Last Chance Saloon!

 Quick! Quick!

There are only a few Jubilee craft packs left...they will be taken of the website tomorrow so hurry if you'd like to order everything you need to make your very own bunting!

A sliver of sunshine

For one brief moment today the sun came out,  so I grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos of orders that I finished last night before they were wrapped and packed & posted to their new homes...a set of 6 drawing pins and 3 storage boxes ::

slowly stacking the shelves

I've had a Folksy shop for AGES...but a while back I neglected it and it all got deleted ...it's been on my to do list to re-do it for a while and finally I've made a start...a small start of 5 products so far, but if I try to list a few a day the shop will soon be full!

button delivery!

Time has flown today!

Who could think that so many hours could disappear whilst playing with buttons

 *ahem* I mean, whilst working really, really hard sorting out my new button stock !

Jubilee Bunting Tutorial post

Hooray!
It's Jubilee tutorial day!

The brief I gave myself was that I wanted to make something BIG and EXTRA special, but also something flexible that everyone could try, no matter how much sewing they had done in the past,  something that could be handsewn, machine sewn or glued, and something that wouldn't cost a lot of money...

...and I made .... Special Jubilee Bunting ::

The flags are scalloped, two layered flags, some are embellished with Jubilee ribbons and buttons, and some have special jubilee appliques.
a corgi:

a stamp:

a Union Flag heart:

there's one pattern for the flags:

 and one for the appliques:

 Just right click a pattern and select 'open in another tab' then go to the other tab and right click the pattern again and select 'save as' then you have saved the pattern and can print full size (each pattern fits onto one side of A4)
There aren't any formal instructions for constructing the bunting, use the pictures as guides for colour/embellisment ideas and use the patterns to cut, cut, cut and then sew, sew, sew.  I made 7 flags and the bunting measures 2m in total.

If you'd like to join in and make some Jubilee Bunting too I'm pretty sure most of you will have everything you need, but just in case I have put together a selection of Jubilee goodies so you can make your very own set for just £10!...it's a limited offer so get in quick if you want a set!
(all the details are on the website)
I'd love to see some photos of bunting if you do make some, we could have a little gallery here on the blog on Jubilee Day!

and the winners are...

Yay!  It looks like cross stitch kits mixed with felt embellishments are a hit..thank you for all the lovely comments, i'll make sure Jayne reads them too :-)

The 3 winners are:
73 Jannie said...
thank you so much for the chance of winning this adorbs kit!
love
Jannie
72 CreaThings said...
Sweet kits. I adore them!
Thanks,
Hajni
33 Юлика said...
So adorable kits!!!
cross my fingers :)
Please can the 3 winners email their address to me :  mail (at) paper-and-string.co.uk

nearly ready...

I can't get enough red, white & blue!!

I've just got another few hours of hand sewing to do, some more photos to take & a teeny bit of computer faffing to faff with AND THEN the tutorial will be ready!...

working on: a jubilee tutorial

it will be ready in the next few days...

Freebie Day :: MAY 2012 :: Stitching Shed Felty Kits

 This month's freebie is for something a little bit different ... Cross Stitch Felty Kits by Jayne @ The Stitching Shed.

 Earlier this year Jayne asked me to supply her with felt pieces for her kits...she settled on owls, flowers and a newly designed felt house....and just look at the magic she weaved:  3 gorgeous kits

 I was lucky enough to see them stitched and framed when I went to the NEC (remember?) and now I am super lucky to be able to share them with you!

Jane has very kindly sent me some samples so I have 3 kits to give away, one of each of the new designs...here are the rules:
Rules: freebie opens today Thursday 3rd May 2012 and will close Wednesday 9th May.
How to enter: leave one comment and one comment only on this very blog post  
Prize: Three winners will each win a cross stitch kit.   As always I will post the prize worldwide.
Good Luck!!
Quick Links ::
for Felty's at The Stitching Shed click here
for The Stitching Shed website click here 

FREEBIE IS CLOSED AT COMMENT # 114

behind the scenes

A lot of work has been done the past few days, none of it very blog-worthy, but all of it vitally Important (with a capital I)!

This pile of folders contains all my paperwork for the tax year that just ended...it's sitting at the top of the stairs waiting to stored away, but I'm leaving them out for now in case I need something from them in a hurry!
This is the first year that my accounts have been done by an accountant...previous years I have done my tax return on my own, but this year it was so good to have an expert by my side!  In just a few days my first ever VAT return has been submitted and the End Of Year Accounts produced....very satisfying indeed.

postage prices 2012

Today is the day that Royal Mail's prices change... my prices for postage will be: nearly the same as before!

I've tweaked it a little bit, but I've kept my price changes to the minimum (the biggest change is to the Europe/Rest of the World split, it was all one price before)
1st class : £1.95
1st class recorded : £3.00
Special Delivery (UK) : £6.50
Anywhere in Europe : £3.00
Rest of the World : £4.75

I'm taking a gamble with the 1st class prices, it now costs £2.70 to send one packet weighing up to 750g but if I send as many parcels as I can in Large Letter Format (from 90p+ for tiny, light weight orders) it should all even out...that's the theory, and it keeps prices low for everyone so lets hope it works!!!  I shall be checking it all over the next few weeks and if anything changes I will of course let you know!

a mammoth shop update

Today the sun came out and many many photographs were taken...I've done a lot of sewing over the past week or so but the bad weather meant no photographs round these parts!  

Hooray for bright cheery weather!

*New*  Medium Felt Flowers

 

*New* Large Felt Flowers

 *New* Tall Mini Cupcakes

 

 *New* Happy Cupcakes

 *New* Owl Ornaments

 *New* Mushroom Ornaments

 *New* Bird Ornaments

*New* Cupcake Ornaments

AND .... best of all, my new Needle Case designs: Alphabet Needle cases...

  

...they come in 5 different colours & you can add whichever Initial you like!...

 

Or, if initials aren't your thing, there are new embellishment needle cases too!

I still need to list everything on NotOnTheHighStreet but I think I've stared at the computer for long enough already today...time for more sewing I think!

tidying: interrupted

OH NO!  such a shame!.....

.... my mammoth tidy up was rudely interrupted  by a button delivery !!
*sigh* so much work to do,  and all of it so much FUN!!
PS for those that asked yesterday, yes my new drawers are FAB!  they are metal, come in red, white or silver, each drawer fits A4 paper and is nice and roomy...and they didn't take too long to make!

right, it's back to work for me...there's no rest for button addicts hard working crafters!

space making

I bought more Ikea furniture!...this time I succumbed to Helmer (x3!),  handsome Bright Red 6 Drawer Units, which just so happen to fit under my counter (which is in fact a Lack shelf, originally purchased for Workshop #1, turned on it's side because there was no where else for it to go!)   I'll show you another photo once it's all tidied up properly!

stacks

...busy working on some new needle cases...all the cutting is done, now it's hours of hand stitching & machine stitching ahead, my favourite kind of home work!

a happy stitcher

This weekend I stitched a few designs I haven't sewn in a while...it was the cupcakes that started it,  I made a few a few weeks ago for the John Lewis display and they were fun to make, so I needed to make some owls... and some birds .....AND some mushrooms!  And I definitely needed to use the new pom pom trim that came just the other day!  The owl & cupcake pattern are patterns from my kits and the the birds and mushrooms are from my free patterns section...once the sun comes out they will be photographed properly and offered for sale on my website.
Quick Links:
Kits : click here
Free Patterns :  click here
new pom pom trim : click here

the day of many ribbons!

 Today two big boxes arrived from America...tonnes and tonnes of ribbon spools & loads of mini brads too!

 Which is perfect timing because my ribbon stocks were looking a little bare!

Lots of counting and packing-note ticking off later and ......

 all my gorgeous ribbons are back!  AND if that isn't enough the parcel man also bought a parcel which was ordered 10 weeks ago and which I thought may never arrive!  But it was definitely worth the wait because it contained:  Teeny Tiny Pom Pom Ribbon !!  Look how teeny the pom poms are!!

 And look at the scrummy colours!

Ribbon Spools are HERE
Mini brads are HERE
Teeny Tiny pom pom trim is HERE

still stitching!

I'm having so much fun!  

Spending my days choosing the perfect fabrics, felt colours, ribbons and buttons, and my evenings at home stitching everything together...bliss!

 

All new items can be found by clicking here