Category Archives: Etsy

Etsy purchases no. 3

23 Thursday Feb 2012

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Here is the third, and last item purchased from Etsy. Remember, I told you about my three purchases here?

The packaged arrived on Tuesday but I had to wait until today to open it as I wanted to photograph it for you. I knew it would be the green crochet rose earrings from Singapore so it was torture having to wait this long! I was super eager to see whether they would look as pretty in real life as they do in the Etsy listing.

Before I can show you the earrings, I have to take it out of the envelope.  The earrings are somewhere inside the plain brown envelope.

Then…. I fold over the flap of the brown envelope to be greeted with bright beautiful trees. Not so plain anymore! In this photo you can also see the “Thanks” written on the bottom right corner of the brown envelope.  Things are looking very promising…

And then, behold my green crochet rose earrings!!! They definitely are as pretty in real life as in the listing!

I know you want a closer look.

Aren’t they beautiful? 

Perfectly formed roses made with tiny stitches:  I think 1.5mm or 2mm hook, and cotton thread.

I honestly can’t wait to wear them!

The seller of these beauties is Khin, a 20 year old Civil Engineering student from Singapore who loves to do crafty things.  If you also want beautiful crochet earrings, visit her Etsy store. Or you can read all about Khin on her blog: Khins-craft-space.

I now have two pairs of green crochet earrings bought on Etsy. The other pair look like this. I totally love green, so I think it’s justified that I should have a hanging pair of green crochet earrings, as well as a stud pair. I also love rose stud earrings, so to my thinking it’s perfectly fine that I have two pairs, one in red felt. The red studs look like this. And who can forget my custom made turtles, blogged about here?

I’d like to think of these earings not so much as earrings for me, more like support for Etsy sellers. That’s a good way of justifying thinking isn’t it?

(I may have to get more ear piercings. It’s a disgrace that I can only wear one pair of earrings at a time.)

So this concludes my Etsy shopping spree unboxing posts. Don’t fear, I guarantee there will be more of these in the (very near, knowing myself) future.

I hope these three unboxing posts have inspired you to also support handmade sellers. If you like instant gratification, support handmade by buying at craft markets. If you like a leisurely browse and opening parcels, buy online. Either way, you’ll be making a crafty person very happy.

Hear, hear for handmade!

Three to go

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Etsy, My crochet

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Nevermind cats & dogs, it’s raining zebras & elephants here this afternoon. Pouring down!

I will be braving the waters to post a baby blanket that was bought on Folksy yesterday.  (Yeah! I love getting sales!) Somewhere in Wales there’s a baby boy waiting for his blanky, so off to the post office I will go.

After last night’s sale I now only have these three blankets left over in my Etsy shop.  If you click on the photo it will take you straight to the blankets section of my shop.

Off I go. Umbrella in hand through the raging waters. Okay, it’s not that bad, but it’s still wet.  I think I’ll have to pop into Costa for an Earl Grey with soy milk on my way back from the post office. Right?

 

Etsy purchases no. 2

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Etsy, My ramblings

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Here is the second item purchased from Etsy. Remember, I told you about my three purchases here?

The package came all the way from the US of A, so I knew it had to be the magnetic bookmark from Lori A McKee.  I really love Lori’s artwork. So much in fact that this was my second order from her. The first was a perpetual calendar, like this one, that I bought in December.*

Behold my beautiful silhouette lovebirds bookmark. Even the business card is pretty! 

On the back of the business card Lori wrote a note and gave me a discount code for my next order. Yeah! 

The bookmark is brilliant. It’s pretty, practical and it can’t fall out of my book. Perfect!

Please have a look at all the other beautiful things Lori sells in her Etsy shop.  I think I’ll be using my discount code for a set of notecards or a pocket mirror. I have visions of myself sitting in the train, opening a book at the magnetic bookmark, and then checking my lippy in a matching mirror. How chic!

*I started to enter birthdays and anniversaries into my brand new calendar, in pen, only to realise I was entering January dates into December! Suddenly my Mom’s birthday fell on Christmas Day instead of 25 January. In pen!!!! I got out the Tipp-ex but I haven’t had the nerve to start again. Bad Natasja – you have a beautiful calendar just waiting to be used. Grow a spine woman…. and use a pencil.

Applique to match

17 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Etsy, My ramblings, Other people's crochet, Pattern

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When I launched the pattern for my crochet wall clocks, I said that in stead of crocheted circles to indicate 12, 3, 6 and 9 you can use any applique motif, as long as the hands of your clock are able to move over it freely.  To quote myself:

I’m thinking stars, hearts, cupcakes.

The Gods of Crochet must have been reading my blog and sent inspirational hooky vibes to the owner of OneandTwoCompany. This young nurse is selling applique crochet patterns in her Etsy shop, which include exactly that: the most beautiful stars, hearts and cupcakes! Can you believe it?!  

 
 
 
 

 

She also sells patterns for whales and hedgehogs that would work well with my clocks. I’m especially loving the hedgehogs!

 
 
 

 

Can you see it? A white clock face with a brightly coloured whales or hedgehogs (or both!) on 3, 6, 9 and 12?! It would be sooooo cute!

Ooh, and what about this scene. Absolutely perfect*!

 

OneandTwoCompany sells many other applique patterns, but I think only the ones I mention here, would work on my clocks seeing as they are flat enough.

PLEASE NOTE: I have to point out that her finished items (apart from the hearts pattern) are a bit big for the standard size clock, so you would have to:

  1. either keep going in pattern rounds for the clock face so that the clock is large enough to accommodate the applique; or
  2. use a 4 ply yarn and smaller hook for the applique.

Even if you haven’t bought my clock pattern, I’m sure you will find something to decorate with OneTwoCompany’s cute applique. Hats, scarfs, blankets, towels, cushions – just about anything! 

The patterns start from as little as $2.50 (roughly £1.62) so what are you waiting for?  I certainly didn’t wait…. *I bought the cloud, tree & houses pattern. Not sure what I will be using it for yet, but inspiration will hit soon enough I’m sure. 

Pattern stashing is like yarn stashing isn’t it? You know you love it, you know you have to buy it, and you know that you will (probably, eventually) find a use for it. Right?

Etsy purchases no. 1

16 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in Etsy, My ramblings

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Last week I felt like spending a bit of money. Nothing sensible and needed, just pretty and wanted. (Does one ever get a spending urge for sensible and needed?) Where do you go for pretty and wanted? Etsy of course! I wanted to satisfy the urge quickly, so I went straight to my list of Favourite Shops and quickly found three items to pop in my shopping cart.

I’ll be sharing each of these purchases with you as I receive them. The first package arrived yesterday, from Lynn at One I Made Earlier Today. (Lynn is from Manchester and the other two shops I bought from are in the US and Singapore, so theirs will arrive later).

I took photos of each step in the unpacking process. Trust me when I say it was rather difficult not ripping off the wrapping, having to pause and take a photo before moving on!

When the envelope is decorated, you know it’s going to be good…

Beautiful flowery tissue paper, raffia, tag and a card in a see through envelope. Sensory overload!

The card had a handwritten note from Lynn. Only when you buy handmade do you get these personal touches.

And here it is. First sight of my green notebook. Isn’t it cute?!!! It’s only 10.5cm x 10.5 cm. Perfect to keep in my handbag to jot down notes. But wait, there’s more! Lynn included a something extra.

It’s a wallet for stamps! And the first page of my notebook even has a “This Book Belongs To” space.  Love it!

Even the back of the stamp wallet and last page of the notebook is cute.


Thank you for the surprise stamps wallet and for taking the time to wrap it all up so beautifully, Lynn.

I’m going to write my name in my notebook to claim it as mine, mine, mine, and start using it immediately!

Fancy a cuppa?

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Etsy, Other people's crochet

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I love this quote I saw on Pinterest the other day:

Where there’s tea, there’s hope.

I agree wholeheartedly! It’s a British thing, and it’s so true. A cuppa is my answer to any calamity. Coffee makes you buzz and edgy, but tea soothes and calms. Aaaahhhhh.

My go-to beverage when I’m crocheting, is then of course tea. Crocheting on the couch with a cup of tea works miracles! Imagine therefore my utter delight when I saw this crocheted teacup and saucer on Etsy! Isn’t it brilliant?!

Obviously it’s not made for drinking, but who cares? It’s genius and pretty and combines my two favourite things!

 

The maker of this beauty is whichgoose. Her Etsy shop is filled with other beautiful, whimsical items. To make this cup and saucer, I think she probably used a sugar syrup to wet the crochet and then draped it over a proper cup and saucer. I’ve tried this technique before with a fruit bowl and it works like a charm. It takes a while to dry completely and it is a bit, okay a lot, sticky but it works and it’s cheap. 

The trick is that you have to use double the amount of sugar than water. So if you want 50ml of syrup, use 50ml water and 100ml sugar. Then just bring it to the boil and drop your crochet work into the syrup until it is soaked through. Pick it up with some sort of kitchen utensil (it’s extremely hot, so be careful) and try to press out as much of the syrup as possible, before draping it over your upturned bowl/cup/whatever. To make cleaning up easier for yourself, wrap the bowl/cup/whatever in cling film before draping the wet sugary crochet over. Then just wait a few days for it to dry. Easy peasy.

Look how clever the people at Urban Outfitters are with crochet shaped bowls.
Apples may be a bit tricky to get right, but if you crochet a doilie and drape it over a bowl, it can look like this. Very effective and unique. Give it a go!

Now for a cup of tea. Ten sugars or twelve?

Good vibrations

31 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Etsy, Folksy, My ramblings

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I just have to share the amazing afternoon I’ve had with you. It’s crochet and yarn related, but it’s so much more.

Sunday before last (the 22nd of Jan) I sent a message via Ravelry to a lady who inspires me every day with the amazing, colourful, creative crochet she does. It’s because of her and her lovely blog, that I got hooked on crochet. I wanted to thank her for all the inspirational blog posts and free patterns she so generously provides, by giving her one of my clocks. In the message I gave her a choice between two of the clocks in my Etsy shop. One a pastel flowers clock, the other a retro red circles clock. The retro red circles clock has been in my shop since the very beginning, with more than 700 views and featured in 8 treasuries on Etsy. I knew people liked it, but no-one bought it. The pastel flowers clock has been my best seller, so I hoped that one of these two options would appeal to her.

Unfortunately, to this day, she has not replied. Which is actually a good thing, because…… both of these clocks were sold on Folksy! The pastel flowers clock sold the 25th of January (3 days after the Ravelry message), and the retro red circles, was sold this afternoon (9 days after the Ravelry message) TO THE SAME PERSON! Lynn, who I found out today also has a Folksy shop selling lovely embroidered and hand drawn cards and collages (please go have a look!), was so happy with the flower clock that she bought the second one for her study!

The pastel flower clock is in hanging in her studio. She even wrote about it on her blog.  I’m so happy to see my clock in its new surroundings, proudly ticking away in someone else’s creative space!!! I’m also loving her wall full of inspirational images!

When I packaged the flower clock, I included a flowery brooch for her, as a little something pretty just to say thank you (you can see it on Lynn’s wall below and to the left of the clock). Yesterday I sold a flowery brooches on Etsy to a lady from Brixton who had bought one about two months ago – another returning customer!

I honestly don’t think these are coincidences. Whenever I give something with love, even if I just offer it and the person doesn’t accept the offer, I receive. It’s such a powerful, wonderful law of the Universe and it astounds me every time it happens.

In another happy twist, I’ve been in the mood to crochet a cardigan of some sort for myself but wasn’t sure what I wanted to make. I dabbled with the idea of a lacy wrap, but the pattern I like is in Portuguese and even though it includes diagrams, I’m not sure it would be a fun exercise…. I also couldn’t find a good substitute for the Pingouin yarn they used in the pattern.

In the end I went with my first instinct: a Garnstudio cardigan from their 2012 Spring collection that I fell in love with when I saw it for the first time last week.

 

The yarn I bought for this, is Drops BabyAlpaca Silk. Baby… Alpaca….Silk! It’s the very first time I will be working with something as luxurious as this and I’m super excited. Even more excited because as I was placing the order for the yarn, which came to £28.90 for the 8 skeins, the retro red circles clock was sold for £20, so the super duper fantastic yarn only cost me £8.90. It’s a sign of good things to come I think!

P.S. Sales of the clock pattern is coming along nicely as well. To date nine have been sold so there are nine entries into the draw for the square clock that I blogged about here. If you want to be in the draw, you have until midnight Friday 3 February to purchase the pattern and be entered into the draw. Good luck!!

A pattern and a giveaway

20 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Etsy, My crochet, My ramblings, Pattern

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Today is a HUGE day me and crocheTime. It’s the official launch of my first pattern! It’s this pattern that kicked of my little crocheTime shop and lead to this blog. It’s the crochet wall clock pattern!!!!!!!

Now you too can crochet a clock for yourself or as a gift (please don’t sell it as it’s still copyrighted to me).

I listed it on Ravelry last night. What a rush to see my own little pattern right there in “recently added crochet patterns”!

The possibilities with this clock really are endless. You don’t have to use white for the clock face, and of course the four cirlces can be any colour, or combination of colours. I also give crochet instructions for four different types of edgings, so even if you stick to circles for numbers 12, 3, 6 and 9 you can make four different clocks just by changing the edge.

To personalise it further you can use any applique type crochet design (like I did with flowers) for the 12, 3, 6 and 9. As long as it’s flat enough that clock hands can move over it freely. I’m thinking stars, hearts, cupcakes. Anything will do!

Apart from crocheting instructions I also explain (and show with a couple of photos) how to assemble the clock, using hardboard and a hot glue gun.

The pattern can be purchased for £3.50 in my Etsy shop. Just click here to go straight to the listing. If there are any buyers from South Africa, you can choose Other as your payment option and pay R35 into my FNB account. Just send me a message via Etsy and I’ll give you the bank details.

Once payment is received I will email you the pattern as a PDF file.

But wait, there’s more!

Everyone who buys a pattern between today and midnight GMT on Friday 3 February will go into a draw to win this clock. I’ll draw the name at random on Saturday 3 February and let you know via my Facebook page and the blog who the lucky winner is.

I look forward to sending out lots of clock patterns to you all. Lets hook around the clock!!!

Proper retro

28 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Etsy, My ramblings, Pattern

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I recently found a selection of vintage crochet patterns on Etsy, all incorporating granny squares. I love granny squares, but some of these patterns are quite… well, see for yourself.

Will I buy the pattern, make and wear this? Maybe:

Will I buy the pattern, make and wear this? Only if you pay me:

Source: etsy.com via Natasja on Pinterest

 

Will I buy the pattern, make and wear this? Not even if you pay me:

Source: etsy.com via Natasja on Pinterest

What do you think of these bad boys? Would you? Wouldn’t you?