Flying away with a bargain

On Saturday, after trying to sell it on a secondhand charity stall (unsuccessfully) for 2 and a half hours, I bought this long-stitch for myself:

As you can see, it is pre-printed and haas all the threads you need to complete it.
Here's what it should look like when its finished:

So, my question is, how much would you pay for this kit?





I've seen this sort of kit sold retail in new shops for around £15-30. And yet, no-one was willing to purchase it (unopened and in new condition) from a charity stall for a fiver. Am I the only one that thinks its not right that we expect things to be so much cheaper in charity shops than in 'proper' retailers? Surely we should be willing to pay more for a good cause, not less?!

I'd love to know what you think. What's a fair price for this sort of product? Should where you buy it make a difference?

Mounting Egypt

I promised that I'd show you some of my work, so here's a picture of my latest  finished tapestry:

This 'tapestry' was made using half cross-stitch. The canvas was pre-printed, but I had to buy the threads seperately. It was quit difficult deciding how to mount it because it was an odd size, but eventually I decided to put it on a mounting board. Its hung in my bedroom and will eventually be joined by another Egyptian-themed tapestry which I'm yet to start. Here's a picture of the pre-printed canvas:

How do you mount your work? Do you have any Egyptian-themed artwork that you'd like to share?

Flying Away With Card-Making

Whilst at the Abingdon Air Show on Sunday I bought some cards by a local artist called Peter Bellingham. I was impressed with the range of his work- both cartoons and pictures so realistic that they could easily be mistaken for photos. The result- I ended up buying 3 of his cards with scenes of Abingdon on them.

I could easily have bought more cards though as there were quite a few different card makers selling at the event. The same was true at the Christian Resources Exhibition which I visited yesterday. So why are there so many card-makers out there? Well, here's a few of my suggestions why:

1. Everyone needs cards at sometime or other. We celebrate loads of events with cards- birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, christmas and easter amongst them. And they're suitable for everyone, you can even get them for pets nowadays! That means tha there are a lot of potential customers out there.
2. With a bit of practise almost everyone can make a card. This is because there are so many ways to go about it including sticking photographs onto card, drawing, painting, using pre-printed stickers and cutouts, and collaging (the list seems almost endless). And if you can't make cards then there are even companies where you can sign up to sell ones made by other people. 
3. Its something that you can usefully practise before you start selling- begin by making cards for less discernable friends and relatives. 
4. It's fun (or at least I think it is).

You may have gathered that I make my own cards. I'm not at the selling stage (yet), but that doesn't stop me enjoying the process. And it means that I can always find the right card for even the most tricky relative, as long as I have a bit of time.

Do you make cards, or do you enjoy buying from others?

What this blog is about

Recently I've become very much interesting in dabbling in the world of craft. It all started seriously when I began making my own cards for family. I was fed up of not being able to get cards which suited the personalities of those I wanted to give them to, and so I decided to make my own. Over time, as I've slowly improved, I've started making them for more people and, yesterday, was the first time I made one for my grandma- spurred on by the knowledge that it was very hard to ge a card with both writing and images big enough for her to see nowadays.
Another craft that I've dabbled in is bookmark making. Not normal bokmarks mind you, magnetic ones. This all began when I wanted to come up with something I could sell as part of my church's talents event. Working with computers being something I felt I was good at, I began to think about how I could use that to make something th would appeal to a mostly intelletual and aging congregation. Combine it with my great interest in books and it became obvious. I now make my own magnatic bookmarks whenever I find myself in need of a new one and am hoping to start sending them out to bookcrossers along with controlled release books very soon.
But the craft that occupies most of my time at the moment is sewing tapestries. I'm self-taught so my style isn't 100% correct, but I enjoy doing pre-printed tapestries using cross-stitch. One of my favourite things about this is that it can be done whilst watching TV. Its also easy to alternate this and reading. Recently I've finished the very first tapestry which I actually felt good enough to put up. Its a bust of Nefertiti and it was mounted onto a woodblock being hung up in my Egyptian-coloured room. I'm hoping to partner it with another Egyptian tapestry which I have ready to sew. I will share both on this blog at some time in the future.

And that's what this blogs about really- the crafts that interest me. I'll be showing you what I'm making, have made in the past or plan to make. And, when I have enough followers, I plan to do some giveaways as well. In the meantime, if you'd like me to make anything for you do get in touch and I'll see what I can do by way of a trade. 

What sort of crafts do you like doing?