It's today! Come along and say hello!

I'll be at the Glasgow Craft Mafia market today, at Mono, Kings Court, Glasgow, from 1pm to 6pm. Hope to see you there!

New! Required reading!

In between my preparations for the Glasgow Craft Mafia market tomorrow, I've been procrastinating by hanging out online and helping my fiance put in our new kitchen (oooh!). I've decided to round up a few new-t0-me blogs that I can totally recommend (and not just because they've featured my stuff, although that helps):

http://www.make.peazyshop.co.uk/ is a great website with all kinds of fun ideas on the cheap. They are big on repurposing and upcycling, so it's not surprising that they enjoyed my envelopes. Thanks guys!

On to the lovely Miss Crafty next. Now I'm cheating a little here, because Miss Crafty is a friend of the Glasgow Craft Mafia and I've been peeking at her blog for a little while now, but I only recently met her in the flesh, so she technically counts as new to me. I hope you will enjoy her blog, which is a great read, and is about to get even more exciting as she takes on a huge handmade project.

I'm pleased to report that I am in the middle of making something very special for the market tomorrow, and I'll be posting a tutorial on it as soon as I can write it up, so all you crafty souls with craft markets coming up, stay tuned to this blog for a tutorial on something you can't do without at your next market. In the meantime, you might want to check Miso Funky's market tips over on the Glasgow Craft Mafia website just now.

Ever struggled to find the right gift for the right person? Or do you share my obsession with coloured pencils (this site has pretty much my favourite banner ever)? Check out problem presents for lots of gift ideas!

Keeping it green in the UK is the Green Familia. They have lots of ideas for things to do with your security envelopes, or if you like, my security envelopes. Take a swatch here for more ideas.

If you'd like to treat yourself, head on over to the Lazy Giraffe. Her stunning jewellery makes me almost tempted to pierce my ears, it strikes the right balance for me between delicate and eyecatchingly bold. Deepa, from the Lazy Giraffe, came to my attention when I was, ahem, googling myself, and found this lovely mention of my envelopes. Oh come on, don't tell me you haven't done it, too?

Here's a pair of earrings from the Lazy Giraffe in my favourite colour:

Oh, and one last thing before I dash off. Laura, of Lupin Handmade, is running a giveaway on one of my favourite blogs Bugs and Fishes. It closes tonight, so dash over there RIGHT NOW if you want to win one of her star products! If you're too late, you can always pick up a craft pack in her Etsy store.

Just like the Lazy Giraffe, I have a stationery addiction going on, and check out these stunning notecards. Trees? Check! Baker's twine? Check! Roundy corners? Check! A lot of my favourite stuff is going on with these cards! Head over to the Lemon Drop Blog for an awesome giveaway where you can win this very set.

Whatever you're doing, have a great weekend!

Shop at Haunt!

I think I've mentioned before how much I love the products created by Erin, of Haunt, for her bath and body shop on Etsy.com. Everything from the scents to the textures to the packaging is a delight, and the products themselves? I have tried a lot of bath products in my time, and spent a lot of money on the big names, like Philosophy, Origins, (even Dermalogica and Clinique before I realised how chock full of nasty chemicals/science/whatever that they are), but nothing comes close to the awesomeness of Haunt's sugar polish. Nothing. Well, it turns out that Haunt is having to close down for the forseeable future, so I thought I'd hop on here and make sure you all know how much you should get right on over to that store and stock up while you can!

After much deliberation, I can honestly tell you that the marzipan and shortbread polish makes me want to eat my own arm. I've ordered up a new batch, and I'm going to try Cinnamon Girl while I still can, too. Mmmm cinnamon. I've also tried 12 samples of Haunt's soaps (well, some of them I've tried, most I just smelled and then put into goodie bags) and they all smelled delicious. I just hope I get the chance to order up a full size bar of pumpkin lavender when my supply of Pan and Corsair run out... The soap never dries out in the dish and the fragrance lasts all day in a really delicate way. Your six bucks goes a long way.

So what are you waiting for? Get over there to http://www.haunt.etsy.com/!

Easy to sew Mother's Day gift card wallet

I may have missed the boat in time for the UK Mother's Day, but for my readers on the other side of the pond, here is a quick and easy to make gift. You might even be able to put one together out of supplies you already have at home. Even better!

I gave this one to my mum on Mother's Day a few weeks ago, and it was a resounding success. To make your own, you'll need:

One large piece of felt, 12cm x 16cm (or 5 ins x 6 ins, if you only have a yardstick...),

assorted embroidery thread,

small offcuts of coloured felt (pink, yellow, green),

a needle,

two pins,

a pen,

and a spare button.

You may also wish to find a pencil and paper to sketch out your picture for the back, and a spare credit card or gift card to check your dimensions as you go.

Working from the shorter edge of the felt, fold it into three to create a wallet shape. You can use a spare credit card as a guide. Once you have the folds in place, use the pins to mark the creases. Between these pins will be the area you have to decorate. Remember to leave a margin of 0.5cm, or a quarter inch, so you can sew up the sides!

Using the small offcuts of felt, and your pencil and paper, design a picture that will be easy to attach with a simple running stitch. This technique is known as applique and is a simple way of embellishing any project. If you don't have any spare felt to hand, think about using sequins or spare buttons to create a similar effect. Using the paper to sketch it out first will help with the proportion of the design, and make sure it will fit in the space you have.

With small stitches, attach your felt, buttons or handstitched decorations to the back of the wallet. If you are using thick embroidery thread, you could sketch this out lightly on the felt with a thin pencil line for a guide, as you'll be covering it up with your stitches.

Turn over your work, and place a small cut in the centre of the thin flap at the top of the wallet. Once this hole has been made, poke your pen through to mark where you should attach the button. For a neat finish, you can make tiny stitches all around the button hole.

Open out the top flap, and sew each of the two longer sides together on either side. Using a contrasting colour of embroidery thread and small, neat stitches, makes dull stitching really stand out. If you are not confident of your sewing technique, use matching coloured thread. Your mum won't mind if it's not even, it's the thought that counts.

Stand back, enjoy your handiwork, and pop a nice surprise in there for your mum to open on her special day.

I'm in! (part 2)

There I am, bottom left! Thank you, http://www.covenantfarmsoap.etsy.com, for featuring my lavender cats in your best of Scotland etsy treasury.

I'm in! See you on the 26th!

Happy Easter

Hope you are all having a wonderful day!

I've been busy this weekend making up more easter chicks like Lentil, and developing a tutorial for the ancient skill of peg knitting. That's right, knitting on a laundry peg (or clothes pin).

This is just one thing you can make:

p.s. look out for the bunny in DIY kits coming soon to my etsy shop...

Another interview, more craft mafia

The delightful folks over at the Glasgow Craft Mafia have interviewed me for their blog!

You can read all about it here. They picked out and featured some of my favourite crafty items, too.

Thanks, T-Boo!

In other news, I have a yarn sale going on over at eBay. You can look me up here if you're interested in helping me destash. We're hoping to move soon and so I've decided to be ruthless as I have so much wool to get through here at home. Here's just a selection of what's on offer.

April Glasgow Craft Mafia activities

Do you like the turtle? Do you? Do you?

Turtles will be available in limited edition from the Girl Industries stall at one of the upcoming craft markets for April.

See you there, I hope!

An interview with Made Magazine

Here I am, featured in an online craft magazine. All publicity is good publicity, right?

Made Magazine

So, they got my name wrong and managed to turn me into a rubber fetishist (when they cut and paste my answers out of my email, they didn't highlight 'stamps' after rubber).

Glad I cleared that up :)

All things considered, the magazine is a good read, so I hope you'll enjoy it.

Happy Birthday to me!

Had a great day today! I called into Made in the Shade, now installed at Oran Mor, and was lucky enough to win in their tombola. Although I was slightly disappointed not to win any handmade loveliness, the £20 in vouchers for the Lighthouse Design shop that I bagsed more than made up for it.

Now I just have to decide whether I treat myself to some Marimekko fabric, some arty guide books to Vancouver and Seattle (for later in the year) or some of the delicious stationery the shop carries. Decisions, decisions.

Speaking of design, my day was complete when my friend and I spied Justin and Colin enjoying an al fresco coffee on Byres Road. Hurray for celebrity spotting!

All this week, it'll be back to business. I am planning a huge supplies destash as I may, very soon, be moving house. It'll be over at the 'bay, rather than through girlindustries on etsy, but keep your eyes on this blog for more news.

Hope you had a great weekend, too.

something that made me laugh

My email isn't working right now, for whatever reason, so I amused myself by tootling around the blogosphere. Something about this post made me laugh out loud, but now of course I have that great song stuck in my head.

Hope everyone else is having a great Thursday!