Etsy love...

I have had a bit of a colour obsession with deep greeny blue for a while now, especially when it has a little lime green for contrast... Which kind of made this little wristlet from hollyhawk hard to resist. She has an etsy shop and if you haven't seen it, check it out! It's the perfect size to just hold the basics (phone, keys, cash) if you're travelling light, and I love using it inside a bigger bag to keep the essentials organised. Not to mention that it is beautiful and makes me smile when I use it. And as it's made from leather you can easily wipe off any stray clay/dribble marks... Perfect! Makes me wanna go glaze shopping and make juicy lime green pots...

Free gifts...

are always nice. Especially when they are a surprise! I love it when you get a little more than you were expecting when you order something online, and that is why I often put some little ceramic heart decorations in with orders, sometimes like these ones...


and sometimes little lacy ones. I know that often people buy my ceramics as gifts, and they are a sweet way to decorate a present. Also, it means that the giver of the gift gets a little gift for themselves if they choose not to use them on the present. I have some lacy ones that I hang from deciduous plants in the garden to add a little colour and cheer things up through winter. But I digress...
I was recently approached by British ex-pat Beeb at contest corner and I am running a special promotion with readers of her blog. She offers special giveaways for her readers, and her readers will receive mystery free gifts wth their orders from princedesignuk during May, as she is having a British Invasion celebration month... So, inspired by that, I thought I would experiment with some British-themed little ceramics...
I recently bought a little union jack key ring as a gift for a friend, and I began to think that I could perhaps make some out of ceramic as a free gift to send out with the British Invasion orders, and indeed with other orders from time to time.... PDUK key rings.... I like the idea! The main drawback is that I ordered the metal parts I need for this online, and sadly their shipping seems a little unreliable; I am impatiently awaiting their arrival... However, here are the ceramic parts... what do you think? I have messed around with the colour scheme somewhat, but I think I prefer the pink and cream to red white blue! I think it would be fair to say that I have feminized our flag a little. As always, comments welcome! And it seems a little unfair that readers of contest corner should get a little gift, whereas readers of my blog might not... So if you say you read my blog in the message to seller when placing an order this May, I'll make sure there's a surprise gift in for you too :)

Prince Design UK is one year old today!

It is a year today since I opened my etsy shop! Happy Birthday to me! It has been a great experience and I can't believe how much I have learned, how lovely people have been, and that I have sold so many pots. One of the nicest things about the experience has been the support and friendship I have had from customers, other etsy sellers and bloggers. Thank you everyone for helping to make my first year successful, and such great fun. I know it makes me a soppy girl, but I have actually cried happy tears at some of the sweet messages I have had, and I am very grateful for that and for the experiences and opportunities that have come my way as a result of my shop. So I figured it was time to give a little something back!! To celebrate my anniversary, I'm having a birthday giveaway weekend:) All orders placed between now and Monday will get a special surprise free gift!

Get crafty...

I got a little over-excited about this tutorial on etsy the other day.... A friend came over and he and I had a go at it. It was really good fun.
Basically, you get some carrier bags, plastic ones like from the supermarket, cut off the edges, get about 8 layers, put these between 2 pieces of ordinary paper (like an old bill for example) and iron it... I'm excited for a number of reasons. Firstly, I just do not do ironing, and it gives my iron and ironing board a purpose in life. Secondly, the possibilities for this material are endless. It makes a sort of plastic fabric. You can control the thickness by altering the number of plastic sheets you use. It is fully waterproof, and you can stitch it together, or you can join sheets together by ironing them. I reckon you could make strips of it and weave them together. You could make baby bibs, make-up bags, plant-pot covers, sturdy re-useable shopping bags, mousemats, aprons, postcards, flyers, business cards, pen-holders, wallets, peg-bags, hand-bags, purses, things for in the boot of your car to stop the carpet getting dirty, lampshades, passport holders, jewellery..... Loads of things!!!
Thirdly, you can feel like an eco warrior, as you will be re-cycling the bags into something useful instead of creating more land-fill. And last but not least, a friend of mine went on a workshop to learn how to do this a while ago, and said she would explain how to do it but it was a bit tricky and it would take time. IT IS THE EASIEST THING EVER!!! How on earth it took a day workshop to get this across is beyond me... Try it! I hope it's not just me that finds this so much fun :)
But please, watch the tutorial, there's a link to it on this page, don't just follow my instructions or you might ruin your ironing board. I realise that there are a lot of people out there that would be much more upset about that than me...

City chick

I love looking at the architecture, shapes and symbols of the city almost as much as I love people watching whilst drinking coffee in the afternoon with friends. The city chick bowl was inspired by the cities of Manchester and London, their inhabitants, my old life (when I had to go into the city every day to work), graffiti, road signs, road markings, office types on their way to work, angles, geometry, suits and street-wear... She's not as cute as the lovebirds or the spring chicken; she's got a harder edge, a little more street-wise and less naive, but I think she's still pretty cute in her own way!

Raspberries are...

one of my favourite fruits. I love their flavour, and I love their beautiful colour. That is probably why I love this glaze so much! However, I had never tried it on any of my lacy bowls until this one.
I was pleasantly surprised at how it came out, and it really has a lovely fruity red feel to it. It's definitely a much bolder look for the lacy birds than the soft blues that I often use! It's surprising just how different their effect is in this colour.

Supermarket

My new shop on Supermarket is now just about open! I currently have only one item on it, and no store banner yet, but I'm working on it!
For those of you who haven't seen the Supermarket website before, it is an online market place, and their catchphrase is "Great design. Straight from designers."
I think that pretty much sums it up. I think it is fantastic, and every time I go on there, I start drooling over the gorgeous stuff on sale. They are selective in who they allow onto the site, and this makes the shopping experience easier I think. Don't get me wrong, I love the diversity that a site like etsy has, but it can sometimes be frustrating, when using the search for example, as there are soooo many makers, and the standard is so variable. The standard of work on Supermarket is very high, so it's a little easier to use. So if you haven't already, check it out. I promise you'll come away with a huge wish-list of goodies. I'm honoured to have been accepted amongst such amazing talent!