paper-and-string

and the winner is....

2012-03-02T14:10:00.002Z

fast freebies are fun!The random number gadget has picked #65 which is......Sarah (it's not me, it's another crafty Sarah!)whose blog is called Homemade with Hugs
Congratulations Sarah, I'll email you in a mo....and thank you to everyone who joined in...I may have to add a few more random fast freebies into the mix, I enjoyed this one!

Freebie Day :: MARCH 2012 :: the polka dot freebie....CLOSED

2012-03-01T14:00:00.001Z

because February's freebie was a bit late it means this freebie has come around really quickly!! So this time we're going to have a super-quick freebie...something a teeny bit different than normal!So what are the rules??? Rules: freebie opens at 2pm Thursday 1st March 2012 and closes TOMORROW at 2pm...so you only have 24 hours to enter! How to enter: leave one comment and one comment only on this very blog post Prize: One winner will win a parcel full of polka dot goodness...a handmade polka dot cupcake key ring, 10 extra large polka dot buttons AND 3 reels of polka dot ribbons. As always I will post the prize worldwide.

Good Luck!! Quick Quick time is running out......THIS FREEBIE HAS CLOSED at comment 157.

weekend work

2012-02-27T14:22:00.003Z

My website is under going some changes....I've had my website for years and I've had to add more and more web space to it because I kept filling it up! When I redid my wholesale site I used a new Mr Site product called Storefront and decided to take the plunge and use Storefront for my retail site too...lets just say it's a steep learning curve!

I spent around 14 hours on it over the weekend...and it's going ok...I think it will be a few weeks until it's ready to launch...luckily the old one can stay up and running whilst I'm doing all the work in the background!

New Ribbon Spools

2012-02-24T14:27:00.008Z

I think I'm addicted to Polka Dots. Everything looks good with Polka Dots on it!I already sell this ribbon cut to order by the metre but decided to add a spool option too.......I think they make great gifts, either for yourself or for crafty friends!

They can be found waiting for crafty adventures in my NotOnTheHighStreetShop

and the winners are....

2012-02-23T14:01:00.005Z

Four clicks of the button and the magic number generator has the winners picked! A little bit of comment counting later and ta-dah! the winners are:

comment 131: Jenny said...
ohhhh the new kits are just gorgeous! I'd LOVE to win one! x

comment 11: Isadora said...
How lovely!Of course I want to win!!Thank you for the
freebieDoradora.quevedo@gmail.com

comment 85: minamisensei said...
WOW SO BEAUTIFUL AND CUTElove if able to get one of
them...minamisensei@gmail.com

comment 19: Jackie said...
Your new kits are fabulous! My most favourite is the tortoise egg cosy ~
although I wouldn't mind winning any of them as they are all so cute :O)

Congratulations! I shall email you all shortly

As always I'm sorry you can't all win, but for those that asked they are now in my Etsy shop too

;-)

scalloped tortoises

2012-02-22T14:24:00.004Z

Just over a week ago I showed you my new Tortoise brooch and now I can show you all the other colours I made too! I think the orange is my favourite one!!I have listed them on my website and on NotOnTheHighStreet too, I'll try to add links later but Blogger won't let me right now!

Stitching Shed

2012-02-21T16:21:00.003Z

I had intended to take a lot of photos at the trade fair, but I didn't. In fact I didn't take any! John did snap a few of Jayne's stand because some of my felt embellishments are included in her new kits...if you peer very closely at the photo, under the heart & butterfly, you'll see a felt house, owl and flowers all combined with cross stitching...don't they look great? I will of course show you more photos when I can :-)

Back From Birmingham

2012-02-20T16:09:00.002Z

The Trade Fair was amazing.
Lots of orders have been placed for new goodies, and I have a lot of catalogues and info to read through...I'll pop back tomorrow with photos and more news...

a work based Jolly!

2012-02-17T13:09:00.004Z

the freebie post is here

***********************************************************

I am off on a business trip. I normally think business trips sound like a boring chore but this one is going to be so much fun & I'm so excited!!

I shall be found shopping & researching at Stitches, a craft Trade Fair in Birmingham ... John is coming too & we've managed to find a swanky looking hotel at non-swanky prices. I've been to trade fairs before as a seller (in my past life as an employee) but never as a buyer, plus it'll be nice to finally meet the suppliers I already use but have only ever spoken to on the phone.
I've done all my last minute preparations: gathering business cards, e-tickets, hotel booking reference, supplier stand info, camera (for sneaking photos for the blog!)...and, more importantly, I have a nice new brooch to wear!If you are going too and see someone wearing this it'll be me, so stop and say hi!

OOOHHHH and the whole point of the post was to say that I won't be posting orders on Monday but it'll be business as usual on Tuesday, all the shops will remain open for shopping as usual.

freebie day :: February 2012 :: CLOSED

2012-02-16T13:47:00.003Z

Thank you all for your lovely comments about the new kits...I'm super happy that you like them as much as me!For this months (rather late) freebie I am happy to offer 4 lucky readers the chance to win their favourite kit!The 4 winners will be picked at random and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post.The Freebie closes on Thursday 23rd February and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.
RULES

I will post worldwide so everyone is welcome to enter
One entry per person
I must be able to contact you via your comment

THE FREEBIE HAS NOW CLOSED

woo-hoo NEW KITS!!!

2012-02-15T12:42:00.006Z

hooray! The new kits have been delivered and are on John Lewis's website so it's finally time for me to add them to my website and show them here too! Let me introduce you to: sew-your-own Cute Egg Cosies...you can make a tortoise egg cosy: a rabbit egg cosy: and a little mouse egg cosy too:Your boiled eggs will be the cutest eggs ever!!

The second new kit is Little Flying Friends...you can make two pretty button butterflies, a cute little ladybird and a buzzy bumble bee!Pop back here tomorrow for your chance to win one of the new kits!

tiny tortoises

2012-02-14T15:58:00.000Z

I'm so excited about this new brooch!!
I have re drawn my little tortoise so he is a bit smaller, done some fancy schmancy scissor work and I am so happy with the result...what do you think??? ...I have another 4 colours waiting to be stitched but I couldn't wait until I'd finished to show you !

monday makes

2012-02-13T16:57:00.003Z

I did a lot of crafty things this weekend...not everything is finished, so I can't show you them all yet, but these 5 pretty boxes are, ta-dah! ::and so is this pile of stationery!
I'll definitely show you the rest ASAP...ooohh and this afternoon a new rep came to visit the (very tidy!) workshop and I blew my budget - oops! there are many many new things coming this way (but it'll be about 4 weeks! gah!)

tidying

2012-02-11T14:34:00.003Z

My making space got ransacked over the Christmas rush and today was the day to sort it all out!Every single bucket, box & shelf was taken down and dusted (felt fluff gets everywhere!) and everything was re-organised and tidied...all the buttons are in colour order, all the ribbon reels are wound back up and everything is T.I.D.Y...

back to boxes

2012-02-09T16:31:00.003Z

with all the hard work of website-building finished (for now) it's nice to spend some time sewing. I love the colours the customer chose for these...they are so bright and happy!...tonight I've an evening of cutting out planned & a whole weekend of sewing to look forward, hurrah!

New Wholesale Website

2012-02-08T13:53:00.003Z

Hurrah!

I have finished* my new Wholesale websiteI closed my original wholesale site late last year and planned to re-open in the New Year, but then decided that I should combine the re-opening with a re-design...6 weeks later and it's here!

I'd love it if you took a look...just click here :-)

*when I say finished it's not ever going to be finished, there's always a lot of tinkering to be done! But it's open, hurrah!

new cupcakes

2012-02-07T14:50:00.003Z

over the weekend I added these new cupcakes to my website and completely forgot to show them on here!!...I seem to be on the computer a lot at the moment, VAT stuff, paperwork, accounts, updating the website and WOO-HOO finally updating my wholesale website...I had hoped it would be up and running today but have found a hiccup ... so maybe tomorrow!!

pom pom pom pom pom pom pom ....pom!

2012-02-03T14:13:00.003Z

ooooohhhhh just have a look at this!a box full of colourful goodies......and it gets even better the closer you look!!fluffy pom pom goodness in 14 fluffy colours!

hurrah!

quick link :: pom poms!

February Freebie :: Postponed!

2012-02-02T15:38:00.005Z

Today is the first Thursday in February.

That means it is Freebie Day.

This freebie day has been planned for ages...

I have two new kits due to be delivered to John Lewis on February 1st and they are going to be my freebie prizes (I am dying to show you the new kits!!)

Someone (*ahem* me!!) didn't book a delivery slot in time so now the new kits can't be delivered until February 10th.

Which means I can't show you them yet.

Which means the freebie is postponed.

Someone must be fired*

And the flowers? well I can't blog without photos , the flowers are new and on the website here

New Freebie day is Thursday 16th February 2012!

*well, I won't really fire myself, that would just be silly!

my new boss!

2012-02-01T16:46:00.000Z

This afternoon I am doing a very thorough stock take and once that's done everything VAT is organised (phew! that sounds nice and easy doesn't it!?), my new boss should be very proud!...and the best news? No price rises round these parts :-)

the pebbles are back!

2012-01-31T14:25:00.003Z

Quite a few months ago I designed some new key rings and they all sold and then I got busy and never made any more, which is sad because making them is fun!I started making these a week or so ago & put the finishing touches to them at the weekend, took the photos yesterday and managed to website list them today! phew-ee!

Quick Link :: Pebbles can be found here

Ribbons Galore!

2012-01-28T14:28:00.002Z

The new ribbons are all on the website! It's taken hours and hours of computer work ... I've already corrected some spelling mistakes and *think* I've checked all the links, but if you take a peek and see something that you don't think should be there please let me know!

Quick Link :: Ribbons can be found here

camera busy

2012-01-27T15:24:00.003Z

I always forget how long it takes me to add new products to the website...from waiting for a sunny/bright day to take photos, to cropping and editing and filing them (I'm bad at filing them...but getting better) to re-jigging the website & adding new pages...I'm nearly there and after a few hours more work tomorrow there should be ribbons galore...it's a good job that just looking at the ribbons makes me happy in my work!!

bright & cheerful pins

2012-01-26T15:58:00.004Z

I had a lot of fun choosing which fabrics and buttons to use for my new colour selection of drawing pins...there are now 8 colours to choose from and you can see then all by clicking here!

Distracted Buyer

2012-01-25T17:00:00.005Z

Whilst shopping for fill-up stock I got my head turned by these Very Pretty Hearts

They are wooden and have had the floral design laser cut into them so they are smooth to touch.

I can't decide if I'm going to make mine into ornaments or a mini garland...decisions, decisions!

If you'd like some too you'll have to be quick, I only managed to snap up 8 packs and once they are gone then they are gone!

Quick Link :: wooden hearts are here

the re-stock continues

2012-01-24T15:58:00.005Z

this huge delivery of ribbon arrived on Friday ... after the checking and the counting and the sorting it created two jobs; find somewhere to put it & photograph it all for the website...today I finished the 'find somewhere to put it' task! I cleared off these two shelving units ...
...and filled them with lovely lovely ribbon.....I made 'drawers' out of some of my kit boxes and it makes finding the right ribbon very easy indeed!I'm hoping the sun will come out tomorrow so I can get started on the photos!! I also filled up all of the findings and updated the website and the out-of-stock swivel clips are back!

in pieces

2012-01-20T17:02:00.002Z

This pile of cut out owl pieces is for another secret project...you know I'll spill the beans as soon as I can, right? ... There are enough pieces here to make 100 owls...it doesn't look like that many does it?

new iron on flowers

2012-01-19T15:34:00.002Z

The Big website re-stock has begun!
Christmas busy-ness left a lot of gaps in my stock and first on the list for me to fill up was Iron On Flowers...now available individually rather than in packs of 3 so you can create your own colourful crafts.
Quick Link: Iron on Flowers are here

small room = new packing room

2012-01-18T15:17:00.004Z

hurrah! I now have a fully functioning packing room...the room is teeny tiny and very hard to photograph...I stood in the middle and turned round to take these but they aren't good!!
The old packing room is still in slight chaos but I've just ordered lots of new stock so I decided to sort it all out in one go, some time next week when all the new things arrive :-)

chopchopchop

2012-01-17T16:45:00.003Z

in between all the moving and re-organising orders have been packed & dispatched and felt has been chopped...two boxes of orders to stitch (above) and funny little piles of felt which will be key rings soon (below)I'll be back tomorrow with photos!

before & during (the after may take some time!)

2012-01-15T14:34:00.004Z

my little room (soon to be renamed The Packing Room) is hard to photograph...here are some before-the move-around shots....before :: from the door looking right.before :: behind the door.before :: from the door looking left.during :: from the door looking toward the window.during :: behind the door.

As you can see I'm not finished!! The new table is in place and all the no-longer-living-in-this-room things have been moved (that took ages!) ... all I need to do now is move all my packing things in and I'm ready...perhaps I will have time to do that tomorrow ....

the calm before the storm!

2012-01-12T15:48:00.004Z

Today has been fun! I've been sewing, making kits and packing orders all day long...a nice relaxing day before the move around begins tomorrow! I do enjoy moving and re-organising, and I can't wait for everything to be in it's new, bigger space...the goal is to have it finished by the end of Sunday...I'll keep you updated with it all :-)

sewing machine fun

2012-01-11T16:32:00.003Z

A lot of sewing has been happening round these parts...just look at this pile of boxes I've made since yesterday! My sewing machine certainly knows the holidays are over!

Back in the swing of things

2012-01-09T15:28:00.003Z

I came back to work last Monday and the entire week just flew by in a whirlwind of post Christmas orders, making stock, ordering stock, printing stationery and cutting felt...not to mention all my New Year Plans that needed starting!....I was so busy before Christmas that lots of jobs and plans had to be put on hold until the New Year so I have spent this weekend writing lists and plans and re-organising all my thoughts and now I feel ready to tackle them all...currently these are the 3 BIG things on my to-do list::

re-arrange and re-organise stock room and magically turn it into a kit packing room

move the packing area to a new table (that I don't have ... yet)

launch two new kits at the start of February (most of this is done, except the layout and printing of the instructions and stickers...I posted all that info off to my designer today...the clock is ticking because I am due to delivery the first batch to John Lewis on 2nd February!!)

In amongst all the New Year plans I'm still stitching and sending out orders, although I have to admit I wasn't expecting to be making Christmas Decorations for a few months yet!!

New Year Sale

2012-01-04T15:03:00.003Z

If you're after some ribbon-y bargains then click here to see my little ribbon sale

2011 :: in pictures :: january - june

2012-01-03T17:08:00.010Z

WOW! 2011 was deifinitely a good year for paper-and-string...I've been re-reading my blog over the past few days and I have compiled some highlights...so many that it's taken 2 blog posts!! HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends, blog readers & customers ... here's to a fantabulous 2012!...I'm excited to see what it brings!

January was spent planning and waiting to move into my new workshop...the Ikea book got a lot of use!!I soon learnt that Solicitors are SLOW and I finally moved in in MARCH!!! but the delays did mean I had time for sewing.......on my new sewing machine!February...was the month of the box!...I made loads of sample boxes ::...took loads of photos and voila! introduced made-to-order items to my Not On The High Street ShopTo mark the launch I advertised my alphabet boxes in the Not On The High Street Catalogue and had my boxes photographed by a professional photographer!

March I was very proud to be able to make a prize & join in the Japan raffle that Jo organised. the rest of the month was spent packing...moving...and unpacking!..and finally filling my new workshop with all my things April was the month for moving in properly...making ribbon spools look pretty::...and re-using my old cassette tape holders for large ribbon spools :: My first paper-and-string computer was delivered and set up, no more working from the home computer for me!!There was also time for a little bit of sewing...new pebble key rings::..and a free bird pattern for you all... May: Finally! The month I could spill the beans and tell you all that my BIG secret was to supply John Lewis...finally all the piles of stock everywhere made some sense...
..and I could share all the felt cutting......and ribbon cutting that was filling my months!
June my workshop was bulging at the seams ......all the printing arrived and was stored on the stairs!......the kit felt had a whole room to itself!!...and the fluff, ginormous bags of fluff that just sat in the middle of the floor!!But it wasn't all about BIG things...there were new teeny tiny polka dot buttons...and a huge box FULL of pom poms!!

2011 :: in pictures :: July - December

2011-12-31T16:24:00.020Z

July :: the first weekend of July was the first weekend I started working 7 days a week....little was I to know then that I'd still be doing them at Christmas!!

...of course, evenings were and still are my favourite time for hand sewing!This month I had to find a box supplier to custom make boxes for me...that was easier said than done!
...but I found one in the end and my first ever delivery to John Lewis was boxed and ready to leave ::August :: This month got off to a flying start...piling felt for kits......dyeing buttons for stock...re-negotiating with my suppliers so I could lower my felt prices...which meant I could offer mini rolls, now a best selling line!My first delivery of my kits hit the John Lewis shop floorand I had a stock room full of kits ready for the next delivery...then we received the awful news that Nan had had a fall and been rushed to hospital.......I'm glad we all got to see you one last time....I miss you every day Nan xxx September ::I signed up for an account with Royal Mail and received my own Post Office in a box!my first item appeared on the John Lewis website wholesale customers were stocked upand the box making started in earnestOctober ::the start of the month saw me celebrating my 34th birthdaylots of lovely new supplies were added to the shop & Christmas designs were worked on ... along with free Halloween patterns. making and packing website orders, and making kits for John Lewis started to take over all my time.. November :: John & some friends went on the Monte Carlo Rally (I lost my kit helper for a week!! I certainly had to work hard to keep my head above water!!) I squeezed in lots of late night sewing to make 40 Woodland Friends for a display in John Lewis December ::With one last rush of hard work John and I finished the final John Lewis order plus the emergency fill-up orders they'd requested!!My Woodland Friends went on display in Oxford Street...and I was able to tidy up the chaotic workshop ready for a New Year!

Phew! Just compiling all the 2011 highlights has been hard work!! What a year we've had here...here's hoping 2012 is just as much fun!

holiday time

2011-12-20T15:31:00.003Z

the last few days have been a blur of sewing & packing parcels...here are my last few quick-snaps of my making::
phew! such a lot of work, but I enjoyed it all!
I'm now on my way to do my last Post Office run of 2011 and then I am officially on holiday...I'll be back Tuesday 3rd January so I'll wish you all a Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year

freebie winners

2011-12-19T15:25:00.003Z

the random number machine has done it's duty and picked 6 numbers from the 230 comments ::
and the 6 winners are ::
comment # 19 :: sewmbie said...
That would be beyond amazing!elisehattersley (at) utopian-**********.co.uk :)

comment # 64 :: jò said...
oh, thank you so much :)I hope to be lucky again ;)joyblonde at libero . itciao dall'Italia

comment # 114 :: I was just admiring those in John Lewis yesterdayI ! would love one of those from Santa! xxxelizabeth.l@**********.co.uk

comment # 144 :: Anonymous said...
theyre soooo pretty! I hope I get one!xsarah.shiu@******.com

comment # 148 :: Oh!!! I love your kits. I am from spain, but I can wait until next year.Thanks for the chance!! And have a nice xmas.xoaninafeitoaman@*****.com

comment # 214 :: craftymummy said...
I love your work! I'd love the chance to win one of these kits :)

please can all the winners email me their address?
my email is mail [at] paper-and-string [dot] co [dot] uk

thanks to everyone for taking part, freebies are always good fun!

in the nick of time!

2011-12-16T14:48:00.000Z

the freebie post can be found here yesterday I received a small top-up order from a supplier in America...Lots of ribbon favourites have been re-stocked, and I have some *new* bright and cheery wide ribbon spools :: My order didn't take long to arrive but they included a back order from an order I placed in October...not so bad, except it was for a lot of Christmas Ribbon! gggrrrr I'm not too mad about it though because it is lovely ribbon!!
quick links to ribbons ::
new wide ribbon click here
new Christmas ribbon click here
all other ribbon click here

december freebie 2011 :: part two :: NOW CLOSED

2011-12-14T16:26:00.004Z

welcome to December's freebie :: part two

I couldn't let 2011 pass by with out having a freebie for my newest kits could I?

I shall be giving away six kits to six different blog readers...as usual I will post worldwide BUT if you're outside the UK I will not post your prize until the New Year (UK winners will receive their prize in time for Christmas)
HOW TO ENTER
simply leave a comment on this blog post
RULES
one entry per person
I must be able to contact you via your comment
CLOSING DATE
Comments/entries can be made until the freebie closes on Sunday 17th December
good luck!
the freebie is now closed

more quick shots!

2011-12-12T16:49:00.002Z

I've gone into stitching overdrive! all these decorations were posted out today...and the next batch are cut and will be sewn tonight...the very last John Lewis delivery of 2011 will be leaving on Wednesday, so I should have much more time for sewing then...
last order dates for Christmas ::
made to order items from Not On The High Street :: Wednesday 14th December
all other orders :: Monday 19th December 11.59pm (late orders will be posted on Tuesday 20th)
after that the next day I will be posting is Tuesday 3rd January 2012

special orders

2011-12-08T16:13:00.002Z

Over the past few days I have been making a lot of boxes!

31 boxes in total, with more on the to-do list...sorry the photos aren't fancy, just quick snap shots taken before they get wrapped, packed and sent to their new homes......things are busy but I'm having fun!

and the winner is....

2011-12-07T12:36:00.004Z

the winner of December's freebie (part one) is ::comment number 14 which was made by :: Is it just me or...
Hooray & Congratulations! I will contact you shortly...for everyone else, December Freebie Part Two is in the pipeline...keep your eyes peeled!

Oxford Street

2011-12-05T15:31:00.008Z

As promised here are photos (taken by the merchandiser from John Lewis) of my woodland creatures in the Make Hub of John Lewis Oxford Street ::

Freebie Day :: December 2011 :: Part One*

2011-12-01T15:12:00.006Z

Kid's Crafternoon Felting is a fun book...and I have been sent a copy to use as a freebie prize! I'm also going to include a 9" felt rainbow so the lucky winner can start making straight away.
there are loads of projects in the book for all kinds of felt, and for all craft abilities too so if you're new to felt craft or a felter extraordinaire, there's something fun for you to make in here...my favourite is this little dog money box, how cute is he?
I also love the finger puppets on the front cover AND these scary zombies tooas usual all you need to do to enter the freebie is leave a comment on this blog post, easy peasy!

RULES
one entry per person

I will post worldwide

I must be able to contact you via your comment

GOOD LUCK!

*this month's freebie is split into different parts, keep your eyes peeled for the next instalment!

*********************************************************

this freebie has now closed at comment # 179

secret sewing

2011-11-30T16:35:00.002Z

this HUGE pile of woodland creatures is my secret sewing project...the Oxford Street John Lewis is now displaying all these happy fellows in their craft area (photo to follow soon I hope!) They are having ribbon looped through their red hanging loops and are being strung like festive bunting between giant knitting needles! There are 10 of each creature here...the mushrooms & acorns took about a week, and the hedgehogs and foxes about two weeks...they seemed to take forever to finish, and I had such a strict deadline that couldn't be changed!...but all the early mornings and late nights were definitely worth it...I can't wait to see them in the display, they'll be up until the end of January so I should get the chance to go up there and take a peep in person!

phew.ee!

2011-11-29T16:42:00.004Z

I can't stop long .... a huge felt delivery arrived earlier and it needs putting away, but I wanted to pop in and share the two boxes I finished today...two of my favourite embellishments + two of my favourite felt colours = one happy sewer !

a happy bunch!

2011-11-28T16:55:00.003Z

Sunday was set aside as a sewing-all-day day. Mostly I hand sew everything so a sewing-all-day day means a day at home on the sofa watching tv and stitching for hours on end! I managed to finish my secret project and this little collection of Christmas ornaments too! The secret project got posted today and I should be able to tell you about it pretty soon :-)

Monte Carlo Rally

2011-11-26T08:46:00.003Z

All this week John has been away on a classic car rally...in preparation he asked me to make him some car seat tidies ::He measured it all up and drew out all the pieces on the felt so I only had to sew it together, but they do look useful don't they? John went in a team of three people and they finished the rally (not a mean feat in a classic car!) and I'm so proud of them. They have a long drive home today (640 miles), aiming to be back here for 10pm...I can't wait! This is them in the Rally Car, John's friend took a photo from a bridge over a motorway somewhere near Birmingham! (the thumbs up in the back is from John!)....now I must get on with work...I've 800 bags of fluff to sort out today!

hearts

2011-11-24T16:45:00.000Z

I am doing a lot* of sewing at the moment....I'm juggling my stitching time between special orders and a secret project...I can't show you the secret project yet (because it's a secret and because I'm nowhere near finished!) but this is my latest special order :: 5 heart broochesMy secret project has to be posted on Monday so I'll be able to show you soon...it's been tough keeping it a secret because I. AM. EXCITED!!!!!
* a lot of sewing = getting up at 6am to hand sew 3 days on the trot...only 3 more 6am days to go !!

countryfile

2011-11-23T17:15:00.003Z

I'm on the Countryfile website!...well, not me exactly, but my tortoise boxes!

you can read the little feature here if you'd like to :: Countryfile

ribbon buffet

2011-11-22T16:28:00.004Z

lots and lots of lovely ribbon, destined to be in my sew-your-own kits, this is approximately 10,000 pieces of ribbon (1000m) in 10cm lengths, all hand cut by me!

Sunday Sewing

2011-11-21T15:54:00.004Z

With Christmas approaching things are getting rather busy round here (not that I'm complaining!).....but no matter how busy I am it's always relaxing to sit and sew...... which is what I did for most of this weekend!

Christmassy Things!

2011-11-19T13:39:00.003Z

Oooohhhhhh I've got lots of new Christmassy things!! Look at these:my new Christmas button pack of stripey buttons!! AND there's a mix of stripes and polka dots too ::AND AND AND there are teeny tiny polka dot Christmas buttons :: and last but not least ::a new Christmas Craft pack!I've been a busy bee cramming boxes full of felt, buttons and ribbons...each kit has 10 x 9" squares of wool mix felt, 12m of ribbons, a pack of 60 teeny buttons and a pack of 36 stripe/dot buttons......scrummy!

quick links ::

Christmas Button Packs :: click here and scroll down to the bottom

Teeny buttons :: click here

Craft Pack :: click here

buttons galore

2011-11-18T16:04:00.002Z

I've been busy counting and sorting and playing with buttons...and I'll be back tomorrow to show you what I have done!

NEW TAPES

2011-11-17T14:14:00.003Z

hooray! my delivery of new deco tapes has finally arrived! I spent a happy few hours sorting and counting and stacking the shelves (it doesn't feel like work to me!)

there are 8 new mini reel packs, 3 new Christmas Designs and a few old favourites are re-filled too.

Quick Links :: Deco Tape

before....

2011-11-16T16:38:00.000Z

this is my homework pile for this evening....lots of special orders and made-to-order items from NotOnTheHighStreet, all of which have to be cut out and hand sewn....definitely the BEST kind of homework there is!

catching up

2011-11-14T18:45:00.000Z

my poor old blog always gets neglected when it's busy! Over the weekend John and I finished the November delivery for John Lewis and I also finished off the latest felt boxes, with more & more being added to my 'I need to make' list...

a sewing day

2011-11-11T15:57:00.002Z

I'm half way through a box making frenzy! 8 finished today ... another 5 left to do, I'll hand sew them tonight and machine sew them tomorrow...well, that's the plan, but plans have a habit of changing every half hour or so at the moment!

winner announced

2011-11-10T17:16:00.004Z

woah! 422 comments....the random number generator has picked ::
comment number 191 which is ::
Catherine D said...
Oh my god! What an incredible giveaway!! I LOVE ribbon! Very generous of you xx Catherineadevin ( at )*******.com
WELL DONE Catherine, I will email you in a moment to get your postal address :-)

cups!

2011-11-09T16:03:00.002Z

at least tomorrow the blog will be about the freebie winner, rather than these cups!! this is round two, yesterdays cups (for the Little Girls kit)are finished and these (Owls Kit) are nearly done!

nice cups!

2011-11-08T16:12:00.002Z

the freebie is still running and can be found by clicking here
*******************************************************************I always use the same table when I'm taking photos...the light is normally good and usually I keep the table clear...but when I came to photograph this little groups of orders the table was busy......so my stool was called into action instead!

links and new stock

2011-11-06T12:28:00.003Z

the freebie is still running and can be found by clicking here

********************************************************

Woah! There are lots of comments for this months freebie! It looks like I'm not the only ribbon addict out there....now, a few of you asked if I had more of these stands and yes, I do!

if you click here you will be taken to the shop page that they are on (the link is in the freebie post too!) I only have 6 sets and I don't think I can get any more.

In other ribbon news:I've re-stocked all my American Crafts ribbon spools AND, Hurrah! the mini brads have finally arrived, everyone who was waiting for their brads to arrive should have them now.

Quick Links

Ribbon Stand :: click here

American Crafts ribbon :: click here

Mini Brads :: click here

freebie day :: November 2011 :: CLOSED

2011-11-04T15:03:00.007Z

Yay! It's finally freebie day! I've had this one planned for a little while and hope you think it was worth the little wait! This month's freebie is for everyone who loves ribbon as much as I do ::Look at this super fantastic way to store ribbons, it's metal, it sits on the table top AND the stand spins and lets you see all your lovely ribbon, but I can't just give away a stand! oh no, you also will win 54 spools of ribbon!!each spool holds 4ft of ribbon and there's a mixture of satin, grosgrain, polka dot and Christmas ribbons as ever all you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. The freebie closes on Thursday 10th November and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.
RULES :: I will post worldwide so everyone is welcome to enter :: One entry per person :: I must be able to contact you via your commentGOOD LUCK!
PRIZE DETAILS :: One winner will receieve :: One revolving ribbon stand (it comes as a kit, but it's super easy to put together) & 54 spools of ribbon
FREEBIE IS CLOSED AT COMMENT NUMBER 422

postponed

2011-11-03T16:12:00.001Z

today is officially Freebie Day....but I'm not ready!
I will be ready tomorrow...maybe I'll see you then?

back in stock

2011-11-02T14:45:00.003Z

ZIPpity-doo-dahs (sorry, couldn't get the song out of my head!) ::

Pom poms ::and the 'thread cupboard with hardly any thread in it'.......is magically a thread cupboard full of thread again:Quick Links :: Zips :: Pom Poms :: Sewing Thread

un-packing

2011-11-01T15:34:00.005Z

my big batch of deliveries have started to arrive! I've got lots and lots of felt...it arrived yesterday and was counted and put away today.Two more boxes arrived today and they are patiently waiting for me to un-pack them:

Hooray! Stocking up for Christmas is fun!

cut stitch fold

2011-10-31T16:03:00.004Z

yesterday I gave myself a day off and spent the day with John and my Mum, Dad, Sister & Niece who had come for a visit. Lots of chatting was done, lots of tea & coffee was drunk, we had a bracing walk on the windy seafront (!) and wasted quite a few 2p's playing games on the pier...a lovely day all round!

afterwards I cosied up on the sofa and cut, folded and stitched the evening away!

John Lewis Email

2011-10-28T16:24:00.003+01:00

My Christmas Tree Garland has been featured in a John Lewis email which they sent out to customers today...I'm not signed up but my friend Jackie *hi Jackie* is and she sent it over for me to see...what a good way to end a Friday!

i can't resist

2011-10-27T16:56:00.003+01:00

I've been busy counting and sorting and re-stocking my shop with lots of basics...all the orders were being placed over the last week or so and some have finally started to arrive (yay!) first the postman arrived with lots of metal:which means my findings pots are nice and full:and then the courier bought a BIG box of buttons:literally hundreds and thousands of polka dot buttons....AND...because I couldn't resist:yellow polka dot star buttons! Perfect for Christmas crafting.
quick links:
findings: click here :: all polka dot buttons: click here

my favourite kind of busy

2011-10-26T17:01:00.001+01:00

there's lots of sewing being stitched round here at the moment...this little lot is a wholesale order for a new customer, there are 42 mini cupcakes, 20 Christmas trees and 24 Christmas puddings, all finished and ready for the postman tomorrow...tonight there are Christmas decorations & boxes to stitch...I'll be back with photos tomorrow!
*****************************************************
WARNING
a comment was left on my previous post and it contained a link to an outside site, when I clicked on it my computer (thankfully) warned me that there was malware attached to it and it wasn't safe to proceed...I have removed all traces of the comment now but I didn't do it immediately so there was an hour or so in which you may have clicked it...the comment was left by a regular blog reader and I'm sure no malice was intended...sewmbie if you read this I can't email you or leave a comment on your blog...but I didn't delete your comment because I didn't like it...just that the malware scared me!

working in sunshine

2011-10-24T16:37:00.002+01:00

:: piles of stationery cut and folded :: Christmas decorations made for orders :: swatches ready to be made :: rainbows waiting to be piled ::

more new goodies

2011-10-22T15:30:00.003+01:00

button boxes with lots of new buttons...there are 11 boxes altogetherThe hard-to-find magnets have finally returned!
I've re-packaged my Christmas Ribbon mini spools AND look at my new pom pom trim!!

quick links ::

button boxes click here

magnets click here

christmas ribbon bags click here

pom pom trim click here

computer time

2011-10-21T16:18:00.004+01:00

Today I started adding some new things to my shops, starting with :: Christmas Decorations! I've re-drawn my Pudding decoration ... designed a new Tree decoration.....and added a pom pom scarf to my snowman decoration......the pom pom scarf makes me ridiculously happy!! They can all be found in my NOTHS shop, etsy shop or on my website!
I'll be back with more new things tomorrow :-)

working hard

2011-10-20T16:22:00.003+01:00

This weekend I am planning on spending a lot of time online....I need to fill my Not On The High Street shop up, start listing on Folksy again and update my eBay & etsy listings...quite a big task!

Luckily a big part of doing it means I get to play with ribbons and buttons whilst pretending I am working very hard indeed!!

reclaiming some space

2011-10-18T16:55:00.001+01:00

my latest order to John Lewis has been sent .... which left me needing to do a ginormous tidying up operation! I still have 2 more smaller orders to make and send to John Lewis but I won't need so much space which means there's now more room for everything else!...no more boxes on the stairs...no more boxes on the landing...no more boxes in the kitchen/bathroom...you get the idea!

before photos can be seen here & here & here & here & here & here & here

I started on Saturday and it took me all day....it was hard work, but it was so much fun! ...my desk is clear(er) and I've sorted out places to put all my paperwork & printing stuffthe cupboards are full...and orderly......I've stored all the kit bits in these boxes (stickers, instructions etc) ...The small room is the best bit...proper neat & tidy boxed up storage...the amount of boxes will shrink as I make more kits .... and an actual mini stock room: all the extra felt bolts are here with a little bit of space for other stock...moving the felt means that my packing room has been cleared......look, you can see the carpet and get through the door!! I've tidied and re-arranged some shelves, but haven't quite done them all....that's for next weekend!

trick or treat?

2011-10-13T17:08:00.001+01:00

last night I put the finishing touches to 3 new designs ::BOO! did they scare you? nope, me neither, they are much too cute!Little felt Halloween decorations ... and the best bit? I have made a free pattern so anyone & everyone can make them! So whether you'd like to make a Happy Pumpkin :: a happy Ghost ::or a Happy Bat ::just click the picture below to print off your free patterns & instructions and get ready to sew, sew, sew!I've also put the pattern on flickr for you to download/print off...happy halloween sewing!

an early mark

2011-10-12T16:12:00.000+01:00

for the past few days I've been busy sketching and cutting and gathering supplies for some new felt ideas that have pinged into my brain.......and after I've tidied up my messy workshop, put away my cardboard box delivery and been to the post office I will be going home early for an evening of TV and sofa sewing!

Bliss!

and the winners are...

2011-10-11T16:21:00.003+01:00

351 names have been put in the hat* and the 3 winners are:: 1. comment # 224 hAand-i 'Oh! They look so yummy! I want it!' 2. comment # 133 dazzledania '1st give away to enter..love your crafty stuffs..18th October will be my husband lucky day, his birthday. hope I will win!!'

3. comment # 299 Katy 'Ooh, what lovely Christmas goodies! I'm in...'

I will email all the winners to request their postal address shortly

**************************************************

throughout the freebie I was asked a lot of times if the freeebie kit would be available for sale...I hadn't planned on it but I have just priced it up and added it to the website for those who are interested....all the contents would cost £25.83 to buy separately (+ the box) but I have listed it at £20 which is a 20% discount (and a free box!)...there are only 10 up for grabs so be quick if you want one!

quick link :: click here and scroll to the bottom

polka dot felt!

2011-10-10T15:58:00.002+01:00

the freebie post can be found by clicking here
*******************************************oooohhhhhh look what I got!

Polka dot felt all the way from the other side of the world...it's acrylic, it's thick, it's polka dotty, it's gorgeous...
...and it's in the shop whilst stocks last

:-)

freebie day :: October 2011 :: CLOSED

2011-10-06T15:41:00.006+01:00

I've been buying Christmas goodies!

I've now got all sorts of ribbons in Christmassy colours in stock...and so, for this months freebie, I have put together a special Christmas KitEach kit contains::

6x 12" squares of felt

...19m of ribbons ...

...including all the new designs, and some Christmas Basics too!

2 reels of sewing thread, fluffy pom poms, polka dot buttons, star buttons and jingle bells!

I've boxed each one up and made it look pretty There are 3 kits so 3 winners this time round

To enter simply leave a comment on this blog post

Freebie closes on Tuesday 11th October and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

RULES
I will post worldwide so everyone is welcome to enter

One entry per person

I must be able to contact you via your comment

*********************************************************

quick links to new products ::

Christmas ribbon here (scroll down!)

pom poms & jingle bells here (scroll down!)

FREEBIE IS NOW CLOSED :: WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY

feathered friends

2011-10-05T14:39:00.002+01:00

this morning I finished these 4 boxes, 15 Robin kits and a pile of thank you cards...
...and this afternoon I've got deliveries galore to unpack!

34 and a day

2011-10-04T16:12:00.004+01:00

a big thank you to everyone who took time to leave a Happy Birthday comment for me yesterday ... I had a great 34th birthday! I left the workshop at 5pm (that's early) and after a quick change John and I were on the bus and heading into Shoreham to find a nice restaurant ... we were going to go to Brighton but I didn't feel like battling with all the sun seeker tourists! We chanced upon an Italian restaurant and the food and atmosphere were great!Today I have finished lots of little jobs, ...one of which was counting and bagging some more teeny tiny buttons, hence the photos! I also got down to the serious business of freebie planning...October's freebie day is this Thursday (6th) I've got it all planned ... planned but not actually done...but it will be!

surrounded by work!

2011-10-03T16:24:00.005+01:00

phew! I had a super busy weekend...a felt delivery was sorted and stored500 kits were made and packed in boxes (that sounds easy but it took hours & hours & hours and I worked all day Saturday and Sunday!) I still have more kits to pack in cardboard boxes (they have been ordered but have not yet arrived)and still more kit boxes to fill....and more stickers to stick on!But before I get stuck into more kit packing I have paperwork (and biscuits! yay!) waiting :: sewing to finish ::parcels to take to the post office ::

AND tonight John and I are off to Brighton for a lovely dinner because today is my birthday!

bauble kits

2011-09-30T17:01:00.004+01:00

My Bauble Kit has a lot of my very favourite felt colours in it ::

2 each of orange, red, thistle & yellow 4" squares...

and one each of plum and bright pink (9" squares)

they certainly look very Christmassy all stacked up together...

and even better when they have been turned into baubles!
there are 17 different ribbons included in the kit...

...along with a purple/orange/yellow mix of buttons and some fluffy pom poms!

I'm definitely making some more of these for my tree this year!

new kit :: Christmas Tree Garland

2011-09-29T14:52:00.004+01:00

My Christmas Kits were delivered to John Lewis a few weeks ago...and the Christmas Tree Garland kit has been a big hit!
In the kit there are 3 tree patterns and enough felt & stuffing to make at least 9 trees....

I had so much fun choosing which buttons, pom poms and ribbons to include to decorate the trees...

...and choosing which shades of greens & blues to include

the new Christmas kits have been added to my shop... and tomorrow I'll show you the baubles kit!

boxes

2011-09-28T16:29:00.000+01:00

hand sewn last night in front of the tv

machine sewn this morning

and posted this afternoon!

I may have to tweek my express postage options in my NotOnTheHighStreet shop, but so far I've managed to juggle everything and get all orders finished in the nick of time!

multi tasking

2011-09-27T15:45:00.003+01:00

cutting and rolling ::

stitching and sewing ::cutting and packing ::

I also cut out a whole pile of stitching to do tonight but forgot to get a photo of that...you'll see it when it's finished :-)

a stitch filled weekend

2011-09-26T13:57:00.003+01:00

I had a lot of sewing to do this weekend (yay!) and just about managed to get everything finished....I made 12 tortoise brooches....
....6 felt boxes.......and 12 giraffe brooches!

work & reward

2011-09-23T17:42:00.000+01:00

the kits I've been making for wholesale orders are done

phew, that was a lot of work!

..and now?

now I am off to the pub to sit in the September sun and have a drink!

******************************************************

today is my Mum's birthday, Happy Birthday Mum, love you loads xxx

new things!

2011-09-22T14:29:00.004+01:00

there are new things in the shop!!new BULK bags of cute flower buttonsnew BULK bags of Christmas Star buttonsnew felt flower & happy cupcake embellishmentsnew mini cupcake packsand more Christmas ribbon boxes....but just in case you begin to think that I'm superhuman doing all this as well as slaving in the kit factory (!) I'm not...I'm lazy!! these new items have been accumulating in a box, waiting for photos to be taken and website fiddling to be done, for oh, about 10 days or so ...

quick links ::

flower buttons here

star buttons here

felt flowers here

happy cupcakes here

mini cupcakes here

Christmas ribbon here

wednesday = kit day

2011-09-21T16:25:00.002+01:00

this morning :: ...yesterday's felt piling finished! this afternoon :: prepping ingredients for 2 big orders of my original kits!

felt piling

2011-09-20T17:23:00.004+01:00

This is my little room ... jam packed with bits of kit, the big boxes on the left all hold bags of stuffing which have all been measured out ... these filing boxes :: all hold felt that has been cut to size & is waiting to be piled up ready for kit making....

Today I'm working on the felt for the Christmas Tree kits and have got all the boxes of felt out ...the boxes behind are full of felt I have already piled up ::
...pre-piling the felt really does speed up the last stage of kit makingSo all I have to do now is turn those neat piles into piled up neat piles, 270 times!Yum! such lovely colours!

scissor action

2011-09-19T17:13:00.003+01:00

I started my day by putting all this cut-out stationery away...
...and finished it off by chop-chop-chopping all the ingredients which will be made into some giraffe & tortoise brooches

a busy end of the week

2011-09-16T15:58:00.003+01:00

overnight I had a flurry of orders for things not yet made, so I promptly got printing, cutting, sewing and sticking and got each and every order ready for posting today......all I need to do now is clear some space in here, that tiny corner of a table has already been filled up with other jobs!!

eeeekkkk

2011-09-15T15:35:00.002+01:00

one of my kits is on the John Lewis Website!!!! The September delivery they received had all 6 kit designs so once I've boxed up some more of them I can add the Christmas designs to my shop....

special letters

2011-09-14T13:51:00.002+01:00

made to measure letters (fast!) :: this morning I was asked to make some of my iron on letters in a special size...they had to fit in an area 8cm x 32cm, and the item they are going on needs to be finished for Monday Morning... so I put my other work aside and got my scissors out, drew some new letters and ta-dah! special sized letters ... they are now in the post bag and should be delivered tomorrow, phew! Back to piling bundles of felt for me......

box of stock

2011-09-13T15:20:00.000+01:00

today I have been sorting through a delivery of stock I ordered lots of my favourite regular items ...sewing thread, polka dot buttons, zips, ric rac and gingham ribbon ... and they are all nicely topped up. I also got busy counting and bagging buttons so the super popular teeny tiny polka dot buttons are all back in stock...there are also a few new goodies ... a new colour of bulk buttons :: brights .... some new velvet ribbon .... and some new ric rac colours too!
quick links :: ric rac :: gingham ribbon :: sewing thread :: bulk buttons :: zips :: teeny tiny polka dot buttons :: velvet ribbon :: polka dot buttons ::

tidy again

2011-09-12T16:42:00.000+01:00

In my rush to get my parcels finished on Friday (to sit with the wounded one, he's fine btw, healing nicely!) I dumped all my postal supplies on my packing area and forgot all about it until it was time to pack orders today....hhhmmm having my very own post office requires some storage solutions!

one metal-letter-sorter-rack-thingy* later and I am tidy again!

*metal-letter-sorter-rack-thingy was in the garage, something John had & kept because we thought 'it maybe useful one day'!