New bags

Some petite baguettes have finally reached the shop.

I really love the short, chunky chains.

A well earned break

Life was very hectic for a little while so I have spent some down time lately, catching up on important things like sleep. I have been making some fun purchases.

I purchased two of these fab little ornaments from Petite House. I bought the cupcake and the one on the far left.

I got one sent to my mum as a surprise

I have been after a wristlet now for many weeks from Made by Hank. When I say things like this people often exclaim "why would you buy a bag made by another". My answer is simple I appreciate others work and I also want something different.

Is it any different than a chef eating at someone else's restaurant? Things are always nicer when made by someone else. Anyway I have been after a specific wristlet but I kept missing it, I even had my poor OH checking many times a day but we always just missed it. We even put an RSS feed up to get updates. I had all but given up :( When magically and by complete accident I was online on Christmas day producing Christmas Quizzes for the dinner table, when I spotted the updated RSS feed. It said it was in stock but I could hardly believe it, I went to Made by Hank and there it was. So now all I have to do is patiently wait ..... for it to arrive.

Problem with Fabric

I have more than a passing problem with fabric. The problem is I can't pass it. I have to at the very minimum touch it and usually I have to buy it. I had went through a period of trying not to buy too much, but a few weeks ago I just went a bit mad and spent a fortune. I did think I needed some new fabrics for the Christmas fairs but I think I went a little over board.

Here is a small selection of what has been arriving.

I bought the sock monkey fabric (below) a while ago from Modern Retro Textiles in Austraila, whilst I was ordering an Audrey and Maude pattern. I have been eyeing it up for a while and I got it at a complete steal. Not sure how it will work for bags but it will work for a few zip pouches.

I did indulge a little and buy some pretty Christmas fabric just for me. I intend to make some PJ shorts out of the pink snowman for Christmas and a Christmas shopping bag out of the blue snowman. I'm sure the left over pieces will make very pretty purses for sale or even as Xmas pressies.

Check out a few new arrivals in my store.

Oh do I hear those bells jingling....

While it is still August Christmas is just around the corner. Large shops, like Selfridges, have already started to launch their Christmas lines. As all crafters know, the festive season starts much earlier. I ordered some xmas fabric a couple of months ago for some limited edition purses, more of these in a later post, but it isn't just fabric me have to think about.

The big thing is supplies. The postal service goes nuts, so what usually takes 6-8 days can take 3+ weeks, this coupled with product demand means we need to start stock piling now.

My two big requirements are purse frames and fabric. One comes from Hong Kong and the other mostly from the US. So over the past few weeks I have been ordering in extra stock. I still have lots to order, but I like to do it in little bits.

The second big thing is stock. I have 3 confirmed big craft fairs between now and Christmas and lots of bags to make for them. It is always a dilemma of what type of item to concentrate on, experience has told me to makes lots of all types. My mini and medium clutches definitely are the most popular, so I am concentrating on them.

I also have to think about my shop. Last year I focused a little too much on fairs and custom work and didn't promote my store enough. As a result I didn't maximise my sales. Now honestly I'm not sure how I would have handled a truck load of orders last year, but things have improved a lot over the last few months as my business has grown. As a result I am confident that things will be fine this year. Now I just need to sew all those bags and maybe a few other little things :0)

Etsy Finds - Finland

While in search of some lovely Finnish fabric I found some treats from Finland, which I felt I had to share.

The first is a lovely zip pouch is by syko. Kajsa has created some stunning creations and I am very jealous of her appliqué work - only because I can only appliqué when I hand sew. I am really drawn to zip purses at present, especially since I have been having a go making them. What I really like about Kajsa's work is that it's all original from her hand-drawn drawings. Her birds are especially lovely.

This bunny, from InnofHeart is so cute and reminds me I really must finish the bunny I started a long time ago. I also quite like that pink striped cushion he's sitting on.

This little Scottie dog brooch from vietto has given new life to an old piece of gingham

My car boot is filled with non plastic carrier bags, as so many shops now charge you for them. Some are bought, some are handcrafted in rare moments of down time. The ones I like have witty slogans or comments. An this one from 2ndlife caught my eye. I like it green or in yellow.

Sewing Crazy

I have been sewing crazy over the last 2 weeks, there has almost been "smoke" coming out of my sewing machine, thankfully not real smoke.

My bag total for the craft fair now stands at 142 plus my shop stock. My spare bedroom has once again turned into a bag holding area, although my kitchen, isn't as bad as in the run up to my big Christmas fair, as it's not quite a fabric warehouse...yet. I still have some bags to sew, but my stress levels have dropped because at least now I have enough bags to take with me. I have made some truly fab bags, sadly most will not reach my shop, for a while at least. I have taken a note of the really lovely bags so I can recreate them.

I am almost at my sewing capacity, although with every sewing-thon I do, I find new ways to improve my sewing technique and stream-line my process. Some people have the view, that "mass production" of handmade things steals the creativity, I find quite the opposite. I often get a bit stuck in a rut of working with materials that sell well, but when I am making larger amounts of bags I am more inclined to dig deep into my fabric stores to get variety. I also match fabrics in more interesting ways.

Well back to sewing, and then maybe if i'm lucky some sleep.

Post Christmas Slow Down

Christmas is a busy time of year for most but for the craft business it is hectic. Orders to fulfil, parcels to post, the nerves of whether something will arrive on time or at all and then all the other Christmas stuff. The resulting aftermath is tiredness, which is fine because it's a time of the year when it's fine just to lie around and eat. The major downside of all of this sloth is having to go back to work.

Last Sunday night I had the Sunday night sleep issues x10 infact I don't think I slept at all. I would really like to say I was thinking about what I was going to teach the next day but all I could think about was handbags, which is good and bad all at the same time. So Monday was a wash out and it has taken me a week to recover, so now I'm ready to get going, the first big thing is a major tidy.

The major tidy is mainly due to a bit of Christmas eve tidying, in which we cleared all the material out of the kitchen and dumped it in the work room. It is now at the stage were organisation is required and sorting due to colour and usage, like outers and inners etc. So that is the order of the day when I get home from work this evening, I also have a list of bags to start making. I am a real list person, but sometimes I hate that they are soooo long.

I am really excited about all my new fabrics and I have a couple of new ideas rattling around my head, so watch this space for some new pictures of bags.

What have I gained from 2008?

Having your own business is hard work. I have slept less and worked more than I did when I was a student teacher and I didn't think that was possible. It consumes your every waking and a lot of your sleeping thought. I found the key to balancing it, believe it or not towards the end of the year when I was at my busiest. I, of course, completely ignored how to put it in action and remained a walking zombie.

Coming up with an idea, making it and then selling it is possibly one of the coolest things I have ever done. I gives you such a buzz it's unreal. At dinner with friends, the topic of my business was being discussed and someone said they had a fixed salary and therefore have no financial survival instincts, which I thought was quite interesting as I have fixed salary but have extremely strong & focused financial survival instincts and that has helped a lot over the last 8 months. Thanks Mum & Dad.

Everyone wants to talk about your business, even people you hardly know. What fascinates them the most is their quest for knowledge and their surprise when they discover that you do actually sell things, that those things usually go half way around the world to find their new homes and that you make money at it. The sudden openness about money is quite strange, everyone wants to enquire about your profit margins? Do you pay yourself a wage? Is it worthwhile? In the end I explain it like this. If my options are sit in front of the TV becoming a vegetable OR whizz around on the sewing machine for a bit and make a buck or 2, I know which one I will do. However I do tell them it's not for everyone, I suppose it depends how materialistic you are.

A lot of new skills. I can now use the digital camera without every shot being blurry, just the odd one. I can edit a picture without wanting to smash the computer or having to whine at my husband about how photo-editing software was only created to make me cry (although that does still happen from time to time). My sewing has improved beyond all manner and I can now do simple things quickly and correctly first time - my poor stitch ripper had a terrible time to begin with.

A more focused outlook. I started this whole thing to give me something to do so that my job as a teacher didn't get on top of me and it worked. I may now have more things to do and others may perceive I have a more stressful like but if I'm truthful I am calmer and more effective. I look forward to working on projects both in my day job and at home. It's hard work but it is rewarding looking at finished piece and even more so when it sells.

Well that's what I have gained, what about 2009?

I don't like to set my self up, so I tend to work on mini targets, but the big thing for 2009 is to get my own website off the planning board and out there. I would like to increase my sales on and off web. Possibly look at getting a few select b&m retailers selling my bags. I have had a few interested enquires but we will see how it goes on that front, I like selling online and personally at present.

That's enough of my babble for the mo, I have1 and a very tiny bit of a day left before I'm back to work. So I think I might open a little mini bottle of fizz and chill for the rest of the night.

the postie brings little parcels of joy

Some fabric has arrived, well a lot really, but I was only actually able to contain my self to photo this before ripping open the parcels. I am very impatient.

This is just the tip of the iceburg, I have a pile about a foot high (no joke) sitting waiting to be put away.

Oh and by the way for those who check-in from time to time, you are not going mad they did appear at the same time, publishing problems.

I must get back to some wrapping and tidying.

Fabric Purchases

I went on a bit of a fabric splurge today.... and bought loads. Which looking at the current state of my kitchen I clearly don't need, but anyway, now I just have to wait and see if it arrives before christmas. Fingers crossed. Back to custom orders, boy am I tired.

Craft Fair

I did get them all framed and I survived the craft fair, as well, but only with a little help from some friends. It was the most fantastic 2 days, we had great craic, drunk lots of coffee and indulged in a little cake.


It was a very early start on the Saturday morning, about 6am, after a very late finish, about 2am. We got all packed up said goodbye to the dog and set off. We arrived at St Georges Market at about 7.30am and went and located our stall. We had a good spot, a little of the main path through the market. We set up.....



and waited...

After I had made my first sale I felt much better. The thought of going, putting all that effort in and selling nothing was very stressful.

After the 1st sale was the next and next. In total we sold about 50 bags on the first day, I went home very happy, but a little worried as I had only brought 92 bags with me, so I made some more that night. I was quite lucky I had some bags that were 1/2 made so just needed finished, while others had to be started from scratch. In total I was able to make and finish over 20 more. It's amazing what you can do when you backs up against it.

Sunday was not quite as busy but brisk enough. We sold another 40 bags, including all of the ones I had made on Saturday night.

So all in all it was definitely worth it. On Sunday my husband & I were able to chill out for the first time in weeks. I was asleep by 9pm.

Craft Demo, why oh why?

Why did I agree to do a craft demo? I feel very under prepared, I still have bags to frame and so much to organise and it is on Wednesday night!!!! I still feel under the weather and seriously under slept. I am at the stage when I can't see the wood for the trees.

Grrrrh......oh and my sewing machine has picked today to be "difficult". Woe is me.

I must think positive and write a list, I am a list person and that has to help. So make a list of things to do and go to bed, it all has to be better in the morning. Ta for listening, it was therapeutic just to vent a bit of stress.

Busy Busy Busy

I have been flat out lately, between work, Christmas shopping and sewing. I finally found out that I definitely have a stall at St Georges Christmas Craft Fair in Belfast, 6th & 7th December. I have been working on the theory that I was getting it and have been working on getting a decent inventory ready. As a consequence, my house looks like a fabric shop and my second bedroom has become a storage facility. I haven't been counting as I go along, but bravely checked last night and there is 100+ bags and still 2 weeks to go. Woo Hoo.


There are so many lovely bags and some new ideas I have been working on, so I am quite excited and scared all at the same time.


I have also come to the conclusion that I really need to factor in more sleeping time. I reached this decision due to the fact that I have acquired a stinking cold. When you are running a business being sick really sucks, even just from the point of view that you need some down time to get better, and during this down time all I can think about is I have so much to do. However tomorrow is another day and I'm hoping that when I wake up I will be feeling much better, as at the mo I am very motivated.

A bag for a bag-lady

People often think because I make bags I must have a lot of my own bags. Now while I do have a lot of bags, very few of them have been made by me. I often get the rejects, that don't quite pass quality control.

On Friday evening I was attending a formal and I decided late (and I do mean late) on Thursday night, that I fancied a new bag. Normally I would just pop out and buy one, however time was going to be tight on Friday, so at about 10.30 I decided to make a bag. I was wearing a cream embroidered corset top and a black ballgown length formal skirt.

So I settled for a cream silk with black embroidery and I lined it with bright pink fabric. Here is what I ended up with.

It was just perfect and I was really pleased with it. It got plenty of admiring glances and a few people were hoping I might make one for them.

Christmas is coming part 2

As well as the lovely Gingerbread Men & Ladies, I also make these. Hanging trees. I personally hang them from places like door handles, but there is one or two on my "Colonial" themed tree. In a few weeks I have been invited to attend a meeting to show of my bags, explain the processes involved and sell my craft, and these little lovelies are coming as well.


The dilemma is to tag or not. I usually don't, however, I normally only give these items away as gifts. The further dilemma is the tag. My usual tags look like this.


Which don't really fit in with the whole handmade Christmas decoration vibe, so I have come up with these.

This is what it looks like from a distance. I just really don't want the tag to take away from the overall look of the little tree.Ginger is also being tagged and this is the alternative I have come up with, although I think the tree tag may work equally as well.

I had promised to show some Gingerbread Boys, but they aren't baked yet so those will have to wait a little while longer, by which time I will have made up my mind regarding the tags.

A Weekend of Sewing

This is what my work room looks like after a weekend of sewing. Little scraps and debris lying everywhere.

The floor under my sewing machine

A used tube of glue buried under some scraps

A discarded empty spool

When I am making my bags and I am doing the corners, I am left with these little squares. They remind me of little beaks, with a mixture of colours and textures. I usually keep a few sitting on the shelf above my sewing machine, for inspiration and because they make me smile.So after a major weekend of sewing what was the outcome?

16 pretty new bags, all waiting to be framed, some made with new fabrics, which have not yet hit my shop, including some lovely new Japanese fabrics. These bags are destined for a different venue, but more of that later.

A New Design

My new 8 inch frames arrived a few days ago and I was happily waiting until the weekend for a chance to design a new bag for the frame, when I got a request for something a bit different. After a bit of thinking I came up this

It's perfect for notes and cards instead of a wallet, a stylish make-up bag or just as an ultra slim clutch for your mobile, lippy and cash. I haven't definitely decided on name for it yet but I'm thinking ......"Baguette Bag" - chic and tasty but not crunchy.

It wasn't what I had bought the frames for but when it was finished I just loved it and really wanted to keep it all for myself, but it's not to be and it has to go to it's new home, but I think more will follow soon and I might just have to keep one for myself :0)

Rainy Days

I ordered this fabric, among others, from karaku on etsy.

I just love it, it's so cute and arrived in record fast time, I have already created this

Rainy day clutch

It's fab and very appropriate for the current weather we are having over here. It is a slight redesign of my medium clutch and it worked out really well. Unfortunately, or fortunately from my point of view, it has got snapped up. Look out for more Japanese fabric clutches in my shop.

Bye Bye Order

I got a massive order the last week ish, 8 clutches all going to new homes. A bride-to-be had purchased them for her bridesmaids. It took ages to get them all ready and packed.

Here they are ready to be labelled and posted

It's always a bit sad but exciting when they go off to the post office.


It did make me think about how nice it is to get pretty things in the post and how much I really like it when parcels are nicely wrapped instead of being bunged into a tiny plastic mailer. Plastic mailers are fine for supplies but for handmade things????


Of course my big problem at present is my pup's intense dislike for anything that comes through the letterbox. My normally sleepy, sweet cocker turns into an "urban terrorist", growling and barking (!) at the letterbox. He snatches the post and gives it a good shake just to make sure it will not attack us.


We are now at the stage when we will have to think about an external mailbox and "safeplace" for parcels. Grrrhh dogs are a pain in the ear but you gotta love them.

Mini Clutches

I have been working on new mini clutches for a while now, they look great especially in some great new fabric.

Red polka pvc

Black and white spots

Heart to Heart

Multi circles

Now that I look at them I notice they all have red interiors and there is a strong spot theme going on.