New Year, New Goals 2014

This year we thought we would break the habit of 'what should we come up with this year to do differently and then not do it' personal resolutions. We decided to make some resolutions for our blog, we may actually be able to stick to these and tick off some personal achievements along the way.

We have been writing this blog for well over 2 years now! Eeeek. And we have done a lot in that time and so this year we are resolving to do some new and different things and of course now we are writing them down, that means we have to at least try to do them, right?

Be More adventurous...
We have a BIG to do list for this year, lots of places to visit and and new things to try. We have some great plans and we are looking forward to sharing our adventures with you. 

Being Brave...

We really need to blow our own trumpets a little more. We are really bad at it but realise that we need to shout about ourselves and be proud of our work. 

Engage with our community...

We want to take the time to talk to more bloggers and readers - we want to chat to more people out there! We love it when you interact with us, via Facebook or via our comments on the blog. Come say hello and we will chat back!

Share our skills...
We have a real mix of skills between us and we love sharing our crafty experience at our workshops, but this year we want to share more of our skills with all of you. We are planning more tutorials and how to's for the coming year, If there is something you would be interested in learning let us know.

Sharing your Skills...
We have loved sharing the work of some amazing people over the last two years and we want to continue to find and show you the best the crafting community has to offer, If you are interested in being featured, get in touch with us via email at liveit.loveit.makeit@gmail.com

So those are our goals for 2014, tell us some of yours.....

H and Sammy xxx

Holidays are coming, holidays are coming....

I am aware that as some of you read this you will think I am crazy for wishing away the last remnants of our ( in the end pretty decent)  British summer, but Autumn and Winter are my favourite times of the year. I cannot wait for Sunday when it will be the 1st of September, when I am allowed to start being excited about it and allowed to mention the word.... Christmas!

Be aware that there are lots of wintry images and words that follow.

My favourite things about the coming seasons are...

The smell of : Cinnamon, Pine needles, Peppermint and Apples.

The clothes I get to wear : Jumpers, hats, scarves, gloves, boots and snugly socks.

The views I get to see : Autumn leaves, Snow, Frost, bonfires

and the first showing of the Christmas Coke advert!

The Food I get to eat : Shepherds pie, Jacket potatoes, Apple pie and Tomato soup.

The events I get to attend : Halloween parties, Bonfire night, Christmas shopping, Boxing day

and New Year's Eve. 

And shopping for: Wrapping paper, Gifts, Christmas dinner and Craft supplies.

What are your favourite things about Autumn and Winter? Are you going to miss Summer?

Or like me are you excited for the new season?

Sammy xxx

Sew Crafty - Sneak Peek

I can't believe it's May already. It means that Sew Crafty's 10 year anniversary is less than a month away! We have been working really hard to get the shop looking at it's best, with a few changes and a little re-branding. 

This is the outside as it looks now, soon it will look a little different...

When we moved down to No.3 from our previous home in the Nicholson's Centre seven years ago we planned the move in the week between Christmas and new year 2005/6 - it was stressful to say the least!  On the morning of the 27th of December we were all packed up and ready to go, we waited at the old shop ... an hour passed, we called the removal company.... no answer, maybe they were on their way? just running late? Nope, two hours later our removal company still hadn't arrived. There were lots of tears, unanswered calls to other local companies and discussions on how long it would take to walk all the boxes and fixtures the seven minutes down the High Street! Finally, a breakthrough ... we managed to get a hold of the company that had helped me move house a few years earlier, Green Brothers.  Not only did they answer the phone, but they were with us in half an hour with a band of burly helpers to get the job done super fast.

We managed to fit all the stock and shop fittings into a their truck and drive down the road to the new shop. Then came the challenge of fitting all our stock into a new space that was 1/3 the size of our previous shop. We had done extensive planning of where everything had to go and in theory, like fitting a new sofa into your lounge, it all fit perfectly, however in reality it was like a giant shouty game of Tetris.  My Mum, Dad, Grandpa, Myself and Steve (we had only been dating for 2 1/2 months at that point) were at No.3 until the early hours for the next three days moving furniture and filling shelves. We were planning to open on the 2nd of January, but we managed to get most of the stock in place by New Years Eve, We were all so tired, we all went home and were asleep that night by 9pm, totally missing all the New Years parties we had been invited to.

It was such a hard couple of days, in the back of our minds we knew we were taking a massive risk with this move, we didn't even know if anyone would visit us at our new location (at the far end of Maidenhead's high street now, compared to our location right next to the car-park in the centre of town) 

Seven years on after the move, we can look back on it now as one of the hurdles that made us stronger. 

We spent the first six months without a sign, as we are a listed building we had to gain permission to put one up. It's been up their for seven years and in the next few weeks it's coming down, to be replaced by a new one, it makes me feel quite emotional when I think of all the things that have happened in the last ten years since we took over.  More about that soon, in the mean time, I wanted to show you a sneak peek at some of the improvements we have made inside the shop.

We have painted a giant tape measure on our pillar (H's brilliant idea) and a hand painted nod to Mary Poppins along with it.

Some of the new shelving and new window graphics.

New wool storage shelves.

My new desk area and shelves above, who doesn't love a jar filled with tape measures!  I can't wait to show you all the new things we have done and the new sign when it's up!

Sammy xxx

Our New Years Resolutions 2013

photo courtesy of: http://blogs.agu.org/martianchronicles/2012/01/04/science-resolutions-or-grad-school-lessons-learned/

It's that day isn't it, you know the one where we have a think about what the New Year will bring and hope that last year will be forgotten quickly enough!  So every year I am sure half of us have thoughts of resolutions for the New Year and the other half run away from us screaming that we are fools and they never get done anyway so what's the point! 

Here at Live it. Love it. Make it HQ we thought that a few resolutions might keep us on the straight and narrow and help us to work on the blog and on our own lives!  Having it down in print, might make us keep them in our mind also, so fingers crossed.

H's Resolutions

1.  Take Photos of everything I make - this one is blog specific as I make so many things for friends and then forget to take pictures of how I do it.  They would be great to have as tutorials on the blog and yet I forget until its too late!  So this one will help you guys too, so you need to remind me of this one throughout the year I think.

2.  More Confidence in my work - this one is probably the hardest one to do as I am notoriously shy (I bet Sam will disagree!) and not confident in my own abilities.  I am not sure how to go about this one just yet, but definitely taking the lovely compliments I get from my friends when I make them things would be a good start!

photo courtesy of: http://www.j-p-a.com/where_hong_kong.html

3.  Visit Hong Kong - this is hopefully in the pipeline!  A friend of mine moved there this year from Singapore and I have always wanted to visit and so having not been on holiday for 2 years I feel that this should be my holiday!  I just have to continue saving now!

4.  Get out of my comfort zone (occasionally) - this one should also help with number 2.  I have a tendency to stay with safe and stick to what I know and so I think I should step out of that zone occasionally to see what else can happen.  I do shock myself sometimes and have done some amazing things and so I have never been dull but a few more of those moments would be good.

5.  Make more, Spend Less - I have patterns, fabric and a sewing machine, along with the skills to use it and so I don't really know why I don't make more of my own clothes or even alter them when they hopefully get too big!  This year will be all about baking more as well, I do love it, but don't seem to do it that much!

Sammy's Resolutions

1.  To be more organised -  As many of my friends and family will tell you Organisation is not my strong point! My Mum is an avid list writer, seriously this woman has lists of what clothes she took on holiday dating back to 1974. I have always been more of a 'lets see what happens' kind of girl, which is OK don't get me wrong, but I need to grow up, with all the things going on in my life I need to be more efficient, make more lists and plan ahead more, I feel I could get so much more out of my life if I could get more done day to day.

My Grandpa and My Husband on our Wedding Day in 2008

2.  Spending more time with My husband, Family and friends - this is a resolution I make every year, and this year is no exception. I am an only child and have always been happy in my own company, so I need to push my self to spend time with people I care about. My Grandpa will be turning 92 this year, I love him dearly and want to spend some quality time with him whilst I can. I was so busy doing things last year I know my Hubby felt a little neglected, so we are introducing Date night, once a month we are going out together, just the two of us, no phones, i-pads etc. to get some quality time.

3.  Spend less, save more - along with organisation, saving is not one of my strong points, I need to learn to budget my money and plan larger purchases. A friend of mine is getting married in 2014 and wants us to go to Vegas for the hen party, so I am setting up a savings jar, to help me see how much I can save to have a really good time over there.

4.  P.M.A. Positive mental attitude - I am a pretty positive person but I still think I can work on it, I want to try and find one good thing about every day. working in retail that can be hard, but even if it is spending the evening watching a movie with the Hubs that will be good enough. I am also going to work on being so defencive, and learn to take criticism, I have never been good at that!

5.  Getting closer to my weight loss goals - this is a personal goal but one I'm sure will be at the top of most peoples lists in January. I have been on my weight loss journey for 4 years. I had lost 4 stone and got half way to my goal, I have put some of it back on and need to get motivated again to get closer to my goal in 2013. Steve and I are joining our local gym and are going to go together, so we can motivate each other. Our basic diet is filled with healthy choices, however treats, cakes, takeaways and sweets are a regular occurrence, so we are working together to come up with some alternate 'treats' to help our weight loss be a healthy one.

There is always the resolutions that you should always break though isn't there, you know the ones!  The ones where you have absolutely no intention of keeping them, but you feel that you should to keep others happy or make yourself feel better after a week of excess from Christmas, but let's forget about them and aim for the good ones!

H & Sammy

Live it.  Love it. Make it