Getting ahead

Well Christmas is over for another year.  Only 358 days to go until next time!  One of the things I have learnt since having my little shop on Etsy is that you must always be thinking ahead to the next occasion or season.   

So, February 14^th – Valentine’s Day.  I shan’t be making anything special for this but fortunately I do have a lot of heart shaped, felt brooches so I have been busy today retagging them all and changing the titles to read Valentines Brooch.

I thought you might like to see a few.

 

 

 

 

 

I also have a few key rings.

 

Plus some heart shaped hanging decorations.

 

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day or do you feel it is an overly hyped up occasion designed to make money for the big corporations?  I usually make OH a card.  He will buy me a card and I usually get flowers too. We don’t usually go out but he will cook a special meal at home. 

You can find my Valentines brooches and other bits and pieces in the shop here: FABRILUSHUS.

Fabrilushus Mega Sale.

Good morning.  Hope everyone is fit and well and that you all had a great Christmas.  Did you get lots of pennies to spend?  If you did then I invite you to check out the Fabrilushus MEGA JANUARY SALE. Nearly 100 items have 50 % off.  Just use the code JANSALE at the checkout.

Jilly.

Happy Christmas

Well the last post has gone so that is it for my Fabrilushus shop for this Christmas.  I will be making some changes in 2014.  I am going to concentrate more on my best selling items. I also have some new lines. 

From 27th of December there will be a 50% off sale on many items so please do drop by if you have Christmas pennies to spend. http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Fabrilushus

All that is left to say is, I wish you all the very best Christmas and many blessings for 2014.

A custom order completed.

Evening all.  How are you?  I am recovering from dental surgery this evening.  I had to have a back, upper tooth removed due to a nasty abscess. I had it done under intravenous sedation so I am still suffering from a bit of brain fog!

I have several blogs half written and a few in the planning stage but I need something relatively easy tonight so I thought I would show you my completed applique cat cushion.  It was a custom order for a lady who had already purchase an owl cushion from me.  I showed you a photo of it in the early stages.

Here it is completed.  My customer was delighted with it.

 

I do enjoy making cushion covers and they are one of my items that seems to be doing better.  My top best selling items are, in order:

1. Wire, heart hangers for quilts and wall hangings.
2. Hip pouches or bum bags or fanny packs, seems to go by different names depending where on the globe you are!
3. Cushion covers.
4. Tote bags.

I am wondering about making changes to Fabrilushus in the new year to reflect what seems to be selling best for me.  We shall see.

I have just sold My lovely red Dalmatian cushion.

Sold 3 hip pouches this week too.  This one is a custom order from a friend of my daughter.

I have just listed this new one but I need to take better photos.

Lastly, we received a custom order for a Christmas tree hanger and this is what we come up with.  The photo needs urgently redoing but it has already sold a 2nd one.

Speaking of the need for better photos, I am in the market for a new one so any suggestions or advice will be gratefully received.  I don't want anything too complicated.  I am thinking of a bridge camera maybe?

 Jilly @ Fabrilushus

CRAFTfest is now open

CRAFTfest is now open!!!!!! For those of you who may not have heard of CRAFTfest it is an online craft fayre that runs for a full 8 days.  It is open 24 / 7 enabling you to shop for all those Christmas goodies from the comfort of your own living room.

There are over 100 stalls at CRAFTfest all offering their latest handmade creations so there is bound to be something to tempt you.  Fabrilushus is taking part and you find my stall HERE.

The Fayre is easy to navigate as similar crafts are grouped into sections. This is the main link and here are links to a few of the sections. Homeware Baby and child  Art  Jewellery  Gifts

Why not pop along and take a look.  Everything is handmade by artisans who put their heart and soul into every item so you know you will be purchasing something really special.

Jilly @ Fabrilushus

A custom request

I thought you might like to see what I have been working on today.  It is an appliqued cat cushion.  It is a custom order.  I don't often do custom orders and when I do, I find that I often don't enjoy them.   This one though is turning out to be fun.

It is for a lady in Lancashire who recently purchased my applique owl cushion.  She was so pleased with it that she asked if I could do her a similar thing only with a cat.  It is for a Christmas present.

This is the owl cushion that she was so pleased with.

She has left all elements of the cat cushion up to me including the colour choice.  I am not great at drawing so my cat is very basic and "stylised" not an exact replica!  The design elements of the cushion are the same.  An appliqued central panel with a patterned border, then a border of patchwork rectangles and eventually another border, probably plain.

This is how it looks so far.

Clearly it is a work in progress. The cat is not finished yet.  He will have eyes, nose and embroidered whiskers. Not sure how I will do the eyes.  I am thinking of adding a tiny mouse.  

What do you think?  I am quite pleased with  it.  I'll post another photo once it is complete.

Fabrilushus - Shop of the week

Yes, it is my turn.  This week Fabrilushus is the Craft Britannia "Shop of the week".  The article below is taken from the Craft Britannia team blog. Find the team here: TEAMCB

This week we talk to Jilly, whose shop, Fabrilushus is our current CraftBritannia Shop of the Week , where you will find fabric accessories and home décor.

Describe your “typical” working day or week

I am a home body, so my days do tend to be pretty much the same. I start the day with breakfast in bed. which OH brings to me before he leaves for work. Yes, I know I am spoiled! Once up and dressed, I play with my dogs in the garden before getting all the boring housework stuff out of the way. If I am well motivated I can be done by about 11.30am. That is when I begin the serious business of sewing. I never eat lunch, so I have a good 5 hours before I have to think about cooking dinner.

SET OF 3 BABY BURP CLOTHS BY FABRILUSHUS

When you are not doing Etsy related things, what are you doing?

Well, 2 days a week I look after my 2 year old granddaughter. It is great fun, but tiring! At weekends I can be found at the Three Counties Dog Rescue, where I am a volunteer. Dogs are my passion 

What was the first piece you ever sold?

It was one of my hip pouches in a lovely dog design fabric. It went to a lady in Texas who was so pleased with it she ordered another one in the same fabric!

What advice would you give someone taking up your craft for the first time?

Well the lady who taught me to sew used to say “measure twice, cut once”. My advice would be “measure at least 6 times, cross everything, say a little prayer and hope for the best”! Seriously, I have lost count of how many times I have messed up because I have not checked my measurements.

COT QUILT PLAY MAT BY FABRILUSHUS

What material do you most enjoy working with?

That’s easy! 100% cotton, quilting weight. It is so much easier to work with and always looks good.

If you could try a new craft, what would it be?

How to answer this? I want to try everything! Over the summer holidays I have been working on a large mosaic for my garden. It is a memorial piece for my Mum and contains a pewter heart made by Louise of Loutul. I am very pleased with how it is going as it is my first try. If I had more hours in a day I would like to learn to crochet and knit properly.

Which piece of equipment would you be helpless without?

Actually I could manage without most of my equipment, but what a pain that would be. I was going to say my sewing machine but I can sew by hand so I am going to choose my rotary cutter. I do have scissors of course, but it is so much faster with my cutter.

HANDMADE VW CAMPER VAN CUSHION BY FABRILUSHUS

Tell us about what inspires and motivates you

I was motivated to start last year when I realised that the dog rescue did not have any kind of craft stall at its annual open day – dog show. I vowed to change that for this year by doing it myself and I have done that. I am inspired by all the gorgeous fabrics in my stash. A fabric kind of tells me what it wants to be. Ok, now I sound totally crazy!

Tell us about one handmade item that you own and love

We are a very creative family and I have lots of things which I treasure made by my husband and my children. A particular favourite is a wooden jewellery box made for me by my eldest son when he was doing his apprenticeship. That was 17 years ago. He is a carpenter now.

What plans do you have for your shop in the future?

This is a hard one as I like making so many different things. I’m not sure that I have really decided on a direction. At the moment, I have been making doggie bandanas and also dog leads. I am currently perfecting them and have been wondering about possibly going in that direction and making dog related items my focus.

Thank you Jilly! We love your passion for dogs and look forward to seeing your new range in your lovely shop!
Follow Jilly’s social media here:
Facebook: @Fabrilushus, Pinterest: jilly_sansum, Twitter @DalmatianMum, Tumblr: Fabrilushus and her blog:fabrilushus.blogspot.co.uk

Jilly was talking to Nadine of imyinda and MuntjacVintage. Edited & published by Erika of ErikaPrice and Blucha jewellery

Poor neglected blog

Oh dear my Fabrilushus blog has been very neglected. I had such good intentions when I began and I started out well.  I was doing posts on various suppliers that I love, Craft Britannia "shop of the week" and some features on other Etsy sellers.

Actually it is that last one that caused me to stop.  I asked on Twitter one day if anybody fancied being featured on my blog.  I was approached by a lady who sells some handmade stuff and some vintage stuff. I wrote a very nice article for her with a good number of photos show casing her shop.

In my article I spoke about how I personally find it a little odd that Etsy sells both handmade items and vintage items. To me the two things seem to be an awkward marriage.  I fail to see how vintage bits and bobs has anything to do with handmade items.

I sent my blog post to this lady to read and proof check. I had put a lot of time and effort into it. Sadly she didn't like what I had said regarding my thoughts on selling vintage alongside handmade and she got very stroppy.  Quite unpleasant in fact.

Now, I could have gone ahead and posted that blog anyway minus her photos of course.  I chose not to as I thought she could become nasty. However having put so much effort in to try and promote her I felt thoroughly deflated and frankly I couldn't be bothered.

Now, I wish I had of posted it anyway.  I shouldn't let one stroppy madam put me off. I didn't say anything negative and praised her highly. I just aired my opinion. Actually, I still stick by that opinion.

Anyway, time has passed and I want to resume activities here at Fabrilushus and I am annoyed with myself that I let one silly woman put me off of posting on my own blog.

SO.........Fabrilushus the blog is now back in action.  I will be posting all kinds of things that I hope will appeal to you. I will resume with "shop of the week", recommended suppliers, tutorials, videos and much more.  Even the occasional interview.

If you would like me to show case you then please let me know.

Here is to happy days ahead and many pink cupcakes.

Jilly

Memory cushions.

Thought I would let you see what I made yesterday.  It's a memory cushion!

So what is a memory cushion?  I know you are all dying to know!  Well it is a patchwork cushion made from fabric, upcyled from old clothing.   OK, so the memory part?  Well the chosen clothing must hold special memories.

So as an example;  I could make you a memory cushion from your little ones special outfits that have been outgrown. Or do you have dresses, skirts and blouses that you are no longer wear because they no longer fit or are out of fashion?  You don't want to get rid of that dress because you wore it on your first date?  That skirt and blouse you wore to the interview that got you your dream job?  Send them all to me and have them upcycled into a memory cushion.

It clears out your wardrobe and gives you a functional item which every time you see will bring back those special memories.

This one is actually made from school shirts of my husband and they don't actually hold any memories. However they were all that I had to hand and I think they still make an attractive cushion. The design is called a disappearing 4 patch and is a favourite of mine.

If you are interested in having your very own memory cushion made then you can purchase one from Fabrilushus.

If you would like to have a go at making your own then you can see how to make a disappearing 4 patch here.  It is a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial video and I can't recommend them highly enough.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my memory cushions.

Welcome to Fabrilushus

Welcome to Fabrilushus.

Well it has taken me forever to get this far. I started to set up this blog weeks ago. My personal blog "Don't Worry Be Happy" has been neglected for ages.  I am constantly busy and never seem to have enough hours in the day. Tempus Fugit..... Time Flies.

To give you a bit of background first; I set up my online shop Fabrilushus, with Etsy on the 9th of January this year. (2013). Since then I am also marketing Fabrilushus through the online stores, WOW Thank You and Loubilou.

It has been a VERY slow start!  I began with felt brooches which are one of my specialities, plus some patchwork tote bags.  Since then I have branched out into many more items. Fabrilushus currently has around 160 items for sale arranged over 10 selling sections.

This new Fabrilushus blog has several purposes.  First of which is promotion.  I shall obviously be promoting my own shop but will also be promoting others who sell beautiful things which I think you might find of interest.  Secondly I want it to be a place where you can come to find information.  That will include tutorials for various crafts, links to suppliers etc. Basically anything to do with the crafting world which I think may be of interest. I hope in time to have guest bloggers too.

I really hope that you will enjoy this new blog and drop by often to see what is new. Please feel free to sign up for email alerts.

For now I shall post the links where you can find Fabrilushus.  These are my shop links:

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Fabrilushus

http://www.wowthankyou.co.uk/fabrilushus/

http://www.loubilou.com/browse/baby-accessories

These are my social media links:

https://www.facebook.com/Fabrilushus

https://twitter.com/DalmatianMum

http://pinterest.com/jilly_sansum/