New in the shop

Sorry for the lack of new designs recently, I haven't had much chance to play. I've had some new notebook ideas floating around my head for some time and I will find chance to experiment soon. But I have managed to add a few new cards to the shop this month, including two personalised ones. Click on any of the pictures to head over to my shop for more details.

 

I'm linking up with Handmade Monday, so do pop over there and see what other crafty people have been up to recently.

National Stationery Week

This week is National Stationery Week. A whole week dedicated to pens and pencils, cards, notebooks and letter writing sets. In my mind, you can never have too much stationery!

So, to celebrate National Stationery Week, I thought I would share with you some of my favourites.

Stay in touch correspondence kit from Bread and Jam

Peacock notebook from Paperchase

Owl chunky eco notebook from Inkyprints Originals

Black ebony hand turned pen from Diggi Woodturning

Snail mail post-it notes from Cupcakes for Clara

Bicycle notebook from Kate Broughton

Shoe leather notebooks from Kate Bowles Books

New Japan A6 notebook from John Lewis

Geek engraved pencil set from Ginger Pickle

And there are a few other stationery loving bloggers who are joining in with National Stationery Week too. These are some of my favourite blog posts:

New writing sets from Miss Magpie Designs 

Claireabellemakes favourite stationery finds

Notes, lists and doodles by Cardboardcities

Top 8 stationery shops chosen by Patchwork Harmony

Lil Vintage Makes explains why email is dead

Top 10 stationery gifts chosen by Card and Gift Blog

I like... #3

You probably all know by now that Google Reader will be closing down. After some minor panicking that I will lose all the blogs I follow and resisting the urge to write them all down in a notebook (if in doubt reject technology and return to pen and paper) I have discovered a Google Reader alternative: Blog Lovin.

It turns out that Google Reader isn't the only way to follow your favourite blogs! It was super simple to get set up on Blog Lovin and it automatically imported all the blogs I follow. I'm loving Blog Lovin!

Why not sign up if you haven't already, and you can use my new follow me button on the left hand side to quickly add this blog to your list of ones you want to read.

Folksy Five #17

Thank you very much to these super five Folksy shops for taking part. So much talent! Click on the shop banners to head over to Folksy and browse more of their handmade goodies.

And I asked them to pick one item from the say it shop that they like.

1. Victoria beaded bracelet chosen by The Wool Fairy

2. Tinos mini map jotter chosen by Wee Peoples

3. Skiddaw fun button magnets chosen by Pochette Gavotte

4. Damascus personalised journal chosen by Handbags for Helen

5. Barcelona I love you card chosen by MinXtures

I like... #2

This week I'm loving my new Pricing in Proportion letter size guide. Since Royal Mail started charging based on size and weight it has become increasingly difficult to know how much a parcel would cost to post. It's significantly cheaper if your parcel is less than 2.5cm thick; so I have spent many hours creatively packaging things to try and make them thinner.

A great gap year gift

It's that time of year when young people head off on gap year adventures. They've been working hard for the past nine months saving up enough money, and now they're going travelling across the world. Want to give them a little something to say goodbye? This travel journal is a great gap year gift.

Craft DIY: How to print on scraps of card

I often use my printer when I'm crafting. I'm useless at drawing or writing artistically, so I tend to print rather than do it by hand. But it seems a waste to use a new piece of A4 card every time you want one little sentiment or number, and you can't feed little bits of card through the printer even if you trim them neatly (it eats them, I've tried!).

I have a huge pile of scraps that I am determined to use up somehow, so I've been investigating how I could print on them. I was a bit nervous the first time I tried this, as my printer loves chewing things up, but it worked perfectly.

Folksy Friday: Cushions

We need some new cushions for our lounge. We have an eclectic mix of cushions decorating our sofas that I have collected over the years. Some of which are very nice, but others are getting a little tatty and could do with being replaced. So I'm on the hunt for fun and interesting cushions to brighten up our chocolate coloured sofas.

Here are my favourites on Folksy:

Flower cushion by MinXtures Clothing and Accessories

All you need is love cushion by Vintage Designs Reborn

Screen printed tree cushion by Lola Lou Designs

Turquoise and mustard atom cushion by CecilyMae Handmade

Embroidered bird and butterflies cushion by Swancott Designs

Robot love cushion by Miss Shelly Designs

Patchwork circles cushion by Ritzy Swish

Gold owlet cushion by Lettie Belle

I like...

I'm starting a new blog series called "I like..." and it's about, well, things I like! Each week I want to share with you something that I've particularly been enjoying that week. It might be a website or blog, a craft tool, something I've bought or a new product that's caught my eye. This week, it's a new magazine.

I heard about Crafty Magazine through twitter. I saw a few pics and was intrigued enough to look for it in the supermarket. I'm not a massive magazine fan, I tend to prefer to read things online. But after a quick flick through Crafty I had to buy a copy. Just look at it. It doesn't even look like the other craft magazines.

Cards I've made recently

I love crafting for myself. I don't need to worry about angel policies, or copyright, or making sure it is my own design. I like just having a play around and being creative. It's great to be free from the constraints of business crafting, like timing how long things take to make and thinking about how much the materials are costing.

I thought I'd show you a couple of cards I've made recently for friends and family.

A card for my goddaughter's 1st birthday

Folksy Five #16

I'm back after a lovely break over Easter seeing family. I have a good supply of Easter eggs that will keep me going for a while! And the sun is finally shining which makes everything look more positive somehow.

Are you in the mood for shopping? These five Folksy shops sell the most wonderful goodies, so get your pennies out and buy yourself some handmade.