Recap on where to buy...

Did you catch me on STV's The Hour last week? If not, don't despair, you can catch up on their online player service, here. I'm in part three, and you can watch online until the end of the year.

I showed off a few of my Christmas shopping gifts on the TV, and here is a recap of where to buy. First up is Sarey Poppins, with this perfect idea for a Christmas pressie...






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 also managed to show off some lovely notebooks from Pumpkinsputnik, I am addicted to her work and simply can't stop buying them any time I need a gift!

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! I'll be sharing tips with you via Glasgow Craft Mafia in the next few days.

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!

Happy Burns Night

2009 is official homecoming year in Scotland - everyone is cordially invited to 'come home' and celebrate everything that Scotland has to offer. I'm just home from attending an event at Glasgow Cathedral to mark the launch of homecoming, which officially runs from today until St Andrew's Day.

I was particularly surprised to note the company name of one of the participants in the concert - Joann Gilmartin, originally from the same part of Glasgow where I'm sitting right now, runs Glasgow Girl Enterprises out of California. Sounds eerily familiar! I hope some of the young performers from the concert go on to similar exciting ventures in future, I was very impressed by the standard of singing, recital and playing of traditional instruments.

Had I known in advance that the event was going to be streamed live on the internet, I would have let you know, but until I find someone who has recorded and is hosting it, why not enjoy some haggis, neeps and tatties and look out a few lines of Burns yourself?

Where to start?

I've been wanting to start this whole 'girl industries' thing for ages, but I'm a world class procrastinator and I genuinely didn't know where to begin.

I'm a big reader, and I've attended enough English classes to know about beginning with a significant event. But that doesn't translate suitably to something I've been doing for more than 25 years. I've gradually become more crafty this year, as my day job workload has decreased I've become better at managing my study time. This coincided with the start of a project to transfer all the family video tapes to DVD. Naturally I found myself knitting more and more, you can't beat a vintage BBC serial or television play and the old needles and wool for an hour of relaxation.

But back to the question, beginnings, and how does one go about them? Having graduated in Lit some 8 years ago, I'm on my way to starting a PhD, and what has preparing for this taught me... do your research!

So I hopped on the internet to take a look at some of my daily must-reads. Usually I take a look when I need colour, trend or technique inspiration. If I'm super-busy I like to do a quick tour of my favourite blogs just to feel creative or crafty without having to pick up needle or scissors. Today I'm looking at their first ever posts to see how they did it...