Jan Knibbs Atelier19 Cheltenham - Award Winning Designer

I had the pleasure of meeting Jan two weeks ago when my girlfriend and I popped into her shop in my old hometown of Cheltenham. I took a few photo's but some did not turn out as I had hoped, still the two I got were good enough to use to show you her fabulous work. A truly charming lady with immense talent, and when I discovered her on Etsy well I could not resisit showing of her work. In her own words below I agree with all she has said and I am hoping that my girlfriend takes her wedding dress in and lets Jan loose on it.  You can see more of Jan's creations here, just follow the link which will take you into her shop... Atelier19Cheltenham enjoy.

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I have always been a complete magpie and hoarder and collected vintage clothing, lace and anything sparkly from a very early age. I love all forms of surface embellishment and have specialised in Embroidery all my adult life, constantly learning new couture skills to add to my repertoire of skills . I now combine all these techniques often incorporating vintage treasures which has become my signature style. i will basically make anything from a pair of earrings to a wedding dress as long as I can add some embroidery to it and have won many awards including the British Bridal Awards and the Hand and Lock Prize for Embroidery in recognition of my skills.

I devote the utmost care and attention to detail to all my creations, making each piece a unique, one-off work of art that will be treasured for years to come. They appeal to fashion aficionados and collectors of fine craftwork and indeed anyone looking for something distinctive to make them stand out from the crowd. My creative flair, imagination and fine craftsmanship lend everything I create an air of fantasy and romance.

a-pair-of-delicately-embroidered-white wedding shoes

a-cream-satin-and-gold-lace-floral embroidered necklace

These beauties were in the shop window display, are they not just gorgeous

Another beautiful display

The detail on this is stunning

New window display entitled "When Doves Cry"

Snowy Owls Tote Bag Giveaway- Worldwide Entry

Thought I would start the week with a little  calico cotton Tote Bag  giveaway. I found the gorgeous transfer on Graphic Fairies and well here you have it. 

Easy entry via Rafflecopter and is open world wide.

GOODLUCK

snowy-owls-tote-bag 

Bag measures Height 41cm (16") (without handles) including handles 72cm (28.5") and is 38cm (15") wide.

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Christmas Trivia with a €25 gift voucher to be won

Last time I did this Christmas Trivia was back in 2010 and  a lot of you thought it was fun, so then I thought well lets do it again.

How to play...Someone will post something like " I like my Vodka to be .... the next person finishes the sentence and starts a new line for the next person to finish. Try and keep it clean :)

The winner will receive a €25 gift voucher to spend in my shop.

I would like to say a huge thanks to all my followers for all your lovely comments throughout the year and wishing you all a very Happy Christmas. So have fun and looking forward to seeing your comments.


Here is the first line to get you started....


I love it when my....


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CraftCult Giveaway.. 2 Weeks Free Advertising- Worldwide

CRAFTCULT

I am delighted to announce that the CraftCult website is back! Those of you who sell on Etsy may already be familiar with this site, it allows you to create widgets for your blog or website, check out what treasuries you have been included in and lots more, have a look by following this link and check it out for yourself.

A friend of mine, Cathy Savels, has recently purchased the site and it is now live again. Craft Cult is widely promoted and is a high traffic site so it's well worth checking out their advertising rates. 

However, Cathy is offering a giveaway of a 2 week ad spot worth $28. Once the winner is selected, I will put you in contact with Cathy and she will give you the details of how to claim your free advertising spot.

If you have a shop, website or blog then just enter below and you could just be the lucky winner, good luck..

Krishenka

Testimonials

Corinna from Piddix says:-  Advertising on Craft Cult is the single most important piece of marketing I do for my digital collage sheets.  My ad brings in a huge number of clicks and sales, and their advertising rates are a bargain.

Tricia from Trickyknits says:- I've been a Craft Cult advertiser nearly as long as I've been a Craft Cult user and I can track the spikes in my business directly to my Craft Cult ad exposure. w from talking to my customers that advertising on Craft Cult works for me - and I've made many purchases by browsing other Craft Cult ads, so it is definitely working for other shop owners as well!

Cathy from AosLeather says:- I'm thrilled with the results of my Craft Cult advertising.  Perfect for the Handmade Movement and absolutely the most cost-effective online advertising I've used!










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Tiny Seeds of Joy - Review

I came across this lovely shop recently opened on Etsy called Tiny Seeds of Joy which is a perfect name for this shop and the beautiful little handmade buttons. The owner  Janet collects the seeds from the woods and lanes surrounding her home in the South West of France, she then sorts and drys them before pouring the resin into the moulds and has several various shaped buttons to choose from. Each button therefore is unique in it's own right. Janet sent me a couple of buttons to try out and they were not only beautifully presented,  they were also hand stitched on to a card and are in my opinion exactly what she says they are Tiny seeds of Joy. As Janet states, they are "a little work of art to bring beauty and authenticity to your work"

I used the trefoil buttons on a wrist pin cushion and needle holder. What would you use them for? I can see many more possibilities. Janet is also working on  pendants and earrings to add to her collection and will be listing soon. Here are just a  few of her buttons.

3 seed-and-flower-seed-head buttons

2-hole-trefoil-buttons

listing soon

2 seed-and-flower-seed-head buttons

listing soon

9 trefoil-buttons with tiny seeds

listing soon

wrist-pin-cushion-needle-holder

Black Sheep Designs UK.. Tulle Tutu Skirt Giveaway

I  am delighted to host another fabulous giveaway from  Catriona  of  Black Sheep Designs UK. 

Pictured below a beautiful Tulle Tutu skirt  which is a multi-layered full circle skirt with 3 layers of tulle and a lining underskirt with a stretch waistband...(value €40).. ($44)  (£28) the winner can choose from three fabulous colours... Purple, Mint or Pink it will then be made to size for the lucky winner. 

Cat whilst  in  the midst of studying and living on a tight student budget found herself more and more in charity shops which sparked of an interest in vintage fashion. Occasionally she would replicate skirts from the 50’s, jumpsuits from the 70’s and even cocktail dresses from the 80’s.

Ice-cream-print-skirt

After graduating with a BA (Hons) in Fashion, working along with other designers, she eventually decided to combine the skills she had developed over the years with her interest in vintage fashion to create an eclectic women’s wear label specialising in unique, handmade and affordable wear. Fusing retro, vintage and modern styles and shapes, and taking inspiration from previous decades and pop culture, past and present, including versatile and intermixable items, as well as bold statement pieces

Striped-bardot-dress-off-the-shoulder

All items are made from scratch by herself in small quantities (or can be made to order), from carefully sourced fabrics and in realistic sizes that reflect modern women’s' shapes and sizes. Black Sheep is based in the UK  and also ships internationally, using a fast and affordable shipping provider. All the items shown here are available in her shop, a special  bonus of  20% discount using this code "BLACKSHEEP20"

ice-cream-dress-ice-cream-print-prom

Giveaway is open worldwide and easy to enter using rafflecopter winner will be announced on my blog and on Face Book.. Good Luck to all. xxx Also a big thanks to Cat.

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May Day Giveaway - Silk Jewelry Pouch - Handmade

Well here we are on the 1st day of May and have to say that it has not started well here in the South of France in fact it has been raining for most of the day. So, I thought I would do a little give away to cheer us me up. If your lucky enough to be having an upcoming holiday then you can enter my give away to win one of my jewelry pouches to take your treasures safely on holiday with you.

This is a Toile De Jouy cotton print with a delicious dusky pink pure silk interior, with eight compartments to hold your treasures. Bottom is padded and has the Toile De Jouy base inside, and pearl beads on the cord for closing.  For more pictures click HERE. Competition is open world wide and you don't have to be a follower of my blog to enter, great if you do though. Any shares always much appreciated but not mandatory. Good luck and I look forward to sending this to the winner soon. xx

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Seed Sow Water Grow

Womens Garden Shirt Vegetabl... MoxieMadness $20	Garden Apron in Biege Cotto... KrishenkasTrea... $20	Plant Markers Set of 5 - Gar... BRobertsonPott... $28	Washable Leather Gardening G... HomegrownHandm... $47.9
Seed Envelopes // 6 Garden S... thevintagearca... $14	Japanese Wisteria Amethyst B... bulbsnblooms $11.93	Garden Tools Set - Trowel & ... AshfieldTools $90	Cute Little Garden Sneakers ... AnnetasticDesi... $50
Twenty Packets of Heirloom S... MoonlightMicro... $50	Jute, 2ply, 20lb, Natural Ju... HempBeadery $4	The Love of Gardening - Dark... NataliesBastel... $12.5	Straw Hat Wreath or Wall Dec... knitwhats $41.5
Burlap Potting Shed Bunting,... ThirtySixDesig... $24	Vintage Antique Watering Can... mbracestudios $40	Gardening Gift Set - Gift fo... AquarianBath $29	Head Gardener Personalized M... JannersMugs $8

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A Medieval Journey

Wedding guest book Custom ru... crearting $175	Medieval Gown Lotr Dress Cel... VendettaCoutur... $189	Medieval romantic photograph... dianadebord $15	Customized Medieval Renaissa... RabbitwoodandR... $24
Medieval Renaissance wedding... ElvenstarDesig... $28.99	Royal red velvet fabric- Dee... fabWorldFabric... $9.99	15% DISCOUNT! Mens Combat He... armstreet $590	The Majestic Medieval Ring 9... 3RexesJewelry $110
Heart Napkin Rings in Tattin... TataniaRosa $8	Duchy of Lithuania Cross - M... LivoniaArtefac... $34	SALE!!!!Medieval Leather Wom... armstreet $84	Chainmail & Leather Dice Bag... NorseWorks $30
Grey medieval belt with tudo... Serpentaires $48	Dragon and Amethyst Crystal ... DragonStarCrea... $24.95	Wooden Celtic Dragon Box / M... DragonStarCrea... $20.95	medieval stitcher cross stit... lutindescroix $4

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