Welcome To My Handmade World!

Introductions First: 

I'm 'Alice' (actually I'm Zoe, but for business purposes it's Alice, which is actually my middle name...confused?!) I'm a northern girl with a love for paper and all things handmade; I spend my days creating beautiful, handprinted wrapping paper and accessories for my lovely customers...oh, and dreaming of the day when I can own my own rescue dog!

How it all Happened:

Well, how long have you got?? The road that brought me to 'Alice' has been a rather winding one. My original plan was always to become an academic or researcher of some sort - I have a Degree and a Masters in History, and had plans for a PhD - however a series of long term health problems put pay to those ideas.

Believe it or not, the business grew out of an off-the-cuff comment made by my brother in the summer of this year; we were discussing job options, when he remarked 'you should just set up my own gift wrapping business' - this may sound odd, but you should understand that the wrapping I surround my presents in is usually more exciting than the gift hidden inside!

Initially I laughed the idea off, but over the next few months it began to percolate in my mind, until it was practically all I could think about. After lots of research and plenty of help and advice from family and friends - there's really nothing like setting up your own business to show you how many wonderful, kind, and talented people you know - I finally took the plunge, and in Autumn 2013 I set up All Wrapped Up By Alice! 

That's me!

My aim is to create beautiful, handmade gift wrap, accessories and cards; and, in the near future, to create my own bespoke party bag range. All of my items are made entirely by hand, making each one special and unique. To create my handprinted wrapping paper and cards, I use a traditional roller technique which has been used in Eastern Europe for over a century to produce intricate wall coverings. I also love to use ink stamps, to give a rustic, homespun feel to my work.

Handprinted Deer Kraft Wrap

It's still early days, but for the first time in a long while, I feel like I have a plan and a purpose, and that will do for now!

My products are available to purchase through my Etsy shop: WrappedByAlice. I would love you to pop over and have a browse; I hope you enjoy having a nosey through my items just as much as I have enjoyed creating them!

I'll be using my blog to post regular updates about the progress of my new venture, as well as how-to-tutorials, so you can get all wrapped up like Alice! See you soon! x