...been burgled

OK, so this week is quickly becoming top of my list of crap weeks!! Some traumatic stuff at work and lots of difficult things to deal with, topped off today by coming home to find I had been burgled! Don't normally use this blog for my ranting but I'm so fed up!

Anyway, my laptop was one of the things they stole and so I may not be able to blog as often for the next few days/weeks, but I will do my best to commandere people's computers when I can.

Mohair Bears

I did literally squeal with delight (my boyfriend thinks I have lost my mind!) when I saw these amazzzzing handmade bears. How have I not known about these before. They look so authentically vintage but are all handcrafted from mohair by the extremely talented Wendy of Whendi's bears.

Workshops

I am doing a couple of workshops over the next couple of months at Jam Jar Beads, a lovely sparkly new bead shop in Sheffield.  The first one is on Mother's Day, make a nice present for your lovely Mum or bring her along with you to this workshop which is a variation on my birdie brooch workshop which I have done a few times before. The second is a shoe customisation workshop.  So if you like the sounds of any of these workshops,be sure to put your name down on the list here at Jam Jar Beads.

I'm working on doing a lot more workshops after I move house, so will keep you all posted.

Please please help....

Im on my hols this week but I'm interrupting them with this important announcement:

My lovely little bro' has made a short film with his girlfriend (not one of those!). They have entered the stop animation film, called Eloise, into a competition run by Reed (the recruitment consultants).  The brief was to make a short film, no more than three minutes long, under the heading 'workplace'. It's that simple. 

So they have made the SHORTLIST (Yippee!). So now they need your help.  Pleeeeze watch the very short film HERE (its the one called Eloise) and vote for them! 

Giveaway winner announced

... and using the randometer, the winner of my first giveaway (to receive 3 little shrinky-dink hand-drawn  girls) is Melanie 'Mel-Belle'.   Thank you to those who entered and hopefully I will do another one soon. 

Blog of The Week

This week's blog of the week is the wonderful Bloesem. I found this blog about 4 years ago and have been a fan ever since. The site is written by Irene Hoofs, a dutch lady who lives with her family in Kuala Lumpur. I just love Irene's site and her sense of style.Almost everything she features on her blog I would love to have in my home. The images and items that she features on her blog are always beautiful and inspiring and her sister site, BloesemKids, is fantastic too, I don't have kids but I still visit this site often for inspiration and for the creative tutorials.

Eco Bomb Squad

I came across these seedboms on Etsy.  I think they are a lovely idea.  They are the friendly bombs that grow, tools for Eco-Warriors and Guerrilla Gardeners.  They contain everything you need to start growing flowers practically anywhere. Use Seedboms to interact with your environment, join forces with nature and brighten up dull and lifeless places in your area by throwing them into derelict land, neglected spaces, fenced off eyesores or even your neighbour’s messy garden and watch them grow!

Seedboms are handmade from a mixture of eco-friendly, locally sourced, organic and recycled materials such as used egg boxes, shredded office paper, compost and a selection of easy to grow flower varieties and native wildflower seeds.

Whirl It Lampshade

I came across the lovely Norwegian knitting blog, Pickles, the other day and found this fantastic tutorial for this gorgeous lampshade.  I made mini versions of this for x-mas decorations which I had seen on Martha Stewart but never thought about making a larger version like this.

Peace4you

I came across these lovely bags on Etsy and had to share them with you.  They are made by Peace4you who are based in Germany.  They make their bags from old german navy kitbags and vintage navy leather jackets for some of the straps.  Upcycling at its finest.

Moomah

Moomah in New York is not just a cafe and artspace but a place where they run craft and art workshops for children and adults, a place where children can spend quality time with their parents.  I have dreamt of owning somewhere like this for ages and finding out about this amazing place has set my mind racing again, thinking of how I would decorate my own cafe and what workshops I would run...Maybe one day!  For now I shall just swoon at Moomah's lovely site.  (Thanks to Fabio whose site i found this on!)

Bettyjoy's First Giveaway

I'm in a giving mood this weekend, so this is what I hope will be the first of many giveaways here on the Bettyjoy blog.  To win these little ladies, hand-drawn by me (I will also throw in a set of my hand-made buttons), simply leave a comment on this post letting me know what you would use the giveaway goodies for.  Giveaway closes February 14th and winner will be drawn at random.

Blog of the week

Seesaw Designs is a lovely blog by Seesaw letterpress design studio featuring daily inspiration like that above.  it has a lovely mix of interiors, fashion, art and graphic design.

Love this...

...Tweed Racer Dress and Jacket by Genevieve Dietz on Etsy

If I had a dog...

... and he was invited to a fancy dress party, I would send him in one of these.

Have your cupcake and eat it...

...although these are so cute its almost a shame to eat these lovely cupcakes from Coco Cupcakes.

Peeko

Check out Peeko Apparel's lovely etsy shop