Friday 31 December 2010

Crochet Gingerbread House

Well I managed it! I finished the crochet gingerbread house. Not until Boxing day unfortunately but I'm very proud of it! I went a bit photo happy but I hope you like looking at it!

Such a happy little house!

The tree. Took me about 3 tries to get it started but I got there in the end!

The side. I decided to use regular pom poms instead of crocheting them. Saved a bit of time and I loved how cute they look!

It took me a while to glue it all together. In the end I sewed a lot of it together first so it would hold, especially when connecting the roof to the main house.

Another look at the side.

The back.

And the roof! This was the hardest part and took the longest. The pattern said to do french knots in red but as I had a lot of tiny red poms I thought I'd sew those on instead!
I feel a bit lost now not having a project to work on! Though I did get Twinkie Chan's crochet pattern book for Christmas so I will be making a start on some of her awesome scarves in the new year!

Monday 27 December 2010

End of Year Sale!


The sale has started early in the shops! I'm having a massive blowout sale at both titchables.etsy.com and titchables.co.uk!

To receive 20% off your entire order, make sure to include the code "2010BLOWOUT" with your order in the coupon section. You will see the discount straight away before you complete your order at both shops!

So go ahead and grab a crafty or handmade bargain for the new year!

Saturday 25 December 2010

Merry Christmas!


Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! Hope you have a lot of fun, and get everything you wished for! Don't eat (and drink!) too much!

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Christmas Baking

My favourite part of Christmas is probably all the food you get to eat. I also love baking at this time of year. I've had a lot of fun planning what I wanted to make.

I love home baked goodies. You get such a huge sense of achievement when you're done and you hear the lovely comments by those enjoying them!

I've still got some cupcakes and biscuits to make tomorrow but here's what I've made so far.

Apple Crumble Cupcakes

Middle: White Chocolate & Bailey's Truffles dipped in dark chocolate
Outside: Cherry Crunchies

I will be sharing the recipes soon! They all came out seriously yummy! Are you making anything for Christmas? 

Sunday 19 December 2010

Posting Days

I thought I would give you guys a heads up on the days I am planning on doing post office runs over the Christmas and New Years Holidays.

You should already be aware that time has run out to get parcels in time for international customers - however, you are very much free to continue to order as they will be dispatched in the same time as before. They just won't arrive before Christmas.

The last posting date for the UK is the 22nd. However, due to the snow I am bumping that up to the 21st.

So here's the days I am willing to go to the post office (I'm sneaking a few days off here and there!):

Monday 21st
Tuesday 22nd
Thursday 23rd
 
Edited: I have decided to have a week off, sorry for any inconvinience but I really could do with a bit of a break.

Normal posting duties will resume on Monday January 3rd.

All the shops will remain open for the duration of the holidays, and I will be responding to all enquiries on most days (except Christmas Day!!).  Thank you guys so much for your continued support for Titchables!

Saturday 18 December 2010

Christmas Makes

Seeing as there are a lot of fab tutorials out there for Christmas makes, I thought I would share some of my favourite's I've come across recently.








This one is fantastic, because there's a whole host of different tutorials available in the PDF which you just download. The houses were definitely my favourite though!

I hope to have one more Christmas tutorial of my own up this week for you so be looking for that soon!

Thursday 16 December 2010

Something accomplished

Sorry for the lack of recent blog posts. I've been under the weather, working or been preparing myself for a jolly Christmas so haven't had a lot of time for writing anything. I have some good news today though - I finished my tree skirt!


I really love how it turned out! I changed the colours from the one in Crochet Today and I also adjusted the length a little bit (which worked out well because it would have been too big otherwise!).


I don't very often complete crafty projects for myself on time so I'm really excited that I did it. I can't wait to bring this out every year!

I'm still hoping to finish my crochet gingerbread house. I have a bit left to do on it though so I need to get a crack on with it.

I hope you're all enjoying the run up to Christmas!

Thursday 9 December 2010

New Product: Felt Balls


So let's be honest right now. Who loves felt? I know I do! Ever since I started this venture of selling handmade I have fallen head over heels in LOVE. And ever since I began selling supplies of felt, I have been DESPERATE to locate a felt ball wholesaler. The last few months I have trawled Google with a million different search terms and come up handy everytime.

I was on such a quest a few weeks ago, and nearly giving up after page 20-odd of search pages, I FINALLY found JUST the right one. I immediately whipped off an email of enquiry and within the week I had chosen the colours I wanted and paid, and within another week they were MINE, all MINE.

Best of all, these little lovelies are all handmade and are 100% Fair Trade products - isn't that fab???!
I bought in 20 different colours which complement my felt squares and they are now all available on the Titchables Online Shop! You can buy individual colours in packs of 10 for just £1.20 and I've also put together several mixed themes too! There's also a big grab bag where you can sample all the colours!

I am going to be slowly rolling them out onto Etsy too but I won't be selling the individual colour packs there I'm afraid (at least not at the moment!).

Hope you like them, and as always if you have any questions, feel free to send them my way!!

P.S. If you are in the US/Canada, you need to get your orders in ASAP as tomorrow is the cut off date for getting parcels out in time for Christmas - so don't delay!!

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Trains

I seem to spend a large amount of time these days hopping on and off trains. It's definitely a fun way to travel (unless there's snow - the UK apparently can't deal with the white stuff, even just a sprinkling!). Anyway, the other day me and my family took a little day trip to Great Yarmouth (just for somewhere different to go shopping! We were bored of going to Norwich all the time.) and the sun was still rising and there was snow and it was just very pretty.





And the best part? I found a shop (not Starbucks - though we did discover one after!) that did Gingerbread Latte's, my fave!

Sunday 5 December 2010

More sales!

Normally it's custom to mark down Christmas stock after the festivities are over, but this year, I've decided to do it before! All Christmas handmade goodies have reductions and you can check all their new prices out on the etsy shop. This sale is exclusive to etsy for the moment so check it out!

Tonight is the last chance for people in Central & South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Middle East to get their orders in for dispatch tomorrow in time for Christmas! I will of course still dispatch to these places after tomorrow but Royal Mail recommends the 6th as the cut off date (of course, that implies still no 100% guarantees unfortunately!).

I'm off out for a day trip tomorrow so the last bit of Christmas shopping will be done. Looking forward to going out as I've been stuck in all day making cakes (no bad thing though, of course!).

Friday 3 December 2010

Buttons Galore!

These have been on order for a while and they finally arrived this week! Button deliveries always make me happy, but this one was extra happy inducing because these are just so bright and colourful!

Flowers! Available in mixed bags of 50. $$$ and £££

Hearts! Available in mixed bags of 50. $$$ and £££

Tiny Round Buttons! Available in mixed bags of 100. $$$ and £££

I also have bags of 50 of individual colours (red, pink, purple, yellow, green and blue) available exclusively at http://www.titchables.co.uk/!

As if that wasn't enough, I have reduced loads of mixed button bags at both shops. Check out the sale section on etsy or the clearance buttons section at titchables.co.uk!!

Wednesday 1 December 2010

Tree is up!


Well my Christmas tree is up! I'm so glad I went with a white tree this year, it's so pretty! If you've got a good eye you'll see all the Titchables ornaments on there, plus my usual jingle beanie babies. I bought some new round baubles from Paperchase too which are perfect!


I spent a couple of days in London to go to a concert (Adam Lambert! Amazing performer!) and I also went to see Harry Potter 7 again but this time we saw it at the imax in Waterloo which was incredible. Loved the film even more the 2nd time. And yes, I also got stuck in the bad weather. The train broke down and I didn't get home until 11pm last night. Luckily, Norwich train station put on taxis for the people who missed their connection (me!) so I got dropped right outside my door. Not bad!

Friday 26 November 2010

Some Christmas Makes

As I completed a lot of Christmas back stock early (I highly recommend this!) it has given me a super opportunity to work on a few bits for myself. Along with sewing, I also love crocheting and have really gotten into it in the last year. Last Christmas, I purchased the Nov/Dec edition of Crochet Today in the hopes of making a few bits in it but never got around to doing so. This year, however, I pulled out the magazine and decided on two I really wanted to do.

Gingerbread House - I've done the front, back and one side so far. Still lots to do but I can't wait to see this finished! So cute!

Tree Skirt. I'm doing mine in different colours - blue, pink, white and sparkly blue. It's coming along nicely and it's going to look fab under my white tree this year (which uh, I have already put up!).

Do you have any plans to make anything for yourself this Christmas?

Don't forget, you can get yourself 15% off on everything at http://titchables.co.uk/ and http://www.titchables.co.uk/ until Tuesday, just quote "jinglebells" when going through checkout (make sure you put the code in the coupon bit otherwise there may be a delay in getting your discount)! The sale has gone down a storm so far and I am trying my best to get things re-listed as quickly as possible.

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Christmas Posting Dates and SALE!

Well as hard as it may be to believe, Christmas is fast approaching so it's that time of year again where I let you know the last posting dates so you can get your goodies in time for Christmas!

Australia/Asia - Dec 6th 
 USA/Canada/Europe - Dec 10th
UK - Dec 20th


As a special treat, for the next 6 days I will be running a BIG SALE, a massive 15% off on all orders up until November 30th. All you have to do is enter "jinglebells" when going through checkout at either http://titchables.etsy.com/ or Titchables.co.uk!

Make sure you take advantage of these massive savings as this includes EVERYTHING in the shops!! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back to you!

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Blossom Plush + Harry Potter

I have been wanting to make a tree plush for ages and ages and have been sketching ideas for the past few months but nothing has really urged me forward to actually creating anything. Finally, I had a brainwave and this blossom tree was born! 

 I'm really proud of how this one came out. It took a bit of time to put together as all the flower petals are sewn on individually but it was definitely worth the effort!


I decided to make the back a bit cute as well by sewing on a heart. :) The tree is now available at my etsy shop!

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In other news, I finally saw Harry Potter today and I loved it! I won't spoil anything for you but I did adore the re-telling of the Deathly Hallows bit (hopefully those that have seen it will know what I mean). So inspiring! Bit of a depressing movie overall but I still really enjoyed it. I'm going to London next week and while there, I'm planning on seeing it on the imax so can't wait for that! Roll on June for Part 2!

Saturday 20 November 2010

White Christmas Trees

This year I have purchased a brand new (fake) Christmas tree. I've been wanting a white one for 2 years and I finally got my dream tree! I'm currently sorting out my living room (it's a funny shape so things needed to be moved around a bit!) so I have the perfect place for it but in the meantime, I thought I would share with you some white Christmas tree inspiration!


So what kind of Christmas tree do you go for? Green? Black? Real? Fake? Upside down?

Thursday 18 November 2010

Sewing time!


It's been a bit quiet at the day job now that the tourist season is over. I work in a little clothes shop which is tucked away so it's perfect opportunity to sit by the heater and sew the day away. Don't get me wrong, I do occasionally have to serve customers, but that is becoming a rare occasion.

Either way, this is what I managed to finish last weekend. A bit of back stock, re-stocks and new stock! The newest items are some needle cases and 2011 diaries and a brand new plush which I am so pleased with - a cute pink blossom tree! All will be going in the shop over the coming days. :)

Tuesday 16 November 2010

New Spotty Buttons


I received these lovelies over the weekend. Little spotty buttons in 9 new colours. These are a bit smaller (12mm) then what I've stocked before as I've had to change supplier, but just as cute! You can now buy them individually for 10p each over at  the Titchables Online Shop!

Also on that page, you can purchase the remaining stock I have of the old spotty buttons which are now reduced in price to clear!

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Coming soon: Prepare yourself for lots of Christmas inspiration! I have declared it time to get excited about the festive season and I'm getting lots of pretty blog posts ready for you in the run up to Christmas!

Saturday 13 November 2010

Advent Calender Tutorial


Introducing the Titchables advent calender tutorial! I've been working really hard on this for the past month - designing, making and writing it up and I'm so excited to share it with you. So without any further delay, here it is!



Materials
- 2 x White Felt Sheets (9"x9")
- 6 x Coloured Felt Sheets (9"x9") - I used Red, Leaf, Turquoise, Electric Blue, Pistachio and Hot Pink from my range.
- Interfacing
- Ribbon
- Ruler
- Scissors
- 6 x Coloured Embroidery Threads (I used similar colours to the felt)
- Craft Glue
- Sewing Needle
- Embroidery Pins

Step One
- Cut 24 2inch squares. 4 per colour. You then want to arrange your squares - 4 across, 3 down. This is just so you can sort out what colours you want your numbers.


Step Two
- Cut out your numbers! I did the colours at random, but tried to give as much contrast as possible. I cut all the numbers freehand, but if you don't feel confident to do that here's a tip: Go into any word processing program, pick a nice thick font and put the font size up to 72 (you may need to adjust this depending on the font). Type out numbers 0-9, print and there you have your number pattern!


Step Three
- Grab your craft glue and stick all your numbers on to the squares. This is a bit of a cheating way of doing it, so if you do want to sew them on, go for it!


Step Four
- Now you want to arrange your squares properly on your white felt. There was nothing technical to this, just get them as level as possible and centred. When your happy with your positions, get your embroidery pins and pin them to the white felt sheets.


Step Five
- Time to sew. I used a back stitch, which is a bit time consuming so make sure you get yourself comfy with a cup of tea (or whatever your favourite drink is!). And a bit silly pointing this out, but remember to leave to top edge. Whichever way you sew your squares on, make sure it's a nice secure stitch so nothing can fall through.


Step Six
- Now's the time to attach your two big felt sheets! You'll need to put your lower white sheet just below the bottom coloured squares on your top white sheet. Pin in place. I used a sewing machine to attach, but if you don't have one, hand sewing will work just as well!


Step Seven
- Get your interfacing and place your calender on top. Cut around the edge, but leave about an inch extra around all sides. Turn your calender over so the back is on top, place the interfacing over the top (the rougher edge should be facing down) and iron over well until firmly attached to the felt. You then need to cut around the edge so it's nice and neat. (The interfacing is for giving the calender a bit more strength and shape).

Step Eight
- You're now going to attach the ribbon so you can hang your calender up! Cut 2 bits about 6" long. Important bit! When attaching the ribbon, make sure both sides are level. I attached the ribbon by putting in a running stitch, but as long as you make it secure any way is fine. Now you just need something to hold the whole thing up! I used a long wooden dowel, but you could use anything you have to hand.


And your done! All you need to do now is put something lovely in your pockets. Sadly the chocolate I bought is a smidge too big so I'm going to have to go out and get something else (which is just terrible - extra chocolate, yuck!!...) but you can put whatever you fancy in there - messages, sewing bits, activity cards (great for the kids!) - the possibilities are endless!

I really hope you enjoyed this tutorial and if you do give it a go, I would love to see the results! I have set up a flickr group for you to share your final pieces, or you can even share your in progress shots! If you need any help or any encouragement feel free to post something in the discussion section!