In the News

Thanks to everyone that shopped from the Super Sale - sure is good not having to pack up so many items for the move!

So after consulting random.org ;) the winner of the In The News Jewellery set is......

Lydia Persson

Congrats! I'll get these in the post to you :)

Thanks again for all your support, there are still a few sweet designs for sale on my Felt and Etsy shop's for you.

:) Hope you all have a happy  holiday season, I'm off to move house, celebrate Christmas with friends and family and finish organising my wedding (oh and get married!).

Holiday Time!

So the Holiday Season is nearly upon us....and Sweet Designs is going on Holiday.

Between working full time and running Sweet Designs, it can get hard to fit other parts of life in. I want to be able to spend time this festive season with friends and family, have time to make myself some decorations, and indulge in some Christmas baking. On top of that I'm planning out wedding currently - its quite a DIY wedding, so there is lots for me to do - and I want to enjoy making things and planning my wedding without feeling stressed to fit it in around work and business. So to avoid a Brideszilla scene ;) I'm sending Sweet Designs on Holiday for about 6mths.

This break will also give me the time to refocus Sweet Designs - I have a list of new product ideas longer than the length of my arm. So hopefully this will give me a chance to narrow down the list, trial some ideas, and come back in six months time with a fresh new product range. (I'll hopefully catch up on all the paperwork I'm waaaaaaaaay behind in to!)

So keep an eye out for the re-launch of Sweet Designs towards the middle of 2013.
(while I won't be selling any pre made items or making custom orders anymore I will still have a limited range of self cover buttons and jewelry findings, so please make contact if you're after any of these in the next 6months)

And now this is where you come in to the plan.... I have lots of pre-made stock that needs to go. I need the space - and you get to do your Christmas Shopping for SUPER CHEAP.

Check out the SUPER SALE album on my Facebook page for some awesome shopping. All items have 50% or more off, so you can get some sweet things for a steal! On top of that, anyone who purchases from the Super Sale goes in the draw to win this lovely "In the News" Set valued at $30.

Rules of the Sale
- To purchase please comment SOLD under the item you wish to buy - remember to make sure your privacy settings are set to public for these comments so other buyers know you have purchased.
- Shipping will be calculated once you have finished shopping. I am happy to give an estimate on request.
- Once you've finished shopping please email sweetdesignsnz@gmail.com with your purchases and delivery address.
- I will then confirm your order and provide payment details.
- Payment can be made by bank deposit, paypal, or cash if you are picking up your items
- Payment must be made within 3days of payment details being sent, or items will be relished.
- Items will be shipped within 2days of receiving payment (unless otherwise notified)
- You are then in the competition to win the "In the News' Jewelry Set.

The competition winner will be drawn by random.org once all purchases have been shipped.

Thank you for all your support, and I look forward to sharing the new Sweet Designs next year.

HANDMADE2012

Yesterday I went to one of the HANDMADE workshops - The No Fuss Approach to Home Styling and Floral Arrangements taken by the lovely Stella of Lennox Design Studio. It was a lovely fun filled afternoon, with lots of inspiring pretty pictures and ideas. We also got to play with flowers and arrange them in vessels we'd brought from home. We were lucky enough to be allowed to bring our arrangements home with us - this is one of the arrangements I made. A simple bunch of flowers in one of my Wedgewood teapots. This color of flowers isn't something that I'd normally be drawn to, but it matched in quite nicely with the color of the flower on the teapot, and (if I say so myself) the finished arrangement is quite pretty :)

And of course I've now been inspired to freshen up the look of our wee house - under the guise of tidying/cleaning of course, as then its a legitimate distraction from completing my accounts ;) There are so many ideas out there for things to brighten up the home without hiring a home decorator or blowing the bank account away! Most of my ideas are stored on Pinterest at the moment - but there are more there than I can keep up with :D


How are you spending your Queens Birthday Weekend?

Distractions

In amongst distracting myself from completing the financials and many other things on the to-do-list I've managed to sneak in a little bit of sewing. I'd been given this cute fabric ages ago by a generous customer, and had been looking for something to make with it. I think the purse is a good start :) (still have more fabric to use!)


Was interesting sewing something other than bunting and nappy wallets....was a bit worried if it was going to work for a while there!

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?