Trinkets and Charms- A Crafting Journal

I've moved!

2012-01-08T12:30:00.002Z

I realised this morning that I never actually came back to this blog :( I haven't restarted the jewellery, it's a saturated market and I'm just not good enough to be able to make a living out of it. The ancient history business didn't go well at all either (spot a pattern here? XD) and back in Easter I got a full time job in the civil service and moved to London!

I have however opened up a new Etsy shop for vintage books. It's called The Bibliophile and it's had a few sales :D I'm slowly but surely uploading more stuff as and when photographs get done.

And to go with the new shop I opened up a new blog, called The British Bibliophile. It's very similar to Trinkets and Charms so if you missed my random posts you are more than welcome to follow me over there!

I may come back one day and relaunch T&C with some different products, or find the time to properly develop my jewellery, but for the time being The Bibliophile is getting my attention.

Thank you everyone that followed me, I hope you're all well!

~ Katie

Where has T&C gone?

2010-06-26T16:59:00.002+01:00

So those of you that read this blog and check out my Etsy shop may have noticed that A) I've stopped updating and B) my Etsy shop is in vacation mode.

This is because of 2 things:

1. I launched my "main" business back in April, doing ancient history presentations and artefact handling for schools. The preparation and marketing for this has, naturally, taken up all of my time.

2. I did a craft fair back in May at my local village fair and sold quite a lot. Not only did this decimate my stock but it also led me to wonder why I wasn't selling on Etsy when there were clearly people interested in my work, so I decided to take a break and have a think.

So basically it's a combination of no time and needing to do a lot of work. Jewellery making is a hobby but it's still a hobby that I'd like to see become successful in it's own right. I've learned a lot from my ancient history stuff, experience that I'm going to put towards Trinkets & Charms in the future.

I decided to put my Etsy shop in vacation mode to let listings of the items currently for sale expire, and so I didn't need to worry about checking for sales. I'm currently working on a proper business plan for it, because even though it's a hobby I do need to get ideas down on paper, and then I can start working on rebuilding my whole shop.

I'm hoping to be back in September, depending on various things going on over the summer. If I'm not back by then I'll hopefully remember to come and post an update here XD

In the mean time you can always follow the blog for my ancient history stuff, which covers Etsy as I'm planning on selling some things in the "educational" section over there (at the moment it mostly covers Zazzle as I'm selling ancient history-themed designs over there), my blog is here:

http://creativeclassicsforkids.blogspot.com/

See you soon! :)

- Katie
Trinkets & Charms

IWTIMH- Study Part 1

2010-03-07T17:51:00.002Z

This is the second to last section of my “I Want That In My Home” series. All there’s left after the study is the bathroom. So clearly I’m going to need to find something new to blog about XD

So as you can probably guess, I’ve moved on to the study/home office. Since I hope to be self employed by the end of the year this is a subject that’s very close to my heart. I just hope that I’ve managed to get everything you would normally find in a study.

The first thing we need is furniture, and no study can possibly be called a study unless it has a desk.

This gorgeous desk is “French inspired” desk is from ShabbyChicFairytale, a lovely south California Etsy shop. The shop has a range of beautiful chic furniture, most of them in a similar French inspired style.

This chair may not match the desk but I love the colours! The frame is vintage while the upholstery is, obviously, more recent. This is straight from ReclaimTheThrone, and most of the shop is all about things you can sit on! Along with more chairs there’s also a settee, footstools and a pillow or two.

You then need something on your wall to help you keep track of time, especially if, like me, you constantly misplace your watch and never switch on your mobile phone.

I went for this clock because I love the shade of pink, and the pattern. It’s called “Hummingbird Vines” and is from KonaInteriors. This shop is all about clocks, in a huge variety of patterns and colours, mostly wall clocks but a few desk clocks (they come with a little stand to rest on) and there’s even a plate clock! If you’re looking for something new to stick on your wall, definitely check out this shop.

And then your desk needs a little colour, and if you have a computer on it then that colour can come from a mousemat!

This funky mousemat was created by GilmoreCreations. This shop has a selection of beautiful items in modern colours, there’s also some fabric hairbands, ribbon keyrings and leather hair accessories, so definitely have a look!

And that’s it for today. Part two of the study will be up on Wednesday!

IWTIMH- Bedroom Part 2

2010-03-03T10:04:00.002Z

Welcome to Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a good week :D I’m currently catching up on CSI episodes.

So on to Bedroom part 2 of the “I Want That In My Home” series. We managed to get the usual things, bed, bedsheets and cushions out the way, now we need the little details to really make it cosy.

And the first thing every girl needs in her bedroom is something soft to cuddle.

This gorgeously soft-looking bear is a from the home of ClareBear. Her shop is all about handmade cuddlies, along with other soft furry bears in various fur colours from chocolate, to grey, and biscuit, she also makes sock bears. Sock bears are a little less fuzzy but three times more colourful, especially the dotty sock one! And if you can’t quite justify buying a whole bear, she also sells little felt bear keyrings!

If you’re anything like me then you like having photos of family and friends around the place, and you need nice frames to put your photos in.

This lovely pale blue frame is by tadworks, and I love the colours! Her shop has several more photo frames in other colours including a lovely bold “dots and lines” pattern, and she also sells “desktop companions” (I also want one of these for my desk) and cute phone charms, lots of little things to compliment your things.

This stunning jewellery box comes straight from Mosabox, their shop has a wide selection carved boxes with mosaic decoration, as well as a mirror and some lovely antique bits as well. Judging from one of the feedback comments this seller is in Syria, but they state in their listings that they ship via DHL, so you won’t need to wait for months until your item reaches you.

And finally you need something nice to go on your carpet to brighten up the floor. This fantastically coloured rug is made from a huge selection of felt balls! The creator, Krita, has a variety of felt things, including loose felt balls for your own projects!

And there we have my bedroom wishlist! On Sunday I will probably be moving on to the bathroom. Or a study. I haven’t quite decided yet XD See you then!

IWTIMH- Bedroom Part 1

2010-02-28T17:43:00.001Z

It’s Sunday, and you know what that means! Today we’re moving on to bedroom!

To anyone new to this, I am currently running a series of blog entries on the theme of “I Want That In My Home”. If I ever win the lottery, I am going to be going on a VERY big shopping spree on Etsy XD You will also notice that I have no sense of matching styles and colours and I tend to be fascinated by both vintage and modern.

So, bedroom, first thing you need is a bed to sleep in!

I’m assuming this bed doesn’t come with all the stuff on it XD I love the carved bed posts! This bed is in the shop of VintageChicFurniture, a New York shop that also sells gorgeous vintage furniture on Etsy. Along with beds they have dressers, antique bookcases and even an antique baby cot!

And on your bed you need some sheets. I’m a total sucker for oriental themes like cherry blossoms, and this elegant set is from UrbanAccentHome. This shop also has wall decals, chandeliers, and other beautiful items to jazz up your home!

Admittedly I already have a patchwork quilt which my Mum made when I was a child, but if I didn’t I would love to have one like this, made by Quiltville. As the name suggests the shop is all about patchwork quilts, from lovely pastel ones like the one above, to bright zesty colours, and she sells patterns so you can make your own!

And finally I want another cushion to go on my bed (along with pillows). And for my bedroom I have one that at least fits in with the duvet pattern XD This elegant cushion is created by DimmalimmHome out of kimono silk!! There’s more in her shop, which also has slip-on coasters for glasses.

And that’s it for today! As before, check in on Wednesday for the second part :D See you then!

IWTIMH- Kitchen Part 2

2010-02-24T10:13:00.002Z

Hello everyone! Welcome to my Wednesday blog post!

So, returning to the kitchen. We’ve got all the basics out of the way with our teatowels, pottery and pretty aprons to wear when cooking. So now we need a little something to decorate it, something that cheers the place up and makes you smile when you see it.

I love this sign! I’m sure there are a whole load of stressful women out there that wish they could smack their partners over the head with this sign XD This was made by JessyKayne, who has a ton of these lovely signs in her shop, from small elegant ones that say “His” and “Hers” to larger ones that include motifs such as “I found my Prince, I call him Daddy”, covering Grandparents, Mums and Dads, boys and girls, this shop covers the whole range of family members that you will, at some point, need to buy a gift for.

Right, moving on, if you ever step in to my mothers kitchen one of the first things that will draw your eye is the number of cookery books she has, and all the folders that have recipes cut out from magazines. I’m not even sure if she uses all of them. What she needs is to condense them down in to a recipe box...

I have had my eye on GiftsandTalents for a while now because I think her shop is lovely! Her shop has recipe card boxes, trinket boxes and gift vouchers, all decoupaged and made to your specific order. The ones she lists are just examples, if you buy from her you can choose your own colours and image choices, which is why the gift vouchers are so handy! You can buy a voucher for a friend or family member and then they get to choose how they want it to look, so you both know they will receive something they actually like the look of (always my main worry when I buy a gift for someone).

And then finally your kitchen needs its cupboard stocked with lots of tasty things!

Those of you who spend any amount of time in the Etsy Promotions forum will no doubt have come across the wonderful Teaman. He sounds like an overly British superhero, flying through the air making sure everyone has their morning cuppa. And the name doesn’t lie, his shop is completely dedicated to the delicious drink that is tea. From teabag samplers in a lovely tin, to bulk buys, loose leaf selections and variety samplers, this shop really does give you a great variety to choose from.

It is impossible to be a UK blogger talking about food, without mentioning the wonderful Marmalady. She can only send food within the UK, so sorry Americans, but you can at least indulge in the photos of her lovely things! She has fudge (fuuuudge!), cakes, flapjacks, biscuits, jam and of course her namesake, marmalade, and not just plain old orange stuff as well! If you’re a bit bored with Seville oranges then try out her lemon and lime marmalade, or the pink grapefruit!

Right, to make up for the fact that I have just taunted a lot of you with British delights that you can’t have, I shall end with an American food seller. SkippingSkones is an American baker whose shop also has a range of cakes and biscuits, including these incredible “cake lollies”. These are baked fresh and you can specify your flavour from a list of twenty, including strawberry, peanut butter and plain old chocolate. She also has toffee apples, pretzel sticks and “soup mix in a jar”.

.....Is anyone else hungry now?

IWTIMH- Kitchen Part 1

2010-02-21T09:48:00.002Z

Crikey, I managed to remember to actually do this! I’m going to give myself a round of applause!

For those that missed last Sunday, I am currently running a new blog feature called “I Want The In My Home”, going from room to room in my imaginary house. This idea came to me after I failed to win £113 million in the Euromillions lottery. Had I won I would have spent an insane amount of money on Etsy XD So instead of shopping, I am merely window shopping, and dreaming, and blogging about it all.

So today we move on to my imaginary kitchen! Obviously I imagine buying a fridge or cooker or kitchen cupboards would be rather difficult on Etsy, unless you want to buy vintage which I don’t (no offence to vintage sellers but I’d rather have a fridge that doesn’t need repairs every other week XD) but there are plenty of little things you can buy to make your cooking area more like a home and less like a small canteen.

Let’s take teatowels as an example...

These gorgeously bright teatowels are by the California-based SommerDesigns, her shop is full of brightly coloured things from the towels above, to aprons, zipper pouches and bags, and with lots of gorgeous patterns as well.

And when you’re cooking you need something to protect your clothes and in my case I would like this gorgeous one! Handmade by the apronqueen, as you can tell by her name her shop deals exclusively in aprons. But don’t let that make you think her shop is dull because it certainly isn’t! Along with adult aprons like the one above she also sells childrens aprons and really cute “half aprons”, all of which look fantastic!

And obviously you need something to eat foot off!

This lovely plate is from the shop of chutneyblakedesigns, a Dallas crafter whose shop has not only plates but beautifully decorated ceramic photoframes and coasters, including custom-made ones for your college, and flower pots, with animal and floral prints and polka-dot patterns.

I will be the first to admit that this bowl does not match the above plate in the slightest XD But if you haven’t noticed my eclectic colour choices by now then you aren’t really reading this blog properly. This beautiful blue and white bowl is was made by KarinLorenc, whose shop is all pottery! Bowls, mugs, casserole dishes, jugs, all in simple but bright colours.

And then finally we have this gorgeous pink and white floral pattern cup and saucer (for my tea!) are from AmongstLovelyThings, she hand paints a variety of pottery, plates, mugs, coffee pots and serving trays, with butterflies, flourishes and other lovely designs.

And that is all for today! The second half will be up on Wednesday and features some yummies!

IWTIMH- Living Room Part 2

2010-02-17T09:00:00.001Z

Welcome to the second part of the “living room” feature! The eclectic madness continues.

So, while I am lounging around on my couch, which is now covered in a medley of cushions, I need something to put my tea and cake and current book on. A table!

This lovely round coffee table was found in the shop of turquoiseshed. This shop specialises in “upcycling” items, and the shop currently has a gorgeous colour scheme of turquoise, yellow and white items.

I also need a bookshelf to keep my large collection of books on!

Straight from compulsivecollection, this shop has some lovely vintage furniture and other bits and bobs such as planter boxes for your garden.

Since my floor is wood I need a nice rug to brighten it up, and like everything else in my living room, it doesn’t quite match anything else XD

This rag rug was made by WebWorksFiber out of recycled cotton jersey knit. I just picked it because I love the shade of red, and I’m hoping the little bit of white will help it match my other white furniture even if it makes everything else look even more out of place as a result.

And then finally I need some wall decoration. I was considering buying some original art work, but in the end I decided I prefer the idea of a wall decal.

This beautiful hummingbird decal is from signchick1, her shop also includes leaf patterns, elephants, kokeshi dolls and plenty of other themes! And it’s not just wall decals, she also has a delightful selection of laptop decals too! And you can pick your own colours! Although in my case I’d probably stick with brown and teal as any attempt to pick my own colours would probably be disastrous.

And there we have my mental home. Stay tuned for more insanity, next Sunday I will be moving on to my kitchen!

IWTIMH- Living Room Part 1

2010-02-14T11:42:00.002Z

So the other day there was a huge amount of money going in the EuroMillions lottery draw, £113 million to be exact. I think everyone will agree that that is a life-changing amount of money. Well, right now I think £5000 would be a life-changing amount of money for me but that’s beside the point. With a win like that you wouldn’t need to work again if you didn’t want to.

So I got to thinking what I would do if I did win (I did buy a ticket, and ended up winning nothing, c’est la vie). And one thing I would spend my money on would be a flat. Not sure where, I’d possibly give living in London a try, even if it was only for a year. And then of course once you have a flat you need to furnish it, so my next job would have been...well, spending a huge amount of money on Etsy XD

Once I discovered that I hadn’t won so much as a bean I spent several hours consoling myself by browsing Etsy to see what I could have bought if Lady Fortune had been smiling at me. And this has then triggered my new blog series, IWTIMH, or “I Want That In My Home”.

So today I bring you the first room that you generally find in a house, the living room. This was meant to be one blog post but it ended up being quite long, so I have split it in half. You get the first part today, and the second part on Wednesday!

Oh, before we start I should actually warn you about my slightly insane colour-coordination. Or rather, my lack of it. When I do eventually own my own place I suspect everything is going to look a little higgledy piggledy and very mis-matched, that’s just the way I am. And in order to save some sense of taste, let's just assume that all the walls are white and all the floors are uncarpeted, ‘kay? XD

So, the first thing you need in your living room is somewhere to sit.

This gorgeous couch is currently available in sprucehome, an Etsy shop located in Austin, Texas. This sofa is expensive but completely worth it, I love the whole “Victorian” look and this couch looks gorgeously stylish. Plus I have £113 million so money really wouldn’t be an issue XD

And to complement my lovely white Victorian couch I would like...

A very colourful armchair. Okay, I’ll admit, going from Victorian to something with a Hippy feel is a bit of a leap in sense and style, but look at it! I love the combination of colours and the large flower pattern. This was hand-dyed and painted by MimzieD, who appears to take vintage furniture and then add her own flair to it (check out the side table as well). Failing that I’m going to need a house rather than a flat, a house that is big enough for me to have multiple living rooms.

Right, what do you need on your chairs and sofas? Cushions! And I really wish I had money right now because I REALLY want these three cushions XD They are simply fabulous!

First we have this gorgeous Union Jack cushion from Helkatdesign. She has other Union Jack ones in other colours in her shop but I’m a real sucker for shades of blue.

Probably a better candidate for Valentines Day but I don’t generally believe that heart patterns should stick to that one day. Plus I think it would go well on my Victorian couch XD Check out PoorJean for more cushions, as well as towels, bags and some vintage bits!

And last, but certainly not least, this gorgeous ruby and gold cushion comes from TheHomeCentric. Her shop is simply stuffed with gorgeous cushions, placemats and table runners and I could quite easily buy her entire stock with my £113 million, even if I ended up giving most of the stuff to friends (well I do only have one sofa after all XD)

And that is the first half of my living room. I will (I WILL WILL WILL!) post the second half up on Wednesday :D See you then!

9th Featured Crafter!

2009-12-06T20:03:00.003Z

Yes yes, long time no see, and all that jazz.

Plenty of you know me as a person on Etsy but there is a whole big internet out there and Etsy isn't the only website I browse.

One of many forums I frequent is GaiaOnline, and it was on this forum that I met an artisan who I know as "Naki" XD She's a graphics artist by trade but she also dabbles in jewellery and once I saw her shop, Koana, I just had to include some of her beautiful things on this blog!

First things first, a very pretty phone charm! The stars are origami paper, folded in to shape and hand painted before being sealed with gloss and a fixative spray so they should hold up during everyday use. The other glittery bits are pealised beads and swaroski crystals and the whole thing is absolutely gorgeous!

These gorgeous butterflies are another example of origami work! The butterflies were made using vellum paper that was again hand painted and sealed with spray before being attached to more crystals. I just love how delicate they look, and according to the listing you can request them in other colours as well, so if turquoise isn't your thing then contact Naki and she'll do her best to do them in a colour you like :D

Along with the Etsy shop she also has a shop on Zazzle where she sells her gorgeous designs on t-shirts!

Merry Christmas everyone!

8th Featured Crafter!

2009-09-20T10:33:00.003+01:00

Today's featured crafter is not an Etsian. I found her through the wonderful world of DeviantArt. I tend to go for a browse in the Artisan Crafts section and when I spotted her photos I just had to start stalking her on DA, and feature her here.

Helen1988 is a baker and cake decorator! And you won't find any cake wrecks here (small pimp of one of my favourite blogs thrown in for good measure) because everything she puts up is simply stunning!

Yes, that IS a wedding cake. And if it was my wedding cake I would be the happiest bride in the world. This is referred to as a "simple little cake", if that's simple I'd hate to see complicated. The flowers and blue ribbon are all made of fondant and the flowery decoration is made out of modelling chocolate, and yes that is a monogram "A" on the front, painted on (if it was chocolate it would probably fall to pieces).

I love this cake simply because of the blue colour XD The title is "Sweet Sixteen Cake" so I'm going to take a guess that this was a birthday cake. Iced with teal buttercream (I think my thighs just doubled in size at the thought of all those calories) and chocolate modeling stuff for the decoration. The bow on top is made from chocolate. Yes, that is a giant chocolate bow on top, if someone could buy me one for my birthday I would be very happy.

And last but certainly not least, an awesome laptop cake! This is another wedding cake, apparantly for the wedding of two people who met on the dating site Eharmony. The picture is fondant (yes, fondant, not paint, not felt tip pen, but actual fondant). The screen itself is foam (I'm assuming this means it couldn't be eaten?) but the laptop base and the keyboard are all proper cake, and look at the detail! Even the keys are labelled! (To see a large version check out the proper deviation and click on the picture to make it larger).

While helen1988 is not an Etsian she is on DA and she also has her own website, Cake Me I'm Yours!, which has even more photos of her amazing creations!

Go check her out and be prepared to end up hungry!

Conker Feature!

2009-09-13T18:04:00.003+01:00

And I'm back again!

Today I went out with my sisters to get blackberries and conkers. The blackberries because my youngest little sister picked some this morning while my Dad cut down branches in the back garden, and conkers because they keep spiders away and our house seems to be full of the 8-legged monsters at the moment.

We ended up spending nearly 2 hours wandering around our village collecting both. Youngest sister got stung by a stinging needle, I got cut several times by thorns on the blackberry bushes, and eldest little sister is now coming down with a cold.

I am now also really tired, blasted country air has worn me out. The blackberries are apparantly going to be used to make sauce for Dad and youngest little sister to have on ice cream, while I am going to be drying the conkers out in front of the Aga tonight.

Did you know that if you search for "conker" on Etsy you get a grand total of 7 results?

This felt pot was made by the UK Etsian cityroad, who also has some great felt badges in her shop!

Oh, and now for BIG news! I WAS FEATURED IN A BLOG!

I'm donating a percentage of my profits from various items in my shop to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and The You And Me Show picked me as someone to feature on their blog! So go check them out as they've also got a great charity project of their own, Art = Food.

I am both tired and hungry, and I really love autumn :D

Bridesmaid Earrings :D

2009-06-30T17:59:00.003+01:00

Someone I know is going to be a bridesmaid next year.

When she saw my jewellery she asked if I would make some for her to wear! This is the second wedding commission I've had. The first ended up being a bit...rushed. But I have learnt from my mistakes.

The wedding is not until next year. But my friend is very specific on what she wants. She likes the flower earrings I sell in my shop and specifically requested the colours for them, which makes my job a lot easier.

She also wants a necklace the same. And she has also asked me to make a bracelet for the bride :D

Oh, and a little pimp of my new phone charm!

Created a Treasury

2009-06-27T11:13:00.002+01:00

I managed to nab a Treasury spot!

And I filled it with items for the kitchen!

In The Kitchen

I especially want the recipe box XD

Treasury!

2009-06-26T12:37:00.003+01:00

I've been featured in a Treasury!

No one has featured me before!

BLOO AND WITE

It's the "Super Blue (and white)" bracelet :D

The Treasury expires tomorrow so go check it out!

7th Featured Crafter!

2009-06-21T09:45:00.003+01:00

Time again for a new Featured Seller, and this week I have dived in to the world of clothing!

I found delguidicestudio (aka, the shop with the difficult to pronounce name) while reading an Etsy forum thread about quitting your day job. Delguidi posted to say that she hadn’t jumped in to quitting her day job, but as a victim of a economic problems she had been pushed. After losing her job as a restoration specialist and artefact handler for museums in San Diego, and finding that getting so much as a waitressing job would be nearly impossible, she took the plunge.

Her shop is, at the moment, a little sparse on the ground with 35 items for sale (I know that’s a bit rich coming from the person who only has 15 in her shop, but I haven’t quit my day job for anything yet XD), but all of them are gorgeous. Dresses, sleep mask, tops, scarves, and a few oil paintings, as well as the odd piece of jewellery too.

This gorgeous dress is described as a “pontina wrap”. It’s made with 100% cotton black and white polka dot material and has a lovely wide belt with a rose appliqué. It ties at the back of the neck like a halter-neck, and looks simple but absolutely gorgeous. And if you like the dress but not the belt, or like the belt but don't fancy the dress, delguidi states that she is happy to sell them separately!

And this is a “Dopo Puccini” facemask, made with 100% silk! Lets face it, there isn’t a whole lot more that will feel good against your skin, and with this over your eyes I think getting to sleep would suddenly become a whole lot easier! Plus I love the gorgeous little bow in the corner.

delguidicestudio has only been an Etsy member since May 2009 and she already has 5 sales! I highly recommend that you hop in and buy something from her now, before she becomes too flooded with work :D

New listing!

2009-06-18T17:39:00.002+01:00

I know, I'm a bad blogger XD

I have a new listing, Snow!. My first charity listing, although I've now gone over my other items and added two more earrings.

$2.50 from selling those earrings goes to my favourite charity, the Motor Neurone Disease Association. I'm trying to raise £200 for them by October 2011. I've got a bunch of my friends collecting stamps for me to sell for the charity, and I'm contributing some of my jewellery :D Hopefully going to add some of my cards as well in the future.

I apologise for not blogging as much I should XD

First Featured Items!

2009-05-10T09:42:00.003+01:00

Yes! It's Sunday and that means it is time for my new spot! Featured items!

Because I see so many lovely items on Etsy and it's very difficult to get a Treasury spot, I felt I may as well use some of this blog space to highlight some of the lovely things I see as I browse!

This gorgeous scarf has been knitted by tallib, who specialises in knitted items. Her shop is full of hats, scarves and gloves and the occasional doll, all knitted by her. And she's currently having a Spring Sale!

I make cards as welll (obviously from my last post) but I can't make them nearly as lovely as this one, created by mrsdstahl, who doesn't just do cards but also has wedding invitations and stationary sets! Currently 10% of her profits are going towards the Fisher House charity which helps the families of injured military personel (the English equivalent would be Headley Court in Surrey). So not only do you get some lovely things to give people, but you're also helping a charity!

Being a jewellery maker myself I can appreciate pretty pieces, especially when they're made of memory wire!!! (I love memory wire). This green bracelet was made by greenstar9, a relative newcomer who Etsy as she has only been there since January this year, but she already has two sales (including this bracelet) so I think we'll be seeing more of her in the future!

These adorable tags were found in the shop of detailshomegoods. This shop is a veritable treasure trove of items, from greetings cards to napkin rings, all involving some kind of sewing! Plus they ship internationally! Always good to know when you're browsing.

Raise your hand if you want a cushion made with that fabric! Yes, I've raised my hand too. I love the pattern and I love the shade of pink used. LittleMissQuarter printed this by hand, and has got lots of other lovely printed materials in her shop! She is VERY new to Etsy, she only joined at the end of April, but she has 2 sales and is currently offering a "Three For Two" offer to celebrate her shop opening. If you're better at sewing than I am and would like a funky or cute cushion cover for your home, this is the place to check out!

And last but not least, cupcakes! Not for eating though, purely for your hair. Charity5 is currently taking a mini hiatus to catch up on her orders because she is incredibly popular, and I can see why! Her shop is full of items for you to dress your children in, including some GORGEOUS costume pieces that make me wish my sisters were 5 again. Her shop is still open but with a reduced line from the look of things, so I would recommend this place as the place to go when you need to buy Christmas presents for little people.

And now go check out the shops themselves!

Featured Crafter will return next Sunday!

New Feature Tomorrow!

2009-05-09T10:12:00.002+01:00

I have come up with a new feature for my alternate Sundays (until I get bored :P)!

It's quite difficult to choose a particular crafter, especially with so many lovely items that I see on Etsy.

So I'm going to stat doing a Featured Item selection, 6 items from 6 different crafters, and this way more people get featured, I get more to write about, and you guys have more pictures to look at. Everyone wins!

So keep your eyes peeled like onions tomorrow!

Ooooh cards!

2009-05-06T10:15:00.002+01:00

So a little while ago I decided to start planning what Christmas cards to make for next Christmas. I now know from last year's experience that the time to start making Christmas cards is some time in June, so I thought I should jump ahead and get planning while I had inspiration.

I absolutely adore Woodware Clear Magic stamps and bought 2 lots of Christmas ones back in November, and decided to put at least one set to good use this Christmas (a bit more difficult to use the other set and they are a bit larger and I tend to struggle to get an even amount of ink on them).

These are all hand stamped and hand coloured so believe you me, it takes me a while to make them XD I apologise for the poor quality of the pictures, I took them using my tiny little Nikon, my Etsy photos are taken by my Dad using his awesome stock photography camera so they look a lot better.

As you can see, this one involves 3 Christmas stockings and then mittens in each corner. I just the same mitten stamp for each corner but I might change it so I have two different mittens, in diagonally opposite corners, need to test that one out next. I don't particularly like this one because I think there is too much white space.

In this one I have 3 stockings, 2 hats and 4 mittens. But it took much longer to colour because the mittens are all different and I kept losing track of which pens I had used (I have the full range of 36 Whispers double end markers). The stocking on the right is actually sky blue rather than a sort of mental glowing turquoise glowing blue. If I put these into production when I will more than likely only use 2 mittens and, as with my plan for the one above, have them diagonally opposite.

The text reads "Christmas Wishes" and I will probably do it in red or green rather than black, just need to get a red or green ink pad.

And here we have nothing but mittens! The text reads "Warm Woolly Mittens" and I added little springs of holly to the corners. I think this is my favourite one because I managed to space all the mittens fairly evenly so it looks quite colourful and the white space is more scattered than in big blocks.

I'll probably end up doing some cards as mixed packs and some as packs with just that theme (i.e. one pack with cards with the first design).

I made some earrings the other day so now I just need Dad to photograph them and I can list them on Etsy! Yay for new things!

6th Featured Crafter

2009-05-03T10:41:00.002+01:00

It's Sunday, and this time I remembered!

Today's featured crafter is Donna from cutedesigns, she is actually remarkably close to me, geographically speaking, as she lives in England, just a few miles down the road from me (not something I was expecting when I joined Etsy I must admit, I started singing "It's a small world after all" when we realised XD).

Donna has been crafting since she was very little, although she confesses that she fell out of the crafting habit for a few years before returning to it properly 3 years ago. And as her shop name shows, Donna sells cute items.

And this shows just how cute! I swear I went "awww!" the moment I saw this gorgeous amigurumi cupcake in her shop. From the strawberry on his head to the little felt blushes on his cheeks, this little guy is the epitome of cute. Apparantly it can take several hours to make each crocheted item, longer if they have limbs, but I think a labour of love is always worth it. Especially when the result is an adorable cupcake.

And here we have Felix Scout McFrosty, a penguin in a badge! My boyfriend loves penguins (possibly because people used to call him "Wingy" at school) so I always keep my eye open for things with those flight-less birds on, and then I spotted this badge! Unfortunately it's the only badge available at the moment, and there won't be for a while, Donna says that she has got so many cute animals in her head waiting to come out in crochet that badges are on hold for the time being. But I'm sure that once she has got enough of them out of her head and in to reality, then we'll see more of Felix Scout McFrosty and his penguin clan!

All of Donna's cute items are inspired by animals (apart from cupcakes), which would explain why she has crocheted bunnies, a hand-sewn cow, and a felt chick pin badge, along with The Blobs (both crocheted and hand-sewn), all scattered amoung adorable cherry polymer clay charms and kawaii cup of tea clay charms.

So go and check out cutedesigns and add a bit of adorable to your life!

Wow

2009-04-26T09:30:00.003+01:00

So I came on here to post an "I'm not dead I'm just away!" message, since I haven't done anything on here since I featured Chichi, and I suddenly find I have 20 followers.

That probably isn't a big deal for most people, but I guess it is for me because I'm not used to having so many people, that I've never met before, interested in things I write.

So I was going to come on here and go "don't expect another featured seller thing soon", because I'm currently in a work swing on an entirely different track. I haven't done any crafting for a while, instead I've mostly been doing a lot of research in to ancient Egypt for my other business. I need to do more reseach on Roman Britain next XD

I recently bought a book called "Starting Your Business Week By Week" and it's very good. It's got my motivated enough to do this work after several weeks of moping around thinking I'll never make a success of it. Doing the research itself is giving me a lot of ideas, I think I will need to buy a new laptop cable for my old laptop, and then set it up on my ex-crafting desk, disable the internet so I don't feel tempted to log on to it, and then write up things like Presentations on there, then move them over to this laptop using a pendrive to add pictures and tidy the whole thing up. I'll also use it as a back-up for said work, don't want to lose it all if something happens to this laptop.

But having seen that there's now 20 people who vaguely like what I say and do on here, I guess I'll have to keep up with the Featured Artist posts at least XD although it may have to be once every two weeks for the time being, and I'll try to think of something else to do for the weeks inbetween to keep you lot amused :D

So don't worry, I'm not dead, just off on a different mental tangent!

5th Featured Crafter!

2009-04-05T10:34:00.002+01:00

Yes! This week I am on time DESPITE sending my questions to this weeks crafter last night DX

This week we have the lovely Gretchen from chichiboulie. Gretchen is french, currently located in Lille in northern France. Gretchen's work is filled with art in a very french style, which I love, and her shop is full of a wide variety of items from original paintings to little "Boulie Bags".

Since signing on to an agent Gretchen has tried to keep some sort of schedule going but does occasionally find that she has to drop anything in order to get a design or idea down on paper (something I think we can all sympathise with), occasionally her work requires a bit of research which can add to the time it takes to make everything, but other times she will have a day of total creativity and just let it roll.

This is one of Gretchen's items featuring her character "Nellie Bellie". It is a little tea party planner set, featuring recipe cards, a blank invitation that can be photocopied, and cards explaining how to be prepared for the party.

Nelllie Bellie is an original character created by Gretchen, there are also some lovely Nellie badges on sale in her shop, who told me that Nellie was originally made for a project and "she just looked like a Nellie to me". Apparantly Gretchen loves naming things, along with giving her 3 children long names (from the sounds of it she just couldn't settle on one) she also comes up with names for all her characters, her fairies all have names as well, such as Eloise Greengrass and Isla Waterspring.

And this lovely little mirror features The Snowman and the Wee Mouse, I think the wee mouse is absolutely adorable! Sadly Gretchen has sold out of mirrors for the time being, but don't let that put you off visiting her shop as she still has lots of gorgeous items, from original art work to colouring books, birth announcements, and cards!

And as for Nellie's future? Well, I asked Gretchen if there were any plans to write and illustrate her own books featuring the adorable Nellie, and she has said that she would love to do a cookbook featuring Nellie, but it will have to wait until all her children are at school. So keep your eyes peeled, in a few years time there could be Nellie's Cookbook coming to a bookshop near you!

And now I insist that you all go and visit chichiboulie.

4th Featured Crafter!

2009-03-29T12:48:00.002+01:00

Okay, this week it is actually on time!

This week I am bringing to you jewellery! And very awesome, complicated-looking jewellery at that!

So say hello to Aranwen! I originally found her Deviantart page while hunting for things to add to my favourites. She's Greek, currently located in the ancient city of Athens. Her jewellery has a lovely gothic look, with cameo brooches, chokers, and earrings to make any Goth want to blow their entire pay packet then and there.

This is the piece on DA that caught my eye and I think you can see why. This is a gorgeous watch/cuff made using silver plated brass. Despite being stuck to the cuff the watch inners are still accessible so a jeweller can replace the battery when it eventually wears out. The cuff part is also stamped on either side and there is a little key underneath the heart shaped watch piece, making it both romantic and elegant.

And here we have a lovely necklace made with silver plated brass and a lovely piece of blue sodalite. I love the shape of the wings around the blue centre, the colour of the sodalite goes really well with the silver of the piece around it. This piece has sold but she also has a lovely red one and a black one still available.

Making each piece takes a week according to the creator of these lovely pieces. She uses stampings and findings, starting with a base and building the whole thing up layer by layer, the glue that secures it all together takes 24 hours to dry so a very complicated piece could easily take longer than a week to put together.

And remarkably, she simply compiles the pieces that she thinks will match well! So that's no sketching out the design before hand, she just gets up and goes! I wish I could do that with my jewellery XD

And now you must all check out her Etsy shop to see the rest of her lovely jewellery (I highly recommend you check out the cameos).

Delay to Featured Crafter

2009-03-22T17:32:00.002Z

This weeks Featured Crafter spot is delayed, because I sent some questions to my chosen person yesterday because I am silly, so haven't heard back from them yet XD Note to self: Prepare in advance.

Instead I have some fantastic news of my own. I SOLD MY FIRST ITEM ON ETSY!

I sold a pair of czech glass flower earrings, the lilac and olive ones. You should have heard my shriek of joy when I saw it XD

So I have spent today making a little "thank you for buying" card and on Tuesday I will be popping the little package in the post (I can't post it tomorrow as I'm at work all day).

Taken nearly a year XD I suspect, although I'm still unsure, if the buyer found me via LuvHandmade.com, but I think this is the case as the timing is too coincidental.

Dad is cooking dinner today as it is Mother's Day. And I'm now going to find more featured sellers for the next few weeks so I can ask them questions about their items well ahead of time XD

OMG Front Page!

2009-03-17T10:00:00.002Z

OMG! I'm on the front page of a website called LuvHandmade!

I replied to a post in the Etsy forums but I thought I was late in my reply :( but apparantly not!

So go check it out, and the other fabulous sellers that they are also featuring :D

3rd Featured Crafter!

2009-03-15T19:51:00.003Z

Okay, I completely forgot about this last week XD surprise surprise.

But I have got a real treat for you guys to make up for this! I have added a new DeviantArt account to display my jewellery on and as a result have recently been browsing the other photos in the Artisan Crafts section, where I found this week's crafter!

ChaeyAhne an artist from the USA, who along with drawing, also makes the most gorgeous feather quill pens! She uses different types of feather, such as white goose and swan, along with beads, crystals, gemstones and fine handspun threads.

I honestly have no idea how long it takes her to make each one but at a guess I'd say several hours at the very least. The attention to detail in each one makes them completely exquisite, all you would have to do is pick one up to feel like a proper writer, especially around NaNoWriMo time.

This one is my absolute favourite because I LOVE that shade of blue. It is made with a vintage millinary feather, with hand painted gold decoration and crystals along the center.

And I simply had to include this one because it was the one that caught my eye! This one has been made with a vintage goose quill with mute swan and dove feathers added. The little blue-violet decoration up the feather itself is simply exquisite and really makes the whole thing stand out.

Sadly ChaeyAhne doesn't have an Etsy site, but she does have her own online shop with a large number of these gorgeous pens, I highly recommend you all check them out!

2nd Featured Crafter

2009-03-01T10:05:00.001Z

Since joining Etsy I have seen quite a lot those "scrabble tile" pendants around. They always look lovely, although I tend to be a tad put off by the fact that they're made using scrabble tiles because who wants a letter on the back of their pendant? My necklace flips around all the time and I'd rather had it looking blank than showing something that could confuse, and that doesn't look very nice.

So you can imagine how thrilled I am to find someone that doesn't use scrabble tiles, but still makes beautiful pendants! While posting on Etsy I came across Vibedesigns.

Located in Sydney, Vibedesigns makes round and long rectangular pendants using an acrylic base to which she adds paper and then covers it with a layer of resin to make it shiny. Once it is all finished she attaches it to a silver chain, and it's ready to be sold. In total making each pendant takes an hour but the resin requires a full day to dry properly, that's a long wait, if it was me I'd be constantly running back to check if it was done yet XD

I love the shade of blue in this pendant, it's so bright and cheerful that I don't think it could help but make you smile whenever you put it on, and the flowers give it a delicate, graceful touch.

As for this pendant, found under the title "Indian Dreams", the mixture of soft shades of pink with the cool splash of blue from the flower would make it the perfect accessory for summer parties and barbeques.

Her shop link is above and she also has a blog, I highly recommend you check out both ^_^

And I return!

2009-02-27T18:17:00.003Z

I'm back from university! Had a nice time, watched some anime, got both my dissertations printed off, had some tasty food, unfortunately the travelling has given me a headache.

But a headache has not stopped me from listing a new pair of earrings today!

Olive and Lilac!

Now I need to work out what to have for dinner tonight as Mum doesn't feel like cooking.

Tomorrow a new craft shop is opening in the garden center that my brother works at, so I am going to visit it, and then for lunch we're going to visit my uncle!

And on Sunday I will be having the second of my Featured Crafter spots! And the crazy part is that I've also found the 3rd one, and possibly the 4th! XD

New Listings!

2009-02-26T10:26:00.002Z

I added two new items to my shop, one yesterday and one today, and then I've got two more left, one which will go up tomorrow and the other which will go up on Saturday, and then I have a pile of 8 things for my Dad to photograph so I can upload them as well.

Yesterday I added these earrings:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21522481

Made with czech glass and swarovski crystals.

And then today I added these:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21558770

Made with pearls and shell beads.

Today I am returning to my old university, going to spend the evening with the Anime society before crashing on a friend's floor. And then tomorrow I will hopefully be printing off copies of my BA and MA dissertations and binding them as I never got my copies back from the examiners :( I'd like a hard copy of each one that I can treasure, so that's tomorrows aim!

I will be back tomorrow evening!

Wow! 6 Followers!

2009-02-25T13:16:00.002Z

Apparently there are 6 people watching this blog o.o *Waves* Hello watchers!

This is quite possibly the first blog I have ever had where the people reading it aren't my friends from school/university but are in fact total strangers who are watching me because they presumably like my writing style, or my pictures, or are just waiting to see if I snap one day and crack someone over the head :D

So since none of you know me I thought I would let you all in on some interesting facts about myself.

I am one of those odd people that is fascinated by the ancient world. When I was 9 my primary school held a Roman day, we made our own dresses and togas and had a day playing and it was a lot of fun, I learnt my first latin words, sinistra and dextra, left and right, which was also the first time that I heard about left handed people being thought of as "evil" back in times gone by (I myself am left handed). If I had never taken part in that day I may have ended up studying "modern" history, but instead I have followed the ancient world all the Master's level!

I am the eldest of 4 children, my brother was born when I was 5, then my eldest little sister came along when I was 12 and my youngest little sister followed when I was 14. Very big age gaps but I wouldn't swap any of them for the world (well, I might swap my brother, but not my sisters).

I broke my wrist a few days before my 11th birthday, I slipped over ice skating and all my weight went on one hand, which broke the largest bone in my wrist (the smaller of the two bones on the other hand was fine!).

I got in to jewellery making entirely by accident. In the summer before my MA I had a job that was meant to last for 3 months, but me and another 2/3rds of the team were let go after 2 weeks and by then there were no other summer jobs left. I was browsing eBay when I stumbled on the beads section and thought "I could make something pretty with some of these". Made quite a few mistakes at first but once I borrowed a book from the library things became a LOT easier.

When I make things I am either watching TV (Top Gear or The Simpsons for preference) or listening to Metallica or The Killers.

I have green eyes, I wear glasses, my left eye is short sighted with an astigmatism, my right eye has near perfect vision XD I have brown hair, I have never had a proper hairstyle, I just grow it until I get fed up and have it cut back up to above my shoulders. It spends most of it's time in a ponytail.

And that's it because you're all going to get bored if I go on much longer :D

I've tried sorting out my "desk" today. My desk is actually an old wallpaper table that sags in the middle, there's another desk outside my room that I also use as that's less rickety. In fact the wallpaper table just holds stuff that would normally go on the floor XD Mum says it will have to go soon but after going through everything today I can't get rid of it yet, I'm going to need to get some more boxes or something to put things in, or some of those plastic drawers that can be tucked away in a corner of the room.

Hmm, decisions decisions, tidying tidying, anything to stop my Mum nagging ;)

Treasury!

2009-02-24T11:33:00.000Z

I managed to nab a Treasury the other day, and I filled it with purple things:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=41894

1st Featured Artist!

2009-02-22T11:18:00.006Z

I have decided to do one of those "Featured Crafter" things that so many bloggers do. I hate following the crowd (which it why it took me 2 years to read the DaVinci Code and why I refuse to read the Twilight series) but I decided that I just HAD to after today's discovery!

So, with any luck (or if I'm not too lazy) this will become a regular, or semi-regular, Sunday event.

Right, on with the story! I was browsing the Artisan part of DeviantArt when I came across this amazing mask maker, Merimask. Her work is just mind blowing, the amount of time and detail that she puts in to each creation is astounding, she must have the patience of a saint!

When I saw her work it made me think of the lovely masks you see in Venice. I've got one that's blue and silver was bought from a touristy shop XD my Dad has a lovely one in cream with this pretty musical note pattern covering it that he bought from a darling shop down a little alley next to one of the canals (I hated the canal part of Venice, I had visions of my sisters falling in to them DX). But I have no idea what mine or my Dad's ones are made of (I assume some sort of paper mache thing for mine), Merimask's ones are made of leather!

On her DA page she has two links to her journal describing her process for making each mask (over 10 hours, ouch!) and the way it all comes together is pretty damn cool. Like I said, she must have the patience of a saint (I could never do it as I'd get bored after an hour XP). Here are two examples of her work, from her DA gallery (I had to trim and resize them a tiny bit)...

I love the simple elegance of this one, although she does say that carving the blossoms too "forever" which is why she only made this once, and who can blame her?

And this one I like because of all the detail she's done with the scales, and the fact that it's such a gorgeous shade of red. And apparantly it appeared on stage in Japan last year! How fabulous is that?

And now I suggest that you all go visit her Etsy shop!

Changes are coming

2009-02-20T15:37:00.002Z

It's a Friday, that means it's blog time!

So, I have next week off work, and because I won't have to take a day to mentally recover from a 9 hour Monday shift and then take another day to mentally prepare myself for the 9 hour Monday shift, I will suddenly have a whole week of time on my hands!

I am going to put this to good use and re-do my Etsy shop. New banner, new icon, hopefully some new items once my Dad gets his camera out. I have completely run out of sterling silver ear wires and gift boxes so I am going to re-stock, and I am going to go through my craft fair box and make sure everything that I want listed on Etsy is already up there.

I am also going to be opening a shop on Folksy! There are a lot of jewellery sellers there as well but I think that with my prices in pounds rather than dollars I can attract some more customers.

In fact I have a list of 24 things to do during my week off! There are a lot of little jobs that I have been putting off recently, so this is the week to get them done!

But the best bit is on Monday I am going to go to Cambridge with my favourite book (Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris) and go to a tea shop to have a cup of tea and a nice cake and just sit and be English. Oh, and on Thursday I am returning to my university so see my old friends and once again walk on campus. I do miss Royal Holloway a lot, those 4 years were the best of my life. If I could afford it I would be doing a PhD right now.

Right, off to work!

Storage!

2009-02-08T17:35:00.003Z

Went to Hobbycraft today and bought some more bead boxes. I didn't get enough though, because I underestimated how many beads I have XD But I do have all my crystals in one, all my dyed shells in another, all my findings in a third, and my glass foil ones in a fourth, and I deliberately left some space for the beads that should be arriving on Monday or Tuesday. I'm going to post some of my unused beads to my cousins as both of them have started to make jewellery, and I will try and sell some of the other ones I don't use and don't want.

Oh, and I've just discovered Etsy Mini, but I can't make it work on here DX

Long time, no post DX

2009-02-06T14:28:00.002Z

I seem to have lost track of this blog over the holiday. Christmas was very good but very hectic as I work at a supermarket and volunteered for a lot of overtime.

So, what crafting news? Not much unfortunately as I've been working some other things recently. But there will be more updates in the future as I am taking part in the "101 things in 1001 days" project. Two of my aims involve crafting, one is to make 101 pieces of jewellery, the other is to make 202 cards.

I bought some new beads off Ebay, some dyed shells, some silver bead caps, a bunch of czech pressed glass beads, aaaand, something else. Due to the bad weather I've only received the shells so far, but they are very pretty!

And that is it for now! I shall try to remember to update each Friday, and take photos of stuff that I make.

I go, I come back

2008-11-30T21:02:00.003Z

So, yes, I disappared. At the beginning of November I joined NaNoWriMo, and tried to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. Failed miserably but did hit a personal best of just over 28,000 words.

Then over the past week I was preparing for my first craft fair, which I then went to yesterday (Saturday).

Got there and found I had been shoved in to the social club room with three other people, the main hall had all the other stalls. Apparantly they normally opened up some bigger doors between the two but when they went to set the hall up last night they found that the the doors were blocked by the social club so they couldn't open them and so we were slightly stranded. They put up big signs but FFS who generally reads such things?

So it didn't look like it would go well. I managed to get everything set up within 40 minutes and then sat there with my bead kit and made a few more earrings, and went over the polymer clay ones I made over a year ago so the little loops in the headpins were much smaller (I've definitely improved :D) while I waited for the whole thing to start. I was sharing my room with a charity stall, someone who makes their own honey, and a brother and sister that were selling "collectibles" (not good enough to be antique, too good for a car boot sale). Some other stall holders drifted in from the other room, and when they saw my jewellery mentioned that there were 6 other jewellery sellers out there!

But I managed to sell a decent amount. Two girls from the charity stall bought earrings, and then other people wandered in. Everything I sold was under a fiver, most were around the 3 pound mark. I sold 4 cards (need to buy more letter stickers as I had a few "Don't suppose you have an "I" one as my sister is Imogen, but I didn't have any with me), 3 phone charms (heart ones with crystals), a bag charm my Mum made, and 8 pairs of earrings. None of the bracelets were sold but I don't mind :D

So overall I have got back my table cost, my lunch, the box of Celebrations I bought so I could offer them to people, and the bacon roll I bought, and then with the decent amount on top of that I reckon I have also got back my petrol and all my bead costs for the stuff I took along.

Mum and my eldest little sister came to visit and Mum said that the other jewellery out there did not look that great, some of it was quite expensive, others looked a bit gaudy, and some just looked a bit odd (one person I noticed was selling bracelets with quite large square glass beads and small crystals and it just didn't look right). I probably would have made more if I had been in the main room XD

All in all, a nice day, even though I left early due to the lack of people towards the end, and I'm very happy that I managed to sell more than one thing!

And finally

2008-10-23T14:42:00.003+01:00

Last bracelet and earring pair has gone up today, now I need to buy more beads before I make and list more jewellery XD

Bracelet:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16509253

Earrings:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16509238

I also managed to land me a Treasury! I was planning on a theme around the upcoming Bonfire Night (we're not big Halloween fans in the UK, instead we love the bloke that tried to blow up Parliament), but then just as I was browsing Etsy a news item popped up on TV, today is the start of the Poppy Appeal here in the UK. The poppies are made by injured servicemen and women, and the money goes towards helping them, and the families and dependants of soldiers that don't come back alive. Chuck a few coins in the pot and you get a little paper poppy. I always end up buying several as I lose the first one I get XD I must remember to take a safety pin with me as well as the normal pins they give tend to stab me.

Anyway, I chose to change my Treasury theme, from a nutter with gunpowder, to poppies. And here is the result:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=16684

To continue the normal theme of entries, I'm currently watching Futurama.

I'm on a bit of a card making spree at the moment. I made 5 yesterday, all of which are being sent to various people from an LJ community I'm part of. Then I've made two today, this time to sell. They have a letter on so you can buy a "B" for Beth, or "H" for Hannah, got more letters left so I'll be making a few more at some point ^_^

Bracelet

2008-10-22T16:26:00.000+01:00

Two more bracelets!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16478084

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16472482

The first of several!

2008-10-21T14:46:00.003+01:00

After much fussing and at least one laptop reset (mental note: Laptop cannot handle .tiff files!) I have been able to edit the photos my Dad took yesterday while I was at work.

I have 6 new items. Two have been uploaded today, two tomorrow, and the last two on Thursday.

First ones to today were a glass pearl bracelet and matching earrings:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16436812

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16436678

I seem to have talked about TV in most of my other entries so I won't make today an exception. Right now I am watching the Simpson's movie DVD I got last Christmas.

Only a few weeks until my birthday! 13th November, I'm going to be 23!!! That's a scarily big number.

A Master

2008-10-18T09:26:00.003+01:00

I didn't blog yesterday as I didn't craft. Haven't done any crafting yesterday but I'm posting anyway as I have some really good news!

I now have a Master of Arts degree!!! In Ancient History, the study of ancient Greece and Rome.

I get another graduation next July and I now get to put "MA" after my name if I want to be pretentious, or if it's on my CV.

Not sure what to do next. Thinking about teacher training, which is another year in education. There are only 2 places that do Classics teacher training, Cambridge, and Kings in London. I'm actually going to try to apply for a place at Cambridge!!!

Earrings

2008-10-16T11:08:00.002+01:00

This morning started off slowly. Sat down at the dining room table with my beads and couldn't settle on something to make. Top Gear was on, again (I watch a lot of Top Gear in case you can't tell) , and I was half watching that and just playing with the beads. I've got some dyed pearly beads in a lovely soft pink and blu-ish green but they're all incredibly irregular in size and shape and I couldn't find any that matched enough for me to make earrings with.

But then I dug out my glass pearls and made two pairs of earrings, one each to match the bracelets I made. I was about to do the same for my shell bead bracelets and then I realised I only had three spacer beads left XD I could use seed beads but then they won't match the bracelets. So I'll have to check how much is in my paypal account and then go on Ebay and buy some more.

My Dad is going to take the photos of my new items on Sunday and then I'll be uploading them over 3 or 4 days. Might do one on Monday night after work, depends on how long it takes me to resize them and the like. Which reminds me, I need to get the Photoshop disc off my Dad and reinstall it on this laptop.

We're going to the circus on Sunday afternoon. Me, Dad, and my sisters, my brother will be at work and Mum doesn't like circuses so neither of them are going.

Not sure what to do this afternoon. Might make some birthday cards.

For those of you wondering why I work in the dining room, instead of my room, it's because my room is very small, very cramped, and very dark. It used to be my brother's room and my Mum painted it a dark-ish blue for him when he moved in to it. Then when I left for university we swapped rooms. 4 years on and I still have the same blue on the walls. The window is a small skylight in the ceiling, and one of the walls has a weird wooden window thing that actually just goes in to the corridor, when this house was built it only had two bedrooms but it was extended at one point by a previous family and rather than brick up the old window they just took out the glass and replaced it with a pair of shutters.

Anyway, it doesn't get much natural light and what light it does get itsn't exactly reflected by the colour of the walls. My desk is an old fold-out wallpaper table that sags a bit in the middle and it really only there to keep all the stuff I used regularly off the floor, or out of the boxes that now reside under said desk. So I tend to work in the dining room where we have a big solid table and big windows and it's nice and light.

When I'm in a financial position that allows me to look for a flat I am definitely going to be looking for one that has a room I can use for crafting. And I'm going to buy a proper table/desk for it.

Colouring

2008-10-15T08:34:00.003+01:00

So this year I am planning on making Christmas cards. I have only been card making for 6 months so this is proving to be an interesting challenge.

I am using clear rubber stamps as that is a medium I've wanted to get in to for a long time, if only clear stamp sets weren't so expensive XD

The other day I hand stamped 79 images and since then I have been colouring them in using Whispers brush markers. The brush markers are nice but there isn't much room for subtle shading.

So last night I tried colouring in a few mittens and socks with my colouring pencils and managed to get some of them looking very nice. Still doesn't quite work with the socks but the gloves look very nice. Not quite sure where to progress from here, either do some batches of cards with pencil colouring and some with pen and have seperate packs for each or have mixed packs where some cards are pencil colour and some are pen.

Decisions, decisions.

The First Post

2008-10-14T16:50:00.002+01:00

Aah, the first post, hopefully it will not be too disappointing.

This is my third try at using Blogger, hopefully it will go better than the last few times (third time's a charm and all that jazz).

Today I have:
- Cut out a bunch of stamped images for Christmas cards.
- Browsed Ebay for more beads.
- Made three bracelets.

I am particularly proud of the last one, there were two episodes of Top Gear on and I decided to just sit and work while they were on. The end results was two shell bracelets and a glass pearl one. Photos will be posted eventually, I need to get the family photographer to dust off his camera.

Currently watching Azumanga Daioh, might go and browse Ebay a bit more.