CRAFTY NEWS DESK.....

Greetings from the Crafty News Desk
(this week's picture was taken this morning in my garden - my beef tomatoes don't seem to like the colour RED......)

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So here are the events for the coming weeks:

Belfast  

•  5 September - Black Market, Black Box, Belfast - 12 -5pm http://www.blackboxbelfast.com/
• 11 September - Craft event showing traditional crafts -  http://www.flaxmill-textiles.com/index_textiles.htm
• 12 September - Fashion Souk, Ulster Hall, Belfast - http://www.thefashionsouk.com/4

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Limerick

• Every weekend in the Milk Market, Cornmarket Row and the last Thursday of the month they have special Artisan Craft Fair http://www.milkmarketlimerick.ie/default/index.cfm/calendar-of-events/monthly-artisans-craft-fair1/

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Dublin

• Every Sunday, Crafty Market, Sheeben Chic, Georges St - http://www.thecraftymarket.com/
• 12 September, Ferocious Mingle Market, Newmarket Sq, Dublin 8 -http://www.thejosiebaggleycompany.com/pages/TheFerociousMingleMarket.htm
• 25 September, Vintage Market, Airfield House, Dundrum - http://www.airfield.ie/escape.html

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If you have any info for our readers please add to the comments at the end of the article or get in touch and I will add it to the main item.  Keep the news coming.

Next week I will be away in Portugal for a few days of R&R so there will be a skeleton article up on Monday morning.  Please add your news to the comments at the end of that article too.

Cheers for now
Mo
aka www.huggleknits.etsy.com

Bloggers wanted!

It is nearly September, the leaves are not yet falling, and our Etsy Ireland blog is doing really well.

Alas, for it to stay that way, we need a few more articles, especially for the sections 'How to Tuesdays' and 'Trade Secrets Thursdays'. Contributions are also always needed for 'Eyes Open Ireland'; and any Introductions and 'I'll Show You Mine' are very welcome!

Or poetry, ideas, suggestions, bear musings... BEAR MUSINGS???

Jacob lets it be known that he will personally write an article himself if nothing is forthcoming, and right now he's making stabbing movements with a pen...

Contact me, Brigitte, at my Etsy Shop if you have any article or idea for this blog, and Bridget at her shop for 'Eyes Open Ireland'.

Eyes Open Ireland

This Eyes Open Ireland comes from Ellen Roche of SpiralGodess.

Ducketts Grove Castle

I was coming home from an early morning shopping trip into Carlow Town on 1st August,

when I spotted a sign for this Craft Fair in Ducketts Grove.

We had attended it last year and it was fab!

I hurried home picked up my significant other and the girls and we headed off.

Held in the grounds of Ducketts Grove Castle a great setting.

Filled with wonderful crafts which included jewellery, pottery,wood turning, glass painting.

There was set dancing displays and tours of the beautiful walled gardens which have been recently refurbished.
My favourites however were the Traditional Irish Craft demonstrations.
Basket Weaving on a huge scale, Yarn Spinning, Butter Making, Thatching and my girls favourite Horse Shoeing

It was wonderful to see these ancient crafts alive and thriving in the 21st century but even more so to see them first hand.
Also included were delicious handmade cheese and artisan meats.
I was talking to a lot of the crafters and spread the love of Etsy as best I could so maybe we will get a few more Irish Members 
 
I came home all inspired
 
The craft fair is held twice a year and tomorrow morning I will be getting the details of how to get a stall and will keep you posted.
More pics on my blog
http://spiralgodess.blogspot.com/
 
Happy Crafting All  
Ellen
http://www.etsy.com/shop/spiralgodess
 

Tea and a Chat: Beth from Magpie and Button

Howdy folks, welcome to another issue of 'Tea and a Chat With' .  This Saturday we will be catching up with Beth from Magpie and Button who has taken the role of  Cork representative, keeping all the team members straight down there in the People's Republic.   Beth is double jobbing as she also picks the Top Five on Friday for the blog!  Good job!  

Tell us a bit about what you do?
I've been creating unique bead and button jewellery for a number of years now.  I started my Etsy shop in 2009 as a bit of an experiment, but it's been going so well I've kept it up and it's still growing today :)  I teach art at a Youthreach centre in Cork, and I love it, though I'm happiest when collecting beads and buttons! I always like putting interesting little bits and pieces together to create something new.  Ever since playing happily with the contents of Granny's button box as a little girl, I've loved and collected all kinds of buttons.  So now it's time to share some of them by making them into pretty little pieces of jewellery.  I tend to make jewellery one or two evenings a week and then photograph and list it at the weekends. 

If you weren’t a crafty type, what would you be doing?
I would probably still have the day job I have now - teaching at a Youthreach centre in Cork.  I am lucky enough to love my job :)

Give us some of your favourite designers/fashion peeps:
Fashion:  If I won the lotto I'd invest in some vintage Balenciaga.  Also, I'm obsessed with costumes so I love the work of film costume designer Colleen Atwood
Design:  I really like Australian company Rinzen
Interiors:  Cutie Cath Kidston!
Accessories:  Anything from Miu Miu to Penneys

Any amazing blogs that you’d like to share?
I love http://postsecret.blogspot.com

What are your top 5 films of all time?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Amelie
The Phantom of the Opera
Crybaby
Napoleon Dynamite

What was your mother always right about?
Vests

Lastly some linky goodness, where can we find you?
Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/magpieandbutton
Blog http://magpieandbutton.blogspot.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/magpieandbuttonjewellery
Twitter https://twitter.com/magpieandbutton

Thanks Beth, love the photo!  Talk to you all next time, bye for now,

Angela (a.k.a. artysmarty)

Fab Five on Friday

It's that time of year again when students and teachers sigh at the thought of going back to early starts, homework and exams, and many parents either smile with relief as they have some space again, or tense up with nerves as they pack their little scholars off to class for the first time!
Here are some gorgeous Etsy finds from Irish sellers to help us start back to school with a smile :)

Slip some sweet encouraging thoughts into your child's lunchbox with swannandsmerlin's lunch cards.
Jot down your hopes and dreams for the year, or take lecture notes in makelovely's heart notebook.
Stay warm on the way to school in the mornings with
BeeLiciousCrafts' cute radish neckwarmer.
Keep your school satchel fresh with this
back to school lavender sachet from SailmakersDaughter.
Organise all your shiny new pencils and pens in
patchworkdelights' owly pouch pencilcase.

Gifts for the yet unhitched

'Asking for the Dance' by Sheena Power

After Anne-Marie's brilliant article on Wedding Anniversary Gifts, the Early years, I - Brigitte from Purls of Colour - threatened her with an article on gifts for the yet unhitched or the unhitched again, ie the bachelor boys and girls of Ireland (and beyond).

So, apart from handing over an inflatable man or woman, pyjamas with big patterns a la Bridget Jones, blocks of chocolate the size of a house, or a basket of cleaning products (hint hint), what do you give a fancy-free singleton who is exhausted splashing out on their friends' wedding or wedding anniversary gifts (or gifts for new borns, back to school gifts for nieces, nephews and godchildren and Christmas gifts for everybody and their dog) ? The Crafty Ireland team has the solution...

Some are single by choice, some are not, but where ever you are in your life, you are on a journey:This beautiful print by Designbirdie would certainly suit a batchelor pad, and even more so if said bachelor loves to travel.

Talking about travelling, this lovely vintage basket from Dandelion Daydreamer is basically screaming to be taken to a French market by a single girl on a summer's morning:


If you feel flush, you could always slip in a plane or train ticket to France. Ok, one can hope...

Or maybe the single lady loves the city life? Then this 'Coffee in Paris' charm bracelet by Aisling is the just the right gift (again, travel tickets can be added...)



Talking of coffee, I love this painting by Diana Marshall:


It is called 'Reflections of me', and would really look great in a singleton's kitchen or living room. Just the right thing to look at on a Sunday morning when singles are happily sipping their coffee and reading the newspapers, staying all morning in nightclothes and slippers...

Slippers...yeah!

Now here are some stylish slippers for the single girl by Suzanneorford:


There is something about felt slippers that is just so comfy! Great to lounge on the sofa or dance solo in your living room.

But then the bachelorette goes out (a lot) and needs to get her groove on:


A gift of this shocking pink fascinator by Ruby Feather certainly will get her noticed on the dance floor. And then...maybe...bachelorette no more...

Although no bachelor boy has to go through the rigmarole of formalities depicted in the picture at the start of the article, a little bit of dressing up doesn't do any harm either. This bow-tie from A Frame of Mind will make a shy Irish bachelor boy stand out from the crowd:


Do I hear the single ladies sigh? Yes, it's definitely a cute...bow-tie!

And if you think your single friend needs to impress the ladies with his knowledge of the world, what about this unusual gift?


The Orange Sexual Chakra Stained Glass Suncatcher by Rainbow Stained Glass will certainly be a great talking point. And it brightens up any room.

Just as subtle is this print by Cherryblossomtatoo:



A bachelor boy or girl doesn't have to tell anyone that it's entitled 'Fireworks in the Bedroom', and that Carrie stated in her description: 'They say it's where the magic happens...'
Singletons can be discreet if they have to ;)

If you are looking for a present for your gay or lesbian single friend, Nice Day Designs has stylish pocket mirrors which are perfect for going out:







Single doesn't always mean living alone. If you know a group of single friends who share a house, this Irish House Warming by John Dolan Woodcraft is a must-have. Trust me, I speak from experience...(on both counts)



Etsy Ireland crafters are a talented bunch who have beautiful goodies for nearly everybody. However, I noticed the absense of a hang-over cure, but maybe some crafty singleton has one ready and just won't share the secret of looking gorgeous and alluring or witty and handsome the day after a night out?

Team Treasuries!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

We've got 2 new Etsy Ireland Team treasuries for your perusing pleasure this week!

First up, a pretty Pink collection ...
The Last Rose of Summer by Jessamyn from HomespunIreland


Next up, this Fall inspired one I threw together just a moment ago. :P
Fall in Ireland

Please visit these if you haven't already. Click, comment, spread the word, share the love.
Support your fellow Ireland based crafters!

Till next time!
Rach
balanced

How to Clean Silver Jewellery

This week's 'How to Tuesday' comes from Anne-Marie of Handmade by Amo'r.

When sterling silver tarnishes naturally, it can look rather dark and dirty. You can buy commercial dips for cleaning it, but making your own cleanser is a bit more fun and probably cheaper.
The old trick of dipping jewellery into cola or scrubbing with toothpaste gives me the heebie jeebies. While you might get away with it sometimes, these methods are too harsh for most jewellery so it’s not worth risking your treasured baubles and bling.


I find a bread soda solution works perfectly on silver and it is very quick and easy. Do not use it on pearls, gemstones, amber or wood. However, glass or plastic beads will be ok. This should not be done by children as there is a danger of scalding.

So stick on your alchemist’s bib, sorcerer's cape or failing these, a witch’s hat, and let’s get started...

First slap on the kettle to boil while you gather up a non-metallic bowl (e.g. glass or plastic,) a pack of bread soda, a wooden or plastic spoon or similar and some kitchen foil, aka tin foil or aluminium paper. Crumple the foil a little bit and place in the bottom of the bowl, shiny side up.

Spread the jewellery over the foil, ensuring as much contact is made between the foil and the components as you can. Shake enough bread soda on top to cover the pieces.

Here comes the fun bit. Very carefully pour an inch of hot water over the lot and it will bubble up like a witch’s cauldron. Best have the window open as it does smell like wing of bat mixed with rotten egg. The first shot I got of this process in action captured nothing but a cloud of steam. I lost a few precious moments cleaning the lens but if you look closely at this pic, you might catch a glimpse of the bubbles just before they calmed down.

Use a wooden or plastic utensil to flip pieces over and nudge them into the foil.


It only takes a few moments for the jewellery to brighten up. Taking care not to scald yourself, tip the items out into a sieve so as not to lose any and rinse in cool water. Pat dry with a cloth. Tada! All shiny and new. Maintain your silver jewellery in between cleans with a silver polishing cloth, available at any jewellers.

To clean copper, read this article. I’ll be back soon with an overview on caring for various types of jewellery.

CRAFTY NEWS DESK.....

Greetings from the Crafty News Desk
(This weeks picture of some ferns was taken last March in the Dublin mountains.)

 I am starting this week with a reference to the new layout of the ETSY shops.  How does everyone feel about it?  I think the fact that the items are given more visual exposure once the shop is opened is a good thing.  I know that some people have shortened their description to account for the change.  Have a look at the following link before you do it....DON'T LOOSE VALUABLE SEO EXPOSURE....http://www.handmadeology.com/why-you-should-keep-your-etsy-shop-announcement/

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Ruth from NiceDayDesigns has a special offer on her etsy site this week....10% discount to all EtsyIrelandTeam members on custom made mirror/badges and magnets.  Just put "Etsy Ireland Promotion" in message to seller.  She can also use your own designs - great idea for party favours etc.  contact here at  http://www.etsy.com/shop/nicedaydesigns#

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Check out the Blog giveaway from  Beth at
http://magpieandbutton.blogspot.com/2010/08/blog-giveaway.html

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Brigitte at PurlsofColour has news that the University of Ulster are looking for designs for contemporary souvenirs.  A project funded by the Arts Council are looking for submissions of online concepts for the origination and design of highly imaginative products for the souvenir market and beyond.  Closing date is 20 September.  If you are interested and need more info plus a copy of the application form contact k.gordon@ulster.ac.uk or Brigitte at http://www.etsy.com/shop/purlsofcolour

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This week is heritage week across Ireland.  Check out their website for what is on near you...http://www.heritageweek.ie/ 

News in from the Wool Museum in Leenane, Co Galway...All week they are holding workshops and demonstrations on wool-dyeing, spinning, weaving as well as craft walks and knitalongs.  Check out their facebook page here  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leenane-Ireland/Sheep-Wool-Centre/107467449305821?ref=ts&__a=9 and their website   http://www.sheepandwoolcentre.com/

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Next weekend is the big Which Course Expo in the RDS - loads of stands with information on course/classes and all things studious for the coming Winter months.  http://www.whichcourse.ie/

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How is everyone doing with the local markets in Cork, Limerick, Belfast and Dublin?  Are you involved with any in other locations?  We would love to hear how you are doing.....

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That's it for this week.
Cheers
Mo aka http://www.huggleknits.etsy.com/

Off to Dublin in the Sun

A sort of report on the proceedings in the Snail Bar on 14 August 2010
I headed down from Belfast to Dublin on a gorgeous summer's day, and this made getting up at 5.45am for the 8am train so much easier. After a pleasant train journey spent knitting and snoozing, I arrived in Dublin at 10am, and headed to my favourite yarn shop This is Knit. There, I looked at lots of beautiful yarn, and shopped...a little bit!

After time spent in shops, charity shops and St Stephen's Green, I was so hungry that I arrived in the Snail Bar early to tuck into a delicious brunch - the food is really really REALLY good and I can recommend it highly.

The first one to arrive after me was Elke, another German, who like myself has been living in Ireland for a long time (I think we arrived the same year). While we chatted on the terrace, more Etsians arrived inside, so we actually missed the first bits of conversation. However, we surely made up for it - often two conversations went on at the same time...

The following team members were present:


Fiona from Patchworkdelights
Angela from Artysmarty
Judith from ABoxForMyTreasure
Mo from Huggleknits
Tanya from TanyaMac
Hazel from Hazeldonnelly
Elke from dragonfly1760
an Etsian whose name and shop I didn't catch (sorry, please enlighten me!)
That would be Mary from A Wish for You (Etsy shop being rolled out sometime before Chrimbo!)
and Brigitte from purlsofcolour behind the camera.

Sarah from Redpossum and her daughter Poppy were also there, but had to leave early, so they are not in the photo.

Tanya also took some photos, and hopefully she'll add them to this article. Only one for ye girls - the rest were super fuzzy! (P.S This is me, TanyaMac, in green - in case you hadn't guessed already!) :P

Fiona from PatchworkDelights, Our Dublin Rep Angela from ArtySmarty,

Judith from aboxformytreasure and Mo from Huggleknits.

We had a great craft swap, and I now have some lovely fabrics, and bits for making more stitchmarkers! Mary (etsy shop on the way) brought in a whole bag of the cutest teddy bears she had once used for teaching. She also added lovely Etsy Ireland blog ribbons to them. The idea came up to leave the bears in prominent places to advertise the blog, or bring them on our journeys and take pics of them in front of famous landmarks a la Amelie.

So here's my bear...sunning himself at the Liffey!

However, although I took two bears, I couldn't just leave a bear behind in the train, so I gave my extra bear to a friend of mine who will display him prominently on her desk.

I had great fun planting my teds around the city - here's a couple of pics... ;)

Ted 1 fancied a spin to feel the breeze on his fur,

it was a very hot day in the city...

and Ted 2 had developed quite a thirst in my handbag!

(The tourists all went loopy when they saw him left there!)

I'm trying to recap what we discussed and decided, but if I have missed something, feel free to add it in the comments:

• 
  
  Sales are slow for everyone, and we had a good moan about it. However, to stay positive, we tried to focus on the Christmas business, and ideas floated around for an Etsy Ireland pop-up shop in Dublin sometime in December. A few people are looking into it.

• 
  
  Some people who are also selling on DaWanda talked a bit about that. Elke is really successful there, so she can be our DaWanda guru...

• 
  
  I brought up a few things relating to the blog. Letizia (Ooakie) reported that some people had encountered problems with the shop directory, and she and Francis (ShineSpinner) had investigated a few options in relation to changing the shop directory:
  1.) a long list of clickable shopnames on the side - simple and clear, but takes a lot of space on the blog
  2.) a link to categories and these link to Etsy pages with all the team members that do that. The disadvantage is that if you have not listed for a while, your shop is not likely to appear
  3.) The third way is to have a single link to another page with a full list of all shops (and a pic for each)
  
  Most people are happy with the drop down list as it is, and therefore Tanya will look at the code again to see if there is a glitch somewhere. Of all the options, number three was seen as the best, but the consensus was that it's a hell of a job to do, and it would be a huge page to scroll down to, unless we have more than one page or links to the different categories at the top of the page

• 
  
  We decided that if a shop that isn't one of the team or an Etsy shop wants to be added to our Craft Supplies page, we ask them for a 10% team discount.

• 
  
  The question of having some discussion forum on the blog also came up. However, since our Crafty Ireland team thread on Etsy is pretty quiet these days, we weren't too sure if we need one. I suggested we could use the discussion forum that is available on our Etsy Ireland facebook page, because that's already there. We didn't come to a conclusion on this, but Letizia and I will open a new Crafty Ireland team thread on the Etsy forums - after 114 pages it is about time...
• 
  
  Also Hazel brought in a copy of the Sunday Business Post, where our lovely Judith was surprised to find her lovely jewellery featured smack bang in the middle!  

It was great to see everybody, and hopefully more local meetings will be underway shortly.

I for my part stayed a few more hours in Dublin and spent some happy times at the Designer Mart at Cow's Lane (thanks to Hazel, who told me about it) and knitting at the Liffey.

However, it had been a long day, and when I got home, I had the earliest night in ages! When do I ever get to bed at 11pm???

Fab Five on Friday

Today I've chosen some adorable birdy items in gorgeous shades of blue, purple and turquoise. Birds seem to feature in lots of great Irish Etsians' shops and so it was very difficult to pick out the fab five, but nonetheless here are the lovelies that made it this week!

Featured items:
Bird Beret by byathreadhats
Two Little Birds Gold Necklace by lilabelledesign
Blue Birdy TShirt by heatherstreasures
Hummingbird in Cherry Blossom by tanyabond
Vintage Swooping Swallow Hairslides by ABoxForMyTreasure

Chosen by Beth of magpieandbutton. 

As always, if you would like to suggest or curate a Fab Five on Friday, just send me an Etsy convo :) 

Colour, Colour Everywhere ;o)

Hi All, Margo from lilabelledesign here. Finally I get around to writing this post about a topic close to my heart, colour. I love it in all forms, whether on its own or clashing/ working alongside other colours.

Below is a quick overview of the theory and read further to the nice bit, the pics and links.

Colour - The Theory

The colour wheel is the starting point for any discussion on colour. It contains a mix of the primary colours; blue, red, and yellow. The corresponding secondary colors; green, orange, and violet. The tertiary colors; red–orange, red–violet, yellow–orange, yellow–green, blue–violet and blue–green.


According to established colour theory, adjacent colours harmonise well but, if you’re seeking to make a flamboyant statement, opposites combine to more dramatic effect.

There are many different combinations which work dependent on the look you desire:

o A tonal scheme (monochromatic) means you use a colour in different tones. There is one colour, but different tones of that colour (various shades of red for example).

o The harmonious colours are those that are close to each other on the colour wheel. For example, pink has purple on one side and red on the other side. Those are harmonious colours. Purple has pink on one side, and blue on the other side. These too are harmonious colours.

o The complementary colours are those that are opposite to one another on the colour wheel. For example: purple and yellow; blue and orange.


o The triadic colours are three colours on the colour wheel that are an equal distance from one another. A popular modern choice is red, blue, and yellow, and is for those who feel comfortable with a bold colour choice.

Colour - In Practice

Check out one of my first treasuries entitled "Color Explosion", the name says it all



And check out more of our fabulous Etsy Ireland treasuries on our blog under team treasuries.

Another area where colour plays a mayor role is a wedding. Check out theknot.com for amazing ideas and pictures and see below for some colour palates, fab fab fab

images courtesy of theknot.com

And when you are exhausted from reading the theory etc pop over to the website Lovely Clusters. This is a beautifully curated site where you can browse and shop for handmade and vintage goods. Everything is collected by color or theme which makes it easier to browse and dream.

And when all else fails, go mad and create your own colour combo, you never know where this could lead ;o)

Have fun and I hope this inspires.
Margo @ lilabelledesign
My facebook fanpage