Where did the last four months go?!

Oh my gosh it's been so long since I blogged I've almost forgotten how to do it!!! I'm so sorry for the abrupt lack of posts since the Summer, things just got so incredibly busy that I didn't have the time to blog for a few weeks, then I went on holiday, then it was just super busy when I came back and it hasn't stopped since! I've been meaning to write a post for weeks now but it's hard to start again once you stop.

Anyway enough excuses.... it's nice to be back, I've missed blogging! I kind of don't know where to start though as it's been so long and I've added so many new products to my range over the last few months. 

Think I'd best blog about my Halloween things though - if I don't then I'll have a whole year to wait before I can show them!

I haven't gone too overboard but I have lots of Halloween badges and compact mirrors, great for kiddy's party bags as well as Halloween party games - one lovely customer this week bought some to use in a spooky game of 'Pass the Parcel' which I think is a fab idea, way better than sweeties!

Halloween badges are available in packs of 5, 10 and 25 here in my Not on the High Street shop - and if you use the code OCT10 at the checkout, you can get 10% off until this Sunday 28th October. 

I've got lots of fabric covered handbag mirrors too, great for teenagers and older girl's Halloween parties.... available here and here.

You can also purchase direct with paypal through my facebook page, there are some special prices for fb fans too :) Just see the Halloween album for more details...

Anyway hope you have a fab Halloween night whatever you're doing! Ours will be a quiet one I expect, though we will probably get a few trick or treaters calling! Sorry this post's been a bit of a hard sell on the Halloween goodies by the way but at least it's got me back into the swing of writing again! Hopefully I will be back soon, my mission is to write at least one post a week, not sure that'll be possible but will definitely give it a go xxx

An apple a day...

Well hello hello... I feel a bit out of touch with my blog at the moment as I've been so busy lately I've not had much chance to post. Mainly it's been fathers day and wedding orders, but I also made some 'apple' mirrors as teacher thank you gifts this week and boy did they go down well!! 

I was selling them direct through my facebook page at first as I didn't even have time to list them and I completely sold out within a day.... I've now got hold of more of the fabric and so they are once again back in stock! It's funny how certain designs and fabrics capture people's imaginations isn't it, I don't think I've ever made anything which has been in such demand :D

If any of you lovely bloggers would like to jump on the apple mirror bandwagon, they are a special price if you can purchase direct through paypal - £2.95 each for one, or £2.50 each if you are buying more than one. Postage is a flat £1.00 regardless of how many mirrors you purchase... email or message me at jenny.arnott@hotmail.co.uk with your paypal address and I will send you an invoice. Or if you prefer I have listed them in my Etsy shop too!

Anyway as well as all the father's day cards and apple mirrors being made, I also had a little run on badges this week so have been frantically making up more...

 ...available here in my Etsy shop :)

I've also been in the press which is always exciting for me! This time it was my London Bus compact mirror which is in the current issue of Now magazine!

And I've also got a few new stockists which I need to post about soon. Things are going really well with my business and I am so pleased! I work hard at it and I finally feel like I am getting results which is fantsatic. I will never be a millionaire (unless I win the lottery - which considering I never play it, is looking quite unlikely) but if I am able to make a comfortable living with something I love doing then I will be happy!

Anyway hope you all have a fantastic Jubilee weekend - I am actually going to visit my parents for a couple of days - so my shops are now shut over the weekend (not sure if this affects the links I've put into this post actually, sorry if it does) but I will be back soon, and will still be around to answer emails and send invoices if needed! I'm taking my neglected hexagons with me, so hopefully when I get back I might have figured out how to join them and have something resembling a cushion cover, wish me luck with that! Happy weekend xxx

♥ Hearts ♥

Well I'm sitting here writing this with a perfect blue sky and sun streaming in the window - so beautifully clear and fresh it's been these last few days, if a bit bracing... it may be sunny but it's very, very cold!

Makes a lovely change to the drizzle anyway and the better light has meant that I've been able to do some long awaited photography of some of my Valentines products. I've been quietly sewing and making up samples of various things for the last week or so, though it's been quite slow going - I've had a horrible cold/cough/bug/virus for over a week now and boy has it made me feel awful!! Feels like I've just been existing in a thick fog for the last week but the fog is slowly starting to lift now, even though the cough is still lingering on. Hopefully will see the back of it this week! 

So anyway hearts have been the order of the day...

I've cut into my super duper thick felt from Blooming Felt to make these simple heart mirrors, which can be found here... At first I thought they were too simple, too plain, but the more I look at them, the more I like them. Sometimes it is definitely true, less is more!! I'm just not very good at the whole 'less' thing!

I've also been designing a few more personalised products to add to my range. My 'I love...' mirrors and badges were so popular last year so I'm building on that with these new designs - a personalised date mirror to celebrate special anniversaries, weddings, birthdays etc and a personalised couples initials mirror, perfect for Valentines :)

The lovely thick felt came out again for these personalised heart initial badges, found here...

...and then with my 25mm die I set about making these teeny weeny ones!

I couldn't decide how to package them at first but think they look quite cute like this!

And lastly, to add to my badge cards, a simple heart design, which you can see here!

Anyway so that's pretty much been my last few days... the photography and uploading always takes so much longer than I think it will, but nearly there now! As I mentioned in my last post, I'm changing things around with my shops this year a bit, with more of an emphasis on my little gifty type products. I sold off quite a few of my older designs from my NOTHS shop last week which has freed more space in my little studio (though the freed up space has already been taken over by about a million padded jiffy bags and other random packaging... but at least it's all in one place now! )

I'm also a bit behind as usual, but here are a couple of projects I designed for Crafts Beautiful magazine's January issue (last months). A quilted hottie...

and some padded hangers and a little lavender heart...

 For more crafting ideas go to www.crafts-beautiful.com

I did both of these commission months and months ago, so it's really lovely to see them in print, at last, and to have them back again - the heart has a new home on my dresser! Anyway hope you all are having a good week and enjoying the sun. I think our Tesco shopping is here as I can hear the van reversing so  I better go! 

Actually just very quickly before I do go, I thought I would share this amazing photo I came across a few days ago... I posted it on my facebook page too so apologies if you've already seen it, but I think it's worth a second look anyway ;) 

Photo Source

It's of the world's biggest patchwork crochet 'quilt', where thousands of small crochet blankets were joined together on the steps of Helsinki's cathedral in Finland for a Guinness world record attempt! How amazing is it?!! Imagine being there and seeing all that colour all together, I think it's fab! Apparently they had around 8000 crochet blankets made, but they could only fit 3800 of them on... just wow! And on that happy note, have a great week! xxx

Christmas is coming!

Apologies in advance, it's been a while since I blogged so have a feeling this could be a bit of a mammoth post! I hope you're sitting comfortably with a glass of something nice...

Well I've been promising it for ages now so better start with a little blanket update! Though actually not been doing much on it lately... a mixture of lack of time and a lack of motivation if I'm honest. When I started it, I was going great guns and within a couple of weeks it was about half the size it is now. At the moment I am lucky if I manage a stripe a day, but then that is OK - I'm at about 100 stripes now I think and I was only aiming for about 120 so not long to go! I kind of don't want to finish it, I have enjoyed making it so much, so maybe that is why I am eeking it out... At least I don't have the horrible sewing together bit with this one!!

Anyway so what do you think? This photo is just over 2/3 of it laid out...

It is so bright and cheerful, just as a granny blanket should be I think, and is lovely and warm to snuggle up under. As it is a work in progress, it is currently living on the sofa, so it's in easy reach in the evenings! I do love cosy evenings, with my dressing gown on and all the lamps lit. It's definitely one of my favourite things about these dark cold winter months.

Continuing on the crochet theme, a few weeks ago, I also started making some Christmassy red and white crochet bunting using Jacquie's fab pattern, though actually this is as far as I got! Karl was a bit mean about it - he can't see the point of any bunting and I think crocheted bunting was just a step too far for him to comprehend!!! I took it to heart and put my lonely triangle away in a drawer but at the weekend I dug it out and I've decided to finish it whether he likes it or not! What do men know about these things anyway?! The plan is to alternate the red and white combinations for each flag and then string them all onto some stripey string to finish. Hopefully it will look nice and festive!

So apart from the crochet, have been working hard on lots of Xmas orders coming in for various things - mainly mirrors and badges I have to say. I actually got a new 25mm die for my badge maker last week and so spent a day or so testing it out making some really teeny weeny badges. The Christmas ones I've got in my shops already...

I'm selling them in packs so they can be split up for stocking fillers and little gifts and so far have gone down really well! I also started making little floral and pretty patterned ones too, but not got around to photographing them yet, hopefully will do soon though :) Anyway so that was quite exciting last week - I do love the thrill of designing and making a new product, and these are just so cute, I totally love making them!!

Have also been on a pudding mission this week, making up more pudding badge cards and pudding magnets for my Not on the High Street and Etsy shops...

Thank you to all you lovely bloggers who have ordered things from me in the last few weeks by the way, I really truly appreciate it! I actually need to start my Christmas shopping soon - Christmas is creeping up so quickly this year as the weeks whizz by. I did have a little trip to Bath on Friday to meet up with a friend for a few hours but all I came back with were some little decorative bits for me! Not really the spirit of Christmas shopping but still... I did get some lovely things actually - especially from M&S, they have some gorgeous red and white decorations in, but I will save them for another post.

Anyway this week I've also been working on a spring magazine commission. It won't be published for months yet though the Christmas projects I did for Crafts Beautiful way back in the summer are finally in the current issues! First up from the November issue is a Christmas card project I designed which is great for using up all your little bits of ribbons...

I really enjoyed doing this one, and it actually turned out better than I had imagined. I love the photography shoot for this project, I think the styling shows them off really well.

The December issue is actually out now too and I have three different projects in this one!! One of them is for these little hanging decorations including a snowman, star, tree, stocking and gingerbread house. Do you like them? The gingerbread house was definitely my fave to make! It will be coming out to decorate my own tree in a couple weeks, can't wait!

For more crafting ideas go to www.crafts-beautiful.com

  

I think I'll save the other two projects from this issue for my next post too, so that's nearly it from me today! Oh just before I go actually, wanted to show you a bit of festive embroidery I did at the weekend... 

If you couldn't tell, it's a little pair of festive mittens! (Karl's first words when he saw it were 'Why've you done a pair of boxing gloves?' Cheeky thing! Trouble is,  am not entirely sure he was joking!) It was really simple to make, just a little felt and embroidery thread, framed in a little hoop. Don't look too closely at my stitching though, I was watching a film at the time and somehow the snowflakes ended up being kind of wonky... oh well, it's only for me so doesn't matter too much I guess!

Anyway, I hope you are having a good week whatever you have been doing... thanks for your lovely comments and for stopping by as always, and I will be back soon with some more festive makes! Jenny xxx

Giveaway time!

Well I've been promising a giveaway for what seems like months now... so here it is - at last! I thought a festive themed prize was in order now that we are in November, which in my mind at least, means we are officially on the run up to Christmas now - eeek! Anyway, here's what I will be including in the little festive package of goodies...

...some festive pudding buttons...

... a six pack of my printed bauble cards...

... a little stocking pin badge...

...a stocking decoration for the tree...

...and lastly one of my little snowflake handbag mirrors (can't believe how many of these I've sold already and we're only just out of October!)

So a real mix of Christmassy bits and bobs, but hopefully a nice mix!

This giveaway is really a big thank you to all my readers, followers and fans on here, as well as on my facebook and twitter pages! I'm made up to have over 300 blog followers, over 1000 fb likers and nearly the same on my twitter page - thank you so much for popping in every now and again to catch up on what I've been up to! I've really loved getting to know so many other crafty and talented people this last year too!

Anyway, so you're probably wondering what do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning?? 

Well I've tried to keep it nice and simple! Yesterday I opened an Etsy shop, so I thought it should be something linked to that! (Plus it's looking a little lonely over there so would like some more visitors!) 

So for one entry, all you need to do is... favourite my Etsy shop, then come back here and leave me a comment telling me you've done so! Easy peasy :)

Now I know not everyone's on Etsy, so for a second entry, you just need to follow my blog, preferably by GFC, then leave me a comment letting me know that you follow.

So to recap... you can enter by:

♥ Favouriting my Etsy shop

♥ Following my Blog

Please remember to leave me two separate comments if you are entering twice!

All the goodies will go to one lucky person... the giveaway is open internationally, so wherever you are in the world, you're welcome to enter! The giveaway will end next Sunday - so the 13th November, at 7.00pm English time and the winner will be picked probably by the magic number generator!

Thanks again for all your support, friendships and lovely comments this year and very good luck with my giveaway! I will be back soon with some new things I've been working on, plus a blanket update too! Have a happy rest of the week, Jenny x

p.s If you are kind enough to blog, tweet, sing and shout about my giveaway, I would be so very grateful - the more the merrier! Thanks lovelies xx

SALE!!!

Yes... it's SALE time!! I've missed the last few NOTHS sales for various reasons so it's been ages and ages since my last one! 

There are lots and lots of bargains to be had... mainly lovely embroidered button sets, prints, cards and cushions! Here are just a few of them, but hop on over to my Not on the High Street shop to see the full range of discounts :)

Cupcake badges - now £3.50 each (with a further saving if you buy the set of three!)

Flower badges - now £3.50 each (again with a further saving if you buy the set of three!)

Seaside button sets - from £3.50 (down from £7.00!)

 Flowers Cushion - now £28.00 (reduced from £55.00!)

Beach hut Cushion - now £28.00 (reduced from £55.00!)

Robin print - now £14.00 (reduced from £18.00)

Toadstool print - now £12.00 (reduced from £16.00)

Cupcake Button Set - £4.50 (down from £7.00!)

 Garden Button sets - now £4.50 (reduced from £7.00)

   Cards - now only £1.75 (reduced from £2.50)

...plus lots more besides!!

Anyway that's all I popped in for today... hope you will be able to find some early Christmas present bargains ;) I will be back soon with some new designs I've been working on... and maybe a yarn update too if your lucky!

Jenny x

p.s. If any of my lovely blogger friends reading this would like a little extra discount on anything, please please don't be shy... just drop me a line or leave me a comment and we'll sort something out (would rather give you guys a discount than pay NOTHS commission!) xxx