Another Craft Fair under my Belt

Well, I survived! It was, as expected, very small, not many stalls, not very busy & I don't think anyone sold that much (apart from the cake stall, that was empty in about 1 hour!). I did cover the stall cost and more, so I am happy and I got some nice comments (and repeat custom from last year too which was very nice).
The blue bracelet I made yesterday sold, but mostly it was bits & bobs - mobile phone charms and some of the key rings, bookmarks etc.

However I always think the nice things about doing craft fairs are the other stall holders, you get to hear where's good to sell and where is not so good. I must be braver I think & try some of the larger craft fairs......watch this space to see if I venture out of my comfort zone!

PS: Bella the cat has made a full recovery following her tumble off the roof yesterday & is back to her meowy self!

Crafting All Day

I have spent all day sorting out stuff for the craft fair tomorrow. Once again it seems not to be very well advertised as I have scoured the local paper to no avail. Mostly I have been sorting out bags, labels, prices etc but I did make a couple of things.

Another bracelet with the chunky lozenge beads (which I wish I'd bought loads of!)

And this bracelet using pale green beads with gold foil inside - I also made some matching earrings.

We did have a drama today when our cat fell off the conservatory roof (she was trying to walk along the apex, slipped & slid down the roof with an awful lot of scrabbling!). Unfortunately there wasn't a soft or a flat landing & we think she probably landed on some bikes / bits of wood in next doors garden. Anyway she was very sorry for herself when she made her way slowly back in. We decided to take her to the vets as a precaution & thankfully they only said she was badly bruised. She's slept all afternoon but has just managed a walk round the house and decided to sit here - right in the middle of my craft fair preparations!

I Almost Forgot..

I also made some sets of stitchmarkers !

I've done them in sets of 4, some with 2 sets of 2 matching beads and some with 4 different beads. The ones with the pink ribbon are the 10mm rings whilst the gold ribbon has the opening type.

I think they look quite sweet!

All Beaded Out!

Another busy beady day today. My first creation was using some lovely red agate pebbles - I made a necklace and found a lampwork bead that matched.

I'm always slightly scared of 'proper' artisan lampwork as I feel my beading can never do them justice. So I have used this one to try and overcome my fear! The focal bead was made by BeadySam who makes some lovely beads. http://www.beadysamglass.com/

I had some red agate left, so I made a matching bracelet and some earrings !

Still on an earring theme, I then rustled up some Sea Blue/Green ones to match the multi-strand necklace from the other day:

I also started to make a few bits and bobs for the Mumsnet Easter Crafters Swap, but can't post any pictures or it will spoil the suprise for my swapper!

I then made a few basic phone charms using some silvery charms and added beads to some bookmarks (specifically for the craft fair at the end of Feb)

Finally and while I was on a roll, I used some yummy amethyst coloured foil squares to make this simple bracelet - which I rather fancy keeping just for me!

I've Recycled!

Here is my effort at recycling and re-using for the latest Mumsnet Crafters Challenge. I took two bracelets 'donated' by Gingermonkey for recyling a while back ........

I took them apart and managed to make a few bits & bobs. I had to add a few seed beads and a couple of other beads & earwires - but here's what I came up with.

The orange beads are acrylic and quite kitsch but I rather like them & have used them in some funky earrings and a key fob. The green beads were really quite sweet and I made two pairs of earrings. In the green bracelet was something that looked a bit like turquoise chips (not sure if it's real or imitation) but I used them to make another pair of earrings.

The toggles I will definately use in the future, probably on bracelets as they are lovely and chunky.

I've been busy !!

Well I have been a bit busy and managed to make a few pieces. I still like my multi-strand necklaces so have made another purple one (as I have sold the original to a friend - although I was tempted to keep it just for me!) and this one in turquoise and green 'Sea' shades.




Still on a blue theme, I bought 10 of these lovely chunky turquoise beads and made a bracelet. I've kept this one really simple but the beads are so chunky, that it's a bit heavy.









I bought some amethyst coloured chunky beads too so decided rather than using them all in one bracelet, I added some seed beads and just used one of the beads to make this one. I'm rather pleased with the effect (a sort of hybrid between my multi strand and the chunky bracelet!). I'm just pondering whether a necklace in a similar style would work?

Finally I have rustled up some simple keyrings / bag charms using big chunky foil hearts.

I've also just seen the Mumsnet Crafters Blog Challenge to Recycle - Reuse - Re-craft, and have 2 bracelets given to me for just that purpose from MNs Gingermonkey - so I will get re- crafting tomorrow.

First Day of Half Term

Well I managed to finish the scarf I was knitting and I am quite pleased with it. It's lovely and soft and any dodgy stitches are hidden by all the bobbly bits! The wool only cost me £3 for 3 balls, so it's a bargain too.

I sat down this morning to start playing with beads to make my MN Blue Challenge, but wasn't happy with anything I started. I think I had too much on my 'To Do' List, so I ended up doing the ironing instead. Hopefully tomorrow I will in more of a beading mood.

My Antidote to Winter

Being rather chuffed with my multi strand necklace of yesterday, I did another - this time using a big medley of allsorts of colours of seed beads and bugle beads. It's guaranteed to match any outfit and I have named it Carnival !

And I thought I'd post another antidote to winter - a photo I took in Cornwall last October (yes, that's October!)

And while I am looking back over some of my photos, I thought I'd share a few more: 2 Cornish sunsets


and a Scottish Loch

Busy Busy Busy

It's been far too cold to venture out today, so a good excuse to stay in and do some crafting (& watch the rugby too!). I started off with this banded agate necklace although I'm not sure it really 'goes' together ?? The photo isn't fantastic (I blame the overcast day) - the smaller beads are actually more browny than grey and beautifully banded with whirly patterns & do match the beautiful long Agate stone. I am a bit undecided whether it's a Hit or a Miss and I may yet decide to de-construct it and make something else with the gemstones.

Then as it was so cold, I rustled up these Icicle Earrings using various sizes of crystal. I also decided to make myself some 'frosty' earrings using silver foil hearts & crystals, however as I haven't got pierced ears, I need to get myself some nice clips - so they are a 'Work In Progress'!

My last creation took ages as it is a multi strand necklace (the first 'proper' one I have made. I find it really hard to make 'random' patterns as I always seem to find myself sub-conciously putting the beads in some sort of order. I wish I did the same in my house! Anyway, I am very pleased with the necklace - it has a toggle fasten which I seem to be putting on everything lately !

I have got a local Craft Fair coming up at the end of the month. It's only a small church hall one but I see it as a bit of experience and a chance to see what people like. I did the same one last year and only just covered the cost of the stall, but at least I'm a bit wiser about the 'potential customer base' (Doesn't that sound posh!?) - ie. people dropping in after going to church ! Maybe I should do a line in rosary beads ????

Anyway, other things I have made this week include a sterling silver and amethyst bracelet and earrings for a friend which has turned out so nice, I now want one for me ! (the photo again doesn't do it justice!)