A Mosaic of Makes from 2011

2011 has been a fabulous year for Aileen Clarke Crafts.

My work has sold really well through various gift shops and galleries here in Scotland and gone all over the world thanks to the wonders of online shopping sites like Etsy and Folksy. Apparently my shop is among the top 250 sellers on Folsky which truly amazes me. It is one of my goals for 2012 to keep both of my online shops well stocked with a full range of items.

Events like Open Studios North Fife and The Handmade Show have also helped me focus and given me the opportunity to meet so many more people face to face, both customers and fellow artists.

Textile Trinket Boxes

My little boxes were an instant hit and have all gone to new homes over the past couple of months. Only two left in stock.

I do hope to develop new ideas for these and make them regularly available.

These photo mosaics are just a snap shot of pieces I have made during 2011.

Textile Wrist Cuffs

My range has certainly expanded and will hopefully continue to grow throughout 2012. I have enjoyed making a few commission pieces this year including pendants, earrings, brooches, wrist cuffs, handmade cards and art work. 

Fibre, Textile, Glass and Resin Pendants

Earrings

Brooches

New to my range this year have been these rings. I love wearing them myself and have to admit to owning at least five in all different colours.

Also new this year have been the Sheep Pendants, Earrings and Rings.

There are so many different colour combinations and different fibres that can be used that the possibilities are endless! It means that every single design is different. It also means that it is sometimes hard to choose. I've had customers at fairs swithering for ages not knowing which one to get for a friend and ending up buying one for themselves instead.

A variety of Sheep Jewellery is still available in my Etsy Shop

Card making was my first love and really how my whole Aileen Clarke Crafts business came about. I still make hundreds of cards but most of them go out to local shops and sell at craft fairs. I find them difficult to photograph for selling online and the time taken to get the photos just right is worth more than what the card will sell for. One of my plans for the new year is to buy a  new and better camera during the sales so hopefully that will allow me to make more of my cards available online.

The bookmarks continue to be a hit but again, I have struggled to find time to make more of them in recent weeks. Much of January will be spent making back ground felt for lots of different projects so hopefully I'll get some new bookmarks made in the new year.

Over the past year I have met people in real life that are regular visitors to my blog and fans of my page on Facebook. They have all helped and inspired me to come up with new ideas and make more of everyone's favourite items. Thank you to all of you who take the time to leave comments. It's such a great source of feedback and encouragement especially for someone who works from home. 

It's great to be part of such a wonderful creative community as well. So many of us are busy making and creating trying to make a living doing what we love and the internet has certainly provided us with a fantastic way of helping and supporting each other.

Felt Art Work

I'll leave you with this little selection of cosy cottages.

A New Week and New Supplies

I find these colours so uplifting and on rummaging through my stash I realise I have quite a lot of them! So I'm planning to make a background panel today featuring all these lovelies plus  some sari silk snippets for extra texture.

When I go shopping for supplies I am always drawn to the same colours so buying a mixed bag or a mixed skein of something helps me to move out of my comfort zone and work with colours I may not have thought of using.

I was in Perth on Saturday and took the opportunity to visit Elena Costello's most fabulous shop at Bridgend. Elena sells the most beautiful yarns and fibres in a shop/studio that makes you want to move in and never leave!

All my purchases came in this cute little newspaper bag that was handmade in India by street children.

Here's a wee shot of some threads I have at the ready. I try and keep my work table tidy by putting the threads away in a wee drawer but some colours are just permanently in use.

Last week I made up a batch of bookmarks to send over to Oban so I was getting busy with my paints and teabag tissue. Teabag tissue is great for using in mixed media projects. If you iron it onto Vilene it becomes like a paper and a fabric which can be painted and stitched. 

Above is a piece ironed onto Vilene with washes of turquoise and purple in simple sweeping strokes.

Below is the same effect but the teabag tissue has been ironed onto purple commercial felt after it has been painted. The purple felt gives more depth to the colours and shows up the texture of the paper more. 

I used the above piece for my bookmarks and still have this piece below to work into with my sewing machine.

And here is a lovely new bundle of sari silk yarn waiting to be put through the embellisher machine along with other fibres, yarns and fabrics.

So who knows what will come out of all these new supplies! Designing things on paper has it's place but you can't beat a 'play day', just going with the flow and letting the creative process take over.