Quick before the postage goes up!

So it seems its that wonderful time of year again...no not the over indulgent Easter holidays..guess again...Its the end of the tax year and the start of the new one! Which means the annual Royal Mail price hike is due to take place. Only this year its not only astronomical its well, rather confusing. So prices are up, insurance is down, and the size restrictions have changed. Again. I have been doing a little customer research and it seems you would rather pay that little bit more and have your items still sent 1st class rather than pay less and have it sent 2nd class. Good news is I will be continuing with my flat postage rate no matter how many items you buy, bad news is it's having to increase from £2.80 to £3.10 if your in the UK. I have kept it as low as I possibly can.

But fear not my little Easter chickens, you still have until 10am this Saturday to pay the 'old' lower P&P of £2.80. I will be doing the post office dash shortly after. After this time all items will be sent next week with the higher P&P charges.

You can shop online here and here.

Have a lovely Easter weekend folks, see you in the new tax year!

Magpie Market & Easter Snow

So despite the Arctic weather conditions at the weekend the wonderful Magpie Market still went on. We were provided with complimentary tea and cake all day which I know think should come complimentary with every event! The chocolate brownies were delish! So here are a few photos of my stall, complete with my new packaging and new vintage/reclaimed layout. 

The frames at the back of my table were a horrible bare pine until the makeover. I saw a Pin on Pinterest about instantly ageing wood with a vinegar solution, needless to say it worked a treat! 

I bought this wonderful khaki retro vanity case at the Vintage Home Show in Manchester two weeks ago. What a bargain at only £8. It made a fantastic display base for my vintage button collection.

The brooches were most certainly the most popular item on the day, but then again who can resist a retro fox brooch with a rabbit button?

Reuben and I thought making a snow bunny would be much more appropriate given the time of year!

So it looks like it might just be the coldest Easter on record. But hey ho, I'm looking forward to wrapping up in front of the fire, with a big mug of hot coco and tucking in to my chocolate eggs! 

Have a wonderful Easter folks x

Uppermill Magpie Market This Weekend!

I have been lucky enough to be selected to exhibit my button jewellery at this wonderful upcoming event this Sunday at Saddleworth Museum, Uppermill. If you live in the area please pop along and say hi! Uppermill is a lovely little village and well worth a visit. As well as popping by to the Magpie Market be sure to check out  'The vintage Cupcake kitchen' on the high street they really do make cakes to die for! And if the sun is shining why not take a stroll down beside the beautiful canal. Unique jewellery shopping, delicious tea and cake and a lovely Sunday walk, what more could you possibly want?!

As Promised!

As promised I am keeping up with my blog posts, actually I think I am a whole day early!

This week I am showing off my new packaging. I felt that the old designs were rather dated, and not really the professional look that I want. I think Realicoul now has a steady direction in which its heading and I wanted to create a much cleaner, fresher product package that does not take any attention from the finished pieces. So here it is, I've had some wonderful feedback on folksy and I am super pleased with the completed look.

I have a new paper cutter, and lets face it I was dying to put it to a good use! 

I love my new scalloped edge :)

I decided to stick to my pink and green colour scheme, but toned it down a little. 

Yay! The new Realicoul logo. I drew it by hand and coloured it digitally. You will be seeing al lot more hand drawn stuff from me this year.

Colour love.

Me & my beautiful boy x

(Taken two days ago, on our way out to the post office)

See you next week ;P

Its been a while..ahem

So its been a stupidly long time since I last blogged, but all for good reasons. So here is the last 12 months broken down...

We bought our 1st house last summer and its been a bit of a project to say the least. Moving to a building site with a 1 year old and a business to run was rather stressful! The cottage was built in 1873 and I don't think it had been decorated since 1989! Things are catching up, the house is 'getting' there now.

This is me knocking off the old damp plaster in the Kitchen/Dining room

Our son Reuben is now 20 months old and certainly keeps me on my toes, he is a little monkey. And a very adorable one at that. He is very good at popping my 'dropped' buttons back in the correct coloured jars and I think he would play out all day if I let him.

Reuben January 2013 in the snowy garden

Sadly my beautiful cat and best pal Ninja passed away in September 2012. I still miss him a great deal.
We do now have a beautiful dog though, named Nushka who is German Shepherd x Husky. She is a big softy, so glad we could give her a new home.

Our gorgeous Nushka, who also happens to love playing in the snowy garden!

Then in December 2012 we went travelling to New Zealand for three and half weeks to visit Jaks parents. It was a fantastic trip. Reuben didn't sleep on the flights but the sleep deprivation was totally worth it. What a wonderful country. It was so nice to escape our winter and hit the beach too! A wonderful memorable way to spend Christmas.

Little beach bum

Even more exciting was that Jak asked me to marry him, under the stars at Marlborough Sounds. Obviously I said YES!

This was our balcony where Jak proposed. Marlborough Sounds was just SO beautiful, we will most certainly go back one day.

This is my ring, a raw, natural diamond handmade ring. I couldn't of asked for anything more special. x

Me and my boy, still a little jet lagged here. Also my hair is now poppy red!

We got back from New Zealand mid January  and since then its been a crazy rush to get the house suitable for what was my Grandmas surprise 70th last week. We did it, just about. The party was a success and were taking a little break from working on the house for a few months.

So that's what I have been up to for the last 12 months. I have lots of big plans for Realicoul this year. I have already re-branded for starters. I have a new wholesale catalogue and I will be moving on to new ideas that utilise my design and drawing skills. I have lots of new colours available in the button jewellery for 2013, and I do hope you like them. I am going to aim to post every week from now on. My next post will be all about Realicoul work, new packaging, new lines, new everything! So ill see you in a week :)