More fimo fun :)

I've been busy with fimo again. This time I've been making keyrings. I've been using the stamps I picked up a couple of weeks ago in one of the charity shops and using them with fimo to make some pretty flower charms. I'm really pleased with how they've been coming out.
I used to find having no local craft shop a real drag but I think I've learnt that if you keep your eyes peeled you can find crafting items all over the place. My favourites are the local charity shops and car boot sales. You can pick up beads, jewellery findings, fabric, wool and all sorts of crafty goodies. I particularly like these as I like recycling. I also like knowing that the bits I've picked up aren't in abundance so the bits I make will be one of a kind.
I'm also pretty lucky in St Albans as we have a good market. I get most of my felt and ribbon from either St Albans or Watford market. I also buy a lot online and love beads unlimited and ebay.
In other news I'm also reading a couple of books at the mo - Robert Winstons 'The Human Mind' and Jane Austens' 'Emma'. I've been slowly plodding through Robert Winstons' book for a while now but its a good read. I started reading Emma last weekend and I'm really enjoying the story and I'm whizzing through it.

Crafty Non-Christmas

I have been merrily crafting away Christmas pressies like theres no tomorrow :) I don't celebrate Christmas but always get pressies for family and they still buy for us, we just don't enter into the whole Christmas day b*****ks (sorry couldn't think of a better way to express that :/) The whole spending and commercial madness that goes on every year does the complete opposite to making me excited. It also seems so wasteful for a day that started life as a religious festival and I'm not religious at all. I always get a few raised eyebrows each year and a few worried looks when I say I don't celebrate Christmas, but not celebrating it is so liberating and relaxing. I'd definitely recommend it :)
As well as crafting pressies, I've also been making the odd extra bits for the shop. I've been making brooches today which I'm really chuffed with. Here's some piccies of the results. I was going to put some pics up of the pressies I've made so far and then I thought - Doh! - family maybe looking - kinda spoils the fun of unwrapping things if you saw it several weeks ago online.

Budget Crafting :)

Today I visited my first ever Scrap Bank. Wow, what a find - I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. If you have never been to one before, they are places where you can pick up materials for crafting at little or no cost. The idea is that people/companies/schools/etc donate any left over craft materials or general waste that can potentially be repurposed and crafted into something new. I can see that these places are not everyone's cup of tea as you need to be prepared to forage, but as far as I'm concerned it was like visiting Aladins' Cave. I came away with a small stash of fabric scraps and offcuts, some buttons, 3 rolls of stickyback plastic, some broken jewellery and some sticky back foam sheets, a tiny ball of orange wool and some broken Christmas decorations. I really like the heavy duty, laminated fabric with daisies on. I thought I could make a few purses/wallets from that. Also the little scraps of fabric and broken Christmas ornaments will be great for inchies. The best bit of all was that it didn't cost me a penny. Most of these places work by having you sign up a yearly subcription and then you can go along whenever you wish. The place we went to today charges £20 a year and I was lucky as my bf is a member through work. I'll definitely be back. Just the thing as I love turning old stuff into something new.

Maybe I should have been a Surgeon :)

I've been stitching like there's no tomorrow. I've made loads more inchie xmas cards, some more stuff for my folksy shop and a craft roll for myself :) I have been meaning to make one for ages and finally got round to it last night. Its made from a pair of old jeans with some scraps of felt for the pockets and an old hair bobble. I can fit loads in it and when its done up its about the size of a pencil case. I'm really chuffed with it :)
I've also been out and about a bit this weekend. Yesterday I went over to Stevenage to visit my boyfriends new studio. He's really into pottery and has now got himself a studio so he can make pots and stuff any time he likes. It was a great size and I got to see his wheel and latest creations. Its really exciting.
Afterwards we went to Hexton and had a yummy lunch in the Lavender Tea Rooms and a potter round the craft market. I picked up some more cool ribbon, some cool silver beads and some coloured wire. I want to have play around with the wire and try and make some wire wrapped jewellery. I've seen some really pretty stuff on flickr and would like to have a go myself.

And the winner is.....

A big thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway :) I have employed the use of Random.org to generate a winner so drum roll please.....





















And the winner is:

Comment number 14 = Kiddo :)

I will notify the winner so thank you again to everyone who entered. I really enjoyed seeing everyone's comments. Its also helped me a lot too as its given me more ideas for things to make for my shop as I have a better idea what people like. Hopefully I will be able to hold another one of these in the not too distant future - it was lots of fun :)