph winds and horrid storms are battering the coast right now) and the main road was shut and we drove and drove and drove, but we're here, the barn is still here and not storm tattered...tomorrow I will show you the insides....before we attack them with scrubbing brushes & paintbrushes...but now we have champagne to drink, because getting a new premises has been (very) hard work indeed!

finished ribbon packs

 piles and piles of my ribbon colour packs (they are made to match my felt packs).
 such a pretty sight & very satisfying indeed to see them all finished.

and tomorrow is Friday. BIG news day (if it all goes to plan)
but for now, lets just revel in the ribbons and their glamorous box ;-)

time consuming job number 2

all things ribbon spools :: counting and sorting and updating the website
it's still not Friday
but Wednesday is almost gone...

exciting news *nearly*

there is exciting news to be told very soon
it is the most exciting news ever
but I am keeping quiet until it is official, because it's been *nearly* official several times over the past few weeks and I do not want to spill the beans too early!! 
nor do I want it to go on any longer because I may well explode with frustration!!
but I have been promised that Friday is the day so I am on the countdown - I'm keeping myself busy and have started to fill up our ribbon packs ...cutting and winding & cutting and winding (is it friday yet?)  cutting and winding & cutting and winding...... 2 colour ways done, only 8 more to go - that should keep me out of bean-spilling mischief for a while yet!
argh! 8 long months and I still can't tell you!!!!

niece inspiration

 

 about 5 years ago my niece Holly made me a heart out of hama beads, and I have always thought it was gorgeous.

 so I immediately threaded it onto some orange thread and have always hung it in my workshop

 and yesterday I decided to make my own version using the extra tiny buttons that were delivered a couple of weeks ago

 it was fun to sit and sew something new!

made to order

this past weekend's sewing :-)

blimey it's cold!

I've spent the day in the workshop, with the heater on, my fluffy jumper on and the kettle on the go...I've updated the website's stock levels, done some book keeping, cut out some more sewing to do AND made up a great big pile of sewing thread packs....hopefully I can dash the short walk home before the cold sets in!

i'm just like a tv chef!

 all the non-felty 'ingredients' for another new kit, laid out and looking pretty

 scrummy!

something new is coming....

...just a little teaser of one of my new kits...there are two new kits which will be launched next week....I can't wait to show you :-)

bubbly buttons

 bubble buttons are now in the shop!

 ...we've got 16 gorgeous colours ::

... all the colours are available individually (they are just 18p each) and they stack perfectly with our Small Polka Dot Buttons (also available individually, 12p each)

oh yeah -  it's button pairing heaven

quick links
bubble buttons are here
polka dots are here - you need the Small ones :-)

fully stocked & some new loveliness

 One humongous felt delivery means we now have:

*new*  felt with holes punched in it ... layer it with contrasting colours to create your very own polka dot combination

*new*  multi-coloured polka dots - seriously, how amazing are these????

we are now fully stocked with polka dot colours again....

....and stripey colours....

AND fully stocked with heart colours too!
QUICK LINKS ::
holey holes felt is here
multicoloured polka dot felt is here
polka dots are here
stripes are here
hearts are here

forgotten boxes

 

 I was so excited about showing you my gnome fabric yesterday that I completely forgot to show these boxes I made for an order!

so here they are a day later than I made them - ta-dah!

little somethings...

...for the shop ::

wooden Love You buttons and cutie pie wooden bunny buttons!!

 and a little something for me, purchased on etsy (from here)

 - I don't have a project in mind but I HAD to have it - just look how cute he is!!!

hearts buttons are here
bunny buttons are here

3 out of the ordinary orders!

yesterday I sent Jayne from The Stitching Shed (hi Jayne *wave*) another 100 owls  in pieces.  Each one is destined to be part of one of her lovely cross stitch kits.

I also sent this big pile of felt to a crafting magazine - this lovely lot is destined to be made into a top secret project for the front cover in April/May...I'll be sure to show you when I have a copy in my hands, not sure how top secret it is so I'm keeping quiet which magazine it is for...

and on Monday I will be sending 65 Baby Elephants (which I finished today) to another customer...I *think* they will be used on a set of baby announcement cards, but I'm not sure if I've put 2and 2 together and come up with my own answer to the 'what will you be doing with all those elephants' question :-)

Felt Certificates

If you are a toy maker and you need certificates to help with your CE marking you can now visit a page on my website and print off your own copy of all of my certificates.
just click here: ceritificates

i've been shopping ....

...and delivery #1 has arrived, been photographed and is all on the website!

 

there are more of my favourite Fiskar scissors :: HERE
the flexi hoops are back :: HERE
swivel clips now come in three colours, silver, black antique & copper antique - ooooohhhhhh :: HERE
adjustable flat pad rings (which even fit my podgy fingers!) :: here
AND variegated embroidery threads  :: here

a little bit of Sunday making

 all made for orders :: Christmas decorations (super early - or super late?)

 Flower Drawing Pins

and a little selection of embellishments

this week's stats

this week will always be known as 'the week of parcels'
over the past five days we have sent out 32 sacks containing 476 parcels!
no wonder we're all a bit tired!
we have also caught up with everything and our normal super-quick service will resume on Monday, no more dispatching delays here....I have a few more handmade orders to finish off over the weekend, but apart from that we are back on track!
thank you for your patience :-)

holiday orders

 we've all been rolling, stacking and packing like machines!

 we're trying our hardest to get your goodies to you as fast as we can....we sent out 11 sacks of parcels today!!

getting a head start

the 'Merry Christmas to all our amazing customers' website discount finishes on Monday morning so if you're still trying to decide what to buy you'd best be quick!  John and I have been working on orders for the past couple of days and hopefully by the end of tomorrow we'll be all caught up, and ready for Monday Morning!