Surprise parcel!

I got a lovely surprise in the post this morning, a little parcel of gorgeousness from Lynsey of Swirlyarts!

There are some fab Christmas robin gift tags and a set of ten nursery rhyme envelopes, all handmade by Lynsey using recycled paper. The envelopes even come with a plain white label so they're post-friendly.

They all came packaged inside another recycled paper envelope, I particularly enjoyed the cautionary tale of 'Choirboy Jim"...

(Apologies for the dodgy photos, it's pretty dark & stormy here today).

Make sure you check out Lynsey's shop on Etsy for more handmade and ecofriendly items!

Peace & Crafts Fair

Just a quick blog post to recommend an event happening this Saturday (20th November) in Saltaire. This will be the seventh Bradford Peace & Crafts Fair, 'for peace, justice & the environment' - a fantastic family friendly day organised by Yorkshire CND.

All the details you need are in the image below, please feel free to spread the word!

Ruby Spirit Designs and Dig The Earth will be there in the Evans Room, so don't forget to come & say hi...

If you need directions you can find them here. If you want to travel by train the hall is only a few minutes walk from Saltaire station, on the Airedale line.

New recipe?

I had a conversation on Twitter the other day with the massively hilarious and always entertaining Mrs Gibson. We were discussing the similarity between our childhoods, and naturally our thoughts turned towards Vesta Chow Mein, Viennetta, marrowfat peas and Findus Crispy Pancakes.

As is often the case, one of the tweets was picked up on and I got a 'follow', the email is shown below...

It made me laugh so much, apparently you can report crispy pancakes for spam! Is that a new flavour then?!

Red Skies Tomorrow...

Forgive me father for I have sinned, it's been eight months since my last blog post... but I'm back! Ta-da!

I just wanted to share with the blogosphere my first ever Etsy Treasury, which I am enormously proud of. (Although I must admit to having had a Treasury West a few weeks ago...)

It's called 'Red skies tomorrow' and it's simply a big fat gorgeous slice of all things gloriously red. I decided not to attempt to wrangle a theme around any of my own shop items or use it as a self-promoting exercise, I just wanted to curate a good Treasury. What do you think?

And here we are at last.......

Hurrah for the Coriandr Express! It's been a fabulous journey, we've been privileged to meet some very talented craftspeople and see some beautiful pieces they've created... and now here we are with the final VIP, the most stupendously wonderful Tomato Tea!

Throughout the journey she has been working her own little hand knitted socks off busily promoting every one of us fortunate enough to have the golden ticket, now it's her turn to be shown the love!

My personal favourite just has to be the Furry Hood Crochet Pattern, now all I have to do is figure out how to crochet! At only £2 it's a real incentive to get learning...

I also love this Teal Crochet Coin Purse, this has already been crocheted by hand so is a far more sensible option for me!

You can also follow Tomato Tea on twitter and read her blog, but I recommend you pop on over to her coriandr shop - you can even find gorgeous yarn which has been handspun on a traditional spinning wheel! As a Coriandr Express special offer all yarn has been reduced by 10% until the end of July.

Heart and Soil

As the Coriandr Express draws ever nearer the end of its journey, our current VIP is the wonderful Hen of Heart and Soil Baskets. She crafts baskets and small hurdles from Somerset willow and materials foraged from the hedgerows of the Cotswolds - how idyllic does that sound? Every basket is made uniquely and to order, the sizes are approximate and can be adjusted to suit. My favourite is this Fruit & Veg Basket, a beautiful example of Hen's wonderful skill.

I just love the fact that such an ancient craft is being kept alive today by a genuinely skilled artisan, whose whole lifestyle reflects her passion for sustainable management of our countryside and a pure love and awe of nature. Have a closer look at Hen's work on Coriandr.

You can also find Hen on twitter and on her blog, www.heartandsoil.blogspot.com

Sweet Treats on the Coriandr Express!

We're nearing the end of the Coriandr Express journey now, just a few more stops to go, but the coal elves are busily stoking the engine and we simply refuse to lose momentum! Currently being served first class goodies in the VIP seat is Debbie of Sweet Treat. In her own words... 'I use what spare time I have to chill out with my vintage and new beads to create...my "me" time. I'm an old-fashioned girl really and love vintage jewellery. I have a very girly daughter who keeps me up to date so I still keep a modern twist on my work!'

You'll have to move fast if you like these Victoria Earrings - Debbie has created them using the last two of some vintage ceramic beads with a lovely rose design, so they are a unique pair!

You can also catch up with Debbie on twitter or her blog.