Beautiful Things By Claire Mackaness

Packing and unpacking

2012-02-10T11:00:00.000Z

Well I'm finally back, in fact I got back 4 weeks ago now but I've been so busy that I'm only just catching up on my blog.

We had wifi in Oz but with 6 people in one house using it from various wifi enabled gadgets the chance of uploading photos was very slim so I gave up, hence the late posts, but hey ho!

When I went to Oz I carried out a huge wooden advent calender for my inlaws. There was method in my madness in that I intended to therefore have an entire case free to bring back stash. And bring back stash I did!

Here's the beast I returned with brimming with fabric, wool and trimmings. It was so heavy it was even slapped with a big fat HEAVY tag!

I will say one thing for Australia, it's fabric shops are fantastic and half the price of the shops here in the UK. I also got so many fabulous bargains from the garage sales too.

The trouble now is I don't have any space in my studio whatsoever to put any of it, so I am on a strict stash only making diet until shelf space re-appears.

A little bit of nature in the middle of the city

2012-02-08T11:00:00.000Z

Heres another of my lovely discoveries from Australia.

Believe it or not this is a florist shop and garden centre slap bang in the middle of the city.

My Dream Shop

2012-01-07T10:12:00.007Z

Those of you who have known me for a while know I would love nothing more than a crafty little shop selling gifts and lovely materials alongside a cafe with yummy cake and lots of tea!

Well whilst I was in Australia I visited my dream. I would like to show you around the Millrose Quilt Gallery & Cafe. My Mother in Law and I spent 2 lovely hours here, drinking tea, eating cake and stroking beautiful fabrics.

I wont say anymore as the photos should do it justice!

ENJOY

Vintage & Handmade in Melbourne

2011-12-17T10:30:00.001Z

I love St Kilda, it's where I spent 3 months when I was backpacking back in 1998 and is still as kitsch as I remember.

Whilst stopping by for a spot of reminiscing I stumbled across this little beauty. No indoor pictures I'm afraid as I snuck in and snuck out again whilst hubby was feeding bubs!

Oooh Spotlight

2011-12-15T10:47:00.004Z

Wow this place is truly amazing. I did'nt take any pics inside as it was all a bit higgledy piggledy and didn't exactly look spectacular but rest assured, rolls and rolls af glorious fabric at crazy prices!

This place is like Dunelm Mill, meets Hobbycraft and is renowned for it's end of roll sales where you can buy beautiful $20 a meter fabric for $5 as long as you buy whats left on a roll.

I have my fingers crossed that one of these is on the calender before I leave!

Their websites not the greatest either but gives you an idea of whats for sale.

Fabric explosion

2011-12-10T10:30:00.003Z

Have you ever seen a fabric shop like it?

This is GJ's Discount fabrics in Brunswick, Melbourne. Just 10 minutes north of the city by tram and you are transported to patchwork heaven!

Sadly I arrived 3 minutes before closing, so I just got enough time to take a few snaps, but I am definitely going back to make a purchase or two before I come home.

Community markets

2011-12-09T10:30:00.001Z

Last Sunday when I should have been having my stall at Ingrave Community Market, I visited Point Cook Market. An almost identical setup in the local community centre, where local crafty people sell their wares.

This lady doesn't have a website or even an e-mail address that I can share with you, but I just had to feature her work. It was so totally perfect and intricate and she uses the most amazing fabrics. Nothing on her stall cost more than $10 and she sells her work purely for the love of it. Crazy if you ask me, she could be making a fortune on the web.

This lovely lady operates more like me and sells her beautiful aprons for a living. Made with the most amazing curtaining fabric you can buy Maggies aprons from her Big Cartel shop HERE

Maggie very kindly let me into her secret supply shop for this beautiful owl fabric and I'm off there before I come home. Fingers crossed I can acquire some as I feel the need to make bags!

Lovely smellies and teacup candles from Indulge Your Senses, (again no website sadly).

The lovely knitted and stitched creations on the stall above are made by the Jameson Way Crafters. A lovely group of ladies headed up by Bev (who I went garage saleing with). My Mother in Law is a member of this group and I will be reporting from the group later in the week!

These ladies make all sorts of knitted and stitched items from donated craft supplies and all of their profits are given to worthwhile causes. They have a stall at the market each month and also at the local hospital.

These beautiful T-shirts are made by Lara from La Mia Creations, If my Little Lady was a little bit bigger I could easily have been tempted!

Just goes to show that no matter where in the world you are there are talented people who find all sorts of ways to share their craft with the world.

I'm here for another 6 weeks, so I'll keep you posted on my crafty finds along the way.

Yarn Bombing on Federation Square

2011-12-08T10:10:00.006Z

Family Mack and I visited Melbourne city on Monday and as soon as we stepped out of Flinders Street Station into Federation Square I was hit in the face with some fabulous crafts.

I've read about 'Yarn Bombing' before but never seen it in the flesh.

I assumed these cosy stockings for pillars were made for Christmas, but after looking up the website on the laminated business card I discovered that Yarn Corner had in fact bombed these posts for World Aids Day on the 1st December.

You can see all the pillars here on their facebook page, they really are fab.

The group is a collective of people from all over the world who come together to Yarn Bomb public spaces in Melbourne. Their work is amazing, do take some time to look around the site at some of the fabulous works they have done.

They meet twice a month to knit and knatter, so I might try and get along to one of the groups if I can. Watch this space.................

Garage sales galore

2011-12-03T11:56:00.005Z

If you follow my blog you'll know how much a like a good mooch round the bootsale. Well in Australia there's no getting up at 6am and trudging round a muddy field, they have totally mastered the art of the garage sale.

My Mother in Law and her friend Bev visit about 20 of these sales every week, checking out the newspaper during the week, looking at the map and working out a route that takes in as many as possible. Most of the sales are well signposted with big cardboard signs on the lamp posts and balloons outside peoples houses.

We followed Bevs carefully planned out route, but kept finding more along the way.

I'd made sure I took an empty case with me and a full luggage allowance as I knew this would be a weekly trip whilst I'm here along with a fair bit of fabric shopping and creating.

So look at my crafty haul............ Some great fabric and card making supplies and some beautiful diamante press studs.

And for myself, a great little book some Buzz Light year jimjams for Little Mack, flip flops that match my toe nails and a lovely chiffon scarf.

Best of all I spent $14 Aus Dollars in total which is about £9.

Lets see what I manage to find next week.

I've arrived

2011-12-01T19:30:00.003Z

Well that is if there wasn't horrendous delays at Heathrow due to the 30th November strikes!

I should have just about landed.

I'll update you on my travels in a couple of days, once I'm over the 'Lag'!

See Ya Later

2011-11-30T12:00:00.001Z

And I'm off!

Fear not I wont be gone for long! After tonight's flight (9.30pm UK time) I will be arriving in Melbourne in 22 hours (wish me luck with 2 kiddies)!

Once there I am spending 7 weeks in the company of my in-laws with wifi and my laptop.

You cant get rid of me that easily!

My Mother-in-Law is hugely into sewing with her own craft space and a regular attendee at 2 local craft clubs. Needless to say I'll be joining her on her crafty travels and will of course keep you posted.

So...................

See you in a couple of days!

Yes Please Santa moved to TONIGHT

2011-11-26T13:17:00.001Z

Due to horrible high winds, sadly my gazebo and stall did not stand up too well at todays Christmas Light switch on.

Therefore 'Yes Please Santa' has been moved to 8pm TONIGHT

Find out all about it here, and stop by my Facebook page for bargains galore.

Colour Me Fun giveaway winner

2011-11-25T16:57:00.004Z

Woops! Time flew and I forgot to pick a winner yesterday for the Colour Me Fun giveaway.

Well I did a random number pick from the 14 entries

and the lucky winner is.................

Well Done Red Rose Mummy, contact me with your address and your choice of dinosaur crayons A or B and I will get your prize sent out to you.

Yes Please Santa

2011-11-25T10:51:00.003Z

As many of you know I am off to sunnier climes for Christmas and New Year on Wednesday so I will not be partaking in the Christmas Fair circuit this year. I have my last event of the year on Saturday and so on Sunday (stock levels dependant) I will be having a little end of season clear out.

I've decided to make it more fun to turn it into a game and we will be playing 'Yes Please Santa' on my facebook page from 8pm on Sunday 27th November.

There will be lots of goodies suitable for Christmas presents as well as some end of line products. Some items discounted and lots of special offers. Think teabag holders, handwarmers, mittens, smellies and pretty little gifts.

Heres the rules:

I will post pictures up on my facebook page of the item and it's price including postage. The first person to comment underneath with the words 'Yes Please Santa' will be able to purchase the item.
I will then message you the payment details (if you want to wait till the end of the evening for a total then do let me know as there may be more items you win and therefore your postage can be combined).
Payment MUST be made by 10pm on Monday 28th November as items will be posted on Tuesday morning. If you have not paid for your items by this time then they will be packed back into the stock room until I return from my travels in January.
Payment is by paypal personal transaction and all items will be posted standard parcel 2nd class.

So tell your friends and make sure you are online from 8pm, pour yourself a glass of wine, crack open the mince pies and get ready to be snappy with your comments.

Good luck, I hope you all get what your looking for.

Claire
xx

Organising with a man in the house

2011-11-22T18:51:00.002Z

When all else fails and you simply have to get the washing sorted and your husband wont get out of bed, just keep calm and carry on....................

Men. Can't live with them, can't live without them!

The Posh Poppy story

2011-11-21T11:00:00.000Z

Who would have thought when I raided my stash of red fabric and black buttons to make a small batch of 'Posh Poppies' that a crazy charity campaign would be born?

This first batch was sold via my facebook page and Twitter and the remaining few were taken to the Vintage Victory Fair in Shenfield.

No sooner had I sold this batch then the messages started flowing in and all and sundry wanted to get their hands on a Posh Poppy. Through a combination of craft fairs, twitter, facebook, my website and the lovely shop owners in Crown Street Brentwood (Special thanks goes to Alison of Racquet Boutique for having a basket of Posh Poppies on her counter)
all in all I sold a whopping.......

238

Then comes the fame! My Posh Poppies were featured on the Mollie Makes blog

The Mayor of Brentwood Councillor Joan Holmes requested I visited her so that she could purchase a Posh Poppy personally!

Not only that but she wore it to Launch the official Royal British Legion
poppy appeal in Brentwood.

And then tweeted about it!

Then Kirstie Allsop featured me on her facebook page! This saw loads of e-mails coming in asking to buy more poppies, sadly by which time production had ceased.

My Posh Poppies were even worn by Brentwoods latest celebrity. Peri Sinclair, owner of fabulous card shop Bizarra on Crown Street and star of hit TV show 'TOWIE'

So here are the financial facts. You will remember I had agreed to give all the profits (£1.50 per poppy) to the Royal British Legion. £1 would purchase a paper poppy so that the veterans who make them still earned a living from their production and the additional 50p would be an additional donation. You can read the story behind this financial decision HERE.

The paper poppies I purchased would be used to make a wreath which I would lay on the war memorial for all to see.

I have to admit to only buying 110 paper poppies, after a while of buying 10 here 20 there and another 5 here so as to not deplete anyones boxes, I decided to put the rest of the money in a veterans pot and simply take 6 larger fabric poppies to finish off my wreath.

I think the gentleman in question was a tad gobsmacked when I stuffed over one hundred pounds worth of notes in his pot! I gathered it went to the same place whether I took a paper poppy or not!

So all in all I raised £357.

£238 went on paper poppies (or in the pot at least) and £119 was donated online to the Royal British Legion.

I think I can say that the campaign was a wonderful success. I think I could have sold this amount of poppies 10 times over. Needless to say I will be making more for next year, but will be starting the process in the summer! Posh Poppies will be available on my website from the 1st October 2012.

Thank you to everyone who purchased a poppy or spread the word via their social networks.

Fishy Fishy

2011-11-20T20:00:00.001Z

I recently purchased a lovely set of fishy crayons from the fabulous Dani at Colourmefun as a 1st birthday present for my little friend Nathan Fish.

Dani kindly custom made me a full set of 8 of these little critters and I designed a custom carrying case to put them in.

It has 8 little slots and a velcro fastening, so you can roll it up into a nice tube and pop it in the change bag.

As per my other creations for the littlest fish - (A playmat and dummy bag) I've bought some lovely fishy fabric to do the job with.

When I showed Dani what I'd made she kindly offered me a set of crayons to give away to one of my lovely readers.

You can pick either of the 4 crayon dinosaur sets from the colourmefun website as pictured below simply by leaving a comment on this post.

The winner will be picked at random on Thursday 24th November and whats more they come in a cute little bag too so you dont need me to make you a case!

iPhone pics

2011-11-20T00:05:00.001Z

I love my iPhone, but I am a terror for uploading my pictures onto my PC and doing anything with them. I often take pictures of products to send to customers which never end up on my blog or website. Well no more......

Silly me didn't think that there might be such thing as a blogger ap for the iPhone! Thanks to Louise from Rabbit Crafts I can now blog on the go.

Here is a selection of iPhone pics you would have seen if I had known about this ap sooner:

Blogging - Getting sorted

2011-11-19T14:09:00.000Z

Sometimes you need another brain to bounce ideas off. Both Louise from Running Rabbit Crafts and I are both bloggers who craft and are in the process of building our businesses.

Louise has some great applications on her blog that I coveted and I had quote a few that Louise wanted, so we got together.

Somehow with a baby grizzling with teething pains and a toddler running around and causing general mayhem, we managed to pick each others brains and update our blogs.

You'll notice I now have a header at the top with a few pages (some of them are empty right now but watch this space). I also have started tagging my posts. Take a peek to the right and you'll see a nice list. You can now select a subject you want to read about and it will bring all of the posts up that I have tagged as being about it.

I'm sure there will be more to show you soon, but thanks to Louise for her tips. Sometimes two heads are indeed better than one.

WIPS - how many do you have?

2011-11-16T17:02:00.001Z

WIPS a.k.a. Works in Progress

My knitting and crochet basket (WIPs in bags)

I am a terror for these, no matter how hard I try I cannot resist the urge to buy materials with projects in mind and rather than finishing one project before I start another I just have to start them.

Arm and Hand Warmers in various states of unfinished!

Just a few rows I tell myself and then I'll finish what I was doing before, but I don't. Well the times are changing YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!!

Recycled T-Shirt necklaces (yes honestly)

Here are my current knitting, crochet and hand sewing WIPS and I am not going to start any new ones until I have finished what you see here.

This WIP is left over from last year in an attempt to re-create and Accesorize product!

I thought blogging about it might help me be disciplined, feel free to share your own WIPS and join me in the 'Get it Finished Challenge'

Then there is this lot waiting to be turned into things of beauty!

Not only do I have WIPs but I have this lovely book to try out. I've waited a month for it to come from the library and I cant renew it as someone else is waiting for it. I borrowed it to see if it was worth buying, but until I've tried a few projects I wont know!!

Share your blog links here if your joining me on my 'Get it Finished Challenge'

2011-11-01T19:28:00.000Z

Having had Little Mack 7 weeks early back in 2007 and spending 3 weeks with him in the local neonatal unit, I like to do all I can for any charities looking to help prem babies and their families.

Not that you'd know it now though. Look at this grown up boy...........

Bliss is a fantastic charity and when I was asked by Plum Baby food to promote their latest fundraising effort I didn't hesitate. Have a quick read, follow the instructions below and do your bit to help a fabulous cause.

Plum helps Bliss babies have the best start in life

This Christmas, organic baby food brand Plum Baby will raise at least £30,000 for Bliss the special care baby charity through sales of its best-selling products and uniquely, through the amount of people who ‘like’ its Facebook page.

Over the next couple of months keep an eye out for special promotional pouches in all the major supermarkets, including Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons. For every one of these promotional packs sold, Plum will give 5p to help Bliss the special care baby charity. Not only that, for every new ‘like’ Plum receives on Facebook, Plum will donate a further penny. People can show their support by visiting the Plum baby page at facebook.com/plumbaby.

Nigel White from Plum Baby said, “We’ve chosen Bliss as our charity partner this year because of the outstanding work it does in helping premature babies and their families. As a brand we’re all about giving your child a Plum start, we’re keen to give that to the most in need. We know that people who choose our products are really supportive of charities like Bliss and we hope that making a donation on their behalf will go a long way to helping the babies Bliss support to have the very best possible start in life.”

*I have received no financial compensation for publicising this promotion

Lined box bottom handbag class

2011-10-28T16:34:00.000+01:00

Learn how to make this lovely boxed bottom handbag with 100% linen and funky fabric of your choice (there will be approx 10 fabrics for you to choose from). All materials are supplied + tea, coffee and cake.

7th November 7pm - 10pm @ Brentwood Theatre

Pupils will need there own sewing machine and must be confident in threading it and sewing in a straight line.

Class is £30 per head and a non refundable deposit of £7.50 is required at time of booking. All class fees are payable via cash, cheque or paypal.

e-mail admin@clairemackaness.com to book your place or call 01277 230769

New class announced

2011-10-27T22:57:00.000+01:00

Christmas Wreath Workshop  

14^th November 2011

7.30pm – 10.30pm

The HOOP Pub,Stock, Essex

In this 3 hour workshop you will learn how to create a beautiful handmade yarn wrapped wreath, decorated with felt handcrafted floral embellishments, buttons, beads and trim. All materials will be provided for you and you will be given the chance to enjoy a crafty evening with mulled wine and mince pies.

Each class is limited to a maximum of 8 students.

The class will take place at the HOOP public house in Stock in their cosy restaurant and will be taught by local crafts person Claire Mackaness.

£25.00 per head with a deposit of £7.00 payable to secure your space

For more information or to book a class, please call Michelle on

01277 841137 or e-mail thehoopstock@yahoo.co.uk

Posh Poppy info - Where does your money go?

2011-10-19T11:24:00.000+01:00

I am touched by the response I have got from my 'Posh Poppy' promotion for the Royal British Legion over the past week and am rapidly trying to increase my stocks so that you can all get your orders in on time for this worthy cause.

It was always my intention to do something for the Royal British Legion that brought a little more to their cause than would be raised by buying a single paper poppy. However I have had one or two comments relating to the support of the ex servicemen who make the standard paper poppies as an income stream. I appreciate they do not want to live on charity alone and need the income they bring in from production to support themselves and their families and so by creating a poppy 'alternative' I could be seen to be working against the idea of the poppy appeal.

Therefore I have decided that with the donation I make to the cause (£1.50 all profits from the sale) I will purchase 1 poppy and donate the additional 50p to the cause. Once I have completed my fundraising on the 12th November I will use all of my paper poppies to create a wreath which will be laid on my local war memorial on rememberance sunday 13th November and will of course be blogging the whole process for you all to see.

Posh Poppies

2011-10-13T16:39:00.000+01:00

Ever watched the telly in October/November time and wondered where the celebrity or news reader got there beautiful poppy brooch from?

Lots of crafty people like myself start making poppy brooches about this time of year and sell them to raise funds for the Poppy Appeal, after all what celeb wouldn't want to look posh? I know what I would prefer to wear over a paper poppy.

These celebs pay fortunes for their poppies and a good proportion of the cost does get donated to the Royal British Legion, but I know I don't have hundreds of pounds to spare for something I'll wear for one year only and only for a month at most, you cant wear the same poppy year after year (although I bet some people do) it kind of defeats the object!

So..........here they are:

The Beautiful Things by Claire Mackaness version, at only £4.50 each with a donation of £1.50 for every poppy sold going straight to the poppy appeal.

As you can see they are all slightly different, some are satin, some linen and some plain cotton. Some have buttons, some flowers, some felt puffs. They are finished on the reverse with a felt scalloped circle and spring loaded brooch pin.

I will be selling these at craft fairs and around and about on my travels in Brentwood over the next few weeks so you can pick which one you would like to wear. If however you would like me to post you one I will happily do so for an extra £1.20. Payment can be made via paypal, please e-mail me at admin@clairemackaness.com if you would like to order one, other wise I will see you on my travels over the next month. I cant promise which one you will get, although if there is a type you really don't want let me know and I'll do my best!

Please be assured I will be making a donation to RBL after remembrance day and I will post a copy of my receipt/letter/certificate (whichever they decide to send me) so you can see how much I have raised.

Just remember:- Wear your poppy with pride

How to be Superwoman

2011-10-12T13:56:00.000+01:00

So many of you have commented on my blog in the past with the words "I don't know how you do it", "You must be Superwoman", "How to you manage to fit in everything and look after a baby and a toddler"?

If I'm honest I 'just do' it's the way I am, I don't like to sit still and I have to be doing something. But if I step back and look at how I manage, I guess there are a few things I do on a daily basis that make my life a little easier, so I'll share a few with you.

First things first, lists. I am the eternal list maker. Having had 2 children I am now suffering with terrible baby brain. It is bad after 1 child, but I swear when they had me under sedation following the birth of Little Miss Mack, they surgically removed most of my brain.

I forget everything and without my trusty lists would be a mess.

I take it to the extreme, but take what (if anything) you can from my list planning and use it to your advantage.

This is the housework chart. All of the jobs I need to do and a weekly tick box. The tick box covers the whole week (from a Monday) so whenever you do that bit of housework tick it off. I aim to have a complete column of ticks by Sunday.

Next to the housework chart is Little Miss Macks routine. You'll notice it says 'rough' routine. I am a bit of a routine queen when it comes to my children. Little Mack has certainly benefited from one and is a happy, well adjusted little boy, but by no means I am I really, really strict with them. If you plan to live 'your' life as well as look after your children, you need to be flexible.

Little Miss has a couple of naps a day, if we are at home it will be in her cot, but if we have been out and she has fallen asleep in the car seat or push chair, then she will just stay there once we get indoors. If we are out at someones house, she will nap in her buggy or on the floor on a rolled up blanket, she's not fussed. I have made sure to instill this in to her from day one and it certainly helps for ease when you have a busy day or your plans change for whatever reason.

My other godsend is breastfeeding, not having to worry with bottles, formula and all the palaver that goes with it is amazing. I appreciate it's not for everyone and some of you reading this might have tried but not had much luck. I urge you though if your struggling and thinking of giving up, ask for help it's out there if you know where to look and it's well worth it. Just shout if you need any pointers. Another handy way to get round those days when your plans go wrong and your day changes, you can just feed them a little bit to get you to your next destination and then 'top them up' a bit later. Genius, milk on tap!

So this is a weekly timetable. I know a tad extreme, but in my case essential. I don't do these every week, just when time is particularly pressing. This week for instance I have a big craft fair on Saturday and due to a successful event last Friday I have had to re-make lots of stock so this list is mainly about when I can make what I need to make.

Firstly I break the week down and look at Mr Macks shifts, asking myself when will he be home, when can I get dedicated 'studio time'? when will it be me and the kids and I will have to work indoors?, whens mum coming over? I then write a list of things that need doing and slot them in accordingly.

You'll notice on Tuesday Mr Mack was home all day, so I knew I could be in the studio all day and just pop in to feed Little Miss. Wednesday (today) however it was just me and her so I made that the day I went out and about to buy supplies and get jobs done indoors. Tonight Mr Mack is in so I will again be in the studio knowing he can keep his ear out for the kids.

My timetables then get broken down further to a daily one, this is today. I have worked out what I need to achieve and a rough timescale to do it in. I've included a list of the things I needed to purchase whilst I was out. I did achieve everything on here today, but changed it a tiny bit to suit me. For instance I got to Codies house at 10am as I had finished my shopping, but Little Miss was a bit whiny so I sat in the car and fed her till 10.20am Not a major change, but as I always allow for slippage there is room for other things cropping up.

I kept my entire afternoon free which has allowed me to do a spot of tidying up at home and allowed me to blog. I'll be shooting off when I'm done here to collect Little Mack from school. Little Miss Mack is currently sleeping but I'll just scoop her up and pop her in the buggy to finish off her nap.

To the left is my 'shopping list' I keep it running with things as and when I realise we need them so whoever next goes to the shop can pick it up. Today it is full of high street jobs for my lovely Mum who is coming over tomorrow and going to the town with the kiddies!

So that's my crazy list system, now on to my basket system. I love baskets! Grab a basket, fill it with a task and complete it when you can.

These two are both full of crafty jobs. On the left is a whole batch of teabag holders with their buttons loose in a bag, a reel of thread and a needle. Either Mum or I will sew these on tomorrow. On the right is hand warmers, cello bags and labels all ready for a session of packaging.

Having tasks 'to hand' allows you to grab a job when you have a spare half an hour or an unexpected visit from someone who wants to entertain your child for you. This system also means you can spend the night in front of the telly with your feet up as you have a job that can be done on the couch to hand at all times.

Another few things I do to make life easier:

Pack your bags or load the car the night before (using your list as guidance for what you will need)
Put out your child's school uniform the night before
check the book bag for notes and deal with them as soon as you get in from school
leave a bag by the back door for items to take down to your studio (if you have one) I guess (if we had stairs) this would work for that too. Place a bag on your banister and fill it with things to take up next time your going up.
Turn off your computer only allowing yourself on at set times of the day
Use a blog reader tool (I use google reader) if your a blog fan. I read my blogs once a day in the same way that some people read the newspaper

I don't really do anything else that makes me 'Superwoman' I hope that these tips have helped you in some way.

Lastly, make the most of times like this:

But do know how long you have, it's important to rest and believe me if you don't, you will end up coming tumbling down. I often don't heed my own advice and every 2 or 3 weeks there will come a point when I get so tired I end up snapping at my husband and snapping at the kids. It's usually at this point one of two things happen; My lovely Mum will come and spend the day with me, helping out around the house and with the kids and taking a load of washing or ironing home with her or Mr Mack will order me to bed, feed the baby a bottle and let me catch up on some much needed rest.

I am very lucky to have such a supporting family, but if you are not as lucky as me, listen up. Take some time to sit and read a book, go to bed early, take a bath and just generally relax. Or if your like me and simply cant, do what I am doing now. Little Miss Mack is asleep, Little Mack is at school, Mr Mack is at work and I have a hot cup of coffee, a chocolate biscuit and I'm sitting on the sofa. OK so I might be working and updating my blog, but I am resting if nothing else.

If all else fails, there's always:

10 minute tasks

2011-10-06T15:10:00.000+01:00

For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook and Twitter will have seen me mentioning my days of 'ten minute tasks' over the past week.

In a nutshell my house was becoming a bit of a mess, but with a tiny baby who is a little unpredictable in her sleep/eat routine I simply couldn't dedicate the time to having one of my super dooper clear out and de-clutter sessions which usually end up me getting into a bigger mess than when I started before anything starts to get better.

So I came up with a 10 minute task day which if done correctly means you should never get to the point where you don't know where to turn or are in such a state you cant stop to do something else like feed the baby or pick the kids up from school.

So here's what you do:

Take a notebook and pen and visit each room in your house. Look at any area you can see a particular mess and write a list of jobs. For instance here is what I did in my lounge:

Tidy the desk shelves
Sort out the filing rack
Clear out the side of the armchair
Sort out the display cabinet shelf

Start on the first job on your list, but be careful of the pitfall of moving on before you finish. i.e.
I am clearing up the bookshelf and open a file which is full of old paperwork. The temptation is to start dealing with that paperwork and the next thing you know you have a pile of rubbish all over the place. This in itself is another 10 minute task, so instead of doing it. Add it to your list and come back to it as a separate task when you have finished your current one.

(if you look at my tidy shelves you can see the pile of paperwork I pulled out that I no longer needed placed on the desk. Instead of dealing with it as part of the process, I put it to one side to sort out once I had finished the shelves).

You don't have to do your jobs in the order that you wrote them down. For instance as your working on the shelf area, it could well be sensible to start on that filing next up, but if you have already tidied your bookshelf and something else in your life stops you from starting on it you will be in a good position to stop what your doing.

I actually found that I often end up working non stop for 2 or 3 hours, but by working in this way, if at any point the doorbell rings and you receive and unexpected visitor or your son gets sent home from school poorly, you are in a position to stop what your doing and come back to it later.

I am by no means finished on my house mission, even after 2 days I still have lots more jobs that need doing. But by constantly doing 10 minute tasks my house remains clean and tidy at all times and it is so much more enjoyable.

10 minute tasks don't have to be de-cluttering and sorting out. It can be any job you like that needs doing. You could even break your day to day housework down into 10 minute chunks.

I use a handy chart to help me with my housework that breaks the rooms down into individual jobs, some are weekly, some fortnightly and some even monthly, but by leaving it up on my cupboard door and ticking jobs off each time I have completed one if ever I have a spare 10 minutes I can look at the list and see what needs doing.

Here are a few ideas for 10 minute tasks that are not general housework:

Sort out your make-up bag
empty your handbag/change bag of rubbish
Clear out your clothes (1 draw at a time)
De-scale the steriliser
Clean the buggy wheels
Weed the garden (1 flowerbed or pot at a time)
Sort out the toy box
Sort out the kitchen cupboards (1 at a time)
Plump the sofa cushions
turn the mattress on your bed
Soak off any stamps you have saved that are not franked

Good luck with your ten minutes tasks, I'd love to know how you get on, please share your blogs and facebook pictures if you have a good idea or clearing out session.

I still have lots more to do and will be sharing some more tips for clearing out with you over the next month including my4 box clearance system of 'chuck, charity, free & sell'.

Silent Sunday

2011-10-02T06:59:00.001+01:00

Temptation

2011-09-27T15:38:00.000+01:00

Today has been a day of temptation for me.

I popped into town and saw this lovely dress in the window of MESH, they had shown a sneeky peek of it yesterday on the Crown Street Facebook page and I really liked it. I'm tempted to have a go at making one of these neck ruffles from felted wool.

Then I went into Steamer Trading our wonderful kitchen shop and watched Linda a.k.a 'The Cookery Angel' demonstrating her tipsy apple and blackberry cupcakes. They were really, really yummy. Thankfully for my waistline they were mini ones on the taster plates!

Next up was a visit to my lovely wool shop We3 also on Crown Street for a little wool purchase. I have 2 craft fairs this weekend Havering Handmade on Saturday and Ingrave Community Market on Sunday so I need lots of wooly projects to keep me busy while I sit at my stall. How yummy is my most recent purchase?

I am hoping to launch the Snuggly Buggly collection soon, all of the items will be available on a buy it now basis and many are one off pieces not available for custom orders so keep an eye out on the facebook page for an announcement. Some items will be available for sale at the fairs, if they don't sell out online first! Here's a sneeky peek at some of the stock.

All very tempting! See you soon.

Claire
xx

The Cookery Angel

2011-09-23T20:33:00.001+01:00

In the short time that I have been 'going solo' I have been very fortunate to meet some truly talented people through both my active community work and my web based socialising. One of those lovely people is Linda a.k.a 'The Cookery Angel'.

Those of you who regularly follow my blog will remember that a few months back Linda was running a special offer for her wonderful afternoon tea in a box and I was running some joint promotions.

During this time Linda was out and about in the town actively promoting her wares and handing out cupcakes and scones to anyone with a sweet tooth and some pennies to spare.

This proved no easy task carrying a hamper of goodies, a money purse, notebook, napkins, teabags, cutlery, business cards, fliers, wet wipes, car keys and a phone at the same time as trying to talk to potential customers and sell your product, so Linda turned to Beautiful Things by Claire Mackaness to help her out.

Linda is a huge fan of Emma Bridgewater so I used a couple of her lovely heart print tea towels to make her the perfect accessories to match her lovely pink and white uniform. First up was this little half apron:

That when lifted up reveals a secret flap full of pockets for all of Lindas goodies.

A zipper pouch for coins with a pocket behind it for notes, room for a pen, notebook and business cards and a little mini teabag holder too.

Next up was a large roll out carry case which ties onto the apron ties.

Inside is room for lots of teabags, cutlery and napkins.

To make her customers cake buying experience even nicer Linda uses strawberry scented wet wipes and so I also made her this lovely wet wipe case which can attach to the other side of her apron.

Just for Linda this one a little mini teabag holder from the remaining scraps.

If you would like to sample some of the Cookery Angels lovely cupcakes she will be demonstrating the creation of her award winning tipsy Apple and Blackberry cupcakes at Steamer Trading in Brentwood High Street this Tuesday 27th September at Midday.

(This is a new store so is not on the website yet, but if you come to the centre of the high street they are opposite the church ruins).

I love to undertake custom commissions so if there is a project you think I might be able to help you with then feel free to drop me a line admin@clairemackaness.com

Leigh on Sea Vintage & Handmade Fair

2011-09-16T13:25:00.000+01:00

Here is where I will be tomorrow with my stall of Beautiful Things. I will also be selling some vintage haberdashery and patterns along with lots of lovely vintage cushions.

Do pop along and say hi, this is one of the nicest events to take place in Essex and I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one that I have taken part in so far.

Handmade Monday

2011-08-29T22:21:00.000+01:00

What a busy week. I have been furiously creating for MESH boutique in Brentwood. Heres the shots I took when I delivered the first batch of goods.

I've done nothing else this week which is very unlike me!

Lots more photos to be seen on the facebook page, just click the MESH link and you can take a peek.

Insta Friday

2011-08-27T00:39:00.001+01:00

So I have just discovered Instagram, a fab little ap for the iphone that lets you take cool pictures that look like they were taken on an old 70's camera.

I also discovered a blog that runs a great little day called Insta Friday. Click on the button above to find out more. Basically you upload all your weeks instagram photos to your blog and share with your followers what you have been getting up to. So here's mine:As you know we went away to a Teepee at the weekend. Here is the view from inside on a sunny afternoon. I was inside instead of out in the sun because I was feeding Little Miss Mack in the cool.

Here she is sucking her thumb just after she'd finished her grub.

Lazing outside in the sunshine looking up at the TeePee. There's something quite majestic about them dont you think?

As the afternoon drew to a close I captured the corn fields in the late afternoon sun.

After all that sun came rain today and Little Mack and I went to town to run errands. We got soaked but clad in wellies and a rain coat he had the time of his life and still enjoyed an icecream at the ice cream parlour. I had a nice warm cappuccino!

Why dont you join in with Insta friday. If you do please pop your links below, I'd love to see what you got up to.

Handmade Monday

2011-08-22T20:05:00.001+01:00

This week has been super super busy. We even managed to get a mini break in as well! Family Mack went away on Saturday to Osea Leisure Park in Maldon and spent the night in a teepee. It was great fun and we only had an hour and a half of rain during our stay.

Being the crafty Mummy that I am I took an activity with us for the rain time and we sat and made Indian headdresses for the whole family. There are pictures of Mr Mack and I modelling ours but as they were taken Sunday morning before we had had a chance to shower or put make up on (in my case) we look far too rough to share them with you! Here is Little Mack Making the hats and modelling his finished masterpiece.

Little Miss Mack wore hers whilst we had a snuggle on the futon looking out at the rain

Terrible photos of me again here, but I have been working on a range of scarves for a local boutique in town. I have since learnt that these scarves are called continuing scarves. Basically a large tube of fabric that can be wrapped round, once, twice or even 3 times to make a cosy scarf.

I am also working on some recycled T-shirt jewellery for the same shop. Here is the sample I made for them.

Customer orders this week include a taggy for Max,

Buggy grippers for Saz,

A lace ruffle brooch kit for Eva. (To make up the instructions for the kit I needed to do some step by step pictures, so I made another band for Little Miss Mack. It's a bit big now but she will soon grown into it as she is expanding at a rate of knots!)

A pencil case for Amy from vintage materials,

Some more hair accessories and a PE bag for Roma,

And some rose scented hanging hearts for Claire.

On Friday I held an open house and set up shop in the living room.

I ran a make and take session and taught my visitors how to make lace ruffle brooches. Here is Nici modelling the one she made.Last but not least I mentioned making these last week but couldn't show you till I had taken them into the shop. But a new range of bags are now being stocked in The French Quarter in Brentwood. The range is called the Isabella Vintage Range and all of the bags will be one of pieces made from vintage materials. I am working on a few more this week so hopefully I will be able to show them off. These two are now in the store so who knows I might be telling you they have sold next Monday. Fingers crossed!

Open studio today

2011-08-19T10:01:00.000+01:00

Do come along, I am running free make and take sessions all afternoon of felt flower headbands and lace ruffle brooches. There are stalls to peruse and tea and biscuits too.

If you have been considering a custom make then come and raid my extensive fabric stash and design something with me.

10% discount on all stock, custom orders and classes booked and paid for today.

Bring your friends and tell everyone you know.

Right now I have..........

2011-08-18T23:02:00.001+01:00

I saw this over on Imagine Lovely and couldn't resist sharing.

Handmade Monday

2011-08-15T20:48:00.000+01:00

First up on this sunny handmade monday is a little treat for my Mother in Law who has been an absolute star since Little Miss Mack arrived. Not only did she come over from her house in France for 2 weeks when Mr Mack went back to work, but last week she flew over and whisked Little Mack off to France for a little mini break.

By way of a thank you I made her this little sewing carry roll and matching tote bag with bucket bottom for her to take with her to patchwork classes. The fabric is fantastic and so funny, perfect for any quilter.

Next up was a couple of custom orders for kids personalised T-shirts

A customised ipad case for Charlie

I had a fantastic order for some bunting for a super new cupcake shop and childrens clothing boutique in Billericay called Enjoy. This bunting will be put up in the window. I will pop back to take some pics later in the week. In the meantime you can follow Enjoy on Twitter @Enjoyshop

I have made quite a bit more this week including some extra additions to The Cookery Angels uniform and some samples for a couple of shops which I am hoping will be stocking exclusive ranges soon. I intend to blog about these seperatly so you will have to wait and see what I come up with. Dont forget to follow the blog for regular updates or become a fan on facebook or follow me on Twitter @clairemackaness

All about tea

2011-08-14T11:19:00.000+01:00

Yesterday the Isle of Tea did a super blog post about my teabag holders which was really kind of them.

So as a little thank you I offered to help them promote their first ever blog giveaway. They told me that they had a lovely teaset to giveaway so I asked them to send me some piccies.

I was gobsmacked when they sent these pictures through to me of a stunning turquoise retro set.

Because........................ look what I made only a few months ago

I love making teacup pin cushions, but I cant seem to keep up with them. As soon as I make them they sell. If your after one for yourself then I have this lovely little pink one still in stock on my facebook page

If you have not had your tea fix for the day then do pop back later in the week when I will be reviewing the Cookery Angels afternoon tea in a box. How tasty does this look?

You can sample this box of treats for only £7.00 per head for the rest of this week as a special trial. Visit www.thecookeryangel.co.uk for more details and dont forget if you want to win that lovely retro teaset pop over to the Isle of Tea blog and enter their giveaway.

Handmade Monday

2011-08-08T19:41:00.000+01:00

Another week has flown by and Little Miss Mack is nearly 6 weeks old already! This week has been quite eventful. On Tuesday I made another bow tie top to wear to Brentwoods 2nd Tweetup event. I sadly missed the first one as I was still in hospital with Izzy, but this was a great night. All of Brentwoods Twitterati in one room getting to actually meet one another. Do you tweet? If so you can find me @clairemackaness

Wednesday saw me making kindle cases from my vintage stash. 2 of these have sold already, but the lilac one is still looking for a new owner.

After the kindle cases came a couple of orders. A drawstring bag to house one of my customers many hair accessories and a crayon roll.

Then I made my friend Claire a little dummy pouch for her little boy. Her surname is Fish and as a present when her son was born I made a playmat out of this lovely fish fabric. I found a scrap of it when I was sorting out the scrap basket and it seemed a shame not to use it.

Come Sunday it was time for the Ingrave Market again. Little Miss Mack came with me, here she is loaded into the car with all my stuff. She didn't look impressed!

This was my stall with one of many close ups showing off my wares. I did quite well and sold a few bits and gained a fabulous custom order.

Linda from The Cookery Angel commissioned me to use an Emma Bridgewater tea towel to make her a utility belt that looks like an apron. I'm just showing you these two pictures as I will do a special post about it later.

I also made her a teabag holder to go inside, from the same fabric.

Last thing today was another school accessory kit for a customer.

I love being busy and have lots more lovely orders to get through this week so rest assured there will be lots more lovelies for you to see next Monday.

Silent Sunday

2011-08-06T14:11:00.000+01:00

Whats on in August?

2011-08-03T12:39:00.001+01:00

Vintage Bag Making Class – 23^rd August 1pm – 4pm

Brentwood based Venue to be confirmed (probably Knights Way Centre)

If you love the eclectic style of internet blog sensation ‘Dottie Angel’ then let me share with you how you too can makes a beautiful shopper like the ones shown here from a mix of stunning vintage fabrics and trim.

All materials will be provided for this class, just bring yourself and your sewing machine. You don’t need to be a super seamstress to take part either. As long as you know how your machine works and can sew in a straight line you’ll be just fine.

Tea, coffee & cupcakes will be provided. Pre booking essential.

£30 per head (deposit £10, balance payable on the day)

The Beautiful Things Experience – 19^th August 1pm – 5pm

24 Rowan Green East, Brentwood, CM13 2ED

Come along to this FREE open studio event to see where Claire creates her ‘Beautiful Things’ talk to Claire about her designs, view her extensive range of fabrics and discuss your next custom make with her. Drop in briefly at any time during the afternoon, or stay for the whole session and relax in the garden.

See Claires products in the flesh, which will be available to purchase on the day and take part in a free ‘make & take’ session where Claire will show you how to make a beautiful lace ruffle brooch that you can take home. (Sessions running all afternoon).

As an added bonus, drop in at 3pm and you can sample the wonderful ‘Afternoon Tea in a Box’ supplied by the award winning Linda Edmonds of the Cookery Angel. This treat is available at a special trial price of only £7 (pre ordering essential). Visit Lindas website to find out more about this special trial offer www.thecookeryangel.co.uk

To find out more about either of these events or to pre-book your course or afternoon tea, please call Claire on 01277 230769 or e-mail clairemackaness@btopenworld.com

Find me on Twitter @clairemackaness

Become a fan on Facebook – Search ‘Beautiful Things by Claire Mackaness’

To receive a PDF copy of this event notice please e-mail me at clairemackaness@btopenworld.com

Competition time

2011-08-02T19:32:00.000+01:00

Well I have looked in my diary and all being well I will have plenty of sewing time in the next 3 weeks. So to celebrate and encourage all of you lovely people to place orders I have decided to run a competition.

For every order of a custom made or in stock item placed between now and Thursday 18th August I will place your name in a hat. On the Thursday I will ask Little Mack to pick a winner who will be refunded the entire cost of their order including postage charges.

So if you have been thinking of ordering something 'Beautiful' for a while now, what better time to do it than when you could be in with the chance of getting it for nothing!

Spread the word, Beautiful Things fans, share this post on your facebook pages, blogs and Twitter, spread the Beautiful Things love xxx

HOW TO ORDER

As my website is currently under re-development the best place to view my work is on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/beautifulthingsbyclairemackaness to the left of the page is a link that says PHOTOS click this and you will find all manner of albums showing all of the lovely things I have made. Some of these items are in stock for immediate delivery and some can be re-created in the fabric of your choice. I also love a challenge so if you think that I might be able to make you something you have had your mind on for a while, just pop a message on the wall and I will get back to you.

Handmade Monday

2011-08-01T19:54:00.000+01:00

A rather uneventful week in craft land for me again this week. Izzy is just starting to get to grips with breastfeeding and I am gobsmacked how much of my time it takes to get it right. Hopefully we are almost there now and with the net two weeks taken up with childcare and visits to the grandparents for Little Mack I have plenty of sewing time on my hands so hopefully next week you will see lots more from me.

First up was a little night time creation. I was due to make a trip into town on Tuesday to visit a new boutique that has opened to see if I could persuade the owner to take some of my work on a sale or return basis. I needed to be wearing something 'statement' so I set too and made these little Suffolk puffs:

After adding some buttons they became a rather funky necklace. Not my usual style I have to admit but it did the job as lots of people stopped me and asked me about it while I was out.

Little Miss Mack did her bit too and wore her headband in style. As you can see it was designed to match her buggy! Here we are at the top of Crown Street in Brentwood.

If you ever visit the town be sure to make Crown Street top of your shopping list. There are lovely independent retailers here including a wonderful haberdashery shop (We3) a beautiful gift shop (The French Quarter) and not to forget Mesh the boutique I was visiting.

The visit was very successful and I will be making up some samples over the next few weeks to take in so watch this space for more details.

On Wednesday more buttons arrived so I was able to get making Buggy grippers. I have loads of orders for these, they have proved really popular. I have to admit I quite like the smell of the E6000 glue but as it's so strong I have to make them in small batches with all the doors and windows open!

Then there was no crafting until today when I have spent the day enjoying the sunshine streaming into the studio and got cracking on a big custom order for school hair accessories.

As the sun set I had a crack at something for me. A lovely bow tie top in this fabulous blue floral jersey which I believe to be vintage along with the blue chiffon bow. I have to admit there are a few flaws in it's design but nothing that cannot be tweaked. I think I might make a few of these to take into Mesh too. I'm thinking interchangable bows and accesorising with lace and ribbon ruffles.

For more Handmade Monday posts do pop over to wendys

A custom make - Scooter Bag

2011-07-31T21:11:00.002+01:00

As promised the long awaited blog post about my latest creation 'The Scooter Bag'

As you know I love nothing more than a custom make, in fact if I could make it work financially it would be my choice to do nothing but.

I have lots of fantastic customers now who have come to know that when they cant find what they are looking for on the high street, they just need to ask and nine times out of ten I will find a way to make their desired item for them.

Here is the story of the Scooter bag as told by Laurie Edmonds of Brentwood business Local by Social. Laurie is a Work at Home Mum of one, who runs an extremely busy lifestyle. Just like myself Laurie is very heavily involved with the local community, working with local traders and the local NCT and has her fingers in many pies, whilst running a business, a home and looking after her son. Here is her write up on why she asked me to make her the scooter bag:

My son is a fair-weather scooter rider. If he’s tired or distracted on the school run, he hops off his scooter and asks me to carry it for him. It didn’t take me long to get annoyed with having trousers covered with wheel-marks and sore ankles/shoulders depending on how I carried the scooter. I figured there must be a “scooter bag” out there for sale somewhere, but no matter how hard I looked, I just couldn’t find anything. As my sewing skills are non-existent, I could only think of one person who could take an idea and turn it into reality: Claire Mackaness! I described what I needed, and Claire instantly 'got it'! I love Cath Kidston, so we opened up Claire’s Cath catalogue, and after a bit of deliberation, both came to the same conclusion that the “London” fabric was the right choice for the bag. Claire got a bit sidetracked with custom make of her own – little Isobel Mackaness, born on 28 June – but it wasn't long before Mrs Mackaness was back in the sewing shed. I can honestly say that I get lots of admiring glances every time I take my new Cath Kidston “London” scooter bag out. And, of course, now my trousers are mark free!

Thank you, Claire.

-Laurie

The bag was designed from 4 panels of fabric with a draw string top to allow for the sides to move and enclose the scooter. Laurie chooses not to put the handles down on her sons scooter so has left them poking out of the top, but as you can see from my shots the whole scooter will fit inside nicely if you choose to fold it down completely.

The drawstring is housed on the inside of the bag to allow for it to be hidden out of site.

The strap is made from strong webbing and is designed so the bag can be worn across your body or on one shoulder, however you feel comfortable carrying it.

These bags can be made in Cath Kidston Fabric on request with a price on application. Alternatively a strong fabric in a patterned or 'non designer' make can be used and they will cost £24.00 + £2.00 postage.

If you are interested in ordering a custom scooter bag, please contact clairemackaness@btopenworld.com

Handmade Monday

2011-07-25T19:20:00.000+01:00

Welcome to Monday again, here I am only just blogging at 8pm as I had to squeeze in a making session today to allow me to have more than one thing to show you!

My Mother in Law was staying with us all of last week and it was great to have her around to help me with the kids and the house. She has been missed immensely already especially as no sooner had she left than Little Miss Mack and I both came down with nasty colds.

Anyhow, last Tuesday saw the creation of this rather wonderful scooter carrying bag made from 100% genuine Cath Kidston Cotton Duck in 'London'. I cannot tell you how pleasurable it was to be using this fabric, the quality really is superb.

I wont tell you the whole story behind this bag as I will be doing a post all about them later this week, so for now you can just have a couple of the many pictures I have taken of the product before it went to it's new owner.

On Thursday Little Mack came home from his swimming lesson with his very first badge. Bearing in mind there are over 30 for him to aspire to I thought sewing them on his trunks was not the best idea. Mother in Law came up with the idea of a towel and so Little Mack picked this yellow one when we were at the supermarket in the week and I have sewed his badge onto it for him. I love the applique stitch on my machine, it makes badge sewing a doddle.

Then I had a spot of downtime and played about with my new lace, making two brooches and this adult sized elasticated headband. I love making these lace flowers, they are so simple yet extremely effective and I also get to play with my hot glue gun which I always enjoy!

A lovely order from an old school friend allowed my to play with more of my new fabric and raid the ribbon stash. Anna Left the design of her little boys taggy totally up to me and let me play so I do hope she likes what I have come up with as it is slightly different from my regular blue and red boys taggies.

Last but not least I packaged up a couple of sets of buggy clips. I have lots more of these to make but due to a glue and button melting incident I am now awaiting more stocks of metal buttons before I can complete the orders. Once again sorry to any of you waiting patiently!

So that's all from me this week, I am slowly getting back into the routine of work. I have 2 and a half work days available to me this week so lets see what I can create.

Pop over to Wendy's blog to see more Handmade Monday posts from fellow crafty peeps

Amys fairytale wedding

2011-07-19T23:20:00.001+01:00

You might remember a few weeks ago I posted about the items I had made for a customers wedding. Well as you know time flys super fast in the world of Beautiful Things and the wedding has now been and gone.

The beautiful Amy was married last week and has very kindly allowed me to use some of her wedding pics on my blog so you can see how the bunting, favours and hanging hearts looked on her big day.

You can see all of the items I made Amy in more detail in my facebook gallery entitled Something old Something New.

Handmade Monday

2011-07-18T17:42:00.000+01:00

WOW I know I always say it, but "Where has this week gone"? Can you believe that the little princess pictured above is now 3 weeks old? Izzy had some professional pics taken on Saturday and I made sure to include one of her modelling my hairbands. The band is actually just draped across her forehead as it is an adult one, but who would know?

I have popped in and out of the studio this week as I have had my Mother in Law staying with me, but today saw my 'official' return to work and I sent her off to Lakeside shopping whilst Izzy and I went to work. There is just enough room for her on the floor in my studio, but I do have to climb over her to get out!

One of my orders was for a local party company called Pretty Pollies. They are looking to supply goodie bags for their party girls but want to make them handmade. Obviously you and I know that is no easy feat as individually crafted items are very expensive and mark ups will be minimal, but I have made them a sample to trial on an individual order basis, so we will see how it goes.

Another teacher card, this time spelt correctly!

More buggy grippers

Work in progress for the week includes applique Octonauts characters destined for T-shirts.

and a doorstop chicken waiting to be stuffed and filled with weight.

What have you been up to this week?

Handmade Monday

2011-07-11T21:47:00.000+01:00

Well another quiet week on the craft front for me. I have been getting to know my little girl who has done nothing but eat, sleep and poo!

I did hit the studio yesterday though and finish off my teacher gifts and a card (yes I know there is a spelling mistake) and also some back to school summer hairbands.

I have got my Mother in Law staying for the next couple of weeks so hopefully I should start to get back in the swing of things soon and you should see lots of other lovely items coming your way.

One thing I have developed is a new product. 'Buggy Grippers' handy magnetic ribbon loops you can use on your buggy to hang toys, attach sun shades or muslins and hang your brolly from. I popped these on my facebook page this evening and have already sold 3 pairs!

I also made myself a couple of items, some washable breast pads and a breast feeding cover up with a wire front so I can peek down at bubs while she feeds but Joe Blogs cannot see my bristols!

Well thats me for this week. Not bad for a Mum with a 2 week old baby and a 4 year old!! p.s. I am back in my pre pregnancy jeans too!!

Handmade Monday

2011-07-04T00:47:00.000+01:00

Seriously where the hell did that week go?

No bump picture for you this week as no sooner had I blogged last Monday than my waters broke and I was off to hospital. Isobel Christine Mackaness (aka Boo or Izzy) was born at 7.14am on Tuesday 28th June weighing in at a healthy 6lb 10oz although she is still a little dink!

I had to spend a few days in hospital as I lost a lot of blood and had a transfusion and then no
sooner was I better than Izzy ended up with Jaundice.

It was Friday before we got home so no chance to make a single thing this week, however there really is no stopping me as I still managed to set up shop yesterday at the Ingrave Community Market. I do organise this event and it is only round the corner at my local community centre so I left both kiddies with Daddy and enjoyed a spot of normality. Daddy brought me two little visitors though as all of the regulars and my stallholders wanted to meet the latest addition to the Mackaness Clan.

Last but not least I can now show you the pressie I made for my friends Rik & Saz whose beautiful little girl Kara was born a couple of weeks back. I posted this on Monday so I am pretty sure they will be in receipt of it by now and my blogging wont spoil the surprise!

I'll be back next Monday with some more makes. Mr Mack is on Paternity leave and I am under strict instructions to rest, so you know what that means to me.....................SEWING!!!

For more Handmade Monday stories visit Wendys website

Handmade Monday

2011-06-27T11:48:00.000+01:00

I made it to 36 weeks!!! Just one more to go and I can deliver in our lovely midwife led unit so fingers crossed Little Miss Mack stays put till then. After next Sunday she can come whenever she likes as I am telling you I AM DONE!

This heat is terrible and I have not been able to get in my studio for more than an hour or so at a time so apologise but there is literally only 2 things I can show you this week.

First being a lovely pencil case for a customer who wanted a CK look alike but with a teachers apple on it. The case is lined in minty green cotton and has a nice right red zip.

Second is a tooth fairy pillow in lilac and blue for a very lucky little girl.

I still cant show you the goodies I made the other week for my friends baby as they are only just about to go off to the post office. I really have done nothing this week! I even cancelled my big fair as I was absolutely certain that the baby would decide to make an appearance. It made me sad, but on reflection was a sensible decision as it would have been a big day.

So what have you been making this week? Visit HANDMADE MONDAY to see what other like minded crafty folk have been up to with their week.

Handmade Monday

2011-06-20T08:49:00.000+01:00

How can it be Monday again? Time seems to be flying, but in the grand scheme of things I still have ages left till Little Miss Mack arrives? I managed a bump picture for you all this week. It was taken on Saturday at 34+6 just as I headed off to my babyshower.

I also managed to make something for my baby this week too! I only had a pattern for age 2-3 so I was quite pleased with what I managed to guesstimate into this little pillow slip dress. All the insides are finished on the over locker and it has an internal bodice part as well. Not bad for my first attempt at dress making. I can see a few more of these coming off my machine as she gets older!

As far as stock for next weekends Leigh Handmade and Vintage Fair goes I just knocked up a few more scrappy cards. I picked up these cute A6 brown card blanks in the Range on sale last week and they were crying out for some scrappy attention. I made 12 in total all different and you can see them all on my facebook page HERE.

A couple of cushions made from linen and cord and embellished with the last of my favourite Hawaiian print.

and a teacup pin cushion for good measure.

Last of all was present making, the bag above I can show you as the birthday boy has already opened it, but my final make of the week will have to be revealed later as it has yet to be posted to it's new owner!

So really a quiet week for me considering. I've done a lot of sleeping and not a lot else. I am hoping the energy levels will return this week so I can spend a bit of time on the house and I don't foresee that much making happening as I am closed to orders and supposed to be resting. No doubt I will be back next Monday with one or two things to show you though, after all Crafting is relaxing for me.

Visit HANDMADE MONDAY to see more posts from crafty people on a Monday!

The importance of packaging

2011-06-16T11:39:00.000+01:00

As you know I am a stickler for quality and presentation, but the same has to be said for my packaging. I am a firm believer that the excitement of the 'sale' starts from the minute your package appears through your letterbox.

I have had some lovely reviews from my customers on my facebook page HERE but one stands out particularly:

"" I received my pocket warmers in post today. Can't wait to try them out on the school run this afternoon. The packaging was gorgeous - you're giving Boden a run for their money in terms of presentation! As always, thanks for prompt service. It's always a pleasure to support a local mumpreneur.

If you take a look through the reviews you will see that the majority mention packaging in some way and I know that those particular customers have all returned for more shopping following their first purchase. Just proof that how you present your goods can make such a difference to the buyers experience.

Here is a classic example of what you would get through your door from Beautiful Things: Lovely printed tissue, your goods, a business card and a thank you postcard.

All packaged up in a pink mailer with custom printed thank you label on the front.

Even if I cant fit your goodies in a mailer or they need to be secure in a jiffy they will still be wrapped in pretty tissue on the inside and I try to make the outsides a little bit special with pretty tapes or printed wrapping paper.

How do you package your customers goodies? I'd love to see

Handmade Monday

2011-06-13T08:48:00.000+01:00

Well yet again Monday has rolled round far faster than expected. For some reason though these Mondays keep coming yet I don't feel any closer to getting this baby out! There is no bump shot this week I am afraid, a) I have been far too busy and b) By Sunday when it is usually taken I was feeling so pooped I spent the day in leggings and a baggy T-shirt without a scrap of make up on my face, so you can forget looking at a picture of me like that!

So what have I been up to? Monday started with a quick catch up on a few custom orders. Hair bobbles for Anne and some lavender bags for Janine.

Then it was on to operation 'Stock'. I had a small summer fete coming up on the Saturday and I also have Leigh Vintage and Handmade Fair on the 25th June which is a big event so I had a serious need for stock.

I had closed to custom orders on my facebook page, but as I don't like to post nothing on there, I was a bit of a tease and opened a stock photo album for people to view, just to keep up with what I was making. Nothing was available to purchase but it kept the customers interested and up to date. One day I will find a way to balance those custom orders and still keep my stock levels up.

I cant possibly show you everything I have made on here so I'll post one of each item and then you can view them all in the album for yourself on my Facebook page. Just click HERE TO VIEW.

First up was a few more brooches.

Some elasticated headbands

Giant flower clips

Dribble bibs

Zipper pouches

Hairbands

And Bobbles

Next came the task of working out how to display all this new stock, so I spent Friday night playing around with baskets in my hall! You can read all about the preparation for this craft fair in the blog post I did earlier on the week called Preparation. (Somehow I have also managed to blog 3 times this week which is also a miracle)!

All that hard work was worth it. The stall looked really nice in the end.

There was no stopping me though. Saturday night Mr Mack went to the cinema so I popped back to the studio to get the last of my custom orders finished.

A taggy and a table runner.

Yesterday was a day of relaxation, although I confess to stitching a couple of brooches whilst I sat and watched Little Mack run around the soft play centre!

This week is about getting my house in order for the new arrival and doing some 'me' stuff. First off lunch with my old work colleagues. Although you know me, I am sure I will have some more lovelies to show you come next Monday.

p.s. I have a SALE on at the moment on my Facebook page. Grab some of the soon to be discontinued and one off items I discovered in my stock boxes whilst I was preparing for the show. CLICK HERE to view the items.

Preparation

2011-06-11T22:18:00.000+01:00

I wonder how many people realise how much preparation goes into taking a table at a craft fair or summer fete?

Today I attended my local churches summer fete. It isn't a big event by any means but I like to make sure I have enough stock to fill my table as you never know how many people might come along.

As you know I am expecting baby number 2 in 6 weeks so I have been supposedly 'taking it easy'. Having stopped taking custom orders last week I have been concentrating on preparing for today's event and the Leigh on Sea Vintage & Handmade Fair which I am attending on the 25th June.

In comparison to Leigh today's event was small fry, but you can see how busy I have been by taking a look at this photo album on my facebook page. All the items I have made this week alone for both events.

Hairbands, Bobbles, Pouches, Brooches & Dribble bibs.

I still have a few more items I want to make for Leigh over the next 2 weeks but it's been a busy week. My Studio Support Technician (a.k.a. Mum) came to work yesterday and spent her day carding up all the clips I had been making, sadly the weather was not great so she had to move her table from the garden into the kitchen to work!

Last night was spent placing everything in baskets to make sure I had enough display and creating new price labels.

20 minutes loading the car this morning, driving to the venue, an hour setting up the stall, 4 hours sitting at the event, half and hour packing down and then reloading the car and tomorrow (after I have had a lie in) I will get Mr Mack to unload it all and then put it away in the cupboard.

Next time you go to a local event, spend time looking at all the stalls. The people behind them have probably spent far more time than you realise creating what you are strolling past. You don't have to buy something if you don't want to, sometimes it's just as nice to be complimented on how pretty your stall looks or how talented you are to have made the things you sell.

Crafters are easily pleased, after all most of us do it out of love!

You get what you pay for

2011-06-10T23:09:00.001+01:00

I thought I'd write a little post about quality and the value of handmade. For a long while now I have been getting increasingly frustrated with the lovely items I find in high street shops such as John Lewis, House of Fraser and the like.

As an example, many of them sell beautiful cushions like the ones I have made above for anywhere in the region of £20 - £50. For some reason I cant help but feel that people would prefer to buy their cushions from these shops rather than support someone like myself and buy handmade.

Why is this you ask? Well, I could list the cushions above in my Folksy shop for say £25 each and they would just sit there until I eventually get frustrated and reduce them. Even then they don't always sell and then I end up running out of storage space at home and letting them go at cost price in a sale.

People often ask me how much I charge to make a cushion and then once they have received my quote never get back to me, preferring to go and buy 'off the shelf' instead.

I wonder if the people who have purchased cushions from high street stores realise what goes into something that has been handmade? Well let me show you:

All of my cushions are made with top quality fabrics. Either vintage, 100% cotton or 100% linen. I only use well known makes and brands that are quality assured and everything I sew is made using Gutterman threads. As you can see in the picture above, my cushions are fully lined and all of the raw edges have been overlocked to prevent fraying.

The cushions have a funky closure of quality snap fastenings in co-ordinating colours. Each of these is inserted by hand.

The rosettes are all made as individual attachments and have a snap fastener on the reverse so that they can be removed from the cushion for washing.

All finished off with Beautiful Things labels and pressed before being wrapped in tissue paper and sent off to their new homes, stuffed with good quality cushion pads.

Now are you telling me that you would get that much care, love and attention from a high street shop? Your cushions will probably have been made in a factory using far from superior materials and who knows could possibly have been made abroad in far from salubrious conditions by minors.

So next time you are looking for something special to adorn your sofa or armchair, why not take a look on the net for handmade. You can have something totally unique, designed to your exact specifications that looks as beautiful if not more so than the item you were planning on buying from the high street at almost the same price if not less.

Please don't quibble when someone offers to make you something but charges the same as the high street, handmade does not imply poor quality, lesser standards or shoddy. It means made with love, care, attention to detail and 'just for you'.

Next time your high street shopping and pick something up you like, think to yourself...'Could Claire make this for me?' I expect I could and I expect it would be much nicer!

Handmade Monday

2011-06-06T10:16:00.000+01:00

How is it Monday again? I had every intention of doing a blog this week about the value of handmade and quality, but somehow the time has slipped away from me and it's time for Handmade Monday again.

With the bank holiday on Monday I only had 2 sewing days this week so to be honest I have not achieved much (in my terms). One thing I have done though is made it to 33 weeks pregnant!!

Little Mack graced us with his presence at 32 weeks + 6 days so to be 33 weeks is somewhat of a milestone for me. A whole new realm of pregnancy which if I am honest is a little bit daunting. I am now joining 'the waiting game' that so many other pregnant Mums go through of 'when will it happen'. Watch this space....................

So what have I been making? First up was the continuation of the wedding order I started last week. The hearts I had made for the bridesmaids where not quite right so we started again with this lovely floral fabric.

Next up where the favours. The wedding is a small intimate affair with only 20 guests so the bride & groom are making a wedding album for everyone called 'Sugared Almonds' (how good is that)? I made these fabric CD case sleeves with each of the guests initials appliqued onto the front so that they can slip their cardboard CD cases inside.

No vintage inspired wedding is complete without bunting! I loved the fact that it was a really sunny day when I photographed this last week, it was almost a shame to take it down from the garden! There are loads more pictures on my facebook page at www.facebook.com/beautifulthingsbyclairemackaness

Last but not least, for the 3 little bridesmaids a different wedding favour.
A colour co-ordinated crayon roll to keep them entertained during the speeches.

Moving on to a couple of custom order makes from facebook customers, some logo embellished bunting for Kellys Barefoot Beauty.

A credit card holder

And a set of 8 napkins and wine glass covers for another happy customer.

This week sees 2 1/2 sewing days, although it is currently 10.30 on my 1st day and I am still typing this so quite how productive the day will be we will see.

What have you been getting up to this week? Pop over to Handmade Monday at Wendys to see what other crafty people have been doing.

Handmade Monday

2011-05-30T12:12:00.000+01:00

Well it's come round again super fast. Monday!! This time a Bank Holiday so I am at home chilling with Little Mack and Mr Mack.

I have been having a fairly relaxed week this week with lots of rest time although I still managed a few hours in my studio.

Here's what I have been making this week:

Starting off with a couple of custom orders from a very regular customer for a crayon roll and headband/scarf.

Moving on to a lovely project that took me a day or two. Pink PuddleDuck Designs commissioned me to make her 3 patchwork cushions. 2 square with a rosette and 1 union jack in shabby chic florals in shades of pink and green.

I think I fulfilled the brief quite well! All the cushions are fully lined and backed with Laura Ashley 100% linen in beige. These photos where taken at the half way point, this week I will be adding the snap closures and attaching the rosettes with snaps so that they can be removed for the wash so I will have some more pictures for you next week.

They were an absolute pleasure to make and I am really pleased with them. I will find it quite sad taking them to the post office this week!

Next on the agenda was a little bit more craft fair stock. I have a big event at the end of June I really need to stock up for so I decided to get the trusty glue gun out and play with some scraps of lace and fabric throw in a few vintage buttons and look what we ended up with.

I also had a go at rolling fabric to make roses. I have seen this done on lots of blogs but never quite got the hang of it using stitching. Now I own a glue gun it's a totally different matter and I can see quite a few of these coming out of the studio as they are so much fun to make!

Last but not least Saturday saw 2 students participating in a beaded fabric brooch workshop at my house. We were due to have the class in town at the local bead shop but due to low numbers Eva and Lea were treated to almost one on one tuition!

They did a fabulous job of creating their brooches, in fact I like their finished items better than my own (the pink one on the left). Fabulous colour choices girls, I think I might just be stealing your designs and making a few more myself!

So now you have seen what I've been up to this week, pop on over to Wendys blog to see what the other Handmade Monday participants have been up to and remember if you do a handmade Monday post to add yours to the link list and share the love.

Handmade Monday

2011-05-23T12:10:00.000+01:00

Well another week has rolled by and it would appear it's Monday again. Not sure quite where
the week has gone but I know I've been very busy. As well as my crafty goings on I've managed to get to 31 weeks pregnant and attend a lovely wedding weekend in sunny Surrey.

According to my consultant who I saw on Friday (Oh yes another event)! Little Miss Mack is trying to make an appearance and is very, very low so I am on strict rest from now on. That just means I need to sit down a lot so thankfully I have a comfy chair in my studio right next to my sewing machine!

This was me at the wedding, I had made myself a nice brooch to wear, but when I got ready I realised it was actually a bit much what with the funky faschinator/hat and big necklace so it stayed in our room. I am umming and arring whether to put it up for sale or keep it. What do you think?

I also made this one to wear for the bridal breakfast on Sunday. You can see me wearing it above when hubby took my 31 week bump photo. This one is a definate keeper but I can see a few more coming on for sale as it's really cute.

Next on the agenda for the week was lots of 'little things' for crafft fairs. Quick to make, low price items that can be made in batches that bring in the pennies at events. I went for these fab little fabric covered button clips (Available on my facebook page for £3.00 a pair)

I've made them in a number of different fabrics and you can see all the pictures in this gallery. I sold 4 pairs within minutes of posting the pictures so I think they will be popular!

I also cracked open my vintage fabric box and made 12 of these lovely lavender bags all in different fabrics. Again you can see them all here. (They are the last 12 in the album).

Last but not least I made some cards. Something I havn't done in ages but I wanted to find a way to use up my scraps. I was really pleased with the outcome and again I sold quite a few as soon as they were posted up on the facebook page here.

I celebrated their creation with a strawberry whoopie pie from Co-op OMG they are amazing, go buy some right now.........it's an order!

Believe it or not I'm only on Thursday so far! Lunchtime brought the rather early arrival of my babysitters baby. Nellie Harvey was born a tiny 1lb 10oz at only 27 weeks gestation and is thankfully fine and being cared for in the NICU. To celebrate her arrival I made this little scrappy quilt for her incubator.

I love to make handmade gifts so I spent Friday creating this lucky charm for the bride. I took lots of lovely vintage buttons, lace and trim and paired them up with some lovely linen. I even tried my hand at embroidery which is something I dont usually do. I was really pleased with the finished item, if not a little on the large side! I am undecided as to whether to offer these for sale in the future though, I think the time and materials it takes to make might make it just a little too expensive to produce on a commercial basis.

So thats been my crafty week, thanks for sharing it with me. Tune in next week for more Handmade Monday.

An outlet in Brentwood that is doing good

2011-05-23T09:30:00.000+01:00

For a long while now I have been looking for an outlet in my home town of Brentwood that will stock my products. I have approached various retailers, but sadly with rising overheads and VAT they are simply not in a position to be able to work with me.

So not one to give up I looked for another option and am now delighted to say that I have found it.

Brentwood Theatre is a fantastic venue, right in the heart of the town which is becoming a really up and coming venue for some fantastic shows. Not only is it open to the public for viewings of all kinds it is a fully paid up member of the local community and it's Manager mark can be seen out and about networking with all sorts to make sure that the Brentwood Theatre flag gets flown as high as possible, wherever possible.

Every year the theatre puts on a childrens show, last year it was the Plotters of Cabbage Patch Corner and this year in December they will be performing Jemima Puddleduck. Many local schools book to bring their children to see the performances, but there are many local schools who simply do not have the funds to do so. The theatre works tirelessly throught the year to raise it's own funds, (in fact it needs approximatly £10,000 a year in funding just to keep it's doors open), but as well as raising these funds it does it's best to raise a little bit extra to pay for the children who otherwise would not get to see their shows to have a ticket.

So here is where I come in:

Beautiful Things by Claire Mackaness products are soon to be available to purchase within Brentwood Theatre and a percentage of every item that is sold will be given to the Jemima Puddleduck ticket fund to buy tickets for the children who otherwise would be unable to attend.

So now when you are in town looking for a beautiful and unique gift you know where to go. Pop along to the main foyer and pick up something that is not only beautiful in itself but does a beautiful thing for someone who needs it. Not only that but if you visit on a Saturday, 'Jeans Coffee Beanery' is open from 10am - 2pm and you can have a lovely cuppa while your there.

I hope to be in place and fully stocked by the middle of June, but this is where the people of Brentwood can help us. Mark and I are asking if any of you have a kitchen dresser unit either going spare that we can have or to borrow on long term loan that you contact us ASAP. Once we have a suitable cabinet I can start filling it with lovely items to start raising those vital funds.

If you can help, please call me on 01277 230769 or e-mail me
Many thanks

Claire
xx

And here is kit number 3

2011-05-22T21:05:00.000+01:00

The final review has come in from Maryann whose daughter actually made up my sweet little hanging lavender birdie kit. She is only 10 and only needed a tiny bit of help from Mummy so that is a big pat on the back from me.

Maryann has let her daughter loose on her blog to tell you all about it and you can read her post here.

So little bird kits are now available for sale in my Folksy shop for £6.00 each right HERE.

Kit number 2 goes on sale - Fabric Tote bag

2011-05-22T19:36:00.000+01:00

WooHoo my guinea pigs are doing so well testing out these kits for me. Helen kindly offered to try the Fabric Tote out for me and she did a super job.

Here is the bag that I made and wrote my instructions around.

She not only wrote a great review, but blogged about it and also featured the pictures on her facebook page for all to see.

Here is her review:

Firstly I loved coming home on Thursday to find a little pink package on the mat. I know it’s only a small thing but it was the start of feeling like I’d got something special. As soon as I opened it I thought it looked very professional in the packaging and quickly opened the kit. I have to say that I did find 5 pages of instructions a little daunting and wondered what I’d let myself in for but started to follow them step by step, running up and down the stairs to keep ironing various pieces of fabric, then coming down to sew them together. It was simple to follow and time flew by. Around 75 mins after I started I had a completed, gorgeous tote bag.

I came to realise how much my teacher training is ingrained in me though when I found myself annotating the instructions to remind me what to write in this review! 1 thing was measurements- at 1 point you used metric and another imperial so I think you’d be better to opt for 1 or the other. I also had a little hiccup in step 22 when it said ‘press the square for 10-15 seconds until the glue melts’. I literally pressed it and nothing happened. As someone who’d never seen sticky backed felt I didn’t realise straight away that it meant to press with an iron, oops! I also found the squares didn’t stick to the fabric well around the handles as it was too small an overlap. Putting a pin in position while I sewed it helped though.

So if you were to ask if I’d buy other kits the answer would be yes as I found it easy and fun to do. I also think you could do a more advanced kit where someone makes a tote bag from plainer fabric and then appliqué’s a design onto it. I reckon your kits will be a top seller in no time at all. Good work Claire :o)

After a couple of tiny tweeks to the instructions the kit is now available for sale on folksy for £9.50. You can buy yours HERE

My first kit goes on sale

2011-05-20T23:42:00.001+01:00

I am really pleased to announce that my very first kit has gone on sale today in my folksy shop. I have designed 3 kits in total, a fabric tote, a hanging lavender bird and a brooch.

Each kit has been sent out to one of my customers to test drive for me before release and the first to complete her project and send in a review was Jo who kindly made up the fabric brooch kit.

This is the pretty brooch you can make with the kit

Jo wrote me a great honest review which I am going to share with you. I have taken note of her thread comments and have changed the instructions accordingly so nobody should get stuck! Heres what she had to say about her kit:

Firstly thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your guinea pig and make the brooch for you.

Upon opening the pack i was thinking omg how is this going to become a flower brooch! I checked through all the bits in the pack and then read the instructions first.

Not sure if it was me being daft but I initially started to sew the felt piece together with the invisible thread as the instructions didnt say to use my own thread and needle at this point! Not that it said use the invisible thread either but I assumed the pack contained all materials needed.

Anyway once I figured out that im being a wally and that the invisible thread was actually for sewing the beads in place I started again using my own needle and thread the secure the felt circle into shape.

From this point I found the intructions very easy to follow. Found the way to sew the beads on easy and instructions clear.

Making the petals I found very enjoyable and again instructions easy to follow - and hey if I can make it then anyone can :) cos tho I love to sew im not that creative with it, so found it really exciting seeing my flower come together and realised how simple it is really to create such a lovely flower.

Sewing the back of the brooch on again was easy easy to follow and made sense both worded and using the pictures as a guide too so I made sure that I was doing it correctly.

The final part of gluing the centre on and the back was fine and simple too.

So in the main aside from my first set back I found the kit good fun and simple to following for a total sewing novice like myself.

Would like to try some more complex brooches too :) I think they are a good idea as if the brooches are to be given as gifts, being able to make it yourself gives it a really nice personal touch.

Thanks again

Jo :) x

As soon as the other reviews have come in I will be listing the other kits, so do pop back to see how my other little Guinea pigs got on.

You can buy the Fabric brooch kit from my folksy shop here http://www.folksy.com/items/1786714-Fabric-felt-bead-brooch-making-kit it costs £6.00 to purchase.

I am also happy to make your kit up for you in an alternative fabric/colourway please visit my facebook fabric gallery to see all of the fabrics I currently have in stock and send me a little message

Biting the bullet

2011-05-18T08:43:00.000+01:00

I've been meaning to write a blog post for some time about making the jump and going self employed but never quite got round to it.

Well this morning on my trawl through blogland I came across a fabulous post from Abi at Sew You. Abi has decided to make the leap too and has written a great article about her journey into the unknown.

She has written just about everything I would like to write so I decided I would send you all over to her page for a read (and a chuckle) and in the mean time wish both Abi and myself the best of luck on our journey.

Have a great day, I'm off to make more lovely things.

Claire
xx

Handmade Monday

2011-05-16T10:32:00.001+01:00

Morning all, in an effort to get a bit more organised with my blogging I am going to attempt a regular feature. Handmade Monday.

This is a feature started by Wendy at 1st Unique Gifts where fellow crafty types post a weekly blog about anything they fancy on a 'Monday'. Here is Wendys post for today.

This week I have decided to tell you about my ever so busy week.

Last Monday saw the 4th birthday of Little Mack and the arrival of the in-laws from Australia. We spent the day assembling a giant 12ft trampoline and a new gas BBQ and then enjoyed them into the early evening.

Tuesday saw Little Mack being whisked off to the zoo by his Grandparents so my Studio Support Technician (Mum) and I spent the entire day clearing out my studio. I wish I had taken some before photos as it was no mean feat. 7 years of crafting crammed into one little space meant a huge sort out of old materials and then a complete re-organisation.

I didn't in fact finish the re-organisation until midday on Wednesday, but I am pleased to say that by the power of my trusty Facebook fan page I have managed to sell almost all of my unwanted materials and raised nearly £150 towards my new overlocker. (There are still a few bits left if your interested, pop over and take a look).

I managed to get a bit of sewing done on Wednesday afternoon and finished a taggy order off as well as 4 lovely new sleepy pillows. These are destined for Folksy shortly.

Thursday saw a day off and a spot of shopping with Mother in Law and Friday saw preparation for the Havering Handmade fair. (I forgot to take any pics).

Saturday was the event itself which went very well. During which I managed to sew up some hair accessories for custom orders and then I shot off home for Little Macks birthday party.

Yesterday was spent resting as I was well and truly pooped!

So today is Monday, this morning the housework awaits me but this afternoon I feel a spot of sewing coming on. Check back next week to see what I achieved

Re-Use and Recycle

2011-05-06T10:45:00.000+01:00

I have always enjoyed re-using and recycling fabric in my work, but now I am officially self employed I am looking to undertake some projects with my local schools and community groups.

As much as I have in my studio, there is simply not enough stash to enable me to do this effectively so I am now officially on the look out for materials that we can use.

Look what Maria made with a pair of old curtains?

Imagine what a class of school children could make with a bin bag of your old goodies!

My project will teach them about re-using the items they would otherwise throw away and how they can potentially bring in an income for themselves by creating items to sell or use in the home.

I'm sure it will be a lot of fun and I am hoping that I can gain financial support and backing from the environment agency and other local groups.

Watch this space for more information, but if you can help me in donating any of the following I would be extremely grateful.

Unwanted fabric, patterned bedding in good clean condition which could be unpicked and utilised. Buttons, lace, embroidery silks and general trimmings and also any linen table ware which is embroidered or similar.

Old and new all items are usable as long as they are clean. Vintage bits and pieces always look lovely combined with modern prints

I can collect items from Brentwood, Billericay or surrounding areas and you can rest assured that any items we cannot use will be re-cycled via another source. nothing will go to waste.

And the winner is..........................

2011-04-26T08:49:00.000+01:00

Loo from Jumbles & Pom Poms

Well done Loo, you are the winner of my Easter Giveaway. I used the random number generator to find a winner (excluding the anonymous comment - how did you think you'd win if I don't know who you are?)

And number 2 is Loo. Watch this space for more giveaways and a special sale coming soon.

Please send me a message by e-mailing me your address Loo and I will post your prize.

An Easter Giveaway

2011-04-18T19:04:00.000+01:00

Just as a little treat I thought a little giveaway was in order. You can bag yourself this lovely little pile of goodies including a very rare fat quarter of Easter M&M licensed patchwork fabric, a lovely decorated bar of lemon soap and some choccies.

All you have to do to enter is be a fan of my blog and comment below, but you will get an extra entry into the draw if you also become a fan of my facebook page at www.facebook.com/beautifulthingsbyclairemackaness and another extra entry if you tweet or blog about my giveaway, so that's potentially 4 entries in total.

Good luck

Saturday Morning Bootsale Bargains

2011-04-17T11:35:00.000+01:00

Once a month a little gem comes to my home town of Brentwood in the form of the Marillac nursing homes bootsale. Yesterday was the first of the year and as usual all of the locals came out to sell off their unwanted treasures.

No traders are allowed and it is what I like to call a really 'genuine' sale. Approx 40 sellers are squeezed into the front garden of the nursing home and allowed to unpack their wares before the general public descend. There are a lot of dealers who have now discovered this sale and it is very busy so unless you are in the queue at 7am to get in you wont get many vintage bargains but general goodies are plentifull.

We got there just in time though and I was lucky enough to stock up on some fab vintage fabrics as well as some other goodies all for a total of £5.50. Here they are:

Dora the explorer backpack with 4 card games inside BRAND NEW - £1.00 (RRP £9.95)
Spotty jug £1.00 - Clearance from a florist shop was priced at £20!!!
Lovely big bundle of floral upholstery fabric all ironed and tied in ribbon - £1.50
2 x fab bedding sets brand new and vintage £1.00 each

Lots of unpicking, washing and pressing for my newly recruited 'Studio Support Technician' (a.k.a Mum)!

Sunday morning bootsale bargains

2011-04-10T10:26:00.000+01:00

What a glorious morning for a mooch round the bootsale. My favourite haunt for a bargain is Dunton bootsale. it is a very large one but today it was even larger than usual, yesterdays sunshine had obviously encouraged lots of people to pack their cars up the night before. I managed most of it, but sadly there was not a lot of vintage treasures to be had again.

Bubs got a few good bargains though and this time Little Mack got treated a bit more aswell. All in all I spent £21.70 heres what I got for my money.

3 Dora DVDs for £2.50
Incy Winsy spider game by Orchard games £50p (RRP £8.99)
Flower Pot game by Orcahrd games £1.00 (RRP £7.99)
Fisher Price soft book in excellent condition 50p
Rocha John Rocha Zip up cardigan £2.00 (New approx £20-£25)
Flowery coat 50p
Mothercare brand new soft baby blanket £1.00 (RRP approx £15.00)
3 x John Lewis baby vests unworn 10p each! (RRP £13.50 for a set of 3)
Baby gap spotty vest unworn 10p
Baby gap leaopard sleepsuit unworn 10p
New unopened Avent dummies 50p (RRP £1.60)
2 boxes of new Mothercare milk storage bags £2.00 (RRP £4.99 per box)
4 mini bottles of Nivea kids sun lotion £6.00 (RRP £3.99 each)
3 yards of vintage pale pink linen £2.00
2 yards of vintage floral fabric £2.00
1 x vintage teatowel & tablecloth £1.00

No big bootsale for me next weekend but I do have one of my favourite little local ones on Saturday where I am bound to find a vintage bargain or two. And in a couple of weeks time you can see what I make with the vintage linen bits I bought today.

Did you get any bootsale bargains this weekend? I'd love to see what you bought so please share your links with me.

What have I been buying?

2011-03-28T18:27:00.000+01:00

Just a quick blog to share my recent purchases with you.

I have just discovered the best fabric marking pens in the world ever! Frixion rollerball pens which instantly disappear with the tinyest touch of an iron. They really are amazing, you simply have to buy some and they come in a full range of yummy colours. Their clever rubber at the end also erases them from paper and other materials. I bought mine on ebay but you can get them on amazon too. I chose pink and purple but might need to invest in some more colours soon, just because!
I also treated myself to a shopping trolley. Call me an old dear but with a growing bump and a desire to hit the bootsales I cant help but think it's a sensible choice! It cost a rather reasonable £9.99 again from ebay and I am looking forward to taking it with me tomorrow on a trawl of the charity shops.

Last but not least, my Mum decided to encourage me to purchase lots of lovely new stationary from Wilkinsons. After all Beautiful Things will be an official business as of the 1st April and I will need somewhere to file away all those invoices! Who says office filing needs to be boring.

What have you been buying recently?

Silent Sunday - Leigh Vintage fair pics from yesterday

2011-03-27T19:45:00.001+01:00

Spring has sprung

2011-03-25T18:21:00.000Z

Well I hope it's not too soon to say that I think Spring has finally sprung. Today was so lovely that I hung my first load of washing outside.

Popped into town and had my toenails painted (I can no longer see them or reach them so needed some help) and wore a vest top, flip flops and summer trousers all day!

And enjoyed sitting in the garden with my Mum enjoying a cuppa and a cake.

Just to add a bit more spring to the picture, here are the flowers by my front door.

Leigh on Sea Vintage & Handmade Fair THIS SATURDAY

2011-03-24T11:37:00.000Z

Just to remind you all that I will again be exhibiting at the fantastic Leigh on Sea Vintage & Handmade Fair this Saturday 26th March.

I have attended the last 3 events and it has always been a super day withover 80 stalls of vintage and handmade goodness. There is a fabulous vintage tea rooms with amazing cupcakes and afternoon tea, live music and even an old fashioned ice cream bicycle.

Leigh on Sea is a beautiful town packed full of eclectic little shops and cafes, well worth a special trip and the event is only a 3 minute walk from the main boardwalk at the Elms Road Community Centre.

Entry is free, so why not make a trip to leigh this Saturday and remember to say hi.

Sunday morning bootsale bargains

2011-03-20T08:45:00.000Z

Welcome to another year of bootsales!!!! This morning saw my first trip to the local booty, oh how I have missed my Sunday morning mooches.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount for what i like to call 'genuine bootsalers' this morning. Normally at this time of year it is mainly traders and dealers and there is never many bargains to be had, but I did well.

A huge lack of anything crafty or any vintage treasures, but the soon to be new addition to our family has done rather well for herself.

Overall I spent £12.25 and look what I managed to buy

Bab Gap tunic top (as new) 50p
Floral dress NEXT 50p
Tommee tippee food saver pots 50p (retail £3 a set)
Fisher Price bottle travel warmer £3.00 (retail price £10)
Orchard Crazy Chefs game(NEW) 50p (ebay price £7-£11)
Baby red UGG boots 50p
Brand new Debenhams V Pillow £5.00 (retail £22)
Brand new sleepsuits from NEXT 25p each

Due to other commitments I don't think I will get to mooch again for a couple of weeks, but hopefully once the sun comes out in April the vintage treasures and crafty finds will start to crawl back out of the woodwork again.

I'll be back soon with more Sunday morning bootsale bargains

Folksy Friday

2011-03-12T00:29:00.000Z

Ok so once again I start my blog with an apology for not blogging. I truly am useless. I swear that any day now I will sit down and get my life in order and make time to do things on a regular basis and blogging will be one of them (sure, of course Claire whatever)!!

I am currently typing this whilst suffering with a bout of insomnia after lying in bed for an hour tossing and turning so got myself up again only to find nothing to read on facebook, twitter or blogger so when all else fails write something yourself!

It being a Friday what better than a spot of retail therapy with a Folksy Friday. No real theme for today, just yummy things that make me drool!

This cute little sock mouse from One Shy Elephant

This Gorgeous kids T-shirt from Mypipsqueak

This fantastic necklace by Made with Love

Last but not least a fabulous hand painted Aceo by Aceo Addict

Now lets see how long it takes before I blog again?

Happy shopping

Time for a clear out

2011-01-29T13:32:00.000Z

Whoops! Almost another month has passed me by without blogging again, I really must do something about it. On a positive note though I have had an excuse. Cooking a small person inside you really takes it out of you and I have been feeling totally and utterly drained.

Things seem to be changing slowly now and I have been up and about and making in my studio again. That in itself has made me chirpier and I am slowly starting to return to my regular self.

On reading through the many blogs that I follow this week I was inspired by a post by A Thrifty Mrs who had been having a handbag de-clutter. Those of you who remember my old blog 'Operation de-clutter' will know how much I love the odd clear out so when Mrs Thrifty challenged me to The Great Handbag De-Clutter who was I to decline such a kind invitation?

So here goes:

Things had got really bad here in the Beautiful Things household as not only did I have my current handbag to de-clutter but there was also the problem of handbag number 2. Let me explain................

Back before Christmas you may remember I bought myself my lovely Cath Kidston Messenger bag. She became my good friend, but due to her vast expanse, slowly began to fill and fill and fill until she became simply too heavy to carry. Upon a recent trip to ThomasLand with Little Mack the need for a smaller bag arose and instead of de-cluttering at this stage, the humble CK messenger got placed on the door handle with just the bare essentials of money and phone being removed for continued use. Bag number 2 had been born!!!

The humble CK stayed put on the door handle harbouring nothing but useless bits and peices, in fact here is what can be found inside her lovely spotty interior:

Lots and lots of receipts, shopping lists, dirty tissues and cold and flu medicine, along with a few pens, nail files, my missing woolly hat and my sunglasses!

Here is what handbag number 2 is harbouring:

Yet more receipts and mouldy old tissues,but I think you will agree a bit more of a useful selection of goodies, although far too much and once again a job lot of items causing my bag to become just a tiny bit on the heavy side.

After much deliberation the two piles were thinned out and inter whined and now the content so my oh so lovely CK messenger will be:

That is of course until Baby Mack arrives and I get a new shiny CK change bag to fill up with rubbish too!!! Watch this space for 'The Great Change Bag De-Clutter' coming to a blog near you soon!

A Year of Beautiful Things

2011-01-01T20:08:00.000Z

Wow what a busy year 2010 was. In April I launched Beautiful Things moving away from my handmade cards to focus on creating beautiful fabric gifts made with vintage and vintage inspired prints.

Here was my little stall at it's grand opening at the Ingrave Community Market.

After setting up my facebook fanpage things really started to flourish and my product range increased dramatically allowing me to set up stand at the Leigh on Sea Vintage and Handmade fair.

I have done 3 of these fantastic shows since and each one has gone from strength to strength.

With Christmas coming up lots more new products were introduced including my lovely sleepy pillows. I have some gorgeous vintage embroidery ready to wash and iron just crying out to make some more in the New Year.

Not forgetting of course this years best sellers, Pocket handwarmers.

Now look at the riot of colour and variation you can find on the Beautiful Things stall:

I have lots of ideas for fantastic products to share with you in the next few months and I am seriously hoping to be able to focus my time more on allowing Beautiful Things to become my career.

Mr Mack and I were delighted to share the news with our Friends and family that we will be expecting a new arrival in August and so with the arrival of maternity leave hopefully I can focus on becoming a full time 'Work from Home Mummy'.

We shall see what 2011 brings us all, but I am confident that it will be lots of fun.

Alphabet Challenge Week 3 - Letter C

2010-11-18T14:14:00.000Z

It's week 3 of the alphabet challenge and it looks like only 2 of us are playing along! You can still join us at any time and dont have to join in every week so do have a go.

All you have to do is show us one of your creations that you have made this week that either begins with the letter of the week or is inspired by in some way (colour/mood etc).

This week I have made these lovely little cushions from vintage fabrics and linen. Stuffed full of lavender and chammomile to help you sleep.

Why not have a go and see what you can make this week with the letter C.