New necklace designs

After receiving a few requests from people to have some less 'blingy' necklaces I decided to have a play at combinations without my favorite swarovski crystals. I found it difficult at first but then when I brought in colour combinations for interest instead of the bling I managed to create some beautiful less blingy necklaces : ) Now to decide which to keep for myself and which to sell ; )

Royal Oak Market

Come and check out our table at the Royal Oak Market, Sunday 22nd May, 10am - 2pm : )

Crochet Flower Brooches

Thanks to my good friend I have now learnt another craft - crochet! It is sooo addictive, I love it! I started off making a granny square baby blanket - which took quite a while (about 3 months to be honest) but it looks fantastic. Once I finished my blanket, I started learning other stitches (other than double crochet) on youtube. A great teacher on youtube was tjw1963 or anything under the search "the art of crochet by Teresa" (http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/). I then decided to make a crochet flower to add to my woolie hat ready for winter. It took a few different patterns to find the right one but then I was on a roll. Flowers for my hats, my jackets and my handbags -they just jazz up everything!

I have made a selection of these beautiful flower brooches to sell at my next craft stand (which will be the next Royal Oak Market on Sunday 22nd May YAY!)

Royal Oak Market here we come : )

Been a while since we have been to a market so my jewellery collection is growing, yet I can't seem to stop making more!! I love it so much, so many pretty sparkly designs I just want to keep them all - but I can't, so luckily we have been accepted into this months Royal Oak market onSunday 20 February 2011.

Come and visit our stand from 10am - 2pm at 14 Erson Avenue, Royal Oak.

Here's some more pics of my latest creations...

Cuboid Flower Lampwork Glass and Swarovski Crystal Necklace and Earring Set

Cuboid Flower Lampwork Glass and Swarovski Crystal Necklace and Earring Set

Cuboid Flower Lampwork Glass and Swarovski Crystal Necklace and Earring Set

Foil Lampwork Glass and Swarovski Crystal Necklace and Earring Set

Foil Lampwork Glass and Swarovski Crystal Necklace and Earring Set

Crafternoon Tea

We are having a table at the "Crafternoon Tea" on Saturday 18th December - can't wait, so come along and check it out : )

http://crafternoon-tea.blogspot.com/

Manurewa Market

My first market!!!!! On Sunday Linda had a stall at the Manurewa market to raise money for Wiremu Pomare who is on a mission to go to Athens next year as Papakura's first representative at the Special Olympics World Games. For a small donation to her cause she allowed myself and Mel to set up a table of our crafts : )

I had my jewellery, monkey cuddle blankies and lavender scented owl door stops. Mel had quilted oven mits and pot holders, apron, quilted tote bag dog blankies and mobile phone holders.

I didn't manage to sell as many of my crafts as I had hoped - two pairs of earrings and a necklace - but my sales skills were put to the test helping out Linda with her fundraising sales which were a great hit. I managed to learn heaps and have lots of ideas for my next market.

Firstly, MORE SIGNS! I found that although my signs were very pretty they were way too small and were missing some vital sales info. I had to keep telling people that my earrings were mother of pearl with sterling silver hooks, a HUGE selling point that was way understated on my small signs.

Secondly, CHAIRS! We arrived at the market just before 6am (it was a shock to the system when my alarm went off at 5am) and were on our feet the entire market. I was good for the first few hours, but when we hit a quiet spot in the market (between the early morning bargain hunters and later risers - usually me lol) I started looking around for anything to lean against or sit on.

Thrid, SHADE! When we arrived at the market in early hours it was a bit chilly but by 10am the sun was out in it's full glory and we had nowhere to hide. I was thanking my lucky stars that in the 5am stumble around my house I had the good sense to slap on some sun cream (for those who don't know me, I am fair skinned and freckled and burn in a matter of minutes).

Lastly, HEIGHT! Our table was lacking in height and dimension (except for my earring board which turned out great). So next time we need another backing board to pin things on (like my monkey cuddle blankie) so people can see them without walking right up to the table. Also maybe some bricks or boxes to place at the back of the table for things to sit on and create a tiered look.

So - although I didn't mange to sell as much as hoped, I have learnt a great deal. We will be back the Manurewa market this Sunday (14th November) and hopefully can put some of these ideas into action : )

Heres some photos of our table...

My Lavender scented Owl Door stops and Mels Mobile phone holders

Jewellery display

Monkey cuddle blankie

Mels quilted pot holders and dog blankies

Some jewellery creations

I love making jewellery - it is one of my favourite things to settle down at night with my growing selection of gorgeous beads and findings. I first started making jewellery for myself,  then when my jewellery stand became too full I started making gifts for friends, now I am hoping to sell some of my pretty creations at a craft market : )

Blue lampwork glass bead earrings with swarovski crystals and sterling silver ear hooks

Blue lampwork glass bead and swarovski crystal necklace

Mother of pearl earrings with sterling silver ear hooks

Green oval mother of pearl earrings with sterling silver ear hooks

Grey oval mother of pearl earrings with sterling silver ear hooks

Grey mother of pearl beads, swarovski crystals and glass twist bead necklace

Pink mother of pearl earrings with sterling silver ear hooks

Purple lampwork glass beads and swarovski crystal necklace

Grape lampwork glass beads and swarovski crystal necklace