Monday, 6 June 2011

Another Weekend of Etsy
































































































Well after some terrible nerves, I finally curated a BNR on Etsy this weekend. I took it over at 16 sales and it was mostly red and black. Two hours later,  I left it mostly blue and at 22 sales. I'm proud of myself! It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be - I just made sure I had a piece of paper next to me to keep track of what people were buying / selling etc.

BNR's are a great place to get your work seen, appreciated and sold: because buyers want to get a slot they are happy to buy you out. This time around I sold four items - 3 cards and a bunny bag.



I also managed to pick up some super cute items too. Some cute hair clips from Imynda and a coin purse from Greengrass2 (both sell on Etsy and the links will take you to their shops.


 




I also discovered this weekend that I can actually sew - and am happily back at my sewing machine again. HURRAY! I have a whole load of ideas for future craft projects but sadly I'm going to have to wait until I'm fully better for those... meanwhile there's a 'how to' coming up, I'm hoping for a giveaway (not many more followers needed...!) am wondering about whether I'm ready to start going to a craft night up in Tottenham or whether I will just hurt myself, and of course, this Month''s Artist has yet to be revealed! 
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Sunday, 5 June 2011

Silent Sunday



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Friday, 3 June 2011

That Friday Feeling...

It's Friday! Hurray! Time for the weekend! This weekend I'm quite excited about curating in the British Sellers on Etsy's BNR (more about that later) but for now I thought I would show a couple of very cute items that I came across this week from Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69912618/vintage-style-cupcake-keyring-ck02

I love CLSCraftCreations work, especially this little cupcake keyring!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62814128/patterns-for-star-wars-mini-amigurumi

ooh ooh how can you not want to make some crochet star wars figures? Lucyravenscar has some super  cute patterns .
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Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Artist's Feature: Kitty Phillips Photography

This month's artist is someone whose work I absolutely love. Kitty Phillips specialises in children's and wedding photography. You can see more of her work at www.kittyphillips.co.uk and she is also on twitter as @kitty_phillips.

Kitty has been taking photos since she was first handed a polaroid camera at the age of seven. She was fascinated by the idea of framing a shot, clicking a button and getting an image a few seconds later. She's been taking photos ever since. She assisted various photographers for a number of years before setting out independently four years ago.




What sort of things inspire you? 
It's the little things in life that inspire me; a sunny day, blossom on the trees, a friendly smile, people.
I also love to travel - seeing new things, experiencing different sights, sounds and cultures mean that my camera is rarely out of my hand.



How do you manage to get the 'perfect shot'?
The perfect shot? For me the perfect shot is one with emotion, one that captures a moment in time, a person's personality, a look, a smile, a memory. I try not to worry too much about the technical side of photography and focus on the emotion. I also prefer to use natural light as much as possible, as this allows me to be a lot more flexible - it helps to put my clients at ease and be more spontaneous.

How would you describe your style?
Natural, spontaneous and unobtrusive

What equipment do you use?
I use a canon 5d mark II, it's a fantastic camera and with a couple of great zoom lenses it covers almost everything including low light.




Are there any artists / photographers whose work you admire? 
Too many to mention! I love Steve McCurray's work, his iconic image of the the Afgan girl shot is just one of his amazing portraits. Sebastiao Salgado is a fantastic photojournalist whose work is always thought provoking, especially when you start to consider the circumstances under which they were taken. 

What tips would you give to other photographers wanting to break into the industry? 
Love what you do, it's not easy being freelance but if you love what you do it will be worthwhile. 
Networking is essential - keep a bunch of business cards on you as you never know who you'll meet or where the next job will come from.




What is your favourite photo and why have you chosen this?  
It's hard to have a favourite photo, I've been lucky enough to travel to some amazing places and met so many fabulous people along the way.

This photo was taken a few years ago whilst travelling, I spent a few days horse trekking in the Andes, whilst the rest of the group were having their afternoon siesta I took a wander with my camera. A few attempts at conversation in Spanish with the local cowboys resulted in the following photo. I love the natural feel of this image, his laugh was contagious. 


Go round to Kitty's website to see more of her work and to contact her: www.kittyphillips.co.uk
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Sunday, 29 May 2011

Silent Sunday




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Saturday, 28 May 2011

How to....Make a POMPOM

This month's How To has had to be adapted slightly due to my arm injuries. It's a fairly simple one but what you can do with them are endless. Try making a pompom scarf or adding on to the top of a knitted hat. Why not add them to a pair of slippers, napkin rings or just use them as decorations. 

Step 1: Draw some circles onto stiff card and draw smaller circles inside. You will need two circles for each pompom. They can be re-used so how many you make is totally up to you. I made about 10 - it was enough to have 5 pompoms on the go at one time and, as I was doing it production-line style, it was useful to have more rather than less.

Step 2: Cut the circle out, including cutting out the circles in the middle so that you end up with a circular shape with a hole in the middle. 


 Step 3: Choose your yarn. I happen to have quite a lot of pinks and purples in my yarn box so I have chosen 5 colours that go with each other. 






Step 4: Wind small flat balls of yarn from your main yarn balls. These will need to fit through the inner circles of your card pieces so they should ideally be quite skinny. 

Step 5: Hold two card circles together and start winding the yarn around the circle. You need to make sure you go through the inner circle and round the outer edge. Wind all the way around the circle - if you haven't got enough yarn to go all the way around, make a new bundle and continue!

Step 6: Once you have wound all the way around your circle, get a pair of sharp scissors. Move some yarn slightly so that you can get your scissors between the two pieces of card. Carefully cut the yarn all around the outside edge of the circle between the two pieces of card. You will have to hold the inner circle to prevent the small yarn pieces from coming away.


Step 7: Cut a length of yarn (about 10 is more than enough) and slip it between the two pieces of card. Wrap it around the yarn threads, pull it together and make a tight double knot.



Step 8: Now gently pull the two pieces of card off the pompom, roll it around to make it spherical and cut the long ends of yarn off.








Voila you have made a pompom... Now what are you going to use it for? 


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