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

We're back!

Hello all,

Well we're back from a mad fantastic time on our honeymoon, once we've sorted through the hundreds of photos we will post some of them on our photography page :)

Firstly though, I wanted to share some of the pictures we have from our wedding, I won't bore you with loads but it was such a fantastic day and it's a chance to showcase some of the amazing suppliers who helped bring the day together.

I also have some DIY projects for weddings based on the things we made, so they will be added over the next few months.  It was great fun making things for the wedding and definitely made it more personal.

So, without further ado, here are some of the pictures!

Introducing the new Mr and Mrs Hutchinson!

Dress - Sophia Tolli (Martina) bought from the lovely Sarah who runs Get N Hitched in Enfield
Make-up - the very talented Sarah Swain
Hair - Marie Boon from Eden Hair Design in Kings Lynn
Nails - Jemma Clifford, freelance beautician
Flowers - Swaffham Florist (more photos will follow as they created amazing center pieces from the greenery from Mum's garden and the origami flowers made by my sister - JewelOri)
Hutch's suit (and the bestmen/ushers) came from 1860 at Greenwoods

Of course there had to be an ice hockey reference to our wedding as that's how we met!

The amazing buttonholes - the roses were made by JewelOri and then the button holes were created by Swaffham Florist

The beautiful masterpiece of a cake made by Rosie (Hutch's Aunt), each layer was a different flavour and it really did taste as amazing as it looks!

Final photo for now.....  I loved our venue, it was great fun (although a little stressful at times) setting it up! 

The Red Barn, South Runcton -simply beautiful!

Once our photos come through from Tish and Andy over at Dreamcatcher Wedding Photography there will be heaps more but I will only share those that link with posts I promise!

Until next time...

Amanda xx

Featuring... The Polished Button

Hi everyone!

It's been a while since I've featured anyone and I am excited to introduce you to the fabulous Ruth from the Polished Button...

What bought you into the world of vintage sewing goodies?

I originally trained in theatre design at university, and from there went on to work as both a designer and costume maker. 20th Century fashion has always interested me, and I eventually ended up dealing in vintage clothing and started a masters degree in fashion. However, at the same time I had the opportunity to open a theatrical costume hire company, so I took the leap (the masters is still waiting to be finished!) I ran Costumia for a number of years, before moving into lecturing and taking on freelance work. After working for a vintage clothing company for the past year as the in-house seamstress, I rekindled my love for vintage clothing, and more specifically the nuts and bolts (or fabric and buttons!) of how they work, and this was how The Polished Button began! My dual love of costumes and vintage clothing is satisfied when I am surrounded by beautiful fabrics and haberdashery, topped off with a bit of sewing for my blog!


Which is your favourite vintage era?

For textiles and buttons, it has to be 1920’s – 1930’s - the prints are so pretty and unique, and the quality is always so good. I love finding a little Art Deco button, hand carved in glass or shell! For myself, I like to wear 40’s/50’s styles if I am dressing up, or a simpler 1960’s style in the day.

Some of the gorgeous products available from The Polished Button

So, we know that I love your fabric and buttons but how do you find all these great products?  

Aha, the magic question! I have always had a stash of vintage haberdashery - people always hand me bags of bits and pieces as they know I love it! But I suppose when I ran Costumia we had lots of donations which meant my collection grew and grew. Now I find things everywhere, and always have an eye on auctions, charity shops and antiques fairs, as well as scouring my wholesalers for new vintage style products.


I’d find it hard to part with some of those fabrics, do you do much sewing?

I love to sew, although it’s been on the back burner a bit recently as I have a young daughter so not much time! However, I do have a stash of fabrics which are just for me, and regularly raid the button collection if I am working on a project! I have a little pile of patterns on my desk just waiting to be turned into something lovely!


What does your typical working day look like?

Once I have been corralled out of bed by the toddler, I drink a gallon of coffee, get myself and her washed and dressed (my husband sorts himself out haha!) and drop her off at my Mum’s house. I then head to the post office to send any orders out (I parcel them up the night before) and either do a quick scour of the shops for vintage gems, or head back to check on emails. I try and fit in a bit of social media networking - twitter, facebook updates or reading and commenting on relevant blogs. I then photograph any new products ready for the website, and spend the afternoon editing and uploading these to the website. If I have time I will start or finish any projects I am working on, and get them onto the blog too. Before I know it is time to collect my daughter and get dinner on! I often work in the evenings too - anything from a bit of sewing, to sorting out one of the many boxes of buttons into sets to sell, to checking and ironing vintage patterns before they go on sale!

More of the gorgeous products available from The Polished Button

Random question… Where would your dream holiday be?

Oh gosh - somewhere with sunshine, good food, beautiful coast line and a good dollop of history! We spent part of our honeymoon in Dubrovnik and it's just stunning, so maybe an island hopping trip along the Croatian coast line.  In fact, can I go now?

And finally, what does 2013 hold for the Polished Button?

So many exciting things! The new website has launched, and hopefully by the time you read this we will have been featured in a few magazines too. I have so many amazing products just waiting to make it onto the website - my work room is stuffed to the gills! I have lots of projects to feature on the blog, as well as making connections with all the clever bloggers out there. I just hope people find The Polished Button as much of a treasure trove as I do - I am passionate about fashion, sewing and the past and want to find others to share it with!


Thank you Ruth, definitely go and check out the new website for fantastic sewing goodies, but you can also stay up to date by visiting her Facebook page or by following on Twitter


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

Buy Handmade Gifts..... for the garden

Good morning everyone!

How exciting, it looks like spring is finally gracing us with it's presence!  I can imagine people were flocking to their gardens and parks so I decided that I would start the handmade gift series again with a garden inspiration.

Please note that I have not included the postage prices on these and where I have linked to Etsy stores the prices are approximate given from their currency converter! 

The birds and the bees, wild thyme

 A beautiful bird box and bee hotel available from Wudwerx

 £34.95

 

Picture courtesy of Wudwerx's folksy store.

Malaysian oak planter (reclaimed)

 

 Unique oak planter available from Arte Provera Crafts

£23

Picture courtesy of Arte Provera Craft's folksy store

Ceramic vegetable markers

A great way to keep track of your vegetable plot with these cute markers available from Juliet Reeves Designs

£9.99

Picture courtesy of Juliet Reeves Designs' folksy store

Night gardening lanterns

Solar powered hanging lanterns available from Treasure Again

£22

Picture courtesy of Treasure Again's Etsy store

Garden dibber

As a non gardener I had never come across one of these before, but I am informed that they are great for planting seeds and bulbs.  This one is available from Crochettess

£10

Picture courtesy of Crochettess' Etsy store

Vintage boot scraper

You certainly wouldn't mind muddy boots if you could clean them on this pretty scraper, available from Reudes Trouvailles 

£56.95

Picture courtesy of Reudes Trouvailles' Etsy store

Gardening kit

This is a cute little kit with all you need to start growing plants available from Roses and Raspberries

£10.69

Picture courtesy of Roses and Raspberries' Etsy store

A garden metal bird called Bob

This would be a cute addition to any garden post and is available from Down to Earth

£19.95

Picture courtesy of Down To Earth's Folksy store

Wine bottle garden planter

A great way to showcase plants available from Bottle Gardens

£13

Picture courtesy of Bottle Gardens' Etsy store

Ceramic wind chimes

Listen to the therapeutic sound of wind chimes hanging from a tree in your garden, available from Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics

£26

Picture courtesy of Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics' Folksy store

Well I hope you've liked my little selection!  Enjoy the sunshine and here's hoping it lasts.

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


Test post

Hi!

We're having a bit of a rebrand and refresh here at Water Lily Wishes, and part of the job list is to try and get the blog to feature as a tab on the facebook page!  Seems a lot more technical than my ability, so have the H2B having a look at it!

Will come back and post properly when it's working!

Until next time...

Amanda xx