Tag: crafts

June 2019 – Parcel Contents

We’re quickly approaching the end of June, and although Summer is supposedly going to make a return later this week, it’s currently pouring down with rain out of my office window!

Fingers crossed, Summer will be back soon, and we can all venture back outside. The theme for our parcels this month was “Step Outside”, and they contained products all connected with encouraging the recipient to get outside, into the fresh air…and simply take a moment, to breathe.

June Contents:

Sunglasses Case –

Being outside in the fresh air is brilliant for our mental health and overall well-being, and fingers crossed, the British weather will be kind to us, and make it a little easier too! We all know that protecting ourselves while outside is important, so if we’re going to wear sunglasses – it’s also important that they have a stylish home!

We loved the quote on these cases too “Always Bee Yourself” – so true.

Rainbow Pin & Filigree Heart –

Pins and badges are a great way to add a little personality to clothing and bags. There are so many inspirational designs available, but this rainbow was a great fit for this month’s theme.

The filigree heart decoration is so pretty and delicate, and looks lovely hanging, well, anywhere…

Bee Pebble –

At TSP HQ, we are a big fan of bumble bees – after all, they practically keep us all alive! These cute pebbles look perfect as decorations, sitting on top of flower pots, or simply on the window sill. We discovered these on eBay, created by a lovely lady called Emma, who also makes a similar design with ladybirds, and paints lovely plant pots too. You can find her eBay shop here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/emsi2110

Clay Sunshine & Rainbow Drops –

This happy clay dough sunshine made us smile from ear to ear as soon as we first saw it, and we knew they were a must for this month’s parcels. It now just needs a lovely bright sunny window to hang in, to do it’s shimmering and twinkling in full!

Umm, tasty Rainbow Drops remind us so much of childhood, sitting on the grass in the playground, without a care in the world – I’ll take a bit of that!

 “Every Lovely Word…” –

We’ve got a slightly different postcard for you this month. “You are every lovely word I could possibly think of” – we may not have ever met in person, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t true. These cards have been made by Cara over at “Red Fox Design” – you can find their shop on Etsy here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/weareredfoxdesign

Smile Cards

As always, there should be a couple of these little cards in your parcel, I’ve written one for you, and the blank one, is for you to write a short inspirational or positive message, and give to someone you know, or leave somewhere for a complete stranger to find – but this is of course optional, there’s absolutely no pressure to do this if you don’t want to.

Parcel Assistant

Your *Parcel Assistant for June is Colin. Now, Colin is overwhelmingly excited about the arrival of Summer – he loves a refreshing dip in a pool, so if you have a pond – please remind him that he can’t swim!!

Karen x

*Parcel Assistants are cheeky little pompom chaps who help (or hinder!) us with packing your monthly parcels!

 

Autumnal Thank You…

Good Morning!

It’s about time I gave a big shout out to another two lovely crafters who have contributed to our parcels – we are so grateful and lucky to work with the best handmade businesses!

In this post, I’m going to showcase ‘JaJo Gifts’ and ‘Sarah’s Crafty House’.

We asked the business owners to write a short description and tell us a little about why they started and what their small business means to them.

Amanda Gilchrist from ‘JaJo Gifts’ –

‘JaJo Gifts started in 2013 while I was on maternity leave with my second child. I’ve always enjoyed making things and needed a hobby while away from the 9-5.  I started making a few items and people asked me to make them for them too, so my little business was born.

It is named after my children Jasmine and Joseph, and the products on offer have changed over the years, but have always had a handmade, self-designed element at their heart.

Starting at my dining table while working another job, things have moved on, I have a designated work area and we are currently a team of 4, and it is what I now do full time.

It gives me time with my family and the flexibility to work around them, and it brings me great joy doing something I love’.

You can find Amanda’s products here: http://www.jajogifts.com

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Sarah Williams from ‘Sarah’s Crafty House’ –

‘Sarah’s Crafty House started 3 years ago now, I’ve always been quite crafty and creative, making gifts for family and friends, so picking a name was easy, as that’s how my house is!

While in my previous job, we’d always have a giggle making light of things not going to plan, or at colleagues and their funny ways, and most days ‘that should be on a plaque’ would get said, so I did put them on a plaque as gifts, and everyone loved them. After about a year of doing stalls and orders for friends, I decided to do it full time, so now I get to do what I love, and get to spend more time with my kids.

Plaques are my best sellers by far, but I also make jewellery, some pyrography, printed bags, candles, the list goes on, I’m basically a craft addict!

I’ve been delighted to have my plaques included in the brilliant Smile Parcel, and hope they added an extra touch to everyone’s Halloween décor’.

You can find Sarah’s products here: https://www.facebook.com/sarahscraftyhouse

Karen x

Bunting & Bath Bombs!

A great part of working at The Smile Parcel, is being able to work alongside so many fabulous handmade small businesses and crafters. I’m going to showcase another two of them in this post, and this time, it’s the turn of ‘Beadies by Jo’, and ‘Bathing Beauties’.

We asked the business owners to write a short description and tell us a little about why they started and what their small business means to them.

Joanne Collis from ‘Beadies by Jo’ …

‘My name is Jo Collis, I am the owner, designer and ‘Maker of Things Beautiful” at Beadies by Jo. I started my sewing business in 2013. My sewing room is at home, just 100 metres from the sea in wonderful Ayr, on the west coast of Scotland.

Sewing and making gifts has always been a passion, and due to time restraints, remained simply for family and close friends. When the opportunity to expand my ‘customer base’ came along, I started my own business and grabbed the chance to do so.

My passion for beautiful quality fabrics governs my approach. The philosophy is simple and old-fashioned, by paying a little more, the enjoyment of an item lasts for ages after purchase.

One of my first popular ranges are my reversible dresses, having sold over 500 worldwide.

November 2013 saw a favourite addition – the ‘Table-Tent’…Beadies by Jo can now claim to have Table-Tents in houses from the UK to New Zealand!

I always have a note book and pen available at hand 24/7, to collect the ideas for new looks and lines’.

You can find Jo’s products here: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/beadiesbyjo

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Trishell Gill from ‘Bathing Beauties’ …

‘At Bathing Beauties, we have an indulgent range of bath and shower treats which have all been handcrafted using the finest quality ingredients. We are very happy and proud that all of our products are cruelty-free and vegan friendly.

None of our products (or ingredients) have ever been tested on animals, and never will be!

We are trying to do our bit for the environment too, so we limit the plastic packaging as much as possible’.

You can find Trishell’s products here: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/bathingbeautiesuk

Karen x