Rainbow Needlefelting

Have you seen the latest Makes magazine by Take a Break? It’s another packed issue full of craft projects and ideas, one of which is a Rainbow Needle Felted Mobile by yours truly!

This was a really fun project to make, and is a great beginner needle felted project. If you want to get hold of a magazine, you can find them here.

I had a lot of fun playing around with the hearts before making the mobile. Needle felting is therapeutic in so many ways!

I’m taking part in this online craft fair, starting tomorrow! I have an exclusive discount available for the market, head to Shop Small, Love Indie to find out more at 10am, see all the small businesses taking part and find out what my discount is! I’m planning on a small shop update of lavender bags too, which are selling out fast!

Over on Instagram I’ve been taking part in March Meet the Maker, hosted by Joanne Hawker and Tresstle. It’s really fun every year to share aspects of your business that people are interested in and that you don’t normally share! If you’d like to find out more, click here.

In shop news, there are a couple of new products in my Folksy shop, with an option to add an embroidered badge to your purchase, creating a lovely gift to send to a friend. I’ve enjoyed selecting badges that complement the product, either a lavender bag or purse.

And that’s it for this blog post, I hop you are okay,

Teresa x

Folksy Friday: Craft Kits

Its been an age since I last wrote a Folksy Friday blog post, and as I was feeling a bit glum this week, and at rather a loss with what to do with myself, I thought it would be a nice thing to do. I

When I’m feeling a bit lost creatively I usually turn to a craft kit, either one from a magazine or one I’ve bought, to inspire me again. So today I thought I’d share some of the gorgeous craft kits available on Folksy, mostly textile inspired ones, but there are plenty of others available, click here to see the full range available.

I’ve included two embroidery projects, one available as a kit and one that is a PDF which is sent via email. The Blue Tit Cross Stitch is from Alex Agg. The Star Embroidery is available from Flynn & Mabel and looks like a really fun way to learn lots of new embroidery stitches.

Needle felting is a very therapeutic craft, the beautiful kit from Frankie and Sydney has everything you need to create a lovely piece of textile art.

I couldn’t resist including the super cute Beginners Cross Stitch Bear from Sarah Watkins Design, and the delightful Elsie Mouse from Cotton Fairy. I love both of their yellow jumpers!

Jewellery making is an absorbing craft, the Bracelet Kit from The Wire Lady looks fun and the colours are lovely.

Oyster Catchers are one of my favourite birds to see when I’m out and about, (they also make a cute peep peep noise!) and this kit from Puffin Cove has all you need to make an Oyster Catcher Lavender Bag.

Finally, last but not least, I’ve included a pack of fabric, trims and embellishments from Mandy Barnes Textile Art that is certainly going to get your creative juices flowing again.

Happy creating!

Teresa x

Random Acts of Kindness Day

On Wednesday this week it’s Random Acts of Kindness day, and to celebrate Pedddle are hosting an online Market, the Random Acts of Kindness Market.

It’s all about buying a gift for someone else, to spread love and appreciation. I think it’s a lovely idea! Each small business taking part has created a special gift, which when purchased will be gift wrapped, and a hand written note included for the recipient. I love the idea of lots of people receiving surprise gifts through the post, that also support small businesses.

Read more about Random Acts of Kindness day on the Pedddle Blog

I have made a new collection of my Mini Happy Flowers, brightly coloured felt flowers that are hand made from wool felt, hand stitched and stand in small wooden bobbins. Each one is slightly different, with different colours and stitches. They will be available in my Folksy store from 10am on Wednesday morning. I think they make a lovely gift, or as a treat for yourself! Being kind to yourself is very important too!

There are some other fantastic makers taking part, here’s a selection of some that caught my eye on the market page…

Top Left, Wriggly Tin Soap Co Foot Spa Set; Top Right, Lilliput Wight Colourful Coiled Trinket Dish ; Bottom Left, Utterly Pottery Personalised Ceramic Coaster; Handmade by Tinni Rope Statement Necklace

The market will take place on Pedddle’s new sister site, dedicated to online markets, Tresstle. Here are all the links you need to shop:

Pedddle: link to stall holders taking part here

Tresstle: link to the online market, products and other events taking place within the market here.

Folksy: my online shop is found on the Folksy website, dedicated to hand crafted products made in the U.K. is here.

Happy shopping!

Teresa x

Behind the Scenes: Post and Packaging

Selling your work online means doing a lot of wrapping and posting of parcels. Receiving one of these parcels is the biggest part of the customer’s experience of buying from you, and you want it to be a good one. I also want my packaging to be re-usable and recyclable. As I will be increasing my postage prices on Monday (due to a price rise at Royal Mail) I wanted to share a little more detail about my packaging.

I wrap all my products in tissue paper and fasten this with a sticker or paper tape.

I add a business card and a hand written note to the customer.

This is all popped into a letterbox friendly card envelope, and if there are any gaps where the product might slip around these are stuffed with shredded paper.

The box is sealed with paper parcel tape, and a Shirley Rainbow logo and return address sticker (both paper) are added. The customer’s address is written on the envelope and off it all goes!

It has taken me a while to get this process right, however I’m really happy with it all now, and I’d like to think customers can reuse the tissue and box for sending their own parcels, and any shredded paper can be recycled or added to a compost bin! Very occasionally I will use reused bubble wrap, although I try to stay plastic free.

All my orders are sent 1st class with Royal Mail. As I mentioned earlier my prices will be going up on Monday to £2 per parcel. At the moment I am only sending to UK addresses, however I am keeping a close eye on several small business advice groups I’m part of, to see how to proceed with the new arrangements re selling to the EU, after Brexit. Hopefully then I can resume offering postage outside of the UK!

Its really important to me that my products, which are made with so much love, care and attention are sent to my customer in a way that reflects this. I‘ve had some lovely reviews recently, in my Folksy shop regarding my packaging, which makes me think I have got it right! Hurray!

Teresa

Lavender Bag Production- behind the scenes

Happy new year! And what a strange one it is. However rather than dwell on the global situation I thought I’d share a bit more about the process of making my lavender bags. They have quickly become my most popular product, which is great, as I love making them!

Which one is your favourite?!

Each one starts off as a digital sketch, which I turn into a template for cutting out felt. I use 100% merino wool felt which is delightful to use. It doesn’t fray or pill, is smooth to touch and comes in a gorgeous variety of colours. If you’d like to read more about the felt I use, click here. I cut all the lavender bags out by hand. This means I can get the most out of every piece of felt, so there is little waste. I keep all the scraps, using smaller pieces for the appliqué areas, and making badges, and the tinier scraps are all gathered together and used as stuffing in the lavender bags and for my christmas decorations. So in fact, there is no waste from the felt!

Tiny scraps and bits for appliqué.

I use off-cuts of faux leather and vinyl for some of the appliqué, which is great for adding a touch of metallics and glitter. I use DMC threads, some vintage threads I have been given, and also some fine crochet cotton to add all the embroidered details. This is one of my favourite parts, adding character, details and texture to each lavender bag. Because all the embroidery is done by hand each lavender bag is unique.

Close up of the lavender, I wish you could smell this!

Once stitched the lavender bags are filled with organically grown lavender, from my parents garden. This part of the process smells wonderful!

Stitch details

Each lavender bag hangs from a ribbon or cord which is carefully stitched into place. These are often recycled ribbons, I collect bits of ribbon every where I go now!

I am constantly adding new characters and designs to the collection of lavender bags, if you have a suggestion, please let me know! You can find my lavender bags for sale in my Folksy shop here.

Thanks for reading,

Teresa x

Thank you, and see you next year!

My online shop is now closed, I’ve been amazed by all the support I’ve had for it in 2020! I’m looking forward to a rest now, and some new projects starting in 2021! Thank you everyone for following my blog this year, I hope you have a restful Christmas and I wish you all the best for 2021.

Teresa xx

Christmas Table Decorating And Much More

A few weeks ago I scrambled into the loft to get out some Christmas decorations to create a table setting for Christmas. I had lots of fun creating a ‘tablescape’ that would set off some new christmas decorations I had created a tutorial for, for Love Crafts, and the tutorial is now available, for FREE, at Love Crafts!

Love Crafts have created a free downloadable e-book featuring some beautiful projects to make your Christmas table special. My embroidery hoops are used as napkin ties, and then your guests can take them away to hang on the Christmas tree! Other projects are place settings, a quilted table runner, paper trees and some delicious looking cookies.

My other news this week is that this weekend is my final big market of 2020. It’s in association with Pedddle and is featuring the work of Folksy sellers from across the country.

You can find my ‘stall’ in the east market, and I will be running a discount of 10% off with code FolksyXmas. This will be my last discount code for quite a while, so if there’s something you’ve had your eye now is the time!!

I will be running a small competition to win a Jingle Christmas Tree decoration, there are 5 available, all you have to do is place an order with me over the weekend to be in with a chance of winning!

You will also be able to see me talk to Camilla from Folksy on Saturday morning from 10am as part of a live shopping event, where I will have a few exclusive offers available. This is the first time I’ve ever done something like this, it might be chaos!! I’d love it if you can come to watch at 10am on Strykin,

Thank you for reading, I hope you have a great weekend.

Sherwood Makers Online Market

This weekend I’m taking part in the Sherwood Makers Online Market. Sherwood is an area of Nottingham close to where I live, it has a bustling high street chock full of independent shops and cafes, a fair few charity shops and more creative people than you would imagine! I know a few of them and have met many more at craft fairs in and around Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. This year, three Sherwood based makers have grouped together to form Sherwood Makers, to showcase the talent in Nottingham and promote the small businesses that are looking for lovely customers! Anna (Anna Treliving Design), Helen (Helen Lamont Design) and Laura (Little Egg) have done a fantastic job and I’m really looking forward to the weekend they have put together.

You can shop with each business taking part from their own online shops, and the directory of shops taking part can be found Here, on Facebook, and Here, on Instagram.

I wanted to showcase some of the businesses I’ve discovered through the Sherwood Makers, some of whom I’ve bought from before, and some I will be buying from very soon! (It’s very tricky sometimes, all I want to do is buy the things I like for myself!!)

Mosaic Baubles by Sophie Robins Mosaics

Pincushion by Katherine Mary Hill

Ghanaian Wax Print Bag by Duukuu Design

Snail Cushion by Emily Spikings

Moon Tree Decorations by Molly’s Mum Textiles

Hand Painted Ceramics by Utterly Pottery

Polymer Clay Earrings by Becca Bradford

So much lovely stuff!

As ever, I will be sharing more over on my Instagram account, over the weekend, and all my customers this weekend will get a free crocheted star popped into their order! The link to my shop is here.

Have a great weekend,

Teresa x

Christmas making and shopping!

The Indie Roller Shopping Extravaganza is open! From 8am on the 22nd November you can pop over to Instagram to find over 600 makers taking part! If you search #IndieRollerExtravaganza you will be able to find all the virtual stall holders, who will have all kinds of exciting offers available from gift sets, bundle deals, discounts, free gift wrap, surprises and product launches… all displayed for you to browse through from the comfort of your cosy couch.

I will be offering 10% off all my non-Christmassy embroidery hoops, the prices are discounted already so no code needed! Find them here. I will also be having a sale on my embroidered badges at 10 am.

You can also find out more about Indie Roller here.

You can find me on Instagram with my user name @shirleyrainbow_tb.

This week Folksy shared a beautiful video on their blog called Making Christmas. It features a wide variety of craftspeople making and wrapping their products for customers, and I think it is really beautiful! You can view it here on the Folksy blog, and read all about who is involved, and… spoiler! You’ll be able to spot one of my Gingerbread Tree Decorations being made.

And that’s it for this week, happy shopping!

Teresa x

Christmas Season 2020

Normally at this time of the year I’d be sharing a list of craft markets you would be able to come and shop at in the East Midlands, however this year is a bit different! I’m taking part in plenty of markets, all of them online. The main advantage to this is that you can shop with me (and many other stall holders!) from the comfort of your own home, complete with a cup of tea and a biscuit…

So, here’s where I’ll be, kind of, over the next two months

This week is the Indie Roller Christmas Essentials Mini Market, where there’s around 500 stall holders taking part across the country. You can see all the stall holders here. Try our the surprise me button on the market page!

Then on Saturday I’m taking part in another market hosted by the fantastic team at Pedddle. It’s the Festive Bazaar, and you will be able to find my stall in the East Market. I’m looking forward to starting my Christmas shopping and supporting small businesses.

I will have some new Christmas decorations available at each market, here’s a taster!

Yes!! Jingle Jellyfish!!

As we are all going to be spending quite a bit of time indoors over the next month or so I thought I’d reshare my FREE Crocheted Bauble Pattern that I published on this blog a few years ago, please share a photo with me if you give them a go! Just click on the link below the photo for the pattern.

FREE Crocheted bauble pattern

I think I might have to make a few more for myself too!

Take care everyone,

Teresa xx