Five of my favourite blogs to read

From time to time I like to have a mini-series on the blog to share a little more about me. It's all very well talking about craft and handmade and the say it shop, but it's not particularly personal. Now, you're not about to start getting posts about my recent holiday or what I ate for dinner last night. What I get up to really isn't that interesting. But I do like to share a few of the things that make me tick. Last year I wrote a series of blog posts called I like where I shared some of the things I, er, like! And since it's been a while I thought it was time to do a few more personal (ish!) blog posts.

Welcome to 'Five of my favourite...'. Every so often (I'd like to say once a month, but I hate to make promises I don't keep!) I'll take a topic and share with you my top five. First up, here are five of my favourite blogs to read.

1. Amy Wanford of Crafting Confessions is a card-maker who comes up with some fab designs. I love her fresh ideas and her clean and simple style.

2. Claireabellemakes is a blog full of craft, handmade, stationery and all things Cambridge (a city that I love but sadly don't live in any more).

3. A wonderful blog full of inspiration is Pretty Paper Things. Kristie Bradfield finds the most amazing paper creations to share.

4. A fairly recent find Paperphilia is full of all things paper, written by book artist Rachel Hazell

5. My favourite blog for business advice is Create and thrive. It's run by a group of creative business owners, so they know what they're talking about!

Let me know your favourite blog to read in the comments and I'll take a look - I love finding new blogs to add to my reader.

Handmade favourites - travel accessories

The sun is shining and it's the time of year when people start to head off on holidays, so for this month's handmade favourites collection I've chosen my top handmade travel accessories. Everything is handmade right here in the UK.

Retro personalised laundry bag by Seahorse

Leather passport holder by Lost Kind

Fox wash bag by Katherine Thompson Handmade

Personalised luggage tag by Namees

Travel card holder by An Exhaltation of Larks

Green spot travel pouch by Kitsch Devine

Standeazy portable phone stand by Phonestand

Waxed cotton washbag by Weldon

A day in my shoes

In the Saturday Telegraph Magazine (that I only read when I go and visit my parents) there's always an interview with someone which asks about their daily routine. It fascinates me to learn about how others plan their days and use their time. So, just in case anyone else is as nosy as I am, I thought I'd share what my typical working day looks like. I am so grateful that running my shop is my job, and that I don't have to do it full time (I usually work three days a week). Sometimes I don't stop and appreciate that enough.

Wedding card back in stock

My most popular wedding card from last summer is now back in stock. Personalised with the couple's names and date of the wedding it makes an extra special card the happy couple will treasure forever.

One of the things I find most difficult about running a shop selling my own handmade products is sourcing supplies. I spent a lot of time at the beginning finding the best places to buy all the different materials I used. When I design a card or notebook I try and ensure that I have a good supply for everything needed to make it, so that I'm not too limited in the number I can make. Keeping an eye on the stock of supplies and reordering in plenty of time is a little challenging at times, but not too difficult.

What really annoys me however is when I can no longer get hold of the materials I need. I've been happily buying x material from y store, reordering as needed, then suddenly with no warning you go to reorder and you can't get it any more.

This poor wedding card suffered a triple blow as I could no longer get the same ribbon, background paper or cotton for the name and date tags. It's been out of stock for quite a while as I've had to slightly redesign it using new supplies. It's looking fabulous again though and is back in the shop if you'd like to buy one.

Reworked design now back in the shop

Original design