Apologies for not blogging...

Well it's been a really hectic few weeks here at Trouble HQ so I'm afraid the blog has suffered a little because of it. I'd love to say, 'But HEY! I'm back!' but if I'm totally honest, I think you may have to put up with me being a little sporadic over the next few weeks. New Year's Resolution: To blog more regularly!

The main reason I've been so absent is craft fairs, craft fairs and even more craft fairs. I can't even begin to start talking about them, but needless to say it's been crazy busy making sure I've got enough stock for all of them. If you're London based and fancy coming along to some of the fabulous fairs that I'll be at along with some other great artists and crafters, then look to the sidebar on the right and you'll find a list of upcoming events. (That's a new bit on the blog!)

My stall set up at the Balham Craft Fair (25th November) 

I have to say, while I find craft fairs absolutely exhausting, I do really enjoy doing them. There are always some fabulous other crafty folk around (and my Christmas gifts are almost sorted due to some incredibly talented people) and even when they aren't the most successful, I still enjoy getting to spend time with some really great people.

Then there has been the launching of Inspired: London a guide to London designers and crafters - in which I am featured! I'm so excited about it. If you click on the picture, you'll be redirected to the online order form where you can pick up your own copy for just £12.99 - good either for giving as a Christmas present or for using to find some Christmas presents!

The launch of Inspired: London was a really nice opportunity to meet some other great artists and designers from London. It was really fantastic getting to put faces to names as a number of people featured are shops I know from Etsy and being able to finally say face to face how much I like people's work. 

In addition to these, there have been new designs, new lines, more things added onto Etsy and all sorts of other craziness as well. I'll write a separate blog post about some of those as I've got lots of pictures to show you... watch this space! 

Weekend sales

This weekend was a great weekend for sales. The Craft Britannia team on Etsy hosted a BNR and I got involved in it. I wasn't curating on this one, more just hanging around, chatting, browsing through all the shops and seeing what there was to see. It's ended up in me buying some lovely things, selling a few pieces and generally enjoying getting to know some other crafty peeps. I always really enjoy BNRs, although I find them incredibly addictive and have to force myself to go and do other things! As a result, I haven't done anywhere near as much this weekend as I was planning. So it's going to have to be some extra hours for me over the next few evenings. The penguin stock is looking low at the moment...

First up, I sold this lovely black and white millefiori and vitreous glass mosaic pendant. It went to the lovely Sarah of therainbowgirl who sells gorgeous dyed fabrics, cottons and wools. Sarah has some really lovely green lace that I've had my eye on for a while now... I just need to come up with a good project as an excuse to get hold of it!

Black and White Mosaic Pendant £16.00 & p+p

After that I obviously bought back in to the BNR as I'd been eyeing up some of the lovely goodies available in the other stores. And got bought out again within half an hour! This time it was a pair of coasters which are now on winging their way over to the U.S. - I think that's only my second international order so that was quite exciting. 

Mosaic coasters based on Rubics Cubes £14.00 & p+p

And then finally, I sold my first Christmas decoration! I was kind of hoping I'd have a bit more time to get my Christmas stock sorted out and organised, but I had literally only just listed this tree decoration when it was sold as well!

Felt Tree Decoration £6.00 & p+p

Of course I made some fabulous purchases as well....

I'm looking forward to getting these fingerless gloves from the lovely Shalotte. I've known Naomi through Etsy for a while and am always intrigued by her designs. She makes bohemian-couture yarnwork, clothing and wirework jewellery. I'm definitely looking forward to getting these as the mornings are getting cold on my bicycle! 

Click on the picture to go to Shalotte's Etsy store

I think the rose bath salts from WitchWayBeauty may have already arrived - I wasn't home when the post arrived this morning and I have a 'package was too large' note to go and pick up. Wondering whether I should be good and give these as a present or just say, nah, all for me?!!

Click on the picture to go to WitchWayBeauty's Etsy store 

And lastly I bought some beautiful yarn from SpinningStreak which I am really looking forward to receiving. I'm thinking of making a cowl with this...with some pretty wooden buttons as embellishments. What do you think? I absolutely love the colours. 

Click on the picture to go to SpinningStreak's Etsy store

So there you go, a fairly productive weekend in the end! Certainly put a positive spin on what had been quite a hard week really. Of course I am now really sick so I'm all tucked up in bed feeling sorry for myself, but hey, we can't have everything! 

A craft-astic weekend

Well I've been very lapse in the blog posts recently but that is definitely because Trouble HQ has been super busy the past few weeks. As you may have noticed I've been posting up about different fairs that I've been at so thought I should give you a bit of a run down on last weekend's fairs.

I was at Tootopia Festival down in Tooting this weekend. It was a two day event although there were slightly different vendors on the different days. It was lovely to see Emma from Emma Barrett Designs there - she is a lovely crafter who I enjoy chatting with and it's always great to see her. Emma works wonders with beads and also makes the most beautiful bunting possible.

Click on the picture to go to Emma's website

I also saw the lovely Mic from Dagaz Designs who was selling her vintage jewellery and designs. We've bumped into each other a few times and there was a lot of laughter for the time that we were sat opposite each other... mostly due to my clumsiness I think but I'd like to think it was more to do with bubbly personalities...

Click on the picture to go to Dagaz Design's Etsy store 

And I met Nikki of Nikki Stark Jewellery who was absolutely lovely and makes some gorgeous silver and gold items. I was really impressed with her work and also the fact that she's just been featured in Vogue! Wow!!!

It was an interesting (and tiring!) weekend. The weather was beautiful which kept lots of potential customers outside in the sun instead of in the Tooting Tram and Social with us, but even so it was quite a productive weekend, and it's always great meeting new people, chatting with people about your work and seeing what people are interested in. I got a lot of enquiries about my quilts although I didn't actually have any orders. I'm going to be listing some of them this week though so keep your eyes peeled for them!

I sold a number of pendants including the lovely Daisy Daisy pendant to a lady who actually put it on there and then and wore it around the garden for the rest of the afternoon.

And another lovely customer pointed out that some of my cufflinks match some of my pendants and bought a pendant and pair of cufflinks as a wedding gift for her friends - subtle enough for both to wear at the same time but matching so that they are a complete gift set. I hadn't actually thought of doing that before so quite excited about the prospect of doing some more matching designs.

Lots of little penguins are flying off to new homes (have fun little guys!) and some cards and cufflinks have gone as well so all in all I would say I've had a fairly successful weekend. Hooray! I'm back at A Glamourous Affair this weekend in Islington if anyone fancies coming along to say hello...!

Busy bee

Exciting news! I'm going to hopefully achieve one of my New Year's Resolutions in the next few weeks. I'm going to do my first craft fair. I've been making mosaics for 2 years now, have been on Etsy for a year... it's about time I pulled my socks up and actually went properly out into the wide world and did a fair (or two). So, if you are in South London on Sunday 25th March, then come along to the Balham Bowls Club where I will be along with a number of other artisans showcasing their work. You can find more details here: http://www.emmabarrettdesigns.co.uk/upcoming-craft-events/

Anyway, obviously the fact that the fair is happening fairly soon means that I have been as busy as a bee for the past week or so trying to get some things ready to sell. I've been mostly concentrating on mosaic pendants recently - my fingers are now shredded to pieces with tiny (and not so tiny) cuts. I thought I'd share some of my designs with you - hopefully some of you will give me some feedback! 

Oh, and if you particularly like one (or more) of these, then just let me know and I can list them in my Etsy shop for you.

It's Christmas Time...

We're trying to teach the kids at school the Band Aid song. So far it's hilarious...

Anyway, getting into the Christmas spirit I finally made an advent calendar. I'm not actually very happy with it as I think it's a wee bit too red, but hey, it's the first advent calendar I've made so I shall be learning from my mistakes, right? I do actually like all the material on this one, but I shouldn't have had red gingham as the backdrop colour - it's made it a little too busy and red. I think the next one will be a night time scene with a gingerbread house as the focal point. Watch this space for updates... (you never know, by next year I may have made hundreds of these...!)

My new advent calendar is now loaded up with chocolates and sweeties for my flatmate and I to open each day. There are different presents in different pouches so it won't always be the same. I like the idea of having an advent calendar that you can get out every year and have as part of your Christmas decorations. And I'm sure it's better for the environment instead of those shop-bought cardboard, plastic and chocolate ones! Anyway, I've been enjoying my chocolate treats every morning but am wondering when I'll get my first Lindt truffle? (I KNOW there are some in there!!)

Being a Grown-Up Crafter...

Do you consider yourself a 'grown-up'? I've been a teacher for nearly 9 years in total and yet I still don't think of myself as an adult. When kids say 'miss' it's fine, when they say 'Miss Phillips' I get a little freaked out. But I am beginning to come to terms with being a proper grown-up and have taken some steps into adulthood: I now have my own business cards! Yes, I know most people have had them for, like, ever but I've always thought of them as being what proper adults have and I have never really thought that I am a proper adult. But as my craft sales are beginning to take off and my printer doesn't like me very much, it seemed about time to get some. Actually I didn't - the lovely Andy designed and bought them for me. THANK YOU!

I was soooo excited when I opened these for the first time I nearly clapped my hands like a little girl (see I TOLD you I haven't grown up yet!) Aren't they great?

Now that I've got my business cards, I guess I really should start getting busy for a craft fair or some more Etsy sales. Please feel free to look at my etsy store and take your pick!  

But before I can prepare for a craft fair there is something I need to get on with first. Remember all that material I bought? Well it's been going to good use here at Creating Trouble HQ... It's time to reveal part II of the grand project. This bit is looking a little more complete and I guess that some of it is beginning to take shape. Can you guess what the whole piece is going to be yet?