Frogged - Handmade Recycled Crafts

I was sneak attacked...

2012-03-06T09:25:00.004-08:00

...and it feels goood!

The story so far...

I woke up this morning and it is a most horrible day! Never ending rain and a howling wind. Thinking nothing exciting can ever happen on a day like this I roll over and hope if I wake up a bit later the rain might have stopped...

It didn't... So I turned on my computer and watched the new Dirk Gently show on the iplayer, hoping it would be as good as the Hitch hikers TV but fearing it may be as disappointing as the film version, I settled down to watch it and not think about Frogged stuff. I had only made a few sales in the last month : (

After watching the show (I look forward to seeing where they go with it) its time to face the music and check etsy...

... That's strange... I knew I had more items in my shop than that, I wonder what has happened...

5 sales... WOW!

I was sneak attacked. What is that you ask? A lovely team on Etsy make it their mission to help us newbies get a kick start to their shop.

It's a way to support independent artisans who are trying to sell their wares online. Two days a week at an appointed time, an Etsy shop with few or no sales is announced. As many people as possible then buy items from that shop, resulting in a frenzy of surprise business to the unsuspecting shop!

So I braved the weather with a smile on my face and ran to the Post Office will my orders!

I was featured on their blog Handmade movement and even got a mention here Sandi's T's.

Not bad for a rainy Tuesday! I think this calls for the world's best baked potatoes for dinner tonight, but more about that later.

Treasury Tuesday

2012-02-22T06:07:00.000-08:00

Foto Friday

2012-02-17T11:00:00.002-08:00

Treasury Tuesday

2012-02-14T03:48:00.000-08:00

In my continued effort to kick myself into some kind of blogging shape, I have made Tuesday 'Treasury Tuesday'. If you don't know what a treasury is, they are described as 'An ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery' head on over to etsy here to see more.

Here is my first treasury

Upcycled and recycled gifts

Arm warmers - Fingerles... CaTcHiNgDrAgOn... $18.00	Body Snatchers Journal ... crabappledesig... $14.00	TANIA - 100% Recycled U... DandyFlorence $59.90
Klinker Brick Zinfindal... MitchellGlassw... $34.00	10 Silverware Coathooks... jjevensen $90.00	Bookends Handmade from ... WhenTheMusicsO... $10.00
Recycled newspaper jewe... HippieKingdom $22.00	Fanny Shoulder Bag torraingoods $22.00	Elephants Fly with Love... VintageDiction... $10.00
NEW SUPER DURABLE Red B... urbanwoodswalk... $12.50	Field of Ephemera Recyc... Pir8tsLocker $10.00	Upcycled Tie Cuff - mul... Spiritjug $11.75
Recycled Blue Denim Jea... ArtStitch $24.00	Card Holder from Recycl... PearlandMoon $35.00	Vintage Ashley Tea Cup ... RubysTeaParty $15.00
Green Vintage Zipper Br... benjamin2008 $15.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Monday - Back to work

2012-02-13T05:21:00.000-08:00

Not for me. . . I haven't stopped working this weekend.

At the moment the managers are having a wee holiday from the hostel so me and Chris are in charge for a bit! Thankfully it is still quiet at the moment here so it's not been very hard.

I have also been very busy with my Etsy.com shop, I have uploaded 23 items so far, nothing has sold yet but I am working on it. I have however been featured in a treasury!

You can see the treasury here

It is scary how much time I spend on etsy at the moment, I hope it pays off! When I was not looking at lovely things on etsy I was attempting to make a tutorial video, showing how I make my beads. I haven't done any video editing since Uni (almost 5 years ago now!) and I am a bit rusty!

This is the first wee test!

In a moment of procrastination I did something I had been putting of for weeks. I saw a tutorial somewhere (google can't find it) of a business card holder made from a old book. It's super simple just folding the pages. . . One and a half hours later and here we have it!

It is not finished, I am still working on making it into a desk tidy by folding pages from another book into tubes and fixing them on. . . somehow. . .

Anyway enough random rambling from me.
Have a good Monday!

Foto Friday

2012-02-10T13:46:00.000-08:00

I have not quite got the hang of this blogging thing. I have been busy making new items for my shop and very, very good at putting off writing new posts. In an effort to make it easier for me to get on with it I have come up with a Post Plan!

Today is now Foto Friday! I was inspired by Vivid's Wordless Wednesday so as of next week I will not write anything on a friday just show a selection of photos from the past week. Here is my test run...

Drying

New from Black Dog Displays


Market last year, now planning next year!

Rain, rain go away, come again some other day!

2012-02-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

I got a bit of cabin fever this morning, it seems like the rain never stops sometimes. So as soon as the clouds lifted a bit I ran out with camera in hand.

I thought it would be nice to show my walk to the post office and back (I went back the long way to take in the bay)

Back home the long way!

Home

How to take great photos of your handmade products

2012-01-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

Introduction

When you are selling your handmade crafts on Etsy, Folksy, eBay or wherever, the quality and content of the product photography will make or break a sale. Even before people look at the title or description they have judged the picture and decided if they want to find out more and possibly buy it.

I have always known this to be true but today it was proven to me! The photo I put up last week of my handmade necklaces where taken in a bit of a rush, just to get something up there. They are OK, but not quite right. I was going for a handmade, improvised, panicky look...

Old rushed photo

Today I set up a light box in my workshop and using my new bust from black dog, I then took all the recycled bead necklace photos again! I then uploaded them to my shop on Folksy and as usual shared it on Facebook and Twitter. An hour later, while still editing more photos... The first necklace SOLD!

New photo

How to take great photos of your handmade products

Lights
Camera
Edit
Kiss

Lights

I hate flash photography.

Unless you have a very expensive flash set up you should not use flash - the flash on most compact cameras is coming from the wrong angle, too bright and just plain wrong! Even indoor lighting is not the best, the first photos I took where lit purely by celling lights and they came out very orange and still too dark.

The best light is daylight, get outside if you can, if not get close to a window. My set up involves four white boards I found in the attic - you can easily use a sheet or even paper stuck to a wall. I used a skylight in the attic which reflects nicely off the boards, also I can leave it set up there so it is ready to use next time.

*Update*
A photographer friend of mine recommends this portable studio I am sure all you crafty people can make one yourself, I know I am going to try now!

Camera

Digital cameras are getting cheaper and better all the time. I happen to have access to a rather nice Olympus E-P1, it is kind of a SLR/compact hybrid and is more than enough for these photos.

When I took the photos today I let the camera do the hard work for me and had it mostly set on Auto. To be honest cameras today are pretty clever, if your lighting is good and there is nothing too complicated in the photo the camera will figure it out.

Things to watch out for are:

Make sure your ISO is low, this will the reduce noise in the picture, just make sure you have good light and a steady hand.
Make sure white is white... if not change your white balance (WB) to match your light conditions.
Focus, man, focus... Focus on the most important part of your product.

Edit

Love it or hate it Photoshop is part of life. If you are poor like me Gimp is a great free, open source alternative to Photoshop. Spend some time getting used to these programs and they can transform your photos (just look at any celebrity in a magazine!)

All I did there was:

Adjust the Curves to make it a bit lighter
Used the Magic Wand to select the white background to stop me messing up the bust and jewellery
Used Clone Stamp to remove the lines in the background and even it out
I also used the a light grey (almost white) paint at 50% opacity to even the background out a bit more

Some photos need a bit of cropping or the colour balance changing, but that is about it, especially if your photo is good to start with. If you are clever you will used a background with no joins in it, a sheet or curved cardboard, then you might not even have to do any thing to your photos...

I left the background of the photo with a shadow in it to give it some context, I also feel a pure white background can be too stark a lot of the time. I now avoid pattern in the back as it distracts from your product, which is after all exactly what your photos are about!

Kiss

Keep It Simple Stupid!

Workshop Clean up and recycled display!

2012-01-27T06:25:00.000-08:00

It took me and the lovely Eva all day yesterday to get my workshop into some kind of workable space. I must stay it was a very nice feeling to come up here this morning and be able to put down my cup of tea with out having to move something off the table to the chair or floor!!

Also I am very pleased with my new display bust from the people over at Black Dog, I found them on eBay the other day and it came yesterday! They say;

'Our contemporary stands are made from recycled paper with a paper mache base and a twisted paper twine surface.'

It feels nice and light but still sturdy, prefect for taking to markets and I am very happy to have found good quality recycled displays! Today will be spent re-photographing all my necklaces. I also stole their idea a wee bit and made a bracelet display with a two toilet rolls covered in some twine I had lying around, I hope they don't mind!

I wonder I if can get them to make me a head to show my hats? Hint Hint...

Sorry for the bad webcam photos, charging the nice camera at the moment for today's photo-shot!

Give away - Again

2012-01-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

I have had feedback that my Handmade Recycled GiveAway was too hard! So I have relaxed the rules (sorry Del who won fair and square)!

Now all you need to do to be in with a chance of winning one of the goodies below is post this:

(Your name) has a (your head size..small/medium/large) jazz band and (your wrist size in cms) cricket players round for tea tonight.

on frogged facebook (link is to the right of this)!

You can do it!!

Now time for some serious blogging

2012-01-23T14:46:00.000-08:00

I think it is time I put more on here than just posts about my site and the Give Away.

So earlier on today I sat down and started to write a serious post about how to reduce waste in normal life by reusing things... but I got taken on a Google tangent, which morphed it into a post about how much you can buy that is already recycled or re-purposed, which you can then recycle again!

I want one of these so much!

It all got a bit confusing and Chris came in and told me I had been staring at a computer screen too long, so should come make dinner. Which we did and it was lovely (a raw blended vegetable sauce on top of quinoa and salad).

Straight after dinner I resolve to bash out this post, well maybe I should tidy the camper-van first. Ooh and refill the water powered clock, it lasted about 3 months before it gave up but just needed a wee rinse and some fresh water with, a hint of lemon, get her going again.

Amazing!

I have had a very productive this evening, but not in the way I intended it to be. To get past my writers block I resolve to write what ever come into my head. Like when you stare at a blank piece of paper, too scared to draw anything encase you mess it up, you should draw a line or make a smudge, just to get past that fear.

Which brings us up to now, I have managed to write a post but only about how I have failed to write one. I guess this will be the first baby step to writing a proper interesting post with photos and content! I might even finish one of the post I started earlier...

Good night x

100 Likes

2012-01-21T12:24:00.001-08:00

I have hit the 100 likes mark now on facebook

-does happy dance-

Thank you all and keep up the good work!

But so far only one person has won any of my recycled goodies.... it's surprisingly hard to give free things away!

Welcome - GiveAway

2012-01-20T11:14:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my new and improved site.

If you have been keeping up with me on facebook, twitter and my blog, you will know that to celebrate the big relaunch of my website and new logo, I am having a recycled GiveAway.

So how do you get your hands on some free recycled goodies?

Simple:

Step 1: Like me on Facebook (if you don't already) and follow this Blog.

Step 2: Get as many friends as you can to go onto my Facebook and like Frogged, then get them to post this on my wall on your behalf:

(Your name) has a (your head size..small/medium/large) jazz band and (your wrist size in cms) cricket players round for tea tonight.

Step 3: Keep an eye on Facebook and I will announce the winners soon.

The more friends you bribe the better chance you have of getting one of the recycled goodies in the post below this.

-- Also check out http://folksy.com/shops/Frogged as I am listing all my stock right now --

T minus TWO hours

2012-01-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

Its been a frantic day getting everything photographed and new tags made for a the different recycled materials. Now with two hours to go I can show you all what I am giving away!

5x Tie Bracelets, each one will be cut to fit the winner wrist. The green one is a example to show how they will look.

3x Magazine bead bracelets, these are on elastic so easily fit most writs.

1x Frogged Hat, it is a slouchy hat that can fit all your hair, the flower has a button on the back so it can be moved or removed!

GiveAway hint

2012-01-19T10:37:00.000-08:00

The clock is quickly counting down to the re-launch tomorrow night and the GiveAway of joy. So to give you a small hint about what I will ask you to do, here is a materials list to help you tomorrow at 7pm:

Measuring tape, Facebook and Blogger.

Simple

Tags - Part 2

2012-01-18T05:31:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the new label. The text on the back will be changed to fit all my different items, I am also now able to do custom text with my amazing stamping set.

Anything you would like to see on the lable? leave a message below, thanks.

Give-away!

2012-01-18T04:07:00.000-08:00

To get my website relaunch off with a bang I am having a give-away! Here are the prizes:

1x Hat

2x Magazine bead bracelets

5x Tie bracelets

Now what do you have to do to get your hands on one of these?

Simple.

Be one of the first 8 to follow the instructions on the home page of my relaunched website on Friday, I promise it won't be hard.

Keep your eyes peeled for updated and photo of the prizes here, on facebook and Twitter @frogged42

Thank you and follow me!

Sneak peek

2012-01-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

I thought I would give you all a sneak peek at my new logo before my site goes live...

Tadaaaa

Good night

New Year

2012-01-14T08:13:00.000-08:00

Another year has flew by, the summer was madness, a full hostel almost every night and selling on the market every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Then came the Christmas market, they where a bit cold (think hail storms on xmas eve!) but still very good fun! Mine is the first shed in the photo, I promise there where more people later on that day!

All this has meant I have sadly neglected my website and on-line shop, so as the market is now closed until it get a bit warmer I have time to get my self sorted, roll out some idea's for new designs and make stock for the summer.

I have updated my website and changed my logo so I ordered a new stamp to make tags and a stamp making set so I can tailor the text on each one. I hope this will come in handy with my 100% recycled gift idea, recycled wrapping paper, tag and present! But that is still in development, so I won't say any more.

New Banners!!

2011-06-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

WOOOO my new banners finally arrived today! They will be proudly displayed outside the market tomorrow! It is the final parcel in a long list of parcels that have come for me.... Living in the middle of nowhere everything I get comes from Amazon or eBay, I think I have given the postman a bad back!

In other news I have been flexing my webdesign muscles again by helping get the Isle of Skye Market Square a good web presence. I have started off making a blog here and now I am working on the official website!

Anyway, lunch time now, I will take lots of photos tomorrow of my new stock and banner!

New flyers and event

2011-06-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

After the success of the first market at the Skye Market Square I have taken a stall there every week Thu-Sat. Although I have been doing the odd day if its sunny or I need to get out the camper.

Now I have a fixed location and days I thought it

was about time I got some flyers sorted out, so here is a sneek preview!

What do you guys think?

I have also been meeting loads of people who want to learn to crochet and knit but don't know where to start, so I came up with a idea:

Thrifty Thursdays!

After about 5 the market is quieter so I thought that would be a perfect time for anyone interested in learning a craft to come hang out with me and try their hand and making something!

At the moment I am making up instructions and material list, any suggestions welcome! I am playing with the idea of a fully recycled present kit........

Market

2011-05-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

The market went well, the rain stayed away for most of the day and there was a good show of people. Hopefully the market will take off for the summer!

I have lots of new hats made now and I will be selling them on Folksy.com from tomorrow, for a sneek preview check me out on facebook, photos by Chris.

Chris has also been helping me out on the website, www.frogged.co.uk which is starting to take shape, check it out!

Broadford

2011-05-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

We made it up to our new home in Broadford on the beautiful Isle of Skye, we settled in with a nice BBQ.

On our second day we had a wee walk down to the village, found a charity shop and got a few more jumpers. On the way back we saw a advert for a market opening up soon..... turns out its starts next saturday. Guess who might have a stall on it ;)

photos to come!

Oops

2011-04-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems it has been over a year since I posted here, I have been busy getting distracted by travelling again. I made some hats for a market in Brugge, but not much else Frogged wise. Now it is time to get back to business!

Me and my partner Chris have just bought our first home together (on wheels) and are relocating to the Isle of Skye where I plan to pick up where I left off from with Frogged.

So keep your eyes peeled for updates, new hats and fresh ideas.

Flickr: Jumpers & Jamboree's Photostream

2010-03-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

Flickr: Jumpers & Jamboree's Photostream

photos from the event! im in there somewhere!

2010-03-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

So I had to head back to Scotland to meet a friend from Sweden. We had a great weekend and went for a mammoth walk along the loch.

A week later I was on facebook when I spotted my friend Lauren was going to the Jumpers and Jamboree, I thought it looked fun, but when I noticed it was being organised by my old neighbour and friend of my wee bro, I knew I had to go.

So I did, it was a amazing night, totally packed for 3 hours, I sold loads of hats and made orders. I even won the raffle twice, a cute notebook and a case of red bull!

I hope they do it again soon!

2010-03-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

So London went well. It was a cold but fun day, the guy on the stall next to me put up with my mindless rambling and even posed for a photo for me!

Next time I would love to go for a few days!

Crazy jumper lady

2010-02-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

My old jumpers arrived today, I got overly excited and did a little dance.

Now must stop blogging and make hats!

Brighton

2010-02-11T07:56:00.001-08:00

Finally made out of my parents house and moved down to Brighton to play house wife for my good friends Yasmin and Chris.

My second day down here we headed, very early, to my first market to sell hats. Sadly it was a bit of a slow and cold two days, but a very good taster of what I am letting myself in for!

After the market I checked out the Lanes, wow i'm home! Sold 7 hats to a awesome hat shop (the madhatter brighton) and found loads of cool shops!

Now I am back to making hat for my next market..... Camden lock, London next Wednesday!