Fancy holding a crafty party ?

Then check out the latest addition to our website .... CRAFT PARTY PACKS !!!

Available for either 5 people

or 10 people

Each pack works out at just £5 per person .... Happy Crafting !! 

A new home !!

Hurrah .... we've moved !!!

Well, I say hurrah, but I really was sad to leave my old Shedquarters in our garden.  Tuesday was moving day and fortunately for us it was a lovely sunny day.  The removal guys were fantastic and didn't complain once that they had to make another trip when they had only quoted for one.

Everything fits perfectly into our new shed

The pink carpet is REALLY pink (but I absolutely love it)

We've even got some spare shelves now that we can spread everything out and we've got loads of room left over to fill with new units (when we've got a bit more money!) and also lots of new product lines, which is just as well because after spending a rather large amount at the trade show  last Sunday, we'll need the extra room !

Unfortunately, the store room is still a bit of a mess - but we just shut the door on that and pretend it's not there !!

We've got a lovely new sign on order that will take pride of place on the outside wall

and once I've put a couple of pots of spring flowers and a couple of hanging baskets outside, our new home will be ready to receive visitors !!

Once Easter has been and gone, we'll be telling you all about our regular open days.  We're hoping to open 1 day a week and then occasionally on Saturdays for those of you that can't make it during the week.  Keep your eyes peeled for more info

xx

Look what I saw .....

This is the display on the F&W Media stand at the Craft, Hobby & Stitch International trade show currently on at the NEC in Birmingham.  A sneak preview of some of the projects you can expect in our book, due for publication in October !!!

Excited doesn't even begin to describe how I feel 

xx

Exciting News !

Remember, ages ago, I said we had some exciting news in the pipeline ??

Well, I can finally reveal what it is !  If you're one of our followers on Facebook or Twitter - you can switch off now because you will have already seen this news when I announced it earlier this week.  BUT, if you don't use either of those things social media type thingy's, then I'm REALLY excited to tell you that Blooming Felt are writing a BOOK !!!

I can't tell you how excited I am !!  I'm stunned that the publishing company that approached us at Ally Pally last year, want to work with us to produce a book stuffed to the gills with projects all designed and made by Blooming Felt !

I am even more stunned to think that in little over a year's time, there will be a book on the shelves of fantastic bookstores such as Waterstones, Foyles (and hopefully, lots of lovely independent bookstores) as well as online through Amazon, with my name on it !  It's bonkers, it really is !!!

We're hopeful that we can combine the launch of the book with next year's Knitting & Stitching Show so that we can sell copies of the book at the show and I might even sign a few !!!  

Form an orderly queue now !!

xx

PS.  We're a bit stuck with choosing a name for the book.  So, if you fancy being in with a chance of winning a signed copy, all you need to do is make some suggestions for the name.  I'll be taking all of the suggestions along to the publishers on the 28th June, and if we pick the name you suggested, you'll be getting a signed copy of our book once it's published next year !!!  Get your thinking caps on and leave your suggestions as a comment to this post please  xx

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Wishing all of our blog readers, customers, Twitter followers, Facebook fans and felt, button & ribbon addicts everywhere a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

Thank you all for your support throughout 2011 and we look forward to seeing you all in 2012 with lots of exciting news and website updates etc

With love from

The Girls at Blooming Felt xxx

Purple pants ??!!

Yesterday, on our mammoth 7 hour trek back from Cornwall, whilst stuck on that wonderful road to nowhere, the M25, I heard numerous times on the radio news that the most popular colour of knickers for men to purchase the love of their lives this year is PURPLE ! No longer is red popular (thank goodness for that !!)

So, whilst sat in a stationery traffic jam for almost 2 hours, listening to the kids bickering in the back and hubby snoring in the passenger seat, I got to wondering how many purple items we have for sale on the Blooming Felt website. These are the ones I thought of ....

Hundreds of Buttons

Felt Sheets

Felting Wool

Miles of Ribbon

Felt String (ooh - that's a crappy photo !)

Thousands of Felt Balls

Bags & Purses

And then, when I got home and actually typed the word "purple" into the search bar on the website, was stunned when I realised how many more purple things we have for sale !!

Cabochons

Felt pebbles

Felt hearts

Felt flowers (another crappy photo - sorry!)

Felt stars

Cotton Embroidery Threads

Crochet Flowers

Jumbo ric-rac

Ribbon & cord necklaces

And Beading elastic (new on the site today !)

I couldn't believe it !! It has finally dawned on me exactly how many wonderful things we have for sale on our site .... and not just in purple either !!

Actually, I think I'm liking purple ... but I don't think I'm a purple pants kind of gal !!

xx

Tincy, wincy, teeny, tiny ....

BUTTONS !

Look at our fab new range of teeny tiny buttons ? Available in 6 different colourways, with each button measuring 7mm and with 62 buttons per bag, that's a whole lot of teeny tinyness going on !

Also just added to the site are Navy felt sheets - both 10x10 inches and metre squares in our 4mm thick range.

(oh dear - that's a boring picture !!)

Limited numbers of the needle felting animal kits are now back on the site - these make fantastic Christmas presents if you're looking for something a little different.

The felt ball and button necklace kits will also be back on the site within the next week or so (again, these make fab Christmas pressies)

Now, listen up lovely people !!! Sadly, craft is not immune to the VAT man. And he's coming :o( He'll be here from 1st November and once he gets here I'm afraid our prices will be going up. We're going to try and absorb as much of the price increase as possible, but prices on some products will be rising. So, if you're thinking of having a bit of a spend up (particularly as it's half term next week and you might be planning on doing something crafty with your little ones), I would advise you to do it now !

Look forward to seeing you soon !

xx

Ally Pally 2011

Helloooooo !!

Well, we finally made it back from Ally Pally. I have to say, we're totally exhausted - the months of preparation before the show, the setting up, the actual show itself, the coming back and putting the studio back together and now the follow-up and processing of website orders that arrived whilst we were away .... has taken its toll. But it has been well worth it !!

We had the most fantastic time - we met so many of our existing customers, which was really lovely and now hopefully, have lots of lovely new customers as well ! I smiled everytime I heard someone say "Oh, Blooming Felt - I've bought from their website lots of times" and when you overhear conversations of people who say "Blooming Felt - they're in my favourites", and when customers actually take the time to come and say to you how much they love the website and that our customer service is great. I could have cried !! It's so lovely to know that people do appreciate all the hard work, time, care and effort we put into our business.

If you came and saw us at the show ... THANK YOU !!! If we didn't have time to chat to you - I'm so sorry. I'm sure you could appreciate how busy we were throughout the whole show. If you couldn't actually get into our stand because of the amount of people, then again, I apologise. Hopefully you will have been given one of our cards and know that you can shop in comfort in your own home !

I believe I gave one of our cards to one lady in particular. She didn't identify herself, but I understand from another stallholder that she is a very important lady in the retail world. If you are that lady and are reading this - I apologise if I didn't get to speak to you. We'd love it if you could get in touch with us and we can hopefully work together.

I also had a very interesting conversation with another lady who I'm hoping to be in touch with sometime next week. This was a very exciting conversation and I apologise to the lady concerned if I just stood there opening and closing my mouth like a goldfish !!! I was a bit overwhelmed with what was being suggested, but again, would love to speak to you and hopefully work with you in the future !

If you couldn't make it to the Show, I hope you've enjoyed the pictures I've put in this post. We were very proud of the way our stand looked and were thrilled with how good our new perspex display unit looked !! It certainly drew in the crowds !

Thank you once again to everyone for your support - we couldn't do it without you.

Normal website service will resume very soon !!!

xxx

Ally Pally Prep

Thank goodness the sun has been shining here. We have spent the last 2 days working solidly - labelling, pricing & packing lots of stock to take to Ally Pally this week.

This is "some" of the stock we'll be taking. The big question now is "will it all fit in the van ?!" Let's hope so otherwise we've had it !!!

Our fantastic new display unit finally arrived last week and after a major panic when it became apparent that the supplier hadn't sent enough connectors to put it all together, we had a dry run and found it's going to take a little bit longer than we anticipated to put it all up ! Good job we did a dry run really - I dread to think what would have happened had we not bothered and then attempted to put it all together at the show, only to find we were missing half of the bits !!

So, tomorrow will be spent finalising all the fine details, picking up the van, sorting out the kids for the next 4 days and briefing hubby on how to be mummy !

I hope some of you can make it to the show - we're on Stand M13 in the Great Hall (just behind the Button Company). You won't miss us .... we're the stand that looks like a sweet shop - jars and jars of felt balls, along with felt purses, felt bags, buttons, ribbons, felting supplies, felt sheets and loads more ! We're likely to be the most colourful stand there !!!

Please don't be fooled by other companies selling similar items - BLOOMING FELT ARE THE ORIGINAL HOME OF THE PICK AND MIX FELT BALL ..... and don't let anyone tell you otherwise !!!

Hope to see you there !!!

Sarah x

TK Maxx rocks !!

If you're lucky enough to have a TK Maxx close to where you live (as I am), then you'll know about all the fab things you can often find in there. If you don't, then you need to get yourself down to the nearest one and see what you're missing out on !

As our bathroom is now sitting in the garden and I couldn't stand being in all that mess a minute longer, I decided to take myself out and have a little wander around the Retail Park (not a fan of those sort of places, but sometimes needs must), and found myself in TK Maxx. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but sometimes, that's the best thing about shopping right ? You're not looking for stuff, but you find LOADS of stuff that you want ! Similarly, when you're looking for something in particular, you can bet your bottom dollar that you'll NEVER find it !

But anyway .....

There I was wandering around TK Maxx when I came across this

A Thomas Kent wall clock !! If you know anything about this particular make of ceramic clock, you'll know that they're rather pricey. Not so in TK Maxx ! £14.99 for what is normally a £50 clock ! Not a thing wrong with it and the PERFECT colour for my kitchen (it does have 2 hands !)

Next, I noticed the man putting out a whole load of garden type stuff. I saw a fantastic bright pink cafe style table & chairs and was absolutely desperate to buy it, but then did manage to pull myself together when I thought of the look that hubby would have given me had I come home with it ! So I bought the next best thing ....

A brilliant set of bright pink enamel planters - not for use in my garden - these will be used in both the Studio AND at the Knitting & Stitching Show.

And then, I saw these ...

Even better for use at the Knitting & Stitching Show (it didn't have the felt balls in it of course, that would have been mad, and think of the mess all over the floor if someone had knocked them over - but I do think they make a rather fetching display don't you ?)

So now you know - TK Maxx ROCKS !!!

Get yourself down there !!

IT'S FREEBIE TIME !

Hellooooooo !

It's been far too long my friends ! Having been away for nearly 3 weeks, catching up on orders, Easter and of course, the Royal Wedding it seems like I have been away from this little old blog FOREVER !

But, I'm BACK and raring to go.

So, without further ado I shall announce this month's FREEBIE giveway. And it is .........

A Felt Purse Kit !

This fantastic little kit contains one of our turquoise 100% wool felt purses (complete with felt ball zip pull), some felt shapes and buttons for you to embellish the purse with.

As with all of our giveaways, it's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post (only 1 comment per person please) and ensure that I can contact you via your own blog, website or email address. If you win and I am unable to contact you, the prize will be redrawn and another winner picked. Please note - last month's giveaway went to a redrawn name as the original winner didn't provide any contact details. Please don't make the same mistake.

The Giveaway will remain open for 1 week and will close at 5pm next Sunday 8th May when a winner will be picked and the name announced.

GOOD LUCK !!

xx

Royal Wedding Fever

Here at BF Shedquarters, Royal Wedding fever is starting to take hold.

My little madam is getting VERY excited at the fact that she is going to see a "real life Princess" get married and the school has announced that they will be holding a "street party" the day before the wedding and that there will be prizes for the best homemade crowns. So, I got to thinking "What can I use to make the most fantabulous crowns" ? Why - felt, buttons, ribbons and balls of course !!

In my quest to find the best things to use it suddenly came to me - if I'm looking for stuff to make Royal Wedding themed bits and pieces, then so will others.

So, I give you ..... The Blooming Felt Royal Wedding Supplies section. Stuffed full of Blooming Felt's red, white & blue coloured supplies. Buttons, Balls, Ribbons and Felt Sheets galore !

We'll look forward to seeing all of your creations very soon !

Have Fun !!!

PS. A quick reminder that BF will be operating a reduced (once a week) postal service from Saturday 2nd April until Wednesday 27th April. Sorry for the inconvenience guys - it's Easter !

xx

Hurrah - the monthly freebie has launched !

Well, it took a while, but today we finally hit 200 followers and as promised, are now launching our monthly freebie !!

As a special thank you to all of our blog readers, we will be offering a fantastic freebie every 1st of the month from now on.

So, for our first monthly freebie we are offering 2 (yes .... 2 !) lucky followers the chance to win one of our new "Goody Bags". Each bag contains some felt string, felt shapes, buttons and felt balls. In other words, a wonderful selection of Blooming Felt goodies for you to do whatever you please with !

"How do I enter ?" you ask.

Well, all you need to do is leave a comment on the Freebie Post (no anonymous comments please) and once the freebie closes (one week later) all comments will be entered into a random number generator and a winner will be chosen. I must be able to contact you via an email address, or your own blog / website etc. If your name / number is selected and I have no way of contacting you then I'm afraid you will lose your prize and another winner will be selected. All winners will be announced on this blog and an email will also be sent requesting your address so that we can get your goodies out to you.

Our monthly freebies are available to absolutely everyone, wherever you are in the world !

This freebie will close on Friday 18th February 2011.

So go on, what are you waiting for ? Go get those freebies !!!

Sarah x

Check !

This weekend has consisted of an awful lot of check, check, CHECKING !

Felt Balls x 20,000 CHECK

Metre Squares of Felt x 150 CHECK

10x10 inch squares of felt x 3,000 CHECK

Wool roving x 1,000 CHECK

Felt String x 100 CHECK

Felt Hearts x 1,500 CHECK

Felt Stars x 1,500 CHECK

Wool pompoms x 1,500 CHECK

Take photos of new lines

3 new colours of wool roving / felting wool

100% wool felt purses (very excited !!)

3 new colours of 10x10 felt sheets and also metre squares

CHECK

Update website - CHECK !!

Sit down, exhausted and have a cup of tea - CHECK

All of the new lines can be found in the "Just Arrived" section - I'll try and give you more details next time.

Don't forget - as soon as we reach 200 followers we'll be launching our new monthly giveaway - we're up to 185 so far - keep joining and passing the word around !!!

xxx