Over the weekend my new stamp has arrived with the "cats whiskers" name on it, i had it custom made and it looks great, I'm really pleased with it. I got it from "lovetocreatestamps" on etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6326086

the faded stamping image is due to my poor ability and not the stamp so I've been practising on everything in sight!

Also over the weekend i decided to treat myself to a small drink of jacques , this ended in an empty bottle less than an hour later Oops! I then thought it would be a good idea to go on facebook and "make friends" with everyone I'd ever met in my past - suffice to say a few have ignored me! probably best he he

One friend from college though did add me and saw my jewellery, she then purchased a pair of earrings for her mum's birthday so that was great. It also turns out her mum lives a few houses up from me on the next road!

I thought i better start making some more jewellery if I'm going to be supplying 2 shops so while I'm in the mood I've been hard at it, i used some of my favourite beads that I've been hanging on to (just to look at!!) i love them and didn't want to use them but i have so many, I wont mind if it doesn't sell :>)

I have just made a banoffee tart, normally i make the caramel from scratch but yesterday i saw a tin of it already done from condensed milk, a new thing from carnation, so i thought I'd try it and it's great!

As much as i would have liked to take a pic of it, it didn't stay in one piece long enough!! - not only due to me can i add :>)

I must purchase a new printer, mine has died a death and i keep preying on friends to print everything off for me. I don't have much luck with printers, my last one died after I'd just purchased 2 new cartridges and put them in so that was a waste of £30!

After sorting through my beads yesterday i did manage to play around and make a couple of things, I've listed 2 bracelets;

beads

Yesterday i went to the local superstore which has a largish craft section and i came across some large plastic storage boxes, i thought very cheap, so i purchased 3. Now as sad as it seems i was really excited at getting home and sorting through my beads to put them into the new storage boxes, i also hoped it would give me inspiration to make something as it's been a while, i've lost my mojo at the mo :>(

i don't think it's worked as I'm still not inspired but they do look pretty! lol

I just need another 3 next time i go and i should be fairly organised, which is a first for me!!

I have just listed a new necklace on FOLKSY, "vintage starlite" I used the last of my chain to make it so now i have to purchase a bulk lot of chain before i can make any more. I had a rush on necklaces in the past 3 weeks and sold 5 so it cleared me out completley! (not that i'm complaining :>)

I would have had some in stock but yet another of my parcels from abroad has gone missing and with no way for me to claim on them it's another loss i can't afford, damn the royal mail!

Shop

Yesterday was MollyandIzzies shop opening, amongst many other wonderful things Sarah also has my jewellery. it looks fantastic and happened really fast so must have took some incredible work to get it ready and looking great. go and take a peek at her blog where she has photos and also some lovely items from other crafters.

http://mollyandizzie.blogspot.com/2009/02/first-day.html?showComment=1234693260000#c2297504253380891912

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY VERY DEAR FRIEND, JANET

Oh my goodness I have been so busy for the past few days. I've had 3 custom orders to finish and am also making stock for my new venture which is supplying a craft shop in lancashire. It is run by the lovely Sarah from http://www.mollyandizzie.co.uk/, she is opening a larger shop soon in Botany bay in lancashire and I will have some jewellery in there for sale. Sarah makes gorgeous felty goodness things, one of my favourites is the pink cupcake with sparkles badge, yum!

please take a peek at her shop and if your in chorley, lancs, a great day out is at Botany Bay, just off junction 8 of the m61 http://www.botanybay.co.uk/

today i have listed the following items, on misi and folksy;

I've also applied to do my first craft fair in Sheffield, I'm just waiting to hear from them as to whether I've been accepted. with the amount of fantastic jewellery sellers out there i doubt very much if i will, but fingers crossed, a good friend works at the venue where it's being held so if i do get to do it, i will be calling on him for moral support!

Ive been busy today setting up a fan page on facebook for my jewellery so i can display the whole range of my jewellery. you'll find a link to it at the top on the left of page, I'd love it if you could take a peek. It took me an hour and 40 mins to upload all the pics and write about them, luckily i had a cuppa and some chocolate!
I have a couple of things in the pipeline and I'm just waiting for more info before i can get giddy and tell everyone, I have my fingers crossed.
Ordered some more business cards last night from vistaprint and was thinking of one of there websites, if anybody has one I'd love some feedback as to what they're like, I'm currently with freewebs but not really impressed, it's ok but you can't do a lot with it.
I hope to add some favourite things tomorrow.

Thank goodness the car passed it's MOT, but it was still £70 for the MOT and washers that i knew needed doing, luckily yesterday i finally heard from a seller on etsy that she was going to refund my money for items never received, i ordered them on 24th Sept last year and despite several (lots) of emails and supposedly sending the items out twice i never received them, it was £65 of beads so i couldn't let it go but because it was coming from the USA i had no comeback, fingers crossed she's good for her word as haven't got money yet. so that should pay for car.

Also joined coriandr yesterday and opened a shop on there, i'ts really dead for me at the moment, before christmas i was making about £100 a month in my ebay shop but really struggling at the moment, hardly anything in dec/jan and only just picking up now.

I shut the ebay shop becuase of the fees, they had more than doubled the price per month of a basic shop, from £6 to £15!! and the way they favour buyers, so packed that in but now need to find other outlets, I think i'm just a bit dissilusioned at the mo, not feeling very creative either, maybe it's the winter blues :>(

I cheered myself up yesterday with a sticky toffee pudding, it was gorgeous but also v. naughty,

BEWARE OBSCENE PIC OF CALORIE FILLED DESSERT!!

Luckily it's individually sized or goodness knows the consequences he he

I phoned my "nephew" (my best Friends little one) this morning and he's having a party, he said i could have gone if I'd been down there (I.O.W) so a little sad now that I'm not, but only been back just over 4 weeks, seems like forever.

Going to take the puppy for a walk in the park now, she's in her usual (I'm by the door is it time to go yet?) position and raring to go;

kangaroo or dog?

This is a new listing on FOLKSY for valentine's day "tequila sunrise"

My best friend has 2 little ones and the 19th and 20th it was their birthday, instead of paying the astronomical prices for cakes she decided to make her own (she did need 4 after all)

this is the result, pretty fantastic!

booked the car in today for it's MOT, finger's crossed it won't want anything doing cos I'll be paying in chocolate buttons!

I've found some lovely items today on folksy and misi, my wishlists are growing every second,

here are a few of my favourites;

firstly please visit Lauren's shop, i tried to pick one item but really struggled, everything is so beautiful

http://www.folksy.com/shops/laurenceramics

I also found these candles yesterday by "the pink fairy cake" on misi

find them here

http://www.misi.me.uk/store_info.php?user_id=883

you might have noticed duplicate pics on here, that's cos I've not figured out yet how to delete them!! any help greatly appreciated

Dan Jackson funny pics

This made me laugh the other day;

it's by Dan Jackson, a photographer that sells his wares via etsy,and folksy among others.

here's another of his pics, from his more "serious" collection

it's a stunning photo of a willow tree in the snow? or is it? go and see his shop to find out the twist.

you'll find him here;

http://www.dan-jackson.com/blog/

yippee! I sold my first item on MISI

YIPPEE, YIPPEE (jumping for joy and doing a little dance!!)

I made my first sale on MISI, the lovely Amy bought them for her mum's birthday, i hope she likes them :>)

these were the earrings

"explosion in a flower shop"

here is a link to my MISI shop;

http://www.misi.me.uk/store_info.php?user_id=758

Well it's been rather an uneventful day today, tried to make some jewellery
but at the moment I seem to have writer's block, or whatever the jewellery equivalent is.

I listed some earrings in my FOLKSY shop;

cream chandelier earrings in sterling silver.

I did manage to book my next trip to the I.O.W to see my best friend who lives down there, I booked a gorgeous beach hut right on the edge of the..well..beach! doh

I thought it would be ideal for Gracie to just wander out the door and go for long walks on the beach, also nice for me too, lol

another plus point is the beach cafe is right next door so we can roll out of bed and order a cooked breakfast, that's my plan anyway.

Gracie has not yet learned to come back when called, if she sees a bird she'll chase it and run for miles, well out of view, so i can't let her off the lead yet which is really frustrating, not sure how to drill that instinct out of her either because she's bred for bird hunting. still working on it, while embarrassingly shouting my head off when she does get off.

I've tried everything imaginable, even my best rib-eye!!!

what a day it's been weatherwise, we (me and mum - lizzy) set out this morning to take gracie a walk in cannon hall grounds, a local country house that is set in over 70 acres of parkland - read great fun for gracie!

it was lovely sunshine when we set off so i thought before we went for a walk there was time for a coffee and cake, there's always time for coffee and cake ;>)

by the time we'd demolished half a carrot cake and a bucket of coffee we stepped outside to sleety/snow. poor gracie got a ride in the car and a quick run around the garden when she got home lol

"gracie and len"

Favourite things today

here are some of my favourite things i've found today, mainly from misi and folksy;












this is forest floor from "glassprimitif" on folksy, i love the colour and it looks so tactile
http://www.folksy.com/items/11669-F-o-r-e-s-t-F-l-o-o-r-


I also love this cupcake dog collar, my pup gracie would look lovely in it and i love cupcakes, what's not to like?! it's by "very vintage designs" on folksy

http://www.folksy.com/items/3642-Retro-Collection-Cutie-Cupcake-Retro-Fabric-Cupcake-Organic-Cotton-Dog-Collar-All-Antique-Brass-Hardware

this bracelet is by TJ GEMS on misi and the colours are sooo pretty, i think it's beautiful. http://www.misi.me.uk/product_desc.php?user_id=5739

Oh my lordy! What on earth do i put on here?!!

OK, HERE GOES!

I've never had a blog before so not quite sure where to go with this,
I'll start by explaining where CATS WHISKERS the name came from, (while eating my terry's choc orange, mmm..)

It all started 12 years ago when i rescued my first cat, Thomas, he was wandering the streets as a kitten and someone had taken him in and we paid 10 star wars tazo's for him, then came "Chewy" (named by my star wars mad ex, !)
he was thrown into a lake with the rest of his litter fastened in a carrier bag weighed down by bricks, luckily someone saw this happen and rescued them, but only two were alive, chewy was rescued and sent to thornberry where he spent a year, being re-homed and sent back because they couldn't cope, then i went along and saw him, he tried ingratiating himself to me by kissing me urgghh! but i took him anyway.
obviously he was extremely traumatised and we had a hard time just trying to get him to come out from behind the cupboards, still now, 11 years later he only trusts women, and has only just started coming up on my knee, but he's come miles since i got him,
my ambition was to be a psychologist and animal psychologist but life got in the way and so i didn't continue my studies, anyhow all this came in handy helping chewy to trust again
then came Monty, he was being put down at the vets cos he was blind, he was only 7 weeks old and so i took him home too!
then came Lenny (a girl) she was found playing on the motorway with a shoelace, someone fetched her to me to re home and she stayed!
Missy and tinker were next and then Ruby, a tiny kitten, she was in the paper because she had been rescued from a gang who had painted her in marker pen and set her alight, luckily it was superficial burns, she had no whiskers etc... and the white fur was all blue, but it wore off and she came to live with me.
so as you can see i love cats and thought my jewellery making name should reflect this and so... "the cats whiskers"
anyone still here?!
I'll post a few pics when i figure out how to
that's it for now, run out of choc orange