doof doof (or the end of eastenders)

Hello! Can you believe I have been blogging for exactly two whole years? Well, apparently I have and I thought that seemed like a suitably dramatic moment to announce what is (for me) a big decision.

As the brighter buttons amongst you may have guessed from the title of this post, the big decision is that I'm not going to make any more EastEnders products from now on. For a long while I have been feeling as if I had been drifting down a crafty path that I didn't necessarily want to be on and that the ever expanding EastEnders range was somehow to blame. I'm not sure what exactly tipped the balance, though seeing Handmade Nation and all the enthusiastic and creative people in it who were really good/skilled at what they did certainly helped give me the little nudge I needed.

I feel as though there are so many different crafts that I want to try (and some that I have already tried that I want to explore further) and that I'm not really giving myself the chance to do it because I'm spending so much of the little crafting time I have reproducing the same reliable products, which (once the initial design has been created) don't require that much skill/creativity to make. It has been a hard and scary decision to make and doing a stock take of all the products/saying goodbye to the gang did bring a tear to my eye, but (but!) since I made the decision, I've had more fun crafting/been more creative than I have in years.

It does kind of seem like madness to give up my most reliable sellers (and the thing that most people know me for) but I've had a really good long think about why I make things and, while selling is a thrilling part of it and not something I want to stop doing, the fun of creating is something that I've been missing for a while. I've been telling myself that it doesn't have to be forever and that I could come back to EastEnders once I've got my crafty groove back, but to be honest, I'm hoping (and expecting) that I'll be zooming down so many other fun arty crafty paths that I won't feel the need to come back to EastEnders at all.

So, what does this mean? Well, for one thing, it means that if you've always fancied that Ethel and Willy lavender bag/Pat and Frank notecard set/Dot Cotton embroidery, then you'd better get your skates on, because once they are gone, they are gone, gone and gone, people! I will not be replenishing any items that sell out! Go now and check out the shop!

However, it also means (since I do love my EastEnders range and did want to do something fun to celebrate its passing) that you do have a chance to win a little something. In fact, you have two chances!

If you would like to be in with a chance of winning four EastEnders notecards (one each of Dot, Pat, Frank and Ethel) then leave a comment here on this blog post. You could tell me your favourite doof-doof moment, suggest a new crafty avenue for me to explore, tell me I'm doing the right thing (please!), wish me happy blogaversary or just say hi. One comment will be picked at random at midnight on Monday 28th June Tuesday 29th June and that person will win all four notecards. Don't forget to leave a link to your own website or your email address so that I can contact you if you win!

Or how would you like to win two EastEnders lavender hangers? If so, visit Miso Funky (purveyor of many quality handmade items and the first ever stockist of my EastEnders range) to enter their very special giveaway!

Better still, why not double your chances and enter both giveaways?

Maybe you'll even win twice!

So, here's to another year's blogging and the new and exciting crafty endeavours I'll be able to share in it :)