tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19153677540866544012024-03-13T14:03:36.140-07:00pandapopThis is a place for me to talk about what's going on in my badge world and the things which inspire meamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-76427751826373776862013-01-17T04:00:00.002-08:002013-01-17T04:00:34.789-08:00new yearHello! <br><br>
What a busy Christmas-time I had, so much so that it's taken me til now to review my Christmas sales and sit down to blog. It was busy for so many reasons; my new notonthehighstreet shop went CRAZY over the Christmas period, my baby demanded as much attention as ever and her first Christmas was my best Christmas ever, by miles. I also braved a trip to London for the BUST London craftacular, which was about 500times more busy than any craft fair I've ever experienced and packed with really lovely people, I had such a great timr (despite spending my first ever full day away from Rose and managing to slide her into every conversation and cooing over all the babies at the fair/on the tube!). <br><br>
So, the Christmas period in review: <br> - NOTHS went great but because of limited time with a baby constantly attached to me next year I'd like to start stocking up from August; I had to set my delivery time to 10-14 days by early December in order to cut off Christmas orders early, so could have sold more if I'd had the capacity to make more<br> - BUST craftacular was worth it and a brilliant experience, again I'd like to stock up for longer next time and would concentrate on less designs if I did it again - I had to get out a load of old stock to fill the table and this makes my work harder to navigate for a customer. I got loads of inspiration from other people's work/presentation. <br> - My packaging for NOTHS, I box both brooches and puppets in a small brown box, use a ribbon or red wool, and label the box with both y brand name and product name, makes my work more expensive to produce but it totally worth it - I'll offer boxed sets of puppets at future fairs. <br> - By making products to order I don't end up with loads of unsold items, and can focus on a smaller range of designs which should give me a stronger brand image. <br> - Folksy got in touch to encourage me to list some items (my last listings were years ago) because they were doing a feature on craftacular sellers, so I've re-joined. But only one sale so far, but disappointing.<br><br>
Because of my plans to make designs to order, and focus on less designs, I'm flogging a load of sale stock on <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/amypanda?ref=si_shop">etsy</a> and <a href="http://folksy.com/shops/amypanda">folksy</a>. Fingers crossed someone will have a spree. <br><br> <img src="http://images.folksy.com/aXRlbXMvMjQ3MDY1LzIwMTMwMTAzLzE1MjczNzg2ODc3NQ-Q-Q-N/main"/img> <br> x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-22588874506062417232012-06-13T03:42:00.001-07:002012-06-13T03:42:04.957-07:00blog featureI've been featured on a blog called <i>Yonder</i> and they're giving away one of my fox brooches <a href="http://restlessheartsyonder.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/amypanda.html">here</a>. <br> <br>
<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-acd2z3QCkGU/T9XobYHtafI/AAAAAAAAF9o/AXq_h635ws0/s640/fox+brooch.jpg"/img>
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They approached me through etsy and I'd never seen the blog before, but I've enjoyed reading through their posts - the blog is run by two friends Megon and Julie, and as well as great posts about etsy sellers, trends, and everyday life, Megon has a baby so there are posts to keep me happy in my obsession with all things baby related!
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Alongside the giveaway they did an interview with me, which is rather embarassing and totally baby obsessed, but it was nice to have some interesting questions asked that were personal to me rather than the usual general ones.
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It's nice to have been noticed! Two of my brooches - the London bus and a camera brooch - have recently made the etsy front page, so my listing views are through the roof - I don't feel so invisible anymore! Woo! Now roll on the sales before I'm totally consumed by baby brain! <br> <br>
x x x x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-30085856044892704992012-05-09T06:41:00.000-07:002012-05-09T06:42:20.442-07:00Stay at homeAs I've said many a time, I'm really glad to have crafting as an activity to get me through quiet/boring times. It's been a god-send during my pregnancy, and I'm sure that in what tiny little scraps of free time I get after baby is born it'll come in handy too. But it's more than just a hobby, it's also a business...and this side of crafting will be all the more important once maternity pay runs out and we try to survive on Dan's wage alone. Which makes me extremely happy to say that my etsy sales have been steadily, and very quickly, growing over the past few weeks. I've never managed to reach the level where I'm making anything close to a "wage", but over the past 4 weeks I've sold 9 items, one of which was a set of 4 finger puppets so I've sort-of sold 12. Woohoo. It's not going to come close to making up for not doing as many craft fairs, expecially indietracks as last year I managed to make over £400 in 3 days, but it'll hopefully just keep on growing. <br>
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One of the best tools I've finally started using is the ability to re-list an item using the same photo, and warning the buyer that I'm making these items to order, it's so much easier than worrying about getting a decent photo over and over. Plus then I can keep track of the most popular designs and concentrate on making more of these. <br><br>
I've just re-listed this cute set of woodland creature finger puppets, they're one of my favourite things I've made!
<br> <img src="http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.327620902.jpg"/img>
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x x x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-40252250643492574672012-05-06T10:44:00.002-07:002012-05-06T10:44:45.073-07:00Busy BeeI've been laid up with pregnancy related back-pain for about 2 months now, and at times it's been pretty much the worst thing ever. Crafting has got me through some dark days! I've been really glad to have something to distract me and to keep busy, and time's flown. I remember when I booked the craft fair I thought that I'd be HUGE and almost ready to pop. Well I am fairly huge, but it's kind of crept up on me and I really can't believe how soon baby will arrive. Some of the bits I've been making for the fair are the smaller/cheaper things that I don't bother listing on etsy (although I might in future when baby comes and craft fairs are off the cards for a while!), such as bookmarks...<br> <img src="http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/5424/dscf2031r.jpg"/img> <br> and heart badges...<br> <img src="http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/5485/dscf2034he.jpg"/img>
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I've also been concentrating on "new designs", mostly because it's more exciting to make new things. I loved the outcome of making a mallard duck for etsy so have been sewing up some more, and I've also been making some more birds to keep the ducks company..<br> <img src="http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/5220/dscf2039x.jpg"/img> <br>
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Sullivan (my cat) has been keeping me company a lot of the time (although he does like playing out with his pals), and he LOVES it when I get the type-writer out and insists on siting <i>really</i> close the whole time I type, funny cat...<br><img src="http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8108/dscf2014q.jpg"/img> <br> <img src="http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/6295/dscf2012a.jpg"/img> <br> Handmade is next Saturday, 12th May, at Wharf Chambers, more info <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/252991211456879/">here</a> <br> x x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-85685060501518490632012-04-25T00:58:00.000-07:002012-04-25T00:58:20.943-07:00handmadeThe next handmade fair is just over 2 weeks away. I've had a lot of time to sew as I've been laid up with a bad back, so have sewn for a couple of hours most days to keep myself busy. The new woodland animal designs have done well on etsy; I sold the fox brooch and the mallard, so I've been making more of those for the fair. This is the amazing poster for the event by Kristyna Baczynski...
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<img src="http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/6562/handmadeposterwharfcham.jpg"/img>
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And the facebook event page is <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/252991211456879/">here</a> <br> I'm excited, I just hope that people come! xxamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-92107455703351536102012-04-16T08:08:00.002-07:002012-04-16T08:25:00.151-07:00the biz!I'm not great at the business part of my crafting. I've been organising craft fairs a couple of times a year for about 3 years now, and have managed to make a small profit from the table fees each time, mostly because I managed to hire the venue for free. But this time I'm paying for the venue, and although it's a small charge I've also spent a lot on posters and flyers, and have had to buy some more tables because of a muddle-up, and I've kept table fees low, so I'm going to be paying from my own pocket to put on a craft fair. Eeek. That makes no business sense at all. I hope I sell some wares! <br /><br />It's also the start of a new business year. I did a tax return last year (for the year before last) for the first time, and made very little profit after all the costs of materials and paying for tables at fairs. I've already done all my paperwork for last year's tax return and am happy to see that I've made considerably more (despite making a loss over the last few months because of this coming craft fair!). If the dream of crafting as a part-time job is to come true then I'll have to get a lot more savvy about profits, and more specifically about pricing. If I'm brutally honest with myself I know that my pricing is all off. I price items according to what I think they're worth/what I'd pay for them. But really I should cost up materials and the time it takes me. And when I do that it becomes obvious that I'm paying myself about £2-3 per hour for labor. I'm not planning on upping my prices at the moment as I don't want my stuff to be over-priced, but it's on the cards in the future. Maybe I could change prices according to where I'm selling items...for example at somes types of fairs I know that low pricing works, but other fairs would suit a slightly higher pricing, and maybe I could experiment with adding £1 to my etsy shop items to see how it effects things. With baby on the way etsy is going to be my sole selling avenue for a while (apart from a couple of brick and mortar shop who sell my items), so I want to get it right. <br /><br />Money money money!amypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-44365609595213606742012-04-10T05:49:00.002-07:002012-04-10T06:01:45.142-07:00British WildlifeSpring is in the air and it's nice to be able to get out into the countryside and enjoy some of Britain's finest wildlife. It's inspired me to make some brooches and finger puppets celebrating some of my favourite creatures. I've even been making a mobile with some "city birds" hanging down (pictures to follow when it's complete), and I've plans to make versions with different birds of prey, and maybe little garden birds. <br /><br />Here's a set of finger puppets...<br /><br /><img src="http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.327620902.jpg"/img><br /><br />And a mallard...<br /><br /><img src="http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.327623462.jpg"/img><br /><br />And finally a fox. I've held off making foxes as they're such a favourite with crafters that I thought the market might be saturated, but I couldn't resist giving a brooch a go when I saw how nicely the finger puppets came out. And I think he's pretty darn cute...<br /><br /><img src="http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.327624772.jpg"/img><br /><br /><br />All available in my etsy shop <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/amypanda">here</a><br /><br />x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-3451113418554471172012-03-28T05:08:00.005-07:002012-03-28T05:21:27.948-07:00Get the London LookI'm sure that anyone who works in retail will well know that EVERYONE is jumping aboard the British nostalgia wagon this year in celebration of the Jubilee and Olympics. And I've noticed a lot of crafters doing the same. So I've decided to do a small "London" collection of brooches, even though I am the most anti-London person I know. I have similar views to Alan Partridge on the subject. It's okay for a day-trip but then get the hell out. <br /><br />Any way, I thought I'd go for some of the stereotypical London souvineer images, one of which is a British post box, a brooch I've made in the past but which no-one ever seemed to like as much I as do. Maybe the boost in British nostalgia will help it's popularity. <br /><br /><img src="http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6694/postboxbrooch.jpg"/img><br /><br />I've also gone for a London bus, mostly because the postbox red colour fits in nicely with the first brooch. I did try a phonebox too, but I didn't think it looked very good. Here's the bus...<br /><br /><img src="http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/5320/londonbuso.jpg"/img> <br /><br />I've made an obligatory queen's head brooch (incidentely have you heard that 1st class stamps are going up to 60p each...eeeek!). I tried to make one of these before Christmas as a customer requested item from a royal family fan, but the outcome looked like Old Mother Hubbard. I'm not convinced that this try is much better, but here she is... <br /><br /><img src="http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/7883/sheadbrooch.jpg"/img><br /><br />And finally a pigeon! I think this one's my favourite...<br /><br /><img src="http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4362/pigeonk.jpg"/img><br /><br />Rule Brittania. And all that. <br /><br />x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-60074261596675494082012-02-26T02:37:00.004-08:002012-02-26T02:44:27.012-08:00spring clean!<img src="http://img3.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.251180051.jpg"/img><br /><br />I've finally picked up a needle and thread (and felt) for the first time in MONTHS. Crafting is going to be really important to me when I'm on maternity leave, and the dream is that I'll contribute to the household income when the maternity pay dries up (I think I'm going to take a year off work, half of which will be unpaid) through crafting. I know it'll be tough, so I need to make as much as possible now, so that later in the year all I'll really have to do is list and promote it online. My focus will have to move off craft-fairs onto selling online, although that being said I'd like to squeeze a few in before baby is born. <br /><br />So, as well as starting some new sewing projects, I've been looking through my existing stock. I took a handful down to testspace pop-up shop at the corn exchange for their final weekend, but most of it is going online. I'm sure many crafters are, like me, trying to have a final push before the end of this financial year.<br /><br />ALL stock in my etsy shop is 10% off if you use code SPRING at the checkout. Currently listed are items I've already photgraphed, but there'll soon be plenty more added. So it's the perfect time to bag yourself a bargin!<br /><br />x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-73599896320353445182012-02-03T10:25:00.000-08:002012-02-03T10:36:36.871-08:00hey baby!I've not posted here for a while, in fact I've not even picked up a needle and thread in months, but I have an excellent excuse. I'M GOING TO HAVE A BABY. Eeeek! I'm 18 weeks today! So almost half-way there.<br /><br />I'm going to be trying to craft lots of things for baby, baby's room, and maybe even for myself, so I might do some posts on how that goes here... but most of my baby related blogging will be done over at <a href="http://amypandabump.blogspot.com/">panda bump</a>. I'm planning on doing a bump diary, taking a picture every day or so to watch my belly grow into a baby house. And also keep track of all the tricky decisions of what to buy/do, as I'm sure that it could be interesting and maybe even useful to someone. The blog's pretty empty right now but hopefully it'll grow as I do. <br /><br />Exciting times!<br /><br />x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-72470663994920307642012-01-08T08:29:00.000-08:002012-01-08T08:54:51.809-08:00jeepers peepersI've been looking for some new glasses. I'm steadily getting blinder and I'm long overdue an eye test, so it makes sense to get some nice new frames for when my prescription is inevitably increased. I don't wear my current glasses that often, just for the cinema or watching films with subtitles at home, and occassionally at work. But if I found a pair that I loved then maybe I'd be more inclined to wear them more, and could finally stop squinting like a mole all the time. I'd like a cat eye pair but I dont think I'd dare wear them much. I'm leaning towards brown ones as I think black's a bit urban outfitters, but I do suit the darker frames. <br /><br />Etsy is pretty good for cheap, nice, vintage frames. <br /><br /><img src="http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.294755520.jpg"/img><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.264151158.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img3.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.300183087.jpg"/img><br /><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenericvintage">jenericvintage</a><br /><br /><img src="http://img3.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.235505603.jpg"/img><br /><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ifoundgallery11">ifoundgallery11</a><br /><br />nice. xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-42689041820198303602011-12-01T09:45:00.000-08:002011-12-01T09:51:20.653-08:00busy busyI feel like I've been super busy the last few weeks...I've sold at a few craft fairs, one of which I organised, and one of which I helped organise alongside reetsweet. I've been sewing til my fingers hurt, and speaking of hurt I've been suffering big-time with horrid flu. But there is a light at the end of the slightly stressful busy tunnel...this weekend will be my last craft fair before christmas and I've got a few days off to relax. I'll be selling at reetsweet at the corn exchange this weekend, hopefully I can sell some things so that I can buy christmas gifts from other sellers!<br /><br /><img src="http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-ash2/373466_156352357718032_1332962141_n.jpg"/img><br /><br />x x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-19236233595499932192011-10-03T01:12:00.000-07:002011-10-03T01:18:20.377-07:00lucky number 7's!I've just finished a nice bulk order for number 7 brooches for John at the record label WIAIWYA for his singles club. Lovely!<br /><br /><img src="http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/3118/dscf1482u.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4453/dscf1481d.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5479/dscf1480gw.jpg"/img><br /><br /><br />If you'd like to join the singles club for a nice dose of indiepop and lots more thrown in, take a look at the blog <a href="http://wiaiwya-7777777.blogspot.com/">here</a><br /><br /><br />Always nice to do something different. It's made me think about doing custom letters at craft fairs spelling out names, or just using initials. Might look nice. <br /><br />xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-64232877152902431442011-09-26T05:28:00.000-07:002011-09-26T05:40:39.144-07:00jammyAs part of the dream to live a more sustainable, green life, we have been delving into the world of foraging. If we can't grow our own just yet then we can at least go out and collect some free food from the amazing countryside around West Yorkshire. So we donned our matching walking boots and went on a woodland walk oozing with brambles. After an hour or so of collecting we had a plastic bag FULL of blackberries, and I made jam. Hurrah! I think I over-boiled it a bit so it's extra thick, but it tastes really good! And I even used half a jar in an apple crumble (with apples from Dan's parents apple trees!), which is really yum!<br /><br /><img src="http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/4356/035ki.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/7559/036uy.jpg"/img><br /><br />x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-2508650724506118292011-09-23T07:13:00.000-07:002011-09-23T07:18:35.709-07:00wallpaper<img src="http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/43431047/300.jpg"/img><br /><br />mmm cute expensive sea-scape patterned wallpaper. lovely. <br /><br /><img src="http://cache1.bigcartel.com/product_images/43430727/300.jpg"/img><br /><br />by Abigail Edwards (check out her owl paper too <a href="http://shop.abigailedwards.com/">here</a>)amypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-67644991212403055912011-09-17T08:28:00.000-07:002011-09-17T08:52:33.572-07:00booksI'm a big fan of books. Magazines don't really do it for me, and technological replacements aren't the same. I mostly buy fiction to bury my nose in, but I'm also slowly but surely becoming addicted to buying vintage sewing/craft books. I can't resist a cheap charity shop find. <br /><br /><img src="http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/1056/043blx.jpg"/img><img src="http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/3424/053wbk.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/2956/044hl.jpg"/img><img src="http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/8571/052ck.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/9301/054gef.jpg"/img><img src="http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4510/051yr.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/6356/050ec.jpg"/img><img src="http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/5806/048oh.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/3584/049mc.jpg"/img><img src="http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/619/047ns.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6695/045dr.jpg"/img><img src="http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/1046/055ks.jpg"/img><br /><br />Some of them are real gems packed with projects that don't always date very well! think tassels!amypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-51518306402012952732011-09-17T08:01:00.000-07:002011-09-17T08:21:33.686-07:00amsterdamI've spent the last few days in Amsterdam soaking up some culture. I was SO pleasantly suprised to find that the sex, drugs, and Stag-do's were very easily avoidable, and that outside of the small central red-light district the city is both stunning and oozing with European style. I spent much of the time gazing up at the apartments, peeking in the windows at the perfect modern interiors, and longing to live such a stylish perfect life! But, alas I am much to fond of clutter for such a life! We hired bikes for a day and took a ferry north, which was windy but really lovely. A row of wooden picture-book houses along the sea-front were pretty much the most perfect place to live that I can imagine. I loved it. Cute children in boxes on the front of bikes. Cool bars and coffee shops. The best falafel we've ever had. <br /><br /><img src="http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/5453/063yv.jpg"/img><br />cute shop! I managed not to buy anything but fell in love with brightly painted vintage bread tins. <br /><br /><img src="http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/7071/058d.jpg"/img><br />felt ja!<br /><br /><img src="http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/3491/087k.jpg"/img><br />bikes!<br /><br /><br />x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-18454376549112125092011-08-11T08:11:00.000-07:002011-08-11T08:20:22.314-07:00shopIt's extremely early days but I've started looking into getting a small shop space in Hebden Bridge. We're thinking of moving there. It's so very exciting. Hebden is lovely; such beautiful countryside and a place where people would (hopefully) buy my craft all year round. Plus I love its eco credentials, maybe we could finally stop feeling guilt over every purchase and rest safe knowing that our food/clothes/books were all bought from a good source. I'd be able to sell my own work and also sell other people's on their behalf alongside my own. I've been very excitedly looking at ideas of how to fit out the space and display work in interesting ways. I need to get sewing too! It wouldn't happen until early next year, but I'm sure that time with fly and like any other crafter I'm thinking about christmas and preparing for the joy of christmas fairs...busy busy!
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<br />this shop looks cute...
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<br /><a href="">sino works</a>
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<br />x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-8118028023959495532011-08-08T02:02:00.001-07:002011-08-08T10:45:00.124-07:00children's booksI love children's books. I used to work in the children's section at Waterstones and had a shift back in there yesterday, much of which I spent re-familiarising myself with my favourites and swooning over some nice new additions. Pictures books are my absolute favourite (apart from the Moomin books which I love with a love normally reseved for cats and pandas) and although I'm not a huge fan of a lot of the big names in picture books (I hate you Julia Donaldson), Anthony Browne is a firm favourite. There was a new autobiography of his picture books....
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<br />looks really interesting and inspirational for any budding illustrator (unfortunately I dont fall into this category, I'm terrible at drawing).
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<br />Speaking of picture books this Japanese website is AMAZING. there are even some vintage Tove Jansson books on there! <a href="http://www.lab-curio.com/book/stockT-Z.html">curio books</a>
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<br />My other major picture book lust is usually over vintage scandinavian books, there are so many good websites out there showcasing their cuteness.
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<br />x x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-73356277358916671722011-08-05T05:07:00.001-07:002011-08-05T05:13:16.392-07:00buntingI know bunting has become so widespread that if I see another set of floral print cath kidson style bunting I might be sick. HOWEVER the bunting on tents at indietracks was just plain cute, and although I dont like to toot my own horn I do love how the felt bunting I made to decorate my stall looks. I've been thinking about how great it'd look down one of the red brick streets in Armley or Hyde Park (Leeds) with hundreds of rows of bunting draped across. Maybe it's all the (gross) nationalism around the royal wedding/olympics seeping in, but I'd love an excuse for some kind of twee street party.<br /><br />This bunting illustrates my thoughts...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.selvedge-drygoods.org/images/cmsUploads/sophie%20Cuvelier/Sophie%20Cuvelier%20images/13L.jpg"/img><br /><br />By Sophie Cuvelier<br /><br /><a href="http://www.selvedge-drygoods.org/pages/products.aspx?id=103&p=591">selvedge magazine</a>amypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-16979934858620204602011-08-05T04:38:00.001-07:002011-08-05T04:39:34.135-07:00indietracksI took along a couple of other handmader's work to indietracks to sell on their behalf. We all did amazingly well, and the indiepop crowd were our perfect target audience...full of compliments and the cutest children I've ever seen. If a bomb had dropped on Derbyshire that weekend then there'd be a lot less cardigans in the world. <br /><br />Some snaps of our stall....<br /><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1267.jpg"/img><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1264.jpg"/img><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1262.jpg"/img><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1258.jpg"/img><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1263.jpg"/img><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1260.jpg"/img><br /><br /><br /><br />Looking forward to doing similar "handmade on tour" stalls in the future, worked a treat :)<br /><br />x x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-89681770722576505942011-07-21T11:10:00.000-07:002011-07-21T11:12:17.126-07:00indietracksI'll be selling my wares, and a couple of other handmade-ers on their behalf, at INDIETRACKS again this year. sigh. what a lovely place it is. cannot wait!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.indietracks.co.uk">indietracks</a>amypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-81791125869108142182011-07-21T11:03:00.000-07:002011-07-21T11:07:26.026-07:00alice in wonderlandI've been eyeing up this book at work for a while. I'm a big big fan of Tove Jansson's moomins books and novels, so this'd be a lovely addition to the collection. There are illustrations throughout, although some are in black and white and most are quite small. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.waterstones.com/wat/images/nbd/m/978185/437/9781854379573.jpg"/img><br /><br /><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/lewis+carroll/tove+jansson/alice27s+adventures+in+wonderland/8158171/">alice in wonderland</a><br /><br />x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-9533501935582687912011-07-11T11:30:00.000-07:002011-07-11T11:37:59.590-07:00TodmordenSold my wares at an admittedly quiet but never-the-less lovely vintage / craft event in Todmorden at the weekend. And we went for tea in Hebden Bridge on the way home. I want to live there! Probably one of the few places where you could actually make a living out of crafts. Although I'd probably have to give my future children double-barrelled made-up names. Not sure how I'd feel about having middle class children. Swings and roundabouts. <br /><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1167.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1166.jpg"/img><br /><br /><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v309/amyrocks/DSCF1164.jpg"/img><br /><br /><br />x x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1915367754086654401.post-47357697886764389872011-06-28T04:27:00.001-07:002011-06-28T04:30:59.993-07:00kitesThis nice weather has given me some mega kite lust. I like making little kite brooches but can't help but feel that I could go one step further and make some kind of kite of epic porportions. I especially love their little triangles hanging down, which would look great in felt! Kites always makes me think of flat stanley for some reason!<br /><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/5856198027_f4256b9841.jpg"/img><br /><br />Charles Eames' kite design. so good. pinched from <a href="http://warymeyers.blogspot.com/2011/06/charles-eames-kites-from-alexey.html">here.</a><br />x x x xamypandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720571835198135988noreply@blogger.com0