12 Days Of Making, Day Six.

The prompt for Day Six of our 12 Days Of Making challenge was CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS, and I was the lucky person playing host that day. It meant that I  got to read oh, so many lovely Christmas traditions from so many people. Here are a few of my own favourites:

I have several festive films that I love to watch in the lead up to Christmas. I usually watch It’s A Wonderful Life and Love Actually while I’m wrapping presents. Brian likes Die Hard, (which as far as we are concerned IS a Christmas movie, to end that debate!) and we usually watch Scrooged, The Grinch and Elf together too. In more recent years, I’ve fallen in love with Arthur Christmas as well! (Or maybe just James McAvoy?)
My sister loves A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, and it used to be our tradition to watch it when school broke up for the holidays. Now that she works in a school, she continues that one each year, and sometimes, if I am back in time, I get to join in too. We both loved seeing the Coca Cola Christmas adverts when we were younger, (because then you know it’s really almost Christmas!) and she usually manages to see it first, (It may be a bit of a contest between us) and send me a screenshot.

(Please excuse the bad photos. I took them of various TV screens over the years!)

 My Mum’s birthday is mid December, and when I was little, she told me how, when she was little, she used to only get one gift, combined birthday and Christmas. I thought that this was so sad, that I decided to give her a small gift to open, every day from her birthday up until Christmas, and I have continued that tradition ever since! I have so much fun finding small things that I know she will like, and wrapping them all up for her.
We used to wait until Mum’s birthday to put up the Christmas tree, and that became a tradition that we still follow together if I am home in time. We would put on old Christmas records, and dance and sing around while we decorated. Now there is less dancing, but more mulled wine, so it is still great fun!
Now that I live in America, once Thanksgiving is over, if we are staying here that year, I decorate our house. I actually have a BLACK Christmas tree, which was a gift from Brian the first year we were together, as I told him I thought it would be cool to have one. It looks gorgeous decorated in all red or silver decorations, (because my OCD makes me want to have everything match!)
I have a Christmas mug that was a gift from my aunt and uncle when I was little, that has travelled across the world with me, and gets put to use every year. I also have several pairs of festive PJs, and dozens of Christmas socks, so it’s great to unpack those each year to wear.
As I said, I do get very blue around the holidays when I can’t be home with my family for Christmas, so all of these little traditions are a way to cheer me up and make me feel closer to the.

12 Days Of Making, Day Five.

The prompt for Day 5 of our fun Instagram challenge was GIFT WRAP, so I’m sharing a few examples of past wrapping that I have done. 

I have the option, for a small fee, to gift wrap any item you buy in my Etsy shop. Jewelry will come in small boxes, stamped with my personal logos, and wrapped with tissue paper and ribbon, while paintings and collages will come wrapped in seasonal paper. I can, of course, accommodate special requests, but otherwise, the style of the paper will be a nice surprise. I also enclose a personal note, my handmade business cards and a handmade bookmark with every order, and if you’re lucky, there may be a couple of other small surprises in there too! 

12 Days Of Making, Day Four.

The Day Four prompt from our Instagram Challenge was PERFECT GIFT FOR… and I have chosen to share with you my range of Fibromyalgia Awareness Jewelry and Bookmarks, which would make the perfect gift for someone you know suffering from Fibro or Lupus.

Purple Ribbons and Butterflies are the symbols for the Fibromyalgia Awareness cause, but also for Lupus, which I’m sure is no coincidence, since they mimic eachother in so many ways. And Spoons are used as a symbol by those suffering with many different types of chronic illness, thanks to the wonderful essay called The Spoon Theory, by Christine Miserandino.

PLEASE NOTE, 25% of the cost of all of these items that I sell will be donated to the NFA, the National Fibromyalgia Association, who fight to raise awareness and find a cure for this debilitating disease that is still so misunderstood. Please check out www.fmaware.org to find out more. 

As many of you know, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia back in 2012. I was also diagnosed with Lupus in 2016. To put proof to what I said above about these diseases being so misunderstood, I have also had doctors scoff at me for a diagnosis that another doctor made, and tell me that I don't have either. Although, they are unable to come up with a diagnosis themselves. So how am I supposed to treat myself? How can I fight something if I don't know what it is? I have had people tell me that my diseases are made up, or that I must be exaggerating, and most of all, that I "don't look sick". But for me, and for millions of others around the world, these diseases are a crippling reality. And so, until things are better understood, I will continue to fight to spread awareness and I will continue to raise money for those who search for a cure.

 You can find all of these items in my Etsy shop: HERE.

12 Days Of Making, Day Three.

Day Three of our Instagram challenged involved the prompt MAKER’S LITTLE HELPER. So, meet Brian, the mischievous elf who also happens to be the love of my life. 

I couldn’t do anything without all of Brian's love, support, and encouragement. He puts up with me disappearing off to my studio/workshop for hours at a time, and is always ready to take a look at my new creations with a critical eye. He helps me to price my items too, since I really struggle to put a $ amount on my work, despite the effort, materials and hours of labour I put in. Oh, and when I started doing craft fairs this year, he drove me to each place, did all the heavy moving and lifting, watched my stall when I needed a break, helped me set up and take down, and encouraged people to come to see me.
Here he is, messing around with some Christmas decorations in a pub back home, because despite the fact that he likes to pretend he’s a Grinch, he actually loves all the fun of Christmas too! (Just don't mention Egg Nog to him!)

 

 

 I honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I have him to support me.

 

12 Days Of Making, Day Two.

Day Two of our Instagram Challenge involved the prompt RED AND GREEN; lovely, cozy, festive colours that I'm sure remind most of us of Christmas. They also remind me of our time spent in New Mexico, when asked if you wanted red or green chile with your food, the locals answer "Christmas" if they want both!
 

Well, I thought I would show you everything in my Etsy shop that currently matches those colours. I realize that skulls might not be what most people think of at Christmas, but as far as I'm concerned, Goth is for life, not just for Halloween! Also, it used to be traditional that ghost stories were told around the fireside on those long winter nights, so I think that has me covered!

 

 Here are the links to the above items in my Etsy shop, if you are interested!

Clockwise from top left:
Fire And Ice Earrings

Grinning Skull Earrings, light green.

Grinning Skull Earrings, red.

Grinning Skull Earrings, dark green.

Faux Coral Necklace.

Beaded Butterfly Bookmark. 

Woodland Owl Earrings.

Sea Turtle Earrings.

12 Days Of Making, Day One.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I shared some information on the fun Instagram challenge that I am involved in. I thought I would also share each post with you here, with a few extra details, (because I can't stop talking about Christmas!) 

The first day of our challenge prompt was to introduce ourselves and tell you all about our favourite things about Christmas. (An easy start to get the ball rolling!)

As you know, my name is Sinéad, and I was born and raised in Shrewsbury, England, but have been living in America for 13 years now. I have always loved art, and have been creating since I was young. My dream is to own a small shop and gallery one day. In the meantime, I sell my work on Etsy, and lately have been focusing on mixed media collages, greetings cards and steampunk jewelry.

Because I am so far away from my family and friends back home, I admit that the holidays can be a difficult time for me. So, my boyfriend and I have a deal, where we alternate Christmas visits each year. This year we will be with his family in Virginia, but last year we got to travel home to a surprisingly snowy Shrewsbury!

My little sister and I actually used to spend hours talking about our favourite things about Christmas, so this is a fun prompt for me, but unfortunately, I don’t have the space to tell you EVERYTHING I love. To narrow it down, I will just tell you that I love the colder weather, especially if it snows, and I love wearing big coats, hats and boots and going on long walks in the beautiful countryside. I love the Christmas music, (although I try really hard not to play it before December, for my boyfriend’s sanity’s sake!) I love the traditional food, (especially my mum’s cooking!) and I really love all the beautiful décor and festive lights.

Photo credit to Brian Tomayko.

Photo credits to Kate Sanderson.

In the collage above you can see my some beautiful photos of my hometown of Shrewsbury. The first picture was taken at the bottom of Wyle Cop, on a beautiful snowy night when we were out celebrating my Mum's birthday last year. The other four pictures were taken by my sister, Kate, who loves Christmas just as much as I do! Top right is a view of the river and the Old Wakeman school from the English Bridge that crosses the Severn. Bottom left is the old Abbey, built in 1083, bottom right is my mum's garden, and bottom middle is a fantastic snow reindeer, made by my sister!

Twelve Days Of Making Challenge

Good morning everyone! Have you ever seen any of those #meetthemaker challenges on Instagram? They are a great way to get to know the artists involved, to see not only what they create, but what drives and inspires them too. Well these year, I am honoured to say that I was invited to join the lovely Clare over at The Boho Jewellery Box (you can find her fabulous website HERE) as well as ten other talented makers in a Christmas themed Twelve Days Of Making challenge!

From 1st - 12th November, we will be following prompts to create some fun social media posts all about our most Christmassy makes, what we love about Christmas, who we are grateful for, etc. This is the first time I have ever been invited to participate in one of these, and I am so excited!

AND, to make this even more special, we are inviting you all to join in on our fun. Each day, one of us will "host" the challenge on Instagram, and you will have the chance to join in and share your own photos. Just make sure you tag us and use the #12daysofmaking hashtag so we can find you. Each day, the host will pick their favourite out of all the images shared with them that day, and after the challenge is over, one lucky winner from those twelve people will get a special handmade gift or store credit, from each of us!!!!
 

Even if you are not a maker yourself, at the very least, you will see some incredible examples of handmade art, jewelry, clothing and accessories that will inspire you to shop small this Christmas!

Many thanks to Clare Middlecote from The Boho Jewellery Box for coming up with this awesome idea, and for creating all the lovely art work images for us to use. For more information on each of the artists involved, please check out Clare's gorgeous blog post HERE.