Happy Christmas!

Outside Handmade Happiness at Christmas 2015

Wishing you a very happy time this Christmas and may all your dreams come true in 2016! 
Thank you for reading this blog. I'll post again after the big day! 

Most men hate Christmas shopping

Night time sparkle.

I wish I could say to some of the men that come into my shop alone:
'Let me help you. Tell me your budget and I'll show you a range of things you can choose from.Maybe you won't think any of them are quite right. That's ok too.'
Instead they dart in, find it all too much and bolt for the door.

I get it. Lots of men loathe having to find presents for their loved ones. Let's not pretend otherwise. But I guess their wives or girlfriends have told them they'd like something from Handmade Happiness so they feel duty bound to come in. But then there's too much choice, they're short of time and they'd rather be anywhere than in a gift shop so they duck out, mission unaccomplished!

I'm here and I'd like to help you find the perfect gift. Just ask ! I will also gift wrap it for you free of charge if there's no queue at the counter.

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year. Early darkness is more than compensated by watching fairy lights. I love to sit in the dark with only the little flashing lights for company.

This year I've really appreciated battery operated lights. No more having to load down each socket with extra plugs and wires at Christmas. And a string of little lights can go anywhere you please. You could even wear a lights necklace with the battery pack in your pocket! 

Gift decorations and table decorations

Pale gold gift topper or table decoration by Brenda Tilbury.

For Christmas or a wedding. Pretty decoration by Brenda Tilbury.

Lots of sparkle on this impressive gift decoration by Brenda Tilbury

Imagine receiving a gift with this on it! Decoration by Brenda Tilbury

 Brenda Tilbury just brought in a tray of beautifully-made decorations. Handmade Happiness also stocks her wreaths and Brenda is responsible for the impressive greenery in the shop window this year. Brenda is an at-home florist and I'm wondering what her shop would be like, should she ever choose to have one!

Originally these decorations were intended to top Christmas presents.  But actually they'd also be lovely laid on Christmas tables or wedding tables. For really sumptous table decor each person could have an individual decoration on their place setting. More designs are available in the shop.

Please note Handmade Happiness is additionally open on Monday December 21st 10am to 5pm then business as usual until the afternoon of Christmas Eve when it will be open until at least 1pm.

In Handmade Happiness now

Owl cushion on midnight blue velvet made by Tanya Williamson £48

New lino cut Christmas cards by Jacqui Watkins. £2.50 each.

Jeremy Moore's attractive mugs, also stocked in blue, £16.00 each.

Interesting jug £22.50 by Jeremy Moore

 There are so many lovely gifts, cards and decorations to choose from in Handmade Happiness right now.

Certain items are consistently popular and lots of makers are muttering about having to start making for Christmas in January next year. Today I'll be contacting some of them to please re-stock this week.

I've also just started selling Jeremy Moore's ceramics.He uses a lovely deep blue glaze (not pictured) that I particularly like. I also like the deep rustic green celadon glaze of these mugs. Ideal for a country cottage.

Also new are the necklaces I've been making. A new take on 'worry' beads that I remember so well from my childhood in the Middle East. I can still picture men sitting cross-legged with a string of large, smooth beads in their hands. Feeling each bead as an aid to prayer and meditation is also what rosary beads are traditionally used for in some religious places.

On Monday I went to Chichester and I was amazed that so many items are being offered at sale prices. Whatever happened to the January sales? I remember when sales were in January and again in July. Full stop. Now sales are all the year round...but it's a bit worrying if shops feel the need to go into sale in the run up to Christmas. I asked why at Marks and Spencer and apparently it's to attract people back into the shops now that so many people choose to do all their shopping online.

Handmade Happiness is exceptionally going to be open on Monday 21st December, next week. Otherwise business as usual, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm but closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Magazine cover appeal

Handmade Happiness bags with Jenny Stacy dolls and Karen Boller dog brooch

I like to give customers a free carrier bag made from the front and back covers of magazines. Right now I have no magazine covers to make bags from. 

I have plenty of inside pages of magazines which I make little flat bags from but I need more magazine covers. If you live in Petersfield please tear off the covers before dropping old magazines into your recycling bin and drop those covers into Handmade Happiness if you can. I'd be grateful.

At Phoenix Stitchers Christmas party, members made carrier bags and flat bags in the Handmade Happiness way. A great way to wrap up Christmas gifts this year. 

Certain magazine covers look better than others. Yes please to Country Living, Country Homes and Interiors, any foreign magazine or art magazine, World of Interiors,Tatler, Vogue, Red and similar. No thank you to colour supplements, weekly magazines and gossip magazines (the covers aren't thick enough).

It's the busiest time of the year. Don't tire yourself out. Relax when you can and try to enjoy it!  

Carol Smith's brooches and publicity

Bird brooches £6.50 by Carol Smith. Carol's bird tree decorations are £4.50 each

Did I mention that Handmade Happiness has a bird theme this Christmas? It seems appropriate with three white trees at the shop. Two trees outside and one inside and the inside one is full of birds.

Brenda Tilbury who makes wreaths kindly re-did the window yesterday. The Christmas tree branches were dropping all their pine needles whenever anyone went near them and now Brenda has replaced them with fresh, green ones, making the shop smell like Christmas. Thank you Brenda.

I wrote an article about why I started Handmade Happiness this week and it made me feel lucky to be doing what I love. I hope that all of you reading this are doing a job that you love. Sometimes life seems to be too much about making enough money to live with not enough time to just appreciate the good things we have that have nothing to do with money.

I've not advertised the shop yet but this article, if it gets printed, will tell a lot more people that it exists. Being out of the centre of town a lot of people discover Handmade Happiness by chance. When getting their car mended at the nearby garage say,or when buying printing ink at the computer shop next door. Once people have found the shop they tend to come back and re-visit.

Both Kate Hackett, the ceramacist and Sue Inglis,who knits, came in and re-stocked yesterday. There was also a delivery of blue and green mugs and bowls from a new potter. Come in and have a look if you can, if not I'll show you pictures in the next post.

Due to a Talk Talk problem I'm not receiving emails. Please use my other email address for the time being. It's: jennystacy6@gmail.com  Thanks.

New at Handmade Happiness

New in yesterday - these perfect Christmas stockings made by Kate Box £38 each. New little bears by Lindsey Agostinelli £60 each and new embroidered pictures by Sheila Barrow, from £28

This is Harry, a little bear made by Lindsey Agostinelli, sitting on the softest alpaca baby cardigan £39 by Jenny Drant

Close up of new tubular knitted scarf by Jenny Drant, a really clever knitter.

Sheila Barrow paints and embroiders these lovely landscapes. New ones have just been delivered.

 Yesterday so many beautiful new handmade things came in to the shop. If I was rich I'd buy them and they wouldn't be on display now!!

Handmade Happiness is full of perfect gifts. It's never been as well stocked!

I feel so lucky to sell the work of so many interesting, talented people.

Anthropologie, Guildford

Soft metal stars tumbling from the ceiling in Anthropologie

Similar handmade stars looped above the pay desk

Giant papier mache light shades in Anthropologie

Torn paper backdrop of mountains in the window

Houses piled up on a mountain side in the window of Anthropologie, Guildford

Metal stars suspended from ceiling to floor in Anthropologie

What I like best about Anthropologie is the way they recycle rubbish to make their installations. This soft metal may have been aluminium food containers I guess. And the giant egg light shades looked like recycled egg cartons.
Yesterday I didn't have the energy for Oxford Street so I took the train just as far as Guildford to do a bit more Christmas shopping.
Do you find that when you really look for Christmas presents you keep seeing things that actually, you yourself would like to receive?! 

A few blog posts back I talked about a Japanese book on the art of tidying having read an interesting article in a magazine. Well, sorry Santa, but when I saw the actual book 'The life-changing magic of tidying' by Marie Kondo in Anthropologie I just had to buy it. 

It's fascinating. As Marie says, no-one actually teaches you how to tidy up and this is what she sets out to do. I plan to put her words into practice. I'll let you know when and if my life changes!

Being Yourself

Needlefelted brooch by Jenny Stacy

Bits of needlefelting done recently

As you get older you stop worrying about what people think. You realise that your time is limited and if you can't be yourself now you never will be. 

So forget what is 'cool' or fashionable. Forget what your friends like or dislike and how they live their lives. Your moment is now and you need to grab it and truly be yourself. Live your life the way you really deep down need to live it.

If you come to this confidence early in life you are one of the lucky ones. Most of us have to shake off some repression and guilt caught at an early age. We play it safe because therein lies our security. But maybe in always taking a back seat we are preventing ourselves from enjoying a full life with all the risk and excitement that may mean.

Live in full colour and stop choosing neutral shades.

(I intended to write about using traditional crafts in a contemporary way. Ho hum. All the above just wanted to be written more!!) 
By the way I do love getting comments. It's easy. Click on Anonymous, click on I am not a robot and after writing your comment click on publish. Done.

Decorating Handmade Happiness for Christmas

Handmade Happiness today with new white trees and garland across the top of the window.

Handmade Happiness tonight.

Today Brenda Tilbury installed a living garland of greenery and berries across the top of the window and silver birch branches outside and inside.  Brenda also supplied the Christmas tree branches wired to the sides of the window. She has done a great job and I'm really pleased with the shop's new look. Thanks too to Christine Burgess who brought in the two silver birch branches now wired together in the centre of the window.

The Christmas window is not quite ready yet. I still have to wrap boxes with gift wrap and place suggested gifts on them in the window from the many items stocked by Handmade Happiness. I'll do that tomorrow.

Glitter and Sparkle

Christmas lights from a balcony in Bath

Intriguing giant mercury baubles filled with tiny lights

Nothing conveys the excitement of Christmas like glitter and sparkle. I love to see cascades of tiny silver or golden lights in department stores and shop windows lit up with hundreds of fairy lights.

On Sunday I did a Christmas fair at a local hotel to promote the shop. A friend had given me two large silver birch branches and in a heavy glass vase bedecked with two lots of fairy lights and lots of my tiny fairies and Carol's bird decorations it looked magical. Isn't it great that fairy lights of the LED kind are so portable. Battery operated so you don't have to depend on there being plug sockets and extension wires. And cheap. I got some in Sainsburys for just £3 a box, batteries included.

Just a line of glitter or a few dots can bring a card or a decoration alive. I wouldn't recommend powder glitter that you add to a coating of glue. It tends to shower off as soon as you touch it. Though it can look fabulous... I use fine glitter glue which you can write with or make patterns with if you want to. It comes in every colour but I like a nice flat gold at Christmas. Not yellow gold, I think that looks tacky, but an 'antique' gold with a touch of grey in it.

So with lots of tiny lights and artful touches of glitter glue we're all set for a magical, sparkling Christmas. What makes you feel excited about Christmas?

Inside Handmade Happiness

Tiny gift boxes by Jenny Stacy

Robin garland £4.95 made by Christine Burgess

Mugs and jugs by Justine Jenner

Vessels by Niloo

Beeswax candles made by Elizabeth Eveleigh £4.50 each

At this time of year I save stamps from letters and cards. Christmas stamps are tiny works of art and it is nice to re-use them. On these matchboxes the stamps are the focal point along with painted paper etc. I imagine these used to hold money or a pair of earrings or even a couple of chocolates as a table present.

Justine Jenner's mugs and jugs, pictured, have a subtle decoration that reminds me of feathers. Niloo's spotty bowls and vases show great patience.Imagine adding all those tiny black points...

I love the smell of Elizabeth's candles. They are pure beeswax. An excellent little gift I think.

I am finding it hard to make carrier bags right now because I don't have any old magazines. Please can I ask anyone who lives in the town and reads this to drop off magazines they would otherwise put in the re-cycling bin. Or, even better, to tear off the front and back covers from old magazines and deliver those. I have plenty of inside pages to make my little bags with but no covers for the carrier bags. Thanks a lot.

Cushions, paintings and porcelain

Tanya Williamson's popular cushions in Handmade Happiness

In the window Tanya Williamson's stag cushion and goose cushion

Kate Box's soft wool cushions, zipped bags and snoods with Jenny Stacy's dolls

New painting by Christine Burgess. 'Largo' £129

Jenny Stacy's large birds in the window

Niloo's porcelain trees. £4 each.

Last night I took these pictures in Handmade Happiness. 
The shop is lucky to have some exceptionally talented craftspeople. 

I love this new painting by Christine Burgess which came in yesterday. This multi-skilled lady also brought in more of her lino cut cards and some jolly robin banners she has made.

Kate Box's so-soft knitwear is always appreciated and a popular present buy.

Tanya Williamson just came in with lots more cushions. Tanya uses best quality fabrics in her own designs. She is obviously good at drawing and her cushions are popular and at £48 each, not too expensive.

Niloo also came in with these porcelain decorations. I love the way she covers her work with spots and patterns. White porcelain and grey-washed tree decorations all £4. The shop also has more of Niloo's popular black spot vessels from £9.50 to £18.

The lashing rain and strong winds have meant fewer visitors to Handmade Happiness this week. So I've been making. New are fairy boxes, Liberty fabric tree decorations, fairy bracelets for little girls and this morning I'm hoping to make some necklaces before setting off for the shop.

It's so good to be able to use my camera again. I'll take some more pictures of new stock today so watch this space!

Bird decorations

Carol Smith's bird decorations £4.50 each

Large bird in the window by Jenny Stacy. £25.  Photo by Carol Smith

Looking back .. and forwards

Lindsey Agostinelli's handmade bears

Jenny Stacy buttons - time I made some more

Reminding me how faded the shop sign has got

Decorated matchboxes by Jenny Stacy

I love these little bears made by Lindsey Agostinelli. I hope the shop will have some more in the future.

 Making buttons is something I always intend to do but never seem to find time for nowadays. 

The Open sign needs replacing as it has grown so faded over the years and these little matchboxes - such fun to do but it seems like too indulgent to make some more right now.

Yesterday I made three more tiny fairies and I've made a batch of clay fairies - some for tree decorations and some to go in fairy matchboxes. At this time of year there is so much to do to make the most of the run up to Christmas.

Once my camera is working again I want to share pictures of all the lovely new decorations and gifts in Handmade Happiness. On Monday I  will get a new battery charger as the old one still hasn't turned up. 

Then I can show you the lovely porcelain decorations Niloo brought in yesterday, Samantha Robertson's new ceramics, Sue Inglis' new Xmas gift wrap and new cards and decorations and a picture of the Christmas window.

 First I must find a real tree to put in the middle of the window. That's one of the things I intend to do today... Enjoy your Sunday.

New! Bird brooches

Bird brooches made by Bee Mellor

More bird brooches by Bee Mellor. Needlefelting by Jenny Stacy

New bird brooches by Bee Mellor and Jenny Stacy

Today these lovely brooches arrived in the post.

 Bee Mellor, long time friend and a great artist, has made them using needlefelted and felted fabrics I've made. It's kind of a joint project but this time the bird designs are all Bee's own work. I love them. There are 11 in all and the cost is £20 per brooch.

Come into Handmade Happiness to see the whole flock! You may even want to buy one for yourself as an early Christmas present!

ps. I've been making bigger birds as Christmas decorations to put in the window.Once they are finished (one more of four to go) I'll do smaller versions for the tree. Pics to come.

It's the Season

Mosaic tiles outside a shop in Havant

I love finding unnecessary decorative details on buildings and this wall and floor of multi-coloured tiny tiles is a joy. When it was made there was perhaps more time and money to pay attention to details and please the eye when adding the final touches.

This week Handmade Happiness has had a delivery of new ceramics from Justine Jenner and the shop window has been transformed with greenery by Brenda Tilbury. On my day off I bought fairy lights. My only regret is that I didn't check them and the white flex shows up against the green foliage. Never mind the look is still pretty and the window is gradually transforming into a seasonal Christmas window. 

Today I'm hoping for a parcel from my friend Bee Mellor who has created some lovely bird brooches for the shop. I've been working away on bird decorations which will soon be appearing in the window along with all the lovely handmade Christmas decorations created by Sue Inglis, Kate Hackett and Doreen Arnold.Decorations will combine with gift ideas from all the makers to make this year's window hopefully the best ever!

Dolls and information

Three of the seven dollies made by Jenny Stacy for Handmade Happiness

I took this picture on my phone. The colours are much more intense in real life. The dolls cost £29 each.

Please be aware, if you are thinking of visiting the shop tomorrow I won't be there in the afternoon and the shop will be closed from 3.30pm onwards. Exceptionally I'm having to close early in order to go to an appointment very sorry.

I also need to tell you that I've stopped doing evening workshops for the time being. Maybe next year I'll do some workshops in the shop but working full time and then doing an evening workshop proved too tiring.