The following items are all things that I would be very happy to receive as a gift – not that I’m expecting any, but I can always hope!  So if any secret admirers are reading this…well, get yourself over to Folksy and buy one of these:

Chocolate & Scarlet: Hand Knitted Handbag (by NOfkantsCurios)

Fabric Card Wallet / Holder - Owls (by BaggieAggieToo)

Copper Wire Squiggle Necklace (by SP Jewellery)

ACEO (by PANTSANDPAPER)

Make-up Bag in Vintage Fabric - Retro 70s 'countryside' (by Audrey's Cat)

♥Citrus Fruit Polymer Clay Charm Bracelet♥ (by carols crafts)

Sock Cat / Kitten ~ Charlie (by Ra Ra Bazaar)

Sterling Silver Fire Opal Ring (by Gimme That Thing)

Jenny Wren and her Nest: Blue (by Whimsical Wren Jewellery)

Freestanding Fused Glass Art - 'Poppyfields' (by Poppyfields Design)

Verdigris Butterfy Art Deco Necklace (by Steampunkstorm)

Owls playing hide and seek (by ialbert)

ACEO original watercolour, large owl (by Dottery Pottery)

I’ve been exploring the forums over at Folksy for the past week or so (and if any of you have taken the plunge and set up your own Folksy shop, I’d strongly advise you to do the same – there’s a wonderful community of crafty people there, just waiting to offer support and inspiration!).

Anyway, one thing I noticed fairly quickly was something called ‘Folksy Fridays’ – it seems that every Friday members of the site think of a theme and then root around everyone else’s shops at www.folksy.com to find some lovely items which fit said theme.  They then create a blog post incorporating these items, which (a) gives them something to blog about;  and (b) promotes Folksy in general, and the makers of their chosen pieces in particular.  It also gives you, the blog readers, something pretty to look at, so all in all I’d say it’s what I call a ‘win-win’win’ situation.

So, obviously, I’ve decided to get involved with this scheme – and here for your perusal is my very first ‘Folksy Friday’, on the theme of ‘The Owl and the Pussy Cat’.  Just because I like owls.  And pussy cats.  And I’ve just been reading the poem with my 3 year old daughter, who also likes pussy cats.

The Owl and the Pussycat moonstone brooch (by The Owl and the Pussycat)

Owl Plush Florry the Owl (by Pink Sherbert)

Handmade Owl Purse (by Minifelts)

Guinness the Owl Felt Brooch (by Kool Kooky Kreature)

LUCKY BLACK CAT (by Hayley Potter Illustration)

Wee Fatty Cat (Ginger) (by Quernus Crafts)

Jenny Wren and the Primrose necklace (by The Whimsical Wren)

Jennie (aka The Whimsical Wren) designs lovely pieces with a soft vintage feel, and certainly has a very strong personal style.  She uses a lot of antiqued brass in her jewellery, as well as natural motifs such as dragonflies, flowers and, of course, the Wren!

One piece I particularly love is the ‘Vintage Love Spinner’ long necklace, pictured below – perfect for Valentine’s Day.  I also couldn’t help but notice that this item features a polymer clay rose bead bought from none other than yours truly!

Vintage Love Spinner long necklace (by the Whimsical Wren)

One thing that really strikes me about Jennie’s shop is how well she’s doing.  I’m pretty new to Folksy myself so I can’t give any personal insight yet into how well things sell over there, but The Whimsical Wren has sold a massive 419 items up to now.  She must be doing something right!

If you’re a jewellery maker looking to sell more pieces, and you haven’t done so already, you really need to get yourself over to www.folksy.com – RIGHT NOW!!

It’s a place where crafters of all kinds can show off (and sell) their work – it’s not just jewellery people, although there are an awful lot of us on there.  You’ll also find handmade soap, stationery, homeware, furniture, clothing and accessories, books, art and photography.  There’s even a category called ‘Gadgets and Geekery’ !

Folksy is very much like Etsy, for those of you familiar with the latter, and, although at the moment it’s a lot smaller in scale, it DOES have the advantage (to me anyway) of being UK- rather than US-based.

Now, I wouldn’t be making sensible and efficient use of my very own blog if I didn’t at this point include a link to my very own Folksy shop, would I?  So here goes, apologies for blowing my own trumpet but I promise that I’ll be publicising other people’s work just as much in the future so it won’t ALL be just about me!

Here’s something I listed at www.folksy.com/shops/JennysBeadBox yesterday:

Seeing Stars Charm Bracelet

One word of warning though:  you may not be able to stop yourself from spending on Folksy, which is not necessarily a problem but it could be if you end up buying more than you sell!  Actually, that’s probably a major advantage of the site – yes, maybe only other crafters have heard of it just at the moment, but someone who makes clothes or teapots might not be any good at making jewellery and is therefore a fantastic potential customer….

I’ll be using Jenny’s Bead Blog to talk about anything and everything associated with jewellery making, including (but not limited to) things like:

• What I’ve been making lately (with photos and MAYBE a few hints and tips so you can learn from my mistakes!)
• My thoughts on any new techniques I’m trying, or would like to try
• Any fab new items in stock at www.jennysbeadbox.co.uk
• Gorgeous jewellery by other designers that I’ve stumbled across when mucking about on the internet

I will probably also waffle on about other partly or totally unrelated matters, such as:

• Whatever is annoying me/getting me down/cheering me up/making me smile on a particular day
• Anything clever or amusing (and possibly even jewellery-related) I may find and want to share with you
• The weather, current affairs or what I’ve been watching on the telly.  When I should have been making jewellery.

That actually wraps things up quite nicely for my first ever post, as I’m off now to drink dirty beer (in moderation, of course) and watch a bit of telly with my long-suffering partner.  I do realise that I’ve not really talked about beads, jewellery or anything else much today, nor have I posted any pretty pictures or anything like that, but I hope you’ll forgive me as this is just a first post to get me used to this blogging lark!

I’ll be back again VERY soon, with lots of exciting news and nice photos of stuff – I promise.

Jenny