Motor Neurone Disease Auction.

In September I heard about a facebook auction site which was raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. It was a great idea and a wonderful way to raise funds in aid of the organisers mother, Marion May. If you joined the facebook group or bid on any of the auctions thank you very much.

The auctions all ended tonight, and the amazing sum of £1000.13 was raised in just a matter of weeks. Overall there were over 100 items donated, along with a charm necklace from SparkleSmith which sold for £19. The auction page can be seen here. A very big well done to Caryl Purdy who organised the auction, for her great idea and all her hard work.

Old Bracelet Reinvented.

I got a gorgeous deep blue dress to wear for next weeks wedding and wanted some sparkling jewels to go with it. As I have so much jewellery already, instead of starting from scratch I decided to adapt the Halo bracelet I had worn for my own wedding last year. Original bracelet above, new electric blue bracelet below. Comments welcome.

Purses & Pouches Giveaway.

A new SparkleSmith competition has started and you can enter for free over at our Facebook page.

Its very easy to enter, simply find the Purses & Pouches album on our page and comment on your favourite picture. More will be added as the weeks go and feel free to comment on more than one picture.

The closing date is Sunday 26th September 2010, and the winner will be chosen at random from all the comments. The winner can choose any 2 available purses from the SparkleSmith website or Facebook.

New Site. Again.

Ok, I know it hasn't been long since I last revamped the SparkleSmith site, but once again I got bored with it and before I knew it half the pages were upside down, inside out and back to front so I had to start again.

As well as jewellery the site now includes a selection of the purses and pouches I've been working on. More textile funk to follow soon. I've had a few requests in the past for an easier to navigate layout, so have now incorporated shopping by price and shopping by item functions which should make it more user friendly. The pages are also whiter and cleaner, and the images are more crisp.

Its taken a good few days work to get the site ready this time. This one will be sticking around for a while.

July Jesters

I'm currently taking part in July Jesters on Folksy. This is a concerted effort by shop holders taking part to list a new item every day for a month. I'm not sure if I'll make it through to the end but I've made it to day 9 so far.

The Folksy shop for SparkleSmith can be found at http://www.folksy.com/shops/sparklesmithscotland

The picture above contains just a few of the many amazing handmade items available on Folksy. I especially love the bun with icing and the crazy purple fluffy teapot cover.

Top row, left to right. Pipistrelle, Mrs Toad Designs, Fresh n Funky Cards, Designs by Maxi

Bottom row, left to right. Great Green Ltd, Pavlova's Art Loft, The Crafty Bride, CheeryMishMash

Folksy Friday. Dots, Spots & Louise the Chicken.

Recently I've developed a bit of a thing for polka dots and spots. I have a fabulous polka dot bag, my spotty shoes are once more on show and I rarely am seen without my dotty summer scarf. With this in mind my Folksy Friday for today is pink themed and based around some of my favourite spotty dotty makes.

Top row, left to right – 1000Degrees Art Studio, Right Hand, Sarah Waterhouse Textiles

Bottom row, left to right – Tagus Gifts, Hollie Lollie, Titchables

I particularly love the spotty mugs and Louise the chicken. Click on the picture to see bigger images.

Patchwork Purses, Dots and Spots.

Buying fabric is becoming a bit of a new addiction for me. Once my workroom was full of beads, and now its full of beads, fabric, random pieces of ribbon, crystals, silver and wood among other things. When we eventually get our new house I can't wait to have a bigger room with lots and lots of lovely storage. For now, small room = organised chaos.

Here's a few of the wee purses I've been turning my fabric hoard into recently. I went to town for mascara today and ended up coming home with masses of tartan, so lots more on the way soon.

The Out of the Blue Arts Market. Edinburgh

This Saturday as part of the Leith Festival, SparkleSmith will be having a stall at the fabulous Out of the Blue Arts Market in Leith, Edinburgh. There will be over 50 makers and designers there selling their painting, jewellery, furniture, clothes, photography and much more. SparkleSmith will be selling our fab range of sparkles as well as a mix of purses, mini purses and bags.

The market is open 11am to 6pm and is just 80p entrance fee. The Drill Hall Café will also be open throughout the day for snacks, meals and coffee. Hope to see you there.

And the Winners Are.....

Firstly a huge thankyou to everyone who entered, altogether there was just over 300 entries with a massive 247 email entries, thankyou. The favourites chosen by entrants were quite interesting, I certainly didn't think the no2 favourite would be anywhere near the top.

Top row, left to right. 20 votes, 18 votes, 13 votes

Second row, left to right. 13 votes, 13 votes, 12 votes

Third row, 11 votes, 11 votes, 10 votes

Fourth row, 10 votes, 10 votes, 10 votes.

The competition ended at midnight last night, the winners were chosen by the random number generator this morning.

Blog Winner - Chloe

Email Winner - Dawn Earls, Cornwall

Thanks again and don't forget to check back for the next competition starting soon.

Brand New Site on the Way.

For anyone that regularly checks the SparkleSmith website you will no doubt be aware that the layout has changed a good few times over the years. So no surprise, once again I've been busy with my html and a new design is on the way.

Here's a wee sneaky peak at what the homepage will look like. The colour scheme will change to match the focal point. Any comments gratefully received, thank you. Oh and we'll be up and running again very soon.

Sparkles to be Won.

The first SparkleSmith competition of 2010 is open. And as always its easy as pie, extra easy pie this time.

Simply go to the SparkleSmith Sold page, have a look at the pretty bracelets then either email or comment on this blog to let us know your favourite (theres 72 sparkles and all bracelets have a grid reference number to save you typing descriptions).

A winner will be picked at random from both the email and comment entries.

Winners can choose any item off the site (except Halo bracelets). Closing date is 31st March. Winners will be emailed if possible and listed on this blog in April, so remember to follow us or check back to see if you've been lucky.

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