MCM Christmas Market

Another weekend, another fair..... I'm really hoping that this isn't too close to Christmas and everyone hasn't finished their shopping.

I'll be at the Whitworth Gallery in Manchester along with the Manchester Craft Mafia. The market is on all weekend but I'm just there on Saturday so come then if you can :).

The voucher from my last post is valid on Saturday so come on down!

20% off this Saturday

Hello all! I've got a couple of events coming up so thought I'd give those of you who are able to make it an extra incentive to come and say hello. This coming Saturday I'm doing the Handmade Christmas Market at Chorlton Methodist Church on Manchester Road in Chorlton. The market in the summer was excellent with some really nice stalls so hopefully this one will be even better.

I'm offering 20% off everything bought on the day with presentation of this voucher. This isn't valid on internet purchases, just at this event and also at the Manchester Craft Mafia Christmas Fair - more info on that one next week! Just print off the voucher from here and bring it with you. Discount does not apply to commissions. Hope to see you there!

Introducing: CeeGee Beads!

CeeGee Lampwork Beads are here! As the lovely Caroline of Crafted Gems was kind enough to anneal my initial offerings in her kiln, my handmade beadies are ready to be released on an unsuspecting public.


At some point I hope to have a well stocked Etsy shop full of lampwork lovelies, but as my torch time is seriously limited (having a baby seems to have that effect), for the time being any beads that I sell will be listed in my MISI destash shop.

As I'm still a novice beadmaker these are a bit of a bargain, but rest assured I wouldn't sell anything that I wouldn't be happy to use in my own jewellery. So please take a look, and with a bit of luck I'll sell a few and start saving for my own kiln :).

Let It Snow

OK, it's a little early for snow, but I wanted to show you a couple of snow-themed items. This is the Frosty Lampwork Bracelet.

Frosty Lampwork Bracelet

I got these sweet little etched white beads from lampwork artist Rob Johnson last year and they just looked so snow-like to me that there was never any doubt what sort of design to use them in. The matching earrings are sweet and simple.

Frosty Lampwork Earrings

They're both available on Folksy. If anyone's interested in the set, let me know and I'll be happy to offer a discount.

On the home front, Baby E is doing great and getting bigger by the day. I, on the other hand have gleefully rediscovered my pre-baby jeans, which despite the baby-belly overhang has gone a long way towards making me feel normal again! Our biggest challenge at the moment (apart from getting a decent night's sleep but that's a whole other story!) is trying to get her to take a bottle. She's been less than impressed with our efforts so far, but I have Christmas jewellery sales booked and starting in less than a fortnight, so I hope for her Dad's sake she's got the hang of it by then. Otherwise he could be in for a tough few days :P. We'll just have to persevere and keep trying different teats until we find one to madame's liking... watch this space!

That Time Already

Today I was told it's just 6 weeks to Christmas. Yikes. If you're in need of a bit of inspiration to get you in the festive mood, then check out this lovely seasonal treasury by redeemdesigns which just happens to feature my Swarovski star necklace :).

Most Wanted - Gooseberry Moon

Thanks so much to you all for your best wishes & congratulations on the birth of Eva. We've been quite overwhelmed by the response from everyone. Friends and family have been incredibly generous and thanks to them she's going to be the best dressed girl in the North West for at least the next 6 months.

Thank You Cards

All this means I have a stack of thank you notes to write, which gave me the perfect excuse to pop back to one of my favourite Folksy shops, Gooseberry Moon. Run by Nicky, Gooseberry Moon is a great source of stylish stationary, with clean, fresh designs.

Poppy Field Birthday Cards

Based in North Wales, Nicky first started her business almost a year ago, designing and printing wedding stationery. In March she opened her Folksy shop, where you can buy notecards, birthday cards and all manner of other paper goods. I'm a big fan of her 'Minty' bunny range and as well as using the thank you cards have been going through a steady supply of New Baby cards - I suddenly know a lot of new mums.

Christmas Cards

Keep a look out for Nicky's Christmas card designs - these are printed on recycled card so you can do your bit for the environment too. You can order personalised wedding stationary and announcements through her website. Check out the Gooseberry Moon website here and make sure you're the first to know about new designs by following Nicky's blog here.

Welcome To The World, Eva Rose

She's here! After a rather-longer-than-I-would-have-liked labour, baby Eva Rose entered the world at just after 8 in the evening on the 20th October. She weighed in at a healthy 7lb 10 ounces and is absolutely gorgeous (not that I'm the slightest bit biased).

Eva (and Daddy)

We brought her home the following evening, and after the initial shock in the first couple of days of realising that "I was up ALL night with the baby" is a literal statement, not a figure of speech, we're slowly getting the hang of parenthood. She's got used to the moses basket now which has freed up my arms and meant I'm not permanently pinned to the sofa.

So apart from being a tad sore (me) and a touch windy (her), we're doing well and looking forward to getting to know each other better.....