February DIY: Jewellery Cabinet (part 2)

Earlier this month my jewellery collection filled the best part of a built in cupboard and about 6 boxes that sat on the mantlepiece. As I'm moving later in the year I decided now is the time to downsize, I can only keep what I fit in this upcycled cabinet! After drilling in the screws for the adorable rose handles I got to work trying to sort through the masses of jewellery. In the end I have necklaces in the side sections - the hooks came on the cabinet already. Sentimental and precious jewellery is in the bottom, one drawer for earrings (stored in a compartment box from Home Bargains, the lid cut off) with a few of my favourite nail varnishes in the back, one for hair accessories and the top part for brooches, rings and pendants. Now it’s like browsing a shop when I decide what jewellery to wear in the morning and I can actually see everything at a glance! This is definitely encouraging me to wear different jewellery so I'll be sharing more accessories posts soon. 

2014: A Big Scary Year

2014 was always going to be the "big year" in the sense I'd be graduating and leaving home. The reason it's now become scarier than originally thought is that before Christmas I left uni (just my honours year, still have a BA in Visual Communication!). There are lots of reasons for this but some of the more important ones are that I wasn't learning what I wanted, and to learn on top of jumping through marking criteria hoops meant no time for experimenting, real client work or Bottled Treasures. Truth be told, I've felt it's been holding me back and that 4th year just isn't right for what I want to do. After making that decision and telling everyone (no one hates me, it's ok) I've spent the last couple of weeks taking a Christmas break to reflect and plan what I want to achieve myself over the next 6 months of what would have been my last semester.

Now for the fun bit! Instead of resolutions this new year I've written down my personal and career aims, quite simply where I want to be in 6 months time when it'll almost be time for me to get ready to move to our wee cottage in Falkland (Fife). I've got some evening classes booked, design jobs lined up, big plans for Bottled Treasures and ideas for more inspiring social media - including this blog. Sunday is going to be blog day and each month I'm aiming to do 4 posts, one each of the following:

- DIY: craft projects, recpies etc

- WIP: previews, sketchbooks, new designs

- Places: day trips, adventures, holidays

- Wish Lists: gifts, purchases, dreams

Here is the first, apologies for the giant introduction; I wasn't sure how else to explain!
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January: Gift List

Since it's January and Christmas is over I can finally share some of the lovely handmade gifts I bought for others, along with a few of the presents I was given.

1. 365 days of Inspiration. David got me this thoughtful little book, perfect for someone leaving art school who needs to stay inspired... 

2. Sarah Coonan Ceramics: My 100% Handmade secret santa sent me the blue tartan heart brooch, I love it and so did my sister, so it was lucky I was bad and opened my present early enough to order Amy a red one as part of her Christmas. 

3. Whimsical Lush Print: For my brother, it's so tricky buying handmade gifts for boys! 

4. Leah Carroll Laser Cut Brooch: My Mum got me this at a craft fair in Dundee. Love the little bow detail!

 5. Notebook & Craft Tool Holder: David's Mum & Dad made me these adorable personalised gifts. The notebook is currently filled with my big 2014 plans.
6. Crafty Giraffe Paper Cut: We ordered these customised cuts for a few people this Christmas. This one was for David's sister Emma (Fairytale Asylum)

7. Doodlestuff Doodleclips: Fun and funky, these hair clips were a wee stocking filler for my Mum. Jilly who makes them (not me, another Jilly - how unusual!) does lots of fab quirky brooches. 

8. Ceramic Houses by HodgePodge Arts: From my Dad to my Mum with a little help from me. 

9. Velvet ribbon candle: From my secret santa, Ashleigh. I can't remember the scent name but it was something floraly and moss - smells so good and fresh and looks perfect on my desk.

My Weekend in Pictures

Sunny Days - Ministry of Craft Fair - Babysitting the cousins

Bottles from the Hart

The Creations from the Hart & Bottled Treasures Collaborative Collection is finally live! We got together back in April (crazy how time flies) to design these over tea and yummy treats. We wanted to come up with one off statement pieces that brought together the quirky style of our jewellery, Maya worked on the polymer clay cameos and I took care of the bottles and charms. They turned out pretty cute! There are 6 pieces altogether, which have all been added to the 'Collaborative' section of the Bottled Treasures shop. Below are some of the quick shots I took after the Finzean vintage summer fair with Maya modelling the jewellery in her gorgeous vintage dress. We hope you like the results of our collaboration!

http://www.bottledtreasures.co.uk/category/collaboration

A Very Vintage Summer Fair

I was at Leonie Loves' Very Vintage Summer Fair yesterday with Bottled Treasures - a great day for sales and catching up with friends. I meant to take more photos but ended up too busy chatting and drinking homemade lemonade and munching on cake... oops! It was a beautiful venue, recently refurbished with lots of natural lights and unusual features. I spotted lots of goodies I wanted to buy but I'm being strict with saving for my holiday at the moment so they will have to wait! After the fair myself and Maya from Creations from the Hart took some quick photos of her modelling our collaborative pieces which will be launched on the website tomorrow.

Oh and if anyone has any ideas of how to make my stall display less fiddly to set up please share! 

Jaimie Wren Merchandise

At the weekend we had a custom wholesale order from Jaimie Wren for Bottled Treasures merchandise. The designs are based on the lyrics and branding of the EP 'Kites' which is being launched at Musa on Sunday 16th June (click here for a link to the event page on Facebook) our Music & Lyrics collection will also be available to buy at the merchandise stall! 

Bottled Treasures Photo Shoot

Since the new website has been up and running I've been trying to organize a simple photo shoot of the jewellery being modelled. They are so tiny and it's hard to tell the scale from the close up images. I think the new photos help you see the size and way they sit when worn really well. Amber was a great model and chose pink Fairy Dust, Poison Apples and The Crocheter pendants to keep as a little thank you. The photos have now been added to our website. Now we just need to get on with the new catalogues!