Gastro-Entroritis

You know this is going to be a glamorous entry with a title like that, eh?

Well, me and my little guy have both been struck down with a nasty tummy bug, there's nothing like throwing up over the side of the bed at 5 in the morning to really get those creative juices flowing.

I got a cool package from my parents this morning though, packed full of beads and a new digital camera! Well, it's not new, but it's their old one, and it's new to me. So I am going to spend tomorrow taking new pics of all of my jewellery and relisting them on Etsy.

I have made two funky new bracelets and a new ring, although the ring is based on a prototype I made a few weeks ago that sold without 3 minutes of being listed!

I have also spend three hours this evening attaching charms and beads to a stretchy bracelet. It's my wackiest design yet, all in shades of red and blue, and I can't wait to take photos of it tomorrow and get it listed. Hopefully this bug will have cleared up by then too.

Poor Little Man

What a weekend!

Firstly I made a plastercast of a rubber glove. I thought it would be great to use to display rings on when I find a craft show that is before December. It's taking a rather long while to dry, and there is an odd crack in one of the fingers, but it looks wicked, and I shall take a picture of it so you can gaze in wonderment at it's kitschy fabulousness!

Then my little cherub got taken ill. He has a funny tummy bog and an upper respiratory viral infection, his little cheeks are red as a pair of tomatoes and he is being sick all the time. It was our first visit to the hospital with him since he was born and it was terrifying. He is alright now, finally, finally sleeping soundly, bless his little cotton socks (well, sock. I haven't managed to keep a pair of socks on him all day yet without one going missing, I'm sure he eats them when I am not looking.

The website creation is going well. We have set a launch date for the 1st of September. My computer-whiz Dad is fiddling with it daily, it's starting to look very professional! See, right now, if you type in http://www.twinklyspangle.com/ you'll come to this blog, and the only sales outlet is Etsy, which you have to be a member to purchase from. But the new website will allow everyone with a credit card or paypal account to purchase twinklyspangle creations! It's all very exciting, but a lot of work. I need take loads of new pics of my stuff, as well as create 20 lines for the website to launch with. I'll keep you updated with the progress!

Sticker Sticking

Yesterday I walked down to the print shop in the pouring rain, and picked up my fab new stickers!

Aren't they cute? The guy in the shop was really nice too, I forgot to take the raincover for my fatty's pram, and they gave me a carrier bag to cover up his poor little wet leggies. I felt really bad, but Ramsey was just giggling at me fussing over him, he is such a little rascal! So, when we got home I made up an earring card:

What do you think? They will probably be on black card in the end, but I thought this was a good example because the colours all matched. I couldn't resist sticking a few stickers around town either, so I'll be waiting to stem the huge flow of traffic I am expecting from this wicked marketing plan!

I'm in two treasuries!

Unless you Etsy you may not know what this means, but basically, a treasury is a list of items on Etsy, that have been chosen either people they fit into a certain theme, or are part of a certain promotion. I bought into something called a 'Buy & Replace' where you buy an item from someone, and your name replaces theirs on a list. Then someone will buy from you, to get THEIR name on the list.

I just like getting my name out there, really, but I DID buy this ultra-cute bracelet:

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=8273980

Here is our thread:

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5576066

And here are our treasuries:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=40191
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=7725

Cool or what?!

Earringfest

I spent all day today making earrings!

First, I created this bunch of cuties:

I made so many of them, they rock! They are quite big and chunky, and I have been wearing a pair (obviously, I won't be selling that particular pair, that would just be gross!) I only got my ears pierced about two months ago - I'm honestly the biggest wimp going, but I'm just getting into the swing of wearing earrings. I can't wear danglers, because my little boy likes to grab at anything shiny and swinging, especially if it is attached to my face, so I figured, let's get some cute button studs going, and I can wear them to advertise my shop. See what I did there?

Then, I finally finished up my very first wholesale order. A whole bunch of cherrytastic, fruity, dangly earrings. Definitely my best seller so far!

Me and my boyfriend packaged them all up prettily;

There are bits of wire, glue, jumprings, stray beads, buttons and bits of chocolate (from where I munched 1000 kitkats - yay for dieting!) all over my front room, and I'm exhausted, but I feel like I have had another productive day. I'm off to list the new studs on Etsy now. I'll create a 10% off listing on them for any blog readers who convo me on Etsy saying "My name is ______ and once I spent a whole day pretending to be a squirrel"

Have a great evening!

It doesn't always go well...

I tried to create a new pin today. I have these ultra-cute heart buttons that I keep stocking up on, but find it hard to actually make things with them...

Anyway, I designed this:

But it's not quite right. I would love to know what you think would make it more wearable. I called it 'Secret Star' because the back is actually a flat, thin star charm, which only the wearer would see.

More good news: Someone on the Etsy forums suggested I create a ring to match my Down At The Bottom Of The Garden pin. So I did;

I know, cute right? But, if you love it as much as me you'll have to wait, because this first one sold almost straight away. I'm going to make up a batch tomorrow though, all slightly different, and list them - I'm so happy right now!

A Snazzy New Bracelet

I got these amazing butterfly connector charms the other day, they are sort of gold-toned. I couldn't think of what to make with them. I hate making the obvious with things, so I decided to go a bit wild and attached some cute glittery beads to a stretchy bracelet, with the connector charm 'connecting' the ends, and added a flower button, and I love it! It's probably he cutest bracelet I have made yet, I hope to use it for my business cards, what do you think?

On a totally random note, I have lost another pound this week. Even though I ate five kitkats yesterday - result!

Acceptance

We have a craft store in town called Needlecraft. It's slightly out of the town centre, but still within walking distance, and I love it! They have SO much stuff crammed into a tiny shop (I can barely get my pram in there) and I can spend hours just picking things up, moving things about to see what is hiding behind. They have a bunch of tubs of random supples, bows, buttons, findings, all sorts of stuff. I spent £6 when I only meant to spent £1.10, I got:

• Some sexy black chain
• 1/2 meter of silver chain
• Some keyring fobs - I haven't ever made keyrings, but I have the cutest green heart charms that would be purrrrrfect!
• Two packs of round beads
• 20 jumprings
• 6 headpins
• Two cute mushroom buttons
• Some ladybug buttons

It was so fun, I always feel really inspired after a visit there. But anyway, the point I am trying to make is that finally, for the first time EVER, the woman behind the counter didn't seem to hate me! She usually gives me the death stare because I make her count out 20 or 30 jumprings at a time, and always complain when she hasn't got a baggy for them. But, today, she actually asked me what I was making with all my loot, so we even had a little chat.

Now I don't have to dread going there anymore :)

A Productive Evening

I bought myself a chunky kitkat (the best chocolate ever!) and settled in for an evening of creativity and plastic joy!

I made:

• The cutest, jangly new earrings ever, with my new bells
• A new brooch, which I can't think of a name for and is going to bug me all night
• Some drop studs in pink and light green, with stars and some brand new birdy charms

I'm going to go MAD if I don't find some split ring openers soon though, I accidentally bought like, 50 million split rings, which are nigh on impossible to open without the special tool, they are really driving me loopy-loo.

I also packaged up two new orders to send out, I'm so excited, the absolute best, most proudest moment of my crafting career (multiples!) is when I get feedback from my happy, happy customers!

To The Craft Store!

I must, must, must go to the craft shop today. I need some more headpins. Ramsey loves the craft shop, I think it's all the sparkly stuff on the shelves, but the woman in there is really unfriendly, she appears to be looking at me like there is no way I could posibly create something worthy of her supplies. There is some paranoia for you eh?

I also need to work on a logo. I'm terrible at that kind of thing, I want something I have drawn, but my drawing tends to look like something a five year old would have been told off for drawing on a wall or something.

Megan is out. Megan is our tarantula, she is a Chilean Rose (Gramastola Cara, if you like the latin) and she scares me half to death. My boyfriend is feakily obsessed with her, to the point where he likes to sit in the dark, so she comes out and twiddles her horrid hairy legs. I didn't see why we couldn't get a nice, smily frog or something. Or a guinea pig. Or nothing.

Bells in the Post!

I received a cute package today that I bought from Etsy, of some super-tiny, colourful little bells! I can't wait to make the jinglest, jangliest, most rainbow-tastic bracelet ever with them!

Here they are:



I have had some promo ideas, and I would love to know what you think of them, even if you wouldn't buy my stuff if your life depended on it (which, of course, highly implausible, seeing as it rocks!)

• Handing out business cards (yet to be printed!) in the street, to anyone, or just to pople who I think would appriciate the style I create


• Handing out promo packs with a small promotional item (I was thinking tiny pencils printed with my web address)


• The Great 1 Free Earring Bonanza - small ziplock bags with a business card, one of my best selling earrings (I was thinking this one), and a coupon for 50% of the other one in my shop


• Contacting some other websites that sell similar styles and trying to work up an affiliation.

Have any of these worked for you? Let me know, I'm off to feed my little boy, who is wailing like the hungriest fellow on the planet!

A shiny new blog!

There is always a temptation, when creating a new blog, to post a random, stupid, pointless post just to get the ball rolling. So, here we go!

I'm just sitting here, watching This Morning with my little boy, who appears to be trying to wrestle a teddy bear, creating banners and fiddling with settings and wondering when I am going to get off my ass and change the bin, because it STINKS.