If Rabbits could Talk

Well according to the calendar it's meant to be spring.

According to the weather it's still very much the middle of winter. Fine by me, but I know many of your are looking forward to sweaty sticky summer evenings using a fan to help you sleep ;)

So I've posted some pics of my Chicken Little - who rightly said the sky is falling. So I thought I would post you a couple of pics of some lovely Easter Bunnies.

Now, here in the With U in Mind house hold, we have a rabbit. She lives in her hutch outside and comes inside every day for several hours. Cute right? Nay, you are wrong. Yuffie (that's our rabbit) is the leader of all evil deeds. Not only does she hate everyone (with the exception of my hubby whom she views as her human/rabbit partner) but she hates everything. It became a bit of a joke but my Husband said a few years ago that I should write a comic strip with Yuffie and our two cats being the main characters. An interesting notion and one I plan to play with over the next year or so.

At the end of that slightly random tangent what I am saying is all rabbits are evil... apart from these guys.

Will shortly be available in our Folksy and Etsy stores

Will shortly be available in our Folksy and Etsy stores

A little rumble before the Christmas storm?

So the last week has been an interesting week.

After trying a couple of different networking techniques, my Facebook page has seen a surge of interest and I've had a surge of orders. From custom pieces, to items I've made for friends but never for the general public to just general sales and interest. I know much of this is to do with the big 'C' being just over the horizon, however, I can't believe it. Part one of the plan seems to be falling into place. Such a happy little bunny.

So if you have purchased something from me in the past couple of weeks (or at all for that matter) a huge thank you. Without your support I wouldn't be able to start turning a hobby into the dream job.

You are all...

's

(do you like the 's at the end there)

In fairness I don't have many photos to show you as I have been busy making and packing out just to ensure I keep up on orders. However I would like to share this with you. I've never tried making Chainmaille like this. I need to revisit a couple of the links to just smarten them up, however very autumnal don't you think? A lovely little seasonal bracelet. 

Available in my Folksy store - Autumnal Flower

Someone also asked me for some Stitch Markers too. Nothing fancy just something simple. The photo doesn't do much justice however they are quite cute I can assure you.

Stitch Markers

I have a list of things to craft and create, and I am part way through writing a cool post which will be going out later this week. Need to get it submitted over tomorrow - but I can't tell you more just yet :D

Over all this week has been a fun and prosperous one. Our Landlord has decided to sell out flat however that hasn't dampened my mood much. It will mean finding somewhere with higher rent, but hopefully more space... which means more crafting. Complete excellence if I do say so myself.

I will be nipping over to the Handmade Monday weekly to join in and see what other amazing things other lovely crafty people have been up to. If you haven't already... you really need to check it out.

P.S. If anyone is interested I am looking to host a Halloween swap and would love you all to join. If you are interested read my previous post or contact me on with_u_in_mind@hotmail.co.uk for more information.

It's all about the Owls

This past week and a half has been unbelievably busy. Unfortunately not with crafting, but with the 'other' job. With the boss off it's left me in charge and as is usually the case we have had nothing but incident after accident after issue. Always the way when you have no one else to turn to.

However thankfully I have had a couple of days off and in respect had time to catch up with a bit of cleaning and organising. Part of my plan was to sort out the home so that the place is less cluttered and my craft supplies are neatly stock piled. It will take a lot longer than the few hours I've put into so far, but in the next couple of weeks I should have a clutter free home with plenty of space to create that next project.

Talking about the plan, as of next week I will be writing regular posts dedicated to my plan and how to start your own. I am hoping some of you will find it useful and the rest of you I hope will find it an interesting read. As always I am looking forward to reading your comments. Everyone in this community is very supportive which allows us to share our tips and tricks. Where else would you find such friendly people?

I have also been planning my Halloween Swap, which I will be launching the first week of September. I have had quite a few people show an interest. All crafts and skills will be welcome to join, so if you haven't put your hand up yet, by all means please do! I will write the sign up post in a couple of days time.

Now for some crafting...

Owls continue to shine in the crafty spot light at the moment and over the past couple of months I have sold a number of Owl based plushies, including my little avatar character! Two more joined my Folksy store this week.

Baby Blue - Click here to find me!

This is Baby Blue. The baby blue owl that takes away all those sad feelings with nothing more than a simple cuddle.

Owl of Trust - Click here to find me!

This is the Owl of Trust - the perfect low cost pet for that person with all the secrets.

I am hoping these guys will find new homes soon as they were certainly lovingly made. I am hoping to add a couple of other slightly more festively themed in the next few weeks but we shall see how time goes. 

The other cool thing that happened is I decided to get some new Business Cards printed. I used to use Vista Print but I had heard so many good things about Moo.com that I just had to give them a go. I was so happy with the turn out - I ordered them on Sunday and I got the bad boys on Wednesday. Excellent! The photos are a little 'warmer' than I expected and I will need to adjust that for the next batch, but over all, I can't complain. I used the cover photo from my Facebook page on the front, and then my little owl avatar on the back. They are clean, easy to read and just have the essential contact points and pages listed. I would recommend this company a thousand times over!

However, I have projects to finish. Check back on Sunday where I will be joining the Handmade Monday crowd. 

Marshmallows, Love Hearts and Dolly Mixtures

After completing the sweet keyring as featured on my last post I was asked to make one up for a friend. I completed that and got a good response. So I went away, got jiggy with the fimo (really not my favourite material to work with as I tend to burn more stuff than what I cook correctly). However I managed to come out with enough beads to make up several new designs. I then remembered that I had been sent a bag of Dolly Mixture beads which I haven't known what to do with for ages. I crafted on down, took the photos and upload them to my Folksy store yesterday morning. I was delighted to find that two sold last night. With a bit of luck I may be on to a winner.

So I thought I would share the photos with you just to see what the general consensus was :)

'Cute Kid' Key Charm

'Wild Thing' Bag Charm

Sold last night - Dolly Mixtures meet Mallows

Sold - Wild Thing Retro sweet Charms

Depending on how they go down I may make some more. Got some plans for the Christmas Candy Canes, gingerbread men and xmas puds :)

Last reminder! Don't forget to join in my crafty give away. This winner will be picked on Saturday. Just click the link (Relaunch Give Away) and leave a comment to be entered. Best of luck and thanks to everyone who has entered so far!

The Rush

Every year I make sure that by this date I have my tree up, the house decorations up, the calendar well on its well on its way to being emptied of chocolate, the cats are getting shouted at for trying to climb the tree, the presents are wrapped. The food shopping is under way, the movie for the 5am wake up call on the big day has been chosen and I am carefully counting the wine bottles under the stair to ensure none go missing.

This year, I get what people mean by 'the rush'.

I haven't done half of what I should have done. In fact, the only things that been completed...nothing. Nadda. Nought.

I have everything half finished. However I am not complaining. In fact, I am a very happy bunny. I have received so many last minute orders for handmade Christmas gifts that I am struggling to keep up. Between a full time job with awful working hours (well the travel is the awful bit), doing the shopping, gift wrapping and just general life I feel fully rushed of my feet.

I love it!

As a result of my lack of schedule I missed out on Handmade Monday which I was a little gutted about I have to admit. However I have found time to join Crafty-Bitz, which I just love! The idea behind it all is amazing. A free showcase of such great talent. Trust me to be a bit slow on the up take. I blame my lack of organisational skills ;) If you haven't already, I would ask you to at least check it out. A lovely forum indeed!

I have been making up personalised gift boxes for jewellery sets - Pick'n'Mix bags, and Scrabble boxes (I will post pics at the weekend). I have been baking fimo like it is going out of fashion (well in fairness is did kind of in the late 90's). Waiting on orders and putting together earring and bracelets sets for custom orders. So I have been a happy crafty bunny!

Whilst I don't have photos of the customs just yet, I did want to show you these. Some knitted decorations (which I was going to put on folksy... but somehow they found their wait to my tree... strange that...). Also, attempt number two at Chainmaille. Really getting into that jump ring set up gig. It looks so complex, but I am surprised at how easy it really is - but in all fairness I have only tried out some of the easier designs so watch this space.