My Etsy Shop's Story

This week has been a quiet one orders-wise, which has given me a little time to revamp my Etsy shop! First on my agenda was rewriting my shop's story; something which I initially saw as a bit of a chore, but I ended up enjoying it so much that I thought I would share it with you on my blog! 

Getting Started with a Few Notes

Anyone who has their own online shop will appreciate the importance of sharing their shop's story with their customers; for Etsy sellers, like me, the About Page of your shop enables you to give customers a little window into your handmade world, and provides you with a great opportunity to personalise, the often anonymous, online shopping experience. 

When I first sat down to write my shop's story - back in November of last year - I had only just opened my Etsy store, so inevitably what I wrote focused mostly on why I had decided to set up my own small business, and less on what myself, and my shop, were able to offer to the handmade marketplace - at this early stage, with no sales to my name yet, I didn't feel confident of what I was offering yet! 

So, four months down the line, with a healthy amount of experience under my belt, I felt it was high time for a rewrite! The few months experience I have had of making and selling has given me a much clearer understanding of what makes my little business unique, and what features of my crafting process, my finished products, and my customer service, make my shop special!

My Shop's Story:

I decided to set up my own small, handmade business in autumn 2013, with the goal of being able to work for myself and, most importantly, be creative every day! Etsy provided the natural marketplace for my work, with its focus squarely on handmade products; its desire to provide shoppers with a high quality purchasing experience; and the value it places on sellers’ craftsmanship.

My little business, All Wrapped Up By Alice, grew out of my love for paper, gift wrapping, and all things handmade! Above all, in my work, I strive to make sure all my products have a natural, rustic feel to them. Pure kraft paper is my favourite material, and I use it in the majority of my work; most of my products are also directly influenced by nature, whether it be the 50s-inspired dill flower print on my gift wrap, or the quirky woodland creatures which feature on my greetings cards.

A Selection of my Current Products

The aspect of my work which I am most proud of has to be that every product in my shop has been made by my own two hands. I am a one-woman-band and I don’t use any sort of machinery in the production of my items. Every sheet of paper is hand printed by me, using traditional patterned rollers; every detail on my greetings cards has been hand stamped by myself. This way you can be sure that every item you purchase has been made with love and care!

Keeping it Natural, with Pure Kraft Paper & Natural Twines

Making all my own products from scratch means that custom orders are no problem; in fact, they're one of the favourite parts of my work! Whether you want a custom length of wrap, or a personalised card for a special occasion, I'm always happy to help!

One of my Customised Wedding Cards

The exception to my one-woman-band business is my partnership with graphic designer Michael Jamson. Michael and I got together to design my range of bespoke wedding busy bags, after noticing an unfulfilled need in the market for quality children’s wedding favours. The result of this collaboration is our beautiful Big Day Colouring Sets, which provide the perfect way to keep the little ones entertained on the Big Day! The sets come in a variety of options to suit different age ranges, as well as different types of wedding – with our Bride & Groom, Bride & Bride, and Groom & Groom ranges there’s an option for everyone, whether you’re having a White Wedding or a Pink Wedding!

Groom & Groom, Bride & Groom, Bride & Bride

So, that's my shop's story...so far! If you run your own small, online shop and would like some inspiration and guidance for sharing your shop's story, then head on over to Etsy - they have lots of ideas to get you started!

Wrap Your Mother's Day Gifts With Love!

Look 1: Wild Flowers

With Mother's Day fast approaching (it's on 30th March!) I thought I'd take some time to share some gift wrapping techniques with you. Hopefully, armed with my tips, you'll all be able to present your mums with beautifully wrapped gifts on Mother's Day, that express just how much you love them!


Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to guide you through how to create two different, but equally beautiful, looks. First up, is my Wild Flowers look (I'll be posting my Big, Bright Bows look next week!)

First Things First: Materials

No scrimping! Make sure you choose some good quality wrapping paper, that reflects your mum's taste. I chose to use my dill flower paper, which is from my own range, as my mum loves wild flowers and walking in the countryside. 

Next - choose some coordinating tags. I'm using gift tags from the same range as the paper, stamped with a delicate dill flower watermark. 

Finally, there is no sadder sight, in my book, than a present without a ribbon and bow! To go with the natural feel of the gift wrap I've chosen for my Wild Flowers look, I've used some rustic, fine hemp chord, rather than going for fancy ribbon. 

You will also need: scissors, and sticky tape (double-sided, or normal sellotape)

(All the materials I've used are available to purchase via my online store. The materials for this first look are available as a complete gift wrap set for just £2.25!

Let's Get Wrapping!

The most important thing to remember is we're after crisp edges and neat corners. If you've chosen a gift for your mum that is an irregular shape, you might want to consider placing it in a box with some shredded tissue, before attempting to wrap it!

Step 1. Measure your Paper

2. Cut your paper

3. Start Wrapping!

4. Finish Wrapping!

5. Measure your ribbon

6. Tie your ribbon

7. Create a Bow

8. Add the tag

Good luck with your wrapping; any questions please just leave a comment, and I'll try to help! Happy wrapping folks!

Sneak Peek of Next Week's Look: Big, Bright Bows!

I'll be posting my second wrapping tutorial next week, so watch this space!

Imagining Alice

Getting Wrapped up in 'Alice'

Ever since I first had the idea to start up my own handmade venture I've always had a notion of 'Alice' being at the centre of it. The business name ‘All Wrapped Up By Alice’ was fixed in my mind from the start; creating Alice herself has, however, been a longer process. Creating Alice has been a labour of love between me and my best (and very talented) friend Michael. Together, we’ve spent hours researching, debating, sketching and designing; all in order to bring Alice to life. So, as I finally debut her first incarnation, I thought I would share with you the creative process that has brought Alice to this point.

So, who is Alice?

Not an easy question to answer. Technically Alice is not me; my real name is Zoe; but Alice is my middle name, as well as being a family name, so has always been dear to my heart. I like to think of it as this: in the real-world I’m Zoe, but in the handmade-world I’m Alice. I guess you could say Alice is a version of me - a version fit to take her place in the handmade-world (and let’s face it, the handmade world is a much nicer place to be!)

So, with all this in mind, creating Alice was going to be a personal project, and one I wanted to share with my closest friend (who just happens to also be a talented illustrator, and graphic designer - lucky me!)

Alice as an Icon:

We quickly decided several attributes which we felt would be key in making Alice into an iconic image for the brand.

The hair:

We decided that the hair would be the key to Alice’s look; the inspiration for the styling would be Hocus Pocus (a nod to 90’s kids cinema there!) My hair is probably my most defining physical feature (I have masses of it) and I am a big fan of the top knot; a style Michael affectionately refers to as my ‘Hocus Pocus Hair’ – check out Kathy Najimy’s character and you will understand! 

Kathy Najimy as Mary in Hocus Pocus 

The Dress: 

We knew we definitely wanted Alice to be wearing a dress, at least for her first incarnation anyway; we felt this would give her the right look for the handmade world, whilst also reflecting my own style.

The Bow: 

We definitely wanted to incorporate a large bow to reflect the business name 'All Wrapped Up', and what we do.

Coordination: 

Alice had to blend beautifully alongside the 'All Wrapped Up By Alice' logo, which we had already designed:

Creating Alice

So with these starting points in mind we both began sketching. Here are a couple of pics of our very first sketches:

My first sketch of Alice

Michael's first sketch of Alice

As you can see our two styles of illustration are quite different, but all the key features we had discussed were present in both drawings. Michael added the idea of Alice holding a wrapped present, with the ribbons of the bow coming out to meet you - a great addition, and a definite focal point for the image.


We continued sketching in our spare time, emailing each other our work, discussing Alice over the phone and in person. We were experimenting with styles trying to find the Alice that we would both fall in love with, and that we felt represented 'All Wrapped Up' as a brand.


Experimenting with faces:

Michael's glamorous Alice

My simple floating heads

Experimenting with clothes and shoes:

Trying different shoes

Experimenting with outfits

Putting body and head together, and seeing what we had come up with:

My Alice (not with a top knot!)

Michael's Alice

Alice as a Logo

Oddly enough, drawing these more detailed versions of Alice helped enormously in crystalising in our minds the vision of Alice as a logo; it was easy to see how we could distill her key features - the top knot, the peter pan collar on the dress, and of course the present and bow - into one iconic image. We drew up a quick draft and then began perfecting the Alice logo:

Initial sketch of Alice logo

Initial design of Alice logo

As you can see, the Alice logo has changed very little from the initial sketch above to the finished design below, as the saying goes, 'when it's right, you just know'!

The Final Design

It is fair to say that me and Michael have both fallen in love with Alice through the creative process; and, like all the best loves, it grows every time we see her! We decided that with Valentine's Day fast approaching it was only appropriate to dress Alice in a peachy pink for her debut, we hope you like her as much as we do!

What's Next for Alice?

Well, we have lots of plans for Alice - none of those initial sketches will be going to waste! We see Alice not just as a logo but as a full character, and amidst all the sketches we think we've hit upon a style for her that we both love, and are very excited about:

Meet our chosen Alice (still a work in progress!) 

We plan to feature this Alice in many of our upcoming products, including wrapping paper, cards, and more! We also have plans for an Alice side-kick, and are working on ideas for that at the moment; here is a sneeky peek:

Rough sketch of a Valentine's Alice

#TwitterSisters Are Doing It For Themselves!

I thought, what better way to start the new year than with a bit of positivity, and a very big thank you! 

I have been overwhelmed by the support I've received from fellow women in business since setting off on my handmade journey just a few months ago. I have been even more surprised at just where this support has come from...get ready for...

My Twitter Tale

When I first went about setting up my business I was reasonably reluctant to join Twitter; it seemed complicated and confusing, not to mention hostile; there had been so many stories in the press focusing on Twitter as a predatory place, where witch hunts play out, and - even more worryingly - women are subjected to appalling taunts merely for voicing an opinion at all.

Luckily, one of my friends, who uses Twitter all the time for work and personal projects, persuaded me to give it a go, and, well...I love it! Not only has it been easy to pick up and incredibly useful for promoting my products, it has also been a wonderful source of support and advice from fellow women in business.

At a time when it seems society is increasingly attempting to stereotype relationships between women - bitchiness, competition, envy, dominance and submission, are all variations on a theme - Twitter actually offers (in my own experience) an antidote to such crass characterisations.

Give a shout-out to your #twittersisters!

Since joining Twitter a few months ago, easily 90 per cent of the followers I have gained have been women; more significantly, more than 99 percent of those who have actively supported me in my endeavors have also been women; and, interestingly enough, most of them are women who run their own small businesses too. Yet, far from feeling in competition, or wanting to see me fail, they have actively supported me and celebrated and shared in my successes; as I celebrate and share in theirs'.

So, in summary a very big thank you to all my #TwitterSisters! 

Twitter Tips for #Womeninbiz

If you own a small business and want to get in on the action, but feel a bit clueless about Twitter, here are my personal favourite networking hours for a small, handmade business:

#wineoclock #womaninbiz - use these hashtags every weekday evening between 18.00 and 19.00 to network with fellow businesswomen, promote your products and services, and generally have a natter.

#handmadehour - if you have a handmade business this one is a must! Use this hashtag every Wednesday evening between 19.30 and 20.30 to showcase your handmade products.

#twittersisters - use this hashtag every Thursday evening, 20.30 to 21.30, to network, and promote your products.

Make Your Own Christmas Reindeer!

Keep the kids (& big kids!) entertained over the Christmas holidays with this super easy and fun craft; you'll end up with a lovely, handmade Christmas decoration that you can bring out year on year! Why not go the whole hog and make all nine of Santa's fleet!

You will need:

• A printout of my reindeer template, printed onto lightweight card
• Colouring crayons or pencils
• Scissors (if you're doing this activity with children, please supervise them whilst using scissors)
• Glue stick or double-sided tape (I find tape to be the easiest option)

Instructions:

Step 1. Colour in all parts of your template.

Step 2. Cut out all parts of your template (get your grown up to help you with this...unless you are a grown up!).

Step 3. Use your scissors (get your grown up to help you) to lightly curve the legs, antlers and face, to give them a more natural look. Also curve the body to make it easier to create the cone shape later.

Step 4. Apply glue or double-sided tape to the front of the tab on the reindeer's body; then bend to create a cone; secure the tab on the opposite inside edge of the cone, as shown above (if using glue keep pressure on the tab to allow the glue to set).

Step 5. Use your glue or double-sided tape to fix the two antlers onto the back of the reindeer's head.

Step 6. Apply a small amount of glue or tape to the back of the reindeer's head, and attach it to the top of the cone.

Step 7. Apply a small amount of glue or tape to the front of the top of each of the reindeer's legs, then glue in place inside the front of the cone.

All Done!

I hope you have lots of fun making your own reindeer! I'd love to see some pics of your finished creations; why not send me some! 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

N.B. My reindeer template is for personal use only, thanks guys!

Make Your Own Paper Chrysanthemum

Add a Floral Flourish to your Festive Offerings this Christmas!

Christmas is nearly upon us, so I thought I would provide a little tutorial, giving you all the tools and instructions you need to make your own Christmas Chrysanthemum!

You can simply use the flower as a festive decoration, or add it as a stylish embellishment to a special present. Alternatively, why not make several of them to use as unique place settings; just write your guests’ names on the leaves of the flowers and place on your festive table or dinner party set up.

You Will Need:

• A double-sided print out of my Chrysanthemum Template pdf
• Scissors
• Glue gun (set to low), or other adhesive, such as glue dots

Instructions:

                            Step 1:  Cut out all the pieces from the template                             

          Step 2:  Use your scissors to curl the petals of each of the 6 flower pieces.          

Step 3.  Snip small incisions around the edges of all 3 circular pieces, then bend the snipped edges up to form 3 cup-shapes.

                   Step 4.  Use your scissors to curl the edges of the leaf slightly                    

Step 5.  Use a small dot of glue to attach each set of petals together, stacking them from largest to smallest; the top sets of petals should be placed so as to fill the gaps between the lower sets.

Step 6.  Use a small dot of glue to attach the circular pieces together, stacking from largest to smallest.

Step 7. Use a small dot of glue to attach the stacked circular pieces to the centre of the stacked petals.

Step 8.  If you would like a more tightly-closed effect, cup the flower in your hand and gently squeeze the petals together.

          Step 9.  Use a dot of glue to attach the leaf to the underside of the flower.         

                                                       All Done!                                                            

N.B. The pdf template is for personal use only, thanks guys!

Welcome To My Handmade World!

Introductions First: 

I'm 'Alice' (actually I'm Zoe, but for business purposes it's Alice, which is actually my middle name...confused?!) I'm a northern girl with a love for paper and all things handmade; I spend my days creating beautiful, handprinted wrapping paper and accessories for my lovely customers...oh, and dreaming of the day when I can own my own rescue dog!

How it all Happened:

Well, how long have you got?? The road that brought me to 'Alice' has been a rather winding one. My original plan was always to become an academic or researcher of some sort - I have a Degree and a Masters in History, and had plans for a PhD - however a series of long term health problems put pay to those ideas.

Believe it or not, the business grew out of an off-the-cuff comment made by my brother in the summer of this year; we were discussing job options, when he remarked 'you should just set up my own gift wrapping business' - this may sound odd, but you should understand that the wrapping I surround my presents in is usually more exciting than the gift hidden inside!

Initially I laughed the idea off, but over the next few months it began to percolate in my mind, until it was practically all I could think about. After lots of research and plenty of help and advice from family and friends - there's really nothing like setting up your own business to show you how many wonderful, kind, and talented people you know - I finally took the plunge, and in Autumn 2013 I set up All Wrapped Up By Alice! 

That's me!

My aim is to create beautiful, handmade gift wrap, accessories and cards; and, in the near future, to create my own bespoke party bag range. All of my items are made entirely by hand, making each one special and unique. To create my handprinted wrapping paper and cards, I use a traditional roller technique which has been used in Eastern Europe for over a century to produce intricate wall coverings. I also love to use ink stamps, to give a rustic, homespun feel to my work.

Handprinted Deer Kraft Wrap

It's still early days, but for the first time in a long while, I feel like I have a plan and a purpose, and that will do for now!

My products are available to purchase through my Etsy shop: WrappedByAlice. I would love you to pop over and have a browse; I hope you enjoy having a nosey through my items just as much as I have enjoyed creating them!

I'll be using my blog to post regular updates about the progress of my new venture, as well as how-to-tutorials, so you can get all wrapped up like Alice! See you soon! x