CRAFTY NEWS DESK.....

Greetings from the Crafty News Desk
(This week's picture was taken in the wilds of Cork earlier this year)

Some interesting news items in this week.

Looking for children's product designers!!!
"We are on the lookout for crafters and artists interested in making and selling beautiful children's and baby products at our new market based in central Dublin. Be it clothes, room decorations, books, bags or toys for the little ones what we are really interested in is originality and quality of design. We will be hand picking our stalls as we want our market to have beautifully made, high quality, original and good value items.  If you think you would be interested in showcasing and selling your products on one of our stalls please contact Averil by email: hello@peasandpods.ie" 
Thanks Avril, I am sure many of our crafters will be in touch soon.

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"I'm teaching needle felting and selling wool at CELT in the woods; two days (weekend) of workshops in a beautiful woodland setting. I just thought, perhaps more people like to join in or simply visit. It is lovely and it happens twice a year, March and October.  Next CELT Weekend in the Woods Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd October, Bealkelly Oak Woods, Tuamgraney, Co Clare.www.celtnet.org"

(2 day workshops in Traditional Crafts / Sustainable & Ecological Skills)
Sounds like fun, thanks for letting us know Jenny.

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Some giveaways on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dublin-Ireland/Amorio-designs/130816833596317

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Etsy coming to Ireland!!!!!!!! How exciting is that.
By now I am sure you have all read the report on the meetings coming up in Galway and Dublin... http://etsyireland.blogspot.com/2010/09/etsy-galway-and-Dublin-meet-ups.html
I am sorry I cant make the Dublin meeting as I am away with family for the weekend.  I do hope you all have great fun and learn loads. Let us know how you get on.

That's about it for this week.
As always, let me know if anything is happening in your area that you think people would like to hear.

Cheers
Mo
aka www.huggleknits.etsy.com

How to.... Tuesdays.

Make a pouch!

During the summer, i had my sister over and i was trying to explain how to make a pouch, without actually doing it with her. THat was silly, cause it made pouch making seem an awful lot more tricky that it actually is...


1) you need:

-1 Zip
-2 pieces of outer fabric, cut to length of zip and depth of however deep you want your pouch
-2 pieces of lining, the same size as the outer.



2) First, get your zipper foot on your machine. Then unzip your zip, and sandwich one edge of it between your lining and outer fabric. Make sure your zip is FACING your outer. Pin and sew.

When you open it, it will look like this:



3) repeat the same with the other side. Again, make sure the zip is facing the outer fabric.




when you open it it will look like this:



4) Open it out and face the lining to the lining and the outer to the outer, like this:




5) UNDO ZIP to halfway at this point.. very important...



6) now sew all the way around the outer edge leaving a gap in the lining. make sure you sew over the zip ends.




7) Turn the whole thing inside out through the gap you left.



8) stitch up the gap.



9) and voila! you have a cute little pouch!



How easy was that!! YOu will find more like this on my blog...

How To Tuesday - Glowing Jam Jars!

These altered jam jars are super easy and fun to create. An ideal project for a wet, miserable irish day like this one! Grab the kids and get them involved too!


♥ For this project you will need ♥

♥ Clean Jam Jars - I used bonne maman (a nice safe size with wide opening for lighting candles) Don't choose anything to tall or skinny!

♥ PVA glue - just your normal inexpensive brand will do the job.

♥ An old brush

♥Tissue/Crepe paper - in a range of colours and patterns.

♥ Glittery stuff to sprinkle

♥ Tealights - LED battery ones work great too.

Step one... Your work area should be protected - I find a vinyl table covering works perfectly for this as you'll be using lots of drippy glue.

Step two... Gather all your colourful tissue and rip into pieces - my favourite bit ;)*

Step three... If you haven't already scrubbed that jam jar til its squeaky clean then get it done now!. If the label is giving you headaches then spray all over with Mister sheen (furniture polish) leave for a couple of mins and wipe off.

Step four... Squeeze some pva into a plastic bowl (I used an old ice cream tub) and add a drop of water to loosen up the mixture a bit. You can sprinkle in some glitter at this point or whatever super spangly stuff you have. Mix it up!

Step five... With your brush spread a little sparkly pva onto your jam jar, then apply your pieces of tissue on top. Work in small sections and layer colours. You can't really go wrong - just have fun with it and don't go too heavy with the glue!

Please keep the inside of your jar clean, you will be lighting a candle in there remember so be safe! Now turn your little jar upside down and leave it to dry. In an hour or so you will have a lovely handmade luminary ready to use in your home! :)* Light & enjoy...

♥ http://www.tanyamac.etsy.com/ ♥