Mini Envelopes - The Wonderful World Of Papercraft

Since buying a Sizzix Bigshot recently for embossing metal I've suddenly discovered the world of dies. Dies are wonderful things you can use with your Bigshot, Cuttlebug, etc to cut out all sorts of lovely things including envelope templates. I also discovered the world of scrapbook paper. I love patterned paper and most things stationery. I used to love going into WH Smiths each year to buy my new pencil case, pens, rubbers and pencils for the start of the new school year (that was quite a long time ago!) and I still like buying stationery stuff even if I don't really need it!

I thought I'd use my Bigshot to make some mini envelopes so after trawling the internet for a suitable die and picking up a scrapbooking pad from The Range I ventured into papercraft. I've got to say it was a nice change from metal and beads and really therapeutic to do. The folding and glueing is my favourite part and I loved seeing these cute little envelopes take shape.

It then struck me that maybe I wasn't allowed to make stuff to sell from the scrapbook paper I'd used. I know a lot of companies have an angel policy but I couldn't find one for Grant Studios who created the artwork for the paper so a quick email to them and a very quick reply (on a Sunday from Australia!) and they were fine for me to sell anything I made with their paper. The issue they have is if someone claims the artwork as their own or reproduces it to sell. I also checked with the company who make My Mind's Eye scrapbook paper and they were fine about it too. So I felt slightly relieved to know I was ok to carry on.

I've just started listing the mini envelopes in my Folksy shop and I'm going to add them to my eBay shop in a couple of weeks too. I have no idea if they will sell but I like making them so hopefully they will then I can make some more!
The envelopes measure just under 3.25 inches x 2.25 inches with a pretty scalloped edge and they are just so darned cute!

I tried Fotofuze as I'd used a white background for the photos and I was really impressed with the results..........until I noticed how some of the colours had changed and no amount of editing could sort them out. Then I noticed the photos weren't as clear. Fotofuze reduces the image size (to half in my case) and that caused them to be pixelated when I used the zoom while I was trying to edit the colours. So after spending an afternoon playing around with them I went back to normal editing - they don't have the same blinding white surrounding them but at least the colours are true!

Sterling Silver Headpins

After a few requests recently I've now started selling sterling silver headpins. Up to now I've only done earwires in sterling thinking the price for headpins would make people think twice but it seems people are prepared to pay a bit extra for something handmade.

So I've now added bright and oxidised 2 inch sterling silver ball and hammered headpins in 20g/0.8mm, 22g/0.6mm and 24g/0.5mm.

I've now finished adding them to my Folksy, Etsy and eBay shops!

Handmade Findings Now On Etsy!

I've finally gotten round to listing my handmade copper and sterling silver findings in my Etsy shop!

I've been making my own findings for a couple of years now and noticed the distinct lack of handmade earwires and headpins, especially in pure copper, that were available to buy in the UK. So I thought I'd start selling them............

I opened another shop on Folksy - Cinnamon Jewellery Findings in June 2011 and a findings shop on eBay about the same time and I'm pleased to say the sales from these, particularly eBay, tick over nicely keeping me busy and have made sure I've definitely got my money's worth from my torch and tumbler!

So I decided to try them out on Etsy where there's lots of US sellers selling handmade findings but not that many UK sellers. I've had several findings sales on Etsy already so fingers crossed they will prove to be popular!

Sterling Silver earwires - oxidised

Fancy antique copper headpins

Hammered antique copper discs

Madam, Was Your Chicken Left Unattended?

The Scene :

The kitchen, Sunday evening just after CountryFile

The Victim :

Left-over barbeque-style chicken breast, cooked for Sunday dinner, covered with foil and secured on kitchen worktop

The Crime Scene :

The Suspect :

Name:

Eddie

Age:

 7

Distinguishing Features:

Rips in both ears

 Slight swagger when walking due to a back leg injury as a kitten

Known Aliases:

"monster"

"satan's cat"

"he's evil that cat"

"monkey"

"eddiekins"

Previous convictions :

1. The taking and carrying upstairs to the bedroom of a packet of fish taken out of the freezer to defrost for tea

2. The scoffing of a bowl of grated cheese left out on the kitchen worktop ready to go on top of the pasta for tea. Two incidents.

3. Due to a strange fruit fetish, helping himself to some sliced strawberries left in a bowl on the kitchen worktop

4. The purloining of small items from the bathroom, namely a sponge and a mini bottle of bubble bath, which were carried downstairs and abandoned in the hall

5. The ability to make small tins of Vaseline simply vanish to be found several months later under the bed. His current record for this is five.

Verdict :

Guilty.........very!



Silver Filled Wire Earwires.........At Last!

I've finally done something with the silver filled wire I bought a while ago - made some basic earwires! I've just listed them in my findings shop on Folksy and my eBay shop Cinnamon Jewellery Findings (did I mention I had an eBay shop? It's a bit of an experiment really).

I had planned on making headpins too but couldn't work out why I was struggling to make a decent start to a spiral then realised the wire was half hard and I'm used to working with dead soft in sterling!

I'm finding the half hard quite hard to work with (ok for earwires though) - spirals look lumpy and when I tried to make a swirly rosette at the end of a headpin the wire actually snapped! I thought about buying some dead soft silver filled but the price plus postage would mean the end cost would be pretty close to sterling so I knocked that idea on the head.............

Anyway, I've made some hoop style and hook style earwires - nice and shiny and a pretty decent price too :D

Bead Destash On eBay!

 I finished my mega bead sort out a couple of weeks ago (thank God!) and now I currently have several listings of beads on eBay.

Most of them start at 99p as I just want to get rid if them so if you're after some bargains it might be worth checking out.

Items listed include Swarovski hearts, rondels and bicones in various colours, mixed shape Hematite beads, lampwork beads, lucite flowers and a few semi-precious beads. The listings end Monday night ~ find me on eBay here

I'm Loving........Liver Of Sulphur XL Gel

Noticing my supply of Liver of Sulphur chunks was running low recently I thought I'd better order some more. I've found getting hold of the chunks quite hard recently so I was interested to see my usual supplier Joy Funnel of ArtClayUK on eBay was now stocking Liver Of Sulphur XL Gel.

It's a stable gel form with an extended life hence "XL" which is ideal as the chunks tend to lose their effect after a couple of months and must be kept away from moisture. I've used the liquid form of Liver Of Sulphur once before which is available from Kernowcraft in the UK, £2.95 for 10ml but found it wasn't very economical and the results could be a bit patchy, so I was interested to see how I would get on with the XL Gel.

The XL Gel from ArtClayUK costs £6.95 for 30ml and comes in a plastic bottle with a nozzle top. I tend to oxidise maybe five or six pieces of jewellery at a time (I can't face polishing up more than that at once!) and the tiniest amount will give the desired results - I take the top off and dip just the end of a knife into the bottle then dissolve the gel on the knife in the hot water and that's plenty to get a dark grey colour on the Sterling Silver.
So despite the XL Gel being a bit more expensive than the chunks and liquid form I can see it's going to last me much longer so is more economical in the long run AND less messy than the chunks!

Sterling Silver oxidised and polished