Lots of pretty things

Today was like Christmas for me! Firstly Country Living landed on the doormat, a few days late, full of gorgeous pictures as always. I always feel inspired just looking through this magazine, but it has some great articles about real people doing really interesting jobs. They have also added a new section 'Earn a Country Living' which has some excellent tips and advice for all of us rural entrepruners.

Next we headed off to the library so the girls could sign up for the reading challenge, this has become an annual event in our house, but sadly the boys have outgrown this wonderful scheme. Whilst there my son checked the reserved section for the latest Skullduggery Pleasant book he has been waiting an age for, when he discovered some books that I had reserved. I am near obsessed with fabrics and fabric crafts and agreed with Kirsty Allsopp in her last series that fabrics are like a drug. Anyway I have been interested in some craft books by Tone Finnagen but wanted to check they were worth buying so ordered them from the library and I now will be investing, they are fantastic! So I am now in crafters heaven with these great books and my new mag.

I dream of making things to sell, but I am limited for space at home which often hinders my dreams. Also time available for such a pursuit is limited due to the demands of five children and of course all the washing and mess these lovely little people create! There is a craft revival as we hark back to the make do and mend ideas of wartime Britain, but also because we want more individual pieces for ourselves, family and home that the mass produced high street doesn't offer. There are many types of craft, from jewelery making to embroidery or card making to dressmaking. I would love to make clothes again for myself and my children, maybe even my husband too! Infact Heather Ross's new book 'Weekend Sewing' is great place to start with simple instructions and gorgeous clothes for all the family. I have even managed to purchase an Amy Butler pattern for a tunic and cut the fabric, then I was sidetracked by something the children were doing and I promise to finish this project this summer. Amy Butler has also written 2 great books, one for items for the home and yourself and one for little ones. I have both these books gathering dust with all best intentions of making nearly everything in them.

Now that I have two more books to browse it leads me to focus more on my skills and which things I love to and would not get fed up with. I love to hand sew and embroider and have many ideas for little pictures using both these skills and I feel I would never tire of this. I also like making little toy animals and dolls from fabric so Tone Finnagens books are truly inspiring. Maybe I have just struck on my ideal career. But where to sell my wares? Thankfully the internet has lead to a great marketplace for craft workers but are some of the bigger sites worth the commission fees? Ideally I would like to have a 'shop' on www.notonthehighstreet.com but I would probably start with www.misi.co.uk or www.folksy.co.uk . As for www.etsy.com I feel this is too huge to make any money unless you can get noticed quickly. Obviously you could create your own website but need it to be good to be noticed. Other outlets are in the real world. There are many craft fairs around the country, some very big with expensive stand fees, but if you are going to sell £3000 worth of stock in the weekend then the £150+ stand fee is value for money. Another option is to ask local independant boutique home stores or farm shops if they would be interested in stockimg your products. It is worth looking first to see if your products would fit into their style or if they already stock something very similar. If you are satisfied that they could sell your product ask the shop assistant if they stock locally produced items and then ask if it's possible to see the manager another day to view your products.

I'm off now to dig around in my sewing cupboard for my next creation!