Wallpapering... the fun way!

Well, you know I love wallpaper and you know I love to gawp over the lovely products over on the Hermes website.  So I couldn't have been more thrilled to find this silly little game to play when I really should be doing other things. 

Check out the wallpaper range and have a go for yourself  - there is always lots of really interesting stuff to see on the website.  At the moment I'm really loving the film series, Hearts and Crafts, just lovely! 

Sale now on!

Visit my Etsy shop right away for amazing bargains in the Clearance Section - starting from just 20c!  I'm having a big clearout to make way for new stock and new products.  If you're the kind of person who likes to stock up on Christmassy things in the sales, you have come to the right place!

As well as Christmas themed bits and pieces, my most popular item is also in the sale.  My destash paper packs are available for a limited time at $2.50. 

Everything in the clearance section will NOT be renewed and only a handful of the Christmas tags might make a comeback next year so don't be disappointed if there's something you've had your eye on.

I am down to limited stock on chickens, lavender cats and paper string.  I don't have any of the same fabric left for the lavender cats and I probably won't be making too many more chickens for a while.  I only have one reel of white string left and a couple in black.

I'm still going to be popping in and out of the post office over the festive period, so as soon as you treat yourself, they'll be ready to post.  Happy shopping!

Christmas is coming early!

Well, it looks as though Christmas is coming early for me this year!  I think at least a few of you will know that I am a huge fan of Huey Morgan, having spent most of my maternity leave dancing around the kitchen to the songs he played on his show on 6music while covering for Lauren Laverne last year.  The fact that he is an ex-Marine from the Lower East Side does not hurt, but the reason I absolutely love to listen to Huey is that he knows so much about early hip hop and basically the late 70s/early 80s New York scene.  One of my very favourite films is The Last Days of Disco, and that era is Huey's era too.  He tells stories about bands, and places and music in a way that is passionate without getting to the point of ranting.  That, my friends, is a rare skill in the world of the modern music enthusiast.

Flyer for our evening shindig, designed by Leslie Hamer of unlesssomeonelikeyou.com

Lauren has a regular feature on her programme called 'Memory Tapes', which I absolutely love.  She asks listeners to email in with the track listings from CDs or tapes or playlists from times gone by and then gives them a call to chat over how said collection came about and so on.

When I was starting my holidays last weekend (before I got my awful cold), I decided for fun to send in the playlist I made for our wedding reception, back in 2009.  During last Friday's show they announced that they were looking for Christmassy compilations, so I duly wrote on the bottom of my email that the collection of songs was not at all Christmassy but then I told a fairly dull anecdote about a night out one December and a one-man karaoke performance of the Band Aid single, which I hoped would make up for the lack of festivity to the list.

Well, I guess it did.  Because they are going to play five of my songs tomorrow morning and Huey will be having a little chat to me at about my playlist at 10.40am.  Tune in online or on your digital radio or your telly if you can.  Who wouldn't want to take over their favourite radio station with their own choice of music, and chat to their favourite DJ about the best day of their lives?  Thanks for the best Christmas present ever, 6music!

I really really hope I am not bumped from the schedules now I've told everyone it's happening...

So much to do!

Handmade mobile, a Christmas present for my baby nephew

So you know when you finish work for the holidays, and there's so much you have to do, and you've been putting it off because you know a job badly done is worse than a job done late, and you have a full week with childcare to take care of it all once you finish work, so you don't stress or worry about it too much?  And then you get the flu?

Yes.  This happened to me.  So I've been dragging myself out of bed only to pick up and drop off the baby, my early-ish pre-Christmas organisation came in very handy because at least all the presents and most of the cards were sorted.  But the things I had planned to do like finish off some handmade presents, sort out a pre-Christmas sale in my etsy shop, catch up on the blog (I have so much to show and tell that I've been working on/looking at/admiring out there in the world of handmade!) and think ahead to next year's NEW PRODUCTS (two out of twelve actually finished and made, one photographed, sigh....), have a big sort out of the craft room etc., have all been bumped.  On top of this I've had some SERIOUS problems with the people who were supposed to be at least attempting to sell my flat, and need to spend most of tomorrow sorting out a new estate agent.  I also have a huge event to plan, make stock for and prepare for which is yikes - only really about six weeks away, and I've had the grand sum of ONE conversation about a collaboration I'm doing for a new product especially for this event. 

Gosh, I feel bad even sitting here and typing this when I could be doing something more productive.  Although as you all know, procrastination is my friend and I've already spent the morning putting away laundry, picking up flea treatment at the supermarket for the cats, stacking the dishwasher and ahem, having breakfast and a read of the local paper in McDonalds.

In the spirit of getting things done, here are the main things I want to catch up with you lot about. 

1. Some of the handmade Christmas presents I made - I was in such a flu-fogged panic that I didn't even take a bloomin' photo of one of them before I managed to get it in the post on Monday morning, so I'm hoping the recipient will take one on Christmas morning.
2. The sale I'm planning for the etsy shop, I've decided to clear out a lot of older products to make way for new things.
3. I'm also planning to destash a lot of the designer fabric I have, as well as a few bits and bobs of haberdashery.  As part of this, I will discuss my rule about fabric, to which I have NOT been adhering and the ensuing crisis of conscience that this involves.
4. The zine exhibition in Salford, at which I took one or two sneaky photos of Amelia which may or may not have had my zines in the background, naughty naughty
5. The special event that I am preparing for which I will have to talk about A LOT, and the exciting collaboration I've been working on especially for this event.
6. The new zine I've been planning - I still need to make my spreadsheet of who is writing about what, but as I only really have about 10 or so confirmed volunteers and no submissions yet, please do get in touch if you fancy having a go.  I haven't written anything yet either.
7. Issue 8 of the Answers on a Postcard is so nearly ready to print it isn't funny BUT what is even less funny is that I need to reformat the files for printing which is driving me bananas even without flu-related brain fog.
8. I need to have a 'getting things finished' drive in the New Year.  I have unfinished projects I have been working on since I was pregnant in 2010.  And before.  This is not going to be tolerated in 2012.  If any of you would like to join me in a 'get it finished' challenge I want to see one thing finished by the end of every month.  I want to see before and after photos.  I want to feel your shame and your elation so I know I'm not alone!
9. I want to do better at blogging and keep on top of things next year.  I want to buy a small digital camera that I can fit in my handbag during the January sales to help me do this.  I LOVE my DSLR but boy is it a pain to cart it around.  My old 2007 issue digital camera is pants and will be traded in to help fund this.
10. I want to hit 200 sales in my Etsy shop in 2012.  I also want to be stocked in another couple of outlets either online or b&m as I have had such good experiences with the wonderful Ethics Girls and Vertiline in Love.  I have a couple of ideas for 'exclusive' ranges for shops which fancy taking on some of my work and a couple of shops in mind that I'd love to work with...

So there you are, the edited highlights of my to-do list!   In the meantime I am going to get today done with, sort the flat tomorrow, and then have a lovely 12 days of fun with my family over Christmas and New Year.  I wish you all a lovely peaceful and calm Christmas, and a happy and healthy New Year!

Better late than never - Wednesday wishlist

I'm back on the jewel colours, I can't resist them.  Check out these purples...



While I'm here, I was featured in a treasury celebrating upcycled Christmas decorations, which are all on sale in the UK - leaving my fellow Brits a few more days for last-minute impulse buys.  Thank you www.bakersbitsandbobs.etsy.com for featuring me :)

Baby Booty Sale

I'll be in Glasgow tomorrow for the Baby Booty Sale at Kelvinhall.  I'm sharing a stall with A Home for All Seasons, and while we both have a lot of secondhand, new and unused baby things between us, we'll be there on Saturday in our crafty capacities - with a focus on baby gifts, keepsakes and Christmas gifts for new parents and the young'uns.  Come and find us, and say hello!

More details here, but the sale runs from 11-2pm and is a pretty pretty good idea.  Now to make sure I don't leave with more baby stuff than I arrive with...

Can't make it to Glasgow?  If you're in the UK or Europe, you still have time to buy online at the Girl Industries etsy shop before the recommended last posting dates for Christmas.  But hurry!

Wednesday wishlist - pandamonium!

For those of you don't know, our local zoo recently took delivery of two giant pandas.  The new arrivals go on show on the first day of my Christmas/New Year break from my day job.  I'm so excited to see them, and created a treasury celebrating all things pandhandmade in the UK!



p.s. I have been away for a short while, and pre-occupied with real life stuff but now I'm baaaaack :)