Featured once again by Dawanda Shop Directory

Even though it was only a direct copy of a blog post i did recently - my last post i think actually - it was still nice to be featured and hopefully my experiences will help others.

http://dawandashopdirectory.blogspot.com/2008/02/jenny-bs-bottlecaps-first-craft-fair.html

i will be writing more for Sara but its been a hectic week and i need a rest!

Ugley Farmers Market - A step into the unknown....

It would have to be one of the coldest mornings on a while when i have to get up and leave the house early! by the time we left at ten past nine it had at least reached about freezing, but only by one degree!

Setting up was fine and i managed to get my table presented reasonably nicely although my chalk board canvas idea for the price list didn't work at all - good job i took some paper with me!

So this is how my little corner of the little room looked!

There were only 4 of us in the little craft room, as half term had kept sellers away as well as many buyers! but the lady next to me who was selling various textile items bought a little magnet of a bee as her granddaughter is called Bee.




It was good to network and meet people, and i am very grateful to Angela (who i met through freecycle) for introducing me to her friends. It was great being able to tell the lady with the textiles (apologies for not remembering names but my nerves blocked all of them out today apart from Sue (the organiser), Angela and Steph who makes soaps) about the online opportunities such as Etsy.com and Dawanda, as well as pick up contact details for future events, such as the Countess of Warwick fair in Dunmow which is held in august.

After advertising on facebook, one of my contacts RSVP'ed that he would be attending, i didn't expect him to at all, but he and his partner came over. i was kind of shocked as i hadn't seen him in about 2 years - at least. But it was wonderful to see him and he even picked up a Mother's Day gift from my stall - and some essential beer i noticed! This was the set of three he purchased:

Apparently January, February and March are particualry quiet and even more so today because of half term. So i am encouraged that i was about to cover my costs of the stall on a very quiet morning especially as the lady who has the signs that say "more stalls this way", as you had to walk through the kitchen to get to us (!!) wasn't there this week. If i go again though i am only able to get floor space as the regular photographer who is normally where i was will be back, but David has worked out that i could simply use the tripod to hold my white board.

Its given me a slight boost in confidence depsite waking up wishing it would be cancelled this morning!

Bring on the 15th March!

Ugley Famers' Market - Tomorrow!!

Well, I'm starting to get a tad nervous now. i'm all packed up ready to go, is just a case of waiting until i get there to see how i can position things on the table. I've got all my new items such as the mirrors, keyrings and buttons as well as more magnets and brooches that haven't been listed on Dawanda yet - after all, there's no point listing them, then deactivating them and then relisting again!

There was this small ad in this weeks paper for the market too, so with that publicity i hope it will be busy which will mean more sales!

Herts and Essex Observer - Complaints Letter

Last week i wrote a complaint and sent i via email to my local newspaper, and this week as the Ed said in his emai reply he published it this week:

although i disagree with the Ed - i don't think anything justifies showing a picture as close-up and graphic as that! the image was of an injury cause by a football stud to a player's knee during a womans football match. the text with the image described the injury as 7 inches across and needing something like 16 stitches! well on the paper the picture size was 4 inches across and the wound took up the size of the photo.

and it seems i wasn't the only person upset my the picture.

On the plus side though, the editor has agree to do a feature on Self Harm for SIAD (Self Injury Awareness Day) on 1st March. He said he will get one of his team to email me next week sometime. i mentioned my history of self harm in my original email but the Ed checked if i wanted that published and although i don't feel i have to hide it - i mean everyone i know from my past who may read the newspaper probably knows anyway - i decided its wasn't appropriate to include in my published complaint, after all i think the image would affect any ordinary person!

Featured on Cuteable!

The wonderful Elizabeth at Dawanda, who is also on the admin team, let me a comment on my Dawanda profile to say i have been featured on another blog called cuteable!

It was one of the magnets that got a mention here!

My How To Guide - featured on the dawanda shop directory blog

After i discovered the idea of creating a business page on Facebook for my online Dawanda shop and then shared this with other Dawanda sellers, Sara asked me to write a guide on how to create a facebook page, which she has published on the blog today!

here's a link to the article on the blog

and here's a link to my facebook page for jennyb's bottlecaps

Man Flu

A Video forwarded by my Step-dad:

Catch-up time

Easy way to do a catch, as i have a bad memory is by the photos i've taken, so here goes:


Well, i received a wonderful Jiffy Bag full of Crystal Light Honey and Lemon Green Tea from Christina in the USA, for which i sent her a set of personalized bottlecap magnets (i'm sure i blogged about them before i sent them)

Then i did a handmade magnet swap on swap bot - the brief was "4 handmade magnets" for 2 different partners. i wanted to do 2 sets of for but it ended up a set of 3 and a single for one parnter (runningoutofroom). this is the single:

and then the set of 3: she's received them as said she loves them.

Then the set of four for my other parnter, who i can't remember off the top of my head, but they are in the USA so it will be a couple of days before they get there yet i think. and both people sending to me are in the states, plus the send date hasn't passed yet - it was the 28th i think.

i received my letter in a matchbox, which was the swap i hosted, from clareyfairy


and her's the one i sent to chappykat, who received it happily!

I responded to Diddldonna's rquest on the forum for some swap cards, which i designed, printed and cut up - they are about ATC size (2.5 " x 3.5") - and in return she has sent a little suprise for a special occasion to a person who is special to me.

I've started cooking dinner once a week for mum and david again, to give mum a night off, so for the first week it was shin of beef and ale casserole with potato and celeriac mash. i dug up the 3 celeriac we planted from the seedlings grandpa gave us.........the thing about root veg is that ou don't know whats under the surface......

Not much was the answer!!!

lots if bits of roots but not much main root!

Mum got a new orchid as the last flowering one had finally dropped its flowers after 2 months and wanted some photos:

i might try this one as a greetings card, and mum mentioned there was one she thought might look nice on a canvas.

Then came Mojo's Digital ATC swap, 2 ATCs of digitally altered images for 2 parnters:
2 for Chaz:

And 2 for my other partner (sorry bad memory):

My final photos are of a cake mum asked me to make ready for the canadian visitors on sunday, it was a kind of fruit cake but the bog standard dried fruit in tesco looked so unappealing so i got a bag of jumbo raisins, golden raisins and dried cherries. doesn't look too bad, does it?

Only a couple of days now to find out if it's "matured" nicely and tastes ok!

Dawanda Shop Directory again!

Another mention from Sara on the Dawanda Shop Directory blog

I shared my facebook advertising idea on the Dawanda Forum. You can create pages for musicians, charities, teams, organisations and also businesses like online stores! This way people can become fans and show their support.

Here is the facebook page for Jennyb's Bottlecaps

and

Here is the facebook page for Sara's Texture Crafts

Another way to promote Dawanda and help each other promote our shops and hopefully sell more handmade crafts!

Jennyb's Bottlecaps featured on the Dawanda shop directory blog

Sara has been kind enough to feature sellers from Dawanda with a simple questionaire i replied to and has today published my article on the blog here

The blog also has great guides on dawanda and how to buy, sell and promote etc.

jennyb's bottle caps

jennyb's bottle caps
Originally uploaded by courtly

found a photo on flickr of the bottlecap i sent to Courtney for introducing me to Dawanda!