The End of Another Year.....

2016 has been one of those years, that if I had a time machine, I wouldn't rush back to visit it!  But seriously there's been good and bad things happen this year, hopefully I'm a little wiser at the end of it and ready to embrace the New Year and all the possibilities awaiting me.   I still need to become better organized and focused in all aspects of my life (blog more often!) and buy a pair of red latin dance shoes (love to dance) =)

Above is a picture of one of my latest creations.  First thing I'm going to do once the kids are back to school, is go through all my 24+ years worth of beads, I have a lot of beads, reorganize them and price them, ready for my jewellery making or selling as de-stash.  

What are your plans for the begining of the year? I'd love to know!

I will blog soon, but in the meantime feel free to visit my Etsy shop for a browse of what I've made so far by clicking here =)

Happy New Year!

Happy International Women's Day!...

Happy International Women's Day!  In fact Happy New Year as well, hehe.  I realize that I haven't blogged since last year, I'm sorry, I promise to be good and blog regularly from now on!

So it's International Women's Day today and there are some amazingly talented crafty women on Etsy, so I've decided to create a treasury to share some of their work with you =)

To visit the above treasury click here!  

Enjoy!

It's starting to feel alot like Christmas...

It's that festive time of year again, time to break out the mince pies and mulled wine!  Every year I aim to get the Christmas tree up on the first of December, will I do it this year?  Fat chance I think as I haven't even checked to see if the fairy lights are working and the tree has been stuck in a box for almost a year (it's not a real tree).  Last year I was wonderfully organized when it came to gift buying, but this year Christmas has snuck up on me.  So above is a selection of lovely finds created by my Etsy British Emporia and Craft Britannia team mates and other talented Etsyians that have got me in that shopping mood =)

To visit this treasury and explore these lovely finds and shops click here!

Enjoy =)

It's Autumn.....

It's already Autumn, the fact that there are conkers (horse chestnuts) all over the pavements makes it official!  I'm kind of sad that we never made it to the seaside this year, but it looks like summer is done for another year, so maybe if we do get a chance to visit a beach it will be for some fossil hunting rather then swimming.  I've been a bit ill, so energy has been low, in part maybe due to doing the books for last tax year (not fun), but now it's done (yeah) I'm trying to rekindle my treasury mojo.

I picked Damson Tree's Sunflower earrings as my inspiration with late Summer early Autumn in mind.  Honey and bees came to mind and then the beautiful colours of Autumn leaves in reds, rusts and other beautiful shades.  Because there are still beautiful flowers in full bloom, I added this gorgeous floral silk pillow cushion that has been made from a vintage kimono by Lynn Watt (She's the lovely lady I asked to make me some special draw string gift bags for some of my higher end jewellery).

These orange lovelies are perfect for Autumn.  I've still to decide what new additions my wardrobe will be needing for this Autumn/ Winter, but maybe I'll add some orange in as it's the colour of joy and clementines =)

To visit the above treasury click here!

April Craft Britannia Treasure-Thon....

 It's Spring!  There's sunshine, flowers on the trees and chocolate in the form of Easter eggs =)  Here are the two treasuries I made with lots of Spring inspired finds.

To visit the above treasury click here!

As you can see there are lots of rabbits & flowers included in these treasuries.

To visit this treasury click here!

Enjoy =)

It's Treasure-Thon Time Again......

And here's one I made earlier =)  I just love these colours! If I was thinking about semi precious stones it would be olden rutilated quartz and imperial topaz.

I created this treasury for the 14th Craft Britannia Treasure-Thon which is taking place today.

To visit this treasury click here!

Enjoy!

Beautiful greys....

Just add a little colour  to bring it to life!  Grey is not just dull dreary days with no sunshine, it can be like the silver lining on a cloud.  In this collection I've included some accessories to brake up the grey and enhance its beauty.  I think badges are a fun way to individualize a plain bag or jacket and the Fat Kitty ones in this treasury are so cute!

To view this treasury click here!

Here are a pair of faceted grey Labradorite earrings, they have a beautiful blue iridescent luster.  These stones are even more beautiful in person =)

And here's one for Craft Britannia....

I love love love these colours and the contrast!  This treasury was created to feature some of my talented team members from Craft Britannia and some other gorgeous finds!  From beautiful pottery to crochet flower hair clips, search for teamcb on Etsy to find a wide variety of goodies =)

The mint green bug dress is one of my favorites and is an example of the kind of original clothing you can find on Etsy.

To visit this treasury click here!

Enjoy!

Summer Dreams....

 I love the sunshine and warmer days.  I think to really understand this you have to live somewhere like the UK!  Well I created the above treasury with this in mind.  Turquoise and orange work so well together!

To visit this treasury click here!

And this gorgeous hints of summer was made for that transitional period between Spring and Summer, when the days are getting longer and more time is enjoyed outside till late =)

Visit this treasury by clicking here!

Enjoy!

Treasury on the Etsy European Front Page....

And this is how it looks =)  Two items have sold and one's no longer listed but it still looks fab on the Front Page.  Hope those shops included in this treasury get some visits from the sales fairy!

And the Treasure-Thon continues...

 This is my spring wedding inspired treasury, filled with beautiful February finds!

To visit this treasury click here!

And as it is the beginning of February here is my visual ode to Amethyst.

To visit this treasury click here!  

Mother's Day in Spring......

 

Spring is the season of new growth, new life, renewal, revitalize and of course Mother's.  Mother's care and nurture others, so it's nice for them to have a day when they are pampered!  

To visit this treasury click here!

Treasure-Thon Day......

 It's the first Tuesday of the month and that means Craft Britannia's monthly treasure-thon is on!  So here's my first contribution =)

To visit this treasury click here!

The Last Treasury of the Month...

I created this treasury for a team challenge and decided to go with a lavender/lilac/love theme, I guess the palette leans towards the promise of spring, but still retains a touch of that winter coolness.

To visit this treasury click here!

The last day of January....

Meaning it will be the first day of February tomorrow and as its a Friday I'll be at Little Paris Crouch End for the Bar Boot from 7-10.30 pm in the evening =)  

The next couple of months people will be looking for gifts and goodies for Valentines Day, St Patrick's Day and Mother's Day.  I know that over seas Mother's Day is normally in May, but I guess we like to be different here in the UK.  

With baby due early March, I'm hoping to get some bits made up, photographed and priced for sale and take part in some team promoting!  There's no resting!

Well talking about team promotion next Tuesday should be the Craft Britannia Treasure-Thon on Etsy which is always good =)  Another team that I'm part of on Etsy is the British Emporia Team.  Here's a treasury I made for their team challenge to give you some eye candy =)

To visit this treasury click here!

January Craft Britannia Treasure-Thon.....

Yummy crafted Capricorn inspired creations to get the year started!

To visit this treasury click here!

I went for a watery flowing aqua colour palette, with the addition of Amethyst purples for my Antiquarian themed treasury =)

To visit this treasury click here!  

Enjoy!  

Festive Peppermint.......

Here's my latest treasury with a Peppermint candy love theme =)  I happen to have a box of peppermint candy canes in the cupboard, as they would not be safe on the Christmas tree!

To visit this treasury click here!

Craft Britannia Treasure-Thon Treasury Made USA Etsy Front Page....

 

I found out tonight that my "The Nordic vibe at Christmas" Treasury made the USA Etsy Front Page, so I'm really pleased at that, as I think it's my first treasury to make front page anywhere =)

So congratz to all who's lovely items where featured in that treasury and wishing you more sales from it!

So here it is again, just click here to visit it!

December Treasurethon....

 To visit this treasury click here!

To visit this treasury click here!

To visit this treasury click here!

Only 30 days till Christmas.....

And I've done a little more shopping and started digging out recipes for stuffing and other bits.  This weekend I took part in the Craft Britannia BNR (buy and replace), which is always fun and is great for finding out what other people make.  I have to say that I think this years presents will be more interesting and fun!  The great thing about buying handmade and vintage is that the variety of choice is as diverse and unique as the sellers themselves.  

 

 To visit this shop click here!

I won't show you what I bought, but I'll show you examples from the shops.  That's fair and won't give my secrets all away =)

To visit this shop click here!

For the record I have to say that I can't sew and haven't knitted since the age of 6-7, would love to learn tho!

To visit this shop click here!

Love this colour and was very tempted to buy these as well =)

To visit this shop click here!

These retro vintage beauties have such vivid colours!

I've got to package up some earrings and pocket mirrors for postage tomorrow, I've only got two of this design left now =)