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 ~♥~  

         

 1                                                     2

         

  3                                                 4

         

 5                                                  6

         

7                                                     8

           

9                                                     10

         

 11                                                     12

 ~♥~ 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 ~♥~  

         

1                                                     2

            

 3                                                    4

           

  

5                                                    6

                   

7                                                    8

 

 ~♥~ 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 ~♥~ 

         

1                                                     2

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 ~♥~ 

         

 1                                                                            2

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 ~♥~ 

         

1                                                    2

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 ~♥~ 

           

1                                                     2

Ghosts

Ghosts! From Pinky, Blinky, Inky and Clyde to Jacob Marley, ghosts are awesome. If written well, they can give a story great intruigue and depth, allowing us to explore a character and their motives in detail. Or they can flash blue and white and try to eat you before you eat them. Ghosts are varied in their depiction, is what I'm saying. :) And no, I don't believe they exist, but that doesn't mean they don't. There are plenty of things in this world that we don't understand yet, and science has so far given us some crazy and fascinating things to ponder, so maybe I'm wrong...

These ghosts are mostly cute or cartoon ghosts, which is probably more suitable for a Halloween gift than a blood-dripping character from a Japanese horror film, for example. Enjoy!

 ~♥~ GHOSTS ~♥~ 

        

1                                                     2

 

Pumpkins

Well, I've been away for a few days having a birthday and moving house (argh!) but I'm back again, and thought I'd do a bit of a Halloween theme this week. I know the actual day is not for another two weeks, but when better to order your Halloweeny tricks and treats?

I thought I'd start with pumpkins, that very Halloween decoration. I love food with pumpkin in it, in a stew or roasted with parsnips or as a soup or fried in fritters. It's a great vegetable that has a lovely flavour to it, which can stand by itself or as part of a medley. Argh, this is making me hungry. Anyway, I chose these items mostly because they really work with the orange colour of pumpkins, which can sometimes be difficult to work with artistically.

 ~♥~ PUMPKINS ~♥~ 

         

1                                                      2

Jigsaws

Wasn't too sure of the grammar for this one, but WordHippo tells me that the plural of jigsaw is jigsaws. "I have lots of jigsaws" sounds all wrong to me, but I suppose "I have lots of jigsaw" sounds worse. *shrug* Interesting grammatical curiosities aside, I adore board games, and I guess you can include jigsaws in that category. Jigsaws are simply a fantastic way for a family to bond, and I honestly don't know why they aren't held up proudly as an excellent way to spend an afternoon. Don't sit your children in front of a television: do a jigsaw! As well as many others, I had a Peanuts one, with Snoopy and the rest of them all in a street under a rainbow. It must be over a decade since I've even seen the box, but my goodness, that image is burned onto my mind for ever.

As an adult, I still love puzzles and games. I'm a little bit at odds with a lot of my generation in that there's almost nothing that I can think of that's nicer than sitting down and having a good old evening of board games and word games and quizzes. Any of these pieces would make a great present for a puzzle or board game fan.

 ~♥~ JIGSAWS ~♥~ 

        

  

1                                                      2

Chocolate

I hold my hand up to this one; I'm a massive chocoholic. It probably comes from having various kinds of allergies when I was younger, including one to most dairy. When I went to birthday parties as a child, I would have to take my special box of treats. And when I say treats, I mean plain ham sandwiches, liquorice, and ready salted Pom Bear crisps. Hooray. Thankfully, I grew out of the majority of my allergies, though I now have an incredibly sweet tooth and a weakness for chocolate. While Montezuma's chocolate is by far my favourite (seriously, chocoholics need to check them out), my parents recently went to the Lake District and brought back some delicious chocolates from Kennedys. Very nice indeed. :)

These pieces make my mouth water just looking at them. You might be able to tell that I very much like the Fimo Clay creations, as they just look so realistic (although I love all these chocolatey things). Fantastic presents for a chocolate-lover.

 ~♥~ CHOCOLATE ~♥~

           

 1                                                       2

Frogs

Whenever my Nan's birthday would come around, there were two things to make sure of. The first was that her gift either had to be something froggy or something delicious a diabetic could eat, and the second was to trail through the shops to find/make from scratch a birthday card with the word "Nan" somewhere on it. Still makes me smile. I'm not so much of a real-life froggy person myself, and the only kind of frogs I really like are treefrogs, but I do like frog designs.

These pieces have been chosen either for the cute froggy designs or for the interesting way in which they have used them. Again, as with the Retro Games post, I found very few froggy gifts. A gap in the folksy market there, possibly :)

 ~♥~ FROGS ~♥~

           

  

1                                                       2

Victoriana

The Victorian era is one of my favourite periods in history, being a fascinating mix of cultural repression, refinement, and subtle decadence. I can trace my love for it right back to my childhood, when I went on the school trip to St Fagans. St Fagans is a history-come-to-life sort of place, and is a fantastic place to go for the day. It was one of those school trips where you dress up. I wore a white pinny and a ruffled hat. We spent a whole day in costume, having Victorian lessons, playing Victorian games, having a very serious picture taken, etc. (I seemed to confuse being serious with being an aggressive owl). Wonderful stuff. I heartily recommend going, whatever your interest in history.

These pieces have been chosen in part for their authenticity, and in part for their innovation. You might have noticed that the theme is not "Victorian" but "Victoriana", which I think leaves a certain amount of leeway in terms of design and function. Victorian-inspired, then, instead of Victorian replicas. Victorian Victorian Victorian. Ooh, that word looks odd now.

 ~♥~ VICTORIANA ~♥~ 

         

1                                                        2

Trees

When I was little, my family and I would go walking up in the woods. It surprises me to this day how so many families don't think of this as being a great day out. We'd go up to Castell Coch, and tramp through the woods there. With a picnic of sandwiches, salty crisps, slices of veg, and hard-boiled eggs, it made the whole day really great. We would also take a pack of cards, so that if it began to rain too hard to go out, we could stay in the car and play rummy.

It might not seem like a particularly common choice for favourite things, but I chose to create a post on trees because there are actually a great deal of tree-based items that sell very well. It seems that trees can be incredibly pliable in the name of art, with so many different ways to design them.

 ~♥~TREES ~♥~ 

         

1                                                        2

Amethyst

I find the amethyst stone to be really beautiful, both in its rough and polished forms. While I don't personally believe in any of the mystical properties of gemstones, I do find the mythology and beliefs surrounding them to be fascinating. One of the first birthday presents I got that I seriously loved, was a long strand of chunky amethyst chips given to me by my Grandma. When it eventually snapped, many years later, I re-worked the beads into a sturdy choker, one of the first pieces of jewellery I ever made.

There are some absolutely beautiful pieces here. Perfect for someone who loves fine jewellery or gemstones, any of these pieces would make an excellent birthday present. (And unfortunately, it's not too early to be thinking about Xmas too!) Though the first piece is amethyst-coloured quartz, the rest are described as amethyst itself. It is included because I wanted a variety of gifts, and not just jewellery.

 ~♥~ AMETHYST ~♥~

         

1                                                           2

Dragons

Being Welsh, I've always had something of a penchant for dragons. I remember myths and legends being told to me when I was a little girl, about the mountains being sleeping dragons, their hoards of gold inside, transforming into beings with glittering scales and needle-sharp talons. One fantastic children's book about dragons, and one of my favourites, was the wonderfully written and illustrated Jane and the Dragon which, I just found out from googling it, is now a children's tv show! Hooray! (Though books win hands down). I love the wings of dragons, their tails, their beautiful eyes, and I really love the way that they can be created in so many different ways.

This is one of them. ^_^

Here, we have a selection of beautiful dragons, from the ridiculously cute to the proud and noble. A great gift for someone who has a love of fantasy or is of Welsh heritage.

~♥~ DRAGONS ~♥~

1                                                       2