:: while i've been away

Dala horse...

:: I have hosted the first of 5 jewellery & gift parties

:: I have lost 4 lb from dancing about my living room on the wii

:: found the cutest new supplies, charm love......

:: My fridge has broken so the milk keeps going off

:: Pablo choked and Mrlb had to do the heinlich manuver on him. very scarey but he was back up and trying to eat his own puke within 2 minutes

:: I have been playing around with my new love - air dry clay (pics to come)

I have been so busy getting orginised for these parties and then working on orders from the first one that I have been awol for such a long time. I am going to start writing some posts on how to do your own with tips and things I have learned along the way. But first I have to clear my current things to do list, so my posts over the next wee while will be short but very sweet.

Life is keeping me busy

Life is doing what it does in my house and blowing fast and furious one day and calm and still another. And I am just trying to stay warm with my feet on the gound. So I'm going to take a leaf out of my good friend Blaze's book and fill you in briefly on what I have been up to.

• Taking some time away from the internet to make and read and gaining back at least 2 hours a day.
• Started journaling again, I feel at home now in my moleskin.
• Going for lunch time walks with Pablo in the first glimmers of sun shine.
• Making new mixed media pieces with french papers from Lorna's kind Mum.
• Wearing my toastie and soft leg warmers lovingly knitted by Lorna.
• Having tea with wonderful friends (home made burgers mmmmm).
• Making new wholesale contacts and getting new jewellery designs made up.
• Started growing my own tomatoes. I am so excited about this, at the moment I grow herbs but this is a whole new league.
• Making wedding cards for a friend.
• Making draw string bags for my aunt's nursery.
• Book keeping

I've decided to stay away from the internet untill Monday next week and get some of the big things off my things to do list so I'll be back to normal blogging then. I hope you are all well and busy and make time to have tea with a friend too x

New Beginnings

Happy New Year to you all!

As most of you know I have a list addiction, and this time of year for me represents new beginnings and another excuse for a list. So having spent a chilled out day with a bestist friend I have been working through some ideas and aims for this year and having such fun. I looked back to last year and all the things I aimed for and then all the wonderful things I achieved, realised how plans and directions change and wonder how things will pan out for 2009.

What does the new year mean to you?

This is a little painting I did just before Christmas of 2 little birdies.

Gone but not forgotton

"Happy Christmas" by veeresh

Dear Blogland Friends,

I have been away from from you for some time now and owe you all an explanation. I have been very busy, making and delivery/ posting Christmas orders and getting ready for the holidays. On top of that my computer is on melt down. It keeps fizzing out as I'm working on it :( It seems to be getting too hot and giving up which is making things a bit tricky.

Luckily I can use my bo's computer but all my images are on mine so for the next wee while I will be sharing wonderous images from Flickr.

Things at no.9 are "beginning to look a lot like Christmas", we have our tree up, gold pine cones and sparkly stars on the fire place, and our tree is adorned with beads and jewels. I have made and sent out all my cards and have shipped out the last of my Christmas orders, and I am listening to festive songs as I clean and tidy ready for a break.

I made it through my last posts list and am working now on 2 main lists, Christmas and 2009. I am going to spend tonight wrapping all the gifts and making some ham soup. My bo is in bed with bugs and Pablo has just been curled up next to him so there is a strange quiet calm in the house (which I am making the most of!)

So in honour of the holidays, all be it a little late, I would like to have a Christmas/ New Year Giveaway. A little thank you to all the friends I have made since joining blogland last year. You inspire me, make me laugh, show me interesting things and keep popping in to say hello! So I would like to invite you to leave me a comment telling me your favourite Christmasy movie. The winner will get these little danglers (Tiny Jade Hearts) So get thinking and I will randomly select a winner on Tuesday 23rd Dec and post them out asap.

In the mean time, what is on your list to do today? x

Oh, what's this?

I have had another busy week making up some new goodies for my jewellery shop with all these beautiful new bits and pieces I got through the post on Monday.

This week has been a combination of making and planning so next week is make, make, making all the way! And some list list listing too, (loving 3's at the moment!). So I have had a lovely weekend, meeting friends and chillin and have come through to my den to get sorted for all my new schemes and plans and complete a couple of commissions so that I am on a roll next week.

What are you doing today to prepare for the week ahead?

Day 10 - I have set the date for a shop update

It's true, it is, the date has been set for the Yibble Liberation!

This Friday at 12.30pm Grenich Mean Time

14 Yibbles will be set free, off find new homes in foreign lands. They vary in size from 7cm (70mm) to 11cm (110mm), will have their very own valid passports and birth certificates and be ready to hit the high seas!

I have been really busy lately and things keep getting added to my lists, but nothing much is getting crossed off :( So over the next couple of days I am going to work really hard and get on top of things. Usually I get loads done at the weekend, but this one was spent reading and chilling out which I needed and really enjoyed. I am so enjoying my little donners with Pablo through out the day, there are so many little bits of my street which bring us so much pleasure, my favourite being a beautiful cherry blossom tree. (Pablo's is a tree stump surrounded by long grass and dandilions, which he seems to hide in!) So although my little routines have all changed, I love the fact that I am out in the fresh air, admiring nature.

Things to do this afternoon

1. finish 2 yibbles

2. check out all you blog folks pages

3. package up some goodies heading of to far off places

4. make up batch of cards for Mum

5. make up bracelet for fashion design and lifestyle debutant ball (I mentioned a little while ago that I joined this cool etsy street team and we are having a virtual Debutante Ball on the 1st of June, and the colour theme is turquoise and red, so I better get making and I will keep you posted on the teams etsy shop.)

Happy Monday to you all :)

10 things to do today - Day 2

"Someday" by yellena


It seems I am not alone in my list mania, it is such a comfort to know there are others out there who get a buzz from scoring things off! Thanks to the focus I found by writing my list here too, I had a very productive evening, very tired but things got done. So now I can share with you the fruits of my labour and much needed kick up the ...

The new blog of interest I found is in honour of my listy love. todolist is collection of hand written lists by various people and the stories behind them. The blog is by writer and editor Sasha Cagen.

"Candy" by Yellena

The new artist of ineterest I found is Yellena, an artist and graphic designer from Central Oregon. "Obsessed with markers, pens, inks, paper, patterns, good design, wallpaper, cacti, vintage fabric, empty journals and anything little." She uses pens, inks and markers to creat these stunning prints. She also has a blog which is well worth a visit.

The new card I made last night which I was meant to list on etsy is made, and quite cute, but I am still in two minds about adding it to my main etsy shop which has all my jewellery on it. I opened another shop a few months ago which was meant to be for cards and prints ect, but it was getting pretty hectic and costly listing in both. What do you think, should I add them to my main shop?

The journaling/ inspirational word for this week is:

glamour (US also glamor), n. an attractive and exciting quality. ORIGIN first meaning 'magic': from GRAMMER, with reference to the magical practices associated with learning in medevil times.

Hmmm, a lot to think about here, as usual my choosing technique is a favorite of mine, flick book open at random page, shut eyes and drop finger! It works for me :)

I found a new tutorial to share with you this week, so I'll work on making it up and letting you know how I got on. This will also tie in with my up and comming competition so that covers a few bases.

I did my etsy and flickr stuff too, and will try and list some new goodies today as well. Head over and check out my sale and let me know what you think, it would be much appreciated feedback.

And now for the sad tale of the Yibbles from last night. I drew, scanned and played, but half way through and at 12.27am my laptop went fizz and shut down :( It seems to struggle when I have lots of layers open in Photoshop, which makes me so sad, it is only 6 months old and I told the guy that I needed it to be able to process at high speed to allow me to work between packages. But alas things don't alays turn out as you would like. Anyway I'll carry on with them today and will hopefully have something finished very soon.

Well I'm off now to walk my daft pup and start on my list for today and I'll pop back later with a list for the rest of the week. Happy Tuesday :)

10 things to do today - Day 1

I have decided that since I have made nothing over the last week that I am going to publish my first blog list and see if that gets me in the mood for some making. As you seasoned visitors here will know by now I love a list and it seems to be a great way for me to stay orginised, motivated and focused. So here goes:

1. Tidy desk, (an absolute must, and need space for all these creations to take place!) DONE

2. Do at least one image in Photoshop with Yibbles KIND OF

3. Find a new blog of interest/ inspiration DONE

4. Find a new artist of interest/ inspiration DONE

5. Make a card to list on Etsy DONE

6. Pick a word to journal about this week DONE

7. List a new item on in the shop DONE

8. Decide on idea for a new competition and prizes KIND OF

9. Hunt down a new crafty tutorial to make this week and share with you all DONE

10. Add some new jewellery photos to Flickr and add tags to some old ones DONE

Do you write lists? What do you write them on? What kinds of things do you have on your lists?

Wish me luck, I'm going to have a busy night!

Not forgotton

I have not forgotton about Stefan, he is just still a work in progress. I have lots of ideas now, with bo's help, for the land of yibble and some adventures. We are thinking a recycled land, where all their finds (our discarded items) are transformed into wonderful useful or decorative things! More to follow soon.

I got this beautiful parcel on Friday from etsy seller starlitnest. They are 2 envelopes filled with beautiful farbric remnants and now I can't decide what to make with them, they are all so beautiful! Maybe they could become part of the yibble creations?

Well lots to do, I am still relisting things on etsy with new photos, making bracelets and have a card commission to work on over the next few days, plus some much needed book keeping, so I need to keep my head down and get stuck in. I managed to waste a whole hour this morning writing a new set of lists and scoring off done jobs. What a joy! Do you write lists? What kinds of lists do you like?

Keep posting for the competition new visitors, the time is coming soon, and I better keep posting I'm only at 85 and I only have 7 days left! Let me just do the maths...... so thats 7 days and 15 posts... oops. Well I'll come back tonight with something to show from my soon to be productive day hehe.

Lists, lists, lists!

Well things are now back to order. I have cleared the way for my next lot of commissions and can start work on some more earrings, and most importantly I have been able to score lots of things off my ever growing list! I meant to show you this at Christmas but totally forgot, so here is the beautiful notebook (now things to do book) I got from one of my friends.

Today I listed some new earrings on Etsy, chakra inspired. Chakra are our bodies centre of enery, located in the midline of the body. We have 7 Chakras, each one is represented by a different stone/ crystal.

Chakra Stone Colour

7- Crown - Rock Crystal -White

6- Third Eye- Amethyst- Indigo

5- Throat -Turquoise- Blue

4- Heart -Green Agate- Green

3- Solar Plexus -Citrine -Yellow

2- Navel -Carnelian- Orange

1- Base -Garnet -Red/ Black


What do you think?

I got the yarn I ordered from K1yarn the other day and have been setting aside 10minutes a day to knit. The yarn I am working on is called 'summer fruits' and is made by a company called Colinette I am really enjoying the knitting this time, I think it is because I have inspiring wool this time and am knitting almost as meditation.

While I was on etsy today I read a thread about something and someone mentioned indiepublic so I ad a look around and have set up a page. There are lots of creative people there too and all seem friendly and making lots of fab stuff. Well tomorrow I am going to make a batch of earring to take to a group of folks who bought from me at Christmas and I'll get to use the new beads and finding I got through the other day!!! Yes I have an addiction, but they are just soo beautiful.

Untill then...

Etsy forum

(photo from carasel in Paris at end of Champs Eleyse 2002)

I was on etsy the other night and joined a thread, 'calling all bloggers' and book marked it for a better read later, and that time has come! I am sitting just now working my way through the list and have found some amazing blogs, inspiring people and lots and lots of beautiful goodies!!!!

One blog I have found so far which I am really interested in is Christina Perdue's "30 days to a better shop". She was featured on Etsy's storque with an article about it too. I am going to start tomorrow and give it a go my self and see how I get on, I love a list!!! So watch this space.

Now I'm going back to the forum list to check out some more blogs.