It's been a busy old week!

Hi all!

We've had a busy week here, have had a new order every day and of course the sun was shining last week so we spent some time out & about enjoying that too!

Orders are all nearly complete, posted 1 on Friday, have 3 to post out today & 1 bulk order of 3 cushions to deliver to the shop tomorrow, just need to finish them tonight, busy busy busy!

Bertie monkey is at his new home, and has been renamed 'Jedi Poo Poo Head' - I haven't told libby this as I'm sure it would lead to an interesting toilet related name for Daisy, and I don't think my hubby would cope lol!

We had plenty of lovely sunshine on Friday & Saturday so we spent our time enjoying that - including a train journey, ferry trip, picnics, ice-cream, paddling pools & factor 50! Yesterday I went to stock up on supplies to finish these orders, and then we went to watch the hubby sailing on the lake.......was a bit drizzly when we got down there, but we wrapped up warm & put our wellies on :D

Anyway, thats all for now.........will be finishing my order for the shop tonight so will try to get some pics up later/ tomorrow as it is a new design, the customer has commissioned me to make a set of 3 'tree silhouette' cushions - hoping the design & make plan comes together. Wish me luck!

Em x

Sock Monkeys!!

Meet Daisy & 'The Twins' (Libby has named them Bertie & Collie but I'm sure their names will be changed when they are re-homed)......Libby has become very attached to daisy, they dance together, eat together & she has read her a bedtime story for the last 2 nights!

Bertie is packed up ready to be sent off to a friend, but Collie is yet to be allocated a new home, for now, Libby is looking after him, but she told me tonight he was a naughty monkey & kept talking to her whilst she was trying to get to sleep - she was up till 9pm when she's normally asleep by 7.30pm so I think I need to rehome him pretty soon!

I've just finished a personalised order for my MadeByEm site, so am about to catch up with Junior apprentice with a cup of Earl Grey, then its time for bed!

Night all,
Em x

All in all.....it's been productive!

So, not a bad day today - I managed to finish the aprons & get them delivered to the shop.....the Craft Fair at Coronation Gardens was fab! Such a lovely bustling atmosphere, lots of familiar faces & some lovely stuff on the stalls......'twas such a success that I hear they are making it a more regular event - 1st Sunday of every month was mentioned - that would be great!

3.5 out of the 4 items of furniture we aimed to build have been built! We just need some screws for the cotbed rails & we're done - chest of drawers, bookshelf & table are all up & ready........loving how Libby's room is changing & how welcoming she is of having the new baby in with her - she actually cried when we told her that baby would have to be in with us initially due to waking & crying in the night and needing milk.....she's just so excited to a big sister (for now at least!)

We even managed a food shop, I've just bought a new pack of socks to make some more sock monkeys, might do them tonight as I feel a night in the lounge with my hubby is more inviting than a night on my own in the dining room sewing at my machine - will do the pirate ships tomorrow instead!

It's been a really lovely day, the TV has been off since 9am, we've reorganised upstairs & built furniture as a family and Libby has been in a very happy mood - if only every day could be like today (well, maybe not with the building furniture part lol).

Anyway, best go & put Libby to bed ready for our dinner to arrive - we feel we've earned a takeaway!

TTFN
Em x

Things to do today.....

First on the list is to finish these aprons for the shop.......

......I've used some bright fabric I picked up from Ikea a couple of months ago & they have a plain cream lining, I've just made 3 for now, all childs size.......I'm nearlly done, I just need to top stitch around the body of the apron & hem the straps......oh, and print my delivery note!

Then I have lots of tidying & sorting to do in the house, hubby & little Libby are building baby furniture today (well, Libby will be 'helping' in the only way a 3 year old can!) and I am tasked with clearing away all of the clothes that have come out of Libby's old wardrobe (we have turned 2 alcoves into hanging space & the wardrobe is being relocated to the spare room) and to make space in our room for the cotbed.

Nipping over to Coronation Gardens later too to have a look at all of the talented artists' work for Art in the Gardens....fingers crossed the rain stays away for them!

Tonight I'll be making some non-personalised pirate ship cushions, plus I have an order to make too........busy busy busy!

TTFN, Em x

Spammed the blog: CHECK

Righty-ho, I have tried to make up for the fact I have totally & unashamedly neglected this blog & now I am off to bedfordshire.......hoping my alarm clock won't shout for me until after 8am......I must be asleep & dreaming already!

Night night!

Em x

Craft Swap! Here's what I received..........

From the same craft swap as mentioned in my earlier post.....here is what I received!!

I was so excited when Mr Postie left a huge box with hubby & I came downstairs from my shower with such excitement.....I actually felt more excited that I do at Christmas....although this is usually because I know what is beneath the wrapping paper at Christmas.

All wrapped up & ready to be ripped open - by both myself & my excited 3 year old!

I received this AWESOME button bouquet & glass bottle - I totally adore it, it is so unusual & I have never seen one before, it is now pride of place in the lounge & every time I look over at it I can't help but smile!

Close up of the buttons......they look much better in real life!

An amazing sunset mosaic which will take pride of place in our little porch area tomorrow so it catches the light during the day.....it'll be perfect in there. The mosaic tiles are stained glass - it really is excellent!

Oh, and some YUMMY Jamie Oliver Chocolate Brownies.....which lasted a whole 2 days......they were so yummy I kept sneaking 'just one more little square' - I'm not worrying about my waistline until after baby arrives - my double chin however...well, thats another post entirely! Lol!

Em x

Craft Swap! Here's what I sent..........

I have recently been involved in a craft swap on a forum I use.........it was fab!

The forum member I crafted for received these from me:

A sock monkey for her 5 year old son - I'm actually going to be making a few of these now, I want to make one for my daughter, and also for a friend or two <3

Instructions from here: http://www.craftbits.com/project/sock-monkey

A pair of baby shoes for her 6 month old daughter.....using the following crafty instructions:

http://family-centered.com/life/freebies/

The soles are leather, the top is cotton & there is a felt lining

An embellished photo frame for her 13 year old daughter

I simply used an ikea basic frame & then with a hot glue gun I adhered some mirror tiles & red buttons

And for the recipient herself I made the following (with the knowledge that she loves frames & patchwork!)

I found a brand new in packet photo frame in the charity shop for £2.00 & added a misxture of silver, pink & lilac buttons for effect using my hot glue gun

Patchwork Cushion - the cushion cover has a plain pink envelope back (using the same fabric as the darker pink plain squares used on the front), the fabric choice itself was a last minute thing, as I ordered some fabric from ebay which I am still waiting for - its been over 10 days since I paid for it & the seller posted it last Monday - however, it has still not landed on my doorstep.

I raided my fabric stash & used some plain cotton fabric & some remnants from other projects plus some fabric samples from John Lewis - the flower is made from leather with a button centre......what do you think?

All of the above are 'first attempts' - each is something I have not attempted before - clearly I have made cushion covers before, however, I have never quilted!

Em x

Aprons & Pump Bags......

Here are some examples of childs aprons & pump bags made personalised to order....for more info please visit the website http://www.fabricbags.org.uk/ - P&P is FREE!

Personalised Girls Cupcake Apron (Denim panel) ~ £17.95

Boy's Personalised Name Band Apron ~ £14.95

Girls Personalised Pump Bag ~ £14.95

Boy's Personalised Gym/ Pump Bag ~ £14.95

Personalised Laundry Bag (can be made in boy's colours too!) ~ £19.95

Visit the website for more info or to order......feel free to ask questions/ comment!

Em x

 

Personalised Cushions.......

Here are examples of my personalised cushions - ideal for birthdays/ christenings or just to show some love!

P&P is FREE!!

Personalised Car Cushion ~ £19.95

Personalised Elephant Cushion ~ £19.95

Personalised Pirate Ship Cushion ~ £19.95

Personalised Bird Cushion ~ £19.95

Personalised Cupcake Cushion ~ £19.95

Personalised Cupcake Cushion ~ £19.95

All cushions are surface clean only

Em x

I haven't been great at keeping in touch have I ?!

Wowsers - I have been AWOL from this blog since last September!! Thats 8 months......so where am I now?

Well, I am now 7 months pregnant (yikes!) and I am pleased to say I have been ever so busy with orders for my MadeByEm.co.uk items too. I have been selling actively through Staacks (a lovely little 'UK handmade' art gallery/ shop in our village) and also on both my MadeByEm site (which diverts to fabricbags.org.uk) and my Facebook page......find me here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=117677271594494#!/pages/West-Kirby-United-Kingdom/MadeByEmcouk/117677271594494

Christmas was sewing madness!! I made so many orders I was literally sewing at every quiet opportunity (Note: with a 3 year old this was mainly evenings & whilst she was at pre-school) - I finished my last order at 11.30pm on 23rd December & got my next order when the shop re-opened on 28th Dec!! Amazing!!

I have slowly run out of bags in stock on the website, although there is still stock in the shop, so I need to move that up the agenda soon - I am busy at the moment making some non-personlised stock to sell in the shop whilst I take some time out to have baby #2......that way I may still get some money for nappies whilst adjusting to family life with a 3 year old & a newborn.

Must try harder to keep this blog up to date!

Em x

Owls, Birds & Elephants.......

Well, i've been busy working on some new designs for the new website, got some animal designs on the go - elephants, birds & owls being the subjects of choice! Still concentrating on fabric tote bags, hoping to get a lot onto the website this weekend - all being well!

The shop in the village should open soon too, with some of my ready made designs & personalisable (is that even a word) aporons & cushions available too. I am hoping all goes well for both Kara (at the shop) and for me both in the shop & online on my website.

So, thats where I'm at - I've been sorting buttons into pairs for both apron tops & owl's eyes - what a combination!

Hope to get some more pics on here soon - speaking of which I must get round to posting the pics of my other works - as I promised that last week - where does the time go?!

Love Em x

new ideas!

The fabric is ready, my scissors are there.......I'm off to be creative......lots of new things in my head tonight that I'd like to transfer to bags & designs......watch this space!

Em x

Forgot to say......more photo's later!

I'll add some more photos later of the other handmade gifts I have made..........including, aprons, cushions, gym/ pump bags :D

Em x

Busy busy busy......getting ready to stock the website!

So there are a few of the fabric bags I have sent off for sale.....now I'm going to be making more bags & handmade gifts ready to stock the website!

I do love making these bags!

:D

Em x

'Birdy' Fabric Bag

'Birdy'

I'm pretty please with the turn out of this one, the fabric reminds a little bit of Cath Kitson, I have used 3 panels from the fabric which have been joined together using a piece of neutral cream floral fabric, this I have pleated & stitched to make it a little more interesting than just just a flat panel - as the birdy fabric is so busy I have used the cream floral for the back panel & straps - otherwise I think it would have been just too much.

'Flutter By' Fabric Bag

'Flutter By'

This is my own design, I have cut 2 butterflies from contrasting fabrics, and machine stitched them to the front panel, using stitching & pearl/ wooden beads for the antenna.

The pink & white fabric I have used as the lining, and the blue floral fabric has been used for the back panel - I wasn't sure how well this would work, but I am please with the outcome.

For the inside pocket I have used the machine to stitch the wording 'Flutter By' - its a little shaky but I am happy with it :D

'Flower Tote' Fabric Bag

'Flower Tote'

Here I have used a floral fabric, and added buttons onto the centre on the front panel & inside pocket.

The bag is lined in grey cotton with matching handles

'Collared Dogs' Fabric bag

'Collared Dogs' - Available in 2 sizes

Made with a gorgeous dog design fabric I picked up from a local haberdashery, I have added buttons to collars of the dogs on the front panel and the inside pocket, each back has a different coloured lining fabric & a different dog on the pocket

This is my favourite little chap:

I just think he's so cute!

Delivery made :D

I have finally made my first delivery of handmade gifts & cards to the lady who is opening a new gift shop in our village.....fingers crossed it all sells well!
I have dropped off lots of greetings cards, for all occasions, including some that I can personalise to order, my fabric tote bags (of course) and some kiddies gifts: aprons, gym/ pump bags, bed pillows & cushions - most of which can be personalised but some can be bought 'off the shelf''. It is a relief to finally get these dropped off, especially after a failed attempt last Thursday when our printer decided to break on me, leaving me without labels or delivery sheets! So a new printer has been purchased and my labels & delivery notes managed to make it out safely!
I'll add a few photos onto here shortly :D

Watch this space!!

So, the fabric bags website is underway under the madebyem.co.uk header, I'm hoping to get things visible on the website over the next few days......I have the camera at the ready to upload photos of my items, just waiting for the technical department (aka my husband!) to get the website created & ready for action!

Watch this space!!

Em :) x

Day One......First Blog......here's where the fun begins!

Hi All!

So, this is day one, my first blog, and hopefully where all the fun begins!

Firstly, a little about me.........I graduated university in 2001 with a BA(Hons) degree in Surface Pattern Decoration for Textiles , and since then I have worked in a restaurant (working my way up from a waitress to a branch manager), and more recently in accounts for our own Letting Agency business.....which we sold in 2008.

I have decided to set up a small business working from home (with a little nudge from a friend), and have pulled out my sewing machine from where it has been hiding since our house move in March and started rebuilding my fabric & buttons collection.

I am currently crafting items for a gift shop which is due to open in our village, these include fabric tote bags, presonalised kiddies aprons, personalised kiddies gym/ pump bags, cushions, make up bags, pram shoes........and handmade cards, which is another of my passions. I am hoping to get my own website underway soon - as soon as I have built up enough stock to advertise my wares......

So, I am hoping to be busy enough to earn a little bit of extra money, and to allow me to stay at home during the week to look after my not so terrible two year old.....wish me luck!

I'll be updating here with my progress and photos of my work - as well as any links to tutorials which I have tried & tested or simply think are 'awesome'!

TTFN

Em :) x