Portraits

I have discovered that it is quite hard to take a decent self portrait of yourself in business mode. Especially when guys like Spartacus and Vincent want to be in on the action.

My space

Etsy has just added a new feature to their site, a page to allow your shop to share a bit about themselves, the owners, and their creative space. At first I was a little shy to share photos of me and my studio, but of course that was silly and I have taken some snaps of my little space. I thought I would share them here to show you a bit of my very modest set up!

Shipping and supplies area.

All essential bits and pieces close at hand. My favourite is the little ceramic donkey that dispenses my striped string!

A fraction of my fabric stash.

Drawers and shelves and cupboards, oh my!

My handy red drawers stashing plain cotton fabric in colour order!

I hope you liked that little peek into my studio. What is your creative space like? Do share!

It's been a long time.

Is anybody out there? *tap tap* Is this thing on? Hello?

Oh HI! It's me, Emma! I'm back and I do apologise for the silence. What have I been doing?

Well, planning a wedding. I get married in 3 weeks, you guys. THREE WEEKS!! That's pretty soon. 

Also, mucking around in the kitchen.

Clockwise from top left: Raspberry and vanilla buttercake with cream cheese icing (a version of this); corn fritters with avocado, bacon and coriander; raspberry scones; and spinach, bean and chorizo soup.

And a bit of fancy dress, of course! This was for a friend's 30th Safari themed party.

So what's happening with NeverEver? Why did I abandon it for so long? Why so quiet? To be honest, I felt a bit over it. I was starting to not enjoy making all my handmade cuties on demand. I like to make things at my own pace sometimes, you know? And I found that I was feeling resentful every time a sale came through, instead of jumping off my chair with joy as I did when I first started making sales. I needed a little break, to step away from Etsy, and I am glad I did.

But now (and it does seem a strange time to feel this, in the middle of crazy wedding stuff and just before Christmas), I do feel like I would like to jump back in again - with a bit of a twist. I am going to sell mainly one-off pieces out of gorgeous fabrics from my stash. Classic denim and my bib range will stay, but everything else will be an as-I-feel-like-it production line. I have a huge exciting cupboard overflowing with bits and pieces, and I can't wait to use them.

A cutie for the new year

... just thought I would show you my first creation of the year. Georgie giraffe. Available here.

New designs

I don't normally post about my wares for sale at NeverEver, but I am just so in love with my newest design, I couldn't help posting a picture. I seriously considered keeping them for myself, but then remembered that I don't have a baby to wear them!

They are a one-off - the gorgeous red and white stripe trim is one of my purchases from Japan, and I used it all up!

More goodies from Japan

I have been sorting out my bags of fabric, trims, and assorted other fun bits to go into my new sewing room. And I have been inspired by some lovely trims that I bought in Japan and had forgotten about.

I think some new designs are in the works...

A cute dress for a cute bub

My aunt recently asked me to make a sweet little outfit for a friend of hers' baby. She liked cherry prints and polka dots, and this is what I came up with! Sweet, huh?

Getting back into the swing of things

...with a new line in my store.

This is Penelope Puppy. She was made in Melbourne, whilst I was staying there for work. I had a day of exploration and found these lovely quilting fabrics in my wanderings.

A Final Winner

It's the end of October! Hasn't it flown? And that means one thing: we need to draw a winner for my final giveaway. Thanks to random.org, the winner, number 6 to comment, is...

Caitlin of CraftyCrackpot.

Well done Caitlin! I will be in touch to ask which set to send off to you!

Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to comment on my various posts this month. I didn't have the time to post as much as I would have liked, but I really enjoyed reading all your comments and running a giveaway has been fun!

Stay tuned for pictures of the aforementioned bridesmaid's dresses - some explanation towards my lack of presence here online during October!

Nerdy McNerd Strikes Again

In January this year, a good friend of mine from Germany gave me a jigsaw puzzle of a castle we had visited together. It is called Neuschwanstein, and was the inspiration for the famous Disney castle. It is quite glorious in real life, and comes with many myths and legends and an interesting history. The king, Ludwig the 2nd, decided to "renovate" an old crumbling castle on the site, and turned it into what it is today. Despite looking incredibly detailed and ornate, the castle is actually unfinished, as the king was suspiciously declared mentally insane during the construction, and soon after was found drowned in a lake.

Anyhow, lakes and kings aside, it has taken me til now to complete the 1500 piece puzzle, and along the way I took photos of my progress. And here's where the Nerd part comes in: I have taught myself to make a little video of the puzzle growing and growing until complete.

Et Voilà!

Aren't I clever? PS. Don't forget to comment to get yourself an entry to my final Blogtoberfest Giveaway!

The Final Giveaway for Blogtoberfest

Well folks, as I suspected, October has FLOWN. Here we are at the last 10 days! As promised, I have one final giveaway as part of my Blogtoberfest celebrations! It will be drawn on the 30th, and as before, every comment from now til then will gain an entry.

To go out with a bang, this time I am giving away your choice of either a Sunny Butterfly or a Happy Octopus Vest and Pants set. Perfect for summer, and super sweet! The only hard thing will be choosing...

Sunny Butterfly, or Happy Octopus?

The choice is yours! Enter by commenting on any post between now and the 30th Of October!

Winner!

Well ladies and gentlemen, Giveaway #2 of Blogtoberfest has been drawn! This sweet little Queen of Hearts Onesie is making it's way to the lucky winner as we speak!

And speaking of lucky winners, that winner is...

Tess of PlanetTreasures!

She was the 20th person to comment on my posts between last week's giveaway announcement and today! Well done Tess!

Stay tuned! Tomorrow I will announce the final giveaway for Blogtoberfest, to be drawn on the 3oth.

Featured!

I have recently found myself on several delightful and fun kid's blogs.

First of all, the wonderful KidStyleFile, in collaboration with Madeit, featured my Dressed For Dinner bib amongst some lovely dinnertime company.

Then, the lovely Kelly of Macaroni and Glue featured me on her great blog.

And just when I thought it was over, today my Rosy Red Polka Dot Dress is part of a fun and bright polka-dot theme feature over at Handmade Kids.

Please go and have a peek at these wonderful blogs! Thanks to all of them for featuring me!

And now for the second giveaway!

Well, here we are finally - giveaway #2 for Blogtoberfest! This time, I am giving away a super sweet and gorgeous Queen of Hearts Onesie, newborn size - perfect for a new baby gift! Featuring applique hearts in four different pink fabrics, it is up for grabs on the 20th of October. To be in the running, simply comment on any blog post I make between now and then. Easy!



And don't forget, still to come, lots of enlightening posts about concerts, cameras, Japan, weddings, and my grandpa!

It's giveaway day!

Today is the day of my first giveaway as part of Blogtoberfest. Thankyou to everyone who has commented on my posts - not as many as you may have expected! I guess I have to accept that life gets in the way sometimes. But there's still lots of days left! And two more exciting giveaways.

The winner of this first giveaway, a Top Banana Bib, was drawn by a very technical and tricky Random Number Picker. See?

And so, congratulations to Alissa, the 4th person to comment. I'll be in touch to get your details to send you your prize!

Tomorrow, I'll be announcing the next giveaway, to be drawn on the 20th of October. Stay tuned and make sure to comment on any post from tomorrow to be in the running!

Ready for the 'fest

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is the 1st of October! That's right, pick yourself up. All this month I will be taking part in Blogtoberfest, which means you will find a post from me every day of October.

As part of the festivities, I will be giving away PRIZES! One each on the 10th, 20th and 30th of October. First up is a Top Banana Bib. To enter, simply leave a comment on any of my Blogtoberfest posts.

WIN ME!

To keep you on the edge of your seat throughout October, here's a list of some of the topics I will be writing about!

• My friend's wedding
• Jigsaw Puzzles
• Mondrian
• Brisbane
• Cameras and Concerts
• Fish Dinners
• Japan

...and maybe a bit of a preview of some new NeverEver stuff in the works!

Stay tuned, and don't forget to leave a comment to win the Top Banana Bib on the 10th.

For other Blogtoberfesters, click here. For a list of other Blogtoberfest giveaways, try here.

New Bits and Bobs for Chrissy Pressies!

Well, Christmas in July is almost here!

From 9am Friday the 24th til 10pm Sunday 26th of August, I will be offering 15% off EVERYTHING in my store, and not only that, but if you spend $50 or more, I will give you free shipping! (Aussies - you can have free shipping if you pay by bank deposit!)

Here is a little taste of some new items I have made for NeverEver this week, to fill up my store for the Chrissy celebrations!

1. Matisse the Toy Giraffe, 2. Under the Big Top Bib, 3. Rosy Denim Tie Dress, 4. Chiquita the Little Horse

Click here for the whole list of DUST ladies who are having sales and promotions this weekend!

A new line

I am absolutely overwhelmed at the moment with several wholesale orders. I have written myself a strict timetable to get it all done - something I rarely have to do, but I am excited about it this time and I think it actually might be helping me, with regards to my motivation and problem with procrastinating!

However, a girl can't survive on bread alone, so I have been playing around a bit with some patterns to encourage the creativity to keep flowing (whilst I sew 200 bibs!). I came up with this new set - an A-line dress and some little bloomers. Perfect for play and cute too.

Little Lady

Lemon Floral Milkmaid Skirt



I have broadened my range to include skirts. I am so taken with this little piece of cuteness. Available in sizes 1 - 4.

What first?!

Well, ok. This first. I'm on the Front Page of Etsy. Hurrah!

Then this: My Paisley Floral Yoke Dress is featured on a fantastic kid's website called KidStyleFile today.

Then, to top it all off:

My Anchors Away Bib is in this issue of a fantastic magazine, Viva La Moda. Page 76. Go and have a look through it - it really is a delectable specimen of gorgeous handmade fashion and craftiness.

Man, I can hardly keep up. So exciting!