Lovely Surprises

I opened my Chanukah present from Tara last night and what a treat it was. As if the tin itself wasn't present enough. I'm a bit partial to tins. So that was sure to be a hit before it even began. But to be covered in the most gorgeous matryoshkas made it undeniably, unquestionably THE nicest tin I for one possess.


And as if this wasn't enough. I opened the tin up and low and behold inside was this gorgeous matryoshka pin. Now, isn't it the cutest pin EVER? (No, Tara, you can't have it back) It is already fashioned on my bag and is there to stay.

I think I've already mentioned that I'm not bombarded with Chanukah/Christmas presents. Which quite frankly matters not one iota when your one present is as gorgeous as this.

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday and are blessed with people that know you so well that they get it just as right as Tara did.

We are off to deepest, darkest Wales over New Year, so I'll see you in 2009, where I'll be raring to go with all those ideas that are being stored in my head, whilst family commitments take over. xx

Tis the season to be rolling

Much to Manda's regret of ever designing these popular pencil rolls, they have definitely been THE buy this Christmas. I'm not sure how many we've been through together, but don't panic, Manda, I'm not asking for any more! There's something about the mix of stunning fabrics and the nostalgic feel of this lovely item that has made it very popular indeed.

Ruby has been waiting very patiently for her own and has somehow hidden her disappointment of constantly seeing a delivery from Manda, be whisked rapidly away before she can get her little mitts on one.

However, on Sunday evening I decided I'd better get going on one for her for Chanukah. There's only so long a girl can wait. I made one for her and one for my god-daughter Lucy, who has been equally patient. I chose to use my favourite matryoshka fabric for Ruby's, pleased by the fact that at least it stays where I can see it. But Ruby had other ideas and categorically stated that it was the blue butterfly one that she wanted. Would it be really mean of me to wrap up the wrong one?

Kid in a sweet shop

I've had this sitting here for about 2 weeks now. My lovely friend, Tara, sent it to me and she's been expecting me to keep my hands off. Actually, believe it or not, Tara, I actually have! No peeking, whatsoever. No little rips at the edges. No shaking and rattling. The only reason for this self control is that I've been so goddamn busy, I've almost forgotten it's there! Every now and then I catch a glimpse of it and all the excitement rushes to the surface again.

I know I've always been useless at surprises. When I was little I had to hunt around in my parents hiding places weeks before my birthday (sorry, Mum). And I'm no better now. Fortunately people are finding better hiding places and I'm proving far too busy to rummage.

You have to understand that, unlike most of you out there, I don't get too many presents at this time of year. We don't do Christmas. We do Chanukah, which is traditionally a children's festival. And since I am no longer officially a child - apparently - my present pile is severely diminished. So when the likes of Tara send me something, let alone being so gorgeously wrapped, is it any wonder that my resilience is tested. But hey, Tara, I did promise.

(Roll on Sunday, first night of Chanukah...)

50 and Fabulous

Now just let me set the record straight. Before any of you think 'Wow, 50! She looks amazing for 50!' IT ISN'T ME!! Yes, I may be the wrong side of 40, but 50 is still a long way off.

But my lovely cousin Jane is 50 and Fabulous today. Jane is one of those older cousins that, whilst growing up, always had time for her little cousins. You could always tell then that she had style and a certain je ne sais quoi. She has an inner confidence that I never had then and certainly don't now. I always looked up to her as someone very special. And she has continued to be the most amazing free spirited, thoughtful, effortlessly stylish individual that I know.

So, happy birthday, big cous. You are certainly 50 and Fabulous. x



(Jane, with her equally stylish daughter, Jessica)

Cuteable. Moi?

I want to thank Lynsey of Cuteable fame for featuring me on her blog yesterday. She added my Figgy Pudding Christmas Card on her feature. It's always a shock and an honour when some of you 'out there' find me and decide it's worth sharing. Thanks, Lynsey :-)

(And if you'd like to purchase one of these, they are still available here x)

Fabric Galore

I was delighted last week to find this fab online fabric shop. Fabricrehab is run by sisters Nancy and Sally. They have a brilliant selection and excellently priced shipping, which makes going back...and back...and back very easy.

I was quite restraint when I made this selection. But as you know, I have been buying a fair amount of fabric lately.

(Apologies for the quality of these photos - it has been rather dark and wintery here recently - I'll try again another day - if they aren't cut up and used by then of course)

Snowed Under

Woke up to this today. It was forecast to arrive and boy has it. (How come the weather men can get this kind of weather right but no other?)

Samuel is very cross because his school is open, whislt Noah and Ruby's is closed. He has quickly forgotten that his school was closed for a Christmas Shopping Day (Iknow, duh?) on Monday and he and Matthew went to see Quantum of Solace. I have no idea how long it is going to take Matthew to drive him in. In the meatime Ruby and Noah have gone next door for a snowball fight. If I was feeling brave I might just go take some pics of them. But it's far too cold. I'm going to go hibernate up in my office in the attic.

I think it's going to be a hot chocolate and capaccino kind of day. All day.

Sorry if you are waiting for your orders - not sure if I'll make it to the post office today...

Strange old day

Today has been a very mixed day. Firstly, there was the disappointment that my product didn't appear on This Morning. In fact none of them did! Something different to what was advertised was on. But instead, I heard from Trend Bible. Back in the New Year I was approached to feature in the new Kids Lifestyle Trends 2010 trend forcasting book. I never heard anything from them again. Until today. When apparently I have a product in. I'd never heard of this. Although my Mum tells me it is THE book for designers/buyers/etc to purchase to view up and coming trends. (How she knows I have no idea!) And starting from over $600 a pop, I think it's something special.

And here's the image that they chose from Blueberry Park. Really I should thank the lovely Janet Clare for producing such a gorgeous piece as to be in the section labelled 'Cocoon'.

Purchases

I've been shopping at my favourite online fabric store today. For those of you who haven't come across Kitty Craft before, you really must take a look. Although I'm not sure I'm ready to share the secret of this online store. The fabrics are irresisitible . The Japenese books are to die for. As for the accessories.

I buy a few pieces from here on a regular basis. Just a few at a time. That way, I can keep going back without too much guilt. I'm still yet to purchase a book. The only reason being I can't decide which one to have. They are all so gorgeous. A big Christmas list from there me thinks.

Here are today's purchases.

I also made a couple of selections from Nuno, another fave online fabric shop. Nuno has a fab range of fabrics that are ideal for making all sorts of children's items. Although, the last one I bought with an adult project in mind. Here's what I chose.

And, finally, I couldn't resist this delightful Apple stamper from Kitty Craft. Of course, I have a zillion ideas what to do with it. Hurry up, please, so I can play with you.

Heart to Heart

I'm definitely feeling the pressure of Friday looming and not being ready. I was determined to be hyper organised for this event, but it seems that's not meant to be. Instead of organising what I have, I'm busily creating more. That's me - when the going gets tough... go make...

I've been making lots of Lavender Hanging Hearts. The aroma in my studio is just to die for. I've the biggest bag of the most fragrant lavender sitting waiting to fill the little lovelies.

They haven't quite turned out how I'd imagined them in my head. But that never does happen. I didn't have the time I would have liked to work on getting that right, so instead we have simplistic shaker style hearts ready to decorate your tree/house this Christmas. I must say I am a big Shaker fan and alot of what i do is influenced by the simplicty and colours of that.

It's a good job, because I've made so many of the damned things that I'm sure there will be plenty to decorate every corner of my own place this season!

(And if you aren't anywhere near Harewood House this weekend, but you would like some, they are available here and here x)

All systems go

I'm getting ready for my major Christmas Event this week. It's a 3 Day Event at Harewood House, just outside Leeds, starting on Friday. I'm hoping for great things, which is a sure ill-fated curse!

Harewood House is an amazing venue, so that alone should draw in the crowds. We used to be up on a hill in a far off field in a damp cold marquee. But new organisers have taken over and we are now positioned in the recently refurbished, very smart, conference halls.

If you live nearby, or nearby enough, I'm sure it will be a great day out. With over 50 hand selected stalls, beautiful grounds to wonder around in, I can guarentee it will be worth the visit. If you do make it, please come over and introduce yourself!

Hats

We are away this weekend in London, for a very flying visit, for my Mother-in-law's 70th birthday celebrations. November isn't a great time for me to be away and this will be the second weekend away this month. I'm trying to build up the enthusiasm and even designed her a personal card for the occasion (without a mention of The Age - obviously).

She LOVES hats. The only thing that she loves almost as much is shoes. But I did shoes last year. I brought it downstairs last night to show Matthew. He asked if it was a vase. Granted, that was before I put the slogan on. And granted, I took one look at it and thought it could be too. But, everyone, I mean everyone, knows the lady is hat mad. Why would it be a vase?

(I am aware that I am blogging to excess at the mo - apologies. That's partly because I've abandoned it for so long and partly because I know that it's going to be a while before I get on again. So bear with me and ignore at your leisure!)

Going Global

I woke up this morning to discover that one of my Blueberry Park products is being featured on an American Shopping Blog, Mighty Junior. I have no idea how big this site is or whether anybody visits it. (They are claiming to be voted as Best Shopping Site by Forbes and Times Magazine) So if there are any American readers out there who have heard of it, please let me know!

Way to go Robbie!

Swimming against the tide

I guess we are all doing alot of this at the moment. Swimming against the tide. Getting busy for craft fairs. Increase in sales as people get ready for Christmas. And still the same amount of laundry, cooking, cleaning (we'll forget about that one). I don't want to turn this into a moany post - just wanted to explain my absence.

In the meantime I'd love to show you the final pre-Christmas arrivals that are all now available at Blueberry Park. It's been lots of fun sorting everything out and getting it all ready.

Firstly there's the exquisite Make and Do Cards from Lucy Jane Batchelor. Her illustrations are just irresistibly stunning. I could have stocked them all, but after much deliberating have settled on the Advent Calendar (a few left), Christmas Decorations, super cute Miniture Dolls' House, Tooth Fairy Envelope and Love Tokens.

Next in was the truely sumptuous Catherine Tough Lambswool Bed Socks. I could honestly live in these and never leave the house again! I want one in every colour. And a couple of manly ones that I think will go down well.

More for the men with fab cufflinks from Steph Jones. She does so many fantastic designs that it was hard to whittle the choice down. but hopefully we've got something for everyone here.

I've had these great leather brooches from Magpie and Me for a while and keep oohing and ahhing over them and I'm finally ready to share them with the world! The leather is so soft and tactile and they come in a range of striking colours.

Last, but by no means least I have my office smelling devine thanks to these Bath Melts by Purple Sparkle Craft. Utterly dreamy.

So that's one reason I've been away for a while. And I'm still ploughing through the Christmas Card orders, so there are piles of these everywhere!

I hope you are all well whatever you are busy with and managing to avoid those mega big waves.

Good day for painting

Last week was half term. My lovely big sister, Sara, had the 3 children to stay for a couple of days, so that I could get some work done (I was equally lovely and had her 3 for 3 days over the summer). It was fantastic to get some work done, having had so many disruptive weeks even before we got to half term.

What it also meant was that once the children came back home, we were able to have some quality time.

Quality time for the boys meant being able to play on electrics for longer than normal. For electrics, read Play Station, DS Lites, TV, Computer. As I said - electrics.

For Ruby, however, my girlie kindred spirit, it meant time for painting. Ruby is happiest when we have time for any kind of crafting. Be it sewing, glueing various objects and copious amounts of glitter, learning to knit, getting out the paints.

So often in our mad word, essentially ruled by her brothers' busy schedules, she is told 'No, not now.' 'I have to get tea on.' 'We have to go take Samuel to Scouts.' 'We have to pick Noah up from footy.'
So, when she is told 'Okay, lets', she takes the bull by the horns and goes gung ho into paints. And when the fingers start to be applied with the aforementioned substance, I have to bite my lip and remind myself that this is what having kids is all about. And be grateful that what makes her happiest is spending time with me doing her favourite activity. Life doesn't get much better than that.