London Calling for 2012... Full on gorgeousness in the way of Ribbons!

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/93522956/3-trims-london-baby-mix-of-3-metre

Awwww, i am loving these ribbons and especially in this set of 3

London is pretty cool anyway, you agree? it has vibe, history, a certain degree of "cool"

but especially so in 2012!

We have lots to get groovy about this year...

 So the BigFish store is selling various sets of these Trims in 1 metre lengths.

I am selling a few of the Union Jack colourways by the reel too and they are selling like hot cakes.

 I am thinking: Brooches and Bunting and embellishments...

cardmaking, scrapbooking...

Cake Toppers and... wrapping around our semi naked selves?

 So, London is Calling for 2012

Huzzah!!

I am quite good to you :)

hee hee x x x 

Pretty Shop Items...

 Stocking the http://paperfish.etsy.com/ shop ready for the upcoming SALE DAY!!

I know i have been making PinPots and NeedleBooks for an age now,

but i really love these designs. They are good designs and so pretty

(in my humble opinion)

 I had a very calm and relaxing sewing weekend and it felt so good to make things

'just because i like them'

and not because they are ordered.

 It is so satifying to trawl through my own stash and ribbons and trims,

rather than selling stash.

And it is SO satisfying when people love these items and i know they will sit in someone elses sewing box or on their table and inspire their pure joy of creating.

 I think this PinPot in Spring Yellows and Pinks is my current Favourite.

The tags at the top of this post are so quick and easy to make.

I am selling a few packs, but really, they are not rocket science and the idea is just to inspire and encourage peeps who love crafting. Whilst the weather is a bit drizzly, it is nice to stay in indoors with a bit of cosy sewing or crochet or knitting or gluing or....

Happy 2012!

Keep an eye on the blog for Full Details of my amazing ETSY SALE DAY!

It wouldn't be Monday Morning without a shop Pimp, now would it?

 What a Windy day?

I don't know about where you are but, here it is Blowy and i'm feeling a bit Dorothy, scared that if i step outside i will have landed in Oz!?

 "Ding Dong the Witch is (which old Witch?) the Wicked Witch

Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is dead....."

 *new* buttons (what else?)

I have been making up packs of Button Brooch Party Favours which are just so cute and muchos fun. I'm not greedy though. I'm not the sort of person who would keep all these to herself.

They are too fun not to pass on.

1.25inch / 3.4cm - a great big size and i would LOVE to see what people have been making with these.

Personally, i'd love to see used on knitwear or as bag / purse fasteners. The are so vibrant. A real statement button.

 This new blue stripe is gorgeous and just makes my heart ache. So nautical :)

This is what i have named 'Denim Blue' - i love it.

I am listing these in single colour sets and in mixed colour sets.

 And i have always been a complete girly polka dot fan... but i find myself loving these stripes so much more?

Every colour i have in Stripe i have in Spots - 10 colours.

 Raspberry, Strawberry (pale) Sky Blue, Denim Blue, Purple, Vanilla, Mint, Orange, Aqua, Red

In both designs.

 And Button Tags.

I know. I win no awards here for complex craft design but.... not everybody has a big stash of buttons to glue onto tags (can you believe that?)

And also, i have been packing these into stacks of 10 as cute party favors.

Imagine a party bag filled with button tags? a button brooch? chocolate.....

*kirsty dreams of greatest party bags in the world, ever*

 In other excting news:

The GARDEN ROOM - Hair and Beauty salon, Upper Boddington

now holds a small stock of PaperFish products.

You don't need an appointment to pop in - you can just go round and shop, if you want.

They are holding:

Cards & Gift Tags

Lavender Patchwork Hearts

Purses and Tissue Holders

Button and Felt Brooches

and the range will be extending soon. If you're local - pop in for a last minute gift?

Egad, i had such a busy week last week - so much on my mind.

I managed a RRRRuuuuuNNN this morning so now i need a bowl of fruit, a big fat coffee and 2 hours under the sewing machine.

Have a great Monday xxxx don't get blown away and avoid all Witches.

i made a little button bouquet...

 Playing in the Studio at the weekend and,,,,,..... tada!

I made a little Button Bouquet.

 I could become very addicted to these.

I grabbed some thinner PINK floristry wire and made some smaller spotty stems.

 Then i taped the 7 stems together with parcel tape before covering that in ribbon to give it a sweet finish.

I am thinking this would make a nice little gift for someone if i hang a little gift tag from it?

 If i pop round to somebody's for a cuppa?

or as a thankyou?

I need these all round my house now....

 And a P.S

I am having a Limited Time SALE Offer on bags of 100g pastel / popsicle button bags.

I mixed up a few 100g bags full of dreamy Spring like shapes and colours.

Sort of perfect for making buttony lavender hearts

or your own stacking / stem projects

or yummy popsicle accessories

i love this mixture.

Normal price £7.50 for the 100g

SALE Price: £5.50

Coolio x
(p.s i just lost a blog follower :( i am either boring, or too commercial or a bad blogger, hahaha)

Shop News....

 After lots of thought -  i have finally started putting the ETSY shops into GBP....

I needed to tie it all in better (price wise) with what will be happening in the *new* webshop.

VAT has struck me now so prices have risen - dramatically in some cases but in others, prices have stayed. This is terrible for button lovers, i know, but i am not immune to the rises in taxes.

 NEW PinWheels.... these have been in the shop for a week or so. 90 in total - 30 of each colourful design. What fun!! Good for quilts and felt but too big and blunt for delicate fabrics i'm afraid.

 Spotty bias bindings - only these 3 colours and only available by the reel. Great for those of you who make bunting and want something a bit different to trim with.

 Last.... and most definately BEST - theeeeee cutest EVER tape measures in little animal face shapes.

How did we ever live without owning one of these? i don't know.

only 100cm long but great to pop in a handbag or children's sewing kit.

Has a little button on the back to retract the tape when finished.

1 panda sold.

1 Froggy kept for me :)

i might need to order in some more....?

LOADS more things arriving.

It truly is a fantastic New Year so far

Oh, and HAPPY SUNNY VALENTINES DAY!!

It is here...

Sign for Blog
Originally uploaded by kirstyfish

The date has been counted and verified...
One Day of FREE UK POSTAGE
on allll orders from BigFish.etsy.com ONLY

8am - 8pm
Tuesday 8th February

i am toooo good to you!

{details will follow soon...}

I'll get you, My Pretty... and your little Dog too!

 In Today's Commercial News.....

The shops will now be stocking "Ribbon Bags" full of colour co-ordinating 'pretties'.

It was decidedly unfair that i get to play with lots of ribbons and play 'mix n match' when you, at home, cannot see what fun it is! So i listed a few bags that i have enjoyed playing with and that you may find of use or inspiration.

 I can do a custom mix of pretty much any 2/3 colour combinations - minimum of 8metres. The reason i use 8 - 10mtrs is that i can sell it cheaper. It costs so much to list and sell 1mtr of trim on the net that it seems like bad economics.

 All the colours for the Polka Dot Ribbon reels are now listed on ETSY in BigFish. Available via paypal in GBP if you are interested. I have all colours in stock at present but as they sell, there may be a wait between supplier - myself - and delivery. Red and Pink and Plum have been the most popular colours.

(note to Maker/Sellers - if you are interested in any colours for Christmas Projects it is wise to order very early as Chrsitmas deliveries are notoriously slow)

*Kirsty did NOT mention christmas in the month of January*

 Any Ribbon (pretty much) that you see in any of my photos, are available to order by the reel. LovePaperFish has provided great prices for ladies buying ribbons for wedding projects. If it isn't up 'For Sale' doesn't mean i cannot negotiate certain supplies for you.

I am genuinely happy to help :) i get alot of satisfaction from selling my Pretties!

 The LovePaperFish site has been broken for sooo long now, i despair BUT i intend for it to be up and running soon. Where are all the hours in my day going to?

(she says, shopping for Vintage Furniture and baking chocolate cakes)

 ALL Polka Dot Pretty Button Bags are now packed in lots of 130. 10 each of 13 colours.

The same for the Gingham / Plaid Button Bags - in lots of 130.

Again, i am able to offer such better value when sold like this - and the colours are so tempting. These are by far my favourite of alllll the buttons i sell.

All Felt colours are in stock.

I can announce that the price of my felt is not rising with the increasing of VAT - huzzah! and long may this continue...

I am worried mostly about the cost of postage increasing as Felt is surprisingly heavy to send.

I'll do my best xxx

Commercial Break now ended.

Fun Vintage finds to follow sooon.....

For the Love of Citrus fruits, being Homely & Flat Caps...

"You have been quiet since the turn of 2011 Kirsty... what's been going on in 'da hood'?

Are you ill? introspective? struggling a little to cope with the minutiae of daily life?..."

All of the above it seems! and then some more.

So when life is feeling a bit 'too much to bear' i tend to get domestic. I *think* my philosophy is to 'Hunker down' / get back to the basics. In essence, to start again from the bottom up and see if i can feel better.

 I am not a saint and i did go to the (not sooo local) kitchen shop ABRAXAS in Weedon.

If i ever have like-minded friends to stay, it is somewhere i like to take them. A treat of a shop for dreaming and dribbling in. OF Cooouuurrrse, nobody needs 'special things' to cook with. I can SEW my own "Bouquet Garni Bags" etc... and so on but i am trying to treat myself so i feel no guilt in this commercial endeavour.

 I bought this lovely PINK whisk too. It is all rubbery in feel. Very satisfying. Now that i DID need and would rather purchase anew than save from the skip / carboot.

I love to get all my bowls and equipment out ready...

i got all the fruits from a local independant Greengrocers via my trip to the cookware shop (extra Brownie points?) they are cheaper and friendly and superior quality.

I spent a few days in and out of the kitchen making Lemon Cordial and Marmalade, aswell as Candid Peel (waste not, want not)

I have no tried and tested methods for either - i am too young and impulsive to belong to any club involving 'secret recipes'. I used an internet recipe for the Lemon Cordial, and i am gald i did. It was a superb method which made me use lots of the peel from 12 lemons and save it as 'Candid Peel' - a sort of sugary treat. It tastes A-mazing!! and the cordial is the finest / strongest / perfectly not too sweet recipe i  ever made. Very happy.

 It came out quite brown and caramelised looking but has since lightend with maturity and looks far more like it's Lemony self again now. I made many! - one or two glass bottles i purchased a while back but most bottles i have saved from family and friends and the pub and that.

 Then the o-so-satisfying process of PRESERVING in any which way or form.

Delight.

You need smell-o-vision here for sure friends.

Is there much in life that is more beautiful a sight than a bowl full of lemons or a pan full of Seville Oranges? i think not.

 (oh Lordy - it's that tracksuit again. I am beginning to feel that it has become sealed to my chest.... how can i rid myself of it's comfort... it has....wait for it.... a.... FLEECY INSIDE!... i am doomed...MrsB???)

 Now that marmalade....

i have used 3 differing recipes over the years.  i have finally concluded WHAT it is iam doing that prevents me from getting the marmalade to the right consistency. I won't bore you with my marma-experiments but it has a great deal to do with the fact i don't like mine all peely and fleshy / pulpy so i *think* i am lacking pectin in the pan.... it's a theory.

 And honestly, it tastes pretty good - but is not a patch on last years batch.

I must make notes on 'why' etc... then i might make it really well next year?

Do you want to know what went into the jar also?

A few strands of that lemon Candid Peel from the previous day (how cunning can a Fish be?) and a Star Anise (for the Major)

Country pursuits - Preserves and Flat Caps.

I smell of lemons with a hint of ginger and just a touch of fleece.

I am no city girl.

I am no domestic goddess.

I am tired and feeling un-anchored.

A little cooking and a great deal of walking is the very restorative that i need.

x x x