Valentine's Day

My life has fallen into chaos with all the work I have to do so once again, another over due post (this one should have gone out on Thursday, if you couldn't guess).

Valentine's Day - or Single Awareness Day, depending on your relationship status - is probably one of the biggest days of the year for card shops, florists and, these days, anyone in the commercial industry. I think it's safe to say that I have now experienced Valentine's Day on three levels: single, taken and for the first time this year, on the other side of the shop counter (so to speak).
As you know from my last post, I had a craft fair a couple of weeks ago so naturally, I had to make a handful of V-Day cards for that. Word is spreading through my halls about my cards so as well as selling (very few) cards at the fair, I also sold some from the comfort of my own room. 

I'm not going to lie though, making lots of what I see as rather personal cards, was quite odd. The few times that I had sent a Valentine's card, it was more that just another card so making some that were for other people to send to their Valentines seemed quite strange. I didn't have any commissions, just the ones that I had made while watching TV in the evenings.

I guess I should probably share some now shouldn't I? Bring on the Hall of Cards . . . 

 I have now reached that point when if I am stuck for inspiration, I make an owl card to fit with that theme. I already have my design for Mother's Day!

 I really liked these two cards. I only had a couple of the heart embellishments otherwise I would have made more. I found the red, white and black colour scheme worked quite well for Valentine's cards. 

I was surprised that the calligraphy cards I made didn't sell. I only made two - the other one said Be Mine - but I thought, for something a bit different . . . ah well.
I plan on making lots more using calligraphy soon, especially for this weekend's fairs*.

Another owl one, yes, I know but I had to have two owls on a Valentine's Day card. I told a lie before; I did get a commission, from mum. She wanted an owl card but the two I had previously made had already gone so I had to make another one.











*That wasn't a typo, that 'fairs' was definitely a plural. Well when I say fairs, one of them is the new Manchester Maker's Market happening on Saturday. The event on Sunday isn't strictly a fair but is quite an important one for me: the St Gabriel's Annual Fundraiser. Those of you who have been with me from the beginning might remember that is was because of last year's fundraiser that I am where I am today, although don't go getting the birthday cards out yet though, the fundraiser is earlier this year!

Yet Another Flop

I was going to post this on Sunday but technical difficulties got in the way and I was laptop-less until yesterday. So here it is, a little late but here non the less.

Saturday's craft fair, if you hadn't guessed from the blog title, was a bit of a fail. I was there in plenty of time and I had a nice stall set up - like many of the other stalls - there was just no one about. I even bought my pretty heart shaped fairy lights because it'll be Valentine's Day soon.

The fair did give me a couple of things to think about with my stall (the learning curve is forever . . . er . . .curving?) and luckily - and as per usual - I had my trusty sketchbook on hand to make notes.

The first thing was that I should probably invest in a rack or small shelving unit to display my cards. This way, I can play around a bit more with my stall and try different layouts. 

To go along with this was the idea that I shouldn't wrap all of my cards up and leave some of them as display cards so people can see what they look like as cards - it's all very well showing them in the plastic wrapper but having them stood up on the table also gives me more options to play around with my display.

The other idea I had is a bit bitter. It came from watching the cake stall across from manage to get about 95% of the people to go over to her stall. How? She offered free samples. Rather than waiting for people to wander over and have a look, she invited them over with the promise of free samples. Yes I am slightly bitter about this but it's a technique that obviously works so I might try by putting chocolates or sweets in a dish on my stall. Even if it fails, it gives me something to munch on during the day!

I was able to keep myself occupied at the deathly quiet fair by doing a bit of crafting - treated myself to an extra magazine this month (those damn owls got the better of my once again, this time in the form of some really cute stamps) so I got to play around with the free gift. 

I was also productive in an architecture student sense by reading some Ruskin.

I was extra good and did a bit of networking as well by taking a wander and talking to the other crafters, picking up a couple of business cards while I was at it, although I still need to take a look on Facebook.

Despite the flop of last weekend, when I was able to get back on my laptop yesterday, I was greeted by a lovely e-mail about a new maker's market happening just down the road from me at the end of the month. Obviously, I replied immediately and I already have the form to book my place. One thing that this one definitely has going for it is that it is in student central so hopefully there will be plenty of people. Handmade is SO in right now!

Digital Cards

My Final Design

It's a little bit late into the New Year to be posting Christmas cards but I wanted to share a special project that my mum commissioned. She wanted to send very simple Christmas cards out to friends and family this year and asked me to design one. As it was to be mass produced, my only option was to use my computer to design a digital card. Having never really done anything like this on a semi-professional level before was exciting and a little be challenging, so with my trusty sketchbook in hand, I made a start designing it.
Mum had wanted a simple dove on the front of the card so first things first, I had to try and draw one that didn't look too odd - birds have never been my strong point! I was able to scan it in and get it onto Photoshop  to edit it and make it look pretty. The great thing I found about making digital cards, is that you don't have to worry about finding the right design first time. There is a wonderful thing called the undo button! I was also able to come up with a few designs and email them onto mum so that she could pick the one she liked the most. She was then able to get them printed. The money she saved from buying cards was then donated to the flood relief fund as my area was hit pretty bad by the flooding in November.

Don't worry though! I am still sticking to my handmade cards but that option is available for mass produced cards - my mum sends a LOT of Christmas cards!

Progress

Hello, stranger!

I have barely had time to breathe since coming back to the big city. It feels like I've been back far longer than the eight days it's been. Unfortunately, lack of breathing - apart from not being good for you - means lack of card making. My total count this year is a pathetic 3, although that will be going up to 4 this evening (a friend's birthday). 'Tis not good! I have however been on the prowl for craft fairs and written myself a lil' old business plan. 

But first the craft fairs. All but paid and filled in the form for one 3rd February so if you are in the area, come and have a gander. I also found a few farmers markets which happen on a regular basis so I might try and get onto one of those. Whilst looking though, many of the craft fairs/markets want stall holders to have Public and Product Liability insurance. I have heard of this before but it's not been something that I have properly looked into. Business-wise, Made by Emma is still in it's early days, but I think I will have to start thinking about it soon, if only so that I can get stalls at fairs and markets.

I finally had a bit of a chilled evening earlier in the week, which allowed me to go back over the notes from the self-employment workshop I went too and start on my business plan. It's basically a Word Document which says what I do and, what I think is the interesting bit, my future plans. Sure, it's really just a posh, long term version of my New Year's resolutions but it was good to see it all written down on paper and now I have something that I can refer back too. 

I have three deadlines, so to speak: Within my first year, so goals to achieve by March; A year from now, goals to have achieved by this time next year; and within 3 years, this time in 2016. My - very - short term targets are to get at least two more craft fairs (getting sorted) and to get some proper business cards printed - not just the black and white paper ones I have at the moment.

Anyhow, must dash, I have a birthday card to make before I head out to celebrate said friend's birthday.

Toodle Pip!

2013: Bring It On

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I had the week off from card making and I haven't actually made a card this year (Fear not, this will soon be amended!). I haven't been totally lazy so far this year; I've been trying to think about my resolutions and what I want to achieve this year. Having already celebrated my first Christmas, so to speak, 2013 should be pretty exciting. I will have been going 1 year in March - and to think this time last year Made by Emma only existed as a label on the back of my cards!

So, on with the resolutions:

1 - I aim to attend at least one craft fair a month. The difficulty with this is trying to find local fairs but I shall endeavour. Finding the time should be, well, I'll cope.
2 - NETWORK! After the workshop I went to back in November, I set up a LinkedIn account and I have to be honest, I still haven't really got a clue on how it works. Not that I have been on it any time recently (oops). So that is another of my targets, to meet more people and to network more.
3 - This one is more of a goal more than a target and kind of linked with the last one: to reach 300 likes on my Facebook page which technically should be do-able, considering that I have 151 in less that a year (https://www.facebook.com/madebyemmacards - in case you have forgotten! Hint hint wink wink nudge nudge). And while we're on the topic of followers/likes/etc, I'm aiming for 100+ on Twitter and 50+ on Tumblr.
4 - Attend the Manchester Entrepreneurs meetings. I found the society purely by accident and decided it would be a good idea to go along. It will make my Tuesdays unbearably long but bear it I must!
5 - Generally be (even) more productive, whilst keeping the work/study/life ratio in balance. This will, of course, include regular blog posts - I feel like there has been some neglection recently which is never good.

With those now written down (and mainly for me to refer to!), no doubt, I will think up some more to add to the list. 12 months (ish) from now, I plan on looking back at these and seeing how far I have come and whether I achieved them or not.

Is it ok to be excited about all of this?

Organised Scatterbrain

This evening saw me finishing my Christmas crafting for this year! It feels slightly strange that I don't have to make any more Christmas cards for at least 9 months. I tried to keep the cards that I had made for craft fairs in their plastic wrappers and made extra cards for me to send personally.  

I came home from university last Saturday with my crafty stuff in tow. I had left packing really last minute and as a result, have left various bits and pieces in my room. Including my glue stick. And my cutting mat. And my metal ruler. I am therefore reduced to using the back of a sketchbook and my scale ruler (I bought my self a new PritStick this afternoon - you can never have too many!) so it's just as well I didn't have much more to do!

Well, now that I am - nearly - all ready for Christmas, I doubt I will have another entry before C-Day so . . . .

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope to see you all in 2013 (assuming the world hasn't ended! Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Paper Pieced Pictures: Past, Present, Future

In this post, I wanted to write about my paper pictures. I realise that I have mentioned them several times before but wanted to give them a proper entry seeing as I am making quite a few of them these days.


So, first up was of course, the best Doctor ever to travel through time and space. I think I was actually watching the most recent Weeping Angels episode when I was putting this one together! I really do love this one and the black pen makes it look as if he's just stepped out of the glossy pages of a comic book. I now have several jealous friends but I feel it is my duty to keep the first - and tester - one. I tried to layer everything in this one so each part of the suit is on a different layer to really make it stand out from the frame.










My second was a birthday present for my room mate who would probably be Mrs Jack Skellington, if only he was real! I took ages drawing him out in my sketchbook - not because it was laborious, just because I didn't know when to stop shading! I remember I messed up slightly with his tie - I think I got the layers mixed up a bit - and I could have done more to stick it down firmly but I am happy with him. White pencil on black card will always be something that I enjoy doing and the look is so effective. I probably should have done him a little bit smaller so I didn't have to squash Zero into the top corner.











Iron Man was on my list nearly from the beginning. This one was based on the comic book character although the original inspiration came from the films (Who wouldn't be inspired by RDJ!). Honestly, I'm not overly happy with it. I just couldn't get his shape right but, again, love the black pen detail. I remember this one being quite fiddly to do because of the yellow parts fitting in to the red but the starry paper background really finishes it off. This frame was one of the four that were made for the Victoria Baths craft fair and one of the two that were sold. I may have to make this one again and, now that I have seen The Avengers and Iron Man 3 and The Avengers 2 coming out in the new year, I will have to have a go at some of the other characters . . . . 

Alice in Wonderland has been a running theme throughout my crafts this year, possibly because it being Jubilee year and Alice and Tea Parties being quintessentially British or because of the amount of artistic licence, either way, it is probably one of my favourite themes. These two frames, like Iron Man, were made for the Victoria Baths craft fair. I was inspired by the original illustrations from the book but I didn't want to just copy them. A few years back, I got some Kate Knight papers which were absolutely perfect for this project. The bright and almost garish colours and patterns were definitely Wonderland-esque while I was able to use some more toned down colours for Alice herself. Again, my black pen makes an appearance to add the final details.
I used a bit of recycling in the Cheshire Cat picture; the tree was made out of the paper that filled the frame when I first bought it - fun fact #1!
Fun fact #2: For the Caterpillar's shisha pipe, I used thread, wrapping it all around the picture. It was a bit of a pain to do but the best way to do it and it gives a nice finishing touch I think.
My sister, who funnily enough is also named Alice (all the jokes have already been done!), was eyeing up the Cheshire Cat picture before it was sold at the fair. Sorry, Alice!














I couldn't very well leave my guitar silhouettes out of the picture - no pun intended - so I picked myself up a smaller frame and had a go. Using silver with the black and white works so well and maybe once I manage to sell this one, I'll make another!

My Jane Austen designs are my most recent and I hope to make some more of these. The first one I made featured a quote, which just happens to be one of my favourites, from Pride and Prejudice. These were a bit different from my original frames as they aren't layers as such, just decorated. I felt that I couldn't really do any novel for my second one other than Emma and I admit I did have to look up the quote on-line - but only because I don't have my books with me! (excuses, excuses, I hear you say) My next step with these is to work on my font, maybe even get out the ol' calligraphy set, and get a list of suitable quotes written down.

The last one I want to talk about can't really be talked about so shhhh! This one is my first commissioned piece so it's all very exciting but I can't really say more than that. Here's a picture though to get you thinking, but if you know what it is, don't say anything!







I still have plenty of ideas to be put down into paper and I think I will be having a go at some of these in the new year but because I'm such an awesome person, I am going to give you some ideas of what you'll be seeing soon.

More period costumes. Computer game heroes. Pie makers. Paranoid Androids. Steam-punk  Nerdy roommates.