Happy 2nd birthday say it

Two years ago this week I nervously listed my first few items for sale on Folksy. I was out of work and not getting anywhere with job applications. I decided that making and selling a few cards would help keep me busy and hopefully bring in a few extra pennies that we desperately needed.

It's been an amazing two years and I must say a massive thank you to each and every one of you who has helped make say it a success. Thank you to my lovely customers, blog followers, the amazing people I've met on Twitter, everyone who has liked my Facebook page or shared a pin on Pinterest. I'm proud to say that I now have the most wonderful job in the world - and it didn't involve rewriting my CV or going for interview!

I've sold nearly 400 cards and 120 notebooks, along with plenty of other stationery items. For one girl sat in her spare room with a craft knife, steel ruler and roll of double sided tape I don't think that's bad! This August was the best month ever for sales, and I'm looking forward to the madness of Christmas as my little handmade stationery business continues to grow.

So happy birthday say it. Party hat and a piece of cake anyone?

What do you use your notebooks for?

Love buying pretty notebooks but not sure what to do with them all? Here are some ideas for how to fill the pages inside your notebooks. In fact, there are almost certainly more ideas than you have spare notebooks, so that means you can justify buying another one, right?!

What do you use your notebooks for? I'm sure there must be more things than the 8 ideas I've come up with, so leave a comment to say what you fill your notebooks with.

New in the shop

I've been exploring bright colours and combining different textures to create cards and notebooks that you want to pick up and touch. The new range is now in the shop - check it out.

There are new personalised notebooks.


Notebooks made from a vintage dictionary - a great gift for anyone who likes words. And if you have a favourite word you'd like on the front let me know!

There are new baby cards with the cutest teddy bear buttons.


A rustic personalised wedding card.

And lots of birthday cards.


Pop over to my website to see the full range. I hope you like them :-)


And if you'd like to see what other crafty folk have been making recently then head over to Handmade Monday for a browse.

Made from maps

I love maps and am always amazed by the wonderful things they can be turned into. I find old maps fascinating and the best place for them is definitely on display. So I've been browsing for my favourite handmade products made using vintage maps. If you'd like to find out more about (or even buy!) any of the products the links are below.

Vintage atlas rose by The Bird and The Button

Vintage world map memo board by Say it

Handmade vintage map lampshade by Rosie's Vintage Lampshades

Antique map necklace by Beneath Glass

Personalised map cufflinks by Bookity

Map confetti cones by Pretty Lane Boutique

Personalised 3D map letter by The Letter Room

Set of 20 world map stickers by Swirlyarts

10 ways to jazz up a boring notebook

Super simple ways to jazz up a plain boring notebook. Nobody wants to start the new term with boring stationery. So why not take half an hour to turn your basic jotter into something fabulous. These are my top 10 DIYs for decorating notebooks. Or, if you're really not that creative, why not check out the selection of notebooks I've already made for you!

And the winner is...

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my giveaway. There were over 350 entrants and I just couldn't believe it. So hello and welcome to everyone who found my little shop for the first time and a massive thank you for taking the time to enter.

There could only be one winner, so all names were put in a (virtual) hat and one chosen at random. And the winner is...

Hayley Todd

Congratulations Hayley. Your bundle of stationery goodies is on its way to you.

If you entered but didn't win - check your emails next week for a little runners up prize.

And if you're totally devastated that you didn't win the music notebook or packet of button magnets, you can get your hands on them here (for only a few pennies...).

A little look at the new collection

August has been much busier than I expected. Last year I hardly sold anything in August; this year it has been my best month so far. It's even beaten last Christmas! So thank you thank you thank you to all my wonderful customers who have bought quite a mountain of wedding cards and travel journals between them.

I have just about had time in between orders to design some new products for the shop. I retired quite a few designs this summer (there are still the last few available in my sale if you want to grab yourself a bargain) so apologies if the shop has looked a little empty for the last couple of weeks. But the new collection is almost ready and I'll be adding the new items next week hopefully.

Here's a few teaser images of what I've been working on. Make sure you pop back next week to see the whole collection.

If you like looking at crafty things that people have made, why not pop over to Handmade Monday where a whole range of bloggers link up to show off what they've been making this week.