When they all fall into bed at night I generally take about an hour to recover – I find myself sometime later sat infront of the TV still watching cartoons with no recollection of the time that has passed since I shoved them into bed!

Today we had finished lunch and I felt pooped out so I suggested a snooze. Midi and mini looked at me like I was crazy (maxi is out with his dad), but I really needed a nap.  So all three of us crawled into bed and everyone took up the right sleeping place – mummy in middle with monsters on either side – and they crashed out in less than 30 seconds!

So here is a picture of my monsters during one of the few moments they are in the same room together, but not trying to kill each other!

Napping Monsters – Wake at your own peril!

Unfortunately I do have to wake them in a couple of minutes as we are due at a friends house for a play and tea… I may not return to my blog for sometime since they tend to get quite annoyed if I wake them up…..

Happy Napping!

1 bitofwhimsyprims

2 RockRiverTees

3 essemde

4 ctimesboutique

5 youngbloods

6 Gnipmac

7 fromnancy

8 pdfdesigns

9 EmmiLeeDesigns

Hope you enjoy them!

So I have been slowly experimenting with using leather and fabric together in my bag designs.  Last time I made a super huge bag.  This week I had an order for a bespoke bag from a lovely friend, and I decided to try using the leather along the base of the bag.  I think it turned out really well!

I used the leather along the bottom of the bag and then finished the design off with a fabulous and floppy leather flower!

The bag is quite bag and has a pocket on the side as well as a generous zippered pocket on the outside.

Rachel loves greens so chose the green Amy Butler fabric as her main fabric, which we teamed with the ultra bright pink to make the bag more funky!

I love the style of this bag and whilst it was sitting on my stall waiting for collection, someone else ordered the same design!

In honour of the fabulous commissioner of this new design, it will be called Rachel.

Hope you like it!

I have been looking around for a practical space to use for my workshops and I have finally found one! 

I work very closely with Cirencester Cupcakes and have an exclusive range of bags and purses in her shop, so when she offered me her shop as a location to run my workshops in I jumped for joy!

So here are the first 2 courses that are available in September:

Tuesday 14th September 7pm – 10pm Lined  Tote Bag workshop for beginners. 

You will learn how to use a sewing machine to make an amazing lined tote in fabric of your choice.

Price: £40.00 (includes fabric and materials.)

6 Week patchwork and quilt course for beginners starting on 15 September 2010 7 – 10pm and every Wednesday eveing for 6 weeks.

This course will teach you to make a lovely cot/ lap quilt in fabrics of your choice using a simple pattern.

Price £150 (includes all fabric and materials, including quilting hoop) Can be paid in installments.

Both workshops include the use of my sewing machines and refreshments, so need to do anything but bring yourself and have some fun!

Places are limted to 4 on each workshop.  You will be sent a welcome pack one you have registered and paid which will include fabric swatches for you to choose the fabrics for your creations!

To book please go to:

http://www.ooh.com/uk/craft-creative/all/gloucestershire/list?filter_date_from=2010-08-05&filter_date_to=2010-09-30

If you have any questions please feel free to email me: anna@funkydivadesigns.com

Looking forward to teaching some traditional crafts and spreading my fabric addiction!

PS The above pics are for illustration only!

• When did you start crafting?

My mum, Suzanne, started sewing a long time ago and made many of her own clothes in the 1960’s and many of my clothes when I was a child in the 70’s.  She always encouraged my creative side from a young age and we spent many happy hours togther sewing, knitting, scrap booking, making collages, baking and making cards. My mum was a primary school teaches and we always had fun trying out ideas for crafts for her pupils to make.

• In your fabulous shop you have so many lovely things.  Do you both make everything or do you have specialist areas?

Suzanne specialises in the liberty dresses and I make the pinafore dressed, but we both make all our own designs.  We both enjoy making the accessories such as the bags, purses and hats as well.

• Which are you favourite items?

We both adore out matching sets made from luxurious Liberty lawn fabric and we’re very enthusiastic about our new sunhat range.

• Where do you get your inspiration from?

We get inspiration for new items from new fabrics, pictures we see in books, new dress patterns, items we see in magazines and each other! Often the style and texture of the fabric will determine the kind of item we make on that particular day.

• How do juggle family/work commitments with running a craft business?

Fortunately there are two of us so we are able to share the running of daisyfleur.  We both sew but share out the other sides to the business.  Suzanne is retired so has a little more time then I do – I have a full-time job.  Suzanne uploads all of our items to our Etsy shop and runs the stall at our craft fair.  We are members of a craft group in Lincolnshire and have a stall at most of their events (http://www.tempopromotes.co.uk/).  I take care of our marketing and look after the blog and twitter pages.

• Where do you see your business in a years time?

We have only been trading for just over a year and we are very pleased to be in profit and to have achieved success both online and at craft fairs.  We hope to continue to increase our sales and to make more of our popular items, as well as extend out range to include the many new ideas we have!

• What avice would you give to someon starting a career in crafting?

I think we have been very lucky to be able to start our craft business together and it is great to have the support and to be able to share the burden of the less interesting side of the business – admin for example!  If you do have a friend or a family member you can link up with, we would really recommend working together as you also work together creatively and spark ideas off each toehr. 

 My second piece of advice is to be patient.  It does take time to grow a business and there will be times when you feel you aren’t making any preogress, but time will tell if you are going to be successful or not, so do give it a fair chance. 

And finally, learn from your mistakes and monitor which items sell and which don’t.  There is no point in spending hours on a design you love if it doesn’t sell.  React to your sales and be flexible.

I hope you have enjoyed meeting Suzanne and Jenny and make sure you check out their fabulous Etsy shop daisyfleur.

As usual there are loads of gorgeous and quirky items on Etsy that fit the oval title and I have selected just a few.

I hope you like them!

1 dekanimal

2 atelierBB

3 GarnetandSteel

4 sarahee

5 yukidesigns

6 studio1404

7 MnMTreasures

8 ladybughugz

9 BreesVintageRevivals

I hope you enjoy exploring this weeks shops.

Last week we took a much needed break and went camping in South Wales.  It is a bit of comedy act putting the tent up – one woman, 3 monsters and a tent (might take it on the road!) – but we have so much fun once we are all settled.  I think I give a few men heart attacks when I am pitching.  They kinda stand by their tent with a cuppa watching me pitching by myself.  I get the feeling they are keeping an eye out for a man to arrive and take over the complex (not) operation.  They seem a bit shocked when I do it all on my own – even more so when I pack it all down on my own!

The great thing about camping is the freedom the kids get.  I don’t see maxi monster from dawn until dusk, midi returns to check I am still there and then runs off to play, whilst mini monster stays with mummy and we play around the tent.

So here are some pictures of our fabulous holiday by the beach:

Maxi monster after  a swim in the cold water!

Midi and mini monsters chilling out in a pool of water.

And finally to sum up our holiday:

Mum this camping lark is really hard work!

Hope you all enjoy your holidays with your monsters!

So to start with I thought we would take a trip to the lovely JennifersJewels on Etsy, the fabulous shop that makes my bag labels by hand. 

When I started the business last year  I needed a small run of labels that carried my own design.  I looked around on the internet, but all of the mainline label businesses seemed so expensive and I had to order a huge run, which just wasn’t practical.  Then I discovered JennifersJewels on Etsy.

This shop allows you to choose a design from one of her many beautiful labels or you can send her your own design.  

Jennifer has put together a fabulous selecton of designs in different colour way that you can then add your business name to.

I love her pink range of designs!

The last set of labels designs are blank and allow you to choose a style which you can then put your own design on, which is what I have done to create the funky diva design labels:

This is my main label with the business name on.

I also chose labels with ‘fdd’ on for the outside of the bags to act as external name tags.

When I order new sets of labels I love waiting for my parcel to arrive from America!

Have fun shopping!

When I first read their blog I was really impressed with how they work together as a team, when they both have different home lives.  Sarah juggles running the business with children and Alex manages to create some amazing jewellery whilst working in a museum.  So I thought it would be interesting to find out how their partnership works!

When did you start crafting?

Alex:

I can’t remember when I started crafting but I used to do tapestry and long stitch as a child. I was also interested in beading and making knotted friendship bracelets and also enjoyed origami. I learned to knit when I came to the UK in 2004. I’m from the sub-tropics in Australia where it’s a little too hot to knit for most of the year. Sarah and I used to meet for knitting time when her older daughter was very tiny. I have only been making Lego jewellery for a year, so it’s still quite new for me. I have always liked quirky items of jewellery and thought that Lego Men earrings would be a good start and it has grown from there.

Sarah:

Back in the misty dawns of time… My Mum taught me to knit on the backs of two soup spoons when I was very tiny. I knitted a really ugly green and gold Australian sports flag. At some point she bought a sewing machine and one of the first things she made on it (apart from clothing for us) was a patchwork quilt for me. It was very simple, a pattern of rectangles, bright floral cottons mixed with blue and white polka dots. Over the top she appliquéd some parrots she cut out from another piece of fabric. It was gorgeous and fabulous and brilliant and she made it just for me, which as the eldest of 6 kids was a huge thing for me. I was hooked. I remember her painstakingly teaching me to backstitch and spending hours making hideous clothes and bed things for my long suffering doll.

In your fabulous ships you have so many gorgeous things made using a variety of materials. Do you both make everything of have you got different skills?

Sarah:

Different skills. I’m in my element with a big pile of fabric and a pair of shears. Give me a needle and thread over a pair of pliers any day. I admire Alex’s skill at making jewellery because it baffles me how she can get the wires to bend so perfectly and precisely. I can’t do that! I think she feels the same way to an extent about the sewing although I also think she’s more willing to learn than I am. I did teach her to put a zipper in a while ago and she even made a couple of zippered purses for the stall.

Alex:

Although Sarah and I have different skills that we apply to the business, we also have similar skills – we are both very keen knitters. I am keen to improve my sewing skills. Before leaving home I did a sewing course. It was lots of fun, but there is still a lot to learn. I’m confident enough to sew in a straight line!

Which are your favourite items?

Sarah:

My favourite items to make are the sunhats and the knitting needle envelopes. I love making custom hats for people, it makes me really happy! They feel very sculptural. I’m extremely proud of our knitting needle envelopes because I haven’t seen anyone else selling/making anything quite like them. We only have one of them in the shop at the moment but I’m busy making them like crazy at the moment in preparation for the upcoming Knit Nation, so there’ll be loads on sale then.

Alex:

I like the bracelets as I can put anything on them, and they allow me to be very creative. With my museum training the shrunken heads style bracelet (featuring Lego heads) is a particular favourite of mine.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Alex:

The Lego is so varied that I tend to let it inspire me. Other people also give me inspiration. For instance someone asked me to make a pair of Lego tile cufflinks for them for their husband. I already had Lego men cufflinks in the range but I hadn’t considered making tile cufflinks before. They proved very popular at craft markets and now the Science Museum is stocking them.

Sarah:

That’s a really difficult question! Our knitting range was inspired because I got sick and tired of losing my needles in my bag and tangling my yarn on things.  The sunhats came about because my nephews in Australia needed new hats and I had some fabric lying about. The other bags tend to just be random spur of the moment things, ‘I feel like making a bag that looks like this’  and off I go and sometimes it works and sometimes it really doesn’t. Or I see a couple of pieces of fabric and something about them just pops together and I’m off. At the moment I’m chafing a bit to make something new because a lot of what we’re doing at the moment is about making the same items over and over, to make sure we have enough of them.

How do you juggle family/work commitments with running a craft business?

Alex:

I am currently only working a couple of days a week in a museum job so I have quite a bit of time to devote to the business. I’m also lucky to have an incredibly supportive boyfriend. He lets me play with Lego, and schlepps the boxes. What more could I ask for? But honestly, Scott helps with the books, comes to craft fairs, suggests fabrics we should buy and tries not to vacuum up too many Lego pieces from the floor.

Sarah:

The balance between work and family is really hard for me. I have two very young children, one aged 4 and a half and the other has just turned 2. I’m at home with them full time, I gave up being a secondary school teacher to be a Mum. Combining that with starting our own business has been a bit of an awkward mix at times. I feel terribly guilty at times that they both have a fairly wide knowledge of the early works of the Disney corporation and sometimes I think if the older one hears “Just let me finish what I’m doing and I’ll be with you in a minute” one more time, she may explode. They’re both very patient with me, for people so small. I do try to keep my work in the daytime to a minimum but sometimes it’s just not possible, particularly when getting ready for a large exhibition.

Where do you see your business in a years time?

Sarah:

We’re waiting to see how the next few craft fairs and exhibitions go before starting to really make plans. Ideally it would be nice to find a few gift shop and knitting shops interested in taking on some of our wares. We supply IKnit in London with stitch markers and bags and the Science Museum sells Alex’s jewellery. It would be nice to have some regular orders rather than constantly working towards shows. We just need to sit down and figure out how to make it happen!

Alex:

I would like to do more knitting shows, we are booked into three shows before the end of the year and also do larger focussed events that we can apply our creative skills to. Also, as Sarah mentioned having our items stocked in other outlets. Having my jewellery at the Science Museum is an incredible thrill. I’d love for other museums to sell it as well.

What advice would you give to someone starting a career in crafting?

Alex:

Using social media such as twitter, facebook and having a blog have been an excellent starting point for getting our name and what we make recognised by people. It is a fine balance with not making it too personal and not giving away trade secrets but you need to do more  than advertise what you are selling by sharing the experience that you are going through. Pick a slightly quirky name. People are coming upto us more and more at markets saying that they know us by name, even if they’ve never met us or seen our stuff. If someone remembers your business name, it’s a great start! And finally, love what you do. If you love it, you’ll think it’s worth spending hours of your spare time (and money) developing your business.

Sarah:

It’s bloody hard work but if you’re passionate about what you make, go for it. It will be frustrating at times, you’ll find yourself still working at 1am and eating toast for dinner because you were so busy making stuff that you forgot to cook, but it’s worth it for that feeling when someone hands you money in exchange for something you made yourself, with your own two hands. In terms of practical advice, be as cheerful and friendly as you can at craft events, even if you’re having a rubbish day. Negativity gets you nowhere, people sense it and it puts them off. Even if you don’t make tonnes of sales at  your first few markets, you might give out cards or meet some one who will give you a tip about another market and so on. You never know what will come of even your worst day by far!

The Bothered Owl has shops on Etsy and Folksy.

I hope you have enjoyed meeting the fabulous Sarah and Alex from The Bothered Owl and seeing their amazing work!

We talked about colours and decided that since the event was going along the theme of green and bright pink, the bag should reflect these colours.  I approached one of my favourite fabric suppliers, Saints and Pinners, who very kindly offered to donate the fabric to make the bag.  So following another discuss on style, this is the bag that will be raffled at the dinner on Friday evening:

I love the Amy Butler ‘Love’ Range!

The co-ordinated bright pink lining finishes the bag off beautifully!

I hope the lucky winner enjoys using their fabulous new bag!