On Hiatus

Hope you're all having a very merry Christmas :)

I'm going to have to put the blog on hold for a while. I'm really not liking the way that folksy have now taken a step backwards and split their products into gender specific items. As somewhat of a gender-neutral person, it really irks me. There's just no need for it, and it galls me every time I go there. Also, they're not letting me sell my charm jewellery any more. I would love to be supporting a British craft site but they're unfortunately not making it very easy to do so.

Who knows, watch this space and you might see a shift to the craft jewellery across the pond.

Happy holidays, all!

Christmas Cards

I always try every year to make my own cards, but I always run out of time or materials or design ideas, and end up buying ones I don't particularly want. Instead of trying to indulge in a hobby that I'm not very good at, this year I will be trying to buy a variety of handmade cards online. Not only can I really find ones that are individual and personal, but I always think it's lovely to treat a good card as part of the gift, particularly when there are so many really pretty and/or arty ones about for the buying.

Though I do tend to choose more traditional Christmas cards, what really interests me are the mix of different mediums that people choose. I particularly love cards of material and mixed media creation, partly because I can never get any designs of my own to go particularly well.

 ~♥~ CHRISTMAS CARDS ~♥~  

         

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 ~♥~ CHRISTMAS CARDS ~♥~ 

1) Christmas Card - Wee'uns by Pointy Pix - £1.25

2) Deer Christmas Card by Melanie Wickham Lino Prints - £1.50

3) Foxy with Mittens Christmas Card by P.Noo Industries - £1.75

4) Dogbot Christmas Card by The Doll House - £1.90

5) Handmade Personalised Christmas Card by Jolqa Designs - £2.00

6) Christmas Card Robin by desultory compulsion - £2.00

7) Christmas Card Star by Lilac Elephant Cards - £2.20

8) Christmas Card by LauraFaye Crafts - Cards&Art - £2.25

9) Penguin Christmas Card by Lime in the Coconut - £2.50

10) Elegant Christmas Card by picocrafts - £2.50

11) Christmas Card Large Traditional by more chic than shabby - £2.99

12) Christmas Card Collage Fabric by Crafty Little House - £3.00

~♥~ CHRISTMAS CARDS ~♥~

Notes: These are in order of price only (though I messed up a little with that today!). Please bear in mind that I can't vouch for any of these sellers (these are not things I've bought, but things I want) but I'm sure they are lovely honest people. ^_^ All prices, dates, names, etc, are correct at the time of publishing.

Christmas Stockings

I've been loving all the Christmas things lately. Somehow I've managed to avoid a lot of the Christmas nonsense until now, so it's quite nice to suddenly find myself immersed in it at the appropriate time. I have always liked the idea of stockings, lots of little weird gifty bits and pieces is always more intruiguing than anything bigger. My sister and I used to sit on the bed and unwrap everything together, and though I'm sure it wasn't ever much more than some oranges, plastic toys, a chocolate Santa and Ferrero Rocher (it's been one of my favourite chocolates to indulge in at Christmas time) it always seemed just as exciting if not more so than we sat under the tree later in the day.

These Christmas stockings are fantastic for various different people, from the stylish and quirky to more traditional and personalised. Who says that only little kids should have stockings? I would love to find any of these on Christmas morning!

 ~♥~ STOCKINGS ~♥~  

         

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 ~♥~ STOCKINGS ~♥~ 

1) Christmas Stockings in Holiday Trees by Michael Miller by Seren Designs - £9.50

2) Glitzy Glamorous Xmas Stocking by Mishcraft - £10.00

3) Holiday Celebrations handmade Christmas stocking from Laurel Burch fabric by Boos Creative Corner - £10.00

4) Girl's Sweetie Stocking by HollyJollyStockings - £10.00

5) 'Chic' Heeled Gift Stocking by Reddskinbags - £12.00

6) Personalised Xmas Stocking by Vicky's Pretties - £18.00

7) Pair of Christmas Elf Stockings by BLONDEDESIGN - £25.00

8) Felted Stocking by Lou Tonkin- Artist - £25.00

~♥~ STOCKINGS ~♥~

Notes: These are in order of price only (though I messed up a little with that today!). Please bear in mind that I can't vouch for any of these sellers (these are not things I've bought, but things I want) but I'm sure they are lovely honest people. ^_^ All prices, dates, names, etc, are correct at the time of publishing.

Advent Calendars

So I start posting again and then get ill. Doesn't look like November is going to have that many posts. Ah well, not much to be done about it. Still mildly sniffling, but I can actually look at a computer screen again, which is always nice. I have a minor grumble today though. While I do love folksy, I've found out that the earrings I sell are not suitable for sale within their new guidelines. Among other things, I make charm earrings out of the leftover beads from my necklaces, definitely not mass produced. Despite the fact that the findings are basically silverwire that I myself have cut/twisted up, and have a very specific design intent (for r/p characters), the charms and beads I use are premade (no, I don't have access to a kiln). So that's not allowed. I'm really not sure why. I didn't buy them premade, I designed and put them together myself, and I only ever make one pair of each combination. I didn't handmake the beads in my necklaces, do they count as handmade? Ah, it's all so frustrating... Anyway, I'll be opening an etsy shop for the gemstone work I do, as I have a great many pairs of charm earrings, and not nearly enough time to go to craft fairs, etc. It's a shame, as I've always preferred folksy to etsy, but if folksy is driving me out, then I don't have much choice.

Anyway! On with more positive things. I decided to have a look for advent calenders, seeing as there's really not much time left 'til December 1st, and ended up finding some absolutely fantastic creations. It's wonderful to see what kind of things people are making, and good to see folksy people still putting their wares up, despite the recent technical difficulties.

 ~♥~ ADVENT ~♥~ 

         

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Christmas Wreathes!

Well, that turned out to be a little longer than Halloween, and of course in that time Folksy has re-designed itself! I like almost everything about the new design, except for the Men/Women sections. I've never liked them anywhere but toilets, because really, what does being a man or a woman have to do with your tastes, hobbies, or what you choose to wear? I'm sure we all know women who like stereotypically "male" hobbies (I myself enjoy a good whisky, like robots, and play poker) and men who like stereotypically "female" hobbies. I know that a lot of people fit neatly into one gender or another, but a heck of a lot of people don't. Anyway. Aside from that, I love the changes. I think it looks really neat and professional, with kind of a kitschy retro thing going on. Awesome.

Now, I know I've only just done some Halloween themed bits and pieces, but with Christmas being just over a month away, I thought it best to devote some time to the holiday season. This is also partly because a lot of sellers will be away from their shops over Christmas, so it's best to buy decorations, etc, now :) We're starting with wreathes, both modern and new, in a variety of great styles.

 ~♥~ WREATHES ~♥~ 

         

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Moving House!

Hello all! Thanks to everyone who has followed in the last few months, it's incredibly appreciated. :) I am moving house in the next couple of weeks and will have to stop writing here during that time.

This blog will resume shortly, but if I don't manage to write before 
Halloween comes around...

See you in November!

xx Rebecka

Frankenstein

Okay, so compared to vampires and werewolves, created creatures of the night like Frankenstein's aren't exactly given much attention. There's no tween romance about a monster getting zapped by lightning and lurching to life, falling in love with a patchwork mate, and I think that's because you just can't romanticise the way these guys are created. Every monster like this is intrinsically linked with death. Vampired can abstain (Black Ribboners), zombies can be cured, and witches usually turn out to be good, but for a monster like this to even exist, several people have to be murdered or maimed, which just isn't going to make 'em that popular. My goodness, it's getting hard to keep a light-hearted tone for these Halloween posts; there are such dark roots to all the stories. Fascinating stuff, I do love this holiday.

Anyway! These nifty gifts are mostly great for accessorising yourself or decorating a room for Halloween. In my search, I found there's not so much for the Frankenstein fans on Folksy, but what there is, is very cool. ^_^

 ~♥~ FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER ~♥~ 

         

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Witches

I know this isn't a particularly heavy blog, but I want to make one thing clear. I don't believe in the evil Disney witch stereotype, I have several friends that are spritually-minded, and I myself spent several years studying the subject. The witchy gifts I've picked out here are in no way intended to be offensive to any pagans, wiccans or spiritual people. With that in mind, I've always maintained that if someone external to yourself can upset one of your core beliefs with a joke or a light-hearted attitude, then perhaps you need to rethink that belief, if it can be so easily shaken.

Right! Serious moment over, these gifts are a great collection of witchy bits and pieces. I absolutely love kitchen witchery, so there are a few household decorations here as well as a great variety of witch prints, figures, a great trick or treat bag, and an absurdly cute knitting pattern.

 ~♥~ WITCHES~♥~ 

         

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Vampires

Let's face it, vampires have been nearly ruined in the last few years. Sparkle, they should not. But there are a great deal of grumpy musings out there ranting on the subject, and I am (for once) not going to start another Twilight vs Every Other Kind Of Vampire debate. I'm a big fan of the old campy vampire movies, as well as more modern stories like Let The Right One In. DO NOT SEE THE RE-MAKE. Seriously. The original is amazing, and although OMG SUBTITLES, as long as you can read, it's still considerably better in every way. I also have a special place in my heart for Mona the Vampire, though I'm really not a fan of teen lovestruck my-vampirism-is-a-metaphor-for-my-awakening-sexuality nonsense. And one of my absolute favourite tv shows is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as I mentioned in the Zombies post. If you haven't given it the time of day because of the stupid name and the things you've heard, I heartily recommend ignoring yourself and giving it a good go.

You might have noticed that there are several plushies and sock toys. ^_^ From spending so much time on folksy, I'm definitely starting to fall in love with all these hand-crafted toys. Plus, I think vampires are a great subject for plushes, with their nommy little teeth and beady eyes, and the range of them here just shows how many ways there are to interpret the vampire look.

 ~♥~ VAMPIRES ~♥~ 

         

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Zombies

This one is for Tom and Lucy, you crazy zombie nuts. :P

I wasn't sure whether to include zombies for my Halloweeny posts, seeing as there really aren't that many things on folksy, but they're such a strong part of my Halloweens past that I really couldn't leave them out. I love zombie movies, from Night of the Living Dead classics to not-really-zombies-but-virus-victims 28 Days Later-style modern movies. Whether zombies are shuffling towards you or suddenly exploding out of a body bag, they're pretty terrifying things, and perfect for Halloween movie fodder.

I think the fear of them, aside from the murdering they do, comes from the fact that we all believe or would like to believe in life after death, and zombies take that but twist it around in a horrible, all-gone-wrong kind of way. Though the zombie thing can be done sensitively too. One of the most haunting moments in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about a zombie. I won't ruin it, for those that haven't seen it, but if you still haven't, I promise it is not as stupid as the title (which is ridiculously tongue-in-cheek), and if you can get past the one monster an episode thing they have going in series one and two, then you'll find a sensitively written, often hilarious, brilliant take on teenage/YA life, through several monstery metaphors. No, really, it is better than I'm making it sound. But I'll keep my rambling love for BTVS for the vampire post.

Though there weren't many zombie bits and pieces on folksy, there was some fantastic creativity going on here. I absolutely love these things ^_^ These gifts have been great in taking a traditionally scary theme and bringing it back down to an acceptable level of spooky. Excellent for Halloween decoration or dress-up! (Do click on the print for much better detail.)

 ~♥~ ZOMBIES ~♥~ 

           

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