Frute Juce on the Coriandr Express

Alison of Frute Juce is the current VIP on the fabulous locomotive and I have to say I am a big fan of this lady. I've been following her blog for a while now, she talks with humour and love about her family and her crafts. And she also happens to be the creator of my absolute favourite item on coriandr at the moment! It's the wonderful 'Funky Flowery Fun Handbag', a practical yet quirky item with a nice sense of humour.

She also sells lots of other goodies including baby vests, coin purses, fridge magnets and calico bunnies, and a frequent revisit is advised as Alison says 'whatever takes my fancy at that moment is what I make, so my items can be quite changeable".

Snapdragon Beads

Next stop on the Coriandr Express is the lovely Alice, who by her own admission is addicted to beads! One glimpse at her fabulous creations and you just know there's something slightly obsessional going on...

She has the brain of a mathematician and the heart of an artist, and I think she combines the two wonderfully in the off-loom bead weaving technique she uses to create pendants, earrings, hair clips and brooches. I especially like the Frog Princess Earrings, the gorgeous fresh greens just sing out! Think about the amount of work involved in these beauties, you just can't get that on the high street... and to make it even better Alice is offering free shipping for all purchases until the end of June...

If you like Alice's work you can pop over to her Coriandr shop for a closer look. You can also find her on twitter, facebook, and www.snapdragonbeads.com.

Eco-friendly goodies from myfuroshiki!

Next stop on the Coriandr Express is the wonderful myfuroshiki. This has to be one of my favourite shops, and Michiko is one of my favourite sellers. I met her a couple of months ago when we both had stalls at Keighley Arts Market, and she is a lovely person who has a genuine passion for what she does. myfuroshiki is a joint venture between Mich and her sister Olivia, and is inspired by the Japanese tradition of using fabric to wrap gifts, make bags and create decorative wall hangings. This is a fantastic eco-conscious concept as the wraps can be used time & again, and for numerous different purposes - how many uses can you think of? You can check out myfuroshiki.blogspot.com for more ideas.

One of my favourite items is this set of 10 mini fabric gift wraps, all of which have been handprinted and come with 10 myfuroshiki card gift tags. Also included is a handy instruction sheet with illustrations for wrapping techniques!

You can also make a custom request for special occasion furoshiki favours to suit your theme - what a brilliant idea for an eco-friendly wedding!

Debbs Elliman: Coriandr Express VIP

Debbs is the new VIP on the Coriandr Express. Her shop has a nicely varied selection of items including dichroic glass jewellery, dichroic buttons, beaded brooches and jute bags.

But my favourite has to be this Apple Wood Wand! Made from a branch dropped by her own apple tree, it has been sanded down, wrapped with wire, beads & ribbon, and has a clear quartz at the tip.

You can catch up with Debbs on Twitter, Facebook or her blog.

Anyone for cakes?

I just have to show you some of the goodies created by the latest VIP on the Coriandr Express. Mrs Toad Designs is the creative outlet of Catherine, who believe it or not is only 18 years old!

This selection of little cakes is my favourite, and you can choose three for only £3.50 plus postage!

Here's a few words from Catherine: " I have always enjoyed making things, and have been sewing since I was small. For the past five years I have been designing and making beaded jewellery, as well as hand stitched felt brooches. Recently I have begun making my own felt, using wet and dry felting techniques and Merino Cross wool, which I use to create my felt cake pincushions".

You can also read about Catherine's creative adventures on her blog, mrstoaddesigns.blogspot.com

Coriandr Express: Nicsknots

The latest VIP on the Coriandr Express happens to have one of my favourite shops, full of colourful items at very reasonable prices. In her own words, "Nicsknots is home to handmade knitting needle rolls, drawstring project bags, make-up bags, and little girl bags in fabrics floral to funky. I started making needle rolls for a friend who was opening a yarn shop then the whole thing sprung out of there".
My favourite is this kids' handbag in a cute green penguins fabric, I think it's supposed to be for girls but my youngest boy loves it!

As an extra bonus Nic herself is offering free postage on all her items until Sunday night, 14th June!

You can also catch up with her on Twitter or Facebook, or read her crafty blog here.

Creativesque: new VIP on the Coriandr Express!

The next person to have the fabulous and yet daunting position of being the VIP on the Coriandr Express is the lovely Stacey-Ann. In her own words she is "an artist, illustrator and mum from London, who loves drawing, colouring in and making stuff". Well she obviously enjoys doing it, just check out her Coriandr shop Creativesque and you can see for yourself the enthusiasm she pours into it! I particularly like this notecard & envelope, where else could you get something that has been handdrawn, handpainted and embellished with a cute heart and bow for only £1.50 plus postage?

Avast me hearties!

When the weather is this hot my thoughts turn to the beach...but wait, what's that I see on the horizon? Could it be Cap'n Skulduggery Dug and her dastardly crew? Racing ashore with a booty of handmade treasures...

Seriously, you need to check out the Cap'n's wares(!).. from an eyepatch to felted dreadlocks and even a swag bag, no self-respecting pirate would leave home without some of this kit! And I especially love the Toddlers Skullcap. 

As an added bonus, Pirate Pixie Crew are offering a 10% discount for the whole of June! All together now, "yo ho ho & a bottle of rum"...

The fiendish mind behind it all has this to say... "I'm Lynne and I am the creator of the Pirate Pixie Crew. All the goods for sale in my shop are lovingly handmade by me, and every hat sold comes with a membership card to the Pirate Pixie Crew. You can read all about the crew at http://skulduggerydug.com. All ages are welcome to join the crew and when you do you can join in with the adventures!"

Lynne is also responsible for Autonomous Artisans, a journal that ignores mass made goods in favour of the lovingly handcrafted products made by the independent artisans of the world.