Saturday 26 January 2013

A Wintry Week




 Brrrrr...it's been a chilly time here in Fife over the last week or so. We love a bit of snow up here as it's so pretty but it came in as sleet on a fierce east wind to start with and we didn't get any of those glorious blue sky days when all is bright and beautiful. 


We were lost in the mist last Wednesday.



We've had a wonderful variety of birds pecking around the garden including this wee fat partridge.



 Unfortunately my husband and two children have all been unwell with a flu type thing so it's just been a case of keeping everyone warm and looked after which hasn't left much time for making anything.



Some folk say they can smell snow in the air and I think that's true. I also believe my Granny's old way of telling if it's on it's way. She always said blue flames in the fire meant snow was imminent and we have had plenty of  those. When I rake the hot coals there's a pink glow and flashes of purple too! I've never seen that before.

This wee cottage is slowly but surely loosing it's roof tile by tile. I still day dream of renovating it into a Craft Bothy but it's just a dream.


Snow is possibly the only thing that can make trampoline netting look vaguely interesting too!


The only new thing I have managed to make this week is this oval Sheep Pendant.
It has sold already but there will be plenty more in stock in various colours soon.


 This brooch is still available though

Brooch £15
Available Here 



I do have plenty of cards in stock including this set of six for £12




I have also been playing around a bit on Pinterest recently and found this idea for a Cable Cuff. I happened to have this wrist cuff bracelet made from a batch I made from old denim jeans last year. It wraps around the cable and the handle of the iron, keeping it nice and tidy when it's stored in the cupboard! Genius! Very easy to make with a bit of fabric and button or a bit of crochet or knitting. Mine just happens to match the iron and ironing board.




 So a very slow start to the year here creatively speaking.

Our brochure for Open Studios North Fife should be ready soon. You can keep up to date with Open Studios news on our Facebook page here






Thursday 10 January 2013

Restocking

I'm beginning to restock my Etsy shop with new makes this month.

This felt landscape below was started back in December but things got pretty hectic here with items sold online going off all over the world on a daily basis so this is me just getting around to finishing it.



Plans are afoot for new felt pictures, perhaps on a bigger scale. I need to gather my inspiration and invest in some new materials so I am taking my time to think about the effects I would like to achieve.



Some new Harris Tweed brooches include these leaf ones in subtle grey tones with purple and teal felt accents. The colours in the felt really bring out the warmth in the threads of the tweeds.



Brooches £12
Available here


I have one of these slim oval pendants available at £20 here


And my Sale continues in my Folksy shop with some earrings now added.
The earrings were £15 now £8












I'm also working on a new notebook cover design.

The four I have available have been very popular with the Vibrant Hills design nearly sold out again.







So here's to a busy few weeks coming up with new ideas and the light getting better as the days go by.


Sunday 6 January 2013

January Sale Continues

Thankfully I'll be getting back into my work space this week and hope to be producing some new felt art and jewellery over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, my Half Price Sale continues over in my Folksy Shop. Thanks to everyone who has already snapped up a bargain, I am enjoying the top spot on the Folksy Best Sellers list this week! 
All these pendant pieces are £10 including the chain.




I also have a few felt pictures in the sale.

This felt abstract piece is reduced from £40 to £25


This piece below comes framed in a white box frame.
Was £45 now £30



 and this little box was £20 and is now £12


All of these can be found in the Sale Section of my Folksy Shop here





Tuesday 1 January 2013

January Sale!

1st of January and it's SALE time here at Aileen Clarke Crafts.

I have decided to host my Sale on Folksy this year. I have done it through Facebook in the past but it gets complicated as people get confused about how to go about buying so I'm making it as easy as possible by listing everything in a SALE Section within my Folksy Shop.

Folksy now offers Guest Log In so no need to sign up although registration is free anyway.

To see everything on offer within the Sale Section click here 
There are four pages to browse and it's mostly pendants. Below are a few on offer.
All of these are HALF PRICE at £10 each instead of £20.
I post Internationally as well. Shipping costs are shown in the listings.














My Facebook fans got first notification that the Sale was underway earlier so a few things have been snapped up already. If you would like to keep up to date with what's new from me via Facebook, just become a fan of my page by following this link and clicking the 'Like' button. Easy! and there are many other wonderful pages to keep up with from art to cake making, food lovers to photographers, home decor to Open Studio events to name but a tiny few.

I hope everyone enjoyed some time off over the holidays and that your year is off to a great start. I have lots of plans and new ideas so I'll keep you all posted.
All contributed content © Aileen Clarke