Actually, I’m copying this from my other blog ‘the spare’, cos I couldn’t find a re-blog button!
Took this picture this morning – yes its snowing in West Wales. Yes its my puppy – I’ve had him since 1st November, and I’ve resisted the impulse to put pictures of him up until now, but I think I can share this one!
If you have, it would be great to see how you got on.
If you’d like to send me a photo, I will send you my email address if you use the contact me page, and as soon as I have enough, I’ll compile a new listing of them, and we can all share our ideas, and maybe put them in the ‘show & tell‘ archive!
I confess, I picked out a forked branch, but not got round to using it yet!
Please see my previous post – Branch Weaving with flowers
as well as the original tutorial for weaving on a branch
A Garden in Benign Neglect
Its been a long time since I last posted on this blog – a lot longer than I intended it to be. I thought I was just going to take a short break from online selling, but as you can see it didn’t work out that way, and a few more changes came along too!
I did want to have some time to rethink the way I was working, because it wasn’t suiting me to be bound to the computer and the deadlines for posting out endless packages. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but I missed the personal element.
For many years, before the internet came along, I sold face to face, at craft markets and other venues, and I knew who my customers were, what they wanted, what they were making, any problems they had etc – because they would tell me! – and I would learn techniques from them too.
I was missing that part of the process, but of course, I found that there are less of these events around now, simply because its possible to sell online. And sad to say I have found that I can no longer do the driving to venues and packing and unpacking the stock that I used to take for granted, because I have osteoarthritis in both knees and find it too tiring to do many of these events these days!
Of course I can reach at lot more people online, in other countries as well as my own, without moving from my desk. So whilst I hope to keep my hand in with some face to face selling, I think its time to get back to selling online again!
I have tried introducing as much interaction as possible with this blog, trying to include that person to person, if not face to face, feel by encouraging people to leave comments, and with invitations for everyone to share their work here – but I have to say, that it hasn’t worked all that well, because there is an issue of trust that is missing when you don’t know and can’t meet the person you are dealing with.
However I will be keeping the “SHOW & TELL” archive section, and will always be happy to put up pictures of your own work, whatever kind of craft you work in, and wherever you are! And you are welcome to contact me with any queries, and to tell me what you are making and what items you might need, and I will see if I can source them for you.
is that I have moved to a really nice little stone cottage, with a large garden – see photo above – which needs a lot of sorting out, in the Lampeter area of West Wales.
I have not got much storage space here, and am still waiting to find some builders who will allow me to make the changes I need – such as a safe staircase, some storage space and a bit of renovation work. (If you know anyone in this area, please get it touch – its taking far too long to find a builder that doesn’t give a start date earlier than 6 months time!)
This means that a lot of my stock is inaccessible at the moment, so when I get going again soon, I will not be featuring my full stock – but if you have been a customer of mine in the past and want to order something that I sold before, please ask and I will tell if you I still have it, and whether I can access it!
I will be feeling my way as to how much I can list, on ebay and etsy, and may try and ring the changes in the way I work too. ie: If you list it, you have to be prepared to send the item immediately, so I may have some weeks off here and there and take all the listings down. However, if you do want something specific when they are not listed, you are welcome to contact me via email, or the “contact me” box on this blog.
There are also a few new ideas popping into my head at the moment, that need a bit more research, and when I have done that, I’ll try them out and see whether they work – for you and for me – smile!
So watch this space, and I’ll let you know quite soon when the listings are up again.
All the best
After weeks of rain – or so it seems – the last week has been glorious in S Wales – so we took advantage of it and had a day out around the Cardigan coast in West Wales – and I thought I’d share with you a few of the pictures I took. Time Out from the usual stuff – smile!
I first visited the tiny Church at MWNT, yes it’s the Welsh name, (pronounced “Munt” with a short ‘U’ – rhymes with “grunt”) nearly 30 years ago with my sister – and I’ve never forgotten it!
The Church of the Holy Cross (Welsh: Eglwys y Grog) – A small medieval stone Church by the sea
Mwnt is a very small community and ancient parish in south Ceredigion, Wales, on the West Wales coast about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from Cardigan. It lies on the Ceredigion Coast Path.
It gets its name from the prominent steep conical hill (Foel y Mwnt), a landmark from much of Cardigan Bay, that rises above the beach, and was formerly anglicised as Mount. (wikipedia)
You can walk for miles along the coastal path, but you can also approach it along a narrow country lane – watch out for tractors – by car, and there is a National Trust Car Park and a lovely beach just to the side of the Church. (There is also a caravan site just a little further along, but at least it doesn’t intrude on the feeling of isolation!)
the beach at Mwnt – its a long way down those steps
I can’t remember there being such easy access to the beach, or the car park being so close, 30 years ago – so maybe they have been added since then, or maybe I just remember it as being a very special place that was miles away from anywhere! I am sure, however, that the caravan park wasn’t there at the time!
The information board in the Church, which is free to visit, and cleaned by a very cheerful lady who I met just coming out of the door, says that there was a Church of some kind there since the 5th Century, and it was a burial place for Saints. The current building dates back to the 14th Century, with an even older stone font, which I forgot to photograph!
Inside the Church
The history of the area has not always been peaceful. Mwnt was the site of an unsuccessful invasion by Flemings in 1155, and its defeat was long afterwards celebrated on the first Sunday in January as “Sul Coch y Mwnt”. The name (Red Sunday) was given in consequence of the blood shed on that day.[5] It is reputed that the bones of the defeated invaders would occasionally be visible under the sand when uncovered by windy conditions in the early 20th century.[6]
There is no way of telling whose grave this is, but it tells its own story nevertheless..
And just outside is an interesting use of the local stone to create a drainage ditch – the National Trust have copied this on the walls of the car park!
a fishing boat setting out from Cardigan Bay
Next time we manage to get there, I’m hoping to take a boat trip around the coast – its an area where, if you are lucky, you might see some dolphins! Hope you enjoyed the day out as much as I did – smile! (And yes, this is a blatant advert for Wales!)
A quirky curtain made from recycled napkins
This is a re-blog of a tutorial I found on the etsy blog.
(You can find my etsy shop here: julz craft supplies)
I thought it was such a quirky idea that it might inspire you to do something along the same lines – smile.
Published on June 02, 2015 in Make by Laura Fenton
Laura Fenton is a New York City-based writer and editor whose work has appeared in many publications, including Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Kinfolk and Parents. She is also the author of The Little House In The City.
After living for years in a top-floor apartment where curtains were unnecessary, I recently landed in a ground-floor unit that, despite its many selling points, happens to look directly into my new neighbors’ windows. Suddenly, attractive window coverings became a high priority — but one that, I quickly learned, cost a pretty penny. Instead of investing in off-the-shelf window dressings, I decided to make my own from an excess of beloved but rarely-used vintage napkins, amassed over a decade of digging in flea markets and secondhand shops. With a little bit of stitching, my incomplete and mismatched sets of dinner napkins became a charming patchwork curtain that’s sheer enough to let in lots of natural light, while still affording (priceless!) privacy.
To make your own, you’ll need a stash of napkins (tea towels and other vintage linens will work, too), a sewing machine, a few basic craft supplies, and the Tetris-like skills to piece your design together. Here’s how.
You will need:
First, launder and dry your napkins. Then, rough out your curtain design by positioning the napkins in a pattern on the floor or across a large work surface. Make sure you have enough pieces to create a varied patchwork; when you reach an arrangement you like, snap a pic to refer to as you sew — or better yet, leave the napkins laid out as they are.
Iron napkins to remove any creases (and make them easier to pin and sew).
Begin pinning napkins together with straight pins, starting with the napkins in the center. Rather than lining up their edges precisely, you’ll want the napkins to overlap each other slightly, as shown.
Use a zigzag stitch to sew along the overlapped edges. The zigzag stitch will add extra visual interest to the curtain (and it’s also a forgiving stitch for less-than-professional seamstresses). After you complete the center section, pin a few more loose napkins from your laid-out design to the edges of the sewn pieces and use the zigzag stitch to secure. Keep sewing and pinning until you have created one full curtain panel.
Tip: If your napkins don’t create a perfect rectangle, you may need to trim some of the perimeter napkins. (Just be sure to leave a bit of seam allowance so that you can still hem those cut edges.)
Next, cut several 20-inch pieces of ribbon to act as curtain ties. (Ties should be spaced about five to seven inches apart. We used nine ties for our 48-inch wide panel; measure to determine how many you will need.)
Fold each piece of ribbon in half, measure to determine to its position at the top of the panel, and pin to the back side of the curtain.
Next, sew one continuous zigzag stitch across the top hem of the curtain panel and each of the ribbon ties. Use the ties to hang the panel from your curtain rod.
Photos and styling by Laura Fenton.
This is a follow up to the GALLERY OF YOUR WORK, that appeared on 31 May 2015.
this beautiful summer dress was made for Val’s holiday – we had a bit of a panic, because it seems Royal Mail lost her package – so I sent her another 4m of this very popular red poppy material – listed in julzcrafts supplies shop on etsy – and on the 85solway account on ebay.
I have just updated it to include this lovely dress that a customer of mine made out of one of the fabrics that I sell.
This was the first GALLERY that I have tried putting together, and it has given rise to various comments from readers, and the information from the POLL I put up, has been useful.
I have been mulling over the idea, and the problems with it – smile.
It takes quite a lot for people to send it photos of their work, and actually, I am as shy about showing some of mine, especially when I don’t think I’ve got it quite right! I’m not sure I would immediately think – oh what a great idea, I’ll send a picture to this blog – and if I didn’t know the writer – I’d be uncertain about how they would use the pictures.
So, let me try and reassure you – smile.
My intentions are nothing but honourable!
The idea was simply to give people a place to showcase their work, to give encouragement and to perhaps inspire others. You see a great idea and it creates a spark that leads to you using some element of it to improve the work you do yourself. It may not even be in the same medium, or directly comparable!
Now, a long time ago, I briefly started degree in Photography – this was after I had already been working as a Photographer for quite a while, and had initially trained with a quite well known commercial advertising photographer in London, so I was a mature student, and joined to see if I could improve my work – and well, to be honest, to get my hands on the large format cameras the college had, which I couldn’t afford!
Not for the first time I was subjected, along with the others on the course, to the vicious system of ‘crits’ – supposedly creative criticism of your work by the tutors. With everyone else standing by and watching, and waiting for their turn.
I don’t know why these supposed ‘teachers’ thought it was fun to rip people’s work apart – the same happens in art colleges and other creative courses. At best it might give you some idea of how others view what you have done – at worst – it totally destroys your enthusiasm for the subject! Makes you feel worthless, and want to give up – even if you are incredibly talented! And all abilities should be nurtured and encouraged by tutors – that’s what their job is supposed to be about.
this is a standard advertising still life I took years ago!
Well I might not have been the best photographer around, but I knew that the course wasn’t going to give me what I wanted after the first term – so I left! (OK – the courses were free at the time and I didn’t need the degree.)
The point is – besides me having a chance to show off some of my old work – smile – (you can see a selection of some of my other photos on “the spare“)
– that, if you were subjected to that kind of criticism in the past, you probably don’t want to put up a photo on a GALLERY HERE!
On the other hand, if you want to promote the work you sell, you might well be interested in getting some FREE PUBLICITY!
But the idea of the Gallery is not just for those few who, rightly, take any opportunity to publicise their work – it is for EVERYONE!
I am just as interested in seeing your first attempt at something, with all its faults, as the work with the professional finish that comes with years of experience.
You may find that someone who sees it can help you out with any problems you are having – and certainly, anyone who puts up their work here is not going to get ‘pulled to pieces’ – I moderate all comments, and will not allow any nasty ones to see the light of day!
It also seems that I have not made myself clear enough about what kind of work I will put up in a GALLERY.
THE ONLY STIPULATION IS THAT IT IS CRAFT RELATED – ANY CRAFT –
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A TEXTILE CRAFT.
There are too many crafts to mention, but I will mention a few, just to make it obvious – there’s pottery, sculpture, glass work, ironwork, jewellery work, leatherwork, paperwork (not your accounts tho – smile), woodwork, re-cycling projects, mixed media etc etc – and of course anything to do with fabric, fibres and yarns.
What doesn’t qualify as a craft for the purposes of this exercise, is art work as in paintings etc (there are plenty of other places to show those) and videos – simply because they take up too much of my storage allowance!
And talking about storage space – please just send in ONE PHOT0.
If you do send in more, I can, if I think it will show your work better, create a grid to put the other shots into the format of one image. If you are not sure which photo will be best, you can send in more and let me choose which one to use.
THE PHOTOGRAPH CAN BE OF WORK YOU HAVE DONE IN THE PAST OR JUST RECENTLY.
NB: If you would like to be featured in a SHOW & TELL you can send in as many photos as you like!
If you look at the bottom of the current GALLERY OF YOUR WORK, you will see that there is a note about copyright. You own the copyright of the work and the photograph. By sending the picture to me, you are only allowing me to use it in the Gallery, and I will ask your permission if I want to use it in any other way – as should anyone else that sees the blog – I strongly disagree with the idea of ‘stealing someone else’s work’. However, it happens, so please don’t blame me if your picture appears elsewhere. See my copyright info at the end of the blogroll on the right hand side of this page – and all pages!
this useful widget at the end of the said blogroll shows where the viewers come from
The joy of the internet is that people from all over the world can see this blog and do! – I just took a snapshot of the latest figures for this blog – the widget here tells me where you all come from – and if you click on the actual widget at the end of my blogroll – you can see the that you are a truly INTERNATIONAL lot!
So – of course – the offer to host a picture of your work is open to anyone who reads this blog, or is a customer of mine and doesn’t bother to read it (smile), all over the world.
How about I keep this GALLERY IDEA GOING?
I am thinking about having constant open submission, without any deadlines.
(Open submission means that anyone can send in a photo of their work – and anything you send in gets published, unless we have agreed that this photo is not suitable for any reason)
However, the current gallery is now closed – BUT as soon as I have at least 10 photos waiting to be published, I will create a new gallery and then the next set of photos will form the basis of the next gallery – with any luck this could run & run!
Your comments & ‘likes’ would be greatly appreciated – I am not on twitter or facebook, but would be happy if you would spread the word for me! I will direct my mailing list of customers – who are several hundred in number – to this blog in my next “newz from julz” – so hopefully we will find that there are enough people interested in this idea to start the ball rolling!
(If you would like to join the mailing list – please fill in the form at the bottom of the SHOP TALK PAGE)
If you don’t have my email address – I took it off the site because I was getting too much spam – please either fill in the form on the SHOP TALK PAGE or the one on the CONTACT ME PAGE – and I will reply to your email address so that you can send me some pictures!
julz crafts 