todays car boot sale finds

I thought I would share with you my finds today from my local car boot sale. (please excuse the unpainted wall in the background... it is on my to do list!)

A swordfish guillotine... for my workshop & a bargain at £3.00!

An old basket... which I can use in my shop - 50p

A pretty little bowl... for my shop/workshop - 50p

and, yes a spoon! I liked it & it was only 10p! I'm not quite sure yet what to use it for though?

Louise
*pur-ple

embroidery threads

Here at *pur-ple I am growing our selection of fab craft items on a daily basis... one of my favourites at the moment just has to be these embroidery threads. I use them all the time at home myself, especially with the children, and the choice of colours are fantastic! There are 36 skeins in total for a very reasonable £4.75 including free p&p! ... you can find them here

Louise

*pur-ple

my shop in Iddesleigh

I have just been down to my little shop in Iddesleigh this afternoon with the children. After our yummy tea which we had sat outside The Duke of York we went for a lovely summer evenings walk around the village green. I didn't have my camera with me, but did have my phone & I just had to take this photo of the gorgeous views of the village & Dartmoor!

Whilst at my shop I finally got chance to have a better look at an old gate leg table that I bought locally a few months ago! (I have been seriously hoarding bits & pieces for well over a year now, ready for opening!) Underneath the table it has 4 little fold up chairs in a cupboard...


I did intend painting them, but now I've seen them properly I think I might just paint the table! They are so sweet and they fit the look of the shop perfectly & the table is on castors too, so that should save my back when I want to move it out for workshops & packing items etc : D

Louise
*pur-ple

haberdashery & craft essentials

I always look forward to unpacking our delivery boxes when they arrive from our numerous different suppliers... but this delivery I have been especially looking forward too!
... some new haberdashery & craft essentials! I so love the tiny 3" & 4" embroidery hoops (I can feel a bit of hoop art coming on!


Oh, and our new sweet little bead (or whatever you wish to fill them with) storage boxes have arrived too!

Oh, Oh and my new button tubes. I have secretly always wanted my very own! Can't wait to attach the little buttons to the lids! So, thats one for me (to put put in my little shop in Iddesleigh) and one for you, and one for me and one for you. I promise that I will put some in our ebay shop called pur-ple soon!


This weekend I have also changed all our items on our ebay shop to have free p&p! Yes... free!!! Yippee... time to stock up I hear you say! Go tell your friends! I'm adding great value sweet craft items daily : D

Happy crafting!

Louise
*pur-ple
= unusual cards + pretty craft supplies + fab goodies!

... those little things!

You know those little things that you keep meaning to but never seem to get time too? Well, usually when I am concentrating on getting orders ready for our customers I always vow that "I will" label those drawers next time I go in there!

So I found a few minutes to finally label (most) of the drawers on my much loved chalk fileing cabinet... I even took off the protective wrapping around the shiney handles too!




Louise
*pur-ple

Divine Twine

I have just placed an order for more Divine Twine... which should be arriving within the next week or so.

I worked out that I have just ordered approximately 7000 meters of bakers twine which if you tied each roll end to end would reach just under 5 miles!

Now... wouldn't that look pretty winding around the country lanes!

Louise
*pur-ple

FIMO SOFT clay

Here are some of our 1st attempts at using FIMO SOFT clay... which I am hoping to stock at pur-ple soon!

This is my first try at a lemon slice! My husband pointed out that he had never seen a lemon with such uneven sides! and I must admit that the inside segments didn't quite line up.... but I did love making it! I couldn't bare to roll it back up again so I made some holes in the side of each slice and made it into a little bracelet for my daughter (who loves it too!)

This is my 8 year old daughters first try at a cupcake charm... which she threaded onto some of our pink bakers twine... sweet!

We also made mini ice creams, chocolate bars, sweets, toadstools and apple tree charms! It was so easy to use, especially for the children and great fun blending the colours together to make new colours.

childhood books

Whilst staying at my Dads for a " sleepover" with my children I though I would share with you some of my favourite childhood books (some of the photos are a little dark I'm afraid as they were taken in the evening)






A definate favourite... I can look at this book for hours, the illustrations are just enchanting.



My favourite rhyme, "As I was going to St Ives) from my favourite book!



Another favourite! We dance around our walnut tree singing this!



I just love sillouettes. My eldest can nearly read this on her own.



Oh, this one I love too, and is special to me. My Dad used to manage W H Smith shops (ahem, can you see where the love of retail, accounts, cards and stationery has come from. My mum was a manager too! I used to love being able to go "behind the scenes" of the big old high street shops, going in the staff room and my Dads office and wandering the shops whilst they were shut or during stock takes) He used to bring books home with him. I have some fun ones with covers upside down, missing dustcovers and pages out of order!






My mum used to read me this, which I kept (I keep most things!) and now read to my children, which they adore too.



I had Victoria Plum bed covers, curtains (I still have these!) and wallpaper!



This book has delightful illustrations, its lovely to look at to see whats happening in the picture... you have to make sure that you look closely so you don't miss anything!

I have many more books... I'll save them for another post, another day.

Louise
Purple Greetings Cards

Christmas Bakers Twine

Our gorgeous coloured Bakers Twine... all ready for our customers Christmas projects!


Louise
Purple Greetings Cards

coloured bakers twine

Here are some photos of our gorgeous coloured bakers twine in lots of yummy colours...









... all ready for the Christmas rush! (which is already starting!)

Louise
Purple Greetings Cards

tree harvest

... in the space of an just an hour from three different trees, in three different places, look what I found!







Lovely shining conkers that I have had my eye on for a while now, for the children (and me!)


Crabapples, well at least I think they are. They are now boiling on my Rayburn so we shall soon find out! They do smell lovely... yum crabapple jelly : )


and the walnuts, we are lucky enough to have a walnut tree in the garden which the children have a swing hanging from... you have to beat the squirel to them though. We only ever see the mysterious squirel once a year, they are his favourites too!

Louise
Purple Greetings Cards

Oh, what a beautiful morning!

What a beautiful morning it is today... and I couldn't miss a photo opportunity!

... cobwebs, everywhere. The spiders have been busy!











... nothing was left untouched, even my old Triumph Herald!


Louise
Purple Greetings Cards

Time for tea

Just unpacked my very sweet little "purple" Bodum Bistro kettle for my workshop. Very pleased : D (I photographed it on its side! although the photo dosen't show it true purple colour)

I've been slowly collecting gorgeous things for my workshop... which still isn't quite ready to use yet... but at least I have a very lovely kettle to make cups of tea! ... and its got a clever lid on it to!

Louise
Purple Greetings Cards

my dear little shop!

One of my ambitions / dreams has been to own my own "bricks and mortar" shop. I have spent years (honestly) looking for the 'right' one. The one that just feels right.

I even wrote about the kind of shop that my "virtual" online shop Purple Greetings Cards would be like If it were "real" on my about page!

"Think of Purple Greetings Cards as a virtual bricks and mortar specialist greetings cards shop, set on a back street (perhaps cobbled) which is a little hard to find with a wooden door and a bell that tinkles when you open it. With old floorboards and white walls (although one would have to be purple!) clear acrylic shelves laden with beautiful, unique cards and at the back a little wooden table with an old fashioned till sat on it. Each purchase would be individually hand wrapped with tissue paper and loveingly hand finished with stickers and other little extras that we feel were right at the time. A little area would be set aside as a studio, full of letterpresses and the odd Gocco and, brimming with inks, paper, card and envelopes in glourious colours... well, that's us, Purple Greetings Cards."

Well, back in March I put an offer on a dear little shop, in a gorgeous Devon village just a few minutes drive from my home... and it was accepted!

I kept it a secret though for many weeks, not wanting to tempt fate!!!

But, on 16th June I completed (just minutes after a rush to the doctors with my middle daughter, who had come out in what we found out was hives! We have allergies in our family, so that was quite a worry)

And... here it is, my dear little shop with my very own space underneath! (This is actually one of the first pictures I took of it all those months ago) Which I have been desperate to share with you.




I'm so happy! It's hard to explain the feeling, but you know when things are "just meant to be" : D

I'll fill you in more about it soon!


Louise
Purple Greetings Cards