Part of my whole plan to deal with being made redundant this week is to start listing more of my crafts in my Etsy shops. At my stall I sell lots of little bit and bobs that I never list in my shops like pincushion rings, button rings, pincushion button jars, cards etc. I suppose I've been so busy I found it hard to make time to take photos and write descriptions etc. But now I have more time and it seems like a good idea to actually show the full range of things that I make.
My return post after all the Christmas madness was meant to be cheery and relaxed after my much deserved time of R&R but sadly it's not going to be. On Friday I was made redundant from my part time job as a waitress in Luigi Malone's. I had been planning on leaving in around March or April and go full time at Nice Day Designs so my brain was geared towards finnishing anyhow. But I certainly would not have left now during my quietest sales months. To be honest it's been quite a shock to the system and I took the weekend to mooch about the house, watch movies and allow myself some down time. 
Just a quick post today to show you my new Christmas Pudding decorations. They are not quite a quick any easy to make as I had thought, but if I must say so myself I think they are darned cute! I must go away now back up to my sweat shop (or should I say rather chilly shop) to make some more.
I've been rather under the weather lately, last week for 3 days I swayed between having no voice at all to sounding light a nervous teenage boy, then like a 40 a-day-habit jazz singer. I'm feeling a bit better now but still not 100%. I did want to share with you my miracle cure hot lemon drink. Everyone has their own individual concoction of this, and my own has a few incarnations. But this one here is the one I brewed up the other night to help me get through the cold market the next day.
People often call my stall the Christmas gift stall because I sell loads of bits and bobs that are a affordable that would be great for Christmas presents. The problem with this is that most things are priced under a tenner, which means I've to sell an awful lot of stuff to make it worth my while. Lately I've been working on some higher priced items, like my ABC set and some Christmas stockings. They still won't break the bank at €20 but it's easier for me to earn more money at the stall with a wider price range.
At long last I finished my Christmas card sets, it feels like it's been a long upward climb getting them done. I used the same lino blocks that I carved last year, but I used oil based ink this year instead of water based. It gives a much richer colour and shinier finish. It's a lot more work with printing and cleaning, and a longer drying time too, but now seeing the end result I think it was definitely worth it. I'm not a member of the Limerick Printmakers so I had to print them at home, using a large sheet of ascetate as an inking table. Then a lot of sweat and elbow grease was involved in hand printing the cards using the back of a spoon to instead of a press. If you are curious about the method check out this youtube video.
I'm always reading blogs that show pristine studios, with great colour schemes and wonderful light, and they make me envious. I'm lucky enough to have a good bit of space to work in a room that I love, but I've discovered over the years that I like working in chaos. So I've posted these picture for those of you who are also messy pups. This is currently what my desk looks like, I've been making loads of cards and this is the madness that grew around me. I'll finish my card making stint and have to tidy it all away. Then I'll probably start some sewing and mounds of felt and thread will evolve over a few days. Certainly around Christmas my propensity for messiness goes into over drive due to more and more constraints on my time. In the New Year I'll do a large scale clean of the studio, and make sure everything goes back in it's place...but until then I'll continue to squirrel away in the madness.
For once I remembered to take photos of something I've made before it's packaged and ready to sell at the market. I've been frantically making Christmas cards over the past few days. I like to have two ranges of cards at the stall; the hand printed lino print cards and also the collaged paper ones, so there two different price ranges for people to choose from. It's getting harder to compete against large chain stores selling 'handmade' cards at crazy low prices, it really galls me when I see them, as they are certainly not handmade. I sell mine at €4 each or 3 cards for €10.
