Cupcakes, Biscuits & Chocolate..Oh My!

Biscuit Village Jurassic Dino Tin

The net is a great place to discover new things. Due to my massively sweet tooth I've recently discovered many online sellers who specialise in cakes and biscuits! (yum yum). The biggest drawback about finding a tonne of fabulous and delicious treats on the net is that most of them aren't in your area. Massive bummer eh?
After drooling over countless cup cakes & biscuits from US sellers I decided to go on a hunt to find some awesome treats a little closer to home.
I'm based just outside Glasgow so I zoned in on British sellers. All these shops provide quick delivery within the UK.

The first awesome shop I'll be talking about is Biscuit Village...(http://www.biscuitvillage.co.uk)
I stumbled upon this fabulous shop via the awesome Dino biscuits (shown to the left). Biscuit village use fresh and organic ingredients to create fun and funky edibles. They have a fabulous range and even do personalised biscuits and custom orders.

I discovered these fabulous chocolate bunnies by Choklet via WowThankYou (http://www.wowthankyou.co.uk/choklet/). Choklet is a small business based in Nottinghamshire who create fabulously fun chocolate shapes decorated with bright and fun designs. Their milk chocolate designs come in a range of great shapes including flowers,cars and numbers and they also offer personalised messages. Choklet provide unique and affordable edible treats for all occasions.




Lastly i'd like to mention Lush Buns! (http://www.lushbuns.co.uk). I have them added on my facebook page and i'm constantly seeing updates of yummy looking cupcakes and cake pops! Their cupcakes are both simple and elegant allowing them to provide their customers with high quality and affordable handmade products. They also do a fabulous "big one". A giant cupcake that serves 12-16 people!

Not only do Lush Buns make fabulous cakes but they also supply them in a range of quantities to suit you and they have a very reasonable minimum order.(I'm sure you'd have no problem reaching it!) The shipping charges are also very reasonable.
This is just a taster (ha ha!) of the range of cakes and biscuits available online within the UK. It's now easier than ever to get hand made quality(and even personalised) products delivered straight to your door!
If you have tried any of these products please feel free to comment below, or even if you just enjoyed reading about them. If you have any other suggestions for UK based cake sellers I'd be more than happy to discover them :)

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To stick or not to stick...

When I first started my jewellery business I was creating all kinds of jewellery from gold bracelets with pearls to tribal bracelets with skulls, following every idea that came into my head. I didn't really have any kind of direction in mind, I simply new I wanted to create jewellery.

After a while, having read numerous blog posts and seller interviews, I managed to focus my jewellery making into a more concentrated area. I decided that my creations would fall around the categories of Gothic, Tribal and Antique. I chose these as they were the ones that I enjoyed working with most. I felt that my passion for creating items that fell into these categories would show in the quality of my work and I believe it has done. Having this focus has allowed me to be more creative. I am constantly looking for new ideas and sources of inspiration and sometimes this leads me off the path slightly. I have started to create my own fimo beads which I use in necklaces and bracelets. These generally don't fall into any of the previously mentioned categories but I feel such a great sense of achievement when I finish a piece that is truly hand made. Creating jewellery is a great experience, but creating my own beads as well is something else. I'd say my business is still fairly new and I have learned that I shouldn't be afraid of trying new things or trying to keep all my jewellery in the one category. The only way we can learn and grow is to try new things, make mistakes, and see what works.

I will always try to envisage my target market and create items geared towards them but there is no rule that says your target market cannot change. I would rather enjoy the creative process and come up with jewellery that I have put my heart and soul into than make the same kind of jewellery over and over again just so my shop can constantly stay within the same genre. I do not want to sell half-hearted creations. I do not want to follow trends and simply provide products that are already saturated in the jewellery market. I want to create. To provide new and exciting pieces that my customers can be happy to wear. If I do not enjoy creating an item then I am wary about selling it as I know that it may not be up to the standard of my other work. It's not a total loss when this happens though as it allows me to discover what I am passionate about creating and what I'm not. It lets me focus more on the things I love and hopefully allows me to create a higher standard of jewellery.
I do love making jewellery and if I ever manage to make my business successful enough so that it becomes my career then I feel I would be truly blessed and extremely lucky. I can imagine nothing better than doing something for a living that is this enjoyable, as well as the feeling that I get from providing products to my customers that they can love and enjoy too. I'd like to sign off with the following quote...


If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants. - Isaac Newton

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Sunglasses at the ready!

Hey everyone,

I have just created a treasury collection on Etsy so thought i'd share it on here and give a little insight to why I picked some of the items. For those who don't know, a treasury on Etsy is a collection of items chosen by a user to fit in with a specific topic or theme that has been chosen by that user. It should not feature any items made by the user and it gives sellers a chance to get their items seen by a bigger , or at least a different audience.

I love all 16 of the items I featured in the collection, but my favourite has to be the Peace and Music Camper van print! I have a secret love for all things hippy-ish and for me it really sums up the summer vibe. It's not just the van itself that makes this picture, it's the whole setting...especially with the sun just breaking through the trees. Its a very cheery picture and makes me think of far off adventures and having a great sense of freedom. Looking at it fills me with a warm contentedness. This print can be found here - Peace and music campervan

The item that started off my treasury was this adorable toddler blanket. As soon as I saw it I fell in
love with it! The colours and the print are just stunning and I think this would be a perfect present for any little nephews(or niece!) or cousins. It also looks extremely comfy and well made and comes in a very generous size. You can find this item here -Dino Toddler Blanket

I think it must be all this good weather we're having which is making me appreciate brighter colours and it's having an effect on my shop too! Before now I had mostly been focusing on creating Gothic, antique and tribal themed items but since starting to make my own fimo beads I have been experimenting more with  brighter colours such as oranges and yellows.

The last item I want to talk about is this wonderful little upcycled crochet bowl. The colours are fabulous and it is a little in keeping with the hippy theme as it is

very eco friendly as well as being very pretty and practical. I am a very big fan of crochet and I enjoy seeing new and varied creations that are possible using this craft. I have dabbled in this craft myself, but so far have stuck mostly to scarves and blankets. This lovely little item can be found here - Upcycled Tie Dyed Bowl.

I really enjoyed making this treasury and hope you enjoy looking at it.
You can find the full treasury here - Sunglasses at the ready!

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