Hello Again!

Hello friends! :)

It has been a very long time since I've blogged (seven months exactly!) but now I am (finally) back.

I had to press pause on blogging (and newsletter-writing, and other not-completely-essential parts of my creative business) early this year to focus on some unexpected family and health issues. 

Things are thankfully much calmer and steadier now, and I CANNOT WAIT to get back to sharing fun crafty stuff with you guys. For the sake of my work/life balance I'm not setting any kind of fixed schedule yet but I'm hoping to have lots of new things to share with you soon.

Meanwhile, here's a quick update:

I've closed my standalone shop and am now only selling via Instagram and Etsy (my old website address now redirects to my Etsy shop, there may be a few broken links but I hope you won't get too lost trying to find things). I might reopen my shop sometime in the future but this more streamlined setup is what's right for me right now. 

I've also made the tricky decision to press pause on posting internationally. You can still buy my printable PDF patterns via Etsy no matter where you are in the world, but I'm afraid I'm only shipping parcels of craft supplies and vintage goodness within the UK for now because customs and tax stuff is just becoming too complicated for my little business. Apologies!

If you're based in the UK, though, please do check out my newly stuffed-to-the-gills Etsy shop. I've been busy sourcing loads of lovely craft supplies and gorgeous vintage bits and pieces, and am now gradually getting them all photographed and listed and on the internet where people can, you know, actually buy them, haha. 

Aaaand I think that's all I can mention for now without SPOILERS.  

I'm off to put the kettle on and get stuck in to some crafty schemes... see you soon! xxx

Taking A Short Break

Thanks to being ill this week I've not had a lot of energy to pour into my crafty projects. Usually even when I'm tired I do a bit of simple knitting in the evenings while watching the TV, but I've barely touched my knitting over the past few days.

More importantly, I've also fallen a bit behind with work-related stuff ... and as I've got a big deadline looming I need to catch up a.s.a.p.!

I'm going to take a short break from packing parcels & posting shop orders, etc, so I can focus on meeting my deadline. Any orders placed in my shops from tomorrow (2nd Feb) until Sunday 10th Feb will be posted as soon as possible in the week beginning 11th Feb. So if there's anything you want posted before that, please place your order today :)

Just a Few More Days!

Wow, I can't believe it's the 12th of December already. This month is zipping by!

I'll be closing my shops - my Etsy, Folksy, and DaWanda shops and my main shop - on Monday 17th December to take some time off over Christmas and the New Year, so there's just a few more days left if you want to order something from me this year.

If you're in the UK and want your order by Christmas, I'd recommend placing your order by the 15th (international last order dates have now passed for Christmas orders).

I'm going to be taking a few weeks off, to get some proper rest and spend time with family... and to work on some new things for 2013! I'll still be crafting and blogging and answering emails, just not posting any orders for a bit. All my shops will re-open on Monday 14th January.

HUGE thanks to everyone who has bought something (big or small) from any of my shops this year, bought a copy of my book, recommended my shop or blog or book to a friend, linked to one of my tutorials, or otherwise supported my little business this year. It is all very much appreciated xxx

Taking a Short Break

September is looming, and there are lots of things on my "to do before the end of summer" list which haven't yet got done. So, I'm taking a short break to concentrate on getting some admin, etc out of the way and to work on a few new projects for the autumn. I'll still be blogging and answering emails etc but I won't be posting any parcels next week.

Any orders from my shops placed between 21st-28th August will be shipped when I get back to work on the 29th August. If you want anything posted before then, please get your order in today or tomorrow!

And just because a blog post without a picture feels very weird, here's a snap of some almost-finished brooches lined up and waiting for the postie to deliver a new supply of brooch bars:

Ouch!

I have somehow managed to hurt my back while yawning.

It was one of those big, early morning, stretching yawns. Something went "click" and I have been saying "ouch" a lot ever since. Very annoying!

It's getting better (slowly) but I've had to set aside much of my planned to do list for this week in favour of sitting on the sofa working my way through some of the books on my reading pile...


... and I can't be on the computer for very long, so it make take me a bit longer than usual to reply to emails, publish & respond to blog comments, etc, over the next few days.

I'm also taking a short blogging break, but *fingers crossed* I'll be back very soon :)

A Short Break

I've decided to take a short break over half term to focus on a bit of creative brainstorming - developing some new designs, planning tutorials for the blog, etc.

I'll still be blogging, but I won't be shipping orders. Any orders placed in my shops between 26th May and 5th June will be shipped asap in the week beginning 6th June.

If you want something shipped before that, please place your order today! (25th May).

P.S. just because it feels wrong publishing a blog post without a picture in it, here's a peek at my granny square progress:


I'm using up scrap yarn to make a giant square... I'll most likely unravel it when I've run out of yarn (is it called frogging in crochet or is that just knitting?) but it's making me quite tempted to buy some nice colours and make a blanket from one giant square.

Absence Makes the Heart...

I'm taking a small break from my 365photo updates to go away for a few days (leaving my totally non-green-fingered boyfriend in charge of my plants... doom!) so instead this week I'll be blogging about a few crafty people who inspire me.

In the meantime though check out Crafty Synergy, a blog filled with interviews with all sorts of awesome crafters like Inleaf Design who make the most charming items by printing with real leaves (I love leaves) and quite a few lovely people I recognise from my Etsy travels.

Pausing

I have decided to take a small break from blogging. It will be a very small break, as I'll be back next week, but it is much needed.

In the meantime I will be working on finishing a pile of works in progress, getting a few new designs sewn together and *fingers crossed* aquiring a nice shiny new camera to take pictures of everything ready to reveal and list next week. I have so many things I want to be sewing at the moment, it will do me good to go and immerse myself in it without the distraction of blogging.

I'll have lots of new (exciting) work to show off next week. Pincushions, hairbands, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, masks, all sorts of fun stuff COMING SOON.

See you next week. Lupin xxx

Back soon...

I am ill! I am trying to still be a little crafty every day but mostly I am just being ill. Very dull.

I shall return to this blogging lark in a few days, hopefully brimming with health and with lots of crafty news/photos to witter about :)

Be good... xx

Back in a couple of days...

The Christmas shipping deadline from here to the US is coming up pretty fast now, and I have a few parcels still left to pack before it arrives.
Also in my "actual" job we're working on a project with a deadline for early next week.
And then finally the plumbers came round again to fix a problem with our heating that they themselves caused when installing our new boiler. They took our carpeting and floorboards up for what turned out to be no good reason, and half of our possessions had to be moved to enable them to do it.

Basically I am saying that I am going to be a bit busy for a couple of days! I will still be crafting though, never fear, so I will be back on Sunday or Monday with lots of crafty photos :)