July 29th, 2012

Two months to go!  This time in two months I'll  be married!  Crazy days...

Anyway, I thought for this Handmade Monday I'd show you all a little bit of what we've been up to at Lucy Liz HQ...the site isn't quite finished yet, still a few tweaks to make here and there, but here's a little look at what's been going on...

June 6th, 2012

There's nothing worse than the first day back at work after time off is there?!  Actually I shouldn't complain, only had to do one day and I'm done until next week, so it could be worse!

We've just watched Rolf Paints The Diamond Jubilee, ohh it was fab!  For anyone who didn't see it, Rolf Harris got a group of artists together in the Old Vic Tunnels and got them to paint images to represent the Queen and the Jubilee across the 6 decades.  It was so inspiring...I find now that I create to earn, I make bags and purses all with the intention of selling them for profit, and it makes me sad that I don't seem to paint or draw just out of the love of it any more, everything I do is done with a product in mind.

So, I'm going back to creating for fun, I shall have a hobby!  Even making things just to frame and enjoy them, I've got to get out of this "business" head and find the passion and love for art that got me started in the first place, starting tomorrow!

May 16th, 2012

Just two words sum up today's blog.  Asos.  Marketplace.

Lucy Liz on Asos Marketplace

Chuffed to bits with this one!!!

May 14th, 2012

So finally, after what feels like months of rain, the fabulous folks at Dobege Photography finally managed to get some outdoor pics of my bags!  Typically I needed them as soon as the weather turned and it's not been dry or light for long enough to get them done, but we got there eventually, and well worth the wait I think.

Really pleased with the outdoor shots, the natural light really brings out the colours in the fabrics, and in a weird way I think the bags look more in context than any of the other shots - outside, being held by someone wearing a coat is, I suppose, the exact setting we see handbags in every day, we just don't notice!

Back to some serious sewing tomorrow, expecting a delivery of fabric and cushion pads so I can get this wholesale order completed...I still get excited about fabric deliveries, and you know I really hope I never grow out of that!  Happy Handmade Monday everyone!

www.lucyliz.co.uk

May 13th, 2012

OK, a proper blog post!  I don't think yesterday's really counts does it?  It really was just a sentence telling you I wasn't blogging lol

But it's (almost) Handmade Monday so I have to do a proper one!  What a week it's been, certainly been a busy one!  A batch of my jubilee stamp pin cushions found their way to their new home at All The Fun Of The Fair, the most wonderful haberdashery on Carnaby Street - if you are ever in London, you must go!  You'll spend an absolute fortune but worth every penny!!

I also took a wholesale ordered for my pin cushions and some of my new house cushions, which is just such a boost as they're such a new product I wasn't entirely sure how they'd be received - I think they'll be ok though!  Lots of new fabrics lined up for these so I'm quite excited about them, I've been wanting to get into home textiles as well as "fashion" textiles for a while now so I'm hoping these will prove popular *fingers crossed*  As always you'll find them on Lucy Liz but I'm without my webmaster this week, so you'll have to see them properly on Facebook

In other news I've been having a clear out and I've listed a load of cabocons on Ebay - they're all gemstones and all brand new, so if there's any jewellers reading this, or anyone who knows any jewellery, point them in the direction of my Ebay page - here!

Right, I'm going to lie awake in bed - just watched The Awakening and it scared the living daylights out of me (which in fairness doesn't take much) so I'll be spending the next few hours convincing myself that the house is haunted by the ghosts of children...brilliant!

May 10th, 2012

Excited!  With massive thanks to the wondeful folks at Dobege Photography let me show you the new-look Lucy Liz Facebook page!!

I think it looks brilliant, I personally find the new Facebook Timeline to be such a nightmare that my page really wasn't looking too well at all - dreading it being applied to my personal profile - but loving the new look, excellent work!

www.lucyliz.co.uk

May 7th, 2012

Thank you all for the lovely comments on yesterday's blog!  I did make the cotton rack myself, quite enjoyed it actually, reminded me of being back at school doing DT!

Also pleased to share with you all another little magazine snippet, this time featuring one of my Keep Calm totes.  It was in Sew magazine, to be honest I only got it because I knew the bag was in it, but what a great magazine it is, really enjoyed the rest of it so the bag at the end was really a bonus!  Have also uploaded it to my Lucy Liz Press Page .

Hope you've all had a happy and relaxing Bank Holiday Handmade Monday - back to it tomorrow!

May 6th, 2012

I took the executive decision on Friday that for the bank holiday weekend, Lucy Liz would be "closed" to making products, as I need to sort this house out - it's a tip!  And the reason it's a tip is because, despite having an entire sewing room all to myself, the house is still full of my stuff!  I knew things were bad when Andy found felt in the fridge!

Anyway, I've been re-shuffling my room.  It's looking pretty good actually, hoping I'll get it done soon so I can take some pics and show you all. I think it's so interesting to see where creative people work, the things they have around them, the things they don't...perhaps it's the psychologist in me but I like it!

So today I made myself a couple of storage pieces!  The first is a stand for all my spools of ribbon, a dispensor if you like, as they're a constant mess, and the second thing - which I am epically proud of! - is my new cotton reel rack!

It's not quite finished, I massively underestimated how much cotton I have so it needs at least another 3 rows adding to it, but you get th idea!  It mounts up on the wall and all my cotton reels have a proper home - it's ideal!  Andy doesn't find cotton in his meals and the OCD in me gets to organise them!

The perfect product for a happy Handmade Monday !!

April 30th, 2012

First of all, thank you all for the lovely comments on yesterday's blog!  Really was very pleased with the magazine pic, and I'm building up a nice Press page on my website !

After a long day dealing with people who are unhappy with the new Royal Mail pricing structures (myself included!) I came home and sat down to make a lovely little wholesale order I got yesterday for my vintage postage stamp pin cushions...so a rather post-themed day for me!

Now I think about it I can't remember if I shared the pin cushions on here?  If I did I apologise, and if I didn't then here they are!  (And of course, available from my site! ;-) )

I must say I'm so pleased with these and they've proved popular, just hoping it continues!!  I hope you've all had a happy, productive Handmade Monday , speak to you all tomorrow!

April 29th, 2012

Had a nice little surprise today!

A few months ago I had a request for some pics of my bags from Handmade Living magazine.  I sent them off but completely forgot about it, so today I sat down to have a look online to see if I could find if they'd been used or not.  As it goes I didn't find anything, but oddly enough I did find one of my scarves that apparently was used in the January issue!  I had no idea!

I get such a buzz seeing my products in magazines, especially when you're not looking for the thing, it just appears when you turn the page.  I was actually really shocked at how professional the photograph looked!  That was one I did so quite proud of that one!

Just got a lovely little order in too but more on that when it's officially gone through (hate to jinx things!) ...hopefully I can share that one tomorrow for Handmade Monday !

www.lucyliz.co.uk

P.S. - 5 months to go to the wedding!

April 22nd, 2012

Ohhh my goodness, how long has it been since I linked up to Handmade Monday ?!  There is just no excuse....I have been busy though!

Lots been going on here, new products, new photography, new pricing structure, revamped Lucy Liz website...it's all go!  Of course none of it's finished yet, never is, but we're getting there.  Poor Andy gets to the end of the website "to do" list and I present him with another one...what a trooper!

There's lots of new products on there and I'm proud of all of them, especially this bag though!

I was excited even just to receive the fabric and thankfully it translated into a bag even better than I thought it would, such a vivid turquoise it really is a beautiful print "in the flesh"

Best get me to bed - ready to start it all again in the morning!

April 6th, 2012

Popped into Hobbycraft today, and I'm stood looking through Sew Hip magazine and look what I should stumble across...

Lucy Liz at number 4 in their list of Favourite Things, love it!

In other news, sending the biggest birthday wishes to my beautiful Maid of Honour, Helen, hope you've had a wonderful day up in Bonny Scotland! X

March 26th, 2012

My 100th blog post!!  I must admit that when I decided to do a blog-a-day for the year I did think it would be a  lot easier than this, but determined to stick with it!

My site is slowly but surely finding it's way back online, it's just unreal how much their is to do!  I'm not making things easy (for anyone!) by having 4 photos per product but I think it's important to give as much info as I can about a bag, especially as you've already paid for it when you see it for the first time!

Just a couple more bags to add, newspaper print and the skull and roses print, then the purses and totes can go on....only a little list huh?!

March 12th, 2012

Ohhhh Lord I'm tired!  After a week off having been back to hospital, today was my first day back at my "other job"...I'm exhausted!  You just don't realise how much you don't do when you're off, until you get back to work!  I went back and dived straight into my jobs that needed doing, by half past one I was ready for bed - and all I can think is that I've got to do it all again tomorrow!

Must get a good sleep tonight, tomorrow my box with all my new bags frames is arriving, lots of new sizes and styles that I've not been able to get on with because they held the frames in customs for what's felt like a million years!  Don't care how tired I am tomorrow, I'm making those bags!!

Night night all! X

PS - 3 days to go to guarantee your orders for Mothers Day!  Don't forget! http://folksy.com/shops/LucyLiz?page=1

March 11th, 2012

If Wendy doesn't mind I'm actually going to use this Handmade Monday post to promote someone else that I feel deserves such a mention!

Today Andy and I went to the Vintage Market in Stockport.  We've been meaning to head down there for ages and just never got around to it so today we finally made it.  For those who don't know what it is, it's a monthly event held in the covered Market Hall in the centre of Stockport, it's primarily vintage (the clue's in the title!) but there's also a scattering of in-keeping handmade in there too, some really beautiful things actually, I'd bought something before I'd got to the second stall!

Anyways, one of the reasons for going was to see an old friend of mine that I know from my former life which was spent trackside at the British Touring Car Championship.  Alistair (now of Come Dine With Me fame, if anyone watches that!) was there working with his partner Stuart who is the proud owner of Stuart Thornley Cake Design - you have got to check this guy out!  I had every intention of taking a pic of the beautiful cakes that we bought to show you but they didnt last long enough! 

All of the products are baked entirely from scratch and Stuart has designed just the most beautiful product range, from cupcakes to push-up cakes, cake lollipops...you name it, he can do it, even down to the packaging it's all finished in the most professional way you can imagine.  Brilliant!

On a side note, may I remind you all that it's Mother's Day one week today!  So be sure to get your orders in before Thursday to guarantee delivery for Sunday!!  You can find most things from me over at Etsy - http://www.etsy.com/shop/LucysDesigns?ref=si_shop - or message me via the Lucy Liz page on Facebook.

March 5th, 2012

So today was my first ever day "on the sick"...I don't think I'm very good at it!  Doing nothing is not what I do!

Been extremely tired today, the slightest thing is exhausting so I actually haven't done too much, but tomorrow I intended to pick up where I left off with my sewing and get back to it.  Got plenty to do, had a nice order in at the end of last week (which I still haven't elaborated on have I!) and got another bag to get ready to go off for a photoshoot at the end of this week so tomorrow I intend to be back with a vengeance - the joys of self-employment!

Hope everyone else's Handmade Monday has been more productive than mine!

March 1st, 2012

It's March already!  Where on earth have the last two months gone?!  I think I've worked through and missed them!

Long day of making today but a very good one, lots of bits ready for posting out tomorrow.  Oddly I ended up changing a tote bag design today on the basis that I was too tired to finish it!  I was doing some of the totes with the Queen's head over the Union Flag, I did the head and set it aside to dry (and very nearly dozed off) and when I looked back at it I actually preferred it to the design I'd originally been doing...less is more, and all that!

Must get to bed, we've had a non-stop week so far and it's set to continue tomorrow with a trip home for a family party, and you should never take my family on without sleep!!

February 29th, 2012

Happy Leap Year Day!  And, more importantly, happy 7 months until my wedding day!  It was so nie of the world to give me a February 29th this year so I could continue my wedding countdown accurately, love that!

So I must fill you in on the past couple of days, or at least explain why my last two blog posts have been so rubbish!  As some of you may knnow, Andy and I met through our joint love of Meat Loaf (singer, not food!)...I've loved him since I was 7 and have spent pretty much my whole life following him.  I met Andy through the fanclub and now we get to do it all together, if Mr Loaf tours, we're there, so we're very well-travelled of the world's arenas!

Anyway, yesterday Meat was in London promoting his new album so of course we went down to see him, which was great as the last tour ended in December 2010 and we were starting to have something that resembled a normal life!  Great day, great to see some old friends, and of course the man himself.  He was on top form and made time at the end of the event to come and say Hi and wish us Good Luck with the wedding, aw! (The pic is Andy, me & our friend Michael - not Meat Loaf!)

Back to reality today (though today has been an epic business day, as you'll find out in tomorrow's blog!) feet are blistered, can hardly feel my legs, but all worth it!

I must now change the topic completely and refer back to one of my previous blog entries... Yorkshire Puddings.  Some of you will have seen my rather magnificent Yorkshires that I made due to putting an extra egg in the mixture.  Now, this morning I received a phonecall from the person who gave me the recipe wondering where his credit was, so I must publically thank Geoff  "The Brigadier" Carr who told me to do it.  I actually suspect that I should be thanking Mrs Carr (my Cheshire Mum!) because I do not believe for one minute that the man whose recipe for Steak & Kidney Pie consisted of him going shopping to buy steaks, kidneys and pie would ever have come up with this on his own.  But all the same, Thank You Geoff - where would I be without you?!

February 27th, 2012

Quickest blog ever tonight!  I shall elaborate more on Wednesday but just now I'm racing around getting everything ready for tomorrow, as we're up and heading to London in the morning to see the main man in both mine and Andy's life - Meat Loaf!

Long, long story...I promise I'll explain on Wednesday and make it all sound less weird!!!!

February 26th, 2012

Evening all!  Should really be heading to bed, just been looking at the diary and Andy and I have the busiest week ever...we might have an extra day this February but we've filled that too, I think we get to have some sleep some time during next Sunday!

Desperately tried to get as much done as possible before the week started, got a lot done but not nearly as much as I'd have liked.  Did managed to get the Folksy & Etsy shops completely up to date though, so that's something, just got a massive pile of sewing to get through now.  Shouldn't complain, I love to be busy, but sometimes I feel like I could do with a week of February 29th's!!