Craft Fair this weekend, and a few new creations.

So at the moment I'm on a train, because my beloved car is poorly.  It's no surprise this happens though as I drive a MkII VW Polo.  I just love the thing.  It's an '88 F reg, making it about a month older than me, bright red (the only proper colour for a VW in my opinion!) and I've had it for about 3 years now.  I just love driving something different, something unusual, and it's so reliable.  It has very few problems considering the miles I do!


I don't mind the train too much, except for the little things, like when you book a table seat to get some work done and end up sat with 3 loud friends and can't concentrate despite headphones, or sat opposite a man who's clearly just smoked and smells of it, then pulls out some smelly onion rings and a can of beer.  Or when you pay for 3 hours wi-fi then your final connection train is an old one with no wi-fi anyway.  Grumble.  But hey, it gets me where I need to be, which this weekend is Dorset for a music thing.


Anyway, back on topic!  This week I've been running about like a mad thing.  I have a craft fair this weekend and am determined to make it a success :)  I've been trying to make more of my smaller items such as the cute little key rings with "Friend" or "Sister", and my Hunger Games items.  Things that might catch the eye.  I've also been making more charm necklaces, and my new hair pins!  First though, this "rescued" pendant.

It used to be a lonely earring.  I was looking around Loughborough market and happened to see it, along with a few other shiny things I bought.  It was on a pretty grubby ear hook, so I removed that, gave it a clean and put a jump ring on it.  It's so pretty I almost kept it for myself.  It looks like Mother of Pearl, it changes colour in different lights and has beautiful shades of pink, purple and blue/greens.  Really lovely, and unique, too!

The next thing is my hair pins.  These were inspired by one of the tutorials in the book I reviewed in my last post.  I was trying that out, and this design sort of "happened"!

I can see making these becoming addictive.  I might do a tutorial on them because they're really quite simple and it's actually pretty therapeutic!  :)  Just involves a lot of wire twisting!

I'm going to be making them in pink, purple and blue once my latest order of crystals arrives so watch out for those in my shop's "Special Occasions" section, here.

Last but hopefully not least, is my new beach theme Tibetan Silver charm necklace.  I like this one because it is "multi-purpose".  I think it would be gorgeous for a beach theme wedding, as bridesmaids necklaces or even for the bride!  The crystal colour could be changed to the wedding theme or birthstones, or left as is for a real beach feel.  The starfish charm is pretty and eye catching, but not too big.

I think it also serves as a lovely Hunger Games charm, for those of you (like me!!) who love the series but feel a bit old to be wearing a "Finnick" bracelet or necklace with "District 4" on it, this is a cute subtle way of showing your support for that most dashing of victors.  I also have a similar one for Katniss coming soon.  You can find those in the Tibetan Silver section, or if you want to go all out, I have name bracelets here!

If you can't decide who your favourite is, here's my subtle series fan bracelets.

Last note, for any of you who live near Lutterworth, I'll be holding a stall at the craft fair in Lutterworth Town Hall.  Entrance is from 10am, and there'll be loads of lovely handmade stuff there, so come and support local crafters - and say hi!

Oh, and I'm always looking for blogging inspiration, whether it's suggestions of books to review, or things I make you'd like a tutorial on!  Just leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do!  :)

Craft book review - Making Hair Jewels and Accessories by Gabrielle Byrne

I've been mega busy, but I did get chance to try out my latest craft book!


I bought Making Hair Jewels & Accessories by Gabrielle Byrne.  I bought it from Amazon, and it cost (at the time) £10.71.

This book features a number of products with step by step instructions on how to make them, including tiaras, hair combs, crystal hair pins, butterfly hair pins, crystal decorated hair barrettes, japanese sticks and hair jewels.

The pictures are lovely.  Really clear, and the instructions are easy to follow.

Personally I think this book is a great starting point for making hair slides and accessories.  It inspired me to try other designs, and the Tools, materials and basic techniques section at the start of the book ensures that you've got all the bits, pieces and know how to get started.  I also like the fact it features different styles, not just crystal.

This hair comb is so cute, and you can easily adapt the design.  I'm intending to make this comb using some gorgeous mother of pearl vintage buttons I found at a vintage shop in Hebden Bridge.

On the whole, I'd say this book is a good starting point for anyone wanting to get into making hair accessories, but if you have been making them for a while there may not be much in it for you.  If you're creative though, (you probably are if you're looking at this book!) it will give you lots of ideas for designs, and the basic techniques to make them happen!  Its a really lovely book, the layout and photos are really attractive, and it's enjoyable to read.  :)

I'd give it 4/5.  Great book, beautiful photos and a lovely clear layout and great instructions, but perhaps more suited to beginners.

The bits I've been making from this book will be appearing in the Special Occasions section of my Etsy shop soon!

Sorry for the absence! Here's what I've been making...

Wow, so I haven't posted in almost a month!  It's not because I haven't had stuff to say...


I'm a musician, as my day job (though I'll be starting a "proper job" in September as well as doing music :D), and as the summer rolls around my calendar fills up!  


I've been putting time into my shop recently, and have been making things in my "spare" time, so I have some new stuff to share with you.  In the next few weeks I also have features from Embellishing You, InStyleHeadbands, and I also bought a top secret Fathers Day present from Organica Botanica UK that may make it on here.


For a change though, I'm going to share some of my stuff!  Starting with these, a revelation of my latest guilty pleasure...I also have other character bracelets, and key rings too with more to come...

So I read the Hunger Games.  I heard about it, and saw the film trailers, but knowing that film adaptations are rarely as good as the books I wanted to read it first.  I was apprehensive, having been coerced into reading Twilight and resenting the wasting of hours of my life (sorry Twilight fans), but I loved The Hunger Games!  I think Suzanne Collins did an excellent job of not pandering to the "format" of a lot of Young Adult fiction (I'm trying not to give anything away!).  Normally I'm not one for writing in the first person but actually I really got into the books.  Love the story and I think it's very well written, and the ending is what it needs to be.  All too often (Twilight included) Authors seem to "give up" and provide a happily ever after ending, even if it's unrealistic.  The Hunger Games is pretty tragic, as you'd expect from a trilogy about a world in which children are forced to fight to the death...  If you haven't read it, do.  I couldn't put it down.  I'm 23 (so a bit older than the target audience, I imagine) and I really enjoyed it.  If you're wondering about my taste in books to see if you'll like it, my other favourites include (I read these a while back):

• Harry Potter - who doesn't love it?
• Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
• The Windsinger Trilogy by William Nicholson
• The Doomspell Trilogy by Cliff McNish

I love to read, so I welcome suggestions if you've read anything you think I'll like!  My "to read" list includes Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, currently.  Again, I've seen GoT on TV but I want to read the books before I see much more.

Anyway, I digress :)

More sparkly things!  This is how my shop ended up so diverse, I get an idea and try it out, so I end up with a few of each type of item.  Since I last posted I've been making wine glass charms, "Something Blue"s, and hair pins.

Just love these!  When they're in your hair you just see the crystal, and they add sparkle to any hairstyle.

And these wine glass charms make gorgeous keepsakes from weddings or parties.  I make them to order in any colour.  They're such a cute party favour :)

This is one of my favourite wedding keepsake ideas though.  Something Blue...

This little charm on a ribbon ties around the bride's bouquet on the day of the wedding, adding just a little bit of sparkle and a flash of colour, and after the wedding she can take the charm off the ribbon and wear it as a pendant!  I just think it's a really cute way of having part of your wedding you can wear over and over.  This one features Swarovski crystals, and it is packaged for sending on the ribbon, in a pretty organza bag, with a snake chain included.

So, there's a little update on what I've been up to in my absence!  I've got lots more to add to my shop, so please do check it out.  At the moment I'm really trying to build my online following under my new name, so if you could pop over and "like"my Facebook Page, and if you're feeling especially lovely, share it with your friends, I would be most grateful.  I plan to host some giveaways once I have more "fans".

In the meantime, check back here for more product features - I've ordered some gorgeous stuff recently! - and hopefully these craft book reviews I've been meaning to write...

Product feature - Laptop bag from IUptown Chic!

Okay, so I was far too excited about this purchase!  :D


I ordered myself a handmade laptop bag from IUptown Chic, in grey and blackberry.

I am so pleased with this bag.  As someone who is normally glued to their laptop but only had a padded sleeve for it, this was a perfect find on Etsy.  It's gorgeous, obviously very well made, and does the job perfectly.


The bag has a main pocket for the laptop which is lightly padded, so it offers some protection for your computer.  You state when you buy it what size laptop you have, so it fits very well!  That said, I still managed to get my A4 pad of paper in with my computer - brilliant.


It has a larger pocket on the front, which I've put my charger in, and two smaller pockets which I've used for my external harddrive and cable, and iPhone and cable.  There's room for other items in these pockets too, but that's everything I wanted to carry!

The bag has two straps with popper studs to close it, and then a removable, adjustable shoulder strap that feels very strong for how thin it is.  My only slight criticism is that you can still see the laptop in the bag, it's slightly taller, so it's not a complete disguise that you're carrying a laptop around.

All in all, it's a fab bag!  Check out the full range here, there are loads of different designs available, and they also make items for Kindles, iPads, iPhones and more!  My laptop case cost about £30, plus p&p from the U.S., which I feel is very good value!

Name change!

Hello all,


I've been hard at work on my website, after finally deciding on my new shop name!  I've already changed it on Etsy, and designed myself a new banner.  My shop will now go by "Willowbrook Artistry"!  :)

I hope that it can incorporate jewellery, crafts and my photography eventually!


I'm planning to get my website up and running, and new business cards done before my next craft fair, on the 29th April in Leicester, I'll post some more details of that nearer the time - please do come along if you're local!


In the mean time, here's a competition for any of you based in Dorset.  There's a fab mobile beauty salon in the Blackmore Vale area run by Cassie Feist, and she's offering the chance to win a free spa facial for you and a friend, just by liking the Facebook group, and sharing the competition photo!  You can find the competition here, and you can like JAF beauty here on Facebook.  The winner will be chosen at random and announced on May 1st!

Product feature! Gorgeous Mug Cosy from Kozmic Dreams

I promised a product feature, and here it is!

This is my amazing mug cosy, courtesy of Laura Whitford at Kozmic Dreams.

Laura is a UK seller with heaps of experience in knitting and crocheting.  Her Etsy shop is fairly new, it has been open since September and features some gorgeous knitted animals, crocheted bags and a variety of tea cosy designs.  Here are two of my other favs, this lovely little pirate owl, and a musical notes cosy!

So, about my tea cosy.  I came across Laura's shop through the Etsy teams.  Her work is lovely, so I sent her a message about making a mug cosy with a treble clef, and she replied very quickly, saying she'd have a go.  I was very surprised by just how fast she got back to me - within 2 days she'd sent me a link to the completed listing!  Loved it, obviously, so I bought it and it arrived very quickly.  She offered to make it in a different colour if I preferred, but I think the black and white looks great :)


As someone who is always being told off for leaving my cups of tea to go cold (usually getting distracted by Etsy...), this is a brilliant buy.  It really does the trick.  The wool is lovely and soft and it's machine washable too.  Highly recommended for any hot drinks lover, as you can see in the top photo it even fits my music themed 'bucket-o-tea' mug!


Kozmic Dreams - Brilliant little shop, do go over and have a look!

I'm back!

Apologies for going a bit MIA!  I've been involved in a music project in Leeds for the last few weeks, so I haven't been blogging or doing much making.  Irony being what it is, I've had more orders in the last 2 and a bit weeks than any other time, but thanks to some help from home sending beads and tools up to me, I got them all done!


Also, some fun news!  To celebrate me reaching 200 likes on Facebook, I'm offering 15% off anything in my Etsy shop with the code 'Facebook15'.  Thanks to everyone who has liked my page :D


Currently I'm in Dorset again, more music making.  However, I have just listed one of my favourite new items on Etsy, this beautiful pink charm bracelet.  I know I'm a bit biased, but I just love it.  So much so that I immediately ordered a bunch more crystals to make one to keep, and I plan to make them in other colours too.  Let me know what you think!  I just think Swarovski crystals are stunning, they sparkle so much, but it's impossible to do them justice in photos.

The display on the right is a mini bust, I misread the eBay listing, but actually this size has come in handy for displaying bracelets, and will be useful for the craft fair I'm doing in a few weeks.

As I've just been paid, and had some more sales myself (yay), I also treated myself to some of the items I've favourited on Etsy, so as they arrive I'll be featuring some of them here.  The first one will be a gorgeous mug cosy that was designed and made for me by the lovely Laura Whitford of Kozmic Dreams, and I got the added bonus of being her first buyer!  Look out for that one in the next few days, and check her out on Etsy :)  I've also got some great books I'll be reviewing, 2 on polymer clay and one on jewellery stamping.