Bead Crazy

It's Saturday which means a day off for me. My daughter Megan takes charge of the shop on a Saturday and I get to go out for a drive, a nice lunch, and a bit of shopping with my husband. Today the destination was Perth, which was lucky for me since my favourite bead shop, Bead Crazy is in Perth and it would be such a shame not to pop in for some supplies. I was very good today and only bought a few things on a whim and pretty much stuck to my list of essentials. There are still 7 weeks till my first Christmas craft fair but preparations are going well and stock is building up. I am trying really hard not to have a last minute panic this year.
My one indulgence today were some absolutely gorgeous purple beads which I love. Hopefully they will turn in to an absolutely gorgeous piece of jewellery very soon. Will post their picture when they are done.
Fiona.

On a roll

Feeling pretty pleased with myself now so here are some more photos. I should explain that I went on maternity leave nearly 20 years ago before computers were invented!!! Not quite but you know what I mean. I have done little more than play solitaire on our computer for years so this is a whole new challenge for me.
Anyway, a couple of years ago, my friend Cathy Arnott and I went to a local craft group where we were given the chance to try out new crafts. One of these crafts was glass engraving and Cathy took to it like a duck to water. This photo doesn't show very clearly but her work is really lovely and makes an ordinary piece of glass very unique.



Here is a lovely stained glass panel from Mark Baker. His attention to detail is amazing and he finishes his work really nicely. It looks lovely in this little alcove at the front of the shop and I will sad to see it go but I am sure he will replace it with something just as wonderful.

This is one of my little brooches. We are big on kilt pins in this part of Scotland, so it seemed like a good idea to do something a bit different with this one. You don't need to wear a kilt, to wear a kilt pin.

This is the back of the shop. At one point I was going to have this as a workshop but it was too good a space not to use for display. We had the arch made from the original door frame and it is very effective.

Here you can just about see Sylvia's decoupage canvasses on the walls. Her cards are to the front of this picture. Also here is my twirly stand filled with bags from Jacquie Bell's Bags of Charm. I do love these bags. They are fully lined with useful little pockets, and come in four basic sizes. One of my favourite features is a little scented sachet tucked inside which keeps your bag smelling lovely.

Knitted bracelets are one of my biggest sellers at craft fairs. Not so much in the shop, but whenever I do a show I have to be well prepared. I think is must be the novelty factor but they are quite eye-catching and very colourful.

Ha!!! I don't sell sheep in Buy Design but don't you think these ones are lovely. This photo was taken at Alyth Show a few weeks ago and I couldn't resist sharing it.

Be back soon with more news and pictures soon.

If anyone out there would like to comment I would love to hear from you.

Fiona

And Finally

I have been meaning to get some photos of Buy Design on here for ages and today I have the time, the technology and hopefully the skills needed so here goes.

Thank goodness my daughter is on hand today. She starts college on Friday so I have to make the most of her. I now feel I should apologise for nagging at the amount of time she spends on sites like Bebo since she knows how to make pictures go where you want them to go.
So, the first picture is from the front of the shop and you can see some flowers from Mary, a lovely stained glass mirror from Mark, some turned wooden bowls and some highland cows, amongst other.

Here are some more flowers. I really love Mary's arrangements and the photo doesn't really do them justice. She has a very unique way of combining colours and containers. Also here are some of Maureen's cushions and pillows. Some are just gorgeous and some have a secret pocket containing lavender, so they smell gorgeous too.

Nearly There

I have been busy preparing today. Not something I do very often but I think I should do it more often. Between the last weekend in October and the end of November I have five craft fairs to attend. This is great and I am really looking forward to them. A chance to see people you only see once a year and chance to tell everyone about my lovely shop. And hopefully a chance to sell enough jewellery to hibernate in January. Last year the big problem was underestimating the amount of stock needed to keep the shop looking good and to fill a craft stall as well. Not going to do that again!!! Well I might but it won't be for lack of planning.
Ah the sun has just come out. Time to close up shop and head to the garden and see if the sun is still there.

There's a Teddy in my Window

At least I hope there is. I had just about got the knack of posting photos when my lap top broke, then my daughter broke my camera. To many people this would pose only a minor problem, but I am not one of those people. Have now figured a whole new way to move photos involving a mobile phone and bluetooth, and am pretty pleased with myself. I am definately not a girl of the technical generation, but am slowly catching up.
There is a reason for the teddy in the window. Every summer here in Alyth all the shops take part in The Teddy Bear Trail, a competition for the children which encourages the adults to take a walk around the town, and hopefully spend money in the shops. Last year (as the story goes) Alyth hosted a huge teddy bear convention, and the teddies stayed with local shopkeepers. The quest was to count the teddies in each window, put the answer on your entry form from the Post Office, and wait in hope of winning a giant Bear at the end of the summer. This year (as the story goes) the teddies are making use of the government scrappage scheme and trading in their old cars for a £2000 bonus towards a new car. So we all have a Teddy with an old car in our window and the aim is to identify the make of the old car. A lot more dads have been called in this year to help!!!