Introducing...A Fine Distraction

www.AFineDistraction.etsy.com

I would like to share with everyone the beautiful jewellery sold by A Fine Distraction. Her store was one of the first that I ever came across when I started out on Etsy, and she remains my favourite jewellery shop to this day.

A Fine Distraction started out when she decided to make some wine stem charms for her mum. She started looking for materials to make them and became hooked on beads. This soon turned into a love of jewellery making. Earlier this year, she opened A Fine Distraction on Etsy.

Her work is inspired by nature and this is shown by the soft coloured beads and antique brass in all her pieces. I find her jewellery beautifully subtle, just the type of jewellery I like. The first piece shown here is a set of White Wedding Lucite Flower earrings.

A lot of her shop is earrings, but there are also a few necklaces and bracelets. Shown here is a Cranberry Pearl Passion Flower necklace. A large stunning flower with subtle muted red, cranberry and plum coloured pearls and antique brass chain.
The backgrounds used in her photographs only make her jewellery look even better.

Shown here is a Golden Tortoise bracelet made with Czech glass and antique brass. Its faceted glass beads gleam in the sun and has a very autumnal feel to it.

This last set of earrings are pink and purple fairy baubles. They are blooming pink lucite flowers in enamelled purple flower bead caps. Simply adorable.

Check out her shop today!

Introducing...Clippy Hut

http://www.clippyhut.etsy.com

I would like to share with everyone the adorable hair clips made by Clippy Hut.

Clippy Hut makes many different styles of hair clips that are all very cute. Many of them are suitable for toddlers and young kids. But she also makes clips that would suit adults, yay!

This first set of hair clips epitomises Clippy Hut's style. The flower hair clips are aligator clips decorated with loops of ribbon, a button and a flower embellishment. So cute for kids.

This second set of hair grips is an excellent example of clips for kids or adults. I would definitely wear these fabric button bobby pins! The designs are beautiful and the fabric comes directly from Japan.

This third set of hair clips have to be my favourite. They are made with Swarvoski crystal beads. They would look stunning when added to
a hairstyle for a special occasion such as a wedding.

This final hair clip is perfect for the upcoming holiday season. How adorable would a child look with this in her hair on Christmas day. So cute. And it can be made with your choice from 3 different ribbon styles for the tree.

Clippy Hut also accepts custom orders, so if you don't see anything you like (unlikely!) or you have an idea in mind, let her know.
Check out her shop today!

First Christmas card set

I have listed my first Christmas card set on my Etsy store. Click here to see it.

I decided to sell my Christmas cards in sets of 4 because I think people may prefer this for holiday cards rather than single cards.

I actually really love how these Christmas tree cards turned out.

Check back at my shop to see more sets which will be added soon.

UPDATE. I have listed my second set. It is a set of 4 poinsettia Christmas cards. Click here to see it.

Cool Japanese dolls

We went to a Japanese supermarket called Mitsuwa on Saturday. It's in north NJ near New York. My bf loves Japanese food, so he picked up a whole load of groceries. There was also an awesome food court inside, the whole place was buzzing with people. I had some really good udon noodles and then we shared this pancake type thing, I forget the name of it!

As well as the supermarket, there are other little stores in the complex such as a Japanese bookstore and a couple of stores that sell Japanese bowls and tea sets, furniture and other Japanese things.

I came across the stationary section and found lots of cool origami stuff. I bought a couple of things. My favourite is this kit to make little Japanese dolls. They are so cute! I can't wait to make cards with them. Will have to wait til after Christmas though, have to concentrate on Christmas cards!

Introducing...Ladybug Designs

http://www.ladybugdesigns1995.etsy.com

I would like to share with everyone the wonderful shop of Ladybug Designs. Behind Ladybug Designs are two ladies who design and put together cross stitch kits based on famous artworks. When I first came across this store I was amazed! I used to do a lot of cross stitching but I have never seen such beautiful designs and think that being able to cross stitch my own Picasso or Monet masterpiece is such a cool idea.

The two ladies that are Ladybug Designs are stitching veterans! They started Ladybug Designs back in 1995 and have enjoyed much success selling their designs through catalogs such as The Stitchery Catalog, Keepsake Needlearts Catalog and Annie's Attic Catalog. This year they started an Etsy shop.
The first cross stitch design shown here is an adaptation of Monet's "The Japanese Bridge".

If you can part with your beautiful creation once it's completed these would make great gifts, especially for somebody who is a fan of a particular artist. Ladybug Designs features designs adapted from works by Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, Matisse, Degas, Gauguin, Homer, Klimt, Munch, O'Keeffe, Renoir, Seurat, Diego Rivera and several contemporary artists.
This second design is an adaptation of "Nature Morte" by Picasso.

The designs are easy to read and follow, and all the materials you'll need to complete the design are included in the kit. The prices of the kits are also great. They also offer the option of "Chart Only" for 1/2 the kit price.
This third design is an adaptation of Seurat's "Sunday in the Park".

I would like to finish this feature with a quote from one of the ladies behind Ladybug Designs.
"It's a wonderful way to display your favorite masterpiece that you actually had a hand in creating, which actually you've spent far more time on than the original artist. It's very rewarding to complete a masterpiece that in the art world is "Priceless"".
This last design is an adaptation of "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh.

Check out their shop today on Etsy!

Thanksgiving cards

Here are my two newest cards. Both are Thanksgiving cards. They are both my favourite cards ever that I've made. I was having a great couple of days, creatively, when I made these. I love them.

The first one includes hand stamped leaves in varying autumn colours. I created the background to the leaves by using a teabag coloured distress ink pad. Finished off with an autumn plaid design and a "Thanksgiving blessings" greeting. It suits this time of year perfectly.


For the second card I decided to use some handmade paper. I have lots of this, so I decided this is the perfect season to use it on. I stamped leaves in gold ink and a small dotty background in brown ink. I ripped the edges of the handmade paper and the orange paper it is mounted on to give it a natural look. Tip, when trying to achieve this ripped paper look, run a wet paintbrush along the line where you wish to rip. This makes ripping easier as the rip will stay along the wet line and there is less chance of ripping into your image. I really like the subtle greeting, reading "We are Thankful", stamped in a soft brown chalk ink in the corner of the card. Oh I love them both. Definitely proud of these two. Fellow card markers will know that that's not always the case for every card you make!

I will be posting both on my Etsy shop in about an hour, so take a look!

SALE!!!!

I have reduced a selection of my cards by 15%! Check out the sale section of my Etsy shop here.
Here are a couple of the cards on sale. I also took new photos of all my cards, which I'm pretty proud of. I like using a white background, I think it brings out the colours in my cards alot more.