catalogue released

The Spring Gift Guide NotOnTheHighStreet catalogue was released today...and there are my felt boxes (bottom left) The samples I sent in were photographed by a professional photographer...here they are zoomed in ::

This is a huge leap into the unknown for me...I've never paid for advertising before

so this is a scary time...there's a 50:50 fear sea-saw, 50% terrified that I won't receive any orders and 50% of me is terrified I'll have so many orders I won't have time to sleep!

Either way it's exciting to see my product in a shiny catalogue!

sofa time

despite having a lovely big work table in the workshop I do like to do hand sewing sitting on the sofa, watching TV ... the only flaw with that is when I'm working on some new ideas and decide to bring home 'a few' trimmings and ribbons because I don't know what I might need...

...and that definitely leads to sofa chaos!

another colourful day

you guys are so smart...colour does make a bad day into a good day...and today was a good day full of colour so that must mean it was a super-great day!

this morning started with no broadband but it soon got fixed and it meant I had to spend a few hours away from the computer and making rainbows....lovely!

and when I was home for lunch the postman arrived with this parcel of loveliness.

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rainbows can always be found here

fabrics are from FabricShoppe on Etsy

and are :: starburst/holiday, remix argyle/bright & groovestripe/summer

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new workshop update :: draft lease received yesterday as promised. contacted solicitor today with my notes...all is in hand and going through the motions. (finally).

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Easter egg update :: I love it that you all liked my Easter eggs! I will make a start on a couple of sets for the shop as requested and let you know on the blog when they are done :-)

in full colour

here's the custom order that i sneak-peek showed you yesterday

4 Easter egg decorations, based on the bright & cheery colours of the gingham ribbons

my customer (hi Kelly *wave* ) approved (hurrah!) so they are on their way to the USA

:-)

happy colours

Today I put the finishing touches to a custom order...I can't show the items in full because the customer hasn't seen them yet, but I should be able to show them in all their glory tomorrow...for now, here's a sneaky peek ::

Yesterday I had a disaster day.
I spent much of it trying to phone the solicitor, at attempt number 5 I finally got to speak to him (rather than his secretary) and guess what??? he still hadn't done very much!!
Afterwards I was so annoyed that when I picked the phone up to phone the estate agent (who is super helpful) I managed to drop the phone and it went down the back of the radiator and was wedged!! (I'm sure you can imagine this did nothing positive for the bad mood!!) luckily John managed to get it out for me!!



Today the estate agent called and it looks as though my annoyance has been felt and the ball is rolling....I should get the draft lease in the post tomorrow and once I have read all the comments etc I have to send it back, it then gets sent to the other solicitor who sends it to the landlord ...blah blah blah...another 2 weeks* and I should be able to move in!!
Hurrah!
* 2 weeks in solicitor speak = whenever-they-feel-like-it-so don't-hold-your-breath

a photo day

I finished my mammoth sewing mountain of box samples and spent much of yesterday taking photos and updating my NotOnTheHighStreet shop

I've never made so many of these at once and I have left them like this on the table because I like to see them all there together!

Just one more week to go and the catalogue will be published...I'm so excited!

new supplies

I've added lots of new supplies to the shop...

ric rac :: in 5 glorious colours

the mini magnet packs are back in stock

and best of all.....Bulk Button Bags...

each bag has 50g of buttons and they are just £3

there are 5 colours to choose from, mauve & lilac, red & pink, orange & yellow, pastel or aqua & green

the last 2 photos each show the contents of just one bag...you get an awful lot of buttons for £3!

custom orders

a couple of orders were finished today....

...and a great big delivery arrived via UPS just now so tonight I will be sorting all that out & I will show many photos of new supplies tomorrow!

hard at work

I've been very busy working on my box samples....

all the hand sewing and construction is done and here they are just patiently waiting on the table for me to top-stitch and press them....

One of my parcels from the US arrived...it was so quick! and I think the contents deserve a close-up!

I ordered them from Etsy Shop Lucky Kaeru

the top fabric is Michael Miller, Ta Dot

the bottom fabric is Caleb Grey, Groove Dot

a bare corner

More felt has landed at paper-and-string ...lots of metre felt, 12" & 24" squares...and if you look at the background doesn't it look bare? I'm itching to get packing so made a start on my pin board and all the lovely things I had displayed on my felt cupboard (and the pile of boxes are being saved for the move...they get thrown in the corner in a very untidy way!)

fabric shopping

I've ordered a tonne of new fabrics recently...4 bundles from different US shops (via Etsy, still on their way) and this bundle from a UK based fabric shop called Prints to Polka Dots...I received it this morning and it reminded me that during the freebie loads of you asked me about the heart fabric and I forgot to say what it is!

So...the heart fabric is by Michael Miller, and the blobby dots are Amy Butler

a proper shop keeper

yesterday John and I were heading into town to do some boring shopping (sellotape & ink for me, car stuff for John) and on the way we popped into a fabric shop because John needs some vinyl for a car he's fixing up and Long Story Short...they were getting rid of this cabinet...and it's for the exact same make and style of cotton threads that I sell !! John negotiated for me (i can't do it, I always just agree to the first price someone says!!) and then it was all mine :-)

I could have bought one like this from my supplier but it comes filled with colours I don't sell so it was never a viable option....

...but now i have one, and now I feel like a proper shop keeper!

£1 shelf

It's time to grab yourselves a bargain!

I've sorted through my deco tape stock and put LOADS on sale!

The items in the sale won't be re-ordered and once they have gone that's it (though I will still have deco tape in the shop)

everything on this shelf is just £1 a piece and can be found here

ready made or made to order

I have always only ever sold Ready Made items in my shops...if you could see something for sale then it was ready for posting...I had to work that way because I had to fit the day job in somewhere! Now though, I have no day job, so I have been experimenting with Made-To-Order items (I started with my boxes)

Most of my Made-To-Order orders come from my NotOnTheHighStreet shop and because the Alphabet Boxes are going to be featured in their next catalogue (eeek!) I though it was high time I shook up my shop a bit! I'm re-doing the listings for all my boxes and am making swatches of all the colours and examples of all the embellishments ... I'm making samples of finished boxes too so all in all I've given myself a big job!

I've also made a new, smaller fabric box...and been having fun trying to decide which fabrics to make it in (I've ordered some already from Etsy, but it hasn't arrived yet)

If you sell handmade how do you do it...ready made or made to order?

The zips are back!

I found a new supplier and now have oodles of 4" zips in the shop!

the key rings are back too...

..and a new item...Little Magnets!

and the winners are

...without further ado, Mr Random Number Machine has done his monthly task and the two winners picked are ::

1. #238 moltopiccolo :: they are so very cute! I love the turquoise ones!
2. #32 chriskarling@*********.co.uk :: These are absolutely fabulous and I can think of loads of uses for them. The colours are ideal for my house so please enter me into the draw. Many thanks and fingers crossed that I win.
Chris

Look out for an email from me asking for your addresses!
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I'll be back tomorrow with a big shop update...there are zips...lots of zips!

another hurdle jumped!

My solicitor has received the paperwork from the other solicitor...hoo-bl**dy-ray!

It's still a couple of weeks away I think (but what do I know !) but it means that we're kick-starting the painting plan again...today we double checked all my measurements and plans, and it nearly all fitted in where I want it (not physically, just with a tape measure!) and John is staring doing the really important (but also a bit boring) jobs of removing redundant sockets (there are a million) and replacing light cables (they are so old they smell of fish when they get warm!)...we didn't know where the smell was coming from until an electrician friend of John's suggested it was the lights, so we didn't use them and there was no smell...hey presto-no more smelly fish smell! (apparently it's the old plastic on the cable which degrades over time and when it gets warm it smells...who knew?)

I've been busy window shopping online & found a good way of creating storage on 2 of the walls, without breaking the bank and I can't wait to order it all and get it up on the wall and share it all with you .... oh I am so impatient to get moving, but at least there is progress being made again!

Oh! and the cupcakes have been finished and are now back in the shop!

mission accomplished!

12 boxes :: all finished ~ hooray!

a very pleasurable afternoon indeed

the freebie is still open and can be found here

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This morning I finished all the jobs I had to do nice and quickly so that I could leave the afternoon free for some hand sewing

I've an order for 12 boxes to finish ... I'm hoping all the hand sewing will get finished today so I can machine them all tomorrow

what a lovely way to spend the weekend.

February Freebie Fun

This freebie has certainly snuck up on me!
I found the fabric I wanted to use when I was making these & finally decided what I wanted to make with it whilst making these...and although I was well prepared I only finished them this morning!
Phew!

Heart Storage Boxes :: they are Valentine themed but perfectly suited to use all year round!

SO ... lets begin the freebie fun!
Prizes
There are 2 prizes, each with a large and a small storage box, handmade by me!
One set is Turquoise and one set is Pink.
How To Enter
As usual all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post BEFORE the freebie closes on Tuesday 8th February 2011
Rules
There are a few rules ::
One comment per person please
I post worldwide so everyone is welcome to enter
I absolutely must be able to contact you via your comment!

Good Luck!
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THE FREEBIE IS NOW CLOSED AT COMMENT NUMBER 242....THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN PICKED AND NOTIFIED.

print : cut : fold ...and repeat

sometimes the monotonous jobs are just what I fancy doing!

I sat on the sofa, with my feet up, day-time telly on the TV and in no time I'd chopped up a whole reams worth of printing!

Tomorrow it's freebie day again (where on earth did January go???)

It won't be live till early evening because it's not ready yet (boy did it sneak up on me this time!)