Noisette Handmade

I've moved...

2010-05-19T01:04:00.001+01:00

Thank you for everyone who has found this blog.

Please now find me here for my illustrations and design work.

Isa x

Sneak peak

2009-12-15T00:57:00.002Z

This little package of goodies is flying its way across the sea as we speak. It's my contribution to the Holiday Traditions Exchange organised by Meg from Sew Liberated. I am so happy to be involved and I had so much fun putting this package together for my swap partner Jennifer.

Other things we've been up to around here:

Playing with homemade playdough from this recipe

Hosting my open house

Doing lots of embriodery for a new project!

Christmas decorations

2009-12-11T16:48:00.000Z

Uploaded to my new folksy shop noisettehandmade

I've got a few stockings, linen hearts and one tree which hopefully won't take too long to sell since there is only 10 more posatge days to get them before Christmas!

My marketing company noisette marketing is going well. I have had a few more customers and I'm hoping to really get it going in the New Year. I think the next few weeks is the perfect time to start thinking about your plan with your shops for the following year. Once everything has been posted out, I'm going to sit down and work out my plans for noisette baby, noisette handmade and noisette marketing. It's scary to lay it all out like that. How did I get to own 3 businesses? eek!

I'm hoping to go in a different direction next year with my handmade products so watch this space!

Inspired

2009-11-27T16:24:00.001Z

I've been working on my marketing business for the last few days and its really taking off. I'm so happy to be helping people achieve their dreams of making a living doing what they love. My most recent client runs a gourmet tea company in Canada and I've immersed myself in learning about tea! I love tea (and coffee) but I didn't realise there was such a thing as handcrafted, artisan, infused loose tea. I usually just buy tea from the local shop but I'm starting to learn more and I'm eager to try some different tasty flavours (bubblegum flavour anyone?). I'm hoping to put in a little order soon and its a shame my Mum has a tea intolerance because it would make a great gift for Christmas. Other flavours I want to try include White Chocolate Mousse!

I'm actually having a Black Friday to Cyber Monday special offer in my shop. You get $30 of business freebies when you buy any marketing or PR plan.

I've also been inspired by my son. Look at this he made at nursery! Its so cute. I've framed it for now because it reminds me to be free creatively. I added a closeup of his little hand so you can see the glitter! I also tweaked it in Photoshop and got the bottom image. Looks like a digital print.

OK back to work! I need to sew over 100 things for next weeks Open House event! x

more nature

2009-11-26T09:43:00.001Z

Before they get sucked into the abyss that is my hard drive

the beginning of the end

2009-11-25T10:42:00.000Z

It's almost winter. Everything is brown and old and nearly dead. I was a bit depressed by it all at first. My favourite season is coming to an end and the cold dead of winter is about to begin. Then I looked a little closer at the brown and found a few interesting nobbly trees which made for interesting photographs and these cute pine cones.

And when there is lots of brown it makes you appreciate the little splashes of colour you still find every now and again. Like here:

I really wish I could learn to use my camera properly. All I do is switch the flash off and click away. I take about 10 photos for every one I use and I find it hard to edit them all too. I think in the new year I might try and start a weekly photography feature. Maybe an art and photography feature. Maybe a nature study. And I can learn how to take gorgeous photos of nature and then draw them. Then post them side by side. No words except a title.

Well I'm just thinking out loud.

what i'm working on

2009-11-21T19:40:00.004Z

Lots of bunnies. Here you can see a stack of bunny ears for noisettebaby

Embriodery for some new toys I'm working on.

These heart ornaments were for a trade on etsy. I traded 5 of these for some Twilight inspired Bella mittens. I can't wait to get them. (Team Jacob all the way!!)

And this is the invite I sent out for the open house I'm having. I was meant to have this on Nov 7th as an official launch for noisette handmade but I pushed it back a bit so I could make more stock and hopefully people will buy things for gifts. I designed the invite in Illustrator which I love and wish I could use more for things. Is there a job where you can just play on Illustrator all day?

I'm making lots of things I don't usually offer so I have a wide range of gifts. I'm a big kid at heart though so I enjoy coming up with new toys the most. I've been very busy lately which I love. It's hard finding time to fit it all in but I wouldn't have it any other way!

enjoying nature

2009-11-16T12:14:00.003Z

I try and get out as much as possible with my little boy. He is a bundle of energy at 16 months and sometimes I struggle to keep up with him. We live in the city so its hard to find green spaces nearby where we can just go and spend time within nature but I try my hardset to make sure each day has some nature time.

There is a small park near were we live and even though we tend to go there the most, J never seems to tire from playing in the leaves and bird spotting.

We have two winners!

2009-11-09T10:21:00.005Z

Congratultaions to HeidiG and Makedoandmendonline! I put the names into a basket with the intention of letting J pick the winners but I think he's still a bit young for that since he just threw them around. The first two that landed at my feet were the winners. How's that for randomly picked?! Heidi gets the bird set and Make do and mend online get the flowers.

We had our first meeting of the Sunday Art Group! There was my two sisters and baby J. It was the first time I had seen my sisters for a week so we had lots to talk about including dissecting Saturday's X factor. I made us a vegan feast of rice, bean stew and we had popcorn for dessert. It was fun to just sit and chat but not much art was created. I managed to get a few scribbles in of a new bunny I'm trying to design. I want something simple but that has arms and legs. I still have some work to do on the design then I'll try a prototype.

I also managed to get a calligraphy book from the library so I can experiement with a new pen I got last week. These were just quickly done at breakfast time.

little bits of nature

2009-11-06T09:42:00.002Z

Picked up on the walk to drop my son at nursery. I love how you can find small bits of beauty in the hustle and bustle of city life.

My first giveaway!

2009-11-05T13:15:00.010Z

I am having my first giveaway! I've been experimenting with watercolours and ink and this is what I've come up with. A set of original prints. Set 1. is In Bloom with 2 paintings and Set 2. is Hello Birds with 4 paintings.

I hope you like them. All you need to do is comment on my blog or twitter (@noisettebaby) and tell me which set you prefer! The more you tweet,blog etc the more entries you get just let me know where you have mentioned it. Entires close Sunday noon (GMT). Open internationally. Good Luck.

Art for arts sakes

2009-11-04T09:31:00.003Z

Some photos from the weekend visiting my Mum.. My sister and I decided to start up an art group. It will be on Sundays and I will make some nice vegan nibbles and we can sit and draw or paint. I really want to improve my drawing skills so this will force me to practice. I'm trying to decide if it needs to be structured with different themes or if we should just go with the flow. Maybe I'll invite other people to join online if anyone's interested.

I've also been stitching some large Christmas linen hearts. Each heart has a different message stitched in red floss onto linen and backed with red and white gingham. They will be available in the noisette handmade shop soon. They will be £5 each and brighten up the home with the little pop of bright red.

Shop + news

2009-11-03T10:51:00.003Z

I'm coming up with a range of prints featuring the letters of the alphabet. I hope to have them in the shop over the next few weeks. It's very busy around here at noisette HQ. Noisette Marketing is just about ready to launch and I'll be offering marketing and design services to small creative businesses. My backround is in design and business management and I feel I have a lot to offer this sector of the community.

Also you can currently save 20% at Noisette Baby if you use this code at checkout. Happy Shopping!

In other news i won the giveaway organised by makedoandmendonline. I'm so excited its the first giveaway I've won and I'm going to be the proud owner of a gorgeous totebag.

I'm planning my own giveaway around here in the next few days so please check back soon.

My little pumpkin

2009-11-01T08:23:00.003Z

We're away at my mum's house for halloween weekend. Joseph went Trick or Treating with my mum, my sister and me! We only went to two houses, two of my mum's friends. Joseph was happy to get a couple of sweets although he did get an orange at one house.

Store bought costume bought last halloween in the sale for £1.50 reduced from £8! I'm hoping to find one for next year in the sales again if not I might try and make one myself.

Playing with illustrator

2009-10-29T16:00:00.000Z

I had so much fun creating these. I'm not sure what I'll use them for yet though. Its quite interesting turning my sketches into these little cartoon-like images. I'm self-taught on Illustrator and there is so much I don't know but it's fun learning!

An artist in the making

2009-10-28T19:18:00.000Z

J is 16 months and already loves painting. I love the concentration on his face.

nature shelf

2009-10-19T17:37:00.001+01:00

With our recent finds.

Our monday walk

2009-10-19T17:15:00.000+01:00

Lots collected for the nauture table/shelf.J had so much fun. He was squealing everytime he saw something he liked and wanted to put in the bag. He also loved pointing out all the birds and trees. At one point we saw some swallows and he was so excited he ran after them shouting with joy which of course scared them off! Ah to be 1 again...

a little bit about me

2009-10-19T03:39:00.000+01:00

I’m Isa Maria.
I’m a mum of two boys. J is 1 and M was born sleeping after being born 5 months early due to Trisomy 18.
I taught myself to sew, embroider and knit a few years ago as a way to bring creativity back into my mundane office life.
I turned to sewing because I’m too impatient for knitting.
I was made redundant recently after maternity leave and decided to try and follow my dream of making a living using my creative skills.
I love nutella (nutella is made from hazelnuts which is noisette in french).
I’m in love with our container garden on our balcony.
I love the smell of fresh herbs.
I am very lucky to have an amazing husband who loves me ‘just the way I am’.
I live in Greater London, technically Surrey but nowhere near the countryside.
I grew up in the countryside and miss it. I hope to one day move back to the country with my family.
I wish there was more hours in the day- maybe 34.
I love linen.
I love jewellery and have lots of it but only ever wear my wedding ring.

clear blue skies

2009-10-18T22:44:00.000+01:00

View from our balcony. It was a beautiful day, perfect for going on a nature walk. I quickly made J a little bag to collect his bits of nature in. I was aiming for a messenger type bag but since I didn't use a pattern it looks more like a handbag! I used freezer paper to stencil a leaf on to the front and quickly dried it with a hairdryer then ironed the ink to heatset it.

Excuse the dummy. Its the only way I could get him to stay still long enough for a photo! J has just turned 16 months so really the dummy has to go. Not sure how to tackle that one so any tips would be grateful.

Drawing autumn

2009-10-17T09:35:00.001+01:00

Drawing autumn, originally uploaded by noisette handmade.

I am inspired wholeheartedly by autumn. I love the colours, the shapes, the sounds the smells. I have always loved autumn and while it took a bit of time coming this year (I'm still getting strawberries from my little container garden!) now its finally here I am so happy.

Little J and I have been off playing in the leaves with our wellies on and I can't think of a better way to spend the afternoon.

Autumn sale

2009-10-16T02:58:00.001+01:00

All baby shoes are now reduced in my shop. I'm clearing out the shoes and I'll be concentrating on watercolour originals, prints and soft toys for the time being. I feel happy that I've decided to whittle things down. I have so many plans for noisettebaby but for now I need to rein it in and focus on a cohesive product range.

I am officially launching my businesses (noisettebaby and noisette handmade) on November 7th. I'm having an open studio/launch party for friends and family. My sister suggested a tea party theme which could be exciting. Maybe cupcakes and bunting. I'm not sure because the styles of my two businesses are quite different which is why I have the two brands. Noisettebaby is colourful, fun and young where as Noisette Handmade is more sophisticated, modern, organic shapes and images. I hope to one day find a unified style for the two companies but at the moment this is the only way I know how to manage them both.

I took the holly photo on a walk near my home. I love how vivid the colours are and the contrast between the soft berries and the sharp edges of the leaves. Beautiful.

And seeing as its almost Christmas I started on some Christmas decorations for noisettehandmade shop. Some little mini linen hearts.

I can't get enough of red and white and natural linen together.

Hearts light up the sky

2009-10-14T22:05:00.001+01:00

Hearts, originally uploaded by noisette handmade.

New watercolour print for Noisette Baby.