A project for me....

A while ago (like nearly a year!) I bought Cath Kidson's book SEW - it came with the pieces and pattern to make a cute little handbag. About 6mths ago or so, I finally took the fabric out of its bag and started following the pattern....like a lot of projects it got so far and then no further..... well finally I finished it! 

Pretty Darn Cute if I say so myself!

A Balancing Act

So having being a pirate for part of my life (well thats a slight dramatization.... I spent quite a few  years living & working on yachts around the world) you'd think I'd have good balance...well maybe the fact I fell over and cracked my ribs on a stationary boat gives an indication as to my balancing abilities! And as for work-life balance...it's not my strong point. I'm quite good at over committing myself ;) So my plan for 2012 is to practice having a bit more balance...between working full time and running Sweet Designs, it can be a juggling act to spend time with friends and family, let alone spending time with myself.

So this year....a few less markets, a few less pegs, a bit more me time, and maybe even some more crafting-just-for-fun time. 

As you can see I have quite a pile of things waiting to be made into different crafty projects....and the list that goes with it is as long as my arm - so this year I'm hoping to make a few more of those things. What does this mean for you? You get the opportunity to buy one-of items and place custom orders. I will still have things for sale in MadeIt and on Felt and if you want a custom order you can email me. It might also mean that my facebook page is a little bit quieter than last year....but rest assured, I'm still around and I still love your support :)

What are you plans for 2012?

Christmas Gifts for $10 or under

Wanting to support local handmade businesses? Fill the stockings? Find a Secret Santa gift? or stick to your gift budget? Here are a few gift ideas for under $10.

Hmmm so I've re-written this blog about 4 times and tried to load photos about 10x that! So to avoid further delays in sharing this blog with you, I'm going to do a pictureless list! More encouragement for you to click on the links below and check out all the goodness these businesses have to offer :)

Missy Books Online

A collection of colourful children's books, Missy has a book called Wendel on sale for only $5. 14x12cm size,16 pages, ISBN 978-0-473-18472-8.

Sweet Designs

Sweet button accessories, including earrings, rings, bobby pins & hair ties made using a collection of gorgeous fabrics - all $10 or less. Also cute peg magnets great for decorating the fridge and keeping it organised at the same time.

Pineapple Designs

Cute pencil cases ($10) and coin purses ($8) to name a few, lots of colourful fun to be found.

Foxy Show Browbrands

Lovely charm earrings which are priced from $5.00 to $8.00. THere are heaps of different styles and they're also available with surgical steel hooks if required

D'Pendants

Pendants made from designer scrabble tiles for $9 - a large variety to choose from and customs designs are also made.

Lilly Dee Designs

Cute softies, blankies and sweet decorations to be had for $10 and under.

Moo And Floo

Cool Kids clothing - check out the sale album for some goodies under $10.

Lady Bracknells' Bags

Cute kids bags and purses.
Make sure you let these lovely businesses know where you found them when you pop over to look at their creations :)

Happy Shopping!

Bunting Competition Winner

So the correct answer to how many triangles of fabric I needed to cut is:

572

9+6+3+4=22 sets of bunting
22 x 13 (number of flags per set) = 286
286 x 2 (each flag is double sided so needs 2 triangles per flag) = 572


Thanks to everyone who entered and thanks for all the new ideas - I thought I'd share them with you :)


- Starry Night Horizon
- Cupcakes
- Dinosaurs
- Trucks & Diggers
- Thomas the Tank Engine
- Bob the Builder
- Chuggingtons
- Happy Birthday
- Girly/Party


                                 And the winner of the $20 voucher is.....

Mary-Therese Nalder

( You're voucher will be emailed to you shortly :) )

                                 Thanks for everyones participation :)

Bunting on the Brain

So as I've already mentioned I'm making LOTS of bunting at the moment....and its gone to my brain so I'm going to do a competition.


What you need to do is working out the following maths problem and email your answer to sweetdesignsnz@gmail.com by midnight Saturday 22nd October (NZ time). Make sure you read to the bottom so you don't miss ways to get an extra entry.


Calculate the Answer:
I am making 9 custom sets of bunting, 6 sets of bunting for the shop Made.It, 3 sets of bunting for the shop Twice As Nice, and 4 sets of Christmas bunting (for you to purchase!). How many triangles of fabric do I need to cut out in total? (HINT: the rest of the information about my bunting can be found on my Facebook page.)


All correct answers go in the draw to win a $20 Sweet Designs voucher ( to be used before the end of the 2011)


For an extra entry: Tell me what themed bunting you'd like to see next :)
For an extra extra entry: get your friends and family to like Sweet Designs Facebook Page (make sure they say you sent them so I know to give you an extra entry)