#CraftBlogClub: Crafty DIY SOS #Mk2

So, here we are, another #CraftBlogClub done and dusted and it seems we are getting busier again! 

It's been lovely to watch our Twitter chat hour grow and so nice to see everyone joining in and helping out this evening with retweets and advice.  As I always say, one of the main reasons I set up #CraftBlogClub was to create a hub of creatives, who could all encourage and support each other.  It's lovely to see that taking shape - I hope you all enjoy joining in as much as I do!

As we are just one week away from our HALLOWEEN CHALLENGE REVEAL; I thought it would be good to do another Crafty DIY SOS!  We did one of these a few weeks ago, before our September Challenge reveal and it was nice to get some great feedback and help on issues our crafty creatives were having.  This week, however, it seems the main issues lies with your truly!!! Yup, as host of #CraftBlogClub, I'm yet to get my behind in gear to get to grips with crochet and create my Halloween challenge!  Needless to say, help was very much out there tonight - so thank you for your help, it's off to YouTube I head in a bit!

Aside from that - we had bunting and binding issues and even started to touch on Etsy selling and pricing your goods.  This is a topic suggested to me to cover - although I still stress that #CraftBlogClub isn't about selling your wares, it seems inevitable that we want to talk about pricing your handmade items and getting out into the big bad handmade marketplace!  I've scheduled this in to talk about at the start of November - I hope you will all join in with your queries and advice!

In Other News...

The lovely Sonia from LAYOUTLINES is hosting a fabulous giveaway this month with some fab Halloween prizes! All you need to do is tweet a picture of a pumpkin you have carved by Thursday 31st October, to be in with a chance of winning - and the competition is open internationally too! Don't delay - get your carving knives out! 

Amanda from Gift Frippery is also still hosting her #FripperyFriday competition weekly, up until Christmas - with prizes up for grabs! Simply tweet a picture of a gift you have wrapped and she will pick out a winner!

A while back, I mentioned an idea Amanda Frippery and myself had discussed about swapping 'virtual' Christmas presents between members of the #CraftBlogClub.  I didn't hear much feedback about this, but wondered if anyone would be up for a Christmassy challenge to see us through November and December?? We could even do a handmade Secret Santa?? Let me know if you are interested and we will look further into what would work! 

Bloglovin'

As ever, I love reading your blogs and like to highlight a few each week that I have really enjoyed reading!

First off...Emma over at Emma Made makes some incredible projects on her lovely blog - but this Ripple Blanket completely blew me away.  Amazing work by a very talented lady! Take a look!

Not that I'm name-biased or anything, but I am in awe of the skills of the lovely Emma Ross over at Girl In Knits and this is the cutest little clutch I have seen! Check out Emma's lovely work!

Finally, for this week, I wanted to give a shout out to the wonderful Tamsyn over at The Villa on Mount Pleasant, who was recently featured in Homemaker magazine.  Tamsyn's blog is really beautiful and inspires lots of creativity on the interiors front - her notebook on our challenge was really beautiful too!

I think that's about it from me this week, next week is THE BIG REVEAL!  I'm so excited to see everyone's posts and results! I'm off to amaze you all with my Halloween project!

Stay Crafty! E x

Peachy Review: A Study of Rodology

A few months ago, I received an email from a somewhat intriguing man, who went by the name of 'Rodology'.  How could I NOT want to know more??!

A purveyor of all things photography, sculpture, quirky jewellery and art; all-round creative talent, Rodology is the 'stage name' of Roderick Barker-Benfield.  Just a glimpse at his Website, you are transported to a world revolving around a fascinating brand, creating wonderful and unique accessories, not to mention exquisite attention to detail, something Roderick prides himself on in his work as a freelance artist.

With a focus on his handmade jewellery, I absolutely loved Rodology's collection of brooches, pendants, cufflinks and earrings.  The designs, handmade from , are simple in shape, but really use the intricate work of cogs and timepiece 'innards' as their unique design feature. 

Mr Darcy Cufflinks from Rodology

Rodology's pieces would make perfect gifts for him or her - the 'Mr Darcy' cufflinks are a particular favourite of mine, a must-have for any dandy gentleman!  Yes, that's right too, Rodology's latest 'author collection' pieces are all named after famous literature heroes, in continued satisfaction of the 'romance' of the brand.  Having had his various forms of work regularly featured in such publications as The Guardian, I was thrilled when he sent me one of his creations; a 'Lady Emily' pendant.

The pendant itself is lightweight and subtle, with an intricate silver and gold watch design pendant - it fits perfectly with my penchant for vintage dresses and adds unique character to my otherwise (and often) accessory-less attire.   Pendant prices start at £15 and other items, such as the cufflinks, start at £30; they make perfect keepsake gifts and are sure to sit as real stand out pieces in any collection.

In short, if you are looking for something a little different alongside lovely craftsmanship, look no further than the fascinating work of Rodology.  If you're lucky enough to live in or around London, you can often catch him selling his beautiful wares at various craft markets; when he's not busy creating or riding around on his beloved motorbike!  

Having cracked the London craft market scene - Rod will be appearing at the following in the next couple of weeks, why not head down and speak to the man himself?

Wonderhill Market, Tooting

Crafty Fox Market, Brixton 

To be kept up to date with Rodology's latest news and collections; check out his Facebook, Twitter and, of course you can purchase online from his wonderful Website

The Handmade Home: The Anniversary Applique Illustration 'This Is Us'

Once upon a time, a red-headed girl-about-town met a rugged musician from the Midlands.  A most unexpected romance ensued between these two souls and, within months, she gave up her fast-paced life in London and moved to Nottingham, to start a new life and later, not mention a tiny bit surprisingly, their very own family.

Looking back, I can hardly believe two years have flown by in the blink of an eye.  As with every relationship, there have been hard times, lovely times and down right hilarious times!  So, for an anniversary gift this year, I decided to put my crafting head on and create something really special.

It isn't always easy to restore your relationship to its former glory, once a baby becomes involved.  It's not always a bad thing, but time for just the two of you, sort of goes out the window, especially when your other half is holding down a full time job AND working as a musician too.  So I decided, with this in mind, to create an abstract applique illustration, based on one particular snowy night in Nottingham, that I know we both hold dear in our hearts.  The result, was exactly what I wanted.

I wanted to commemorate this lovely evening!

Working with just three colours, black, white and navy; I began with a black canvas base and covered with a thick navy cotton.  I created a simple snowy scene with off-white felt and off-set this, with some black shadowy trees and two black shadowy figures.  Lastly, I created the pinnacle of my piece, a depiction of my striped umbrella, with a piece of striped fabric I had lying around, backed with felt to create more depth.

Once I had pinned these onto the canvas, I cut out more 'definite' white chunks of felt, again to add depth to the piece.  I hand-sewed each piece on with straight stitching, to create a sort of 'shabby chic' edge to the image.  Finally, to represent a 'snowfall', I stitched some simple pearl white sequins to the picture.

I called this piece 'This Is Us'; a reminder for us both really of how special we are to each other and, no matter what changes may bring our way, deep down we will always be us!

I absolutely loved doing this applique - I liked the simplicity of this design and I would be really keen to try more complex ideas with patterned fabrics.  I'm planning my next design too - I can't wait to get started!

I guess the image speaks for itself - and the only thing left to say is a big Happy Anniversary to Mr Peachy, for all that we have and all that will be!

Let Me Introduce: Love Lammie

Issy Weekend Bag - Love Lammie

Fashion - we all love it, we all have our favourite eras.  I really resonate with the women's fashion of the 1940s - elegant, classic and figure-hugging.  And for many different reasons, today's featured business has taken a lot of inspiration from the same era.  Ladies and Gentlemen - allow me to introduce, Love Lammie.

Working as a designer for many high street stores, Love Lammie was the brainchild of owner Victoria, whose dream became a reality just before the birth of her first child.  Inspired by the use of oilcloth shopping bags in the 1940s and 1950s, plus the ecological benefits of oilcloth as a reusable material; Love Lammie began to produce lines of beautiful bags for everyday use.  What's more?  These gorgeous bags are produced right here, in the UK.

Love Lammie Bibs

Since its conception, Love Lammie has gone from strength to strength, from humble beginnings of Victoria designing, making and then selling at artisan fairs and markets; through to being stocked by several independent retailers.  Shortly after exhibiting at a few trade shows, Victoria realised that she could no longer keep up with the supply and demand of her bags, so they are now manufactured here in the UK, as the companie's success continues to grow.

Victoria cites her most popular products as her weekend bags, Signature Handbags (Love Lammie is launching a new design at the end of this month) and cosmetic bags - great for gifts.  What is so inspiring about Love Lammie, aside from the success Victoria has gained from her initial ideas, is that she approaches each aspect of Love Lammie with a positive attitude, accepting the good and bad of running a small business, with her designing skills just the tip of the iceberg of what needs to be done to run Love Lammie successfully.   If asked for advice about running a business?  Victoria says 'be prepared to learn and listen to all of your customers, but most of all, be open-minded'.

Love Lammie Large Cosmetic Bags

At the moment, Victoria is working hard on stamping her place as a popular lifestyle brand in the UK, though she does have longterm goals of taking Love Lammie worldwide.  She is very keen to continue working with her principles of promoting UK manufacturing and works tirelessly to design new products and ideas.  And when she's not too busy, Victoria loves nothing more than scouring antiques fairs and markets for new inspiration!

Why not take a look at Love Lammie's beautiful products HERE

Love Lammie is also on TWITTER - give her a follow to be kept up to date with the latest Love Lammie news!

EXCLUSIVE OFFER TO LIFE IS PEACHY READERS! Love Lammie is offering a wonderful 20% discount to all my lovely readers! Simply like Love Lammie's FACEBOOK page and tweet Love Lammie to let them know.  You will then be sent your code!  Definitely worth a like for some discount on these beautiful things! 

The Handmade Home - 'A Tour of Our Nursery'

You may be aware, that as well as writing my blog, I am also a writer for the family section of PVB Daily - a really great website promoting small businesses.  I've recently written a few articles about some of the upcycling and handmade projects I undertook when I was making Daisy's nursery; so I thought I would write a post 'tour of the nursery' as I'm really proud of what we have achieved.  Some of it is still a work in progress, but I think the overall look really reflects my love of all things handmade and I hope little D loves sleeping in there!

Upcycled Welsh Dresser - You can read about our upcycling of this welsh dresser HERE; it was met with some criticism,

but I think it will go on to be a staple and useful piece of furniture for D's room as she grows older.  As you can see, she already has toys in abundance - most of the top shelf were mine from various ages (there is a photo of me as a toddler, with this Panda).  Typically we have Jemima and Peter smattered about across the nursery - including the little money box, which was bought on a 'Babymoon' trip to Wales in February.  In keeping with the 'rabbit' theme and I have to shout out my lovely friend Naomi Smith, who drew this gorgeous rabbit picture and framed it in a vintage frame and Jodie, who handknitted the little pink rabbit on the top shelf.  My Beatrix bookends were also an eBay bargain - I often find new baby items being sold for very cheap on eBay, simply because people can be a bit overrun with presents!


Painted Vintage Chest of Drawers - Donated by a friend, this gorgeous 1940s chest of drawers was sanded, primed and painted white and the original dresser mirror removed.  This type of traditional oak furniture often seeps slightly during restoration - but I like the antique

look of the drawers.  I also placed pink polkadot paper to line each drawer and help protect Daisy's clothes.  The wide top doubles up as a great space for changing if necessary. 

Cot - Purchased from Ikea, I love the traditional design and, as with all Ikea furniture, it was easy to assemble (for my OH!) and the mattresse is really comfortable for Little D.  I've found some perfect fabric for the cot bumper, though I've not yet got around to making it yet - I've heard hundreds of conflicting opinions on cot bumpers, their use and how safe they are - which has somewhat put me off!  The blanket is also a homemade sensory blanket - I blogged about this and my love of knitting HERE

 
Cot Mobile - Another handmade item, you can read the tutorial HERE.  I have found most cot mobiles on the market to be expensive and also quite bulky, so in fitting with the theme of the nursery, I made a little mobile of

Jemima and her ducklings, the overall cost of the materials came to under £10 and I made it in just a few hours.  For me, yellow is a colour that young babies really respond to - Daisy loves to watch the ducklings chasing around when she is falling asleep.

Beatrix Potter Framed Pictures - I love mismatched frames and am currently planning a collage display for our front room.  Each of these frames were purchased from local charity shops and we found a pack of vintage Beatrix Potter pictures on eBay.  The trouble was, deciding which characters were going to take pride of place in the nursery!

Selection of antique toys and ornaments - I'm already really pleased with some of the lovely toys we have been given for Daisy, the abacus will be perfect for early stages of learning and Daisy already loves Humpty, though he's almost as big as her!  The Peter Rabbit and  a selection of Postman Pat ornaments that were mine as a baby, so it's lovely to pass these down through the family. 

I love experimenting and trying new crafts - follow my blog for more craft ideas, bargain hunting and tutorials as I continue to make my Handmade Home!

Kickstarting Business: HandmadeHour

For those Twitterites amongst you who read Life is Peachy regularly, you may be aware or even have taken part in the awesome #handmadehour hashtag session.  Every Wednesday between 7.30 and 9.30pm, the crafting cream of British crop gather together to tweet their wares and show support for handmade businesses up and down the country.  It really is an inspiring hour, I've already met lots of really talented people - many of whom have appeared or are due to appear on the blog soon.  Plus, it will be my go to twitter account for help marketing my crafts when I set up my shop, to run alongside Life is Peachy, in the coming months.

But the creator of HandmadeHour, the lovely Owen Birkby, has gone one step further and has set up a crowdfunding campaign to launch a website promoting handmade businesses and he needs YOU!

What had started out as providing help for small businesses on a budget, when Owen's wife started up her own business Neverland Creations, Owen helped to market the business through Facebook and, today, the business continues to grow successfully.  Owen set up his social media management company, SocialHighs, from this experience and then Handmade Hour became another platform to support small businesses on Twitter.  The gap in the market, it seemed, was an easy marketing platform for people who dreamt of turning their hobbies into businesses, but were short on time.

Cut to 2013, Owen and his handmade accomplice, Becky Doggett, have decided to set up a crowdfunding campaign to create a website space for handmade businesses to showcase their products and a hub for resourcing relevant support and advice.  There are plans in the pipeline for membership deals and events - but Owen does keep schtumm about some things, after all, it is very early days.  On the back of HandmadeHour's twittering success, they already have an ever-growing list of retailers looking to stock handmade products, not to mention the thousands of Twitter followers who may be one step closer to making their dreams a reality.

And it doesn't stop there.  Owen and his HandmadeHour team are looking to bring deals from all over.  They are currently negotiating with a PR firm for a cracking percentage off deal and they have already agreed a deal with @Popupstall for businesses to have 50% off room hire so they can run their own workshops!  It is early days, but they are looking to do more with other businesses to bring similar deals both within the business sector and outside! 

Need to hear any more?  Let me leave you in the company of Owen himself, who had this to say:

     "We do not have the funds to pay for the website ourselves.  We're not in this for the money, we want something that is beneficial for the small and handmade businesses that use it.  We're just working really hard now to raise the funds through membership sales and advertising sales.  We're working around the clock with business partners to negotiate some pretty fantastic deals.  We really appreciate all the support, both financial and words of encouragement that we have received so far but there is still a lot of work for us to do.  We are determined to make this a reality and help support all the amazing talent that there is out there!"

For more information on Owen and Becky's campaign follow the link here --> http://www.gofundme.com/3crtbk 

For an array of wonderful handmade businesses why not give @HandmadeHour a follow on Twitter and get involved with the Wednesday hashtag #handmadehour to find out more.

The Handmade Home: Papercut Writer

I've always admired the work of Rob Ryan and the likes.  The intricacies of Papercutting really interest me, I've seen such beautiful artwork in this form and have really wanted to give it a try.  I love the depths that Papercut artwork creates and, particularly with Rob Ryan's work, there is a certain 'life' to the flimsy and magical world he creates with his laser-cutting techniques.

The delicious and quirky world of Rob Ryan

Father's Day was in fear of coming and going this year.  I've been so busy writing, blogging, raising Daisy and planning ahead to post-Mat Leave work that trips to town are becoming scarcer by the week.  This year, to mark Mr Peachy's first Father's Day, not to mention avoid the Paperchase queues like the plaque, I decided I would try my hand at some simple Papercutting to make a card for Mr Peachy.

John Lewis stocked a very handy and inexpensive pack, which consisted of a self-healing craft mat and craft knife and I bought some black card and pastel paper to practice free hand writing on. It didn't take too long to get to grips with the amount of pressure the craft knife needed and the results, two hours and several feeds later, was quite accidentally a Kid Acne inspired piece of writing!
To help enhance the words, I placed some pastel peach paper on the inside of the cardand added Daisy's painted footprints (I had only had the stamina to do one set with her - the hands will have to wait); accompanied by the message 'thank you for helping me to find my feet'.

Overall, I was impressed with how quickly I felt confident in gliding that craft knife across the paper, there was a certain ease to it, though I now feel I want to try my hand at some more intricate images and challenging italics (never satisfied).  

I might not be quite up to scratch just yet, but this simple technique has definitely given me the bug for paper cutting.  Watch this space for more papercut 'masterpieces' to come!

Have you ever wanted to try a craft?  What was it and how did you get started?

A Picture of Owlish Grey...

Every once in a while, I stumble across a truly unique crafter, who has taken an entirely different approach to their designs.  Since Father's Day was yesterday, I just had to share the gift I chose for my beau's first Father's Day, designed and made by the wonderful Owlish Grey.

CRAFT MEETS SCIENCE

I stumbled across Nottingham-based Owlish Grey quite by accident, when she gave a friendly 'like' to my other business' Facebook page.  Intrigued, I looked a little closer at Owlish's Etsy shop, and was so pleasantly surprised by what I found, I simply had to order one of her unique 'Soundwave Prints' ready for the Big Day!  

Owlish Grey's products stem from an interest in crafting accessories, whilst taking inspiration from science and nature.  Some of her latest products include cards and prints with famous scientist's quotes and also cards featuring symbols from the periodic table.  A truly different design approach, which make for some lovely keepsake pieces.

A first Father's Day is always going to be very special, so I decided to opt for a unique 'Soundwave Print'.  Should you decide to purchase one (which I thoroughly recommend you do); they come in two different sizes and, once you have placed your order, you are required to send a short recording of a message you would like to give to the receiver of your gift.  There are several options you can choose from in terms of colour, a borderline etc and you are asked to clearly state your options when sending your order across.  What is then posted to you, 48 hours from completing the order, is a unique soundwave print of your voice and your message. 

 

I chose a red soundwave to match the red theme running through our abode,  I also chose a grey background to add depth to the piece and recorded myself saying 'Daisy Loves Daddy'.  A simple, but perfect and very personal gift for Mr Peachy to treasure.

Aside from the originality in Owlish Grey's designs, her attention to detail in each step of the process really inspires me.  Her packaging is personal, even her envelope stamp is named and she provides you with a barcode so that you can scan and hear your message!

Needless to say, the OH was chuffed with his gift, a lovely memoir of his first Father's Day celebrations and something so personal to him.  I would like to thank Gemma, of Owlish Grey, for her wonderful product, incredible service and for her part in making Mr Peachy's day so very special!  Owlish Grey gets the official 'Peachy Seal of Approval'!

Check out Owlish Grey's wonderful designs on her Facebook page and Etsy shop: https://www.facebook.com/owlishgrey/app_259525164100619

Coming soon...my first foray into the world of Paper Cutting