draw, glue, glitter, make

Shedraws.co.uk

2011-11-28T06:12:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already seen on twitter, this blog is not closed, but I have a brand new blog over at shedraws.co.uk.

Come and join us there!

Another dress for sale

2011-05-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

Another dress for sale..

Henry Holland square spot dress from Debenhams.

Size 12 but has no stretch so would fit a 10 comfortably.

Worn just a few times.

Cute collar and short skirt.

£15 including p&p.

I will take offers... my last dresses went for £12!

Just leave a message or contact me on twitter.

Since...

2011-04-06T13:47:00.000-07:00

Since ebay is not letting me upload pics i thought i'd just post them here incase anyone is interested.

Monsoon 100% Silk shift dress

Black/grey with grey, pink, red and cream art paint pattern.

Lined inside.

No stretch.

Size 12 but would be better suited to a 10.

Worn a few times but in really good condition.

Would be great for summer wedding.

**Belt not included.

£15 including P&P. SOLD

Forever 21 dress from the US

Size L - would fit a 14

100% cotton.

Lightweight with an extra underskirt.

Love love love this dress, however i got the wrong size and it just doesn't fit.

Only worn about twice so in good condition.

£15 including P&P. SOLD

Let me know if you are interesting in either of these. I am willing to take offers too so please let me know what you would like to offer.

Thanks!

See Our Sale

2011-01-16T11:35:00.000-08:00

We have a mega sale on, in our Folksy shop.

Many items are discounted with 50% off due to us moving house again soon.

Find more items here...www.folksy.com/shops/shedraws

Lonny Magazine

2011-01-15T04:03:00.000-08:00

I have just discovered an online magazine called Lonny.

I am drooling over the pictures whilst I type because they are just a feast for the eyes!

I have no more words for this post on Lonny Magazine because whatever I say couldn't do it any justice, just find it here and take a cup of tea with you. You may be a while.

Proper Crimbo

2010-12-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

It's not a proper Christmas without a Christmas tree now is it? So whilst I'm sharing a house with others i've made do with this teeny weeny real Christmas tree.

I bought it from a stall at a craft market last weekend in Brixton and the girl even told me I can keep it alive until next year!

I decorated this mini piece with cut up paper straws and threaded onto some crochet cotton, some polka dot ribbon, a paper cut I made of stars and topped by a lovely coral red vintage button. Both the ribbon and button were gifted to me by Teasemade I think.

The little addition house at the bottom comes as a greetings card which you cut out and glue together. It's designed by a new favourite designer of mine, Lucy Jane Batchellor.

2010-12-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Brand new perpetual calendar in the shop now!!

Buy it here.

Eat Drink Chic gift tags

2010-12-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

Find these super typographic christmas tags as free downloads from Eat Drink Chic.

Get the downloads here.http://www.eatdrinkchic.com/post.cfm/holiday-freebie-typographic-gift-tags

Light a candle.

2010-11-29T00:45:00.000-08:00

These two tins are mini post offices!

This is the cutest tiny teacup ever!

My sister's shop Mr Wick has some new super candles stocked ready for Christmas. We totally love the little tins disguised at shops and that miniature tea cup! It's totally the cutest thing ever and you can reuse it after too!!
She has her best selling Colmans tins in stock too, but you've already missed out on her super huge marmite jar!

Find her shop HERE.

29 days to go, 29% off!

2010-11-26T03:05:00.000-08:00

Just 29 days to go so we have 29% off for today only in our Etsy shop.

Since we had a bit of a swap around at SheDraws a couple of months ago we have very limited stock so this is a great opportunity to get those stocking fillers before we are out completely!

Just type in the code above: 29DAYS at the checkout.

Have fun!

O' Christmas Tree.

2010-11-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

I love this card by I am Cheapskate.

Buy one here and a whole pack here!!

Diamond rings

2010-11-15T12:10:00.000-08:00

Rubber stamp rings in the shop.

Meet Cedric

2010-11-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

Cedric is the name of our vintage inspired gentleman!

Set of 4 cards in the shop.

Fancy Tea Swap 2010

2010-11-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

So it seems to be that about this time last year I threw my very first swap which happened to be a fancy tea swap and a very fancy one at that. I know lots of my twitterers and blog followers love tea and so lets hope we'll make another sucessful swap this year. I think this is a great swap, because for tea lovers which is minimal effort but lots to gain!

To be part of my swap all you have to do is:

Love tea.
Love trying different tea.
Email me over your name & address & the teas you have tried before to shedraws[at]hotmail.com
Send at least 5 different tea bags or loose leaf tea samples to your swapping partner.
A tea related extra of low value like stickers, card, tags or anything you'd like to make etc.
And finally enjoy!

This swap is open until 15th November to sign up and then until the 30th of November to send out the tea.

Enjoy!

Delish

2010-11-07T07:41:00.000-08:00

These soap cupcake are just so mouthwatering. They are incredibly realistic looking for soaps and I just can't imagine the amount of effort gone into these beauties!

Check out Delish Bath Treat's shop on Folksy, where Debi who is a beauty therapist by day makes these fab treats by night. She has loads more of other goodies, like bubbles bars and lolly soaps.

Home

2010-11-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

I love this garlands from Stacey Winters. I love the christmassy homemade look and the glitter is so nostalgic!

The Wheatfield

2010-10-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

I just found The Wheatfield shop on Etsy and I am in love. So inspiring, colourful, a feast for the eyes. I might have to get a print, but which one!?

Recipes.

2010-10-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Now I'm not designing for my shop anymore, I am working on collating some favourite recipes of mine. I am hoping to do some paintings of the finished thing, or process or the baking.

I'm not sure how this little project will work out but I hope it'll be so cute!

Meet Alex.

2010-10-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

This is Alex, and what he says is true, he is now top chap at SheDraws, which also means the SHOP is back open!

YAY!

I'm so pleased it is open and that Alex is going to be running and designing for the shop.

At the moment there is no new stock, but we have some favourites left, although very limited stock might I add, but you can see grab some goodies for Christmas, and hopefully we can get you some lovely jubbly designs ready soon.

Feel free to let us know what your favourite items are in the shop and what designs you like best so we can get creating some even better stuff.

Jessica Dance

2010-10-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

Check out this super duper video by Jessica Dance who shows how she lovingly creates the most fabulous fabric jewellery creatures.

These are the just the stills, but click to see the video here!!!.

From the Market.

2010-10-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

I have no idea what these flowers are, but I just love them. The lovely market lady also gave me an extra two as it was nearly closing time.

Carrier Pigeon

2010-10-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, when London Design Week was on, Selvedge mag set up a stitching shop in the V&A for passers by and great fans to join in and stitch some lovely pigeons that were perfectly screen printed by Thornback & Peel. Both Sami Teasemade and I went along to this great day and lovingly created our very own pigeon to keep once the whole troop of them had taken part in a photo shoot at Trafalgar Square.

Pigeons, by the way, are a long running connection which me since my boyfriend affectionately calls me Pigeon, or Pige, as did Jack Duckworth to his beloved Vera. Since this started Pigeons seem to follow me, including one time when I rescued a racing pigeon from preying cats for 3 whole days until her owner could arrange a collection.

Anyway, you can view more exciting pigeon stitch photo's on Teasemades blog and also on the Selvedge Flickr site where my pigeon sits proudly with a Lion!

It was a truly great day, so you should sign up to Selvedge's mailing list to find out about future events and I will see you there!

Blowing away the cobwebs.

2010-10-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

I realised I hadn't blogged for a while and things have been busy. I'm still deciding what to do about my blog and how to take it to the next stage, so please excuse the huge gaps in between each post!

Whilst things have been busy, nothing too exciting has been going on and every time I go out I forget to take my camera! I promise to go and explore my new place to call home with my camera next time, so for now I leave you with a picture from Sunday when the Boyfriend took me to see some car event at Brands Hatch. It was such a gorgeous say and I was pleased to be able to wear my new rayban clubmaster's glasses all day long.

Flour pot

2010-09-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

My eyes nearly popped out when I saw this delicious bakery packaging for The Flour Pot Bakery. They are just the best.

Found Via Twig & Thistle.

Pigeon Appeal.

2010-09-18T01:10:00.000-07:00

Today and tomorrow Selvedge are having a pigeon making workshop at the V&A where you can drop in and make some lovely pigeons by Thornback & Peel.

I can't wait and I'm going with the big bird lover Teasemade!

Anyone else going?

So far

2010-09-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

So far my new job and home is going really well. I really like my knew job, it's something I have always dreamed of, what I really wanted to do and I really do have to pinch myself when i leave work because I just can't believe I am there. When I am at work, working on these great briefs and seeing what everyone else is getting to do, I just take it with a pinch of salt and only when I come home, I think wow.

I wish I could tell you all about the gorgeous things we're all designing but since we work for far ahead, although for christmas 2011 it's hard to say anything without giving it all away! I hope you can understand!

I haven't blogged for a while now, but I have been thinking about it and thinking about what I can now do now i'm not selling like before. I hope that my blog can brings fresh, lovely things, a feast for the eyes, perhaps some DIY projects and just things I see and are inspired by. Today I will leave you with some pictures of Celia Birtwell's new season at John Lewis. Looooove her stuff and I'd really love the white top.

Bye for now!

Booted

2010-08-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Please give me some good advice and tell me which of these you think would be the best for me to get!

I first saw the top pair from River Island on someone's blog and fell in love. They look perfect for walking and keeping the feet warm, but I think they're a tad pricey for a fashion brand. I never trust "fashion" brand shoes because the ones I have owned have always fallen apart, even leather ones! So I still remain suspicious. So on that note, I searched for similar boots with a lesser price tag for fashion shops and I just cannot decide.

Or should I go with the wild card of orange brogues?

Please let me know your thoughts!

Thank you!

Tiny Galaxies.

2010-08-27T01:16:00.000-07:00

Such unusual ways to use resin within jewellery, by Tiny Galaxies. They are an excellent choice for semi precious stone lovers!

Mouth watering.

2010-08-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

This blog makes my mouth water!

Easy rider.

2010-08-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

More lovely things at Teasemade.

Iced up

2010-08-25T08:24:00.001-07:00

Such cute head treats found here.

Sillosaurus

2010-08-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Meet my sillosaurus dinosaur screen printed notebooks.

Available 2 for £10.

Don't forget that I'm on the move to London and so my shop should be on hold by the end of the week and I am unsure when it will reopen (or if i'll be able to make any lovely things!) so please get your goodies now and help me to lighten my moving load!

Modern Calligraphy

2010-08-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

This type is just GORGEOUS!

Find lots more here.

What will become of She Draws?

2010-08-19T01:38:00.000-07:00

As some of you may have heard via Twitter, I now have a new job, which is going to be making some big changes for starters I need to up sticks and move down to London.

This leaves She Draws hanging with a question mark above it.

This is certainly not the last of She Draws, but for the moment I really cannot say how must the shop will be around and how much lovely stock there will be. I don't know if I'll be able to make all my usual things and screen print at home like I did before and so at the end of the month She Draws will officially go on hold until further notice.

So this leads me to say that if you really do have items favourited for birthdays and Christmas now is the time to get them because who knows where they will be in a few months?! I would also like to add that all my Tshirts are just £10 this month and I will throw in extra gifts and goodies with all orders in the meantime since I've found lots of things whilst sorting it all out.

P.S Thanks to all my lovely customers who have supported my shop over the couple of years! It's greatly appreciated.

P.P.S My new job is being a graphic designer for a lovely place creating even lovelier things for packaging and gifts!

Make candles with Mr Wick

2010-08-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

There is still a bit of time to book an evening this making soy wax candles with my sister Katie, the face behind Mr Wick.

The candle making is happening this Wednesday from 6.30pm until 8.30pm and located at the COW workshops in the Custard Factory Birmingham.

It's just £15 per person and this is the perfect occasion to learn how to make your own candles and create a gift either for yourself or save it for christmas!

Back to school (or college or uni?)

2010-08-11T01:06:00.000-07:00

That's right, 2 notebooks for £10, find them here.

The Pencil

2010-08-07T08:50:00.000-07:00

This pencil art is just breathtaking and these are some of my favourites.

I found the mini pieces of art here and the rest of the article is pretty fascinating too.

OMG

2010-08-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

I love these!

Created by YCN and available in their shop and they were found here.

Weddings

2010-08-03T03:38:00.000-07:00

I love these old wedding pictures of Hollywood celebrities.

I found them here.

Ten Pound Tees

2010-08-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ten pound tees for August in my Folksy shop.

Classic Smiles

2010-08-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Some of the old boys giving us smiles at the Silverstone Classic last week.

For the ladies

2010-07-30T03:44:00.000-07:00

Finally the shops have some Mr Britain tshirts for the ladies. A much demanded item!

For sale here and here.

LOWER international P&P!!!

2010-07-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

What did you say?

That's right, lower international P & P prices.

Many of my items weigh under 50g, which to my surprise, equals super good international shipping value and so i've passed this on to all my lovely overseas customers. Most items in my Etsy shop now apply for this lower international P&P rates, including my best sellers, jewellery and my lovely new (and useful) tins!

YAY!

Image found here.

I found this blog

2010-07-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

And I really love it, especially Jane's interior shots.

For more lovely things, check out her blog here.

New things.

2010-07-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

More lovely new things in both my UK shop and US shop.

Enjoy!

Iv Orlov

2010-07-27T06:18:00.000-07:00

I love these super retro illustrations by Iv Orlov (which look almost like real vintage illustrations!).

Found here.

New & improved

2010-07-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

My jewellery charms are now even better and are no longer created with a thinner polystyrene plastic, but a super thick acrylic! This means they are even more statement and also a bit more durable!

Currently all studs and best selling necklaces are now created with the acrylic, but soon all the others, including buttons transformed!

I hope you like them and I would love some feedback.

It was the...

2010-07-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

Boyfriend's birthday and I made cake!

Can you believe that sponge has no butter in it? Although I did make up for it with the positively retro lashings of butter cream.

A gift for you

2010-06-29T04:05:00.000-07:00

Here I have a little gift for you! It's a vintage telegram, which once was a telegram to congratulate my mum & her brothers birth. I scanned this in an cleaned it up so we can all have some telegram love so you can just take it off my blog and get writing a telegram to your friends!

This wonderful design of birds and owls is a by Barbara Jones, who designed all sorts of other wonderful illustrations back in the 50's & 60's.

Also, I hope you're liking my new blog layout, I decided to go back to "draw glue glitter make" since I now have my She Draws shop, but also my freelance illustrations as Laura Figiel and this will be a great grounding for inbetween both these projects. I think it has given me some direction too as i'm a bad blogger :(

P.S I'm giving lots of goodies away with sales in my Folksy shop for very nearly reaching 300 sales. I'm just two away and I will be giving goodies away with sales upto 300 but also a few after to keep the buzz! There are some tshirt bargain too.

Laura Figiel - Designer/illustrator

2010-06-24T02:37:00.000-07:00

I have often been asked to do some small designs and illustrators for people and more recently I have been asked to do some more exciting projects, so I thought it was time I pimped myself a bit more and get an online portfolio of my work for you all to see!

www.Laurafigiel.co.uk

My She Draws shop is filled with some of my illustrations but there is still a lot more to me and so this portfolio website should give more of a idea of what I can do.

It's still work in progress as I have lots of design work and illustrations to finish and add, but please get in touch if you are interested in any design or illustrations.

Thanks all!

Some quick questions.

2010-06-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

Sorry for not being around too much on the ol' blog.

I've been doing lots of shop cleaning up behind the scenes and i'd love it if you could help me out with some questions to help me improve my shop even more.

Just click on the image above and it should sent you to the questionnaire.

Thanking you all!

On deck.

2010-06-01T11:06:00.001-07:00

I wish the weather would stick to the boating kind so I can wear more of my deck shoes :)

Coming sew soon.

2010-05-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

Having a sew

2010-05-13T10:51:00.000-07:00

My regular blog readers will know that a few months ago I bought myself a mini John Lewis sewing machine and many of you emailed and commented to see how it was going. Well anyway after a while I finally got it out and did something serious with it and decided on customising a top I hope in a fab colour.

The shirt was a bit like this to start with (please note not my image, but silly me didn't think to take a pic of before).

My shirt is quite a thick cotton material that had a tie at the top but kind of sat weird due to the weight of the fabric, unlike the one above. Anywho, it was a great colour and too good to give away so I though I would take the tie off and add a collar. The collar was created from an old lambs wool/angora wool top that had shrunk in the wash so it was snipped up and whizzed round the machine on a zig zag setting.

It was close to being finished, but not quite so I decided on Teasemading it up. Sami, from Teasemade very kindly created me some hand stitched buttons in a Grayson Perry fabric and matching raspberry thread. She is so super and it all matches perfectly.

Here is the final thing!

Can you see those cute little button fellas?

I should also add that for a sewing novice it was a super machine!

Ladies & gents

2010-05-10T03:09:00.000-07:00

It's taken a while but I finally have some more ladies & gents tshirts in the shop!

Some fab things

2010-05-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

Are still on SALE on my shop, go check them out!

In love...

2010-04-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

...with this gorgeous, romantic shop by Sarah Culleton.

So lovely, I can't actually decided on a favourite!

2010-04-24T14:06:00.001-07:00

Double award

2010-04-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

I was kindly award this Kreativ Blogger award by both Edwina Simone and Crafty Jemima. Thanks guys!

Although the rules are to pass this on, I won't be since all the people I would nominate have already been awarded and therefore it can all get a bit overwhelming. So this now is dedicated to anyone who wants to be nosy :).

Ok so i'll do 14 things about me, here goes:

1. I love the Time Team. Tony Robinson is just great.

2. I believe hands say a lot about a person and I especially don't like it when people have extremely dry hands!

3. I can't stand fussy eaters. I am not fussy at all and I have even taken to peas from not refusing them even though I didn't like them.

4. I'm not a big novel reader, but I do like adventures :)

5. I have camel coloured hair. If I say it's brown I sound like an in denial ginger, if I say I'm ginger I sound pretentious. Can't win.

6. I have to have a drink of tea in the morning and at around 4 in the afternoon or else hell breaks loose.

7. My boyfriend is half Greek.

8. I've not had a filling in a tooth yet, touch wood got the dentist in May.

9. I drive a VW red Lupo.

10. I have a old fashioned Eiderdown which I have on my bed at all times, even in the summer. I am mad.

11. For some strange reason a lot of people think my name is Lauren, especially my boyfriends friends who continue to call it me.

12. I hate wearing socks.

13. I used to be the editor of a Parish magazine.

14. I love charity shopping and have found a Hugo Boss skirt and some Ray Ban's in the past.

I hope you enjoy the silly facts about me!

We had a ...

2010-04-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

Tea party last Saturday when the sun was out because... well why not?

Snap snap

2010-04-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

I'm a massive fan of visiting cities rather than beaches and so this was the inspiration for my new polaroid charm necklace which is finally in my shop.

I've not visited all of the places that I illustrated but I sure hope to one day!

Have you guys been to any or all of them?

A little spring sale is going on in my shop at the moment to make room for new designs so please take advantage!

Spring Sale

2010-04-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

It's time for another sale since I have loads of new designs I am working on and itching to start making.

Most things in the sale are limited stock anyway, so if you do fancy something you best get it whilst you can!

Go shopping here.

Sew I did it.

2010-04-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the terrible pun, but I did it. I bought myself the mini John Lewis sewing machine for all those small (very small in my case) crafty projects.

I really wanted the pistachio green, alas they has sold out so it was a toss between pink or vanilla. I eventually went will vanilla since I thought it looked more like banana milkshake and my favour colour is yellow after all. It's actually much more yellow than these photo's suggest. Never the less I'm pretty sure the colour won't actually effect the sewing what so ever.

My sister sorted me out in setting it up (i'm a total sewing novice) and so i'm currently twiddling my thumbs in search for something to sew!

Polly put the kettle on

2010-04-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Can you believe how cute these little Blythe outfits are?

Jane over at Polly Jane has created these adorable pieces and included my charm buttons.

She's made such a super job and the small themed touches are just genius!

Jane makes lots of other lovely doll clothes so if you are a Blythe fan you should whiz over to her blog to see!

To sew?

2010-04-09T02:28:00.000-07:00

Shall I get this mini sewing machine from John Lewis with my crisp £50 from Xmas?

Will it be a good investment?

Yay or nay?

pigeon

2010-04-02T10:22:00.001-07:00

My nickname by my boyfriend is Pigeon and when I saw these items from Thornback & Peel I thought they were perfect.

I could have the Pigeon hankies, even pigeon wallpaper, but my favourite is the pigeon and jelly cushion as I have a real soft spot for retro jelly shapes.

Post spring clean.

2010-04-01T02:43:00.000-07:00

Post spring clean means treasures to be sold on ebay!!

Ebay, fleabay.

Well they're all listed here if anyone is interested in having a nosy at my stuff :).

Cut it

2010-03-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

www.bomboland.com

www.hattienewman.co.uk

I love these paper crafts found via The Wollies Blog who has been reading a book full of other gorgeous paper crafts.

Free Alton Towers Tickets

2010-03-30T09:21:00.001-07:00

I have a pair of The Sun free tickets to go to Alton Towers on the 29th April. Unfortunately I cannot go on this day so I am offering them to anyone who would like them really. I tried to sell them on Ebay for a small fee since I feel guilty as someone else could go but they got took down since they're not allowed to be sold on Ebay (although so many have already sold & they won't say no to their fees will they???).

Anyway, so yep, offered to anyone who would be interested in swapping them for a little something?

Let me know!

Can someone make me this?

2010-03-29T07:48:00.001-07:00

I love this cardigan/jacket thing from Anthropologie and I was super excited to find out they had gone EU, but unfortunately after searching their listings it was not there so I emailed them to find out whether they would be stocking it at all. The nice lady replied but told me they are not due to have it and not everything from the US site would be transfered over.

I still love this top and I can picture it with everything, but to get it over from the US it reaches nearly £100 and I can't really afford that.

I know this is a bit cheeky but just wondering if there is anyone out there who can make me one similar?

This is the listing so you can check out the fabrics and back shape. It's made from Rayon, but i'd be happy with a jersey or viscose.

I hope there is someone out there to do this for me so please get in touch with quotes!

Thanks :)

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-03-29T01:54:00.001-07:00

Easter is approaching and fingers crossed it will be a sunny one.

Mr. Wick has some great Easter items on her shop with no chocolate in sight. This is a welcome message to me since yesterday I found a whole stash of chocolate in my bedroom whilst commencing a spring clean (+ £80!!). So i'm not sure I fancy more chocolate for Easter.

The above pictures are all from Mr. Wick's shop and would be a great alternative to anything chocolately and will last a lifetime since you can reuse both egg cup once the candle has burnt out.

The Cadbury caramel cream is egg cup is my personal favourite :).

Happy Easter hunting.

Cut, crop & lighten

2010-03-27T10:12:00.001-07:00

The before and afters of my photo's.

This blog post is a sneaky peak, behind the scenes kind of post to show the importance of photo's within an online shop and a little message to all other small business sellers that a little editing can go a long way when it comes to sales.

I love other people to make sales in their online shops, because for me, it's just no fun when people don't feel they can get involved with the community as much and it makes me feel happy to see everyone making their fair share, even in this climate.

Although I am no expert or professional at selling and I still have a lot to learn myself the one thing we can all do easily is review our photographs.

I often feel that the one thing that holds sellers back from making their first, second or third sale is their photographs and effectively under-selling themselves and their products.

We have to remember that the challenge to selling online is making that first impression without actually meeting or greeting the customer. We also need to remember that the photographs are the only way the viewer can see the item they might purchase and this is what will get them to stay in our shops for long enough to potentially buy something.

For me, my photo's are vital in continuing my She Draws brand throughout my shop and making my shop look far more professional than just little old me working from home, but I can tell you it took me a long time to get into the swing of my brand and to make photographs that were suitable and caught the eye.

My photo's are in no way fantastic, but for me they tick the right boxes:

1.Clear

2.Simple

3.Eye catching

4.In keeping with She Draws

I am fortunate enough to have editing software such as photoshop and although I am aware not everyone has this, I hear through the grape vine that there are free editing softwares for you to get going with. All I have done with the "before & after" photo examples above are, crop, brightened and altered the contrast and I hope you can see they make a massive difference!

I hope that this sneak peak has given you some inspiration for your own shops and while the sun is coming out i'd get out there and get snapping!

Felt balls.

2010-03-26T04:49:00.000-07:00

I made some felt balls with my college kids the other day. I would show you but I saw this tutorial and they're way cuter than mine! I might even have a go at making this charm myself.

Katherines blog is just fab in everyway go check it out.

This is London.

2010-03-25T11:30:00.001-07:00

Last week, the boyfriend and I took a little trip to London. A mini holiday for us both. After many years visiting art galleries in London, neither of us had really ever explored other places and museums in any great depth so we planned our trip so we could take advantage of all these other places. In the end we went to the British Museum, the V&A and the London Transport museum which was fantastic (we both loved all the old transport and the shop was pretty good too!).

We hit the shops too, in Covent Garden and Carnaby Street etc. and despite us both having a great time we still left feeling a little frustrated because we'd only touched upon places we'd like to visit. I think the long list grew after coming back from London and the desire to go back soon was rather strong!

We did treat ourselves a lot, especially when it came to tea and cake (big up the British Museum for having great London Company tea in silky bags, yum!). I also bought myself the "This is London" childrens book by M. Sasek. It was a must right?

Russell Square tube station has to be my favourite by far. I love the decor, even if the lifts and small space does scare me a bit!

My Globe.

2010-03-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

I thrifted this fab globe a few weeks ago from a charity shop after i'd been on a half day business course. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it as i'd seen nearly every other fab blogger own a globe, but never found my own and suddenly it was staring me in the face. Yay!

As you can see it's also a light, which just added extra achievement to my find. The light fixture was broken though and it burnt a bit of the shrink plastic before I realized, but this evening I taped it up with a bit of white insulation tape since my gluing attemps fail.

I feel happy now :)

Bad Gal free buttons.

2010-03-23T02:59:00.000-07:00

I'm a real bad blogger right now, with hardly any recent posts despite having loads of new items in my shop and generally lots of fun things going on!

To get me blogging again I thought I would give free buttons away with all purchases from my shop as I did just before Christmas. The offer went down so well then and if you missed out on my free buttons here is your chance again!

Yes that's right, it's free buttons will all purchases, so you could buy your favourite set of buttons and get your second favourite totally free!

*Single cards are the only exception on this offer and a minimum of 3 single cards must be purchased to get your free buttons.

This offer will also be on for a whole week, so from today 23/03/10 to 30/03/10.

Must go make some fresh buttons for you all now!

Photo tag.

2010-02-26T11:06:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by both Teasemade and Edwina Simone so I shall do two of these, but this is my first installment. This tagging game made me laugh so I had to take part.

Here are the rules of the tagging:

1: open your first photo folder,

2: scroll to the 10th photo,

3: post the story behind it,

4: tag 5 or more people to continue the thread.

So here is my photo...

So the person behind this photo is my boyfriend and his hairy British legs testing out the water at Brighton 2009. Neither of us had ever really visited Brighton but we both loved it, the weather was great while we were there and we even did a bit of swimming in the sea at 9.30am just after some nice duck eggs and soldiers.

I'm not sure who to tag right now since most people have been tagged already so i'll write a list for my next photo.

Enjoy!

Belated with love

2010-02-19T03:28:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts over this valentines week. I made the boyfriends valentines a week before the day and really had to hold myself back from showing you all, but it's here now!

I was quite impressed with myself as I'm not a great sewer or textiles person despite working as a textiles technician, but I think the final piece came out rather well.

It went down well with my boyfriend of what is now 4 years and he has introduced "hot stuff" to all my other handmade valentines gifts.

I hope you like anyway and that you all had a lovely Valentines!

A dream came true.

2010-02-05T04:28:00.000-08:00

As I am an avid wearing and creator of quirky and unusual jewellery i've usually seen everything and takes a lot more to get me excited about new pieces nowadays (plus what kind of jewellery don't I have!). Well this change the day I saw a pair of earrings listed on folksy from Steam Punk Glass and that night I actually had a dream about wearing these earrings with a matching beaded necklace too. Well the next day I went back to the site and they'd be sold, but Glenn was more than happy to whip me up another pair and here they are, my very own world studs.

I just love them and my dream literally came true :)

She's Super!

2010-01-30T09:27:00.000-08:00

Please please check out Teasemade's shop.

Sami from Teasemade is a super lovely lady who not only makes the best stuff ever (all tiny and stitched), offers the best advice and goes to all sort of lengths to help you out, she's truly the best.

I first saw Teasemade open up on Folksy just before Christmas and I knew I would love it straightaway, I mean anything with the word "tea" in it must be good for sure!

It's magic!

2010-01-29T07:03:00.000-08:00

Found at goodiesgotit.com

There are plenty of beauty bloggers out there reviewing every product on the market but now it is my turn to give a little beauty review because I believe I have witnessed magic and feel the need to share!

I have only recently discovered Essie thanks to my sister bring home a trial size nail polish borrowed from her friend and as I am a massive fan of nail polish I had to give it ago. I'd seen Essie reviewed in many magazines before but never took enough notice to buy any of their products as I've spent enough money in my time on nail polish and I wasn't really prepared to spend anymore.

Well that was then and this is now and after a trial of Essie in Great Expectation I am in love. I noticed that after a few days of my first go with the polish I had no chips and still after a few more days it was still hanging around. I'd lost count of the days from when I first painting my talons and so I gave it another go keeping a mental note of the day and I also wanted to give it another go incase it was a fluke but I am pleased to say the varnish lasted a whole 7 days, Tuesday to Tuesday, with no chips. NO CHIPS. I still can't believe I am saying that because I have never come across a varnish that doesn't chip, especially when I have been so hands on in the week.

I feel this is such a break through that I have now found Essie and I hope everyone else with the same trouble will see this and have a little faith along with gorgeous nails! The best thing about Essie also is that they have millions of colours so the world is your truly your oyster.

The varnishes range from just £6.50 found here to £10, but either way the money will be well worth spent!

Sunshine

2010-01-25T09:45:00.001-08:00

I must say thanks to everyone for sending me lots of love and a Sunshine award! I must of had about 6 of them all together. I'm not quite why I've suddenly become so popular, but thanks anyway!!

Also to give you some sunshine back all my resin rings are now just £4.50 instead of £9.00 and there are many more bargains in my shop anyway, starting from £2.50!

Go check them out.

Must be love

2010-01-20T06:03:00.000-08:00

I guess my new years resolution this year was to draw more.

I'd love to get my work published and I love creating cards and stationary so i'm not quite sure why I slowed the pace down.

Well I am keeping to my resolution and I've started drawing almost everyday, something new at least and I have been churning out some things I am quite pleased with including this wedding invitation design. I used to draw like this a lot, but then stopped a bit but I love creating all the tiny images as every time you look you at it you see something new!

I might even make some of the drawings into buttons for wedding favors or napkin decoration.

Anyone having a wedding? We can pretend can't we?

Mr. B meets Edwina Simone.

2010-01-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Some moons ago I did a giveaway of a Mr. Britain necklace in return for some photo's of Mr. Britain on his travels and it just happens to be that my cat loving friend Abbi from Edwina Simone won the chance to be with his gracious.

So here is her story of how Mr. B settled into her residence. Enjoy!

P.S Check out her Gorgeous shop!

Click on image to make bigger.

An early present to myself

2010-01-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

It's my birthday next week and it was just coincidence that I found the most adorable book ever called "Happy Birthday with Ant and Bee".

I spotted this little fellow as soon as I stepped through the door of the charity book shop and I couldn't spot thinking about it after I left (without purchasing the book that is).

This little book is just a few inches high, perfect for someone's pocket and the stripy cover just gripped me as soon as my beady little eyes saw it popping out among all the other old brown coloured books. I had to have it and as it's my birthday next week I couldn't think of a better reason, especially as it's already wrapped up like a little gift!

Ant and Bee is apparently a series of books by Angela Banner who started writing and illustrating them from the very late 50's and then was reproduced during the 90's, but I saw some of the 90's covers via google and they look pretty pants by comparison to my little gem! I really couldn't find much information about Angela Banner and I especially couldn't find information about her earlier books either so I tootled along to the shop today to buy it's ownership. I'm in love :)

Just look at them in their matchbox bed? And isn't Bee's moustache just great?

It's a new year!

2010-01-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

So I am wishing you all a very happy New Year and I hope you are enjoying it so far, especially with the snooow!

I have so many new things planned for this year and many of those are going into my shop! To start you all off I have got some new designs ready made as buttons but you'll soon see these over many other items which are still in the making.

My favourite new design is the jellies, which unfortunately haven't photographed very well as button form but I hope I can get some pics to justify their pop party qualities.

I am also going to start yoga next month to bring a bit of peace to my life and some focus perhaps to open my mind and create lots of nice new things, which also brings me to mention I think I have challenged myself to creating an illustration a day to get the ball rolling at least. I'm not sure if i'll be uploading them here, I'm just not sure yet however they are on my flickr at the moment if you'd like to take a peek.

Last purchase date

2009-12-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I have been a very busy lady sending off all these fabulous Christmas gifts for everyone. I hope they will like them!

Anyway, so I was going to let you all order right up until the last order date, but as it happens I have heard that the post is being slow already and so to ensure that the item is ready made and posted off in good time to give your gift I have bought the last purchase date to the 16th of December. Yes that's right it is next Wednesday!

Can you believe it is going that quickly?

Well I hope this is ok for everyone and that we can prevent unhappy gift giving.

Enjoy!

Just a little update.

2009-12-04T04:01:00.000-08:00

Just as Christmas is getting into full swing I am thinking ahead to the new year and dying to get out my new designs! I am really excited about my new designs and I have made some into buttons already, but they will eventually be printed onto lots of things like bags, cards, tea towels etc so look out for them in 2010 when my very own ecommerce website should also be launched. How exciting??

Also, the Folksy shop has been very busy and now I have many things that are now the last one and I won't be printing anymore before xmas so if you are wanting to buy them as a gift, better get them quick! We just have one green tea time kitchen linen left, with all the others limited stock and just one size medium mr.britain blue tshirt and again limited stock on all the others!

And if you haven't got your Christmas cards yet, or need a few more I still have some packs left and now just £5.

Now, must get back to my new designs!

Happy Christmas shopping.

We all drank tea.

2009-12-01T14:08:00.000-08:00

And here is some of the tea and goodies received from my Fancy Tea Swap. I think it went very well and everyone seems to enjoy swapping and receiving different tea. I didn't realize so many were into fancy teas like I but now I feel good knowing I am not the only one.

These pictures are not from my swap, but from Natalie Wilson and Dinky Daisy who both swapped with one another!

Unfortunately the swap I received got damaged but it was super fantastic and I will try and repair the china cup which doubled as a candle. Thanks so much Clarabows!

Everyone who took part has been really generous with their swaps and so thankyou all.

I think this little swap does have some more scope as I think teas do collect a lot in the cupboard! So look out for some more tea swaps in the future.

Free buttons today.

2009-11-30T02:12:00.000-08:00

So the day has come when free buttons with all purchases is on again.

See all details here and finish your Christmas shopping!

What? Free buttons again??

2009-11-29T04:19:00.000-08:00

That's right, tomorrow I am giving free buttons away again!

So get ready for it, favourite your items and get buying them tomorrow as you'll get your favourite buttons free with your purchase.

*One pack of buttons with each final purchase.

*Pick your favourite buttons whilst stocks last!

Black Friday - Free buttons!

2009-11-27T03:34:00.000-08:00

Today is Black Friday in the US, so not to be a bore over here I have a great little gift offer for you. I am giving away a set of buttons with every purchase*! This technically means if you buy a set of buttons you get one free and if you buy some of my other things, the buttons are like a little pre christmas gift to yourself!

*Just one set of buttons per purchase & you can request a set if you really want some, otherwise it will be a surprise!

It's a gift.

2009-11-19T05:25:00.001-08:00

Christmas is actually on it's way and it is already getting busier for me so to get ahead of the game I decided on making some xmas tags for my gifts to everyone.

I made these cute low cost mini tags using my doily buttons , some recycled gold and metallic red card (actually from easter) and a bit of ribbon. I was so pleased that my doily buttons made the most perfect design for christmas wrapping. They add to the gift so nicely and is an extra little festive gesture to the receiver. The buttons would also work really well sewn on table place names for Christmas dinner!

Rubber stamping

2009-11-10T04:56:00.001-08:00

So I've made some stamps for all your guys to use! They are in my Folksy shop right now so you can get stamping. They might be good for making some christmas tags, just add some glitter!

Me and Mr. Britain.

2009-11-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

Here is me and my very own Mr. Britain tshirt. Not sure I do it any justice! But hey, it feels comfortable, nice colour for autumn and is great fun to wear.

I haven't started making ladies tee's yet so as you might have guessed this is a mens, but looks good as an oversized tee.

O yes and either indulge yourself in the christmassy background or ignore it if you're not quite ready for the festive season yet. haha.

Fancy Tea Swap

2009-10-28T12:52:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone,

Today I have decided to throw my first every swap. And of course it had to be tea related!

So here we are with the Fancy Tea Swap.

I love trying all types of tea, but I can't buy them all and I never know whether I would like them or not, so I thought this would be the perfect swap for me and like minded folks.

I know there are lots of swaps going around at the moment especially xmas ones, but this swap is really really super easy and not much effort required but lots to gain.

To be part of my swap all you have to do is:

Love tea.
Love trying different tea.
Email me over your name & address & the teas you have tried before to shedraws[at]hotmail.com
Send at least 5 different tea bags or loose leaf tea samples to your swapping partner.
A tea related extra of low value like stickers, card, tags etc.
And finally enjoy!

This swap is open until 4th November to sign up and then until the 14th of November to send out the tea.

Yay! I can't wait.

The Small Object

2009-10-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

I love all the things is this shop called The Small Object. They have have so much charm in each piece you don't battle with yourself too much in falling in love. All their items are made in limited editions so if you don't get them now you loooose out.

Buy their things here.

I can't wait for someones birthday so I can buy this.

Loving their "do's".

Fabulous custom wedding toppers!

DIY Candles

2009-10-25T10:02:00.001-07:00

My sister, the owner of Mr. Wick has sources some really fabulous large tins which she currently has for sale in her Folksy shop only these tins are up to you to choose what candle colour and scent you would like from her collection. These DIY candles allow you to create the perfect kitsch candle for gifts or just yourself. She also has many other new candles so pop over to her shop to check them out.

Fab Oxo tin

Large vintage tea tin

This is my fav, a yummy shabby chic sweetie tin.

It's Christmas!!

2009-10-24T12:24:00.000-07:00

I finally got round to printing some christmas cards. I had this idea in my head for ages then finally got it to the mac but thought I wouldn't have any time to print them for all you lovely organized people. But here we are, I realized that we still had two months until Santa comes and so I got printing yesterday and finished them today, a lot quicker than I thought I would too.

Instead of the usually festive colours we went for She draws alternative festive colours of coral and grass green!! I also added some glitter for a bit of christmas jazz.

You can find them in my folksy shop right now and I hope you like them!!

SleepyKingp

2009-10-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

I just found this super cute shop, Sleepyking.