Little Silverleaf

2011-05-21T11:22:00.000+01:00

Well it's been a while since I last posted but that's only because there's been lots going on! For now I'll just leave a quick update to say that this years handmade Bo'ness Fair Day cards are now on sale from Inkspot & Silverleaf Booksellers in Bo'ness. Most designs are already out on display and available to purchase, and the last few designs are due to arrive there on Monday. Happy shopping!

Christmas Presents!

2010-12-11T13:25:00.000Z

I can't believe how quickly Christmas has come around this year! It's been a busy few months with holidays and then the Magpie Market in November (both of which went swimmingly). Then it was time to get plenty of stock ready for Christmas (I'll certainly be glad of a mince pie and some mulled wine by the end of it all!)

Anyway, this is just a brief blog post to remind everyone that should you wish to purchase any fab Little Silverleaf goodies for a loved one this Christmas, you can buy either online (via the fancy buttons on the right hand side of this page), or by going to one of the brilliant stockists - Inkspot & Silverleaf Booksellers in Bo'ness, Made in the Shade Maisonette in Glasgow, and new for this Christmas, the Jolly Good Pop Up Christmas Shop in Auchmithie. All of which are well worth a visit!

Happy shopping!

Magpie Market 2010...

2010-11-12T12:42:00.000Z

Last year I took part in the first Magpie Winter Market at the Lot in Edinburgh. I had a great time and as my first craft market it was a brilliant learning experience.

This Sunday I'll be back at Magpie's Market again, trying hard to remember everything I learned last year and hoping to sell some of the stuff I've been hard at work making!

The market takes place at The Lot in the Grassmarket again this year, and will be held from 12 noon til 5pm. There will be a whole host of amazing designers and makers there selling their wares... so it's the ideal place to do a little Christmas shopping!

Hope to see you there!

P.S. I'll re-open my online shops after the fair on Sunday... there might even be a few new items in store then too!

Vacation!

2010-10-23T13:23:00.001+01:00

Just a quick blog post to let you know that I'll be closing my online shops for a few weeks as of Monday (25th October) as I'm off on my jolly holidays this week... hurrah!

Obviously I won't be able to make and mail out any orders out whilst I'm away so if there's anything you want before I go then be quick! I'll re-open the shops as soon as I get back (and get over the jetlag!), and at that point I'll hopefully be able to list a few new items I've been working on these last few weeks too (just in time for Christmas!).

So make sure you don't miss out, and grab what you need from my online shops before I go!

Belated Folksy Friday

2010-08-23T11:21:00.000+01:00

Hooray! My map recycled writing kits are certainly proving popular these days! This week (well, last week really... I'm horrendously late at posting) they were featured in both Helen Hallow's blog and Nerys of Crafty Jemima's guest post over on the Folksy Blog! Both collections are on the theme of penpals and letter writing, and my writing kits are in great company! Go on, take a look! Thanks to Helen and Nerys for chosing them!

Fancy picking them up for yourself? Head on over to my Folksy or Etsy stores to grab a kit and get writing!

Features & Updates...

2010-08-13T12:22:00.000+01:00

I love Fridays - even when I don't get the chance to compile my own 'Friday Finds' blog post I love checking out other peoples'... especially when my products feature in them! This week the lovely Laura of Made By Lolly has featured my Recycled Map Writing Kits in her fab 'Postal' themed Folksy Friday today. Have a look at the kit and the other brilliant items she's picked out over on her blog here.

And as for updates - have a wee look over there on the right hand column. Go on, I'll wait....... So, did you notice anything different? I've added an Etsy shop widget so you can click on each item and shop directly from here! It's a fab wee widget, and you can even see my feedback and shop hearts. Thanks to Cat from WildCat Designs for mentioning it over on Twitter as I'd never have found it otherwise. (Something similar for Folksy would be fab... if anyone knows of anything please give me a shout!)

Anyway big Friday Thank You's to Laura and Cat! ...And now for a cup of tea and back to work!

Tiny Plastic Toadstool...

2010-08-03T16:08:00.005+01:00

Nope, it's not the name of some 70's psychadelic musical effort, it's my latest creation! You see I've been playing about with shrinky plastic recently... well, I say recently, I mean for about the last 6 months. I think it's fair to say I've had a few ups and downs with it all, but in the end I'm rather pleased with the result. (Way more pleased than I probably should be!)

You see, it all started when I bought some shrinky plastic stuff with the intention of making myself a necklace. But the first time I tried to make something I eventually gave up in disgust when my efforts at drawing turned out to be no better than a 5 year old's. OK, so I knew I wasn't a great artist, but I thought I could wing it. Well it turns out it's a little harder than I'd thought - especially if you want your drawing to vaguely resemble whichever object it's supposed to be... which I did. So after several wonky looking attempts I shoved the whole lot away in disgust.

A few weeks, and a lot of practice later, I tried again. This time I gave up when I realised that wood-burning stoves aren't really conducive to the constant temperatures this stuff needs. The results of these trials were one batch of burned browny-yellow plastic, one batch of unshrunk (but somehow solid) plastic, and one regretable batch of bubbly molten plastic that took forever to clean off the tray. Again, I ended up shoving the few remaining sheets of untouched plastic back in the drawer in disgust.

Cut to a few months later, and I'm now in the posession of a toaster oven type thingy which it turns out is great at keeping constant temperatures and so brilliant for this sort of stuff. Hurrah! Now I can make my necklace, surely! Except I can't. My next few disasters came with the varnish, glues, various permanent markers and pencils wich didn't seem to want to 'hold' once the plastic had been baked. But then totally inspired by CutCopyCreate's brilliant attempts at working with this stuff I decided to keep on going with it- this time I wouldn't let it beat me!

So last Thursday was my latest attempt. Absolutely determined this time, I sucessfully drew a cute little toadstool, baked it for just the right amount of time, sealed it it, glued it onto a pin back and without a hitch produced this little beauty! Yes it's tiny, and yes it might not look like much, but after the many attempts I've had to throw away so far, my little plastic toadstool looks brilliant to me! So, now I've served my shrinky plastic apprenticeship and can actually use the stuff without damage to myself (or my oven) ... well, now I really can start on the necklace I'd planned to make in the first place!

New stuff - stickers!

2010-07-13T17:06:00.000+01:00

You may have noticed I've finally got round to listing a few more items in my Etsy and Folksy shops this week - recycled stickers! Hurrah!

I've wanted to start making and selling these stickers for ages but could never come up with a way of packaging them that I was totally happy with. The criteria for the packaging was that it had to be useable (i.e. the stickers need to peel off the backing paper!), it had to show off all the stickers available in the pack, it had to be pretty, fit in with the packaging for all my other products and of course, be practical and easy enough for me to make! Well after many attempts at things that just didn't work, this week the perfect packaging solution ocurred to me whilst I was busy doing something completely different. And it's so simple, I'm annoyed I didn't think of it sooner! So after an evening of frantic crafting, voila! I finally made something I was happy with. Yay!

So feel free to pop over to my Etsy or Folksy shops for a proper look at the stickers available. They are made from recycled children's books, catalogues, maps, packaging and more, and are sold in packs of 20. But remember - each pack is 100% unique, one off, one of a kind, original and never to be repeated! ...So if you see something you like, don't hang about - grab it before it's gone!

Armchair travel...

2010-06-29T14:26:00.004+01:00

You might have noticed that I make a lot of things with maps... Magnets, Drawing Pins, Envelopes, Gift Tags etc. and I love them, always have. I love pouring over the maps before they're cut up to see if there's anywhere I've been, and putting the finishing touches on the various products to see which towns and villages have been perfectly placed to appear most prominently.

There are some fascinating place names out there, some funny, some odd, some common (apparently there are over 50 Springfield's in America), and some... not so much. The origins of some towns are well known like 'Truth or Consequences' in New Mexico, but still in every piece I make there is always at least one town name that captures my imagination. What's it really like to live in Romance, Arkansas or Hoop and Holler, Texas? How did Bridal Veil, Oregon get it's name? Are the people in Happyland, Connecticut really that happy?

Of course, the maps I use are old... these places might not even exist anymore, they might be just truck stops on Interstate Highways now, but I still like to daydream that one day I'll venture out on a road trip to some of these places... maybe I'll even drive all the way to Hell (that's in Michigan by the way) and back.

So where would you like to visit?

Map Gift Tags for sale on Folksy

Map Gift Tags for sale on Etsy

Recycled Envelope Set - 'Maps' for sale on Folksy

Recycled Envelope Set - 'Maps' for sale on Etsy

Map Drawing Pins for sale on WowThankYou

Map Heart Brooch for sale on Etsy

Photography Project

2010-06-08T16:34:00.000+01:00

As well as blogging about the crafts I make and sell, every now and then I'll be posting details of some of the craft projects I do for myself, for friends and family. It won't be often (I don't always have time to indulge myself!) but whenever I can I'll upload some info... This first project was a long overdue photography one.

I love taking pictures. On a nice sunny day, there's nothing that makes me happier than wandering about taking snaps of the world, trying to find unusual angles, and looking at things in a different way. For years I've been taking pictures of, well, anything that's taken my fancy, but thanks to the easy storage of digital photographs I always seemed to just squirrel them away on my computer in random folders. Although I always thought 'I'll get round to printing them out one day', I never did.

Over the Christmas holidays I decided to finally clean out my computer, and as I worked through everything I started to find loads of folders filled with amazing pictures I'd taken and completely forgotten about. They brought back some happy memories of friends, family, days out, picnics, road trips... you get the idea. So I resolved to do something about it - I loved these pictures and decided they should be out on display rather than hidden away in the vault of some random, unlabelled memory stick. Just six short (!) months later, I finally got round to it, and this is the result...

I did a little tinkering with the colours, formats and sizes of the original photographs till everything was just right, then I had them professionally printed. A quick trip to buy some frames and the job was done! Now I can sit and enjoy the photographs whenever I feel like it, and the best thing is that when I tire of those ones, I know I have a whole vault of other photos I can swap them with!

I'm considering selling some of my pictures along with my crafts, but to be honest that's probably a long way off yet...

So what do you think? How do you display your pictures?

Friday Finds...

2010-06-04T12:20:00.000+01:00

This week my Friday finds are inspired by my run-in with a certain large, swift spider in the middle of the night! Luckily all my finds aren't as scary as that was at 3am...

1. 'Spider Web Mini Glass 3 Part Hinged Screen' by Diomo on Folksy
2. 'Spider- Children's Card' by Tinyisland on Folksy
3. 'Itsy, Bitsy Spider Onesie' by Mypipsqueek on Folksy
4. 'Spider Web - Anathema - Necklace' by FaeryKisses on Etsy
5. 'Dusty Purple Organic T-shirt with Hand-painted Button and Lace-Spider's lace' by ZoeChen on Etsy
6. 'Tattoo Spider Web Laptop Vinyl Decal' by Pillboxdesigns on Etsy

Googly Eyed Notebooks...

2010-05-27T14:30:00.000+01:00

A while ago I started selling these handy little Googly-Eyed Notebooks but I've not had a chance to write any posts about them till now... and I should have done because they're great (I'm on to my second already)!

They're only little (approx 2.5" by 1.75") so they're brilliant for sticking in your pocket or handbag for dashing off those notes on the run... shopping lists, reminders, phone numbers, you know the stuff. Each one includes 50 sheets of recycled paper, and they're available in loads of different colours. I'm selling them in sets of 3 for now on Etsy and Folksy but plan to sell them individually too at craft fairs etc. in the future. So what do you think? Cute non?

I don't know about you, but in my humble opinion, there aren't many things in life that can't be improved by adding a set of googly eyes...

P.S. They're in Scottish Princess's Etsy treasury at the moment too - click here to have a look whilst it's up.)

Friday Finds... Yellow

2010-05-21T11:08:00.000+01:00

More fantastic Friday Finds this week! The weather has been lovely these last few days and it's got me thinking of all things summery... and what could be more summery than yellow? The colour of the sun, the sand at the beach, banana flavoured ice cream, and my favourite summer dress when I was little! So this week I've gone with the theme of 'Yellow' and found some wonderful items on Etsy and Folksy that let in a little sunshine!

1. 'Yellow Glass Earrings' by Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes on Folksy
2. 'Sunday Afternoon - LA Photograph - original fine art print (5x5)' by SixthandMain on Etsy
3. 'Yellow Bee Bracelet' by Spoilt Pig on Folksy
4. 'Sunny and Bright Magnetic Chalkboard Memo Board' by Shabbyvintagemom on Etsy
5. 'Alecia Gift Wrap Sheet' by ErinRuth on Etsy
6. 'Gorgeous Yellow Duck Trug' by Claire Rose Designs on Folksy

Have a wonderfully sunny weekend!

Friday Finds... Finally!

2010-05-14T13:41:00.001+01:00

Well, against all odds I've managed to get my Friday feature organised this week! Hurrah for me! As it's my 'First' attempt at this I thought I'd make my 'First' theme... 'Firsts, Beginnings, and Starts.' (Original, I know.) All the items I'm featuring this week come from Folksy and Etsy. Hope you love them as much as I do!

1. 'Green 'FIRST LOVE' Loveheart Keyring' by Lilley's on Folksy
2. 'Yellow 1st Cushion / Pillow' by Karen Hilton Designs on Folksy
3. 'And Now Let The Wild Rumpus Start! - Children's Room / Nursery Decor Art Poster' by Ruka-Ruka on Folksy
4. 'Limited Edition Canvas Print - My first Memories' by Ilona Sampovaara on Etsy
5. 'Home is where the story begins' by Punkin Seed Production on Etsy

A trove of treasuries!

2010-05-10T13:14:00.001+01:00

Happy Monday everyone! OK, so I missed Folksy Friday again, but I definitely plan to have it on the blog soon! In the meantime, I thought I'd show you two treasuries which my products are currently featured in. First is 'A Green Day' by Aubeebop which you can view properly by clicking here whilst it's still online. It features my Recycled Map Gift Tags alongside some lovely inspiring 'greenery'... And then there's the lovely 'Buy Now and Replace' treasury called 'BnR with a Scottish Twist' by Scottish Princess. It features one of my Magnet / Drawing Pin sets, again alongside some wonderful items from other sellers, and you can find it by clicking here...

What a great way to start the week!

Folksy Friday feature...

2010-05-01T10:47:00.000+01:00

Folksy Friday is something I've been meaning to get involved in for some time. In case you're not aware of it, it's when Folksy sellers look around all the wonderful items listed on the site and group a select few of them together on their blogs under one main theme. It's a great idea, it helps promote items and sellers, it gives you great ideas for birthday presents, and lets you discover some amazing hidden gems too! This week I intended to post my first attempt at a Folksy Friday but here we are on Saturday morning without a post in sight... next week though, next week. Until then, I'll just have to content myself with the fact that I've actually been featured in someone else's Folksy Friday for the first time! Hurrah! The lovely Lisa of Sweetpyroangel has featured my 'Cats' drawing pins / magnets in her Folksy Friday collection this week, and you can see them alongside the wonderful other items she's grouped together (with the theme of 'get organised'... something I know I can relate to!) on her blog over here. Thanks Lisa!

Eco chic!

2010-04-30T15:18:00.001+01:00

I love visiting craft markets as a buyer as much as I do as a seller. Last Sunday I took advantage of the sunny weather and made the drive out East to Frugal Cool's second Eco Craft Market in Musselburgh. It was a wonderful, bustling affair held over 3 days at the Loretto Gallery and by the time I arrived a roaring trade had already been done! As well as some of my own Recycled Writing Kits (more of which have just been uploaded into my Etsy and Folksy shops here and here - map themed!), Nicky from Frugal Cool had some fantastic items from other local artists and crafters including Evie Zaccardelli, Claire Duffy of Cabin Jack Design, and many more.

The joy of Frugal Cool is that it promotes and sells well-made products which contain an element of sustainable design, and are ethically produced. For this Spring Eco Crafts Market, they had invited amazing local, ethical makers and designers to exhibit a whole variety of handmade and sustainable crafts and on show was everything from textiles and jewellery to art, paper goods, homewares and more. For this event Frugal Cool had also teamed up with The Green Gift Company, who offered a wonderful range of chic Fairtrade craft.

There were so many wonderful items on show a the market that I could have bought loads on the day, but as I'd promised myself I wouldn't go overboard, I restrained myself to just this one beautiful teacup brooch. I bought it as a birthday present for a friend (if she reads this she'll know who!) ... that's of course, if I don't keep it for myself!

Looking forward to visiting my next craft market!

Pottering around Perthshire...

2010-04-13T12:04:00.001+01:00

Scotland is beautiful! Of course I knew that, I've lived here all my life. But it's nice to have a few days off sometimes to go exploring your own back yard - it's amazing what you'll find.

I was lucky enough to sneak a few days away this weekend and spent it pottering around Perthshire. I took in everywhere from Creiff and Aberfoyle to Perth, Dunkeld and a few beautiful wee villages along the way. I saw Loch Tay, Loch Earn, Loch Tummel and a few Munros too. Simply stunning! Here's a few pictures... that first picture at the top is looking across Loch Tay to Schiehallion.

This next is looking through Glen Ogle to Ben Vorlich (I think, geography isn't always my strong point!)

And this last is just a lovely picture of some trees at a picnic area somewhere in Perthshire... I think it was near Killiecrankie...

This is all just an hour or so from my front door! Amazing. So why do I not go there more often? I've no idea, but I certainly plan to get back very soon now that I've found my way there! The whole trip was lovely and relaxing, but also inspirational and now that I'm back I'm keen to get going on a few crafty bits and pieces!

New Products Listed!

2010-04-05T20:33:00.002+01:00

Well I hope everyone had a lovely Easter! I had a productive few days and finished some new items for my etsy and folksy shops - head on over there to purchase any of these bright, new, spring goodies!

First off, 3 new sets of pins and magnets! Titled 'In the Pink', 'Cats', and 'Thomas the Tank Engine'!

These all are sold in sets of 6, and can be made into either drawing pins or magnets (or a mixture of both) - just be sure to let me know when you order! All are available now in both my Etsy and Folksy shops...

Next up, recycled cartoon fridge magnets! These have been made from old comics and annuals that were due to be thrown out. The pictures have been rescued from damaged pages and given a magnetic backing so they can keep your bills, memos and shopping lists in place on the fridge! These are currently only available in my Etsy shop for now and are sold in sets of 2 (choose any two, just be sure to let me know which! See the listing for full details and all available magnets).

And finally, more Thomas the Tank Engine recycled goodies. This time, gift tags! These are backed with strong white card to give you plenty of room to write your gift message or scrapbook memory, and they come with a tie for attaching them to your gift. They are sold in sets of 6 and again, are available in both my Etsy and Folksy shops.

P.S. Don't worry, I'm not neglecting my fab new stockist wowthankyou - updates from there to follow soon!

Happy shopping folks!

Happy Easter : Magazine Feature!

2010-04-01T13:43:00.000+01:00

Well Easter is almost upon us, and I found a lovely Easter gift in my inbox this morning! I'm pleased to say that one of my cards has been featured in the Easter edition of Creative Crafting Magazine, Issue 4! (Nope, it's not an April fool!) The magazine is available to read online here (my card is on page 43 in the Budget / Luxury article) and if my technical skills aren't too rusty then it should also be available at the bottom of this blog post too!

I hope everyone has a lovely Easter weekend filled with chocolate, bunnies... and chocolate bunnies! Yum!

I'm working on a few new products at the moment so remember to pop back for some stock updates in the coming weeks too!

Wow! New online stockist...

2010-03-06T12:37:00.002Z

There's a new online shop in town!

Wowthankyou.co.uk just opened its virtual doors yesterday (sorry, I'm a little slow off the mark!) and I'm very pleased to say you can find Little Silverleaf Easter cards, Recycled Writing Kits, Clippies, Magnets, and Drawing Pin sets there alongside some simply wonderful products from talented makers around the country.

The site itself has been set up specifically to promote items that have been 'handmade in the UK with love' and there are some wonderful products on there - whether you need stationery, jewellery, clothes, gifts, something for Mother's Day, Easter or just a lovely little treat for yourself, there is bound to be something there to suit! Go on, have a proper look around... the Little Silverleaf mini-page is ...here... scroll to the bottom of the page to see the items currently available on the site, and check back often as I'll be adding more whenever I can!

I'm baaaack!

2010-02-25T15:11:00.000Z

OK, so how rubbish am I? ... actually, it's probably best not answer that one! You see, I started off this blog and opened my Twitter account with a smidgen of fanfare (albeit like the kind you'd get using a kazoo) and a boat load of great intentions, but then I got all caught up in mince pies and log fires and neglected them horribly post-Christmas. Rubbish! Not to mention the fact that my Etsy and Folksy shops have been looking a little bare these last few weeks! Again. Rubbish.

Well, no more neglect! (Is my forceful if slightly tardy New Year's resolution!)

Springing back into action, I've already started uploading products to my Etsy and Folksy shops (a few Easter cards, notebooks, gift tags, and clippies are available so far but I've loads more to follow), and I've also jumped back on the Twitter carousel again - hurrah! Regular doses of me blethering nonsense with a few shop links thrown in for good luck... what could be finer? So after a few slight road bumps in recent weeks it's all starting to get back to normal again. Another few weeks and we should be almost there! (x fingers crossed x)

The exciting news for now is that after a successful stint in the Made in the Shade Maisonette Festive Shopping Shindig(!) I now have some Little Silverleaf products stocked in the Maisonette this Spring. You can find my map magnets, large upcycled grocery notebooks and recycled writing kits there now - yes, now! - so get yourselves over to the fabulous (and newly 'kitchen' themed) Maisonette in De Courcy's Arcade for a proper look round!

PLUS... if that wasn't enough, there's more exciting stockist news to follow in the next few weeks. Keep your eyes peeled!

See, I told you... I'm baaaack!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-12-24T16:59:00.001Z

Well despite all the snow-covered, last minute busyness of December I'm still finding it hard to believe that Christmas and New Year are almost upon us!

2009 certainly has been a big year in the world of Little Silverleaf - there's been my first craft fair, the opening of my Folksy shop, this new and improved (if still slightly sporadic!) blog, my joining of Twitter, and of course new products galore... not to mention there's been one or two sales along the way too!

So now it's time to put my feet up for a few days for a well earned festive break, and have a look back over the year and start laying plans for the next. You can expect to see me back in the new year all refreshed and recharged with updated online shops, a bunch of new ideas, and whatever else I dream up next... who knows!

So really all that's left to say for now is that I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! All the best for 2010!

(Hope Santa brings you some wonderful handmade goodies!)

Festive Shopping Shindig!

2009-12-16T22:04:00.000Z

Hurrah! It's almost Christmas! The tree is up... the cards are sent... the Christmas pudding is all ready to go and all that's left to do is... EEK! Buy the presents!

Well for all you slowcoaches out there there's no need to go into full panic mode just yet! From this Friday and right up until Christmas, Little Silverleaf will be one of the guest designers at the Made in the Shade Maisonette's 'Festive Shopping Shindig'!

From the Little Silverleaf stock available you can buy some notebooks made from vintage children's annuals (remember 'Bunty' anyone? How about 'The Beezer'?), then there's recycled writing kits, sweet little accordion folded notebooks covered with maps and recycled book pages, bookmarks, drawing pins and more! You can also check out the work of the other guest designers there next week, and on top of all that (as if that wasn't enough!), there's a whole host of fantastic pieces of handmade and vintage joy still available from the Maisonette's regular crowd of vendors! So if you're still stuck for present ideas? Visit the Maisonette in De Courcy's Arcade, Cresswell Lane, Glasgow for some inspired and unique gifts!

My first craft market... debrief!

2009-12-08T09:58:00.001Z

Whew! Well Sunday was the long awaited Magpie Winter Market in Edinburgh and my first attempt at a craft fair! Along I traipsed with my suitcases full of goodies to The Lot - a beautiful converted church in the Grassmarket in Edinburgh. I set up shop alongside the wonderful Julia Smith Ceramics, and after much too-ing and fro-ing with the layout of the stall I finally settled in for the day with it looking a little like this ...but with more fairy lights... ('scuse the dodgy camera work... turns out my camera wasn't working as well as I'd hoped!)

Now, as it was my first event like this, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the great thing about craft fairs (as opposed to online selling) is that you get to properly chat with your customers as they're buying, to ask them what they like and don't, what elements of design / packaging works and what doesn't, and think up new ideas for the future... often what is just a simple throw-away comment to one person could spark brilliant a new idea in someone else and make all the difference. When it came to my items I found myself explaining things, demonstrating some products and generally chatting with folks about it all, and that turned out to be brilliant. Whether its 'is this available in other sizes / colours', or 'how does it work?' or even 'if would be good if you could do this with other materials' etc. I got some really lovely feedback and yep, I even made my guestimated sales target for the day! Smiles all round.

So now I've got the first fair under the belt it's back to the drawing board for a few tweaks here and there, and more great ideas to get cracking on over Christmas... and then it's onwards and upwards!

But before Christmas I've still one more very exciting event to be part of ... more on that next week. And the small matter of updating my Etsy and Folksy shops over the next few days so anyone who missed the Magpie Market can still buy those last minute pressies!

Happy shopping folks!

New Notebooks from Recycled Annuals...

2009-12-02T11:42:00.000Z

Only 4 days to go to Magpie Winter Market in Edinburgh and my children's annual journals have been featured on Magpie's blog! These tired old annuals from the 70s and 80s are rebound by hand with 100% recycled paper and one or two carefully chosen pages from the original annual itself. The spine is then turned into a bookmark so you never lose your place! Kitschy, cool annuals from yesteryear given a new lease of life!

Click here to wander through to Magpie's blog to have a closer look at these as well as some of the other great stuff you'll be able to pick up on Sunday. It'll definitely be worth a visit!

In a treasury!

2009-12-01T11:32:00.000Z

Hurrah! One of my mini Penguins notebooks made it into a wonderful pink and green Scottish treasury for St Andrew's Day in Etsy's 'Treasury West'. There's a picture on the left there but you can also click here to have a proper look through all the wonderful items included before it disappears! Thanks very much to Stockannette for including me!

Countdown...

2009-11-27T10:16:00.001Z

Just over a week to go!

My New Folksy shop...

2009-11-21T16:41:00.002Z

I love wandering around independent shops and craft markets. To me, there's something wonderfully relaxing and rejuvenating about spending a cold winter afternoon rummaging through handcrafted goodies, specially selected products and one-of-a-kind items. Especially now that the festive season is almost upon us and everywhere has taken on the seasonal scent of cinammon and mulberry. Lovely!

But sometimes (just sometimes), much though I love it all, the thought of actually getting out my winter woolies, finding some stylish-yet-comfy-and-waterproof shoes, and coming up with a shoping plan to make sure I get everywhere without having to double back on myself... well, its all just too much for a girl to take! And that's where online shopping really comes into it's own don't you think? It keeps you out of the wind and rain, saves your aching feet, and best of all, lets you shop with a strong cup of tea and chocolate biscuit to hand. What could be better! And yes, with one click you can get pretty much everything sent to your door these days from the supermarkets, large multinationals and online superstores. However, I still think the smaller independent retailers and crafters have the edge on the big boys. Imaginative and impressive, there are some fab online shopping sites that individual businesses have set up themselves (and where you know that with one email or phone call you'll still get the personal service you expect... often directly from the business owner / maker / artist), and there are also some great 3rd party sites which have embraced the indie spirit and allowed smaller businesses (like mine) to trade online and sell our products around the world. Perfect when you're looking for a few handmade, one-of-a-kind Christmas pressies!

But I digress. Really, the point of this little ramble is to let you know that for a while now I've been selling all my Little Silverleaf products via Etsy which is great, but which lists everything in USD$. Now, I've opened a second online shop at Folksy, so if you'd prefer you can now shop in good old GBP£! It's a little empty at the moment but keep checking back over time (or follow me on Twitter to find out each time something is listed) and you'll see it start to fill up nicely. Being able to list and buy in £ should certainly help keep track of the budget for anyone in the UK. But for all you internationals out there, don't panic - I'll still be updating and listing in my Etsy shop too. It's the best of both worlds! And all with a strong cup of tea and a biscuit. mmmmm.

Magpie Winter Market

2009-11-19T17:19:00.004Z

Hello, and welcome to my blog! I'm very pleased to say that my first post is an exciting announcement... well, there's nothing quite like starting as you mean to go on, right? ;oD

Hurrah! Next month I'll be taking part in my very first market! I'm over the moon about it... but also a little nervous given the fantastic other makers, artists and crafters who will be there. For a full list of all the other vendors and a sneaky peak at their work, hop on over to Magpie Market's very own blog and check it all out, but don't forget to check back here for more exciting announcements in the weeks and months ahead (the next one's a doozie!), as well as product updates, competitions, special offers, and of course my own ramblings on all things crafty! OK, so I can't promise my postings will be regular, perfectly spelled ...or even good! (Seriously, I've never done this before!) but I am hoping they'll be random, interesting and, if nothing else then fantastically sporadic!

So I hope to see you back here soon, and of course at the first Magpie Winter Market in December! Stop by my stall and say 'hiya!'

P.S. I also joined Twitter... Can't wait to see how that turns out! Eek!