I will update more regularly!

I’m back!

Finally...
It’s all been a bit manic with the house move (that three month stay in the temporary house lasted a little bit longer than i’d planned... but only about  a year and three months longer)
So now I’m in my very own flat – I can make as much crafty mess as I like! And hopefully I’ll be able to keep this a little more regularly updated when (if) I get an internet connection sorted.

Things planned for this year:
More craft fairs!
More stock!
More sales!
There’s a plan for you! I’m hoping to rustle up some interest in selling chains to more opticial practices in Cardiff. But I’ll see how that goes.

Things I think I might try making this year – beaded thread bookmarks – a little like spec chains, but with out the ends.  More danglers. They seem popular in searches. More lanyard/ID holders – although they don’t seem as popular as they were before Christmas!  Beaded wraps for candles.
Oh what was that other thing? It was a really good idea! A stroke of inspiration!! Where’s it gone...
Anyway, it was a really good idea. I just don’t remember what it was!

I ought to make some more jewellery as well – especially since my business cards state “jewellery and accessories” and not just “random stuff people really need”
I just had an order of fabulous square glass beads delivered, and I’m looking forward to using those! They should make some pretty necklaces...
And I’ve got some lovely silver coloured things on their way... clasps and connectors and crosses and rosary centres.
What else...? Well I haven’t heard back from the BBC about the Great British bake off... So i guess I’ve not got through to that! Next year, Gadget!

I have applied for a position as a freelance designer on the Madcowbeads website, I’ve made the suncatcher, I’ve taken the photos – All I need to do is the write up. Hopefully now all the fun of the move is out of the way I’ll get time to do that this week. And I wonder why I never have any time left for cleaning ;-)

Nappy Cake!

And even I can't burn this one!

This is a heee-uge cake. 91 nappies, talcum powder, baby lotion, bath lotion, shampoo, baby wipes, 7 small body suits, 3 sleep suits, 2 dummies, 2 teethers and a bottle of sparkling rose! (and i may have forgotten to list something...)

Lu (the baby's mother) asked how long this took to make. I made a guess at an hour. Though that really doesn't take into account all the shopping! But assembly? That's hard to say, as it's done in stages. Maybe two hours from start to finish if I was doing it all at once. I said an hour... but I didn't really think that through. I had help rolling nappies - that took about 15minutes (so 30 mins if I was on my own?) and probably an hour or so arranging them around the bottle in the middle. But then there's the ribbon tying, and the base cutting, and the net gathering. I didn't think to time it all! Next time gadget!

This rather excessive cake of nappies, if I were to sell it, would probably retail for around £80.

But smaller ones could quite easily be made:

For example a "large" 50 nappy cake with 4 lotions and potions, 5 sleep suits, a set of bibs and a bottle of bubbly would be £50
A "medium" 30 nappy cake with 3 lotions, 4 sleep suits and a bottle of bubbly would be £40.

Like I said - I'll try and get a menu worked out!

More lanyards

With slightly better pictures this time!!

All of these are available from the lanyard section of my folsky shop: Bojanglies

Nappy Cakes

I might be taking a Nappy Cake along to this craft fair tomorrow...

 Nothing's been priced up yet, it's just to see if there's any interest. The one on display is the one I've made for Lu (who is due to pop quite soon). This one is a Large 3 Tier Cake, and contains

• 81 Huggies Nappies
• 3 George Sleep Suits
• 7 George Bodysuits
• Johnson's Talcum Powder
• Johnson's Baby Shampoo
• Johnson's Baby Bath
• Johnson's Baby Lotion
• Johnson's Baby Oil
• and a bottle of pink Cava

Each nappy is bound in an elastic band, and they're all gathered together and tide with pink ribbon, and wrapped up in white netting, and finished with a bow.

The cakes would be made to order, the number of nappies (and number of tiers) can be reduced (or increased if you want even more, I suppose!) and the other contents altered, depending on requirements and budget. For this cake I think you'd be looking at least £70, but it is pretty huge!!

A smaller 3 tier cake could contain 50 nappies and various lotions and potions, and cost somewhere around £50. And 1 and 2 tiers would cost less again.

Crafty Crafty!

I'll be running a stall at a craft fair on Saturday! How exciting!
 It's a bit scary... far too much planning for my liking. It'll be held in the Mackintosh Sports and Social Centre in Roath (Cardiff) as part of the weekly Farmers' Market, open from 9.30 til 3.
 I shall let you know how it goes... and perhaps make a list of things I took, and recommendations for next time.
 So far I'm taking

• a giant pot of change
• lots of stock
• table cloths (lots of material...)
• display things
• shiny things
• cork boards
• Louise
• fairy lights
• stock book and pens
• business cards
• tools

Have I forgotten anything...?

• till book
  

Rosary Beads

These are the Rosary Beads I mentioned yesterday.

They're all available on my folksy shop  -  folksy.com/shops/bojanglies

Black Cats Eye Rosary

Crystal Marea Firepolished Czech Glass Rosary

Tigerseye Rosary

Crystal Rosary

Amethyst Firepolish Czech Glass Rosary

Obsidian Snowflake Rosary

Glass Pearl and Burly Wood Beaded Rosary

Each rosary has 59 handlinked beads, all with single loop connections. The Our Father beads are disguinished either by size, colour, or by a longer separation of chain and links.
The crosses are interchangable - There are three sizes of Silver coloured cross; Large, Medium and Small, as pictured, and one Gold coloured cross, in Medium.

New Stuff!

I've been very good recently... I've made many things, and taken photos of them!
It's all coming together!

This month I have be mostly making spectacle chains and LANYARDS! Oh yes. I have found something new to make. They're very much like my glasses chains, but also completely different.
I'd started a couple a while ago, just playing around...  I'd given one to my mum to test for me (though she used it to put the caravan key on, rather than an ID card.) And it stayed in one piece. And she didn't lose the key. Success! {edit - It turns out it wasn't a caravan key. It was a bunch of keys. About 10 of them!! If that's not a test of durability, I don't know what is...}
The just last week I had an email from a lovely lady asking if it would be possible to adapt one of my glasses chains to hold an ID card. Well... it just so happened I had just what she was asking for in my stash (unfinished) Which of course, is where it remains, because I'd decided on a different method for the new ones...
So this is the one completed to order: It's the Spring Pearls Lanyard/ID holder (with a cord attachment)

look! that's me!!

and I've made some more (I'm on a roll now!)

There's the Burgundy hearts: 

that's me too!

Then there's the Heather coloured beaded lanyard...

There I am again!

And I've made another two tonight... But I can't take photos at the moment, because my camera's making terrible terrible noises when you switch it on. But I'll get round to it!
Aaaaannd... There are Rosary beads! Oh, it's been a very productive week!