Those who I have met along the way....

In my last post I was in the process of re-capping over my year of blogging.  I mentioned that I had met some lovely people along the way.  One of the most important things I have learnt along my business journey is to network.  As someone once said 'no woman is an island' (I paraphrase here) and I do believe that without the help and support of a few people along the way my journey would have been a lot harder.  However, before I start the list can I just say that this list is not a complete one there are lots and lots that I would like to mention, however, for the sake of time here is a few.

First up is Marie from Vintage Inspired Accessories, she makes wonderful creations from recycled bits of broken jewellery, I like to think that she is my equivalent in jewellery as she takes pieces of jewellery and puts them into the jewellery protection programme giving them new identities and a new lease of life!

Next up is fellow bag maker and fabric addict Beverley from Miss Creativity, I suspect that Beverleys fabric addiction is nearly as bad as mine!

Followed by the fabulous quilting and all round sewing smarty pants that is Tracey over at Tracey Pereira.com  You might already know Tracey from her previous name of Chubby Mummy which has now gone into retirement to be replaced with a new look blog, go have a look.  Having recently started quilting myself Tracey is the benchmark to which I aspire one day!

I will mention a few more inspirational blogs, however, I am running short of time again, is it September yet?  I have children hovering around moaning about my use of the laptop when they need their fix!  I will leave you with a couple of my latest creations which will be hot footing it to Lytham with me next weekend for the fair.  I have got the details through and the theme is 1940s so sounds like it will be a good weekend.

More crazy quilting, I think I have the bug now, some chic wool plaid and the results of an afternoon spent burning chiffon!

Events Coming Up & Don't Forget to enter the Giveaway!

Apologies for this blog post it is a bit of a mish mash of catch ups!  We have been having intermittent broadband connection over the last couple of days so need to get as much information out before it goes again!


I thought I would share with you some events that I have booked for this year.  I would also be interested if anyone else will be attending the same ones.

*Sunday 25th July Barton Village Hall, near Preston

*Saturday 21st & Sunday 22nd Lytham Craft Weekend, Lytham St. Annes

*Sunday 26th September Whitchurch Market Hall Shropshire

*Sunday 24th October Lydiate Parish Hall Merseyside

I have just booked my hotel for the weekend fair, and am a little nervous as it will be the first big weekend fair that I have done.  I am also looking for  some nice Christmas craft fairs in the North West area so if anyone knows of any can you pass the information along.

Also, don't forget to enter the Giveaway still a few days left until the draw on the 30th May.  You need to follow and leave a message on the Giveaway blog post about which bag you would like and then all the entries will go into 4 separate 'hats' and a winner chosen.  To double your chances you could join my Facebook Fan Page as well this will give you 2 entries, you will need to scroll down the page a bit to find the Giveaway.

Finally, I always like to see pictures of what people are working on when reading blogs so here is a picture of some brooches I have been working on.  My favourite so far is the brown and blue chiffon one, I am toying with the idea of adding some ribbon but don't know whether that would be too much, what do you think?...

First Craft Fair & Craft Gawker

So yesterday I was up bright and early, well early anyway.  Having packed the day before, (very organised) all that was left was to pack up the car and head off.  I was very nervous as I have done a couple of fairs previously with a friend at our local college where we both studied art and design. However, this was the first one all on my ownsome with all of my own work.  I had not met anyone from my little craftworld so was a little anxious as to whether they would like me and more importantly would they nick my dinner money, it was like the first day of school all over again, lol!  I needn't have worried though as everyone was lovely and I even had a cup of coffee made for me.  After help setting up from my assistants (hubby and little girl) I was left to it.  I had taken some sewing with me so that I could make some kanzashi flowers whilst I sat, being very shy this also gave me something to concentrate on. I thought I could get used to this sitting sewing and drinking coffee and chatting, not being mithered to death by the kids, bliss!

The day went well, considering it was the first fair organised by Beth at the Victoria Mill in Congleton.  There was a steady stream of people, but not too many to freak me out on my first venture otherwise I would have sat there like a rabbit in the headlights!  I sold a couple of items, had lots of lovely chats with people, when they saw me sewing they ventured over and were fascinated about how the kanzashi flower brooches were created.  This also gave me a way to break the ice as being a bit shy I always find it hard to initiate conversations, this also led onto me being able to explain about how I reclaim different fabrics and make them into the bags.  So I had lots of lovely feedback about my bags, met some great people and am looking forward to the next one as these are becoming a monthly event.

My stall, taken a little into the afternoon so missing a few items and not looking a sparkly as it did first thing.

This is Beth's stall who organised the fair, she makes fascinators and other lovely jewellery and can be found here

This is Laura Jane's stall and she makes the most amazing ceramic pieces and also wedding stationary

She can be contacted here if you would like to discuss her work.

So all in all a good day which left me exhausted, happy and looking forward to the next one!

Today I also discovered that Craft Gawker had accepted one of my submissions!  I was really pleased about this as any of you who know Craft Gawker will know how fussy they are and what high standards they have.  Considering my pictures sometimes take a little bit of criticism I was a happy bunny indeed so to find out more about Craft Gawker go over and have a look and also vote for my piece if you so wish.

Fresh linen handbag & addition to new collection

So fresh from my fabric shopping trip on Saturday I was itching to use my new fabric and this is what I created with the linen.  The photo does not do it justice it is lovely and you are able to fit everything but the kitchen sink into it.  Colours are perfect for spring summer and would make lovely beach bags.  However, if you are not a fan of creases then you need to steer clear as it is made from pure linen and although it has a fabulous texture to it, it also creases like mad.  It is also modelled by my gorgeous eldest daughter J.  The fabric brooch is made from chiffon and cream beads and can be used on another bag or even a nice summery dress.

Also, this week created vintage tartan handbag in the new collection stylee as promised.

This week I am also needing to get some insurance organised for upcoming fairs, how complicated is it?!  I think the thing that I found most amazing is that fair organisers want you to have £5,000,000 cover.  Now don't get me wrong if someone injures themself because I was too busy sorting myself out a coffee instead of making sure my killer cloths were organised then they have every right to be compensated.  However, what on earth could someone possibly do to themselves that would require £5 million compensation? The mind boggles.

So now need to get myself into gear and get tbags listed in my shops.  Let me know what you think about the new linen bag and the vintage tartan bag.

One A Day Challenge Pink & Brown Teeny Bag & Patricks Arrival!

Here is today's bag another version of the Teeny bag this time in Pink & Brown with a purple lining. It is listed here in my Folksy shop (or will be shortly!) along with some red rose fabric brooches which last a lot longer than the real thing, not that I can actually remember how long real roses last! lol

Ooh and just to let you know that Patrick arrived safely having swam all the way from Kent and he is now relaxing in pride of place in my work space, and remember it may be messy but I know where everything is! Well that is my argument anyway, hope you all having a lovely productive day!

One A Day Challenge 1930s Inspired Overarm Brown Bag with Red Rose

Here is todays bag a 1930s inspired overarm bag complete with red rose fabric brooch just to get us in the Valentines Day mood.  Not that I need to get in the mood as my lovely hubby had his romance gene removed at birth and there is always a lack of it in Handbag Headquarters!  Anyhoo, a bag that is both practical and pretty, although I have to say I am getting a tad 'browned' off using brown now, and may have to use some different colours in tomorrows bag.

So a family meeting was called and holiday issues were discussed.  We explained to the kids that the budget, was going to be well, lets face it miniscule and what would they like to do?  Turns out that the best holiday we had was back in 2006 when we did a HH tour.  That was a bit of a rough year for me personally as I was waiting to go into hospital to have a total knee replacement and anyone with experience of waiting for hospital dates will know what I mean!  That meant that because I was in a lot of pain I couldn't travel too far and also we couldn't book anything because of waitng for a date. Anyhoo, we decided to have a week visiting a few places.  We started in Glasgow (my favourite place ever) where we went to House For An Art Lover and discovered an amazing art park next to it, this had the affect of quieting down any moaning from the kids in that at last they were able to climb on the art!

After this we travelled down to Holy Island, which if you have never been is absolutely beautiful!

This was the view from the side of the road that runs across to Holy Island at low tide, your timings have to be correct otherwise you would be stuck on the island.  However, I could think of worse places to be stranded!

On the way down we stopped off at Hadrian's Wall which was lovely, however, hobbling permitted I only got to see a small portion off it.

So considering we booked Travel Lodges in all the places we visited, the kids loved it as we made up our itinerary everyday and had adventures and laughs that we still remember now.  So back to the discussions we have decided that winning the lottery aside this is what we will be doing again this year a HH Tour 2010 this time the South of England here we come!  oooh any suggestions of where to visit would be welcome!

Day 18 1920's Style Clutch with 2 Fabric Brooches

I am rather pleased with today's bag which is based on the design for a 1920's style clutch.  It is another tiny creation (I am going for small and delicate this week!).  When photographing it I could not decide which brooch looked nicer so I thought I would include them both with the bag, therefore making it that you have one bag with two looks!  I have listed it in my folksy shop.

Making this bag made me nostalgic for art college.  Whilst studying art and design the favourite period for inspiring my work was the art nouveau movement.  Everyone knew that as soon as projects were given out for presentations they were going to hear something else about the art nouveau movement whether it was glass, ceramics or textiles!  However, my absolute favourite artist from this period is Margaret MacDonald (who was much underrated wife of Rennie).  During one of my research trips I was lucky enough to visit Glasgow (not that I need an excuse as that is my favourite city!) and went to see the MacIntosh house which is housed in the Hunterian Art Gallery.  Here I was able to get up close to my favourite piece of Margarets 'The White Rose & The Red Rose' 1902,  which is in the drawing room.  However, the guide was taking a particular interest in me being so enthusiastic she need not have worried, I had no screwdriver and my bag wasn't big enough!

By the way this picture does not do the original justice, there are handmade glass beads on it which sparkle in the light and it is huge!

Day 16 Pink & Purple Kanzashi Flower Brooch

I don't know what is wrong this week I seem to be literally grinding to a halt!  Also, apologies in advance this keyboard is driving me mad as it is missing out random letters so my posts may end up looking like they have been written by a demented monkey! 

My initial enthusiasm seems to be waning, I think I am finding it hard to keep up that much constant work and seeing no reward for it.  Even if I do say so myself my self promotion on the web is unbelievable to the point I imagine most of the fellow crafters out there think 'oh lord not her again!'  (Proves it is working!;-), I am page 1 on Google under the term original handmade handbags, which considering I don't pay for listings is pretty good.  Yet, still nothing!  Anyway, sorry moan over.

Tomorrow is my birthday and I am wondering whether hubby has granted my request.  When he asked what I wanted, I replied that I would love one of the tins of buttons they have down at my local charity shop that I am frequently found raiding.  Yes, I know some women ask for jewellery and perfume and I ask for a large quality street tin full of old buttons, the heart cannot help what it wants.  Anyhoo, from the look on his face when faced with this request it will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings.....

As I say my creativity is waning this week a little so I have had to fall back on my old favourites for m one a day challenge piece.  So here is a pink & purple kanzashi flower, I love to make these sat in front of the tv at night and they instantly brighten up an old bag or jacket.

ooh p.s.  Also, thank you to the lovely Abi over at Birdcage Creative for awarding me a lovely sunshine award, you cheered up an otherwise dull day!

Day 14 Roses, and yet more roses...

I can't believe it is 2 weeks since I started this challenge, it has flown!  My much waited for reunion is tomorrow and I am very excited, I think mainly because I don't seem to leave the house much these days, so a night out will be much appreciated.  Also, it will be lovely to meet members of my family I have never met before, like I said the other day my family is huge!  My dad was one of 9 and his mum died when he was 15 so I never got to meet my nana Nugent and by all accounts she was an incredible woman, lets face it you would have to be to try and control 5 lads! So it will be nice to finally meet members from that side of the family.  Also, we are having a disco and karaoke so by about 10.30 tomorrow night I will probably be murdering some motown classic and driving up the bar profits!

So today's offering is a bit of a cheat really as it is a variation on a post I did last week about the rolled fabric rose.  Todays is in cream to go on the navy blazer I bought for tomorrow night.  I made three last night as they looked nice together, however, I think 3 on my blazer is a tad over the top so I may just stick to one.  This led onto an idea of covering the front of a bag with lots of them so it may be a chick flick on the tv and an afternoon of rolled rose making for me! 

Wishing you all a lovely weekend!

Day 8 Rolled Fabric Rose

Just a quick one today a simple rolled fabric rose brooch with green felt leaves.  These fabric brooches are really easy to make and look so effective.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Day 7 Another Bag and a Rather Funky Brooch!

Ok here is day 7's offering another cute evening bag and a rather funky brooch even if I do say so myself!  The brooch is made out of some felt and a cascade of buttons, I told you I had gazillions!  Not much more to say other than it is heading straight into my folksy shop I think.  There is not much happening on the folksy shop front, however, it has only been 3 days and patience never was one of my virtues ;-)  Anyhoo I have just been to Dunelm Mill and have managed to bag some very nice material in the remnants basket so will see what goodies I can make from that.

Thank you for all the kind comments regarding the blog award yesterday, it was a pleasure to share the love!  Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Handmade Christmas!

This year whilst trying to get my own little business off the ground money has been tight to say the least.  Needless to say that when it came time to ask the girls how many presents they needed for friends this year after a large gulp I needed to get my thinking cap on.  Normally I would just trundle off down to either superdrug or boots and buy something, however, budget constraints were not allowing that this year.  So here is what I came up with for littlest child a cupcake brooch with small tissue parcel of sweets and a handmade gift box.  For teen a felt twilight brooch and a feather hair clip, now this is where the plan went a tad pear shaped as I had spent so long planning and making I ran out of steam admitted defeat and bought the gift bags for her.  So all in all not 100% handmade but a sight cheaper than a trip to the town centre would have been and there is no wonder Santa needs all year off I am exhausted now!

December Giveaway!

And the winner is Magpie Nest! I will contact you shortly and your fabric brooch will be winging its way to you courtesy of my local post office.  As I have always dreaded January, it being dull, wet and miserable 'an all I have decided to do a special giveaway so stay tuned!

Christmas Cushions

Thought I would share with you the Christmas cushions I made from some scraps of material found in the charity shop.  I am quite pleased with them as they are my first attempt at cushions & patchwork let me know what you think!

Also, still time to join in the December Giveaway leave your comment below that post for your chance to win one of my handmade fabric brooches (UK only I am afraid, sorry!  For a double chance of winning join my facebook group Not Just Handbags, good luck!

December Giveaway!

I have just been doing some stock taking and realised that I have far too many fabric brooches!  (Between you and me I think I may have a bit of a problem!)  Therefore, I think the time has come to do my first blog giveaway.  On Monday 4th December I will put all my blog followers (who leave a comment below) names into a hat and draw one out at random and that person will be able to choose (from a vast selection, lol!) a fabric brooch, it will then wing its way off to you.   To have a look at the full range see either Not Just Handbags or my Facebook Group page Not Just Handbags and to give yourself double chance add yourself as a member on their as well!  Good luck!

This week I have been concentrating on getting my website http://www.notjusthandbags.co.uk/ spick and span, whilst trying to organise it into a more professional layout.  However, my copy of dreamweaver is not working and I am having to resort to a combination of windows publisher and html coding which whilst it gives you a buzz to know that you are doing it all 'by hand' so to speak leaves you at times banging your head on the keyboard! 

I am going to add an accessories section to my site and capitalise on the success of my fabric brooches at the recent fair.  So fingers crossed.


Also, this week I have discovered something called crazy quilting.  Having partially assembled some Christmas fabric into patchwork cushions (photos in later blogs) I was mooching on the internet and discovered this practice, amazing!  At last something that a) uses up all those bits of fabric you keep because they will be useful one day! b) I don't have to think about the layout and c) allows my creativity to flow as it is made up as you go along.  Some of the pieces I have been working on already scream to be bag fronts so will keep you posted!

I have noticed that I know have 22 lovely people following my witterings so hellooo to you all, I also have 39 on my facebook page,  ooh I can feel a give away coming on??..............

Craft Fair was it worth the wait..................

Ok so it was my big day on Saturday I have been building up to this day for a few months now.  I had been beavering away building websites, cutting and sticking, and sewing like a lunatic.  The big day dawned and I was very nervous as I had not yet had a sale and was feeling a little, shall we say pessimistic about the whole business experience thus far!  Anyhoo we tootled off having previously been given dimensions of the stall we would have we had a trial run as suggested and had a layout in mind.  I had also worked hard and created a large sign advertising my little site that I was quite proud of.  We arrived and unpacked only to find that the stall was about half the size we were expecting and I was also sharing it with a friend. EEEkkk was not expecting that!  So we had to suck it up and quickly re-design how we were going to display our wares and to be honest despite the initial panic we rose to the challenge.  So an hour later the stall was set and we had quick refreshment break before the hoards descended.............. we waited, .......... and we waited.  Alas, they did not come and after about an hour and a half I decided that we needed to make the best of a bad situation and handed out as many leaflets as I could, I even handed them out to the other stall holders!  However, by the end of the day I had sold 5 fabric brooches and three of those were to other stall holders, so I at least made my money back for the price of the stall and may also have a few leads from the leaflets.  So my big day did not go to plan, ho hum so it is back to the drawing board.

To re-assess the situation yesterday I decided to post a thread on a craft forum that I use, that possibly was not my wisest move given the delicate state I was in after Saturdays disappointment.  I was aware that the website needed some rejigging as it was my first project of my web design course and like your first craft project when you look back on it even though you were proud at the time you cringe a little!  However, I was not prepared for shall we say the honesty of some, talk about not sugar coating it!  Whilst honesty is the best policy there is also room for a little tact and diplomacy so the next time you are replying on one of these web forums please be aware that the person asking for advice maybe in need of some truth and also a spoonful of sugar to make it go down!  I forgot my camera and had to take a pic with my phone (reason for it being a little blurry)..

So the plan for this week is to re-jig the website completely still keeping the pictures but displaying my wares in a more business minded way, heres hoping for that first elusive sale..............