100 Days of Studio Scenes: Days 11-20

My 100 Day Project to share behind-the-scenes updates from my creative business continues!

Click here to read about days 1-10.

DAY ELEVEN:

"Yesterday I mostly parceled up and posted paper packs! Thank you so much for all your orders, there's just one pack left now (oh my gosh). I am OVERWHELMED and DELIGHTED by how quickly they've sold, and by your enthusiasm for them. I appreciate your support so, so much, I cannot even begin to tell you. Very appropriately, yesterday my big order of postage stamps arrived so I can now send All The Post. Well, I can once I've stopped oohing over the lovely sheets of stamps!!"

DAY TWELVE:

"Here's a peek at one of my current batches of work-in-progress - I find mini trays like this particularly useful for managing my small WIPs! I usually have lots of projects in progress, all in different stages. 

That felt angel is a sample for a tutorial I'd originally hoped to add to my shop back in December - fingers crossed I can finally get it finished sometime soon! The bullfinch pattern has been in progress for even longer, I stitched the embroidery pattern version back in 2018, I think, and am only now finding the time to sew the step by step felt version. Meanwhile, I'm making a start on sewing snowy owls and cardinals. Bit by by bit everything is getting nudged forwards."

DAY THIRTEEN:

"I've started planning some new paper packs! Watch this space."

DAY FOURTEEN::

"My parcel-laden shadow on my socially distanced route to the parcel postbox!

I'm really lucky to live close enough to the beach that I can walk in all this wide open space during my state sanctioned bit of exercise. Any day I have parcels to post (stuff that won't fit in my local postbox) I'm taking the parcels with me on my walk, then looping quickly off the beach up to the parcel postbox before I head back home. It's great being able to combine the two trips and to avoid having to walk through the town centre which has looked quite busy!"

DAY FIFTEEN:

"Yesterday I was tidying up my workspace and thought "ooh, I've finished lots of projects recent, I should plan a sample sale!"... then instead of carefully planning one, I held one straight away in my Stories, haha."

DAY SIXTEEN:

"I had a bit of a meltdown yesterday while ordering some paper and tape for my parcels. I thought I'd ordered totally the wrong thing and I was feeling so tired and stressed and anxious and worried about money and, well, that's not a great combo, is it? 

After I'd calmed down I then sat on hold for ages trying to get the order cancelled (listening to some soft rock and a looping recorded message telling me how wait times were longer than usual due to COVID-19)... but it had already been processed by the time I got through. The customer service rep I spoke to was very nice though and reassured me I could easily return anything I needed to.

Then my order arrived this morning and it turns out I hadn't ordered the wrong thing at all! I feel like an idiot, but an idiot who now has ALL THE PACKAGING SUPPLIES.

I also now have customs labels so I can start sending international post again, too! Hurrah! I'm going to be taking things easy for the next few days (because I clearly need a bit of a rest!!) but I have plans for lots of new stuff coming soon..."

DAY SEVENTEEN:

"My living room floor currently looks like this!* 

I'm putting together some new paper packs, a £5 pack about the same size as the last batch and these much bigger bumper packs which will be £10 each. Both full of crafty papery goodness, of course!

*Out of shot: lots of other piles of paper and related chaos, pictures waiting to be framed, and my current in-progress jigsaw puzzle."

DAY EIGHTEEN:

"Here are a few of my current felt-y works in progress! 

I'm feeling very tired at the moment and struggling to find the focus for sewing, designing new things, or writing anything longer than an Instagram caption. I've mostly been tinkering with my new paper packs (coming next week!) but I've also been making myself do a little bit of sewing each day (or at least every other day), then taking a few step photos when the light is just right. Each small batch of sewing + photos helps nudge a few projects forwards and means that when I'm feeling more able to focus I'll have lots of pics ready to edit and use for new tutorials for my blog, shop, and newsletter."

DAY NINETEEN:

"Yesterday was another restful day, sorting through some awesome book pages for new paper packs and making a start on prepping for my next @lauralupinsells sale. Jigsaws, books, and crafty goodness, coming soooooon!"

DAY TWENTY:

"I took a trip to the magic postbox today! Okay so it's not actually magic but it FEELS like magic. A great big postbox I can put parcels in and thus carry on selling stuff without having to go to the Post Office??? This is AMAZING and WONDERFUL. 

(I took a break from this project for a few days because I was feeling rubbish, if you can't press pause for a bit during a global pandemic when can you? I'm hoping to get back in the daily rhythm of things again now...)

More updates soon, or you can follow along on Instagram HERE.

100 Days of Studio Scenes: Days 1-10

The basic idea of the 100 Day Project is very simple: you choose a creative action and you do it once a day for 100 days.

I've attempted it a few times now and each time I've been overambitious and not taken into account how overcommitted I already was... and I've not lasted very long as a result! 

This year I'm keeping things nice and simple with #100daysofstudioscenes, a daily, honest behind-the-scenes update from my home studio. Works in progress, craft supplies, peeks at my workspace, plus the ups and downs and messes of running a creative business during these weird times. 

I've been skipping a day here and there but am over 30 days into the project now and I'm loving how it's turning into a little diary of the day-to-day running of my business. I'm going to collate them into posts here on my blog in blocks of 10, so those of you without Instagram can follow along and so I'll have a nice record of the project to look back on.

DAY ONE:

"At the moment I'm keeping the pressure off myself by working on lots of projects simultaneously, picking up whatever I feel like working on, avoiding setting myself targets, just gradually nudging everything forward bit by bit. Most mornings, if the light is good, (which it has been a lot lately, hurrah!), I take a little batch of photos. 

This is what I had lined up ready to photograph this morning: lots of in-progress projects for my blog, newsletter, and shop, waiting to be photographed so I can then sew the next step... ready for more photos tomorrow!"

DAY TWO:

"Yesterday I took photos then stitched loads of stuff ready to take more photos today... and today I have taken no photos. What I have done is sit on the spare bed in my PJs working at my laptop all day (working in timed blocks with short breaks to do some of my lovely new jigsaw puzzle) (I call this variation on the Pomodoro Technique the Puzzle Technique, I find it both relaxing and motivating!!) 

I've scheduled FOUR blog posts (not from scratch, mind) and edited a whole bunch of photos, including some for my next newsletter freebie: a tutorial for sewing cute felt teacup and teapot brooches 

I'm so pleased with how these snaps turned out, they show the project off really nicely and I hope they'll tempt lots of people into signing up for my newsletter I'd hoped to be posting this pic saying "I just sent out this tutorial to my subscribers! Yay!" but, alas, I'm not quite there yet. That's top of the To Do list for tomorrow.

In the meantime, I thought you might like to see how this photo looked before I edited it (swipe to see an unedited pic from the same batch), I don't have any fancy editing software but it usually does the job."

DAY THREE:

"I'm having a day off! I often end up doing a bit of work even on my days off but today I am trying to be very strict with myself (I'll let you know tomorrow whether or not I succeed!) My main creative project today = finally sorting out some happy snail mail to send to my pals"

DAY FOUR:

"Some proper messy realness for you today! I'm mostly working in the spare room at the moment, in part so I can close the door on all this chaos at the end of the day. Please note that there's stuff on the floor as well as the spare bed, I've got a pile of laundry in here too (top left) and in my commitment to showing you the unvarnished truth I haven't even moved that snotty tissue out of shot, haha."

DAY FIVE:

"I'm having trouble balancing self care and self-employment at the moment - maybe you guys are, too? Today I've thought a lot about all the work I could and "should" be doing right now (like finishing up this new pattern, destined for my newsletter subscribers) but instead of doing any of them I've mostly just sat about feeling stressed and overwhelmed and guilty about not getting anything done. 

I also baked a cake though (delicious!) and went for a walk (sunny!) and that's not nothing. Fingers crossed for more productivity (and cake, and sunshine) tomorrow."

DAY SIX:

"After a couple of days of feeling very unmotivated, yesterday I got LOADS of work done. Hurrah! I finished the teacup & teapot brooch tutorial, sent it out to my newsletter subscribers, and got all of this lot prepped for their next set of step photos. It's too gloomy today for taking decent pics but the moment the sunshine comes back I'll be ready for it."

DAY SEVEN:

"I'm putting together some paper crafting packs!. I started assembling them yesterday from a whole bunch of lovely vintage books, maps, and other paper-y bits and bobs (see my paper pack highlight for a sneak peek of the contents!) I'm also adding a few fun extras like colourful yarns for making gift tags, and vintage buttons. Each pack will be £5 + postage (UK only at the moment, sorry, as I can't get to the Post Office), let me know if you'd like me to message you when they're available!"

 

DAY EIGHT:

"Yesterday I decided that my paper crafting packs needed a few vintage buttons... luckily I had a small selection to choose from, haha!

I bought this massive stash of button-y goodness last month, back when the idea of lockdown was just a faint possibility. It feels like a lifetime ago now. I really enjoyed finally having a rummage through these, I think vintage button packs might be coming soon. WATCH THIS SPACE."

DAY NINE:

"Aaaand the paper packs are go! Each pack contains a different assortment of pages and clippings from vintage books, plus a vintage Cluedo card, two reproduction trading cards featuring trains, 10 vintage stamps, some yarn, and 3 buttons (see my paper packs highlight for a closer look at the contents). Each pack is £5 each, 2nd class UK postage for 1-2 packs is £1.40, and there are just 11 packs left! Message me if you'd like to make a purchase, let me know your email and the quantity you'd like and I'll send you an invoice via PayPal asap. First come first served!

In other excellent news: I've found a local postbox where I can send bigger parcels, so if there's anything listed at @lauralupinsells you're interested in, too, let me know and I'll send everything together. P.S. I can also post to countries in the EU, just ask and I'll give you a quote for the postage."

DAY TEN:  

"Thank you so much for your amazing response to the paper packs, you guys! I love them and am thrilled you're excited about them, too, and I can't even begin to tell you how nice it feels packing up and posting parcels again!!

It's also a huge relief having a bit of extra money coming in during this stressful time xxx

(I took this photo this morning but spent yesterday sorting out paper pack orders and parcelling them up so I'm counting this as yesterday's #100daysofstudioscenes pic)."

More updates soon, or you can follow along on Instagram HERE.

Design Dilemmas and the Magic of Social Media Feedback

What do you do with designs that go nowhere?

Last spring I started work on a bunch of ideas for possible projects to celebrate the Royal Wedding. I stitched and shared a simple cross stitch sampler pattern and put lots of work into this design for a cute embroidery pattern...

... but then I ran out of time and it never got made and now I'm not sure what to do with it.

Over the years I've worked on a LOT of sketches, doodles, prototypes and project ideas that never turned into anything. This is just part of the creative process! I usually squirrel them away for the future because you never know what might end up being useful as source material for another project, or what might end up working after all when you revisit it with fresh eyes in the future.

This particular design, however, was so specific that I was convinced that it wouldn't possibly ever be remotely reusable. But I also really liked how it had turned out thus far and didn't want to just chuck it away (and have, as a result, wasted all that work).

So, after finding the pattern in a pile of paperwork this weekend, I posted this pic on Instagram and Facebook and asked everyone: "what the heck could I or should I do with this??? "Should I take the time to neaten it up a bit and share it on my blog in case there are some Harry & Meghan fans out there who'd like to (very belatedly) stitch themselves a wedding souvenir? Or just recycle it??"

And, thank goodness for the magic of getting feedback via social media, because everyone immediately had such great ideas.

Some people suggested sharing it to celebrate their upcoming anniversary, and lots of people suggested updating the pattern slightly so it could celebrate Meghan and Harry's baby, which is due this spring (I had totally forgotten that they're expecting a baby!). This could totally work for the royal baby!

Other people suggested doing something just with the lion and unicorn on their own (maybe even adapting the whole design to be a customisable nursery sampler)... which I had somehow not thought of as a possibility??? I do love those little guys, though, they're just so cheerful and sweet and the unicorn took me absolutely ages to draw (because I am the world's worst person at drawing horses). I'm picturing the lion holding birthday balloons, maybe? Or the unicorn standing next to an awesome rainbow birthday cake? Something happy and fun and colourful, anyway.

What do you guys think? I'd love to hear which of these suggestions you like, and if you have any more ideas for ways I could revisit this design and (finally) turn it into a finished project. 

UPDATE: this embroidery pattern is now finished and available in my shop and my Patreon pattern library.

Subscribe for a small monthly fee and you'll get access to a growing library of PDF patterns and tutorials, with an email whenever I add a new project. You can cancel any time.      

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Behind the Scenes: Working on New Bird Patterns

I'm slooooowly working on turning my old felt bird designs into printable sewing patterns for my shop...

... transforming them from things I've made (with my own weird methods of doing things) into things other people can easily make (with sensible processes, clear instructions, updated pattern pieces, etc).

I added the first bird pattern to my shop this autumn: the robin!

Each of the felt bird patterns will come with a matching embroidery pattern, so I'm busy designing and stitching those, too. Here's the robin embroidery:

Progress is being slowed by all the DIY projects I've got in progress (which are both time-consuming and distracting!) and by the truly terrible quantity and quality of the daylight we've had lately (which makes photographing project steps very tricky!).

Hopefully I'll have some more birds in my shop soon (I will, of course, announce all the new patterns here on my blog and in my newsletter), but in the meantime here are some sneak peeks of the work going on behind the scenes.

I've been sketching embroidery patterns (choosing flora to accompany each bird and making all the patterns work well together as a set = a fun challenge!)...

... cutting out lots of felt pieces and sewing lots of birds as I work out the best way to describe each step...

... and getting stuck into lots of embroidery!

This is the greeenfinch, half-finished. I'm so pleased with how those fir tree branches have turned out.

Here's a slightly blurry snap of my bullfinch embroidery, from a day I was stitching while surrounded by workmen making a lot of mess and noise!

I think I might need to re-stitch this one as I'm not 100% happy with the flowers but We Shall See. Sometimes these magically things turn out how you picture them in your head, and other times they need a bit of tweaking and prototyping to get things just right.

I definitely need to buy some more embroidery hoops so I can get all of the embroideries framed up as I finish them! I've got lots more to stitch but I'm really pleased with these so far, both individually and how they look as a set.

Can't wait to get them finished so you guys can stitch them too! Watch this space...

UPDATE: My greenfinch design has now been added to my shop! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns:

January, February & March in Pictures

Sooo... what have I been up to in the first quarter of 2018?

In January...

... I shared a peek at a work in progress that STILL has not progressed to being a finished tutorial. It might be a brand new year, but "too many project ideas, not enough time to make them all" will forever sum up my life.

... I added two new patterns to my shop: felt poppies, and spring flowers.

... I shared a tutorial for using your yarn scraps to make fun stripey cards.

... I used Makelight's Year of Colour tool to see my 2017 Instagram colour palette (unsurprisingly, it turns out I've been using a lot of bright colours!).

... my felt weather mobile tutorial was published over on The Village Haberdashery's blog, along with templates for making some pun-tastic Valentine's Day cards.

... and someone who'd made my cat pincushion bought me a "coffee" to say thanks! (Yay!) The "buy me a coffee" button on my blog is basically a virtual tip jar - I was totally delighted that someone actually used it (and that a few more people have used it since). It's always lovely to hear that people have been using and enjoying my tutorials, or even just reading my blog, but getting kind words and a little bit of financial support feels AMAZING.

In January I also shared my first free pattern with my newsletter subscribers, blogged about trips to Kew Gardens, (part one and part two) and Oxford's Magdalen College, and three more of my tutorials for The Village Haberdashery got posted on their blog: a faux leather lightning bolt brooch, a geometric necklace, and an embroidered snowflakes wreath (completing my year of wreaths project).

In February...

...  this project was still not finished! When I posted this pic on Instagram  I wrote "These shapes are for a tutorial which is *still* a work in progress (January has been soooo busy!), so this post is me committing to getting it Finally Finished and up on my blog next week. Watch this space!", which, er, absolutely has not happened. Maybe it will happen soon? Fingers crossed!

In February I also stitched a mallard duck for my newsletter subscribers...

... came up with some creative ideas for decorating parcels...

... had two more projects published over on The Village Haberdashery's blog (a Valentine's-themed Tic Tac Toe set, and a trio of Plant Lady brooches)...

... blogged about exploring Carfax Tower & Oriel College in Oxford, confessed to not enjoying blogging about books, and had a destash-and-sample sale (many thanks to everyone who bought something!).

Then in March...

... I joined in with March Meet the Maker, sharing a bit about me and my business each day in response to the challenge prompts. It was a lot of fun, especially sharing behind-the-scenes pics like this giant To Do Chart I put together when working on one of my books...

 

... this snapshot of my dad painting skirting boards while I photographed a wreath tutorial (the joys of juggling self-employment and a renovation project!)...

... and how the fox design from my second book, Super-Cute Felt Animals, evolved from the early sketch to the finished project.

In March I also designed Chicken & Egg Easter ornaments for The Village Haberdashery...

... and they shared my tutorials for making a fun daffodil headband and pretty butterfly hairclips.

Here on my blog I wrote about my flat renovation project and our DIY progress last February, continued my series of posts about Kew Gardens with signs of spring and their wonderful Orchids Festival, and shared lots of snaps from a walk in the snow (gorgeous but very chilly for March!!).

Oh, and I also knitted lots of little white squares for my mini squares blanket! After many years working on this project, it's exciting seeing it slowly turning into a "real" blanket (instead of just a random cluster of knitted squares) and to be counting down the squares until it's finished. Isn't it looking lush?
 

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