Its been a while, but heres something I made earlier....

Hi.

Remember me?

Too much has been going on, so i'll just jump right back into blogging.

Starting with a little make.


Today, I needed to make some shortbread and chocolate chip cookies for my Niece's birthday party this Sunday. Unfortunately the main ingredient for the cookies was missing - chocolate chips! Now for some reason, I was under the impression these would be easy to find and reasonably priced at my local supermarket.

Nope. £1.49 for 100g. Or am I behind on the times when it comes to pricing?

Anyway, I put the price down to the packaging because although it wasn't fancy, the chocolate chips were in quite a sturdy little container. Not just loose in a bag which is what I normally plump for.

But having baked the cookies and tidyed up, I thought the little tube would make a nice container instead of just chucking it in the recycling. Being the crafty, hording type, I LOVE any form of storage. So I decided to pretty it up, and this is what I did:

What you need:

• Container to cover
• Fabric or paper you wish to cover your container with
• PVA Glue
• Brush
• Scissors
• Fabric Pen or Pencil
• Ruler
• String or Tape Measure

1. First of all, you need to find out the circumference of your container. This is where the string (or yarn in my case. Being a knitter there's loads of this lying around) comes in handy. Of course, if you have a tape measure, you could just use that. Wrap it loosely around your container and have it overlap by say half an inch and cut.

2. Measure your bit of string and take note of the measurement.

3. Next, measure the height of your container.

4. Using these measurements, mark out on your fabric or paper the circumference measurement and height measurement to make a rectangle. I used a fading fabric pen here.

5. Cut this out as neatly and precisely as you can. Probably easier to do with paper as fabric has a mind of its own. Or it does when I cut it.

6. Apply PVA Glue to your tube, taking note to apply liberally around the top and bottom edges and where your overlap will be.

7. Apply your fabric or paper to your container, adjusting it so it covers all of the tube.

And there you have it. A nice little tube to pop in anything you like. You could even decorate the lid by drawing around the base and cutting out some pretty paper or fabric to fit into the top.

Pretty simple, but simply pretty. And useful too.

WIP Wed Thurs Friday

Neckerchiefs!

I love 'em.

Here are the finished ones from the last WIP blog posts. These will go on to OOAK tomorrow morning.

Heres another in progress knit up in Noro Silk Garden. Yum!

Old paper has been torn up to be made into another recycled journal and buttons have been sewn onto hair snaps for myself.

   

In other news, OOAK are looking to interview UK crafters for their blog so do get in contact if you fancy a bit of free exposure.

WIP Wednesday

Seeing as I have a huge collection of buttons, i thought it best to use them for something! Although not entirely original, I've been making button hair slides which is actually quite addictive and good fun.

I was given a spark of inspiration from a friend of mine. She sewed buttons on to canvases in the shape of a heart in her friends favourite colours. Being a button maniac, i thought, why not cover a whole canvas in buttons?

I've been making neckerchiefs ready for this winter. I've got so much hand dyed yarn laying around, I thought i'd knit up a ball to see what it looks like. This yarn is called Hot Treacle :D

In other news, i've been beavering away working on www.ooakhandmade.co.uk with a friend of mine. Its a small collective of UK artisans selling their work in one place. It opens up for business this Saturday, so if you have time, i'd really appreciate you guys having look and giving any feedback!

Holy smokes! She posted something!

Well, its been a while, hasn’t it?

Apologies to everyone who follows and reads this blog. I am still making and in fact blogging, but have neglected The Crafty Tea Break for far too long.

Usually, this is where i’d type about what i’ve been doing and why I haven’t been blogging.

But i’m not going to do that.

Instead, i’m just going to post pictures and get right back to it!

Ps - Happy Belated 2010!

Etsy Treasury

Just popping in to post about a treasury I've been included in! Its always amazing to be featured amongst talented crafters. I always feel out of place when included in such things and this feature is particularly beautiful!

Art on Coriandr

Art is an inspiring thing. It can spark your imagination, revive memories, evoke emotions and more. Here are a few pieces found on Coriandr.

Andrewsarchus - Urbanimal

Matryoska - Tiny Pretty Things

Woodland Feast - Sweetart

Owl in a teacup - Sparklehen

Autumn Thistle 2008 - Theshyone

Autumn on Coriandr

After a hiatus, Coriandr features are back! Autumn is well and truly here now in the northern hemisphere and Coriandr is full of handmade items that are not only inspired by this season, but represent its beautiful colours too.

Orange Crush Button Charm Bracelet - MrsGibson

A perfect bracelet for button and autumn fans alike.

Bronze Oak Fallen Leaf Brooch - Mrs Toad Designs

As the owner of a custom made brooch from Katherine, I definitely recommend this one. Its a stunning piece of art that you can wear.

Handmade Notebook - Creativesque

A note book is an essential item for anyone, so why not fill this one with its 100% recycled pages full of ideas, pictures and sketches to inspire you?

Carnelian Silver Cuff Bracelet - alibalijewellery

This stunning bracelet looks good enough to eat, as the carnelian stones remind me of toffee!

Cute Red Felted Tub - Snowdrops And Daisies

This felted crocheted tub is perfect for keeping small, important items safe. The deep red makes a beautiful bold statement.

A Yarnie Offer!

After some brainstorming and some advice from the ever wonderful Lottie, I've come up with an offer that knitters and crocheters will love.

Or at least I hope so!

I've decided to reward loyal customers who buy yarn (hand spun or hand dyed - no samplers i'm afraid!) from TomatoTea with a 10% discount on their next yarn, if they take a picture of the finished project they have made with their previous purchase and allow me to blog their efforts!

So not only do you have an incentive to finish your projects with TomatoTea yarn to get a discount off of your next yarn, you get some exposure too!

So how does this work? Well, if you have already bought some yarn from me, all you need to do is send me a nice, clear picture of your finished item that you have made with the yarn and allow me permission to blog about it. Then next time you buy some yarn, either on Coriandr or Etsy, just pop the name of the yarn you used for your project in the 'message to seller' box. I'll cross check this and you'll be refunded 10% off of your yarn purchase through PayPal after full payment is received. (or i'll adjust the amount owed if paying by cheque).

For example, Lottie purchased 'Violent Violet' from Coriandr and has kindly sent in some pictures of her project and allow me to blog about them in an earlier post.

Now when she goes to order another skein, all she has to do is enter 'Violent Violet' in the 'Message to Seller' box on either Coriandr or Etsy to get a 10% refund through PayPal. If she sends me another picture of what she makes with the new yarn, she can do this again, quoting the new yarn she bought.

Please note that this is a 'yarn for yarn' offer, by which I mean, if you have bought one yarn and followed the directions above, you'll get 10% off of another single yarn. If you have bought two and sent a picture of each yarn in its finished state, you get 10% off of your next two yarns, and so on. This offer applies to all yarn available in my shops, hand dyed or hand spun with the exception of samplers. Be sure to use the same user name each time you purchase, otherwise I may not be able to match up what you have bought!

As for yarn sent as a gift to someone else, if the buyer wishes to get a discount, just be sure to get a picture from the recipient and permission for me to blog about their finished project.
If the recipient of the gifted yarn wishes to get a discount, they must ask the person who bought it for them to contact me, quote the yarn bought and the recipients user name for either Etsy or Coriandr. The recipient still needs to send me a picture of the finished project and again give me permission to blog about it!
Please note, the buyer and the recipient can not both receive a discount. Priority goes to the buyer first, so be sure to ask them if its okay!

I hope I haven't made this too confusing! Any questions feel free to ask!

Poll: Which Picture Makes The Best Listing Image?

I'm in need of your assistance everyone!

I can't decide which picture to use as the main listing image when listing my yarns on Etsy and Coriandr. It's hard to decide which is more likely to draw a potential customer in to have a closer look. I tend to photograph all my yarns in 5 set ways but choosing one as the main image is difficult! Any comments are appreciated too :) Thanks for voting!

1. End of Skein 2. Whole Skein 3. Perspective Skein 4. Loose Skein 5. Yarn Cake
Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Violent Spinach

A while ago, I sold my very first hand spun yarns, two of which went to the lovely Lottie. She has very kindly sent pictures through of what she has created with the yarns and has allowed me to show everyone what TomatoTea hand spun looks like when knit up. Its a silly thing to say, but i felt so proud when she showed me!

Lottie bought Violent Violet and made a cabled panel for a blanket project.

At the time, she was slightly disappointed that someone had beaten her to Super Spinach, another hand spun skein she was interested in.

Ironically, the other buyer was her good friend Frantasm who had actually bought the yarn for Lottie as a late birthday gift!

Lottie has knit the yarn in a lovely simple garter stitch square, which i think really shows off Super Spinach quite nicely.

Lottie has been brilliant and I hope to provide her with more hand spun in the future! Please check out Lotties Coriandr Shop for awesome recycled, knitted and woven goodness.

...and breathe....

Phew.

As much as I love having a proper job again, it sure does eat away lots of time! Its been way to long since I last posted an update for TomatoTea. So here's a run down of whats been happening.

First of all, we had an amazing week down in Cornwall at the beginning of September. The weather behaved and we had some wonderful days out.

Secondly, as mentioned I have been working my socks off in the bookshop. I've been put in charge of the Arts section - which includes crafts! I'm hoping to stock that section to breaking point in time for Christmas and get more people crafting!

And finally, i've still found pieces of time to make! I took some knitting to Cornwall and made a colourful array of neck warmers, ready for autumn and winter. I love this design as it can be worn by guys or gals and its toasty warm but not bulky like a scarf. It keeps the wind out of the opening in your winter jackets!

I've also been carding, spinning and dyeing so look out for some new additions to Coriandr and Etsy.

Yes, thats right, i've reopened my Etsy shop in time for Autumn and Winter. I'm still keen on Coriandr, in that it will always be my first 'port of call', however I promised myself last year that I would make a real go of the colder period in 2009 and I'm hoping Etsy will help me do that :)

Thats it from me for now, i'll post some pictures of crafty progress during the week! Have a great weekend!

Getting Away For A Week

Phew! It's been a busy one this week as I finally got back into work and did some lots of overtime Monday to Friday. I forgot how much it takes out of you.

But we're now off for a week to Watergate Bay, Cornwall for a much needed getaway. More so for my partner than me! He hasn't been away for at least a couple of years and this will do him lots of good :)

So first of all, no giveaway this month. I'll do a double whammy in December instead!

Secondly, no Coriandr features this Thursday the 10th.

And thirdly, of course any orders you place at my shop will not be posted until I return which will be Sunday the 13th!



I'll be back with lots of pictures and hopefully some tales to tell. Have a great week everyone!

Bath Time on Coriandr

This week I was looking out for soapy items on Coriandr. Now, there are people out there who like getting soaps for Christmas, but I have to say I'm not one of them. I'd rather they just stuck with a card and not worried as commercially made soaps always make my skin feel horrid after using them. However, handmade soaps are a different story. I find these are a lot kinder to your skin, especially if they are made from the right ingredients! So here's what I found over on Coriandr:

Black Raspberry Vanilla Natural Soap - Saffronbarr

This soap looks good enough to eat. I bet it smells fantastic too.

Natural Handmade Goat's Milk Soap - Everything4Bathtime

A soap made from Goats milk which is extra mosturising with a scent of sweet oranges. Sounds wonderful!

Honey Almond & Lavender Handmade Soap - Indie Cafe Lounge

Another soap that looks good enough to eat! This one has a scent of Almond and Lavender.

Brown and Yellow Flower Soap Dish - Pennydog

This dish is the perfect place to keep your soap. Made in resin with a lovely piece of retro fabric embedded inside.

Natural Oak Impressed Ceramic Dish - CharlotteCeramics

And this soap dish has been impressed with a piece of bark for texture, which has then been highlighted using different glazes. Truly stunning!

KUBE

Just a quick post before I pop off to work to show you guys Nicole and I's afternoon at the KUBE gallery in Poole last Saturday.

I was pleasantly surprised at filling up this table! Its nearly 2 meters long! Nicole came to the rescue though, and let me use some of her table space :)

Nicole's comic frames and mirrors look fantastic! They are mini works of art in their own right.