Giveaway: Prints and Stationery from Champignons

To conclude the awesome series of giveaways I've been hosting this month, today's giveaway is a fab bundle of goodies from Deborah of Champignons.

Deborah says... "I like drawing. In fact, I love drawing, it's my favourite. In order to cure my self of a horribly realistic painting style, I started screen printing. Printing is exciting, peeling each new print off to see what you've got. I love to print."

"I experiment with patterns to convey secret meanings. It's hard to portray a secret world in a somewhat graphic medium and patterns is how I do that. I find these patterns work well with screenprinting. Sometimes I print them on cards; I do this because it means that I get to do more printing, which makes me happy. I hope you will buy some prints, because then I can print some more, and I'd like that."

You can see Deborah's full range of cards, notebooks and prints in her online shop, and get 10% off orders from her shop until the new year with the discount code dec2011 You can also find her work on Etsy and Folksy, and keep up to date with her work via her blog or her Facebook page.

Deborah is giving away all these lovely things to one very lucky winner:

A large (bestselling) plans for domination moleskine, two A5 screenprints. a Thaumatrope and a selection of cards. All hand screenprinted!

For your chance to win, just leave a comment on this blog post. Deborah is happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter but please remember that you will be responsible for any customs charges if you live outside the UK. Leave your comment before 10pm on Wednesday 7th December (UK time) and I'll pick the winner at random on Thursday 8th December.

Please leave a name or pseudonym and include a blog link, Twitter or Etsy username, or email address so I can contact you (if I'm unable to contact the winner within two weeks, I will have to pick someone else so please make sure you leave a way for me to get in touch). I'll then pass your details on to Deborah so she can send your prize.

UPDATE: this giveaway is now closed.

Studio Tour

Thanks to a trip to IKEA to buy some extra shelves and several hours spent moving furniture and boxes, my new workspace is now (almost) finished!

It's a combined office / craft room / living room... plus storage space for all the stuff from my old flat that's currently packed up in boxes. It will also be serving as a guest room as I'm currently occupying my parents old guest bedroom, so I'd better keep it nice and tidy, haha.

I've taken a few pictures so you can have the whole "tour" :)

I'm still technically working at the kitchen table, as my new desk is the kitchen table from my grandparents house when my dad was growing up.

There are lots of drawers full of paperwork, and crafty supplies like paper, card, buttons and beads...

... lots of crates full of felt...

... and lots of shelves for all my boxes of business stuff, crafty stuff and packed away household stuff.

If you want a closer look at what's on the shelves, I've added a few notes to the photos over on Flickr.

The spare bed is in the process of being turned into a comfy day bed / sofa type thing, with the help of a pretty vintage sheet, lots of pillows and cushions and cosy blankets. I will be doing lots of sewing and tea drinking here!

I still need to rearrange a few things and to hang some pictures on the walls but ah, what a good feeling it is to have my own space again.

Wool Felt + Seed Beads = Corsages

There may also have been some cheesy afternoon movies* and several cups of tea involved in that equation too! :)

These large plum and turquoise corsages (made with yummy thick needlefelted wool) are now back in my shops. You can find them on Etsy, Folksy or over on my website.

*there was one where Rob Lowe is a struggling writer whose book becomes a huge bestseller but he turns into a total jerk along the way... and another one where a woman inherits a music box which changes reality every time it's opened, so the decor of her house keeps changing and she's widowed and then she's married and then she's divorced and the creepy janitor has a limp and then he doesn't.... all very entertaining stuff to watch while sewing!

Christmas Order Dates

Christmas is looming, and so are the Royal Mail's last posting dates...


If you're planning on buying anything from my shops that you need delivered in time for Christmas, these are the dates you need to order by:

3rd DECEMBER - South & Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Far East (inc. Japan), Asia, New Zealand and Australia

7th DECEMBER - USA, Canada and Eastern Europe

10th DECEMBER - Western Europe

18th DECEMBER - UK and Channel Islands

Please note that Christmas delivery is NOT guaranteed but if you order by these dates your parcel will ship on or before the recommended last posting date to your destination.

I will continue to post orders worldwide until late December, but if you place your order after these dates your parcel will be unlikely to arrive in time for the 25th.

Email Hiccups, a Milestone and A New Workspace

A bit of annoying news: I've unfortunately been having a few problems with the email address connected to my website www.lupinhandmade.com over the past few weeks.

It turns out that on and off my email has been randomly not sending my messages (but giving me no sign that my message hasn't been sent) and also eating messages sent to me (but not sending people delivery failure notices). Such a nuisance!

So, if you've sent me an email in the past few weeks and are wondering why I haven't replied, chances are I've either not received it or I have received it and I think I've replied already. Please use this address to get in touch with me again and I will get back to you as soon as possible: aelspeth [at] gmail [dot] com

A bit of good news: I'm approaching 4,500 items sold over in my Etsy shop! Eek! It makes my brain boggle a bit when I think about that number in terms of things like parcels packed, Post Office trips made and shipping notification emails sent, and I am so incredibly thankful to have had so many lovely customers over the years who have supported my little business :)

To celebrate reaching this milestone, items 4,500 to 4,510 sold through my Etsy shop will all be sent with a free gift. There will be one freebie per item, so if you bought 3 things between numbers 4,500-4,510 you'd get 3 free gifts.

There will also be extra treats the day I hit that nice round number, which I'll be announcing on Twitter and on Facebook - keep your eyes peeled for more info.

Finally, a bit of very exciting news: I'm getting my own workspace! Double eek! As regular readers will know, I've never had my own studio or office space but have always just worked at the kitchen table or on the sofa in the evenings so I'm quite thrilled by the prospect of having a dedicated space for my business.

Regular readers will also know that I've recently had to move back in with my parents. Well, after a few weeks of working out of their study (which is currently stuffed to the gills with all things felty and lots and lots of envelopes), plus everyone tripping over all my boxes... my parents have very generously offered to let me take over a spare room to store all my stuff from my old flat & use as a studio space while I'm living here. Hurrah!

Here's a quick snap of one corner, with the first lot of shelves in situ:


It's all looking very bare at the moment but oooh, it has so much potential :)

Eleventh Monkey and Storeyshop Giveaway Winners

The winner of the felt owl ornament from Eleventh Monkey is...

Gemma, who said... "Oh My Gosh! Too cute!"


And the winners of the cards from Storeyshop are...

Karin, who said... "Oh, that's almost impossible! But since Christmas is coming up, I'd have to go with "Christmas Tree Greetings Card" in red - so cool!"

and Anna, who said... "I particularly like the Holly design."

Giveaway: Rose Studs from Lazy Giraffe

Time for another giveaway! Today's giveaway is from Deepa of Lazy Giraffe Jewellery.

I met Deepa for the first time this weekend, along with lots of other UK designers, makers and other crafty folks at UK Handmade's 3rd Birthday Party. It was lovely to finally meet and chat to lots of people from the UK craft scene whom I've known through the online world of Etsy / blogging / etc for years and really wonderful to be able to celebrate 3 years of UK Handmade.

Anyway, on with the giveaway...

"Hi! My name is Deepa and I make jewellery. I live in the lovely university city of Cambridge and I have my very own studio where I make silver and gold jewellery using gemstones, rare vintage beads, pearls and anything else that catches my magpie-like eye. It may sound strange but wire is my favourite material, I love making new shapes from it and adding different textures too it."


"I have a day job too and so I fit my jewellery making into every spare moment I can find, and I also have a food blog. I love baking and I have the worlds biggest sweet tooth, if I'm not talking about jewellery making I am usually talking about food!"


You can buy Deepa's jewellery from her website or her Etsy shop, and follow Lazy Giraffe on Facebook.

Deepa is giving away a pair of Petite Rose Studs:


"My petite rose studs are one of my favourite designs, I wear a pair of these studs most days. They go with everything! They are made from little vintage brass roses (I think they are 1950s) and have sterling silver posts and butterfly backs."

For your chance to win, just leave a comment on this blog post. Deepa is happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter but please remember that you will be responsible for any customs charges if you live outside the UK. Leave your comment before 10pm on Wednesday 30th November (UK time) and I'll pick the winner at random on Thursday 1st December.

Please leave a name or pseudonym and include a blog link, Twitter or Etsy username, or email address so I can contact you (if I'm unable to contact the winner within two weeks, I will have to pick someone else so please make sure you leave a way for me to get in touch). I'll then pass your details on to Deepa so she can send your prize.

UPDATE: this giveaway is now closed.

DIY Cover Button Kits

New in my shops this week - supplies for making your own felt or fabric covered buttons!

Here are some buttons I covered earlier, using scraps of felt from my shops:

I'm selling two sizes of plastic cover buttons (15mm and 22mm)...

... and awesome button-covering tools which you can use to easily press together cover buttons measuring 11-29mm. The back of the packaging features traceable templates for cutting out your felt or fabric, and diagrams to show you how to use the tool.

I'm selling cover button starter kits from my Etsy and Folksy shops (a button covering tool plus 20 cover buttons) or you can buy the button covering tools and packs of 10 cover buttons individually from the craft supplies section on my website.

If you prefer to shop via Etsy or Folksy but would like extra buttons added to your order, please send me a message before you buy and I'll set up a special listing for you with the amount you want.

Debbie Greenaway Purse + Alice Still Jewellery Giveaway Winners

The winner of the raincloud purse from Debbie Greenaway is...

Kiwa who said "I love the dark blue one :D "

And the winner of the necklace and earrings from Alice Still is...

Allison, who said "Ahhh, pretty, pretty =)"

64 Felt Colours... now back in stock!

I've been running quite low on felt squares recently and had run out of a few colours... but I've just had a big order from my supplier and (almost) all my felt is now back in stock.

Just in time for all your Christmas crafting :)


Teal is unfortunately still sold out, but all the other 64 colours are available.


Felt rainbows are also back in stock, along with lots of colour-themed bundles including the popular Soft Pastels pack...


... and the Christmas Felt pack:


You can buy felt packs and pick 'n' mix bundles of squares from my website, or any of my shops on Etsy, Folksy and DaWanda.

Miso Funky and Finest Imaginary Giveaway Winners

The winner of the cross stitch kit from Miso Funky is...

@RagBagArtistry who said "Make Tea is sooo super cute and a great gift idea for that certain tea adorer in my life"




And the winner of the fox necklace from Finest Imaginary is...

Gill who said "Gorgeous! Count me in please!" and who is clearly having a very lucky week after winning one of the prizes in the Seaurchin giveaway too :)

Giveaway: Papercut Cards from Storeyshop

Today's giveaway is from Helen of Storeyshop.


Storeyshop is full to the rafters with the papercut creations of UK-based graphic designer, Helen Foers. Greetings cards, posters and notebooks all with unique designs either hand cut or laser cut out of them. You can even order your own hand cut bespoke versions with personalised wording and designs!


Helen left her design job in London to move to rural Northumberland a few years ago. She used the opportunity to get making, opened Storeyshop in 2007 and hasn't looked back! The range of Storeyshop intricate papercut posters will be increasing over the next few months as Helen finally gets all her little scribbles of ideas on scraps of paper converted into scalpel-friendly designs and gets cutting. Here's to aching hands and little scraps of paper all over the floor!


There's a special offer in the Storeyshop Etsy store until the end of the year: get a free card when you order any 4 or more Storeyshop items together (see the front page of the shop for more details).

You can buy Storeyshop designs from Etsy and Folksy, and keep up with Helen's new designs by following her on Facebook, Twitter or over on her blog.


Helen is giving two lucky people the chance to win their favourite laser cut card from her shop.

For your chance to win, just click here to view her range of laser cut card designs, then come back and leave a comment on this blog post saying which design you'd like to win.

Helen is happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter but please remember that you will be responsible for any customs charges if you live outside the UK. Leave your comment before 10pm on Thursday 24th November (UK time) and I'll pick two winners at random on Friday 25th November.

Please leave a name or pseudonym and include a blog link, Twitter or Etsy username, or email address so I can contact you (if I'm unable to contact the winner within two weeks, I will have to pick someone else so please make sure you leave a way for me to get in touch). I'll then pass your details on to Helen so she can send your prize.

UPDATE: this giveaway is now closed.

Giveaway: Felt Owl Ornament from Eleventh Monkey

Ugh, these winter germs have been getting the better of me this week... but (better late than never) it's time for another lovely giveaway :)

Today's giveaway is from Louana of Eleventh Monkey...


"We are the eleventh monkey creatures, and we all look slightly awkward. Our little felt family was unleashed into the world from Japan in 2009, but now we temporarily live in the US. Oh, and our mommy and creator is a Dutchie, so we're quite the international bunch! We love, love, love hugs and we are looking for new friends out in the world who are just as hug-happy as we are!"


You can buy all these cute felt creatures from the Eleventh Monkey shop and keep up with the news over on the Eleventh Monkey blog.

Louana is offering a special discount code for worldwide free shipping in the Eleventh Monkey shop, just use the code FSLUPIN during checkout.


Louana is giving away a felt owl ornament...


"Hello, I’m Lupin the Glittery Owl! I am about 3.5 inches tall and wide, and I'm made of hot pink glitter felt! You can use me to decorate your home for Autumn, or your tree for Christmas. You can also hang me on your rear-view mirror to keep you company in your car, or next to your bed so I can protect you while you’re dreaming. You can use me as an embellishment or gift me to one of your friends. I'm not heavy, because I'm a stuffed with polyester filling, so you could even hang me on your ear and then I will whisper fairytales into your ear all day."

For your chance to win, just leave a comment on this blog post. Louana is happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter but please remember that you will be responsible for any customs charges if you live outside the USA. Leave your comment before 10pm on Wednesday 23rd November (UK time) and I'll pick the winner at random on Thursday 24th November.

Please leave a name or pseudonym and include a blog link, Twitter or Etsy username, or email address so I can contact you (if I'm unable to contact the winner within two weeks, I will have to pick someone else so please make sure you leave a way for me to get in touch). I'll then pass your details on to Louana so she can send your prize.

UPDATE: this giveaway is now closed.

Made with Luna Giveaway Winner

The winner of the five handmade Christmas cards from Made with Luna is...


... Jill, who said "I would certainly love to have a chance to win a set of your wonderful cards."

Seaurchin Giveaway Winner

The winner of the porcelain pendant from Seaurchin is...

famfa who said... "Wow her work is gorgeous. I would love to own a piece. Please enter me."

Lisa was so thrilled by all your comments about her work that she's generously asked me to draw a second winner, who will receive a brooch. The winner of the brooch is...

gill who said... "What beautiful work! I'm off to look at Lisa's shop/blog. Thanks"

Bits and Pieces Back in Stock

While I was moving house I was too busy to get much sewing done, so a few of my designs have been out of stock for the past few weeks. There are still a few things in my "to sew" pile but the following designs are all now back in my shops - hurrah!

Camera ornaments:

Fox brooches:

Snowy owl ornaments:

And badger brooches:

They're all available from my Etsy, Folksy and DaWanda shops, and over on my website.

Also back in my Etsy shop this week are a handful of felt moustaches, and a pirate eyepatch - these designs have been sold out for a while as I've discontinued them, but I recently made a small batch for a secret project (shh, it's a secret!) and they've just been returned to me this week so I've added them to my sale section, priced at just £5 each.

P.S. If there's something in my shops that you've had your eye on and it's currently sold out, please always feel free to get in touch to request one! If it's temporarily sold out I will make one for you asap, and if the design has been discontinued I still may be able to get one stitched for you :)