Store Spotlight - Baby Laila

This months store spotlight is on Beck from Baby Laila!

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi I am Beck - well really Rebecca, but no one seems to call me that these days :)
I am a SAHM - WAHM of 3 kids, Ethan has just turned 7, Abbi is 5 and Laila is 20 months and last but not least I am partner to Ricky and have been for the past 12 years.

How long have you been crafting for?

About a year and a half ago, I started sewing, prior to that I had only ever cross stitched as a teenager. I actually failed textiles at school!

What made you get into crafting?

Basically I was lonely and grieving and stuck at home with 3 kids!
After some disaster cushion covers I made a baby blanket, that turned out well, that gave me some confidence and it stemmed from there, with each completed project came a sense of pride and the confidence to try something new.

Why did you decided to make hair clips etc?

I started making hair clips after seeing some for sale and I commented that I would like to try and make them, the response I got back was laughter, they didn't think I would be able to, which of course drove me to succeed at making them.
I have not stopped since!

What made you decided to start selling your creations?

I decided to start selling my stuff after having  quite a few requests from people, I started making things only for friends, when Ozhandmade was born, I jumped at the chance to open a store and Baby Laila was born!

What had crafting and selling your items done for you?

Knowing that people want to spend their hard earned money on my creations absolutely melts me, not only that, but when its for a present, that makes me feel great that not only do they want to spend their money on it, but they think its good enough to give as a gift.
Having an outlet such as this has really helped me, I never imagined that it would have taken me this far though.


Thanks for your time Beck! You can check out Baby Laila here.

Please Vote!

If you have a free moment, could you take a few seconds to vote for Oz Handmade.

If we win we will receive FREE advertising on MWWAH.com.au.

Poll's are open until the 1st December @ 5pm.

You can only vote once per day per IP address, so don't forget to come back and vote the next day and day after that and day after that ;)

http://www.mwwah.com.au/Marvellous-MWWAH-Comp.php

THANKS SO MUCH!!!!

Gift with purchase thanks for TBcards + gifts

 
To Celebrate the giving spirit of Christmas for every $3 spent in TBcards + Gifts you will receive 2 free Christmas card to a max of 10.

Check out TBcards + gift here

Oz Handmade Newsletter

Have you signed up for the Oz Handmade newsletter?

Every month you will receive in your inbox a update on all your favourite stores, new products and new stores opening.

To sign up all you need do is head to Oz Handmade and fill in the form, and every month you will be kept up to date with all the Oz Handmade news!

New Stores at Oz Handmade

We have two new stores who have opened up at Oz Handmade!

TBcards is the home of Australian made and printed Greeting cards with handmade gifts.  What gifts you ask...well I personally make hand knitted baby sleeping sack cocoons, hand knitted cotton / bamboo dishcloths and facewashers, I on occasion make knitted pot holders, mummy+me matching aprons and various other gifts to keep variety.

The face behind the store is me Tracey Beaumont a Work at Home Mum with two young boys Lachlan (or better known as Igloo) and Maxen (or better known as Nanuq).  They are the greatest, and although business takes up a lot of my time my two boys always come first.  Maxen was my inspiration to make the Baby Cocoon and he often sits in his wrap making sure the cocoons here at TBcards are made to perfection.

How did I get into all this?
Well I think it all started many generations before me my family were involved in the circus (the picture below is my great grandmother and her family), and although that does sound like a lot of fun, photography and design are a lot more practical.

I have loved photography since a child, when my mum gave me an old camera of hers. I still have many of those pictures. I would have taken many more photos had my pocket money allowed more developing. Over the years I have practiced and perfected my skills. Although like anything else, I still have plenty more to learn.

I fall in love with so many of my photographs, and so I decided I should share them with you, for your enjoyment and for you to share with your friends and family.

I do my best to keep my cards at an affordable price without compromising on quality. I take pride in my work, and will always ensure to provide the highest quality products possible. 

 

 

 

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Funky-Buddha Bibs, makers of the bandana bib in Sydney, NSW, Australia. We are a small company specialising in making high quality bandana bibs for dribbly babies and toddlers. The bibs are also suitable for children with special needs. All designs are bought and made in small quantities rather than mass produced. We source the funkiest fabrics that are 100% cotton for a soft, breathable and easy to wash finish. All bibs are backed with cotton towelling for extra absorbency. Alternatively we can produce custom made bibs to your choice of fabric. All bibs are packaged in a simple white organza bag, making it the perfect gift for family and friends. 

 

 

Be sure to come by and check out these two new stores as well as our other great stores at Oz Handmade.

Pure Natural Living is now OPEN!

We welcome back Pure Natural Living this month.

PNL is back with their handmade beauty products. Handmade soap and lip barm are featured in PNL's range.

PNL Lip Balm with Vit E

Lavender Goats Milk Soap - 110g

Island Escape Sugar Scrub

Minkie Baby Minky Fleece Custom AIO Nappy 6-pack

Buy 6 Minky Fleece nappies, get 1 free!

AIO nappies are the ultimate in dad-friendly cloth nappies. No need for stuffing, folding, snapping or pinning. Just close the velcro tabs and you and bub are ready to go!

These Minkie Baby Minky Fleece nappies are our signature range of nappies and have the following great features:
 

• The Minky outer is hard wearing and beautifully plush and soft.
• Hidden PUL layer for leak protection.
• 4 layer super thirsty yet quick-drying microfibre soaker.
• Stay-dry, low-pill suedecloth inner.
• Continuous velcro tabs for a stylish look.
• Soft rolled leg elastic keeps messes in without marking delicate skin.
• Optional microsuede topped bamboo booster available if your bub is a heavy wetter.
• Available in a range of great fashionable colours in both dot and smooth minky.

Check out Minkie baby NOW!

What's in store for November

This month we have a few specials running, also new stores opening.

NEW STORES

Zahley Rose specalises in handmade bags perfect for everything from shopping to library bags to pyjama bags and everything in between, they also make baby bibs and burp cloths.

Zahley Rose will be open from the 16th November 2009

To celebrate Zahley Rose's grand opening this month they are offering 15% off all bags!


SPECIALS

GIFT WITH PURCHASE @ LEIGH DAVENPORT DESIGNS

Special bonus deal to celebrate Christmas 2009
Spend $15 or more in any single order* between 1st November and 20th December and receive FREE a pair of handmade glass bead drop earrings to the value of $7.
Earrings will be allocated randomly however if you have a colour preference let me know and I'll do my best to meet it.

*Does not include P&H

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15% OFF BAGS @ ZAHLEY ROSE

To celebrate Zhaley Rose's grand opening they are offering 15% off their bag range!

(Link to come)

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WHATS NEW

Minkie Baby Washable Breastpads - "Super"

Minkie Baby cloth breastpads "Super" feature 3 layers of bamboo fleece topped with a layer of stay-dry suedecloth. They feature an additional bamboo layer, making them more absorbant than the "regular" breastpads. They are backed with a layer of PUL to ensure protection from leaks and are fully overlocked for a smooth comfortable edge. Measuring 10.5cm in diameter, Minkie Baby breastpads are fully machine washable and can be tumble dried on hot. They are an economic and environmentally friendly alternative to disposable breastpads.

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Christmas colours Non Slip hair clips FREE POSTAGE

 

Baby hair clips, that are designed to stay in even the tiniest amount of hair, so they are perfect for little princess & look great on big ones too! Price is for 1 clip, the clips are named to make your transaction run smoothly.
I am more than happy to alter the clips to your liking, eg, add a bow, not have a bow, add an embellishment or maybe you would like a different combination of colours?
If its something different that you are after please contact me.
Postage is FREE regardless of how many you purchase!

Christmas Korker bows on Non slip hair clips FREE POSTAGE

 

 

Baby hair clips, that are designed to stay in even the tiniest amount of hair, so they are perfect for little princess & look great on big ones too! Price is for 1 clip, the clips are named to make your transaction run smoothly.
This is for 1 bow.
I am more than happy to alter the clips to your liking, eg, add a bow, not have a bow, add an embellishment or maybe you would like a different combination of colours?
If its something different that you are after please contact me.
Postage is FREE regardless of how many you purchase!

Under New Management

It is with great sadness that Michelle has decided to step down from Oz Handmade, Michelle has done such an amazing job getting Oz up and running and successful in such a short time frame, and I am honoured that she has entrusted me with the running of Oz.

For those who don't know me, my name is Gem, I'm a SAHM, I have a beautiful 2.5 year old son, Noah and a gorgeous and supportive partner, Mick.

I love all things craft and hope one day (in the not too distant future) to earn a living from doing what I love and that's CRAFT!

I currently own and run a craft blog - i heart craft and craft forum, i heart craft forum (can you tell I *heart* craft ;) )

I look forward to getting to know you all and continuing the success that Michelle has already achieved with Oz Handmade.

Store Spotlight: Whimsical Wool

Welcome to the second store spotlight, this time round we are spotlighting Jodie at Whimsical Wool.

Whimsical wool specialises in hand dyed wool and row counting knitting bracelets.

Whimsical wool started with the birth of Jodie’s first child and her love of MCN (modern cloth nappies) and the gorgeous knitted woollies babies were wearing over their nappies!

Jodie’s wool dyeing obsession started at a friends house with wool from a craft store and lots of pots of food colouring. Jodie was finding she couldn’t knit fast enough to use all the wool she was dying so Whimsical wool was born!

The colours Jodie’s uses are bright and vibrant and she uses only the best wool.

Jodie plans on restocking Whimsical wool in the middle of each month but is planning on adding extra stock in September to coincide with the Great Down under nappy hunt, so keep an eye out for more of Jodie’s gorgeous wools.

Jodie was kind enough to tell me a bit about herself.

I’m Jodie, known around the traps as Jojo. I have two gorgeous children – James, my big 6 year old schoolboy and Laila my 19 month old little pixie/acrobat. I also have a wonderful husband who pretends not to notice my wool pile growing and growing each week!

I have always been involved in lots of different crafts over the years. Others that I particularly enjoy include soap making and beading. Last year I made over 300 beaded bookmarks for Harper Collins and a local library to coordinate with the launch of a popular fantasy author's latest books. It was lots of fun designing and making them up. In my store I sell beaded knitting bracelets and will soon be stocking stitch markers too. Sales from my grand opening last month received a set of stitch markers with their order as a bonus :)

I love playing with colour. My son James likes to suggest colours when I am dyeing and has dyed himself up a rainbow skein to play with too.

Kettle-dyeing is probably my favourite method out of the ones I use - throwing the colours in the pot and never quite knowing what the finished skein will evolve into. My favourite colour is purple

and I have to stop myself putting it into every skein I dye LOL! I love to see my wool knitted up into garments - always very exciting.

Jojo xox

Thanks for your time Jo.

Sorry for the delay!

My sincerest apologies for the large delay in updating the OZ Handmade blog - I have been completely overwhelmed lately and thus have been too time-poor to update it regularly.

I am, however, pleased to announce that this shall no longer be the case. I have acquired the services of the lovely Gem from OZ Handmade store Lilypad Creations (not to mention her own craft forum, I Heart Craft) to help me in keeping the OZ blog up to date with Store Spotlight posts, so that you can get to know the sellers and producers behind our huge variety of goodies.

Keep your eye out for the next Store Spotlight coming soon... :)

Store Spotlight: Shabby Raggy Roses

This is my first ever Store Spotlight on the blog - I'm hoping to take you behind the scenes of an OZ Handmade store at least once a week. This week I'm beginning with Shabby Raggy Roses.

Shabby Raggy Roses specialises in all manner of handmade goods that are 'shabby chic'. Jenelle uses lots of rose-themed fabric in her work, so no matter what you buy from her store, it all co-ordinates beautifully. She also has a blog (click here) where she keeps everyone updated with what she's been crafting and more.


Shabby Raggy Roses' OZ Handmade store has so far seen everything from bookmarks, coasters, pincushions, lavender/heat pillows, slippers, wallets, notebook covers and personalised name cushions all the way through to cot sheet sets and quilts. Jenelle stocks an incredibly impressive range, not to mention that all Shabby Raggy Roses items have free postage. Her stock starts at just $4.99 (quilted bookmarks) - you can't get much more reasonable than that! My personal favourite is her store/credit card wallets, at $9.99 they are an absolute steal.

As for Jenelle herself, she kindly took the time to tell me a bit about her background:

Well.... I'm 29, married to Charlie and we have 4 children. Jay who's 12, Breanna is 7, Connor is 5 and 'Baby' Caiden is 2 1/2. I've been crafting in some way or another since I was taught to cross stitch at about 8 years old. Sewing since I was about 14. I've done a range of things... Scrapbooking, woodwork, painting, but my passion is definitely sewing! Shabby Chic style!

I have so many of my quilts and cushions scattered around the house - things I've made that I can't bear to part with!

With 4 boys in the house, my daughter get's a lot of my handmade items, my son's do get a few, but I have to step away from the Shabby Chic colours lol!

I've recently repainted our new home, white wood panels, and a pink / mocha to the rest of the house.

I'm a huge reader - if I'm not sewing, then I'll be reading!

My husband is Scottish, and last May we took all 4 kids off to Scotland for a holiday - something we've always wanted to do, and finally made it.

Here's just a taste of what's in store right now - I strongly urge you to check out her store (click here!), as this is only a fraction of what's in stock:

Thanks for your time Jenelle :)

Woddle Bots - Mad May Sale & Competition

Krys of Woddle Bots is having both a competition and a sale for May - the "Mad May Sale"! It is a joint promotion between her OZ Handmade store and her site at www.woddlebots.com.au. Here's the info:

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That's right, everyone loves a SALE!

So Woddle Bots is having a Mad May Sale. To celetrate that month of May and also the launch of our new site, not to mention our store @ Oz Handmade.

Oz Handmade SALE:
~ Any nappy or nappy pack featured will be 10% OFF
~ Any single clothing item will be 15% OFF
~ Any clothing set will be 50% OFF

Woddle Bots Store SALE:

~ All custom AIO' will be 12.5% OFF (please allow up to two weeks for shipping)
~ All Special Occasion nappies will be 12.5% OFF
~ All instock AIO's, Fitteds & Covers will be 10% OFF
~ All Nappy Packs will 5% OFF & receive FREE postage


Competitions:
Also during the month of May we will be having a competition, all orders over the value of $100 (including packs & clothing & orders made at our Oz Handmade Store) will go into the drawer to win a great prize. What is it? I hear you all asking, well it is a Sara Bear Diaper Caddy worth $45 and only available from the US. Details here: http://www.sarabearbaskets.com/c154/Jackson-p56.html

So be sure to get your orders in and share this great Sale & Competition with friends/family.

Stocking News::
We aim to have a small number of instock nappies ready to go live on the evening of the 6th May, provided all babies in the house are on their best behavior :) An email will be send out when we are finished!


Newsletter Subscribers::

Be sure to share our site around, any new newsletter subscriber in the month of May will also go into the drawer to recieve a $10 vouchur to be used within our online store. They also get the inside knowledge on when our stockings will be, what new products we have on offer, our competition not to mention the member only sales we have from time to time. I hear June will be a great month for our subscribers too :)

(To subscribe to Krys' newsletter, check out either of her stores for details.)

Be Safe and thanks again for your custom.

Krys
XXX

www.woddlebots.com.au
woddlebots.ozhandmade.com

Here's some of her items on OZ Handmade:

Skip Chasey is Closing Down - come grab a bargain!

It is with regret that I announce that one of OZ Handmade's most popular stores, Skip Chasey, will be closing down sometime between now and July.

Store owner Sarah has been on board with OZ Handmade since launch day and has sold all manner of different items - from little girl's dresses, to handbags, hair ties for adults and children, breastfeeding covers, nappy clutches and so much more. She will be moving overseas later this year and therefore all her stock is being cleared out prior to her departure :)

Come grab a bargain today while you still can! Here's some of her items (click on an image to be taken to the product listing):




Bon Voyage Sarah - you will definitely be missed at OZ Handmade when you go! :)

Competition of the Month (May 2009)

Who doesn't love a good competition? To kick off our very first site competition, we have three awesome prizes to give away to people that spend $15 or more (excluding postage costs) on products sold on our site between 1st-31st May 2009. Your order can be made up of items from multiple stores.

Here are the prizes:

First prize is a stunning blue 'Vivian' pendant from Quirky Chicken, second prize is a green and pink 'Helene' bracelet from Leigh Davenport Designs and third prize is a pair of 'Spotty' soft-soled baby shoes from Baby Laila.

Winners shall be drawn on 1st June 2009 and notified via email. Best of luck!

Thanks for your support!

Hello everyone and thanks for your support in our opening week! We are now midway into week two (where did that time go??), and I have been truly humbled by all the messages of support and lovely comments I've received from people both here and via OZ Handmade's social networking on Twitter and Facebook.

To those who have already bought and received items; I hope they are every bit as lovely as you expected. Please don't forget that you can leave your seller some feedback via the Feedback link on the home page.

The amount of items on the site and also our stores has grown considerably since our launch. The new stores that have arrived since my last blog post are:

• Woddle Bots: Modern cloth nappies and gorgeous kid's clothes;
• Divine Baby: Mel has her own range of baby/kid carrying slings as well as 'Messy Bubby' mess mats and more;
• JazzyLee Kidz Biz: Pretty tulle skirts and other kid's clothes to order;
• KM Creations: Appliqued kid's tops and nifty art packs (complete with stationery!) with more to come;
• Shabby Raggy Roses: Shabby chic homewares including lovely quilts and customised cushions;
• Stitches from the Bush: Beading and all manner of stitched goods including lavender bags, pin cushions and more coming soon!
• HoneyBeedz Online: Bookmarks that hold Pandora-sized charms and beads - again, with more items to come :)

I have also started gathering up some items to sell directly from the OZ Handmade shop on here, starting with completely handmade greeting cards and also leather jewellery and keyrings. There are previews of some of the greeting cards on the site now, they should be available for purchase by next week.

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I received a lovely email from Liesa of The Handmade Expo in Queensland earlier this week. The Handmade Expo is a monthly craft market in Ipswich selling handmade goods, and it turns out that we already have one of their market stalls on board this site too (Alana's Soaps and Stuff)! This was all set up by a mother-daughter team (Liesa, Micky & Miriam) which I must say is quite impressive, as they have over 80 individual stalls at each market. Well done!

Of course, we'd gladly welcome more of their stallholders on board... ;)

They are urgently looking for a few more people in the area to provide them with some handmade goods to sell on their behalf at the Ipswich show (7-9 May), as a means of promoting The Handmade Expo. If you're in that general area of Queensland and think you could help out, please let them know ASAP - details on their blog.

If you'd like to know more about The Handmade Expo, please click their logo:

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We are proud to now be a part of Style Collective (http://www.stylecollective.com.au) - this nifty site contains loads of articles and links to various shopping-related topics and stores. We are listed in several different categories of their directory and look forward to working more with the site in future.

Lastly, there is now a forum for our shoppers to chat on! Click here to check it out :)

Take care!

Kind Regards,
-Michelle. :)

Another new store - and the word-of-mouth continues!

Hi everyone!

I'm pleased to announce that we have another store on board - Quirky Chicken - which specialises in painted polymer clay jewellery, though owner Rebecca has plans to expand her range down the track. Every piece she makes is one of a kind so you'll have to be quick once they're listed!

You may have noticed OZ Handmade's logos starting to pop up on blogs here and there - Bad Mummy, I ♥ Craft to name a few. We'd love it if you could link to us also (email me on ozhandmade@gmail.com after you've done so if you would like a mention in our blog!). I've got logo images of all sizes if you need them - here's a few examples, let me know if you need something different:

We'll also be getting a mention in Mixtape Mashup later this week, which is a joint promotion between Mixtapezine & Whipup. Thanks for the links, everyone!

For those who are looking for commercial advertising opportunities, I am working on the banner ad system at the moment and hope to have some rates decided on soon. Please let me know if you're interested. :)