It's Christmas time...

So my craft fairs are over. I've got a bit of stock left which next year I will put in a January sale.

For now though I've listed some Christmas Baubles on Folksy with FREE P&P :)

http://www.folksy.com/items/139470--Tangled-Christmas-Bauble?shop=yes

My goodness it's been a while!

I can't believe it was September the last time I blogged! Bad me!

Well life if good, busy making. I've had three craft fairs this week, one more to go on Tuesday night and then that's me done for the year, at least for the moment! Just orders to contend with :)

I've listed a few more goodies in my shops since we last spoke and there is still free shipping on my craft kits a perfect present for that crafty so and so!

I'll be doing a Christmasy give away after Tuesday, so watch this space.

I also plan to have a January sale in the new year, so that's something to look forward to!

For now it's back to making for Tuesday Night's fair.

Ta ta for now :)

Craft Kits...

I've just added some Craft Kits to my Folksy Shop...

They contain everything you need to make a button brooch or of course you could let your creativity take over and create what ever you like!

http://www.bethany.folksy.com

Moved in, Married and back to normal...

... Last month was a busy one! We moved into our new house :) Then two weeks later we got married :)

We had the most amazing day, despite the car taking me to church breaking down on the way!! After the initial shock and panic it was all fine, I arrived to church in a Volvo Estate but hey it was better than walking! lol

Apart from the bumpy start everything else was amazing and the weather was kind to us too!

Now though it's life as normal, back to work we go :(

Feather panic...

... I've done quite well really, all the orders I've had for fascinators I've managed to find the right colour feathers with ease. Then my luck run out, and panic set in as I knew the time had come where I was going to have to dye my own. For some this may not have been a problem but knowing how bad I was at dying material at uni I was a tad nervous! I ordered the dye and the plain white feathers, they arrived, it was D-Day. Printed some instructions off the internet set out all materials needed. Heart beating wildly I began.... the verdict.... actually it was quite easy and the results were good. The only problem was the colour wasn't vibrant enough because I wasn't brave enough to put enough powder in, but one more dunk in some fresh dye and wa-la :) I was pretty pleased with the results, and here they are...

I didn't think to take any pictures of the process as I was faffing too much, but I'm about to dye my second lot so I will take some photos of that :)

Wedding favours...

... With 7 weeks to go I set out on a mission this week to get a big chunk of weddingy bits out of the way.

Monday was spent making little tags for all the cups, sorting out place names and the like. Here's what I got up to in picture form...

We have spent about a year going to car boot sales and charity shops collecting cups and saucers.

The little tags are calico and I just used t-shirt transfer paper to apply the image and text.

Then I've made some card heart to slot on the side of the tea cups to remind guest that they are welcome to take them home :)

Yup I was very pleased with my days work! Just got to sort out the seating plan now!

Something new...

... I thought I'd try something new, so here they are. Two handmade felt bags...

This one is a petrol and purple mix with a detachable flower corsage...

... and this one brown with a detachable corsage in rusts, greens and brown.

The brown one is currently listed in my Folksy shop http://www.bethany.folksy.com

I may add the petrol one later.

Folksy Favourites... Summer...

It's been a while since I've picked out some of my favourites from Folksy and as the weather is so bad at the moment I thought I'd cheer myself up with a 'summer' search. So here is what I found...

This beautiful Summer Collage Brooch by Zoe-est is the perfect accessory for a summer outfit.

 A Alicia's shop is full of gorgeous felt accessories, this Summer Love Hair accessory is scrumptious! 

 

I love this cute skirt by Milk and Jam, it's a shame they are only in diddy sizes.

This Summer Pudding Bracelet by Ruby Spirit Designs 
 is amazing and bound to add a bit of sparkle to any outfit this summer, rain or shine!

New pieces...

... Today I've been working on some more chunky pieces of jewellery, here's a necklace and bracelet which I may add to my Folksy shop...

Front page!

:) I got all excited when I saw my earrings on the front page of Folksy. My new shop is just over a day old and one of my items is on the front page already :). yipeeeee...

 

New Collection in my new shop...

... Well I'm starting to list more items in my new Folksy shop now. Today I've listed some of my new collection 'Daisy'...

This is my blue daisy necklace, finished with pearls...

... and this a cameo brooch.

I'd love to know what you think of my new shop and creations, all comments welcome :)

 Cheers, Beth x

New Folksy shop...

... I was starting to feel that my folksy shop was getting a little cluttered so I've decided to open a new shop just for my felt and enamel pieces.

www.bethany.folksy.com

My other shop is still open too, but that's now just my more traditional jewellery.

Go take a look :)

Busy times...

... Well it feels like a while since I've written on here. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day or days in the week anymore! 

 I just thought I'd share with you what I've been up to the past couple of weeks...

... I've been in a show called the Pajama Game (American, hence the spelling!) I played a ditsy character called Poopsie and every night I had to have my hair back combed and curled (ouch for my hair).

It was loads of fun, but I'm still trying to recover, I'm soooo sleepy!

After all the clips we taken out of my hair, this was the result!!

It was also the grand opening of Seventh Heaven Bridal last Saturday, which was an amazing day.

I've got a selection of my jewellery and fascinators on display in the shop.

Then in between all this we have finally made our wedding invitations and I'm also getting ready for a craft fair at Shugborough Hall in a couple of weeks! It's all go!!

7th Heaven Bridal...

.. Are you getting married or know anyone who's getting married?

... There is one week to go until the grand opening of 7th Heaven Bridal. The shop is looking amazing and Helen has boxes of goodies everywhere eagerly awaiting their unveilings.

The website is now up and running, and looking amazing. Go check it out...

http://www.7thheavenbridal.co.uk/

Here's a sneak peak...

... On there you'll find info about the designers, accessories, jewellery and lots more.

Also if you follow the link to facebook on the website, you can join 7th Heavens business page to receive regular updates.

Dotty Egg...

... Easter is coming so I thought I'd get in the mood and start making little treats.

 Here is my first instalment...

... First of all I covered the little polystyrene egg with blue wool, using a needle felting technique...

... I then started to add some bright pink dots...

... Done, but i didn't think it look quite right..

... So around the pink dots I added another colour, there's green, blue and purple.

... Here it is done, I'm just going to add a ribbon so it can be hung around the house...

 

Paper tea cups...

... I've gone a bit tea cup mad this past year. We decided to have a vintage tea party theme for our wedding reception, so have been scouring charity shops and car boots for old tea cups, as a result I have two huge boxes full and they are all AMAZING!!

 Vintage Town  in one of my favourite shops on folksy, her work is beautiful! Very quirky, just amazing, and I was very excited when this appeared in Vintage Towns shop...

... Yes it's made out of paper!! How ace is that!

All things shabby...

... Yes I have a thing for shabby chic, so I thought I would share with you some of my favourites from Folksy.

 

First of all is this quirky little tag by Trashy Princess up a card, present or just use it as a decoration! (I have a thing for cupcakes too!)

Then we have this yummy purse by Natalie Farrell. Natalie's shop is full of these gorgeous purses. I found it difficult to decide which one to show on my blog!

Finally this beautiful cameo style Rose Necklace by Paisley Chainsaw.

All the shops have loads more goodies in, so why not take a look.

Also before I go, Dan Jackson who started off the Great Folksy Blog Circle has also started a blog called Folksy Finds.

It's full of blog posts by Folksy users about the shops they love. Hop over and take a look.   

Memorable facebook address...

... Just a quick post today.

 I finally managed to set up my memorable facebook business page address yesterday.

 Here it is...

http://artist.to/bethanyallen/

Go take a look :)

Pin Cushions and Clip on Earrings...

... Yes today I have finished off two new projects. 

One is a pin cushion, never attempted one before but was asked to make one for Seventh Heaven Bridal.

 So here it is....

It is a needle felted heart, stuffed with a large amount of wadding...

... It's finished with an elastic ribbon, so it can be slip over then hand and worn on the wrist.

The second was a pair of clip on earrings. I've done quite a few pairs of earrings now but never clip ons.

Here they are...

Pretty shoes...

... Whilst having a break from making my orders I thought I'd browse the net for my wedding shoes. Some are HORRIBLE, old fashioned yuck, so are pretty but just not what I'm looking for, others are ok but the heal just a tad too high, then I spot these...

The buttercup shoe by Diane Hassal, so pretty, made to order, just perfect, yum, love them. Apart from one small detail... The price tag! £185 ! If I start saving now perhaps....

Jewellery parties and workshops...

For those of you who don't know, I had my first jewellery party last week, which was a huge success.
If anyone would like to hold a jewellery party/jewellery morning at their house or even place of work let me know and I shall see what I can do.

I'm also going to start doing felt making workshops, perfect for most ages.
All materials will be supplied and you can choose whether you would like to learn needle felting* or wet felting.
*Please note: Needle felting uses extremely sharp needles so is unsuitable for children's workshops.

Thank you,

Beth :)

What a good day...

... Yesterday I had my first open house jewellery party. 

I had such a good day, it was lots of fun, much more relaxed than a craft fair. I made some sales and custom orders too! 

If you read my interview with Nifty Knits, I explained that my favourite piece was a necklace that I just couldn't take a good photo of... well the necklace on the left of the stand at the back is that necklace.

Here's a close up, ish...

 

If anyone lives in the Cheshire area and would like to have a jewellery party at their house just give me a shout.

 I'm also available for felt making workshops, both needle felting and wet felting.