Cinnamon Jewellery

Looking for beautifully crafted handmade items for FREE?!   IndieSmiles  now has a Happy Giveaways  page dedicated to sellers giving away one of their items or holding give aways on their blogs! Items up for grabs include ~ Coffee Cup Cozy Giveaway from Sew Sweet Stitches Red Loopy Brooch Corsage Giveaway from SeventySeventyOne Design  (a Folksy seller!) Gift Certificate Giveaway from Artisan Clay Win a yard of custom fabric from Eye Candey Family Keepsake Print Giveaway from Amazing Mae Other giveaway items include a Nautical Necklace, a bright and colourful Resin Bangle and the chance to win one of 5 pairs of earrings from Tara Henderson Pop over to IndieSmiles for the full list and the chance to win something beautiful (and FREE!)

All you need is a big box, some wrapping paper, bubble wrap and a cat called Eddie ............ This one's my favourite ~ how totally evil does he look?! Ready For My Close~Up Daaaarling! This is Tuppence bearing the scars on her nose from her frequent handbag fights with Eddie. She really hates him............................

Yes, I've actually finished my Christmas shopping AND wrapped everything! I did the wrapping last night with one eye on Coronation Street whilst simultaneously eating a bar of Cadburys. I also managed it without the "help" of Eddie, one of my cats (he likes to rip up wrapping paper like a thing possessed) My colour choices for the wrapping are a bit dubious this year, I'm not quite sure what I was thinking to be honest. It started out ok with some pretty turquoise paper with circle design, complete with purple (what!) gift tags which I thought were gold until I got to the till but then couldn't be bothered to go back and change, and finished off with gold bows. The bows are very pretty but don't stick so I had to use sellotape on them as well ~ take note Sainsburys! But at least it's done! Here's a picture of Eddie keeping a close watch on my jewellery making. Notice the wonderful "studio" I work from aka the diningroom table! He look...

My first Folksy article is now up on IndieSmiles ! It's titled "What's Folksy?" and is an introduction to the idea behind Folksy and the wealth of talented designers and crafters to be found there. I chose photos from several Folksy sellers to be featured in the first article to give an idea of the talent and originality of UK designers and crafters. I will be featuring more sellers in later articles! Here are the photos I used ~ A beautiful pair of Copper Ivy Leaf Earrings from Ali Bali Jewellery A bright and original Skull & Crossbones cushion design by BLONDEDESIGN  A gorgeous set of Textured Bowls by Philippa Lewis Ceramics  Delicious~looking Rose Patchouli Soap by Saffonbarr  and a cute and very appropriate sign from  AnnieFloribunda The idea behind the articles (more to come!) is to spread the word about Folksy to a wider, mainly American audience, letting people know w...

Thanks to a posting on the Folksy Forum from Woody of Wood Jewellery  I've just discovered I can see where visitors to my Folksy shop  live! Click on the Map Overlay report and a world map appears highlighting the countries your visitors are from. Click on each country and you get a more detailed report listing the state/town! Where?! Most of my shop visitors have been from the UK and USA, with the majority in the UK from London and the South East, although there is a cluster from the North West which is nice as I used to live in Lancashire before defecting to the South 23 years ago! The majority of US visits are from Ohio and California, with Akron in Ohio scoring the most visits. I wonder why? Other countries I've received visits from include Australia, India, Poland, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Estonia, Greece, Turkey, France, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. It's nice to know Folksy is reaching so far afield! Key...

1. Green Christmas Tree Card -  Box Of Delights   2. Christmas Sprout -  Sew Sew    3. Green Earrings - The Treasure Chest by Beady Pool 4. Christmas Speech Bubble Cards - She Draws 5. Christmas Selection Gift Bag - Silver Birch Crafts 6. Pricked Bum For Christmas - Patchworkbutterfly 7. Partridge In A Pear - lovely pigeon 8. Holly - Felt Christmas Ornament - Lupin Handmade 9. Green Bobble Hat Cat - Quernus Crafts I love the Christmas Sprouts by Sew Sew ~ you can't tell from the photo but they have some lovely detailing on the back of the leaves

that Christmas is going to happen again this year! Don't get me wrong, I do like Christmas but to be totally honest if it was possible I would go into hibernation the day after my birthday in October & emerge round about March when things start to turn green again. I love Spring because it means you've got Christmas & New Year over with and Summer to look forward to! However, as that isn't possible I suppose I will have to think about what to buy people. I have a few ideas and I'm planning to make an early morning (well, 8.30ish) dash to town next week (not this weekend, NEVER at a weekend coming up to Christmas!) Buying Christmas presents for my Dad I'm going to hit M&S to buy my Dad some of these........ Yes, I know, not very original but it's what he wants ("size 9 leather please"!) I will probably also buy him some of these.......... which is good as I can eat some of them too (all of them if he goes out of the room for l...

Serena Cowdy, owner of Folksy shop  The Copper Swallow , came up with a suggestion a couple of weeks ago on the Folksy Forum ~ Why not have a series of interviews about Folksy sellers to feature on our blogs? I thought it was a brilliant idea! What better way to find out a bit more about the person behind the shop: what motivates them to create and why they chose their particular field ............. to which side of the fence they're on when it comes to Marmite!! My first interview is with Serena, the brains behind The Copper Swallow! Based in London, Serena is never happier than when she's pottering around with her camera ............... When did you start selling on Folksy? I only set up shop on Folksy at the beginning of November, but I did quite a bit of research (and lurked around the Folksy forums a lot!) before that. The name of your Folksy shop is quite unusual ~ how did you come up with it? Wildlife is one of my ...

I'm about to become the latest contributing columnist for  Indiesmiles ! Who? You may ask? IndieSmiles is a US website dedicated to highlighting handmade (individual therefore "Indie") shops, ranging from jewellery, art, sewing crafts and much more ...... Sue, the owner of IndieSmiles left a message in one of the Folksy forums asking for people to contact her if they would like to become a Folksy rep, writing regular articles highlighting Folksy & it's talented sellers. I thought I'd reply & today I received an email from Sue asking me to write for them. What a great way to spread the word about Folksy! In return I get a 2 week free advertising spot for my Folksy shop!  Now I just need to get my shop button sorted out & my bio then think of the subject of my first column! I'll keep you posted!

Went on a bit of a spending spree on Sunday night and this is what I bought!................. Three Felt Hanging Hearts by COOKIESCORNER www.folksy.com/shops/COOKIESCORNER Three Felt Hanging Decorations by COOKIESCORNER (again!) Six handmade polymer clay Green Leafy Buttons by CarolsCrafts www.folksy.com/shops/carolscrafts And......... Alexander Henry Fabric Cushion Cover by DOCOMEAGAIN!! www.folksy.com/shops/DOCOMEAGAIN !!