Articles from May 2009

If you’re in or around the Warrington area this Sunday (31st May), do come down to Grappenhall Community Centre on Bellhouse Lane, where you’ll find a craft fair – and me.  Well, not sure I’ll be any sort of attraction, but let’s hope there’s at least a slight ripple of interest in the 1st Unique Gifts range.  I know there will be a lot of other great craft stalls there – a really good mix. 

Father’s Day is on 21st June this year, just three weeks away.  Do you know a dad who’d like one of these?

campervan clock with personalised numberplate of your choice

dads shed penpot ideal fathers day gift

Either of the above would make a fabulous Father’s Day gift with a difference. Have your gift for dad personalised with your own choice of numberplate on the campervan clock, or choose your own message to go on the back of Dad’s Shed. It certainly beats another pair of socks!  You can buy them at  www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk – get yours now.

Getting away from Father’s Day, here are a few other things I’ve been working on recently:

cute cupcake clock for the kitchen

This cupcake clock would work well in a kitchen. 

ladybird clock

The ladybirds on this clock will help you tell the time – count the spots!

See you soon – maybe on Sunday at the craft fair?  Come over and say hello!

Oh, the frustration of modern technology.

The website is published.  No, you’re not getting a fan-fare – please read on.

It is published, yes. But not without its teething problems!  First, all the editing options disappeared, and the hosting people told me I’d need to rebuild it.  Near-hysteria was relieved when they realised their upgrading had caused its temporary disappearance.  It’s back.

However, it’s now having a little tantrum.  As all roads lead to Rome, so all menu buttons lead to penpots.  How bizarre.  The techie guys are looking into it, so I hope they find the solution. Soon!!!!

If you want to have a look, here’s the link: www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk – with any luck, the penpots will not be bullying the rest out of the way by the time you get there.

To paraphrase Henry Ford:  You can have any gift, as long as it’s a penpot.

Oh the joys of medern technology!

The website is about to be published.  Really.

I got very very excited when I realised all the fab things I could do with my fairly basic PayPal account.  Like get people to fill in personalised order details.  You’d've thought I’d discovered the key to world peace or something.   I got a bit carried away with it before I’d read up on it and messed all the postage costs up.

So each and every PayPal button I’ve created needs a damn good editing.   What fun.

Anyway, while I’m editing away, bored out of my admittedly tiny brain, here is a sneaky preview of a little offering from the new site:

Look what the cat ddragged in mirror

I can see this mirror being just the thing for a bad hair day!

Sometimes you come across a bit of a rare find.  I think this blog http://www.styleofkyle.com  could be one of those.

One day, a book publisher or mag editor will stumble across this young man and snap him up. Love the way he’s writing his blog as letters to people (including his own conscience!), love his humour and love his friendly-but-bordering-on-bitchy style.  Kyle’s blog is an absolute must-read.  Go, Kyle!

I’m working on the website, honestly I am.  Well, to be honest, it’s more that I’m working on taking pictures for the website at the moment.  You need something to look at on webpages, don’t you?  Things are just conspiring against me.  Dead batteries, sun shining when I don’t want  it to (now there’s a first!), wind blowing things over, uploading problems, another dead battery halfway through uploading (the laptop battery this time)… Technology and me don’t really mix too well.  Still, managed to get a few uploaded onto here.

In these credit crunch times, do you need a (very) low-tech place to keep your money?  A few moneyboxes and piggy banks to consider:

the ladybird pig

cat moneybox

piggy bank with yellow stars

we have take off

A rocket to the moon and somewhere to save your pennies.  What more could you ask for?! 

hang it up

Here are some new goodies for your perusal.   Above is the hang it up peg rail. I must admit I need something to remind me to tidy up (and why!).  This could be just the thing! 

The peg rail below is something for the cat lovers.  Home is where the cat is!  The black cat is looking rather smug with her pretty pink bow around her neck.  I just love the gorgeous turquoise background, but I could paint it in any colour you choose.

home is where the cat is peg rail

Now how many times have you muttered to yourself, or shouted at the family: “Why are there never any pens in this house?” If you had one of these, perhaps you’d say it less often.  Just perhaps.  No promises!

how many times have you said this?

Do you ever buy or sell on the internet?  To or from other countries?

If you do, you may struggle sometimes with exchange rates.  I know I do!  And even if you’re a whizz at maths (I’m not!), it’s a problem keeping up these days with the current rate.  I know PayPal will convert it for you, but it’s so useful to get the exchange rate well before you get to the paying stage.

I came across this today: http://www.mioplanet.com/products/currencyconverter/index.htm which is a dinky little gadget you can download free.  It sits on your desktop and will convert currencies almost before you’ve typed them in, it’s that quick.

I know I sound a bit like an advert, but I love it!!  You can check instantly how much something is going to cost in your own money – and helps if you want to list something for sale on a US site like etsy.

Gadgets like this are making our world smaller – and I love it!

Once in a while, you come across a brilliant idea.  If you are a crafter or artist you may like this too. Have a look: www.madlyswaps.blogspot.com

It’s a new site, with the idea that people who’ve made something can offer it as a swap – and can maybe pick and choose what they’d like from the replies?  A great credit crunch way of getting new stuff!!

I think I shall be checking back often.

Yay!!  My red paint arrived today.

I will get busy painting, if not the town red, then at least some little ladybird gifts.  Oh joy.

It’s all go in the studio at the moment.  Here are a few pics of what is keeping me busy at the moment.  For a kick off (oh dear, was that supposed to be a joke…?) there are these footballs which double up as clocks.  They can be personalised with any name or message, which I hope will go down well with junior footballers.  Sitting alongside them is something for mum or big sister – a shoeshop doubling up as a pen pot.  You probably can’t see it, because it’s not so good a picture, but there’s a sale on in the shoeshop!!  Again, it can be personalised.

football clocks and a penpot shoeshop are nearly done

And then there’s these cat goodies.  A cat clock, pen pot, moneybox and hook rail.  There’s a mirror, too, but it didn’t make it into the photo.  I’ve added some appropriately catty quotes – although because they are painted to order, I could add your favourite quotes.  Or even your cat’s name… now, that would be spoiling him!

hand painted cat goodies just needing finishing off

campervan clock nearly done

I also tried out a bit of a craft fair display, and here is a peek at some of it.  The mirror looks a bit raggedy round the edges because I’ve not taken the protective plastic off it yet – I need to varnish before I do that.

trying out a craft fair table display

My first craft fair’s on Sunday 31st May at Grappenhall Community centre in Warrington, Cheshire.  Because it is the first one, I’ll be offering introductory discounts on most things.  Come along and say hello!!