"Crazy" Flavas... apparantly.

I cannot resist..., a photo by kirstyfish on Flickr.

222 calories per bag! That was an unecessary treat but yesterday was a tough day.
GOT to love those colours though, right?

Slow Attempts at organisation...

Full Colour Range, a photo by kirstyfish on Flickr.

It is the Summer Holidays, but slow progress continues to organise all the buttons.
Look.... A colour chart with names!!
How useful....

Spooools..... she drooooools.....

 I just want to fill shelves

with spools -

spools filled with ribbons and trims....

 plain spools with nothing but their beauty to declare...

i need to collect tall spools

and squat spools

and dark wood spools

and crazy huge spools

*drooooools*

Button *news* Part.2.....

 Such slow progress!!

I am regretting this stock of buttons....

The above shows all 16 colours of the buttons

they come in 4 different sizes and in spots / stripes

 I am sure it will all get easier and less complicated when i have organised the stock and colours.

I love having all these colours and choices as i know, when i really *want* something perfect for my projects, i hate having to spend such time tracking down the perfect item

 I am just about to list a few bags of these mini-stars too.

a bag of 60 teeny tiny stars, maybe for a Christmas idea you have?

 I am also still working on some new felt ideas...

There must be more hours in the day somewhere??

BUT i also bought a huge new stash of Christmassy fabrics and i have some new craft ideas that i am so desperate to try out / see if they work and look any good.

Obsessed...?

Probably.

Care...?

Definately not.

pOm pOm Trim.... snowballs!! and a Scottie x

 Quick Flash update...

There are new prices on the 15 metre cards of pOm pOm trim.

Now available in these cute snowballs, aswell as Aqua, Raspberry and Apple - for just £12.50 for the full 15metres on a card. Awesome value. I am so happy as that makes it cheap enough to use for any  projects - or even Christmas wrapping!

Aaaah, i made a cute mini-scottie as a prototype to "see if i could"...

 Then i made my daughter a bigger version for her bed.

Randomly i had the exact same ribbon in my stash that matches his own collar.

 - "ahhhhhh" she said *sniff* "you should have put lavender in it"

ggrrr, the thing is, i thought EXACTLY that same thing when i had finished him!! tsk tsk

Another bright and linen mix Log Cabin cushion as i was desperate to try some of the new fabric stash i had bought. Now i have seen it together, i am even more convinced it needs to be made into a quilt!

That's all folks xxx

New Buttons *** PART.1.... Lollipop Stripes

 Who KNEW there could be soooo many buttons that we crafters could fall in-love with?

In some ways, i wish a button, was just... a button. You know?

This task is becoming bigger than i ever EVER imagined.

How can i list every option of every button available???

 I have been stocking *some* of this range of buttons for a long time

but crafty people kept asking for colours i wasn't stocking...

you know how i like to respond to your needs (okay, MY own needs)

 So, this really is PART.1.

These are the LOLLIPOP size 2.3cm

 - they are the second largest of 4 sizes.

They come in 16 different colours and you can have spots and stripes

 See below?

There are actually 4 different sizes and 16 different colours.

It is taking me so much time, but...

eventually i'll get there.

LovePaperFish will be stocking the full range and BigFish, some mixed packs i think.

I wanted to get them all photographed and listed before the School Summer Break.

Delivery was a bit unreliable though and so it will come in stages.

If you have been waiting for these - THANKU for your patience.

The BIGS are my favourites by far. Awesome awe-some buttons.

But also, a whole new size will be available!!!

The 'Drops' are 1.5cm each and those babies in stripes.... well, they are to weep over!

Stunning *new* trims on a GIANT Wooden Spool... "why Kirsty, wiz these luscious ribbons you are really spoiling us"

 Oh My!

Giant Wooden Spools, wrapped with pretty cotton ribbons to sew on your projects.

I *heart* handmade

made with love

Union Jack

 These are so lovely that i had to offer them for sale on the spool.

I will list them in 2m lots also... then i get to keep the wooden spools for myself  :)

 The Union Jack trim is here in time for any of your 2012 projects...

 I love new products...

I just L O V E them!!

More stuff to come...

and some sewing projects too.

It's like a massive Shopping Spree.... but Thrifty...

 Contrary to how it can seem... i am not 'Big' on the shopping thing.

I like nice stuff and i love a bargain, but my patience for actual shopping, is limited.

This is Bicester Village - Oxfordshire.

A Designer Outlet Village for people who like Designer Clothes...

It is stuffed with overpriced, overdesigned, clothing BUT it can harbour a few Gems.

 The place itself is satisfying scenic, like a Coastal Town on the facade. It has a holiday feel to it.

Even on a wet windy day though, it is packed with people.

 Of course, here is the Jewel in the Crown.

And if i sit in a certain Coffee Shop i can see the store door with a cappucino in hand.

Cath Kidston.

lovely, lovely, lovely - massive discounts on lots of old designs and styles.

Today, they even had an extra 25% the already discounted products!!

 I only bought one small thing, though.

I may love a bargain but i am still fairly thrifty. I don't like to buy stuff just for the sake of parting with my money. The joy of being here and *mooching* was really what i needed for myself on this day.

 Treating myself to time away from the chaos...

 So, i'm not going to show n tell everything i bought BUT

2 Leather bracelets reduced from £59.00 to £4.00 - 1 for me and 1 gifted to my Sister.

 This bargain crazy cotton top / dress thing. £10.00 and worth every penny for it's bright cheeriness.

And i bought 6 giant teacups as i'm desperate for Cereal Bowls!

They are a usefully hewge size and polka dotty....

and were 50% off.

I came to the conclusion today that:

Days off are good.

Bargains are also good, and necessary

Pretty clothes make me happy.

Felt Colour Charts...

 Ok, this cannot be ranked as 'Major News' but ,

there are now Colour Charts available in the FuzzyFish shop.

 Tonight i shall add the Chart to the LovePaperFish shop also.

Long long overdue, a reference sheet to the 28 colours available in packs or by the half metre upwards.

And, for all those who i have been chatting 'FELT' with - no movement on the Wool Felts or the Bamboo Felts as yet. There is a question hanging about if we can get the quantity we need to keep Felt Lovers fully stocked in the exact colours they need.

I do try... i hear the call of the Crafting Queens....

Perfect Polka Dot Cuppa

Perfect Polka Dot Cuppa, a photo by kirstyfish on Flickr.

I really like how this turned out... There are over 1,000 buttons in this giant teacup... and i was all happy with getting the photo... and then i dropped them... all 1,000+ of the little Bu**ers... all over the floor...
tsk.

This Week, is allll shop News!!...

 EEeeep! I have been working so very hard of late.

Working on getting the stock made up for Christmas AND trying to get some of the new designs out of prototype stage and actually into 'production'.

I find this stage exhausting and really wearing - but then, suddenly, i see a stack of freshly sewn items on my table and i feeeel an achievement.

 These are Buttony hearts (also seen in a previous post)

i made some last year, for the Craft Stall and they were so popular that i got around to making more for 2011.

I have tried to colour theme them. My utter favourite is the Gingbread Heart (above) but only because i am obsessed with decorating Gingerbread Houses.

 So, there is a full set of Felt & Button decorations that *in theory* match 3 colourways:

Bold n Bright

GingerBread World

Red & White.

 But that is just like "Show and Tell" at school, because that is not my shop news.

I have a huge range of Buttons arriving, i *hope* this week.

It is good news especially IF you are a craft retailer yourself using any PaperFish Supplies for your Makes....

Watch the Blog if you are keen to know what supplies i can offer you in abundance to get all your projects ready for Christmas (come on it's never too early!!)

I shall be working on Product Information sheets for the Big Range of newbie Buttons.

I shall also try to put together a new Felt Swatch Info. Sheet as requested by a gazillion customers.

So much to do, as always, but i am wonderfully energetic and enthusiastic about this week.

I just love what i do :)

x x x

...You Probably Can.

 I don't know what your personal demons are.

I have no idea if yours are similar to mine, similar to other women...

But there is probably a list of things in your head, in your heart of:

 'Things I Wish I could do But I Cannot'

 There seems a limitless essay in my head about how destructive negativity is

And this morning i had a quiet revelation and gentle 'Get Me' about how far i have come in Getting The Life I Want.

Nobody handed me my business and said "Lucky Lady, enjoy" i have been building this for years, carefully and gradually, in-between other areas of my life.

I never EVER thought i would understanding BookKeeping and Currency Exchange Rates.

But it seems that i now have a good general grasp of it. And i can use that skill.

 I never EVER thought i could be into photography. My lack of photographic skills was a family joke for years. But the age of digital came... and i found my passion, worked on my photoshopping skills. I began to understand the importance of light, the quality of different light...

I can probably take quite a good photo now.

 I never thought i'd have the confidence...

: to run! i told myself "i will not EVER run. It is impossible for me"  But i do. I am.

: to lose weight! i told myself  "It's no fun. I cannot be bothered" But i like myself slimmer, so much more.

: to get a dog! i told myself  "i haven't got time, they're just more responsibility" how i arrogant am i? This boy gives sooo much more than he takes.

And still my head is full of all the things i haven't done yet... things i need to negotiate, over time. To find the time to do. To find the money to do them... 'tick tock tick tock'   little ambitions sitting, waiting, impatiently. And i'm not 'not' doing them because i am full of doubt and negativity, i am just waiting, saving, putting the greater plan into action. the wider picture... the longer term goals...

 

 What are the things you really want IN your life?

What are the things you really WANT out of your life?

Where's that list of "Ten things i want to Try"?

 Because the list you keep in your head - all those 'demons'

Those nagging self-doubts and years of built up negativity...

they are just that: inside your head. Not neccessarily 'put' there by you, but they are kept there by you.

If you have a list of things you really, really, really want to try

If there is a job, a hobby, a LIFE! you really want to have,

Then you probably can have it.

It won't be easy (i am always shattered!)

But once you've got it, you might wonder why you didn't get it sooner.?