cheerymishmash

my new favourite square...

2012-01-27T19:25:00.000Z

prep

2012-01-27T19:21:00.001Z

Watching children creating artworks always inspires me.

They are generally much more spontaneous and free with their mark making than we tend to be as adults.

Less fearful of making 'mistakes'.

More inclined to both go with the flow and be the flow.

Check out this post over here to see the wonders they grew on these empty silks :-)

in empty places, dragons grow...

2012-01-25T15:28:00.000Z

in empty places, dragons grow...

a story without words ...

2012-01-24T20:16:00.002Z

"On the next page is the story I created at Corinthian Avenue. It's an empty page, no words at all. It's like Steepy's back, waiting for tattoos. It's like an empty sky waiting for a bird to cross it. It's as silent as an egg waiting for the chick to hatch. It's like the universe before time began. It is like the future waiting to become the present. Look at it closely, and it can be filled with memories, with dramas, with dreams, with visions. It's filled with possibilities , so it isn't really blank at all."

from My Name is Mina by David Almond

I love the idea that these silks are fuller now than they can ever be once I start painting on them, because, 'empty', they are filled with an infinite number of possibilities.

Don't be afraid of the empty page, or the blank canvas, these are where dreams live, and are far more exciting than any story ever told or any masterpiece ever painted.

☺☻☺☻☺☻☺

filling in my tax return...

2012-01-23T19:17:00.001Z

...this is what focusing on filling in my tax return, preparing for a batik workshop, tidying my house and not allowing myself to get distracted looks like....

...attention span of a....

;-)

A break from crochet...

2012-01-22T19:00:00.000Z

...not me...I am officially addicted to it now ;-) but I thought I'd share something a bit different here today in the form of a couple of blogs I enjoy and find inspiring and retreat to when the outside world is less so...

UPCYCLIST

and

COLOSSAL

check them out

you won't be disappointed

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sad foot, happy foot and why crochet is winning hands (and feet) down over knitting

2012-01-20T15:19:00.000Z

sad foot :-(

happy foot :-D

Despite learning to knit when I was quite young, I've never really got beyond the basics - I can cast on and cast off, do plain and purl stitches and can do stocking stitch with them, but unfortunately not ribbing as I get in a tangle with which side the yarn is supposed to be and when, and I can increase and decrease - but I can't decipher knitting patterns (they send me into a similar state of panic as 'filling in forms' does!) and I hold the needles really awkwardly (I'm one of these that has to put a needle down between stitches) which makes for quite slow progress and cramping fingers/hands so that I can't knit for very long at a time. And other than stripes (although I do like stripes), patterns are pretty much beyond me. When my son was younger, I did knit him a few hoodies and jumpers, but the bigger he got the more completely impractical it got because he would be grown out of something before I ever got around to finishing it!

The idea of knitting a sock (or a pair of them even!) is not something I would contemplate, but having got my head round the basic crochet stitches, and persevered with the reading the patterns thing, I downloaded this pattern from Ravelry and had a go. I struggled a bit with the instructions for the heel, but the rest of it was pretty straightforward and what not knitting with patterns has at least taught me, is how to improvise and play around with stuff until it looks 'right' at least.

Once it 'clicks', crochet is just so very much quicker than knitting and so much easier to do patterns with that would be far more complicated to knit.

Still loving it, and if you're just learning, stick with it - the results are well worth it.

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...should probably go and make another sock before my other foot gets cold ;-)

Doodling in Math Class

2012-01-19T20:28:00.000Z

A friend sent me a link to this cool video on youtube...

Which reminds me that my son asked me a while ago to show him how to draw Celtic knotwork designs so guess what we're doing tomorrow ;-)

Finished!!

2012-01-18T19:25:00.000Z

Although I think it would look better with a darker cushion pad inside it, but otherwise pretty pleased with it
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growing some more...

2012-01-17T18:58:00.000Z

what the postman brought today...

2012-01-16T22:05:00.000Z

...Having a bit of a day of fed upness - fed up with a certain toe not healing as quickly as I'd like and with a certain house not selling as quickly as I'd like...

On a more positive note it sounds as though my Gran has been in a bit better health today - she's been in hospital since Christmas and it's been a very up and down time for her, and those who care about her, really. When I've finished my sister's present, I will make my Gran something else I think.

This book came in the post today so lots of new inspiration :-)

It's a very nice book, but I do think it's a teensy bit cheeky to call it 200 crochet blocks as quite a lot of them are the same patterns just in different colours. More accurately it should be called '128 crochet blocks for blankets, throws and afghans with some extra pictures of ones I did in different colours' ...Yes, I did really do the maths...Yes, I was really that bored and fed up!...It is still a fab book though :-)

growing...

2012-01-15T22:26:00.002Z

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can you tell what it is yet...

2012-01-14T20:31:00.000Z

Had a couple of days off blogging and my 2012 challenge...yes I know, we're only a couple of weeks in to the new year but...meh...I am allowing myself time off for grumpiness...;)

Anyway, I've been wanting to go to the yarn stall on the indoor market in town ALL week to get some new colours so I could make something for my sister, but due to not being able to walk very far it was a tad tricky. Got there today though and...

...can you tell what it is yet?...

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the sun

2012-01-10T17:31:00.000Z

we have just finished reading Terry Pratchett's Hogfather

you can read about what we thought of it over on my other blog

...

and I thought I'd share an old picture of mine with you today instead of something new

which is definitely a picture of the sun

and not a picture of a ball of flaming gas

;-)

spiral

2012-01-09T18:48:00.000Z

Leap Year Blanket...

2012-01-08T21:22:00.000Z

Having gone for the total immersion method of learning to crochet I have a few more than eight squares already, but I'm quite sure there will be days I don't get any done too ;-)

If you fancy doing a leap year blanket yourself, there's a lovely facebook group

>>>here<<<

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I'll stop boring you with crochet pictures soon but...

2012-01-07T22:36:00.001Z

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learning how to follow a pattern...

2012-01-06T20:31:00.001Z

..that doesn't have any pictures to guide me...

...and how to make it up when I can't ;-)

flower for my Granny

2012-01-05T10:37:00.002Z

Logomania

2012-01-04T22:06:00.001Z

being inspired by Chen Hangfeng's exhibition

hooked

2012-01-03T20:01:00.000Z

no doodling or skoodling today because I FINALLY got my head round crochet!! ;o)
which made me very smiley because on the very many previous attempts to do this, my brain and fingers have declared war on myself and each other and I've got absolutely nowhere

I even managed eventually to understand some instructions for granny squares this afternoon... as a small child I had a multi coloured granny square blanket crocheted by our next door neighbour... granny squares remind me of her and of her concertina pantry door, and eating peas from their pods, and waffles in the morning on the way home from taking my sister to school :)
looking forward to getting some new yarn tomorrow that isn't so very chunky and so very bright red
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these are a couple of sites that I found helpful
Learn2knit.co.uk
How to crochet
but I have to say I probably looked at at least 173 more to work out the granny squares ;-)

bird.man.as.tree

2012-01-02T20:05:00.000Z

perhaps more of a sketch than a doodle this one - a skoodle maybe? ;-)... and still a work in progress as I'm not completely happy with the balance of it yet, but...

bird.man.as.tree

bird.men put in quite a regular appearance in my doodles and this sketch came about because one of the bird.men in my "boxed in" doodle...

...had sprouted a tree for a head and I wanted to explore the idea a bit further.

the planned part of the drawing ends with the winged, branched figure, the rest of it is just evolving as I draw it

New year and all that jazz ;-)

2012-01-01T14:02:00.000Z

I don't do resolutions, but scrolling through all the new year blogs in my blog reader this morning, Zoe's 2012 Challenge has me inspired. :)

After a break from work, I will be getting back to batikyness this month, but I think personally I would just like to share more of the other things I do here too. I rarely go anywhere without either a camera or sketchbook so my personal challenge is to share a daily picture of either something that has inspired me, or something that I have created or drawn, or something that I am working on...

...So here is one for today, a doodle which I started yesterday and finished off this morning...

"BOXED IN"

Sometimes when I doodle I have an idea from the start, usually though they just grow as I draw but may end up defining a thought, idea or feeling about something.

I think this one kind of sums up the past year for me, feeling boxed in by other people's lives and priorities, labels and boxes, as well as by my own fears and anxieties and issues. It's been a year where often times it's felt like every time I've managed to move one 'box' out of the way several more have been put in its place, or moving it has caused a cascade of other boxes to collapse and fill the space.

Hoping that 2012 is more about clarity than clutter. ;-)

If you've got a personal daily challenge of your own for 2012 you can join in over at Fordie Fresh

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Inspiration - World Cultures @ World Museum

2011-10-21T16:29:00.000+01:00

A day spent looking round the World Museum, Liverpool, and the fantastically vibrant and inspiring World Cultures gallery...

...

Inspiration - Another Place...

2011-10-21T15:50:00.001+01:00

I find most of Antony Gormley's work quite fascinating and powerful but there's something quite extraordinary about this installation I think....

...so many individuals in one place, but so separate, so isolated from each other...

...all locked into the same cause, all looking out to sea...

...but equally all locked into their own solitude...

...and there is an element of sadness to it all I think, but there is also a resilience in the face of the power of nature...

...a steadfastness...

...a standing up to it, against it, all...

...and even a peace and a strength I think...

...and a solid, unmoving, acceptance of the ebb and flow...

...

Inspiration - Magritte - Everything we see hides another thing...

2011-10-21T15:17:00.000+01:00

We were very lucky to catch the last day of this exhibition at the Tate Liverpool :-)

...

"The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown."

...

"Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see."

...

growing mandalas

2011-10-08T19:31:00.002+01:00

While I can see the appeal and benefits of meditation as an idea, it's one of those things that I find very difficult to put into practise and I'm extremely rubbish at finding/making time to actually do it.

Sitting still and not 'doing' anything is not one of my strong points, I am however a compulsive doodler and I remembered that someone posted a link to this video on facebook ages ago and went in search of it again today...

...and have been growing some mandalas of my own...

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re-charging

2011-10-08T17:06:00.000+01:00

I'm on a bit of a break from work at the moment, in a

downed tools,

shut up shop,

taking time to breathe...

...re-charge...

...and re-focus...

...kind of way...

...can't remember if I remembered to say that anywhere ;-)...

BACK S☻☻N

...and the winner is...

2011-09-05T19:24:00.000+01:00

"I love home-ed because of the fun places where we learn and play - Elias"

☺Thank you to all who entered ☺

☻ Same time next year? ☻

The "Ooh look, it's nearly 'not back to school' time again" giveaway!

2011-08-21T17:47:00.002+01:00

It's nearly 'not back to school' time again for those of us who home educate, and I hope those of you who don't will forgive me this little annual indulgence of celebrating it and shouting rather loudly that

"We LOVE Home Ed!!"

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Actually, I'm not overly fussed if you don't forgive me, but I do try not to 'us and them' stuff. I don't believe that choosing school for your children makes you a bad parent, any more than choosing home ed for your family automatically makes you a good one.

What I do know is that it was the right decision for my family and I reserve the right to celebrate that and the freedoms it gives us, just as anyone who has a child who is happy and successful at school may do.

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So, giveaway time!
If you would like to win an item...

...t-shirt,

...pencil case...

...or tote bag
from my home ed range

All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of this blog post saying why you love home ed and

Monday 5th September

I will draw a winner at random.

The item will be made to order in the design, size (t-shirt) and colours of the winners choice.

Design options = HE HE HE smiley, ♥ HE, or HE star

Please remember that this is a celebration of Home Education and not a condemnation of other educational choices. Please make statements about why you love Home Ed, and not about why you hate the school system.

I REALLY don't want to censor anyone's opinions, but comments will be removed if they are not inkeeping with spirit of this giveaway, or are excessively hostile, and will not be entered into the draw.

Please also remember to add your name to your comment - anonymous entries cannot be entered into the draw as I won't be able to identify the person to send the prize to if they win!

I'm officially in love with all things Jaume Plensa

2011-08-05T21:21:00.000+01:00

Soul food

This exhibition is currently on display at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and is a must see if you are in the area
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birdmandlizardboy

2011-07-31T20:46:00.000+01:00

The glazing didn't turn out quite how I was hoping it would - the 'white' lines were supposed to be a deep green colour - but otherwise I'm pretty happy with this one, love the shape and I like how the other glazes have behaved :)

My friend picked this one up for me from the studio and has had some fun looking for stories in it.

This one probably does have more of a narrative than some of my other doodles. It has a name anyway which is more than most of them do!

I think that we constantly prevent ourselves from being all that we could be

we could be bird.

we could fly.

but instead we constantly shoot ourselves down from the sky.

we could be lizard.

we could be still.

but instead we cling on to our old skins.

and chase ourselves round in circles.

...

...oh and my friend wanted to know what this bit was...

...but I can't remember!

Anyone?

It's in between the bird and the lizard if that's any help ;-)

Folksy Friday - Summer fashion on Folksy

2011-07-21T21:52:00.000+01:00

Oops....I don't seem to have done a blog post here for a while, let alone a Folksy Friday, but an email I received from Folksy this morning has 'inspired' me to do one. I use the term 'inspired' there quite loosely for reasons that will probably become obvious ;-)

This is the email

Have you spotted my grump yet? No? Take another look at the bottom six items. The ones that represent the "huge range of fun and colourful handmade clothes for babies and children" that is available on Folksy on an email representing "Summer fashion on Folksy"

Now don't get me wrong, they're all lovely items in their own right, but let's start with the bib - are bib's really 'fashion' or 'clothing'? Is it a particularly Summery bib? Really not sure about that one, lets move onto the slippers. A very gorgeous pair of woolly slippers to keep your baby's feet toasty and warm throughout the Summer months? So what else have we got, a....sorry no a couple of....oops no that would be THREE pretty pinafore dresses, again all very lovely, but did we really need half of the six spaces taken up with three such similar items, really really?

Where are the boys* items? Where are the shorts and the t-shirts and sunhats?

Before anyone assumes that I'm just being a grumpymishmash because none of my own items got featured, I'm not. I don't hold my breath when it comes to being featured anywhere by Folksy mostly because I know that competiton is high for feature spots, and there are a lot of ace sellers out there to pick from. (and I'll probably stand even less chance after hitting 'publish post' on this! ;-)) But I'm not the only person selling children's clothes on Folksy, and there are some fab things to be found (without very much searching at all) that aren't either a)a pinafore dress, or b) for girls...so here is my alternative 'Summer fashion on Folksy'...

Look at this, for a start, by the fab Little 'erberts...

...cute no? :-)

Or how about one of Pierre Cochon's Flumpsters...

I think that ticks the 'fun and colourful' box don't you?

As does this reversible sunhat by Monkeys from Heaven

Want some shorts to go with your t-shirt and sunhat? How about a pair of these brought to you by the undomesticated scientist...

..or these linen three quarter length from Rae and JaeJae...

And a couple more t-shirts I think, just to show that there were lots to choose from (and I still haven't featured nearly everyone here that I could have done)

A funky cartoon t-shirt maybe from lemon tree trading

...or perhaps this Buzz Off! bee from Claire Gypsy Rose Designs

Oh and you could of course check out my shop too ;-)

*incidentally there were no men's items in the email either but I'll let someone else address that one :)

RECYCLE WEEK 2011

2011-06-22T17:09:00.003+01:00

In case you didn't know, it's Recycle Week this week.

When I first started out with the t-shirts, my aim was to re-use cleaned and good condition, preowned t-shirts where possible to add my designs to. This is still my main objective, although sometimes the supply doesn't match the demand working like that and I often have to use newly bought t-shirts for made to order items.

My reasons for preferring to work this way are two-fold.

Firstly, I don't like seeing things go to waste. It makes no sense to me at all to throw a grown-out, but not worn-out, item of clothing away. Whenever my son or I need something, it is the charity shops and second hand markets that we try first - brand 'new' is generally a last resort. I pass on my son's outgrown clothes to other people, and he has people who pass things down to him. Children grow fast, and apart from in the knees of trousers (my son only has to look at those out of the corner of his eye for a hole to appear there!), clothes are seldom wrecked by one child's wear and tear.

My second reason is on ethical grounds, as it says on my folksy shop profile...

"Where possible, I recycle pre-worn, plain t-shirts for my designs - that way, I know that the only person not getting paid enough for them, is me!"

I do not want my money going to support sweatshops, child labour, poor working conditions etc. If I buy new, I want to buy fair trade, this pushes my costs up, additional costs which then have to be covered by the price of the item and the buyer.

I know there are people who are happy to pay a little extra for fair trade goods, but in the ideal world that I often retreat to in my head, ALL goods and materials should be fairly traded and it shouldn't be about paying more for 'fair' trade, it should be about NOT paying less for 'unfair' trade.

There does come a time though, when some clothes really are just past the wearing stage, either beause of holes/stains etc, or just on the grounds of being crimes against good taste. But time for the bin? Ohnonono! It's just time to reinvent themselves a new life ;)

If you want to win yourself a set of 'I used to be a t-shirt' juggling beanies, like those above, in a colour combination of your choice, then hop on over to my facebook page where there's currently a very simple to enter competition to do just that!

And while you're jumping around the interwebby thing, all this week, the fab and funky Nat of skateboard recycling O'Blue Thrashion genius, is having a recycled Olympics on her blog, where you can check some very creative recycling with all sorts of materials (not just fabric) and vote for your faves each day ;)

Lizards on the line

2011-06-11T17:02:00.001+01:00

I've got a bit of a thing for lizards, well all reptiles really, but especially lizards. I'm not sure what it is about them, but I think it might be their very ancientness. The feeling when looking one in the eye that you are looking into something so long ago and so totally beyond human comprehension, because you really had to be there to 'get it' and we just weren't.

I also like their stillness, it is somehow infectious I think.

I think I could probably sit for hours watching a lizard and forget to get bored...

...and the folds in their skin that make them look like someone just draped fabric over them...

...this is apparently so that they have room to eat big stuff without bursting!

Their 'hands' and 'arms' fascinate me.When you draw them, without the scales, they are remarkably similar in structure to human arms and hands I think, and yet so alien too...

At the moment I am reading Last Chance To See (the original Douglas Adams one) with my son, and watching the Stephen Fry series with him too. I first read the book not long after it was first published about twenty years ago, and this particular lizard,...

...the Komodo Dragon, has fascinated me ever since...

I know these next shots are out of focus, but just look at the colours!

Cool huh?

Anyway, I thought it was high time I got round to doing some more lizard tshirts as I haven't done any for ages, and it's one of those shapes that just lends itself well to batik for some reason...

...and here we are, three lizards on the line after their first dying stage :) They still have the wax on at the moment and I'm not sure yet whether they are going to have another dye put through them, or if I am going to rewax and paint them, or leave them as they are - it'll depend how they look after this lot of wax has been taken out

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Messing around with photos...

2011-05-30T19:41:00.000+01:00

...again!!...

I'm never happy with my photos, but obviously when you're selling online, good photos are sososo important.

Ideally, I would have a range of male and female models, from newborn up to16, to show my t-shirts off for me, but as it is, I have one 13 year old boy, the odd friend's* child here and there, and a handful of nieces...

*not that I'm suggesting any of my friends, or their children, are odd - well some of them might be, but that wasn't the point I was making! ;o)

...and then there is the issue of some people not liking to buy something that has been worn, however briefly and cleanly, by a model.

Anyway, I've decide to go for a new angle on my main (folksy page) shots...

What do you think? I'm pretty pleased with them and am going to be updating all the other photos soon to match.

Thinking of doing something with the ACEO mainshot photos as well so that they fit in a bit better with the overall look of the shop...not sure what yet though...watch this space ;o)

Home Made for Home Ed - a shiny new page! ;o)

2011-05-28T16:22:00.000+01:00

As most people who read this blog will be aware already*, as well as making stuff for, and running, cheerymishmash, I also home educate my13 year old son.

*If you weren't aware of it already, you can get a glimpse of some of that side of my life on my other blog over here* :)

Home education and self employment go hand in hand for many people because it is the most obvious answer to the "How do I educate my child(ren) ful-time and work full-time as well?" question.

Going 'out' to work isn't a viable option for many home educators, as childcare for school age children is either not available, not suitable or not desirable.

For some families there is the option for one partner to go out to work while the other does the home ed bit, or to share the going out to work/ home educating bits. But, as a single parent, that obviously has it's problems too!

A long time ago...so long ago in fact that I can't remember when or find the original post about it now...I set up a facebook 'group' for home educators with their own businesses. Realised shortly afterwards that actually what I should have set up was a facebook 'page' and promptly didn't get round to doing anything about changing it ;o)

But now I have, and it's over

HERE

The plan for the page is that it is a space where home educators can share links to their businesses, promote their items and generally just be lovely and supportive of each other.

The page is for all Home Edders businesses. 'Home Made' doesn't have to mean crafty stuff, it just means that you've found a way of making your own way in the world of work which enables you and your family to continue with home education.

So if you fit the bill, or know someone who does, or just think it's an idea worth supporting, please pop on over and 'like' the page and add a link :)

I think as well, that a brand new page deserves a brand new logo to replace this cobbled together effort...

...so get designing, or get your kids designing, and we'll be having a competition on the page very soon to decide a winner.

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inspiration...

2011-05-24T18:06:00.002+01:00

...isn't always where you would expect to find it...

...and at other times, it is exactly where you would expect to find it...

...if you remembered to look...

full of holes

2011-05-18T19:33:00.000+01:00

further amazements of the round kind...

2011-05-09T21:01:00.001+01:00

...which I've just realised weren't actually on this blog originally, so you'll have to flit over here

if you missed it first time round, and then come back and enjoy in its finished, and still very round, state :o)

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Getting back...

2011-04-30T16:17:00.000+01:00

...to taking photos...

...and being inspired...

...after an unplanned, but probably quite necessary, break from the world of work :)

And the winner of the itsy bitsy bit of a giveaway....

2011-02-20T10:14:00.000Z

...chosen randomly...

...at random...

...by our friend Díotóir, is...

!!!!! Maggie Mags Jones !!!!!

who entered on my facebook page and who would call their spider Boris, on account of all spider's being called Boris

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Folksy Friday : National Doodle Day

2011-02-11T16:14:00.002Z

It's National Doodle Day today! So pick up your pens and get doodling

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But before you do, check out some of these fine doodling doods on folksy

(Links below will take you to the artist's Folksy shops)

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1.ACEO Hourglass Doodle from beep beep

2.Doodle Keyring in pure silver from Findy Design

3.Personalised Name/Word Zendoodle Picture from Top Floor Treasures

4.'Broken Biscuits' (doodles and line drawings) from idrewthestars

5.'Mini Monsters' doodles and notes pad from Lucy's Happy Place

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HAPPY DOODLING!

It's an itsy bitsy bit of a giveaway!

2011-02-09T19:14:00.000Z

To celebrate passing the 100 sales mark on Folksy, I'm having an itsy bitsy of a giveaway, which means....

...that one of these dudes could be yours!

And, as my brain doesn't do complicated at the moment, I've made it dead simple to enter too!

All you have to do to enter is

(a) be either a fan of my facebook page, or follow me on twitter, or be a follower of this blog

and

(b) leave a comment either here, or under the link to this post on my facebook page telling me what you would call your spider if you won him/her

The winner will be drawn randomly at random by some random method or possibly another on Sunday 20th February

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Knowing when to stop v's Daring to go on

2011-02-06T14:56:00.001Z

There's another aceo challenge on Folksy, this time using some of my photos, so I can't really not join in ;)

The theme is 'seascapes' and there are four photos to choose from.
I've been tempted to have a go at painting this one for a while...

...but also doubted my ability to pull it off, so this challenge has served as a much needed kick :)

As it was, I still kept looking at the spray and wondering how on earth do I paint that!?

I was almost tempted to chicken out completely and leave it at this stage...

The texture of the rocks was a bit off putting too, but it looked the easier of the two options, so I started with that...

...and ignored the spray for as long as possible ;)...

...but then I ran out of unsprayed upon rock, so had to start tackling it!

In the end I decided the easiest way to paint the spray, would be not to paint it, but just to paint what could be seen through it...

...and just to add a bit of shadowing to it at the end...

Sometimes it's hard to know when to stop with a painting without taking it too far and ruining it. Sometimes it's hard to make yourself carry on painting something, for fear of ruining it!

I think I'm pretty pleased with where this one has ended up though :)

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Folksy Friday : The 'Mountains in Nepal' ACEO challenge :)

2011-01-27T21:54:00.000Z

This was the challenge...

Have a go at the picture above, any medium, as long it was ACEO sized (2.5 x 3.5 inches)

These were the many fabulous and diverse interpretations :) Click on the links below each picture to visit the artist's shops

Wellydog Gallery

Deborah Jones Jewellery

MaxineVeronica Jewellery and Art

rosielee hand painted designs

Orange Blossom Felt

clootielugs

Marian's Art

Cherry Tree handmades

Lemonade and Lamingtons Art

Emporium of Curiosities

clootielugs

2 Stitch

Maxine Veronica Jewellery and Art

Lemonade and Lamingtons Art

Kath Heywood textile crafts original art

Dottery Pottery

Doll House Designs

Wellydog Gallery

Paul Bailey's Original Watercolour Landscapes

Laura Faye Crafts

...and these were my two...

If I had to pick a favourite, it would probably be Hannelore's cheese mountain, but I think they're all fab :) How about you?

Showing off!

2011-01-27T18:21:00.000Z

Wanted to share this with you today because he's been working on it for such a long time and has done such a fantastic job of it.

This is my son's ceramic chess set

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pretty neat huh?

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Up for a challenge (or two) ?

2011-01-22T20:52:00.001Z

The multi-talented Dawn of Audrey's Art has laid down this challenge over on folksy today

Interpret this picture of Ama Dablam in ACEO form (ie. it must be 2.5 x 3.5 inches - no bigger, no smaller)

any medium/style as long it's the right size

You have until Friday - upload your pictures to the folksy thread :) It will be really interesting to see how different people interpret it. I will showcase them here, for anyone that wants me too, once there all in - and I'll be having a go myself too :)

And from Gina over at Handcrafted ACEO's today, there's another genius ACEO challenge to get your teeth, or brushes, or pens, or whatever else you use into - open to all so check it out :)

Pick a card, any card...

2011-01-21T21:15:00.001Z

Just for fun, which one do you like most?

Folksy Friday : It's another pink one!

2011-01-20T17:45:00.000Z

baby by my sister ;)

Tutti-frutti infant pixie hat by Booties by Dannie

Oranges and Lemons felted baby shoes by Jojasca

Owl Softie by The Green Feather

Decorated Wooden Letters by Unique Kelso

Bath time card from Photography by Gail Griggs

Personalised cushion cover by crafted

Sock cupcake by Silver Birch Crafts

Hand crocheted cot blanket by NOfkants Curios

check out this thread for more new baby gift ideas

and it's half listed price on all items in the 'baby' section of my shop until midnight, Friday 21st January

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Talkin' 'bout a revolution...

2011-01-11T18:31:00.002Z

The folkster's are revolting!!!

Actually they're not.

They're all very lovely.

But there is a revolution occuring on folksy, of a resolute kind, and there are some very neat things coming out of it

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much coolness from o'blue -

somebody needs to buy this one before I'm tempted (again!)

awesome artworks from indira albert

fab and funkiness in the fabric department from pipdesigns

and take a trip back to toytown with Swirly Arts

In case you hadn't figured the 'revolution' in question is this months daily listing club and you can check out some of the other revolters on this thread

>>here<<

Amazingly, I'm actually managing to keep up this month (so far!) mostly due to the fact that I have a reserve of items which need relisting and the aceo's which take less time to produce than most of my other things

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Folksy Friday : The ACEO bug...

2011-01-07T19:48:00.001Z

...has bitten me!

For anyone who doesn't know, ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals, and they are basically miniature artworks (in pretty much any medium) the golden rule being that they MUST measure 2.5" by 3.5".

I'm really enjoying experimenting with them at the moment (and even selling some too!) and have discovered that, after spending most of my adult life avoiding watercolours like the plague and favouring paints I can be far more heavy handed with, I actually quite like painting with them! :)

As you can see, some are better than others, but on the whole I'm pretty pleased with how they've turned out :)

Most of these are on sale in my folksy shop

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If you search ACEO on folksy, you'll see that I'm not the only one bitten by the bug. Below are just a few of my favourites, but there are lots of other fantastic ACEO artists on there well worth checking out too :)

Lemonade & Lamingtons ART

Mochalulu

Dipping my toe into the world of Art Cards

2010-12-31T14:42:00.001Z

It's a whole new world to me, and not sure if it's 'the done thing' or not, but I'm putting these up for sale as a set rather than individually, because you can do this with them...

...and this...

...and lots of other rotations and combinations too...

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on sale

>>>HERE<<<

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We wish you a Cheery MishMash...

2010-12-20T21:09:00.000Z

We wish you a Cheery MishMash

And a Happy New Year

Whatever you celebrate, and however you celebrate it - Hope it's a good one!

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It must be Monday again!

2010-12-13T19:50:00.000Z

Because we've playing with clay again :o)

This is what was hiding underneath the thick layer of notverytransparent-transparent glaze last week!

It's not actually yellow, more cream. Don't think I'll be using the crayons again - it's ok(ish), but not what I was wanting. Back to the drawing board!

More experiments today...

Again, I know what I'm wanting, but not quite how to get there...

...not far off with these though...

And the glaze on the dinky daisy pots has turned out much better this time, but it was too dark to photograph those by the time we got home so they'll have to wait till tomorrow
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Spoilers........or not!

2010-12-06T20:53:00.001Z

This is not a photo of my experiment today with underglaze ceramic crayons...

...well it is, but I forgot to take a photo before putting on the 'not-so-transparent-actually-before-firing-infact-distinctly-opaque' transparent glaze! Plus two more very badly photographed but hopefully better glazed dinky daisy pots ;o)

And this is not a photo of the boy making the final pieces for his very funky chess set...

...well it is, but you can't actually see any of the pieces in the photo!

D'OH!

;o)

So, clearly November didn't quite go to plan!

2010-11-30T13:41:00.001Z

With hindsight perhaps joining the listings club this month was a little ambitious!

The death of my father in October, and all that he left behind to deal with and clear up, plus a prolonged period of insomnia, left me pretty drained physically and emotionally, and at times like these sometimes you have to make choices of where to best channel what little energy you have.

Getting things back to 'normal' at home and with home ed, after several weeks of chaos, has taken priority. Not that they are back to normal - there is still a lot to be done and sorted out - but there are definitely glimpses of life pre-'dead-dad-stuff' creeping back in ;)

I was tempted to get back on board with the December listings club. We've been stupidly busy the last couple of weeks, but this week should have been a quiet one and I was planning on taking the opportunity to get some t-shirts made up at least, but I think my immune system must have been waiting for me to stop being so busy aswell, and has taken the opportunity to hit me with the head cold from Hell!

I think I've probably missed the boat with the festive stuff this year anyway, and perhaps saving my energy for the New Year might be a better option, especially as, apart from some directionless doodling, I'm in a bit of a dull spot creatively at the moment.

I may have plans for some of the doodles though...

...when I've finished sneezing at least...

AAAAAAAAAAAACCCHOOOOOO!!!

November Sparks

2010-11-02T19:46:00.000Z

So the November listings club on Folksy has got off to a great start and I even managed to list something for it yesterday, well actually it's a relist but it's cute and it counts...

>>>available here<<<
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and a few of my favourite things from some other Sparks on days one and two
Zoë at Top Floor Treasures has some ace hand drawn original art greetings cards listed...

A welcome return from the very talented Sarah at Northfield Primitives, today with this gorgeous little elephant...

And my favouritest thing from yesterday, this fab bag by Natalie at NOfkants Curios which for some reason I can't seem to post a picture of, and my brain's too foggy today to try and work it out :-/

But it's HERE and it's ace, so go check it out!

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Bring on November

2010-10-27T13:32:00.000+01:00

As those of you who know me, or who read my other blog, will know, October has been grim to say the very least.

Life is still pretty broken, but I'm hoping that getting back into some sort of routine again with work will help to get things back on track a little, or at least help to keep it from veering off too far.

So, I will be joining in with the November listing club on folksy, although I won't be aiming to list every day - keeping the goals smaller for now - but I will hopefully be reintroducing all the made-to-order options back into the shop, taking on custom orders again and aiming to list 2 or 3 new items each week too.

New items, such as the spider kits and fabric are still on hold at the moment - apologies to anyone who was waiting for them - possibly before Christmas but no promises I'm afraid.

What plans and goals have other people got for November?

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HALF PRICE SALE!!

2010-10-11T18:34:00.001+01:00

!!HAPPENING NOW!!

cheerymishmash

Well there was going to be a sale at some point this month anyway, but it's now become something of a necessary one, so if you fancy a bargain pop on over to my folksy shop now

October Folkfest - the usual suspects (part one!)

2010-10-03T16:03:00.000+01:00

Wow! October already! I'm joining in the Folksy daily listings club again this month, except that I'm aiming for every other day instead of every day. October will be a bit of a special month for cheerymishmash as I'll be celebrating my 'one year on folksy' anniversary and my birthday in the same week - so keep your eyes open for me feeling generous! ;o)

I'll also (hopefully) be launching a couple of new products this month too, starting with some more seasonally appropriate long sleeved t-shirts, these HE ones were my first October Folkfest listing...

...and my second listing for the October Folkfest is an old favorite...

The main reason for taking part in these listings clubs, for me, is they help to keep me motivated, even when sales are down. On it's own, it doesn't make a lot of difference to my views or sales (I have tested this theory!;-)) but it helps to keep me on track, and there are some lovely, and very supportive, sellers on the thread, who always take the time to check out other peoples work and comment and encourage others, so today I'm going to share some items from some of the usual suspects

First up it has to be the lovely, and multi talented, Natalie of NOfkants Curios who kickstarted the listings clubs and is always there happydancing and updating the tally for us all :)

Her listings today are this sweet amazonite pendant

and this knitted and crocheted handbag...

Dawn of Lilly's Night Garden has already sold the item she listed today (Yay!!) so I'm going to pick this orange tree card from her very gorgeous selection of cards, notebooks and diaries...

The Sequinned Sheep (love that shop name) have listed some cute knitted (crocheted?) flowers today :)

And if you like a bit of sparkle, Miss Bohemia - 'Where Dark Fantasy Meets Fairytale Romance' - has listed this blue ice luxury bookmark today

And don't forget, for all your buttons, beads and findings need, you can pay a visit to Liz at the Little Bead Box

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If cheerymishmash did...

2010-09-26T14:47:00.000+01:00

Lovely as my short sleeved t-shirts are (;o)) I'm thinking probably not the best Winter seller, so I'm looking for inspiration for other lines.

So, what do you reckon the end of this sentence should be...

If cheerymishmash did...

Folksy Friday - Suppliers to the Stars

2010-09-23T23:00:00.000+01:00

Well okay, so that would be the September Stars, rather than the celebrity kind, but hey, we're all stardust anyway! :)

Folksy is not just about the things people have made, if you fancy having a go yourself, there are also some fantastic supply shops on there to get you started.

Fancy trying your hand at jewellery making? The Little Bead Box has everything you need to get you started, beads, buttons and findings in just about every colour under the sun (and then some ☺)

More beautiful beads,charms and findings can be found in the aptly named Bead Cornucopia...

or you could take a look in the new destash shop of JAustenJewellery, Making Space! Where you could pick up something a bit special like these gorgeous fossil coral square beads...

Fancy something else other than jewellery making, but not sure what? Get some inspiration from Gnomead - Crafting Extras...

Or why not take a peek at Dottie's Bits and Bobs for...well...some bits and bobs to kickstart your creativity...

There are plenty more where they came from, wool, card, stickers, stamps - you name it, folksy has got someone who's got it -so get searching and get making :)

Penguin (part six)

2010-09-20T19:06:00.000+01:00

Finished!

Here he is hanging up to dry...

and here, ironed and posing for photos for listing...

This one will be off to his new home tomorrow, but I think I'll be listing the design as a made-to-order option

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Penguin (part five)

2010-09-19T17:46:00.000+01:00

Nearly there now :)

First up, was to get as much of the remaining wax as possible out of the fabric before putting it in the washing machine. This means soaking it in boiling water...

so that some of the wax floats out of it to the surface...

and then rinsing alternately in hot and cold water until you can't feel any more wax in it.

Then it goes on a machine hot wash (90º), again for the purpose of getting any remaining wax out, but also so that any colour that is going to come out of it, comes out now.

The colours shouldn't fade after this with normal washing.

I have to say, it's hanging up to dry now, and looking very cute - but I'll save that pic for tomorrow when it will hopefully be dry and ready for ironing and sending off to it's new home :)

Penguin (part four)

2010-09-18T19:42:00.000+01:00

Not got quite as far with this as I wanted to today, mostly because there is a queue for my washing machine at the moment of different coloured items that can't be washed together for the first wash!

He has moved on slightly though.

Now that it's dry, the next stage is to fix the dyes and remove the wax. The dyes are partially fixed just from being allowed to dry on the fabric, but to make sure they retain as much of their colour as possible, they need ironing too. Ironing also helps to remove some of the wax.

First the motif is ironed under a sheet of absorbent paper and a sheet of greaseproof paper (to protect the iron!)

The absorbent paper lifts out some of the wax as it melts...

That is then removed and the greaseproof replaced and the whole thing ironed again

As you can see in this next picture, there is still quite a lot of wax left in the fabric...

The dark areas around the penguin, and most of the penguin itself, are full of wax, so tomorrow I will be removing the rest of that :)

Rainbow Stars

2010-09-18T13:45:00.001+01:00

A selection from the September Stars inspired by this item of great gorgeousness by OddGirlCreates

Click on the pic to find out more

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Folksy friday - Pick up a Penguin!

2010-09-16T21:35:00.000+01:00

I'm very proud of myself this week for managing to produce clickable picture links, so please do use them cos it took me bloomin ages!!! ;o)

Anyway, as the rest my blogposts this week have had a distinctly penguinny theme, I thought I'd continue with a Folksy Friday in the same vein.

So if you're looking to pick up a penguin, check some of these cuteys out :)

Did I mention you can click on the pictures and that they are linked to the shops they are from? << I did that!! ;o)

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Penguin (part three)

2010-09-16T17:07:00.000+01:00

This morning, I painted in the motif on the t-shirt...

I use 'silk' paints for this (the type you would use for silk painting), and for the motifs, I use them neat and on dry fabric, as this means they will (hopefully) keep most of their colour. The greaseproof paper is still between the front and back of the t-shirt, so none of the colours from the motif will run through to the back, and at this stage I can leave it to dry flat, which reduces the risk of the colours bleeding.

Once the motif was dry, or nearly dry, I painted in the background...

The background colours are painted on the fabric wet, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I usually use two or three different colours, or shades of a colour, and they blend much better wet on wet.

Secondly, if I used these particular paints neat on the whole of the t-shirt, rather than just on the motif, it would make the end price of the t-shirt stupidly high!

At this stage, the t-shirt has to be hung up to dry...

The blues will be a couple of shades lighter at the end of the process than they look now in this picture.

The reasons that it can't be dried flat at this stage, is because both sides, front and back, need to be dyed at the same time, or any paint that has leeched through when you paint the front, like this...

...wont blend, once dry, with the new paint you add to the back, and it will look blotchy rather than blended.

Unfortunately, painting both sides and then drying it flat anyway doesn't work either, because for some bizarre reason, if you do that, the paint just completely disappears from the side that is touching the surface.

So hanging it is!

It will need to dry completely now, before I can move onto fixing the dyes and removing the wax, hopefully tomorrow at some point :)

Penguin (part two)

2010-09-15T21:16:00.002+01:00

Not had much time today to work on this t-shirt. Life and other orders got in the way ;) But this morning I chalked the design onto the t-shirt...

Sometimes I make a stencil for this stage, but most, including this one, I just draw on freehand.

The next stage is to wax the design. I don't use any special kind of wax for this, in fact I usually just melt down tealights, and for the t-shirts I prefer to use a brush to apply it rather than a tjanting, because it gives a more regular line and is a bit easier to control the flow of wax as well so that it only goes where you want it to!

Put a sheet of greaseproof paper inside the t-shirt, to stop any wax running through to the back.

The most important thing at this stage is to make sure your wax is hot enough to seep right into the fabric. When you hold it up to the light you should be able to see the light through it, and make sure there are no obvious gaps where the dye might leak.

I usually test the wax on a cloth first to see if it is hot enough, as it's not very easy to correct once it's on.

Tomorrow, I'll be painting in the motif, and possibly the background too if i get time :)

Penguin (part one)

2010-09-14T22:42:00.000+01:00

I know I've done a walk through before, but I've been asked if I can do a penguin t-shirt which I haven't done before so it will have the original design I'm working from as well in this one, which I usually skip.

It's for an age 2-3 t-shirt, so I'm going cute with the design. Also, simple works best for the hand painted t-shirts - hand dyed t-shirts can be more detailed and so can silk painting, because the silk paintings can be dried flat, and the dyed t-shirts are one colour so running isn't a problem, but these ones have to be hung to dry so the less potential problem areas there are to start with, the better!;)

So, after a bit of doodling, this is the design I've decided to work from...

Then, I need to think what it will look like with a white outline, instead of the pencil one...

..to decide whether I think it's going to look 'right' in batik, or not...

If you are doing batik or silk painting with children or beginners, drawing the design with a candle or white crayon onto paper first and painting in the colours, can give you a good idea of whether the design is going to work on the fabric or not.

Tomorrow, I'll be transferring the design onto the t-shirt and waxing the outline

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A bit more shameless plugging...

2010-09-14T17:31:00.000+01:00

What's that you say? Cheerymishmash sells cards too? And they're just as lovely as her t-shirts?

Sorry...shameless ;o)

Still keeping up with September listings, it's been mostly cards recently as I made a batch up before I went away, so I would have something to list when we got back ;) Down to my last one now though, feel free to pop across to my shop and buy some. No, really, that would be just fine ;o)

I think Folksy might be the wrong place for them actually but hey ho!

While you are over there, you might want to check out some of my fellow September Stars who also happen to have some of my favourite shops

Two jewellers, who stuff I love even though I don't really do jewellery...

Blue Daisy Glass

and Deborah Jones Jewellery

and also the 'little haven of handmade goodness' that is Jesselu's Craft Corner

Happy browsing :)

September star(fish)

2010-09-11T17:15:00.000+01:00

My shop is out of holiday mode, but I'm not quite yet, so I've doctored the name of the listings club from 'September Stars' to 'September Starfish' for my post today :)

Despite having been away, I have actually managed to keep up with listings so far this month, as I posted a few extras before we went away, you can see my listings here, including some new designs for September and this sunrise over the sea card which fits in nicely with my theme for the day ;)

And here, from today's September Stars listings are a few seaside/holiday(ish) pieces by other artists, designers and sellers :) (It does seem that most people have gone into Autumn mode today though, I guess that's what you get for taking a late break, so some of the connections might have to be stretched a little ;))

Having done lots of fossil hunting and finding on holiday

this Orthoceras keyring from Natalie at NOfkants Curios seemed appropriate ;)

As well as fossils, lots of shells were picked up and admired, some still alive!

...so we'll have this rather pretty mother of pearl necklace from Damselfly Gemma

...and I think these gorgeous sodalite beads from BedazzlEm have enough of an ocean feel to them to be included :)

...and they are displayed on a shell!

And finally, no dolphins, but we did see plenty of other sea life, including these very beautiful sea dragons...

...so I've included these Silver Dolphin bookmark blanks from Bead Cornucopia

If you're interested, you can read more about our holiday on my other blog here

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And the winner is................

2010-09-02T09:37:00.000+01:00

.....of the cheerymishmash NotBack2Skool giveaway

.....!!!!NINA!!!!.....

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Congratulations! I will be in touch very soon to see which t-shirt and bag designs you would like.

There were some fantastic comments and thanks to everyone who entered.

Remember there will be a 10% discount on all Home Ed t-shirts and bags at cheerymishmash for the whole of September (I will be adjusting the prices accordingly later on, but until I have, a refund will be made via Paypal - bags have been ordered and will hopefully be here in the next couple of days when they will be listed :)

The winner was selected at random using the true random number generator at RANDOM.ORG

☻☻☻HAPPY HOME EDDING☻☻☻

Pricing...(again!)

2010-08-28T17:34:00.000+01:00

Do you know that the starting price for Manchester United kids football shirts is £34.99? That's nearly 3 times as much as the most expensive kids t-shirt in my shop...

I have been price tweaking today, some things I can't change, but mostly in a slightly downwards direction, a couple up because bizarrely I had them wrongly sized/priced anyway (according to t-shirts size guide I made up for myself anyway!)

It's hard to find a balance between getting paid a reasonable price for your items and selling them at a price that people are actually prepared to pay, but not setting the price so low that it completely undervalues the amont of work that has gone into them. Different people have different 'methods' for working out their prices.

Some people work on the principle that you should pay yourself an hourly rate (minimum wage at least) + cost of materials + other expenses (in my case listing fees/commisions/electricity/water etc) + P&P. In principle, I wouldn't argue with that method, but in practice paying myself an hourly rate would result in me being paid nothing at all, because it would put the price of my t-shirts through the roof and no-one would ever buy them!

Then there is the "cost of materials + other expenses x 2 = wholesale

wholesale x 2 = retail" method

But again, in practice, for most items, that puts my retail price too high for people to actually buy.

I was doing some google searching earlier, to look at some high street prices for adult sized t-shirts, and the price range is huge, and it doesn't to me seem to be based on quality or design, it all seem to come down to the label on it.

How much difference is there really, between this t-shirt and this one?

or between this one and this one?

I do believe that quality hand made items should be competing with the top end of the market. Hand made should not mean inferior, it should mean unique and special and original. But at the same time, I also think that the top end of the market is massively overpriced, especially when it comes to branded clothing, and I don't actually want to be charging those prices for my t-shirts. I want to be selling my t-shirts at prices that are affordable to as many people as possible. At the moment I am in the slightly bizarre position of selling clothing for children, that I couldn't actually afford to buy for my own child!!?? That's not to say that I don't think they are worth the prices I'm charging, but it does feel a bit random!

Anyway, what 'methods' do you have for working out your pricing? Do you always stick to it or do you sometimes feel that you have to sacrifice principles for sales?

Believe it or not...

2010-08-26T20:27:00.002+01:00

....it is still August, although you wouldn't know it from the weather, and believe it or not, I am still A-teaming, albeit intermittantly! ;)
I've not listed anything today because...

a) I spent quite a lot of time finding out that my mini sewing machine doesn't do t-shirt fabric which is just fabulous for someone who has an 'I used to be a t-shirt' range

b) I spent quite a lot of time growling at my mini sewing machine in the hope that it would change it's mind -it didn't

c) I spent a bit more time making things that won't be ready to list for a couple of days yet

d) I spent a quite a lot more time doodling various celtic knot designs for a t-shirt for my brother

e) I spent a bit more time not making my mind up which way round I liked it best

f) I spent a bit more time on facebook asking the audience ;)

Here are a few of my favourites from A teamers who have been busy listing today though :)

One cool cow by Dach Crafts

Marion the Elephant by Woolly Lakes

and as it looks like I'm accidentally going with an 'animal' theme...

...a butterfly brooch by STEAMPUNKSTORM...

....a hematite turtle from NOfkants Curios...

...a golden unicorn from Jessicas Jotters

And just spotted a little kitty on this bookmark...

...from Kokokelli

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NOTback2skool GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-08-23T14:05:00.006+01:00

Surrounded by 'Back to School' sales and offers everywhere at the moment, which is great for stationery bargains and cheap white 'school' t-shirts, but otherwise surplus to requirements for home educators! ;o)

So, I've decided to do a NOTback2skool giveaway to mark an annual celebration of our decision to home educate and the freedom we enjoy as a consequence of that.

So, if you want to join in with the celebration and have the added bonus of the chance to win some cheerymishmash Home Ed related goodies, read on! :)

What's on offer?

A Home Ed t-shirt in the size, colour and design of choice and a Home Ed tote bag, also in the design and colour of your choice

How do you enter?

Believe it or not, there are some people who just want something for nothing, regardless of what the 'something' is and enter any giveaway going. Obviously this is a Home Ed specific prize and I can't really see why anyone who wasn't a home educator would want it (?), so to enter, please leave your name in the comments below and complete the following sentence 'I love Home Ed because.....'

EDITED TO SAY: Please remember that this is a celebration of Home Education and not a condemnation of other educational choices. Please make statements about why you love Home Ed, and not about why you hate the school system.

I REALLY don't want to censor anyone's opinions, but comments may be removed if they are not inkeeping with spirit of this giveaway, or are excessively hostile.

Please also remember to add your name to your comment - I won't be able to include anonymous entries in the draw as I won't be able to identify the person to send the prize to if they win!

It's good to share :)

The above will qualify you for ONE entry in the giveaway.

For EXTRA entries, please share a link to this giveaway post either on your facebook page/group, blog, twitter or Home Ed forum and include details of where you have shared it in your entry comment.

When will the draw take place?

A winner will be selected randomly at random in a random way on

THURSDAY 2nd SEPTEMBER

9 a.m

The winner will be announced here and on my facebook page.

In the event of the prize not being claimed within one week of the announcement, a second draw will take place.

Anything else worth knowing?

Well, funny you should ask that because... Yes, there is!

As a further 'NOTback2skool' celebration there will be a 10% discount on any orders of Home Ed merchandise from cheerymishmash received during September.

Bags WILL be available by then, although possibly not the gusset ones as I'm still having supply problems.

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August A Team - a lazy post!

2010-08-22T10:40:00.004+01:00

Having spent most of this week going backwards and forwards between houses, sleeping, puppy sitting, rabbit and fish feeding and keeping half an eye on a teenager in one, feeding a cat at another and working at home and making sure our own pets are still alive, I haven't really had time for much blogging in between.

All animals survived and I only lost the teenager a couple of times and I'm back home again now, for the morning at least (!), but I'm knackered so I'm going to do a very lazy A-team blogpost this morning. If you are a member of the A-team, please leave a link to the favourite thing you have listed this month in 'comments' below and a brief description. I will add photos of the first six items posted to this post, and obviously all the links will be there in comments for people to see :)

Amazingly, I have managed to list 23 items this month already, so I am giving myself the day off today, but I think my favourite things I have listed so far this month are my itsy bitsy spiders

I am working on a make-your-own kit version of these at the moment too :)

Watch This Space

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First featured A teamer then is Esme Dodsworth Design - "Handcrafted fine and sterling silver jewellery, often with a fun and kitsch twist!"

No suggested favourite item from her, so my personal favourite of her August listings is this ☺

Then this gorgeously sparkly butterfly necklace from Damselfly Gemma

And from Sam at A Simple Melody, this very sweet crocheted daisy bottlecap necklace

which I love :)

No more takers apparently but you can check out some other Ateamers items over here

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Ok, there is another taker! ;o) Bliss Knits with this beautiful 'spice' scarf :)

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UN-cheerymishmash

2010-08-19T13:09:00.002+01:00

All I want is a reliable supplier of plain tote bags, with and without gusset, no minimum order and a statement of ethics on their website so that I can decide whether I think the people making them are getting treated fairly enough for me to want to buy from. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently it is :(

I thought I'd found just what I was looking for with the clever baggers, but they were unfortunately out of stock of the ones I wanted when I went to order from them. I asked when they expected to have them back in stock -'Should be this week.' they said. Great! That week came and went and they were still out of stock. I emailed them asking if they could tell me when they were getting them in - 'Friday' they said and even put a note on their website to that effect saying they were currently out of stock but would be in Friday and would be dispatched by the Monday. I left it to the Monday just to be on the safe side, no change to the 'out of stock ut order anyway' status...hmmm...it's still there in fact. And the gusset ones are still marked as 'out of stock'. Another email, asking if they had a date they were expecting them to be back in stock, I have customers waiting, was told you were expecting them back in stock a couple of weeks ago etc etc - THREE to FOUR weeks!!!

Surely it would be better to update your website with information like this and keep your customers informed, no?

*sigh*

If I had known at the beginning of the month that 'some time this week' actually meant 'some time next month', I would have looked for somewhere else to buy them then and there, but may have gone back to that company in the future. As it is I still have no bags and still can't find any, so apologies to anyone who wants one of these...

I am still working on it.

On a slightly less grumpy grumbly note,

>>>this<<<

has had nearly 80 views* in it's first week and 1 person has even favourited it :o)

*and I know that's not actually a lot of views by some people's standards, but bearing in mind that many of my items struggle to get even into the thirties, I reckon that's not so bad going for something of mine!

August A Team

2010-08-13T19:40:00.000+01:00

So I've been pretty good at listing regularly this month, but pretty lousy at blogging! Apologies to my fellow A-teamers, I have occasionally tweeted/retweeted links, but I still haven't got my head round twitter really, and I'm a bit wary of overspamming my facebook fans with too many links :-/

Anyway, I've been listing a variety of things this month, new t-shirt designs, cards and today...

..itsy bitsy spiders! :o)

I have a few more of these to list in different colours. They've always been a big hit in our house, so I'm hoping other people are going to fall in love with them too - I can't really expect to rely on t-shirts to sell over Winter afterall.

You can check out itsy bitsy and some of my other August listings

>>>HERE<<<

And a selection of other gorgeous listings from some of the other ateamers...links at the bottom of the post :)

The pink glass pendant is from Blue Daisy Glass - I don't really do jewellery, but this is a shop that I would spend money in if I had any - I love everything in it :o)

Also loving the colours in the flower and star bracelet from Hart Jewellery :)

The Glass Mountain's listings always make me smile - today is this cat charm, but check out their very sweet embroidered pictures too :)

Also in the category of 'sweet things' today would be those willow hearts from cwtch, who also have some very nice buttons that I like a lot but haven't been able to come up with an excuse yet to buy ;)

Someone else whose listings alway make me smile is Diomo Glass today with elephants :)

And on the subject of elephants and things that are gorgeous, how cute is Flo from Woolly Lakes? - I have a feeling she's not going to be 'lost' for long :)

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How much(!!)....

2010-08-11T19:35:00.000+01:00

...would you pay for a set of chessmen?

I'm struggling with pricing - just for a change!! My chess pieces are almost ready to be listed, I just need to get some fabric to line the box

and weigh everything to work out the postage, but I've been doing some searches to try and find out what people sell handmade chess pieces at and you're looking at anything from a tenner up to 5 grand (yes really!!!)

Now obviously I'm not going to charge quite that much for mine, but, not including all the hours spent searching the internet for a box for them (!), or all the hours spent travelling to and from the pottery studio, there are probably around 9 -10 hours work in them. Now, supposing I were to pay myself the national minimum wage for them, that would make them over £50...

Is anyone going to be prepared to pay anything anywhere near that for these?

hmmmmm....

Painting rainbows...

2010-08-08T13:55:00.000+01:00

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Folksy Friday - Home Ed Special!! ;O)

2010-08-05T22:38:00.000+01:00

To coincide with the launch of my new range of Home Ed t-shirts and bags, this week I'm devoting my Folksy Friday to fellow folksyers (folksers?) with Home Ed connections - that means they either currently home educate, have home educated, or were home educated :o)

But first, a teensy little bit of shameless plugging!

Home Ed T-shirts now on sale in my folksy shop

available in a range of sizes/designs/colours :)

and

coming (as) soon (as clever baggers get clever and reorder!)

Home Ed bags

and now for a showcase of what some other home ed peeps have on offer over at Folksy at all these fab and funky shops (I had intended to do a bit of a blurb for each of them but as you can see the list got quite long and I have got t-shirts to make you know ( ;o) ) - if you click on the link above each picture it will take you to the shop and they can speak for themselves...

A Simple Melody

WoollyLakes

Pipistrelle

Daydreaming and Sewing

Happy Browsing

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Creative Crafting Summer 2010

2010-08-01T19:00:00.000+01:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More toys

Hehe - I'm in a magazine!

Check out my tie-dying 'crafting project' feature on page 19, and then sit back with a brew and read the rest of the magazine

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Folksy Friday - Decisions, decisions...

2010-07-30T09:56:00.000+01:00

So one of the girlie-nieces birthday's is coming up and I don't know what to get her (just for a change!), so rather than spending hours traipsing round the shops looking for something for her and probably still coming away with nothing and then buying something on impulse the day before (!) I've thrown it open to my fellow Folksers to tempt me into their shops.

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The remit is, something for a quite girly soon to be eight year old girl who likes fluffiness, sparkles, dogs, gymnastics, and anything involving paper, pens scissors and sellotape, making, sticking, painting, creating...
So, I could go for some stationery...

from Little Bird Too or Papercake

or maybe some jewellery? Luckily she doesn't have her ears pierced so that's narrowing it down slightly (!), but she would probably love either of these...

from Nithria or Paulaz Jewelz

or something for her hair perhaps...

from Eclectic Creations, Booties by Dannie, or Lou Lou's Luxuries

or something that ALL little girls probably need in their rooms...

...and that this particular little girl would probably love lots! - A fairy door (for letting the fairies in of course!) from Gelert Design (also comes in a paint your own version!)

Or maybe a bag...

from Polka

...or a butterfly...

from buttercup boutique....

...So much gorgeous girliness - and that's not even all the suggestions! Check out the thread

>>>HERE<<<

to see more

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Needless to say, I haven't decided yet!

I think I shall probably end up making a shortlist and letting her choose for herself when she is here next week.

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Not Back2School

2010-07-28T18:50:00.002+01:00

A number of people (well, three is a number isn't it? ;O)) have expressed an interest in Home Ed bags and t-shirts if I came up with designs. It has been a lot harder than I anticipated, but I've come up with a few ideas and could really do with some feedback now before I actually make any!

One of the problems with doing them in batik is that lots of writing inevitably ends up with lots of 'mistakes' and too many unusable end products, so I've tried to go with something simple, but positive.

Obviously, these are just quick sketches - The writing and pictures would be evenly sized/spaced and centred on the actual bags and would be offered in a wider choice of colours.

I was also thinking of maybe offering it as on option on the reverse of one of my other bag designs, which you should be able to see

>>>HERE<<<

?????

So what I need feedback on is, which designs, if any, people like? And, would you like them as a design on their own, or in addition to another non-Home-Ed related design?

So far as Home Ed t-shirts go, I'm afraid I've hit a complete blank :(

I don't think any of the bag ideas would work particularly well on a children's t-shirt, except maybe the hehehe smiley?

I am thinking perhaps a design competition but not sure quite how it would work, or how to judge it :-/

Maybe designs could be uploaded to a flickr album or emailed to me to upload, and I could pick a shortlist of designs that would actually be suitable for translating into a batik design* and then people could vote?

I don't know how that would work for then selling something that isn't my design?

What would be a suitable prize?

*I could give advice on how to make sure they are suitable

Thoughts on this and the bags, positive or negative, would be very much appreciated and please share this with other home educators, as the more feedback I can get on it the better

Thanks.

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July Jesters : still jesting!

2010-07-27T17:30:00.001+01:00

I thought that I was way behind on listing, but was pleasantly surprised to work out that, as of today, I have actually listed 26 items this month and it's the 27th! And as we have been away puppy and teenager sitting for a few days I reckon that's not bad going!

I'm not sure it has actually done any good - Sales wise, I have only sold 6 items through folksy this month, and four of those actually came from photographs I had posted on facebook! Hmmmm.... :-/

It does mean I have more items in my shop which probably isn't such a bad thing, even though that wasn't quite the plan, and I'm guessing a few more people know my name, but other than that I'm not sure it's really worth the effort and hours I need to put in to be able to list and item every day.

*sigh*

Anyway, this is what I listed today

A brand spanking new set of juggling beanies!

(Well actually 'brand spanking new' might be stretching it a bit as the fabric has been recycled! but I did make and list them today)

They are a simpler design the other 'cube' beanies I've made - much quicker to sew (would be even quicker with a sewing machine!), but not quite so cute?

Something I definitely haven't kept up with for July Jesters, is blogging, and I think if I continue with this through to August I will have to have a bit of a rethink on how to do it in a less time consuming way!

I'm not even going to attempt a catch up(!), but just share my three favourite listings from other July Jesters today...

Meet 'Pipkin Pumpkin' by the very talented Sarah at Northfield Primitives

A very cheeky bumble bee by Diomo Glass ;o)

and this beautiful Sea Blue Scarf by Leanne Woods Designs

Hopefully we have a bit more home time this week and I will be able to catch up with some of the other things I have been working on, and projects in the pipeline - watch this space!*
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*Probably best not to watch it for too long though as, going on my recent record, I might not be back any time soon!! ;O)

Drip......drip......drip........

2010-07-16T18:08:00.000+01:00

Haven't managed a July Jesters listing yesterday, or today - I have several things on the go, but none even nearly ready for listing. Some things simply can't be hurried, and most of the various stages of batik seem to come under the category of 'some things' - especially in this weather!

I bought some bags this week which are now dripping purpleness all over my bathroom

and I have skulls dripping blackness all down my door!

Another thing that can't be hurried, but that I've been working on this week and is coming along very nicely (if slowly), is my chess set, which has now reached the glazed-and-waiting-for-another-firing stage

It's actually all looking scarily white at the moment, but ^^that^^ is - hopefully - what it will look like after firing!

Then all I'll have to do is work out how to package it! :-/

And I've also been working on a feature for the next edition of Creative Crafting, which has involved a lot of this...

...and this...

☺

Folksy Friday - "I used to be a..."

2010-07-16T09:19:00.000+01:00

Following a thread I put up on the Folksy forums, my Folksy Friday this week is on the theme of recycling (or upcycling) - things that used to be something else, but have been transformed by clever hands into something new. There were a lot of fab responses on the thread, and I'm sorry not to be able to include them all here, but I do need to do SOME work today too! ;o) But you can view the thread here, so please take a look :)

"I used to be a bicycle inner tube...now I'm a fab and funky necklace by Dropscone's tasty beads!"

"I used to be a carrier bag...now I'm bright and beautiful flowers by hmsdesign and ffflowers!"

"I used to be a window...now I'm these sweet dinky tea light coasters by Diomo Glass!"

"I used to be a wine bottle...now I'm the glaze for this beautiful earth bowl by Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics!"

"I used to be stage lighting...now I'm a rainbow of stars by Pyro Angel's Sweet Trinkets!"

"I used to be straw...now I'm a child's coatpeg by Great Green Ltd!"

"I used to be book...now I'm a set of envelopes by swirlyarts!"

"I used to be a plastic bottle...now I'm a fleece scarf by Raffique!"

"I used to be alive and swimming 180 million years ago...now I'm...not!!" by NOfkants Curios

"I used to be a sheep...now I'm a funky felt bead bracelet by Cherry Tree handmades!" *

*People who read my facebook page will know that I'm a bit worried about wool at the moment, but the wool for this bracelet was collected locally by the artist themself.

and finally...

"I used to be a t-shirt...now I'm these very gorgeous buymebuyme coasters by Lynwood Crafts!"

and

"I used to be a tshirt too!"

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Rainy days and Mondays....

2010-07-12T21:22:00.000+01:00

...can generally be brightened up with a trip to Folksy!

Don't believe me?

Check out this fine selection of brightandcheeryness from my fellow jesters and see for yourself!

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Beautiful summery poppy card by ialbert :)

Bright button bangle by Laura's Little Lovelies :)

Cute button birdy coin purse by Leanne Woods Design :)

It doesn't get much brighter than this toadstool card from Top Cat's Corner :)

A bright and funky bag by moody cow designs :)

And who could fail to be cheered up by this googly alien from Damselfly Gemma :)

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We are on day 12 of the July Jesters challenge now, and, amazingly, I have managed to list 12 items!

To view my latest offerings, check out my folksy shop

>HERE<

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cheerymishmash

my new favourite square...

prep

in empty places, dragons grow...

a story without words ...

filling in my tax return...

A break from crochet...

sad foot, happy foot and why crochet is winning hands (and feet) down over knitting

Doodling in Math Class

Finished!!

growing some more...

what the postman brought today...

growing...

can you tell what it is yet...

the sun

spiral

Leap Year Blanket...

I'll stop boring you with crochet pictures soon but...

learning how to follow a pattern...

flower for my Granny

Logomania

hooked

bird.man.as.tree

New year and all that jazz ;-)

Inspiration - World Cultures @ World Museum

Inspiration - Another Place...

Inspiration - Magritte - Everything we see hides another thing...

growing mandalas

re-charging

...and the winner is...

The "Ooh look, it's nearly 'not back to school' time again" giveaway!

I'm officially in love with all things Jaume Plensa

birdmandlizardboy

Folksy Friday - Summer fashion on Folksy

RECYCLE WEEK 2011

Lizards on the line

Messing around with photos...

Home Made for Home Ed - a shiny new page! ;o)

inspiration...

full of holes

further amazements of the round kind...

Getting back...

And the winner of the itsy bitsy bit of a giveaway....

Folksy Friday : National Doodle Day

It's an itsy bitsy bit of a giveaway!

Knowing when to stop v's Daring to go on

Folksy Friday : The 'Mountains in Nepal' ACEO challenge :)

Showing off!

Up for a challenge (or two) ?

Pick a card, any card...

Folksy Friday : It's another pink one!

Talkin' 'bout a revolution...

Folksy Friday : The ACEO bug...

Dipping my toe into the world of Art Cards

We wish you a Cheery MishMash...

It must be Monday again!

Spoilers........or not!

So, clearly November didn't quite go to plan!

***November Sparks***

Bring on November

HALF PRICE SALE!!

*****October Folkfest***** - the usual suspects (part one!)

If cheerymishmash did...

Folksy Friday - ***Suppliers to the Stars***

Penguin (part six)

Penguin (part five)

Penguin (part four)

*****Rainbow Stars*****

Folksy friday - Pick up a Penguin!

Penguin (part three)

Penguin (part two)

Penguin (part one)

A bit more shameless plugging...

September star(fish)

And the winner is................

Pricing...(again!)

Believe it or not...

NOTback2skool GIVEAWAY!!!

August A Team - a lazy post!

UN-cheerymishmash

November Sparks

October Folkfest - the usual suspects (part one!)

Folksy Friday - Suppliers to the Stars

Rainbow Stars