Once Upon a Time in the North

Christmas Corner.

2011-12-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have finally managed to create ONE exciting Christmassy corner in my house and I am very happy! Oh I do have a tree, before you ponder. But I am particularly proud of my festive shelves! SAD!?

I actually didn't think I would make it this far. I've had endless craft fairs, hence no blogging, and my shops have been nice and busy. Most of my items in these photographs have joined me at my events so they have lived in the boot of my car for two-ish months. Now they have a new life for a short while- until it all starts again.

My pictures might be a little crude and this blog post is probably a bit sad but you see this is a milestone for me. At the start of my craft fair adventure in October I couldn't envisage it ever coming to an end, and boy did I get stressy. I don't find it all easy trying to run a business and a family, something usually suffers! So I think this post is to simply congratulate myself. TEE! HEE!

Now I will start on the rest of the house- it's the house that has suffered me thinks!

New THINGS FOR NEXT YEAR- I am planning on setting up a website because I like the idea of everything being under one roof. I've actually started creating it so please keep watching for updates.

What I've been up to lately!

2011-12-13T07:37:00.001-08:00

Strappy Matryoshka and Mushrooms Bag in Linen., a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

This is my new bag.......more to come!

Scandi Style Scented Cushions

2011-11-30T09:13:00.001-08:00

Scandi Style Scented Cushions, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

I'm rolling out a few new cushions! Feast your eyes here!

Look.....I've been published!

2011-10-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

I'm in this issue of Handmade Living.

I have created this pattern especially for the Handmade Living reader.

Yippee!!!! I'm soooooo excited......now off you go lovely crafters and create this lovely bag.

This bag is a variation of my Apple bag- seen here fashioned by Lil.

Craft Fair Pics......WOWEE!

2011-10-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

I only have a few images to show you from the Vintage Revival Fair in Kendal that I took part in last Sunday. Thankfully this is down to being super busy and rushed off my feet and basically not having any time to take pictures or even sit down!!!!

Pic Number 1.......I have suddenly found my white shelves to be extremely useful at these events. They add so much height to my display and many of my items are at eye level, they also don't take up much room in my car.

Pic Number 2......Cushions. I apologize for the angle of this photograph, I have no idea if this even the correct way round.

Pic Number 3..... A close up. I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who is planning to take part in a craft fair over this festive period to invest in a small set of shelves. I make fairly large items and sometimes there isn't enough space to display my handmade lovely things, or the space is different to what I imagined and I usually have a mini meltdown when this happens. At least with my shelves I was able to have a play and arrange my items at home before the big event. Also using my shelves means I have extra table space for the Christmas decorations and stocking fillers- which are items I don't sell all year round and something else to think about.

Pic Number 4......my daughter. Meet Lily! My daughter got so much of a buzz from selling one item last week and was excited by the experience of earning money that she has now announced she works for me. EEK! I'm not sure how long this will last but for now I'm keeping her to her word!!!!

See Me Here On Sunday

2011-10-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

Don't miss this Vintage event.

I shall be exhibiting here and selling my handcrafted lovely things and some supplies.

HEADS UP! There's a FESTIVE BUNTING Workshop taking place. WOOOOO!

2011-10-17T02:54:00.000-07:00

It's happening tomorrow evening at The Fusion Cafe (twitter- @Allfusedglass). In the historic grounds of Brougham Hall, Penrith

Festive Bunting

COST - £35.00

This workshop will run every Tuesday starting 18th October for 3 weeks, 7pm-10pm

We believe that it takes time and practise to make the perfect double sided bunting!

Therefore this is a three week festive bunting workshop.

With a combination of beautiful contrasting fabrics, embellished with pom-poms and bells, we will make and create fabulous bunting.

Machine sewing and hand sewing will be used, so it would be lovely if you could bring your own sewing machine.

Please bring your own fabrics, preferably cotton and with a festive feel. Or old clothes, off cuts or fat quarters (I only ask this so that we don’t all end up with the same looking bunting, however I will bring along some fabric). I will provide Christmassy bias binding, pom-poms and bells.

Refreshments included! Oh and it should be a lot of fun!

C-Art Fair

2011-10-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

Come on then.......

From Now On It's Only BIG Decorations For Me

2011-10-04T02:53:00.000-07:00

Last week I simply despaired. Nothing seemed to go right.......please tell me why does this happen? First in the series of terrible events was that our boiler broke in a spectacular fashion. Thankfully last week was a scorcher of a week so we were OK for warmth. However there was no end to the boiling of pans so that we could keep ourselves clean. Our boiler did eventually get fixed but only for it to break down again three days later. UMPH!

Amongst this mayhem my daughter was off school, I scratched my car and I've messed up my tax returns. These things cause me no end of worry.

But then in my mental state I created these

WEEEEEEEE! Big TREES.

BIG

Big buttons, tactile felt. Big colour!

Big trees, I love them! They were fun to make, they helped me exercise some demons. I think they are like 'In your face' Christmas trees. I did become very giddy with excitement when I hung on them on my door to take these pictures. Creative fun at it's best.

You can never have too many pom-poms!

2011-09-21T07:16:00.000-07:00

I've spent the day gathering all my newly handmade textiles, in order to have a grand photo sesh and then start listing my creations in my Etsy shop.......I'm still on a bit of a drive although I am close to burn out. Any way as I was in the process of doing this one thing was made very clear to me- I have made many things with pom-poms recently.

Oh well!

I think these big pom-poms add a magical Christmassy/snowball touch. I think you should try it for yourself, they're very easy to attach!

I have also made some beautiful festive table runners- but I'm having a little difficulty taking good quality pictures. So you will have to wait to see them.

My bunting is now listed in my Etsy shop along with many other Christmassy items.

Oh I do love a big wad of pom-poms!!!!! Check these out here- http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth2

Pom-poms, pom-poms, bunting, bunting- say them really fast!

Finished Lavender Lovelies.

2011-09-20T08:45:00.001-07:00

I have finally finished my scented cushions. They've had a good stuffing with lavender and hops and all loose threads have been snipped and tidied...........

I am so much in love with this pretty Scandinavian Folk print. I know it isn't particulary Christmassy but against he right fabrics and trims it could.....you will be seeing it frequently!!!

It is a personal acheivement to create something so simple and I am very happy with my new cushions.

My beautiful Liberty stash.......and pom-poms!

Simple and satisfying, my scented cushions have been a pleasure to sew. I was concerned that the pom-pom trims might be too fussy but actually they're not- which is good because I can't wait to use them in everything. Er! Maybe not?

Yippie! I am excited. I am a fabric, pom-pom, sewing addict.

Scented Cushions- nearly finished!!!

2011-09-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

OK so these pictures may be slightly crude because I haven't quite finished off my scented cushions but I am so excited with the way they have turned out, I just had to take a few snaps to show you.

I think my theme for winter is definitely comfort and therefore 'cute houses'- hopefully you might be able to make out the cute house appliqued on the top cushion?

I have been busy- yes? Christmas is upon us and this year I have decided to get ahead of the game. Or at least I'm going to have a go. I am determined to be more organised and right now I do feel positive and driven, which actually makes me feel good! One thing I am sure of is that my house smells great!

Here we go....'cute houses and adorable Russian Dolls'. Fun....fun....fun!

I think I'm obsessed- I cannot get enough of these dinky colourful pom-pom trims.

I will add the finishing touches tomorrow. Whoopee!

Heart Buttons- a welcome surprise.....

2011-09-15T02:54:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine my surprise and my giddiness when I received these from my wholesaler the other day. Only because I didn't actually order them but they replaced a bag of buttons that were out of stock. I'm telling you button lovers these buttons are a beautiful variety of pink and red shades.

More to the point they sit beautiful next to my new "love" ribbon/sewing tape. Which I did order.

I think some body may have been having a little bit of design enjoyment. Thank you Mr. wholesaler!

This is prettiness at it's most perfect!

When to use a needle and thread!

2011-09-14T07:19:00.000-07:00

Ha! Ha! Here is something I didn't think I would find myself doing this week.......a little bit of hand sewing. Well a little bit of tacking to be precise.

Just to echo words from my last blog post- there is a time and a place to tack your work together. As I also said in my last blog post- I am a very confident with my sewing skills so I never feel a need to tack my work before sitting down at my sewing machine. Well today I am eating my words, today I have been sewing chunky wadding and pom-poms together. If ever there was a time and a place to get my needle and thread out it has to be today.

I am so excited about my new lavender cushions and I cannot afford to make any mistakes. I have spent a good few hours cutting out teeny pieces of bunting, teeny pieces of vylene, ironing it all together and then carefully arranging it all. But end results are important so tacking on the pom-poms by hand it had to be. Not only that they are quite expensive so I just want to get everything right and lovely the first time. Also let's not forget that hand sewing is a valuable skill and should be encouraged more!!!!!

Once I have finished these little lovelies I will up load many pics of the end results. I already have them in mind as Christmas presents for certain bunting obsessed members of my family!

I hope you like?

MY top 5 crafty sewing tools. Before the initial sewing stage that is....

2011-09-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

This is my list of crafty tools. I must emphasize the MY as you might read this and think 'Oh no....she has it all wrong'. Well that is fine by me as we are all unique and individual.

I did think about listing ALL of the tools I use within a day of crafting and sewing activities. But where do you end? So MY list comprises of the tools I use the most.......before I get down to sewing and assembling- as simple as that!

Here are my 5 things I cannot live without, the tools I actually keep by my side and sometimes travel with them!!! They are in no order by the way.

SCISSORS

Of course! A bit obvious really! This is my trusted army of scissors. The red handled pair are my paper scissors- for cutting out patterns, labels, trimming gift wrap. I cannot live without my lovely big pair of Fiskars, I have had these for years and they have never let me down. They cut fine fabric beautifully and are great for chomping through a huge wedge of fabric. I do look after these and I keep them sharp. My other black handled pair are my spare pair but I do like to use these for cutting through felt and for trimming seams. My little pair are used for trimming loose threads, snipping off buttons and occasionally ripping through mistakes. It is important to keep your fabric scissors sharp and never use them to cut paper!!!! GRRR!

Next.....an IRON

YEP! An iron. I cannot live without an iron during a days sewing. Can you? How can we cut out accurate patterns with creases and ripples in our fabric? I also use an iron on vylene for many of my patchwork projects. I always iron my cut fabric in half and use the crease to achieve symmetry, this line creates the Centre Front and Centre Back when making my bags and big cushions. They just make everything easier and are an imperative guide. I also use the iron for ironing out my seams- my mum drummed this into me.

TAPE MEASURES and similar.

I have acquired many tape measures because I am always losing them. I actually only own one of these measuring aids from this motley collection! Tut! Tut! In fact when I was gathering this lot together I realized that I have lost my metal ruler. Please go and invest in a metal ruler- you will achieve the most perfect straight lines and I did use it for making my patterns. The green measuring mat, which my mum give me, also does this job very well. I always use this mat when I am drawing free- hand curves onto my bag patterns. The one tape measure I use the most of is MY white one (when I can find it), the only measure here that is mine, everything else here belongs to my family. But it just goes to show you how much a crafter relies on this tool to enable you to measure and therefore cut out your fabric accurately, there is something to be said for the motto 'measure twice, cut once'. I also occasionally use a protractor for measuring degrees when I am adding darts to my bag patterns.

Next we have- PINS

Pins, pins, pins. What can we say about pins? They are of course very important to keep your patterns and fabric intact as you are cutting out. I used to tack everything together but now, because I have a lot of confidence in my sewing ability, I don't bother tacking and I just pin everything together. This saves a lot of time and, you know, if you have ironed your fabric and measured it properly before cutting out then there shouldn't be much need to tack your work before sewing. I have to add here that I do tack if I am sewing anything delicate or fiddly. I use pins of various thickness and sizes- I use my sweet heart head ones for pinning together thick fabric or a number of pieces. I always use them when I am making my lavender cushions because this involves sewing in a plush wadding. I do not use them for pinning fine fabrics or any type of delicate work, they just tend to punch big holes into your lovely fabric, I save this job for the smaller and thinner pins.

MARK MAKING Equipment

Let's face it if we didn't have this basic equipment we wouldn't be able to sketch our ideas and this is something I do frequently. We also wouldn't be able to draw our patterns and then mark them perfectly on our fabric. Short and sweet!

I have in no way intended to be patronising in my obvious list- this idea happened to come about because I spent the weekend trying to create a bit of space for my growing craft enterprise. I started thinking 'just how much space and storage do I need' and I have come to conclusion- as much as I can!

I would love to here about the tools you can't live without. I'm thinking that I might draw up a 'followers list'. I also plan on a part 2.......this will include my best friend 'The Stitch Ripper'.

Over and out!

I like birds....cont

2011-09-08T07:43:00.001-07:00

Handmade Shoulder Bag with Appliqued Bird and BIG Button Brooch, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

Another lovely addition to my sewing conquests.

Sewing....sewing.....sewing!

I like birds!!!

2011-09-08T07:41:00.001-07:00

Applique Bird Bag, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

Finally I have got my act together and I have started sewing again.

Woo! Hoo! I love sewing......it is my life!

EXCITING new things going on in my shop!

2011-08-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

Pom pom trims......aren't they AWESOME!!?? NOM NOM! I've called them Indian Summer Bright Pom poms. Yep I'm afraid I'm still after another holiday. I've listed these over @ ONCE and so far I've added this bright bundle in one listing- 2mtrs each X £6.00 (£2.00 per mtr). But you can always have more, I will be listing them by the metre also.

To me these beautiful ribbons are the most perfect ribbons in the world. These are listed at £1.50 per metre. I have so far listed these crafty ribbons in 2 and 3 metre listings, I think they are the sort of thing that you will require more than metre of? I've started using them already and they are so lovely to sew with!

Of course this is much needed retail therapy on my part. My holiday emptiness made me head straight to wholesaler!

I now have a bad back from sitting far too long at my computer and trying to take a decent product pic!

Pom-Poms

2011-08-14T09:44:00.001-07:00

Pom-Poms, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

I heart these pom-poms, they make me drool!

I need to create!

More new things....

2011-08-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

.......supplies this time! Woo! Hoo!

Excuse my pictures they're a little crude, but I was so excited to receive this parcel of amazing things I couldn't help grabbing my camera. I've taken a few snaps to show you this happy box of delights.

LOOK- colourful pom-poms and trims. Gorgeous!
I couldn't help myself, I took one look at these beautiful ribbons and I've used them already. TEE! HEE!
Don't worry there is plenty left for sale.

Big colourful buttons. I also have stripy ones on their way.

I have fiesta bright pom poms.....

......and beautiful soft, romantic velvet trims. MMMM!

Everything will be stocked here http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth2

I'm thinking that I might make up some beautiful colour schemes with bags of various buttons and trims in colours of soft blues, pinks and creams and maybe another bag of tonal trims and buttons in bright fiesta colours. I'm so very excited!

New Things.

2011-08-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

It has taken me some time.....let me tell you, to get out of holiday mode. To be honest I still want that lovely warm, positive holiday feeling and there's one suitcase I haven't unpacked yet. I think that's more down to laziness than wishful thinking though.

Any way to get me back into the swing of things this week I have made a number of small handmade items, as it is extremely satisfying to see results at the end of the day. Also if I sit around in a dream world I'll never have another holiday. It's time to be proactive!!!! Oh yes!!

Here's what has kept me busy this week-

I sell buttons so I thought BUTTON BROOCHES! I know they're not original and that other crafty types make them but I needed that kick of satisfaction to get me out of my post-holiday gloom. So on this occasion I'm not beating myself up about originality!

These boys are big- a true statement!

Satisfaction guaranteed

Ribbon tying, gluing, sticking, sewing. All in a days work.

Sewing,

embellishing, crafting....

I enjoy making lovely things.

I have listed everything in my Handmade Textile shop
@ http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth

I've been on my hols and other stuff!!

2011-08-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went on my hols to Alpe d'Huez, France. It was fab, pics to follow!!!

Other stuff- last week I had some work done on my house and guess what..........my phone line was accidentally cut through. Aaaarrrgh! I immediately thought 'Oh dear no phone!' This was then followed by the slow realisation that no phone line also meant no Internet. EEK! How was I to survive? Let me tell you the withdrawal symptoms have been difficult to cope with at times, but (taking a deep breath) we are fine now. My house is also tidy for the first time since I can't remember.

Here are some holiday pics...........I have many, many more-

We travelled two days in order to catch the time trial of the Tour De France- this is Mark Cavendish's thigh!

Part of Alpe d'Huez. The view from our balcony!

There may be snow on those burly mountains but the sun was so powerful that I burnt my nose, neck and shoulders.

The top of Pic Blanc. In for the duration- if you stood here long enough you could see Mont Blanc. Apparently!

We had a white knuckle ride, in the car, to the Col du Galibier.

This picture was taken from a cable car. I'm not a fan of heights and I didn't look down much.

The lovely resort in the mountains.

Because we didn't ever want to come home we decided to go to Paris on the way home. This was a mad idea. I can't way up which is worse- being in the clouds on a cable car or driving through and trying to get to grips with the traffic in Paris. (Thankfully I wasn't driving- I closed my eyes instead!)

This was the strangest thing we saw on our holiday. The Ghost Buster's car in an empty underground car park!

This was a whistle stop tour and in five hours we went here.......

here......

and here!

My bags are still packed and I could easily do it all again.

Creative Stores :: Supplies :: i heart buttons X 20 individual and interesting Buttons.

2011-07-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Creative Stores :: Supplies :: i heart buttons X 20 individual and interesting Buttons.

I'm just testing buttons, share pages and things!

And the winner is.........

2011-07-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

It's you Clare'sCreations! Woo! Hoo! CONGRATULATIONS!!

Please contact me here gracerigby@aol.com so that you can forward me your address.

I am very sorry to everyone else who entered and just to let you know I now have a tremendous amount of guilt. Hopefully it won't last long and I will have another giveaway next month!

I'm Having A GIVEAWAY

2011-07-08T04:06:00.000-07:00

Yes I am! I haven't had a giveaway for a while and I'm thinking that if it goes well I might make a regular- say monthly, thing of it!

This giveaway is all down to the computer crashing and getting a phone call from my daughter's school to say that she wasn't feeling very well. I'd just made a cup of coffee too! But the fact that I had to drive ten miles to pick her up meant there was no chance of it still being hot when we arrived back home. Anyway she was fine and it was kind of enjoyable watching i-Carly in the middle of the afternoon. It also give me an overdue opportunity to sort through my craft supplies and textile pieces. So there you have it!

One lucky person will receive....

my Party Supplies Bag, filled with buttons, ribbons, pom-poms and bows. A lovely rosette of flower pins, these are fab for pinning big wads of fabric together, button holes for weddings and for display. Also one of my textile badges which are the things I sell most of at craft fairs.

I have taken a few individual photos of each item but I am not happy with these pics. It is not a fantastic day for bright light at my house today. But hey don't let that put you off this fab bag goodies!!

Nom nom! Buttons! This is a great little starter pack for a button collection.

I use these pins myself. They are perfect for holding numerous pieces of fabric together, especially wadding when making bags or lavender cushions!

This is just one of my cute textile badges that I really enjoy making! I make these when I need to kick start my creativity and I am lacking inspiration, they are are quick to make which is very satisfying and rewarding!

So there you have. If you would like to enter this giveaway then just come and say 'Hi' in the comments box. My GIVEAWAY will END on MONDAY 11th probably about 6ish!

Oh yeah- GOOD LUCK!

This competition is now closed

New Buttons I love

2011-07-07T08:52:00.001-07:00

New Buttons I love, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

Lovely chunky boys!!

FREE Felt Pack and FREE Buttons when you purchase Gutermann Textile Glue

2011-07-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

I have listed in my supplies shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth2 two tubes of the excellent Gutermann textile glue. I have priced it at £4.60 which is a good retail price.

This is new textile territory for me! I use this glue a lot- it is excellent quality and good and strong. However I have never sold it. So believe me when I say it is the best textile glue around.

Personally I love this Gutermann Textile Glue and I've used it myself in many textile projects. I use it when work gets tricky and far too intricate for a sewing machine or even a hand held needle, such as gluing purses to their frames, gluing teeny buttons onto brooches and recently I've used it to glue buttons and bows onto my new Matryoshka Badges.

With this glue I am GIVING AWAY a felt pack of 25 pieces of various colours. Each piece measures approx 4inchX4inch, these small pieces are big enough to make a brooch, a pin cushion, a lovely decoration, a small appliqued lavender cushion........lots!

I am also GIVING AWAY a 30g bag of random buttons-

WHAT a generous offer me thinks! AND WHAT are you waiting for! To be honest if I could give away the glue too then I probably would, maybe another day, but right now this mother of two has to earn a living!!

I'm also doing a bit of product testing. If the glue sells then I will stock more and if this craft felt is crafty and textiley enough then I will add this to my shop.

This is a lovely bundle of ....well loveliness.

I've used the Gutermann Textile Glue here....

.......and here. Good for fiddely projects!

A Few New Bags and My Mum's Vintage Button Collection

2011-07-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Oh yes vintage buttons.....let me show-

My mum gave me these buttons almost 20yrs ago and she had them for a long time before that. Let me tell you that my mum was a bit of a trend setter in her day, living in London during the 60's and going to art college. FAB! So I've always imagined that these buttons would be able to tell a few interesting stories.

Sometimes I've kept these beauties in a box or a jar, I've stored them away and I've had them on show. I've always admired them and also been curious by them. Just recently I took another good look at them and found myself wanting to use them in my textile work and designs. I'm not sure why I haven't done this already.......I think it's been a lack of confidence or maybe not wanting let some of them go.

However I have made a couple of cute clutches/purses and embellished them with my mum's buttons

This pretty blue cornflower clutch is my favourite out of all the bags I have made recently. I love the HUGELY OVER SIZED turquoise button- this is what I call perfection.
My bag is for sale here-
http://www.etsy.com/listing/77154492/handmade-clutch-in-cornflower-blue-and

I think perhaps it is also a matter of patience and waiting until the right fabric or even design idea comes along!

All of my bags are for sale at http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth

I think I will take some more pics of these lovely buttons to show them off!

By the way please ignore- spelling mistakes, puntuation, gobildeegoop....I caught the sun very badly yesterday and I'm starting to feel rubbish! I will correct any errors tomorrow.

Time to invest in a badge making machine

2011-07-04T08:19:00.001-07:00

A Bag of Textile Lovelies , a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

I heart my badge making machine.....my party favours bag!

Foody Friday

2011-07-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

I don't actually know why I've listing a number of button bags at http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth2 with foody titles. Maybe its because I've built up an appetite working with children all afternoon. Or perhaps it's something to do with it being a fabulous Friday....who knows? Not me! It's probably because I just love eating-

Nom! Nom! Ice- Cream lovelies I've listed these buttons in bags of 30g and 100g. I've discovered that 30g button bags are my best sellers at craft fairs- not everyone wants a big bulky bag and that's why I've decided to list them in my shop. I really love the pastel sugaryness of these buttons.

I'm soooo proud of this photograph. It may only be a pic of buttons but I do wrestle with the camera as I'm no natural photographer. I've definitely captured the rich chocolate and coffee colours of this scrumptious button bag. I'm also selling these buttons in bags of 30g and 100g.

I think I will now go and enjoy some real food, I have made myself very hungry!

Textile Brooch

2011-06-29T04:40:00.001-07:00

Textile Brooch, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

Having some fun with my badge making machine!!

What to do with a big spotty butt?

2011-06-16T03:46:00.001-07:00

What to do with a big spotty butt?, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

***Here's a 'How To Make' .....why not make 5 BIG bold button brooches?****
All you will need is-
Some lovely felt, 5 brooch back fasteners, a small amount of good embroidery thread and some good strong glue.
First put the buttons on the felt and draw around them, cut out the round pieces of felt- you may have to trim them so that are slightly smaller than the buttons. Then stitch your brooch backs onto the felt (I find stitching brooch backs rather than gluing is a more secure option as well as being much neater).
Lastly, using your good strong glue, glue the felt with your brooch back now attached onto the back of your button!

Once Upon a Time in the North...

2011-06-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

We are Once Upon a Time in the North! This is true we have a sign to prove it.......see! Our sign only says 'ONCE' because Once Upon a Time in the North is super long for a sign.

We not only have sign....we also have a window. Our window displays FANTASTIC prints on canvas.

WOWEE!! Check out this amazing print

GASP! IT'S HUGE (I think that's why I'm using capitals). Any way my lovely people this is a new super duper size and it measures 60" long! This print is actually bigger than me and Mrs. Bellas.

New to our unit are buttons and supplies. We've decided to display them in pretty bowls-

I think this gives our crafting supplies a much more homely and relaxed feel, it also shows them off to their best advantage.

But I think the best thing is that we have these pretty bowls sitting on a very attractive piece of vintage furniture......

I think you will all agree that this dresser is very beautiful.

So why not come and visit us? We love meeting people. Drop in. Come and chat. Tell us about your crafting triumphs.....and fails, everything is good to share.

Towards the summer we shall start announcing offers on buttons and other crafting goodies, also prints on canvas.

You can visit us here-

http://www.broughamhall.co.uk/

YUM!

2011-06-15T06:59:00.001-07:00

YUM!, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

As I was having a whole 'lotta' fun sewing the other day I somehow found myself sorting through my buttons. Now you should understand that button sorting is a favourite pastime of mine and I need no excuses. It gives me immense pleasure to sort them into their individual jewel like colours, their various shapes, sizes, whether they have two holes or four....... Maybe it's because I'm a control freak or possibly that sometimes I'm a Teaching Assistant- buttons are an excellent educational tool as well you know!

Sewing/Knitting Bag

2011-06-14T08:28:00.001-07:00

Sewing/Knitting Bag , a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

Sewing is good for you!

This is me trying to get back into it.
A big blog post is on its way!

Summertime Supplies Party Bag- Buttons X Ribbons X Bows.

2011-06-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

As if I haven't enough to do with my life- today I've been putting together a collection of party bags. I'm calling them party bags but really they're a yummy colletion of buttons and ribbons.

I'm starting to get in the Summertime party mood- you know long and lazy, hopefully, warm summer evenings (fingers crossed). Which got me thinking about things that make me happy. We always have big family gatherings in the summer and there are always treats for the children and then I thought....party bags! Hooray! I love a good party bag. So I have put together my style of party bag wish list containing buttons and bows and ribbons and pom-poms. Nom! Nom!

I have sorted through many, many buttons and put together a very good multi-coloured mix of approximately 30 buttons ranging from teeny buttons to big buttons. There are some with spots and some with stripes, buttons with two holes, four holes, some with a shank, solid, transparent, pink, purple, green, orange, yellow...... But stop! This supplies party bag also contains bows, pom-poms and best of all 1mtr each of two double delicious ribbons- so basically 2mtrs of ribbon!!!!!

This assortment of supplies is a treat and perfect for starting your own button collection or for doing some wonderful craft projects.

A pile of matryoshka lavender cushions

2011-06-09T06:20:00.001-07:00

A pile of matryoshka lavender cushions, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

Have you noticed I'm only having fun sharing my pics from Flickr.

An Abundance of Spots

2011-06-09T06:18:00.001-07:00

Big and Blousey, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

Big Check Buttons

2011-06-09T06:14:00.001-07:00

Big Check Buttons, a photo by Once upon a time in the north on Flickr.

Ribbon Joy Worth Shouting About

2011-05-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

Feast your eyes on these.......

WOWEEEEEE!!!! How gorgeous are my new ribbons? I'm just excited about their deep richness of the colours and their vibrancy tis all and you deserve to be excited too! If you could only see me, I love them so much that I'm doing a little jig!!!!

Just one thing! Has any one noticed how many spotty supplies I stock?

Latest Edition

2011-05-23T03:36:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me or who read this little blog.....that's not very many of you lovely folks but I do cherish those of you who put time aside to read my ramblings. Anyway those of you who are lovely enough to follow my blog and pass comments may have realised a common thread either within my work or with the supplies I sell? That common thread is COLOUR!! I think I have discussed my passion for colour in a previous post so I won't bore you any further with the topic of colour- I really want to show you my new colour scheme of button bags.

I have put together a collection of one type of button in a single colour- I don't do this very often as I like to have good mix and variety of colours and size. However this new buttons range is so beautiful and I think pretty classy I felt it a shame to mix the buttons.

This is my classy black, white and red range and available for sale now at onceinthenorth2.etsy

Chunky Round Red or I might call them cerise buttons

These little beauties look like they are made from shells or pearls......extremely cute!

I love these clear pink buttons- I think it's because they remind me of jelly fish!

You have to agree that these are very beautiful.

And these big beauties are sublimely super frilly and fun!

I think these would be ideal for big button brooches or I would probably use them to embellish a bag.

Finally, I want you to watch this space for new button and supplies news coming soon........I'm talking about a proper shop!!!!!!!!!

An Event For Your Diary

2011-05-09T03:59:00.000-07:00

I'm exhibiting here.....

don't miss out

GRAB THIS SPOTTY BUTTON BAG

2011-05-06T03:36:00.000-07:00

I'VE REDUCED THIS BUTTON BAG FOR A QUICK SALE- I have reduced it by approx £2.50/$4.00 (I think). You will receive it for less than its R.R.P and you will also be getting about 20 buttons for free.....nawt.....zilch!

WOW! What are you lovely crafties waiting for.....

Today is a day for.......

2011-05-05T02:26:00.000-07:00

Coordinating the most beautiful fabrics I can find.....

.........collecting ribbons and trims in contrasting colours and tones (lots of yummy vintage buttons).....and of course using much savvy design know how!

Today is a day for bag making! I'm so excited that I am dancing as I'm posting this blog.

I will return with pics of my finished baggy delights!

And now for something completely different!

2011-05-04T01:21:00.000-07:00

Spotty whoppers! Ha! Ha! I couldn't stop laughing last night when I thought of that.....anyway.

These awesome buttons are.....well....awesome! I love them! They're over sized, ridiculous and fun! What else do we need to be cheered up.

I have them for sale at Once In The North 2 on Etsy and CreativeStores - which is a new online market place full of crafty artisans who are brimming with talent.

I will take a bundle to the Vintage Wedding Fair in Kendal, Cumbria......I actually can't find the details right now. Some business woman I am hey? I promise to sort this very soon. So, I know these buttons are far from vintage- but there is nothing stopping you from using them to jazz up a tired cardy, a bag, or make them into a brooch. LETS GET CREATIVE!!!!

OH! And by the way......May the 4th be with you!!

Teeny Weeny Spotty Buttons and 'Heart Felt' Make.....

2011-05-03T03:39:00.000-07:00

Let me show you something sooooo cute I can hardly believe my eyes........

Teeny tiny spotty buttons in an abundance of beautiful colours- AHHHHH! These are the things that dreams are truly made of......well mine anyway!

I actually didn't think it was possible to get spotty buttons that would give me even more crafty pleasures than the spotty buttons in my last blog post......bit of a rambling sentence there but it makes sense to me in my crafty fuddled head!

They're for sale now and listed on Etsy and I have named them Teeny Weeny Spotty Buttons......of course! They come in a variety of seven gorgeous colours and there are 30 of each colour, they are pricey- sorry folks! This takes into consideration the counting out of these teeny thingies but they are no more expensive than their R.R.P.

Of course I have kept some for myself and during last Friday when every body was 'loved up' I decided to make my 'Heart Felt' brooches.

I started with a hearty template......collected oodles of my lovely felt in an array of sumptuous colours....then basically started cutting! Wah! Hey!

I cut two heart pieces for each brooch then sewed them together but leaving a small gap- this is so that I am able to sew the brooch back on and then stuff the heart with wadding. This part is very fiddley but after much experimenting I have never found an easy way to sew the brooch backs on, if I sew them on first there comes a point where they get in the way of my sewing machine!

After a good stuffing I sewed the gap up! THEN after much thought and lengthy discussion with my other half I chose to glue the teeny buttons onto the felt. I used a very strong Gutermann textile glue and if I didn't have this glue I would have been in no doubt but to sew the buttons on. Once again I have kept one of these brooches for myself, but only so that I can give it a good 'bashing'- product testing you could call it. HA! HA!

Here we have a few finished wholesome heart products. I intend to sell them next week at a vintage wedding fair ( I will do a blog post with info by the end of the week) I have been asked to take part in. I'm a little worried as this is very new to me but I'm sure I will enjoy myself. I may also make some kits up so people can make their lovely brooches. I will also be selling my buttons and pins etc.

Ok.....off to make a few bags.

Spot Fest

2011-04-19T07:59:00.000-07:00

OK button lovers it's PARTY TIME......well it isn't really but that's just how I feel every time I look at this little spotty buttons! They fill me with so much joy and happiness that I want to sing and dance around. YIPPEE!

They're what I call 'Happy Buttons' See for yourself-

Come on admit it- these little RED BEAUTIES have got your toes tapping!!!!!

If not well I have more....look!

Cool Blue Spotty Joyful Buttons

Lovely Lilacs (these are my favourite)

Turquoise Babes these are new colours you should know and oh so gorgeous

Hey what's this.........

.....well it's only a Spotty Button Party! Come on! CELEBRATE!

FREE P&P TO THE UK- on 30g button bag collections

2011-04-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

I really should post more blog updates........that's a note to myself!!!!

So over at Once in the North 2 we have decided to offer FREE P&P 'on 30g button bag varieties' TO THE UK ONLY...sorry lovely folks in far away beautiful lands. This is for a limited time only. Why are we doing this? Well we have neglected our lovely shop for some time as sewing and sewing has taken over our lives, but now we have free time to dust the cyber cobwebs, invest some TLC and add new buttons and new life into our shop. This is the first of many promos as buttons are so forgiving and they should be part of every ones life.......come on button lovers let me hear a cheer!!!!!

Lovely RED, WHITE and BLUE buttons. So royally majestic and oh so proud- each bag (which means each colour) is a 30g mixed bag of beautiful buttons.

Colour, colour, colour lots of lovely colour that's what my second button bag promo consists of

six bags/six colours each one with 30g of mixed glorious scrumptious colourful zesty buttons!

Please note if I could give these beauties away I probably would but I have growing girls so I have to earn a living, it takes time to sort them and weigh them but I'm happy to pay for the postage if you take them off my hands.

Thank you very much kind crafting sirs.

All NEW Buttony Goodness

2011-03-17T05:02:00.000-07:00

As you have probably already figured out photography is not one of my greatest creative talents! But I'm trying believe me I really am well and truly trying!!

Just like my ribbons I've been secretly storing away a whole new batch of the most amazing buttons, until I have the ultimate photograph that is! I'm not a perfectionist I hope you realize, I'm just not good at taking pics.

But now ladies and hopefully some crafting men it is time to unveil....cut the ribbon....smash the champagne.....introduce some new button beauties. Yes only some, I fear many of my photographs are pants!!!

Here is my Tutti Frutti Mix. Bright bold colours that I think are perfect for schools you know- yes buttons can be educational too!

I've called this button mix the Garden Pond Variety. The colours are vibrant and fresh and also very earthy, there are the odd little fishy amongst this mix hence Garden Pond

Lovely, bubbly girly pinks this is my Sticky and Sweet Pinks mix. These buttons make me feel giddy and happy I want to jump for joy!!!!!

Just look at these glamorous ladies aren't they sophisticated? This my Pearly White Button Mix I think they would be perfect for embellishing wedding invitations or cards or even cute little favours!!!

I've listed them here at onceinthenorth2.etsy.com where the price is in USD but have no fear I will also list them at Folksy.

More buttons are on their way.........

My Little Ribbon Bird

2011-03-14T03:46:00.000-07:00

Before I start a hard days crafting-

LOOK.....piles and piles of crafting! Not that I'm complaining, I consider myself to be a very lucky sort of a bunny to earn a living doing what I love. But you know sometimes...sometimes those finishing off jobs are a little daunting!

So! Back to what I want to chat about. Before I start a solid day of craft I should show you what kept me busy yesterday-

Here he is- My Little Ribbon Bird. AW! How cute!!

I was recently invited along with many other fab and wonderful designers to design and make a little bird for the event l.ttle bird. Each designer donates their hand crafted 3D bird for this remarkable exhibition, personally I can't wait to see them all in flight. At the end of the exhibition the birds are sold and the money raised is for Women for Women International, an inspirational charity helping women in war-torn countries to rebuild their lives and start businesses.The l.ttle bird exhibition is being held at the Dukes Theatre Gallery in Lancaster on 22nd March- 17 April.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Very happy with my ribbon pics!

2011-02-24T05:52:00.000-08:00

So here we are as promised..... after many hours, various poses and a multitude or props I have taken hundreds and hundreds of new ribbon pictures. Phew! They're delightful and wonderful little creatures but impossible to take a great picture of. Well for me anyway!!

However I am very happy with new my pics and feel confident enough to list them in my Etsy shop- http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth2

Here we go-

Ta! Dah!!

Polka Dot Grosgrain for all craft lovers

Pinks and Greens to brighten up your day!

Delicate horizontal stripes for scrapbooking and card making, me thinks?

I am currently selling them in 1metre pieces just because I want to see how well they sell, but I promise to list them in larger quantities soon. We all know I keep my promises!!!!

Please get in touch if you would like any more fantastic ribbon info or want a bigger quantity. More ribbons on the way! What? Oh Yes....this is NOT the end my friend!

I Heart Shell Buttons!

2011-02-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

I've managed to source a collection of super cute shell buttons to add to my shop on Etsy.

Take a look at the loveliness of this teeny fish buttons.......I lurve them!

Let me see more!!!

I have named this collection the Bikini Bottom Mix.......I'm sorry there are no SpongeBob yellow looking shell buttons in this teeny mix. Its half term next week and that means one of a number of things will be going on in my house, SpongeBob will definitely be on in the background!! So I think that's why I have given them this name.

In this mix we have Oblong Shell Buttons, Pinky/Red Round Shell Buttons, Blue Round Sea Shell Buttons, Burnt Orange Round Sea Shell Buttons, Fuschia Pink Round Sea Shell Buttons, Ruby Red Round Sea Shell Buttons, Square Smoke Agoya Shell Buttons

My shell buttons are in a limited supply at this precise moment so I will only be selling them at www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth2. (I will hopefully list them on Folksy eventually.)

I am selling them in little lovely bags of 35 thats 5 of each variety

The oblong ones are my favourite- they are tiny wonders of the sea and oh so pretty!

Let me know what you think? I do endeavour to supply bigger quantities of these beauties.

I'm in love with funky pinwheels

2011-02-11T05:03:00.000-08:00

Oh yes I am and here's why-

WOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Not only are they bright, cheerful and pretty they are also highly functional and I find them useful when sewing a number of pieces of fabric together. My super creative friend turns them into buttonhole decorations for weddings. Personally I love their syrupy colours- I have a passion for the kitsch!

Today these funky feathers are my favourite and NEW in my Etsy Shop

If you feel it's too much hassle to be shopping in US Dollars then help is here my friend- I've recently opened a British based online store at Creative Stores. It is filled with oodles of talent and creative artisans and worth a sneaky peek!

COMING SOON.................

2011-02-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

.................................................RIBBONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We will have spots and stripes, woven, printed, cute satin cutouts, pink, blue, green......all for sale in my Etsy supplies store http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth2

I have added a few pics of my new ribbons for you get your glimpers round.....and as a little tease! I think these pictures may be working progress, I haven't decided whether to use them yet. Ribbon photography is not that easy you know!!!!!

If you see anything you like please let me know. My aim is to have everything listed ASAP!

SEWING.

2011-02-03T06:03:00.000-08:00

Yes it's true.....it's official...I've decided that I'm not very good at updating my blog!

But I haven't been idly lolling around. Oh no! I've been SEWING.......well what else would I be up to.

To be honest I didn't really want my next post to be another showcase of stuff that has kept me out of super mischief, but I'm afraid I haven't been doing anything else. So here's a taste-

Patchwork Bird and Hearts Bag

Matryoshka and Mushroom Bag X Fun

Love Birds Bag

I've also starting making sewing/knitting bags to hold in all your crafty goodies!

Lovely Matryoshka and Magical Mushrooms

Super stylish me thinks!

Watch this space for fab buttons and delicious ribbons coming very soon.....WOO! HOO!

£5.00ish Sale..............

2011-01-14T02:45:00.000-08:00

Yes I am having a £5.00ish sale. I say £5.00 because a few items are more and a few are less. It depends what happens when things are converted into USD (United States Dollars) you see!

Here's a selection of my sale items from my various shops

Birdy key Charms- £5.00 each from my Folksy Shop (UK)

Also from the same shop are a selection of textile Christmas baubles

Pin Cushions from my supplies shop on Etsy (my pins cushions are listed at $7.50/ £4.85)

This delightful creation is from my craft shop on Etsy, you can find it in the Silly Sale section. (This lavender pillow is priced at $7.90/ £5.11)

I think it's called de-toxing!

Newness!!!!

2011-01-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all- my lovely, jubbly, bubbly followers!! Here's to a NEW start and all that.

This is a NEW blog post, the first of the year and I want to share a few NEW items with you.

These are my new, fun and functional lavender pillows. I think this little patchwork bird is here to stay and you will be seeing him a lot over this beautiful new year (I'm trying to be positive here- I'm not a fan of Jan)

WOWEEEE! BIG buttons! These I love a lot so much so they give me tingles every time I look at them. They are also new in my Etsy supplies shop

These are medium sized buttons of the same kind- soon to appear in my shops.

Beautiful new ribbons of all varieties- grosgrain with polka dots, fine woven gingham ribbons, satin cutout ribbons and very fine ribbon with thread stitched through. Each one as lovely as the other. They make me buzz with excitement and this is why I felt the need to share them now. ~~I promise to list them in my shop, I~~ ~~won't keep them all to myself!~~

Finally....a NEW do! MMM! Not the most flattering of pics and especially with no make-up on, but in my defense I had just returned from a gruelling two hour walk. My hair is mainly purple by the way! My favourite colour.

Our New home....not really, I just love this little gingerbread house I made with the girls over the festive hols and thought it was worth sharing.

See you all soon.

Have you noticed the new look blog?

Just get out!

2010-12-08T05:06:00.000-08:00

And then you might see how things really are.

Just look at the state of my dining room-

What a bloody mess! Somewhere under there is a granite dining room table that was actually made for my birthday last year.

I only decided to nip out for some fresh air and to stretch my legs. Exercise is good for you after all. I've been sewing, sewing, sewing in my dining room for months, blissfully unaware that what to me is a creative haven others see as a tip. Until today after fresh air and exercise.

So I'm giving myself a sewing break and I think I should tidy up- I owe it to my family at least. They're a wonderful loud bunch but they never complain about my heaps of fabric taking over the house.

I might do a before and after shot. I'm also curious to know who else works like this? I might even start a "creative space or mess" group on Flickr

Look at my roots they're just as terrible. A make over is definitely needed here. Sadly I had to cancel my hair appointment last week. So I've taken to wearing really bright lipstick hopefully to draw the attention away from my untidy barnet

FREE POSTAGE AND PACKAGING......

2010-12-08T02:26:00.000-08:00

........on everything in my Folksy shop

TIS CHRISTMAS AFTER ALL! AND I'M FEELING FESTIVE

Lets make- Monday

2010-12-06T03:32:00.000-08:00

Today is a making day, it has to be, I have no choice!!!!!!
After being filled with so much self doubt last week and having a right old but much needed big twine, I now feel that things are starting to take place.

Wonderful things have happened of late- I have been approached by a number of business' to sell my products at Trade, which I am happy to do but more of that another time.

This weekend was a fantastic weekend! My self esteem was given an enormous boost at a lovely craft fair. To start with the organisers were such lovely and warm hearted people, they made the day a positive one and everyone was in a jolly, festive mood. I stood and chatted all day to many interesting people................................and I sold lots!!! In fact I almost sold out!!! Hence "Lets make Monday" as I have two more craft fairs coming up- eek! The best feeling for me is that because I was busy during the week leading up to the fair I didn't have chance to reduce my prices, so everything went for my original asking price. YAY!! Everyone I spoke to appreciated "Handmade" and the fact that what I do is not mass produced. Finally!!

So yesterday was a mad dash for stash to the nearest haberdashery open on a Sunday in Carlisle! Not that I'm complaining because these places are my therapy, I really wish I had the money to own one. MMMMM! (Dreaming)

Nom! Nom! What a wonderful sight? My glimpsers can't quite believe it- buttons, fabric, colour and chocolate coins!!!! I especially love the colours of the zips, I sold out of bags so these will come in handy.

I would like to say thank you to the ladies from Hebden Bridge who were full of sewing knowledge, and to the lady who I think would have bought everything on my stall. You are rare gems!

Here's a picture I thought I would just throw in for pleasure. This is the view opposite my house this morning, it's very cold but beautiful and I feel very lucky.

Ok coffee then work. I think I am going to be glued to my sewing machine for the next few days.

Price Wars

2010-11-27T09:44:00.000-08:00

I'm presently experiencing a real dilema where pricing my products is concerned. I always thought I was charging the correct amount for my handmade goods, especially as I consider them to be unique, excellent quality, one offs and original. I make everything myself, I don't run a sweat shop so things take time. But I'm starting to feel consistently backed into a corner. Only last week at a craft fair a women picked up one of my Crimbo decorations and pointed at the price to her friend.

So do I swallow my pride and drop my prices (considerably)? Or stand my ground and maybe one day people will be happy to pay my prices and really appreciate handmade? Any suggestions? Whats a reasonable amount?

In the meantime I've reduced the prices on my lovely lavender bags

This is available in my Folksy shop

You can find this in my Etsy shop

MMMM! What to do? What to do?

Your prints on canvas

2010-11-19T02:03:00.000-08:00

We don't just make lovely handcrafted things you know......we spend the day putting your unique photos onto canvas.

During this wonderful festive season we are offering 10% off all orders £50.00 and over. That includes printing and framing, postage and packaging and a consultation too, should you need one.

So why not check out our web for details

Its something a little bit different!!

Props!

2010-11-16T05:19:00.000-08:00

Crimbo craft fair season is well and truly upon me now, to put it mildly I've basically been working my buns off in order to have well stocked and delicious looking displays. However I have managed to grab a moment today to take some pics of the lovely props I use at craft fairs

I love my tired, old, battered vintage hat boxes. I've had them for over twenty years and once upon a time when I was a really cool art student I used to use them as suit cases, boy did I look cooler than cool. Ha! Ha! Now I use them as attractive storage for my work I also sit them on my tables at craft fairs and I will place my lavender pillows or my bags in them. They really are a stunning feature.

This is my favourite curly metal work bowl which was a present from my mum. I used to use it as a fruit bowl but I don't anymore because I just like looking at it, I usually fill it with baubles at Christmas and that looks super lovely. On my stalls I fill it with pin cushions or Make-Your-Own Kits, I think during these festive fairs I'm going to fill it with my Ogee decorations.

LOOK! What my lovely other half bought me on Saturday. EEEE!!!!! A gorgeous super stunning Cath Kidston three tier cake stand. As yet I'm not sure what I'm going to display on it- I'm thinking maybe buttons and pins? I know that I love it and I nearly cried when I took it out of the box just at the sheer beauty of it. I feel very lucky!

So wish me luck for tomorrow night- Queen Katherine School, Kendal, Cumbria, 6-9pm. I'm also planning on taking all of my stock so I will be closing my on-line shops tomorrow for the day.

2010-11-11T01:07:00.000-08:00

So here we are, so close to the big day and a mounting to climb before we get there. Today I've decided to step back, take a good look at what I've made for all my events coming up, see what I've still to finish and write a list. Gulp! I hate writing lists. I once wrote a list that was so long I went into melt down and I decided never to write one again. But because I am extremely busy I fear I have no choice.

So far I've made.......wonderful mini/mini festive bunting. I love all of my Christmas fabrics so I made some bunting using a variety of each of the delicious fabrics! Nom! Nom! I do love my fabric.

I've made slightly larger bunting- with pom-poms and without!! It took me two hours to sew 16 pom-poms by hand on two sets, so as you can see it got the better of me and the third set doesn't have any- this does make it slightly cheaper though!

I couldn't resist making a few table runners. More pom-poms here and lots of applique!

No pom-poms here and this gorgeous table runner is slightly less decorative. My big problem here is that although I am trying to be so organised, with regards to my sewing, my house is getting very neglected. I am hoping to list this in one of my on-line shops which means a very large tidy up so no clutter is in view of the pics. Time is running out but I will do it!

Here is my beautiful collection of finished Ogee textile decorations. I love these and I really hope they sell-my very own design you see so I am extremely proud of them! I'm hoping they get snapped up at some of my craft events but I also want to list a few in my shops- not sure which ones though?

A few unfinished decorations, baubles and trees, in a little piles with possible button embellishments. I do enjoy sorting!

Once I've sorted which buttons I'm going to use everything gets popped into its own little bag. This is a great tip I've learned from other designers along the way. I used to keep all of my unfinished makes in various untidy piles but no longer and now I'm super efficient!!

A vintage hat box full of finished decorations (sorry you are unable to see the hat box from this photo but you can just make out the lining- mmm think I will take some pics of these). Hooray! This is quite an achievement considering only this weekend we took the ceilings down in the back of the house so that we could install insulation. My daughter has also been off school with a cold, she is 13 now but still needs mum. I also sewed my finger with my sewing machine yesterday I have never achieved this before, nor do I want to do it again. It didn't actually hurt....at the time, it did however make a very strange puncturing sort of sound! I'll leave it at that.

So now that I've made these things my list will include- labels, more self-seal bags as I use these when I'm selling small items, maybe order more business cards, take photos for my on-line shops, label and pack everything for craft fairs, invest in some more ribbon, order large envelopes ........too much!

I've also been asked to supply my items to Trade and I have to make up some samples within the next few weeks. Please wish me luck!

Free Goody Bag with the Purchase of my lovely Hearts Pouch

2010-11-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick post.

Today is the last day for listing for my Applique Hearts and Buttons Bag on Folksy . I'm not sure if I will relist it simply because I am doing quite a few craft fairs and I might add it to my "craft Fair stock". So for ONE DAY ONLY I am offering a free goody bag of supplies if you PURCHASE my bag.

The goody bag will consist of buttons, needles, a stitch ripper and a pin cushion. I will also add some other mouth watering supplies but that is a secret!!!

Phew! Time to catch up.

2010-11-05T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hello! I'm back, but only very briefly. I have been so busy lately well I should really say sew busy. For the past few months I have spent every waking minute (or it has felt like it) pinning, cutting, sewing, doing applique projects and then embellishing everything with buttons or ribbons......I really put my back into it. Literally! I ended up with the worst back ache I have ever encountered. It was all in honour of this wonderful craft fair that I was privileged to be part of- Nostalgia Meets Design!

I'm sorry to say that this is the only image I have from the event. As organised as I try to be such as blogging about craft events beforehand to drum up some interest, when it came down to it I simply ran out of time and steam. When the day came it was actually a relief to sit down for the entire day. I put so much effort into producing beautiful good quality work that I think I wore myself out. Anyway I'll stop twining because it paid off I sold lots of lovely things and I've been asked to supply to Trade! Which is the direction I want to go in.

Here is a taster of what I was selling

A sexy festive table runner! Ooh! La! La!

Lovely lavender pillows. ZZZZZZ!

Funky Gingerbread Men decorations! I know a few other designers are making these but this is my version!

Christmas Tree decorations- these went down very well

Pom-pom bunting.

I also made a few kits basically because every time I do a craft event I always hear somebody saying "Oh! You can make that yourself" This really winds me up! I'm convinced these types of people never go on to actually make anything, or if they try they'll never produce the quality that I strive for!! Not that any body said it at the Nostalgia Meets Design or NMD as us in the know call it. HA! HA! Thats a joke!

I sold Christmas Tree kits and Gingerbread Men kits.

Here we have my Christmas goody bags. They are packed with buttons, bows, a string of eight pom-poms and festive shiny sequins! I'm selling them here

http://folksy.com/items/978341-Christmas-Supplies-Goody-Bag-?shop=yes

I shall try to blog more often, as Toyah once said "It's a mystery to me...." how some folks manage to sew, make, produce, then list it all in their on-line shops, blog about their new creations and find the time to be a parent!!! Answers on a post card please!!!!

B is for...........

2010-09-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

BUTTONS......

BUTTONS.........

BAGS...... BABUSHKA.......

and BIRDS

All new in my folksy shop

All the Fun of the Fair!

2010-09-21T02:41:00.000-07:00

Hooray! After twining the other week about my miserable experiences at pointless craft fairs I've finally had success.

But first of all I'll let you into a little secret. I bounded out of bed last Saturday morning with a combination of excitement and enthusiasm but I was also slightly anxious about doing the fair. I got my family up who were naturally far less excited about getting up at 7am, especially Lily who was full of cold. So we finally left the house, we got within reach of where the fair should be and at this point I decided to look at the info given to me and in massive letters it said SUNDAY! I don't need to explain how I felt or what words were said. But on the positive side we were in Keswick at 9.30 buying fresh bread!!

So come Sunday morning we set off again down to Borrowdale, officially the wettest place in Britain and boy let me tell you it was pouring. It was so wet that some trade stands were packing up and leaving before the event opened. I had my doubts and thought here we go again...........but the day was FANTASTIC!

I received orders for peoples lovely unique photos onto canvas, I sold many lovely textile and also plenty of buttons. I met lots of lovely people and I gave out heaps of information about our printing business and about my textile side of things.

One thing I did which I haven't done before is have some information printed about who I am and what I do, within this I stated that I am a crafts person. I also had printed statements saying 'Please support handmade', I felt very strongly about this after comments about my prices at the last fairs. This time people accepted the prices and respected the quality of my work.

Mum and me with lots of lovely canvas prints of my girls.

STOP THIEF!

On a more sombre note my lovely bunting disappeared off my stall. We don't know if it was stolen or if my foolish fella put it into someones bag by accident when they bought another piece of bunting. So if it shows up in the bag of the lovely people who bought the blue bunting then you are very lucky folks. BUT if anyone out there stole it then shame on you- I am not a shop that mass produces things, I am a mum and I work hard for a living!!

Surprise! Surprise!

2010-09-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

Guess what's in here?

EEEEEEEEE! I'm so excited I feel my Christmas has come early. Look at these lovely goodies. But don't look too close or you won't have the shiny element of surprise when you see them in my shops. Of course you can look I'm just teasing. I've also decided to start listing my buttons in my Folksy shop, I did a craft fair this weekend and some of my elderly customers weren't too keen on shopping in dollars. That's fine by me and a sweet lesson learnt. Laters dudes!

Sewing Circles

2010-09-16T03:26:00.000-07:00

Craft fairs are looming upon me once again so today I'm sewing circles.

I use many bird motifs in my work and I enjoy incorporating Russian Doll images but I am so incredibly passionate about colour and this is why I have most fun sewing circles. I would have to say that I love colour so much my that all my crafting and textiles projects are based around the relationships of colours. Even down to the smallest item I make I have to use the correct colour combination of fabrics and buttons. I'm perhaps more obsessed with using colours than buttons. Its a wholesome obsession! Right?

I find circles a great way to experiment and combine those tones and shades that you thought might not work well. But what an amazing, zingy feeling you get when it actually does. It sends ripples right through my body sometimes. If it doesn't look so hot there's no need to despair you might just need to cut out one more circle in a different fabric either patterned or textural to bring it altogether. I have a lot of confident using colour but I'm drawn to the brightest oranges, pinks and reds, it's quite a challenge for me to use subtle greens and blues or muted beiges but I get stuck in and give it a go. I also find sewing circles to be very relaxing and therapeutic. ZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

I've also been experimenting with mushrooms! Well felt ones. I've had so much fun that mushrooms might become the new circles, they're definitely going to 'crop' up in my textile projects!

Craft Fair Rant

2010-09-02T01:06:00.000-07:00

I had a very busy time last week showing my lovely handcrafted goods at two craft fairs. Well when I say craft fairs what I mean is one agricultural show and one very lovely show with a lot going on!!! The first one was a very dismal experience, after getting our van stuck in the mud I then stood in the cold wind hanging onto my gorgeous things for about five hours. Although I met a lot of lovely people and we've since had orders for photographs on canvas I'm convinced that people don't understand handmade and they won't pay the price. I had lovely compliments all day about my lavender pillows and bags, about the quality of my work and my crafting skills. I felt so proud with what I had achieved but compliments don't pay the bills and you can only stay positive for so long, especially when you listen to a mother talking her daughter out of buying something because you can buy similar in Asda!!!! We just stood in front of them with our jaws wide open and there was nothing else to do but laugh. I'm so glad I'm not ignorant! But we did forget the camera so no pics from that show, sorry.

The second show wasn't too bad and I did make my stand fee which is far more than the other craft fair- sorry I mean agricultural show. I met more lovely people and this time I was in a proper craft tent. I did however still come across the odd person who were shocked at my prices. Is £18.00 a lot of money for 2.5mtrs of handmade bunting that is double sided with perfect points and all held together with lovely quality bias, and made from a variety of Amy Butler fabrics, Liberty and the rest? I don't think it's enough especially when you consider that it took me two days to make three sets, £54.00 is not a lot to earn over two days. I try to work as quick as I can but I really believe in quality. I have a very good friend who is always telling me to put my prices up I know what she would say!!

So thats a little rant- no more agricultural shows for me because I feel that we are only there as side show entertainment. I'm desperate to do a "proper" craft fair where I'll meet people who really do appreciate skills and the quality of handmade. So if anyone out there reads this I would love it if you could point me in the right direction.

We actually took the camera to the second show but I relied on my family to take the pics...mmmmm!

This is the one picture my girls took of my work, I'm so grateful to them!

Me, probably wondering why am I doing this to myself and look how bored Lily is.

Astrid on some sort of bouncy anti gravity type thing

Lily again- we have many pictures of the day similar to this one.

A man digging something out of a bin, this amused my family more than anything else throughout the day.

Even BIGGER Buttons

2010-08-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

I've decided to upload a few pictures of my new big and even bigger buttons. It's taking me quite a while to sort out my new Etsy shop mainly because I'm sewing, sewing, sewing for a few Summertime craft fairs, also I'm enjoying these holidays with my girls.

So I thought I would share these big, bright, colourful beauties with you for now.

Yummy, yummy buttons in abundance!

MMMM! Temptation!!

Something Very New!!

2010-08-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here is my something very new... SUPPLIES!!! YAY! I've thought about this and then thought about it some more, I've even lost sleep over thinking about setting a supplies shop up. One big question haunted me- what if I invest in beautiful buttons and ribbons and nobody wants them? Then where would I store everything because my house isn't huge. But I love colourful buttons and pretty ribbons and beautiful fabrics! Anyway in the end I couldn't resist it and I just decided to go for it. I wanted to take my time over the grand opening but one of my pin cushions was in four different treasuries on Etsy, my green buttons were very popular too. My new shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/onceinthenorth2

So my shop is here to stay and so far so good. Now I just have to find time to stock up my other shops, make my bags and cushions for craft fairs and print customers pictures onto canvas. I crave sleep!

Everything is very yummy!

I'm planning something new....

2010-07-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

New...

and new.

Crafty family

2010-07-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

I loved doing my competition, it was great fun and also an excellent way of clearing out some of my textile creations. Of course this means I now have room to make and store many more bags, cushions, pin cushions and what ever else I feel the need to create. I have so many products on the go that I feel that I should be more organised and I am even considering opening up another shop, just so I don't start to look random. Of course this all takes time and energy so I intend to get my head down and crack on, I will try and blog updates but to be honest I don't know how some people find the time to do it all.

In the meantime here is my lovely daughter Lily, she also has the textile bug!! She recently sat her SATS- bless her. We were all kind of dreading it but I have to say that her teachers were brilliant, they were calm throughout the week and put no unnecessary stress on the children. Lily came home every evening with so much energy and zest that I actually think she enjoyed the week, so much so that she decided to make brooches for everyone in her class!! Thankfully we live in a village and there are only eight children in her class.

Lily loves donkeys and I found this fun fabric at Fabric Rehab so we snapped it up. She made brooches for the girls, a key ring for the only boy in her class and a lavender bag for her teacher (thats the big donkey in the pic). However she didn't stop there she then went onto make business cards and then sealed them all in their own bags.
Her mates loved them and I was really proud of her.

And the winner is........

2010-06-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

Woo! Hoo! Congrats to CRAFTY HELEN.

Thank you to every one for taking part and being so lovely, I wish I could give you all something but then I really wouldn't have any stock left. I'm going to do another fab comp very soon.

Ok Crafty Helen now you have to get in touch with me so I can forward all your winnings.

Summer Lovin' Giveaway

2010-06-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

So here it is.... my first giveaway. I have decided to do this because I am starting to accumulate rather a lot of textile/crafty products. It's my fault- I never stop crafting, making and experimenting. Sometimes I haven't even finished one product and I'll start another.

I am giving away a super cute applique 'Bird' bag. I originally made a collection of these bags to keep make-up in, but I use one to keep my sewing bits and bobs in. I'm also giving away a 'Big Button Bow Brooch', a 'Flower Brooch', a 'Bird Lavender Bag', a pin cushion with a heart on and an Ice-Cream Key Charm that is slightly scented with lavender.

So all you need to do is say "Hi" to me, either here or convo me through our Folksy or Etsy shops, Twitter, Flickr.......anywhere you happen to find us!

I will announce the winner next Monday 21st June. Good luck!

BIG BAG SALE and shameless advertising

2010-06-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

I've decided to have a SALE over at my Folksy shop.
http://folksy.com/shops/onceinthenorth

Basically I'm always sewing, making and creating (not always with fabric- sometimes papier- mache elephants!!) and I've now got into the situation where the unit where I work and my house are bulging at the seams. They are about to burst wide open with yummy fabrics, buttons, ribbons and trimmings, bag handles, wadding, phew I could go on and on. I have a million and one new bag and cushion ideas and I need to make room for them.

All my bags that I have put up for sale are made with lovely quality designer fabrics, the handles and magnetic clasps are from u-handbag.com/, they are all trimmed with velvet ribbons and all have some hand stitching or applique within the bag design. They are all extremely well made as I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to sewing and I have designed the patterns myself. I have reduced them from £47.00 to £35.00- they're a bit of a yummy bargain really.

Yummy bag number one with lovely bead handles.

Yummy bag number two with many gorgeous applique circles and knots.

Yummy bag number three with fun red knots.

Yummy bag number four with even more gorgeous applique circles and knots.

Please convo me if you would like any more details. They are all slightly different in size these details can be found over at folksy

Another Busy Craft Fair

2010-06-08T07:14:00.000-07:00

I think it's been over a month since my last blog post. No I'm not slacking off! I've been busy, busy! Sewing, printing, organising and all because of a mammoth three day craft fair event that has just taken place. Well it was in fact a Flower Show at Holker Hall heres a link to their home page http://www.holker.co.uk/metadot/index.pl?id=2171and very posh it was too!!

I'm posting some pics but my brain and its thinking power are still recovering so there will be very few words.

This is my stall, after three days it felt like home. It was hard work getting the fabric, bunting and prints up and organised but I was really pleased with the final result. It was bright and colourful, Lady Cavendish stopped and said it was cheery which is a lovely response.

Bags of bags, chillies and my daughter Astrid! (OH! I can also see a coffee and a Danish). Someone bought my favourite bird bag. Boo! Hoo! You can see it here under the large purple chilli print. I nearly never put it out because I wanted to keep it, at least its gone to a good home. I've decided to make more as it was a very popular point of discussion and a huge number of lovely people admired it.

It was an eventful weekend- I've been asked to do four more shows and approached by two shops. Thumbs up from me!! Oh and hopefully we'll get lots of orders for prints on canvas

I sat next to these cushions for most of the weekend. What you can't tell from the photo is that some of them are filled with lavender and the hotter the marquee got the more potent the smell became, of course the smell was beautiful but it sent me very woozy!

This is the lovely and very funny Caroline Nash. She is such a talented crafts person check her out on Folksy @ http://folksy.com/shops/carolinenashcrafts

This is Gwen Bainbridge also very lovely and funny- I'm convinced this is something to do with designers working in ceramics. She kept me going all weekend because these events do have their tedious moments. Check Gwen out here http://www.gwenbceramics.co.uk/

So now I have a massive list of things to

Spend more time with my girls
Get out more
Tidy up my house and find out where the smell is coming from
Tidy up my neglected and sorry looking Etsy shop (I've some new ideas for that)
Blog more and give away some fancy prizes

My Crafty Fair Weekend

2010-05-06T01:09:00.000-07:00

I've uploaded some pics of my marathon craft fair weekend. I call it a marathon because of the distance between the two events (Lake District to nearly the Yorkshire Dales). It was pretty hectic and very busy. I sold some small bits and pieces and gave away plenty of price lists for our photographs on canvas side of the business. I always wish I could sell more at these sort of events..... don't we all!! I've learnt that people are still not willing to part with much money and an average amount a customer will spend is between £7.00- £8.00, but I always try to tempt them with gorgeous things.
ME!

More me

(I'm not fond of getting my picture taken so I usually clown around. However I'm now starting to think that I should act sensibly because in MANY years to come how will I explain myself to my grandchildren!!!)

Ian from allfusedglass

Lisa from enchanted-wood

Me again at Dent on Saturday morning and with a lesson learnt- not me though my other lovely half! Lots of lovely crafters have blogged valuable craft fair advice lately, my one piece of advice is to be organised. Make lists of everything you need, start it a few days in advance so that you can keep adding to it. Plan your stall- lay your items out in the same size area your table will be or you could even sketch it. Take pics from previous events.
My lovely man didn't plan a thing, he was printing labels for his extremely tasty chutneys and chilli oils on Saturday morning and we ended up rushing. So basically he forgot some labels! WHOOPS! He did however make more money than me...BOO!

May the Fourth be with you....

2010-05-04T01:38:00.000-07:00

Craft Fair Weekend

2010-04-27T05:23:00.000-07:00

It's craft fair a-go-go for me this weekend!!!! I shall be selling my wares at two separate craft fairs. I love doing them but I always feel like I've completed a marathon afterwards. So if any body is around and about The Lake District this Bank Holiday weekend you may want to come for a nosey!!!
Unfortunately I don't have any adverts to show you- my sister deleted one of them. Also I can't make pretend ones because I've somehow deleted Microsoft Word.

Here is a little info regarding number one craft fair.

Tirril Village Hall
Friday 30th April 7pm-9pm
Entry is £2.00 - free glass of wine and nibbles
A Body Shop pampering thing will going on.
The Fusion Singers will be performing- an A Cappella Harmony Group.
There will also be various craft stalls- ME! Selling bags, brooches, lavender bags and canvas prints
Other Crafty people include.... enchanted-wood and allfusedglass

Tirril is situated between Penrith and Pooley Bridge- which sits on the edge of Lake Ullswater. The link below will help with directions
http://www.visitcumbria.com/phpsql/googlemap.php?towngr=NY+502266

Some info regarding number two craft fair

DENT VILLAGE HALL
Saturday 1st May- 12 noon - 2.30pm
This is in aid of their play group. There will be things going on for children. Tea, coffee, cake and of course craft stalls. Oh yeah and my lovely fella selling his fiery chilli oil and tasty chutneys. YUM! YUM!

Dent is an amazing picturesque village not far from The Yorkshire Dales. I find the people here so friendly and I always enjoy doing their craft fairs. It's very popular with families and camping! (Not my family though)

Here's another link
http://www.visitcumbria.com/phpsql/googlemap.php?towngr=SD+705870

OK! I'm off to make bunting.

YAY!!! Colour has returned.

2010-04-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

After having a mild panic last week and worrying that my mojo had vanished, things are finally back to normal and life feels wonderful again. My creative urges and wild ideas, that usually involve lots of fabric and too much colour, came back in leaps and bounds after having such a BRILLIANT weekend.
I spent last weekend with two of my very best friends- Paula and Catherine. We met at Duncan of Jordanstone in Dundee a very long time ago where we managed to have a fantastic, crazy time. We worked hard and played hard and have been through quite a bit since then but we will always remain very good friends!
Any way...... getting back to my fab and inspirational weekend! To cut a long story short they both came to stay with me in The Lakes. Paula (MRS! That's what we've always called each other....don't ask) brought her brand new lovely boyfriend but Catherine came on her own because her little girl had chicken-pox, which is a real shame. However it didn't stop the fun!

Me, Paula (Mrs) and Catherine. My funny girls are there too!

Thankfully the weather here last weekend was warm and pleasant and just lovely. It was perfect "getting out and about" weather so we decided to go for a walk around Buttermere. It is one of many awesome and beautiful areas in Cumbria, but I'm no writer and I'm certainly not Wainwright so you should come and see for yourself. Take it from me it is stunning and I feel so lucky living where do.
We walked and walked and found a lot to talk about and of course catch up on the goss, even my girls had a very enjoyable day especially when we stopped for ice-cream. I think it only took us three hours to walk around the lake which isn't that bad considering it was more of a stroll.
So that was my Saturday....fresh air, beautiful scenery, goss, amazing and hilarious friends! A perfect recipe for inspiration and new ideas

AND THEN CAME MONDAY!!!! WOW! My Mrs Bellas gave me a huge pile of mouth watering Jane Churchill fabric. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world ( which I am coz I know Mrs. Bellas).
So after having a black and white week last week, this week has been full of colour and I have sewn and sewn and sewn. I have no idea where my energy has from but I have worked hard. I am also satisfied and very happy with everything I have created.

Okay I haven't made everything from scratch in the pictures below this week, but I have either finished them off or made them.

Lovely applique make-up bags. Or I'm starting to think they could be used to keep bobbins in and other useful things.

Felt brooches. I always end up combining clashy colours- I can't help it!

Applique lavender cushions and little lavender bags to hang up. I still have threads to tidy up here...I can see them even if you can't!

I have a weekend of craft fairs ahead of me next weekend and I think I have enough nice bits and bobs. Some items will in our Folksy shop.

Some inspiration, please!

2010-04-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

We may have smiles on our faces- but that is for show! What you see here are two middle aged women (that makes us laugh) who need some inspiration! This week we have no colour, it's a sad state of affairs. The artistic flare that we are so proud to own has left us. We crave new ideas. Can any body help get the colour back in our souls?

Please come forward. Speak up now.
You're ideas might be rewarded....oh we could do a "give away". MMMM! Starting to feel better.

EEK! Something went wrong!

2010-04-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

Oh! Dear! I can't say that yesterday was a successful day at work. After a much needed, self indulgent, chocolaty Easter break, I thought my batteries would be fully charged, refreshed and revitalised. How wrong could I be! Instead of pressing the"Back to Work" button on my magic wand .........

I accidentally hit "SOLARIZE"! EEK!

Mrs Bellas will you ever forgive me?

You are such a beautiful lady but right now you look like The Wicked Witch from the West . What will your family think? How will you cope in public when people stop and stare? Lets face it no amount of the best cosmetics known to adorable women will fix that blemish! Most importantly- how will you be able to drink tea and eat cake with a bag on your head? I endeavor to take control of this desperate situation.

I'm afraid to say I've ruined our work. Our unit is now a home for lavender filled neon chicks, however I'm kinda loving those big groovy polka dots!

OK! Ground control to Major Tom, is this looking slightly better? We're finally out of the solarize mode. We might be able to get away with this (no-one will notice). I'd better wave my magic wand over the ever gorgeous Mrs. Bellas.......

TA! DAH!
EH? What do you mean? "You don't feel any better!" To be continued (I think)

Some things don't always go to plan......

2010-04-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

....but they can actually turn out better than hoped.

I've just finished these cute lavender bird and heart pillows/bags and I'm chuffed to bits. They've ended up a little bigger than I originally planned therefore I think they should be called pillows and not bags, but I am so, so pleased with the outcome.

I am now inspired to make some more- mainly because the smell oozing out of them is beautiful and sweet. This time I will make small bags to hang up!

I love buttons! You love buttons! We all love buttons!

2010-03-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some things that have made me happy this week and so I think they are worth sharing.

I have always had a soft spot for gingham and I love the daintiness of daisies. I once designed and made a purple gingham dress and some daisy Fimo earrings specially for a lecture at art college. Oh! How pretentious but I loved every minute of it. So imagine how I jumped for joy when I found these gorgeous mouth watering little beautys at http://www.cardsandcraft.co.uk/ . They are so perfect together and I am eager to start creating.

I've also recently bought these must have flower buttons. Yum! I do feel very fortunate that not far from where I live is a small yet perfectly sized haberdashery. It is stocked with everything a crafter could possibly need including a wall of buttons, yes a wall of buttons!

My girls. They always put a smile on my face- although not when they spend the whole day on their DS'. But today I don't care because it's the Easter holidays and we can just chill. No clock watching for two weeks, no making packed lunches before I've had time to fully open my eyes and no uniforms to iron. I bet my youngest daughter won't even wash her hair! I love it.

Mega mini small challenge update, No.2

2010-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Pin cushions....ready!

Colourful brooches almost ready.........

Oh! No! I've succumbed to the Craft Kit.

As usual I've got carried away chomping my way through gorgeous fabrics. The colours, the patterns, the textures, I love it all. I'm a real fabricaholic. There's no time left before my Saturday craft fair to make beautiful, quality brooches/pin cushions. So this is why I've decided to bag up everything I've cut out and prepared, and turn them into mini kits of loveliness.

Not exactly part of my challenge, but if it makes someone happy that's fine by me!

Small challenge update!

2010-03-19T12:18:00.001-07:00

So far so good....my small item challenge is going sort of ok!

It has just been hampered slightly by me having to make a Victorian outfit for my daughter's Victorian Day at school.
Thankfully Pinnikity came to my rescue. I now think she she is truly amazing because despite poorly children, making 32 aprons and getting organised for a craft fair she found the time to help me out. You can read about her craft fair here by the way http://pinnikity.blogspot.com/

Since starting my challenge I have made 7 pin cushions, 1 Victorian apron, almost made 2 bird brooches and 2 flower brooches. I've found it really satisfying to see an item finished within one day, I usually make bags and they take ages. Oh I know what to do next mini lavender bags....

Small item challenge

2010-03-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

I received a lovely phone call yesterday from a sweet lady who asked me if I would be interested in selling some of our prints and textiles at a craft fair. Well I'm a sucker for doing craft fairs and because I was slightly flattered that our little business had been discussed at a committee meeting I said yes. The only trouble is this craft fair is in two weeks and I don't have any thing new made. I have plenty of ideas that will come into fruition by the end of April, this being the start of my Craft Fair season, but not for the end of March.

So I've decided to set myself a small item challenge. I aim to make one small item a day- this will include pin cushions, needle books and brooches. Here goes........first problem with my challenge is a poorly daughter!

Some things I will need. Fabric! Where do I start I can't resist fabric and I have so much.

Look how organised I'm becoming- I've got patterns, scissors, a tape measure and....

BUTTONS! Look at our fab button box me and Julie bought a few weeks ago. Yummers!

I discovered a pretty shop in Hawes on Sunday and bought these ribbons. Well someone had to and I was obviously meant to get them!

I've started cutting out some brooches, I hope I'll get a little further than this.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-03-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely mothers.

Here's some "far out" flowers for all of you

Hard day at the office....well sort of!

2010-03-13T12:02:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to the Once......blog. We are obviously very new to the world of blog (6 attempts-starting to tear my hair out) so please be kind. Hopefully with a bit of practise we'll soon become blogtastic!

Let me introduce us and give you abit of an insite to what we do. It won't always be work, work, work

This is me......

I'm Grace.

and this is Julie. Or as I like to call her- Mrs. Bellas that's because she's a teacher and I think I'm really funny! Sometimes when I think I'm super funny I just call her Mrs. B! Ha! Ha!

We love to take pictures, print pictures, craft and create. Best of all we love being mums!

We also really love our unit at Brougham Hall (near Penrith, Cumbria) even though the building is a ruin and the renovation work is in "working progress". Its ours, where we work, hang out, have belly laughs and where we...

print cards.....

print LARGE pictures

make bags.......

Look at one of our lovely little make-up bags sitting on top of a flowery print. We screamed with excitement at the beautiful colours. Hopefully one day the print will be made into a lampshade. Busy! Busy!

Someones photograph about to be spewed out of our amazing printer and be turned into a poster sized print. WOW!

More soon.....

Once Upon a Time in the North

Christmas Corner.

What I've been up to lately!

Scandi Style Scented Cushions

Look.....I've been published!

Craft Fair Pics......WOWEE!

See Me Here On Sunday

HEADS UP! There's a FESTIVE BUNTING Workshop taking place. WOOOOO!

C-Art Fair

From Now On It's Only BIG Decorations For Me

You can never have too many pom-poms!

Finished Lavender Lovelies.

Scented Cushions- nearly finished!!!

Heart Buttons- a welcome surprise.....

When to use a needle and thread!

MY top 5 crafty sewing tools. Before the initial sewing stage that is....

I like birds....cont

I like birds!!!

EXCITING new things going on in my shop!

Pom-Poms

More new things....

New Things.

I've been on my hols and other stuff!!

Creative Stores :: Supplies :: i heart buttons X 20 individual and interesting Buttons.

And the winner is.........

I'm Having A GIVEAWAY

New Buttons I love

FREE Felt Pack and FREE Buttons when you purchase Gutermann Textile Glue

A Few New Bags and My Mum's Vintage Button Collection

Time to invest in a badge making machine

Foody Friday

Textile Brooch

What to do with a big spotty butt?

Once Upon a Time in the North...

YUM!

Sewing/Knitting Bag

Summertime Supplies Party Bag- Buttons X Ribbons X Bows.

A pile of matryoshka lavender cushions

An Abundance of Spots

Big Check Buttons

Ribbon Joy Worth Shouting About

Latest Edition

An Event For Your Diary

GRAB THIS SPOTTY BUTTON BAG

Today is a day for.......

And now for something completely different!

Teeny Weeny Spotty Buttons and 'Heart Felt' Make.....

Spot Fest

FREE P&P TO THE UK- on 30g button bag collections

All NEW Buttony Goodness

My Little Ribbon Bird

Very happy with my ribbon pics!

I Heart Shell Buttons!

I'm in love with funky pinwheels

COMING SOON.................

SEWING.

£5.00ish Sale..............

Newness!!!!

Just get out!

FREE POSTAGE AND PACKAGING......

Lets make- Monday

Price Wars

Your prints on canvas

Props!

Free Goody Bag with the Purchase of my lovely Hearts Pouch

Phew! Time to catch up.

B is for...........

All the Fun of the Fair!

Surprise! Surprise!

Sewing Circles

Craft Fair Rant

Even BIGGER Buttons

Something Very New!!

I'm planning something new....

Crafty family

And the winner is........

Summer Lovin' Giveaway

*BIG BAG SALE* and shameless advertising

Another Busy Craft Fair

My Crafty Fair Weekend

BIG BAG SALE and shameless advertising