Ruby Rouge Jewellery Presents The January Giveaway!!!

Bonjour lovely fans! It's competition time! Would you like to win my brand new Snow White necklace? Well if you enter the Ruby Rouge January Giveaway you may well do! It comprises of a brass locket on which the name "Snow White" has been embossed, gold plated trace chain, a brass apple charm and a sparkly swarovski crystal. The locket measures 25x18mm and the chain is 18" long. The necklace closes with a lobster clasp at the back. The chain length can be adjusted if desired. 
 
TO ENTER all you need to do is visit www.rubyrougejewellery.etsy.com find your favourite item and post a reply to this message telling everyone what it is and why you love it. SIMPLE! I will ship internationally so anyone and everyone can enter. Multiple entries can be gained by blogging and/or tweeting about this giveaway on twitter (please provide the link to your post below as evidence) and/or becoming a follower of my blog (please let me know what you have done in a message below). Each extra thing you do will gain you one extra entry! Each thing you do to gain an additional entry needs to be listed in a separate message as I will be using a random number generator to pick a winner. Once the number has been generated I will go down the list of entries until I find the entry that corresponds with it.

PLEASE REMEMBER to leave your name and e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. If I can't contact you another winner will be chosen. A winner will be picked on 1st of February. GOOD LUCK!!! xx

P.s. If you can't wait to see if you've won, the Snow White necklace is available for purchase here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38807228 

Dragon Boat Festival

I had a really nice day at the Dragon Boat Festival. There was great music and entertainment and great food. I had a malteaser milkshake which was super yummy. I also got to see some old friends and met some really lovely people who also had craft stalls. The weather stayed dry and warm and nothing on my stand blew away, so all in all it was a success! Bring on next year's festival! xx

P.s. Jewellery giveaway in T-2 days!!!

Craft Fair No. 2

Today I participated in my second craft fair of the year. The Artsmix team had employed the Urban Angels' Circus (two dolled up ladies with an oversized shopping trolley) to go through the streets of Leeds and promote the fair by handing out leaflets for free drinks at the bar downstairs. It was such a good idea and it brought a lot of people in. I had a great day. My jewellery went down really well and I met some lovely people with some really interesting products. I sadly forgot my camera though so no pictures of the table this month :( It's a shame actually because I had a 6ft table instead of a 3ft and everything looked so much better.

I tried something new out this month. I had a sale basket. I never know what to think about sale baskets at craft fairs or bargain sections on etsy. On one hand I think putting handmade items in a sale grossly undervalues the work of the artist, on the other I think it's a great way to give old stock or pieces that have minor imperfections new homes. I thought I'd try it out anyway. I had the items individually priced in a basket, but I decided to give them away free to people who spent over £15. It worked quite well although a few people didn't even notice it and spent £15+ and were really pleased to discover that they got something else for free. I think if I go with the sale basket again, I'll have to put it in a more obvious position so people can see it. I didn't really advertise my sale as much as I could have done because I don't like it when people do that to me. Sometimes it seems pushy and desperate.

My top tip this month is to make cards like this one in the picture. It makes everything look so much better and makes it a lot easier to display things. I did mine on word and printed them out on cream card. Give it a go!

Link of the day (yes I'm doing this now, apparrently): http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=12364 This is the best thing I have ever seen. Enjoy!

What a Whilrwind

So my life right now is pretty hectic. I've just finished a wholesale order for an online boutique (http://www.mylittleboutique.com), I'm trying to get items made to go in a gallery and I'm in the process of making prototype jewellery for a vintage wedding in California. On top of that I have a craft fair on Sunday at the Loft in Leeds to prepare for (fantastic place and people, come along if you're in the area), my etsy shops to maintain and museums to volunteer at. A hell of a lot is going on in Sarah Land right now. I've hardly had time for a social life let alone blogging! So sorry friends and followers. I promise I'll be better in future.

Anyhoo, here is a new piece of jewellery for you to look at that I just listed on etsy. Watch this space because more jewellery will be added this week. Also, another craft fair related post filled with tips is on its way....

In other news:
My parents borrowed a broody hen from a farmer to sit on our chickens' eggs. Chicklets will be here in T-20 days! Hurrah!
I added a new poll to the blog in order to carry out a bit of market research. Favourite colours please!
I also added Pacman (see bottom right hand corner). DISCLAIMER: SARAH OF RUBY ROUGE JEWELLERY FAME CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF PLAYING PACMAN. THOSE WHO BECOME HIGHLY ADDICTED SHOULD SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION.

Craft Fair!

I went to my first craft fair of the year last Sunday. It was at a place called The Loft in Leeds and it was organized by Artsmix. I've been to these before (I did five of them in 2008), but I had one of my most successful days ever this time round. Even more successful than the ones I did in the run up to Christmas - I was so happy! Although my things were all squashed together because I had made so much! I think next time I'm going to have to invest in a larger stall so it looks nicer. I also need to get some lighting. Ikea here I come!

Top tip for anyone attending these things - buy disposable cake stands (made out of cardboard) and spray paint them! It works out so much cheaper than buying acrylic stands and they are REALLY easy to transport because they can be dismantled and rebuilt. Also, if you get a multi-tiered one, it gives you so much more space to display. Very useful if you have a tiny table!

Hope this helps :D