My Handmade Christmas....

Following on from my #CraftBlogClub Secret Santa reveal I thought I would share other gifts I made for Christmas.  

Do you remember the blanket I made for a friend's new baby? Well, it was her first Christmas so I made her a Christmas tree decoration as a memento.  I personalised it with her name and the year of her birth.  She's too young for it now but hopefully in a few years she will enjoy seeing it on the tree and in the meantime her parents can appreciate it. 

I love to make jewellery for gifts as it is the only time I really get to do this craft.

I made these earrings for my Sister-in-Law....

They were fiddly to make but I'm really pleased with the outcome and she loved them too.  I might make a pair for myself!

For my hubby on our wedding anniversary I made scrabble tile cufflinks, so I made some for his Dad and Brother....

I made this cute bookmark for my Mum....

My Mum loves elephants but they have to have their trunks up, apparently it's good feng shui. So I knew who this little fella would be for when I found him.

My friends and I don't give each other Christmas gifts but we do for birthdays and one of my friends has a birthday a couple of days before Christmas.  I decided to put together a gift based around Baileys hot chocolate, mmmm! I crocheted the mug hug using this pattern. I also made her one of my popular coasters to go with the chocolate theme.  The chocolate stirrer with marshmallows in the photo was from one of my fellow stall holders at New Milton, Fiona Ann Chocolates . Fiona's makes her chocolates and they are so yummy!

I crocheted other gifts....

A teapot cosy for my Brother-in-Law and his family.  The colour scheme was chosen to co-ordinate with their new kitchen.

I also hooked up a hair band for my 2 year old Niece and she kept it on so I guess she liked it!

I made this cactus for my husband's desk as a jokey gift. He had a real one but it died and when I came across a pattern for one in Simply Crochet magazine I had to make it!

and here he is in his new environment....

he has a nice view!

Everyone seemed happy with their handmade gifts which is a relief! I really enjoy making gifts, it makes them so much more personal and unique. The run up to Christmas is a busy time of year and at one point I was worried I wouldn't get them done in time! This year I have promised myself I will start much earlier but I'm sure I said that last year!!

fizzi~jayne x

fizzi~jayne went on tour ~ New Milton Spring Craft Fair....

Hope you had a great Easter weekend.  I spent it with family and I am now trying to control the amount of chocolate I eat in one day! Or shall I just eat it all in one go and then it's not tormenting me??!

My Stall at New Milton Spring Craft Fair

As I try to ignore the chocolate stash I want to tell you all about my first craft fair of 2014.  I took a trip to New Milton, Hampshire. I'd visited this craft fair last year and was impressed with the organisation and the footfall it attracted.  I also want to attend craft fairs outside of my local area in order to promote my business to a wider audience.  My parents live in the area so I don't have to pay for accommodation so it seemed a good fair to try out.

I feel it was a success in many ways:

• I made more sales compared to the previous fairs I have attended.
• I had quality conversations with customers who genuinely were interested in the other places I sold.  So hopefully they will be visiting my Folksy or Etsy stores in the future. I have an exclusive discount code so I can track shoppers that saw my stall at the fair.
• I collected email addresses for my newsletter.
• I tested new products which had great feedback.

New products included coasters with funny quotes which were popular and crochet egg cosies especially for Easter

Unfortunately I didn't quite cover the cost of the stall (I was very close!). Even though it was my most successful for sales compared to other fairs I have done so far, the charge for the stall was more expensive as it is a larger event.

 

So I may not have made a profit but I will be returning to this event in October because:

• It gets my brand name out there and spreads the fizzi~jayne joy to a wider audience.
• It was a well organised and advertised event which meant it had good footfall.
• In October I hope to reach the Christmas shoppers and a greater opportunity to sell more.
• I get free B&B at my parents!
• If there weather is good enough I get to go the beach....

Love these new Beach Huts

I do love to be beside the seaside

I have just under 4 weeks until my next craft fair in Harpenden, this is one I was recommended by a fellow stall holder from Berkhamsted.
 

Before that though I will be adding lots of new products to my Etsy and Folksy shop, watch this space!!....

fizzi~jayne  x 

Savvy crafting 2014 update....

I started the year with plans for 2014 and I knew being a savvy crafter would be the most challenging!

To recap, the rules were....

 I will not be buying any new....

• Card
• Stamps
• Ribbon
• Buttons

The exceptions are....

• If I need something for a specific order
• If I run out of the basics, i.e. white card, glue etc. The essentials I can’t craft without
• I worked on a project for one of my favourite craft suppliers, Handy Hippo which required supplies and I am working on another one....

So, how have I done so far?...

Card - I hadn't bought any new card that wasn't required for the Handy Hippo project, yeah! Until I saw some great offers last week :-( which I couldn't possibly ignore!

Stamps - I forgot about this rule oops! I may have bought some small ones *hanging my head in shame*

Ribbon - I am pleased to say I have kept to my rules and I haven't bought any *high five*

Buttons - I nearly caved in, I saw these really cute buttons and I picked them up but I put them back on the shelf!  However I have bought a mould to make my own buttons....

I am finding other crafty supplies that are not in the rules slipping into my shopping basket to feed my addiction, especially as I have started to learn crochet.  So I am not breaking the rules, instead I have found loop holes in my own rules! Not so savvy!

I have kept a track of all my costs which has been useful to see where my money has gone and because of that I am upping the ante!  I can't buy ANYTHING! (The exceptions will remain the same.)

The thought of not buying anything is making me feel sad and queasy, but needs must! I will have to comfort myself with some chocolate instead!

Are you still on track with your New Year resolutions?

 fizzi~jayne  x

 

 

 

January isn't so blue....

January can be a lot quieter and feel flat after the busy period in the run up to Christmas.  Although I have a sale in my shops I am not under the illusion I can compete with the high street sales.  I am enjoying the quieter month and taking the opportunity to work on new ideas (when I haven't been ill, those winter bugs need to do one now!)

work in progress from my Craft Den

 

Thank you to my hubby for
this book for Christmas....

As well as getting messy in my Craft Den, I now have a 2014 plan, in the form of a colourful spreadsheet.  It has all the key seasonal dates, product launch dates as well as plotting my blog ideas.  Whilst in organising mode I have started to get my head around accounts and tax!! 

What is very exciting and new for 2014 is I will be one of the hosts of #craftblogclub on Twitter and my first hosting session is on 28th January!!

#craftblogclub was started by the Lovely Emma and due to the popularity she now has me and 2 others helping her host.  It is on Twitter every Tuesday, 7-8.30pm.  Join like minded craft bloggers, lovers of craft blogs and crafters.  It is a fun, non-competitive arena to chat about anything craft and blogging related, as well as monthly crafty challenges. 

My discussion topics this week are "What, or who, inspired you to start a blog? Is there a blog you admire?" And if there is time, "Who inspired and taught you to craft?"  I am so excited to be involved, I hope you can join us for a chat tomorrow.

If you are on Twitter you can follow me @fizzijayne

fizzi~jayne x

P.S you may have noticed I have tinkered with my blog layout, what do you think?

Savvy crafting, a new me for 2014.....

In my post about my plan for 2014, one of my challenges for this year is to use up the craft supplies I have before buying any new ones.  This was inspired from reading Mary Emmens' blog about how she is not going to buy fabric for 6 months. 

As a general rule I will not be buying any new....

• Card (I have loads of various colours and scraps to use up)
• Stamps (I have 4 drawers full! So I should have enough for any occasion)
• Ribbon (Love ribbon!)
• Buttons (I have a button addiction!)

Love my ribbon box, although it doesn't hold all of my ribbon!

I have tended to buy any of the above because “I have to have it!”.  But things need to change as money is tighter this year plus I am running fizzi~jayne as a proper business now.

Firstly I need to have a stock take so I know what I actually have and then use what I have before I buy anything else. I will probably find things I have forgotten about.

However I still have a business to run, so there are exceptions:

• If I need something for a specific order
• If I run out of the basics, i.e. white card, glue etc. The essentials I can’t craft without.
• I am also working on a project for one of my favourite craft suppliers, Handy Hippo, (watch this space!) so I will need supplies for this. 

Not only will there be financial benefits but it should challenge my creativity.

After 6 months I will see how I have got on and see how much therapy I will need!!  Wish me luck!

Did you make any New Year resolutions?  How are they going?

Bring it on 2014!....

I don't really do New Year resolutions, instead I have a to do list or promises to myself that I didn't manage to fit in the previous year.  Although the one year I did make a resolution I surprised myself by keeping it, I quit smoking 7 years ago, high five me!!

So what is on my list for 2014:

Personal

• Learn to crochet.  I have never tried it before so I asked Santa for a kit to get me started and Santa delivered....

My first attempt

• Go to the gym! I have membership I just forgot how to use it!
• Finally put together a scrapbook from our wedding (we’ve been married 4 ½ years!)

fizzi~jayne business....

• Use up the paper, card and other supplies I have hoarded (even those I don't like) before buying any new ones.  I read on Mary Emmens' blog about how she is not going to buy fabric for 6 months.  I am taking inspiration from this and not buying anything new, unless I need something specific for an order or run out of essentials like glue etc.  It will be tough, seriously I will need therapy at the end of 6 months!!
• Develop this blog. As always I value your feedback and would love to hear from you if there is something you want to read about or if you have liked a particular post

As part of the "plan" to grow fizzi~jayne makes.... into a successful business, I will be....

• Developing new ranges and ideas
• Attending different craft fairs, to find the right ones for me but also to spread the fizzi~jayne word.

Most of all have fun with it all!



Image from Cream PR Pinterest board

What do you have planned for 2014?  Do you have any New Year resolutions?

P.S. Have you checked out my sale? Visit my SALE section of either my Etsy or Folksy shop ;-)