What do you think? - Pressies by Pebbles

[pebbles]

Hi everyone

As some of you know after 5 years of being at home with the kids I've decided to set up a small crafting business.

Due to suffering with insomnia I find myself with an enormous amount of time during the night, so about 2 years ago I took up crafting and now I no longer lie in bed sending myself loopy but instead I get up and do something useful and fun.

Now that Seb and Chloe are at school and nursery I find myself with even more time so I thought why not personalise my crafts for other people.

It's just in the early stages so I'm mostly selling on fb and via my blog but the joy of my crafts is that everything can be personalised so if you like the look of something just ask if I can tweak it in anyway you want.

So here's how you can follow me and check my stuff out:

http://www.facebook.com/pressiesbypebbles - my Facebook page which has a lot of the stuff that I've done and I constantly update it with more stuff as I finish

http://www.pressiesbypebbles.com - my blog!!! At the moment more of a chatting type thing but once I'm up and running I hope to have a shop there too

@pebblespressies - i'm a newbie on twitter so just getting to grips with all this social media stuff but if you're out there come and find me :)

Thanks so much and all positive comments are most welcome (and if you're very careful with your words I'll also take constructive criticism!!!)

Sally xxx

[Gidget]

Have you thought of an Etsy page?

[pebbles]

Thanks Gidget - yup I have thought about Etsy page and I think that's the selling route I'll go down (having a link from my webpage probably). Because so much of my stuff is personalised to each person it's taking time for me to get enough stuff to put on there - if that makes sense. I think I'll aim on getting it set up on Etsy by the New Year and in the mean time hope word of mouth etc came keep me going. Thanks for looking and please spread the word. Thanks x

[Pickle]

Your stuff is lovely Sally, I'm excited to see you are now "out" having watched you develop your ideas over the past months. Will definitely be ordering butterfly pictures for both girls birthdays and something for my son too (some kind of pirate/super hero mash-up?!)

P x

[Pickle]

p.s... I've tried an Etsy page for my business, but find its so flooded with stuff it's very hit and miss. You may find (like I have) that your Facebook page alone keeps you busy enough - with the bonus that you don't have to pay for it.

[Gidget]

I have used Etsy to find specific things I want. Lots of sites come up in the United States though. Some of them have reasonable charges for postage and others extortionate charges.

[pebbles]

I think that's what puts me off having to have everything in dollars and also because most of my goods are pictures there's obviously the worry of shipping glass!!! Here's hoping I'm like Pickle and can get enough sales from Facebook x

[Gidget]

Lots of the Etsy people in the States don't put their prices (or postage) in pounds until someone from here contacts them. They are working within a much larger country though to start with. Have had some very good dealings with some of the dealers there. Lots of the women on there seem to do this as a 'retirement' job.

[Countjc]

One very happy customer already here.

I commissioned a couple of butterfly pictures from pebbles for my god daughters and they are amazing. So nice to be able to personalise a gift and pebbles made sure that she got it absolutely perfect for each girl.

Am already plotting various other gifts as she has lots of great ideas.

Xx

[pebbles]

Thanks so much Countjc - it was an absolute pleasure and I loved doing them :)

[hellosailor]

folksy is a british version of etsy

xx

[pebbles]

Thanks hellosailor - yup, looking at folksy too x

[spanners45]

Pebbles, this is GORGEOUS stuff!! I am forever inspired by people's talent. I really hope it takes off and that you enjoy doing it.

I'll definitely keep an eye out. Love the butterflies but we're team blue here so might have go focus on god daughter instead!

[pebbles]

Thanks so much spanners45 - that means a lot

Don't be put off by the butterflies, I've just finished a very cool cars picture using matchbox cars and also superhero comic letters so I'm all oner boys as well :)

Thanks for your kind words

xxx

[jills]

Spanners45 I have the most phenomenal cars picture by Pebbles. She made the matchbox cars drive along a road in the shape of a letter 'T' (black road, white dotted lines, blue background). The best part about Pebbles's pieces is the extra personalisation - we're Canadian so she surprised me by putting the cars on the 'right' side of the road as well as selecting a snow plow, jeep, pick up truck, monster truck etc which was so sweet. Can't wait to give it to my son. I'm out of town at the moment otherwise I'd post a pic - pebbles, if you're reading this maybe you could?

On the run at the moment but will post later about a really thoughtful piece she's doing for me that incorporates our wedding vows - only problem is that she's presented me with two stunning ideas and I can't decide which to go with. Fab idea for unique anniversary gift as my husband is so hard to buy for.

[hkirsop]

These are lovely- I particularly love the crayola letter! - you have SO many amazing ideas! We want to do something for W so look forward to your suggestions...

Am so enormously impressed with you doing this too - even though S and C in school/ nursery, this still takes a lot of commitment and a lot of your 'you' time - lots of luck though I don't think you'll need it!

[pebbles]

Oh thanks so much Jills and hkirsop - what lovely words, thank you :) It means the world to me

Here's Thomas' car picture and also a comic letter which is in a box frame - I can do tv characters/comics/films etc

I'll post the comic letter in another post as it's too big together

Thanks again

[pebbles]

Here's the comic letter in a 3d box frame which can be tv characters, film or comics - anything really :)

[tiddles]

these are absolutely cracking!! well done for channelling your creativity in such a way. There are so many mums who are thrashing around trying to work out what to do now they are at home with the kids! sorry if it is pigeon holing you but they are very 'living etc' - there must be an article in groovy kids artwork here!

[pebbles]

Ha ha Tiddles, would love to be in Living etc :)

Thanks for your kind words. I'm actually finding writing my blog www.pressiesbypebbles.com really interesting. Just lovely putting my thoughts down when I wouldn't normally think about them again - if that makes sense (I wanted to use the word cathartic here but i just checked that i had the right spelling and found out that it actually means "a cathartic is a substance that accelerates defecation" - i'm piddling myself now and thanking God that I actually looked up the spelling cos can you imagine if i described writing my blog as that!!!!

Anyway please drop me a line anyone if you like the look of something but would like it tweaked. I'm currently working on a fab map idea - 2 maps (one where they got married and one where they live now) and i'm cutting the main area out in a shape of a heart and having that raised up over the rest of the map - if that makes sense - I'll post a picture when I've finished

Thanks everyone again - my kids think i've gone mad now as I'm still laughing at the thought of using that word :)

[pebbles]

OK I've just read further and I could having written that writing my blog is a very cathartic for me - not sure where the accelerated defectation came from :)

[jills]

Hmm, now I like that map idea too. Just to pick up where I left off - Pebbles is doing a piece that incorporates a reading (Hamlet) from my wedding with a simple black outline/etching of the place where we got married. but then she also suggested doing his initial with the text decoupaged (is that a word?) around it. And now that map idea... Too many options - help!

[pebbles]

So I'm very very very excited

I've just finished a Peppa Pig chair using decoupage. I can basically do any character on any piece of furniture but thinking table and chairs would be a good start.

Would love for you to let me know what you think?

You can see it in either place:

http://pressiesbypebbles.com/my-crafting/very-cool-childrens-furniture/

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.134049660076719.30645.123666841115001&type=1

[buggie]

Wow - the Peppa chair is amazing - did you use wrapping paper or the magazines to get

all the pictures? (Have got chairs like that & wondering about decoupaging myself!)

[pebbles]

I got all the pictures off the internet and printed them in all different sizes so I was able to fit in all the nooks and crannies :)