Crafty Folk Catch Up

After my trip I'm a latecomer to the daily listing club in the Crafty Folk Team. I'm trying to catch up with a mixture of expired items and new ones. I may get there by the end of the month! I've quickly got back into a routine and pop into the group a few times a day to favourite and pin. A few items have really caught my eye this week.

Lana from Wishes on the Wind has a new range of resin jewelry. I also love the bauble style necklaces. I think these would look gorgeous and unique as wedding jewelry.

 www.etsy.com/shop/WishesontheWind

I have a bit of a thing for notebooks and have them everywhere. This little tiny one by thepressgang  is perfect to lose in my handbag!

www.etsy.com/shop/thepressgang

The shabby chic design on this pocket mirror is fun and unique. I'm a new convert to these mirrors (not being a particularly girlie girl!) but have found them great travel items during my recent camping experience. I think these would make great mini gifts for girl friends.

www.etsy.com/shop/missbohemia

My final choice is a felted bowl by FrouFrouFelt. I am really drawn to these bowls and love the new additions around the edges. My favourite is this blue one with a co-ordinating bird.

www.etsy.com/shop/FrouFrouFelt

Here is the link to the APRIL club. No rules just do what you can to help each other. Open to all.

http://www.etsy.com/teams/10502/crafty-folk/discuss/10062040/page/176/

Wordless Wednesday.

www.highlifetreehouses.co.uk

Camels and Kasbahs

Camels and Kasbahs, the theme of a great adventure that I have just enjoyed with my family.

We travelled to Morocco with Exodus  http://www.exodus.co.uk/families and joined three other like minded families on a mini bus tour.  It's only a short flight to this North African country but it is like going back in time. Berber men really dress like extras from Star Wars and there really are snake charmers in Marrakesh!

We flew to Ouarzazate a town nestled between the mountains and Sahara desert. This strategic location was controlled at the beginning of the 20th century by the Glaoui to intercept traffic on the saharan caravan route to West Africa.

We stopped at Kasbah Taourirt, a palace built to house many of the towns population at this time. The walls are made of local red clay mixed with straw (adobe) and blend in with the landscape. 

The kasbah consists of many individual ksours (family homes) linked by  twisted stairwells and dark narrow passages. The rooms are of different shapes and sizes all with low windows so that when the occupants sat on the floor to eat and relax the breeze from the mountains wafted in to cool things down.

This is the view through one of those windows.

Some of the larger rooms had ceilings decorated with cedar wood. The patterns were intricate and geometrically inclined. Totally unexpected in this palace of mud.

The children had a great time exploring and particularly enjoyed playing on the field gun that helped to secure the Glaoui stronghold.

 

The next few posts are going to turn into a sort of travelogue about the trip. I hope they will be of interest and maybe whet your appetite for an adventure of your own. We made a point of hiring guides in Marrakesh to teach us about local crafts and met lots of local artisans. I have lots of photos of their work and working conditions that I hope will inspire you as much as me.

New product!

This week has seen the launch of a new product in my ETSY shop.  I have spent the long cold winter huddled close to my kiln experimenting with fused glass mini tea light coasters. The first pair were listed and sold within hours which was a great start.

I love the way the magic bubble mix has created a unique watery effect trapped inside the glass.

Most coasters will be sold in pairs but I have a few odd ones like this grid pattern. I had no idea that those bubbles would form in such a perfect pattern like a tic tac toe game. It was so difficult to get the round glass strings to stay in place and balance on top of each other but I think the effort was worthwhile.

I think these would match brilliantly to make a unique gift.

Handpainted decorative tea lights -
www.etsy.com/shop/MerriKitty

Each coaster measures approx 2in sq (5cm) and so they are perfect for use with tea lights.

I have added mini rubber feet to protect delicate surfaces.

These tea lights from www.etsy.com/shop/princessbuttercupsoy

are strawberry shortcake flavour and sound delicious.

These bright orange and yellow coasters make me think of sunshine.

  I am offering a new class to make coasters. You will make 4 mini coasters. You could make a set or try 4 different designs. We will be using stringers, glass chips, copper and wire to add some pizazz to your work. Please ask for more details.

Thursday 19th April – 8pm

     

Newsletter February

Newsletter February

Apologizes for the time lapse since the last newsletter. The run up to Christmas was extremely busy with craft fairs almost every weekend and ETSY orders flying around the world. The snowflakes proved particularly popular and I found myself with a couple of wholesale orders for those.

Things are a bit calmer now and I have had time to play with glass. As you can see from the photos I have some new millefiori. Some are traditional flower shaped but some have hearts and butterflies. I have created some new style pendants and earrings using these.

If you would like to have a go with these they will be available during a normal jewellery session. They are like gold dust though, in particular butterflies and hearts, so you may incur a small charge if you go mad.

Beginners Fused Glass Jewellery classes.

(2 hours/£25/2 pieces of jewellery)

Wednesday 29th February – 8pm

If you missed out on Valentines day come and make yourself something!

Monday - 26th March –8pm

How about making some Easter gift jewellery?

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If any of you have visited the FOLKSY shop recently you may have noticed some site changes. I have found it hard to navigate my way though the changes and am gradually moving all the stock over to ETSY. This site is so much easier to use and it means that I can also offer valued customers coupon codes.

When you check out enter NEWSLETTER10 at checkout for a 10% reader discount.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/bluedaisyglass

I now have a range of bobby pins and rings.

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I am also trialling mini coasters at the moment suitable for use under a tea light. I will be offering a class to make 4 of these. We won’t be using dichroic glass but glass dust, stringers, frit and bubble powder. You can make a set or try 4 different styles.

Thursday 19th April – 8pm

(4 mini coasters/£25)

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I have also recently discovered high temperature glass paints and am working on a range of pendants and magnets with painted images. I hope to have these available for classes by the next newsletter. I’m not a confident 2D artist and this may suit some of you much more than me. I’ll have some stamps for the rest of us!

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Please contact me if you have a group of 4 and would like to create your own date for a session with the glass. I am also available during the day.

I have a lot of single ladies looking to make a group of 4 so please let me know if you are interested.

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I also have a new facebook page. I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing yet and the links don’t seem to work. I’d love to link back to you though.

Apryl Brincklow (my personal page for friend links)

Blue daisy glass ( my business page for likes)

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Soap felting!

Look what I bought myself this Christmas!

A jar of wonderfully soft blue fluffy stuff and some beautiful smelling soap.

It's a kit to felt soap from sfeltaccessories on ETSY

So the instructions looked pretty easy to follow.

I laid out the fluff in strands and then wrapped it around the soap. I did this a few times to make layers.

Then I had to wrap it in a nylon net.

I had to rub it really hard under running hot water until the fluff didn't move anymore. Then it was time to unwrap. So exciting!

I got addicted after that!

It was lovely to use and lasted much longer than usual. The boys thought the colour was cool and the novelty of it actually got them using soap! It was easier for them to use as it wasn't slippery.

As we used it the soap the wool shrunk too and kept a tight fit around the soap. Apparently if we cut a slit in the finished pouch and fill it with lavender we could use it with a few drops of essential oil in a drawer.

In addition as wool is naturally antibacterial , breathable and odour resistant it will not hold germs. I'm hooked.

sfeltaccessories also sell other kits.
This one is for a bracelet or necklace.

If you can't be bothered with all that here's a few links to shops with felted soap.

The Rainbow Room (UK)

Vincent Palo (US)

 

Sapling Naturals (US)

Featured Seller Week.

THANK YOU

I've been the 'Crafty Folk'featured seller this week. I have been amazed at the treasuries created with my work in them. Thank you to everyone that made a treasury for me. I will try to return the favour. In the meantime my blog today features work from six of the people that 'treasured'me. I know there are more but I can only manage six at a time. The HTML makes my head go rather fuzzy!

Please click on the blue item to go directly to the shop.

               NataliaLovat          

       BonniesSewCrazy   

         MaramJewellery    

                 Lauras Jewellery            

Shusha64

ElloDesign