Shopping Small & Supporting Creatives this Christmas

As you'll know if you've read my recent posts and seen the changes to my pages over the last few months, I recently expanded moreth4nwords to include an online store featuring prints and cards created through my digital illustration.

As I've been adding to my Instagram, Etsy and posting more and more digital illustration content, I've found myself part of an ever-growing, inspiring, kind and creative community of like-minded creatives doing what they love. My Instagram is turning into a home for all things independent, handmade and creative and I love it. It's inspired me beyond belief and I can't wait to explore the products and pieces on offer from so many small businesses and creatives this festive season and this post is a call to action urging you all to do the same and shop small and independent this Christmas.

The thought and care taken to produce some of the pieces on offer by the creative community far exceeds that of some bigger chains and mass produced gifts. That's not to say we shouldn't shop mainstream obviously, but a lot of people miss a trick when it comes to gift-buying by not knowing or simply ignoring/discounting the smaller grass roots makers out there.

So, this Christmas, shop Etsy, shop markets, shop craft fairs and start to open your minds and the minds of loved ones by exploring further for your gifts, trinkets and treats.

To start the ball rolling, I have compiled a number of sellers that I've encountered on Instagram and Etsy that I know work incredibly hard and deserve some love and sales. They all create such brilliant, relatable, quality pieces whatever their niche may be.

First up I'm shouting out to two very good friends who sell their makes on Etsy who are two long time creators whose talents know no bounds.

LetsGoFlyAKyte is an Etsy store developed by my good friend Jo to exhibit and sell her incredible hand-made jewellery. Jo lends her hand to many creative bits and bobs and is incredibly talented at whatever crafty endeavour she sets out to make. Gorgeous, trendy, quirky and unique pieces, fab quality.

JadeBreanneBridal is an online store developed by a close friend who is a genius where dress-making and textiles are concerned. A talented wedding and event dressmaker and seamstress with a side-line in bridal accessories made by hand. Check out her Instagram.

Next up are a bunch of creatives who have caught my eye on Instagram over the last couple of weeks:

DorkfaceBlog is an online blogger and illustrator with a range of products from cute art prints to stationary and is super supportive with other creatives, always engaging and inspiring posts. Check her out on Instagram.

MonsterfulMama is another illustrator who sells her amazing products online and also supports and engages a lot with other creatives. Her ghosty illustrations are the cutest! Check out her Instagram.

KellyLouIllustration is a brilliantly talented illustrator who again has been championing other creatives and her products are awesome. Lots of quirky but cute gifts and a particular penchant for Harry Potter related makes! Check out her Instagram.

Candy Doll Club is a shop by creative Jade Boylan who I recently discovered on Instagram. She creates cool as hell, quirky and sassy products and hails from the Isle of Man, a place I have a soft spot for as it's the home of one of my besties.

Rate Cute Resin is a shop specialising in handmade jewellery. Lots of rate cute pastels and glitters making up unique jewellery pieces. Rate Cute also support and engage with other creatives and have other ventures, all accessible on their shop and Instagram.

Katnipp is a business based around illustrations created by Catherine Kay, a super talented illustrator and Youtuber who I recently got into watching and who helped inspire my love for digital illustration. She seems like THE friendliest person in the world and her business seems to be thriving but her products are lush so it's really no surprise. Check out her Instagram and YouTube.

DaisyChainMakes is a creator of crochet homeware, jewellery and gift goodies. These creations are adorable and I will be keeping my eye on Instagram to see what takes my fancy over this festive period. The festive decorations are the cutest!

The Squirrel Collective is another crochet creator who makes a range of cute products, homeware, clothing and gifts. These products are lovely and she is another big supporter of creatives who regularly engages and shares findings on Instagram.

I also recently came across the Just a Card campaign which aims to encourage buyers to purchase from small sellers and independents in the field of art, design, illustration and other crafty creators. Their aim, much like this blog post is to keep the love for independent creators alive and to encourage people to share and engage with independent creators. And also to encourage people to appreciate the time, effort and resources put into creating their products. Check out their website and Instagram to see more of what they do and get involved.

And last but not least, a shameless plug of my own endeavour, an online store alongside moreth4nwords selling art prints, greetings cards and other gifts. It's something I really enjoy doing and I'm totally open to commissions and bespoke ideas if they are in my remit of creation as a bit of a beginner. Please check out my store, Instagram, Facebook page and share, like and follow if you can. Email also provided for enquiries. (gaffer@moreth4nwords.com)

So there we have it folks, a range of awesome creators, for life not just Christmas. Check them out, shop small and support your local creatives!

Latest obsession: Bullet Journalling

If you're at one with social media or a self-confessed Pinterest junkie then you will most definitely have heard of the latest popular crafty project - the bullet journal.

This administrative phenomenon gained internet-momentum after a video circulated online, showing the journal's premise and layout. The official bullet journal website contains said video, as well as a rundown of what the hell this much-hashtagged hobby actually is.

But, in layman's terms, the bullet journal is basically a personalised diary or planner with an intricate key system and a set of adaptable spreads that should make even the most unsystematic last-minute Larry, the epitome of organisation. The original premise is a little confusing and aesthetically, quite minimalist, however a quick browse of Instagram or Pinterest shows that this doesn't have to be the case. Generally, the journal will contain a key, index and a range of general spreads such as a 'future log' which is essentially an 'at a glance' look at the upcoming year/months and then a breakdown of monthly and daily spreads, but these can be developed or adapted depending on the individual's needs.

I am by no means organised. As a teacher, I definitely should be, but my desk is generally littered with to-do lists scrawled onto post-its and never actually completed. My social life isn't particularly burdening but its not unknown for me to forget or overlook plans and frankly, anything to get me off social media or away from naff TV is very much needed. So after months of not getting round to it (hence the need), I finally decided to jump on the bullet bandwagon.

My journal doesn't follow the recognised system to a T, but it's creative, personalised and it's mine. And yes, the lazybones' amongst us will be thinking 'why not just buy a planner?' but for me, putting effort into something is more likely to make me use it than just buying one. My journal contains a simple key, which denotes a task, appointment, deadline, birthday or idea and a range of symbols to indicate their completion or migration to another day. It also contains a working index which will constantly be added to throughout the year, as well as a 'year at a glance' future log and a spread for each month and a double page for each week. The fun thing about the bullet journal is that it can contain anything you like, from meeting notes, to lists of books & TV shows to get involved with, to inspirational quotes and birthday trackers. For ideas, Pinterest has you covered.

Key & Index  |  Future Log  | Monthly spread for Feb (note the national pizza & wine days)  |  Weekly spread

Inspirational & motivational pick-me-ups  | Books I want to read  |  Blog ideas (I'll try harder, I swear!)

I opted for the Leuchtturm 1917 notebook, as this appeared to be a favourite amongst bullet-journallers and came in a range of funky colours, allowing you to express your personality. For my scribblings, I fluctuate between Stabilo point 88 fineliners and Staedtler triplus fineliners alongside pencils and watercolours, to distinguish between the serious pages and the more creative, vibrant pages.

I've used the bullet journal for just over a week and so far, so good. Post-its have been at a bare minimum thanks to the allocated to-do page on each weekly spread and it's allowed me to make a proper note of upcoming appointments, birthdays and the barrage of gigs I have coming up this year. Now it's all set-up and my initial pages are complete, its a great way of keeping on top of life and also giving yourself a fun, creative output/satisfying your childish need to get the colours out!

Christmas preparations at C7!

Its getting super festive in my flat at the moment, so I thought I'd share some of our Christmas preparations on my blog.

We've had our Christmas tree up for a few weeks now (it was a welcome essay distraction!) and I for one, don't want to take it down after Christmas is over. Its so pretty! The angel on top is pretty special too, as we acquired a 'make your own angel kit' in first year from Wilkinsons and have had that same angel on our tree for 3 years now. She's sentimental!

We've got other Christmas decorations dotted around the flat, as you can see below. Giant glitter snowflakes, paper snowflakes, paper chains, fairy lights and home-made Christmas cards are adorning our humble abode at the minute!

We also stayed up til 1AM one night and made some lovely salt-dough Christmas decorations...as you do.

You can find recipes/instructions online to make these but we simply used 2 cups of plain flour, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of salt. Then all you do is mix it up as you would any other dough, give it a good kneading and roll it out ready to cut out your shapes. Once this is done, you can either pop them into the oven until they are solid or leave them out overnight to harden, before painting them and adding decoration. They make great presents or sentimental family Christmas tree ornaments.

Ours are yet to be painted but they are already looking adorable!

Definitely getting excited about Christmas now. Can't wait to spend some time with my family, stuffing my face with some festive foods, lounging about to the likes of Elf and The Grinch and enjoying the home comforts of a nice bubble bath and a comfy sofa.

Feel free to leave links to your own Christmas posts, I'm intrigued to see how other people are getting into the festive spirit!