Wee Robin (b.25 October 2009)

I had a great day on Sunday trying lots of new things out, and here's one of the new additions to the family!  Wee Robin is a simple shape made out of chocolate brown clay, with a bright red circle for his breast. He is 2cm tall and 2cm long, and has black onyx beads for eyes.

He has a number of friends to keep him company, and I will how they go down at my next craft fair in York on 7 and 8 November (more details to follow shortly).

Rainbow Cats (b.22 October 2009)

Back from sunny California (well, it was for most of the time!) and back into the crafting saddle at last!  I was delighted to come back home to find a request for a bespoke Rainbow Cat from Debby, who had recently bought Small Orange Rainbow Cat (thanks Debby!) One cat  then turned into three cats, and with photographs to guide me, I couldn't wait to get started!

So we have a Smoky Blue Rainbow Cat (modelled on Blue), a brown stripy cat (modelled on Tilly) and a ginger cat (modelled on Bob). This was the first time I set out to match a particular colour, and I had lots of fun experimenting with mixing colours and patterns. Realistic cats have never really been on the agenda, but I think I've got the flavour of these wee kittens!

For Blue, I used a mix of sapphire blue clay (with a pearlised effect) mixed with white and black clay.  I blended the colours well to keep the swirl effect to a minimum, as Blue is pretty much one colour. For Tilly, I mixed a number of colours - black, brown, white and two shades of orange. And Bob is a mix of orange and sweet potato colours, blended with some white.

All three cats are broadly the same size - about 3.5cm tall - although Blue stands a little taller and Bob is a little fatter. Funny the way their personalities appear! I had lots of fun bringing these wee mites into the world - and I know they're going to a great home!

I started a new job today as New Business Development Manager with Artsmix, so my days of spending over 12 hours a day at the kitchen table are sadly over (well, at least for week days). But I'll still be making lots of wee beasties and will post my latest creations as they are born - watch out for Reindeer Cats, Sleepy Cats and Snowmen!

A Weekend of Craft Fairs!

I had such a great time at the Ilkley Arts Market on Saturday 10 October! It was a lovely day, the venue was perfect, with lovely natural daylight and fantastic homemade cooking by Trufood Catering. It was so nice to meet such amazing, creative people (click here for details of all stallholders - Lynsey (aka Swirlyarts) and STACS Designs are pictured below), and the whole day had such a lovely atmosphere that I know this will be a successful event for years to come.

My wee beasties seemed to go down well - all in all, I sold nearly 40 pieces, and I completely sold out of Highland Cows! I heard the phrase "stocking filler" a number of times throughout the day, and the keyrings and mobile phone charms proved to be very popular. I was up until 1am making more stock for the following day's craft fair at Pudsey.

The Pudsey Craft Fair on 11 October (run by Artsmix my new employers!) was my first outdoor event. The weather was a bit grim to begin with (thanks to Helen of Riddles for the tip about using clingfilm as a 'wall' for the side of the stall!) but it soon perked up. It remained windy for much of the day, but I think I was in quite a sheltered spot, so I'm pleased to report that my wee beasties were not scattered to all four corners!

The turnout was not as great as we had hoped, and sometimes that's just the way it is. Those who came along certainly enjoyed the great display of arts and crafts on offer, and Pudsey Market will continue to be a great venue for promoting local arts and crafts. And I sold out of Highland Cows again - a chap bought two and wanted the field enclosure as well, so I'll be going back to doing a Blue Peter with lolly sticks and double sided sticky tape soon!

Thanks so much to Greg and Jo (who had come all the way up from Cambridge to support me this weekend!) for being there, moving boxes, fetching tea and brownies, giving lots of moral support, and for generally being fantastic people!

Ilkley Arts Market - Saturday 10 October 2009, 10-4pm

It's 7.35am and I'm making the final preparations for today's craft fair! I'm really excited about this one - it is the first one organised by the Keighley Arts Factory. It starts at 10am at Riddings Hall, just off The Grove in Ilkley.

See you there!

Tiny Owls, Tiny Rainbow Cats & Tiny Piglings (b.7 October 2009)

I seem to have set myself a challenge to make things as small as possible! After making a few more Roly Poly Cat Keyrings, I thought I would try making mobile phone charms as well. They are great fun to make, albeit a bit fiddly.

These range in size from 1cm (Tiny Owls) to 1.5cm (Tiny Rainbow Cats), and the Tiny Piglings are somewhere in between. The hardest thing was keeping the shape as round as possible for the Piglings and the Cats, and I managed this by placing the eyes first (which distorted the ball of clay), and then rolling it back into a sphere. And making the rest of the wee creatures was fine - everything was just on a much smaller scale!

These will be making their debut at the Ilkley Arts Market on Sunday 10 October.