Thank you!

I'd like to extend a big thank you to everyone who was kind enough to donate to my fundraising page in aid of The Prostate Cancer Charity. 

As promised, all the names of those who donated were entered into a draw and a winner picked at random. I'm pleased to announce that the winner is......Fleur Maxwell-Middle! 

Well done Fleur, your little froggie will be winging his way to you tomorrow. 

For a good cause

Today I reached 1000 likers on Facebook! Yesterday I was hovering around the 993 mark and yet this morning I was on 1005! 
After some pondering as to how to mark this milestone, I decided that I wanted to do something a little different from the norm. 
Most people do a 'giveaway' or a special offer for their customers, but I'm trying to explore this social media lark and thought I'd go down a different route and involve some fundraising for charity at the same time. 


I made a very limited edition Jubilee Beanbag Frog which I am offering as a prize to one person that donates to my cause on Just Giving. 

The cause is The Prostate Cancer Charity, which I am supporting because my Father in law has prostate cancer, and having 3 boys I am keen to raise awareness of this disease and the charity working so hard to support sufferers. 

You can donate by clicking on the link to the right of this page. Please give what you can to help this fantastic charity. 

What's in a bag?

Some of you may be familiar with a prop I use a lot in my product photography - my faithful old leather satchel. 

This is a bag with history. 

I bought this satchel from a car boot sale in Warwick in 2002 for the unbelievable price of 50p! 

It had been well used, although remained in fairly good condition and had been inscribed with the name of the previous owner. The fabulously named Tristen Tinder-Sparks. 

I used the bag for my college stuff as I was studying Art & Design at the time. It became further adorned with doodles, apple stickers and my name, written inside in green sparkly gel pen. 

My beloved satchel went everywhere with me, and took the strain of heavy sketch books, tins of pencils, my sewing box, pliers and many other various tools of the student. The strap gave under the strain, but I tied it up with string and continued to use it. 

Eventually, after I had finished college and didn't need such a big bag to carry around, my satchel became the home for my very important documents such as certificates and policies. 

Since I started www.thepeartreeboutique.co.uk I have used it as a photo prop in my product shots. 

Today saw the arrival of my new satchel bag!! It's from http://www.scaramangashop.co.uk/ and I absolutely love it!! 

After it arrived I immediately transferred my handbag clobber to my new bag so I could take it on it's first outing to collect my twins and go to the park. 

I got to thinking about all the things we carry round in our bags each day and what it says about our lifestyle. so I am considering doing a section on the contents of my bag. Perhaps a weekly thing? 

So , today my bag contains: 

1. A Potette portable potty and spare liners, antibacterial wipes and toddler wipes. 

2. My filofax

3. My brown leather purse for personal use.

4. My white leather purse for the family budget

5. My weekly copy of Grazia magazine

6. An apple

7. My white iphone

8. A pack of Fink conversational cards for the kids

9. The unopened post

10. Blister pack of paracetamol

11. Burts Bees lip balm 

I'm interested to hear about the contents of your day bags - from the mundane to the unusual! Please do leave a comment below. 

Boys can sew too!

I have 3 boys and have always tried to teach them skills that they might find useful, and not necessarily bound by gender stereotypes. 
They are all developing into independent young people with a broad skill base and I hope, an understanding that men and women are both equal in all aspects of life. 


My youngest two boys have just turned 3 and have seen me sewing and creating for the whole of their lives. 
I haven't wanted to push them to try their hand at a creative art, but when they do show an interest I love to share with them.  


This is my son Zakk with a felt hand puppet that he made by sewing with wool, around the edge of a felt shape that had been pre-punched with holes for the stitches. 

He was so pleased with his handiwork and took it into pre-school to show the other children what he had made. 

His twin brother Maxx wasn't interested in sewing a hand puppet until Easter, when Grandma gave them some Easter themed hand puppet kits. These kits sparked his interest and he had a go too. 

I love that they feel so proud of what they have made! 

Paper journals forever!

New range of embroidered products at The Peartree Boutique

Available from my Folksy shop http://folksy.com/items/3124498-Mini-Beasts-Fabric-Covered-Notebook-A5-Custom-Embroidered-with-Name-or-Title

Fun and Games

It's been a busy old week at the Peartree and I thought I'd share some of the fun things we have been doing at home.


It was the twins Birthday last Sunday and we celebrated with a party for all of their friends and family.  
My wonderfully talented Mum makes the cakes every year and she does such a brilliant job. 

These are the boys' cakes. They didn't last very long! 

I've also been working hard on my mini beast / critter project. A lot of sketching, cutting and deciding on which ones to include. Here are a few I came up with:

Angle Shades Caterpillar

Dragonfly

Honey Bee

Featured Crafter

Really exciting news! I have been chosen as The Crafty Network's featured crafter this week! 
This is a great step for The Peartree Boutique, to build my online presence and look to move the business forward. 


If you've ever wondered about the face behind the Peartree and how it came about, you can read all about me! 

You can check out the article by following the link below:

http://thecraftynetwork.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/the-crafty-network-featured-crafter-the-peartree-boutique/

The Crafty Network is a fantastic crafting community that offers small crafting businesses a platform to promote their work, build links with other businesses and stay in touch with what is going on in the crafting world. 


Check out the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheCraftyNetwork?ref=ts

Little Critters.....

In between custom orders for duvet covers and blinds, cushions and bags, I've been quietly working away on a little project inspired by nature. 


I started off by re-visiting my drawing skills and did some studies on mini beasts

Then I got to thinking about how I could translate these to fabrics. I was really inspired by some of the fabrics I've seen lately and decided to try to work patterns and colour into the designs to work them to full effect. These are some of the first attempts with the fabric shapes.  

I've decided to try to work them into a small quilt, either to be used as a wall hanging or a cot sized duvet, so I sewed them onto squares of soft white cotton to make the designs stand out on the white background. 

I'm really pleased with how my stitching is improving and the detail I was able to bring through from the sketches into the fabric version. 

Now I have to decide on the perfect fabric for the sashing between the squares and what it's going to be! 

Pass it on....

When my twins and I were outside the other day, we found some badly tarnished copper coins on the floor. The boys picked them up and I taught them the rhyme 'Find a penny, pick it up and all day long, you'll have good luck'. They thought this was great so to take their interest a little further, when we got back home I showed them how to make their pennies shiny again by using a secret ingredient... tomato ketchup! They thought this was hilarious and magical - lots of oohs and ahhs when we washed it off and saw the shiny coin restored. I love passing on things like this to my kids. 


It made my heart swell today when Mr Peartree played me a recording he made of Zakk repeating the rhyme to his Dad. 
'Find a penny, and pick it up and then you will have a good luck!' so cute!!
Zakk 'Find a Penny' 2 yrs 11 months 01-03-12

Tactile Textures

I've been playing around with a little project in my spare time, exploring textures. 

Knitted Rabbit

Corduroy Telephone

I made this!

Today I finished a rather large project I've been working on for my twins' bedroom. They needed somewhere to sit that encourages them to be still and quiet so I made this:

As you can see, it's already a bit of a hit! 

I followed the fabulous tutorial on Moda Bakeshop by val@pinkplease http://www.modabakeshop.com/2011/07/jelly-roll-floor-pillows.html

Exciting news!

It's been a little while since I posted a blog and I have some exciting news!!
Firstly, I won a competition run by The Crafty Network http://thecraftynetwork.wordpress.com/ with my Autumnal quilt

The prize was for my logo and a link to my Facebook page to be posted on their blog for a week (great publicity).


The second bit of news is that Linda, who runs The Crafty Network, has invited me to be a featured crafter! How exciting!?!
It's certainly lifted my spirits this week.

Procrastination is the road to nowhere....

I admit I am a bit guilty of procrastinating any time there is something I should be doing. 
In the past, I've told myself that it's ok as I work well under pressure so pulling 'it' off at the last minute isn't a huge problem. But it's actually not great. 


I read some really interesting posts on Facebook today about copying handmade work, which I have very recently been a victim of. Having the designs that you've pored over and tried out a billion times, stolen, really hurts. It feels awful. 
However, it got me thinking that actually there are also a whole pile of designs and ideas that I've not launched, simply because they came about at the wrong time. These are designs that I've been working on for some time, not sneaked previews or hinted at what I'm designing and just as I was getting ready to upload my pictures onto Facebook, I realise that someone else has had the same idea or at least, a really similar one! 
Generally what happens is that I get cross, kick myself for having not been quicker off the mark and had a bit of a grouch about it for a week or so. Then I get over it, have a laugh at how small the world is and give myself a kick up the bum to get things moving quicker next time. 


So with this in mind, I have installed a large clock on this blog. To remind me that the clock is ticking, I should apply my creativity to designing in a timely manner and also that if I miss the boat on the first time round, time is cyclical and there will always be another opportunity! 

This week I have mostly been....


Trying to 'calm down' a bit more, in the interests of my health. 


After a little health scare last week which saw me in A & E and back at the doctors for ECG's, I have taken a step back to look at my lifestyle. 


As a Mum of three boys; one teenager about to leave school and twins who are about to turn three, I have accepted the increased pace of my life and just thought it is the 'norm' to be a stress-head. 
Perhaps I do try to do too much in trying complete as much as possible in the day. 


So, I have made a few tiny changes to the way I structure my day in an attempt to make some more time for me to be creative and to balance the amount of time I need to spend looking after my family, pets and home with time spent on myself. 


1. A nice hot soak in the bath with candles and a good book or magazine, once a week.
2. The twins nap time is not an opportunity to clean the bathrooms. It is my lunch break. 
3.  I will ask family for help when I need it, rather than trying to cope single handedly.
4. 10 minutes of yoga in the morning and 3 to 4 exercise sessions per week. 
5. Less caffeine, more herbal tea. 

Also taking inspiration from The Dalai Lama

A to Zen of Life 

Avoid negative sources, people, places and habits

Believe in yourself

Consider things from every angle

Don't give up and don't give in

Everything you're looking for lies behind the mask you wear

Family and friends are hidden treasures, seek them and enjoy their riches

Give more than you planned to

Hang on to your dreams

If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it

Keep trying no matter how hard it seems

Love yourself

Make it happen

Never lie, steal or cheat

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values

Practice makes perfect

Quality not quantity in anything you do

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer

Stop procrastinating

Take control of your own destiny

Understand yourself in order to better understand others

Visualize it

When you lose, don't lose the lesson

Xcellence in all your efforts

You are unique, nothing can replace you

Zero in on your target and go for it

Source: Dalai Lama

New Frog Gallery


I've set up a new page to share pictures of your beanbag frogs - pop over and take a look! http://thepeartreeboutique.blogspot.com/p/frogallery-send-in-pictures-of-your.html


It has been set up so we can see what your beanbag frog is getting up to in their new home. Send a picture of your frog getting out and about, relaxing at home or off on holiday. Tell us a bit about your frog - what is their name? What do they like doing? Where do they sleep? 


You can send your pictures to sam@thepeartreeboutique.co.uk


I'm really looking forward to hearing about all those frogs out there! 

This is a very old and grubby frog that my twins have adopted. He is called 'Red' and spends a lot of time hanging out in the trailer on the back of a trike, hiding in the fridge and jumping around. 

Sorry for the lack of blog recently. I have been unexpectedly forced to slow down this last week after a trip to see the doctor. So I'm trying to take things a little slower, look after myself a bit more and not get so STRESSED!!


So, in the meantime I have been doing a bit more sewing and appreciating my time creating. So just a quickie today to share with you a few of the things I have been making recently.


First up is a new cushion, inspired by spring. It features a velvet rabbit that I have also used on some lovely bags for little girls.

Then I have been stocking up my Folksy shop http://folksy.com/shops/ThePeartreeBoutique

with more beanbag frogs. These always sell well and are my oldest design, dating way back to early 2002 when I was at college studying Art & Design. 

I had an order for one in a particular colour recently for a little boy who had lost his Freddie Frog and was having trouble sleeping without him. I sent pictures of fabrics to him via email and he chose exactly the fabrics he wanted for his frog and I made it up for him and sent it in the post. A couple of days later, I was dashing around when I noticed my phone bleeping in the kitchen with a voicemail. Imagine how thrilled I was to hear Connor telling me how thrilled he was with his frog and thank you for making it for him! Well, that just made my week! 

That's why I love making - you just can't measure the feeling you get when you create something for someone that lights up their world. 

This is Freddie Frog #2

Love is in the air...

I've been working on two commissions this week, both in the name of love!


The first is a cushion celebrating two years of marriage and details three dates, significant to the happy couple. A two year anniversary is traditionally marked by giving a gift of cotton.

The second cushion is a wedding gift in a different style to the first, the brief being a modern design using black, white and silver. 

I've wanted to try out some silver embroidery thread for a while, so this project gave me the perfect opportunity. I found it worked especially well against a black background. 

Photos to follow, I can't find the data lead...again!!

Brrr it's finally cold!

It's not felt much like January lately. I went out for a run this week in a light weight t shirt and wasn't even chilly. So it was really quite nice to experience a bit of winter weather!


I got out my cat draft excluder to cosy up the hallway. He looks very comfy there doesn't he? These went down really well last year and I had requests for a bengal print as well as the cream version. You can find these on my website http://www.thepeartreeboutique.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=40&product_id=65

The twins have been itching to get outside and the frost has meant that our garden is actually a bit more solid rather than the mushy mud bog it's turned into over the wet winter. 

Red noses and rosy cheeks! 

When they came back inside, we made some bread hedgehogs and turtles and ate the warm bread while cosying up on the sofa. 

When they went to bed for a nap, I was frustrated to find that our internet connection was down again. So couldn't carry on with the orders I had planned to, but decided to get to work on a project that I've been meaning to have a go at for a long time now. 

A Patchwork Cat!!

When I was at junior school we were asked to paint a picture of a patchwork cat that the teacher had bought in for us to see. I worked really hard on that picture and was really pleased with it. It inspired me to have a go at making one and this is my first attempt. Needs a bit of tweaking I think. The shape needs improving, the ears need to be more symetrical and I need to design a face to embroider on. 

But despite the imperfections, the boys have really taken a shine to him too and have named him Scraps! I now need to make another one as his is in demand and becoming the catalyst for many a fight! 

Running ahead of the pack

I've been running my Facebook page for just over a year now and consider myself to have moderate success in my sales and customer interaction. I know I don't have a fraction of the number of 'likers' that some of  my fellow Facebook crafters have following their pages, but I try not to use this as a measure of success. Slow and steady seems a much more preferable way to market my business at present, especially as my two youngest are still toddlers and this limits the amount of time I can spend sewing.

A few years ago I spent some time with a small business mentor, gaining an insight into turning art into a business. He thoroughly recommended spending the time building your reputation before starting to pump away at marketing and sales. As the old saying goes 'your reputation precedes you', although you must absolutely make sure that it does so in the right way! A bad reputation can be very difficult to shake off, and yet annoyingly, a good reputation is like glass and shatters easily.


I guess this has stayed with me and I try to put quality and craftsmanship ahead of quantity and trends.
I have very definite likes and dislikes in terms of style. I couldn't tell you how this is defined, but I know when I see something if it makes my grade or not. I try to stay true to this and wouldn't want to offer an item that I wasn't happy with as I see my art as an extension of me, my personality and my creativity. This can be hard of course, as I offer a bespoke service for customers to have their own design ideas incorporated into pieces. Quite often I am faced with creating a piece with colours that I just don't consider to 'work' or fabrics that I would prefer not to work with. This is for me, a challenge in some ways, but also a fantastical exercise in working with the creative ideas of others and coming together to produce a collaborative piece that is beautiful and means a great deal to the person who will receive it.


Taking the time to experiment with new ideas and perfecting them is all part of the job. It's most definitely worth it in terms of your reputation and artistically, many of my best ideas have occurred during second or third attempts.
Unfortunately, this has it's downside. Facebook has become so fast moving and there are so many craft business start ups that the joy of posting pictures of your creations starts to fade when you realise that after pricking the seed of an idea months before, working and re-working it has cost you valuable time and someone else has had a remarkably similar idea to you! This isn't copying - how could they have known what you were working on and vice versa? But it leads me to question the source of my inspiration; has my subconscious inspiration-radar picked up ideas from other internet sites, publications and social media sites that have eventually led me down the particular path of this idea? Evidently someone else has picked up some of the same elements along the way and we have both arrived at a similar point.
Maybe I should cast my inspirational net further afield. Maybe I should be quicker off the mark and make sure I get ahead of the 'pack'. Oh for a bit more uninterrupted time to work on my creations!!