Featuring... "We Love Craft" sellers

Me again!

So you may have seen that we are attending the "We Love Craft" fair in Enfield on Saturday 13th July so I thought it would be a good idea to showcase some of the very talented crafters I will be selling alongside.

Little Owl Boutique

Beautiful sewing and paper crafts

Home Sweet Home by Little Owl Boutique

Craftee Fox

More beautifully sewn items, including some fun sock monkeys!! 

Oscar the sock monkey by Craftee Fox

CJ Creations

Intricate beaded jewellery

Bracelet by CJ Creations

Henna Sparkles

Stunning henna inspired decorated homeware

Decorated candles by Henna Sparkles

Les Anglaise Provencale

Unique home accessories including handamde Provencal lavender accessories

Lavender pounces by Les Anglaise Provencale

The Candle Cellar

Irresistible fragranced candles

Rose container candle by The Candle Cellar

Sparkling Bits

Lovely crochet accessories

Sweet baby booties from Sparkling Bits

That's all of them for now, as you can see there are some fantastic sellers attending!  For more details on the event please visit the facebook event.  This event is run monthly so if you can't visit in July then there will be plenty of other opportunities.

If I hear of any other sellers (as I think there are about 25 of us at the event) I will add them to this post.

Hope to see you there.

Until next time...

Amanda xx

The results are in....

Hi guys and gals,

Well after running my very first online survey for two weeks I now have the results.  Rather than boring you with endless stats have pulled together an infographic.....

These are the highlights, but once I have figured out a way to add a pdf file to my blog with all the results I will add more in depth information for those that want it. 

So, what does this mean for Water Lily Wishes?  Well it was good to see that our pricing and focus on the type of cards was right, however what did surprise me was that none of those responding, bought their cards online and very few bought them at craft or farmers markets.  These are the two arenas that Water Lily Wishes cards are sold, so it's certainly triggered some thinking! 

Watch this space for some new ideas and the look and feel of our "brand" will be changing slightly too. 

Until next time...

Amanda xx

Water Lily Wishes - refresh, rebrand and research!

Good morning!

So there are lots going on in the background world of Water Lily Wishes at the moment, I have started a quest to refresh and rebrand the business after a few months off with other commitments.  The creative mojo is back!

We've (myself and the other half) started by going through all of the designs and really going through what works and what doesn't.  Whilst I love all thedesigns the creative range is going to become more consistent and as a result means there will be a fantastic summer end of range sale!  More details on this to follow.

One of the other passions in my life is photography and I have to admit, I was a bit unhappy with the photographs I had of my cards, so I am slowly taking new photos to really showcase the designs.  These are being added to our Folksy shop and Facebook page as they're taken and resized.



Vintage Sewing - £3.00 available in our Folksy store

The next big thing for this refresh is to really understand why people (you!) buy cards, where do you get them, how much do you spend?  So I've put together a really short survey to try and capture all that.  This is where I need you, please go and take part in our survey by clicking here. 

Thank you - it's really important to me to become more business savy and design cards not only that I love but that other people do too! 


Jungle Fun "one" - £2.25 from our Folksy shop

The final thing that will be getting a refresh is the blog, I feel bad that it's been neglected for such a long time, my new job took some adjusting to but I'm now back in the swing of things and have been taking photos of various crafts I've done.  Look out for new tutorials.



And last but by no means least.....  Pinterest! I have fallen in love with pinterest and have been pinning to my hearts content, please stop by and if you like what you see follow the boards!  If you're not a member of Pinterest you can view my boards and pins through the facebook page.

So, as you can see, lots of change and I wouldn't be able to do any of this without the support of H2B (wedding is creeping up on us now!!). 

Until next time

Amanda xx


A bit quiet...

Sorry we've been a bit quiet of late, it's been busy busy busy with work and wedding planning!  I'll try and be better at keeping the blog updated, especially as I have new crafts up my sleeve and crafters to interview!

So, what have we been up to...... 

Photography

Well, the photography has been going well.....

Winner of the Going Digital Picture of the Month Competition!!

We (H2B and I) have also photographed two stunning weddings this summer

 

We have also joined Flickr and will be adding our photographs onto there as we build our portfolio...

Escape to the Country

I had a lovely few days in the countryside with family, it's nice to escape the hustle and bustle of London...

And swapping it for this...

Water Lily Wishes

 

We've taken a break from craft fairs for the time being as things are pretty busy, so we're focusing on our online sales at the moment.  We still have our SUMMER SALE going on over on our Facebook Page.

We're also now selling our cards and photography prints on Folksy - so please stop by and have a look, the collection is small at the moment but is sure to grow.

In other news...

The wedding plans are going well, I've bought my dress and am soooo excited to wear it!! I had a lovely day with my Mum picking it, and the fact that we both misted up shows it is the right one! 

We have been beavering away making the save the dates and these will be winging their way to our guests very soon.  

Plans are moving forward with accommodation, transport and flowers nearly sorted and have started the search for dresses for my two beautiful bridesmaids.  

All in all, a happy bride to be!

Until next time (and I promise not to leave it so long)

Amanda x

Craft fair photos and a big summer sale...

So, last weekend was our craft fair at Spitalfields Market.  It was a lovely day and so many great stalls, the weather even stayed dry for us! 

Here are some pictures from the day...

As I come across more crafts I realised that I needed to have a sort out in order to make space for exciting new materials.  As a result, I have a whole box of goodies that I am going to be selling in a big SUMMER SALE!!!

I will be adding some card designs to the sale too over the next few days, but to start you off, why not head over to our FB page to see what crafting goodies you could pick up at fantastic prices (click here for the link straight to the album)

Some of the things you can find are:

So what are you waiting for - get your craft on and buy some goodies!! Sales are first come first serve!

Until next time...

Amanda xx

New products and 10% off at Fifi's Market

Hello you lovely lot! 

We have been beavering away producing lots of stock over the last month or so, and as part of this, we are launching some new card designs and new products at the upcoming Fifi's Market on the 9th June.  So here's a sneak preview:

Photography Prints

These are A4 prints mounted in white linen effect frames.  All photographs and editing have been done either by yours truly or H2B.

Photography Postcards

These are scenes of life in London printed as postcards ready to send off!  We will be expanding this to include our other prints, but in spirit of the Jubilee we decided to start with London

New Card Designs

Embracing my love of creating designs with heat embossing powder, here are the latest range of cards - princesses and fairies!

I've also recently learnt how to create vintage effect paper using inks, I really liked the effect and this inspired the latest range of cards.

And finally, as it's Father's Day soon I created some nautical themed cards (also shown is a Father's Day decoupage car)

And don't worry I haven't forgotten, as promised... Here is a 10% off voucher for all cards and prints bought at the market on the 9th.  So why not treat yourself (or someone else).  If you can't print the voucher then just mention this blog post to me on the day and where I've been on holiday (hint, the answer is below!) I'll give you the 10% off anyway!

I really hope to see some of you on the 9th June, I'm now off to go and pack for a few days in Madrid with H2B.

Until next time...

Amanda x

Keep Calm and Shop Handmade - Spitalfields

Hello everyone!

Just a quick one this evening but I thought I'd show off the flyer for the Fifi's Market event being held at Old Spitalfields on the 9th June.

In the next few weeks I will be showcasing the other sellers who will be joining me, so why not pop back here to see who else will be selling. 

Spitalfields Market is a great day out, a whole range of fantastic products and I am proud to be included in this event!

So why not come along and visit us (I will be posting a Spitalfields offer on here soon).

Until next time...

Amanda x

Spitalfields Market and Photography Challenges

Hello all!

So, exciting times ahead for Water Lily Wishes!  Having just been granted a place at Spitalfields Market (huge market in London town!) for the 9th June, I am both excited and nervous!  I've never sold at such a big event before and needless to say my weekends and evenings will be spent building up my stock ready for it.

Old Spitalfields Market - London (image courtesy of their website)

This event is being organised by Fifi's Contemporary Markets and I've sold at one of her fairs before (just off Birck Lane!) which was great fun.  So when this opportunity came up I knew I had to take the plunge and put my nerves aside, I mean, imagine the exposure it will give my cards!

Fifi's Christmas Market - Brick Lane

So.... Put it in your diary everyone! If you are in London on the 9th June then please stop by to say hello, I might even conjur up some kind of offer for all blog readers who come along and mention this post!

The other thing that's happening in the world of Water Lily Wishes is that I am going to start concentrating more on my photography.  I love taking photos and I feel like my camera has been a little neglected recently.  H2B (hubby to be!) is also considering getting an SLR so we will become a photography dynamic duo!!

So, the plan is to get out and about using our cameras more, the Digital Photography School set a weekly photography challenge and we're going to have a go at this and I'll post our pictures as and when we take part.  Hopefully you'll enjoy seeing our photos, here's a sneak peak at the first one (the assignment was "Urban Landscapes")

As you can see it was a very sunny day when that was taken, where did that go!?  It's now throwing it down with rain so I don't think I will be venturing outside anytime soon!

Well, that's all the chit chat from me for now.

Until next time...

Amanda x

Meet the Raving Robots Gang!

My latest range of cards was inspired by some robot paper I bought for H2B’s (husband to be!!) birthday presents earlier in the year.  I wanted to create a range of cards that had character and so the Raving Robots were born. 

With the help from my facebook page’s fans we came up with these 4 characters

Clink - fun loving and loves to play pranks on her fellow robots!!

 

Coil - highly intelligent, he is the brains behind their operations!

Sprocket - loves to break out the dance moves, whether there is music playing or not!

And last but by no means least.....

Widget - a high flyer who is constantly on the look out for exciting new adventures they can go on.

 

These cards can be bought from my online store - www.water-lily-wishes.co.uk and I'll also be expanding the range to include new characters and maybe even some matching gift wrap! 

Until next time....

Amanda x

Hello!

Welcome to the new Water Lily Wishes blog and to the first ever post – please be kind! 

Firstly let me introduce myself, I am Amanda, owner and creator of Water Lily Wishes.  I graduated from University in 2008 and moved to the big bad city of London where in the spare time from my job I was encouraged by my friends and family to start selling my handcrafted cards.  The ethos behind Water Lily Wishes is to sell simple yet high quality handcrafted cards and gift wrap without breaking your bank, you can view my creations for yourself on my website – www.water-lily-wishes.co.uk

Alongside this I decided that it was time for me to join the 21^st century and start blogging, so here I am today!   I love the world of crafting and so the aim of this blog is not only to let you know new developments within Water Lily Wishes but also for you to join me in my journey of learning new crafts.  This year I am hoping for all the gifts I give for birthdays and Christmas to be handmade, either by myself or by one of the many talented crafters out there. As I discover and learn new crafts I will share them with you and I welcome any tips you have on how I can improve!

I would also like to introduce a regular feature where I will interview a fellow crafter who is very talented within their field.  These will be people who I have personally experienced and whose service and products are second to none. 

I hope you enjoy following my journey to a DIY craft filled life!

Until next time

Amanda x