Old Habits Die Hard

           Old habits die hard. As much as I am very busy clearing out most of my possessions, there is still one thing I find impossible to resist...
    The wonderful creations from my favourite Etsy shop, Miss Bumbles. I first discovered this shop in 2010 and bought my first piece, a custom made black cat. Up until March last year I had six pieces. But since then I have continued to add to the collection and I now have 86 pieces (technically more as my three garlands have multiple pieces on them!)
     My latest delivery from Miss B arrived at the weekend. And was a treat for the eyes, a box full of beautiful pastel colours.

Three Easter beauties, the pastel colours are just gorgeous. And I loved the idea of having an Easter Guinea Pig instead of an Easter Bunny!

Possibly one of the cutest bunnies ever, I just fell in love with him. Who can resist a bunny in boots?

And last but certainly not least is this very handsome Guinea called Beau. He's a very dapper chap complete with top hat and gloves.


I've been so busy with ebay that I haven't had time to snap these beauties yet, I haven't even had time to add them to the cabinet. All pictures belong to Miss Bumbles, click here to visit her Etsy shop.

12 Days Of Etsy: Miss Bumbles

1. Tell us a bit about yourself.


For many years I worked as an illustrator ..I discovered needle felting just over three years ago, desperate to have a go I bought some basic materials from the net and taught myself by watching tutorials on YouTube .

2. How did you choose your shop name?


Oh Miss Bumbles was born after spending a grey January afternoon brain storming over milky coffee with my sister in a cafe.



3. What is your favourite animal to make?


I think Guinea Pigs, they are such gentle animals and I love dressing them up, the more ridiculous the better , they do make good gardeners..oh, and cowboys, panto dames ... 

4. What is the best seller in your shop?

Hedgehogs anything in hedgehog form and foxes. 

5. Your work sells all over the world, in which parts of the world is your work most popular


When I first started selling it was just to the USA , but I couldn't really say it's pretty even... this year it's been Dundee! 



6. What inspires you?

Lots of things, Victorian automata,vintage toys, Peter Blake and Walter Potter, who was a Victorian taxidermist who specialized in stuffed kitten tableaux's.

7. How long have you been crafting?

All of my life. 


8. What are your other hobbies?

Oh I don't have hobbies I just work ..well it's such fun. 

9. Do you collect anything?


What don't I collect? My excuse now for buying all sorts is they may come in handy for Bumbles ..
I also have some how acquired 30 vintage Santa cake decorations; they are amazing, Santa on a motorbike, Santa riding a whale and Santa in a green open topped car! 


10. What is your favourite Christmas tradition?


I would have to say winter solstice, it's not really Christmas but an excuse for more fairy lights, plus it means it won't be long until spring! 


11. Do you have a favourite Christmas song?


No. I hate them all! 

12. What is the funniest Christmas present you have ever been given?


A box of tissues from my brother, we all got tissues that year, he raised his game the next year.... we all got slippers!

Many thanks to Ruth from Miss Bumbles for taking part in this feature. Click here to visit her Etsy shop. (That's if I haven't emptied it first!)

An Early Birthday Gift For Me

     I have still been adding to my collection of needle felted items from Miss Bumbles. I now have a second cabinet to put them in (which is much bigger, so I have plenty room for more!)
        My Mum very kindly bought me my most recent custom order for my birthday and luckily I was allowed to have them now. The custom order consisted of:

     This beautiful Queen Of Hearts kitty comes complete with flamingo mallet and a hedgehog croquet ball. The detail in her dress is amazing.

     This Mad Hatter kitty is just gorgeous. I love the colour combination. And he even has a little hand painted cup.

This little cat burglar is just so sweet. He looks full of mischief. He is based on both of my cats as they can break into any room or cupboard.

And last but not least is this Big Hairy Scary Spider. I love the expression on his face. He also has a skull on his back which you can't really see in this photo.

      I have already asked for another custom order which will hopefully be ready before Christmas. I am really excited about it. I also have a gardening guinea pig on the way which I can't wait to see. Miss Bumbles' guinea pigs are so cute, they make me want a real one.


    Here are some photos of the rest of my collection including an early piece from 2009 which I picked up from ebay. He is a rather sweet tortoise holding a lovely juicy peach.

Halloween Excitement

     It's that time of year again when I start to get really excited about Halloween. It will be slightly different for me this year because as much as I love it when the shops get their stuff in, I won't be able to buy much. There is no point being on a shopping ban and then buying mountains of Halloween stuff.
       That said I have bought more Halloween goodies from Etsy. I was lucky enough to purchase more of Miss Bumbles' delightful Halloween pieces.

I think this little black cat with a Halloween treat in the form of a mouse head is my favourite.

Another lovely black kitty sporting a pumpkin skirt and showing off her skull garland.

I love the little details on this Guinea Pig devil, the red whiskers and beard and the forked tail.

This little pumpkin Guinea Pig was just too hard to resist.

And lastly is this very witty headless Guinea Pig. His little smile is so sweet.

All pictures belong to Miss Bumbles you can find her Etsy shop here.

       This lovely lot will be arriving with several more pieces which include a very exciting custom order. 

    I have collected quite a few different things over the years. But I have never enjoyed collecting anything as much as these woolly wonders! Here's hoping there are more Halloween delights to come...

Halloween Has Come Early

           I know you are probably thinking I must be mad to start talking about Halloween. But for me, it can never come too early. It is without doubt my favourite day of the year.
      And I am glad to say that I have already made my first Halloween purchase of 2012. And what might that purchase be?
    Yet more woolly wonders from my favourite Etsy shop, Miss Bumbles. My collection from Miss Bumbles is steadily growing and I regularly check the shop for new items.
      And to my utter delight, when I checked the shop yesterday there were some Halloween goodies.  
      There were three Halloween decorations to choose from. I just fell in love with this little vampire guinea pig and bought him instantly.

        I also had to have this gorgeous little witch guinea pig. She has a beautifully embroidered cape. But the thing I love most about her is her big black wart with hair coming out of it, that she has on her cheek!

        And the last one on offer was this very cute little superhero guinea pig. I loved him too although I didn't buy him. But he did fly out the door very quickly!

All pictures belong to Miss Bumbles. You can find her Etsy shop here.

       I got so excited when I saw these little cuties, I just can't wait to see them in the flesh (or should that be wool?). They will be arriving with four other items from Miss Bumbles' shop.
        It seems as if Miss Bumbles loves Halloween almost as much as I do. So I am sure there will be many more exciting Halloween creations to come.

My Favourite Collection

     If you read this blog regularly you will know that I am a bit of an Etsy addict. And although I was doing very well on my shopping ban, that has now gone out the window.
     My collection of needle felted items from Miss Bumbles has continued to grow and about a month ago, I decided I needed a cabinet to display them in. I couldn't just display them all out in the open because both of my cats are prone to eating things!
       A couple of weeks ago after what felt like looking round the whole town, the perfect cabinet popped up at a local auction. It had an estimate of £20-£40 but I knew it would go for more than that and I was prepared to go up a bit. In the end it went for a whopping £130! Needless to say I didn't get it.
        The very next day my Mum found one for me at a recycling centre (which we had tried the week before but were out of luck). It was a bargain at £35. This is what it looked like when I first got it home.

The key was missing and it  had awful mustard fabric on the back. But it had potential.  But since my Mum has worked her magic on it, it looks great. The lock works and I managed to find a replacement key on ebay.

Now that it's pure white and has the vibrant wallpaper on the back (I was going for a retro feel) it looks like a different piece of furniture.

     The collection looks amazing in it. And the best thing is, it is safe from those mischievous little kitties of mine! The way I'm going I will soon need another cabinet to display them all!

        I thought that I had gotten rid of the collecting bug (obviously not!)  What do you collect? I'd love to hear about all your different collections.

Black Cats Galore... But I Still Want More!

        Today I received a very exciting parcel from my favourite Etsy shop, Miss Bumbles.  Included in this parcel were some of the purchases mentioned in my previous post. And also a very special custom order.

     The first thing I asked for in this custom order was a Marie Antoinette black cat. She turned out beautifully, I love her pink powdered wig and she even has her very own pet rat.

      The next thing I asked for was a little black cat clown. He is just so cute, I love his little red nose and his cheery smile.

        Next is this gorgeous baking kitty. She comes with freshly made mouse tarts and a fishy sponge cake. She managed to resist eating them on the journey to my house!

          Last but certainly not least is this stunning French themed garland. It combines my two favourite things, black cats and France. The detail in this garland is just amazing, I love everything about it!
All pictures belong to Miss Bumbles you can find her Etsy shop here.

        I will be posting pictures of the whole collection soon, I have finally found the perfect place for them all. I'm sure I will be adding to the collection soon. I just can't get enough of these pieces from one of the best artists on Etsy!