Would You Like to Play?....

Hello dearies? how are you all, we hope your head didn't hurt too much from your St. Patrick's days festivities. We've spent a lot of the time hiding from the drunken race goers who descend on Cheltenham once a year...its been quite an adventure!

Anyway....if you could please lend me your ears (or eyes) i would be most grateful...

We are going to take part in an arts/craft swap. it is an international swap, and all you have to do is make one lovely hand made piece ( be it a picture,a card,a purse,something beady,something sparkly...anything goes!) in return you get 36 pieces sent to you from all over the world. it works on a sort of chain type system...when i think about it too much hurts my head...but trust me it will work.

soo if you would like to play in this art/craft swap please get in touch by leaving a comment or dropping us an email.

we decided to do it because there are some rather talented people already playing and stuff like this is kind of what blogging is all about. think of the all the new people you could get in touch with just through making one small thing.

anyway....hopefully hear from you soon!!

Warmest Regards!

(Thanks for listening to this StuffedNonsense broadcast!)

Posted by Bex.

Well Lookee Here...

Spring has definitely sprung here in sunny 'ol Cheltenham. I'm sat here typing this in my lovely sunny and bright sewing corner supping on a cup and saucer of St Margaret's Hope First Flush Darjeeling (ohhhh that's sounds fancy doesn't it!?) whilst listening to my shiny new (belated Christmas present from ma and pa smith) DAB radio...readers let me tell you, it is a thing of beauty all retro style with cream and brown and a big dial on the front....wonderful!

Anyway, we have been a little bit absent around these parts and its most definitely time to get spring cleaning....i think I've gotten rid of most of the cobwebs but things are still pretty busy so please hang in there if there are a few still floating about.

Right...the PipSqueaks are finally up and running!! It took El and I about 6 goes to get the design right. It was great to see our design process working, we sure do make a good team i think!! Here they are...

These four are the free standing ones that have squeakers in them (there were five of them but one got snapped up by ma smith) please note the lovely flowery background fabric which is destined to become a pair of ohh so fashionable culottes for me to wear in the summer...if my jedi sewing skills and stretch that far!

(please excuse the chipped grey nail varnish! i went to a party at the weekend dontcha know! and i haven't taken it off yet cos I'm classy that way!)i like the way that this one looks like he is asking a question.this one has nice old bit of Amy Butler Fabric for her tail and wings.and i think this one just looks a bit mean, don't mess with her!

I like it when we make things like these little guys. At StuffedNonsense we make a conscious effort to only work from loose patterns so when we make little critters like these guys each one is guaranteed to be different in one way or another...I think that's a nice thing.

What else? Hopefully telling all of you lovely people this bit of news wont jinx anything...but I'm too excited not to tell you all. If , at the end of April, you happen to by a wonderful magazine called Sew Hip! you will probably (fingers crossed...) find a tutorial on how to make the PipSqueaks (written by our own fair hands!) and also (and rest assured my fingers and toes are crossed even tighter for this one) you may find a bit of a feature on us!!! EEEEEKKKKK!! we are soo honoured and happy to be asked to help with this magazine (I've brought it since issue one!!) So if you please, send all your good luck thoughts to us!!

Also, StuffedNonsense is going to be rocking like true felt princesses at TWO music festivals this year!! Wohooooo, from the 4th-6th of June we will be running felt monster making tutorials at The Wychwood Festival in Cheltenham; And from the 10th to the 12th of September we will probably be at The End Of The Road Festival in Dorset, showing the lovely people down there how to monster it up!!

Soooo, there you have it that's all of our exciting news....we hope we haven't jinxed it for us but we had to let you all know because loads of you have been there with us from the start and its only fair. It looks like the StuffedNonsense journey is getting more and more exciting doesn't it?! We're glad your here to join in with us!!

P.S. the PipSqueaks SHOULD be up on folksy by the end of this afternoon.

Posted by Bex

Recent Comings And Goings...

Alright there dearest followers?

Its been a busy week at StuffedNonsense, with lots of planning and furious stitching. Following the success of HandMade for Haiti we had a few orders to quickly make up, including a batch of rather colourful and cute Warm Thoughts for a customer...There were also a few Spring/Summer ideas which we wanted to launch. "Ooohhh how exciting!" we hear you say! And we would like to say back that at this point in time things are rather exciting for for us and our little shop. We wont say much more in case we tempt fate, but we promise to let you know when its all confirmed!

Anyway...where were we? Spring/Summer...

First up are these sweet little creations, they are called PipSqueaks...

The free standing ones squeak when you give them a little squeeze, but the hanging ones don't though. Perfect for Spring and Easter, they will be in our folksy shop soon (and also hopefully MADE) just as soon as we transform from almost round calico balls...

Also, we've been working on some bits and pieces for the home. Now the sun is beginning to make more of an appearance we felt the need to create whatnots to help you enjoy the sun at home. Imaging sitting on a garden chair, in a patch of sun, your favorite paperback on the table by your side, enjoying a delicious cup of Rosie Lee (and some cake!) ohhh so delicately placed upon this wonderful placemat and napkin...

We've also conjured up a design for some coasters which we think would make a lovely mothers day present. They brighten up any coffee table...
And last, but by no means least, some place mats, perfect for protecting your dinning table!

Righto', that's it for tonight my dears, its time for some rather delightful sausage and mash and then some equally delightful music!

Posted by Bex.

PHEW!!

Well...we said we would raise some money for Haiti...

And boy did we do it! A HUGE thank you to every one who helped out today, the sellers, the customers, our friends, arthur for making tea, john for carrying bags of cakes, rich for taking photos (not the ones you will see here..yet..he has a fancy camera so there will be better ones to come soon!) We made a fabulous (drum roll please..) £240 for UNICEF to go towards the relief they are providing in Haiti as we speak.
'Well, this all sounds wonderful' i can hear you say 'but what about some pictures?' Ohhh alright then...

TaaDaa...the first batch of cakes done!

A Tea break...i swear i am not eyeing up the wonderful Victoria sponge...honest.

Some of the other baked wonders. Don't worry...the cakes were lovely but we aren't going to open a bakery instead of running our shop. We were baking these beauties until half ten...which is probably responsible for Bex looking like this this morning...

But on the other hand it was responsible for all of these lovelies cakes. the giant cookie was donated by the lovely Mrs Smith (or Bex's mum)...

We thought we would finish up with some pictures of the lovelies which were so very kindly donated by NelliD, Lou Peaujeux, Oh badgers, and Wollies....

NelliD's wonderful jewellery...The coolest buttons and brooches from Wollies.Awesome badge sets from loupeaujeuxSome cards from Bobbie Thomas.Just a sampler of some of the awesome screen printed cards from OhBadgers.

Well, I'm afraid I'm in danger of falling asleep at the laptop so that's all for now...

thank you!

xx

Posted by Bex

HandMade for Haiti's Little Helpers...

O.K. so when we said we would be back on Saturday with some more info on HandMade for Haiti what we meant to say was we will be back a week on Saturday...hope your not disappointed in us...and if you are we hope we can fix it with some lovely pictures for you right now!

So we're going to let you know about the four (yep that's right four!) new and exclusive sellers to StuffedNonsense. They have ohh so kindly donated some of their handmade wonders to our cause...but be quick...their lovelies are only here for the 27th and two weeks after that, then they will be winging their way back to their masters.

O.K....Ready? Then we shall begin....

First up we have NelliD, we are super chuffed that this talented lady wanted to help our village tea party inspired fundraiser. We've had our beady eyes on her handmade wonders for a while. She describes herself as an 'eccentric British designer, with a love for all things Royal Britannia and Kitsch Fairy tales. Her choice of colour and shape in her jewellery is seriously cute. She also has a healthy appreciation for face hair...something which is must for us (as both of our handsome young man friends have hairy faces.) See for yourself...

I'm am seriously a little bit in love with these beauties, the gold flamingos are wonderful.The wonderful 'Tashley Tote'..tipping her hat to the moustaches!Such a kitsch brooch...love the little flower details on it. Find NelliD on her folksy, etsy, her sparkly website, her blog and twitter. Or in StuffedNonsense from the 27th!
Next up we have Oh Badgers. OhBadgers is run by Steph and she is an illustration student with a rather lovely talent for making lovely things. we were first attracted to her work because she uses lots of images of birds (and I love birds...in fact I'm typing this with my favorite bird jumper on!). we love her Screen Printed Owl envelopesAnd also her Ostrich Skeleton Pendant
Find more of her lovely work on her folksy shop, or her etsy shop.
Then we have, the wonderful creations of Olly from Wollies. We've had dealings with this talented young lady before and we have to say that's he is truly charming. She describes her work as 'Colourful, Quirky and Made with care' We are in love with every item she comes up with we actually need these little beauties. And these little brooches are such a good idea (we know because we have one ourselves!) Find her on folksy, her blog, or her website.
Lastly but by no means least we have the ohh so talented Lou Peaujeux, She is a freelance illustrator with some serious style! Her cards are wonderful, we love the way she makes them around commonly used sayings such as these awesome cards
And we just love her style of illustrations, especially (yep you guessed it) her birds...
We're pretty sure that we need this mirror. Find her on her folksy shop, or blog.

Well, what do you think? its going to be an awesome day isn't it? we've just got the metres of bunting to make and the cakes and then we should be there...fingers crossed! we will keep you posted and promise to take lots of pictures of the day for you (if you can't come!)

Speak Soon

xx

Posted by Bex

February's Featured Seller!!!

Good Evening, How are you all doing?

We think its about time that we got on with this featured seller business (as this was something we wanted to roll out in December!...never let it be said that we are un-organised!)

So without further ado...

Ladies and gentlemen please may we introduce you to the wonderful creations and talent of Emma Castle; the mastermind and fabricator behind Bagladee.

This lovely lady has been brightening up our Internet world for a while now thanks to her cheerful blog and attitude to making.

Every item that she makes is soo wonderfully finished and designed that they leave you in wonderment. No job is too small or large for Emma, she delights in the challenge of a custom order.

If the Bagladee lovelies we have in the shop aren't quite what your looking for please hop over to her website, blog or etsy shop! we guarantee you wont be disappointed! The pictures speak for themselves really!

Emma very kindly agreed to answer a few questions for us...

1.Who are you influenced by.
I would have to say my fellow bloggers that I have met throughout the time I've been crafting....they are so lovely. Being in a creative social environment always inspires me.
2.Whats your favorite thing to make?
Oh no, can I only choose 1? Well I'm going to cheat and pick 2!! Machine Sewing: it has to be making the new bags in my collection, they are more challenging to make and I like a good challenge! Hand sewing: it would have to be my felt brooches, I like nothing better than a cup of tea, sitting with a mountain of felt around me and my sewing tray on my lap.
3.Whats the best thing about being able to sew/make things by hand?
The look of appreciation and admiration on a recipients face when they see what you've created.
4.Tea or Coffee?
Tea, no coffee, no tea....errrmm both!! I have to admit I drink far too much coffee, I own a very lovely coffee machine so I'm a bit partial to a latte or cappuccino or two :)
5.Whats your favorite colour?
Magenta, with teal a very close 2nd.
6.Who's stuff are you loving/liking at the moment (folksy shops,etsy shops etc)
Obviously I'm a fan of the quirky little creations from Stuffed nonsense, but I also lovely paper-and-string, sweetpoppycat, shoofly on etsy. I have to confess I don't spend half as much time on folksy as I'd like, but I do love my friends shop mybeadyeye on folksy, she does the loveliest jewellery.
7.High Street or Hand Made Street?
Handmade is always a winner over hightstreet but sometimes its necessary to buy hightstreet over handmade (sorry!) although I'm definitely not a label lover and I'm always conscious of where my purchases are coming from and how they are made.
8.If you were stuck desert island what three things would take with you?
My sewing kit
fabric/felt
My journal
I could sew until my heart is content whilst listening to my favourite songs and writing ideas and drawings in my journal.....can I be stranded now pleaseeee?? :)

Sooo there you have it, that is Bagladee, please pop over and say hi because she is a lovely lady who we know would be pleased to hear from you!

We will be back on Saturday with some new HandMade For Haiti News!

Posted by Bex

HandMade For Haiti...

Hi There!

How are you all today.

I would like to apologise for the previous wordy post....I was typing as i was thinking (BIG mistake) However StuffedNonsense is back with a more concise post full of information about a super wonderful charity event we have planned. soooo...drum roll please!

HandMade For Haiti.

HandMade for Haiti will be on Saturday the 27th of February and it is an exclusive shopping day for anyone who is able to come. we are going to pack our little shop to the rafters with handmade awesomeness. All money raised will go the section of UNICEF which is dealing with earthquake victims of Haiti.

When we say exclusive shopping day what we mean is that we will kit out our shop in the style of village tea party. so prepare yourself for bunting, cups and saucers, cakes, party rings, tea, 1920's music and other such wonderful things.

As well as our own hand made items we will also be stocking some extra special bits and pieces from a wealth of other very talented designers and makers. all ready confirmed are NellieD2, Wollies and LouPeajeux...fingers crossed we will be able to offer the people of Cheltenham a right 'ol shopping shindig.

If any of you lovely people reading this would like to donate some items please get in touch! rest assured we will take no money from you (or the sale of your item) and will return your items (if they don't sell on the day) two weeks after (in case we can persuade people to buy at a later date!)

O.K. onto some pictures. As some of our readers may know we also sell our stuff in a super cool shop in Cirencester (a local village) called MADE. This shop is wonderful, its like a trip to a sweet shop whenever we take new stock to them. Well they rang us earlier in the month asking for some new lovelies, we jumped to our stations and sewed furiously until our sewing machines could sew no more! ( the poor things!)...Crabbittz's and Snoozes (without there faces...rest assured they were sewn on that night!)Normal DustBunnies and DustBunny key rings.Warm Thoughts (i like how lost and confused the little one at the back looks)

We also sent up a few more bits and pieces, and are going to be going for another trip in the next few weeks!

Right...that's it for tonight folks. watch this space for an interview with the ohh so talented Bagladee and more info on HandMade for Haiti.

Take Care x

Posted by Bex