Birthday Blog Post No. 2

The fab business women I've met over the past year are just chomping at the bit to write celebratory birthday blog posts for The Cool Rule Company (we're one this month - did you know?). And the next person in line is Poppy Lee from Papaver Designs. I'll let her tell you all about her brilliant talent for papercrafts and how we've been linking up over the last year or so . . . 

 

My name is Poppy and I design and create Wedding Stationery and paper crafts for all kinds of occasions. I love to make tissue paper pom poms, confetti, orgami wishing stars, hand cut artworks and bespoke paper favours but my specialism is my handcrafted paper lanterns which make great gifts, wedding favours or decorations. My business is called Papaver Designs and I create work for people all over the world.

I started Papaver Designs in 2010 after I finished university where I studied Textiles and Surface Design. The business started organically from there, designing my first lanterns during the course.

Part of the Papaver Designs collection

I met Abi through a business support scheme called ‘Be Enterprising’ about a year ago. Both being very creative we hit it off and have worked with each other on numerous occasions, offering each other our support and services.


Most recently, we have worked together on promotional goodie bags which have proved very popular at trade and craft fairs. The goodie bags contain a DIY paper windmill kit from Papaver Designs which kids love (especially Abi's kids, who got to try it out first!).

The best goodie bags ever and Big Tot with his windmill

I'm proud of my product range because it is varied without compromising quality and craftsmanship. There really is something for all the family. I have a great following on my Wednesday Wonders blog, where I offer FREE makes and templates for all ages.

Although I don’t have kids yet, I am a proud auntie and a Godmother and from a creative perspective I can see exactly why the Cool Rule range grabs children's interest. The bright colours and quirky drawings are fun and the ‘Cool Rules’ are simple and easy to follow. It makes it all the more special that the children can add their own photos too.

My favourite products from the Cool Rule range have to be the reward charts. These are something all kids can work with and learn from. They come in fun designs for both boys and girls, but to be honest I love the rocket chart design for the boys the most. It's great fun and the little rocket with the child peeping out is so cool.

Cool Rule rocket chart

Abi has a great working philosophy and I think we share that. One philosophy that I try to stick to on a daily basis is: ‘whatever you get done today, you don’t have to do tomorrow.’ I used to constantly put things off until the next day (and the next day) but now I use this little phrase to encourage me to get things done.

And now I'm so productive, my range is expanding all the time! My website is currently getting a makeover but if you'd like to check out Papaver Design's exclusive handmade range, have a look at my Etsy store. I think you'll like what you find.


Thanks Poppy! If you'd like to contact Poppy or see how brilliant her work is for yourself, you can use the details below:

No. 07502332329
mail@papaver-designs.co.uk
papaver-designs.co.uk (currently having a makeover)
poppylee.blogspot.com
facebook.com/PapaverDesigns
http://pinterest.com/papaverdesigns

If you'd like to find out how The Cool Rule Company can transform the life you share with your toddler, skip on over to our website, thecoolrulecompany.co.uk

Happy Birthday to Us!

Well, The Cool Rule Company has made it to its first birthday! It started smiling months ago, it's finally sleeping through the night, has had a good few teething problems but hey, it's just about on its feet and making its own way in the world! Next thing I know, it'll be a toddler.

Any excuse for cake

This time last year I was pulling all the strands of my genius business idea together. The Cool Rule Book trial was done and dusted (with brilliant feedback, of course), the final draft was being lovingly printed and bound, the blog was up and running and the website was coming along nicely. There was only one thing left to do . . . register with the Inland Revenue.

That landmark call was made one dark, thundery afternoon whilst Little Tot was sleeping and Big Tot was at school. I gave my details to the lovely man on the other end of the phone and waited for his heartfelt congratulations. So I was most disappointed when he just asked me if I'd partake in a telephone satisfaction survey. Satisfied? No I bloody wasn't! Didn't he know the hours of toil I'd put in to get to this momentous day?

Luckily most other people I've met since then have been a tad more supportive. I've met some amazing parents trying to be the best mums and dads they possibly can be. I've been lucky enough to have the help of some brilliant business mentors, who have been so generous with their time and advice. And the number of talented, motivated, creative businesswomen I have met has astounded me. I mean, they're everywhere. You're probably sitting on one right now.

Me with the infamous Big Tot and my mentor, Anne

 

 

 

 

Maybe it's a sign of the times but it seems that women today are totally going for it. The women I've met over this year, through mummy-type-networks and right-on-women-type-networks, are calling on their creative powers to get that work-life balance right. What they don't know about combining family, work, health and wellbeing is, quite frankly, not worth knowing. And the important thing is, it's a path they've forged themselves.

I'll put my hands up and honestly say I am still forging my path. I know exactly where I want to be (cue the gentle rolling of waves, rays of sunshine, palm trees swishing etc etc) but the path to get there, considering I'm carrying two unruly Tots, a grumpy hubby and a stack of self-help books, can sometimes get a bit rocky.

I could Cool Rule on a beach

And that's why meeting all these amazing people over the last twelve months has been so inspiring. Yes, their businesses are important. And yes, some of them have some truly magnificent products and services out there. But they're also just normal women, trying to make it all work.

So I've had a brainwave. Let's bring them all together to spread the Cool Rule love. I've asked all of them to write a few words about their businesses throughout our birthday month of July. So, if you want to find out about some fantastic services, some genius products and perhaps get a few pearls of womanly wisdom then this is the place to be.

Go well,

Abi
xxx

Planet Birthday

I have just been to the most amazing place. A place where all other obligations and concerns are set aside. Discarded entirely actually. A place where housework does not matter, work is a thing of the past and you can give yourself up to one single, gripping and head-spinningly addictive focus. I took a trip to Planet Birthday.

Not my birthday. That involved a humble hot chocolate with five marshmallows and quiet musings about my existence. But the birthdays of my two sons, Big Tot and Little Tot, which are conveniently distanced exactly two weeks apart.

Little Tot was first, his being the landmark first birthday and so plenty of inward congratulations to myself about keeping him alive for an entire year. And then was Big Tot's definitive fourth birthday. And that's when I realised I was inhabiting a different planet.

For about four months now I have been using his intense desire for a Super Mario birthday party as an anchor to evoke good behaviour and ultimately get what I want out of him. I believe it's called blackmail. Shame on me. For as the event drew nearer I worked out that I had to deliver. And deliver good if I was going to use that ever-popular parental strategy again.

I didn't willingly go to this other planet. But got sucked in by the sheer amount of consumer choice of Mario-related paraphernalia and also totally entangled in my own creative tendency to think up elaborate and potentially ridiculous schemes. Oooh, we could make Mario cupcakes. We could all wear bushy Mario moustaches. We could build a Mario Kart out of discarded wrapping paper. We could wear dungarees, wave plungers and spanners and run around shooting "Wahoo, Mario time!" at each other.

Or not. I told myself I must get this in perspective. I must consider the financial implications. I must remember the minute scale of my house in relation to the number of children invited. And I must, above all else, get the cake right.

Which is precisely why I decided to get someone else to make it.

Cue my mate Claire who runs a marvellous business called Magic Mummies. She works as a kind of undercover agent, discreetly supplying mums with things they haven't got time to do so they can 'spend less time juggling and more time with the people who really matter'. Or in my case, more time making a 'Pin the Moustache on the Mario' game and blatantly ignoring any real work I had to do.

And because I simply cannot keep my mouth shut, I did not pass her work off as my own. Actually, I was so excited by her business that I couldn't resist using the beautifully adorned (and blooming delicious) Super Mario cake as a means to publicise what she does. She even sourced the Mario figures we stuck on top of the cake and made sure that it was definitely chocolate (requested by the birthday boy) but not too rich or filling for a toddler's tummy. Job done.

So thanks Claire. And thanks to Big Tot and Little Tot for whisking me off to Planet Birthday for a few weeks. The giggles, the balloons, the sticky fingers and the moustaches have all been a beautiful distraction from every day life but sadly I must now return. With a view to visiting again in about a year from now.

Now it's back to being a Magic Mummy myself. Magically interweaving taking care of the family  with being an up and coming, 'one-to-watch' entrepreneur with a hell of a business about to be launched.

And just to dangle a seductive little carrot for you all, you might have noticed the funky little logo at the top of the page. Yes, that's it folks. The final logo for my (slowly) emerging business. Cool or what?

Go well,

Abi

If you want to take advantage of Claire's tremendous secret service, visit www.magicmummies.co.uk