Suelas Shoes and Sangria

When I originally packed my Suelas shoes into my suitcase It never occurred to me just how fun taking product shots on the road could be. Here I am wearing my Mustard Corte Shoes whilst drinking Sangria. (yes the Sangria drinking was necessary for the photo shoot)

These shoes are comfortable for walking and made with leather inner made made leather upper and rubber soles. Even though they are flat i found walking in them to be same as all my other flats.

They are bright enough to stand out with the simplest of clothing making me feel fashion forward (even in unwashed jeans and un-ironed suitcase clothing)

I also packed the Blue and cream Barka Shoe as shown here which I featured in my seaside outings to the coast of Spain. Check out the no Football sign which made us laugh little seeing as football crazed Spain is. (it might have been all the sangria at lunch that made it funny)

So for travelling with style I would (without hesitation) give these shoes a thumbs up, they held there own on the cobbled roads with just a few scuffs here and there. The main joy with these foldable shoes is that they allowed me the freedom to pack several different styles of shoes because of how little space they took up in my luggage and purse.

Here is my original post about these Suelas shoes in “travelling-with-kids-whats-in-my-suitcase” blog post.

I am a little bit in love with these kinds of stick and stitch embroidery designs, because they are exactly the sort of project that gets you started straight away instead of sitting in a pile while you overthink thread colours and transfers for three weeks. The Christmas Stick and Stitch Embroidery Pattern from HoopArtStitch is a water-soluble peel-and-stick hand embroidery transfer, not a machine embroidery file, and Etsy lists it under craft supplies with fabric stabilizer and ink as the materials.

What makes this set especially appealing is how approachable it looks. The listing images show a pack of 12 Christmas-themed designs including a tree, ornaments, mug, pudding, reindeer, presents, mittens, mistletoe, bells, a poinsettia, and a car with presents on top, with the motifs shown at around 1.5 to 3 inches. That size feels very manageable, which is often exactly what helps people stay motivated. You can actually finish one, feel clever, and then want to do another instead of burning out halfway through some giant “character building” hoop.

I also think these are a great option for beginners because the hard part of getting the design onto the fabric is already sorted. You just peel, stick, stitch, and wash it away when you are done. That simple setup is a big part of why stick-and-stitch packs are so satisfying. They remove a lot of the fuss, which means you get to the fun part faster, and that alone can make hand embroidery feel much less intimidating. This is an inference based on the product format shown in the listing.

The shop side looks reassuring too. HoopArtStitch is marked as a Star Seller, which Etsy says means the shop consistently earns 5-star reviews, dispatches on time, and replies quickly to messages. The item reviews shown on the page are also very encouraging, with buyers calling it “very easy to apply, good designs for a first timer,” “exactly what I needed and excellent quality,” and “I really love this product.”

Another nice little sign that people are genuinely drawn to it is that the listing was posted on 15 January 2026 and already has 1,585 favourites, which is a pretty good indication that this style of project is resonating with hand stitchers.

Overall, this feels like one of those easy Christmas embroidery projects for beginners that is genuinely motivating rather than aspirational in a stressful way. It is cute, practical, and has that instant-start appeal that makes you actually want to sit down and stitch. And honestly, I completely get why you are in love with them. Sometimes the best craft supplies are the ones that make it easier to begin.

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