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 You know the story; there just aren’t enough hours in the day, there is always something to do and you are always on the go! Yep we are busy people so my home is my sanctuary, it’s a place where I spend most of my time, so I want my home to be filled with my favourite things and for me that is a natural, warm and inviting space to spend some much needed down-time. I live in the Cotswolds and am lucky to have nature at my door but it doesn’t stop there; I love bringing elements of the countryside indoors too and thought I would share my top three tips to adding a little more of the countryside into your own home. Bringing the countryside into your homeUsing Natural FabricsBringing in fabrics, textures and patterns that are inspired by nature will instantly give your home a more natural feeling. I am a textile girl and love nothing more than adding some natural linen accessories and love these handmade linen embroidered fabric pots; they are super practical as they can de-clutter a space instantly but the fabric itself will add that countryside feeling indoors; relaxing and calming your space/shelf. Use colours that are inspired by the outdoorsChannel the calm and beautiful colours from nature and bring them indoors. Taking our cues from nature - blues refresh like the water and the skies, neutral tones make interiors clean, crisp and natural and pinks are reminiscent of summer floral blooms and sunsets. Using these colours on your walls or simply adding accessories into your home décor will instantly lift your space and naturally evoke feelings of the outdoors. Bring in the plants Whenever I am out for a walk I can not help myself by collecting dried seed heads from hedgerows, to add to my collection or if out-and-about bringing home a new house plant or succulent to care for. This is an instant and easy way to bring nature into our homes, adding some rustic charm and creating calm to a space, which is why I love sewing meadow scenes - they create an quiet peace to fabric and bring an everlasting countryside feel into your home. I hope this has inspired you to bring some of the beautiful countryside into your home, if it has drop a comment below - I would love to hear how you have bought more of the outdoors in to your home . Hayley x
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 Setting new intentions can have so many benefits, they help you stay focused on your priorities and will give you purpose as well as the inspiration and motivation to achieve your purpose. As you know I am all about spreading positivity and sharing the importance of mindset so here are my top tips to help you set clear intentions which you can actually achieve! How to set your intentions REVIEW - Did you set yourself a word of the year, a resolution or any intentions at the beginning of the year? If you did then review how you are doing? If you haven’t achieved as much as you would have liked, let go of these negative feelings and use this time to start afresh, maybe you expected too much of yourself or maybe you needed a little help or some equipment that you were missing?? Give yourself permission to choose grace over guilt and let yourself off the hook as those feelings will not serve you for setting new intentions. Is your intentions or word of the year still relevant to you ?? Do they help you or do you need to make a change?? PLAN - Carve out some quiet time to sit with a hot drink and a notebook to work through what you would like to achieve? Do a good brain dump of everything you would like to do– you will probably see a theme in these ideas – take a good look through your list and highlight what gets you most excited? And what goals you are more likely to achieve. CHOOSE - Here is the challenge – look at your list and choose no more than 2 goals that you would like to achieve for your chosen time period. Yes, I know, it will be hard to choose just one or two, but this step is so important. As humans we want to do so much more than is possible but if we set ourselves too much work to do, the likelihood is we won’t achieve them!! How to make your intentions stick Make it visible! To achieve our goals we have to have them at the front of our mind . When I have a specific goal that I want to work towards, I write it out every day in a notebook as part of my morning routine, but you can do something as simple as popping it on a post-it note & sticking it to the fridge or why not making it pretty and use a template on Canva, print it out or add it as a screen saver on your phone – whatever works for you, but it must be somewhere that you will see it every.single.day! Break it down "The secret to getting ahead is getting started. The secret to getting started is breaking down your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one" -Mark Twain When we see our goal for the first time it can feel overwhelming, but if we can break down the goal into smaller tasks, we can start making positive steps forward which amount to something much bigger. Choose a time frame that works for you, for me I like to achieve goals in 90 days, so I will break them down into three smaller tasks (one for each month) and then break down each task into four mini tasks which I can achieve throughout the week. Do you know about the 21/90 rule? It is said that it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to create a lifestyle. Make the time - To make our goals happen we need to make time for them, so add your tasks into your calendar and make them a priority, this is why we are only focussing on one or two goals so we can give them all our attention and work on them and allow them the time that they need. Get some accountability - Setting a goal that no one else knows about makes it much easier for us to let it fall to the wayside, so tell your partner, a friend or share your intentions on your favourite social media platform and share what you would like to achieve and your plans. Sharing your intentions will give you a greater sense of responsibility and encourage you to complete your actions! "Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the results" -unknown Keep going! - Unfortunately, life will get in the way, so when it feels hard ask for a little encouragement from the people around you, they want to see you succeed! Also be easy on yourself, we can be a little too hard on ourselves and put too much on our own plate, so review what you have been doing, congratulate yourself on how far you have come, celebrate the small wins and then work on a clear way of how you are going to overcome and conquer – it may take a few tries but you will succeed and I am always here to cheer you on!! **Top tip – when planning your intentions in your calendar also plan yourself some rewards when achieving certain milestones in your accomplishing your goal – these acts of kindness to ourselves help in acknowledging how far we have come and also encourage us celebrate the small wins and help to keep us going!! Why mindset is important when creating your intentions “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think” -- A.A.Milne As we all know, life can get in the way and, believe it or not, we also get in the way of our own success, which is why our mindset is so important!! After I have set my own intentions, written out my goals and have outlined a plan, I will always hunt-out a good quote which will help me achieve what I have set out to do; something that will spur me on, captures my interest and helps me to look at something a little differently. So here are a few quotes that I will be using to help me get over these road-blocks and hope they might help you too succeed in your goals and intentions too! Having reminders around your home to inspire you everyday can be motivating & inspiring.  When we consistently repeat positive affirmations, we create positive subconscious thoughts. We are able to create a new positive reality by replacing old negative thinking with new positive thoughts.  Whatever goals you have set yourself I know that you have got this!!
Hayley x I am all about creating something with more than one purpose, so when a customer asked me to make her grandchildren personalised Easter cards I really wanted to think about how I could create something that wasn't just a card!!!  So while I followed her initial idea, I really wanted to go a step further!! And explored the idea of turning something as simple as a card into a beautiful Easter decoration, as well as having all the joy and excitement of creating something that can be used every year in your Easter decorating !!!  So from a simple personalised card into a decoration which can be used every Easter!  Wishing you a hoppy Easter!!! 🐣🐰🥕🥚 Hayley x  If you have been on Instagram recently you would have definitely heard all the noise about shopping small this Christmas and this year it is more important than ever! With everything that has gone on in 2020 wouldn't it be great if we can start supporting those small and local businesses rather than line the pockets of Amazon and other big businesses?? Buying from a small maker is such a win-win experience, you get to support someone who is making a living to support them and their family, to help them create a happy and healthy lifestyle AND you get an item that has been made with love, it is something you won't find on the high street so has a very unique quality to it and it is more sustainable than buying from the high street, as small businesses buy what they need, make in small batches and most businesses I know (including myself) try not to waste anything!  If you would like to know how you can start shopping small, this Christmas, here are my top 5 actionable tips you can start using right now. # 1 | Make a list – This is a great place to start, make a list with everyone you need to buy for this year, with a budget next to their name. Having a list will help keep you focussed and stop you from being distracted by all the lovely things you will find on-line. And don’t forget if you want to make it even easier, use my free printable gift guide buying list when you sign up to my email newsletter list. # 2 | Shop while you scroll – My go-to places to finding small businesses are Instagram & Facebook. My best tip is the save button on Instagram, so while you are scrolling and you see something you think would be good for someone on your gift buying list, hit the small flag in the bottom corner of the post and save it – create a new collection/folder called Christmas and then it’s super easy to find when you come to buying. ((You can also use this feature in Facebook just click the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the post and click on “Save link”.)) # 3 | Connecting with makers/small businesses on Instagram & FaceBook-Comments, likes and sharing a post on your stories are great ways to connecting more with independent makers on IG and FB. This also helps you to get-to-know the maker more too! I know as a small maker myself that I love connecting with people through my social pages and love starting conversations. A great tip to use if you have found a maker you love on Instagram, is to go to their profile page and under their bio are some boxes hit the small arrow down button to find similar accounts. # 4 | Research & use independent maker websites – Sites like Not on the High Street, And So To Shop and Etsy do great gift guides but also filter gifts by receipt, occasions and interests - so delve deep into what the person you are buying for loves to do or what they enjoy doing in their spare time; they may enjoy taking time for themselves or enjoy exercising / reading or loves to craft. These places are great for finding unique gifts to give this Christmas!! # 5 | Enjoy On-line Markets - Many cancelled craft and gift events are taking place on-line this year and they offer a great source of inspiration and will open you eyes to finding new small businesses to follow and buy from. I love these on-line events and am particularly looking forward to my next event with on Friday 20th November 2020! If you are interested in finding out about other events I would recommend Pedddle.com for a variety of on-line events taking place. I hope this has helped - enjoy shopping small this year - don't forget to check out my 'Shop Small Xmas' highlight on my Instagram page for all my favourite small businesses and if you have something you would like sewn to fill a stocking or give as a gift then please do contact me - I love working on special one-off items or visit the shop page for some gift buying inspiration!
After going for a long walk (the scenic route home) after the morning school run and refreshing myself with nature, I was really inspired by the changing seasons, the slightly lower sun and the changing colour of leaves.  I was left inspired to do the same with my threads and fabrics….so here I introduce you to part 1 of my Autumn range - the colours are reflective of this time of year and some velvet to welcome in a more warming and tactile fabric for the cosier season. And I love the idea of these quotes from Tolkien and Van Gogh about walking in the countryside and evoking those feelings and memories that will last all winter long. If you would like to find out more about each product please click on the link where you will find them in my Etsy shop. P.S. I am working on some new additions for this range inspired by the countryside which would make perfect additions to your home.....so watch this space or better yet why not sign up to my newsletter for exclusive access for all new products launching!! Sign up at the top of this page!!
 Last week there was a definite chill in the air, and I had to concede that Autumn had finally made its arrival known, which inspired me to take a scenic walk home from the school run. I was such a good walk, it was the first one since lockdown where I was on my own, I didn’t need to rush and I could take time to appreciate this beautiful place where I live – and boy, did I need it!!
So as soon I got home, I felt inspired, I got out all my lovely autumnal threads and started to work on some new ideas and once I started, I really couldn’t stop. Here is a little sneak peek I what I started on and can not wait to share the rest with you next week when I launch them – there may also be a cheeky little giveaway involved, so watch this space!! to edit.  Ever feel as if your perfectionist ways are holding you back? You get stuck in the nitty gritty of the fine details and cannot share/do anything until it is exactly how you had imagined it?! There is nothing wrong with being a perfectionist, of course I have to say that being a self-proclaimed perfectionist. Although, I have also recently realised that it holds me back. It stops me from achieving my goals, it makes me procrastinate and that takes time and stress so I have been working on my mindset and that is when I came across the quote 'progress over perfection' and it seemed quite fitting!! Having a small business is hard and putting yourself out there can be scary, so I am learning to detach myself from the results. Not everyone is going to like everything I do and that is okay, but I do have to make progress. Sometimes I will fail and this will be a hard lesson but I will be in control of how I manage that. I hope that learning from these failures and successes will get to my goal quicker and which inspired me to make this hoop - a perfect reminder to see the importance of progress over perfection in the hope that these mistakes will make me stronger and wiser than if I had never put it out there in the first place. *Side note - I wasn't even sure I liked this hoop when I posted it to my Instagram feed, the spots were not what I had imagined, but posted it regardless of my perfectionist thoughts and to my surprise I got some really lovely feedback (point proven to myself). So if you are putting something off because you feel it isn't perfect, then have a little faith in yourself and whisper under your breathe to put 'progress over perfection', write it on sticky note and have it next to that project that you have been trying to get finished and start moving towards your goals. You must make things happen, regardless of how perfectionism wants to make you feel!!  Progress over Perfection Hoop can be bought from my AndSoToShop.com store. Click on the photo to be redirected. I love making these fabric pots mainly because they are so practical and useful. Fabric pots are perfect for storing anything away and making it look super tidy and stylish - we use them all around the house; in the hallway for car keys and sunglasses ready to grab when leaving the house, I keep my make up in them on my dressing table, we also have one on our living room shelves which is for all my husbands small things that he would normally (while not isolating) have in his pockets for his wallet, receipts all that other stuff men carry about with them!! I have even had one customer, at a fair I regularly attend, tell me that the one she bought for her Mum is used to hide the extra toilet roll in her bathroom.
Whatever you use these for they are super useful and the list for using them is absolutely endless!!! 🌿 I would love to know what you would use them for! I have really missed attending craft fairs, especially not being able to meet and talk people in person, but also as this is the best chance to see my collection altogether. So to celebrate this weekends Pedddle on-line 'Local' market I set up a gallery wall, this is also especially great as it coincides with the launch of my new banners range ! I hope you enjoy this process. Hayley x
I love my sewing machine, it's what I turn to when I am happy, sad and every other emotion in-between and I am so glad I have found something that I love and have been lucky enough to turn that into a business!
I have a simple domestic sewing machine and only ever use the straight stitch I really embrace the slower pace of art that free hand machine embroidery allows me and the freedom it gives me to make anything from scratch! This piece I am sewing is the cow parsley fabric pot which you can find in my store now. |
AuthorHi, my name is Hayley and I run Laced Wing Designs. I am inspired by the countryside and love free hand embroidery. I live in the Cotswolds with my husband and two boys. Categories
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