Storeyshop In Craftseller Magazine!

A lovely new craft magazine landed on my doormat yesterday and it's great! It's the second (October) issue of Craftseller. There are lots of projects I fancy having a go at (especially a little round felt bird) and some would make great handmade Christmas (sorry that word -eek!) presents. Oh, and there's an Etsy feature featuring yours truly. Yay!









The news from Storeyshop HQ is that there are new cards in progress! It's been ages as I have been so busy with custom orders for lovely people but new ones will be popping up in Storeyshop over the next week. New poster designs in the pipeline, too. Keep your eyes peeled!

I Want Wednesday...

...is back. I'm shopping again and this week's 'I Want' are lovely prints from crafting duo, 1canoe2 on Etsy. Based in Missouri, they print their gorgeous woodcut and letterpress creations in a big red barn. I'm very jealous! One day I will have a workshop. Enjoy!

'I Want' Wednesday...

...Again! Not quite sure how it got round to Wednesday again with no blog posts in between. Actually, I do. I had my day in London on Friday. I won't reveal too much until it comes out, but I did a photoshoot for a magazine (also, I want to see the finished feature before I tell everyone. Eeek I hope it's ok)! Well, the shoot was great but then I just about managed to get back up to Northumberland before being ill for the entire weekend. Yuk. Anyway, I am feeling loads better now so back to Storeyshop and blogging.

My 'I Want Wednesday' for today is inspired by the end of my mobile contract and the possibility of finally getting my hands on an iPhone! How nice are these these gorgeous phone and MP3 cases by On A Roll on Etsy? I love how tactile and handmade they are compared to the super high tech gadgets they are made for. They are all lovingly hand-knitted in the United States but the postage costs are very affordable worldwide. I think I'm going to go for the olive green one!







You can also find hand-knitted cup cosies (which double up as wrist warmers!) and cute little apple cosies so have a little look in On A Roll for yourself and for unique Christmas gifts. You can get gift vouchers too, so perfect if you can't decide which colour cosy to buy for that special someone.

Happy Wednesday!

Whistle-Stop Weekend!

I'm back at Storeyshop HQ after a brilliant action-packed, long weekend down south. Hadn't been down for a few months so it was great to go back and see family and friends in London and Sussex. It made a nice change to be away from the computer for a few days too.

The weather was very kind to us... Sunday was lovely and sunny! It's miserable and dark today though and feels like proper winter. Maybe Sunday was the last 'no coat' and 'no socks' day of this year? Sniff.

Really busy catching up with orders this week and it's a short one as I have an exciting day planned on Friday which involves heading down to London again. I can't reveal what it's for yet but should be fun. Still haven't unpacked from the weekend and we came back, yet again, laden with stuff my parents had 'sorted out' for me to take to my own house! I better get tidying after I have taken todays orders to the Post Office.

No exciting photos from the weekend but here's a new custom monkey order, from last week, who I liked so much that I have bought more socks and made him available to buy from Storeyshop. And also some photos of when Seb met Monkey.

Bank Holiday Treasury

Happy Bank Holiday Monday! I have managed to get an Etsy treasury this morning and, inspired by the lovely green baby booties from my previous post, have filled it with all things olive. You can find it here. Happy browsing! The items are all in my 'Favourites on Etsy' panel down on the right hand side of this blog too so can still be clicked straight through to when the treasury expires in a few days. Let's hope the gorgeous green finds make the front page of Etsy!




We are off to Dave's parents' for lunch in a bit so just a quick post today but back with more shopping finds, wedding updates, photos and also details of my up-coming interview for TryHandmade.com soon!

A Little Hello

Just a quick post to say that I'm still here! Scalpelling and sewing away. I freelanced on a magazine in Newcastle last week, at really short notice, so now have lots of Storeyshop orders to catch up on. More regular blogging will continue when I get back up to date and also when I get Photoshop back. Dave is working away from home for a few days and has taken the treasured laptop with him. I get to use the lovely, fast and big-screened PC but Photoshop and the rest of CS3 has decided to stop working on it. Very annoying. I don't know if it's something to do with Windows Vista but it's beyond my computer fixing capabilities as is photo resizing and editing without Photoshop. For now I will stick to sewing in front of the telly!

I will leave you with some super cute baby shoes which I found on Etsy the other day. I am in baby mode as a couple of my friends are expecting arrivals very soon...










How cute are they?! The shoes are available from: pleasantlyplumpknits and Baby Grin. I have searched and searched but can't find the shop where I found the baby slippers. Try prettylittle for something similar. piddies also have fab little shoes for tiny people.

(If anyone knows where I found the bunny slippers images above please let me know and I will add a link)

New Storeyshop Cards...

...are in! The first ever batch of limited edition laser cut Storeyshop cards are all nicely cut and will be available to buy soon. They have come out really well and I am excited about taking more nice photos of them (when the weather cheers up a bit and there's some sunlight!) and getting them in to the shop. Available in a range of colours, the new range of pre-cut cards are also great because they are in stock, ready to send straight away and are more purse-friendly. They will also be great for galleries and boutiques to stock. Here are the first few...









This week has sped by. I have been very busy catching up with all my orders and have just about caught up. It's nice to be back up north and back to business as usual with Storeyshop. More blog posts and new items in the shop next week...

Storeyshop On The Front Page of Etsy!

Not only is there a Storeyshop card on the front page of Etsy but I have actually seen it! I have had a few front page features before but never ever seen one in real time. Thank you so much to FluffyFlowers for being more on the ball and letting me know. How appropriate too as it is my very handsome fiance's birthday tomorrow!



I am so, so busy with card orders but had to have a little break to get a screen shot of that. I also managed to nab a treasury at the weekend and filled it with all things wedding! I think it may have expired by now but do give me a shout if you would like to find any of the lovely items and I will let you know where you can get your hands on them.

I'm Getting Married!

Ahh, my poor neglected blog. I have been very busy down south visiting family and friends, freelancing on various magazines in London and Newcastle, squeezing lots of Storeyshop orders and um, wedding planning! Dave proposed on my birthday last month! All very exciting. Not really sure where to start with organising the big day but we have written a few lists and driven around a bit looking at venues. It's a start. Obviously, they'll be lots of handmade elements too, which will mean lots of wedding-inspired Etsy shopping so I will share my finds here...

Must get back to my card orders. I have a break now between freelance bookings so will be fully back into Storeyshop making, treasury creating and blogging. Must catch up on all the lovely blogs that I follow too!

To complete the love theme, I'll leave you with some simple and stylish silver and white wedding cards which a customer ordered recently.

I Want Wednesday!

I am continuing on the local theme for my pick for this week's 'I Want Wednesday'. Check out these beautiful and intricate brooches by designed by jane. Each one is individually hand sewn and features the neatest and most amazing freeform embroidery. They'd look fab on a white top in the summer or on a jacket or bag. Love them! Jane is another fellow maker in the north east of England too.







I'm excited today too as my 'Top Dad' Father's Day card was featured on the front page of Etsy earlier today and is also included in the Father's day Gift Guide. Woo hoo!

I Want Wednesday (on Thursday)

I've been so busy that I haven't blogged for a few days and missed 'I Want Wednesday'. Always nice to mix things up a bit though, so here it is anyway. On Thursday. I love this Cone Book Sculpture by Paperfaerie! I think it would look so nice in a minimal hallway or lounge. I found Paperfaerie's shop by using Etsy's Shop Local feature where you can search shops by location. It's great to find new makers and shops especially when they are nearby. There are lots more unique and interesting sculptures in Paperfarie's shop. They could make great, original gifts too...definitely worth a look!













I'm being bad and blogging rather than swimming. The outdoor pool has opened again for the season near our house now. Dave and I have been assuring ourselves most days that we will finally start our swimming practise, for the Great Swim in September. We were going to go yesterday, but it was raining and freezing cold so we decided we would go tonight, but it's very windy out there! Must. Go. Tomorrow.

I Want Wednesday!

I nearly missed it. I'm all muddled up after the bank holidays and have been thinking it was Tuesday all day. My Wednesday Want for today is basically anything by Reiter8 (pronounced reiterate). Reiter8 is the nicest shop ever and totally unique. You can find handmade cushions and bags 'upcycled' from boat sails. Anyone who knows me will know I love all things nautical and you can't get much more nautical than that! Lots of my favourite colours too; white (I know it's not technically a colour but it's still my favourite), red and navy blue. These are my top picks but there are lots more in the shop...

















Click here to see Katherine's 'Handmade Portrait' too. I have only just found it and it's a really nice video to watch and see how the Reiter8 goodies are made. I'm going to have to treat myself to a cushion or two. Or maybe a bag.. I need a sail with a 'H' on. It's my birthday soon too!

I Love Shopping!

I've been finding new pretties on Etsy and managed to get another treasury to show some off! I realised when I looked at my favourites that I must have a thing for red and yellow...



It's the Easter holiday weekend. Bank holidays just aren't the same when you work for yourself though. I actually think Dave and I might work and save our 'bank holidays' for my birthday or when we go down south at the end of May. It will hopefully be nicer weather and better traffic! I might have a sorting out my work area and craft supplies day tomorrow as an easy Friday. I need to get some inspirational things on the walls of the office as it's all very beige. I have been waiting until we decorate but that may be some time judging by our DIY speed and budget at the moment.

I'm hungry so must go and get some dinner on. I'll leave you with some of my recent personalised cards.

My New Favourite Storeyshop Monkey

It's Friday! Not quite sure how that came around so fast again but I am looking forward to the weekend. I think we are going to go and investigate the Ouseburn Valley area of Newcastle where the Art Works Galleries are. They contacted me recently about stocking my cards so I'd like to see what it's like and I have heard it is well worth a visit. Other than that, I think it will be a weekend of sorting out the garden if it's nice weather and eBaying. I have had another wardrobe sort out so can hopefully make a few pennies (and some space for new finds!)

This is my new favourite monkey of all time that I mentioned in my last post. Check him out! So far I haven't been able to get any more of these socks either so it's looking like he's going to be very limited edition...











I won't mind at all if he stays around sitting on the shelf in the office but if you want to buy him you can find him in Storeyshop now.

Have a lovely weekend!

'I Want' Wednesday

Hello. I have decided my blog shouldn't just be all Storeyshop, Storeyshop, Storeyshop. My new weekly 'I Want' posts will be featuring my favourite thing I have found to buy, or have bought, recently. I'm sure it will have lots of lovely Etsy items as I have so many 'wants' on there but I will be featuring items from all over.

The debut 'I want' spot is taken by Benny. How brilliant is he? He is made by simplijessi. There are lots of other amazingly fun and original dolls available too and she will also make custom orders! You can also see what she's up to on her lovely blog, Studio jessi.








More 'I Want' posts coming soon. Thinking about it, I may have to have more than one a week as I have lots of favourites. I better get down to the post office with my latest card orders. Happy Wednesday!

Storeyshop Hand-Cut Wedding Invites

Woo hoo! I'm finished. If you follow my blog, you'll know I love making wedding invites and here's my latest completed order in white and silver. I'm very pleased with them. Every single rose is a tiny bit different too, just like in real life. I hope they go down well with the customers! Silver and gold lining papers are now available for all Storeyshop cards and also metallic envelopes at no extra cost.










Happy Tuesday! Post office now to post these off and then more monkey making and a run if I can muster up the energy. Dave and I have signed up to swim the Great North Swim again this year so we need to start getting fit again (well I do). I have to beat my time from last year. Not that I could really go any slower!

This time my mile long freezing cold open water swim is going to be raising money for Evelina Children's Hospital which is part of St Guy's and St Thomas' in London. My little nephew, Harvey, had heart surgery there last summer and I still can't believe how well he and the whole family were treated and the amazing care he got. I can still picture him when he was all wobbly a few days after his op but carefully toddling around in the little Early Learning Centre car. It would be great to give something back to help other little children who have to go there, maybe to buy some more toys for the young patients and their brothers and sisters to play with.

More details about that soon!