Over at ArtEZan, I have some everyday quilled cards for sale as well. Here is one of them, a pink flower made by hand fringing the petals. This card would be lovely for a birthday, thank you, or even just to send to a friend to say “thinking of you”.
Pink Gerbera ©Belinda Fox
Father’s Day is on Sunday, 5th September this year. [Why it's not Fathers' Day (with the apostrophe indicating plural) I still don't understand. Yes, it is celebrating your single father but it is multiple fathers being celebrated]. Anyway… wherever the apostrophe goes, I have made some cards (not as many as I’d hoped due to family reasons) for this day and if, like me, you don’t particularly like the selection in the shops, head on over to ArtEZan where you can buy one of my original designs. I have other cards, not just Father’s Day there too.
Back in June I gave the girls – aged 6 and 4 – their first quilling lesson. They had been on at me for ages to do it but I finally got to do it. It was great! They used a slotted tool to make a fish following a pattern and I am really proud of their efforts.
Amy's Quilling Aged 6
Sophie's Quilling Aged 4
It was interesting to see how differently they worked. Sophie (4) worked a lot tighter than Amy (6), thus producing a smaller fish.
One of the things I would like to do is children’s craft classes, including quilling. Do you think your children would be interested in quilling and craft classes?
A little happy dance was done when the box of craft goodies arrived this morning. Sophie was even more excited than me and was like a child on Christmas morning helping me to unpack it. I also felt like a child on Christmas morning!! This may have also had something to do with the fact that there were lots of goodies for Christmas crafts.
Now I have a clearer idea of what the bits look like, creative afternoons are in store.
First I must finish some Father’s Day cards for ArtEZan…
I’m very excited today because I put in an order today to start making up a couple of children’s craft kits. The little in-house guinea pigs are also excited about the prospect of some crafting afternoons too.
Now I would like your input and suggestions.
What sorts of kits would you like to see? (I have so many ideas but would like to match and add them to what you would like too).
How much would you be willing to spend on a kit?
Would you like postage to be included in the price of the product (what I’m thinking), added at the end of an order (according to size and weight) or flat rate?
What do you think of registered post?
It will take a while for some of the plans and ideas to come to fruition, so stay tuned!
I was lucky enough to get to test a crochet pattern for a wonderful designer based in New Zealand. Lisa van Klaveren has a blog, etsy store, patterns on Annie’s Attic, e-Patterns Central, Ravelry and probably other places too! I also found out she loves Anne of Green Gables too so she is a kindred spirit. 
When she posted she needed testers on Facebook, I jumped at the opportunity, particularly given a friend had recently had a baby girl but was moving somewhere warmer so the little woollen beanie I’d made her wouldn’t be quite suitable! I tested the sleeves but did not add them to the final cardigan since it would have made it too hot.
I really loved the fact that most of it was worked in one piece, saving on the very tedious task of starting off again and joining in new yarn, something I don’t enjoy, just like sewing in ends.
Thank you for allowing me to test it, Lisa. Your designs and patterns are really lovely.
Baby Cardigan
When Yvette, who helped set up this site for me, had her birthday, I thought I would make her a card. Yvette is a very talented embroiderer and in particular, she does spectacular Mountmellick work. She is currently doing a stitch-a-long through her blog and when she posted her design for it, I was inspired by the lily. So I set about looking at some stitches and the design and working out what sort of shapes I would like to include. While embroidery stitches are a bit difficult to replicate with quilled paper, I was really pleased with the final result and the different shapes used.
Quilled Lily Card © Belinda Fox 2010
Hello and welcome to my crafty outlet!
As I start up my business, I will show you what I’m creating, share with you some of my creative inspirations and people who inspire me, start selling supplies and finished projects, and hopefully see some of your creations too.
My favourite crafts are quilling, crochet, cross stitch, stamping, cooking (yes, I think it is a craft) and also doing craft with kids. Luckily I have 2 of my own little crafties who also love it! My craft stash and pile of unfinished projects is quite large but luckily I have a very supportive husband and an Ikea in Sydney so that I can keep adding storage systems to the rooms in the house!
Over the next little while I will be setting up an online shop to sell quilling supplies, things I have made as well as patterns, designs and kits for you to make your own. I’ll be adding craft kits for children, all fully tested by my in-house guinea pigs!
Meanwhile, you can buy some of my creations at ArtEZan, run by a lovely and talented friend.
I would like to thank my husband for his support not only of this venture but also putting up with my rants as I have attempted to build this site myself and fixing the bits I keep breaking! A big thank you must also go to another lovely and very talented friend who got all the background to the site set up, who had the faith in me to run her own business while she was away for an extended period and who encouraged me to get my own business running. Thank you Yvette! I must not forget all my other friends who have been very encouraging and great sounding boards for ideas! A very big thank you to my children too who think the idea of Mummy doing craft for work is really exciting since it means they get to do more of it too!
So, time to get crafty!