Every little helps!

I've posted before about fundraising auctions that held on Facebook and I myself have no worries about supporting them. I have held a couple myself and they have both been well supported.
I am running another soon for a German Shepherd Rescue centre that is run by a lovely lady called Marcia. You can find more about their work here
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001931876969

I also run a regular auction of crafting goodies that I no longer need to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer care. The last 2 raised in excess of £100 and I shall be handing over a cheque this Tuesday.

Another charity that I regularly support is Jades Smiles - run by a very brave young lady called Jade Swain. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jades-Smiles/108058812609330?sk=info She has au auction running at the moment to which I have donated a few pieces.

A new one that I've just found is this one
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-A-Hedgehog-Hospital/194675883882015 and again I've donated a couple if items. They have some lovely items up for grabs so I shall definetly be bidding on a few items there!!

The last one I want to mention today is one that I simply couldn't not offer to help out.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Home-crafted-Auction-for-Lillie-Mai/162886860442060

Little Lillie-Mai Jackson contracted meningitis at 14 weeks old. Despite being given just hours to live at one point, she pulled through. Unfortunately though, she lost both legs and an arm in the process. She will need many prosthetic limbs as she grows up, and they are very expensive.

Again, some wonderful people have donated some lovely items to this auction so I shall be there when the auction starts to support them.

I know that times are hard and sometimes it can be difficult for crafters to donate items to all these charities but even sharing a link on FB helps, so next time one pops up in your list of posts please, please repost it and share the link love.

Take care.

Pretty, Pretty Beads!!!

I just love beads! All shapes and sizes and colours! I especially love handmade lampwork beads and have been lucky enough to purchase some beads from some very talented artisans!
So today, I want to share with you some of my favourite bead makers!!

First up is the lovely Claire Morris, also know as Rowanberry. http://rowanberrydesigns.co.uk/wp/
Her beads sell out faster than hot cakes so you have to be pretty quick to catch them! Aswell as selling the beads, she also turns some of them into stunning items of jewellery and she's also a wonderful artist!! Her tree beads are to die for!



Next, is Vickie at http://beads4breakfast.co.uk/ She's only been lampworking for a couple of years but she produces some lovely colourful beads in her kitchen workshop!!

Next up is http://www.folksy.com/shops/dragonglass I bought a huge bag of her orphan beads last year!!! There were some stunning beads in there!!!

Over on Etsy is where you will find the lovely beads made by Jane http://www.etsy.com/shop/janehamill

I adore the cute little viking beads made by http://www.etsy.com/shop/MadCatGlass

Here a few beads from my ever growing collection - if you like them as much as I do then check out some of the above stores!

Until next time!

Calorie Free Chocolate - well almost!!!

The shops are full of easter eggs and hopefully there will be some left by Monday that will get reduced to half price!! So today, I thought I share with you some of the lovely guilt free chocolate things on Folksy!

http://www.folksy.com/items/1077021

http://www.folksy.com/items/1647005-Chocolate-Egg-Bath-Bomb

http://www.folksy.com/items/1607141-Milk-Chocolate-Homemade-Soap

http://www.folksy.com/items/1536501-Death-by-Chocolate-

http://www.folksy.com/items/1350925-Brown-Bag-Charm-Keyring?shop=yes

See, no calories ingested so no guilt when buying!!

Have a Happy Easter!!

To Bid or not to Bid?

There has been some discussion over on the Folksy forums recently about charity auctions being run on Facebook.
I for one think they are a great idea and help to raise funds for some wonderful charities - big and small.
I have not yet been directly asked to put anything in an auction but I have offered items to various auctions being run and indeed, I even ran an auction myself of my own items a couple of weeks back.
So this week, I am going to highlight some of the auctions that are happening on FB and some of the great causes that I know of over there.
The first one I want to share with you is the one that I held my auction for. http://www.facebook.com/Cefnigermanshepherdrescue?sk=info Its a wondeful place that rescues and rehomes German Shepherds. Thanks to everyone that bought items over £200 was raised.
Next up is something that is very close to my heart; fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Care. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=163410227043207&aid=52533 This is being run by the lovely Clare Holmes, who like me, has a very personal reason for raising money for such a wonderful cause.
One of the reasons why I like these auctions is the chance to see the work of so many other talented people! Over at this auction http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44178&id=154395241249972&fbid=196596747029821#!/photo.php?fbid=196596760363153&set=a.196596747029821.44178.154395241249972&theater there are nearly 200 items up for auction, and there is some lovely stuff there!
An auction that will be happening soon is this one http://www.facebook.com/Eneshelmetappeal
and I've gladly offered a necklace.
Another auction starting soon is this one, http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=163628576994623&aid=47753 and again it has some wonderful items in it!

Please check out these auctions and if possible make a small bid. They are all being done for some wonderful causes. If you get asked to help out, then please consider it. If you feel that you can't offer an item to them then just share the link around to your friends - the more people that know about these auctions the more money they can raise. If Comic Relief can raise over £74m
in one night, then I think it should be possible to raise a few hundred pounds for some often very small charities that are in desperate need of funds.

Share the love and make a bid!
Thank you xx

Small is beautiful!

We, buteartism, are a team! I make jewellery (amongst other things!) and Terry likes to paint. He usually paints large canvases and watercolours but recently we were both introduced to something called ACEOs.
The acronym stands for Artist Card Edition and Original.
They are miniature works of art created to sell, trade and collect. ACEO's come in all mediums, subject matter and styles as larger works of art but should conform to the standard size of 2 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 inches.
So armed with some offcuts of watercolour paper, he set to work and gave it a try! Whilst he was doing that, I set about looking to see what others had been producing! http://www.folksy.com/items/1406665-ACEO?shop=yes

http://www.folksy.com/items/1257909

http://www.folksy.com/items/1246617

http://www.folksy.com/items/1409545

I hadn't realised that an ACEO could be made out of any material; as long as it measures 2.5"x3.5" then anything goes!! Well, I might even give this a go!! As for Terry, he is quite getting into this, so here is one of his to finish with!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/69319120/watercolour-aceo?ref=pr_shop

Hope you like this little selection! Why not have a go yourself! It sure looks like good fun!

Motorbike Madness

I love motorbikes!!! OK, so I havn't actually ever ridden one or even been a pasenger on one, but my husband used to ride them and I have a friends who ride them!! I stand and stare like a kid in a sweetie shop whenever I see one go past on the road and have been known to go ga-ga if I see one parked up!!!


So in honour of my motorbike fetish, this blog
is dedicated to all those bikers out there!

Well, all bikers need the right gear! http://www.folksy.com/items/956765-Hand-Painted-Biker-Jacket-T-shirt-18M

They also need a bike!

http://www.folksy.com/items/945613-Low-Rider

When they are not out riding, most bikers have their head stuck in bike magazines, so this next item will make sure that they never loose that important article!

http://www.folksy.com/items/1118861-Bookmark-Motorbikes

And finally, just incase they ever forget who they really are, then my last item will really help!

http://www.folksy.com/items/1345137-Biker-Kilt-Pin-Brooch

Right, time to hit the road! See you later!

Vampy Valentine's

Its coming up to Valentine's Day and if you want to snare the man of your dreams then you might consider becoming a Vamp for the day!!
Here are a few ideas that are bound to set his pulse racing and help you win him over!
Every Vamp needs a pair of killer heels but if yours are a little bit on the shabby side then how about these
http://www.folksy.com/items/1343769-Steampunk-gothic-style-black-lace-shoe-clips to jazz them up a bit!!

Next, you'll need a bit of bling to catch his eye!

This lovely gothic style ring will go lovely with that sexy LBD!! http://www.folksy.com/items/1071841-Gothic-Black-Rose-Ring

Next up, you'll need a pretty necklace!

http://www.folksy.com/items/791353-Red-Black-Gothic-Key-Necklace

If you want to add just a little bit of intrigue to the evening you could always get yourself one of these! http://www.folksy.com/items/1241681-GOTHIC-ESQUE-Masquerade-Mask

And if he doesn't get the message after all that, I guess you're going to have to spell it out to him. http://www.folksy.com/items/1345401-Vamp-Kilt-Pin-Brooch

Hope all this has got you in the mood for Valentine's Day!!
Have fun xx