One week left to buy made to order items

Got your eye on a personalised travel journal or some vintage map stickers? You had better get your order in quick...

There is just one week left to buy made to order items from the say it shops on Folksy and Etsy. This will be your last chance to place an order with me before I go off on maternity leave. So make sure you have purchased everything you would like by midnight on Sunday 22 November.

And there's still plenty of bargains to be had in my massive clearance sale too. Why not stock up on some super cheap handmade birthday cards or map notebooks that would make great stocking fillers. Shop the sale now.

Last order dates and a massive sale!

Firstly, I have exciting news to share with you - I'm going to become a mummy! Unfortunately though, my new little helper is going to take some time to train up, so the say it shop will be closing at the end of November. I'm starting maternity leave a little early as I have to tidy up and pack away everything in my work room. This is no small task (I currently can't see the floor...!) but apparently babies need somewhere to sleep!

The good news for you is that all the stock I have left needs to go, which means it's sale time. Head over to my Folksy shop and grab yourself an absolute bargain. 

Birthday cards less than half price

65% off - great stocking fillers

Notebooks just £5

The sale will stay open until 30 November (if there's anything left by then!) but personalised and made to order items will only be available until 22 November. So if you have your eye on a personalised doodle book for you niece or a map journal for your brother make sure you don't miss the last order date of 22 November.

I'm back... but not for long

Well that ended up being a much longer break than I anticipated... Sometimes life is more important than work. Sadly when it's just me running the shop that means it has to close when I'm not around, so I'm sorry if you were looking to buy something and couldn't.

The good news is that the shop is open again. However, it's not going to stay open for very long, so if you want a personalised birthday card or some of the new map stickers it's best to buy them right away.

I'll be back soon with more news about the future of say it and last order dates for the year (likely to be mid November). In the meantime, I'm afraid you won't find many blog posts from me. As I have less work time available I've decided to concentrate on making up orders, so you'll find that my blog, facebook page and twitter are rather quiet. I'm a little sad that means no Christmas gift guides this year as I love putting those together but sometimes it's important to prioritise.

New in the shop - map stickers

I love making things from vintage maps, like these notebooks and these birthday cards. I save every little bit of map that is left over and now have quite a pile. The maps just seem too valuable to throw away, so I have been trying to design products that use them up rather than wasting them. I little while back I added these map notecards, but I have plenty of scraps of map so decided to think about other things I could use them for.

Introducing the new vintage map stickers! I am so pleased with these and what a wonderful way to show off the little bits of map.

Each sticker is completely unique, made from real maps over 50 years old. These aren't your bog standard printed stickers, these are little pieces of history!

There are two sheets of stickers in each pack, with 40 stickers in total. You could use them to decorate your journal, or as envelope seals, or on wedding favour packaging. And they would make a lovely gift for anyone who likes maps or travelling.

Available now on Folksy and Etsy. Really hope you like them as much as I do!

Shops closed in July

If you've got your eye on something in my Folksy or Etsy shop you'll need to place your order by the end of the week. I'm closing my shops on Friday for 3 weeks whilst I take my summer break and give my fingers a rest.

An extra special wedding gift

I've been working on this month's new product for quite a long time and I'm so excited to finally add it to my shop. If you've got any weddings coming up this summer and you're looking for an extra special wedding gift you will love it!

This new wedding journal is personalised with the names of the bride and groom and the date of the wedding making it a unique gift. It is entirely handmade - I cut the pages to size, stitch them together and make the covers.

Use it as a journal to record all the special memories from the big day, or a wedding album, or a scrapbook, or a honeymoon journal or a wedding guest book. Fill it up with whatever makes you happy. Or, at 120 pages, there is plenty of space for everything! You could start it off as a guestbook, add some photos, then take it away on honeymoon to record your adventures. One big book bursting with memories.

You can buy the new personalised wedding journal on Folksy or Etsy. Just allow up to 2 weeks for me to create yours.

New in the shop: Handmade notecards

Every month I like to make sure I add something new to my shop. This month, there's two new packets of notecards.

I've been designing some new cards for my greetings card subscription. Once a month I send out packages of three cards, with some designs taken from the shop, some new designs that aren't yet available elsewhere and some cards designed exclusively for subscribers. These two notecards were made for subscriptions, but I liked them so much that I thought I'd offer them in my shop too.

First there is a pretty set of cards made with washi tape and die cut butterflies. They would be perfect as thank you cards, or for sending a little note to say hi.

And these map notecards are made from real vintage maps. I have so many little pieces of map left over from making journals (like this one) and I've been saving them all because they are just too nice to waste any. So this is the perfect use for all my little scraps! These notecards feature 9 circles cut from a wide range of different maps and atlases all over 50 years old, so each card is unique.

Both sets of notecards come as a pack of four, presented in a kraft brown folder. They'd make a lovely gift for anyone who likes stationery. Pop over to my shop now for more details.

New range of papercut cards

New range of colourful papercut cards in the say it shop

There's a new range of cards just added to the say it shop. Perfect whether you want to say thank you or happy birthday, or welcome a new baby to the world. Don't like my colour choices? Mix and match your favourites instead - just drop me a message when ordering and I'll make the card up in custom colours of your choice. And add a name to make the cards an extra special gift.

Now available from just £3 in the say it shop. 

New notebook packaging

Packaging can really make a good product. I like to keep mine pretty simple, but I know that it is really important to get right. I had been thinking about how to improve my notebook packaging for a while, then I won a giveaway by Claireabelle Makes and bagged myself 100 business cards from Myprint247. I already had plenty of business cards so I decided to be more creative and use my prize to update the packaging for my handmade notebooks.

I wanted to use a long thin label, so designed my business cards to be cut in two across the middle. So each business cards makes two notebook labels. I kept the text very generic, so that they are suitable for all the different notebooks I make.

After cutting each business card in two I punched a hole on each end so that they could be tied round a notebook. I decided to use a bright orange ribbon to match my branding.

What do you think? I love it, and it's just that little bit different and more creative than a simple paper band that I had before.

Want a notebook? Shop here.

Personalised honeymoon journal wedding gift

If you're looking for an extra special wedding gift you'll love the new journal I've just added to the shop. It would make such a personal present.

This journal is personalised with the bride and groom's names and the date of the wedding. And you can choose the location on the map heart, whether that's where they met, where they are getting married or their honeymoon destination. Each journal is made to order and is a really unique wedding present.

The pages are made from a beautifully thick 100% recycled paper that is made in the UK. They are stitched together and trimmed to size by hand for a truly handmade journal.

  

Special memories from the honeymoon could be jotted down in this journal, along with photos and mementos such as plane tickets or restaurant receipts. Or it could be used as a wedding guest book or album. Pop over to my Folksy shop if you'd like to buy one.

Personalised copper wedding card

Two of my favourite trends at the moment are script fonts and copper. So I've combined them both in my latest design! This gorgeous personalised wedding card is now available from the say it shop.

I've been playing around with this idea for a while but simply printing the words was too plain and I wanted to give it a touch of luxury. Then I found some shiny metallic vinyl and put my silhouette portrait to work cutting it out and I love the result.

This card is for my cousin who's getting married this summer. I love being able to send personalised cards that are so much more special than ones you can buy on the high street. If you know a happy couple who'll be tying the knot soon why not take a look at my range of personalised wedding cards. 

New cards in the shop

Since I got back to work after Christmas I have been busy designing a new range of cards. They're all made from a lovely thick kraft brown card and a gorgeous script font.

I got my silhouette portrait electronic cutting machine out and the more I use it the more I love it! For some of the cards I cut the words directly out of the card so that the colourful insert inside peeks through. 

Other cards were made from stencils I created and a chalk white ink which I think goes really well against the kraft brown card.

All the cards are available to buy from my Folksy shop. I quite like this style so I might add a few more designs to the range.

PS. There are still a few items left in the sale if there's anything you'd like. 

January Sale

I'm freshening up the shop ready for some lovely new designs and thought you might like to get your hands on some cards and notebooks at bargain prices. All the designs that I'm discontinuing are now half price or less and I only have very limited stock available. Once they're gone I'll not be making any more of them.

So pop over to my website now and grab yourself some cards and notebooks at silly prices!

Notebooks for everyone this Christmas

Notebooks make great Christmas gifts. They can be used for so many different things that there can't possibly be many people who wouldn't appreciate receiving one. And as all stationery lovers know, you can never have too many notebooks!

So I thought I'd show you my range of handmade notebooks, including a couple of new ones that have only just been added to the shop. Who will you buy a notebook for this Christmas?

Recipe book with pockets    Personalised travel journal    Vintage sheet music notebook

Family tree research notebook     Personalised notebook         Personalised list jotter

Personalised travel journal    Square personalised notebook      Vintage map journal

See my full range of handmade notebooks in the say it shop. And if you can't spot one that's quite right why not get in touch and order a custom notebook designed just for you.

Last order dates for Christmas

When buying handmade it really helps to be organised and get your Christmas orders in early, especially if you're getting personalised items that need to be made to order. If you're considering buying some handmade cards or notebooks from my shop and want the items delivered in time for Christmas please take note of the last order dates below. I shall be taking a proper (and well-earned!) Christmas break from 17th December - 5th January during which time the say it shop will be shut.

New in the shop: greetings card subscription boxes

Do you love sending snail mail? Are you addicted to stationery? Would you like to have a regular stash of birthday cards? My new greetings card subscriptions give you a bundle of stationery every month, so you'll never run out of cards.

I like to be organised and have a box of blank cards and a box of birthday cards ready to choose from at all times. You never know when you might want to write someone a little note and I'm trying to send more happy post this year. But sometimes making sure the boxes of cards get topped up can be a little tricky! Wouldn't it be great if that just sort of happened automatically...

So I've created my new greetings card subscription package for people like me who love to have cards on hand at all times. You can choose to sign up for three months to try it out or subscribe for a full year of happy post. Each month you will receive three beautiful handmade cards and you can choose whether you'd like birthday cards, blank cards or a mixture of occasions to create the perfect bundle for you.

Interested? Pop over to my Etsy shop to find out more and sign up to get your greetings card subscription box.

Handmade birthday cards

This month I've been making some new birthday card designs. It's hard sometimes to find time to sit down and work on new designs when I have lots of orders that need posting asap. But it really is my favourite part of my job. I have so many ideas in my head and I love trying them out and making something new.

I got a fantastic new silver ink pen from stamping up that gives the most wonderful shiny finish. You're meant to be able to stamp with it, but it didn't give a strong enough print so I tried stenciling and I think it looks fab on this new card.

Cards with ages on seem popular so I've added another one to the shop. This is made using my silhouette portrait electronic cutting machine. I think the purple pearlised card is my absolute favourite at the moment!

And a new range of birthday cards made from maps and a vintage dictionary print. I'm planning on adding a few more different shapes too, so check the shop soon for more designs.

All these handmade birthday cards are available to order from the say it Folksy shop. 

Say it turns three!

I cannot believe another year has whizzed by for my little stationery shop. Three years ago I made some greetings cards and popped them on Folksy to see if I could make a few extra pennies. 180 designs later and here I am sending personalised handmade notebooks round the world! Thank you so much to all my wonderful customers for allowing me to have the best job I could possibly imagine.

Happy birthday say it! To celebrate, all orders this week will receive a little extra gift from me. If you'd like to join in the celebrations simply place your order before midnight on Sunday 5 October. You can shop from any of the say it online stores - on Folksy, Etsy or Giggling Hedgehogs.

Family tree notebook

Researching your family history is becoming quite popular and finding out about your ancestors can be fascinating. If you're beginning to research your family tree you might like one of my new notebooks. The perfect place to gather together all your family research and make notes on your ancient relatives.

The family tree notebook has a personalised cover with one or two names and a matching silhouette, either male or female. So you could have 'Stephen's family tree' or 'Jane and Ben's family tree' or 'The Clark's family tree', making it a really special and personal notebook.

If you've ever tried writing out your family tree and kept wishing you could have a bigger piece of paper you'll appreciate the giant fold out page in the centre of the notebook. Unfolding like a map, the centre page opens out to an enormous 8 times the size of the notebook. So there is plenty of space for all your great great great aunts and second cousins twice removed!

If you would like a family tree notebook pop over to my Folksy shop where they are available for £14 plus p+p. It would make a unique gift for all budding genealogists.