Little Birds Market - Sunday 11 September

I'll be making my return to craft markets at the Little Birds event on Sunday 11 September. You'll find me upstairs in Sloans, with a new selection of Girl Industries products, some of which you won't find online, so it's well worth dropping in!

I'll update you nearer the time as a little nudge. Hope to see you then!

Crafty Attic

Do you remember recently that I posted about a site called Heartsy? Well, Heartsy has now mostly shifted away from handmade/independent sellers and a new site called Crafty Attic is picking up where Heartsy left off. With a provisional launch date of 1 September, Crafty Attic looks like another interesting prospect for us crafty thrifty types - keep your eyes peeled for more news!

Butcher Boy's Christmas Fayre

Are you in Glasgow and free on Saturday 11 December? Beat the usual festive rush at the shops AND get to see one of Glasgow's finest acts at the gorgeous surroundings of the Mitchell Library.

My friend (and former DJing partner in crime, fact fans) Alison has organised this event showcasing her band at the Mitchell in a couple of weeks. I'm going to try and make it over there, snowfall permitting, and the full details are as follows, below.



Time Saturday, December 11 · 11:00am - 4:00pm

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Location The Mitchell Library
North Street
Glasgow, United Kingdom

Join us in the beautiful Jeffrey Hall (top floor) for arts and crafts, home baking, face painting, raffles, and music from Butcher Boy and the Power Cut Choir.

The Fayre runs from 11am til 3pm.

Butcher Boy will play from 3pm til 4pm.

Entry is £1 for the Fayre only or £5 for the Fayre including the gig. Under-10s get in free!

All proceeds will go to the Beatson Institute and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice.

Glasgow Craft Mafia at Inver Cottage this weekend!

Read all about it over on the Glasgow Craft Mafia blog. It's a great place to visit - Inver Cottage is in a beautiful location and makes the best food ever - and getting a chance to do some early handmade Christmas shopping is a fantastic bonus!

Under the weather

Hello troops!

I've had a bad back all week, but needless to say, I had a wonderful time at Benmore Botanic Gardens on Sunday. Here are a couple of photos I took during quiet times in the crafty marquee.

And in the meantime, you can read how we got on over at the Asking for Trouble blog.

I'm closing shop on Monday for a couple of weeks to focus on moving house. But I'll be here blogging in the background and keeping my fingers very tightly crossed that our new phone line and broadband provider doesn't let me down.

500 things in 50 days challenge update

Wow! I'm more than halfway through my personal challenge to get rid of 500 things out of my house in 50 days and thought it was high time for an update.


One of my most successful destashes so far has been creating these gloves. Alright, so I was already onto a flyer when I made three new things out of four old things - but the good news is that one of them sold the minute I finished stitching it up, at last month's Handmade Haven organised by the Glasgow Craft Mafia.

I did pretty well at the market and said goodbye to 71 things. Although I am being a pedant as 50 or so of those things accounted for buttons from my button pick'n'mix. Thank you to Rhubarb Crumble for all the lovely photos!

I've also been keenly destashing my bathroom and using up my travel sizes, samples and partially finished toiletries and cosmetics (another 23 things, gone, and my skin and hair is looking pretty good, so I'm glad I made the effort to pamper myself!). I've also destashed a fair few untouched or lightly tested items on eBay.

I've now sold 58 lots on eBay, and that actually accounts for 95 things. I also used up two boxes full of pre-used packaging materials, only having to buy 25 new bubble mailers - success! As far as this post goes, that's a total of: 28 + 95 + 23 + 71 + 1, or 218 more things. I think I might be in some danger of hitting my target at the end of this month. In the meantime, we are still waiting for the purchase of our new place to be confirmed, but I'm not going to let that slow me down.

500 things in 50 days - a new challenge

For those of you who have been following the blog, and particularly my tweets, you'll know that my husband and I are planning to move house this year. A couple of months ago we found a property we like, and following some legal work and many visits and phone calls to the bank, we look 60% likely to be moving at the end of April!

If the sale falls through, we've decided to stay put and ride out the current financial climate at home. Either way, we need to think about seriously decluttering as running a business and a home at the same time can get out of hand in a one-bedroom flat. Particularly when one's strapline is 'making new stuff out of old stuff' - there's a lot of old and new stuff kicking around right now!

So I've decided to keep you up to date here, as it will keep me focused on the task at hand. My birthday is also coming up, and while I love to receive presents I think this year I would really love to get gift cards, particularly Amazon, the proposed demise of 6music is making me think I should get ready to start buying CDs and downloads again... Although if you absolutely want to buy me a present, I want one of these, please.

Yesterday I got started with the following little list:

1-7 items of clothing to the charity shop
8+9 unwanted candles and holders to friend for car boot sale
10 boxed Habitat bathroom fittings (as above)
11 boxed collectible mug (as above)
12 Donation of yarn to a non-profit organisation


13-15 Magazines in the recycling
16 + 17 Made by Hank purse and Origins product to my mum for Mother's Day

Needless to say, a huge eBay destash is on its way later this month, and Asking For Trouble-style I'll let you know how I do in my Etsy shop and also I'll be at the Glasgow Craft Mafia handmade haven later this month, too. Hopefully I'll be finishing off projects I'm halfway through and doing well for sales and not just throwing and giving things away :-)

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.

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!

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!

Things to do in Glasgow - when I'm not here!

I'm missing some good stuff while I'm away on honeymoon, but if you're in Glasgow, be sure to check out these events on my behalf.

First up is the Glasgow Craft Mafia social at Mono on Sunday 27 September. This is in place of our usual market, so that members, craft fans and potential new members can say hi, have a blether and maybe a cheeky drink or two. Craft materials and know-how will be on hand, so bring your own project, or start a new one on the day.

Over the entire time I'm away, I'm quite spectacularly managing to miss a good deal of hand-sewing going on at Glasgow's Women's Library. They'll be recreating banners in the style of those used to promote Suffragette activity 100 years ago. I love the iconography of the banners, the visual style, the hard work and sheer bloody-mindedness put into them, and of course I love the fact that I can vote. If you love all these things too, you can take part on 22nd & 29th Sept and 6th October from 1-3pm. It's being facilitated by the lovely Loraine, of SherbetHeadCreations, and culminates in a re-enactment of the march on 10 October - when I'll be jetlagged but hopefully able to catch up with all the excitement.

Here's a SherbetHead classic for you.. which also sounds remarkably like something the unreal Troy Dyer would say.

And finally, I've been trying to catch a band called Sonny Marvello in Glasgow for ages. I saw them defeat the band I was rooting for, Maslow, in a Battle of the Bands back in December 2007 in New York. Wouldn't you know that they're back in town... when I'll be somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Not only are they playing a gig where I actually live, but I could have been holding a stall there too - because it's time for the Pin Up Nights circus! There's even a guest appearance from Naboo from the Might Boosh, he'll be DJing. Get yourselves to the Flying Duck on Friday 25th September. And let me know how it goes!

And if you want to catch the best of indie business and craft, the Made in the Shade Gals are back at the Lighthouse on Saturday 26 September for a shopping extravanganza - so don't enjoy yourselves too much at the circus!

What are you doing next weekend?

Another weekend is almost over... but fear not, another one just as good will be back in five short days!

Something new

I love the nautical look that’s everywhere right now. Those of you who are in on my wedding preparations will know that it plays a big role in the décor on our special day.

You can take a little bit of seafaring chic everywhere with you all summer long with these new bracelets in my store. They look great on their own, or as a set of three.

I'm joining in on Etsy's accessories promotion all weekend, this weekend. Just mention 'weekend deals' when you check out to get a 20% refund on anything I sell that isn't made of paper!

Snap them up online right now, or pick them up in person at the Glasgow Craft Mafia handmade haven on Sunday 30th August, at our usual venue, Mono.

Remember the market today

Glasgow Craft Mafia Market at Mono on Sunday

I'll be calling in with my mum for some tea and cupcakes. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Bungo in the Back Lanes... and more!

For your crafting pleasure, there are 3 fantastic events taking place across Glasgow this weekend.

You can catch me from 1 until 4 at Bungo in the Back Lanes on the South Side, no doubt rocking my new Sarey Poppins sunhat if it's a sunny day.

Sarah herself will be at the Hidden Lane festival, over in the West End.

And if you don't catch my other Glasgow Craft Mafia friends at either of the above, you'll no doubt find them soaking up the retro atmosphere over at Made in the Shade at Glasgow University. It goes on until midnight - so you've plenty of time to fit everyone in!

Bungo in the back lanes

I'm so excited to be a part of this event! Rosie's Retro Styling is hosting a mini-Glasgow Craft Mafia market on Saturday in the south side of Glasgow. I'll be there, along with Asking for Trouble and Pumpkin Sputnik.

Check out the website for full details, and try to pop along if you can, it'd be great to see you!

Catching up

I've been so busy these past few weeks, I've barely had time to blog. Wedding preparations have slightly taken over my life, and I've been ticking things off my list regularly. Bridesmaids shrugs are all but finished (I think I've mentioned my love of knitting and my dislike of making things up), but then I took it upon myself to make one for me, and I think I'll be making another for a friend's birthday in a couple of days!

I've really enjoyed getting back into knitting and I have a huge amount of yarn to work through as I'd neglected it for so long. I've made up another list of projects, large and small, to help me destash. I'm going to be road testing some of these projects at upcoming markets in June and July, and online. During August and September I'm going to take a little break from markets, to make sure everything is in order for my big day.

My envelope-making skills continue to be in demand. I've had a lot of interest from photographers in my 5 x 5 inch envelopes, which are the perfect size for CDs/DVDs. Jewellery sellers also seem to be keen on my 4 x 4 inch envelopes, which are just perfect for necklaces and bracelets, and my little 3cm square envelopes which hold rings very snugly. In response to this demand, I've made up a special pack which you can look at in my shop. I'm totally open to customising the pack to suit your needs, all you have to do is ask.

The other thing I've been doing, which has turned into a bit of a time vampire, is playing with my new pedometer. It's part of this game for the DS, and I knew I'd love it as soon as I saw the advert on TV last week. I try to walk to and from work every day, or at least one way or the other. My current per day step record is 16,978, with a daily average of 12,000. My walk to work is about three miles long, through the industrial east of Glasgow. It's lovely on a sunny evening, and it gives a new perspective on local landmarks, like the football ground, or the local market when the traders have cleared away for the day...

Tomorrow is going to be a whole day of awesome!

Remember your school days? And the annual summer fete? Well, mine was never like the one at Glasgow's Steiner School, on Lumsden Street, in Yorkhill.

There will be a cafe with loads of vegetarian stuff and baking, live music, a BBQ, games, craft activities for kids (clay modeling, necklace making, pinwheels and willow fairy rings). There's also henna and face painting, a book sale and a miniature pony!

There will also be firemen and a fire engine. In fairness, we had that at our school, along with Welephant.

There is such a lot going on crafts-wise over the next three weekends in Glasgow, I think I'll need a separate blog post to sum it all up. While I have an exciting trip to the (sssh!) V-E-T-S on the slate for tomorrow, a little birdie tells me that Covetables, with her creatures, craft kits and cupcakes and Miso Funky, with her PG-13 selection of embroidery, will be at the Steiner School. The fun starts at 11.30 and finishes at 4, so I'll try to drop in once the cats are settled at home.