Heaven from Devon!

The diversity of goods and craft skills on Etsy is staggering.

You can lose many hours wandering through virtual shops as each fresh discovery leads to another...trust me...I know...I've lost hours!

This blog post features a selection of finds from my home county...Devon, which I formed into a treasury in my Etsy account as I want to try and spread the word within, and outside Etsy that there are a whole host of talented crafters in the UK, and specifically, in this case, in the South West.

'Made In Devon, UK.' by GiraffesKiss

Some fantastic examples of local work in the area I live in!

wood and cut glass sunc... devongoodturns $25.00	Amigurumi Crochet Eleph... JTCS $5.00
Flower Garden JewelIdentity $25.00	Sea Glass Charm Necklac... JewelIdentity $8.00
Red Fabric Heart on Car... BumbleBeanUK $5.50	Floral Fancy Sweetie Bo... 8kimbows8 $9.60
Red Heart Button dangle... wiggiewoo $7.00	Westie Dog Felt Brooch DevonlyCrafts $4.50
Funky Rainbow Zip Neckl... FunkyJewellery... $16.00	t e m p e s t a - wire ... Kianda $80.00
Tattoo inspired star an... AlohaLoungeDes... $10.00	Acrilic Pen easy hold devongoodturns $17.00
Prancing Horse ring, of... fluxplay $52.00	Mine Bowl Series - 3 raradesign $54.00
Childrens Cello Endpin ... OddsandEndpins $19.00	Duck Egg Blue Display M... CorsetLacedMan... $190.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

If you want to see more work from UK crafters...you can browse area specific teams-

http://www.etsy.com/teams/6966/british-sellers-on-etsy/members

http://www.etsy.com/teams/5153/etsy-uk-south-west-arts-and-crafts/members

http://www.etsy.com/teams/9218/etsy-uk/members

http://www.etsy.com/teams/9611/made-in-uk

http://www.etsy.com/teams/8388/craftbritannia-hq-open-team-bring-cakes/members

Happy UK shopping x

Rings

I've been experimenting a bit with miniature food rings recently.

Not everyone wears pendants, and earrings are a very personal choice as a gift, it's easy to get it wrong , but a ring is very wearable. Statement rings are brilliant to pop on for a special occasion or function, and these fun food rings will, I hope stand out from the crowd.

I'm hoping to add a few more in the next week or so....and I'm trying to decide which one I fancy for myself!

They are all made by hand using polymer clay, served up on tiny ceramic plates, and attached to silver plated rings.

I've made a couple as Christmas presents for friends too.

Wonton Noodle Soup

Spring /Egg rolls Ring

Strawberry Icecream Ring

Donut Ring

Lemon Meringue Pie Ring

Findings

It doesn't matter what kind of jewellery you create, at some point you will almost certainly need to buy in some sort of findings...most of us don't or can't manufacture everything we need and it's always great to stumble on a site or shop that can supply exactly what you need.

One such shop is http://www.handmade-jewelry-findings.com/

Here you will find High quality Artisan findings for jewellery designers, exclusive sterling silver findings, amazing jewellery wire supplies and more.

All these wonderful supplies are handmade by the store owner and because of this, the attention to detail and finished quality are far superior to mass produced products.

Using a handmade finding will give your finished piece that extra special touch and will help your pieces to stand out from the crowd.

This multi talented artist and store owner also creates lampwork beads-

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

and makes her own jewellery-

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

I'm going to have a good browse round her supply shop now, I'm always on the lookout for something a bit special to add to my creations.

Happy shopping x

Time marches on!

Ok, so yesterday I was 41!

I have no problems whatsoever with my age...I am what I am...but what does scare me is how quickly time is rushing by! Where on earth did that last year go?

I am unbelievably busy in every facet of my life these days, and I can't help wondering when it's all going to slow down a bit. Just a little bit would be nice, so I can take a breath and catch up with myself.

Squeezing everything in is getting harder and harder, and where as I want to be doing my crafting, it's more a case of slotting that into the huge list of must-do's and have-to's that crop up.

I would hate for the creating side of me to become just another chore that has to be done in order to keep up. But where to find a little bit of quality time to sit and enjoy what I want to do?

My head is just brimming with ideas that I don't have the time to explore, so I am writing them all down at the moment so I can come back to them when I can. It's frustrating, but for the most part I wouldn't change my life, after all an over full life has to always be better than an under full one doesn't it?

Anyway, I've managed to upload a few pieces this week, hope you like them.......

Needle felting.

I'm so excited!
I've ordered a special Christmas gift for my Mum, a needle felted brooch made to the likeness of her cat, Wesley!
I'm totally fascinated by the art of needle felting and I've had a little look into how it's done.
What a clever skill, it's something I'd like to have a go at one day when I have a bit more free time on my hands....probably when I retire given how busy my life is right now!!
Anyway, I thought I'd do a little feature on the amazing artist who is making my brooch for me.
Her shop is called HandmadeByNovember.
She is based in the UK and her creations are totally stunning!
The prices are really reasonable given how much work goes into them and they are so realistic.
I've put a couple of photos of my favourite pieces, although really, I love them all.
You can get to her shop by clicking the name of her shop above, or by clicking one of the pictures.
I'll leave you to admire her work whilst I sit and excited wait for my custom order to arrive.

Christmas is coming!

I've listed a few Christmas items already, but these are the start of my Christmas stock proper.
I'm hoping to list some more in a day or two.
Are you looking forwards to Christmas this year?
I always love Christmas, although working in a shop means it's our busiest and most stressful time of year and I'm usually ready to drop by the end of the day on Christmas eve. I still love it though...especially the run up to the main event with all that excited preparation and anticipation.
I'm looking for some really unusual and different gifts this year. We've set ourselves a very modest budget in our family, so finding the perfect gift is going to be a challenge, but I love challenges. x

High tide.

Wow.. sea front closed due to strong winds and very high tide.

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