New Buddy Knitted Dolls

Much of my creative skills and need to be crafty came from my mum's influence and all the craft projects that I did with her while growing up. As I have mentioned in previous posts she also has an etsy shop called grannyknits where she sells her knitted dolls and knitted baby clothes.

She recently created four dolls that I had to write about because I think they are so cute! They are all wearing hoodies and pants. Introducing Madison, Fern, Ruby and Ash.

Etsy Sale - Christmas In July

Everything in my etsy shop ships for free from July 15th to 25th and I will also be adding more items to my blow out sale section. I only have free shipping sales a few times a year so take advantage while you can.

Look out for special extra sales for fans only on my facebook fan page during this time!

Cowboys in the City

I just got back from a really quick trip to Calgary and at the moment the city is are getting ready for the Stampede which starts this week-end. There were cowboy decorations all over the place! As I have not spent much time in Calgary before, I am not sure if there was more decorations because of Stampede or if that is the norm for the city. As a nod to my trip to Calgary and the upcoming Stampede her is a great collection of cowboy inspired pieces that I found on etsy.

Red Boots Photograph by f2images

Urban Cowboy Party Cupcake Toppers by ScrapYourStory

Wild West Charm Bracelet by lulidesigns

Masking Lines Buckle by bykali

Cowgirl Booties by TwentySecondStreet

All That's Gold - New Gold Jewelry Designs for Summer

The warmer weather approaching and lots of craft shows coming up over the summer has been incredibly inspiring and I am really geared up for making new designs. I am really get back into designing mode after not creating very many new pieces for the first half of 2010.

One thing I have been meaning to add more of to my shop is gold jewelry. There are three different types of gold findings that I work with; gold plated, vermeil and gold filled. Gold filled is the best quality and can be worn by people who have allergies to other metals but are ok with wearing gold jewelry. The different names can be confusing so here are some simple descriptions to make it more clear.

Gold Plated: Base metal that has a thin layer of gold plating.
Vermeil: Sterling silver that has a thin layer of gold plating.
Gold Filled: Base metal with a thick layer of permanently bonded gold

Here are the new gold designs that I have come up with recently. There will be many more to come as I have just ordered more gold filled supplies which will be arriving in the coming weeks!

Moraccan Drop Necklace - Gold Plated

Green Twist Earrings - Gold Filled

Gold Ceramic Heart Necklace - Gold Filled

Pair of Swallows Necklace - Gold Plated

Display Changes

Every once in a while I really need a change for my business and sometimes a simple updating of my craft show display will do the trick. Recently I had the need to refresh my display both to make it more exciting for me and more importantly for my customers. A new display can make your jewelry look totally different and even though all your jewelry might not be new designs it can make it seem like it is because it keeps things fresh.

Since I started my business in 2005 there have been a few evolutions of my display. Here are a few examples of how it has changed with the last photo being my new display. I can guarantee that this will not be the last time it changes!

2005

2009

2010

Wedding Season - Custom sets

Here are some more custom sets that I created for a July wedding's bridesmaids. The colors for the wedding are yellow and lavendar so I was able to take the color theme and use it to create these 4 sets of custom design necklaces and earrings. Please contact me if you are someone you know would like custom bridesmaid jewelry.