Any New Years Resolutions?

So who is making New Year's resolutions? Just the one or a few? I think my own should be the same as it was last year to blog more often. Ah well, they say God loves a tryer and I do try....honest!

We have lots of plans for 2015 and it's going to be a very exciting year for us with lots of new product launches including our very own range of stamps.

Yep, it's been busy at DC designing and having samples made and if you are a member of our new Facebook group you will already know that our first set of stamps has been produced and is now in the testing stage. I can't tell you how exciting it is to see your very own designs actually made into physical stamps and my heart was beating faster when the delivery man arrived and the big smile stayed on my face all day.

Of course we want to make sure that the quality and price is right for our customers so are testing stamps from different companies and using different mediums to ensure we only get the best. You can join our Facebook group by clicking this link and keep up do date with the latest news plus take advantage of special offers especially for our Facebook followers only. This group was set up especially so that we could get to know our customers better and see what you are making with your purchases from us. Many people told us that with all the recent changes to Facebook they were not always receiving notifications from our page so we thought this would be the perfect solution. When you join us be sure to say hello and tell us what your favourite craft is. www.facebook.com/groups/DownlandCrafters

Following customer feedback we are also expanding our 925 sterling silver range of findings. These new items will be available to purchase on our website very soon and will include ear wires, head pins, eye pins and split rings which offer extra protection and are the perfect solution if you find your beading wire can sometimes slip through the cut on a regular jump ring.

For those of you who are interested in our 2015 craft & gift fair events we will have new dates for you at the end of January. The new calendar will be available as always on our website via the events section and anyone already on the list, which currently has over 500 names on it, will be emailed with details. If you are not already on our mailing list you can join by simply adding your details to our online form and then click submit. Once your details have been successfully added we will send you a confirmation email. http://www.downland-crafts.com/mailing-list.html

Our January sale will be starting on Friday 2nd January and will run for the whole month, stock permitting. New items may be added as we do a bit of a clearance on low stock end of line items so keep checking back so you don't miss a bargain. We will also be offering extra special offers to our Downland Crafters group on Facebook so don't forget to join in the chat.

Until next time....happy crafting!
Trish (& Tom)

Christmas Craft & Gift Fair

Good evening, bad blogger here! Yes I know it's been ages. So much for the New Year's resolution back in January to blog more often, oh well, looks like I'll be making the same resolution again this year. Anyway the reason I decided to finally write another post was to tell you about our fast approaching Christmas Craft & Gift Fair.

This annual event is now in it's 3rd year and offers the perfect place for some retail therapy whether you have presents to buy or simply love beautiful things. It is being held on Sunday 7th December in the beautiful Slieve Russell Hotel, Ballyconnell, Co, Cavan. This year we will be in a different room and you can find us at the Cranaghan suite at the rear of the hotel near the spa between 12.00pm and 5.00pm.

With 65 stands we will have a whole host of handmade crafts, food items, craft supplies and giftware including handmade greeting cards, handmade beaded & gemstone jewellery as well as fashion jewellery, glassware & ceramics, art using various mediums, knitted & crocheted items, skincare & cosmetics, candles & soaps, jams & chutneys, bags, fabric crafts, fairy doors, confectionery, baked goods in the form of cakes, mince pies, Christmas puddings & gingerbread houses, wood crafts such as plaques, bowls and toys, millinery, gift baskets, vintage collectibles, paper craft & jewellery making supplies, craft kits and much, much more.

There will also be a raffle, face painting and live music from the fabulous In Harmony. There is no admission charge at the door so be sure to pay us a visit.

If you have visited our website lately you will know that we have added many new and exciting products to our range recently including new unmounted rubber stamps, cd's, gorgeous ribbon and our latest Ann's Party range of earrings.

Party Paws Christmas un-mounted rubber stamp sheets featuring a large focal image and 3-4 sentiments depending on the design. 8 designs to choose from at only €4.99 per sheet.

http://www.downland-crafts.com/rubber-stamps.html

Party Paws Cd-Roms available in Christmas and PDF based Festive Fancies.

The perfect addition to your yuletide crafting stash at only €14.99 each.

http://www.downland-crafts.com/cds-and-dvds.html


Our new range of ribbon includes this 38mm wired faux burlap as well as top quality grosgrain.

Grosgrain is available in both Christmas designs featuring wording and pictures and also crafter's ribbon especially designed to compliment your crafty makes with wording such as 'made in Ireland', 'handmade with love', knitted with love and more.



These ribbons have proven to be extremely popular and you can see the whole range currently available on our website.

http://www.downland-crafts.com/grosgrain.html

be sure to take a look before they all sell out.

Our new range of Ann's Party earrings feature two aluminium scales one large, one small.

These lightweight and easy to wear earrings are perfect for the festive season and beyond. Currently available in 12 colour combinations.

http://www.downland-crafts.com/anns-party-gp-earrings.html


All these goodies and more will be available on our stand at the Craft & Gift Fair along with handmade Christmas cards and more. If you see something on our website that you would particularly like us to bring with us on the day simply send an email to sales@downland-crafts.com and we'll be sure to pop it in the van.

 

Loom Band Jewellery

Have you joined in with the latest craze yet? These loom band kits are extremely popular with the younger crowd and can be fun for adults too whether making for yourself or for your children. Or perhaps spend some quality time making these stretchy bracelets together. Each kit comes complete with everything you need to get started including the loom, the loom hook tool, instructions, s-clips and 600 multi coloured bands.

The bands are latex free and easy to make once you grasp the technique. We have tried them and found them easy enough to pick up and quick to make. Imagine the patterns you could come up using the different coloured loom bands.

Try this new loom band kit for only €7.75 available on our website now by following this link http://www.downland-crafts.com/loom-bands-kit.html

Please be aware that due to the nature of the parts they are not recommended for children under 8 years old and are a potential choking hazard.

Also new in stock these beautiful handmade frosted glass beads available in 3 different sizes including 8mm x 10mm oval rice beads, 7mm and 5mm rounds. In gorgeous shades of blues, pinks, greens, red and brown. Cool to the touch these glass beads are the perfect choice for your summer jewellery makes including necklaces, bracelets and earrings. You can pick up 100 x 5mm round beads for only €1.20, 100 x 7mm for €1.30 and 50 x of the large ovals for €1.50 check out http://www.downland-crafts.com/frosted-glass-beads.html to see the full range available and make your purchase today.

We are now limited stock and only have a few copies left of the latest Crafters Companion Inspiration magazine and the latest Hunkydory magazine so be sure to get yours now if you don't want to risk missing out.

Each magazine comes with free gifts. Inspiration comes with 2 cd's, a stamp set, embossing folder, wire crochet kit and paper pack all for only €12.99. Crafting with Hunkydory comes with a free paper crafting kit (worth over £4.99) which includes toppers and card sheets and can be yours for €6.49. Visit http://www.downland-crafts.com/magazines.html to get yours now! 

We are always on the look out for the best deals and the latest products for you so make sure you follow this blog and sign up for our newsletter using any page of our website www.downland-crafts.com so you never miss a thing!

Until next time happy crafting!

Trish & Tom
Downland Crafts

Which Ink Pad Do I Choose?

Following on from our recent post regarding the sizing of seed beads and wire this one is for the paper crafters out there especially if you are into card making or scrapbooking, although ink can be used in a multitude of other ways.

GUIDE TO INK PADS

There are so many different types and brands of ink pads on the market and we often get asked which ones to use for which project, especially from new crafters who are faced with a multitude of choices and can easily choose the wrong one. Many times people have told us that they can't get on with stamping and this may be due to simply using the wrong ink. Here is a rough guide but feel free to ask questions and either myself or one of the other forum members will surely be able to help.

1. Dye based inks - These are a fast drying easy pad to start with if you want to simply stamp an image and can also be a very versatile choice for a few different techniques. If you want to shade an image in one colour these are perfect as the ink can be pulled in from the image and acts like a watercolour paint giving more depth than basic stamping without having to invest in colouring pens. The thicker the line or detail on the image, the more ink will be released when you add water using a paintbrush or water brush. They can also be used for brayering on glossy card and creating shade around a topper using a sponge or brush. Also perfect with alcohol markers.

2. Pigment inks - These are the ink pads you need to heat emboss with as they stay wetter longer and allow the embossing powder to stick to the image. They can also be used for basic stamping but are not suitable for the watercolour effect.

3. Permanent inks - These ink pads are recommended for watercolouring where you want to keep the outside line, for instance if you have stamped in black and wish to colour in with non-permanent markers or watercolour paints. They are useful when stamping on tricky surfaces other than regular card. Do not use with alcohol markers as the line will bleed and ruin your pens. Staz-on is the best ink pad for stamping on acetate and if you turn over your acetate so the ink is underneath you can then colour with permanent markers.

There are many more variations but this will get you started.

Guide to seed beads and wire sizes

Have you ever been confused about the sizing of seed beads and wire? That is because a different sizing system is in operation in different parts of the world.

For instance in America they refer to seed beads as 11/0, 8/0 etc., the higher the number the smaller the bead. They can also be referred to as E beads or rocailles. Below is a go to guide to the most popular sizes and their conversions.

GUIDE TO SEED BEAD SIZES

Sometimes seed beads are sized in millimeters and sometimes in gauges and can vary slightly depending on the manufacturer. Here is a quick guide to the sizing of the most popular ones.

Size 11/0 - approx. 2mm - 5g would give you 580'ish beads - 80cm in length.

Size 8/0 - approx. 3mm - 5g would give you 220'ish beads - 40cm in length.

Size 6/0 - approx. 3.7mm - you would get approx. 7 beads per inch.

Larger seed beads are often referred to as E beads.


The same rule applies with wire which in America is measured by gauge, the higher the gauge the thinner the wire. The opposite to what you might imagine.

GUIDE TO WIRE SIZES

As with seed beads these can be described by gauge or in millimetres and here is a rough conversion guide.

16 gauge - 1.2mm - used for structure

18 gauge - 1.0mm - used for structure (i.e shapes or ring shanks)

20 gauge - 0.8mm - the most useful to start with, can be used for structure and to make findings.

22 gauge - 0.6mm - another very popular size with many uses including tiaras and rings.

26 gauge - 0.4mm - commonly used for wrapping such as in tiara making.

32 gauge - 0.2mm - also known as lacemakers wire, can be almost like thread with seed beads for brooches and fine work.

There are of course other in between sizes but these would be the most commonly used.

I hope you find this useful, any questions please leave a comment below or email us  sales@downland-crafts.com

Spring Craft & Gift Fair

Hello everyone, hope you are well. Don't forget our Spring Craft & Gift Fair is on tomorrow, Sunday 30th, in the beautiful Cavan Crystal Hotel. We will be there with our handmade greeting cards and jewellery plus a selection of our paper crafting and jewellery making supplies. Of course it wouldn't be a fair with just Downland Crafts so joining us will be some of your favourite regulars as well as some new faces taking a table with us for the first time.

 

There will be 31 exhibitors offering handmade items and giftware including wood crafts (bowls, clocks, chopping boards, plaques, toys), greeting cards, artwork, jewellery, glassware (handpainted glasses, tiffany glass), mosaic, knitting & crochet (toys & clothes), soaps, candles, furniture, leathercraft, skincare, pottery, craft supplies (paper crafts, jewellery making & knitting), blankets, incense, fabric crafts (toys, tablecloths & runners, aprons, bags, shawls), jam, eyewear, incense sticks & accessories and face painting. Plenty of choice for everyone I'm sure you'll agree. A full list of exhibitors and their products can be found on our website by clicking here.

 

This fair is the perfect place to pick up a last minute gift for your Mum or why not bring her along for a great day out and perhaps treat her to something special, she could even choose her own present.

 

There will also be lots of items suitable for first communion and confirmation, plus many exhibitors will happily take commissions, simply tell them what you are looking for and they will do their best to assist you.

 

Admittance is FREE so no nasty shocks at the door if you want to bring the whole family or come as a group with your friends.

 

The Cavan Crystal are also offering a fantastic four course lunch on the day including a glass of wine for only €25 per adult in their award winning restaurant Opus One, so you can enjoy a meal while you are there.

 

We do hope you will join us and if you have any questions don't hesitate to give us a call on 087 189 6229.

 

See you there!

 

What's new

We are well into 2014 now and I am wondering if anyone has managed to keep their new years resolutions? As you can see my own resolution to blog at least once a month has been an epic fail. Oh well apart from the fact that I could possibly be the worst blogger in history a lot has been happening at Downland Crafts and it's been a very exciting time for myself and Tom.

Anyone who knows me will probably know that I am a huge fan of Kanban and was very sad to see them go and ecstatic to hear they were coming back. What fun I had going through their product list and doing a bit of retail therapy, for you all of course, and ok for myself as well. I hope you like the toppers I chose for our first lot of stock, if you have any favourites let me know and I'll see if we can get them for you.

 

Check out our current range by clicking here

 

 

As in previous years we are planning to host some craft & gift fairs and our first is at the end of the month. There will be over 30 exhibitors at the spring craft & gift fair on Mother's Day in the beautiful Cavan Crystal Hotel offering handmade items and giftware including wood crafts, greeting cards, artwork, jewellery, glassware, knitting & crochet, soaps, candles, furniture, skincare, craft supplies, incense, fabric crafts and face painting. Pick up a last minute gift for your Mum or bring her along for a great day out and perhaps treat her to something special. There will also be lots of items suitable for first communion and confirmation, plus many exhibitors will happily take commissions. Admittance is FREE and the Cavan Crystal are also offering a fantastic four course lunch including a glass of wine for only €25 per adult in their award winning restaurant Opus One.



 

Full details and exhibitor list available on our website by clicking here

 

There are lots of plans for this year to add some projects both card making and jewellery making to this blog and so far I have the menu done...well at least that's a start. I am always impressed by the fantastic blogs that seem to have no end of inspiration on a regular basis and I promise I will try to make this one a great place to visit. We've done a lot of work on the website improving and upgrading, now we need to focus our attention on the blog. I will admit to spending far more time on Facebook than I should but it is great to chat to all the lovely crafters and share ideas and tips, the problem is when I start chatting I find it hard to stop. If you fancy a chat it's the best place to find me so why not stop by our page and say hi.

 

Until next time...and I promise it won't be so long...happy crafting!

Trish