Fat and thin

Although essentially compatible and harmonious there are many things that Mr MudMeddling and I just don't agree on.

Ben and Jerry's for example - he likes Phish Food, blergh, I like Cookie Dough. 

He likes action films, whereas I prefer a soppy chick flick.

He likes marmite sandwiches, I mean honestly!  I like lemoncurd :)

But one major disagreement we have is about clay Santas.  Mr M says they have to be fat, he is unbudgable on the subject.  I on the other hand prefer a thin santa.

So now whenever I sculpt a fat santa I somehow find myself also making a thin one to counteract it.  So at least everyone is happy :)

Why I believe in handmade

I love to make my own handmade things, and I love to buy things handmade by others.  In fact I feel rather strongly about it. 

Why buy a generic gift set from the high street when you could spend less, or the same, and get something totally original whilst supporting small producers?

Halloween Spiders by Diomo Glass on Folksy

I am sure those that read my blogs need no convincing, I am more than likely preaching to the choir.


Hair flowers by Calexendra on Etsy

This is all rather indulgent really, a blog-post equivilent of a cuppa and slice of cake :) 

The spiders are my most recent purchase - for my Halloween decorations - they are simply too cute for words, I am tempted to keep them out all year round.  The flower hair clips are from one of my most favourite Etsy sellers who happens to also be a fellow Kentish girl! I wear one or two of her flowers every day, it makes it look like I have made an actual effort with my appearance rather than just scraping my hair back in a hurry :) 

I have a very talented best friend who is a fiend with beads and a wire cutter.  She made the above necklace for her shop and I nicked it before it could get listed.  I wear many of her items every day and I always get comments.  It's great to say, "This?  Oh, it's handmade...I got it from Folksy..." in reply to the where did you get it question. 

Blue and Pink Rose Clock by Elibee Gifts on Folksy

The creativity that is out there in the UK, lurking on Folksy and Etsy, is amazing.

The Green Collection Button Ring by Maisie Wilson on Folksy

And so many people don't even know about such sites!  Folksy especially seems to be rather unknown.

Key to Your Heart Earrings by Lonely Hearts on Folksy

The whole process of buying directly from sellers on Etsy and Folksy is wonderful.  When your item arrives it is often wrapped so beautifully you feel you are getting a gift sent by a friend.

Sterling Silver Textured Surface necklace by Esme Dodsworth Design on Folksy

And the best part is that you are getting something totally original as something handmade will never be totally uniform, will never look as though it fell off the production line.

Vintage Image Christmas Decorations by Silent Theatre on Folksy

So you can always be safe in the knowledge that you carry a little bit of originality with you wherever you go.  Like the brooch on my shopping bag which gets used every single day...

Flower brooch by June at Noon on Etsy

So with Christmas season starting more or less now (yay!) don't forget to buy handmade - your friends and family will be delighted and you will get a reputation for being a great gift-giver!  You know it makes sense.

My first order

My first order on Folksy came in this week.  Somebody purchased a pair of my little toadstool ornaments...

I was keen to get my packaging just right, I personally love to recieve things beautifully wrapped.  I experimented with hole punching some newspaper using my flower punch...

It proved very time consuming!  So I may have to limit this idea to small orders like this one.  But it did look really pretty as a bad of flowers for my buyer's toadstools...

I parceled everything up in a little cardboard box and made a tag to attach, then I tied it all together with jute string. I love brown paper parcels with string...

Voila!  Packaging MudMeddling style :)

I really hope she likes it!

Pow!

I ordered a set of steel letter stampers from eBay with the intention of using them to imprint wet silver clay before firing.

My first experiment was a simple but effective one...

A little nod to comic books.  I really love this, it is for myself but I am going to make some more for my shop definitely.  The edges are a little pointy and therefore sharp, not enough to be used as an offensive weapon, handy enough for cleaning fingernails perhaps?  Ew!  I think the next attempt will need to be a little smoother.

I used liver of sulphar to blacken it, then cleaned it back to silver again, leaving a little blackness to the imprinted letters so they stood out more.

What do you think?

Things that go bump in the night...

Sometimes an idea won't rest until I have done something with it...

...which is how I found myself at 11:30pm still crafting away by candlelight...ok, not candlelight, but you get the idea!

This latest spooky creation is still in need of some paint of course but I am delighted with him...

Can't wait to get started on a little troop of mummies!

More fairy magic!

With a little fairy dust, and the help of some paint of course...

A rather naked looking fairy is brought to life...

She was really very fun to make, it's always nice to have an excuse to indulge in lots of pink and gold :)  She's a little...um..bustier than I intended, but I think it adds to her charm.  I particularly like how her mossy head-dress came out, I may have to take that a bit further...I'm thinking Christmas wreaths perhaps?

Now this lady is up in my Folksy shop waiting for a new home!  Speaking of shops..I've added a couple of badges to my sidebar *points* and I am adding more items every week.  I am hoping to add a silver clay jewellery section to both shops really soon, I am really excited about that.  So far my Etsy shop contains more than my Folksy shop because, sorry to say, Etsy is a lot more user friendly and is much more of a sleek operation.  That said, there is something very delightful about the slightly clunky newness of Folksy and I really hope if finds its feet as the UK craft movement moves forward.

Rather excitingly, and very much to my surprise, my little hanging ghosts were featured on Etsy's front page today!  The Hollow Men treasury I showed you yesterday was selected for the front page today...

I promise not to go on about every treasury I am in, if I am lucky enough to be in more of course, it's just exciting to be in some for the first time so I am indulging myself :)

My first Etsy treasuries

I have recently discovered Etsy's treasuries - a place on etsy where members can put together little shopping galleries of lovely diverse things that are being sold on the site. They are quite addictive once you get browsing through them, I find myself losing large chunks of time to gawping at gorgeous collections of yummy handcrafted things.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered my little hanging ghosties had been featured in TWO treasuries no less!

Excitement!





I'm really chuffed!  I may even have a mug of horlicks to celebrate!