I Heart You

I knew that making a New Year's resolution to sew more would be pointless, at least until the day job calms down. However, I am determined to craft something for Valentine's Day rather than pay over-inflated prices for something "romantic" but tacky.

As ever Etsy is a great place for inspiration, so I thought I'd share some heart-themed ideas from my treasury list.

I love the simplicity of this handmade card by RainyDayColors:

  (Photo via http://etsy.me/xAJ7VC)

These Lego heart necklaces from Luv4Sams are also simple but sweet:

(Photo via http://etsy.me/yE0i3I)

And these hand-carved heart stamps from MemiTheRainbow look like loads of fun:

 (Photo via http://etsy.me/Ab3QEo)

You can see more heart-themed gifts for Valentine's Day and beyond at my Etsy treasury list.

Too early for Christmas...?

Some people might say yes, but for those of us who need to get crafting you can never be prepared too early. I'm not alone as there are loads of lovely things on Etsy already and I've pulled together a treasury list of inspirational Christmas items.

               Christmas Tags - Do Not Open Until December 25th by Shabby Peas Designs

 

Believe Christmas Mantle banner by Any Occasion Banners

                           Retro Kids Cookie Decorating Party set by Blush Printables

For more Christmas inspiration have a look at my treasury list.

Hope you had a cracking Easter

Although I ate more chocolate than I should have this weekend, I did manage to fit in some more traditional eggy treats too. I wanted to share the story of how I acquired this cute Boiled Egg & Soldiers plate as it represents everything that is wonderful about Etsy.

(Photo from The Village Pottery)

Those of you that use Etsy to shop online will already know that it is a treasure trove of unique and lovingly-made things. However, the ability to create your own circle or 'favourite' other people's items or shops can lead to all manner of new and exciting conversations and interactions. It truly is a social community in ways that loads of other online sites only claim to be.

After reading about The Village Pottery in one of Etsy's brilliant regular emails (which never fail to introduce me to a new designer that I like) I favourited this spotty plate. I have a thing about all things polka dot as well as being a massive fan of a boiled egg and buttery soldiers brekkie. Seeing that I'd favourited her plate, the lovely Jen at The Village Pottery got in touch to say she loved my bibs and that they would make a perfect gift for her young niece - could we do a swap? What an ace idea! One of my Happy hedgehog bibs was dispatched and I think it's a great swap-a-roony for this lovely egg plate.

Now I'm looking forward to a whole new world of Etsy swap-a-rama!

Jen's studio is based in Bristol where you can drop by and even sample homemade cheesecake in the on-site cafe or you can check out her great hand-thrown ceramics at The Village Pottery store on Etsy.

Stepping out for supplies...

After a scramble last week to get enough stock ready to launch my Etsy shop, I've been out buying up more fabric. Luckily, I live in an area of London with lots of great independent fabric shops and new places seem to be opening all the time as the craft movement gains momentum.

Soya Teacup candles (Photo from themakelounge.com)

Firstly, I want to tell you about the marvelous Make Lounge and I'll fill you in on some of the other great stores over the next few weeks. I want to start with The Make Lounge as, in a way, it's been one of the catalysts for me setting up Stars and Buttons. They run contemporary craft workshops and the first one I did was the soya teacup candle making course. It was only one evening but I rediscovered the joy of making something physical (rather than the virtual online creations of my day job). And the best bit...there was wine and snacks! My kinda place. The experience totally inspired me to get back into making things, something I hadn't done regularly since school. I started sewing again, got a machine, did another course at The Make Lounge to brush up on my sewing skills and I've been sewing ever since.

Cake Pops (Photo from themakelounge.com)

 Anyway enough about me - The Make Lounge is in Islington, North London and runs contemporary craft workshops in everything from knitting, sewing and screen printing to making soap, lampshades and the newly added Cake Pops (which looks ace!). And the shop is amazing; full of fabulous fabrics, brilliant books and all manner of crafty bits and bobs. Somehow I always end up spending about three times more than I intend to! I don't know why I bother pretending I have a budget because I can't help buying up the super cute Michael Miller fabrics as they are perfect for the baby gifts I make. I also bought lots of lovely antique style purse frames for all the birthday presents I'm planning to make this month too.

Michael Miller Fabric I use for my bibs.

And one last thing, The Make Lounge also does bespoke parties for kids and adults and even hen parties - which I think is a great idea if you're trying to organise something fun and different that doesn't involve pink L-plates!

Find out more about The Make Lounge workshops on their website.

Read about Michael Miller fabrics on the Make It Fun blog.

Open For Business!

Finally! Today I am flinging open the virtual doors of my online shop and inviting you all to come on in and have a look around. I hope you like it.

You can find the Stars and Buttons Etsy shop here.

When some of my close friends started having babies, I spent quite a lot of time looking for original yet trendy little gifts. That's more difficult than it sounds when you throw in the word 'affordable' so I decided to make my own and Stars and Buttons was born. Now I'm selling my homemade bibs and burping cloth gift sets online which I'm very excited about. I love sourcing lovely printed fabric to turn into bibs, burp cloths and lots of other handmade things. Watch out for a wider range of fabrics and gifts which I'll  be listing in my Etsy shop soon. There'll even be pretty things for grown-ups.

I want to say a quick thanks to the lovely Amy who runs the excellent Robin & Mould Etsy shop for her advice and for providing the motivation to stop worrying about the details and just start selling! And to my lovely model Eléna, who was one of the first to road test the bibs and who is already proving a great bib saleswoman!

You can follow me on Twitter @starsandbuttons.