Scatterbox Two

Emerging and merging

2010-02-17T16:29:00.003Z

I've made a decision to merge my two Etsy-related blogs into one, which I hope my readers will understand and support. Please see www.treacletoffee.blogspot.com for my future posts, both relating to Scatterbox Originals and my other shops on Etsy - Treacle Toffee and my upcoming shop, JumpUp. I've explained myself in more detail over on that blog.

Thank you to everyone who has read, commented and followed this blog since it began! I will keep these past posts up here for you to read if you wish. I hope that you continue to follow my blogging over on 'treacletoffee'.

Best wishes,
Catherine.

Christmastime is here, by golly...

2009-12-18T00:24:00.006Z

Well it is that time for me to start winding down my Etsying for the year. Soon, I'm going to be closing up the Etsy shops for the duration of 2009 and taking some time out to be with family, eat some good square meals, watch bad Christmas TV programs, and generally re-charge my batteries. I'm going to need this re-charge, since I have some things planned for 2010 that are going to require some attention. One thing for Scatterbox Originals isn't set in stone yet but is shaping up to be an exciting, quite different project for me...
Oooh mysterious! I won't say too much just yet, but watch this space.

Now since I'm having to put my Etsy shops into vacation mode, going to my main shop page, you won't be able to browse the things that will be coming out of hibernation in 2010. But...here are some images of what should be on offer again soon. If you click on the images, you should be taken to the super secret 'on vacation' page for that item - whilst in this mode, items are not 'cartable' but they are still 'heartable'!

Merry Christmas, folks!

Return of the prodigal products

2009-10-09T14:21:00.003+01:00

Today, the nice postman brought me a parcel filled with my Scatterbox Originals items, kindly returned to me from Newcastle by Cassandra Harrison. I will be photographing the items where necessary and then there will be a shop update later in the day. :-)

Lots to do...so I will leave you with thanks to everyone who had kind things to say during the recent dramas, a picture of a new character and a lovely calming blue sea...

On The Art Works Galleries, integrity and the rule of three

2009-10-02T10:01:00.007+01:00

You know how they say bad things happen in threes? I'm starting to believe this.

Two weeks ago, as anyone who reads my other blog, Treacle Toffee, will know, I was the victim of fraud on my business account. Drama Number One. 6 days after that happened, when I was starting to recover from the shock and anxiety, I received an email from a gallery that had been stocking my Scatterbox Originals items. The Art Works Galleries in Newcastle had closed for business - with absolutely no notice. Drama Number Two begins.

In the email I was instructed to collect my property on one of three days the following week, within a specific time frame. As I live some 400 miles away from the gallery, I was forced to fork out £12.99 for a parcel force collection, which I hurriedly arranged online. No problem says the gallery, your stuff will be ready for them to collect. The day of collection came and went, I checked the online tracking facility..."FAILED COLLECTION: NOTHING TO COLLECT". Now, my past difficulties dealing with parcel force aside, I'd like to believe they did everything in their power to collect my parcel. Sadly they were unable to do so...I may never know why.

So, with one day left in the gallery's given timetable of collection days, I was forced to ask a very big favour of someone I don't really know.

This summer I had a holiday with my parents in Northumberland, and while we were there visiting the lovely Alnwick gardens, I happened to meet Cassandra Harrison of Gee How Quaint. Cassandra had a stall selling her gocco art and fabric creations and I briefly chatted with her about craft, gocco and Etsy. I walked away feeling guilty that I couldn't afford to buy anything from this nice lady but clutching a business card in hand. How glad I am that I took that business card, for not only have I discovered a very talented artist - I've also had a vital contact in the North East throughout the awfulness of the gallery closing. Cassandra Harrison, for all you have done to help not only me but several other artists who are victims of this...you are a heroine. Check out her work on http://geehowquaint.com

Last week, in the midst of working extra hours in my day job as well as trying to get a response from the Art Works Galleries regarding my property and the money they have owed me for several months, my parents were here visiting. I'm thankful that I had them here during such a difficult week, though our time together was limited by Drama Number Three. On Tuesday, Dad went into the local A&E unit with chest pains uncannily like those he had before his pulmonary embolism last year. For 24 hours I was left to wonder what else could go wrong.

Fortunately it was a false alarm. Dad has, as far as we can tell, a clean bill of health, though the initial tests had appeared to show otherwise. Likewise my bank account has at last been credited with the money that was stolen from me, just in time to cover my bills.

Back to the gallery debacle...

Cassandra Harrison very kindly agreed to go to the gallery on my behalf last Saturday, and collect my property at the same time as her own. On arrival she was met with a locked door and a baffled man appointed to open the gallery...but unable to do so, because the locks had been changed, apparently overnight. Curiouser and curiouser.

After much anxious emailing, attempted phonecalls, more emailing and a great deal of reconnaissance work on Cassandra's part...we've managed to piece together the situation. The gallery has been shut down by bailiffs and all the work inside, created with love and care by people who are innocent in all of this, has been seized and taken to an auction house. Each of us have to individually make it known to the bailiffs what property is ours, send proof that we are the rightful owners and that the goods can't be sold as the gallery's assets.

If you are one of the affected artists, phone 0191 477 2080 or email info@thoburns.co.uk with your contract or drop off forms.

Today, I'm anxiously waiting to hear the latest news on my work. I haven't been able to make a thing all week from the worry and the constant chasing-up of each development. Will I get my property back? Will I ever see the money the gallery owes me? Time will tell - I'll post an update when I know more.

You can find more information on the situation with the Art Works Galleries and Matt Forster at the website for the Journal here as well as this site and Cassandra's blog here

UPDATE:
Cassandra was able to collect my products from the auctioneers - hooray! Once I have everything back, the Etsy shop will get an update.

Vote Squirrel!

2009-09-15T20:15:00.003+01:00

I am pleased to announce that my Squirrel Away pouch has been selected for this week's Etsy Vote. Check out the Etsy voter tool here

Acorn, Yaycorn

2009-08-19T19:58:00.003+01:00

I've been making packaging today, for the new acorn badges / pins. Is it sad that I laughed at my little 'yaycorn' joke?

Squirrel Away!

2009-08-18T16:12:00.002+01:00

Squirrel Away! Wristlet / zip-up pouch. Now available in the shop, limited edition of only 4! If these go well, I'm working out some possible non-limited edition versions made with a screenprinted design of Mr Squirrel.

Coming soon will be little acorn badges / pins featuring the same acorn Mr Squirrel is clutching so dearly here. :-)

Coming soon

2009-08-11T22:36:00.003+01:00

Choo choo...

2009-07-06T17:23:00.002+01:00

Having recently made the train journey north to visit family and friends (and then south again) I was reminded of this video I took on my camera around Christmastime 2007.

I think this is the view on the Teignmouth stretch of the Devon coastline (It's hard to keep track of where you are exactly on an 8 hour journey) Recently it was far less dramatic a view than as seen in this video!

I find it quite hypnotic looking out of train windows, seeing the world rush by as I sit idly chewing on my packed lunch. On this particular occasion of Train View Hypnosis, I thought of some new ideas and some new versions of old ideas...I'll try to share them here soon. :-)

Away awhile again

2009-06-21T18:25:00.002+01:00

Hello folks,
This is just a short post to say that I've temporarily closed my Etsy shops for a family holiday - a bit of sight-seeing and a bit of friend-seeing.
Both my Etsy shops will be back up and running in very early July. If you'd like to know exactly when the shop is live again, just visit my shop homepage here and choose the option to be notified. (Etsy will send you an email automatically. Clever, eh?)

Happy rest-of-June!

Would you like lines with that?

2009-06-04T17:17:00.003+01:00

Springing up into the shop over the next few days...

...writing sets with lines!

I'm trying this out with a few of my designs, to see how they go. Some people like their writing paper blank, but I've always been one of those people who cannot keep their writing straight without a little guidance. (Maybe it's to do with being dyslexic?) I think I'll keep both lined and unlined sets as options. I'm also always open to folks asking to mix and match lined and unlined, or one design with another. Writing sets a la carte!

The new sets also have the labels I mentioned in my earlier post (below the ramblings about my allergies which, by the way, seem to slowly be improving but the sinus pain persists!)

The weather here has been gloriously sunny lately, which is wonderful, if a little sleepy-siesta-inducing. My mojo seems to be coming back though, leading me to wonder if I am in fact solar powered...how very green!

Degrees of awayness

2009-05-20T13:23:00.004+01:00

Is 'awayness' a word? I think it should be...

Hello!

I'm back from my holiday, with my age bumped up by one year. I had a nice week in Devon, despite pretty dull weather. I went to a very good zoo saw The Boat That Rocked...went on a real boat to visit Agatha Christie's old summer home (and on that boat met the sweetest quietest doggie...)

I'm very much Here again, but the Etsy shops haven't sprung back into life with quite as much of a flourish as I'd hoped. Why, I hear you ask?

For all my life as long as I can remember, I've had certain symptoms. Dry, prickly eyes...poor sense of smell...headaches that tend to focus on my forehead...feeling poorly if I go out for a walk near plantlife or come into contact with someone wearing a lot of perfume...or do any dusting...atchoooooo!

I've also had a lifetime of people telling me how tired I look (gee, thanks!) or that I might be dehydrated because I have dark circles around my eyes. I only recently discovered that this is a classic sign that goes hand in hand with all the aforementioned problems.

I finally went to see my doctor, shortly before going away, and asked the inevitable question. Might I have allergies? Well, it isn't conclusive whether it's true allergies or just something an awful lot like them, but it does seem to be some kind of perennial rhinitis (fancy term for year round nose problems) which could be worsened lately by what is probably hayfever.

Antihistamines, sadly, have not helped (one kind have no effect, the other send me very rapidly into the land of nod, to dream about pink rhinos asking me if I've had my hair cut recently) but kind Mr Doctor has given me some steroid spray. So far, this seems to help with some symptoms but makes others (such as the sinus pain) a little bit worse. I have been told to persist for at least a month, so persisting I am, aided with painkillers when necessary.

Waking up feeling like you've been walloped in the face with a plank of wood is not nice - sinus pain is a common problem, so I'm sure many of you can empathise with the bruised, tender feeling around your eyes like goggles of pain.

Much as I dislike making excuses, this is the reason for my slow start on a long list of things to make and do. Things that are now near to being crossed off the list (or rather have a big red tick put next to them, which is what I like to do) are...

Writing sets. I've been working on some new and improved versions of these - now with lines for keeping your writing straight and I'm trying out swapping the 12 little round stickers for 6 rectangular ones to use as address labels on the envelopes. They've got scalloped frames and lines in various colours to coordinate with the writing paper in each set...I think they're rather cute.

So... I am here, and progress is being made, and I hope the new Scatterbox Originals products will be well received soon. :-)

Away away

2009-05-01T19:42:00.004+01:00

Hello,

At the time of writing, my Etsy shop is about to close down for a short while, as I'm going to spend some quality time with my folks. I'm going to be without internet access while I'm away but I'll respond to any messages when I get back and the shop will be up and running as normal from May 9th with these goodies:

And shortly to be followed by more things (!!!!) such as new writing sets for your correspondence enjoyment.

Cheerio!

You make me feel like Spring has sprung...

2009-03-24T21:00:00.003Z

What makes me feel like Spring has sprung?

Daffodils...

Nicely turned out scones...

Pear-y nice new gocco-ings!

Those were a challenge - getting the colour right, the position on the card just so, the ink evenly distributed...getting that balance between being too speckled and splotched and having that uniqueness that you only get with printmaking.

I tried two different types of card - a smooth one (pictured here) and a textured one - and I like them both in their own ways. They're going up in the shop soon in sets of 6, with the dinky little brown envelopes shown in the last post. :-)

Tutti fruitti

2009-02-25T15:08:00.005Z

Last week, I got myself a bunch of daffodils that blossomed within a few hours. This week, I have scarcely needed the heater on at home. Today, I changed my winter coat for my body warmer. It's official, Spring is on the way!

I had intended to take a photo of the aforementioned daffodils, but I didn't get around to buying a vase before they wilted. They were in an old empty bubble bath bottle, which while being exactly the right size, was not exactly pretty enough for a blog photo, I felt. I'm on the hunt for a nice vase now...recycled glass methinks.

So in lieu of a fresh springy photo of my daffodils I thought I'd share with you what I've been working on this week:

The plan is to make some lovely gocco-ed notecards with various designs, starting off with apples and pears as a two-design set. I thought fruit would be a nice colourful thing for notecards. This is a rough idea of the colour I'm going for - how they turn out will depend on what the ink is like. I'm thinking of mixing up a sort of pale yellowish green, nice and zingy. The apples are either going to be red with green leaves/stems or green all over like the pears...or a mixture.

They're going to be very itsy bitsy - 7cm by 10cm when folded in half. I have been busying myself with cutting out the card ready:

It's lovely recycled card from a company in the UK, to go with my itsy bitsy recycled paper envelopes. I'm deciding on whether to go with the white envelopes for these or the brown 'craft' colour...hmmm.

Plans and schemes

2009-02-01T18:28:00.005Z

You may have guessed from the clues in the previous post that my new product line for the shop is Gocco printed Moleskine notebooks. I have a few designs in mind, including one featuring Queen Felicity, but my printer only came with supplies for making one design. It was a tough choice but in the end I went with the El Bandido design I used for the fabric covered book I made last year.

Getting used to the Gocco took a little time. I did several test prints before taking the plunge with my supply of lovely notebooks, but because of the weight of the books, they react to the pressure of the Gocco differently. The first few notebooks have small flaws in the prints - splotches of ink, uncrisp lines etc:

See that blob of ink on the right of El Bandido's body? I'm such a perfectionist, I can't bring myself to sell these slightly flawed books at full price, but they're still good to use and I think I've found out what I was doing wrong - later prints have come out much better so I'm offering up my first 'oops' notebooks at a lower price. Why not mosey on down to the shop and snap one up?

Later, I'll be listing the books with clearer prints like these:
They still each have their own little quirks - that's the appeal of printmaking - but the lines are generally crisper.

These are some of the cameo animal themed designs I have in mind...
Please vote for your favourite in my poll on the right and help me decide which to work on next when I get more printing supplies. The bear and rabbit are both going to be black line with red details. I might make Queen Felicity's crown a golden yellow too :-)

Clues

2009-01-30T18:25:00.002Z

Some hints, big and small, regarding the New Things which I hope to list in the shop in the really rather near future :-)

Lost Time

2009-01-26T21:00:00.003Z

El Bandido has been at it again, stealing time away from under my nose! Blogging and crafting have both been suspended for some time...first because I was away for Christmas, then because I had some overtime in my day job, then it was the dreaded Tax Return of Doom, then I had to compile information on my self employment for the local council (which managed to take up nearly two whole weeks and was a more mammoth task than the tax return!)

Finally able to get back to crafting after over a month of scarcely even scribbling an idea down with a pencil, I found myself with Crafter's Block for a couple of days. I'd get out my fabric and stare at it with a sense of dread. I'd get a pencil and paper and my drawings were so wobbly I almost lost hope that I'd ever get back in gear. After so long away from creating, I was really nervous about going back to it but fear not, I am regaining my crafty mojo and I have some new things up my sleeve...

I don't want to say too much just yet lest I jinx it...suffice it to say, I am getting close to starting on some things I've wanted to make for some time. There are, as is often the case, certain supplies to be gathered first and a little research to be done.

In the meantime, in preparation, I'm doing a lot of drawing. Here's a sneaky look at a new character I'm developing. Her name is Felicity:

Making a list...

2008-12-17T18:07:00.002Z

...and checking it twice!

I can't go away for any length of time without making at least one list of things to pack. I'm a compulsive list-maker and I think I've got through about 6 notebooks in the past year with mainly lists of things to do, things I've done, things to remember...

I'm making the epic journey to my parent's house tomorrow. All being well, it'll be a journey of about 10 hours...that's if everything runs on time. I've filled up my little mp3 player with enough music to last the whole day. I always worry I'm going to get bored of even the most favoured album so I've got a very varied mix of Indie, Pop, Instrumental, Rock and the occasional errant Disney song from a mix cd given to me by a friend (however did that song from Lilo and Stitch get onto my mp3 player...ahem...)

My shop is now hibernating. I've got to work a few full days in the Day Job after I get back so I'll probably wait to open up again until January the 3rd.

For the sake of my health and sanity, as well as maintaining quality control, I've held off finishing the items I mentioned in my last post. I did make one small moleskine cover and it sold in the flashiest of flashes - there will definitely be more. New things to expect in the shop from January onwards include...

Cushion/pillow covers
Moleskines with covers
Coin purses
New Improved Tote Bags
Pins

I've really enjoyed making the childrens' scarves but sadly there's a new piece of legislation, the CPSIA, effective in February that means I can't legally sell products for under 12s to the United States without first getting all components of every item tested for lead (even if, it seems, they're entirely fabric and very unlikely to pose a health threat). This is an insanely expensive procedure that a one-woman-band like me can't afford, and most of my customers are in the USA, so regretfully I don't think products specifically for under 12s are going to be a viable avenue for me in the future.

I'm also developing some new ideas though for some possible new paper products that I'm really excited about and I hope once I've got further along with the technicalities of it I'll be able to show you all.

In the meantime, I shall leave you with my thought of the day:

Singing along to "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" on the train is an effective way to ensure you get a whole carriage alllll to yourself!

What's your way of killing time on long journeys?

Decembrrrrr!

2008-12-04T12:28:00.007Z

Belatedly turning over the page of my calendar today, I could scarcely believe we're into the last month of the year. My how time does fly!

Since my last post I've had a visit from a friend - a lovely relaxed couple of days featuring baking apple pie, strolling through town, having a cream tea and watching a dvd. A lot of places in the UK seem to be getting snow, but Falmouth is its usual self:

I've also been busying myself with custom orders. Custom orders are great - a perfect opportunity to stretch your creative muscles and do something new that you might not otherwise have thought of. Would I have thought of making a mobile with a space rocket that looked like a bumblebee? No! But I had a suggestion from a customer and rolled with it - I'm quite pleased with the result.

Now that I've got more time for making things on my 'to do' list, I must confess to being a little overwhelmed. Last posting days for Christmas are coming up - next Wednesday (the 10th) is my cut-off for North America and the 12th is the deadline for Europe. I'm going up north to be with my family for Christmas on the 18th, taking UK orders up until the afternoon of the 17th.

So, if I'm going to make all the things on my list in time for my customers to buy for Christmas, I need to get going. In the next couple of days I'm working on some more cushion (pillow) covers, more coin purses and developing designs for some more moleskine covers.

The moleskine notebooks are going to be the smaller version of the moleskine cahiers, rather than the large size that I used last. If you can't quite make out my scribbly drawing you can click on it for a larger image - as you see, I have three ideas in mind at the moment - one similar to my original moleskine cover design (but I am going to make some small changes), my sleepy bunny cropping up again on a 'dreams' notebook (I thought it'd be good as a 'dream diary') and what do you know, yet another sighting of EL BANDIDO! The perfect book for planning your next dastardly scheme. ;-)

I've already started on some sleepy bunny cushion covers and will try and get those into the shop early next week. I'm not certain the notebooks will be ready in time for last posting day for North America, sorry guys - but certainly I should have some for folks to spend their Christmas money on.

Loot

2008-11-23T17:00:00.003Z

As promised, later today I will be adding some new goodies to the shop.

Pins!
A new writing set!
Scarves!

And the perfect coin purse for carrying your loot...
Lots of sightings of El Bandido coming soon :)

The Cat Pack

2008-11-19T16:03:00.004Z

I'd like you to meet some people.
Baroness Clauhousen, naive aristocratic cat from Regensburg.
Rufus McIntyre - portly and easily shocked. He likes debating in the Gentlemen's Club.
Sylvie and Claudette, you've met before - they are still gossiping away in the backstreets of Montmartre.

They make up The Cat Pack - a new writing set coming soon on pink, blue and cream paper.
But wait! Who is this interloper? Could it be El Bandido, infamous cat burglar?

It is indeed. A sighting! Rumour has it he's also snuck his way onto a blue flannelette scarf and his smug expression tells me he's already finding his way onto new purses. I'd better go look...

Ain't that a kick in the head?

El Bandido

2008-11-10T22:12:00.003Z

Beware! There is a notorious criminal on the loose.

El Bandido is a cat burglar of the highest calibre. Lately, he has been stealing not jewels or priceless paintings...but time. Large portions of autumn have been snatched away in the dead of night and this is why I woke yesterday morning to hailstones like ice cubes, hammering on my skylight window.

If you see El Bandido - please see if you can capture him. There is a rumour that he will at some point in the future be sneaking his way across pieces of A5 paper with rounded corners. I will try to obtain evidence of any future sightings so that you know what to look for.

I'm hesitant to say it, in case I jinx myself, but I think my back is all better now. I have a couple of custom orders to complete and then on to other things. I'm setting the aforementioned teaspoon keyrings to one side as an idea, while I focus on scarves, purses and bags for the shop. I will try to evenly divide what time El Bandido hasn't stolen so that there's something new for everyone!

Status report

2008-10-28T13:00:00.005Z

Hello hello,

A quick status report for you...

Writing sets:
4 different designs are going up on Etsy in the next day or so :D
I had more ideas after the initial sketch shown a couple of posts ago, so there will be
1. Blue Teapot (with teacup stickers, oh so sweet!)
2. Acorn (you can see a very rough initial sketch among the other design doodles but there it is below, all packaged up pretty)
3. Blush Bear
4. Sleepy Bunny

Following soon (when I get more envelopes in appropriate colours) will be the seedlings design (minus the sun this time - I decided not to overcomplicate things) and also the gossiping cats.
The bumblebees, monocled cat, trees on hill and bluebird are still in the design stage.

I'm also working on a variety of things on the theme of tea - I intend to make a tote bag with my teapot picture sewn to the front, plus matching money purses with the teacup, plus I've had an idea for teaspoon keyrings that I'm trying out today - watch this space!

Here and Now and Live in Person

2008-10-24T15:08:00.004+01:00

I'm pleased to announce that Scatterbox Originals now has a real world outlet - the gallery Here and Now. It's a lovely little gallery shop selling a variety of things, and best of all it's right down the street from me!

They have some of my purses, a new bag featuring my bear (see previous post - sorry I never snapped a picture of the finished thing) and my writing sets. If you're in the Falmouth area, go check them out!

My shop is starting to look a little sparse, but fear not, there will be more goodies arriving soon.

Blushing Bear, Wailing Cat

2008-10-21T21:21:00.003+01:00

Having shaken a nasty chesty cough a couple of weeks ago, I naively thought that all my ailments were finished for the year. Usually I only get properly sick a couple of times a year - it goes to show that it pays to plan for every eventuality! I woke with a start early on Monday morning with a horrendous pain in my back - I actually wailed out in pain, hopefully I didn't wake the neighbours! Having taken painkillers I fell into a deep sleep and then didn't wake again until past 1pm.

Its hard to say for sure what caused it - maybe I twisted oddly in my sleep, maybe I strained something the day before at work - all I know is, it hurts to bend over...it hurts to stand up...it hurts to sit down...and it hurts to walk.

Determined to keep the momentum going and make up for lost time, I got some heat packs to put on my back and settled down to work - I've been focussing on getting the writing sets completed which luckily doesn't require much physical work! They are very near to completion now and I hope everyone will be as pleased with them as I am.

Here's a preview look at one of the designs...

I'm very fond of my blushing bear, so she is going to feature on another new product as well...

Yep, the tote bags are coming back, bolder and betterer! Watch this space for more details :)

Now for a soothing hot apple toddy (for the recipe, see my other blog)...

Stationery on the move

2008-10-09T12:51:00.003+01:00

As you may have guessed from the poll on the right side of the page, I have an exciting new product line in development.

Writing sets have been quietly growing as an idea in my head, held back by technical difficulties that I had feared would put them at a complete halt. By next week, I should be up and running with a shiny new printer and my idea will no longer be stationary!*

I've found some lovely quality FSC paper - this means the paper is made with wood from sustainable forests. Next I'm on the hunt for the perfect eco-friendly envelopes.

Here's a sneaky preview of some of the designs I have in mind. Please excuse the scribblyness! Click on the image for a bigger view.

1. Sun and seedlings - similar to the appliqué design found on my coin purses.
2. Gossip cats - remember Sylvie and Claudette?
3. Copse on hill - this one is inspired by a little group of trees on a hilltop that I pass every time I head north to see my family .
4. Bluebird sings - my little bluebird has always been popular on purses, so I'm bringing him back in papery form!
5. Cameo animals - these will be limited colour and line drawings of my animals, in a cute scalloped 'frame'. Definitely my bear and my rabbit with rosy cheeks...possibly also a monacled cat I've been doodling of late...
6. Miss Owl on branch - I haven't decided yet if she'll be wide awake or snoozing.
7. Bumbly bees - possibly with their Queen Bee leading the way as they bumble their way across the page.

I'm still deciding on the best proportions of paper to envelopes, so please do vote on my poll and help me make my writing sets the best they can be :)

*I know, I know, an awful pun but I couldn't resist...

Sleepy bunny

2008-10-01T22:48:00.003+01:00

I was going to post about this before I listed the item in question, but I just couldn't wait. This is the first of hopefully several scarves made with coloured flannelette. I love red and white together, so when I had the idea for a rabbit scarf, I knew just which colour background to go for first. This sleepy bunny looks how I feel on a winter morning when I have to be up and about but I'm half asleep, cheeks red from the cold.

This is a child-size scarf but I've decided there are enough fully-grown sleepy bunnies like me in the world that could do with a similar scarf. So, I've set about making a wider, longer version. It's nearly ready so keep an eye on the shop!

I have a feeling the bunny may also sleepwalk her way onto some bags and money purses soon too :)

Cough and splutter

2008-09-29T15:51:00.003+01:00

I promise, I will be posting some pictures of new things soon!

I am a little behind schedule I'm afraid as I have a nasty cold and have been coughing and spluttering everywhere! Coughing and spluttering on things I am sewing is not a nice thing to do, so for now I am restricting myself to things like drawing designs and going to the post office.

I have, incidentally, been to the post office today and found out while I was there that although my branch is one of the many that are being closed down by the silly silly Powers That Be the alternative branch in town is so bad, my branch is forced to stay open until it gets sorted out. Most post offices that are being shut down have a choice between working one or three month's notice before being closed, but my one is being kept open until January or possibly February. I'm partly glad that it will be open in the run up Christmas, because this will make it considerably easier to post sales in the busy period. But it's sad nonetheless that they are being strung along in such a way - knowing that the alternative branch, which is staying open due to being in the town centre, is not as popular and hasn't the same friendly community feeling. I'm going to miss my little local post office. :(

So far, any items that I sell on etsy I have taken to the post office as soon as possible - usually within 24 hours on a weekday - but when I have a longer journey to make to the post office I think I'll have to review this. It may work out more practical to set specific days and times for going to the post office - in which case, I'll be posting my 'shipping timetable' on here and in my etsy policies, closer to the time.

In the meantime...plans for scarves, money purses and bags a-plenty!

Rewarding awardings

2008-09-29T15:13:00.005+01:00

I'm pleased as punch to say that the lovely Becky at www.monpetitlapin.blogspot.com has given this blog the Arte y pico award - http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

This is an award for interestingness, creativity, design and contributing to the blogging community. What a lovely idea! :)

The rules for this (which I have pasted from Becky's blog - hope you don't mind Becky but you phrased it better than I could!) are:

Award “Rules”: The rules of Arte Y Pico are - you must pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting content, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language! Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to their blog. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself. The award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of the Arte Y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

I would like to give this award to...

Gretel of All Around Us - I featured Gretel's wonderful needlefelt creations a few posts ago. Gretel lives in beautiful rural Oxfordshire and knows far more about nature than I ever could - check out the little film of the view from her bike ride.
Erica of Erica's Attic - Erica makes beautiful pictures and dolls - scroll down a bit on her blog to enter to win a charming Ottoline doll!
Kajsa of Sykossa - I love the little glimpses into her life and her quirky Scandinavian style.
Debbie of The Imagination of Ladysnail - Debbie is an illustrator who does lovely screenprints as well as adorable cuddly robot plushies.
Paula of Paula Bowles - Paula is a professional illustrator who shares pictures of her work and life in Bristol.

Parting of the blogs

2008-09-25T22:38:00.003+01:00

Hello,

Regular readers will have noticed by now that this blog is, in a way, two blogs in one - one for each of my etsy shops. Nearly a year ago now, I decided to seperate my creations into two shops - Scatterbox Originals for my cute and kitsch-ish creations (try saying that five times fast!) and Treacle Toffee for my more mature jewellery and accessories.

Balancing posts between the two shops was fine to begin with, but now I have definite plans for both shops, so many ideas and things to show, I have decided the time has come to give both shops their very own blog.

So, without further ado, I introduce to you...
www.treacletoffee.blogspot.com

Please do take a look if you're a fan of Treacle Toffee :)

As for Scatterbox Originals, this blog will be dedicated to that shop (and maybe the occasional miscellaneous rambling and posts about my etsy heroes...) I do indeed have new things in the pipeline for S.O. so check back soon!

Sneaky peeky

2008-09-18T22:04:00.005+01:00

Psst!

The first of the Treacle Toffee scarves is now complete. I'm going to make a couple more and then hopefully get some really nice photos done of them modelled by someone I know (who just happens to be a model). There should be a host of autumn/winter things in the shop a couple of weeks from now - but I can't wait to show you so here is a little sneaky peeky at Shoal scarf number 1...

The scarves really do need a model to show them off best, and I also hope to have a bag or two made for the photoshoot. In the meantime I will be periodically listing more brooches and earrings in the shop - like the pair I just listed which, incidentally, match the scarf pictured above. Now, how many places can you buy a matching scarf and earrings? :-)

Beyond the Sea

2008-09-15T19:48:00.005+01:00

Hello hello :)

I'm back from my holidays in the hills of the north and the village by the sea. In the past two weeks I have...
* Had a horrendous 12 hour journey up north to the village I grew up in.
* Spent a day recovering from aforementioned journey.
* Been to the dentist (all ok, phew!)
* Got my hair cut. For those who don't know me in real life, it was pretty much waist length and now is a layered, shoulder length bob. For the first few days I kept brushing my hair and being stunned that it ended so soon. Catching a glance of myself in the mirror I couldn't help swishing my head from side to side and singing 'short hair short hair shorty shorty short haaaaair' to myself (I honestly am 26, not 6...)
* Gone shopping with a friend and bought lots of autumn/winter clothes.
* Been to see old family friends on the way back south and met their adorable dwarf Labrador. (I am not typically a dog person, but this one is so cute)
* Stayed in a gorgeous little cottage in a lovely fishing village.

http://tinyurl.com/69s7al

* Met two friendly puddy tats and several beautiful seals and sealions.
* Seen some of the tall ships taking part in the Funchal 500 race.

* Eaten a very great deal of cake and cream.

AND purchased The Fabric I Have Been Looking For for scarves. Deciding on the best colours etc took me a while, but I am pleased with the ones I went with. I have lovely cotton jersey (with a little lycra for softness, stretch and reduced crinkledness) in sky blue and pale cream.

I've made a start on my first scarf already (I got today off work after all, yippee!) All this sea air* has encouraged me to continue on my theme of shoals of fish and pebbles, ripples and reflections in water...and on the cream fabric I have plans for designs on themes as disparate as butterscotch, barleycorn and tree growth rings. Piccies to follow shortly.

In other news, my generous dad has suggested that I make a picture for the new living room of their house, and in return he will buy me a printer :D This means that hopefully it won't be long before I can recommence with plans for Scatterbox Originals that pivot around having a good printer...and I can make the return address labels I mentioned here:
http://scatterboxtwo.blogspot.com/2008/06/variations-on-theme.html

and also some lovely packaging stickers for Treacle Toffee.

Huzzah!

Have a great week, folks.

*You may say that it is odd I mention sea air as if it is not something I usually have, living in a seaside town. But, as the grass is always greener on the other side, the sea is always bluer in a place you don't see all the time...if that makes sense!

Etsying away

2008-08-29T14:56:00.004+01:00

Hello,

From tomorrow (Saturday the 30th of August), as far as my Etsy shops are concerned, I am officially Away. I'm not actually travelling until Monday, but I am working in my day job on the weekend and so I won't be able to mail anything. I'm having a sort of 'two centre' holiday - going up north to see my parents (and my dentist, boo hiss!) and then we're travelling back down to this part of the country for a week long holiday. We won't be staying right here but I'll be able to travel over and check emails, go to the post office with any orders etc.
So for the purposes of Etsy, I'm back from Monday the 8th of September. While I'm up north I should have internet access, so if anyone has any questions or wants to say hi, please feel free!
I'll be back to crafting properly from Tuesday the 16th of September - that feels such a long way away! Perhaps I will take some small sewing projects with me to the holiday cottage...

I'm excited about the developments of more new jewellery and accessories for Treacle Toffee - I have been researching the best fabric to use for some scarves I'm going to make which will have felt and/or silk and/or cotton appliqué designs. Yet more earrings designs are in the works, not to mention some new brooches. The Treacle Toffee handbag range hasn't been forgotten either!

For Scatterbox Originals, I'm eager to make more notebook covers, lunch bags and mobiles but my dratted Epson printer has seen better days. It has decided now to randomly print bright pink lines on everything and smear black ink whenever it feels like it...this is not a good thing when you're printing things for your business. Plus, for a while I've been wanting to start making stationery for Scatterbox Originals - ASTFA type animals, things like my seedlings (which seem to be popular) etc. on writing sets, notelets and suchlike. So, I am going to save and scrimp as much money as I can to afford a new printer - I have my eye on a Canon Pixma iP 4500 but if anyone has a better recommendation please do let me know.

So, farewell for now, dear blog readers...

Featuring...

2008-08-26T16:28:00.021+01:00

The Powers That Be on etsy.com have launched a gift guide today giving recognition to Etsy's many fantastic international makers of things suitable for children.

You can find the gift guide here

I'm pleased as punch that all three of my items that I entered for consideration have been selected for the guide :D

You can also find my good friend Ladysnail's wonderful Robotington looking shy on this page:
There are so many great items in the guide and I've found a few new favourites (ok, I don't have kids but some of these things are great for kids of any age, including 26 year old arts graduates!)

In the interest of Karma and General Niceness and also Keeping This Blog From Getting Too Ego-centric, I have decided to periodically feature a craftsperson or artist who I think is the bee's knees. So...

Gretel Parker, illustrator and crafter extraordinaire has this gorgeous shop where she sells her needle felt creations. Gretel's work sells so fast after it is listed, her shop never looks very full - but check out her sold items page for the lovelies that flew (some perhaps literally...) off her shelves

My favourites have to be the geese with their elongated necks and subtle stylization:
Sleepy Sam, I know how you feel! The detail and work put into this fellow is amazing.

Lanky Lil has a lovely elegance to her - her little choker is darling.

These beautiful sculptures were born from Gretel's equally original artworks - some of which you can buy as greetings cards in her etsy shop. Certainly Someone To Watch :)

(Images are posted with the artist's consent)

Thou shalt have a stylized fishie...

2008-08-21T17:59:00.003+01:00

...
On a little danglie
Thou shalt have a fishie
Now I've got fish hook ear wires in!*

(And they're sterling silver too, for people with sensitive skin like me)
There should be a few pairs of earrings popping up in the shop soon.

I've also whipped up a new banner for Treacle Toffee based on my Shoal necklace, for a change from my plain logo.

* If you're wondering where on earth that came from, it's one of my favourite little nursery-rhyme type ditties

Snuggly snuzzly

2008-08-20T10:38:00.003+01:00

Well, you wouldn't know it was August here. While I hear reports of baking heat in Europe and America, here in drizzly Cornwall it's feeling like Autumn already. Hot chocolate, hot water bottles...I'm even wearing socks! I don't mind though, because the time has come (the walrus said...) for making cold weather things.

Selling on the interweb to international customers means I need to make things quite in advance to allow for postage time...and of course for my antipodean customers winter accessories are a touch late now (naughty Catherine).

You know those grey drizzly mornings when you wake up and you've got to get up and go to school/work/out on an errand but really you just want to stay nice and cosy in your pyjamas?

The solution!

This scarf is made with that same soft flannelette that you get winter pyjamas in. Snuggly snuzzly! I'm working on a few of these with different animal designs (next one up is going to have my bear on it, because it's becoming the Rule in Scatterbox-land that any new product has to have a bear on it at least once.) and possibly also some with my tree design...maybe some spotty ones too! I'm deciding on which colours of flannelette to get for making more - I love the white but I think some sky blues, pinks, maybe greens or reds would be good too.

Now this scarf is a child's size one (50 inches long, should be generous enough for a bit of 'growing room') but I'm thinking of making some for bigger kids (like me) What do you think?

Frills and spills

2008-08-12T16:40:00.004+01:00

Back to crafting and at last I can show you some things that have been in my mind's eye for a while.

Cushions for kids (aged 3 to 103 - sorry 104 year-olds, but I think you should be too grown up for this sort of thing by your age) The frilly scalloped edges are the same felt I use for the appliques - soft but not too flimsy. I like how these look like little framed pictures on my chair. You could have a whole gallery!

Annnnnd....

My first lunch bag (featuring my bear, again!) - well I say first, second really. My first ever ever lunch bag I made a couple of weeks ago and unfortunately I forgot to allow in my pattern for enough depth, silly me.
It's pinkish red vinyl on the outside and lined with red and white spotty cotton. My main priority when I made it was to make it as easy to clean as possible - the vinyl can be wiped with a damp cloth or sponge, as can the lining (which I pre-washed) I have plans for more with different designs.

In other news...

The squally weather in West Cornwall continues. I went out today on an important supplies buying mission and just about managed to miss the rain, thank goodness! Included in the supplies I bought were more pieces of silk for Treacle Toffee jewellery. More wearable tempests and light pools on the way, among other things...

...did someone whisper 'earrings' just then?

Shop updates in the very near future :)

Cold and warm

2008-08-04T12:07:00.004+01:00

Hello,
Strangely, once I started sewing my stormy weather things the weather outside decided to follow suit...maybe the sky wanted to be my model for the new range! In between showers, when my window wasn't looking too grey and the sun peeked through, I managed to finally get some decent photos of the first of my silken tempests...

I also made some headway making things in warmer hues. So here we have a necklace inspired by barleycorn and how the girls at my primary school made jewellery out of grass stalks, all the while hearing Eva Cassidy in my head poignantly singing Fields of Gold.
Plus one silk brooch I made thinking about big comforting cups of cappuccino, the last of the foam leaving trails of white and the sugar just about to sink in...

Ah, autumn...
It's really not far off now, and naughty me I'm a little behind on the Grand Plans For Scatterbox Originals! I'm going to be steaming ahead for the next couple of days, then taking some time out with my good friend who I only see about twice a year...and then next week on this blog I will hopefully have more info/sketches/tantalising photos for at least one of the following:
Small cushions/pillows for kids
New mobiles
Lunch bags
Fun new brooches and magnets

Bit by bit, over the next week or so I'm going to be listing more little purses on etsy, so watch this space!

The Gathering Storm

2008-07-29T15:31:00.003+01:00

In continuation of the nature and elements inspired Treacle Toffee range, this week I am going to be making things on the theme of tempests...sultry late summer days and the nearing harvest, when they sky is just about to burst with rain and all colours become saturated against the steely sky.

...also soon to be listed are things inspired by golden fields of barleycorn, heather and lavender....more leafy things and 'honesty'...

Plus, finishing some of the things I've shown you sneak previews of before, which for some reason have been left aside for some time.

Check back in the next few days and I should have some pictures of the finished articles!

All of this I am juggling with new things for Scatterbox Originals (and the Day Job of course!) I've made headway with some more artwork for mobiles and I plan on using the same designs for fridge magnets, just as soon as I can master my new medium!

Les chats de bavardage

2008-07-15T12:39:00.002+01:00

Sylvie and Claudette meet at 7 every evening on the street corner to exchange news. What could they be gossiping about this time? Perhaps its that rumour about the crafts lady who lives in the attic - they say she spent almost a whole day sewing in her pyjamas last week.

Running away

2008-07-14T17:43:00.003+01:00

Meet Sophie bear. Sophie is a circus bear, performing nightly on the trapeze. But she is not keen on heights or having lots of people look at her. She dreams of running away from the circus and living a different life. Maybe as a dental receptionist.
This week, I am mainly going to be
* making new style notebooks
* doing artwork for new pin badges and magnets
* making more coinpurses
* working on more new designs for Treacle Toffee

New new new new new!

These purses will either be going in Scatterbox Originals, or to a new venue...which I will tell more about when things are more certain :)

Watery starlight

2008-07-01T22:36:00.004+01:00

Pssst! Sneak preview of some new things for Treacle Toffee...
Inspired by circlular ripples and reflected light in a lake, shoals of fish that flash by silently, papery 'honesty' seed pods and the night sky.
Featuring handmade wool felt and pieces of silk.

Both shops should be seeing a proper update in the near future, so keep an eye out!

Variations on a theme

2008-06-26T17:19:00.007+01:00

Hello hello.

Lately I've been busying myself with some designs for more coin purses...
If you click on the image you may be able to make sense of my scribblings. Some of these are slightly different versions of my shy bear purse and Rory the lion purse. The first owl purse should be finished soon and then I think my next design-to-make will be the curious cat :D

I'm also working on designs for the notebooks and some possible lunch bags. A lot of my new work for Scatterbox Originals is going to feature variations of a certain bear, who was my first ASTFA animal (and my profile picture on the right of this page) I've even designed a sticker for going onto parcels:

Now, it seems that lately I've been mainly developing and drawing ideas...but I have been productive, on some new things for Treacle Toffee...see next post :-)

Ode to a cupcake

2008-06-20T02:17:00.005+01:00

Wonky cupcake
On the shelf
No one will buy you
You look sad by yourself
Fear not, sweet cupcake
Your saviour has come
In five minutes time
You will be in my tum.

This is a silly little poem I thought up while brainstorming ideas for my new notebook covers. I'm considering using it but not sure the many Americans on Etsy will understand 'wonky' (askew) or 'tum' (tummy)...

On that note, I am pleased to say that this week, Etsy published my article in their e-zine, The Storque:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/howTos/article/
seller-how-to-international-tagging-yeah-baby/2011/

:-)

Crafty getaway

2008-06-16T12:03:00.007+01:00

Hello! I'm back after a very refreshing holiday in lovely Devon. By day we visited gardens, a waterfall, an abbey, a butterfly house, an otter sanctuary, galleries and many shops. By night, I sat up in bed scribbling ideas. I knew that I'd be bound to have lots of ideas while I was away - there's nothing like not being able to craft to make you want to! Luckily I brought a sketchbook and pen with me, and the sketchbook is over half full already with doodlings, workings-out etc.

When I got back, I condensed these ideas onto two sheets of A4 paper for ease of reference (click on the images to see bigger)

In Totnes, I couldn't resist going into the yarn shop. If it weren't for me being urgently told that the time was almost up on our car parking, I think I could have happily spent over an hour in there, gazing at all the colours and textures. I left the shop grinning from ear to ear, clutching these lovelies:

Dark blue wool, misty grey-blue cotton and beautiful light blue cashmerino. The woman at the till said "someone's going to have fun!" - she is, she really is! I just need one more material, and a new gizmo for my sewing machine, and I'll be all set to start on some of those doodlings I've been doing for my Treacle Toffee range.

There's some exciting new things in the pipeline for Scatterbox Originals too - among other things, I'm working on designs for a new type of notebook. I have a couple of my little handbound notebooks remaining, which I intend to put on etsy sometime soon and sell at a discount. I love them but they take so long to make, and several times cutting paper to size I've cut my fingers by accident and had to discard book blocks with spatters of A Positive on them - not good!
I've found a resource for really good quality blank notebooks, which I can sew a fabric cover for, and this new method of mine opens up design possibilities.

I'm eager to make a start on everything...I just need to decide what to do first!

(see www.flickr.com/photos/cathayward for my holiday snaps)

While the Cat(herine)'s away...

2008-06-02T19:02:00.007+01:00

On Friday morning I was rudely awoken by quite a kerfuffle (and a bit of a rumpus).
Wiping the sleep out of my eyes, I saw not three, but six myopic mice had sneaked out of their box and ventured out into the attic room, no doubt in search of cheese, and met a rather alarming neighbour...

Now these mice are silly mice indeed. When I finally got Maude (the most sensible of the six) to explain, it became clear that
a) the mice did not heed my warning when they first arrived at the Attic Shelter (that there is a grumpy lion living at the shelter who is best avoided, especially when you are a mouse) and
b) they thought they could get away with their early morning adventure because they thought I wouldn't be home to witness it. Clearly they misheard me saying when exactly it is that I'm going away. So, to avoid further confusion:

Luckily I won't have to worry about the mice being naughty and encountering Rory Lion again while I'm gone, as they shall be on their way to their new home by then!

I have a list of things to do/make before I go, including another felt animal - Clive the snake - some new bags and purses, more mobiles, coasters and fish for Treacle Toffee. I have quite a few other designs in mind, but since I'm not sure I'll get all of the aforementioned things done in time, these will have to wait until I get back:

These were put to paper while the ideas were coming to me - I know how they're going to look when they're done, even if they just look like hurried scribblings to the rest of the world...I'll hopefully have something more tangible by July.

:)

S'totally different

2008-05-23T10:50:00.004+01:00

I've been doodling ideas again...developments on the idea of animals on purses, a bit different to my other designs. Keeping the Attic Shelter for Troubled Felt Animals afloat is difficult and I thought it would be helpful to sell related products to promote the cause. These are going to be bigger than my recent zip purses, closer in size to the pouches :)Here we have some of the ASTFA animals kindly posing for some applique coin purses...well, I say kindly. When I asked Rory to pose he just said 'Raaaaaahr!' Referring to my Angry Lion to English dictionary, I believe this means "You took me out of my box for this?! I had my hopes up there, I thought you were going to send me to a new home, grrrrrr!"

I did have some more willing models for the purses, who are considering coming to the Attic Shelter for re-homing. Ruthie Bear is terribly shy and unsure of herself. I'm not sure her nerves can stand up to living near Rory, but she's said she will certainly consider coming to the shelter after Rory leaves.

Elsa is an owl struggling to fit in with her peers. She's really not a 'night owl', you see, she's more of a '4pm cup of tea and a biscuit' sort of owl. I've told her that if she comes to the shelter she can watch afternoon tv with me while I sew.

But who's that brown and white character hiding at the bottom of the pile? Could it be my penchant for daft puns has broken forth into the land of Scatterbox? Oh dear...

Felt like stitching

2008-05-13T22:55:00.003+01:00

Hello, I'm sorry to say things have ground to a halt for a few days while I went to the zoo with a friend, and recovered from a nasty cold. Back in business now and I've been experimenting lately with making a different kind of felt. For the feltily-uninitiated, there are basically three kinds of handmade felt:

1) Wet-felted. This is the kind I generally make, which involves taking wool 'tops', which is essentially wool that hasn't been spun, and looks a bit like cotton wool does when you get it in a roll. You add hot water and soap to wool tops and through lots of rubbing and friction and dipping in hot and then cold water, and then throwing the wool about a bit, the wool gradually meshes together into felt. This takes quite a bit of exertion and with all the hot water, can get a bit much in very warm weather like we've been having lately - my wet-felting in summer is limited to cooler evenings!
(there's a special type of wet felting called Nuno felt, where you use the felting method to attach wool to fabric such as silk for a lovely light and durable fabric)

2) Needle-felt - you can see fantastic examples of this in Gretel's blog http://allaroundus.blogspot.com/
This method involves stabbing the wool tops with sharp, barbed needles - I plan on having a proper go at this one day when my to-do list is a bit shorter.

3) Machine felting - this is where you take something knitted or crocheted out of wool and put it in a really hot wash in the washing machine and let it have a good tumble around, the heat, water, soap and friction making the wool shrink and go fuzzy. This third type is the kind I've been playing with. It gives a different effect to traditional felt and its a cool way of upcycling old clothes :)

After felting some sweaters (bought in charity shops) in the wash, I've been stitching wool through the felt in patterns, and then using my wet-felting method to felt the stitching into the sweater-felt a little.

Here's one piece of turquoise wool and angora blend sweater, felted up and hanging in the sun to dry:

This is for yet more products for Treacle Toffee. The plan for this piece is to make some dangly fish-shaped ornaments for hanging in bathrooms. I've also been stitching some felt for some coasters - pictures coming soon!

Later in the week I'll be working on some more Scatterbox things. I want to make some bags I've had ideas for, and more zippy little purses, and maybe more mobiles, and some felt animals that have been waiting patiently to come to life for oh, so long now! I'm determined to get as much done as possible before I go away in June.

Can and can't

2008-05-07T10:49:00.003+01:00

The 6th of May was a double birthday in this house - my sewing machine (who I have ingeniously named Jan) is ten years old. I got her (sorry...it...) as my big prezzie for my 16th birthday. A little bit of mathematics and you know how old I am now. I've become very fond of my machine, and it's served me well over the years even though its only a basic one. Here she...it...is, on my sewing table.

For my birthday, I tried to make a marble cake...sometimes my cakes come out really nice, and sometimes...they really really don't. I put too much mixture in the tin, and it all came spilling out in the oven. I tried cooking it for longer to make up for having doubled the ingredients, but then it burnt pretty badly on the top.

Never mind, I'll have to just focus on the things I can make...

...more zip-up purses on the way in future and lots of handmade pillow boxes for the Treacle Toffee jewellery.

I mentioned recently about new ideas for Treacle Toffee. I'm still determined to make them but I'll need a new kind of fabric that I can only buy in bulk, so I need to a) clear through the fabric I already have and b) get a bit more money together for investing. What started out as one idea has become three ideas for new products...possibly more, they keep multiplying! I'm really eager to make these things while they're still clear in my mind's eye. In the meantime, a few hints:
The fabric will be that gorgeous soft cotton called moleskin, which I can only obtain in white so I get to practice my dyeing skills.
Stitched onto this moleskin there will be handmade felt, and possibly velvet and lengths of pretty yarn.
One idea is for wearing when its cold, one idea is for carrying things in, and one idea is for sitting pretty on your sofa.

Oooh whatever could they be?!

Clamming up

2008-04-23T23:22:00.003+01:00

As you can see, there's no more big white gap on the right of this page under 'Treacle Toffee'...
over the next few days I'm going to be re-activating the listings, with a few improvements to the necklaces in particular. They now have lovely neat endings with what are called clam bead tips, and some necklaces now have extension chains on them for adjustability - hooray!
There will also be some new things listed like leaf brooches and that leaf necklace I posted a sneaky look at a while ago - all re-photographed with the fancy new fastenings of course.

I'm also going to be making some nice packaging for the necklaces etc, watch this space for piccies :D

Bumbling along

2008-04-21T22:27:00.005+01:00

Thanks to everyone for the lovely comments recently, its so nice to have feedback :) Mobile number one is completed now, and will be listed just as soon as I decide on things like pricing and work out how much shipping would cost. Here's another sneaky peek:

(note the addition of blue and turquoise buttons and beads)

The change purses I doodled before are in progress, as well as another mobile. (I'm also going to endeavour to get that midnight blue bag finished that I started a while back.)

Also...
Tune in soon for pics of the new improved felty necklaces - I'm in the process of upgrading them all to nice professional clasps now that I have the proper materials. In addition to the necklaces have a new product range in mind for Treacle Toffee that I'm really excited about and can't wait to show you all what it's going to be... there's a few details I need to sort out first but hopefully they'll be popular...they won't be ready until May at the earliest but Treacle Toffee will be back up and running before then.

So many ideas, so little time!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

2008-04-18T19:11:00.003+01:00

This is attempt number one...
not quite 'there' yet, and I will probably manage better pictures tomorrow when the light is better, but here they are so far, my bumblybees all a-dangly!

Getting the balance right has been tricky but hopefully with practice they won't take so long. :)

Zippedy doo dah

2008-04-16T21:26:00.005+01:00

Firstly, I apologise for the lapse in blogging. The great monster from the land of Stock-Take-on-Account-an-sea demanded my attention for a gruelling ten days, but it is finally done, and I'm back in the land of the living! Its a wonderful feeling and I've been back to crafting away with gusto.
The Treacle Toffee shop is currently hibernating but the items will be back up soon with some improvements (I'll be blogging about that in the near future...)
For Scatterbox Originals, new things are in the pipeline. Doing the stocktaking I discovered a big stash of zippers that I'd almost forgotten about, so there will be some variations on old items...

...plus something I've never made before, featuring things like these:

that I designed in Photoshop and have printed out onto cotton, which will be combined with things such as buttons, beads, string and wooden dowling (can you guess what they're going to be?)

Finally...

2008-04-03T23:14:00.003+01:00

...at last, real and glorious sunshine! These past two days have had beautiful weather. My room has been flooded with light - perfect photography conditions, great for long days of sewing, a little walk along the beach perhaps. Just what I've been waiting for all this time...

Only it's one day away from the end of the tax year here in the UK, which means... its stocktaking time. Argh! The next few days are going to be given over to measuring, counting, calculating and working through my accounts books. Hopefully, by the time this is done and I'm able to get back to the fun part (making things other than lists of numbers) , Mr Sun will still be here to help me take nice pictures of bags, wallets, brooches, necklaces and all the other things on my To Make list.

I'm making the most of the sunlight while it's here with this cool gadget I got for Christmas called the 'sun jar':

You leave it out in the sun, and the solar panel slurps up all the sunshine goodness...

...and then at night you switch it on, and you've got a lovely blue nightlight :)

April also heralds a new tariff from the post office, and I'm sorry to say I've had to increase my shipping costs a little bit. On the plus side, I've now got around to adding a shipping option in both shops for Ireland. In the past, all customers outside the UK have had the same shipping fees, as listing every single possible country is just too long-winded for me, but this is not really fair on more local customers.
So, from now on, customers in:

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Azores, Balearic Islands, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Corsica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia (the country not the US state!), Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro Kosovo, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Spitzbergen, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and the Vatican...

can all get in touch prior to purchasing, to arrange to get the same shipping fees as Ireland
:)

What has it got in its pocketses?

2008-04-02T15:24:00.007+01:00

A while ago, I posted an image of my workboard, and right at the bottom of the pile was a green shape of felt. I knew back then that this was going to be another copse of trees on a hilltop, but it wasn't until I stitched it onto the bag panel that I realised these were not ordinary trees...
I had just enough red buttons to make the trees into a little apple orchard.

While making this bag, I decided it was about time I tried out an idea I'd had a while ago, for pockets. Pockets are always handy, and I especially wanted to solve The Problem Of Pens. Whenever I'm out and about, I carry a pen or two with me so that I can write things down if I need to. Pens seem to have a special type of gravitation towards the bottom of any bag or pocket they are placed in (I believe it may be a scientific law, much like the law about bread landing butter-side down) So, I made a felt pocket inside the bag, with a little oblong shape at the side. This is just about big enough for one or two pens, so they stay nicely upright and easy to find :-) The rest of the pocket is just right for a coin purse, pocket mirror, phone etc, and closes neatly with a button.

I was so pleased with my new pocket design, I made another bag so that I could do it again!

I'm thinking of this bag as a book bag, because its the right size to fit an average-sized book - I based my pattern on it being big enough to fit a hardback book plus a few essentials. The strap on this one is long enough to hook over your shoulder.

I've got more ideas a-brewing, so watch this space :-)

As promised...

2008-03-26T11:11:00.003Z

Well, its officially spring now here, although the clocks don't spring forward until Sunday. Mother Nature doesn't seem to know about this, though, and so I'm still wearing my snuggly winter boots and having lots of hot tea. I'm not complaining - I like wintery weather really, but I'm looking forward to a little more sunshine! I'm fighting against the grizzly skies through craft, and so I present you with the aforementioned...

zingy...springy....
thingies!

The swarm(ette) of bumblebees is the beginning of a new range of felt brooches that I'm quite excited about. They come as a set of three so that you can pin them together in all manner of flight formations, or pin one seperately to your cardigan/bag/jacket so that you're never without one. I think these would work well pinned to one of my flower tote bags, arranged amongst the blossoms like they're collecting pollen. :-)

The yellow and blue necklace is probably the most contrasting colour combination I've tried so far, and I hope folks like it. Its also the first necklace I've made that is super duper long, and can be doubled up to varying degrees (inspired by the lovely Michelle of etsy admin fame selecting one of my treacle toffee creations for an article on long necklaces)

Most of my necklaces are made to give the effect of a doubled-over necklace but are actually two lengths of string fixed together at the top (this is the approach I've gone for with my third leafy necklace, pictured here. The leafy things are among my favourites right now)

There's been a really nice, positive reaction to my sunshine and seedlings wallet (see previous post) which is great as I have plans for a few similar items.

And so, to the sewing!

Sunshine on a rainy day

2008-03-14T23:01:00.003Z

Well, the storm may have passed, but the skies above are still a little grey. Spring officially begins here on the 20th of March, followed ten days later by the clocks 'springing' forwards one hour. Adjusting to the time change always seems to take me a good two weeks! Right now, I'm resisting the urge to hibernate by creating a little artificial sunlight...

This wallet is the first of several I have planned with a sunny, springtime feel, and it (har-har) sprang up in my etsy shop this evening. (I'll post a sketch of some of the other designs I have in mind soon. )

I've been making artificial sunshine in my wardrobe too. I have spent my birthday money two months early, because I simply had to have this skirt:

Its so light and airy (but it has an underlayer of light blue fabric, so not in a see-through way) I'm looking forward to wearing it, just as soon as fairer weather reaches these isles...its bound to happen eventually!

Wild and woolly

2008-03-12T17:02:00.006Z

In case you haven't heard, the weather around here lately has been really rather rainy, windy, squally, blustery, and all in all, wild and woolly! Gale force winds are not what we're used to here in Cornwall. (Luckily I grew up in the northern hills where windy weather is quite normal, so I'm not too fazed by it. I even ventured out into town on Monday and sort of enjoyed the eerie lack of people in the streets, until tiles started flying off of roofs and crashing in the street below; then I realised why most sensible people were in their homes!) I've managed to get through the storm unscathed and while the hatches were battened-down I got on with making a few things...

These will be arriving in the shop very soon. My Scatterbox items seem to be taking on an increasingly dream-like quality. The bag above (which I am mentally referring to as my halo-moon bag) is inspired by the saying "A halo 'round the sun or moon, rain or snow is coming soon". This particular moon is shining down on some growing flowers and seedlings. I love the thought of little plants growing up out of the earth while the world is sleeping, and nothing watching them but the moon. :)
I really want to finish off my other midnight blue bag, but I underestimated how much tape I would need for the handles, so that'll be held back for a while.

The weather is a bit calmer today, and coincidentally this lull came at the same time as a nice little parcel containing some wool which is going to be used for some Treacle Toffee zingy spring-y thingies!

I'll post more about that in due course. In the meantime, I think hot chocolate and a blanket are in order :)

From paper to fabric

2008-03-06T17:37:00.003Z

From the doodlings I did last week, here are some close-ups of one of the bags and the purse in progress...

I've done pretty much all the handsewing part for all three, so I should get them finished up quite soon.

Treacle Toffee fans, fear not! I will eventually post that elusive handbag I talked about before, but I've decided to hold off a little while until I have a few others made. I'm also about to make more necklaces using these bits of felt:

as well as a few secret ingredients :-)

Other things on my workboard this week:

You can see the beginnings of another new tote bag on there (can you guess what it is yet?), another purse (I think this is one of my favourites so far), the bagged-up felt beads, a rolled up length of tape for bag handles (it's dark navy blue but for some reason my camera struggles with some blues...the cornflower and aqua blue felt beads look the right colour though - on my screen anyway!) Also my precious fabric scissors Which Are Never To Be Used For Paper, a couple of my templates that I've cut from scrap bits of card, my tape measure, and my box of bobbins.

Happy Thursday!

Nice Monday things

2008-02-25T18:56:00.004Z

Ever since I designated Monday as my official Don't Do Much day, I've been feeling a lot better in myself, less run-down, more relaxed - ahhhhhhhhh. I've been pottering around at home, rather than venturing out into this:

(view from my skylight window)
Its that kind of drizzly rain that doesn't fall down properly but floats around and just makes the air damp. Some kinds of rain I like, mainly the kind of rain that makes a tinkly sound when it falls onto metal, and the kind of rain that isn't wet at all, but made out of screenprinted calico loveliness. Ladysnail makes these fantastic little dangle-able rainclouds, among other things, and completely out of the blue, recently sent me this fellow

I actually let out a little squeal of excitement when I opened the parcel. I have named him Nimby, and I smile every time I see him dangling from the hook on my attic-room-ceiling-beam.

Mr Postman has been bringing me such lovely things lately. Nimby from Ladysnail and a dvd from my mum last week, and today some fabric I ordered has arrived in a big fat parcel. Grinning like a loony, I laid it out on my patchwork quilt to inspect it, and I realised there are certain colours I seem to be a little fixated on lately...

Dark blue, sky blue and white flannelette. I'm really pleased with the dark blue especially, which I haven't used before. I have a definite plan in place for that fabric, and here's a little sketch I did today of two of my ideas:
The bag I've drawn at the top will probably be the next one I make. I'm still deciding on the best way to do my 'haloed' moon for bag idea number 2, whether to make it like the moon on the coin purse I sold recently, only extending the swirl of stitches out around the felt, or with a button centre...
You can click on the images to make them larger, if you're having trouble deciphering my scribbly handwriting!

You can never have too many...

2008-02-21T15:09:00.004Z

I've been working on some more tote bags. One is now finished, going in the shop very soon, and the other should be finished this week. This is good timing since one of my trees tote bags has just sold! I'm really pleased with the contrasting cotton straps, so I plan on using them a lot more in future. The fuzzy brushed cotton straps that I used in my older bags are lovely too, but they're considerably fiddlier to make!
Here's a sneak preview:

There should be some similar purses and pouches following in the near future. I've also got plans for some bags using other colours of brushed cotton. I really like the white backgrounds for their versatility, but I know a lot of people prefer a darker colour. There are a few ideas bumbling about in my brain that I'm eager to try. (watch this space!)

In between bag-making, I've been working on this fellow:

Have I told you lately that I heart you?

2008-02-16T19:26:00.009Z

Well, "V-day" came and went with the usual distinct absence of red envelopes...but I do still have some hearts to celebrate, in the form of one nice round number, and one that pleasantly reminds me of 'number 99 icecreams' :-)

I'm surprised, thrilled and flattered to have reached this milestone, and I want to say thank you to anyone who's ever 'hearted' me. It means so much to be given that little thumbs up from someone I've never even met.
It has spurred me to take another look at my own etsy favourites, old and new. Its easy to click 'add to favorites' and then go away and forget about the wonderful things you've found.
There are so many shops on etsy that I love, I couldn't possibly list them all here (my favourite shops list has so far run to 18 pages, and that's not counting the people I hearted whilst logged in to treacle toffee!) but I thought I'd mention some of them, and share the love.
For the sake of not infringing photo copyright, I'm not including pictures here, just links.

http://katesutton.etsy.com - a fellow Brit, Kate has very sweet little pin badges with simple but effective line drawings, and fantastically quirky plush toys (I especially like the partially eaten 'gingerbread men')

http://cindyjaswal.etsy.com - gorgeous monochrome illustrations, inspired by nature and printed onto lovely linen things.

http://palomasnest.etsy.com - beautiful little ceramic bowls and wooden stationery

http://hedgewitchUK.etsy.com - lovely handknitted items and ceramic jewellery impressed with leaves

http://jenmaestre.etsy.com - if you haven't already discovered Jen's innovative use of pencils and colour, I very much recommend that you discover them now

http://bluethimble.etsy.com - bold designs, silkscreened onto pillows and bags in delicious saturated colour

http://krisblues.etsy.com - wonderful art prints

http://peacefulprovisions.etsy.com - combining handprinted fabric designs with applique felt accents

...I could go on, there are so many great sellers on etsy.

If you haven't browsed through your etsy favourites list lately, why not take a look now, and rediscover some handmade things you love?

Blue sky, hello...but sky blue, where'd you go?

2008-02-12T16:25:00.000Z

I finished the aforementioned bag (complete with care label) a few days ago, and I've been looking at it trying to decide what it is about it that's missing.
I decided more sky blue was needed...so off I went in search of sky blue buttons, specifically the 'matte' colour ones, not pearlescent. Three different fabric and haberdashery shops later, I was forced to conclude that nowhere has any at all! There aren't nearly enough sky blue buttons in the world.
I do, however, have a stash of white and cream buttons from charity shops and salvaged from old clothes. And I have a LOT of dylon dyes.

So,
1) Take some white and cream buttons and give them a good wash. (those pictured below aren't the ones I dyed but similar)
2) Put a sprinkling of multi purpose dye in an old bowl you don't especially care about getting stained, and add some boiling water.

3) Add the buttons.

4) Leave them in the hot dye-y water for a bit, and test them every now and then by scooping them out with a spoon to see what colour they are.

5) When the buttons are the colour you're after, scoop them out and give them a rinse, then rinse them again.

6) Leave to dry on some tissue

Some buttons didn't dye at all, and some slurped up the dye more than others. It will take a bit of practice getting used to which buttons dye best, but its definitely something I'll try again - dead easy
:-D

Abominable

2008-02-07T12:22:00.000Z

On Tuesday I went on a big fabric buying mission, and came back laden with white brushed cotton, printed cotton, dusky red linen, white, green and beige felt, pipecleaners, buttons, fabric tape and a few ideas.
One of the things I'm making with my monster-sized fabrics haul, is actually a monster...well, sort of.

The yeti is a much misunderstood creature, and will be arriving in the attic shelter for troubled felt animals sometime in the near future.

I've got just about enough brushed cotton for two tote bags - I would have got more but it was the last bit left in the fabric shop. Now I need to decide whether to first make another tree bag, a bluebird bag, an elephant bag...or something else.

Definitions

2008-01-31T18:16:00.000Z

Today I made up some fabric labels with my treacle toffee logo on one side and care instructions on the other. I'm rather pleased with how they turned out. Here's one sewn into the lining of a bag that will be coming soon:

I plan to make some for Scatterbox Originals as well soon. Looking at my logo earlier, I realised I've never explained the origins of my shop names. So, for anyone who's interested...

Scatterbox Originals -
I'm dyslexic, and one of the main complications for me is that I can be terribly disorganised and scatterbrained. Its only since I started crafting and creating that I've found ways to organise my thoughts and express my ideas. Running a business on Etsy has also done a lot for me in terms of improving my organisational skills, and although I'd hate to think I have a scatterbrained (or scatterboxed) approach to my business, I felt the need to pay tribute to the obstacle that turned out to be the kick-start of my crafting career.
I was completely unaware when I set up my Etsy account that there is a punk rock band by the name of Scatterbox - hopefully they don't mind me using their word in association with cute nubby applique designs!

Treacle Toffee -
I'd been toying with the idea of separating my two main styles of craft into two shops since around last autumn, which is perhaps why this seasonal candy was on my mind whenever I thought about potential shop names.
Treacle ('tree-cul'), sometimes called molasses in the USA, is rich dark brown, one of my favourite colours. Treacle toffee is more commonly available in the UK around October/November and is especially associated with Bonfire Night (November 5th)
Aside from having a sweet tooth myself, I settled on the name because it has a nice sound to it, its associated with my favourite season, and it's quintessentially English.

I should cocoa

2008-01-11T19:39:00.000Z

Firstly, a belated happy new year! My, 2008 is galloping on.
Secondly, apologies for the big gap between posts. I am alive and well, back home from the holidays, and gearing up to list some new things on etsy.
My crafts lately have developed into two main styles, and while I was away I had a Great Ponder and decided to set up a second etsy shop called Treacle Toffee. www.treacletoffee.etsy.com is looking a little bare so far, but will soon be the new home for my jewellery (like the cocoa circles necklace above) and other felty/chunky accessories, as well as some new items that are in development.
In Scatterbox Originals, there will be more bluebirds, elephants, trees and butterfly bags, and the new ASTFA animals, coming in the next few weeks.

That Friday feeling

2007-12-14T11:06:00.001Z

Tax return finally out of the way on Friday afternoon, I made some more of the brooches for etsy. One of them is a highly edible looking combo of chocolate browns and gingers that puts me in mind of Crunchie bars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crunchie if you're not fortunate enough to have this delicacy where you live) Unfortunately it was so grey and dreary outside, the lighting meant I wasn't able to take decent photographs in time to list anything new before my Christmas break began on Monday afternoon.
I'm now visiting my parents, so all serious etsy-ing is now postponed until after Christmas, which is conveniently also after the winter solstice (December 21st), so the days will gradually be getting longer again and I can recommence photographing in natural light.
I'm looking forward to making a start on making things from my ideas list, but in the meantime I've got some mince pies and hot mulled apple juice to see to :)

The hare that never was, but shall be

2007-12-11T22:05:00.000Z

Part way through making Fergus, it became apparent that I needed to rethink the structure of his ears in order for them to stand upright, true hare-fashion. I never waste fabric if I can possibly avoid it, so I decided instead to make Arnott. Arnott is a chocolate brown bunny who has been hopping about in the back of my imagination for some time, thumping his extra-long hind legs trying to get my attention (I attribute my recent headaches and sore left eye to this). He has an unfortunate tendency to sulk if he doesn't get his own way, and in the end, I gave in. Despite his attention-seeking nature, Arnott is a sweet bunny really, who just wants to be loved.
Also popping up in my etsy shop soon are some more chunky felt brooches, mostly rich red and brown ones but one or two other colourways as well. I've almost entirely run out of cranberry red felt, but I will be making enquiries with my supplier to see if they can get hold of some more for me, it's one of my favourite colours right now.

Now that international shipping deadlines have passed, I'm gearing down on production in preparation for my Christmas break. I'm taking purchases from UK customers right up until the afternoon of Monday 17th of December, making one last trip to the post office that afternoon, then packing my bags for my holiday.

In the new year, things will be back into full swing so expect to see more things like
* wristwarmers
* jewellery - necklaces, bracelets, brooches
* ASTFA animals, including Fergus and some Lost Pigs
* totes and shoulderbags

The wakeful hare sleeps with her eyes open

2007-12-08T21:34:00.000Z

I must offer up my apologies once again to my blog readers, for the as yet unfulfilled promise of one stuffed felt hare.
I've been beavering away at items for etsy and making custom orders, plus working every weekend in my 'day job', plus getting my Christmas shopping done, plus chasing up my landlord over broken fixtures, and it seems to have taken its toll on my health. I'm going to do my best to get Fergus the hare finished and listed on etsy by Monday lunchtime-ish (UK time), followed by one or two other items I've got in the works if possible. Its all depending on if my home remedy for December fatigue (homemade pie, hot chocolate, schmaltsy movies and a hot water bottle) works, and how much time I have after the trip to the post office on Monday, when I will be dispatching any last minute orders from America.
Its a little bit ironic (and only just occurred to me) that both the hare and the trio of mice are animals with eye-related issues, and the reason I've been delayed in making and listing them is partly due to health problems with my own eyes.
The weather here has been so awful, I think work at the shop tomorrow will be quiet. I'm tempted to spend my free moments making more origami boxes for the assorted items I plan on adding to my jewellery range in the future. I had about a half an hour lull in the shop at the end of today, where I tore up an old London street map and made cute itsy bitsy little boxes, so now I'm on the lookout for old books with bigger pages that I can use for necklaces, bracelets etc.

Best laid plans of mice and craftswomen

2007-12-03T22:28:00.000Z

The plan for today was to have various things listed on my etsy shop in time for my showcase...all in all, I got most of the planned items ready and up in time, but two items in particular are running late. The first of these is a trio of myopic mice, and the second is also a new resident for the Attic Shelter for Troubled Felt Animals (ASTFA), a hare with a habit of falling asleep and an unfortunate aversion to tortoises.
Slow and steady wins the race though, and I have finally managed to list the special printed tape that I've had in-progress for almost a week. The idea of the tape is to wrap it around presents and parcels as you would ribbon, but I have also noticed it could have other uses. Here is a picture of Mr Snail (a creation from the very talented Ladysnail) sporting a scarf made out of a bit of tape that went a little awry. Even felt animals need to be kept warm on these chilly days, and I'm sorely tempted to make some scarves for ASTFA in future...I'll just add it to the list of things to make!

People often ask me how I manage to think of all these things to make. I honestly couldn't say...but I do so wish the ideas would come further in advance of the Christmas rush next time!

The new ASTFA animals should hopefully make it onto the shop in the next couple of days, certainly in time for last Christmas orders. :)

All the stars were out that night

2007-11-08T00:25:00.001Z

Clear skies on these crisp autumn nights have been inspiring new items for my etsy shop with a definite celestial theme...christmas decorations, cuffs and necklaces all coming soon :-) I appear to have run out of midnight blue wool...

A hint of things to come..

2007-10-27T23:40:00.000+01:00

2007-10-18T16:30:00.000+01:00

I've been making brooches with layers cut from my chunky handmade felt, corduroy and embroidered linen. There will be more to come soon, in rich and autumnal colours.

Felt soup

2007-10-09T18:59:00.001+01:00

My old cheap bowl that I got for my first year of university has a chip in the rim and now is mainly used for holding things other than food. For instance, the felt beads I'm making which will hopefully become lovely fun jewellery in time for Christmas (watch this space!) I'm really enjoying making these, its strangely theraputic sitting cross-legged on the floor with soapy hands, music playing and watching the felt form into shape. :-)