For anyone lucky enough to be going away over the next few weeks, take a look at Italiacraft. Ann Marie Franscesconi has put together a fun range of travel related handcrafts including passport holders, mobile phone cases, camera holders and wallets. My favourite is the comic strip purse (top left). It reminds me of those photo love stories you used to find in teen mags.

You can also find some pretty household goods.

If you’ve got some time to kill before you down tools for the weekend, take a look at www.italiacraft.etsy.com .

After spending a year in Tokyo and countless intercontinental flights, Brandi Brown was becoming frustrated that her boots were constantly interfering with her packing. Having a serious boot fetish, leaving them behind was not option. She therefore designed a bag which could both protect her boots and protect the rest of her clothes from the dirty boots at the same time. Sassy Silhouette & Co was born.

Not only are the Sassy Silhouette boot bags functional, they’re also sassy and stylish containing hand embroidered designs and cheeky statements. Brandi’s designs can also be found on card holders, stationery, lingerie bags and more. Go to www.sassysilhouette.com for the full product range.