Mosaic Earrings!

It's quite exciting over here in Trouble HQ because I've got a new line of mosaic jewellery now available - mosaic earrings! These are still in the very new stages - I've only made 5 pairs so far and I'm now waiting on more backings to arrive before I can make some more. But thought I should share them with you.

None of them are yet in my Etsy shop but feel free to drop me a line here if you are interested in any of them. They will be £22 + postage.

Pendant and Earring set - £42 + postage

What do you think? I'm excited - almost excited enough to re-pierce my ears so that I can make myself a pair!!

FREE UK SHIPPING!

IT'S MARCH 2013! And because spring is in the air, and I wouldn't want anyone to feel I had forgotten them, I am doing a promotion over in my Etsy store. On any order over £15 you can receive free UK shipping for the whole of the month of March.

What's more, I'm not the only one offering this! There are a lot of UK based sellers who are also offering free UK shipping for March. All you need to do is type in code FREEMARCH13 when you get to the checkout page and the free shipping will be added to your order. That is pretty great if you are looking for a Mother's Day gift, a St Patrick's day something, a birthday present or a lovely treat for yourself. Why not head over to Etsy and see what there is to see?

I'm offering Free UK shipping on orders over £15

Here are some other lovely things that I have seen on Etsy from people who are also offering free UK shipping for March. Click on any of the names below the photos to be sent to the shop.

I love LizzesBeautifulArt's cats! 

DamsonTreePottery makes such gorgeous designs! 

Who wouldn't be in love with a VW campervan or indeed any of Graces Favours designs? 

I've kept this post to a green theme because spring is in the air (I actually sat outside in the garden today!) but there are of course plenty of other goodies available. Here's a link to find some more lovely pieces on Etsy that are offering free UK shipping throughout March:

FREEMARCH13 UK shipping shop participants

I hope you all have a lovely time browsing and ... happy shopping!

How To... Curate an Etsy BNR

This weekend I will be spending a fair amount of time on Etsy... who am I kidding? I'll be spending the entire weekend on Etsy! I'm going to be helping to curate on the British Emporia team weekend BNR. A BNR basically means Buy And Replace - you browse in all the shops featured and, if you like something from a particular shop, call out to buy it. If the curator gives you the go ahead, you buy, post the transaction link and your shop replaces the shop you bought from. It's a great way of getting views on Etsy and also for finding presents for people, getting to know other Etsians through the chatting ... and I'm slightly addicted to them!
Anyway, this weekend British Emporia are holding their first BNR as a new team and a number of team members have asked about how to curate. So I thought that a useful tutorial this month would be a HOW TO CURATE blog post. So here goes...


1) If you are a curator the main thing you need to do is keep refreshing the page that the treasury is on - some browsers automatically update but I know that my Google Chrome requires me to do so myself. So every few seconds or so you need to refresh the page so that you can keep up with chatting and check if anyone has called for a shop. People call out for a shop by saying the name of the shop in capital letters.

2) If no one else has already called for the shop, you can then give the go-ahead. You post in the thread the name of the shop calling and the name of the shop called, e.g:

Go Ahead: CREATING TROUBLE for DKDA 

It's a good idea to write down who is going to replace who at this point as if it gets busy with 2 or 3 sales going through, it's sometimes hard to remember who is replacing who.

3) What I always make sure I do is have 2 tabs open - one with the published treasury on it which I keep refreshing every few seconds to look out for new call-outs and one with the treasury but available in edit mode. (I've used an old BNR tab which is why it says CLOSED at the moment)

4) While the person who is buying is going through their transaction process, I usually open a third tab with the buyer's shop in it so that I can browse through their items and find something to replace the present slot (the shop that is being bought from) Look for the listing number and copy it:

5) When the person who is buying from a current shop in the treasury posts their transaction link, you need to check the link to make sure it is over the minimum spend - it won't actually say the cost of the item there but it will give you some similar items to look at with similar pricing and you can judge from there. Most people write the cost of the item before shipping as well so that makes it easier, but it's still a good idea to get in the habit of checking.


6) If the transaction meets the minimum requirements, you can switch the buyer's shop in by removing the shop bought from.
 In your editing tab click on 'edit

6) Now if you hover over one of the items you can see an edit or remove tab. Click edit on the shop that is being bought out and replace the current listing number with the listing number of the shop to be bought in.

7) Now go up to the top of your editing screen where the title and tags are and amend the number of sales in the title (to 1 more!) 

8) Now all you have to do is press SAVE at the bottom of the treasury and... voila! You have successfully done a shop switch!


There are some things you need to remember though....

• Keep one tab with the published treasury open and make sure you refresh it constantly - while you are dealing with one sale, another buyer might call for a shop and you need to spot it! 
• If someone calls for a shop that has already been called for - or if two people call quite close to each other it is a first-come-first-served principle - give the go ahead to the person who called first and politely tell any other callers that it's already been taken. 
• Don't switch shops until the transaction link has been posted - you need to check each shop has at least spent the minimum spend. This means AFTER discounts and BEFORE shipping.
• Lots of shops will offer discount codes so one other thing you need to do as curator is make sure that you keep the discount code list updated. 

Etsy Picks

I've realised that I can't keep up with my Friday Feeling posts... what started out as a few lovely picks from Etsy developed into themed posts with fun facts and videos at the end. And I can't keep up on a weekly basis! So for 2013 I'm going to make Friday Feeling posts a once a month thing. And I'll do more regular, but less themed, Etsy picks showing some things that I have liked this week or this fortnight. I've really let the blog slide over the past few months and, while I'd like to get it up and running properly again, I have to admit I just don't have the same amount of time as I used to. Actual making and selling has got in the way of the blog.

So welcome to the first of the Etsy Picks posts... a selection of things I've liked this week. Please go over to Etsy and show some love to the wonderful artists - designers - makers who made these. I've got to know each of them through Etsy and I've really appreciated their comments on my Etsy store as they've helped me improve the general look and feel of my shop there. If you click on the pictures you will be taken to the listings, or if you click on the links in the captions you'll go to the respective shops. Enjoy!

Beautiful necklace by TheLaughingButterfly

What a sweet little girl's top by ThisIsLullaby

Love this scarf by Madmumknits

Love this hare collograph print by PrintsByMaggieg

An Etsy Treasury

I"ve been spending quite a lot of time on Etsy this week. The new British Emporia team are super friendly and chatty and I've been talking away with lots of people there. Rather brilliantly though, we've been doing shop critiques and this week my shop was being critiqued by 4 other teamies. I've been given some really positive feedback and ideas of where to go from here. As a result, I've spent quite a lot of time adding things, tweaking things, changing things and generally doing more with my online presence. Please go over and have a look at my present 'look' and let me know what you think!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/creatingtrouble

As a 'Thank You' to some of my team members, I thought I'd make a treasury featuring some of their work. It's been freezing cold around here (thought I'd get a snow day on Monday) and we've had lots of the white powdery stuff. So a frosty theme seemed appropriate. What do you think of my latest treasury? Please click on the picture to go to the actual site and browse the shops featured.

Etsy Treasury

I've been over on Etsy almost all day today. I finally got around to taking some photos of jewellery this morning and spent quite a long time editing and trying to get some listings up. As a bit of a break from photo editing, I had a bit of a browse in some of the shops belonging to members of the new team, British Emporia, that I was invited to join yesterday. British Emporia is still in its very early days (as in it only came into being yesterday) and at the moment all the members are crafty folk I already know from the Etsy community which is great - lots of friendly faces. Anyway, I decided that I would make a treasury today as I haven't made one for ages.

I do have a bit of an issue with finding the time to make treasuries and I'm not sure if I am the most talented when it comes to colours and finding things that work together. But here's today's attempt. If you click on the picture, you'll get sent to the treasury on Etsy from where you can browse the individual items and see some other things that these lovely shops have to offer.

I managed to post up a few listings today as well... 

What do you think? (Click on the pictures to go to the Etsy listings) 

I've got a few more photos up my sleeve to list over the next few days, so please go over and have a look over the next few days! http://www.etsy.com/shop/creatingtrouble 

That Friday Feeling...Giraffes!

I've just been talking to one of my close friends via that fabulous invention of Skype and asked her what I should pick as my theme this week. She didn't really know what I was talking about when I said 'theme' but asked if it could be anything, like... for example...giraffes? Well yes, yes it can be a shout out for giraffes! This week's Etsy shout out is dedicated to you Shannon of MosaicGeek fame - I hope that next time we speak on Skype you sing me the song I've added at the end...!

Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I do a weekly shout out of some lovely things I've found on Etsy based around a theme. This week's theme is giraffes, of which there are many cute examples on Etsy. Do go and have a search yourself but also visit the shops I've featured - they are great!

What a cute giraffe crochet pattern from djonesgirlz

Sweet little giraffe earrings by fingerprince

I love this giraffe diaper bag by pollywogsandtadpoles

What little snippets of giraffe information shall I add?

• A giraffe can clean its own ears with it's tongue. Personally I wouldn't want to but always a good party trick I suspect... Their tongues are about 2 feet long. 
• Because they are always on the lookout for predators, giraffes sleep very little. They average about 30 minutes a day. And other animals use giraffes as lookout posts for predators. 
• Giraffes can eat about 35 kilos of food a day. They are herbivores and have a strong liking for accacia trees which have all the nutrients they need bar calcium and salt. Because accacia stores water in its leaves, it also helps in keeping giraffes hydrated. 
• However, when giraffes do go and find some water, they can drink up to 12 gallons of water in one go.
• A baby giraffe is about 6 foot tall at birth.
• If they are attacked and cannot run away, giraffes will kick at their predators - and their hooves have been known to sever a lion's head!
• Giraffes can run at 35 mph although only for a short period of time. 
• It is illegal to tie a giraffe to a lampost in Atlanta. Which makes me wonder when giraffes were so prevalent there that they had to introduce that law...?!
• Giraffes cannot cough. Must be a real pain if they get accacia leaves stuck in their throats...!
• Giraffe markings are all individual  - no two giraffes have exactly the same markings. 
• Today's YouTube clip is verging on the ridiculous but for some reason I don't know many songs about giraffes... can't think why! Anyway, it MUST be fun to be a giraffe! 

That Friday Feeling...Winter

Brrrr, I know it's only November so the proper cold, snowy months have not yet started but I haven't been able to feel my toes for days now! I am soooooo cold! So what better theme for this week's Friday Feeling than Winter? Here are some of my favourite finds of the week - please do go over to Etsy and have a look at some of the shops I've featured (click on the links in the captions) and also go and have a search generally. It's that time of year when we start thinking about Christmas presents (I said it, the dreaded C word) so Etsy is a good place to start looking. Lovely handmade gifts all round!

Cute little ceramic brooch by LoveandLovelier

What about a wintery cushion to remind you it's warm indoors! By maximilia

Love this chunky scarf by KnitFrekkles 

 I'm not sure whether I want to share any wintery facts with you today... they might make me feel even colder! I'm presently wrapped up in a scarf AND a cowl in a cafe which technically should have heating. And when not typing I'm clutching a mug of hot tea! OK, OK, here are your fun facts for the week:

• Icicles most often form on the south side of buildings
• The record for most snow angels at one time was made in Ontario, Canada in 2004. A number of schools joined forces and 15,861 were created.
• Wind chill is a measurement of heat loss on exposed skin
• The coldest temperature ever recorded was in Antarctica (no surprise then!) of -129 Fahrenheit (-89 Celsius)
• Snowflakes fall on average at 3.1 miles per hour
• The tallest snowman was given a name! He was called Angus and measured 122 feet (37 metres)
• Ten inches of snow melts down into 1 inch of water
• A single snow storm can drop more than 40 millios tonnes of snow, which has the energy equivalence of 120 atomic bombs.
• Apparently if squirrels start building their nests on the lower branches of trees it means we're going to have a really cold winter. The same goes if ants build higher than normal mounds or birds start migrating early. 

That Friday Feeling...Hallowe'en

Wooooooooh! It's that spooky time of year again when bats and cats, witches, skeletons and ghosts are all on the prowl for All Hallows Eve. So what better time to have Hallowe'en as a theme? I have made one item for Hallowe'en - a pumpkin keyring:

But there are LOTS of lovely Hallowe'en themed items on Etsy this week - feel free to go and search yourself but here are my picks of the week.

I love Madmumknits' designs and these tea cosy patterns are no exception! 

I love the colour of this hand-dyed yarn by CountessAblaze. 

How cute are these little Jack-O'Lantern earrings by CobwebDesignsCoUK? 

I'm sure we all know quite a lot about Hallowe'en already but, here are my snippets of information for the week...

• Hallowe'en celebrations date back thousands of years (well between 2000 and 6000 years depending on your source). 
• The tradition of wearing masks comes from Celtic tradition. On Samhain the spirits of the dead return to earth and visit the living. The masks are worn to prevent the dead from recognising the living. The tradition of costumes is American and dates from harvest celebrations where people wore costumes, ate sweets and played practical jokes on each other. 
• The tradition of playing practical jokes got out of hand and a bit ugly in the 1930s and, as a substitute for it, the tradition of going door to door to collect candy was introduced. Although trick or treating is also a continuation of the tradition of putting treats outside the door in Celtic tradition to ward off bad spirits.
• Jack O'Lanterns originated in Ireland and were originally hollowed out turnips with candles placed in them to ward off evil spirits on Samhain.
• If you see a spider on Hallowe'en it is said to be the spirit of a loved one watching over you. So they are actually good luck! 
• About 99% of all pumpkin sales are used for hollowing out and making Jack O'Lanterns.
• Bobbing for apples is a Roman festival tradition - it was played at feasts to the goddess Pomona, the goddess of fruit.
• In Scotland, unmarried girls supposedly see the face of their future husband if they hang a wet sheet in front of a fire on Hallowe'en.
• The name bonfire night originates from 'bone fire' - in the run up to the harvest, fires were lit to persuade the sun to return after the cold, dark winter. Often cows and sheep were thrown in as sacrifices hence the 'bones' 
• England tends to celebrate Bonfire Night (5th November) instead of Hallowe'en because the date (31st October / 1st November) are Catholic feast days (All Saints and All Souls) and Protestant England wanted to distance themselves from the Catholics. Celebrating the execution of Guy Fawkes (a Catholic) who tried to blow up parliament and put a Catholic king on the throne was a good way of keeping the festivities but putting a different slant on it. 
• This week's YouTube video had to be Ghost Busters because it's such a classic. Enjoy and HAPPY HALLOWE'EN! 

That Friday Feeling....Oranges and Lemons

"Oranges and lemons,' say the bells of St. Clement's

"You owe me five farthings," say the bells of St. Martin's

"When will you pay me?" say the bells of Old Bailey

"When I grow rich," say the bells of Shoreditch

"When will that be?" say the bells of Stepney

"I do not know," says the great bell of Bow.

Here comes a candle to light you to bed

And here comes and chopper to chop off your head!

I've had this famous nursery rhyme in my head all week for a good reason. I've been making things with an oranges and lemons theme this week. First of all, there's the Oranges and Lemons bag: 

£9.00 & p+p available in my Etsy store

Then I have also been making some gorgeous patchwork cushions with the same design as well. 

£16 & p+p for the cover, £20 incl cushion 

So it seems only fitting that this week's Friday Feeling theme should be Oranges and Lemons. There are some lovely items available on Etsy but here are my picks for the week:

Cute little felt hearts from Smika

How lovely are these napkins from LittleBirdsBoutique?

I love these sweet little boards from Recy

So what little snippets can I find you today? 

• The phrase 'Oranges and Lemons' may be traced back to the 1600s when there was a square dance called 'Oranges and Lemons'. The actual tune and lyrics are not known but it's suspected that the lyrics are similar to those that we presently know.
• The 'bells' referred to are all the names of churches within the city of London. 
• You are a 'cockney' Londoner if you are born within earshot of the Great Bell of Bow - which is not actually located in the area of Bow, but is actually the bells of St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside. The original church actually burnt down in the Great Fire of London in 1666. It was rebuilt and destroyed during the Blitz and wasn't rebuilt again until the 1960s. As it's actual location is within the heart of the City of London, it is unlikely that anyone is actually born within earshot of the bells as it's not a residential area. And for a number of years it was impossible to be born within earshot as there were no bells! So Cockney Londoners are usually thought of as those from the East End.
• The tune of the nursery rhyme is meant to sound like the indvidual bells ringing which all have their own distinctive tune and pitch.
• There are various theories as to what the rhyme means, including representing the difficulties that Henry VIII had with his many wives, describing public executions and references to child sacrifice. However these are mostly totally unfounded as the last two lines about the execution were added at a later date to the original lines. 
• It is thought that the last few lines may have been added by children around 1783 when public executions at the Tyburn gallows drew crowds of up to 100,000.
• St Clement Danes' church bell now plays the tune of Oranges and Lemons as it's ring. 
• In Orwell's 1984, Winston cannot remember the whole of the nursery rhyme, with different parts provided by different characters throughout the novel with the final two lines coming very symbolically at the end of the novel. 

Hope you all have a great weekend! 

That Friday Feeling ... Breast Cancer

October is officially Breast Cancer Awareness month and it seems fitting to have a post dedicated to all the thousands of women out there who are suffering or have suffered from it. I think we all know someone who has been affected by cancer in some way, whether that is breast cancer or another form of it. It still seems impossible that we still can't just stop cancer, but the good news is that treatment and diagnosis are much improved and have come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years. There's still a long way to go and this post is going out in support of all of those people who have been affected by it in some way. 

There are an awful lot of people selling breast cancer awareness items on Etsy, but I have been quite specific with my choices this week. I have only chosen items where the seller has specifically said that they donate to a cancer charity. It's really important that we show our support, but for those who have suffered, or know someone who has, there is no underestimating the work that charities do in supporting families affected and in research into cures. I may be getting on a moral high-horse here, but I feel that if you are going to be selling something to show awareness of such an important cause, then at least a portion of the profits should go to helping sufferers or funding research. From a seller's perspective, I understand that we all have a living to make and often our profits are tiny in comparison to what it costs to make something, but with such a sensitive cause, I really feel uncomfortable that some people are selling without actually donating anything. It seems incredibly sad to me. 

To women around the world who have experienced the horrific effects of this life-threatening disease, I give my whole-hearted support. To get up each morning and put on a brave face to the world and continue going to work, spending time with your families, doing everyday things like washing up, I know is an impossibly courageous feat and I respect you immensely. I have added some links to charities within the UK at the end of this post - I know from friends' experiences how fantastically supportive some of these charities can be - even if it's just to know a bit more about what it is you are going through and what your options are. 

Hope Bracelet by PetiteBlue

Thank you cards by CricketPrinting

Pink Ribbon soap by SoapGarden

Customised Initial Jewellery by BeautifulAsYou

Click on any of the pictures below to be taken to their websites where you can find information about cancer and what to do if you or a loved one is in need of support. 

I should probably point out that I am not in any way affiliated with any of these charities, am not sponsored by them and have not been asked to write this blog post. It is just a theme that I felt needed some recognition. I have now been inspired to make some breast cancer awareness keyrings and brooches and I can assure you that 100% of the profits will be going to cancer charities as I strongly believe in the work they do. More on that to follow...

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!