It took me AGES to think of a title for this post, and it has been sitting in my drafts for even longer! It was a hard post to write, but the process has actually been therapeutic. We don’t always talk about what happens when dreams don’t work out. And my dream didn’t work out…but do you know what? It’s okay. I’m okay!

This week marked a whole year since I shut my physical shop, and it feels like the right time to finally get this post finished and published. The last 12 months have brought a lot of stress and anxiety, and I think it was actually harder to close than it was to open. But this period has also been a period of huge growth, and I’ve really had to dig deep to be resilient time and again. All that CBT work and everything I’ve been doing to work on myself over the past few years has been a hugely positive outcome of a really difficult time. I’m here 12 months later, and things look brighter than they did last August. For that, I’m truly thankful.

This post is a mix of thoughts from just before I closed, and during the past 12 months too. You might want to make yourself a cuppa, it’s gonna be a long one…

In April 2021, I got the keys to my new studio which was about 10 minutes from my home. I had thought about the possibility of having my own space for workshops for so long, perhaps with a little haberdashery shop alongside it too. So this felt like a real dream come true! But on Saturday, 13th August 2022, my little shop closed its doors for the last time. I’m so proud of everything that I’ve achieved, grateful for the new connections I’ve made here but also ready for the next chapter.

When dreams become reality

I honestly couldn’t believe it when I picked up the keys to my studio (as you can see from this photo!). It had been a real journey to get there, but basically my business had completely outgrown our home and it made sense to try to find somewhere to lease. The perfect place had come up; really close to home (within walking distance), and space to do ALL the things I dreamed of. I wanted to be able to host workshops in the light and airy room, use the small room for a little shop, and have an office and stock room upstairs. At this point, I was sending over 100 orders out a week and it gave me the space to do that. Perfect!

I worked super hard to get it all set up with the help of Tom, and my friends Louise and Daria. The studio needed a bit of work to get it looking how I wanted it to. Some things really needed updating, but I didn’t have the capital to do that so it was mainly cosmetic to make it Instagram-worthy! Tom was furloughed at the time, so I worked extra during th

Isn’t it amazing what a good lick of paint can do?! I was particularly chuffed with the workshop room, as the light is so lovely in there and brightening it up made it feel like a reality. It meant I could set up my thread wall too, which was extremely pleasing!

My Kickstarter campaign and opening the shop

Last summer (summer 2021), I worked on my first Kickstarter campaign to raise money to open the shop. I was so nervous about it, but it was incredible! You can read more about that here. Having the support of people around the world was overwhelming, and smashing the target meant that I could open up. Louise helped me so much with this and I am so grateful to her – I couldn’t have done it without her! Lots of tea was drunk, and there were so many IKEA trips it was unreal

I remember just feeling completely overwhelmed that people wanted to support me in backing the Kickstarter. It was such an emotional time and it felt really exciting to be doing it! In just a couple of months the shop was kitted out, and we painted the amazing Studio Dariolina mural (more on that to come in a separate post). I managed to fall up the stairs and give myself a black eye about 5 days before opening (no lie!), but we did open on 23rd October 2021. It was the best day and I could have just burst at how proud I felt. It was a big moment for me and for my family, as it felt so far out of my comfort zone but also the right thing to do.

When things started to go downhill

Despite a really successful opening day and first couple of weeks, things started to go downhill from there. My UK online sales dropped off a cliff, and this was really unexpected. It had been pretty steady through the year with the usual quieter summer period, and I just wasn’t prepared for this at all. Brexit had put an end to my international sales already, but the UK sales had always been growing. It was a huge blow, and I was trying to do what I could to promote my kits and my shop, but nothing seemed to be working. I had to put an end to running ads at this point because I couldn’t afford to pay for them alongside the rent and bills. This was closely followed by the worst Christmas period I had ever experienced.

At this point I was trying to keep positive, because you don’t want to think about when dreams don’t work out. But in all honesty, I think I knew back in Christmas 2021 that I wasn’t going to be able to keep things afloat long term. I didn’t want to admit it; it felt like I was giving up on things before they had even begun. But I was genuinely really worried and I had no idea what to do about it.

We had Covid over Christmas that year, so it was pretty grim all round. But I tried to come into January 2022 with a positive energy, and a determination to keep going with things. I had workshops scheduled and decided to focus on those, as well as a couple of new kit designs. I worked on a new book pitch and that was accepted, which was amazing! Things were going okay (ish) in January sales-wise really, but the boiler at the studio started playing up a little and that bothered me because my lease terms meant that I was responsible for repairs. There wasn’t a lot coming in and I was worried that I’d end up having to replace it.

It did end up holding out a little longer, but in April I tried to get it repaired and the brilliant plumber I had basically had to condemn it. I was in floods of tears on the phone to the landlord, telling him I had no money to replace it. This is the thing with a lot of commercial leases that most people don’t realise, which is that when you sign you have to take on the responsibility of the repairs. Thankfully, he did eventually agree to replacing it but it was massively stressful. I think this was the tipping point for me really, and a couple of weeks later I chatted with Tom about closing. We agreed it was the right thing to do.

Closing my lovely shop

Closing the shop wasn’t as easy as it sounds. When I took on the lease I took it on for 5 years, and the landlord wouldn’t allow a break clause so I didn’t have an option to get out half way. It sounds so simple with hindsight doesn’t it? Why didn’t I just get a break clause? Why did I even sign in the first place? I’ve asked myself these things so many times, but ultimately my business was in a completely different place when I signed on the dotted line. I have beaten myself up a lot about this over the past 12 months, but healing is beginning and there’s no point in just berating myself for the ‘what ifs’. Anyway, my solicitor advised that I speak to the landlord to see if I would be allowed out. The answer was a resounding no. I needed to find another tenant to take it on.

I don’t want say too much about the ins and outs of this because I’m technically still tied in, except to say that it was a hugely stressful time (although I didn’t realise at the time that it would get worse). I was under the impression that I was about to find someone else to take it on, and that they would do just that – take on all the responsibility. But what that actually meant was me subletting to someone, therefore not getting out of the lease. I would effectively need to act as guarantor for the new tenant, which is far from ideal. The search for a new tenant began, and I was responsible for rent and bills in the meantime.

I was so sad on the day we closed, but also so relieved too. It was wonderful to have Caroline from Little Cherub Design run her embroidery workshop on the last day, and my friend Heather from The Peacock and the Printmaker came to use the workshop room so we could work on some product photography. Then Zoe from Postpartum Matters ran one for mums on the Sunday as I packed everything down. The workshop room in particular was everything I’d dreamed of and it was amazing to have it being booked out on the final weekend. Zoe even has her own space after being so inspired by my workshop room, and it’s so brilliant to see her making her dreams come true!

After the shop closed

The day after I packed my shop down, I started a new part-time job to help with our cash flow. It was really hard taking it on because I was still trying to keep Hello! Hooray! going online, working a few hours a week with Make & Mend Co., trying to work on my second book and home educating too, so it was a real squeeze on the mental load. I found it really hard juggling everything, but I knew that I needed that little bit of guaranteed money coming in every month so that we could cover everything at the shop and at home. It was a lot and I struggled. Not just with the 3 jobs and home ed, but with processing everything that had happened. I felt like I had failed, wasted all our money and got us into debt. It was not a happy time.

Finding a new tenant was ongoing and also really hard! I’d had a few viewings but nothing concrete. Because it was close to my home, I was doing all the viewings but it was driving me mad – people not turning up, people clearly just coming round for a quick nosey…so frustrating. And then one day after showing someone round, I was shutting up and a lady shouted out of her car to ask if it was up for rent. To cut a very long story short, Tina decided to take it on! She is honestly a reminder that good humans exists, and I’m forever grateful to her.

But even that wasn’t as easy as it sounds, as it took months for solicitors to work through things. Literally months, with me covering costs the whole time. I thought we were there and ready to sign, then there were issues with electrics and then a lack of an asbestos report right before Christmas 2022. If you ever consider signing a commercial lease then you must check this – unfortunately I wasn’t given good advice about this before I did and it cost me a lot of money for the survey (I won’t go into how I feel about this as you can probably guess anyway…). Ugh. It was horrendous.

Moving forward

Eventually we did hand over, and Tina took it on with her fabulous salon, Totally Polished Nails & Beauty. I had my nails done there for my second book shoot, and going back there it feels completely different to when I was there. It’s helped massively to see it looking like someone else’s space, and I’m so happy that she’s thriving – her team are amazing and they’ve been a fabulous addition to our community!

I think the main reason it has taken me so long to be able to write this post is that it’s taken a long time to be able to begin processing it all. The grief and the stress of it all has been completely overwhelming a lot of the time. However, reaching the milestones of 1 year since closing has helped a lot. Maybe time was always going to be the key to that, and I just need to continue to be patient with myself. I’ll probably continue to go round in circles in my head for a while longer as I’m tied into the lease subletting it until April 2026, and that is still a bit terrifying if I’m honest. I think I’ll have a party when it’s finally over.

One of the questions I keep asking myself is ‘do I regret it?’ and it’s such a mixed answer. In financial terms, absolutely. This was a huge leap out of my comfort zone and I feel like I wasted all our money, and then had to bust a gut working 3 jobs to keep paying the rent to millionaires during a cost of living crisis. I don’t think I have the words to say quite how rubbish that makes me feel. But then I remember that I also had a dream and I went for it. Not many people get to say that, I suppose. Tom supported me in that dream, and even now he says that it’s a good thing that I tried. It’s hard to comprehend that really but I’m so grateful to him. Also hugely grateful to my family and friends for getting me through in more ways than one, and everyone who supported me on this journey! I’ve had so many wonderful messages from people I know and people I don’t, who followed and supported the Kickstarter or who have only recently discovered my embroidery work or blog. Please know that I’m grateful for every single message. Thank you.

Thank you if you got this far! I’m not sure what’s next for me, but I’m enjoying designing and writing. I’m desperate to get back into blogging more often, so hopefully there will be more posts soon. It’s definitely not the end for Hello! Hooray! as I’m just refocussing and deciding which direction to go in. My online shop is still open! Although I am only posting to UK addresses now (sorry!). My next book will be out in March 2024, so that’s something hugely positive – I’m currently working through the second proof now. I don’t think I want to make any concrete decisions about what’s next at the moment, so I’m just trying to enjoy the freelance work that I’ve got coming in and go from project to project. Perhaps I just need a break from the big stuff, and that’s okay. It’s okay when dreams don’t work out.

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The magic of the to-done list

I first wrote about my to-done lists for issue 9 of The Procrastination Paper by Zabby Allen (it also features on Zabby’s blog and in the first annual of The Procrastination Paper too, which is amazing!). Here is the original article that I wrote in 2019, to explain a little more:

I have always been the kind of person who has at least three different to-do lists on the go, and that’s not counting the mental lists that I make of stuff that I need to or would like to do at some point! Writing down a list of tasks can be helpful, especially when you’re juggling a lot of things, but when our second child was born in March I began to feel a little overwhelmed by my to-do lists. I just kept thinking of more and more things that “needed” to be done, and wondering how on earth we would ever tick anything off! I have always just added extra things that I have completed to the bottom of my to-do list anyway, so I decided to try making a to-done list instead.

A to-done list is a list of things that you have achieved in a day or a week (or longer if you prefer, but I like to keep it short). Instead of writing down everything that you “should” do, you make a list of things as you have done them. For example, you could write down tasks that you have completed, such as ‘cleaned the bathroom’ or ‘posted my friend’s birthday present’. But it could also be things that seem like much smaller achievements ordinarily, but are actually huge things if you’re going through a difficult patch. Things like ‘cooked myself a nice lunch’, ‘went for a walk in the sunshine’ or even ‘got dressed today’. It doesn’t matter how big or small they are – seeing what you have achieved on a to-done list is brilliant, and it has had a really positive impact on my mental health.

Sometimes I even sit down at the end of the day and write my to-done list, rather than writing it as I go along. It’s lovely to give myself time and space to sit and think about the day and what I have achieved, and more often than not I am surprised by everything that I have managed to fit in – yay! Don’t get me wrong, the to-do lists still exist (I am so forgetful that I need to write things down!), but the magic of the to-done list has helped me to view tasks more positively and put my mental health at the heart of that.

Top tips for writing a to-done list

• Try not to put any pressure on yourself to have ‘X’ number of achievements each day.
• If you have only done two things today but it was seven yesterday, that’s ok! Having quieter, more restful days are important too.
• Make sure that you write it down. Sometimes I do it in my head and that’s great, but being able to see it on paper is really helpful.
• Look back on what you have achieved. You could stick your lists up on your wall or in a notebook, so you can see everything that you have done!

How will this help me during the pandemic?

I’ve been writing to-done lists for a while now, and what I’ve really noticed is that its’s really helpful during times of uncertainty. I’ve felt a bit lost at various points since the start of the pandemic, but writing these lists has helped me to see that in spite of everything that’s going on, I have managed to keep going. I have achieved things on the toughest days, even when it has felt like I haven’t.

Once you start writing the lists, you’re able to see a bit more of the bigger picture too. As I said in the article above, some days you have one ore two things on the list and others it’s more like seven – but any number is absolutely fine. This bigger picture of achieving things over a week or a month has been helpful to me both in lockdown and during the pandemic more generally.

You could write your lists on a notepad, or in a notebook if you prefer. I designed these notepads back in 2019 and have only a few more left (they won’t be restocked once they have sold out). It really is good to look back on what you’ve achieved at the end of the week – particularly now as the days and weeks feel the same! I’m combining it with writing a little gratitude journal this year, and the combination feels very positive. I’m trying not to worry about missing days here and there either – at the end of the day, we can only do what we can right now. Sending you huge virtual hugs! Let me know if you give the to-done list a try and what you think about it

You may also like…

Get creative with some more projects from my blog!

Make some easy easy fabric drawer inserts:

Fabric drawer inserts

Make some super colourful curtains!

Pantone colour chart curtains

Make yourself a little treat:

White chocolate rocky road

Treat your embroidery projects to some thread conditioner:

Thread Magic thread conditioner

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The Creative Family Manifesto

The idea for this came about after reading The Creative Family Manifesto by Amanda Blake Soule*. Tom’s Mum gave me a copy of this for Christmas a few years ago, and after Littlest One was born I finally started dipping into it when I got 5 minutes here and there. It is the most wonderful book, and I wish I had started reading it sooner! If you want to live a more creative life and encourage your children to get involved at every opportunity, then I would highly recommend it.

Soule encourages you to use simple things around you to encourage creativity as a family. I love the part where she talks about imaginary friends, as Little One has an imaginary camel and he comes everywhere with us! He really is like a part of the family now, as is Camel’s friend Elephant and Elephant’s friend, Oscar the dog. Soule also emphasises the joy of sharing the tradition of handmade things, which is obviously something that is really important to me too.

Writing our own family manifesto

We are about to embark on our home education journey, as Little One will soon be 4 and would be going to school in September. It seemed like the right time to write our manifesto with this in mind, but also with everything that’s going on with Covid 19 too. It is a very surreal situation isn’t it? We are social distancing now, and it has actually been really good to think about what should be on our manifesto as we’re going to be spending much more time at home! It might be something that you can do with your family too as a positive activity to complete together. It doesn’t have to be framed if you don’t want to – even just jotting down your list of statements is a good place to start.

I used my personal manifesto as a starting point, as there were a few things that I thought would be good for our family manifesto. There were others I wanted to add to encourage things for our children and for ourselves. This is the list that I wrote, which contains 14 statements:

• Stay curious
• Go outisde
• Explore
• Make a mess – tidy up later
• Try again
• Learn from your mistakes
• Notice the little things
• Create together
• Make music
• Collect things
• Play
• Read every day
• Always be kind
• Love your community

This list covers things that we want for all of us as a family – things we want to encourage, and the ways in which we try to live our lives. I don’t see creativity as a separate ‘thing’ that we do, it’s in everything that we do. At the moment, Little One  frequently says that she can’t do things, so we’re always encouraging her to try again. We try to create things together when we can, whether that’s music, craft or something else. We read every day, and we emphasise the importance of being kind.

I wondered about changing the phrase ‘collect things’ as it reminded me of the phrase ‘collect moments, not things’. In the end, I decided that this is actually what I want it to say! Collections are great – leaves, stamps, feathers, colour charts – all of these things can inspire us in so many ways. It isn’t so much about having physical things for me, it’s about how we take inspiration from them. So I left that bit in!

Making your own creative family manifesto: materials

To make a family manifesto to be displayed like ours, you’ll need a few basic materials:

A big sheet of good quality card (we used an A1 size piece of card that I bought from our local art shop)

A set of watercolour paints and brushes

Some coloured paper

Stamps and an ink pad

A pencil

Scissors

Double-sided sticky tape or glue

A frame to display it in

Step 1

Take your large piece of card and set up the watercolours. Then get each member of your family to paint something on it! We went abstract and painted whatever popped into our heads. Littlest One even joined in too, and you can see where he painted with his hands in the corner. I think he was just 10 months when we did this, so it’s something that all ages can join in with. Leave it to dry completely.

Step 2

Now take your stamps and ink pad, and stamp out each of the creative statements onto coloured paper. I used a different colour for each statement, and chose 7 colours of paper for the 14 statements. When the ink has dried, carefully cut around each one in a rectangular shape.

Step 3

Remove the packaging from your frame. Take out the mount, but don’t discard it as you’ll need to use it in the next step!

Step 4

Once the watercolours have dried, place the mount on top and draw around it with a pencil. Then carefully cut it out, so that you have the right size to fit in your frame. If you prefer, you can use the mount to display – just do whatever works for you and adjust the size of the painted card accordingly.

Step 5

Position the creative statements on top of the painted card and work out where you’d like them to be. Stick them in place with double-sided sticky tape or some glue.

Step 6

The last thing to do is to put it in your frame, secure the back and then display. We have hung ours in the hallway, as we wanted to be able to see it frequently. Little One asks about it every time she goes up or down the stairs, which is great!

The beautiful pennant hanging above our manifesto is by HouseofHooray on Etsy*. The Pride of the North hoop is designed and stitched by me as an exclusive for For the Love of the North, an amazing shop which supports creatives from the North East of England. You can purchase one here! The pink pineapple embroidery was stitched by me, and you can read about that on my blog here.

Share your manifesto!

I would really love to see your manifesto if you make one – let me know in the comments below, or tag me on social media @hellohoorayblog. I hope this project brings you joy, especially during this really tough period. Stay safe, and wash your hands!

Please note that links marked (*) are affiliate links.

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#gifted Saying ‘Thank You’ is so important at Christmas, and today I’m showing you how easy it is to say ‘Thank You’ with Paperless Post!

I have always loved sending greetings cards, and when I was growing up my parents always encouraged me to write a little thank you note for Christmas and my birthday. I still really love sending cards, but I can’t always find the time to sit down and write them around a small family and growing my business. I want to be able to sit down and take time over it, but the trouble is that it takes me so long to handwrite them that I rarely get around to it!

So when I was recently approached by Paperless Post to try out their selection of online greetings cards, I was really excited. They have an amazing selection of cards for all occasions that you can send via email, and it’s really so easy to customise them. I’m going to show you just how easy it is in this post!

Creating your cards with Paperless Post

One of the things that I love about Paperless Post is that there are so many designs for all occasions. I searched for ‘Thank You’ to get started with mine – if you type ‘Thanks’ then you get a lot of options for Thanksgiving (which are lovely, just not what I was looking for!).

There is a really great variety of designs for all occasions and whatever your style, and it’s great that there are loads of different designers on the site. You can find out more information about them on the site too, so it feels like you’re getting to know them a little more. The design I chose is by Hannah Berman and I’m so happy to have discovered her beautiful illustrations. This is the design that I chose for my first card:

I am completely obsessed with pom poms, so I had to choose this background for my card. Being able to customise the background and the envelope as well as the card is a really nice touch, and there are loads of options here too. This is just a small selection that you can see here on this screenshot! Once you’ve selected your card and the background, you can move on to writing the text – but don’t worry if you change your mind, it’s super easy to customise everything again if you want to change the look of your card.

We have kept this message short and sweet, but you can write a lot more if you want to! And because it’s digital, you can customise it for lots of people. Amazing! Once the message is complete, you can choose your envelope before popping in the details and sending. It really is that easy!

Here’s another little card that we sent to our friend who we saw at the weekend:

Post for all occasions!

I’ll definitely be able to say ‘Thank You’ with Paperless Post over the Christmas period, and I’m really looking forward to experimenting with more designs. Little One absolutely loves typing at the keyboard at the moment, and it’s a great thing for her to be able to type her name on the cards and help to send them too. You can even schedule cards in advance, which is a brilliant feature and I’ll definitely be using this to send more cards in the future.

But there’s so much more that you can send digitally too – birthday cards, seasonal cards, save the dates, birthday invitations, flyers for get-togethers…the list is endless! And with so many designs to choose from, you’re bound to find the right greeting!

I’d like to say a big thank you to Paperless Post for gifting me coins to use to try out their greetings cards! All opinions of the Paperless Post site and cards are my own.

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I’m so excited to be having a natter with Zabby Allen from The Procrastination Paper on my blog today – yay! I have been a huge fan of Zabby’s for a long time now, and had the pleasure of meeting her in real life at Blogtacular in 2018. She is a super talented creative who works on so many amazing projects (I’ll let Zabby you a bit more about those in this mini interview). She started writing The Procrastination Paper to encourage people to #WasteSomeTimeOffline and recently decided that this will be her main personal project, which I think is amazing! In this mini interview we also talk about Zabby’s inspiration, how she started The Procrastination Paper and what she does to #WasteSomeTimeOffline, and I know you’re going to love getting to know her a bit more. Zabby is currently on a mission to recruit 100 new subscribers before Christmas, and there’s a bit more info about that at the end of this post so do check that out!

Describe your work in 3 words.

Colourful, collaborative, varied.

Who or what inspires you?

I’m inspired by the people I feature in the Paper – I’m usually in such a rush to get the magazine edited that it’s only when I come back to issues a month or two later that I really get to appreciate them fully myself. The honesty and creativity of my contributors never fails to amaze me!

How did you first get the idea for The Procrastination Paper?

I had the idea for the Procrastination Paper on a train to Wales. My best ideas always come when I’m not working! I’d taken the month off freelance work in order to give myself time to figure out where I wanted to take my business and had got as far as realising that my passion was in print – I knew I wanted to make my own magazine! I’d been thinking a lot about the amount of time I spent staring at my screen and had downloaded an app which told me I’d spend 4 hours on my phone most days. I was horrified by the discovery! As I sat on the train, I started to think about what I was actually doing during those 4 hours… and the answer was procrastinating on Instagram. I started to think about the ways in which I used to procrastinate, before I had social media… and decided that they were much more fun. Then and there I scrapped the original plans I was making for my magazine and started work on what would become the Procrastination Paper, to help others procrastinate in a more positive way.

What do you love most about creating The Procrastination Paper?

I love getting to share other people’s stories. When I approach people to write an article for the Paper often they declare “I’m not a writer” or apologise for their writing when they send through their piece. But I believe that we can all be writers and we all have a story to tell. I’m in a privileged position to be able to share the stories and creativity of others with a wider audience.

I also cut all of the titles and cover illustrations out by hand, from real paper, for each issue. I wanted at least part of the process to be handmade. I’m always in a rush to get it all done, but cutting out those tiny little letters feels like my own little bit of offline procrastination each month – even if I do often have Netflix or a podcast on in the background while I’m doing it…

What’s your favourite way to #WasteSomeTimeOffline?

Going for a walk. Nothing clears my mind and motivates me more than being on top of a hill or in the depths of a forest! We recently adopted a street dog from Morocco and she gives me the opportunity to go outside and get muddy every single day, which is brilliant!

You also work on The Happy News with Emily Coxhead and run In Colourful Company with Toni Bee. How do you juggle working on multiple creative projects?

Often not very successfully! Last year I experienced some burnout and decided that I had to be kinder to myself and cut out some work. A couple of my jobs naturally came to an end (at Lucky Dip Club and Caboodle Magazine), which was good timing, and I left the part time illustration agency job I had. This year we hosted three In Colourful Company Colour Walks and I created a ‘Stumped’ travel guide for each city we visited. It was a lot more work than I’d anticipated, and after those I had to take a bit of a step back whilst I moved home and got organised. This week I’m juggling editing The Happy News and the Procrastination Paper and it’s not ideal – I’m determined to plan my time better next year so that I’m only ever working on one job at a time. A combination of bullet journals, Google calendar and lots of colour coding is my trick for organisation!

What’s next for The Procrastination Paper?

I’ve just created a secret member’s area of my site where subscribers can go to find discounts and deals from other subscribers who own businesses – I can’t wait to share it with people as there are some wonderful people involved! I’m currently on a mission to up my subscriber numbers as I stopped selling all of my other products this year in order to concentrate on the Paper and I need a bit of financial stability back! Later in 2020 I really want to bring the Procrastination Paper into the real world with some events too!

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out on their creative journey?

Follow your passions and do the work, but remember that time off is just as important as time working. Don’t forget to check in with yourself once in a while and ask yourself if what you are doing is making you happy and what you really want to be pursuing.

Yay! Thank you so much for chatting to me, Zabby!

I hope you have enjoyed having a natter with Zabby Allen from The Procrastination Paper as much as I have.

As I said earlier, Zabby is currently on a mission to get 100 new subscribers to The Procrastination Paper by Christmas, and I would love to help her reach her goal! The paper is colourful, creative and informative (I had no idea that Zabby hand cuts all the letters until now – amazing!) and it would make a brilliant Christmas present for creative people in your life or even just for yourself. It’s really wonderful to have this drop on your doormat once a month, and I know that you will love it. Visit Zabby’s website to find out all of the info, and don’t forget to follow @zabbyallen and @theprocrastinationpaper on Instagram too for lots of colour and inspiration.

A big thank you again to Zabby, and good luck reaching your target – you’ve got this!

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I love this Newcastle upon Tyne map print by Louise from ThePersonalisedMapCo – it’s the kind of thing that would look great anywhere!

As would this Angel of the North art print by Ellie from RebelTreeCo, and I think the photo on the shape of the Angel is really effective.

One of the things that I love about shopping with small businesses is that you can find really unique things, like this limited edition print by Heather from PeacockandPrintmaker – the colours are gorgeous!

Now let’s look at some jewellery from very talented North East makers. First up is Helen from cuberootjewellery, who creates the most beautiful pieces. This lotus flower ring is made from eco silver:

Or how about this beautiful cuff bracelet made by Geoff and Sky from RuneCastCopper?

And for North East folk, you could wear your love of the Angel of the North with these lovely earrings by Anke from Saynie, which also come with a matching pendant:

If you’re looking for beautifully handmade clothing that is a bit extra special, then you’ll love ScoutandRae. Hannah’s simple pieces are timeless classics, and this denim overshirt/jacket is made from organic denim.

Treat yourself to something just for you! How about one of these fantastic yellow waxed canvas washbags? They are screenprinted on organic cotton and stitched by Alison from CIREonEtsy.

Let’s not forget the little people – here are some lovely ideas for Christmas gifts for kids! How sweet is this fingerprint keepsake hedgehog print by LittleFlowersBySligo? It is such a lovely heirloom gift designed by Rachael.

And finally, I am completely in love with these first year wardrobe dividers by Ebony from Dottyblack – not only are they beautiful but they are so useful for sorting out a baby’s wardrobe, and would actually make a fantastic gift all year round!

Well, I think it’s time to get some Christmas shopping done, don’t you?! I’m going to make a cuppa and get started – in fact this mug designed by Ashleigh from AshleighBrownStudio is just what I need. So cute!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my Newcastle Etsy Team Christmas gift guide. Some of these sellers and many more (including me!) will be at our #EtsyMadeLocal events this weekend and we would LOVE to see you there! If you’re not Newcastle-based, you can find your local Etsy event here.

And if you still need more inspiration, you can find all of Etsy’s holiday gift guides here. Thank you for supporting indie crafters, artists and makers!

The small print

This post has been written for the Etsy Affiliates programme.  All photographs are the copyright of the Etsy shop owners, except for the main post graphic which is my adaptation of the Newcastle Etsy Team logo. Please refer to my Privacy Policy if you need more information. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

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Please note that this is an affiliate post, so all links within this post are affiliate links. There’s more info about this at the bottom of the post! All products listed here are from UK Etsy sellers.

Christmas cards

Get into the Christmas spirit and send some cards! You don’t have to send them to everyone you know, but sending something extra special to a few people is a great way to support your favourite Etsy shops. From top left going clockwise we have:

ColourTheirDay rainbow Christmas card

PaperJoyUK Santa and unicorn Christmas card

Poppekins rainbow Christmas card

SummerLaneStudio Merry and Bright card

Tree decorations

The cards are sent, and now it’s time to put up the tree! There are so many beautiful rainbow Christmas tree decorations on Etsy. We have a little tradition that we buy our children a new one every year, so that they will have a collection of their own by the time they leave home. It’s going to be hard to choose this year, which is why I have a bigger selection in this section! From top left going clockwise (above):

WhatsThatUK Lego Pride heart Christmas tree decoration

DaisyChainMakesHQ festive rainbow decoration

ThePigeonsNestUK crochet rainbow baubles

PostboxParty felt rainbow decoration

Again, from top left going clockwise:

SongoftheSeam tree decorations

HelloTreacleStore personalised rainbow bauble

Silverpasta rainbow snowmen Christmas decoration

Weaveandpom rainbow Christmas pom pom baubles

Festive rainbow garlands

Is it even Christmas if you don’t have some sort of garland?! Ditch the tinsel and buy a beautiful handstitched garland that you will treasure for years to come. Alternatively, make your own paper garland which can be recycled! From top left going clockwise:

MimsKits paper chain garland kit

FantooshbySonia Christmas lights garland

CurlySueCraftsShop HO HO HO rainbow bunting

BrightIslandUK felt star garland

And because you can never have too many decorations…

Here are some more of my favourite rainbow finds!

lovelylittlelamp Christmas tree with pom poms

Hoppsydaisy felt pom pom wreath

TildaLovesTeddy rainbow bottle brush trees

InRainbowsBecco rainbow tree topper

Christmas accessories

Add an extra festive touch with these rainbow Christmas accessories. Go big and bold with a festive jumper, or be more subtle with a rainbow Christmas badge or pin. There’s something for everyone – even for people who want to stay cosy and snuggle up with a hot water bottle! Clockwise from top left (above):

wildthingsdresses rainbow Christmas stocking

HappyRobinClothing It’s Christmas Kids rainbow sweatshirt

Colouryourlifeclub candy canes and holidays badge

IpDipDesign ho ho Christmas pin

Clockwise from top left:

fairycakes Making Yuletide gay pin

LIFEisbetterinCOLOUR merry and bright Christmas badge

NimzTreasures rainbow hot water bottle cover

HappyRobinClothing It’s Christmas adult rainbow sweatshirt – YES!!! They do it in adult size too!

I hope you have yourself a merry rainbow Christmas with Etsy this year! If you’re looking for a little something else, why not check out Etsy’s own gift guides? The gifts under £30 guide is a good place to start!

The small print

This post has been written for the Etsy Affiliates programme. I have received a £10 gift card for writing this post, but all selections and opinions are my own. All photographs are the copyright of the Etsy shop owners, except for the main post graphic which is my own. Please refer to my Privacy Policy if you need more information. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

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For the last couple of years, the Hello! Hooray! creative manifesto has been living in the notes pages of my iPhone.  It is something that I decided to write not long after Little One was born, as a way of motivating myself to enjoy the little snippets of creative time that I was able to catch here and there. I’ve added more things to it over the past two-and-a-bit years and if I’m feeling in a little bit of a creative slump, I have a read through it and think about things that inspire me. Something as simple as having a cup of tea in the garden, taking a load of deep breaths in the fresh air or being inspired by photos in my craft books can be a huge boost to my creativity levels. Juggling all the things (family/blog/small business/day job) can get pretty tiring at times…well, it’s incredibly exhausting actually! It’s hard to feel like I’m making progress at times (even though I am, just slowly!) so having the Hello! Hooray! creative manifesto is a way to make me feel good about what I’m doing creatively when I’m feeling a bit stuck.

Hello! Hooray! creative manifesto

So here’s a list of the things that are on my creative manifesto:

Embrace imperfections

Take your time

Make for pleasure

Make do and mend

Live a creative life

Find inspiration in the little things

Read more blogs

Get out in nature

Make something for you

Support other makers

Live colourfully

Do something creative every day

Collaborate

Explore

Love what you do

Experiment

Go with the flow

Make mistakes

Learn a new skill

Host a crafternoon

Don’t compare yourself to others

Follow your own path

Get out of your comfort zone

Do it!

Some of the things in the list are reminders to myself about my creative process, and what I end up doing when the dreaded comparison sets in. You know that thing where you compare yourself to others on Instagram? The worst! Other things are reminders to keep going and explore, to experiment, to try something new. And also not to worry about making mistakes along the way – it’s all part of the process. Thank goodness for my seam ripper!

If you saw my last post you’ll know that I’ve been getting started with Bullet Journal, and I thought that this would be a brilliant place to write out my creative manifesto! I usually carry my journal in my bag so that I can jot things down when I’m out and about. I decided to use rainbow colours to decorate it, and I think each element stand out nicely in its own box. In some ways I feel a bit nervous sharing this – lettering is not my strong point (the main subheadings are traced, but the handwriting is mine) and I just sort of wrote it as I went along without planning it! But as one of the things on my creative manifesto is ‘get out of your comfort zone’, I thought I’d embrace it and share it with you!

What would be on your creative manifesto?

Do you have a creative manifesto? Or maybe just some words that you like to live by? Do let me know in the comments below – I love to find out what inspires people, what keeps people going and what people do creatively.

I’m still thinking loads about what I learnt from Blogtacular this year, so I’m putting a post together with my best bits! I’ve also been working on a ‘Keep Going’ piece for The Indie Rollercoaster, and I can’t wait to share it with you. All will be revealed next week…I’m planning to share it in the Twitter chat next Tuesday, so stay tuned!

Post updated 12th February 2020.

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Bullet Journal: Materials

One of the great things about Bullet Journal is that you don’t need lots of fancy stuff to get started – any notebook will do. However, if you love stationery like I do then you may want to invest in one of the Leuchtturm1917 originals. I use their teal Bullet Journal and I like that it’s pretty flexible in terms of layout, and I’m enjoying using it more than one with lines. You could use one of their dotted notebooks if you want a different colour – I’ll definitely get a pink one next time!

Other materials that I use so far include these Sharpie fine pens (which write beautifully), some Stabilo Pen 68 for decoration and borders, and some tracing paper for tracing my titles. Yep, I’m not ashamed to say that I haven’t handwritten the titles myself! More on that shortly… You can also decorate with washi tape, stickers or anything else that you fancy. Some post-it notes might also come in handy.

Bullet Journal: the basic principles

So the basic principle behind Bullet Journal is to make journalling a little quicker so that you keep up with it more frequently. The Bullet Journal website refers to this as ‘Rapid Logging’. Essentially, it’s a tool that you can use in whatever way to help you to be more efficient, pr-active, organised or for any other reason that you need it for. For me, I need it to be a place for me to empty my head of my million-and-one ideas that I have at random points in the day. I need it to help me organise my lists so that when I have a little bit of time to work on my blog or my shop, I can use that time well.

What keeps the process ‘rapid’ is the use of short sentences (although this isn’t necessarily what I’m going for personally) and the use of a key to indicate the status of tasks. This is the key in the front of my journal:

It’s suggested that you use the relevant key at the start of each point to help you to work out which order to complete things in. I use some of these symbols in mine, but have adapted them to suit me. The ‘getting started’ post on the Bullet Journal website is great if you want to find out more about the principles of the ‘official’ system.

How I’m using my Bullet Journal

So I’ve taken the basic principles and just adapted them to what works for me, and I really believe that it’s the key to keeping this up. I use my Bullet Journal to write down thoughts as I go, but I do want it to be neat (that’s just who I am!). So I decided to write some large titles in a lovely handwritten script font, and then print them out in reverse so that I could trace them. Then I can just add bullet points in underneath as I go along.

I’ve found it really helpful to have a general to-do list for my blog – I always remember random things that need doing when I’m out and about, and it has been great to have a place to write them all down. You can see in the picture at the top of the post that I’ve been using post-it notes as well, and I created a couple of pages where I can just stick them in to be able to transfer ideas later on. If you like things to be neat and tidy, this is quite a good system!

I’m using my Bullet Journal as a monthly system for now. If I ever get to quit the day job, I’ll switch to a weekly format! This monthly format allows me to focus on what I need to do each month, but without pressure if necessary. Nothing is completely fixed, and I can be flexible about what I can realistically achieve. So for April, I traced the header for the month and made a list with bullet points. As I completed a task, I used the Bullet Journal system of marking it with a cross to show that it was done. In May, I wrote a header again and then highlighted any tasks that were not yet complete by putting them in a box at the top of the first page like this:

New tasks for the month were then added in a list below, and crossed off in the same way. I also added another box for blog posts, because one of my intentions for this year was to write four blog posts each month. You can probably guess that I didn’t quite make it last month, but that’s ok. Thankfully, I did get all my GDPR stuff done – phew! On that note, you can read my privacy policy here if you want to…

So yes, I have full sentences in my journal. And yes, I do like to spend a little bit of time decorating it and making it neat and tidy, which goes against the point of it being a quick system. But this is what works for me and I love it. Since using my bullet journal, I haven’t felt quite so stressed out trying to remember the things that I want to do in the little bits of time that I have to create things. It has meant that I use my time more wisely, because I can focus on what needs doing first or what I want to spend my time on. I actually find that it isn’t hugely time consuming this way – I enjoy drawing the titles and it’s fairly quick to write a list as bullet points anyway. I’ve used the same format for June and I’m happy with how it’s working, but it’s something that I can adapt as I go along if I need to.

Bullet Journal resources and supplies

I’ve already mentioned the Bullet Journal website as a great resource for information if you’re starting out. Here are some other useful resources and places to go for supplies:

There are lots of great videos on the Claireabellemakes YouTube channel (and if you’re interested in other planners too, Claire talks you through her amazing selection!).

Nikki McWilliams also has some really helpful videos on her YouTube channel – there’s a great one about setting up, and she also has a tutorial for ombre hand lettering. Nikki also has her own Etsy shop dedicated to Bullet Journal supplies and cool stationery.

If you’re a stationery addict like me, you’ll love Jennifer Cockroft’s post about pens!

I have a Pinterest board dedicated to Bullet Journal, which is a great place for inspiration.

What are your top tips for Bullet Journal?

Let me know in the comments below! I plan to write up some of the take-away points from Blogtacular in mine over the next week or so. I’ve also written my Creative Manifesto, which I’m really looking forward to sharing with you soon! I’ll keep you updated with how I’m using it and adapting my Bullet Journal as I go.

The post Starting a Bullet Journal your own way appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

YAYmakers June 2018 box review

When you open the box, the first things that you notice are the fun products and also a note about the featured artists. This is such a good way to promote the creators of the products by sharing a little bit of information about them and links to social handles. So from a maker’s point of view, this is amazing way to connect to new and existing customers, and from a customer’s point of view, it really makes me want to go and find out more! This month’s featured enamel pin is by Katie Abey, and I have followed her on Twitter for a while now and I love her illustrations. The other makers are new to me, so this is a really good way to have a taster of their products. Everything was packaged up really well – you get a sneaky peek at the things underneath and it really does make you go ‘yay!’

What was in the YAYmakers box?

So I’ve already said that the enamel pin in this month’s box was by Katie Abey – it’s a ‘Bear of Bravery’ pin, which is super cute! Pins are like little works of art as far as I’m concerned, and they are a massive trend at the moment. Knowing that you’re getting an exclusive design is a plus for this box. There are three items in the box by Nicola Rowlands, who is a new discovery for me and I think her hand lettering is ace! The greetings cards are super fun, but my favourite is the pocket mirror. That’s definitely going to be helping me through Mondays!

I absolutely love the confetti by Pops of Colour – it’s great for parties or for photo props and backdrops. I had to take another photo of my pin on it, just because! The final item is a lovely bath bomb from Unique Creations, and it smells divine. I’m definitely looking forward to a nice soak in the tub with that, and it’s a great idea to include this to widen the range of items in the box.

What’s the verdict?

I think that Kate and Stuart are on to a winner with YAYmakers subscription boxes – the range of products is really good, and the quality is excellent. I love that I’ve found some new makers, which is a win-win for everyone really. There was even a bag of yummy sweets thrown in, and jazzies are one of my favourites! I would highly recommend this box – it’s a fantastic way to support makers and is a really good price. Another thing that I like is that you can buy a one-off box for £15.50, or save a bit by subscribing for 3 or 6 months. Postage is free in the UK which is also a bonus!

Get a 10% discount on your YAYmakers subscription!

If you’d like to receive 10% off your YAYmakers subscription, just enter code ‘YAY21’ at checkout – click here to subscribe! Why not follow on social media too – check out their Instagram and Facebook.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this YAYmakers June 2018 box review! All opinions and photos are my own. I received the box as a gift to review in this post.

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Describe your work in 3 words.

Fun, easy and colourful.

Who or what inspires you?

I get my inspiration from everyday life, such as clothes my kids wear, window displays in Paperchase and all the lovely people in my Facebook group who help out with ideas for new designs. If I am struggling to get inspired though, I find cleaning such a helpful way to clear my mind and inspiration usually strikes.

How did you first get started with cross stitch?

I very first started when I was around 6 and my nan taught me (my first proper kit was a Groovy Chick one). But I got back into it after having my first baby and, like many mums, I needed a new hobby that wasn’t feeding, changing or rocking.

Tell us about your design process. How do you turn something from an idea to a finished project?

I have so many ideas that I have had to teach myself to learn to let some of them go because it would be impossible for me to stitch them all. I usually start with some sketches; this is when I decide how big the design will be. Then I get some opinions on whether to turn it into a pattern, usually from my sister but also from my Facebook group.

Once I have decided, I turn the sketch into a pattern by first tracing it onto graph paper and then using a software on my computer. Then I have to decide the colours, which is the hardest part because there are just too many.

I always stitch my patterns before turning them into kits/downloads, because they always turn out a little different to how you would expect and there may be some tweaks to make.

Your shops on Etsy and NOTHS focus on cross stitch kits and patterns. What do you love the most about creating them?

I love that I don’t have to be amazing at drawing to design a cross stitch pattern; working with squares is very helpful when I’m in the design process. And I love that I don’t need to be an expert at sewing to create a handstitched product. As a busy mum of two I like to keep things simple and easy.

You’ve recently started recording a podcast – tell us all about it!

This is something I was so nervous about starting (as you can probably tell from my voice on the first few episodes) but I personally love listening to podcasts and I wanted to create more accessible content for my audience and customers; something they can listen to while stitching! I love how personal podcasts are because as I am talking, stories come out that I never would have thought of if I was writing a blog post.

I try not to talk about the business side much on it (although it sometimes slips in) but make it more of a place to share any tips around creativity and cross stitch. And sharing any cross stitch related products I come across such as books and patterns.

How do you juggle running a small business with family life?

Well, I definitely drop some of those balls sometimes. I try and make sure there are different blocks to our day. Some blocks are just for family time and other blocks are just for work. They tend to get mixed up sometimes, especially during the week when I don’t have my husband here to help, but usually I try to be focusing on one or the other. My 4 year old is in pre-school part time and my toddler naps most days so I have that time too. But most of my work is done when they go to bed or during the weekend; breaking all the rules of a normal work week. As I spend so much time with the kids in the week though, I quite like escaping to work on the weekends.

What advice would you give to anyone who is just starting out selling their wares?

Try to focus on one thing at a time. This goes for everything, from what products to sell, to what platforms to sell on. Know your numbers from the very beginning and make sure you’re not undercharging. And be patient. Building an authentic brand is something that can only be done slowly, so try not to compare yourself to someone who has been doing this for years more than you (although I think looking up to these people can help, as long as it makes you feel good when you do). Also, try and find a community or create one yourself as the self employed world can be quite a lonely one. I don’t think my business would be anywhere near where it is now without the support of the online community I am part of.

Thank you SO much for chatting to us, Hannah!

Juggling a small business and a family is such hard work, but Hannah is doing an amazing job! I totally agree that you end up working all hours and during nap times (hooray for nap times!), and Hannah’s advice to work on one thing at a time is a top tip if you’re just getting started or if you’re getting overloaded. I’m looking forward to seeing what you make next, Hannah!

I’m so inspired by Hannah’s designs and hope you are too! Do check out her podcast, The Cross Stitch Podcast, which you can find on on iTunes or via Hannah’s blog. If you’re interested in getting started with cross stitch, you can purchase kits from her website. And don’t forget to follow @hannahhandmakes on Instagram too!

The post A natter with…Hannah from Hannah Hand Makes appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

Describe your work in 3 words.

Cheerful, charming and colourful.

How did you first become interested in embroidery?

My love for embroidery began in my second year at Uni. I had done a short course, learning all the different stitches and techniques. From then on I started to use embroidery in my assignments. I really enjoyed it; I had found my creative niche.

You studied printed textiles and surface pattern design at Leeds College of Art – how do these things influence your embroidery?

My textile course was so inspiring; we had a lot of freedom to do what came naturally to us. For our tutors it was very important that we experimented and perfected our own style. My studies influence my work a lot, especially with repeat pattern and composition of a design.

Tell us about your design process. How do you turn something from an idea to a finished project?

I gather inspiration and ideas from being out and about. I take pictures of things I’d seen and draw from my findings. I embroider from drawings of flowers and birds. I often embroider first and then play around with my final designs on the computer to create designs for fabric and greetings cards. I also sell my embroideries as made to order hoop art’s.

What are your must have sewing essentials?

I have a pair of small sewing scissors that I was gifted a few years ago for my birthday from a friend. They are they really lovely to work with. My other essentials would have to be DMC embroidery thread, a needle, embroidery hoop, music and a cup of coffee.

One of your long-term projects is a family patchwork quilt. What are your favourite and least favourite things about working on such a large-scale piece?

I have been working on it for the past 8 years, I’m not sure when I’ll ever finish it. My favourite thing about it is that I dip in and out of it when I have a creative block and in need of a change and inspiration. I wouldn’t say there was a downside to it as I love working on it but if there had to be one it would be that it’s taking me so long.

Finally, what advice would you give to anyone starting out selling their wares?

The main thing is to create work that you thoroughly enjoy making. Create what makes you happy. Etsy is a great creative platform to sell your items. Instagram is an even greater place to market, promote and create a brand for work. It is also an amazing place to find like-minded makers like you and to have a sense of a creative community.

Thank you SO much for chatting to us, Sally!

It has been great to find out more about your creative process. I think that creating what makes you happy is such an important thing, especially when it’s easy to compare yourself to others on social media. I can’t wait to see what you make next!

For more Sew Sal loveliness, follow Sally on Instagram, read her blog, or support her small business by making a purchase from her Etsy shop. You won’t regret it!

Please note that all photos are copyright Sally Mayer and have been used with permission. Post updated 12th February 2020.

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My goals for 2018

I really started to think more carefully about my goals as I started to use my Dream Plan Do planner. Lots of creative people I follow on Instagram have used it previously, and I felt like now is the time for me to get really stuck in! This was partly prompted by wanting to feel like I’m using my time wisely, but also a wish to grow my business. Opening my Etsy shop last year made me realise how much I want to be able to do this more, to be able to provide for my family if possible. I know that the business side of things is something I need to work on – I’m fine at the creative stuff, but the business needs more care and attention too!  But 2017 was hard for me in terms of going back to work after maternity leave, juggling the day job with family time and working on the business as well. I’ve learnt that I need to be kinder to myself and allow for time out if I need it. So this is something that is also reflected in my 3 goals for 2018.

Goal 1: Focus on the business side of my business

Out of my 3 goals for 2018, this is going to be the toughest challenge for me! The Dream Plan Do planner is amazing, but I must admit that it is a little bit daunting. Getting my head around lots of new things will be tough, and to be honest anything that involves maths immediately freaks me out! I know that I’m going to need help with a lot of things, so part of this goal is also not being afraid to ask for help. I can’t do everything on my own, so I need to find my tribe and ask people who can help or point me in the right direction. I’m lucky that Tom is so supportive of what I’m doing, so I know he’ll help out too (he’s already agreed that I can train him up in painting hoops!). I really hope that 2018 is the year that I can grow my business.

Goal 2: Write 4 blog posts every month

Blogging is where it all started for me, and I absolutely LOVE doing it. I really want to get momentum going with it again and post more frequently. I considered posting on the same day each week in order to have a focus, but on reflection I think that would probably be counter-productive in the long-run! Although we do have a fairly fixed routine, nap times change a little bit week to week, and I don’t want to feel like every bit of the week is accounted for. I think I would feel the pressure a bit if I felt that I really have to post every Wednesday or whatever. I chatted to Tom about it, and he suggested writing 4 posts a month which I think is a much better way of working for me! I still have something to aim for, but if I post 3 in one week and then nothing until the end of the month that’s ok.

Goal 3: Make time to craft just for me

Part of being kind to myself this year involves allowing time to craft just for me. I really love designing and making for hellohoorayshop, but I don’t want to feel like I’m only making to sell. Creativity is such an important aspect of my life, and I didn’t get a good balance of business vs personal crafting last year. I’ve already started well in terms of achieving this goal, making a few new things for my craft room (yes, a craft room!) and I hope that this can continue.

My intentions for 2018

So my intentions for 2018 are slightly different to my goals, in that they are things that I would really like to do but without any pressure. There are a few links between my intentions and goals in many ways!

Intention 1: Be kind to myself

Out of all of my intentions, this is probably the most significant. I felt a lot of pressure last year, and whilst a lot of it was coming from the day job, a lot of it was just from me! Why do we make things harder for ourselves?! I need to be so much kinder to myself this year. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s ok to give myself headspace, creative time, time out for a walk, or to buy a bunch of flowers because they make me feel happy.

Intention 2: Write more letters

I’ve recently received some lovely snail mail – a Christmas card from Tobia at Craftalicious Me, a sweet package from @meisje.mik as a random act of kindness, and a postcard from my best friend with some amazing words of encouragement. They cheered me up so much! It’s so nice to receive, but it’s even nicer to send. I’ve got out of the habit of letter writing, but I really want to take it up again. It doesn’t even need to be a long letter – a note on a postcard or something that says ‘I saw this and thought of you’ can really make someone’s day.

Intention 3: Buy a bike

Finding time for exercise is pretty hard for me. I know that might sound like a rubbish excuse, but it’s true! I’ve really missed being outside recently and I know I need to do more exercise – it would help me feel fitter but would also give me a bit more headspace too. I love to swim, but haven’t been able to make that work around family or work. So I’ve come up with the idea of buying a bike and cycling to work a couple of days a week! It’s a decent distance, but I think it would be manageable. The best thing is that it doesn’t take any additional time! I need to get to the day job somehow, and this way I won’t be stuck in traffic or stood waiting for ages to get the bus home. So I’m currently looking into this and hoping I can start cycling to work in spring.

This is a sneak peek of some of my new craft room. I just love it! I’m so very lucky to have my own space. I’m busy putting the final touches to it, and then there will be a blog post to show you more. A good way to achieve one of my goals, don’t you think?! Do you have any goals for 2018?

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I’m keen to support handmade as much as possible this Christmas, and wanted to create something a little different. So here’s my Sprout lovers and sprout haters Christmas gift guide with Etsy!Etsy recently contacted their affiliates about creating a gift guide that holds meaning for us, I definitely wanted to get on board. When I was thinking about what to have as a theme for my gift guide, I just kept thinking about sprouts! Which camp are you in? Sprout lover or sprout hater?! I’m definitely in the latter…sprouts are not good in my opinion! Every year when I was a kid, my Mum would make me have ‘just one’ sprout. It stared at me on the plate, as I ate everything else in an attempt to try to leave it. It’s just one of those things I remember about Christmas – even now she still tries, but to no avail!

So whether you’re a sprout lover or a sprout hater, there’s definitely something here for you in my sprout lovers and sprout haters gift guide with Etsy! All sellers are UK based.

Gifts for sprout lovers

1. The pet Brussel sprout by tinofbeans

2. Brussel sprouts plant kit by PlantsFromSeed

3. Eat your sprouts Christmas tote bag by KerrisGaneson

4. Lil sprout babygrow by BigMouthUK

5. Brussel sprout Christmas phone case by DessiDesigns

6. Christmas Brussel sprout lover enamel pin by HannahHitchman

Gifts for sprout haters

1. Christmas Brussel sprout hater enamel pin by HannahHitchman

2. Christmas grumpy sprout by lovelylittlelamp

3. Sprout Free Christmas card by ChalkOrCheese

4. Death by Chocolate sprouts by SweetznChocolitz

5. Sprouts are for Weirdos card by PAPERSTANYON

6. Christmas engraved pencils by BeanieandBob

And finally, one for the sprout lovers and haters…

How cute is this sprout pom pom garland by ElistonButton? I LOVE it! So it’s my final suggestion for both the sprout lovers and haters. How could you not like these little guys?!

The small print…

This post is sponsored by Etsy and all links are affiliate links. Affiliates receive a £10 Etsy voucher for sharing a gift guide.

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In the garden this spring with Biscuiteers!

It is the perfect time of year for getting out in the garden or back in the allotment. At Gibside, the wonderful walled garden was being prepared and lots of planting was going on. Some vegetables had been grown over the winter, but lots of things were just being sown.

These leeks were not quite ready to dig up! But the worm enjoyed having a good look around…

Definitely time to get those wellington boots on and get planting!

In addition to the vegetable patch, there are some lovely borders in the Gibside walled garden. Another photo opportunity presented itself;f to show off these wonderful biscuits:

The gardens are going to look so beautiful this summer when all of the later blooms are out. I wonder if they have any sunflowers?

Tell me more about the Green Fingers tin!

Ok, let’s have a closer look at what you get in the Green Fingers tin. The biscuits are beautifully presented and I’m still amazed at how they ice so neatly! I must ask one day… Anyway, this tine would make a perfect gift for anyone who is a keen gardener. Don’t forget that Father’s Day is coming up on Sunday 18th June!

There were four layers of the most delicious chocolate biscuits in this tin – this works perfectly with the gardening theme. It’s a wonderful selection of flowers, produce and gardening paraphernalia – look at the detail on the wellington boots!

I think the little worm is my favourite!

So, it’s a long weekend this weekend – yay! Have you got any plans for getting out in the garden? We’ve got quite a few jobs to do, so fingers crossed that the weather holds out it’s also the RHS Chelsea Flower show this week, so we’ve been enjoying some of the coverage of that on the telly. Have you even been? I would LOVE to go! If you’re looking for green-fingered ideas, then why not try this lovely project with your Biscuiteers tin? Learn how to plan succulents in your Biscuiteers gift tin in this super post.

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend!

About this post

Thank you to Biscuiteers for partnering with me! This post contains affiliate links. I received the Green Fingers biscuit tin for writing this post, but all opinions are entirely my own.

The post In the garden this spring with Biscuiteers! appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

They recently sent me the most delightful biscuits from their Mother’s Day selection. And let me tell you, what a treat they are – I’d definitely recommend that you #SendBiscuiteers this Mother’s Day!

I’ve always been amazed at how it’s possible to decorate biscuits so beautifully. Mine always look like a small child has done them, but the Biscuiteers biscuits are like little works of art! These biscuits that I’ve been sent are the Mother’s Day Bouquet biscuit tin. You may have caught a glimpse of the tin in the photo above…here’s a proper look:

Isn’t it gorgeous?! I’m already wondering what to keep in it now that the biscuits have gone!

So what about the taste?

Sometimes, iced biscuits are all icing and they can be a bit disappointing. But not these! The balance is perfect and they melt in your mouth The biscuits are delicious too – we’re feeling pretty sad that they’ve all gone to be honest!

Not only do you receive the most delicious biscuits and gorgeous tin, but they are beautifully packaged. Any Mum would be so thrilled to receive these for Mother’s Day. There are also lots of other lovely treats like this personalised Mother’s Day biscuit card or a Fleur Jolly Ginger, so there’s something for every budget too. Why send flowers when you can send Biscuiteers? Treat her to something extra special this year! On the 26th March, pop the kettle on and let Mum put her feet up with these delicious treats from Biscuiteers!

About this post

Thank you to Biscuiteers for partnering with me! This post contains affiliate links. I received the Mother’s Day Bouquet biscuit tin for writing this post, but all opinions are entirely my own.

The post Send Biscuiteers this Mother’s Day! appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

I’ve been wondering about sending out a newsletter for a while now. It’s sometimes hard to find the time to write a blog post, but I’d like to keep you updated! I’d also like to share lots of crafty things, links to what I’ve been reading or other things I’d like to share with you. These don’t always fit into a post so a newsletter seems like the perfect way to do this! I’ll be sending them out once every 2-3 weeks at first until I get into the swing of things. So no, I won’t be clogging up your inbox! I’d love to hear what kind of things you’d like to read in them so do let me know

Sound good? Just click on the link below if you’d like to receive the first one on 1st March!

Click here to sign up for my newsletter!

In the first one there’s a sneaky peek at something I’ve been working on…it will hopefully be coming soon as a free PDF download. Yay!

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Which box to choose?

I wanted to have similar boxes to the one I already had, and this one from Hobbycraft is pretty much identical. [Edit: not currently available, but check out this one instead!). What I like about this one is that you can see through the lid, which is quite helpful! I have acquired quite a large collection of thread over the last year or so, and have ended up with one or two duplicates.

I decided to have one box for my DMC thread and one for Anchor thread, partly to avoid duplicates but also to help avoid mixing brands in projects. This is important if I’m designing a new pattern!

The original box is now being used for other thread that I have, like the DMC light effects thread. It’s quite hard to put this on bobbins so I find it easier to keep it as a skein.

Getting organised

These are some other threads that I am yet to organise – they were very kindly given to me by a friend of a friend who had acquired a whole lot of craft stuff. I’ve never organised my thread on cards like this, but the lady who did it has cut the skeins ready to sew. I love the beautiful colours all laid out like this.

Getting my all of my craft stuff organised is happening again as I realise just how mobile a 9-month old can be! I’m thinking about adapting my travelling craft suitcase to have all my sharp tools and current projects in. I think this will be super useful – having everything I need for current projects in one place. I waste so much precious time finding what I need!

How do you organise your thread and current craft projects?

Post updated 12th April 2018.

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