Last day of Etsy Holiday Sale offers!

Today is the last day of my Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion tie-in, and the Etsyversary sale proper starts tomorrow.

That means that after today, the buy one get one free on all supplies ends, and the free shipping offers end. So if there's something you've had your eye on, get in there, today!

Etsyversary!

Happy Etsyversary to me!

Remember the sale is still running over in my etsy shop - there's free shipping on handknits and handmade holidays items, buy one get one free on commercial and upcycled crafting supplies, and 20% off everything else, store-wide!

Stock up while you can, but more special offers are on their way from the 1st to the 5th of December.

I might see you all in person later on today, at the Glasgow Craft Mafia handmade haven. What a fab weekend of shopping!

Etsyversary and Etsy Holiday Sale

In a fun twist of fate, Etsy have announced a brilliant weekend of sales from 27 to 30 November! It doesn't just coincide with my planned etsyversary sale (I've been using Etsy for two years on 29th November), but it's also the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in the US. It's a great time to get ready for the big end of year holidays, including Christmas and New Year, and gives everyone a chance to shop in plenty of time.

I have a great selection of special offers to bring to you - all my handknit and handmade holidays items will attract free shipping for the period of the etsy holiday sale, and commercial as well as upcycled supplies in my shop will attract a buy one, get one free discount. It works in the usual way, get the cheaper item for free when you pick two things out of my shop. There will be a 20% discount on every other item in my shop, as well! Woo-hoo!

If you convo me first (or email me at katy [at] girlindustries dot com) I can set up a custom listing for you to make sure that your discounts are included on your invoice. If you add the items to your basket, your discount will be refunded to you via PayPal. Most of the things I have available in my etsy shop are available in larger quantities, so if you want two reels of the same ribbon for your deal, just convo or email me so I can check stock levels and set it up for you.

Even better - once the Etsy Holiday Sale is finished, I'll be continuing with my own little sale from the 1st to the 5th of December - come back to the blog to check for more info!

Exciting times, eh?

See you on Saturday

STOP PRESS! I'm feeling really poorly and won't make it to the fair. I don't want to inflict my germs on anyone who isn't a day-job colleague or relative. Inver Cottage is still on for next week, so don't despair.

Festive shopping

Would it disgust you to know I've completed my Christmas shopping? Admittedly, most of it happened completely by accident due to browsing at last month's Handmade Haven. But! I have picked up some fantastic things from Sarey Poppins.

Without giving the game away, look at this perfect idea for a Christmas pressie...

I even picked up a top tip, if you pop one of my lavender sachets inside, your bedding smells all dreamy and relaxing as it heats next to your hot water bottle.

And how about an unique and original little something from embroidery genius Angharad Jefferson?

I know a telly addict who'd love one of these...

I was asked to make a Christmas stocking for a little one I know, but thought that Rikrak has it all under control in her shop.

Wouldn't you love to wake up with one of these hanging on the mantelpiece...

You can find the perfect gift wrapping embellishments in my etsy and folksy shops, and watch this space for details of how to make your own! Or pick some up in person from the Girl Industries stall at the Dennistoun Craft Fair on Saturday 28th November, or at Inver Cottage with the Glasgow Craft Mafia on Saturday 5th December.

By popular request

After a bit of sewing, a whole lot of knitting and a little bit of driving, I can proudly announce that these adorable baby jumpers are now available at the Rachael Albert boutique at DeCourcey's in the West End of Glasgow. I'll also have them with me when I hit up Dennistoun Craft Fair on Saturday 28th November, and Inver Cottage on 5th December.

Most of the jumpers are made out of mum-friendly machine washable cotton and cotton blends - some with 100% organic cotton, and some even have a little bit of silk mixed in, too.

However... if there is one you absolutely feel you must have right now, please sign up for and log into Etsy, send me a message using the conversation feature, and I will list one just for you as a custom order for the bargain price of $25, including shipping to the UK.

From the left to the right, they are in sizes 0-3 months, 3-6 months and 6-9 months. All of them are limited editions, which mean that these are the only ones in existence, so when they are gone, they're gone!

The Craft Mafia are coming!

Look out for us in Glasgow and beyond over the next couple of weekends. We'd love for you to join us!

I'm in a book!

So this is big news!

My black damask envelopes have been featured in this awesome book. Lots of the projects in 1000 ideas for creative reuse (by Garth Johnson) are a familiar sight from Etsy and Craft, but there is plenty in there that is more on the the art side than the craft side, and it's a lovely book to browse through and be inspired by. Garth's blog, Extreme Craft is also well worth a read, I love the fine balance between cutting edge ideas and traditional techniques.

One of my favourite things about the book is that each page is organised by colour theme, making it really easy on the eye. I also like the way that everyone is properly credited, by name, by company and in an easy to read index that identifies each contributor and his/her/their item. After being misquoted, falsely attributed and altogether omitted by certain other publications over the years, it's very refreshing to see that someone is capable of doing it properly.

I love this ad

I saw this on TV a lot when I was in the US in September and thought I should share it with you. If you like the colour brown, stationery and mail that actually arrives, then you'll like this!

Christmas parcels at Shop Handmade UK

Oooh, I've been featured in a number of special gift packages curated by Shop Handmade UK. I especially like Rose Pink Gift Box Number 2, which also contains a What Would Delia Do? tea towel made by Miso Funky, and cute little ponytail holders by See The Woods, who keeps me entertained over on Twitter. You also get a keychain notebook from Girl Industries in there, too, you lucky recipient!

The gift boxes represent really good value for money, and are on sale right now, via Folksy.com. They will also be available to ooh and aah over, and to buy, at the Handmade UK market in Oxford on Sunday 29 November.

What a lovely gift!

Squirrels and rabbits and deer! Oh my!

I'm powering through my to-do list today, so thought I'd take some time out to show you something I've been working on just for fun.

Close.

Closer.

Closest.

The Coveted magazine and random thoughts on fashion

I'm looking forward to the next issue! Have you read it yet?



One of my big jobs to do that I've been putting off is to have a good sort through my wardrobe so I'm slightly obsessed with fashion/good clothes at the moment. I was even reading Vogue the other day at the hairdressers - their annual 'dash cash' issue is out at the mo, which is about looking good and spending less. A key theme was upcycling so I'll be eyeing up my old clothes to see what I can make...

I was thinking about putting my sewing machine to good use and whipping up one of these patchwork sewing bags from Quilting for Peace, so pretty! Make your own here.

Markets are coming!

I'm so excited about the next few weeks! The nights are drawing in, it's time to pick up gifts and nice things, and spend extra time cosied up with the cats and a cuppa.



I'll be venturing out to shop at all the seasonal Glasgow Craft Mafia events. You can also catch me selling from the Girl Industries line at Dennistoun Craft Market on Saturday 28 November at the foot of Armadale Street just off Duke Street. You know, near where Lulu's from...

Ribbons ribbons ribbons

How festive - look what's in the clearance section of my shop right now...

Making packages pretty

Every year at Christmas time I try my best to dress up my parcels, usually with nice ribbon, cute tags, or miniature baubles.

This year I've decided to put a little handmade something on all the gifts under our tree... some tiny little handknit stockings.

More colourways are coming soon, but in the meantime you can buy this grey set in my Etsy shop. This year I'm all about the grey, red and white, but what's your Christmas theme colour this year?

Updated to say: here's a red one, too!

On the to-do list

There are three types of souvenirs I look for when I'm on holiday. My collection of choice is a pencil from a tourist attraction, and I have a little box with about 80 in it.

When there aren't any pencils, I keep my eyes peeled for a squashed penny machine.

And if both options fail me, I go for the sew-on embroidered patch. There's a bit more effort involved in collecting these as they need to be sewn on to my sleeping bag using thread which matches the outer border of each patch just so. Then there's the maintenance, I've been doing this since I was about 7 and some of the older ones are falling off. I'm still catching up from my 30th birthday roadtrip across the southern states of the US. Here are a few from the sewing pile, from my most recent trip...

I need your help

A few months ago I was contacted with a heads up that my coffee kilts were slated to be featured in the November issue of the US version of Country Living magazine, as part of a wider feature on tartan.

I've tried all our bookstores and international newsagents here in Glasgow and I can't find a copy for my scrapbook. So if you are reading this in the US and are a subscriber to the magazine, I would be so hugely grateful for a scanned copy of any mention of my products.

If you could drop me an email to katy [at] girlindustries [dot] com that would be really very sweet indeed. Or leave a comment here to let me know if I'm definitely in. I didn't make it to the online verison of the article (here) and the suspense is really quite something!

Making room for new precious things

You might see from my etsy shop at the moment that I'm having a bit of a destash of supplies. While I was away in Canada I made it to a lovely little shop called ButtonButton, which reminded me of the haberdashery store that used to be just about halfway on my trip to the library when I was little. Unfortunately that haberdashers, and the lovely milliners' next door is long gone (turned into a car park when the local rugby club was closed down and turned into a retail park), but it made me happy to see such a treasure trove of supplies in a quirky little shop in Vancouver.

Check me out getting used to toonies and loonies again...

When I got home I was delighted to receive a wedding gift in the shape of Asking for Trouble's lovely printed bags - nothing could be more appropriate as I like buttons, I'm not so keen on keeping my stash in plastic bags, and my new hubby dislikes a mess.