Little Wedding Bags

'Tis the wedding season soon, so perfect timing for my next project - little wedding bags. I have a few designs in mind and will be putting together some samples over the next week or so. These little bags will be just right for brides or bridesmaids to keep their little essentials in and will be the perfect finishing touch for that big day. Keep watching for the grand unveiling (sorry, no pun intended!).

New Textile Journal Covers

Towards the end of last year I made a few textile journal/notebook covers, the same size as my photo notebook covers, but using various textile pieces such as felt and vintage linen, all embellished with buttons, beads and other beautiful bits. I sold one at a craft fair a few days later and the remaining two soon afterwards on Folksy - both to the same customer! As they were so popular, I decided to make a few more. I now have six of these little beauties in my shops (on Etsy or Folksy), all very different, each one unique and perfect to give as a keepsake gift - perhaps for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day. They'd also make great gifts for a bride-to-be (use it as a wedding planner), a bridesmaid, or for a special friend. You could even treat yourself to one! The cover can be re-used on another journal, a diary or address book - it fits a standard A6 book - so it can be kept forever.

Here they all are, on sale now at just £25 - remember, there's only one of each design available, so don't delay!

Here's to an exciting New Year!

It's been a long time since my last post (can't believe it was back in November!) but let me start by wishing you all a very happy New Year and may all your hopes and dreams move closer to reality in 2013. I hope you all enjoyed the festive season in whatever way you chose to celebrate it - mine was the traditional family way, spending time with family and friends, eating and drinking a little too much (!) and generally relaxing.

But now....it's time to look forward, get 2013 under way and make some changes. There's a blank calendar to fill up and lots of work to get done.

January

It's time to shift some of the things I no longer need/want/use, so there'll be plenty of listing on Etsy and E-bay this month. I've already added lots of vintage linen & lace to my Etsy shop and that will be swiftly followed by more of the same as well as some of my vintage bags, clothes and accessories that are taking up valuable loft space.

Vintage linen & lace traycloth or mat

One of a pair of matching lace mats

 I also need to re-assess my stock of handmade bags etc on Folksy and decide what to focus on going forward. I've added up all my sales over the past 18 months and worked out which products are the best-sellers (phone cases) and which bring in the most cash (bags), so these are the things I'll be making more of and some of the not-so-successful will fall by the wayside. It's a steep learning curve and there's no easy way of knowing what will/won't be successful, so they're not wasted, they'll just be put down to experience and offered at knock-down prices at the next craft fair!

Best sellers - hand-painted silk handbags (from £25)

Best sellers - phone & gadget cases (from £10)

Finally...photography. I've been so busy with the textiles that this has taken a bit of a back seat lately, but I did sell a large canvas print of one of my photos just before Christmas, so that was an unexpected bonus. I've recently made some notebook covers by printing some of my images onto canvas and sewing it up into covers. I sold the first one at a craft fair and have made several more, which are now on sale on Folksy and through Traders in Littlehampton - they also stock some of my photo prints and canvasses.

'Seagulls' notebook cover (with A6 notebook) £15

'Cuba Collage' notebook cover (with A6 notebook) £15

So that's where I'm at now and I'll be planning the rest of the year very soon. There are already craft fairs and art fairs booked, an exhibition planned and lots of new ideas to put into action. I'm going to do a monthly blog update - with maybe a few smaller blogs in between - and will add events as and when they are confirmed. Happy 2013!