it's fun to share - new collaborative knitted dinosaurs!

pink dino blue dino

 
Aren't they gorgeous? I created the pattern using pictures drawn by the talented MissBiss of Etsy shop bissandpieces, 

Each dinosaur (also known as bisosaurus!) is about 4 inches (10cm high) and designed to match Biss's new baby cards,

 "it's a boy" and 

"it's a girl"

I developed a new-to-me technique to knit them because I wanted to make them as child-friendly (ie indestructible) as possible. The head, body and tail are knitted all in one piece on double pointed needles, then I threaded my yarn right through the body  and started knitting the first arm on the opposite side to the ball  - does that make sense? - leaving the poor dinosaur hanging from the needles! Then once the first arm was finished, I started again on the other side - so the arms are attached by the yarn through the body, as well as being stitched on securely.

I don't have much time for knitting right now as it's nearly house moving time yet again, so for now there is just one of each in stock.

pink dino blue dino

Beach heart pebbles for Valentines Day

I've been collecting heart shaped pebbles from the beach for a long time, and have finally decided how to embellish them!

Each one is (of course!) different in shape and size, and to be honest some are "heartier" than others - but I'm having great fun prettying them up.

As it's nearly Valentine's Day it seemed right to try to make pebbles sexy, so I've gone for a lacing effect knitted stitch, like corset lacing!

I've started to add them to folksy and etsy and will continue to add more as I knit them!

Making a list, checking it twice

Hmmmm, where did I put that outfit? Oh here it is:

Better see if it still fits

Well, trousers are OK, that's a relief. Bit of a struggle getting the tail through the hole, but then I've always been proud of my tail girth.

Beard's fine.

Hmm. Slight problem with the jacket, excuse me a minute, just need to get some padding. 

It's a bit hot with that padding under my coat! Can't have a slim Santa though, can we?

If you know someone who's on the "good" list, it's never too early to shop for a handmade Christmas!

Niftyknits @ Etsy

Niftyknits @ Folksy

Niftyknits @ Zibbet

What does handmade mean to you?

It's a question that often crops up in the forums of my selling venues and often becomes heated!

The answers are usually (in my opinion) based on the responder's own experience. Taken to one extreme there could be an out-and-out individualist who grows her own sheep, shears, spins, designs and knits, packs and ships completely alone.

And then there are those who say even factory-made items are handmade - because there are hands there somewhere, pressing levers or taking part in a production line.

I'm at neither extreme but I'd like to show you a little of what handmade means to me.

I certainly don't grow my own wool, in fact I mostly use acrylic as it is hard-wearing and comes in the bright colours I prefer:

We moved a month ago, that's why the yarns are quite tidy! The bag at top right holds bits of fleece I use for hair and other embellishments, the big wooden box holds all my fancy yarns. 

My patterns are my own, and are rarely written out in much detail which means each meerkat may differ slightly. I think this adds to the nature of "handmade", and have argued fiercely on the forums with those who hold the opinion that this is proof that handmade is "not perfect".

 You can see some of my essentials here - modeling wire, jeweller's pliers and cutters and of course a comfy chair! Did you guess what I was knitting?

What else do I do? I print my signature labels on the computer, though I have to confess MrNifty's computer skills were used to design the original sheet  - but using my photo and text. I sew a label on to each meerkat (except the very tiny ones), usually on their little bottom.

I also designed and print Certificates of Authenticity to go with each meerkat, using my product photos which...who'd have thought?...are taken by me with the aid of lovely photoshop elements which I can't recommend highly enough.

Finally each kat is wrapped in tissue paper and popped in a padded envelope for his or her journey to a new home. Sometimes MrNifty does the post office run for me.

So - is my work handmade? YES! 

Watch this space - I'll be blogging a giveaway and a free shipping discount code early next week.

Checkmate!

It's not often I splash out my hard-knitted cash on anything that isn't strictly necessary, but I had to have this:

It's a medieval style chess set, inspired by the famous Isle of Lewis chessmen. According to Wiki they were discovered in 1831 and were 12th century! You'll have to go to the British Museum in London, or the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, to see the originals, but you can buy these fabulous hand-made replicas from Ogg the Clever.

My tatty card chess board does not do them justice, so I'm gong to try to sweet talk my aunt. She has a lovely chess table which she's left to me in her will, but I clearly need it now ;-) The table (I must take a pic next time I visit) was handmade by my grandfather who was a master carpenter and builder and these pieces will look stunning on it.



Ogg the Clever has other versions too, I strongly recommend a visit to his shop. He says: "Each set is hand cast, painted, stained and lacquered to give a durable high quality result yet still retaining a certain ceramic and antique finish. They also all have hand cut soft felt bottoms, lucky things! The colours for this set are Moroccan Red for the dark and antique stone for the light.

The king is approx four inches in height which makes it a little higher than the ordinary Lewis sets and would suit a standard tournament board (not included I'm afraid) with squares about two inches or more."



Like I said - my aunt's table will be perfect! The fine details are amazing, it's like standing in an old church admiring the carving on the tombs (yep, my idea of good day out!)

A handmade Christmas

As I'm taking down the decorations, I thought I'd share with you some of my handmade festive lovelies:

This is probably the oldest made-by-me decoration, I embroidered these pictures around 20 years ago I think. They're not my own designs,they're from a book. Each round picture is about 4 inches across (10cm).



One of my favourites, this bauble is at least 3 inches across and is handpainted on the INSIDE. I can't get my head around that, painting the topmost detail FIRST and the background last. It doesn't show in the photo, but it's translucent glass and the fairy lights shine through making it glow. A pupil gave it to me back in my teaching days, a lovely memento.



Complete contrast! I made this a few weeks before Christmas. I only recently learnt how to knit with beads already on my yarn (instead of sewing them on at the end) and wanted to see what I could create. I might make more next year, but with better quality beads (these were from the bottom of the stash!)



These cute little ice skates were made by Daisy and bought from her shop on folksy, Daisy and I competed for a prize in Folksy's Christmas competition and the skates were her entry - I had to have a pair! I won, but where my photo has gone is a mystery to me. From what I remember, I made a hanging decoration with lots of tiny parcels made origami-style from recycled Christmas cards.



Santa #1 came from Erica, also known as Littleworm on Etsy. We first "met" on a mad rhyming thread on the forum there. You could promote anything you liked, as often as you liked - but it all had to be in rhyme!



Santa #2 is from Creations by Gena on Zibbet - is't he gorgeous? Gena had to investigate international shipping for me, and I'm very glad she did!



We also had some handmade gifts of course!

I created the pigeon for my daughter (she's 23!) because she loves the book. Behind him you can just about see some handmade body scrub from my son's girlfriend - thanks Helen, it smells wonderful!



My son wore his hat-and-beard combo pretty much continuously although for some reason he unbuttoned the beard and removed it before we went outside.



My older son and girlfriend made me a Meerkat Nativity apron - such a surprise! They must have thought Mr Nifty deserved some help in the kitchen this year!



Finally - the Christmas cake. It's a tradition to decorate our rich fruit Christmas cakes in the UK., although I've recently learnt this is one tradition that has not crossed the pond to the States.



Only (how many?) days to go till next Christmas... but in the meantime, don't forget to enter my giveaway!

This is…Tina

of Adorn Me Jewelry on Zibbet and Etsy and *new* venture: Fallen Angel Brass

Favourite colour? -- I'm a color maniac who is very much into color theory and the healing properties of color, so it's hard for me to choose just one. Mostly I favor blues, purples, greens and oranges. See? I tried. Can't do it. :c)

Peacock earrings

Favourite item in your shop of all time?

My favorite items seem to be the newest creations I'm working on or have just listed, but my Immortal necklace is probably the most meaningful to me.



Why?
For several reasons. First, I really love the vintage lucite cabochon. Most importantly, though, it is made from Fallen Angel Brass , a new line of gorgeous warm black brass created by my partner, Karen (of Treasures by Karen) and myself. Our new jewelry supply business is really a dream come true. We sell items that we longed to be able to use ourselves, and will continue to grow this business with a goal of selling wholesale. Our filigrees, stampings, chains and findings are already doing well, and we have only been in business for just over 3 months.

tiny swallows

We are coming out with our Fall line later this month and are very excited about the new offerings we have coming up. We're already starting to work on our Spring line. This shop is also my favorite because it's emblematic of the friendship that Karen and I have developed. All of the hours of Etsy convos and emails, getting to know each other better and find just how much of a shared passion we have for jewelry components and beads, and how similar our vision is when it comes to not just selling a product but the relationships we build with our customers and our own suppliers. It's exciting and satisfying for both of us.

Favourite shop that isn’t yours? Mixed Species.

Why? -- They have the wackiest items. Hilarious stuff there and it keeps me laughing. I especially like this: As they say in their shop greeting, they are not for the faint of heart.

Jewelry is a VERY crowded market – what do you consider your “unique selling point”? How do you stand out from the crowd?

There are a few selling points, I guess. First, I have decades of experience designing and crafting jewelry. That's always a good foundation upon which to build. The fact that my son James and I are a mother and son team is also rather rare in the jewelry design world, and what that brings to the table is an even more eclectic selection from which to choose.

vintage daffodil statement necklace

James' designs are in general very Bohemian and full of texture. Mine are in general more smooth and full of color. We both cross over, of course. :c) I often hear about the photos in our store as being a real draw, which is a lovely compliment. I work hard taking a lot of photos so that I can have a wealth of images from which to choose. Doing so is time-consuming, but the process of photographing is such a pleasure.

Insanely purple earrings

It's marvelous putting the various pieces in the light and seeing what can be coaxed out of them when it comes to color, refraction, cast light, glow -- and in some cases a sort of atmospheric fuzziness.

Nature's Bounty

We do have some very original designs, too, though originality is often difficult as many people come up with similar designs. I've seen the same designs repeat over decades -- some with but a few variations, others look much more updated. Look at a variety of stores and in just about any store you'll see some similarity with others, even if it's just a few pieces. So what you really have to look for, aside from designs you really like, is quality and customer service.



That brings up the issue of selling handmade. Being a handmade seller give us marvelous opportunities to really connect with our customers, to get to know them a bit and grow relationships built upon mutual satisfaction. I specialize in making jewelry that fits each person's needs and body, whether she is extra petite or plus size. That's a mission that is dear to my heart. We have the opportunity to give our customers a really satisfying buying experience, and they have the opportunity to make a direct, immediate difference in our lives by buying our wares and helping our small businesses be profitable. You just don't get that from WalMart.

Snow Princess

Like Niftyknits, you’re quite new to Zibbet. What feature have you been most pleased to find out about in this new marketplace?

I really like the fact that we can upload many more photos there, which means more visual information for our customers before buying. I also like the ability to put various widgets on our storefronts for ease of use and personal customisation, though I haven't quite gotten to that yet.

Dirty Martini

What has been the most useful lesson you’ve learnt so far that you’d like to pass on to our readers?

Love what you do. If you don't love it you'll burn out, because let's face it, those of us who are wanting to make a living from our creations have to work hard, and many more hours than one would at a regular 9 to 5. A number of tasks we do have nothing to do with the creative process, which is often what brought us here. So to me it's important to focus on the joy of making jewelry and not getting so bogged down by doing the other necessary tasks, like listing, promoting, etc, that I forget to play and have fun. That play time and building relationships is what it's all about, to me.

Thanks Tina - and I sooooo agree. I think it really shows if you're enjoying what you do.

Facebook
Adorn Me Jewelry: http://www.facebook.com/AdornMeJewelry
Fallen Angel Brass: http://www.facebook.com/FallenAngelBrass

Twitter
Adorn Me Jewelry: http://twitter.com/AdornMeJewelry
Fallen Angel Brass: http://twitter.com/Fallen_Angel_Co

Blogs
Adorn Me Jewelry: http://adornmejewelry.blogspot.com/
Fallen Angel Brass: http://fallenangelbrass.blogspot.com/

Shops:
Adorn Me Jewelry on Zibbet and Etsy
TreasuresbyKaren on Etsy
and their combined shop:
Fallen Angel Brass

This is...Reema

from TrendieTreasures.

Favourite colour?

I love the softness of lavender, teal and peach, the depth of reds, blues and greens, the warmth of yellow, orange and brown. Every color has its own beauty, but my all time favorite is white – it’s so pure!

off-white top

Favourite smell?

As a child, I’ve always admired the smell of fresh rain specially after a hot summer day. A few of my other favorites include sandalwood, rose, jasmine, and cinnamon.

Three layered cake skirt

Favourite place?

Fiji is one of my favorite places I’ve visited so far!! Of course, my wish list of places I want to see is very long and growing… I love to travel, so hopefully will see many more soon!

Favourite sound?

OM!! I love to meditate with sound of OM, helps me be calm and composed. Yes, I practice Yoga, would love to teach yoga to kids one day

silk drapes

Favourite way to spend your time?

I love to design girls clothing, my Etsy store is an attempt to give shape to my love for creating kids clothing. It isn’t my full time job, but my passion. When I’m not creating, I would love to be close to nature - take a walk in the woods or relax in hammock with a book.

Favourite item in your shop of all time?

Usually everything new I create would become my favorite, but this dress has been very special for me as I was creating it… the colors are very cheerful, the design turned out to be better than I envisioned and my daughter loved it, she will be wearing it for mother’s day tea party where she’ll be doing a performance
Spring is in the air tutu

Favourite shop that isn’t yours?

All artists on Etsy are extremely talented and have great products to offer. It is very hard for me to decide, sorry no one shop comes to my mind as one is better than the other!!

bold and beautful!

What has been the most useful lesson you’ve learnt so far that you’d like to pass on to our readers?

I was a shy person living in my own world and enjoying the love of creating, I was under the impression a designer simply had to create and the product will sell itself if it’s worthy. When trying to find an audience online, soon I realized that customers can’t feel the product and try my dresses, they only see the pictures. The pictures are the key and should bring out the best in your product!! Not only that, the presentation has to stand out, online selling is all about social networking. A lesson learned the hard way, lately, I have been more involved in sites which are the platform for social networking…you can find me on FB and Twitter:

http://www.facebook.com/TrendieTreasures
http://twitter.com/trendietreasure
and last but not least, TrendieTreasures

Many thanks Reema - and can I just add, your model is gorgeous and shows off your lovely work beautifully!