Warm Spice Owl Giveaway

This giveaway is now closed - many thanks to everyone who took part!

This is a festive twist on my popular range of lavender owls. Instead of the usual floral aroma, this owl is filled with my own delicious blend of star anise, cinnamon and cloves. It brings a truly festive scent into your home!

This giveaway will run for two weeks and the lucky winner will win one warm spice vintage fabric owl in buttercup and chestnut. Full details of the competition and how to enter are listed below. Good Luck!

How to enter:

mandatory - Please visit my Etsy store and leave a comment below telling me which is your favourite item.

three additional ways to enter:

1. Become a follower of my blog. Leave a comment and let me know that you're new.

2. Tweet this giveaway: @pouchbags Warm Spice Owl Giveaway: http://pouchbags.blogspot.com/2011/11/warm-spice-owl-giveaway.html

3. Become a fan of Pouch on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pouchdesigns

**If you enter this giveaway, please state clearly your email address, OR your Facebook/Twitter/Etsy username, so I can contact you in case you win**

The giveaway runs from Friday November 25th through to midnight (GMT) Friday 9th December. I will pick a winner at random, and announce the winner on December 12th 2011. Please note: This competition is open to worldwide entries, but if you live in Australia, I will not be able to send a scented owl due to strict custom restrictions. I will be happy to send an unscented version.

**Shop news!** I am also offering free worldwide shipping on all items in my Etsy store for 7 days, starting from Cyber monday and ending on 5th December. Please use coupon code CYBER2011 at checkout!

Vintage love: fabric finds for November

I have been behaving myself recently and I have not given in to my addiction. I haven't bought any vintage fabric for, well, at least four weeks, maybe even five...

But I just had to buy this floral fabric, it's just the stuff I like to use to make my lavender owls and rabbits. I find it has the perfect texture and thickness for making my plush animals. I can't wait to get snipping and making with this lovely lot. It will have to be in 2012 though as I am pretty busy with Christmas orders at the moment!

The other 'zig zag' fabric was given to me as a gift. After doing a bit of googling, it turns out that this Margo International fabric designed by Anna Caldwell dates from 1972. I've found a link to some of her work here, her "Brix" fabric won a Design Council Award in 1975. So, I am very happy that it was gifted to me! I'm not sure what to make with it yet. It is lovely and thick with a nice weave to the fabric.

20% off all vintage trims

Right now I am offering 20% off all trims in my Etsy and Folksy stores. This is a perfect time to stock up on some beautiful fabric trims for your next crafting project. They come in all colours of the rainbow and many are incredibly intricate and highly collectable. A must-have for all you vintage fans! Hurry over, due to the fact these trims are vintage, they are all strictly limited edition, once they are gone...I can't source more!

Vintage fabric Rudolf decorations

Now that Halloween and Bonfire Night are safely out of the way, it's time to start thinking about Christmas...after all it's only 7 weeks away!!

So on that festive note, I'd like to introduce you to my latest creation - vintage fabric Rudolf decorations. Handmade with vintage fabric in shades of amber orange, chocolate brown, pure white and jet black. He's filled with non-allergenic stuffing and has wool felt detailing in shades of chocolate and toffee brown. His look is completed with a bright red button nose.

I currently have two versions for sale, one is unscented and the other contains a delicious combination of dried star anise, cinnamon and cloves. I have had lots of fun making the latter as the scent is just amazing.

So far, I have had lots of fabulous feedback for Rudolf from crafting friends and most recently he was featured on the popular Craft Gossip blog, the Cuteable blog and of the UK Handmade Facebook page, which gained lots of thumbs up from their readers!

Also, if you are quick, there is a chance to win one on the popular Bugs and Fishes blog.

I just wanted to add, I made two versions partly because not everyone will like the festive spice mix, everyone has different tastes! But also because certain countries do not allow dried plant products to be imported into their country, most notably Australia has very strict laws relating to this. So the unscented version is available for worldwide shipping and the scented version is for United Kingdom and Europe only.

They are available in both my Etsy and Folksy stores.

UK Handmade is 3 this Winter!

UK Handmade is 3 this Winter! We’ve come such a long way since we first embarked upon this journey, walking a unique path with the support and collaboration of some great talent.

The Winter issue of UK Handmade Magazine is our special 3rd Birthday edition where you can find out how UK Handmade came to be. It's live and ready to read online HERE (click on the enlarge button to the bottom left to read it full screen) or support UK Handmade by buying the PDF download here.

So why not join us in putting on the kettle, grabbing a comfy seat and celebrating 3 years of UK Handmade goodness.

Visit UK Handmade at: http://ukhandmade.ning.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network