Halloween denim clutch purse and reminiscing about Etsy Street Teams

I started selling on Etsy back in early 2007. Soon after, I joined the Etsy UK Street Team. Back in 2007-2008 the Etsy UK Street Team used to set monthly creative challenges. The theme for October 2008 was 'Halloween'. I made this denim clutch purse featuring a ghost on the front and a felt applique "BOO!" on the inside. I recently found this clutch purse in a box on top of my wardrobe and thought I'd share it again in the run up to Halloween.

Not long after joining Etsy I received a conversation from Seaurchin, another Etsy seller, saying 'why don't you come into the forums and have a chat?'. From there I learnt about the Etsy UK Street Team & I met some amazing crafty people off the back of it. I have fond memories of our forum chats & crafting challenges. it's hard to believe its been nearly nine years since I first set up my Etsy shop.

Street Teams are designed to help sellers connect with other members. Sometimes there is a geographical connection, such as the team based in the United Kingdom, sometimes it's a shared skill such as crochet or ceramics.

I still keep in touch with a small group of the original Street Team members. In fact, I recently met up with Lisa from Seaurchin and Laura from Lupin Handmade in Bristol for lunch and a chat. I often see other members of the original Street Team popping up on Twitter & Facebook. I have kept in touch with Sally from Tinkering Textiles, Kirsty from Paperfish, Laura from Laura Fallulah, Lu from Summersville, Megan from Mr.PS and Christine (or Pink Christine as she was known on Etsy), she now blogs about her ex-pat life over on Pinwheels and Stories. We've witnessed many milestones together, such as marriages, arrival of babies, business successes, relationship heartaches & even a move to the United States.

I'm grateful that Etsy bought these people into my life. The UK Street Team also gave birth to the UK Handmade online magazine, which I still write for along with other Etsy Alumnae from the Street Team. Although many of us have moved onto pastures new work wise, we all still have a love of the creative community & still find time for crafting in one form or another.

The Etsy UK Street Team still exists, you can find out more here.

Etsy also recently celebrated 10 Years of Etsy Teams.

Grab a bargain: I'm having a half price sale

I'm having a sale! Save 50% on all my vintage fabric peg bags, lavender sachet owls and rabbits. There are bargains galore in my online shop, head on over to see the full range. This is perfect opportunity to grab some Christmas gifts for your friends and family.

Vintage Love: mid century enamel Sellotape tin 1950s

This vintage Sellotape tin sat in my Grandmother's cabinet for many years. I love the bright, royal blue colour. The typography and fonts have a real retro feel to them. I'm not sure if it is from the mid-century or a slightly later 1970s-1980s piece. My Grandmother did tend to hold onto things for quite a while, so it may well be from the 1950s.

I seem to remember this vintage tin being in my Grandmother's home for most of my life, so it is at least 40 years old, if not older. As a child, if I was allowed to get the tin of felt tips out of her beautiful antique chiffonier, I would spy this tin. It was still there when I grew up. Everytime she wanted an envelope or her scissors, I would spot the bright blue tin nestled in with all her stationary.

She hated to part with things & we often joked that items in her house had turned vintage just because she'd had them for so long.
When she passed away in December 2014, I was keen to rescue this tin. It now sits on my desk and houses our library cards & various other bits and bobs.
I look at it everytime I sit at my computer & it always reminds me of my Grandmother and how she rarely threw anything away...

If you'd like to see more of my Vintage Finds, head on over to my Pinterest board to see more retro loveliness...
Follow Pouch's board My Vintage Finds on Pinterest.

October on the allotment: parsnips, beetroot and more weeding

I blogged a few weeks ago about looking forward to eating our first ever homegrown parsnips. I planted some tiny plug plants back in May. We've been watering our parsnips & watching the root vegetables grow bigger. I really wanted to eat them on Christmas Day, but impatient as ever, I pulled one up the other day. Well, it's not going to win any prizes in a beauty contest...but then homegrown veg is about taste over aesthetics. Or that's what I'm telling myself anyway...


Magoo has worked her socks off helping out with watering over the Summer. Her favourite thing is to harvest the veg she has been lovingly pouring water over. We have had tons of beetroot this year. One of our favourite meals is 'pink mash'. You basically boil the beetroot with the skin on for about 20-25 minutes. You also boil some potatoes. Once the beetroot has cooked & cooled, you can easily pull the skin off. Then you grate the beetroot. Finally mash the beetroot into the potatoes with loads of creme fraiche, butter & seasoning. Magoo loves 'purple mash' with sausages from our local butcher & oodles of gravy.


The Russians call beetroot 'blood builder' and it is packed with amazing nutrients. I find the 'purple mash' recipe is a great way to get Magoo to eat beetroot. I also like to mix raw grated beetroot & carrot with a little oil, seasoning & some sesame seeds to make a simple dish to have with salad. Raw beetroot packs even more of a nutritional punch.
We've had a mild Autumn this year, so we've managed to spend quite a bit of time at the allotment. But it is getting to the time when the crops have been harvested and the beds are getting empty...and that's when the weeds take over! We've got to have a major Autumn tidy-up & then cover the soil for the Winter months. We have toyed with the idea of planting a green manure crop, but we haven't been organised enough this year.
That's the good thing about gardening & allotments - there's always next year to plan for.
This week I'm linking up with:
"How Does Your Garden Grow" over on the beautiful mammasaurus.co.uk

"Whatever the Weather" over on www.lifeunexpected.co.uk and monkeyandmouse.co.uk
"Let Kids be Kids" over on letkidsbekids.co.uk
Country Kids over on the Coombemill Blog
Image of the Week over on www.trulymadlykids.co.uk

Making a shoebox jetpack: a creative, upcycling idea for kids

A couple of weeks ago Magoo asked if we could make a jetpack. I've got used to these kinds of requests since becoming a Mum. I knew we had an old shoebox waiting to go out in the recycling & thought the lid would make a good cardboard jetpack.
We grabbed our craft materials and Magoo set to work decorating the lid of the shoebox.

You can never have too many glittery stars on a rocket backpack can you?
We also covered the top of the shoebox lid with paper to create a surface for Magoo to draw her control buttons onto.

I knew we had some yellow and orange netting from a previous crafty project where were had made Easter bonnets back in April. So we reused our upcycled netting from our local Children's Scraptsore to make the jet flames


We also used the netting to make arm straps so that Magoo could wear the jetpack on her back.
So after cutting, sticking and gluing an unwanted shoebox lid, the jetpack was finished and ready to play with...

Once all the decorating had been completed Magoo was desperate to try it on. She decided that a jetpack would definitely help her to ride faster on her bike...which I think it may well have done :)

All you need to make this backpack is a shoebox lid (or maybe a cereal box), some thin netting or ribbon, glittery stars or stickers, glue, scissors and lots of imagination...
This week I am linking up with:
Whatever the Weather over on www.lifeunexpected.co.uk and Monkey and Mouse.
Country Kids over on the www.coombemill.com blog.

I'm linking up with #Trash2Treasure also on the www.coombemill.com blog.