End of year sale!

Hi everyone.

I hope you've had a relaxing and festive break so far - I certainly have. Far too much Tres Leches cake and general merriment, so now it's back to business as usual.

Yesterday was the first day of the sales here in Glasgow and we dashed into the city at 10am, and were away again by 10.20. I am now the proud owner of £100 worth of Lush goodies for a £21 outlay and I smell delicous! Maybe tmi there...

The big news of the day is that my very own sale is on in the shop and I'm delighted to offer buy one get one free on everything but the new cats. Spend over $40 and get an extra surprise with your package too!

I have inventory of more than one on everything in the shop, with the exception of the plarn and the bunnies, which are all one-offs. If you want two of the same item, convo me and I will set up a special listing just for you.

So come on over and have a browse. New products will be listed after this clearout, and... and.... I'll be launching it all with a giveaway on New Year's Day right here on the blog. See you then, if not before!

Christmas and collaborations

So a little while ago, before all the Christmas craft market madness got into full swing, I had a few irons in the fire that I wasn't ready to chat about just for the moment. I'm glad to say that the moment has come and I'm proud to present what our American friends call the 411.

Keep your eyes peeled over the next couple of days at the beautifully composed blog of Sydney-based Etsian Tabidesigns. Still staying fairly tight-lipped on that one, but it's worth a look out!

If you're here via Tabitha's blog, welcome, and just for you I'm offering FREE SHIPPING down under from 19 to 24 December. Get stuck in!

A surprise collaboration came about when one of my photos was spotted over at Flickr. I celebrated my 30th birthday last summer with a life-changing road trip across North Carolina and Tennessee, by way of the Smoky Mountains, then down through Mississippi on to Louisiana and finishing up with one long and unforgettable night in my old stomping grounds in New York City. A shot I took of the Grand Ole Opry has been selected for use in an online guide to Nashville. I'm so very proud of myself! You can check it out at Schmap.com Nashville, just clicky!

For more photos, check out my flickr account...

Etsy is often the source of great collaborative efforts, and I wanted to thank Glitzy Gallery for giving away some samples of my envelopes at her recent craft fairs. She blogs her experiences right here: http://glitzygallery.blogspot.com/ and is also an all-round lovely person. My hearts and views shot up the weekends of her fairs, so I know she did a great job in promoting my etsy shop. Thanks a million!

Another project still in the pipeline is being worked on over in the States on an ongoing basis. We're trying to find out if fluffnfixings can make similar envelopes to these using some of my enormous stash of video plarn. I mean, it has to be good for something, right? If this is the case, I'll be sending all future purchases in super-eco friendly mailers.

If that isn't busy enough, I've also been spending some time getting to know more local sellers and finding out how multi-talented they are. Tahira, of TahiraIqbal.com doesn't just make amazing cards, she has an intriguing novella unfolding over at Soul Wipe - go and check it out!

I also had tons of fun at the recent Glasgow Craft Mafia Christmas Social and am looking forward to lots more Crafty get-togethers in the New Year. Hurrah!

And of course, besides all that, I've got a shop to run. And new products. Double hurrah!

Look at me, I'm multi-tasking!

Right now THIS MINUTE I'm listing some of the products I previewed at Made in the Shade this weekend over on Etsy.com.

Here are some teasers....

The craft factory

My flat looks like a bombsite, but I'm on top of everything I need to do for the fabulous Made in the Shade indie market tomorrow.

Just about all of my craft mafia colleagues from here in Glasgow are lined up with stalls, there's a choir booked and absolutely no Cliff Richard on the jukebox - hurrah!

Hope to see you there!

p.s. serious moment: apologies to anyone I may have neglected in the last week or two while I've been getting my stuff together for these markets. Except for the dust bunnies in my flat, your days are numbered....

Ah, tranquility

Like a one-woman crafting factory, my weekend away allowed me to unwind and prepare for the forthcoming fairs at the Lighthouse and Mugdock Country Park in calm and idyllic surroundings. Every year I spend a weekend away with friends I’ve known for years (some of them for 20 years!), and this year we booked out Wheen Farmhouse, which is just near Forfar in the north of Scotland.

Come Monday morning, the roads were iced over and snow was on its way. We had plenty of supplies left (well, except for toilet paper, we were down to our last roll, TMI fans) but not enough of an excuse to call ourselves snowed in. A good time had been had by all, in fact most of us had *too* good of a time the night before and were feeling the effects, and we were all sad to leave. Between us, we spotted a stoat, many rabbits and sheep, an alleged seal off the coast at Montrose, mucho sheep poop and 45 of these critters.