100 Days of Studio Scenes: Days 11-20

My 100 Day Project to share behind-the-scenes updates from my creative business continues!

Click here to read about days 1-10.

DAY ELEVEN:

"Yesterday I mostly parceled up and posted paper packs! Thank you so much for all your orders, there's just one pack left now (oh my gosh). I am OVERWHELMED and DELIGHTED by how quickly they've sold, and by your enthusiasm for them. I appreciate your support so, so much, I cannot even begin to tell you. Very appropriately, yesterday my big order of postage stamps arrived so I can now send All The Post. Well, I can once I've stopped oohing over the lovely sheets of stamps!!"

DAY TWELVE:

"Here's a peek at one of my current batches of work-in-progress - I find mini trays like this particularly useful for managing my small WIPs! I usually have lots of projects in progress, all in different stages. 

That felt angel is a sample for a tutorial I'd originally hoped to add to my shop back in December - fingers crossed I can finally get it finished sometime soon! The bullfinch pattern has been in progress for even longer, I stitched the embroidery pattern version back in 2018, I think, and am only now finding the time to sew the step by step felt version. Meanwhile, I'm making a start on sewing snowy owls and cardinals. Bit by by bit everything is getting nudged forwards."

DAY THIRTEEN:

"I've started planning some new paper packs! Watch this space."

DAY FOURTEEN::

"My parcel-laden shadow on my socially distanced route to the parcel postbox!

I'm really lucky to live close enough to the beach that I can walk in all this wide open space during my state sanctioned bit of exercise. Any day I have parcels to post (stuff that won't fit in my local postbox) I'm taking the parcels with me on my walk, then looping quickly off the beach up to the parcel postbox before I head back home. It's great being able to combine the two trips and to avoid having to walk through the town centre which has looked quite busy!"

DAY FIFTEEN:

"Yesterday I was tidying up my workspace and thought "ooh, I've finished lots of projects recent, I should plan a sample sale!"... then instead of carefully planning one, I held one straight away in my Stories, haha."

DAY SIXTEEN:

"I had a bit of a meltdown yesterday while ordering some paper and tape for my parcels. I thought I'd ordered totally the wrong thing and I was feeling so tired and stressed and anxious and worried about money and, well, that's not a great combo, is it? 

After I'd calmed down I then sat on hold for ages trying to get the order cancelled (listening to some soft rock and a looping recorded message telling me how wait times were longer than usual due to COVID-19)... but it had already been processed by the time I got through. The customer service rep I spoke to was very nice though and reassured me I could easily return anything I needed to.

Then my order arrived this morning and it turns out I hadn't ordered the wrong thing at all! I feel like an idiot, but an idiot who now has ALL THE PACKAGING SUPPLIES.

I also now have customs labels so I can start sending international post again, too! Hurrah! I'm going to be taking things easy for the next few days (because I clearly need a bit of a rest!!) but I have plans for lots of new stuff coming soon..."

DAY SEVENTEEN:

"My living room floor currently looks like this!* 

I'm putting together some new paper packs, a £5 pack about the same size as the last batch and these much bigger bumper packs which will be £10 each. Both full of crafty papery goodness, of course!

*Out of shot: lots of other piles of paper and related chaos, pictures waiting to be framed, and my current in-progress jigsaw puzzle."

DAY EIGHTEEN:

"Here are a few of my current felt-y works in progress! 

I'm feeling very tired at the moment and struggling to find the focus for sewing, designing new things, or writing anything longer than an Instagram caption. I've mostly been tinkering with my new paper packs (coming next week!) but I've also been making myself do a little bit of sewing each day (or at least every other day), then taking a few step photos when the light is just right. Each small batch of sewing + photos helps nudge a few projects forwards and means that when I'm feeling more able to focus I'll have lots of pics ready to edit and use for new tutorials for my blog, shop, and newsletter."

DAY NINETEEN:

"Yesterday was another restful day, sorting through some awesome book pages for new paper packs and making a start on prepping for my next @lauralupinsells sale. Jigsaws, books, and crafty goodness, coming soooooon!"

DAY TWENTY:

"I took a trip to the magic postbox today! Okay so it's not actually magic but it FEELS like magic. A great big postbox I can put parcels in and thus carry on selling stuff without having to go to the Post Office??? This is AMAZING and WONDERFUL. 

(I took a break from this project for a few days because I was feeling rubbish, if you can't press pause for a bit during a global pandemic when can you? I'm hoping to get back in the daily rhythm of things again now...)

More updates soon, or you can follow along on Instagram HERE.

100 Days of Studio Scenes: Days 1-10

The basic idea of the 100 Day Project is very simple: you choose a creative action and you do it once a day for 100 days.

I've attempted it a few times now and each time I've been overambitious and not taken into account how overcommitted I already was... and I've not lasted very long as a result! 

This year I'm keeping things nice and simple with #100daysofstudioscenes, a daily, honest behind-the-scenes update from my home studio. Works in progress, craft supplies, peeks at my workspace, plus the ups and downs and messes of running a creative business during these weird times. 

I've been skipping a day here and there but am over 30 days into the project now and I'm loving how it's turning into a little diary of the day-to-day running of my business. I'm going to collate them into posts here on my blog in blocks of 10, so those of you without Instagram can follow along and so I'll have a nice record of the project to look back on.

DAY ONE:

"At the moment I'm keeping the pressure off myself by working on lots of projects simultaneously, picking up whatever I feel like working on, avoiding setting myself targets, just gradually nudging everything forward bit by bit. Most mornings, if the light is good, (which it has been a lot lately, hurrah!), I take a little batch of photos. 

This is what I had lined up ready to photograph this morning: lots of in-progress projects for my blog, newsletter, and shop, waiting to be photographed so I can then sew the next step... ready for more photos tomorrow!"

DAY TWO:

"Yesterday I took photos then stitched loads of stuff ready to take more photos today... and today I have taken no photos. What I have done is sit on the spare bed in my PJs working at my laptop all day (working in timed blocks with short breaks to do some of my lovely new jigsaw puzzle) (I call this variation on the Pomodoro Technique the Puzzle Technique, I find it both relaxing and motivating!!) 

I've scheduled FOUR blog posts (not from scratch, mind) and edited a whole bunch of photos, including some for my next newsletter freebie: a tutorial for sewing cute felt teacup and teapot brooches 

I'm so pleased with how these snaps turned out, they show the project off really nicely and I hope they'll tempt lots of people into signing up for my newsletter I'd hoped to be posting this pic saying "I just sent out this tutorial to my subscribers! Yay!" but, alas, I'm not quite there yet. That's top of the To Do list for tomorrow.

In the meantime, I thought you might like to see how this photo looked before I edited it (swipe to see an unedited pic from the same batch), I don't have any fancy editing software but it usually does the job."

DAY THREE:

"I'm having a day off! I often end up doing a bit of work even on my days off but today I am trying to be very strict with myself (I'll let you know tomorrow whether or not I succeed!) My main creative project today = finally sorting out some happy snail mail to send to my pals"

DAY FOUR:

"Some proper messy realness for you today! I'm mostly working in the spare room at the moment, in part so I can close the door on all this chaos at the end of the day. Please note that there's stuff on the floor as well as the spare bed, I've got a pile of laundry in here too (top left) and in my commitment to showing you the unvarnished truth I haven't even moved that snotty tissue out of shot, haha."

DAY FIVE:

"I'm having trouble balancing self care and self-employment at the moment - maybe you guys are, too? Today I've thought a lot about all the work I could and "should" be doing right now (like finishing up this new pattern, destined for my newsletter subscribers) but instead of doing any of them I've mostly just sat about feeling stressed and overwhelmed and guilty about not getting anything done. 

I also baked a cake though (delicious!) and went for a walk (sunny!) and that's not nothing. Fingers crossed for more productivity (and cake, and sunshine) tomorrow."

DAY SIX:

"After a couple of days of feeling very unmotivated, yesterday I got LOADS of work done. Hurrah! I finished the teacup & teapot brooch tutorial, sent it out to my newsletter subscribers, and got all of this lot prepped for their next set of step photos. It's too gloomy today for taking decent pics but the moment the sunshine comes back I'll be ready for it."

DAY SEVEN:

"I'm putting together some paper crafting packs!. I started assembling them yesterday from a whole bunch of lovely vintage books, maps, and other paper-y bits and bobs (see my paper pack highlight for a sneak peek of the contents!) I'm also adding a few fun extras like colourful yarns for making gift tags, and vintage buttons. Each pack will be £5 + postage (UK only at the moment, sorry, as I can't get to the Post Office), let me know if you'd like me to message you when they're available!"

 

DAY EIGHT:

"Yesterday I decided that my paper crafting packs needed a few vintage buttons... luckily I had a small selection to choose from, haha!

I bought this massive stash of button-y goodness last month, back when the idea of lockdown was just a faint possibility. It feels like a lifetime ago now. I really enjoyed finally having a rummage through these, I think vintage button packs might be coming soon. WATCH THIS SPACE."

DAY NINE:

"Aaaand the paper packs are go! Each pack contains a different assortment of pages and clippings from vintage books, plus a vintage Cluedo card, two reproduction trading cards featuring trains, 10 vintage stamps, some yarn, and 3 buttons (see my paper packs highlight for a closer look at the contents). Each pack is £5 each, 2nd class UK postage for 1-2 packs is £1.40, and there are just 11 packs left! Message me if you'd like to make a purchase, let me know your email and the quantity you'd like and I'll send you an invoice via PayPal asap. First come first served!

In other excellent news: I've found a local postbox where I can send bigger parcels, so if there's anything listed at @lauralupinsells you're interested in, too, let me know and I'll send everything together. P.S. I can also post to countries in the EU, just ask and I'll give you a quote for the postage."

DAY TEN:  

"Thank you so much for your amazing response to the paper packs, you guys! I love them and am thrilled you're excited about them, too, and I can't even begin to tell you how nice it feels packing up and posting parcels again!!

It's also a huge relief having a bit of extra money coming in during this stressful time xxx

(I took this photo this morning but spent yesterday sorting out paper pack orders and parcelling them up so I'm counting this as yesterday's #100daysofstudioscenes pic)."

More updates soon, or you can follow along on Instagram HERE.

May in Pictures: Secret Sewing, a Vintage Funfair, Mini Blanket Squares, and Royal Ice Cream

Time for another round-up of pics from my Instagram feed. What did I get up to in May?

At the start of the month it was straight back to work after my trip to Northumberland, as I had a couple of looming deadlines. These are some of the leftovers from a few hours hard stitching. One pair of scissors is for cutting paper, another for fabric and another for threads and small pieces of felt.

It can be frustrating not being able to share what I'm making, but at least I can show you some of the yummy supplies I've been using! Working on a couple of embroidered pieces means choosing just the right shades of thread (floss) - luckily I have lots to choose from:

 

One project involved this cheerful rainbow of felt, floss and thread.

 

After meeting one deadline, I got to stretch my legs and blow out the cobwebs with a happy morning spent exploring Bristol (one of my very favourite places). There's always interesting street art to see in Bristol!

I also went to see an exhibition at the city museum, and visited a really gorgeous little church: St John the Baptist, which is known locally as St John on the Wall because it's built into the old city walls. I lived in Bristol for years but had never been inside this church before - it's no longer used for services but it's opened by volunteers so visitors can look round. I loved this fading rose on one of the outer walls:
 

 
That weekend Carters Steam Fair was in town, which proved a perfect post-deadline treat. Carters is a vintage travelling funfair - all the equipment they use (the rides, caravans, lorries, etc) has been lovingly restored and beautifully hand-painted. It's a really magical experience! Click here to see where the fair will be visiting this summer.

 

 

With those deadlines met, I had a bit more spare time for crafting in the evenings and devoted some time to working on my happy rainbow blanket. 

Having nearly finished the blanket I was itching to start something new. I have approximately a gazillion projects already in progress, you understand, but I cannot resist the siren song of a new project! This vintage pattern (from a 1950s craft magazine) was originally designed for use with tapestry wool, but I'm thinking about using a mix of felt and embroidery to make something really colourful. I just need to pick a colour palette... decisions, decisions...

Now that I'd finished knitting the rainbow blanket squares, I also needed a new go-to easy project to pick up at the end of a long day when I want something simple and relaxing to work on. So, I've started knitting the many, many white squares I'll need to complete my mini patchwork blanket. Someone on Instagram commented that this looks like a T-Rex and you know, I totally see it!



My resolution to send more Proper Post is going well. I couldn't resist this sheet of cute postage stamps to cheer up my letters. These animal shapes are designed to fold over the edge of an envelope so they look like they're clinging on. Super cute, huh? These will be so much fun to send (and, I hope, to receive!).

 

In the middle of the month I had a super busy Nice Day Out in London with a friend. We went to so many places! And saw so much cool stuff! I'll be blogging about all the awesomeness we saw another time (sooooo much awesomeness) but I couldn't resist sharing a few snaps. London is filled with so much amazing stuff.

 

I also took an impromptu trip to nearby Windsor to visit Windsor Castle with my dad. As local(ish) residents we get into the Castle for free, but my dad hadn't been for years and years. Windsor is always a gorgeous place to visit, and we arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony (complete with bagpipes!). Before heading home, we treated ourselves to some ice cream and I was delighted by how fancy the tub was (just look at that gold! plus: ice cream from royal cows!).

My dad laughed at me a lot for taking this photo :)

 
In the evenings I continued to work on finishing my happy rainbow blanket, and I finally finished sewing in all the yarn ends! Hurrah! I am beyond thrilled with the finished blanket and really need to try and get it photographed asap so I can share some pics with you all. Blankets are such a pain to photograph - I am used to making and photographing much smaller things! - but I will get it sorted soon, I swear.

Now that my rainbow blanket is finished my go-to relaxing project is my mini squares blanket (the one with the colourful chart, above). I have a LOT of white squares to knit before this baby is finished but - luckily - the joy of this project is the process. Simple, repetitive knitting (and then sewing, when the squares get joined together and all those ends get woven in) is just the ticket at the end of a long, busy day. I switch my brain off and let my hands get making!

 

Instagram - and blogging, and all the other places we share our crafty photos online - is so often about the carefully curated photograph. Take the mess out of shot, artfully arrange things, crop and edit carefully. So it was lovely to see the #DSCandid hashtag pop up in my feed - a challenge from Grace Bonney of Design Sponge to share an unedited, honest photo from your creative life.

So, I took a photo of the view from my desk of my slightly overcrowded studio/office. Lately my space has been serving as a bedroom, laundry room, TV room and storage space for DIY supplies, packing materials and lots of kids toys rescued from our attic. It's also where my niece sleeps when we're babysitting. I still have space to work and make stuff, just a lot less than usual! :)

Right at the end of the month my making was focused on flowers, specifically poppies:

If you're a long-term reader of my blog you'll recognise this design as one I used to sell in my shops. I've been meaning to get the pattern written up for simply ages, and have finally made a start on doing so...

 

... with a furry fellow keeping me company while I work!

Then BAM it was June!* 2016 is going by so fast it is slightly scary.

Wanna follow me on Instagram? I'm lauralupinhoward over there!

*I also took part in a "Day in the Life" challenge at the end of May... but I'll blog about that another time because, frankly, this post is long enough already :)

UPDATE: My poppy design is now available as a sewing pattern! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

Pretty Postcards: Decorating My Studio

I've been sent a whole load of lovely postcards recently but had nowhere to display them so I hung up a picture line in my studio/office that I can peg postcards and other happy things to.

 

 

It's great to have a space for displaying the cards and lovely to have a bit of colour and decoration on the bare wall. I do have lots of "proper" pictures waiting to be hung up, but still haven't decided where to hang them (I know, I know). It's nice to have something up on the wall in the meantime.

(I've been watching a lot of cheesy Christmas movies while sewing lately!).

I've also got lots of postcards from my Nice Days Out stuck up on my bookshelves and my pinboard is full of pretty things that never fail to cheer me up when I look up from my desk.

 

 

The opposite wall is totally blank (for the moment) but since I sit with my back to it during my entire working day, it's much less of a priority!

The View From My Desk

The view from my desk is a tall bookcase which used to be full of colourful felt but has been mostly empty since I quit selling supplies last year.

I've started using the shelves to tidy away "in progress" projects (piles of sketches, trays and upturned box-lids covered in half-sewn things) to stop them spreading over the coffee table and the floor and my desk like they used to. Very useful, but still a little dull to look at!

So, I'm brightening up the bookcase by gradually covering it in postcards collected on my Nice Days Out....
 

All the postcards are stuck up with washi tape. I've got so many of them I've had to remove a couple of the shelves to make some more space! :)

It's great to have a bit of colour back in this corner of my studio, and it's lovely to be able to glance up and see reminders of these nice days when I'm sitting working.

Let There Be (More) Light

I made a small-but-important addition to my office / studio this week - a new lamp!

Being able to see what I'm stitching when I sit doing some sewing in the evenings (or the dark winter afternoons) = A Very Good Thing.

In other news, I've almost sold out of handmade stuff now - this is all that's left in stock:

There's a poppy headband, a floral necklace, some swan masks, some teapot rosette brooches and some primrose brooches. You can find all these (highly bargainous!) remaining bits and pieces over in my sale section.

After years of making stuff to sell in my online shops it feels very strange to be discontinuing all these things! I am excited about my new plans for my business, but it still feels weird.

It also feels rather odd that it's less than a month until Christmas and my schedule isn't crazily hectic. For the past five years or so the run up to Christmas has been my busy season. Usually by the time December rolls round I am getting a bit worn out, rushing around each day getting parcels packed and posted, turning down invites to Christmas parties because I'll be too busy working... and wondering if I'll have time to send out my Christmas cards / get all my own shopping etc done on time. Ah, the joys of retail.

But at the moment (thanks to winding down the making-stuff-and-posting-it-to-people side of my business) I am not totally exhausted! And I'm finishing work at about 6pm each day! And I'm taking whole days off to do fun things! Amazing :)

UPDATE: My poppy and primrose designs are now available as sewing patterns! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns