Folksy Friday: Holidays are here

School's out soon so maybe you need some of these items from Folksy sellers if you're off on holiday or just hanging round the garden hoping to see the sun!

This holiday aceo by Ghost Goose brings back some memories

Soap flip flops - what a great idea! - by Just Bev Soaps

For those of us who dream of owning a boat or a beach hut, 

recession-beating options from Buttons and Stars and Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics!

Bluebells and Oystershells (fantastic name!) will help you remember your passport 

and Cherry Tree Handmades will keep your souvenirs together in style.

What else do you need for the perfect holiday?

Folksy Friday: A bit of freehand embroidery

It's a while since I've done a Folksy Friday so here goes.  Spotted a couple of really beautiful embroidered designs on Folksy recently.  I do a bit myself, but nothing as neat as these!  I really love my embroidery 'old-style' if you know what I mean, free hand, it brings back memories of happily playing as a child with a stack of half finished tablecloths and napkins and paper embroidery patterns and hoops that I think were left in our house by my paternal grandmother. As she died before I was born, I never got to learn from her, but those patterns and bits and pieces were a bit of a crafty inspiration.

Click on any of the pictures to visit these lovely shops:

This needle book combines embroidery and applique by Lynwoodcrafts

Stunning beaded and embroidered art deco design by Rebecca Jayne Dagger

So applicable to me!  Framed embroidery by littletreasures

A choice of very pretty flowers from Natalie Ofkants

Which is your favourite?

Wordless Wednesday - Strawberry cream tea anyone?

Two features for Blue Forest Jewellery

I'm delighted that this Shades of Carnelian necklace from Blue Forest Jewellery is included in the current edition of Creative Crafting Magazine. If you haven't come across this yet, it's a lovely collection of crafting ideas, recipes, seller features and hot picks from the handmade high street. You can only read it online but don't let this put you off - it means it's completely free to browse, the graphics are beautiful and you don't have to flick through endless adverts or celebrity gossip columns!

So put your feet up and browse away! This month's edition is full of Easter ideas and Spring themed articles to get you thinking about warmer weather.

Meanwhile, this bracelet

features on the Hijab Style blog in a lovely feature on Spring Style. I must say, it would go beautifully with those great jeans and the pink and white print French Connection cotton top. It's great to see handmade items next to high street fashions too.  Thanks to Jana for making that happen.