Happy 1st birthday to Lulu Makes Things!

Wowee it's been a whole year since Lulu Makes Things was born!!

Can't believe time has flown in so quickly,  but as the cliché goes, time flies when you're having fun, and I really am!

I could never have dreamed my little handmade goodies would be so loved! :) it's a great feeling when someone buys one of my creations, especially when they're going to give it to someone as a gift!

I also love the fact that I still get to have a creative outlet. Coming from an environment where I used to get to design stuff all day, every day, to one which involves general admin work, was difficult to adjust to at first. I was worried I was going to lose my little creative spark at first, but then Lulu Makes Things was born and I worried no more!

It's funny looking back and seeing our sales from the first day compared to now. That day we sold 2 posters and a magnet and you would have thought we'd struck oil the way we reacted haha! Having someone buy something you made yourself is the most awesome experience, so the fact 3 people bought things was insane (at the time). Nowadays it's a different story. We have the stall laid out so everything can be seen and flicked through for ease, the branding all matches, we have official price signs(not bits of card scrawled on with a sharpie) and if we don't get at least 2 pages of sales in our little sales book, it's been a quiet day!

Looking at pictures of our stall then and now makes us giggle.  We hadn't a clue how to display the bunting so people could pick out their letters and I hadn't dreamt up even half the creations we have on sale now!

Love my little company and love my wonderful family for being so supportive throughout the process. My poor Dad still drives us to st Georges market every Sunday (I have a fiat500 so could fit about one box in the boot haha).

Also have to thank all our wonderful customers, without them we would have been another fading face at the market like we see coming and going every week!
So excited for what is coming next and can't wait to see where we'll be this time next year!!

Wedding guest books are so 2013!

This week I launched a new product with Lulu Makes Things, a finger print guest frame!

It's such a cute alternative to a traditional guest book and relieves the pressure on your guest to try and come up with something witty or meaningful off the cuff!

Each guest pops a finger or thumb print onto the tree as a leaf or the bicycle as a balloon and then writes their name beside it. A really lovely memento to display after the day too!

I was nervous to launch this as it's something I've been playing around with for ages, but was overwhelmed by the postivity of everyone's response!

I sold out of trees within a few hours and everyone loved the concept! I love being able to launch things and get instant feedback.  Sometimes things work right away, other things take a few weeks to get going and other things just never make it. It can be surprising the things that people love, like my little greeting cards! I never thought people would love them so much because most if not all of them are personal to me and my sense of humour.  A french lady bought a whole pile of them on Sunday so it's pretty cool to think I have a French mind twin!!

Going to work my butt off this week to make lots of new designs this week.

I really love my job! :)

Greeting cards for weirdos!

I'm not the biggest fan of greeting cards. This is because most cards I have recieved are clichéd and impersonal.

Occasionally a card arrives usually from a close friend or family member that I love, and this one usually ends of being framed or staying on display on a shelf forever!

I decided I should create my own version of typical greeting cards and trialed a few samples at my Lulu Makes Things stalll at st George's Market last week. The response was insane!!

I had so many people laughing and bringing friends over to see my little creations! I have never felt so flattered! It was such a lovely response but being the socially awkward creature that I am, I pretty much looked like a tomato all day witj a big red face (or beamer to those from good old norn iron!).

This week I made a tonne more! I like making funny cards that are a bit weird haha! There are so many fellow weirdos out there just like me so I know things that amuse me will amuse them too!

Why give an ordinay greeting card when you can give a weird one! The one that's proved most popular so far is the cat in a cupcake hat with my drawing of a cat! Who knew I had such artistic talent Hahahaha

Valentines day craft for free, quick tutorial!

If you're looking for an inexpensive way to give your favourite person a token of your love, then look no further than these super cute bookmarks!

All you need to do is go to your local DIY store, raid their paint sample card supply and you're pretty much set!

I used a little heart cutter to punch out hearts up the side and bottom fpr the ribbon, but a hole punch works just as well! Heart punches are available in most craft stores for around £2-3 or online for a little cheaper!

Perfect craft idea for kids too due to it's simplicity! Hope you enjoy!

Lulu x

Valentines day crafting!

I cannot believe January is almost over!! Valentine's day is just around the corner so I've been creating some new products for my stall at st George's Market in Belfast!

I don't care if valentines has become a marketing ploy or over commercialised, it's still one of my favourite days!

My husband and I always buy each other little gifts and tell each other we love the other every single day so perhaps we are a soppy pair, but I love the opportunity to tell him how much he means to me!  Jeepers just typing that I see how much of a sop I am haha!

Well anywho, I love valentines but I dislike buying shop tat and always look for something personal. I kept this in mind when coming up with my new ideas.

I created a love jar, filled with little cards to pop a personal message on. Each card has a little heart cut out and the jar also has heart shaped confetti in the bottom.

The other little cutie is a message in a bottle.  It contains a little card to write your own message and contains a little crystal heart.

I made one for a bride too because realistically who wouldn't want a little message in a bottle on any special occasion! 

I loved making these so hopefully my customers love them too!

Yayyyyyy!!

At long last, I am now employed once more!! It's only taken 3 and a half months, but can honestly say I have never been so relieved!!

I'm excited too because I think I can really make a difference to this new job and bring my skill set to the table to improve what they already have, so really keen to get started!

This job search has really brought out the worst in me and I have never felt so low and worthless, so I will be doing my upmost to make sure this never happens again.

Main lesson learned is ALWAYS have a plan B no matter how safe you think your job is!

I'm going to carry on with my design business because I don't think this job will call for as much creativity than I'm used to on a daily basis.

Exciing times!!

A new beginning...

It's finally happened. I have kicked myself up the backside and I've started to createy own little design haven!

I've been doing a lot of work on making a logo, sorting my portfolio and creating a very pretty website! In all fairness I've used a web template site to make the site, I have no clue where to begin on the web front so best to leave the foundation for that to the experts!

This is just the beginning. I'm hoping wonderful things will grow and develop from this, afterall this year I feel I've paid my dues!

Scary putting yourself out there, but the only way to do it is to dive in head first, so let's go!!!!

I love craft!

I have loved arts and crafts since I can remember! I would spend hours painting little scenes and drawing cartoons on long car journeys. The problem always was that I can't actually draw! Makes it much harder to become good at something when you don't have the general grasp of how to draw even simple things!

In school I loved art and the only thing I ever drew successfully was the inside of a kiwi fruit! I spent hours on the blessed thing and was so proud I still have the drawing to this day!

After being made redundant I tried to find things I am passionate about and think of ways to earn money using my skill set and interests. My main interest is design and this was a huge part of my job, mainly based around photo editing and wedding album design.

I've made a few things like invitatons and flyers etc for friends and family so figured if they want them some other people might want them too, and more importantly pay for the privilege! 

So I'm embarking on starting to design things for real clients! I even rediscovered my love of trying to draw and made a little card detailing the timeline of my mum and dads life together!  Who knows, maybe one day it will be worth millions! Ha!!