Gift boxes!

Yay, ticked off something that's been on the Ducking Fabulous to-do list for AGES - order boxes to post with. Most of my orders to date have been either deliverable by hand, or posted in recycled boxes and bags from other parcels. However, with Christmas out of the way, my stash of postable materials is rapidly dwindling, and I think gift boxes are rather lovely, so I've ordered some silver ones in three different sizes which will hopefully accommodate everything I make except the chokers! Now for some labels to duck-ify said boxes...

an abundance of kntting needles

Knitting seems to be uppermost in my mind and list of things-I-want-to-do at the moment, and I had a moment of inspiration last night which was thwarted by my lack of knitting equipment. So at lunchtime I went to investigate buying myself some wool and a few different sized needles. No such luck, the wonderful knitting stall in the market doesn’t open on Thursdays. Hmph. So as I finish at half past four today, I may have to venture up as far as Franklin’s on Moulsham street, but then again if I get home early enough, I can just steal some of Gran’s needles. Decisions, decisions. I appear to have lost my enormous chunky ones (and that reminds me, I must extract my scarf from the glove compartment that serves as a boot in my car) which is a shame, must have another proper sort out and see if I can find them again. They’re metallic sparkly blue so they shouldn’t be difficult to find! (Shouldn’t have been so easy to lose, either, in truth…)

Trying also to update and organise my LibraryThing catalogue, I must get myself a scanner so I can add everything that’s at home! Can’t wait to get all my books out of storage in a few months’ time, squee! Julia’s up this weekend so we can talk about houses, maybe look for a few and possibly go to Colchester and see roughly where we want to live! Not sure how we’re going to remember the roads we like, or find them in the first place come to that, but two heads are better than one and suchlike.

My pretty papers arrived yesterday! So Ducking Fabulous and the Folksy shop will hopefully have some more gorgeous things listed over the weekend if I can tear myself away from househunting with the lovely Jules. Lol! That new year’s resolution isn’t going brilliantly so far, I really must update the shop, but at the moment I’m lacking packaging and ways of posting, so although it would be wonderful for my things to suddenly sell out, I’m not entirely convinced it would be a good thing for my reputation!


Right, if I sit here any longer I’m going to doze off from sleepiness and the heat, so will disappear and do some useful things!

***

Later on
Typed that at work in a break, on my way home I had the brainwave of going to the British Heart Foundation (it's my favourite of Chelmsford's charity shops, everyone in there is always so helpful and friendly) and asking about knitting needles. The lovely lady there disappeared for a few moments and returned bearing two ENORMOUS bags full of knitting needles of all shapes, sizes and colours - squee! So after selecting a whole bunch, and a beautiful roll complete with eight graduated pairs of wooden (possibly bamboo?) needles, I danced out of the shop :) I'm so pleased, not only have I got more needles than I could previously have hoped for, the money has also gone to charity, which has to be a good thing!

However, lacking narrow yarn for the inspiration I had yesterday which made me want to buy needles in the first place (raiding Gran's house in the middle of the night really isn't an option), I have also pilfered-with-permission (so not really pilfering at all) a ball of string from Dad's desk drawer. It's worked much better than I'd expected and I'm hoping to embellish and put the finished results up just as soon as I find my camera lead! Until then, the mystery will have to continue (although considering my passion for jewellery, it's probably no great mystery really).

Till a few days hence, when I *will* have found my camera lead...

C x

Yet more snow, and an exciting commission

More snow! Honestly, I'm thoroughly fed up of the stuff now! In its defence, it's only slushy sleety kind of stuff right now, and as I'm at work till 7pm I hope it doesn't freeze till tomorrow. Or, you know, at all.

Had a lovely email last night, a customer from my very first craft fair would like to order some more jewellery, yay! So now I'm in the process of ordering all the components which is highly dangerous, it's so hard to stick to just the things you need and not the things you want!

Wearing my crochet flower necklace which has been a great success, definitely going to list a few of those on Folksy and/or Etsy - I feel it's time for a burst of Spring optimism!

Have also emailed for information about a knitting club - squee! And trying to track down some craft fairs to attend in 2010. Hope to see you there!

For now, that is all :)

papers and flowers

Ooh, I've ordered some fabulous Decopatch papers, very excited about them arriving :) Have all sorts of plans for them when they come, and then perhaps I'll finally get a chance to update my Folksy shop!

Have been a bit sniffly today, stupid snow and ice and cold weather - but have managed to persuade Gran to make up some more flowers like the one I posted last, for me to incorporate into neclaces, so that's good :) A partnership of sorts, it's rather exciting! I hope to learn to crochet myself at some point so I can design and make some different flowers and leaves, but for now this is the perfect solution.

Today's been quiet but useful, am hoping the snow will melt properly so that getting to work tomorrow isn't a potential death trap!

Also adding lots of gorgeous craft blogs to my Bloglines account so I can catch up with them on my lunch hours, it's inspirational to see so many wonderful things being designed and made here and abroad by so many talented people!

The soft splat of snow

Welcome to Ducking Fabulous's blog!

So we had a snow day after all - spent most of yesterday fretting that we wouldn't have any, and now I'm fretting that we have so much I won't be able to make it to work tomorrow! Today was my day off, and having cancelled the planned trip to London to meet a friend, I spent the day relaxing, it was lovely. I also went for a walk, which was incredibly peaceful and interrupted only by the 'splat' of snow falling off trees.

However, true to form I couldn't resist playing with some of the beads I got for Christmas, and a combination of some large-holed glass beads, a knitted flower (designed and made by my Gran!, organza ribbon in a beautiful pale gold and a wonderful little flower clasp turned into this:



 I'm rather pleased with it, and it will be living with me as all its components were presents :D May have to sneak a few similar ones onto Folksy though :D Perhaps on the next Snow Day?

I was also planning to bake cupcakes. brownies and a giant cupcake today, but unfortunately we have no eggs - the hens aren't laying, we have none in the fridge and a walk to the One-Stop discovered they'd run out as well. Fail. Another thing to go on the next Snow Day list, I think!

Otherwise has been a rather lovely day, outside is a bit perilous but inside crafting is as safe and cosy as one could possibly wish for!

Happy New Year!

So 2010 is here, that happened fast! Ducking Fabulous (and me) have all sorts of plans this year, some of which found their way into my list of resolutions... learn to sew, make cupcakes, expand my jewellery-making skills :)

A few pictures of some Christmas commissions, and then it's off to bed for me!