Crochet Tree Angel

I know it's not Christmas yet, or even anywhere near in my book.  (Mid December is when I start preparing) but some folk like to get under-way with their planning a long time before the event.

I made this little tree angel last year, and gave it away on my Facebook page.  But before I did I scribbled down the pattern in my usual haphazard way which means I could make it again and offer it up as a kit  :)

She has got lovely pure white fluffy wings and even a little brass halo.

I think she is rather cute, even if I do say so myself.

Now I need to try and re-make her from my garbled, jotted down instructions.

Craft kit subscription service

Thanks to a friend I have now run out the idea of a kit subscription service.

My friend emailed me to ask if I would send a kit out to a young lady once a quarter, the first one to land on her birthday, then every three months after that.

What a great idea!

So, I decided to offer it up as a service.   The choices are:

• Quarterly for a year  (4 kits) 
• Monthly for 6 months (6 kits)
• Monthly for 12 months (12 kits)

A fun thing for any craft lover to get a random kit they might not normally purchase or even try.

The kits will be sent out at random from a selection, and they will be worth the amount the subscriber pays.   One month the kit will be worth less, the next month more, but in the end they will balance out. 

The postage is free on the subscription kit service.

HERE is a link if it is something you might be interested in   :)

Thanks for the idea Sally   :)

Cross Stitch Initial kits

I have been working on some new kits.  My kits are very slow at coming out for sale, but I have loads of them on the go at once.

Some are waiting for tools to go in the kits (knitting needles etc...)  while some are waiting for components to finish off the design  (buttons)  but some are just taking so long that they might be on the go for quite a while.

These particular ones are waiting for (very kind and lovely people - ie:  Mother, Shona & Marie) to make up samples for me.  In the meantime I have listed them anyway with a lot of "coming soon..." photo images.

They are cross-stitch kits.  Suitable for beginners with an explanation of what do actually do alongside the chart.   They are done with a colour-change thread, so you get a lovely finish without having to worry about what colour goes where.

You can also opt to have an upgrade to a kit with a black wood frame and a self-adhesive backing board so you can frame and display your work  (single initial kits only).

As well as single initials, I am offering a name design service, which will look something like this one...

If you fancy having a wee go, you can find them HERE.

Need to get back to finishing off half done kits now..

"Ceramic Pebble" necklace kit

I have just put out a new necklace kit.  It's really quite difficult to decide which kit to work on next as I have so many whizzing around in my head - this, as it happens, was not one of them!

One of these hearts was on the floor in the shed and as I picked it up I challenged myself to do something with it.  This is the result.

Then I went on to make a different colourway with a blue flower.

I made them up, took lots of photos, printed off lots of instructions and spent nearly all day in The Shed packing them up and making them look pretty  :)

I have listened to suggestions from you lovely followers, and I have popped extra beads in and extra clasps  (one for going missing under the carpet and one for making a bracelet should there be plenty of beads left)

I am also offering a refill pack at a reduced rate so you don't have to buy the whole kit and caboodle again should you wish to make one of each  :)

Oh, I better tell you where you can find them, in case you fancy a little go at simple stringing.  Click on the link below  :)

PEBBLE NECKLACE KIT

My first kit, hot off the press

It was such a hard decision trying to work out which kit to make up first to launch on the new website.

In the end I just grabbed a lovely ball of ribbon yarn and made a drop-stitch scarf out of it.   THIS was going to be the first kit - well you have to start somewhere don't you?

Easy peasy pattern, great for beginners and established knitters alike.

Offered, at the moment, in 4 colours, but I do have a pink colourway on the way, which should be here by next week hopefully.

What I plan to do with most kits - stock allowing - is to offer "Refill Packs", so if you want to make more you can just buy the refill pack of the materials rather than having to purchase a whole kit again.

I am also going to offer a 'tool deduction' option, so if you already have the knitting needles, or the wire cutters, or the pom-pom maker, you can opt to have them removed at a reduced price.

Obviously these kits take quite a bit of time to build.  First of all there is the choosing of what to make with the materials, then you have to see if it works - sometimes it just doesn't.  Next comes the making and the step-by-step photography.  Followed by the photo editing, which can take a good chunk of time.  After that there is the writing up of the instructions which can take days in some cases.   Then the printing of instructions and the labels for the kit packaging.  Finally it is time to pack it all up and make it look nice before putting all the information on the website.  But it doesn't stop there as ideally I would like a sample in each colour way so off I go to make it all over again..... and again!

This is why it has taken a while to get these produced ready for sale.  But here it is.....

The "Flutters Scarf" kit.

Available in 'Candy', 'Lavender', 'Lilac' and 'Olive'.  Priced at £7.50 per kit.

Candy

Lavender

Lilac

Olive

Now then, what do I do next?

New kit packaging

You know I have been working on some new craft kits, right?

Well, it has taken me a while to decide on how to package them. I wanted something unfussy, well priced, available in different sizes - and, actually, just something that did the job without paying through the nose for it.

I eventually decided on these bags.  Kraft brown, with a window, so you can get a sneaky glimpse of the goodies inside.



There is a 'contents' sticker to add, but I was too impatient to show you.

And I can get similar in box format too for those larger craft kits that I just cannot squash into a bag.

Quite chuffed with them I am  :)

The first kit will be a drop-stitch ribbon scarf, as soon as I get the instructions written up  :)

A sneaky peak at a new kit coming up....

It's an infinite scarfy, snoody thing.  Knitted.  

The yarn is delicious, in purple, pink, green, oranges and yellow with a fabulous gold metallic fringed edging.

Once I get some decent photos it will be made up into a kit with yarn, needles, a sewing up needle and pattern   :)

A change in direction

As you may know, for the last year I have been working at Hobbycraft in Carlisle.  This was a job I managed to get almost by accident. I was so happy that we were getting a Hobbycraft in our fair City, that I logged onto the website to find out when they were opening and ended up applying for a job!

A few people (family, friends, etc...) were a bit confused, after all I had a job, working for myself, running an online bead shop, but you know what, it was obviously time for a change and the opportunity presented itself.

I had been thinking for a while that I was going to run The Bead Shed down, with the influx of cheap overseas sellers and the huge hikes in UK postage prices it just wasn't as lucrative as it was when I started it in 2005.

Obviously I thought I was very well suited to work in retail - and I guess on a one-to-one basis with the customer, I am.  But working for a big retail store is very very different to running a little local bead shop, having said that, it was great fun learning about it all, I have to say.

So a year later and I am starting to think about my working life, I am always trying to take the next step - and although the opportunities are there within Hobbycraft, for me to work up I had to really think about whether I wanted to work up the corporate retail ladder, or go back into what I love which is crafting.

Thinking about it, I was at Hobbycraft for the products, I would never had applied for a job at B&Q or WHSMITHS  (even though I do love power tools and books) It was all about what was on the shelves, and I realised that I didn't really have any urge to work up within the company.  Once I had realised that I had to then decide if I wanted to stay this job for the next 20 years or so, ......... or something else....

Something else won, as I remembered a plan I had over a year ago to change The Bead Shed into a more generic craft platform - selling Craft Kits.  Nice craft kits, with nice packaging and quality products.

So that is where I am right now.  I am currently working my notice period at Hobbycraft, which is rather sad as I am going to miss all my work colleagues loads, I have made some good friends there. BUT.... I will still be there running craft classes on a self-employed basis very regularly  :) I will also be teaching crafts in various other places, keep checking on my workshops tab to find out where I will be and how you can book.

 I finish Hobbycraft at the end of January and I will be launching head first into my new business - SoozintheShed Craft Kits.


I have got loads to do and organise, I need to make some lists and not get stressed out by it all, but it is really quite exciting.   I have to master Zencart for the website too, which I keep putting off, any tips on that would be most useful  ;)

Obviously the kits are going to be gradual as I design, collect components and build them up so watch this space.... as the saying goes.

In the meantime I have to go and tidy the tip that I call The Bead Shed and make some space to work in, wish me luck on that one!