Wednesday, 23 September 2015
Things I have finished
I find myself flitting from one thing to another, both in craft terms (too many WIP's) and household stuff too. I can't seem to stick to one thing to get it finished and enjoy the satisfaction of completion.
Dipping in and out of a hundred and one tasks leaves me feeling a bit frazzled so today I made a list and forced myself to focus on a handful so I could draw the big tick of finality next to at least some of them!
I am not sure what I want this post to be about....
This month is slipping away and 1000's of thoughts & ideas are making me dizzy
I think I will keep it simple and show you what I have finished ....
Sunday, 20 September 2015
Scents and Candles
I have been a candle lover since, well, since forever!! I absolutely love everything scented candle related. There really is nothing quite like having your home smell of wonderful aroma’s from baked goods to luscious and tempting fruits to spicy or exotic florals. Whatever mood you’re in can be a reflection on the fragrances flowing through your house. I am obsessed !
Keeping this in mind... I have also been a perfume lover since forever!!! starting from a very young age with a cheeky dab of scent from either my mothers or grandmothers collection
Through the years I have gone through many stages of perfume wearing
Teens .. (Brut I am not going to explain this one)
Hippie... Patchouli I still have a soft spot for this heady scent
Working girl..... Chanel No 5, Jo Malone, and a few others
I use scents to suit my moods, I use the word scent because it doesn't just mean perfume, shower washes, soaps, body lotions.
This popularity has created an incredible demand for a variety in scents and forms of fragrance. Candles, reed diffusers, essential oils, fragrance sprays, candles, light bulb rings, drawer liners, soaps, incense sachets, simmering crystals, and pot potpourri, linen sprays, ironing waters are just a few choices available depending on your lifestyle and personal preferences.
Just as layering your personal fragrance with powder, lotion shower wash and cologne makes it a richer, longer lasting smell, the same is true of home fragrances.
Try using different forms of the same scent throughout your house for a "home sweet home".
Although you might want to mix and match I recommend sticking to one fragrance family at a time.
The key to layering is knowing which notes work together and how to subtly enhance them.
Over the last few years I have researched "scents" (I am obsessed) especially for our home,
And wow does it come at a price!, It isn't feasible to keep up with the cost £100's of pounds on a regular basis it's not going to happen.... Or is it.....
I have come across a fabulous company "GlowHush" www.glowhush.com, through FB
GlowHush is owned by a lovely lady, Layla who I have to say must work 24/7
We aren't just talking about Candles here; these are Gorgeous hand poured candles. Handcrafted and ultra scented with high grade candle fragrance oil that will fill your home with the scents of famous fragrances. Presented in a choice of black or white glass topped with a free highly polished chrome lid and presented in a high quality gift box. At a cost of £15.00 plus postage and packing.
| www.glowhush.com |
| www.Glowhush.com |
You will not have owned a reed diffuser like ours before! Using state of the art Porex reeds and boasting a fantastic paraffin-free diffuser oil at 40% concentrate, our diffusers are not only the best at scenting your homes, they also last up to 5 months meaning they are fantastic value.
Choose your fragrance and then choose between natural wood, black or white diffuser reeds to fit in with your home decor.
At a cost of £18.00 plus postage & packing.
"GlowHush" just keeps giving..
www.Glowhush.com |
You can also buy these little beauties Mini Melts & Wax melts
You will not find wax melts fragrance more highly than these anywhere else!
"We pride ourselves at GlowHush on the quality of oil and wax used, and also on the quantity of oil we offer packed into each tart. This means each of our wax tarts can give our customers up to 10 hours of continuous fragrance which makes us trump all other companies on value for money."
"And believe me they do" In the picture I have 2 Grapefruit &
Pear & Freesia Medley, These are great value for money Wax Melts individual £1.50 & 6 £9.00 plus p&p these melts come in to their own when you either want to start layering your fragrances and want to do a bit of experimenting or just to burn on their own as does the trio of mini melts for £1.50 or again £9.00 for 15 pop you can mix and match these to layer all those wonderful scents.
And there is more...
| www.Glowhush.com |
A gorgeous box of 16 mini melts set in a chocolate box, making them a perfect gift for any wax loving person.
"We pride ourselves at GlowHush on the quality of oil and wax used, and also on the quantity of oil we offer packed into each tart. This means each of our wax tarts can give our customers up to 10 hours of continuous fragrance which makes us trump all other companies on value for money."
We have a choice of red, gold or silver box and offer three ready made selections of melts:What a wonderful gift to give or receive. The cost of these £10.00 plus P&P.
GlowHush also sell Wax melt starter kits consisting of
Wax burner
6 wax tarts or 16 mini melts Selection of your choice
£16.00 plus P&P
Now I have given you this much information, the one piece of I have omitted is the Fragrance list you will have to visit the site www.GlowHush.com you will not be disappointed, they have managed to create gorgeous candles scented like top perfumes
just for your home and like me you can experiment and layer scents until your happy you may even invent a new scent.
My favourite at the moment is Lime Basil & Mandarin, Next time I might try ....
Please note I have not been paid for this endorsement I am a customer and have always been happy with my products and service that Layla provides, please check out her FB page she holds little competitions, gives us little treats with our purchases, always replies promptly and is on hand to help with our enquiries and after your first purchase you can join GlowHush VIP.
Please check out GlowHush FB for lots of really great ideas xx
A little tip for perfume layering
To layer perfumes dab pure almond oil on your skin, then layer those fragrances on top of it. The concentrated base helps it last longer.
Thursday, 17 September 2015
100 things
Looking forward to Autumn
Drool over the new Autumn collections for fashion & home
Prepare myself , family and home for hibernation
Unwrap up in all the snuggle, cosy blankets that only 10 mins ago were sucked up in a poly bag and stuffed somewhere


Unsuck my soft comfy clothes and feel secure.
Sort out my slow cooker and the 2000 recipes that will see me through the coming months
I spend the last few warm days in our garden preparing the plants for their "hibernation" saying my little goodbyes and welcoming in new plants that will bring subtle colour to the Autumn back drop.
Knowing that September and October can often be quiet beautiful. colourful months, experiencing gorgeous golds, yellows and ochres of the colour-changing leaves on the trees.
Drool over the new Autumn collections for fashion & home
Prepare myself , family and home for hibernation
Unwrap up in all the snuggle, cosy blankets that only 10 mins ago were sucked up in a poly bag and stuffed somewhere


Unsuck my soft comfy clothes and feel secure.
Sort out my slow cooker and the 2000 recipes that will see me through the coming months
I spend the last few warm days in our garden preparing the plants for their "hibernation" saying my little goodbyes and welcoming in new plants that will bring subtle colour to the Autumn back drop.
Knowing that September and October can often be quiet beautiful. colourful months, experiencing gorgeous golds, yellows and ochres of the colour-changing leaves on the trees.
Enjoying the rich, sweet aroma of ripe fruit; plums and figs fallen from the trees, crimson and russet apples and the opulent almost decadent , perfume of fat pears.
Walking through country lanes along the hedgerows and on waste ground, picking plump black juicy blackberries being mindful to leave enough for all the little hedgerow creatures.

Smelling the bonfires burning all the garden waste I love this smell.
Autumn clearing my wardrobe which will involve season re cycling, layering I can cope with layers, quite often you will find me wearing a summer dress, leggings, cardigan/jumper, boots It works I promise!
Looking forward to Harvest Festival, Halloween & bonfire night, I love these evenings and of course countdown to Christmas.
I know there isn't 100 things ....
Walking through country lanes along the hedgerows and on waste ground, picking plump black juicy blackberries being mindful to leave enough for all the little hedgerow creatures.
Smelling the bonfires burning all the garden waste I love this smell.
Autumn clearing my wardrobe which will involve season re cycling, layering I can cope with layers, quite often you will find me wearing a summer dress, leggings, cardigan/jumper, boots It works I promise!
Looking forward to Harvest Festival, Halloween & bonfire night, I love these evenings and of course countdown to Christmas.
I know there isn't 100 things ....
Monday, 14 September 2015
Sharing Summer..
I can’t believe we are strolling into Autumn... we are not quite there just yet... I suppose you can say we are still in the transition phase... I say this because I can still have morning tea & lunch in the garden... I still wear my flip flops, white trousers, flimsy cardigans with my pretty lilac painted toe nails peeking out.... I don't think I am ready to resign Summer
to just memories it's been too glorious.
I haven't been here properly for a while, I decided it was time to share my Summer and all the pretty projects I took on, all the new groups I joined and wonderful products I have brought....
to just memories it's been too glorious.
I haven't been here properly for a while, I decided it was time to share my Summer and all the pretty projects I took on, all the new groups I joined and wonderful products I have brought....
This post will be dedicated to projects I have been working on baby blankets, over the Summer one already born and one due later on in the year (nothing to do with me) this has meant buying lots of gorgeous wool from those lovely people @ Wool warehouse.
I decided on two different styles, one striped using cotton yarn I am a fan of Rico cotton essentials, I drive a hard bargain when looking for crotchet yarn, this cotton doesn't split and is soft to touch & with all the colours of the rainbow and at a decent price its a winner. I find that 120 stitch chain is perfect for a baby blanket, I crotchet fairly tight and use a 4-4.5 hook, I prefer wooden hooks but it is what I am used to.
The other blanket is a small granny squares with wonderfully rich soft DMC Woolly this wool comes in lots of yummy colours and is beautiful to work with. This one is for the baby due later on in the year.
They will both have a pretty border... watch this space.
I have to admit that crotchet and knitting are not a"Summer" craft, (this is just my opinion) for me it's an Autumn /Winter, heating on, in my PJ's @4 o'clock with a hot drink, snuggled in my arm chair kinda craft.
Other projects on my work table are beautiful paper blooms of all sizes, I have been up to my ankles in card stock, Italian Crepe & Origami paper, these are all part of PinkPeonyPetals Wedding collection which I will be unveiling soon I just need to add a few tiny details and we are done.
I like to support Macmillan Nurses and previous years have held or baked for Coffee mornings, this year I made a few pots of "flowers" to go on each table & they will be auctioned off. Good Luck for 25th September xxx
The weather has been too glorious not to have spent a few weekends frolicking on the water with the children, grandchildren and wonderful friends @ the Lakes in Oxford finishing off the season with a Hog roast and lots of alcohol.
Sharing Summer part 2 to follow....
I decided on two different styles, one striped using cotton yarn I am a fan of Rico cotton essentials, I drive a hard bargain when looking for crotchet yarn, this cotton doesn't split and is soft to touch & with all the colours of the rainbow and at a decent price its a winner. I find that 120 stitch chain is perfect for a baby blanket, I crotchet fairly tight and use a 4-4.5 hook, I prefer wooden hooks but it is what I am used to.
The other blanket is a small granny squares with wonderfully rich soft DMC Woolly this wool comes in lots of yummy colours and is beautiful to work with. This one is for the baby due later on in the year.
I have to admit that crotchet and knitting are not a"Summer" craft, (this is just my opinion) for me it's an Autumn /Winter, heating on, in my PJ's @4 o'clock with a hot drink, snuggled in my arm chair kinda craft.
Other projects on my work table are beautiful paper blooms of all sizes, I have been up to my ankles in card stock, Italian Crepe & Origami paper, these are all part of PinkPeonyPetals Wedding collection which I will be unveiling soon I just need to add a few tiny details and we are done.
I like to support Macmillan Nurses and previous years have held or baked for Coffee mornings, this year I made a few pots of "flowers" to go on each table & they will be auctioned off. Good Luck for 25th September xxx
The weather has been too glorious not to have spent a few weekends frolicking on the water with the children, grandchildren and wonderful friends @ the Lakes in Oxford finishing off the season with a Hog roast and lots of alcohol.
Wednesday, 5 August 2015
Time goes too quickly...
I have neglected my blog this past week and I have no excuse apart from the fact that Mr D & I went to Dublin 2 weekends ago for a family wedding, it was wonderful to see everyone, Thank you again for inviting us xxx
I have also been very busy crafting, I finally finished the 2 Bee embroidered cushions for Paul, the last of the teacher gifts were sent out, as were a few items from my Etsy shop.
I have been working on a PinkPeonyPetal wedding collection that will be unveiled later on in the year, I really am enjoying this project.
I have also been dragged kicking and screaming in to the spirit of Christmas (Thank You Paul).
This means that we now have to pull our socks up and work on the 2015 Christmas designs, I am hoping that if we work hard enough I will have lots of pretties to share with you next week, but in the mean time here are a few bits to keep you gossiping....
This picture doesn't really bring out the pretty Pinks & Lilacs
I have also been very busy crafting, I finally finished the 2 Bee embroidered cushions for Paul, the last of the teacher gifts were sent out, as were a few items from my Etsy shop.
I have been working on a PinkPeonyPetal wedding collection that will be unveiled later on in the year, I really am enjoying this project.
I have also been dragged kicking and screaming in to the spirit of Christmas (Thank You Paul).
This means that we now have to pull our socks up and work on the 2015 Christmas designs, I am hoping that if we work hard enough I will have lots of pretties to share with you next week, but in the mean time here are a few bits to keep you gossiping....
I had made a few box frames for teachers gifts and had one left so gathering a few of my pretty papers and the only capital letter I had made this.... the "M" was colour washed with a pretty pale pink and the scent bottles are from the Craftwork Cards Ephemera collection a gorgeous collection of vintage papers and Scent bottles.
On a completely separate note my kitchen has been finished and I am so pleased with it well done Mr D and a big thank you to Mr W our neighbour who helped us.
Thursday, 9 July 2015
Flikr Friday Embroiderey
When I was younger, I learnt to embroider, nothing fancy mind you just the basics on Binka, Do you remember it? it was a fabric a little like Hessian with little holes in so that you could follow them and make stitches mind you it would fray just by looking at it, lol I remember I started to make a tray cover by the time I finished it was the size of a coaster, I loved this craft, I learnt all the stitches and all the different knots that went with it, I collected beautiful jewel coloured embroidery thread.
Sadly the days of embroidery left me until recently I had some plain fabric that I acquired from
Mr D, I knew as soon as I saw it was to become cushions, It dawned on me that I need to get out my embroidery hoop and start embroidering, Being a tad rusty I thought I might just stick with cross stitch for now. I will share my project with you when it's finished until then here are 6 of my favourite embroidery pieces. Please remember these pictures belong to their various owners .
Maybe these will encourage you to pick up your embroider hoop, and buy some thread and embroider
xx
Sadly the days of embroidery left me until recently I had some plain fabric that I acquired from
Mr D, I knew as soon as I saw it was to become cushions, It dawned on me that I need to get out my embroidery hoop and start embroidering, Being a tad rusty I thought I might just stick with cross stitch for now. I will share my project with you when it's finished until then here are 6 of my favourite embroidery pieces. Please remember these pictures belong to their various owners .
Maybe these will encourage you to pick up your embroider hoop, and buy some thread and embroider
xx
Friday, 3 July 2015
Flickr Friday Pretty Pressies
I chose for this week gift wrapping, its never just about a bit of paper, stiff ribbon, sticky bow and 3 metres of sticky tape, It should be a work of art, dramatic in some cases, rustic in others, have a look at these.....
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| Plain white pockets decorated with paper roses, leaves & cut outs |
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| Brown paper stamped pink using the end of a celery stick (cut the bottom off ). White paper stamped, pretty ribbon |
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Simple brown paper bag ribbon, pretty paper, velum pocket and card, tag, tissue paper |
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Cream envelope, typed verse, lace trim, strung pearl beads, tag, decorated with trim , fabric, gem |
![]() Pretty pink paper or fabric, doilies, silk rose and ribbon, sheet music |
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Simples... brown fabric or paper, crotchet doilies |
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| cookie or sweet wrapping paper bag, coloured bakers twine, doilies, pretty bows and ribbon |
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| pretty stamped paper, pink cord, ribbon, trim, crotchet flower |
Thursday, 2 July 2015
Branding (part 1)
- personality
- strong brand name and design
- powerful profile across various social media platforms
- professional images, stylish stationary and packaging
During this I would like to cover various aspects of branding from market research through to Avatar designing.
With this information you can build your brand so that it is easily recognisable, will attract new custom and keep loyal customers coming back for more.
The first thing to be considered when starting up a new business is to find out what's out there, what's not, what people want and what isn't popular. There may well be new products out that may bring in profits as well as success for an ongoing business.
We often think about market research as something large companies/organisations would do, a mysterious and complex project that is out of reach for a small craft business, in fact in its simplest form, looks at what products or services people are willing to buy, in what quantity, to see if you can meet their requirements and still make money.

It is a smart way to research and evaluate your collected data, you will also discover whether you need to alter aspects of your business packaging, delivery and selling.
There are different ways to use this data collection you can either use it to create a craft business and marketing plan or to use it to measure your existing business success.
What is important when carrying out market research is that the right questions are asked to the right people in the right way.
Every business needs to know what products are wanted or needed, the target audience, the best way to offer goods to potential customers and keep existing.
Don't panic if the results are not what you expected- adapting is part of the process. Remember opinions change so it is worth repeating at different stages, PinkPeonyPetals usually collects data after a large event or celebration Christmas, Halloween, Easter,
What was popular what wasn't, customer feed back on delivery, packaging, what they would be interested in receiving in the future and more,
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| unique business cards |
There are 2 types of research...
Primary- information that you personally collect from people and then analyse. This is done through interviews, questionnaires, surveys, emails, social media, face to face.
Secondary- information already gathered by someone else and published as a report or article.
Before you jump in and spend your hard earned money and valuable time on market research there are basic mistakes to avoid
- using only secondary information
- using only the web resources
- surveying only people you know
- only listening to positive feedback about your craft business or brand idea, you also need to listen to those who are critical.
Questions to ask...
- what do you think about this craft
- would you be willing to buy this
- what would you be willing to pay for this
- have you brought something similar in the past
- if so where did you buy it
Things to consider...
are your craft products like hundreds of others out there if so how can you make yours stand out.
Research your competition and plan how to make your craft stand out from the crowd.
Visit your national statistics or census website to find out info on everything from peoples spending habits to how price changes this is all free market data.
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