New Creative Journey Weekend Workshop

This is not a painting and drawing class! This is a workshop to help unleash the creativity inside you. This workshop will take you on a journey to reconnent and discover your creativity in a fun, practical and respectful environment.This course will not only benefit your creativity skills but enhance other areas in your life such as goal setting, problem solving and interpersonal skills. This course will include activities such as mind mapping, collage, art journaling, altered art and creative writing but no prior skills are needed to participate in this course.

Place - The Crafty Alley Shop (workshop room) Killarney
Weekend Course


Sat 24th and 25th April


10am to 5.30pm both days
Cost - €140 including materials
Places limited to 8 participants.


For any enquiries please email cathy@craftyalley.com or phone 0646630800

New Clearence Section

NEW CLEARENCE SECTION ON WEB

Hey all check out our new Clearence section on the website. There is 50% off everything in it at the moment including some brand new Paper Cellar Products, Maya Road and more!

Cathy

Kids Crafty Easter Camp

Keep your Easter Bunnies busy next week with our Crafty Easter Camp.

Runs over three days from Tues 6th April to Thurs 8th April

12pm to 1.15pm Each Day

Book one day for €7.50 per child or all three days for €20

Book your place by calling 0646630800

Tea in Miss Courtneys Tea Rooms

So life can be quite busy working in the shop so Felicia and I took a well deserved break for tea and cakes last week at Miss Courtneys Tea Rooms in Killarney. This is the cutest tea shop you have ever seen and is just around the corner for us. Well worth a visit!

Thought you might enjoy the pics. Can you spot their delectable cake stands and their really sweet fabergé egg tree?

They serve the most gorgeous cup cakes too.....

Cathy

Altered Board Book

Hi all,

This is a board book I created as an example for the Craft Club workshop I gave in the shop last week. It was made from a spiralling childrens book about wiggly snakes are something and I could not resist them. The ladies actually created recipe books with theirs (send me pics girls if you have any). Great fun and nice to try something different too!

I used alot of felt and had great fun distressing and diecutting it.

My kids books will never be safe again......

Cathy

My First Mini TP Album

Hi all - well thanks to Felicia I have finished my first TP album! Felicia had been telling me about the TP albums for ages but  had never seen them and was a bit dubious (shame on me...). But they are totally gorgeous so thanks Felicia for convincing me!

I am using it as a place to store my First Design Team Members contact details, projects etc. Like a little Design Team Memory book!

I have used coin envelopes as the inserts this time instead of tags (as they are sooo cute) and I can fill the little envelopes with pictures and notes.

If you haven't tried one yet give them a go as they are too cute not to!

Cathy x

Handmade Brooches

Hi all, just thought I would share the first few brooches I have made for the Bee for Battens Campaign.

Felt Die Cut Brooches

Foam Die Cut Brooches

Crochet Flower Brooches

Still loads more to do but thought these might give people some inspiration to make their own and send them to us for the campaign. If you can even make one it could make a difference!

Thanks

Cathy x

Patterns for Bee for Battens

Hi all,

Below is a list of link to free patterns for the Bee for Battens "B is for Brooch, Bee is for Battens" project.

Also if you come across any other suitable patterns please leave the link in the comments section and I will add them in.

We welcome all handmade flowers from across the crafts.

Bumble Bee Crochet Patterns

http://www.coatsandclark.com/NR/rdonlyres/7525B518-229A-47D3-84D2-7424FD995730/100991/WR1729.pdf

http://web.archive.org/web/20071013231235/http://hometown.aol.com/wahnoma/BumbleBeePursePouch.html

http://skamama.blogspot.com/2006/06/picot-flower.html

http://mycrochetstuff.blogspot.com/2008/05/little-flowers-with-leaves-free-crochet.html

http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/faq-search.cgi?store=/stores/eyarn&faqKey=492&language=

http://renjet.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/pretty-little-flowers-all-in-a-row/


Knitted Flower Patterns for Brooch
http://www.ivillage.co.uk/homegarden/homemaking/crafts/articles/0,,695942_710695,00.html

http://www.knitonthenet.com/issue6/patterns/flowerpower/

http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTpetals.html

I will add more but these are just a few to get you started. By the way I highly recommend you signup to Ravelry which has an amazing database of free flower patterns perfect for the brooches and we have our own group on there too so pop by and say hello!

Thanks for your support and I look forward to seeing your creations for the Bee for Battens campaign

Cathy

B is for Brooches, Bee is for Battens

Hi all,

If any of you watched the Late Late show last Friday evening you may have saw Tony and Mary Heffernan talking about their two beautiful children who are diagnosed with Battens Disease. This is a heart wrencing story and I urge you visit the interview if you have not already seen it here on RTE Player. Please note the interview is towards the end of the programme.

The Heffernan family actually live in the same village as me in Kerry and their two beautiful children are of similar ages to my own and I am amazed by their strength and devotion as parents. Their children are the only two diagnosed people in the South of Ireland with Battens Disease and they have formed a strong friendship with a family up North Alan and Shauna Bates, mother of 9 year old Rhiannon who is also battling Battens.

To understand the struggle these families are facing dealing with Battens, I took this excerpt from the website

"Over time, affected children suffer mental impairment, worsening seizures, and progressive loss of sight and motor skills. Children become totally disabled and eventually die.

Batten disease is not contagious nor, at this time, preventable. To date it has always been fatal."

I put my thinking cap on for what I and we can do as creative people to help raise awareness and support for the Heffernan family and other families who are dealing with Battens and came up with the idea

"B is for Brooches, Bee is for Battens".

First of all I will explain that the symbol of a Bee is used as the emblem on their website and logo http://www.beeforbattens.org/ and I got thinking of Bees and flowers....

What I am asking people to do is knit, crochet or handmake a flower (papercrafters can die cut felt etc.) and send them to me. I will add pins to the flowers and sell them as brooches in the shop and online. I will add a tag to the brooch with the Battens web address on one side and "Handmade by..." on the other.All proceeds will go to the Saoirse foundation to help raise awareness and create support. Its important to note that I have been in contact with The Heffernans and they were very supportive of this idea.

Also on Good Friday (Friday 2nd March) I will host a very special edition of our regular knitting group which will be dedicate to making the flowers for the brooches. The yarn will be supplies so all you need are your skills and support!

So what can you do?

1. Make and send a flower to me (or more if you have the time)

2. Come to the knitting group in the shop next Friday and make some more (10am to 12pm)

3. Spread the word and link to this article and more importantly the Bee for Battens website http://www.beeforbattens.org/

Please post your flowers to The Crafty Alley Shop, 6B Scotts Street, Killarney, Co. Kerry.

Thanks guys

Cathy x

B is for Brooch, Bee is for Battens

Hi all,

If any of you watched the Late Late show last Friday evening you may have saw Tony and Mary Heffernan talking about their two beautiful children who are diagnosed with Battens Disease. This is a heart wrencing story and I urge you visit the interview here on RTE Player. Please note the interview is towards the end of the programme.

The Heffernan family actually live in the same village as me in Kerry and their two beautiful children are of similar ages to my own and I am amazed by their strength and devotion as parents. Their children are the only two diagnosed people in the South of Ireland with Battens Disease and they have formed a strong friendship with a family up North Alan and Shauna Bates, mother of 9 year old Rhiannon who is also battling Battens.

To understand the struggle these families are facing dealing with Battens, I took this excerpt from the website

"Over time, affected children suffer mental impairment, worsening seizures, and progressive loss of sight and motor skills. Children become totally disabled and eventually die.

Batten disease is not contagious nor, at this time, preventable. To date it has always been fatal."

I put my thinking cap on for what I and we can do as creative people to help raise awareness and support for the Heffernan family and other families who are dealing with Battens and came up with the idea

"B is for Brooches, Bee is for Battens".

First of all I will explain that the symbol of a Bee is used as the emblem on their website and logo http://www.beeforbattens.org/ and I got thinking of Bees and flowers....

What I am asking people to do is knit, crochet or handmake a flower (papercrafters can die cut felt etc.) and send them to me. I will add pins to the flowers and sell them as brooches in the shop and online. I will add a tag to the brooch with the Battens web address on one side and "Handmade by..." on the other.All proceeds will go to the Saoirse foundation to help raise awareness and create support. Its important to note that I have been in contact with The Heffernans and they were very supportive of this idea.

Also on Good Friday (Friday 2nd APRIL) I will host a very special edition of our regular knitting group which will be dedicate to making the flowers for the brooches. The yarn will be supplies so all you need are your skills and support!

So what can you do?

1. Make and send a flower to me (or more if you have the time)
2. Come to the knitting group in the shop next Friday and make some more (10am to 12pm)
3. Spread the word and link to this article and more importantly the Bee for Battens website http://www.beeforbattens.org/

Please post your flowers to The Crafty Alley Shop, 6B Scotts Street, Killarney, Co. Kerry.

Thanks guys

Cathy x

New Stamps!

We have had a huge delivery of new stamps for you to check out with vintage images, easter themes, sentiments and much more. Click here to see our new stamps.

Happy Stamping!

New Basic Grey At The Crafty Alley Shop

Visit The Crafty Alley Shop to see our new Basic Grey Collections. More items to follow too!

New Books at The Crafty Alley Shop

Just a selection of some our new books which have just arrived...need some inspiration then take a look at these!

www.craftyalley.com

Time to make some changes....

Hi all,

I don't normally like to share too much of my personal head space because although I love the world of blogging I think it is important in all aspects of your life to keep some of you just for you! However, I have been talking to lots of people recently who I think may feel the same way too so I thought I would share this.

I am a girl who thrives on change and challenge but lately I am craving a bit of space - for family, friends, creativity and health. It is good to be busy but there has to be a line drawn when busy becomes too busy that you really are not at your best and I have been feeling that way recently.

So I have decided that I am going to start working smarter and not harder in ALL aspects of my life. I won't bore you with the details of my day to day challenges but in terms of my creativity. I am a person who loves to create and try lots of new things but also fine tune existing things. There are too many books on my shelves waiting to be read, there are too many canvases waiting to be filled, there are too many fabrics still in one piece, there are too many knitting projects still on the needles and there are too many hours which I don't seem to catch in a day.

So I have decided that I am going to knuckle down a bit and concentrate on a few neglected areas and try and not start new projects until I have finished what I need to. So when I started this blog, I started with a list and I think it is time to revisit the list.

To Make List

This is the list I have either started or committed too. If it has a line through it has been completed. If it has a star next to it it means I have not started it at all. If it has a percent beside it thats how comple it is.

1. One sister's minibook gift
2. One little girl's cardigan 50%
3. One Mother's cardigan 10%
4. One little boy's jumper 90%
5. One mini book swap book
6. One mosaic mirror 60%
7. Two mosaic side tables *
8. One Oil Painting 10%
9. One Christmas Mini Book Swap
10. One knitted purse
11. One New Year Mini Book Swap
12. Scrapzville Feb Swap (redo) *
13. TWS Feb Swap
14. Feb Tag Swap
15. March Tag Swap
16. March Scrapzville Swap *
17. One Sister in Laws Hen Night Album *

This is the list which I want to get cracking on and I am going to give myself a month for each project. I am going to try my hardest not to start any of the below until I have finished all of the above.

1. Finish one craft book and complete all projects (even the ones I dont like to fine tune my skills)
2. Finish one project in crochet
3. Finish another painting
4. Knit a home accessory
5. One April Scrapzville Swap

Ok, there are at least another hundred projects I could add but in the name of positive change and sanity they will not get on the list until I have made good progress on the above.

So guys - thats where I am with my projects - where are you? Do you want to do a similar list and link back here and we can all encourage each other and share each others creative schedule?

Cathy xxx

Butterfly Canvas For My Daughter

Hi all,

Just enjoying a lovely Sunday with hubby and the kids and felt inspired to use a grey linen canvas I have had hanging around my art room for a while.

I made the butterflies in cotton fabrics and fused on the canvas with some distress stickles around a couple of them. The flower is a petaloo mulberry flower which I have added some Marabu glitter liner to. The swirls are Tim Holtz grungeboard which I have painted with an adirondack dabber, distress with dusty concord distress ink pad and also added some Marabu glitter liner is places. This was a really fun project and I found in refreshing to try something new by using fabric on canvas.

Happy Sunday everybody

Cathy x

Its our Birthday!!!

10% off everything on the website today and tomorrow to celebrate our Birthday!

Remember free delivery in Ireland for order €50 and over

Free delivery in Europe for €120 and over.

For international deliveries please email me

Design Team Announced over on Crafty Alley Blog

Happy St Patrick's Day everybody!

Just announced the design team over on The Crafty Alley Shop Blog - very exciting!

Cathy x

Introducing The Crafty Alley Shop Design Team!

Hi ladies,

First of all I wanted to say that I was truely overwhelmed and delighted with the amount of design team applications and the quality of the work and blogs were amazing! Thank you so much for applying and remember that you can reapply for the next design team in six months time. It was a very hard decision but we took many factors into consideration to choose the first design team and if you were not chosen this time you may be chosen in the future.

After all that - we are delighted to be able to announce our very first design team!

So drumroll please.......

Our first team will include the following members

Robyn
Louise
Katie
Michele

You can see the ladies works on their own blogs and Youtube channels but they will have a permanent home for the six months over on our new network so sign up and get chatting and creating with the ladies.

We will also be making the designer team kits available for sale but these will be limited. I will let you know in a few days more about the kits.

So welcome ladies and I cannot wait to start working with you all!

Cathy

Macroom Purlies Visit Us In Killarney

We had a fabulous morning when Patricia and the rest of the Macroom Purlies visited The Crafty Knit and Stitchers here in the shop in Killarney. Everyone was working on very versatile projects from delicate Irish Lace Flowers to contribution squares for the urban project in Limerick which will see a building covered in yarn. Mairead brought her beautiful wheel and it was great to see such a wonderful group of talented ladies getting to know eachother.

Now it is our turn to plan our trip to Macroom!

Cathy

A Tim Holtz View

I know many of our web customers never get a chance to see what the shops looks like so I wanted to show you peep of our new Tim Holtz section which Ebony who works for me here in the shop put together! We will making more space soon to add the Tim Holtz papers (arriving early next week) and the Tim Holtz dies arriving in April.

Cathy x

New New New

Guys, all our deliveries are arriving with all the new season goodies in them so I thought I would feature a few here!

1. Distress Stickles - http://www.craftyalley.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=distress+stickles
2. The Bead Cafe -  http://www.craftyalley.com/index.php?cPath=1246
3. More Melody Ross including the paper stacks for Artsy Urban and Homespun Chic
4. Spellbinder Dies including their Easter Egg Nestabilities and my Favourite - the Owls Nestabilities http://www.craftyalley.com/index.php?cPath=1064

Will add another update during the week as we unpack more boxes!

Remember FREE delivery on all orders over €50 to Ireland and over €120 to Europe or a flat rate of €5 to Ireland and  €9 to Europe on orders under the above.

Visit http://www.craftyalley.com/

Cathy

Final Design Team Call over on the Crafty Alley Shop Blog

Hi all,

We are closing the Design Team Call at midnight tonight as we have receieved so many applicants and will announce tomorrow so if you havent already - get your application in!!!

http://www.craftyalley.blogspot.com/

Cathy x

Final Design Team Call

Hi all

Thank you to everyone who has applied so far - I have been overwhelemed by the amount and quality of the applicants!

We would like to make the announcement on the Design Team tomorrow so that we have everything in place in time for our 2 year birthday this weekend.

So last chance to submit your applicaton by midnight tonight Monday 15th March and I will hopefully make the announcement tomorrow evening!

I am so excited about this and cant wait to get working with the new team!

Cathy

Invitation to Join The Crafty Alley Network

Hey guys,

I set up a network today as lots of us are in the same swaps etc. so I wanted to set up a network where we can all collaborate, have challenges, chat and share our passion for art and crafts. We also have colleagues, friends and peers and also customers from the shop who are in to all different art and crafts and do not have blogs and youtube channels so I wanted to give them a place to go and share their work and meet like minds too! So if you would like to join (and I really hope you do) go to http://craftyalley.ning.com/.

Network is literally in infancy stage so all feedback and suggestions welcome!!!

Cathy x

NEW ARRIVAL - Darkroom Door

Check out the amazing darkroom door products which have just arrived from their newest ranges. Includes montage, background stamps and tins of stamps.

http://www.craftyalley.com/index.php?cPath=940_1258

TWS Swap for Veronica

February Tag Swap and some cute purchases!!!

The Crafty Kingdom Midnight Crop!

To celebrate the longest day of the year, The Crafty Alley Shop will be hosting a crop with a difference!
On Friday June 25th, we will gather for dinner at 8.30pm and when we are all full to the brim we will move on to the shop where our crop will begin!
We will be well into our project by midnight, and will be finished in the small hours of Saturday morning. It promises to be a fun filled night, we will keep you posted as the arrangements are made.
We are hoping to meet some of our blog followers for the first time, so if you're interested in coming to Killarney for the weekend please let us know and we will do our best to organise accomodation for you.
Hope to see you there!
Felicia.

Tim Holtz Sissix Dies

Tim Holtz Sizzix Dies at The Crafty Alley Shop

**** UPDATE****


SISSIX ARE NOT RELEASING TIM HOLTZ DIES UNTI APRIL

WE WILL HOLD ANY EXISTING ORDERS ALREADY PLACED AND WILL ADVISE OF THE NEW DELIVERY DATE AS SOON AS WE ARE ADVISED BY SISSIX



So disappointing but lots of other TIm Holtz goodies arriving this week!Hi all,

Had to share my excitement with you all! Our consignment of Tim Holtz dies were sent out to us today so will be arriving in the shop any day now! These dies are amazing and I cannot wait to play with them. I will upload some of the display projects for them later and look out for the video on Youtube to see the dies in better detail.

If you want me to keep a die aside for you when the come in as they are already limited stock just email me. Otherwise, keep an eye on the website for the end of the week!!!

Also this is the first of ALL the new Tim Holtz goodies to be arriving this week......more to be revealed!

Cathy

Calling Local Artists and Crafters in the Killarney and surrounding areas

Hi all,

We are well under way in planning the shops 2nd Birthday Bash (hard to believe it has been two years).

Friday 19th March (Evening)

We have decided for that night to turn our workshop room into a gallery and display some of our customers pieces free of charge for the night. we have a very loyal customer base and we thought this was a great way of promoting our customers work and hopefully you may even make a sale or two on the evening! This is a great opportunity to display your pieces in a new environment and meet fellow artists.

We will have to limit wall space to one large piece or two small pieces.

If you would like to display your work that evening please contact me on 0646630800 this week and I will reserve a place for you.

Cathy

Macroom Purlies Visit

Hi all,

Just to let you know on Friday the 12th March the Macroom Purlies will be coming to our Crafty Knit and Stitchers group on Friday morning from 10am to 12pm. Their will be seven ladies making their way down which should be a really fun get together with lots of knitting and crochet (and lots of chat and laughs as usual).

I know most of regulars are already looking forward to this but spread the word as everyone is welcome! Will have to get the cream cakes in!

Cathy

The Creative Journey Weekend Workhop

This is not a painting and drawing class! This is a workshop to help unleash the creativity inside you. This workshop will take you on a journey to reconnent and discover your creativity in a fun, practical and respectful environment.This course will not only benefit your creativity skills but enhance other areas in your life such as goal setting, problem solving and interpersonal skills. This course will include activities such as mind mapping, collage, art journaling and creative writing but no prior skills are needed to participate in this course.


Place - The Crafty Alley Shop (workshop room) Killarney
Weekend Course - Sat 24th and Sun 25th April
10am to 5.30pm
Cost - €140 including materials
Places limited to 8 participants.


For any enquiries please email cathy@craftyalley.com or phone 0646630800

Design Team Call for The Crafty Alley Shop

Hi all - I am looking for people for our very first Crafty Alley Design Team!

If you are interested please visit the shop's blog over at http://craftyalley.blogspot.com/2010/03/crafty-alley-shop-design-team-call.html

Thanks

Cathy

The Crafty Alley Shop Design Team Call!

The Crafty Alley Shop is looking for designers for our very first Design Team to showcase some of the amazing products we have in store and this could be your chance to become a key member! As a design team member your primary role will be to help showcase our existing and newest products. Our designer’s work will be featured on our blog and online store where products are ‘linked’ with your layouts. We are looking for individuals who are creative, committed to showing off your best work 110% of the time, passionate about crafting, can comply with deadlines, and participate actively and positively on our new message board (Will be lanuched in late March).


Design Team member responsibilities include:
* Create a minimum of 3 crafting projects a month using the supplies we provide you with. These can take the form of layouts (12x12, 8x8 etc.), minibooks, cards, altered art, tags, ATC's etc. Since your work will be linked to the products we sell we do ask that you use a certain number of supplies on each layout
* Create at least one tutorial a month to be uploaded to Youtube and / or at least one project with step by step written instructions using the supplies we have provided you with.
* Agree to a 6 month commitment of 1st April, 2010-1st October, 2010.
* Sign and return the Design Team contract. Failure to return or comply with the rules in the contract will result in termination from the team.
* Take well photographed pictures of your layouts
* Actively promote The Crafty Alley Shop on your blog and any other websites where rules allow at least 4 – 5 times a week.
* As a design team member you are an extension of our site, shop and business so you will be expected to act in a professional manner both on our site and on other sites you visit.
* Actively participate in the Crafty Alley Shop forums and blogs and promote events, special offers and new products.

The Crafty Alley Design Team Member benefits:
* Receive FREE monthly supplies. The Crafty Alley Shop will pay the shipping and handling on your design team supplies. In return for supplies, we retain the right to display your work in our online galleries after your term ends. These supplies must be used by yourself and for the purposes of promoting the products for The Crafty Alley Shop. You of course get to keep the supplies and projects you make using them.
*A special discount for the duration of your term with us as a Designer for any purchases you make from our shop and website.


We are looking for experienced crafters who have the WOW factor, are fun, committed and can prove their dedication to their craft. We also need people who are very active bloggers (blog must be at least 6 months old with a minimum of 30 subscribers) and are savy with other channels such as Youtube, Ning networks, Twitter etc.


In order to apply for The Crafty Alley Shop Design Team, submit the following by end of day on March 15th to cathy@craftyalley.com

1. Images of 4 original paper craft projects which must include the following 3 elements - scrapbooking, cardmaking and an altered project and one other project (can be another of the above).
2. Also, please answer the following questions in your email:
1. How long have you been crafting?
2. What motivates your crafting?
3. How would you define your crafting style – vintage, contemporary etc.?
4. Are you happy to try new styles and share these with others?
5. How long have you been blogging and how often do you blog normally?
6. Are you happy promoting your design team work and also the shop and website on your blog?
7. Will you be able to make at least 10 posts a week on our forum and / or blog. If not, please explain why.
8. How do you plan to keep the message board active or what types of things could you bring to the site to keep the members happy and talking?
9. Why do you feel you should be chosen to be a part of The Crafty Alley Shop Design Team?
10. Are you currently a design team member anywhere else? Please provide full details if you are.

• Please include links to your Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, Online Photo Channels and any other online channels you use to promote your crafting.
• Please let us know if and where any of your work has been published? (e.g. Magazines, books etc.)

*Any falsification of the above information will result in disqualification of your application.*

The Crafty Alley Shop design team will be announced no later than March 19th 2010. If you are interested in becoming part of our team but have questions, please email me at cathy@craftyalley.com. Otherwise, please submit your work to the same email address in order to be eligible for this wonderful opportunity.


Good Luck and I look forward to working with some of you soon!
 
Spread the word!
 
Cathy

Album for Dee

As part of the Feb Scrapzville Swap. Hope you like it Dee xxx

Album from Dee

This is the album Dee sent me for the Feb Scrapzville Swap. I hope you enjoy watching it. Sorry the light and picture quality are so bad.

Thanks Dee - I LOVE the album xxx

Prima Paintable

This is the Prima Paintable I did as the example for the workshop I gave at The Crafty Alley Craft Club on Saturday. We had a great workshop and I think the ladies really enjoyed it. I will put up a tutorial soon on Youtube to show what I did. Main elements I used are a Prima Printable, gimmer mists watersoluable pencils, bling, Prima flower and embossing powders. well worth giving one a try if you ahvent already. The 12x12 sheet is watercolour quality so has great qualitites for a variety of mediums.

Cathy x

Swapzville Minibook swap from Alyson