Blooming Felt

Bow-peep !

2012-02-03T14:30:00.004Z

Look what arrived at BF Shedquarters this week ?

Fantastic new ribbon bows, available in 3 different colourways - blues

pinks

and springtime

Priced at just £2.20 for 20 bows - they're all ready and waiting to be snapped up here

We're expecting lots more fantastic new products within the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled !

Oh, and don't forget - we're giving away 10 free loyalty points for every product review you leave on the website (and that gets published)

Planning a romantic meal for Valentine's Day ?

2012-01-26T21:20:00.008Z

If you are, then why not make it extra special and make your own candle wreath holder, felt heart coasters and felt napkin rings ?

If you fancy giving this a go (it's really, really easy !) then you can download a copy of the Tutorials for FREE from our website !

They're on there NOW !!!

The new website is here !

2012-01-20T19:41:00.010Z

Hurrah !!!

After a very loooooooooong time, our new website is finally here. Well, I say "new website" - to everyone at Blooming Felt Shedquarters it is a "new website". To our customers, it probably looks exactly the same, but look closely felt fans and you'll see some fantastic new features have appeared !

New features like "Create an Account".

"What will happen if I create an account?" I hear you ask. Well, if you create an account with us then you'll be eligible to receive Loyalty Points on all of your Blooming Felt purchases ! And what do Loyalty Points make? They make a nice little stash of money that can be redeemed against future purchases with us ! It's just our way of saying THANK YOU for shopping with us. We really do appreciate it ! Full details of our Loyalty Scheme can be found here

We'll be giving away BONUS Loyalty Points for different occasions. The first will be to anyone who leaves a Product Review for any of our products, and that we publish. Don't forget though, you need to Create an Account to be eligible for Loyalty Points. We cannot, unfortunately, award Loyalty Points retrospectively. You have been warned !

So, "What else is new?" I hear you cry !

Oh, where to start ?!!!

Create an Account with us and you can set up a "Wish List" of all of your favourite Blooming Felt goodies. Store your favs in your wishlist and then, when it's Christmas or birthday or anniversary, or "I'm having a bad day and need to treat myself" or "I'm sorry I'm such a mean person" time, you can give people the link to our website, along with your email address and they can see exactly what's on your wishlist and then buy it for you !!!!! How cool is that ?!!

And if, for whatever reason, they don't look at your wishlist (some men are like that I know), they can always buy you a GIFT VOUCHER !!!!!!!! Or, you can buy someone else a Gift Voucher if you fancy ! We can email you the voucher for you to print out and give in person to the lucky recipient or, you can have it emailed directly to that lucky person by inputting all of their email details, along with a lovely little note from yourself.

If, heaven forbid, something that you want to buy is out of stock (I know, sometimes it happens) then you can click on the "email me when back in stock" link and that's just what we'll do ! You'll get a jaunty little email from us and then you can go spend your hard-earned pennies on the stuff you've been patiently waiting for, and of course, earn LOYALTY POINTS on it.

Now, at Blooming Felt Shedquarters we luuuuurve Craft Books. The problem we have is that there are so many craft books that we love, we just don't have the space to stock them all. The other thing is that Amazon likes to sell all of our favourite craft books at way below the RRP, and at way below what we would be able to sell them for. So, in order to combine our love of craft books with Amazon's super-cheap prices, we have created a Blooming Felt Bookstore !!

Go to the Craft Books section on our website and you'll see all of the recommendations from the Girls here at Blooming Felt. If you want to buy any of those fantastic recommendations, just add them to your shopping cart. NOTE: These books will be added to your AMAZON shopping cart and not your Blooming Felt shopping cart. You can then purchase and pay for your selected books through Amazon, take advantage of their low prices and, in most cases, free shipping direct from Amazon. The other thing you need to be aware of is that sadly, you cannot collect Loyalty Points on Craft Books purchased through Amazon. I mean, come on ... you're getting cheap prices and free shipping !!

More new features will be added to our site on a fairly regular basis and we'll keep you updated as to when these happen. In the meantime, we hope the new features mentioned above will make shopping with us even more exciting ! There might be a few blips in the system to begin with so please bear with us - we'll be keeping a very close eye on the website for any problems and would appreciate your feedback with regards to any problems you do experience, any also any feedback about how the site looks / feels / works.

And finally, something you might want to double check. If you've got us, or any of our products saved in your favourites or bookmarks, please delete them and resave them from our new website. Even though we look pretty much the same, we aren't ! Behind the scenes, elves have been working away and this means that links that were saved previously ie. before 20th January 2012, won't work. So do please clear your caches, browsers, temporary internet files, favourites & bookmarks, of any links to us and then resave them from the new site.

So, I think we've taken up enough of your time reading this - hopefully you're itching to get onto the new site and see what all the excitement is about.

Off you go then .........

www.bloomingfelt.co.uk

I fear ...

2012-01-12T22:16:00.009Z

I am turning into one of those mad old women who insists on furnishing their home with bright colours, many of which clash. Who wear bright coloured clothes, many of which clash and who just don't really care what other people think of their "style".

I make no apologies for turning into this type of person. Maybe I've always been this type of person but have just reached an age where I have realised that I don't have to be "a dedicated follower of fashion".

After having my inherited chair recovered in a patchwork style

I am now itching to decorate the rest of our living room.

This week I received the latest edition of "Making" magazine. And what an edition it is !! I sat down with a nice cup of tea and my original plan was to just flick through the magazine. But on opening it I became completely engrossed (this doesn't happen with me and magazines very often !) After seeing this ....

I have decided that I MUST get one ! Sadly, the website that sells them has sold out, presumably because it was featured in the magazine. So the hunt is now on for a papier mache deerhead that I can cover in decoupage. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would greatly appreciate it !

Our living room walls will soon be adorned with embroidery hoops featuring different brightly covered fabrics.

The lampshades also need replacing and I have plans for these, but it may take a while so I'll have to update you on this when it happens.

The furniture also needs replacing and so I shall be scouring salvage yards for individual pieces that can be given a new lease of life ... again, more updates as and when this happens.

So, that's what I shall be doing in my spare (!) time over the next few months.

I saw a sign in a shop the other day that said "forget the rules, if you like it ... buy it"

So that is what I shall do !!

New Stuff just in ....

2011-12-31T17:07:00.007Z

A real quickie because it's New Year's Eve and I've got other stuff to be doing apart from updating the website !!!

Like sausages ? And dogs?? Then you'll love our fab new sausage dog embroidered ribbon - £1.60 a metre. Get it here

PS. All of our embroidered ribbon has now been restocked.

Are you a misfit ? No, of course you're not - but some of our felt is !! We're selling off all of our felt sheets, shapes, string and felt balls that just don't make the grade. But be quick, because when they're gone, they're gone. Find them here

2 new colours of beading elastic have been added to the site - Royal Blue & Purple. They're here

Just before Christmas we had a big felt delivery - it has all now been checked off and loaded onto the website so all of the 10x10 felt sheets are now back in stock, along with the felt string, most of the metre squares and all but 1 colour felt purses.

And that's it for THIS YEAR !!!

Wishing you all a wonderfully felty, buttony, ribbony, creative New Year !

(ps. My New Year's resolution is to learn how to speellll !)

See you in 2012 xx

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

2011-12-24T16:27:00.004Z

Wishing all of our blog readers, customers, Twitter followers, Facebook fans and felt, button & ribbon addicts everywhere a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Thank you all for your support throughout 2011 and we look forward to seeing you all in 2012 with lots of exciting news and website updates etc

With love from

The Girls at Blooming Felt xxx

Purple pants ??!!

2011-12-19T17:59:00.010Z

Yesterday, on our mammoth 7 hour trek back from Cornwall, whilst stuck on that wonderful road to nowhere, the M25, I heard numerous times on the radio news that the most popular colour of knickers for men to purchase the love of their lives this year is PURPLE ! No longer is red popular (thank goodness for that !!)

So, whilst sat in a stationery traffic jam for almost 2 hours, listening to the kids bickering in the back and hubby snoring in the passenger seat, I got to wondering how many purple items we have for sale on the Blooming Felt website. These are the ones I thought of ....

Hundreds of Buttons

Felt Sheets

Felting Wool

Miles of Ribbon

Felt String (ooh - that's a crappy photo !)

Thousands of Felt Balls

Bags & Purses

And then, when I got home and actually typed the word "purple" into the search bar on the website, was stunned when I realised how many more purple things we have for sale !!

Cabochons

Felt pebbles

Felt hearts

Felt flowers (another crappy photo - sorry!)

Felt stars

Cotton Embroidery Threads

Crochet Flowers

Jumbo ric-rac

Ribbon & cord necklaces

And Beading elastic (new on the site today !)

I couldn't believe it !! It has finally dawned on me exactly how many wonderful things we have for sale on our site .... and not just in purple either !!

Actually, I think I'm liking purple ... but I don't think I'm a purple pants kind of gal !!

Look what I got !!

2011-12-11T13:44:00.007Z

A while back I was very lucky and got a tax rebate !!! Now, as that's not something that happens everyday I decided to treat myself. Normally, when I treat myself I buy new stock lines for the website, but this time I decided to be really selfish and get something just for me !!

I inherited a chair from my Great Aunt a number of years ago and it has sat in the corner of the sitting room with its original cover.

But a week or so ago, it went off to be covered ....... and came back looking like this

How amazing is that ??!!!!! I LOVE my new chair !!

Huge thanks go to Kelly Swallow who created the amazing design. Do check out her website and see all of the wonderful chairs and sofas Kelly has transformed. If you are lucky enough to get a tax rebate, maybe you can treat yourself too !

PS. Last orders on the Blooming Felt website for Christmas delivery - 5pm this Friday 16th December. All orders after that won't be processed until MONDAY 9TH JANUARY 2012

It's a button frenzy !!

2011-11-20T21:58:00.005Z

Finally, I've managed to get round to listings lots of lovely new buttons that have been sitting in boxes for ages !

All of the buttons can be found on the home page of our site

First up is a Christmas mix of buttons - available in 50g bags

Next we have a new range of the small 1cm buttons - all candy stripes and available in 6 different colourways - red, navy, baby blue, baby pink, hot pink & lemon

Then we've got 3 new "Designer" buttons - all measuring 35mm

If you saw Kirstie's Handmade Britain last week, you will know that she attempted needle felting ! And of course, on our site you will find a huge range of needle felting supplies & accessories. We've been manically busy since Kirstie's show was aired and once again this afternoon once it was repeated. Because of this, we're completely out of stock of our animal needle felting kits but fear not .... we are expecting a delivery later this week of all of the animal kits + a few new animals as well !

We're also expecting a BIG felt delivery later this week so if you're waiting on metre squares, pink & red hearts, ivory felt balls, felt stacks - they'll be here very soon. Keep an eye on the website as we're hoping they'll all be back on the site next weekend.

Want to learn how to make felt ?

2011-11-07T20:05:00.008Z

Then join us at a number of felting workshops that we're running in conjunction with The Make It Room !

Felting workshops at The Make It Room are run by a lovely neighbour of mine who is an expert felter (as well as being a tutor in a number of other crafty techniques). The Make It Room is situated approximately 1 minute walk from Blooming Felt Shedquarters !

Listed below are the dates that The Make It Room are running the felting workshops. All workshops cost £25 per person and that includes all supplies needed to make the felt, along with refreshments and a finished piece to take home with you.

On a couple of dates, I will be opening the Blooming Felt Studio to anyone attending the workshops and you will be able to come in and buy any supplies you might need (along with any supplies you don't need but feel the need to buy anyway !) to kick start your new found hobby. The workshop dates and the dates when we'll be opening Blooming Felt Shedquarters are noted below :

Wednesday 30th November 10-1pm (BF Studio open after this session), 2-5pm and 6-9pm

Tuesday 6th December 10-1pm (BF Studio open after this session), 2-5pm and 6-9pm

Friday 9th December 2-5pm and 6-9pm

Friday 16th December 10-1pm

Dates for 2012 will be published soon

If you would like to pop over to the Blooming Felt Studio after those sessions indicated above, please let me know (so I can have a tidy up !) and if you would like to book on any of the felting workshops, you can either email me at info @ bloomingfelt.co.uk (remove the spaces) or contact The Make It Room directly on 01245 477152, quoting Blooming Felt.

We look forward to seeing you soon !!

Even more lovely kits !!

2011-10-27T17:47:00.004+01:00

After adding the fantastic Christmas kits (courtesy of Bagladee - go check out her site - it's FAB!), I suddenly remembered our own very lovely felt ball & buttons necklace kits that were sat lurking in a basket in the studio!

Life at Blooming Felt has been so darn busy lately that there are rather a lot of things that need doing - stock sitting in boxes waiting to be loaded onto the website, out of stock products that need re-ordering, advertising copy, blog posts, Facebook and Twitter updates, website newsletters, tutorials, getting to grips with the impending VAT issue, blah, blah, blah

So, to make a start on it all I've put our kits onto the website and am telling you about it here ... that's 2 things ticked off my list !!

Our kits make the most perfect stocking fillers for anyone remotely crafty !

All you need is a sharpish needle with a large eye (which funnily enough you can buy here) to complete the project. Available in 4 different colourways and

priced at £7 each, they're an absolute bargain !!

Be quick though because they've been showcased in the latest edition of Sew Hip and are selling ...... fast !!

PS. Don't forget the VAT man wants his cut from 1st November .... stock up before our prices rise (slightly) x

Christmas Kits !!

2011-10-25T21:26:00.004+01:00

Just a flying visit to tell you about 3 FAB new craft kits I've just added to the site.

All produced by a fantastic lady who goes by the name of Bagladee - we launched these kits at the Knitting & Stitching Show and they were very popular ! I've got just a few left so have put them on the website.

Choose from a Make your Own Felt Gingerbread Man (he's a very handsome chap !)

Felt Gingerbread House (looks good enough to eat)

and a Felt Christmas Angel (so cute)

All priced at £8.00 each and available here

Be quick - when they're gone ... they're gone

Tincy, wincy, teeny, tiny ....

2011-10-18T20:13:00.007+01:00

BUTTONS !

Look at our fab new range of teeny tiny buttons ? Available in 6 different colourways, with each button measuring 7mm and with 62 buttons per bag, that's a whole lot of teeny tinyness going on !

Also just added to the site are Navy felt sheets - both 10x10 inches and metre squares in our 4mm thick range.

(oh dear - that's a boring picture !!)

Limited numbers of the needle felting animal kits are now back on the site - these make fantastic Christmas presents if you're looking for something a little different.

The felt ball and button necklace kits will also be back on the site within the next week or so (again, these make fab Christmas pressies)

Now, listen up lovely people !!! Sadly, craft is not immune to the VAT man. And he's coming :o( He'll be here from 1st November and once he gets here I'm afraid our prices will be going up. We're going to try and absorb as much of the price increase as possible, but prices on some products will be rising. So, if you're thinking of having a bit of a spend up (particularly as it's half term next week and you might be planning on doing something crafty with your little ones), I would advise you to do it now !

Look forward to seeing you soon !

Ally Pally 2011

2011-10-13T18:11:00.006+01:00

Helloooooo !!

Well, we finally made it back from Ally Pally. I have to say, we're totally exhausted - the months of preparation before the show, the setting up, the actual show itself, the coming back and putting the studio back together and now the follow-up and processing of website orders that arrived whilst we were away .... has taken its toll. But it has been well worth it !!

We had the most fantastic time - we met so many of our existing customers, which was really lovely and now hopefully, have lots of lovely new customers as well ! I smiled everytime I heard someone say "Oh, Blooming Felt - I've bought from their website lots of times" and when you overhear conversations of people who say "Blooming Felt - they're in my favourites", and when customers actually take the time to come and say to you how much they love the website and that our customer service is great. I could have cried !! It's so lovely to know that people do appreciate all the hard work, time, care and effort we put into our business.

If you came and saw us at the show ... THANK YOU !!! If we didn't have time to chat to you - I'm so sorry. I'm sure you could appreciate how busy we were throughout the whole show. If you couldn't actually get into our stand because of the amount of people, then again, I apologise. Hopefully you will have been given one of our cards and know that you can shop in comfort in your own home !

I believe I gave one of our cards to one lady in particular. She didn't identify herself, but I understand from another stallholder that she is a very important lady in the retail world. If you are that lady and are reading this - I apologise if I didn't get to speak to you. We'd love it if you could get in touch with us and we can hopefully work together.

I also had a very interesting conversation with another lady who I'm hoping to be in touch with sometime next week. This was a very exciting conversation and I apologise to the lady concerned if I just stood there opening and closing my mouth like a goldfish !!! I was a bit overwhelmed with what was being suggested, but again, would love to speak to you and hopefully work with you in the future !

If you couldn't make it to the Show, I hope you've enjoyed the pictures I've put in this post. We were very proud of the way our stand looked and were thrilled with how good our new perspex display unit looked !! It certainly drew in the crowds !

Thank you once again to everyone for your support - we couldn't do it without you.

Normal website service will resume very soon !!!

xxx

Ally Pally Prep

2011-10-03T18:43:00.004+01:00

Thank goodness the sun has been shining here. We have spent the last 2 days working solidly - labelling, pricing & packing lots of stock to take to Ally Pally this week.

This is "some" of the stock we'll be taking. The big question now is "will it all fit in the van ?!" Let's hope so otherwise we've had it !!!

Our fantastic new display unit finally arrived last week and after a major panic when it became apparent that the supplier hadn't sent enough connectors to put it all together, we had a dry run and found it's going to take a little bit longer than we anticipated to put it all up ! Good job we did a dry run really - I dread to think what would have happened had we not bothered and then attempted to put it all together at the show, only to find we were missing half of the bits !!

So, tomorrow will be spent finalising all the fine details, picking up the van, sorting out the kids for the next 4 days and briefing hubby on how to be mummy !

I hope some of you can make it to the show - we're on Stand M13 in the Great Hall (just behind the Button Company). You won't miss us .... we're the stand that looks like a sweet shop - jars and jars of felt balls, along with felt purses, felt bags, buttons, ribbons, felting supplies, felt sheets and loads more ! We're likely to be the most colourful stand there !!!

Please don't be fooled by other companies selling similar items - BLOOMING FELT ARE THE ORIGINAL HOME OF THE PICK AND MIX FELT BALL ..... and don't let anyone tell you otherwise !!!

Hope to see you there !!!

Sarah x

Pretty, Pretty

2011-09-25T20:31:00.006+01:00

Well, it's Sunday evening again and here I am manically trying to get the new stuff onto the website !

This time we have lots of "pretty" things for you to get your mitts on !

First up - flat pad hairslides. Now, I know we have always done these in the silver, but guess what ? Now you can have them in yellow, pink, red & black as well ! All of these hairslides are exactly the same as the silver ones, but have been painted with lead free paint and look absolutely fantastic with bright coloured buttons and felt balls glued onto them ! Available in sets of 10 or 20.

Next on the pretty list are .......................

RIBBON NECKLACES !!

I had completely forgotten that I'd ordered these so, was super excited when I opened the box and found them. Available in 6 different colourways - red, black, hot pink, lime green, turquoise & purple - these also look extremely pretty threaded with felt balls ! I know because I made one up this afternoon ! Expect it to be on show at Ally Pally !!

And last but not least (for the moment) is a new colourway of felt ball - Duck Egg Blue. Available both plain and beaded. Boooooootiful !!!!

Oh - while I think of it - we'll be closing at 12 noon on Friday this week (30th September) until Wednesday 12th October. So, all orders placed after 12 noon on Friday, won't be processed until Wednesday 12th October. Many apologies for any inconvenience this might cause, but we need to start dismantling the studio and boxing stock up, ready to take to Ally Pally.

If I don't see you before - maybe I'll see you there !!

We're on STAND M13 in the Great Hall. The Show is open from 10am on Thursday 6th October until 5pm on Sunday 9th October.

More new stuff !

2011-09-11T20:50:00.003+01:00

Just a real quickie - it's Sunday night, I've been updating the website for the last 2 hours and I need to have my tea !

A few new bits that I've added to the website today ....

Cotton Remnant Ribbon - like the silk sari ribbon that we stock, but cotton ! It's FAB !!!

Polystyrene Cones ! Cover them in felt balls and make a felt ball Christmas Tree !

Limited Edition Colour of 10x10 inch felt sheet - Christmas Red .... while stocks last

I finally managed to get the ivory / white die cut hearts, flowers and circles on the site today as well - many, many apologies for the delay

And one last little treat for you - I've reduced the price of our 100% wool felt bags for a LIMITED TIME - now only £10 each. Grab 'em before they go up again !!

I'm hoping to get the latest newsletter out later this week, so watch your in-boxes !!

We've been away so long ......

2011-08-29T14:07:00.009+01:00

Sorry folks - the school holidays have finally taken their toll on me and something had to give ! Sadly, for you, it was the updating of this blog !

But, I've put some time aside today so make a list of the new goodies that have recently made their way onto the website and to update you on life at Blooming Felt Shedquarters in general.

So, first up. An update on what has been happening.

Well, this week we have taken over the lease of a storage unit / small warehouse !! Whilst we will still be operating from Blooming Felt Shequarters and this is where all of your orders will be processed and dispatched from, we now have a fantastic new storage space where we will keep the majority of our stock. We have been looking for some time for the perfect storage solution for us and finally found it. Because we now have much more storage space, we'll be able to stock lots more products ! Good news all round !

Preparations for The Knitting & Stitching Show are now well underway. Ally Pally Ali and Rosie have been doing a fantastic job making lists of everything that will be needed for the show, along with making up kits, labelling grab bags etc. Lots of new stock for the show is arriving on a regular basis and I think (!) things are under control (famous last words!)

We've also been extremely busy lately due to the fact that we have been very fortunate to have been featured in a number of craft magazines. Sew Hip, in particular, have been spreading the Blooming Felt love with them featuring us in their "Sew on the Net" feature last month and an interview with yours truly this month (in the shops now) along with a tutorial by us on how to make your own felt.

And that, I think, leads us very nicely onto the new products on our website !

If you've seen the tutorial in Sew Hip (and even if you haven't) and fancy having a go at making your own felt, then our new felt making starter kits will be perfect for you. Each kit contains everything you need to make your own felt - 75g of wool (25g each of 3 colours), bubble wrap, a bar of wool fat soap and a set of instructions. Everything comes done up in one of our fantastic branded cotton drawstring bags and costs just £8.25.

(sorry - rubbish photo !)

Due to popular demand, we have added an extra colour of felt shapes to our range. Now available in ivory / cream (code W1, which matches all of the other W1 felt on our site), you can buy each size of felt flower, felt heart and felt circle in this colourway - on the website in the next couple of days !

The crochet beads are back ! Available in 5 colourways - red, lilac, pink, green and turquoise and each measuring approximately 2cm with a 2mm hole, these crochet balls look fab teamed with our felt balls to create necklaces & bracelets.

The resin cabochons have been fully restocked and are now back on the website, along with a new colour of the rose cabochon - bright green.

We've also been busy adding colour names to all of our felt.

Whereas before we used to just code everything ie. R1 , BL1, P1 etc., we've now tried to come up with colours that best describe those particular codes. So, for example, code R1 is Pillar Box Red, code BL1 is Royal Blue, P1 is Bubblegum Pink etc. We've still left all of the codes on the felt for ease of use (and because that's what we use ourselves to identify the colours), but for our new customers, we've found that they can more easily identify which colours they're likely to need by the names. These names have been added to our felt balls, felt sheets, felt string, felt gift tags, felting wool and felt shapes.

We have a number of other new products all on their way, along with a rather large delivery of felty goods (to our new warehouse!). If there are particular colours of metre squares that you are waiting to come back into stock, these should hopefully be here sometime next week.

That's it for now - see you next time for the monthly giveaway ! (is it that time again already ??!!!)

Sarah xx

Hooray !!!

2011-08-16T18:11:00.005+01:00

Today we managed to ride our bike properly

without stabilisers

without falling into stinging nettles

and without crashing into trees !!

(That's my 5 year old daughter by the way .... not me !!!)

And the winner is .....

2011-08-08T22:24:00.002+01:00

Comment number 22

Comment number 22 was from Olivia

Well done Olivia - I'll email you via your blog to get your address details and to find out which ribbons you'd like.

Thank you, as always, to everyone who took the time to comment on our blog and enter the giveaway. Sorry you couldn't all win, but do please come back again on 1st September when you can have another go !

In the meantime, I'll be back later this week with details of yet more new products added to the website !!

Felty Goodness !

2011-08-05T17:35:00.004+01:00

Look what came this week !

Fantastic 100% wool felt bags !!!

Available in 8 colourways (the same as our purses) and all ready to be embellished with buttons, ribbons, felt flowers, felt balls - you name it, we've got it !

I was SO excited when I opened the box up. Of course, I knew they would be in there, but even so, seeing them made me smile bigtime !

They're all loaded onto the website and are ready and waiting to be snapped up.

Go fill your boots !!

PS. Don't forget the freebie is still running here

AUGUST FREEBIE TIME !!

2011-08-03T09:58:00.005+01:00

I'm so sorry - we're late AGAIN with the monthly freebie ! Blame it on the school holidays !

This month's FREEBIE GIVEAWAY is a set of 6 American Crafts Elements Ribbons in one of three colourways - blues, sage greens or lime greens - the winner gets to choose. Each box contains approximately 24 feet / 7 metres of ribbon

This isn't our standard stock, sadly, but I found them sitting in the bottom of a box and thought it would be nice to give one away to one of our lovely customers / followers !

So, as always, you just need to leave a comment on this blog post (for our Facebook readers - please ensure you leave a comment on our actual BLOG post, and NOT on the FB post, as it won't count)

All comments need to be received by 5pm on Monday 8th August and we will draw the winner via a random number generator later that evening and then post on this blog.

VERY IMPORTANT - please read the rules below, particularly the point about me being able to contact you !!

RULES:

The giveaway is open to everyone - I'll ship worldwide
Only 1 entry per person
I MUST be able to contact you via your blog or website. If you don't have either of these, please ensure you leave your email address on the comment. If your number is picked and I am unable to contact you, the prize will be redrawn and offered to another participant
All comments to be received before 5pm on Monday 8th August

GOOD LUCK !!!

Check. It. Out.

2011-07-27T20:15:00.005+01:00

Ooooooh - LOOK !!!

Fab felt flowers made from our fantastic thick wool felt - try saying that quickly!

We are very fortunate to be featured on the front cover of Making Magazine Issue 11 (available in the shops right now). And inside, they also did a half page feature on our felt stacks and felt purses too !

Thanks Making Magazine

xxx

Fancy a trip around Cornwall ?

2011-07-20T20:26:00.018+01:00

Tired of this rubbish weather we seem to be having lately ?

Wishing you could take a little trip somewhere ?

Then come with me (and my family) on our annual jaunt to Cornwall !!

When the weather is as rubbish as it has been here in the UK, you can guarantee that the weather won't matter if you visit the Eden Project.

Built in what was formerly a quarry, the Eden Project is a charity that has created giant "Biomes" - one contains a rainforest

and the other has a mediterranean climate - beautiful flowers (and wonderful homegrown food!)

If your mojo seems to have disappeared, a trip to St Ives is a must. Full to the brim with artists studios and wonderful handmade creations, along with the Tate St Ives, you can bet your life that your creativity will soon return and you'll be full of new ideas.

Why not buy and download a "Treasure Trail" ? We did a couple of these last year and were so impressed that we decided to do another this time. This year, we chose Falmouth - home of Cornwall's National Maritime Museum. Unfortunately it rained rather a lot whilst we did the trail, but hey, we were on holiday and having a good time ! Rain won't stop us !!

Visit the wonderful Minack Theatre - Cornwall's open air theatre, perched on the cliffs at Lands End. Fantastic productions, come rain & shine !

Try a bracing walk along the beach (yes, I know, it's July!) at Marazion

and then walk across the causeway to St Michael's Mount.

Climb the winding path through wonderful sub-tropical gardens all the way to the castle at the top and then have a wander around the beautiful castle, home to the St Aubyn family since 1659, finished off with a cream tea (or pasty) in the National Trust cafe. Breathtaking views .... even on a cloudy, damp day.

Fancy a bit of shopping ? Wadebridge is a fantastic little town from where you can take the Camel Trail to Padstow (see last year's post about this wonderful cycleway). Browse the many individual shops and Boutiques and have a lovely lunch in one of the many tearooms

Head a bit further north into Port Isaac

and if you're really really lucky you might get to see the ITV show Doc Martin being filmed !!! This has to be one of my most favourite programmes (I admit to owning the box set), so seeing the stars of the show filming the latest series was a real treat !

Go on a Friday evening and settle down with freshly caught fish & chips on the causeway in the harbour to watch and listen to the absolutely brilliant Fisherman's Friends - acapella singing at its very best !!

Of course, a visit to Cornwall wouldn't be complete without a day on one of Cornwall's 150+ beaches and even in cloudy weather, the kids love it. Fortunately for us, the sun came out just after lunch and we enjoyed body boarding, sandcastle building and watching kite surfers.

This was Hayle beach, lovely golden sand, a giant 3 mile sweeping beach and shallow calm waters - perfect for families.

Penzance is an up and coming town in the very far west of Cornwall - almost at Lands End, it has all sorts of wonderful individual shops and restaurants.

A couple of eating places I can recommend - The Lookout St Ives is situated in the Pedn-Olva Hotel, perched on the cliff edge at St Ives. Gorgeous food and fantastic views

The Mount Haven Hotel in Marazion is another fantastic restaurant, serving delicious local food with view of St Michaels Mount

Cupcake in Port Isaac is the cutest little coffeshop / tearoom, housed in the one of the numerous quaint cottages just a stones throw from the harbour

Sandsifter Restaurant & Bar at Godrevy is where all the cool surfer dudes hang out. It serves brilliant food and drink all day and is a bit more lively in the evenings, with live bands through the summer

And so endeth our annual trip to Cornwall. There are, of course, hundreds of other fabulous places you could visit, some of which I mentioned last year (see this blog post) and lots more which I could write another blog post about, but I've hopefully included a few different ones here.

Let me know about your favourite places to visit in Cornwall .... maybe we could visit them next year !!

PS. Normal Blooming Felt blogging will resume shortly !

Summertime has arrived ...

2011-07-10T19:47:00.006+01:00

WOW !

Look at the fab new members of the Blooming Felt family !

Zingy tropical coloured felt flowers & felt button swirls

Beautiful hand crocheted butterflies & roses

All now available to be snapped up !

DON'T FORGET - ORDERS PLACED AFTER 12 NOON ON WEDNESDAY 13TH JULY WILL NOT BE PROCESSED UNTIL TUESDAY 26TH JULY

WINNER !!

2011-07-07T17:30:00.004+01:00

OK, the winner of this month's FREEBIE was originally number 22. Comment number 22 was left by somebody who didn't leave any contact details and I am therefore unable to contact them regarding the prize.

This is the 2nd time this has happened, so please be warned. If you don't leave any contact details and your number comes up, then you'll lose the prize. Them's the rules. Sorry !!

So, I redrew the number and number 7 came out. Comment number 7 was left by Lisa Marie of Cake it or leaf it ! (and they are mighty fine chocolate chip cookies on your latest blog post Lisa Marie !)

Hurrah !! I'll send you a little email and if you could let me have your address details, we'll get your prize straight out to you.

Sorry to everyone else and in particular the original winner who has sadly lost the prize this time. Our next FREEBIE will be up for grabs on 1st August.

Right - next up a little bit of housekeeping. If you're wanting to stock up on any of our goodies in time for the school holidays, please do it NOW ! We'll be closed from 12 noon on Wednesday 13th July until Tuesday 26th July (inclusive), which means that no orders will be processed or dispatched within this time. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

See you again soon !!

It can't be that time again can it ???

2011-06-30T15:27:00.008+01:00

I can't believe yet another month has passed !! What is going on ? I really wish I could stop the clock every so often - time is quite literally flying by at the moment.

So yes, it is, once again, FREEBIE time !

This month I've decided to give away some flat pad stuff for you to get glueing with !

Eagle eyed readers of this little old blog will know that we recently added some fab new cabochons to our website. They're perfect for glueing onto our flat pad rings as, of course, are buttons, felt balls, and our new FIMO flat pad bows !

So, here'swhat this month's lucky winner will receive ....

5 flat pad rings

10 flat pad hair slides

A bottle of Gem-Tac glue

and a selection of cabochons

To enter, just leave a comment on this actual blog post (NOT the facebook blog post), before 5pm next THURSDAY 7th July.

RULES:

The giveaway is open to everyone - I'll ship worldwide
Only 1 entry per person
I MUST be able to contact you via your blog or website. If you don't have either of these, please ensure you leave your email address on the comment. If your number is picked and I am unable to contact you, the prize will be redrawn and offered to another participant
All comments to be received before 5pm on Thursday 7th July

GOOD LUCK !!

It's that time of year again

2011-06-25T19:02:00.013+01:00

Yep - it IS that time of year again.

This weekend is the the annual SALVO fair.

Anyone who has been following this blog since last year (thanks for sticking with me!) will know that I attended the SALVO Fair at Knebworth House last year and came home with a cast iron roll top bath.

Today, I managed to spend slightly less (hubby is breathing a HUGE sigh of relief) and was very restrained in my purchasing !

Fortunately, the rain held off all day and the sun made a very welcome appearance after lunch. There was a huge array of exhibitors (I think more than last year) all selling a fantastic selection of reclaimed pieces. From reclaimed stone walling, phoneboxes, pillar boxes, radiators (I have my eye on some), an old movie camera

don't quite know what you'd do with it but it would make a fantastic talking point. Maybe you could convert it to a lamp ? Damn - why didn't I think of that before ??!!!

The most amazing carved wooden statues (from tree trunks)

How about this ? A Timetable !!! Watch faces all on display in a glass topped table. Hmmmm - I wonder if you could open it up and replace them with buttons ?

And that about these ?

I really DON'T know what to suggest to do with these

A ship's figurehead

and a yellow submarine (sorry they're not slightly better photographs - my little man took them!)

Beautiful hand painted reclaimed furniture (complete with needle felted balls) Child not included, although was thinking about accepting offers due to the amount of moaning she was doing !

A miniature shepherd's hut - wish I'd never bought the wendy house now !!

And now my most favourite pieces - which I managed to nab

We're praying for snow again this year as the kids talked us into buying a traditional wooden sledge

A beautiful repainted bistro garden set - now residing here in our garden

Some fantastic willow planters (sorry - forgot to take a photo - doh !)

And ................................................................

drumroll .........................................................

are you holding your breath ?? .....................................................................................

OMG - I am SO excited ...............................

THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A 60 drawer filing cabinet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

60 drawers in which to house all of our lovely buttons !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it ????

I have to say - when I saw this unit I started to go a bit giddy !! Hubby raised his eyebrows very high when he saw the price tag but I've watched Bargain Hunt ! I know how to haggle !

So, in I went and asked the very lovely man behind the desk "what's your best price on this". To which he replied "what do you want to pay?" This threw me a little bit, and I replied "not that much !!"

"Make me an offer" he said.

"OK" I said, and knocked £175 off the price !

"I'll need to consult my colleague" he said.

Then, the said colleague came into the marquee. He looked at the price tag and added £100 on to what I'd offered.

"No" I said confidently (although inside I was panicking slightly) and upped my offer by £50 - that's fair I thought - I'm meeting him half way. Actually, I couldn't afford anymore and was just praying that he would say yes. And guess what ?? HE DID !!!

This fantastic unit will soon be residing in BF Shedquarters. It will have a sample of each button glued onto each drawer and then be filled up with all of our lovely button stock. Watch this space for photos of it "in situ"

After that, the children were really starting to whine about how boring it was walking round and asking "when can we go to the adventure park"? So, before I could spend any more money, we headed off to Fort Knebworth for lots of kiddy (and a bit of grown-up) fun.

Another fab day at SALVO, with smiles all round.

You should go, it's really good fun !!

In case you didn't know ....

2011-06-18T15:51:00.007+01:00

we've added a lot of fab new products to the website !

The only reason I say "in case you didn't know" is because we have recently sent out details of all of these new products on our newsletter (subscribe at the bottom of our website home page) and have heavily publicised them all on both Twitter and Facebook. And so now, it's the turn of our BLOG readers !

Meet the new additions to the Blooming Felt family :

Funky Kitsch Cabochons (various colourways and styles available)

Kilt Pins

Wooden Toadstool Beads

New FIMO food beads

We added a lot of new FIMO beads and some of them have actually sold out, but don't worry, more are on their way ! And talking of the fimo stuff, the ice lollies have been restocked (but I think the pink ones might have just sold out again) Sorry !!

The 1.5mm thick wool felt has just been restocked if you were waiting for this to come back in and, as always, we've got lots more new products on their way to us !!

I've just updated last week's most popular products (here) as well, so you can see what everyone else is snapping up !!

See you soon

Announcing the winner ....

2011-06-12T18:23:00.002+01:00

Thank you for all of your lovely comments for June's Freebie !

I just put the 37 numbers into www.random.org and it picked number 15. (I'm trying to work out how to put proof of the actual number picked onto the blog - fingers crossed I'll have sussed it out for next time !)

Comment number 15 was from Gill - CONGRATULATIONS ! I'll email you to find out which ribbons etc you'd like.

Sorry to everyone else, but we'll have another Freebie Giveaway in July, so do please keep coming back and entering !

I'll be back again next week with details of lots of the lovely new goodies that are in the process of being loaded onto the website.

See you soon !

Before ...

2011-06-06T18:13:00.009+01:00

During

After

Finally, it's finished (except the toilet leaks) !

Blooming bathroom !

PS. The FREEBIE is still running - it's here

It's FREEBIE time again (and it's late !) - Sorry

2011-05-31T22:07:00.007+01:00

I can't believe it's June already !! It sort of crept up on me all of a sudden and consequently I've been in a flap trying to decide what to offer as this month's giveaway.

So, I'm afraid it's a bit late, and it's a bit of a last minute thing but I've decided that for June's freebie, the prize will be ....................

5 metres of ribbon, or pompom trim, or bias binding, or waxed cotton cord, or beading elastic ! You can have a mixture of all if you want - it's up to you. (Prize subject to stock availability)

To enter, just leave a comment on this actual blog post (NOT the facebook blog post), before 5pm next Sunday 12th June.

RULES:

The giveaway is open to everyone - I'll ship worldwide
Only 1 entry per person
I MUST be able to contact you via your blog or website. If you don't have either of these, please ensure you leave your email address on the comment. If your number is picked and I am unable to contact you, the prize will be redrawn and offered to another participant
All comments to be received before 5pm on Sunday 12th June

GOOD LUCK !!

Little red tractor ....

2011-05-30T15:39:00.008+01:00

He's king of the field !

Oooh - look what I got last week !!

So needless to say, I've spent pretty much all of the bank holiday weekend mowing the field and the garden.

What FUN !!!

ps. It's FREEBIE day tomorrow x

Word of the week ...

2011-05-24T20:09:00.008+01:00

FRIPPERY !

The definition of which is "showy or unnecessary, frivolous"

I LOVE this word.

And I love our new woven ribbons ... they're exactly that:

Showy, unnecessary and frivolous !!

Get your fix of our FRIPPERY here

TK Maxx rocks !!

2011-05-22T16:36:00.011+01:00

If you're lucky enough to have a TK Maxx close to where you live (as I am), then you'll know about all the fab things you can often find in there. If you don't, then you need to get yourself down to the nearest one and see what you're missing out on !

As our bathroom is now sitting in the garden and I couldn't stand being in all that mess a minute longer, I decided to take myself out and have a little wander around the Retail Park (not a fan of those sort of places, but sometimes needs must), and found myself in TK Maxx. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but sometimes, that's the best thing about shopping right ? You're not looking for stuff, but you find LOADS of stuff that you want ! Similarly, when you're looking for something in particular, you can bet your bottom dollar that you'll NEVER find it !

But anyway .....

There I was wandering around TK Maxx when I came across this

A Thomas Kent wall clock !! If you know anything about this particular make of ceramic clock, you'll know that they're rather pricey. Not so in TK Maxx ! £14.99 for what is normally a £50 clock ! Not a thing wrong with it and the PERFECT colour for my kitchen (it does have 2 hands !)

Next, I noticed the man putting out a whole load of garden type stuff. I saw a fantastic bright pink cafe style table & chairs and was absolutely desperate to buy it, but then did manage to pull myself together when I thought of the look that hubby would have given me had I come home with it ! So I bought the next best thing ....

A brilliant set of bright pink enamel planters - not for use in my garden - these will be used in both the Studio AND at the Knitting & Stitching Show.

And then, I saw these ...

Even better for use at the Knitting & Stitching Show (it didn't have the felt balls in it of course, that would have been mad, and think of the mess all over the floor if someone had knocked them over - but I do think they make a rather fetching display don't you ?)

So now you know - TK Maxx ROCKS !!!

Get yourself down there !!

Tiddly .......

2011-05-20T15:59:00.007+01:00

pom poms !!!

That's what they are !

Now available in our fab online felt & haberdashery boutique

(ps. bathroom update - not started yet !)

It's all happening here

2011-05-11T19:57:00.007+01:00

Hello, hello, hello my lovely readers.

Things have finally quietened down just a little bit and I've been able to take a breath and regroup myself ! Sadly, it will probably only last for a little while as the builders are back next week, this time removing the bathroom ! Honestly, why can't we just leave things alone ?

After the fiasco last year with the kitchen, you'd have thought that we'd have had enough of living in a mess for much longer than we were told, but no. Less than a year later we have decided that it is time for the bathroom to be refitted and that beautiful old roll-top bath that we bought last June and that has been residing in the garage ever since, to finally be installed.

So, I've spent yesterday (as Wednesdays are officially my day off and the day when Alison is charge) scouring the internet for wall-mounted taps and then chasing around what felt like the whole of Essex, looking at floor and wall tiles.

Added to that, the outside of the house will be painted next week and I can't decide on a colour ! Who knew there were so many shades of cream and that none of them are what I'm looking for ?

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

So, to calm my nerves I decided to partake in a little crafting (almost unheard of these days as I just don't have the time), and make a felt ball necklace. A while ago I made this one for a certain magazine ...

and loved it so much that I decided that I needed another one ... this time in blues.

These necklaces are just so quick and easy to make up. And with all the colours of felt balls that we have available, you could make one to go with every single outfit !

Have you seen the new look Home Page of our website ? We've had a bit of a jig about and I have to say, I'm really pleased with it ! We've received lots of compliments since it went live and are excited that we now have a "hot products" section down the left hand side. This will be updated on a weekly basis (after careful analysis) so that you can see exactly what's popular and what you should be indulging in ! The newsletter sign up has been shifted to the bottom of the page, along with a funky link to this little old blog.

We've also got LOTS of new products on order and I'm hoping to be able to show these to you very soon - sadly, it takes a long time to get them all photographed and uploaded onto the site.

I also received a VERY exciting phonecall earlier in the week. I don't want to tell you about it at the moment in case it doesn't come off, but if it does .... believe me, you'll be the first to know !

So, I think that's it for today folks.

I'll be back again very soon with details of all those lovely new products.

Byeeeeee

Announcing the winner ...

2011-05-08T18:18:00.009+01:00

Hellooooo lovely people !

I hope you're all enjoying the wonderful weather this weekend - well, it's lovely here in the South East at least so I'm hoping everyone else is having similar weather.

So, on to the winner of May's Freebie. We had 49 comments and the random number generator picked number 30. Comment number 30 was from ........

Louise from "Here's what I did today" blog.

Congratulations Louise - I'll email you via your blog to get your

contact details.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a comment and enter the giveaway this month. Sorry you couldn't all win, but we do have lots of the purses in stock at the moment

along with lots of lovely felt shapes

and we've also just had a bumper delivery of buttons which are also available on the website, so you can easily make up your own little felt purse set.

I'll be back again later this week with all the latest news from Blooming Felt Shedquarters.

See you soon !!

IT'S FREEBIE TIME !

2011-04-30T20:54:00.007+01:00

Hellooooooo !

It's been far too long my friends ! Having been away for nearly 3 weeks, catching up on orders, Easter and of course, the Royal Wedding it seems like I have been away from this little old blog FOREVER !

But, I'm BACK and raring to go.

So, without further ado I shall announce this month's FREEBIE giveway. And it is .........

A Felt Purse Kit !

This fantastic little kit contains one of our turquoise 100% wool felt purses (complete with felt ball zip pull), some felt shapes and buttons for you to embellish the purse with.

As with all of our giveaways, it's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post (only 1 comment per person please) and ensure that I can contact you via your own blog, website or email address. If you win and I am unable to contact you, the prize will be redrawn and another winner picked. Please note - last month's giveaway went to a redrawn name as the original winner didn't provide any contact details. Please don't make the same mistake.

The Giveaway will remain open for 1 week and will close at 5pm next Sunday 8th May when a winner will be picked and the name announced.

GOOD LUCK !!

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

2011-04-11T01:10:00.003+01:00

I'm so sorry about the late announcement of our freebie winner - like I said before, I'm having a little rest and it completely slipped my mind !

Anyways - we had 48 comments on the blog - and after putting the numbers into the random number generator, it picked number 35.

Comment number 35 was left by Rachelxx.

Congratulations Rachel ! If you could please email me your postal address, we'll get your bag of Royal Wedding Themed Goodies in the post to you this week. I will also email you via your blog page to let you know you've won.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter the competition. Sorry you couldn't all win, but we do have a smaller version of the Royal Wedding Goody Bag available to buy on the website, should you feel the need !

See you soon

It's FREEBIE time !!

2011-04-01T11:09:00.000+01:00

Hellooooooo !!

Well, it's the 1st of the month which means .... IT'S FREEBIE TIME.

Goodness me - where did that last month go ? I can't believe we're into April already.

So, what's happening in April ? Hmmmmm, let me see.

Well, on Sunday it's Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely mums out there (including my own of course !)

What else? Oh yes, I'll be having a little rest from BF. I NEED a rest. Please don't begrudge me a little rest. I promise when I come back I will be completely refreshed and will hopefully have lots of lovely new ideas for the business. Sometimes, you need a little rest to sort out your head and get everything reorganised again !

Anything else ? Of course - it's EASTER ! Sadly, because I've just been so busy I haven't had time to get an Easter tutorial organised. But I'm sure you've all got lots of great ideas of your own and I'll look forward to seeing pictures of your finished projects using BF supplies.

And, of course, the other big event for April is The Royal Wedding !

Now, as you will have seen, we've already created a Royal Wedding Supplies section on the website which contains all of our red, white & blue supplies. So, I got to thinking about this month's FREEBIE and it came to me ... how about if I offer a bag full of red, white & blue supplies for the lucky winner to use in creating their Royal Wedding crafty bits and bobs. I'm sure lots of you will be having and attending celebrations so will be looking to make corsages, bunting, table decorations, crowns etc.

So that's it. This month's FREEBIE is a bag of ROYAL WEDDING THEMED SUPPLIES.

It's worth approximately £25, so this really is a good freebie this month !

As always, the freebie is open for one week (the winner will receive their supplies in plenty of time to make use of them). Just leave a comment on this post and next Saturday (9th April) I will use the random number generator to pick a winner. Make sure I am able to contact you via your own blog, website or email address. If I am unable to contact you, then I'm afraid I will have to redraw a winner.

If you can't wait that long, or if you're not lucky enough to win then worry not .. we will be putting a smaller version of the freebie prize on the website later this evening - The Royal Wedding Goody Bag will be in the Royal Wedding Supplies section and will cost £9.

And finally, don't forget, we'll only be posting website orders once a week between Saturday 2nd April and Wednesday 27th April.

GOOD LUCK !

Royal Wedding Fever

2011-03-29T21:09:00.010+01:00

Here at BF Shedquarters, Royal Wedding fever is starting to take hold.

My little madam is getting VERY excited at the fact that she is going to see a "real life Princess" get married and the school has announced that they will be holding a "street party" the day before the wedding and that there will be prizes for the best homemade crowns. So, I got to thinking "What can I use to make the most fantabulous crowns" ? Why - felt, buttons, ribbons and balls of course !!

In my quest to find the best things to use it suddenly came to me - if I'm looking for stuff to make Royal Wedding themed bits and pieces, then so will others.

So, I give you ..... The Blooming Felt Royal Wedding Supplies section. Stuffed full of Blooming Felt's red, white & blue coloured supplies. Buttons, Balls, Ribbons and Felt Sheets galore !

We'll look forward to seeing all of your creations very soon !

Have Fun !!!

PS. A quick reminder that BF will be operating a reduced (once a week) postal service from Saturday 2nd April until Wednesday 27th April. Sorry for the inconvenience guys - it's Easter !

Ribbon Addicts Beware !

2011-03-15T20:27:00.015Z

Last time, our button addicts were well taken care of.

This time, it's the turn of all you ribbon addicts !!

OK - first of all, you need to grab a cuppa and a choccie biscuit. Ready ??

Take a deep breath - and here we go ............................................................................

First up - Organic Cotton Ribbon

Next - Bias Binding. We've got rather a lot of this so have split it into sections.

First - Flowered Bias Binding

Next - Spotty Bias Binding

Followed by - Checked / Gingham Bias Binding

Then we've got some 1cm wide ric rac (just in 2 colours for the moment - more to follow) - this will be on the website this evening

OK - take a little break, gather yourself together and .... we're off again

New polka dot grosgrain ribbon

Preppy striped grosgrain ribbon

And last, but by no means least .... gorgeous stitched edge striped ribbon

Breathe out and ......................... relax.

Have fun !!!

So many buttons ...

2011-03-13T18:44:00.007Z

so little time !!!

Wine Gums

Moroccan Spice

Chocolate Buttons

We've had so many buttons delivered recently that I completely forgot to tell you about this little lot !

Country Denim

Wonderland

May Day Parade

All now available on the website

Ribbon Addicts ..... it's your turn next - watch this space !!!

I Luuuuuurve ......

2011-03-11T22:31:00.001Z

Buttons !!

FAB new buttons now loaded onto the site.

I have to say, I think my most favourite buttons of all (and believe me, I've got a LOT of buttons in the studio !) are matt buttons.

I bought some matt buttons a couple of years ago when I was on holiday in the US and absolutely loved them. I tried to source them in the UK and struggled to find a supplier.

BUT, I have now managed to find these lovely matt buttons and as I didn't want to keep their loveliness all to myself, have started to stock them on the website.

Available in 4 colourways, you can grab them here.

Along with these buttons, we also sourced some new button bags

Each of these lovely bags contain 35g of gorgeous buttons (at least 100 buttons in each bag). Again, available in 4 colourways - get them here

And the last lot of new buttons (for today) are the 1.75cm spotty & stripey buttons. 4 new colourways have been added to the range - turquoise, navy, red & grey. Buy them individually here or as part of the "Seeing Spots" and "Seeing Stripes" button bags here

What else do I love ? Hmmmmm, new Needle Felting kits !!!!!

Now, I love our very own Blooming Felt Needle Felting starter kits, but once you've had a go and feel that you are ready to move onto the next stage, these particular needle felting kits will be perfect. Lots of woolly animals (with a sock monkey thrown in for good measure !). And to make these kits doubley special - BLOOMING FELT ARE THE ONLY UK SUPPLIER OF THESE PARTICULAR KITS ! Sorry - just had to shout that bit out !!

Something else that I wanted to tell you about (and which I also love) is the new GLUE that we have started to offer.

Here at Blooming Felt Shedquarters we have spent a looooooooonnnnnnnnng time testing different glues and have found that sadly, there isn't a one-size fits all when it comes to glue. You want to make something with the kids and need to glue your felt flowers together to make a brooch, the glue keeps soaking into the wool felt and not sticking it together. Then you want to glue a button on top as a centrepiece to the brooch (because you're like me .... a little lazy when it comes to sewing !) and the glue doesn't stick it. You decide that maybe you'll use superglue, but then the kids manage to stick the button to their fingers and then you get your fingers stuck to theirs trying to help them . So, after a visit to A&E to get said button and fingers unattached, you despair and give up. This is where Blooming Felt come to the rescue !!

We have 2 FAB glues for you to use. The first is called .... wait for it .... FELT GLUE ! And is specifically designed to glue FELT (funny that !)

It's a white glue (which dries clear) so you can see where you're putting it. It doesn't soak into the wool felt (unless of course you tip the whole bottle onto it!) and dries very very hard. It really does take a lot of force to get the 2 pieces of felt apart.

The second glue is designed as a jewellery adhesive, but works absolutely brilliantly for sticking buttons on to felt, cabouchons or buttons onto the flat pad findings, brooch pins onto felt etc. Again, a white glue that dries clear - this particular glue takes a little while to dry but at least that means you can reposition stuff if you need to. As with the Felt Glue, this glue is super strong.

Both of our new glues are non-toxic and suitable for children to use.

And finally for today (because I don't want you getting too excited all at once !) .... silk strings. A number of different colours, all 100% silk and perfect for use in jewellery making, embellishing, card crafts and lots of other projects.

So ...... what's not to love about that little lot ?!

Lots more exciting stuff to tell you about next time.

See you soon !!

Announcing the winner

2011-03-09T11:02:00.005Z

of the March FREEBIE ....

We had 51 comments (including the 6 on our Facebook Page). After typing these into the random number generator, it produced the following number

Number 1

Sorry for the bad photo - it wouldn't let me copy the box so I had to take a picture of it, and my camera wasn't too keen !

So - CONGRATULATIONS TO

Amanda at FeltFinland.com !!

I will post a message on your blog as well, so do please email me sarah @ bloomingfelt.co.uk with your colour choice of kit and address details so we can send your goodies out to you.

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to enter the competition. The next FREEBIE will be available on this blog on 1st April.

I'll be back with more news of life at Blooming Felt Shedquarters very soon.

Sarah xx

It's the 1st of the month which means ....

2011-02-28T17:28:00.004Z

IT'S FREEBIE DAY !!!

YAY !

This month, we are giving away one of our feltabulous new needle felting starter kits !

These kits are fantastic if you want to give needle felting a go - you get a sponge, a needle, a single needle holder and 75g of wool (3 different colours). You can choose from Caribbean (blues), Forest (greens), Citrus (orange, yellow & lime green), Berry (purples), Candyfloss (pinks) or Woodland (browny reds).

To enter the FREEBIE giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post before the end of next Tuesday and a winner will be picked by the random number generator on Wednesday 9th March. Please ensure I can contact you via your email address, blog or website. If I am unable to contact you, I will unfortunately have to redraw the number.

Good luck !!!

Don't forget ...

2011-02-25T19:12:00.003Z

It's the Vintage & Handmade Market at Chelmsford's Shire Hall tomorrow, 10am until 4pm.

Lots of felty goodness, buttons, ribbons, threads, needles & kits to be had - all from yours truly. Along with vintage clothing, vintage inspired gifts, fabrics and of course, tea & homemade cake all served on vintage crockery !

Can't wait !!!

A little bit of everything !

2011-02-21T17:40:00.015Z

Yes, this post does exactly as it says on the tin.

Bear with me because I'll be telling you a bit about everything today !

Right, first up ... it's half term. And as all you other working Mums out there know, that means kids under your feet when you need to work ! After having booked Sam on a cricket day, I was left wondering what to do with Grace. Enter a fantastic new venture in Chelmsford called "Make Do & Mend". Run by the lovely Hannah, she is running crafty workshops where you can learn "traditional" crafts. Her workshop programme for the Spring includes Knitting for Beginners, Crochet for Beginners, Sewing for Beginners, 2 Dressmaking courses, How to make a cushion workshop, Introduction to Felt Making, Beginners Decoupage, Embroidery and lots more ! Also thrown into the mix for the school holidays are classes such as Pottery Painting, and it was this particular course that I found myself on with Grace yesterday morning.

Run by Mell of "The Potter's Bar" we had great fun painting ceramic cupcake trinket pots and can't wait to see how they turn out - watch this space for photos of the finished items !

Of course, spending a whole morning painting ceramic cupcakes wasn't very helpful to the processing and dispatch of the large number of orders that came in over the weekend, but never mind, I'll just have to work in the evenings to catch up !

On Sunday, I spent the whole day at a massive trade fair catching up with suppliers and also sourcing lots of new goodies for the BF website. Fingers crossed all the new supplies will be here very soon - I'll keep you updated.

Next, the 1.5mm thick woven felt is now back in stock (along with a new colourway - Cornflower,which will be on the website tomorrow).

Also back in stock are the cover buttons and giant flat-pad paperclips / bookmarks

A very exciting delivery came on Friday - a fantastic new book which I have been trying to stock for almost a year now ! Wool Toys & Friends is the follow-on book to the Woolpets publication which we stock. Full of lots of FANTASTIC needle felted creations, be sure to get your copy. It's a hardback book (which are always my favourite) and is a must for all you needlefelters !

Thank you to Mad about Bags and Made by Lolly for both nominating me for a Stylish Blogger award !

I feel very flattered and have to say that looking at the photo of me at the top of the page, I'm really NOT a stylish blogger ! If I'd have known Hannah would have been taking photos, I would have worn something much more colourful, put on some slap and washed my hair - LOL ! But thank you both ladies and I really hope you won't be offended if I don't do anything about it in this post - people have far too much to read as it is ! But I will make every effort to pass on the award in my next post

And finally, Blooming Felt will have a table at the Vintage & Handmade Fair at the Shire Hall in Chelmsford on Saturday 26th February. Open from 10am until 4pm, this Fair is a must for all you lovers of vintage clothing & accessories, handmade goodies and of course, fantastic felt supplies along with buttons, ribbons and lots more ... all from yours truly !!

If you're local, I look forward to seeing you there !

Sarah

And the winners are ....

2011-02-19T09:43:00.006Z

So sorry for the late announcement of the winners of the FREEBIE GIVEAWAY ! I wanted to give everyone the best possible chance of entering and so closed the FREEBIE at 12 midnight.

So, without further ado - I popped all of the numbers, a massive 49 in total, into the random number generator website I found on Google (http://www.random.org/) and it produced the following numbers:

12 - which I believe was a comment from Claire Mackaness

and

18 - which was a comment from another Clare, of Weekend Crafter

Well done ladies - I will email you to get your address details and your Goody Bags will be on their way to you very soon !

Sorry to all those of you who didn't win this time but the next monthly FREEBIE will be up for grabs on 1st March. Same thing, you'll need to leave a comment on that particular post once it is published and the winner will be picked a week later.

Now - what to offer ?! You'll just have to wait and see

Thank you to EVERYONE who took the time and trouble to leave a comment on the Freebie Giveaway post - I was overwhelmed by the response.

Have a lovely weekend everyone

Sarah xx

An exciting new range

2011-02-11T14:11:00.009Z

A couple of posts ago I said that we would be introducing a number of new felting ranges to the Blooming Felt shop.

The first one that is now ready to be snapped up is now available on the site. It's a needle felting starter kit.

We trialled these at the Knitting & Stitching Show last year and they were very popular. Since then, we have been thinking about adding them to the website, but were unsure as to the best way to do it. But it has finally now all been sorted out and we have decided to offer 6 different colourways

Berry

Candyfloss

Tropical

Citrus

Forest

Woodland

Each kit contains a sponge, a felting needle, a single needle holder, 75g of felting wool (25g each of 3 different colours) and some basic instructions. Each kit is available in a different colourway (as shown above) and will arrive in one of our fantastic branded cotton drawstring bags.

Priced at £9.50, these kits offer fantastic value for money - you actually save £2.00 when buying a kit, compared to buying the items individually. So that basically means that you're getting the sponge (or one colour of wool) for free ! YAY !!

For anyone who would like to give needle felting a go, we have a number of tips available over on our website. Click here and you will be magically transported. And don't forget we also stock lots of books relating to needle felting (with a couple of new ones on their way !!), so once you've got the hang of it (or in most cases, caught the needle felting bug), you can grab yourself a book and needle felt to your heart's content !

There are a number of other new felting items on their way so if this is your thing .... keep checking back !

The MONTHLY FREEBIE is still open (until Friday 18th Feb) - click here to go to the relevant post and leave your comment. Thanks to everyone who has commented so far .... looks like rather a lot of you are after one of our Goody Bags !

Sarah x

Hurrah - the monthly freebie has launched !

2011-02-08T10:06:00.008Z

Well, it took a while, but today we finally hit 200 followers and as promised, are now launching our monthly freebie !!

As a special thank you to all of our blog readers, we will be offering a fantastic freebie every 1st of the month from now on.

So, for our first monthly freebie we are offering 2 (yes .... 2 !) lucky followers the chance to win one of our new "Goody Bags". Each bag contains some felt string, felt shapes, buttons and felt balls. In other words, a wonderful selection of Blooming Felt goodies for you to do whatever you please with !

"How do I enter ?" you ask.

Well, all you need to do is leave a comment on the Freebie Post (no anonymous comments please) and once the freebie closes (one week later) all comments will be entered into a random number generator and a winner will be chosen. I must be able to contact you via an email address, or your own blog / website etc. If your name / number is selected and I have no way of contacting you then I'm afraid you will lose your prize and another winner will be selected. All winners will be announced on this blog and an email will also be sent requesting your address so that we can get your goodies out to you.

Our monthly freebies are available to absolutely everyone, wherever you are in the world !

This freebie will close on Friday 18th February 2011.

So go on, what are you waiting for ? Go get those freebies !!!

Sarah x

No rest for the wicked !

2011-02-06T11:31:00.011Z

Goodness me - how busy have I been this last week ?

Since I last posted, you seem to have gone crazy for our new products and orders have been coming in thick and fast.

The new colours of wool roving are going down a storm. Actually, felting as a whole seems to have become extremely popular over the last few months. So much so, that we will be introducing a number of exciting new products very soon !

As well as the usual website stuff, we have been busy looking into a number of other exciting projects. Our stand at the Knitting & Stitching Show has been booked - even BIGGER than before and we have also been looking at another project in particular which may or may not come off. It's still in the "mulling it over" stage at the moment but if anything comes of it, I'll of course share it with you all.

Now, for those of you in lurrrrrve, you will know that it is Valentine's Day next week. To celebrate this wonderful occasion, our February Tutorial is a fantastic Heart Wreath (or it could also be used as a candle holder !) Click here to get your free PDF download !

We've almost managed to reach 200 followers on the blog - don't forget, as soon as we do, the new monthly giveaway will be launched !!! Get Following !!!!

Sarah xx

Check !

2011-01-27T18:28:00.011Z

This weekend has consisted of an awful lot of check, check, CHECKING !

Felt Balls x 20,000 CHECK

Metre Squares of Felt x 150 CHECK

10x10 inch squares of felt x 3,000 CHECK

Wool roving x 1,000 CHECK

Felt String x 100 CHECK

Felt Hearts x 1,500 CHECK

Felt Stars x 1,500 CHECK

Wool pompoms x 1,500 CHECK

Take photos of new lines

3 new colours of wool roving / felting wool

100% wool felt purses (very excited !!)

3 new colours of 10x10 felt sheets and also metre squares

CHECK

Update website - CHECK !!

Sit down, exhausted and have a cup of tea - CHECK

All of the new lines can be found in the "Just Arrived" section - I'll try and give you more details next time.

Don't forget - as soon as we reach 200 followers we'll be launching our new monthly giveaway - we're up to 185 so far - keep joining and passing the word around !!!

xxx

Uses for an Aga

2011-01-23T19:59:00.005Z

What do you do when your felt delivery arrives and some of the items are still a little bit damp???

You put them in the Aga of course !!!

Who would have thought it !! It's amazing how many uses Agas have !

What strange things have you put in your oven I wonder ? Answers on a postcard please !!!

Oooooooooh and ARGHHHHHHH !!

2011-01-15T18:11:00.010Z

Ooooooooooooh !!

How FAB are these ?

Beautiful reels of packing / sticky tape !!

I've been looking for something like this for AGES ! Personally, I'm not really a fan of the Japanese / Kawaii type tapes but when I was wrapping gifts at Christmas (we hand-stamped our own wrapping paper this year), I thought that it would have looked even more lovely if we'd have been able to use a nice tape.

Last week I came across this fantastic tape (along with a number of other beautiful items from a new supplier) and decided that I HAD to have it ! So, everyone will now be receiving birthday presents in hand stamped paper and done up with this tape. They also have Christmas designs available so our Christmas gifts will all be wrapped with that this year .... for sure !

All of this gorgeousness is now loaded onto the website, is being sold by the reel (we have 2 different widths available) and is ready to go to new homes right now. We only have limited amounts of each design at the moment as we're just "trialling" it, but I'm pretty sure it will be very popular so if you try and order and it's out of stock, it will be back in stock very very soon.

Now - ARGHHHHHHHHH !

Before we re-opened after Christmas I had a real good sort out in the Studio and put everything away and it all looked beautifully tidy. This is what it looks like today.

You see - ARGHHHHHHH ! I can't stand it. Fingers crossed it will only be like this for a very short time. Hubby is putting together all of the drawers to go into the new Ikea units and as soon as that's done, everything will have a new home and calm and organisation will be restored .... hopefully.

Now. Another new item that has been added to the website.

Scrap Bags full of 1.5mm thick felt !! Priced at £6 for 50 pieces (bargain !). Get them here

And, a few more items have been added to the SALE. They're end of line items of stock that we will be discontinuing. So, if you want some more baragins (and let's face it, who doesn't?) then get yourself over to our SALE section and see what you can grab !

"Hi" to our new followers ! Keep joining the list and passing our details on - as soon as we hit 200 followers on our blog, the monthly giveway will be launched. Let's try and get there before the end of January so we can launch on the 1st of Feb !!

See you soon xx

Pottering

2011-01-12T22:21:00.005Z

In between dispatching orders and attempting to build the new storage units, we've been busy chopping up bits of felt !

You can expect to see these on the website by the end of the week.

Also, look what Steve the Postie bought me this morning - oooooooooooh. Me thinks I might have to buy some more before you lot start ordering them - NO, I won't tell you where I got them from !!!

And - I'm attempting to get our blog followers up to 200. Once we hit the 200 followers, we'll be launching our monthly giveaway competion. So, if you're a new visitor, please help boost our numbers. If you're already following us, please spread the word around. You never know, it could be you who wins our first freebie !

Oh, while I think of it - check out the lovely new ribbons that were added to the website this week. Here's a taster and you can see the rest of the range here

and the latest tutorial is also available to download FREE - it's over there, on the left

The Blooming Felt SALE is NOW ON - grab yourself a bargain .... you know you want to !

See you soon

SALE

2011-01-05T12:28:00.005Z

SEE YOU THERE !!

Happy New Year !

2010-12-31T20:34:00.008Z

I for one, am very glad indeed to see the back of 2010.

For me and my family it was a pretty horrible year. I won't go in to details but anyone who is reading this and knows me, will know what I'm talking about. But, from a Blooming Felt point of view, it has been a pretty good year ! We built Blooming Felt Shedquarters in the garden, my trusty assistant Alison joined the team, we had a very good event at Ally Pally and we're looking forward to lots more good times in 2011.

To start off the year, I decided a little visit to Ikea was on the cards. The Blooming Felt studio has unfortunately become extremely messy and muddled since Ally Pally and it was time to put it all in order and get lots more storage.

After measuring up and checking the Ikea website for stock levels, we managed to arrange the loan of a van for the afternoon and headed to Ikea, armed with our shopping list. Car park - extremely busy. Shop (didn't seem to be too busy). We walked round, noted all of the pick up aisles for the numerous items we wanted and headed to the collection hall. On visiting the first aisle we needed, it became apparent that the shelves were pretty much EMPTY ! This continued on every single aisle we visited so I don't think the Ikea website stock levels are very up to date - how annoying !

We did, however, still manage to spend nearly £700 (on the frames as we couldn't purchase a single coloured bin, drawer or shelf). So I now have rather a lot of packaging sitting in the garage, that can't be put together until we get the rest of the stuff. Now that really is annoying ! Fingers crossed if we leave it another week or so, the items we want will be back in stock.

The Blooming Felt website will be open again and processing and dispatching orders from Tuesday 4th January. Thank you to everyone who has been spending their hard-earned cash over the holidays - your orders will be with you very soon.

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and crafty New Year !!!

Lucky, Lucky, Lucky

2010-12-28T15:29:00.001Z

It's time !!!

2010-12-22T12:10:00.011Z

OK - so last time, it was nearly time. This time ..... IT'S TIME !!!

Having shut up shop last Friday, I have been luxuriating (that's a word I don't use very often !) in all of the "spare" time I've had. So, we've been putting up the tree and generally getting ready for the big day.

Thank you "Maureen" (aka Morag!) for the beautiful scandanavian bunting - this was a sample she very kindly made up for me and was supposed to have been one of this month's tutorials, but due to computer problems, it didn't actually get onto the website in time.

My in-laws arrived safely from Cornwall yesterday and our woodburner was finally installed (talk about cutting it fine !)

And yes, I have even had a little time to do a few crafty projects of my own.

Pompoms - all made using the Clover pompom makers I stock in the shop (how easy are these to use ??!!), and do you remember this ........

I started this way back in about June I think it was.

It turned into

A FELT BALL WREATH !

So, all that remains to be said now is a HUGE thank you to everyone who reads this blog and to all of my lovely customers for supporting Blooming Felt throughout the year.

Have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas everyone !!

See you soon

It's nearly time !!

2010-12-13T18:23:00.008Z

Yes, it's that time of year again when everything goes completely bonkers ! The children have already broken up from school, the website is going crazy and my own Christmas preparations have got lost along the way.

Of course, having the children off school means they need to be kept amused, so last Friday we went to the Winter Wonderland in London's Hyde Park and had a fab time.

We were very lucky to see a production of "Room on the Broom", which was great (if a little long).

We also spent rather a lot of money on rides, hotdogs, mulled wine and toasted marshmallows on sticks !!

Spending so much money on the children meant it was about time they earned some of the treats they are getting at the moment so once the massive felty delivery arrived

they were quickly roped into making up lots of felt stacks.

The website is now up to date with the latest felt delivery, but goodness me, you lot must be absolutely desperate for your felty fix because you're all buying like crazy and the website is already starting to look a little depleted in some of the categories.

The last day to place your orders on the website is this FRIDAY 17TH DECEMBER. Sorry I need to close so early, but as I said before, my own Christmas preparations haven't even begun yet so I really do need to try and get organised before my in-laws arrive next week ! As usual, I'll be closed throughout the Christmas period, although the website will be open and taking orders .... they just won't be processed or despatched until 4th January 2011.

What else. Oh yes - we have unfortunately had to revise the way we distribute our tutorials. In the past, all of our tutorials have been free to download. But, with immediate effect, only the current month's tutorial is free to download. After that it will be moved to our purchasable Tutorials section where you can purchase all back copies of tutorials at a teeny weeny cost of 50p. HOWEVER, goods news, as the purchasable tutorials all now come with a shopping list which will make it easier for you to add all (or some, if you only need a few) of the required bits and bobs to your shopping cart.

Sadly, due to a technical hitch (sometimes I really hate computers!) we have been unable to add the bestest ever Christmas Tutorial to the website. Grrrrr - I am sooooooo angry. But never mind, we'll just have to save it until next year and hope that we can get a super doopa tutorial onto the website for you in January.

Every year I say that I'm going to spend a bit of time over the Christmas holidays making some crafty stuff just for me, but never get round to it.

This year, however, WILL be that year. I have been watching Kirstie's Homemade Home (or whatever it's called !) and have been inspired to get my backside into gear and finish off the many projects that I have started and also try a few new crafts.

(Robin & Christmas Tree courtesy of "Maureen")

The freehand machine embroidery and rag-rugging really excited me, so I'm hoping to spend a little time giving these a go over the holidays.

Stay warm xx

Christmas Shop now OPEN !!

2010-12-07T19:50:00.006Z

Just a real quickie because I'm drowning in stuff to get done (and Corrie is on in a mo and I need to see who dies in the tram crash !!)

The Blooming Felt Christmas Shop is now OPEN !!

If you're looking for ribbon to tie up your pressies

little gift tags

Christmassy stickers

felt brooches

hot water bottle covers

mobiles

bags

and more ..........

then get yourself over to the Christmas Shop section on our website. Things are selling fast and once they're gone .... they're gone, so you'll need to be quick.

One other thing whilst I think about it - my latest felt delivery is finally on its way to me and I'm keeping everything crossed that it will be here on Friday, which means I can get it all sorted out and loaded onto the website at the weekend ...... so watch this space !

Keep warm xx

Snow Snow go away !

2010-11-30T18:17:00.006Z

I know, I sound like a right bah humbug but really .... this snow is not good news. The children have been off school for 2 days now because of the snow, I've got orders coming out of my ears and I haven't even started my Christmas shopping !

I was hoping for a flying visit to Bluewater today to try and at least get some shopping done, but with the children off school, it just wasn't going to happen.

And the other Christmas Shopping problem I face is that my 2 break up from school next Thursday ! Arghhhhh - what to do ??!!

There is, however, a little ray of hopefulness on the horizon. The Parents Association at school have organised a coach trip up to Harrods for the day on Saturday (weather permitting of course !) Now, there is absolutely no way on this earth that I will be Christmas shopping in Harrods but there are rather a lot of other lovely shops that I can visit and hopefully do some Christmas shopping in. The plan was that we would mooch around Harrods for a couple of hours, then go and get a lovely lunch somewhere and then window shop and look at all the lovely Christmas lights and displays. However, with me still needing to buy presents for virtually everyone, I fear a mad Christmas Shopping Trolley Dash is on the cards for Saturday. Never mind, I'm sure we'll have a lovely day whatever we end up doing !

Look at those icicles on our garages !!

In the meantime, my Paypal account will be taking a hammering with, I've no doubt, purchases from Etsy, Folksy and Dawanda .... and many of the other lovely handmade websites I have bookmarked ! If you sell through any of these channels ... look out - I could be visiting you very soon !

PS. For anyone awaiting my felty delivery, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be here sometime next week

Stay warm
xx

Needles !

2010-11-16T20:38:00.006Z

After nearly a year (yes, a whole year !!!) of searching, I have finally managed to source needles that are sharp enough and have a large enough eye to take beading elastic, and are therefore absolutely perfect for threading felt balls.

I'm hoping this will make a LOT of my customers happy :o)

AND, if you want your little ones to learn the fantastic art of sewing, I've also got plastic needles now on the website.

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-11-13T17:06:00.004Z

Oh Christmas Tree

How lovely are your branches ??

Well, not really branches, more felty circles really, but how beautiful is this tree ?

This has been made by one of my lovely customers (and her little daughter). Made from one of our thick felt stacks, you can see how to make your very own felty Christmas Tree by visiting Julia's blog.

Thanks for letting me share your wonderful photo and tutorial Julia

More goodies

2010-11-08T19:31:00.005Z

Mr Postman delivered some more goodies to me today.

Beauuuuuuuuutiful Soft Cotton Thread by DMC

I've been thinking about adding thread to our ever expanding shop for quite some time now, but it took me ages and ages to decide exactly which thread would be the best to stock. Thankfully, DMC had the perfect solution !

Their Soft Cotton Thread is a single strand cotton wool which is traditionally used for tapestry and needlepoint, and being that much thicker than normal sewing thread, works perfectly with the 4mm thick wool felt that we supply.

I've chosen 22 colours to match and compliment our thick felt range.

Hope you love it as much as I do !!!

Whizz, Bang !

2010-11-07T10:33:00.007Z

I hope you all had a lovely, safe bonfire night.

We invited a number of friends over to celebrate with a big bonfire in the field, lots of fantastic fireworks, sparklers and mulled wine

I was particularly excited because my new camera has a "Fireworks" mode on it (sorry, I know that's a bid sad - but look at the lovely clear pictures !!!)

Thanks for coming guys - we had a great time !!

Christmas is coming !

2010-11-05T19:38:00.000Z

Grab yours NOW !!!

Be still my beating heart

2010-11-01T20:38:00.002Z

For they are just pom poms !!

JUST POM POMS ??!!!!

What will you do with yours ?

Scotch Pancakes

2010-10-31T13:49:00.004Z

Ingredients:

1 x Egg

Self Raising Flour

Milk

Sugar

Pour 3 little piles onto the simmering plate of the Aga

Once they've started to form air bubbles on the top

Flip them over

Cook for another 30 seconds or so on the other side

Pile up on a plate and serve warm with your choice of topping

The perfect Sunday breakfast !!

YUM !!!

I'm so lucky !!

2010-10-29T15:05:00.002+01:00

Woo Hoo !! At the risk of blowing my own trumpet .... I've been featured in Sew Hip AGAIN !! This time, I've been extremely lucky to be featured in their monthly "Sew on the Net" feature.

I'm starting to feel like royalty !

Thanks Sew Hip !!

The builders are back

2010-10-26T17:46:00.009+01:00

Why is nothing ever simple in our house ?

We decided to treat ourselves and put a woodburner into our living room. We currently have an open fire (it's a rather large fireplace!!)

and decided that open fires are far too messy and a bit dangerous, so a woodburner would be much more preferable. However, after doing lots of research and finally settling on the one we wanted, we went to a very reputable, local fireplace shop and got the guy to come round and check the chimney etc. He condemned it !!!

It turns out the previous owners had used cowboy builders to remove the old chimney stack (which used to be right in the middle of the room) and rebuild it, using a metal thing which runs from the top of the fireplace, up through the spare bedroom and the loft and then out through the roof.

Unfortunately, the cowboy builders had completely ignored all the regulations surrounding installing such a chimney. They had cut through the rafters of the house (and not put adequate replacement supports in place), along with not encasing the metal pipe thingy in a fireproof cage, and letting it rest against both the roof, the floorboards and the plasterboard chimney they constructed in the spare room. This was, of course, a complete fire hazard and it's a wonder the whole house didn't catch fire !!

So now, instead of just having a woodburner installed, which should be a simple job really, we have now had to have the entire metal chimney exposed (here it is in the spare room - please ignore horrible pine wardrobe with frou frou lampshade on top - this is not indicative of our house !!)

so that it can be fully encased in fire proof stuff (don't know the technical term!) and be actually moved away from all of the wooden joists etc. This has resulted in the sealant around the top of the chimney being dislodged which now means that the builders have to get onto our 250 year old roof to repair it all !!!

Why is nothing ever simple ??!!!

But at least my new camera arrived - YAY !! The above photos were taken with it, without me having read the instruction manual so I'm sure they can be improved on, but I'm very impressed so far. It's very clever because it just automatically adjusts itself to the lighting situation and subject !

Here is the original photo of my green spotty star buttons (as seen on the website)

and the new (trial) photo that I took just now. What a difference !!

I can't wait for the daylight tomorrow so that I can take pictures of all the lovely NEW STOCK that arrived today (and it looks like I'll have to take new photos of EVERYTHING now as the old photos are SO BAD !)

Watch this space

Cooking with Mama ..

2010-10-23T18:32:00.004+01:00

and her new AGA saucepans !

PS. This photo was NOT taken with my new camera because it didn't arrive yet ... grrrr

Be careful what you wish for

2010-10-20T20:11:00.004+01:00

The funniest thing happened on Monday. There I was, beavering away in the studio, listening to Absolute 80s on the radio and thinking how lovely it was to be doing something simple like picking and packing orders (rather than running around like a headless chicken), when the phone rang.

I answered it, in my best posh voice, as I always do, and heard the lady say "Hello, I'm calling from Create and Craft. We saw you at the Knitting & Stitching Show and loved your kits. We were wondering if you could possibly come in to do a screen test on Friday this week, with a view to presenting a 1 hour TV slot on our Create & Craft channel on Sky TV". This was met with stunned silence, before I replied (in my very best Essex accent) "is this a joke ?" !!!!

Obviously, this wasn't the reaction the lady was expecting as she burst out laughing (she probably thought "NUTTER") ! And then went on to explain exactly what it was that they were looking for, basic T&C's etc. It was REAL !! They wanted ME to take part in a one hour TV slot demonstrating MY KITS !!!

However, after my initial reaction of "Hurrah ... Fame at last", the reality of it all hit me and after lots of discussions with my trusty assistant Alison and hubby, we decided that we're just not ready (for various reasons which I won't bore you with) to take such a leap, at the current time.

So, like I say, be careful what you wish you .... it might just come true !!!!

xx

PS. Look out for fab new pics (hopefully) on the next post. I'm treating myself to a new camera !!

BLOOMING KITS !!!

2010-10-16T12:02:00.006+01:00

AT LAST !

I can finally reveal our fantabulous new Blooming Felt kits that we launched at Ally Pally last week.

These were extremely popular (thankfully) at the Show and will also be featured in the January 2011 issue of Sew Hip (out in the shops in November), so just in time for Christmas !!

First up is our lovely KITE kit. This isn't a real kite of course, because felt would never fly - but it makes a really lovely wall hanging for a girly bedroom.

As with all of our new kits, they contain all of the components to make the item - in this case, the pre-cut triangles, wool to sew them together, felt string for the tail and a mixture of felt balls, buttons and felt shapes to decorate the tail. Each kit is presented with basic instructions / ideas in a lovely printed cotton Blooming Felt drawstring bag.

All of our kits can either be sewn together or glued - we know this because we glued our samples (and they're all still intact, despite being transported to and from Ally Pally and poked and prodded at the show !) We used Superglue, but fabric glue works just as well.

The KITE kits can be found here on the website.

Next up is a ROCKET wall hanging kit - perfect for the little men in your lives. Buy it here.

And last, but by no means least, our Rainbow BUNTING kit. This kit contains enough components to make 3 metres of felt bunting - all of the flags are pre cut, you'll get 3 metres of felt string / cord and a bag full of felt balls, buttons, felt shapes and ribbons to decorate your bunting. Buy your FELT BUNTING KITS here.

The photos above are all for illustration purposes (the kits are pretty similar, but do contain some different felt shapes). Just a little word of warning - as with most things these days, our kits are unsuitable for children under the age 3 due to small parts which may present a choking hazard.

Now .... GO BUY !!!

Phew !

2010-10-13T19:00:00.004+01:00

It's official. I am EXHAUSTED !! I'm not sure if it's just that everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) has been manic over the last month, or if it's the fact that I'm a year older than I was this time last year, but boy, do I need a rest !

The Knitting & Stitching Show was fantastic. Once again, the response we had from everyone at the show was really lovely and that alone makes it all worthwhile.

I just want to say a very quick thank-you to my trusty assistant Alison who slaved away with me at the show. She's as exhausted as I am and I think she's starting to wonder what she's let herself in for ! Also, to my very good friend Amanda who once again, gave up her Saturday to help us at the show. Also my Mum & Dad for being fantastic and Paul for becoming Mummy for the best part of a week (and coping admirably !) Thank you all - I couldn't have done it without you xx

I also wanted to say a very special "Hello" to Maureen (you know who you are !) Maureen is a lovely lovely lady who started out life as a customer of mine. She now makes up all of the wonderful tutorials that you find on the website and we met for the very first time at the show. Sadly, a cup of coffee was nowhere near long enough to chat and get to know one another, but hopefully we can get together again very soon and have a proper catch up ! Thank you so much for coming Maureen - it was lovely to meet you at last xx

But, being away at the show meant that the orders piled up on the website and we are now manically trying to clear the backlog. If you are waiting for an order to be dispatched, please bear with us - we're working as fast as we can.

Sarah xx

Oh the stress !

2010-09-29T21:50:00.002+01:00

Whoever said it was a good idea to exhibit at the Knitting & Stitching Show was completely mad !

I'm going round and round in circles, still making lists (from which not much is being crossed off), lurching from one thing to the next and never actually managing to finish anything.

Sadly, some of my stock that I was wanting to take to the show still hasn't arrived, one of the kits still needs making up - well, when I say 1 of the kits, what I actually mean is 1 design of kit still needs to be made up and we need to make up 100 of the things - arghhhh. Then all of the kits need tagging with swing tags (that's 300 kits !). All of the jars need to be restocked with felt balls etc., all of the price tags need printing, all of the stock needs to be divided between batch 1 (on the stand from day 1) and batch 2 (back-up stock) and in between all of this we are still trying to process the huge amount of orders that are coming in every day.

So, this email is to inform you that any orders placed between Saturday 2nd October and Tuesday 12th October inclusive won't be processed or dispatched until Wednesday 13th October. Many, many apologies for any inconvenience this may cause but unless we stop doing orders, we're just not going to be ready for Ally Pally next week.

Sorry again and if you're coming to Ally Pally next week, do pop by and say HELLO !!!!

xx

Child Labour ...

2010-09-16T20:47:00.007+01:00

is alive and well at Blooming Felt !!!

When you buy your felt stacks, please spare a thought for these poor children (although maybe not so poor as I'm actually having to pay them !!)

Sarah x

Finally !

2010-09-09T21:15:00.006+01:00

The kitchen is FINISHED !!!!!!!

Hurrah !

I can't believe it. Nearly 6 weeks after we started, the kitchen is pretty much finished. All that remains is for me to choose the material for the blinds and get them fitted.

Maybe now, we can get on an enjoy it !!!

This week has seen my little shadow start at "big school".

After the initial excitement of her first day, she has sadly realised that she's in it for the long haul. She doesn't like the teacher because "she bosses me around" ! Sadly my gorgeous girl, that is what teacher's do. "I told them that after refreshments, we always do colouring at nursery and they said I couldn't do it" - that's because you're at big school now and not nursery anymore. "How many more times do I have to go there?" LOTS !!!

It really breaks my heart when she tells me all these things. Of course, she has her brother at the school as well, but his patience is starting to wear a bit thin because she seems to spend the lunchtimes crying and the teachers have to get Sam to try and cheer her up, which was fine to start off with, but now he's missing playing footie with his friends and is getting a bit cross with Grace.

How hard it must be to be 4 years old.