Say "Aperture"!!!!!

Being a crafter and micro-preneur requires wearing several hats most of which I am comfortable with except:

Photographer!

Oh, yes photographer- I struggle with this hat. Right after keeping the books (i.e. accounting) it my least favourite job. 

I've read many articles, bought a couple of books, asked fellow crafters and even professional photographers for advice. I've got a board on Pinterest dedicated and  even did a two-part course on photography. 

They've all helped but still the thought of 'aperture', and 'natural lighting' makes my tummy go funny. Why can't it all be as fun and easy as

Instagram on my iPhone?  

I hope one day to finally 'get it' and learn to love this part of my work... In the mean while I will continue reading, asking, pinning and moving my studio around sewing room till I get it right!

Say cheese!!!!

Follow me on Instragram: oh_sweet_of_mine 

Here is my Pinterest board:  http://www.pinterest.com/sweetbagofmine/photography/

Fabric Swatch Wall

If you're gonna have an addiction, it might as well be a Fabric one!

 The colours, the patterns, the weights, the shops form which to buy are endless and I could spend all day (spending all my money) on fabric.

But how do I store it all and keep track? Well, when I started, I didn't. I started off  buying metres upon metres of a fabric if I liked it. Now I am still stuck with some of my first fabric purchases and they are for sale here on my Etsy haberdashery supply shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/OhSweetBitsAndBobs

I started getting a bit more organised back in 2012 when I first discovered Pinterest. I saw this pin and went ahead and ordered these boards. I Love them and cereal boxes work just as well.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/257479303669752636/

I tried my best to organise them into sections according to patterns and colours.

My current problem is that since I haven't been keeping a note of where I bought the fabrics, the designer and/ or the name of the fabric, so now I am chasing those up.

I am currently pulling out my receipts, checking emails from suppliers and even emailing the online shops I frequent to gather all the info I need. 

It's going to be at least a few months till I've gathered all the info for all the fabric I have but I am well on my way to being a super organised fabric addict. 

While at a local fabric shop I came across their organising system and asked if I can snap at shoot.

I went home, got my tag punch, my hole punch and my scrape basket out!!! 

I am blessed to have my own sewing space where I can do what I want so the hammer and nails came out!

 I attacked my fabric scrape basket (I don't throw away any fabric- this stuff is just too expensive) and using crafting glue and my button jar and got crafting!!

                               
                                 Here is my Swatch Wall - work in progress

I found the wooden letters at a local garden centre but you can either make your own (there's loads of cool tutorials on Pinterest) 

If you are a bit lazy like me, you can get your letters here at Amazon. They are called Splosh.

Check out my fabric Organisation board on Pinterest
http://www.pinterest.com/sweetbagofmine/fabric-organising/

Stung By The Bee

This is the year for working that Bucket List of mine!

The items on my list seems to be mostly ones of Nostalgia, and this one is no different - fond memories of having sewn a few pieces of clothing for myself as a young girl.

I recall an olive green wrap skirt and a blue, African print dress. As poorly made and ill fitting as they were, I wore them proudly.

The desire to do it again has been lingering for a couple of years now and I even went as far as to buy this lovely book.





























Now, thanks to BBC 2's highly anticipated (at least in the crafting community) The Great British Sewing Bee, I am ready to get started.

Last night's episode addressed the one thing that has been holding me back: the dreaded 'pattern'.
The show reassured me that they aren't all that scary and inspired me to fish my book out.
And I know, I know... I sew bags and purses so patterns should not seem all that intimidating but I rarely use them in my bag making.

But I am ready now. I have the space, most of the tools, a guru - Mini G - a funky, cool, talented lady (discovered on Pinterest) to guide me and most importantly, the ambition.

Watch this sewing space!!