Catch Up and Button Swap!

Hello!

As ever, busy.  Hope you are all good.

I have had the most fabulous weekend.  I have done quite a few craft fairs in the last couple of weeks and Friday and yesterday I was at the newly refurbished Gwyn Hall in Neath.  The first day was rather quiet but I still sold a number of items and made a decent profit so I came away happy.  Yesterday, turned up expecting much the same but it was much busier, my takings were fantastic and met some wonderful people.  A couple of others had a similar day so to celebrate we piled into the pub afterwards.  It was really refreshing to make some new friends and am now planning things for the future which I will have to keep up my sleeve for now...

Photos from the weekend...

I have been meaning to blog about my button swap for some time.  I was paired up with Rachael from Sew Ray Me.  It was really simple, you select 50 buttons to send to your swap partner and in return they send you 50.  I couldn't wait for mine to arrive.  When it did it looked like this...

Yummy chocolate :-) and a lovely pink gingham fabric parcel.

And inside...

A selection of gorgeous buttons.  Thank you so much Rachael.

NOW, I would love to show you what I sent but I am still unsure if my parcel has arrived.  A week after I sent it, it still hadn't turned up which I am very sad about and am hoping that the Easter holidays has held it up.  Rachael, if you are reading this and your parcel still hasn't arrived I'll check it out with the Post Office and then arrange to send you something else xx

Today I have worked so hard on the website to get it a bit more up to date.  Here is the link...

www.sweetwilliams.biz

Go check it out and let me know what you think.

I am planning an interesting blog post on pricing and the current market with regard to handmade items so keep your eyes peeled.  

Don't forget you can keep up with my daily ramblings on Facebook - www.facebook.com/sweetwilliamshandmade

Fat Free Easter Eggs TUTORIAL

Well hello!

It's rather busy here as always and we have RAIN!!!  How gutting is that after all this fabulous weather we were having.

I was recently asked if I would like to write a tutorial for My Fabric House.  I was thrilled and put together a tutorial for my Fat Free Easter Eggs!  If you haven't paid a visit to My Fabric House, go and have a look.  Some gorgeous fabrics and bit and bobs on there.  They also have a Facebook page.

But, here is the tutorial I provided which can also be found on their website HERE (seen bigger on the website) along with some other fab tutorials.  Please use the tutorial for personal use only or I won't be a happy bunny this Easter :-)

I have had a lot of orders to get through the last couple of days and am currently working on 15 metres of bunting.  That's a lot of bunting!!  I will make sure I take pics to show you.

I have also made some garden theme cushions which have been proving popular.

I will be closing the website down for a few days shortly to give it a bit of an update.  Lots of new things to be added and other things moved around so watch this space...

The Curious Incident of the Clown at Lunch Time!!!

Wow!  What a busy time it is here.
I've been meaning to write this blog post for ages.  I have finally managed to escape for a few minutes to catch up with you all.

There have been lots of orders (fabulous - thank you), things to make for occasions for friends and family - I am so proud of myself that it is almost April and I have managed to stick to my New Years Resolution so far by making all my gifts.  There have been a few events, have met some fantastic people and have also met some unique, strange, odd, angry ones too!!!

I was at the Aberafan Shopping Centre last Tuesday for the day.  What a fantastic day it turned out to be in the end.  The morning started very slow, sold hardly anything and came across one of the most curious people I have ever met!!

This is how the story goes...  The Curious Incident of the Clown at Lunch Time...

Amongst lots of other things I had a couple of heart shaped decorations placed in a bowl which I had made from Cath Kidston fabric.

This lady came across to have a look at my things and pointed to the hearts and said "are these real Cath Kidston?"  I stated that it was genuine Cath Kidston fabric which I had purchased from the retail store in Cardiff and I had made my own thing out of it.
"They must be fake" she replied.
"oh dear, why do you think they are fake" I asked.
"Because they don't have a Cath Kidston label" she tells me.

I'll cut a long story short but basically she could not understand that you could purchase fabric from a Cath Kidston store and make something out of it yourself.

She proceeded to tell me that every item on my table was S**T and that I didn't deserve to be selling my items there!!!

Can you spot the little hearts in the bowl - the Cath Kidston ones...

THEN...

She shows me her tote bag - which was a very pretty Cath Kidston one (with a label on!!)  And tells me that her bag was real because it was made by Cath Kidston herself.  I was amazed initially and asked her if she had been on one of Kidston's workshops etc to which she replied "no, I also bought this from the shop in Cardiff".

As you can imagine I was a little confused at this point and said to her that whilst I didn't want to enter into a debate as it wasn't very professional of me I had to point out that as beautiful as Cath Kidston products are (and I own a LOT of her stuff as I love it), it is factory made, not locally made and not by Cath herself.  She designs everything and may well do a few prototypes but the things in her stores are mass produced.  She argued me black and blue that each and every Cath Kidston product is made by Cath herself.  Can you imagine if they were?  The poor woman would have no sleep and must have cloned herself 5 million times!!!

She made me so angry in the end (I didn't show this of course, on the outside I remained cool, calm and collected but on the inside I was screaming "you mad woman")!!!!  I asked her to look at the label that would be sewn to the inside of her bag to which she read "made in china".  She turned bright red and walked away.

I felt embarrassed with myself for embarrassing someone else but this woman  was completely mad and made me so upset the fact that she made derogatory comments about my work.

The afternoon really picked up though and I sold a lot of items and came away with a wonderful profit.  The pics are of some events this week.  I've been a busy little bee.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you who are mum's.
This is what I made my mum...

It's also my cat Oscar's 3rd birthday today and we have actually celebrated it with chocolate cake!!  We are most certainly mad in this house but I hope I am not as mad as the Curious Clown at Lunch Time!!

Stuck in a Lift...And a Button Swap...

Yes, stuck in a lift - that was me yesterday!!

Popped over to Hobbycraft to stock up on a few last minute bits.  When I got there the lift was out of order and all the sewing supplies are upstairs.  I had William with me in the pram so didn't fancy tackling the stairs with him and a basket.  Went to the till to see if I could leave the pram behind the counter with the intention of carrying William.  "Oh, the lift should be fine" I was told, "we've been using it for deliveries / stock all morning and it's been working great so hop on in".  The lift moves up only about 2 feet and stops!!  Arrrgh!!  It was actually quite funny and wasn't stuck for too long.  If it's gonna happen, its gonna happen to me!!

They managed to reset the lift and I swiftly reverted to Plan A, carrying the baby.  Much safer.  HOWEVER, for my inconvenience they gave me lots more ribbons than I wanted at no extra charge.  I now hope to get stuck again!!!!

I also picked up a copy of Mollie Makes.  I have never bought an issue before.  It really is inspirational.  Looking forward to sitting down later with this, a hot cuppa and a bar of chocolate :-)

It's been so busy lately so I'm sorry I have not been around on here that much.  I also need to catch up on reading a lot of my fave blogs.

Last week was my first event of the year.  I was supposed to attend an earlier one but had to cancel as we all had flu.  Last week's went really well though and I met some truly wonderful people.

Sorry the pic is REALLY naff but I took it last minute - I almost forgot altogether.

I am in bit of a mad panic this week getting orders out and I have another event tomorrow.  Tomorrow it is St. David's Day here in Wales.  I shall be wearing one of my handmade daffodils with pride.

Tomorrow evening there is a St. David's Day concert at the Princess Royal Theatre in Port Talbot with lots of schools coming together to perform.  There will also be two special guests, Stephanie Hughes and Richard Lee Thomas who recently played lead roles in The Beauty and The Beast with the Neath Amateur Operatic Society.  Come along if you are local.  Tickets are just £2.00 each.  It should be a good event.

I have finally got round to updating the "Events" page on my website.  Take a look
http://www.sweetwilliams.biz/#/events/4553588582
If you are local to any of them come and pay a visit, I would love to see you.

Emma xxx


PS.  I have signed up to my first ever swap!  I am so excited.

You need to post 50 buttons off to your allocated partner and in return you receive 50 buttons.  I already can't wait to receive mine :-)

Visit NoodleBubble to find out more.

A Feature in a Magazine and Fat Free Easter Eggs!!

I completely forgot (since it was organized a little while back) that I was going to have a little feature in Popular Crafts Magazine this month.  You have a chance to win some of my handmade goodies in a competition they are running in their March issue which is on sale now.  

And this is it...

Can you spot my hand embroidered hearts???

Here's a close up...

If you don't win the competition or if you are interested in purchasing a hand embroidered heart then you can purchase them from the website - www.sweetwilliams.biz or email me sweet.williams@live.co.uk.  They can have any word embroidered onto the front (as long as I can fit it in the gap)!!  They are £6.00 each plus postage.

Last night and this morning I made a handful of Easter Egg decorations.  They really do make me smile.  And what has made me smile even more is that some have been sold already and I will be making some more.  Happy happy :-)

Have you paid a visit to the Facebook page?  Here is the link - http://www.facebook.com/sweetwilliamshandmade

I know it is a LONG way off yet but I am on a mission to get to 1,000 likes.  Not even half way yet so it will be a long process but I am looking forward to meeting new people along the way.  AND GUESS WHAT???  When I do get to 1,000 likes I shall be running a super duper big competition where you lovely people have a chance to win LOTS of handmade goodies as well as crafting supplies for those who prefer to make their own.  So spread the word and help Sweet Williams reach the big 1,000 :-)

Hope you have all had a fabulous weekend.  I'm now starting to get preparations underway for the first event of 2012 which is next Friday where I shall be having a stall to sell my goodies.  I will make sure I take pics.

Emma xxx

It's been busy around these parts...

Hello!

Hope you are all doing ok?  It's been a bit manic around here so I haven't blogged for a while.

Last week saw the completion of the trade order for the shop.  Wanna see all the goodies?

Lots of hand embroidered heart decorations, daffodil brooches, heart shaped brooches and bag charms.  Sorry the photo is a bit naff but you get the idea.

We had a very poorly household last week which was tough going.  We're all thankfully on the mend though.

I have made a couple of re-adjustments to the website to include cheaper postage and these wooden buttons are now £2.00 per pack instead of £2.20 :-)

This is the link to them on the website - BUTTONS

Today I have been making lots of leek brooches in readiness for St David's Day.

And having a mega sort out of all buttons, felt and ribbon.  Some American Crafts stash here, also available to purchase from the website :-)

I LOVE daffodils.  I took a pic of them yesterday afternoon which looked like this...

But when I came down this morning they had opened out...

Makes me feel all spring like.

Off to sort the boys tea now and finish some more sewing :-) xxx

Exciting News

Firstly, look at these colourful goodies which landed on my mat this morning.  I very much like my postman today for bringing these to me and putting a smile on my face :-)

Pleased to have my jars filled up with supplies again :-)

Right then, I have a little bit of exciting news to share with you.

Some of you who read my blog are also personal friends of mine so you may already know about my excitement already.

I now supply a gorgeous shop in Barmouth, Wales.  To say I am delighted is an understatement.  The shop re-opens next weekend where some of my handmade goodies can be purchased.  If you live local go and pay them a visit.

This is the shop: -
(These photographs belong to Luvit! and have not been taken by myself, although I really do want to pop up and make my own visit).





I'll keep you updated and will most certainly show you pics when all the goodies have been made and are safely with the shop but in the meantime go pay their Facebook page a visit - they have some gorgeous things to feast your eyes on : -

Facebook Page - http://www.facebook.com/Luvit.Barmouth

Hope you are all having a good weekend.  Its snowing LOTS here at the moment so I am going to sit and watch it fall whilst doing my favourite job in the world - sewing and playing with buttons, felt, ribbon and fabric :-)