Quote of the day

No matter what our age or condition,
there are still untapped possibilities within us
and new beauty waiting to be born.

—Dale E. Turner




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We have a winner

After collecting all the responces that actually provided a valid e-mail address(alas, of too many people I coulden't trace their e-mail) and giving everyone who had blogged and/or tweeted 2 places I came to 72 perticipants.

Random.org picked a random (haha) number from my list and Anne J came out the winner!! Congratulations Anne!! I will contact you asap.

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Item of the Day - Squirrels

This sweet little squirrel is crocheted with love in light green yarn with a fabulous fun-fur tail - so soft and fluffy. He is suitable for all ages due to his safety eyes and washable nature.
What could be cuter to celebrate the end of Fall? He also makes an excellent stocking stuffer.
More colours will be added soon. Why not order one?

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Christmas giveaway

SIGNUPS ARE NOW CLOSED!

The winner will be contacted tomorrow (27/12) thank you all for entering!

And here it is! The Christmas giveaway from the European Artfire guild. For the past couple of months we have been working to put together the collection of goodies you can see in the picture below. There are hairpins and hairclips, some holliday themed glasswork beads, a shawl, gorgeaus jewelry, Christmas decoration, a pair of ladies fingerless gloves, a christmasy box and I bet I forgot to mention something.

If you want a chance to win all these lovely handmade goods from Europe all you need to do is write a comment to this blogpost, you can even get your name in the hat twice if you blog or twitter or help us promote this giveaway in any other way. So be sure to let us know.
We will ship to anywhere.

On the 27th of november we will ask random.org to pick us a winner.
Please don't forget to provide an e-mail address you regularly check when you comment so we can contact you for your home address if you turn out to be the lucky winner.

Participating artists:

Jane from http://loopylou.artfire.com/
Bernadette from http://berniolie.artfire.com/
Alison from http://thesheriffsdaughter.artfire.com/
Neki from http://nekidesu.artfire.com/
Jenny from http://jennykarlssondesign.artfire.com/
Wendy from http://eddyspressies.artfire.com/
Helen from http://kittyballistic.artfire.com/
Catrin from http://catswire.artfire.com/
Susanne from http://BabsBeadsandDesign.artfire.com/
Mary from http://truecolours.artfire.com
Liesan from http://ignisfatuus.artfire.com/

Item of the Day - Roll Neck Sweater

Roll neck sweater to fit child aprox 5/6 knitted using James C Brett Marble DK yarn .

can be knitted to fit ages 1-10, with a roll or round neck, in a variety of  colours

This was one of my boys favourite patterns and is ideal as the cooler weather is now with us

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=425936

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Item of the day - wire crochet Christmas ornaments

It's still early, I know. But since my last wire order arrived, I couldn't hold myself back. Christmas ornaments from crocheted copper wire in different colors and there are still so many more to try out!
And an extra bonus is that they can't break! ;-)

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Quote of the day

"And in the end it's not the years in your
life that count. It's the life in your years."

- Abraham Lincoln  

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GoldLily's work on JewelStruck

For a while I've been posting my jewelry designs on Facebook and Flickr, written blog about them. Hard work has been worth, since last week my photos were noticed on Facebook and I got invitation to blog in JewelStruck. For a jewelry designer, creating beautiful necklaces, bracelets and earrings is such a victory to be invited to publish own designs in an other blog.

Being a member of Artfire Europe is the same also. Supportive community, members who can understand difficulties to be a artisan on the web which is crowded by international and especially American crafters, is giving a lot. New ideas, intresting studios and a lot of nice, helpful artisans on one guild. Each member expands other members network and finally we are connected through each others to a huge group of people.

Cold winter is coming. Beautiful boot chain will stay visible even when most of jewelry will be hidden mostly under warm winter cloths.

* Meet the designer: http://www.goldlily.eu/

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Item of the day

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Lavendar cushion in linen with vintage lace and stamp with ladybugs. Have got a ribbon so you can hang it wherever you want.

Filled with lavendar which not only smells very good, it does also work to keep little bugs away. Perfect to keep in your closet amongst your clothes.

http://www.artfire.com/users/JennyKarlssonDesign

Item of the Day

Mermaid's Wish - A pretty freshwater pearl wire crocheted necklace fit for any self respecting mermaid. Some of the components used in it are two 16"/41cms strands of lavendar freshwater pearls, more than 100 Swarovski crystals in shades of violet and tanzanite, countless seed beads and hammered Thai Hilltribe silver cones.
The length is 17"/43cms but I have also added a 2.5"/6.5cms extender chain so that it can be worn at different lengths.

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Quote of the day

It's not so important where we stand,
but the direction in which we are moving.



- Goethe

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Autumn/Fall reds

Item of the Day

Today's Item of the Day is a seasonal offering - "Fall Pumpkins" from the Sheriff's Daughter.

When I saw these sweet Czech glass pumpkin beads, I knew I had to have them. They're such fun.

Adding a Czech glass leaf, I hung them on a pair of large, antiqued brass hoops to make a cute pair of Autumn earrings. Enjoy!

(P.S. My "significant other" was cross when he saw I'd called them "Fall" pumpkins - they should, of course, be "Autumn" as we're in Europe.)

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Item of the day - Felt Halloween decoration

Today's item is from Kitty Ballistic.




This cute felt decoration will brighten up any corner of your home (or office, or even car) for Halloween. Made from spooky purple and orange felt, the decoration features a scary polymer clay bat embellishment.

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Item of the Day-Autumn Russet

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I've seen some lovely crocheted bags and wanted to try one for myself.  I've lined the bag to give it more structure and strength and the colours are perfect for the autumn

 Can be held in the hand or over the shoulder. It has a circular bottom and a scalloped decorative finish around the top edge

Item of the day - Fire and ashes

"Fire and ashes" is what I called this necklace crocheted from red coated copper wire and hematite beads. The name suggested itself looking at the contrast between the bright red of the wire and the grey shimmer of the hematite.
The necklace is 40 cm long and thus lies close around your neck, but is no choker.



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Item of the Day: Swosch! lampwork bead

It took quite a while to make this bead.Then swirly lines are made from a lovely silver glass that shifts nicely in different blues. The surface is decorated with goldstone stringer.
The bead is 27 mm long.

Babs Beads & design

Item of the Day

Cubic zirconia briolettes in a deep garnet shade of red. Very striking with the antiqued silver connectors and Bali silver earwires.

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Quote of the day

Aim for progress, not perfection.
- Anonymous


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Item of the day : Sanity Calms, But Madness Is More Interesting. Bag no. 235

I think I have posted this embroidery earlier, before it got turned into a bag. Well here it is, the finished product!

Sanity Calms, But Madness Is More Interesting. Bag no. 235

By Jenny Karlsson Design.



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Item of the day - Pale blue flower earrings

Today's item is these pale blue and amber flower earrings by Kitty Ballistic.



The Czech glass flowers are a lovely mix of powder blue and amber, and at the centre of each flower is a small amber Swarovski crystal. The flowers hang from sterling silver ear wires.

I love these beads so much that I bought them in lots of different colours. I have some mint green ones that I wear quite a lot, and I have some other colours ready to be made into earrings.

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Item of the Day

Today's item is "Glacial" - a necklace from The Sheriff's Daughter.

The aquamarine nuggets in this necklace are a beautiful shade of icy blue. As a child, I was lucky enough to have a summer holiday in Norway and we visited a glacier. As we squeezed through a huge crack at the end of the glacier, you could look right into the ice and it was just this shade of blue...or that is how I remember it anyway.


The necklace is designed to be worn with the heart toggle clasp at the front, but you could wear it at the back where, if you have long hair like me, it could be our little secret...



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Crafty Tip (cross stitch and embroidery)

The threads for embroidery and cross stitch come as a 6 ply thread. However, when working from patterns, they generally only ask for you to use 2 plys at a time; meaning that you have to cut a thread to length, then carefully draw out 2 plys; leaving the other 4 for later use.

These can quickly mount up especially when doing a colourful pattern. They can also get horribly tangled and you can forget which number colour they are (each shade and colour has it's own number; many of the shades are very similar)

Here is a simple way of keeping your threads tidy and remembering their shade number.

Just cut a strip of card (cereal boxes are great for this) then add little cuts down the sides as in the photo. This way you can wrap your left over pieces around the width of the card without them sliding off. Also you can write the shade number above each one. This means that even if you don't use those pieces for this project; you can always find the right number shade again for another project - thus saving you money - and who doesn't love to save money?

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Quote of the day

No matter what our age or condition,
there are still untapped possibilities within us
and new beauty waiting to be born.
—Dale E. Turner



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Item of the day - Green Fairy necklace

This necklace is made from dark green copper wire, faceted green glass crystals and dark green satin ribbon.
The wire has been spool knit with the crystals worked right in while the ribbon is just running inside. As the ribbon has not been added later, it got twisted during the crafting which gives a nice touch.
There is no clasp, the necklace is tied with the ribbon ends which means you can wear the bow in the back or in front for that little extra.


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Item of the Day - Cross Stitch Christmas Card

Is it a little early for Christmas? I don't think it's ever too early to get organised.

This 15cm x20cm Card features a character from the popular Christmas song "the 12 Days of Christmas" The Partridge in a pear tree is hand-sewn cross stitch on 14 count aida fabric inserted into white heavy card stock. It has several gold-coloured festive acid-free stickers for decoration. The inside is blank for your own greeting and, of course, it comes with a plain white envelope for posting.

I will be adding more of these over the next few weeks - don't miss out.

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Quote of the day

"Do one thing everyday that scares you."

Elinor Roosevelt




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Newly Listed

What a wonderful selection of newly listed items we have to choose from. Everyone has been hard at work making and listing some of the most beautiful and unusual pieces just for you.

What amazing lampwork beads from Silver Soul; her blue moon earings are just so pretty. Just look at those Swarovski crystal bicones added as an extra to the silver ear wires.
Spotted Sparrow offers these handmade cards either singley or as a set of 4. In case you are wondering; the pages are from a vintage German encyclopedia. The cards are also blank inside awaiting your message.

Cat's Wire has caught a wonderful fossilised piece of coral in this coral heart pendant The necklace itself is made from black cotton satin ribbon and a gold wire spool knit together.

Goldlily has created this Silver Angel earring set. What a wonderful gift for someone going away; their own set of guardian angels

You can click on any of the pictures or the highlighted descriptions to be taken to that item. Whilst there, have a look at some of the other wonderful works in our studios. Enjoy!

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Item of the day - Evil lemon felt plush

Today's Item of the Day is Sir Everard E. Vill-L'mone, made by Kitty Ballistic.



He is the sort of lemon that will tie a damson to a train track and then run off, laughing evilly, as the approach of the 4.12 express can be heard in the distance. He refuses to help people with bad colds or scurvy, and he doesnt care if your gin and tonic has ice but no slice. He is the most evil of the citrus fruits (with the possible exception of the Malevolent Mandarin).

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Quote of the day

"To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else."
- Emily Dickinson


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Item of the Day - Harvest Bell Pull

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=352819

Quilted Harvest Bell pull Aprox 23"/58cms from top of hanger to bottom of bell

I thought the motifs were particularly suitable for a kitchen. A bell pull was perfect for decorating small wall spaces

A harvest shopping bag/tote is also available

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Item of the day - crab agate pendant with spool knit rope

If you want to catch attention and make a statement with big and bold jewelry, this might be your piece.
A large faceted orange crab agate has been set in a gunmetal wire crochet bezel with a hand-wrapped bail and teamed with a spool knit rope made from black satin ribbon and gunmetal wire.


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Newly Listed Showcase

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Quote of the day

"Happiness is not something ready made...
It comes from your own actions."
-- Dalai Lama


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Item of the Day

I called these earrings Pots of Honey because the color of the lampwork beads is such a warm golden honey shade which is further enhanced by the soft glow of the vermeil spacer beads, beadcaps and earwires.

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Europe Trivia - Europe is such a loving place

Now when I say that I’m sure you immediately think of the French people kissing everyone on both cheeks, and the open arms of the Italians or Greeks. I agree with all that. But this goes much further. The friendliness and love goes deep into our traditions and languages too.

One of my favourite sights is these houses on the Faeroe Islands that seem to be hugged by the very landscape that surrounds them. Of course, having grass on your roof means you have a quiet house, a warm house and the weight of the grass helps to keep your roof on in the incredible storms they get so far North. But I can’t help being a romantic.

The Danish also have this lovely tradition of having a small room in the house (away from where they receive guests) which is just for the family to gather in of an evening. It is usually furnished with big soft cushions and soft lighting. They call it a hygge-krog or a hugging nook. To be invited into another family’s hygge-krog is a great honour and is like being made part of the family.

There is a lovely German word too which is gemütlich. There is no real single English word for this but it is a way of using furnishings, lighting even scents to create a cosy and homely feeling. So that even a stranger entering the house will immediately feel at home.

And not to be left out; the Welsh have a lovely word too. This is Cwtch. It’s an odd word as it has many definitions. (one definition is a coal shed!) If a Welsh person says to “cwtch-up” it means to snuggle down among the blankets for a good night’s sleep. A cwtch can also be a hug or a cuddle but my favourite definition is for the shawl that is wrapped tightly around baby and then around Mam’s back to give her a hand free when carrying baby. Also baby can be close to her Mam and have a hug while Mam either keeps working or sits in a chair for a rest herself. This is such a lovely idea because even if mam falls asleep; the baby cannot fall and is held safely in place by the shawl. Who doesn’t want to be hugged to sleep?

Picture of Faeroe house by kind permission of Chris Webster

Picture of Mam carrying baby "welsh style" by the Museum of Wales

Item of the Day

ScribbleBook by Jenny Karlsson Design.
The text is handwritten with nib pen and ink:
"Think all you speak, but speak not all you think.
Thoughts are your own Words are so no more. - Patrick Delaney 1686-1768-"



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Item of the day: Botswana Agate earrings

Today's item of the day comes from Kitty Ballistic - a pair of earrings featuring beautiful Botswana Agate beads.



When I saw these beautiful agate coin beads, I had to buy them. They have a lovely milky sheen to them, and the banding is particularly attractive, although as you will see in the photo, the beads are not identical. I still think they work as a pair though, and the simple sterling silver earwires don't draw attention away from the agate banding.


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Item of the Day

Today's item of the day comes from The Sheriffs Daughter - a set of charms called "Handful of Eyes", in joyful anticipation of Halloween.


The seven charms in the set are made with great lampwork eyeball beads (Thank you, Hoss of Beads) - each is unique and has two eyes (so you can see trouble coming from two directions at once?) - with silver beads and Swarovski crystals. These could be added to earrings, strung on a chain or thong (singly or in a bunch) or made into a cell phone charm, or given to your favourite spooky chums...

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Item of the Day - Felt Tipped Pen Roll

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=357782

A quilted pen roll which holds up to 48 pens/pencils. Folds over in half and then rolls up, fastens with ribbon tie.
Would make a great gift for children, especially as many are going back to school in the next few weeks.

Fully Washable

aprox 6"/15cms, and 12"/30.5cms diameter when closed

Can be made in different colours, using different fabric designs, to hold smaller amounts of pen/pencils, or crayons





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Newly Listed-Dark orange and Red

Here are just a few of the newly listed items that caught my eye. I love the deep oranges and reds that have been used. http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=363599

First we have these beautiful Earrings from the Sheriff's Daughter, using amber bubbles

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=344790

These Recycled Pop Tab/Ring Pull and Bottle Cap Brooches from skacore princess really caught my attention by their novelty. What a wonderful way to recycle these tabs.

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=330991

This necklace, by Cat's Wire, consists of a dark red satin ribbon that has been spool knit together with a light pink metallic wire for the extra kick. If you visit her studio, you will see how versatile this item is.

Why not take a moment to visit our studios and see the wide variety of items that are on offer

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Item of the day - olive wood disk pendant

A beautifully patterned olive wood disk has been crocheted into a bezel of metallic brown shimmering copper wire with black beads added to form this unusal pendant that has an old-fashioned look to me.
A big and bold piece that is sure to catch attention.


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Quote of the day

Perfumes are the feelings of flowers - Heinrich Heine

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"Things" that inspire me - my cats

Actually it's not inspiring things I want to talk about, but my cats. They are omnipresent in my life. Even if I wasn't allowed to have one as a child, I still could play with the ones at the farm that belonged to my godmother's parents.
My full first name includes the word "cat" which made it easy to choose the name for my studio. My friends from the US who had problems with pronouncing my first name (no idea why) always called me Cat.
And suddenly the furry kind was in our life and there to stay.
Recently there are five of them in my cat crew:

Gandalf (easy to see where that name came from!). Quiet and shy.


Mephista. Small and lovable.


Greebo. Actually not as monster-like as in this picture, but I like his yellow eyes here ;-)


Ponder. Crazy, wild and extreme in everything he does, may it be fighting or cuddling.


Esme. Almost as extreme as her brother Ponder, but she hasn't got "the howl".


Looking at them inspired me to start my kitty line in a moment of whim, a line of wire crochet earrings and pendants.
Each of my cats has a very different face and so do my crochet kitties, depending on choice of hook, wire, beads for eyes and nose, the ways the ears are put on.
A special thanks goes to Merlin, he is no longer with us. He had the big male cat head that I love best in my pendants.


Thanks for taking the time to stroll through my feline world with me :-)


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Item of the Day

Snow and Ice by Silver Soul Design

It seems so wrong to even mention snow and ice in August but that is what I called this necklace, it just seems to fit.

It is made with frosted quartz nuggets, clear crystal beads and a heart shaped pendant, Bali silver spacers, pendant focal and clasp.

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Item of the Day

Crocheted flower brooch in off-white mulberry silk with glass beads, and three rock-chrystal chips in the middle. By Jenny Karlsson Design.
Very soft and feels quite luxurious and lasts a lifetime at least!
A little something to put on your jacket, shawl, hat or bag.



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Item of the day

Another felt item from me, this time a sweet treat.



A wise lady once said "There's no such thing as too much icing" and she was right. This plush felt doughnut is stuffed full of polyfill, smothered in pink icing and topped with some white glaze.

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Item of the Day

Today's item of the day is "Luna" - a necklace from The Sheriff's Daughter.

The "Luna" in this necklace is a beautiful, textured Thai Hill Tribe silver disc. Teamed with faceted pink opalite beads, and finished with a Thai silver hammered toggle clasp, this has a feminine and almost ethereal look to it.

Item of the Day-Quilted Elephant Quilt

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=341846

My mum had bought this fabric to use when my children were babies, but hadn't been able to do it before she passed away. I have finally decided to put it to good use and made this baby quilt. The elephants on the front have been hand quilted. The spotted backing fabric has been machine quilted to the front. Aprox size of quilt is 28"/71cms x 34"/86cms. A matching cushion will soon be available

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Item of the day - hippie flower wire crochet bracelet

Do you remember the times? If you are my age, you probably do, the 60s and 70s. Colors mixed together very randomly, almost everything was possible and the scent of flowers were in the air. Let the sunshiiiiiiiine in ;-)
This bracelet is made from single crochet wire flowers in different colors that have been combined and finished off with a sterling silver toggle clasp.

Ssssh, and Germans might even be reminded of dish soap ... know what I mean?

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