Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012!

Photo courtesy of Ludie Cochrane via Flickr

It's that time of the year again when we reflect on what the past year has brought us and think about what we hope the New Year will bring. 

2011 has been a fantastic year for the Gingerbread Bunny.  It was the year that I launched my blog and my (very small) business.  I have enjoyed blogging much more than I initially thought I would and have shared my crafty work and connected with so many wonderful like minded people.  It has been amazing.

2011 was the year I taught myself some new crafty skills.  I learnt how to knit and crochet and I am truly a yarn addict.  (My current work in progress is a jumper!  I never thought I would be crocheting a jumper by the end of the year!)

2011 was also the year I taught my first ever crafty workshops and I loved it.  The feedback was great and I am really looking forward to teaching more in the future.

I hope that 2012 will see The Gingerbread Bunny continue to grow as a blog and as a business.  I am also looking forward to teaching more workshops and sharing my love of crafting with others. 

I have set myself 2 crafty resolutions;

To learn how to do Tunisian crochet.  I saw Holly (who has started a crafty blog - check it out) doing some Tunisian crochet and the final effect is gorgeous.  

I  also what to attend more workshops next year.  I have already enroled on the next Textiles course at night school for this term and am really looking forward to it.  I really want to go on a dressmaking course and definitley need to get myself booked onto another art journaling workshop at Art from the Heart in Harrogate!

Since Mr Bunny is working a night shift,  I will be seeing in the New Year on my own with my art journal and a glass of rose.  I will complete the final page in my 2011 art journal, reflecting on what the year has given me, and will begin my 2012 art journal, thinking about my own personal goals for this year. 
All that leaves me to do is to wish you all a Happy New Year.  See you in 2012!

What's in a name?

I thought it would be really interesting to write a blog about where the name 'The Gingerbread Bunny' came from.  For those of you who don't know, The Gingerbread Bunny is the name of my very new crafty enterprise (Eeeek!)  Inspired by my crafty friend Shinybees (check out her fantastic blog here http://shinybees.wordpress.com/), I decided that I needed a craft name to put on my products.  The difficulty came in choosing a really good name and for this I sought the help of my husband and my mum.  I had a pretty good idea that it was going to have something to do with rabbits  (more on that later) and so the ideas came.  Eventually, I settled on The Gingerbread Bunny, which I love! 
So, why the bunny?  Around 2 years ago we eventually bought our own house.  I have always grown up with pets and, after living in a rented house for a few years where we couldn't have pets, we knew that when we got our own place we were definitley going to have pets.  We couldn't have cats because my husband is allergic and we felt that a dog would have to be alone at home too long during the day.  We had heard of people keeping house rabbits and so, after much research, we contacted the wonderful people at Manchester and Salford RSPCA and became Bunny Parents to rescued rabbits Hansel and Gretel.

Hansel and Gretel chilling on the rug!

 Hansel and Gretel did not had the best start in life and, since they came to live with us 2 years ago, have definitley been spoiled bunnies.  They have given us some trouble, chewing through fridge freezer cables, chewing through the water pipe to the washing machine and flooding our kitchen and other such 'adventures' but, despite this, we still love them to bits!
So, this is where the name came from!  I am in the process of creating cuddly bunny toys with clothes that can be changed and I am hoping to make these to sell with the money generated going to charity to support the rescue and rehoming of bunnies! Here is the one I made today, he needs some clothes and I need to work on my eye and nose and tooth sewing but I am confident that they will be fab!

Prototype bunny made from some old jeans I had. 
He hasn't got any clothes yet though but I am going to make him some!

Setting up shop

So this week I have had the opportunity to think about starting to sell my Gingerbread Bunny products!  It is very exciting but extremley scary at the same time.  I am starting small and hopefully will be able to build it as I go.  One day I hope to set up workshops for adults and children based around my crafting skills but that us some way in the future yet. I have made some products to sell, handmade cards and photo albums/journals/scrap book things and hope to build up this stock as I go introducing some sewn goods aswell (thanks Mum for the very cool Sewing with Confidence folders you collected years ago!)
If you have any ideas of places I can sell my wares then please post below.