the pebbles are back!

Quite a few months ago I designed some new key rings and they all sold and then I got busy and never made any more, which is sad because making them is fun!I started making these a week or so ago & put the finishing touches to them at the weekend, took the photos yesterday and managed to website list them today! phew-ee!

Quick Link :: Pebbles can be found here

Ribbons Galore!

The new ribbons are all on the website! It's taken hours and hours of computer work ... I've already corrected some spelling mistakes and *think* I've checked all the links, but if you take a peek and see something that you don't think should be there please let me know!

Quick Link :: Ribbons can be found here

camera busy

I always forget how long it takes me to add new products to the website...from waiting for a sunny/bright day to take photos, to cropping and editing and filing them (I'm bad at filing them...but getting better) to re-jigging the website & adding new pages...I'm nearly there and after a few hours more work tomorrow there should be ribbons galore...it's a good job that just looking at the ribbons makes me happy in my work!!

bright & cheerful pins

I had a lot of fun choosing which fabrics and buttons to use for my new colour selection of drawing pins...there are now 8 colours to choose from and you can see then all by clicking here!

Distracted Buyer

Whilst shopping for fill-up stock I got my head turned by these Very Pretty Hearts

They are wooden and have had the floral design laser cut into them so they are smooth to touch.

I can't decide if I'm going to make mine into ornaments or a mini garland...decisions, decisions!

If you'd like some too you'll have to be quick, I only managed to snap up 8 packs and once they are gone then they are gone!

Quick Link :: wooden hearts are here

the re-stock continues

this huge delivery of ribbon arrived on Friday ... after the checking and the counting and the sorting it created two jobs; find somewhere to put it & photograph it all for the website...today I finished the 'find somewhere to put it' task! I cleared off these two shelving units ...
...and filled them with lovely lovely ribbon.....I made 'drawers' out of some of my kit boxes and it makes finding the right ribbon very easy indeed!I'm hoping the sun will come out tomorrow so I can get started on the photos!! I also filled up all of the findings and updated the website and the out-of-stock swivel clips are back!

in pieces

This pile of cut out owl pieces is for another secret project...you know I'll spill the beans as soon as I can, right? ... There are enough pieces here to make 100 owls...it doesn't look like that many does it?

new iron on flowers

The Big website re-stock has begun!
Christmas busy-ness left a lot of gaps in my stock and first on the list for me to fill up was Iron On Flowers...now available individually rather than in packs of 3 so you can create your own colourful crafts.
Quick Link: Iron on Flowers are here

small room = new packing room

hurrah! I now have a fully functioning packing room...the room is teeny tiny and very hard to photograph...I stood in the middle and turned round to take these but they aren't good!!
The old packing room is still in slight chaos but I've just ordered lots of new stock so I decided to sort it all out in one go, some time next week when all the new things arrive :-)

chopchopchop

in between all the moving and re-organising orders have been packed & dispatched and felt has been chopped...two boxes of orders to stitch (above) and funny little piles of felt which will be key rings soon (below)I'll be back tomorrow with photos!

before & during (the after may take some time!)

my little room (soon to be renamed The Packing Room) is hard to photograph...here are some before-the move-around shots....before :: from the door looking right.before :: behind the door.before :: from the door looking left.during :: from the door looking toward the window.during :: behind the door.

As you can see I'm not finished!! The new table is in place and all the no-longer-living-in-this-room things have been moved (that took ages!) ... all I need to do now is move all my packing things in and I'm ready...perhaps I will have time to do that tomorrow ....

the calm before the storm!

Today has been fun! I've been sewing, making kits and packing orders all day long...a nice relaxing day before the move around begins tomorrow! I do enjoy moving and re-organising, and I can't wait for everything to be in it's new, bigger space...the goal is to have it finished by the end of Sunday...I'll keep you updated with it all :-)

sewing machine fun

A lot of sewing has been happening round these parts...just look at this pile of boxes I've made since yesterday! My sewing machine certainly knows the holidays are over!

Back in the swing of things

I came back to work last Monday and the entire week just flew by in a whirlwind of post Christmas orders, making stock, ordering stock, printing stationery and cutting felt...not to mention all my New Year Plans that needed starting!....I was so busy before Christmas that lots of jobs and plans had to be put on hold until the New Year so I have spent this weekend writing lists and plans and re-organising all my thoughts and now I feel ready to tackle them all...currently these are the 3 BIG things on my to-do list::

• re-arrange and re-organise stock room and magically turn it into a kit packing room


• move the packing area to a new table (that I don't have ... yet)


• launch two new kits at the start of February (most of this is done, except the layout and printing of the instructions and stickers...I posted all that info off to my designer today...the clock is ticking because I am due to delivery the first batch to John Lewis on 2nd February!!)

In amongst all the New Year plans I'm still stitching and sending out orders, although I have to admit I wasn't expecting to be making Christmas Decorations for a few months yet!!

New Year Sale

If you're after some ribbon-y bargains then click here to see my little ribbon sale

2011 :: in pictures :: january - june

WOW! 2011 was deifinitely a good year for paper-and-string...I've been re-reading my blog over the past few days and I have compiled some highlights...so many that it's taken 2 blog posts!! HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends, blog readers & customers ... here's to a fantabulous 2012!...I'm excited to see what it brings!

January was spent planning and waiting to move into my new workshop...the Ikea book got a lot of use!!I soon learnt that Solicitors are SLOW and I finally moved in in MARCH!!! but the delays did mean I had time for sewing.......on my new sewing machine!February...was the month of the box!...I made loads of sample boxes ::...took loads of photos and voila! introduced made-to-order items to my Not On The High Street ShopTo mark the launch I advertised my alphabet boxes in the Not On The High Street Catalogue and had my boxes photographed by a professional photographer!

March I was very proud to be able to make a prize & join in the Japan raffle that Jo organised. the rest of the month was spent packing...moving...and unpacking!..and finally filling my new workshop with all my things April was the month for moving in properly...making ribbon spools look pretty::...and re-using my old cassette tape holders for large ribbon spools :: My first paper-and-string computer was delivered and set up, no more working from the home computer for me!!There was also time for a little bit of sewing...new pebble key rings::..and a free bird pattern for you all... May: Finally! The month I could spill the beans and tell you all that my BIG secret was to supply John Lewis...finally all the piles of stock everywhere made some sense...
..and I could share all the felt cutting......and ribbon cutting that was filling my months!
June my workshop was bulging at the seams ......all the printing arrived and was stored on the stairs!......the kit felt had a whole room to itself!!...and the fluff, ginormous bags of fluff that just sat in the middle of the floor!!But it wasn't all about BIG things...there were new teeny tiny polka dot buttons...and a huge box FULL of pom poms!!