Recent(ish) Additions to My Instagram Sale

As I mentioned the other day, I've come up with a plan so I can post parcels without having to go to the Post Office: I've found a parcel postbox near me, I've ordered lots of stamps online, and a wonderful friend has offered to send me a roll of customs labels - hurrah!

This means I can start sending out orders from my Instagram sale page again. I'm in the middle of stocking up on packaging supplies so you may have to wait for me to ship some larger items, but if there's anything you've got your eye on please get in touch.

Here's a selection of the items still available from the sales I held in March...

A couple of gorgeous vintage atlases, perfect for framing and/or using in paper crafts.

 

A very pretty jigsaw puzzle (so soothing!).

A selection of craft books.

 

 

Some lovely First Day Covers featuring gorgeous stamps. These would look really nice framed or propped up on a bookshelf or picture ledge.

 

 

A brand new Leuchtturm notebook, still in its packaging.

Some floral fabric, including a vintage Laura Ashley print!

A charming brooch to pin to your jacket.

A colouring book full of birds.

And an absolutely fabulous vintage bedspread.

 
Click here to view everything I've got listed!

If it's not marked as "sold" or "sold pending payment", it's almost certainly still available. You can message me on Instagram or get in touch via my contact form and I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Brilliant Books, Crafty Goodness, & Vintage Loveliness

I've started having regular sales over on Instagram, selling awesome craft supplies, books, and other lovely bits and pieces.

New items are listed every Sunday at lauralupinsells. If you've got an Instagram account, comment on the items you'd like and I'll get back to you asap to sort out payment. Don't have an Instagram account but seen something you fancy? Just send me a message via my contact form.

I always charge exact postage for these sales to help make them a bargain. In the UK we can send a shoebox size parcel weighing up to 2kg for just £3 (hurrah!). I'm always happy to look up international postage costs, too, just ask!

Here are some of the items I've added this month which are still available to purchase...

A couple of fab bird books (the pages of these would be so nice for framing, or cutting up to use for collages, card making and other paper crafts).

 

 

 

Tapestry yarns.

Vintage scissors.

Boxes of second hand buttons (some vintage, some more recent). 

A guide to edible and medicinal plants which looks like a great reference book but (like the bird books) would also be great for sourcing images for paper crafting.

A vintage game including lots of letter cards (sooooo good for paper crafts, or making banners and gifts for special occasions like weddings).

A selection of lovely cross stitch books.

 

More craft books.

 

A really pretty vintage duvet cover.

 

A whole bunch of recently published non-fiction hardbacks (all unread and in need of good homes!)

 

Lots of vintage stamps, including this pack of bird and butterfly stamps. 

A 90s Jackie Annual (teen nostalgia central!)

And a gorgeous vintage jigsaw puzzle featuring an illustration of the Cornish coast (so much detail with all those rocks and seaweed and shells and feathers!).

 

Head to lauralupinsells to see everything that's still available, and look out for the new listings this Sunday!

Book Review & Giveaway: Mandalas to Embroider

As promised, this week is Book Week!

The first book I'm looking at is the very lovely Mandalas to Embroider: Kaleidoscope Stitching in a Hoop, by Carina Envoldsen-Harris of Polka & Bloom.

It can be a teeny bit awkward when a friend asks you to review their book - I mean, what if you don't like it? What if you think it's rubbish??? I didn't have to worry at all about reviewing this book, though, as I knew Carina was going to knock it out of the park.

Mandalas to Embroider contains 24 meditative, mandala-inspired embroidery designs. As well as being nice to look at, the idea is that you can lose yourself in the relaxing process of stitching the pretty, geometric designs.

There are 12 large designs (sized to fit perfectly in 6 inch embroidery hoops) and 12 small designs, which you can use as decorative motifs on other sewing projects or frame in mini Dandelyne hoops (if you've not heard of these, they're fab mini embroidery-hoop style frames perfect for making embroidered necklaces and other jewellery).

At the start of the book you'll find comprehensive guides to the tools and stitches you'll need to complete the designs in the book, as well as tips on working with embroidery hoops.

Each project is shown fully stitched in Carina's bright and cheerful colour palettes, with a full-colour version of the pattern and a list of suggested DMC embroidery thread colours so you can replicate the design exactly if you want.

Aren't they fabulous?

Finally at the back of the book you'll find the patterns themselves. This is one of the things that makes this book so great: these aren't patterns printed on book pages that you'll need to photocopy and tape to a window to trace (though you can do that, of course), they're actually embroidery transfer sheets! You just tear out the page along the perforation and follow the instructions to use an iron to transfer the design to your fabric.

Apparently the sheets can be used up to 10 times, then after that you can photocopy them. There's even a pocket built into the back cover of the book for you to tuck the transfers so you don't lose them, which is very helpful (I am forever forgetting what "safe place" I've put paper patterns in!).

I really love this book, and (gushing friendship moment) I'm really proud of Carina for designing it, she is so talented and her use of colour is always such a joy.

If I'm honest, I'm not sure I'd ever stitch the small designs (I don't wear a lot of jewellery, and I much prefer the intricacy of the larger designs), but the large ones are so nice and the iron-on transfer sheets so easy to use that I think this book would be a great value purchase even if you only wanted to stitch a few of them.

Mandalas to Embroider: Kaleidoscope Stitching in a Hoop, is published by Search Press. It's available from Amazon UK, Amazon USA, The Book Depository and many other websites and bookshops. You can also buy signed copies direct from Carina's website.

Please note that the Amazon and Book Depository links in this blog post are affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I get a tiny percentage for the referral. It doesn't cost you anything and it helps support my blog. 

Visit my book reviews archive for a look at lots more crafty books! 

The lovely people at Search Press sent me a free copy of this book to review (thanks, guys!) and have another copy for me to give away - hurrah! 

Just leave a comment on this blog post for your chance to win!

Leave your comment before 10pm (UK time) on Thursday 10th May. I'll then contact the winner and pass their info along so the book can be posted to them by the team at Search Press.

Please make sure you leave a blog link, Twitter/Instagram/Etsy username (no locked accounts, please, I need to be able to contact you), or email address in your comment so I can get in touch if you're the winner. This giveaway is open worldwide. Yay!

If I'm unable to contact the winner within a week, I will pick someone else. If you're leaving a comment with your Blogger profile, please remember that you need to have your profile set to public & to have a contact email visible for me to be able to get in touch with you.

UPDATE: this giveaway is now closed. 

Next Week is Book Week!

Next week's blog posts are gonna be all about craft books. Specifically this trio of colourful, creative books:

On Monday I'll be reviewing Mandalas to Embroider: Kaleidoscope Stitching in a Hoop, by Carina Envoldsen-Harris. You'll get a chance to win your own copy of the book, too! (Yay!)

On Wednesday I'll be reviewing Craft a Life You Love: Infusing Creativity, Fun & Intention into your Everyday by Amy Tangerine.

Then on Friday I'll be looking at Creative Marker Art and Beyond: Inspiring Tips, Techniques & Projects for Creative Vibrant Artwork in Marker by Lee Foster-Wilson.

See you next week! :)


P.S. Just to let you know: the Amazon links in this post are affiliate links, which means if you click through and make a purchase I get a tiny percentage for the referral. It doesn't cost you anything and it helps support my blog.