My Handmade Birthday!

OK, so it was nearly two weeks ago, but better late than never to tell you about the wonderful handmade birthday I had. I was lucky enough to go on a Folksy shopping spree, courtesy of my family and these are the delights I found...

A busy bee organiser from AskingForTrouble:

Perfect for keeping me organised. I love to make lists! There’s a magnetic strip on the back so it sticks nicely to the metal brackets on my craft shelves. Marceline also sent a postcard of some of her other kawaii designs.

Then there’s these funny face magnets I’ve had my eye on for ages, from Glassprimitif:

I love covering the fridge and freezer in magnets! And these have certainly brightened them up. Jo also sent a cute little notebook.

I also bought this bag from Purpss:

This is just right for summer. It’s a really unusual design and such lovely, bright colours! Also included was a little free bag, which was very thoughtful.

Then, from Ellie’s Treasures I bought this gorgeous Patchy Pockets keepsake wallet:

I fell in love with the little bear; what a cutie! There are two pegs inside as well, to clip little pictures. I love things like that! I’ve got some photos of my children in there already and need to think of some more mementos...

Lastly, I finally bought some wonderful prints and a pocket mirror from HiddenEloise, which arrived in the most delightful envelope:

I’ve wanted to buy something from her for so long, but could never decide what to choose! Eloise included a little personal note, tag and some stickers as well, which was a lovely touch. (By the way, it goes to show that handmade is really best, as the frames I bought for these prints from a well-known supermarket said 7” x 5”, but when I got them home they were actually half an inch smaller both ways!)

So, all in all, a perfect birthday! Finished off with a family BBQ in the evening and a mountain of cupcakes made by my brother’s girlfriend. They were truly delicious! Lemon, strawberry and chocolate – mmm. There must be something about cupcakes at the moment, as these were very similar to my 'Naughty But Nice' cupcake print and also one of the birthday cards a friend sent...

And not quite handmade, but to help me make handmade, I bought a clay extruder. I’m having so much fun with it! These are some retro ‘70s magnets that I’ve made already:

And last night I made some interesting rope twists, which I think I’ll make into earrings. I’ll post a ‘how to’ soon I think.

Anyway, that’s my longest post in a while, so better leave it there!

Back to the Fimo and other new creations

I ordered some bag charms today and am looking forward to playing with the Fimo again to make something a little different. I don't know why everything always takes me so long, but I've had plans to make these charms for... a year maybe?! I designed them and everything and then, well, maybe it was just toddlers and babies and little things like that keeping me occupied...

Here are some pics of phone charms and bookmarks that I may also make into bag charms:

I'm also starting to sell my photos in sets, as I have a feeling that grouping images on your wall is the 'in' thing at the moment. I've listed two sets on Folksy:

I'm also in the middle of drawing/glass painting some new animal images which I'll probably sell as a group of 4. If they work out I think they'll look great on a kid's bedroom wall or nursery.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the sunshine...

Alphabet Chart

Another package today. This time it was some prints I'd ordered for my stall at Fun in the Park (Stanborough Lakes 5th July). One of the prints is a new alphabet chart I made using the same technique as for the frog, sheep, jelly etc.


I really like the effect of these prints. For those of you who haven't seen them before, I draw an image onto acetate in outliner, paint with glass paints and then take a photo using my macro lens. I've never come across anyone else who does this, although I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world who does!