Busy bee x

I don't know about you, but I love going to open studio events and taking a peak at how creative people work. I have been a busy bee putting together brochures and have taken a couple of snapshots of my work in progress. They are not the most professional of images but definitely capture my messy desk and all of the bits and pieces that I include in my press packs and promotional packages to buyers...

I've invested in a super duper printer so that I can print out all of my brochures as I need them and can also add extra pages when I design new products...you can see my newest product the 'time for the tea party' cushion above...

My friend Danielle, (who incidentally designed my gorgeous look book) introduced me to the most amazingly useful little tool...a bone folder (not real bone of course!) this is part of my essential kit to fold paper and cardboard perfectly...

Here I am putting everything together... x

Save the Children x

Hello...sorry it's been a while since my last post, it's proving more difficult than I anticipated to juggle a new baby with a baby business...they certainly both need a lot of time, love and attention to grow and thrive! On the 'mummy' side of things me and Jake have been to baby yoga, crafty tales (a kind of singing, dancing, musical class) and story time at the library and on the business side I've been busy sending out orders and approaching some new shops.

I then decided to combine both baby and business together and myself and Jake popped down to our local charity shop to deliver lots of last season's stock that are slight seconds.

Off we went to the Save the Children shop with our bags of goodies. Hopefully they will be able to raise a few pounds for a very good cause.

Here you can have a sneaky peak of some of the bits and pieces I took. Lots of little tree and vintage bow key rings and some sweet pea stripy purses. Take a look if you live near by, you can pick up a bargain and it is completely guilt free retail therapy because you are supporting such a great charity x

A lovely evening x

What could be nicer than a lovely summer's evening with great friends, delicious food, yummy cocktails, chilled crisp white wine and to top it off a sleeping baby so I can eat with a knife and a fork rather than with a fork in one hand and a baby in the other! Our good friends live just around the corner in a super cute flat with an even cuter courtyard garden...

As the sun went down time to light lots of candles and lovely lanterns...

The food was delicious...homemade bread, chicken with a yummy marinade, zesty salad and to top it all of scrumptious raspberry crumble...

Perfect! x

Clementine bags x

I have just had a delivery of some of my Clementine bags...these are one of my favourite products and sadly this is my last order as the small company who sew them for me can't make them any more as they are really time consuming to make. They aren't on my website as I wasn't expecting any more but they are on my not on the high street store if you want to check them out.

One of the reasons I like them so much is because they are reversible...they are printed and embroidered on one side and either stripy or dotty on the other. They come in blue, green and beechy brown and come with three badges (one large and two small) so that you can personalise and make yours completely one of a kind! I like to pin the badges on the stripy or dotty side...

They are brilliant as a shopper bag or beach bag and I am using mine as a baby bag at the moment!

The lovely Clementine bag comes to you in her own drawstring bag to keep her snug and safe on her journey. She also has a hand printed gift tag for easy gift giving. My top tip is to keep your drawstring bag to store shoes or other bits and pieces.

Ohhh, I have just found one peach Clementine bag at the bottom of the box...I don't have any photos of the peach Clemmie, but if you are interested in the last one ever let me know and I will email you a picture. To celebrate this last order of Clementine bags I have a special offer for my blog readers...send me an email or a message once you have purchased your bag from not on the high street and I will send you an extra stash of badges to personalise your bag and either a vintage bow or a lovely tree keyring. I only have 12 bags in total so don't delay if you want one x

What a busy day x

What a busy day we had last Sunday...we visited the Angel of the North...

the London Eye...

Buckingham Palace...

Brighton pier...

and attended a lovely country wedding, all in one day...only teasing we visited Legoland in Windsor! It was amazing..! I have to admit I wasn't completely filled with joy about our trip but I had promised my nephew we would take him this summer, so take him we did. We went on the usual rides and roller coasters but also visited miniland, which is as its name suggests a mini land made out of lego...it really made me want to get my lego out of the loft and start building, maybe next weekend..! x

Made in Clerkenwell x

Hello...sorry I haven't posted for a couple of days, I have been staying with my parents in Manchester and without my lovely laptop. It was so nice to have a change of scenery, not to mention lots of yummy cakes made by mum! Jake enjoyed spending time with his cousins and his first dip at the swimming baths, but now I'm back in London and back to work! It is that time of year when I start to think about craft fairs, I have just finished my application form for 'Made in Clerkenwell' which is one of Craft Central's events. If you haven't visited any of Craft Central's fairs before I would really recommend them, particularly if you are looking for special Christmas presents. I love buying handmade gifts and it is the perfect place.

I haven't taken part before and the application form said that presentation was very important so I decided to pop my application into a drawstring bag and decorated it with some of my badges. Places are limited so please keep your fingers crossed for me...

I also popped in one of my new postcards, hopefully it will be eye catching! I am also applying for Selvedge Christmas fair and Spirit of Christmas so I will keep you posted on my progress. I love taking part in fairs as it is great to meet my customers face to face and get lots of feedback x

Merci x

Don't you just love getting post..? I absolutely do! Don't get me wrong, emails are fantastic but nothing compares to receiving a hand written letter or even better a delicious parcel! Well, yesterday I was the recipient of the most scrumptious of parcels, the wrapping was truly yummy...I really should have taken a photo, but I was so excited I'm afraid I just couldn't wait to see what was inside!

It was a super lovely present from my friend Lucy Jane Batchelor, in fact it was a gift for Baby Jake rather than me but at the moment until he is old enough to appreciate it the pleasure is all mine! Lucy is a really talented artist, she designs a beautiful range of stationary as well as gorgeous little creatures. I met her several years ago when she had a studio at cockpit arts and fell in love with her quirky style. She sent Jake two lovely plates and a tiny friend to add to the little family of her creatures that I already own. One day Jake will be able to play (very carefully of course) with Lucy's lovely creations...

Say hello to mummy, daddy and baby...I am so pleased to have a little bunny to add to the family. Merci lovely Lucy x

Le chien et moi x

Here are the some pictures from the gorgeous le chien et moi website. We have got some lovely vintage furniture from here (check out my previous post) as well as some old linen post sacks that I stitched into cushions. The website is very inspirational, you click through like you are turning the pages of a sketchbook. I want to go back to Nottingham so I can visit again x

A peak inside my tiny studio x

Welcome to my little studio...which also doubles up as a spare room and at some point in the near future will be shared with my baby when he moves out of our bedroom, but for the moment at least it is my studio and creative sanctuary! You can see one of my favourite finds, a vintage locker from a little gem of a shop le chien et moi I discovered this treasure when on a trip to Nottingham and fell in love instantly! Unfortunately it wouldn't fit in our rather small car but luckily we managed to get it delivered...Remind me to give you a little peak inside, it is full of all of my crafting bits and pieces. On top you can see a crate full of my Melancholy tree cushions. These are my favourite cushions in my collection with their sad little faces and cute story printed on the back. Check them out on my website...

Another corner of my studio, as you can see every nook and cranny is filled with stock and materials. Hen and Hammock sell great old crates and seed trays which I love to store my brooches and hair slides in.

A few more treasures to inspire me and make me smile...the champagne cork was popped when I got engaged on christmas day x

Beautiful and functional...the perfect combination! I found this gorgeous vintage ribbon holder in a tiny shop Beyond Fabrics on Columbia Road, a real favourite of mine. You must pop in if you are in the neighbourhood, it sells a lovely selection of ribbons and trims.

My friends and family know that I love cute bits and pieces so my birthday and christmas presents normally include little additions to my studio. Meet my bunny and birds which were in my stocking last year...x