shop fittings

I have been squirreling away shop fittings for months now! So that they will be all ready and waiting to go straight in after my shop roof is done and the inside refurbished...


These are my most recent fab finds... lots and lots of slatwall fittings to go on my oak slatwall and grid wall for my craft supplies.

I also have some oak shelves too. These will also fit on the slatwall along with some clear acrylic card tiers for my card wall (which I have yet to buy)

I must admit that slatwall is not my favourite / ideal choice for my little shop but I think with a bit of care and imagination it should fit in nicely with my vintage / pre-loved pieces... and it is rather handy when you have very uneven walls and you want to move shelves around!

Louise
*pur-ple

how to simply change the word comment

I tend to tweak things quite often... and perhaps 9pm at night is not quite the right time to be fiddling with the html on my blog... but a certain colour was beginning to annoy me.

Now, that was a simple edit and I quickly remembered where to tweak it!

But, with slightly tired eyes and with my face getting nearer and nearer the screen I decided now would be a great time to change the word "comments" on my blog to something a little sweeter!

You know the bit I mean, don't you? You know when you post a comment on a blog or publish a comment that has been left on your own blog that it then says "4 comments" for example.

Well, I wanted this to read 4 fab comments. Could I find where to write this in the html anywhere! No, chance.

Then I worked it out (after quite a bit of hunting around) that it was actually me being a bit tired and that it was actually quite easy. To change it you just simply:

1. Go to Dashboard

2. Click on the word Edit in the bottom right hand corner of the Blog Posts box.

3. Change the word comments to whatever you like. ie fab comments, super comments, kind words etc.

4. Click SAVE at the bottom of the page.

... hope this may help some of you to personalise your blog!

my roof has just arrived!

This afternoon my little shop's roof arrived...


1100 fantastic welsh reclaimed slates & 12 ridge tiles (plus a few spares) to be precise!

They took me ages to source... several months of looking infact. I wanted to use ones off of a local roof if possible & it turned out that they came off of a pub roof in Torrington! (Just 10 miles up the road)


I just know they are going to look perfect on the roof, and they are already weathered beautifully as they are reclaimed... which also feels nice to know that they are being reused.


The man that I bought them from kindly delivered them to me and with the help of my husband (who was busy repairing something, just as they arrived. Hence the overalls - he's a mechanic!) they unloaded them & carefully stacked them all ready for fitting.


My two daughters, who watched... were nearly as excited as me! + I must add, neither of us realised just quite how heavy slates are (although I must admit I only lifted one! I put my back out earlier this week, so I made sure I took lot's of photos instead)

I can't wait to see them up on the roof! It is going to be such an improvement and no more leaks! It will also help to make it warmer too : D


Louise
*pur-ple

Guess what I have got?

During the "summer holidays" I took a little break from *pur-ple...

and guess what I got on my return? A new badge!



A Top-rated seller badge for my ebay shop pur-ple!

I was so excited to achieve this and it is so nice to be rewarded for all my hard work... so thank you to all my lovely customers for giving it to me. (I am considering printing it onto some card & pining it to my top!!!)


I also achieved a new coloured star - for receiving my 1000th feedback I changed from a purple star to red. I now have 1067 positive feedback - 100%, some amazing feedback comments... and a very big smile on my face : D

(I captured the photo of my ebay shop from my iphone's screen... as I am sat on the sofa, snuggled under a blanket "trying" to rest as I have put my back out. How? I have no idea!)

Louise
*pur-ple

new mini brads

These are my fab new mini (or should I say teeny tiny!) mini brads / split pins! ... arn't they sweet!


I have them available in red...


powder blue...


baby pink...


lilac...


and pale green!

... and will be available in my ebay shop pur-ple, just as soon as my 8 year old daughter has finished sorting them into seperate colour packs! (she has been really looking forward to this 'job' but after sorting her first few hundred she is 'slowing' Only a few more thousand to go!

She has shown such an interest in my work over the last couple of years & is just like me! (very particular) she has already picked any 'less then perfect' ones out!

I will make up some mixed colour packs too... for those of you who can't choose a favourite colour!


Louise
*pur-ple

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.