Hello again! It’s SUCH a long time since my last blog post, but I did tell you it was going to be a very occasional ramble & not a regular thing!! Well, here I am blogging away, while sitting watching the sun go down; a cold glass of pinot within grabbing distance & the grass under my feet. Hubby & I are currently located in Ramsgate for a few days - we recently joined the growing number of motor-homers, & we are LOVING our new freedom! This is our third trip out in Beethoven - just little local forays, each for a couple of nights - & we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. But, let’s start at the beginning - the hunt for our perfect motor home. When we first started talking about the two of us trundling off for adventures at the weekend, we soon realised that Sew Special Memory Bears & Keepsakes was going to have to come with us!! Running a business of any kind, let alone a creative one, is not a Monday to Friday, 9-5 occupation - no matter how hard you try to make it so (oblique Star T

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?" Vincent Van Gogh I've been thinking about writing a blog for a while now. I've done a little bit of homework - listened to a couple of podcasts, read a few handy online guides (all of which tell you something different!); the usual stuff that I tend to do before I do anything to my website because, let's face it (& this is just between you & me): I'm a COMPLETE NOVICE!!!! I'm not a writer. Don't get me wrong - I can write, in fact I do a great line in waffling, but to actually sit down & write something regularly that I hope & pray will interest someone else is a whole different ball game!! So here goes... I thought I would begin at the beginning - who I am & how I came to be running my own small, creative business & loving life (mostly)! Firstly, how do you do? I'm Jo! AKA Joanna, Sweetpea, Darling, Jo-Jo, Mum, Mumzie, Nana, or Aunty Jo. Hello & welcome to my blog! I live in Kent, with my darling husband, two teenagers, Ma

Hello again! Welcome to part 2 of my blog. If you’ve returned after reading part 1 - thank you so much, it’s lovely to see you again. If you’re new to Sew Special, a very warm welcome! (Just a little aside, before I start waffling on - there are a couple of links in this blog episode. They are simply things I’ve found that illustrate what I’m going to be chatting about. I don’t get any kickbacks or benefits from them.) I love the phrase “tread lightly on the earth” - it is a big part of the ethos behind Sew Special Memory Bears & Keepsakes & I think it says a lot, for so few words! The artwork below is a painting by Brianna Capra (available on Etsy - click the picture) & I love it! Do you have a motto you try to live by?! “Treading lightly” can be applied to so many strands of my life, & I try to be a good steward to this amazing planet we call home. Not fanatical or OTT, you understand, just quietly doing my bit. Like trying to use seasonal, local produce; not buying things with tonn