She Sold!

Just watched the Live Auction and happy to say 

Royally Dotted and Wells Spotted *SOLD* for £1,100. 

Hope she's gone to a good home.

50% FRIDAY

Check out 50% FRIDAY today

Our fab magnets are half price for one day only - perfect stocking fillers!

50% FRIDAY

It's the little things.....

...that make it all worthwhile.

 I have had the busiest of days and a poorly boy in tow too but I came home today to a little package. It  always seems odd to see my tape on packages I receive in the post. I wasn't expecting anything, so I was intrigued to see who it was from.

 Inside was a lovely hand written letter (somehow even more special) and a little bundle of gifts from a complete stranger or rather new virtual friend - a lovely blog follower.

The spotty packaging was lovely and so very thoughtful - gorgeous spots and gingham ribbon - a perfect combination.

and inside......

were two lovely handmade pin cushions.

 I won't go into all the detail of the letter but she very kindly made Sophie and I each the lovely pin cushions after following our sewing endeavours here on the blog - the kindest, loveliest gift to receive.

 And Sam wasn't left out - a little stripey bag of sweet treats - lucky boy!

So what a truly lovely thing to happen on such a busy, rush around day - well, any day really. There really are some very lovely people out there. So a huge thank you to Sarah who has given me permission to give her a little mention - you can find out about her fab workshops over on her website *here* and follow her on facebook *here*  

Thank you!

RIBBON HEAVEN

Back at the very end of August I took delivery of 2 big boxes of gorgeous ribbon. Well they have been sat on the shelves, all organised but haven't got much further.......

 .....until today. 

Today I earmarked some time to photograph my lovely ribbon. I knew I needed a good amount of concentrated time and as I thought, 6 hours later I was finished.

 So we have photo's of all the ribbon ready for the ribbon section on the website.

We have ribbon photographed for the individual categories - in a basket,

 on a tube,

 in a pile and 

 then individually!

 I tied all the different ribbons on to these parcel tubes - I think they look fab! Here are the backs

 

 and here are the fronts - so very colourful.

I bought this old wooden cube unit at the last flea market and it is proving invaluable for staging when taking photo's and I hope will be perfect for a couple of Christmas Fairs I am doing and my next trade show too.

There are plenty of dots and spots of course but also stripes, gingham, stitched and plain satin in red, blue, pink and green.

I think you'll agree they all look bright and cheerful and I now hand it all over to my clever Hubby to load it all onto the website. I will of course keep you posted when it's all up and ready!

Remember tomorrow will be our first ...

One or more of our products will be half price for one day only - it will be on from one minute past midnight tonight until 1 minute to midnight tomorrow.

*CLICK HERE*

Colourful

Here is a sneak peek of a colourful collection of *NEW* greetings cards coming your way - LOVING the bright colours but as I've still more designs to add to this collection, you'll have to wait to see them fully. 

It's all coming together...

Everything is coming together - all the lovely new products I've been thinking about, designing and costing over the past 8 months are nearly there. Instead of being on paper, carried back and forth in this bag, they are all starting to get to the final proof stage and onto the printing press. - so very exciting! 

 I'm hoping everything will be delivered by the end of the month which will give me plenty of time to take photo's, make up and pack everything, prepare samples and get the catalogue layout design done, in good time for Top Drawer in January. Rather than rush around last minute as has happened every time in the past.

My 'to do' list however, does not appear to be getting any shorter!

NEW superb website

We are so excited to announce the arrival of our brand new, 'superb' website - created by no other than my wonderfully talented husband.

To celebrate such a special occasion, we are offering a 25% discount on all orders placed between now and midnight on Tuesday. Just type
  superb
  into the voucher box at the checkout, to make use of this fabulous deal.

If you could help us, we'd be very grateful. If whilst browsing the new site, you see a typo or something that doesn't make sense, then please let us know via the contact page - remember to add your address, as we would like to say thank you with a little free gift.

I hope you like it as much as I do - I'd love to know what you think. 

*CLICK HERE*

Swansong

 If you are a regular follower you will know all about my swan and the journey she and I have had since she arrived in April (that does seem a long time ago now). Well all the swans were brought in a couple of weeks ago to be preened and restored to their former glory, in preparation for the Auction. As you can see, my swan needed quite a bit of love and attention as the mix of paper, rain and being climbed on, hadn't mixed very well! But I let her dry out for a couple of days, cut out all the wet, soggy damaged sections and

 she left me looking lovely and at her best - as good as new ready for the Swansong Weekend.

 Last night all the Sponsors and Artists were treated to a preview of all the swans together for the first and last time, on display in the grounds of

 The Bishops Palace.

 I must say the gardens looked beautiful. When I lived in Wells, I used to have a season ticket and visited weekly with the children, meeting friends whilst the children played. It has been a good 8 years since I last went and although some bits had changed, it hadn't lost it's secret charm and loveliness.

 The swans looked fantastic laid out around the walled gardens.

 All lined up in their sparkly best!

 Ian - the 'Swan Wrangler' very kindly put mine on a special trolley, rather than on the wet ground just to keep her 'tip top' for the auction in 2 weeks time.

It was a lovely evening and I shall be returning today with the children and my Sister and niece to experience it for one last time. If you are local it is on all weekend and worth a visit.

My favourite tin

 This is my favourite tin,

 it's full of my 

 beautiful collection of rings. 

Each one is gorgeous to me - they're not expensive, some just £2 from New Look but I love them all. The good side and bad side of losing a little weight, has put me in a little ring dilemma. 

 I have lost over 2 stone now and my favourite silver ring (above) keeps falling off. It's not big enough to fit on my first finger but it keeps sliding off, so if you get a ring in your parcel from me, you now know why!!

 On the flip side my lovely spotty ring has not really fit for the past couple of years and has sat hidden in my tin but now, a few pounds lighter, it fits my finger again perfectly.

 My Union Jack ring bought to celebrate the Jubilee, is now on the big side sadly

 But my gorgeous blue ring now fits again - so it's a bit of a mixed time.

I feel inspired to design a ring card - maybe engagement or wedding - will have to see.

Sparkly lights....

...are not just for Christmas!

 I have 3 sets, no 4 up all year round in the various rooms downstairs. They are hang overs from Christmas, something I just couldn't bring myself to pack away in a box for the year, so they stayed up.

 As the nights are beginning to draw in and the late Autumn chill begins, I like to switch these on to cheer up the place and give me a little light to make my evening mug of coffee, rather than the full bright main lights.

I though I would also share with you a new magazine edited by the same lady/team who produce Mollie Makes. It has taken me a while to get my hands on a copy of this first issue. A very kind lady on twitter heard my plea that I couldn't find a copy and very kindly found one and reserved it for me to collect. Isn't social media fab? I will let you know what I think of it, once I find time to read it - for now I've just had a quick flick through.

Remember

It's hard to believe that today marks 11 years since 9/11... I remember exactly where I was & what I was doing as the tragedy unfolded. 

Tonight my 10 year old son got in the car and promptly burst into tears and asked "Did it really happen?" I explained a little about what happened on that day and more tears followed. I guess we have never fully explained the full events to shield him from the terrible things that happened that day. He wasn't ready to look at any images but we have promised to sit down together one day and and do just that. 

It's on days like today I truly love, hold close and want to keep safe my family. Sam wasn't even born on that terrible day and to see him so upset by the events that did take place, has made me sit and think a little more than normal about those, whose lives were and still are, affected by this day 11 years ago.

Kitchen Corner Update

 Remember my little corner of the kitchen?

 We removed an old larder cupboard in an attempt to create a little more work top space.

Well it's beginning to start to blend in and feel a little more like home.

 I framed this INK PRESS card in a flea market, frame find

 and framed my TOAST print from Showler and Showler

 I found the perfect spot to home my lovely seaside cottage created by the very talented Kirsty Elson

 My favourite spotty cup and saucer with a cheery SNAPDRAGON star badge add a little colour

 and finally, a little bucket of gingham napkins - perfect!

It will, as does every where, fill up with necessary clutter and special bits and pieces with time. As something new comes into the house and needs to find a little home, it will probably be in that corner. It will look lovely at Christmas with white lights etc - can't wait for that.