The C Word........

Yup you guessed it Christmas! (If you were thinking of something else, shame on you)!

Sorry folks I hate to mention it but it will soon be upon us with only just over 8 weeks to go!

I have decided to get organised and get going with my Christmas Range. Last year I sold some Tree Decorations that seemed to sell quite well and I got a really positive response from them. Therefore, this year I have decided to carry on with the range and have added what I have so far to my website.

This set of four decorations can be bought individually so you can mix and match.  I will be adding more decorations to the Mouse Illustration website as I make them.  There will be a few Christmas Bookmarks and maybe even a set of Festive Wine Charms which would make a great Present for that special someone.

I must admit that I really enjoyed making the Christmas page of my website and I really need to get some Christmas Illustrations done as well!

I will keep you updated when I put more Christmas goodies up on the site but in the mean time start thinking about decorating your tree :-)

Packaging

It has been a busy week here at Mouse Illustration and I just wanted to share my packaging ideas with you today.  Since my product is handmade I like to make sure that the whole Mouse Illustration experience has that handmade feel.

I am still working on my packaging design and I have some new business cards on the way from www.moo.com which I will share with you when they arrive. (I heard about moo.com from my friend Mabel @ www.pinkpigillustration.com who recommended them)  Once my business cards arrive I will make some labels to match but in the mean time this is what I am sending out to my customers who order online.

I wrap the jewellery in tissue paper then put them in these cute little bags that I found on a trip to Brasil.  I like to make them look like a bag of sweets.

Lastly I always like to write a note by hand as I feel that I would appreciate this extra touch when buying handmade.  Each customer appreciates that you have handcrafted the jewellery and I like to respond to their purchase on a more personal note.

I am always looking for new ideas regarding packaging but I hope this gives you a little insight into how I like to interact with my customers.

Maybe you could share your thoughts on what you would expect when buying handmade?

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

And the Winner is..........

Merrin Robinson

Congratulations!  You have won this delicious Licorice Allsort Bracelet and a Bookmark of your choice :-)

Please contact me at mouseillustration@yahoo.com to claim your prize! Plus you can start shopping the Mouse Illustration Bookmark page to decide which one you would like :-)


Winner chosen by Random.org number generator

Market Day

There was a food and wine festival in Queenstown this weekend that coincides with the Arts and Crafts Market that I attend every Saturday.  It was a double market this weekend (Sat and Sun) and that will continue for the next two weeks during the Rugby World Cup Finals.  Needless to say Scotland are out so that's all I will say about that topic :-)

It was a great atmosphere with live bands and a few Pinot Noir tastings and also lots of new stall holders came along for the event.

Mouse Illustration Display

New Bracelet Range I am trying out

My Little Bookmark Friends

Cupcake and Lollipop Earrings

Well the sun was shining for both days and lots of fun was had.  Here's to a great weekend and hopefully a few more to follow :-)

Business Card

I just wanted to share my new business card design with you.   Any thoughts or opinions are welcome :-)

Front

Back

And just a little reminder about my Giveaway! Entries will be drawn on the 16th October so Good Luck to all who enter x

Amazing Giveaway!

This Giveaway is now Closed.

To celebrate the re-design of my online Jewellery Shop I am going to giveaway a fantastic prize to one lucky winner!  (keep reading to find out more)

The New Mouse Illustration Jewellery Shop is now up and running! It is easier to navigate and has many more delicious products for you to check out. 

New Home Page

The New Jewellery Home Page

It is also more interactive and it is now easier to share you favourite Mouse Illustration products with your friends on Facebook and Twitter from each product page.

So now to the fun part!  I am giving away one of the above Licorice Delight Bracelets to one lucky winner PLUS the Bookmark of your choice!

Here's How to enter!

Simply have a browse around the Mouse Illustration Jewellery Shop and leave me a comment below telling me what your favourite product is!

And for THREE extra bonus entries you can also.....

Bonus Entry 1 - Share your selected favourite product on your own Facebook or Twitter page via my new TWEET and SHARE buttons and come back and tell me in a separate comment.

Bonus Entry 2 - Like the Mouse Illustration Facebook Page

Bonus Entry 3 - Spread the word on your own Facebook and (or) Twitter page about this Amazing Giveaway and let me know in a comment below.  Here is the link http://bit.ly/nTghXV

That's up to FOUR ways of entering the Giveaway so good luck to everyone who enters!

This competition is open to All Countries and will get drawn by random number generator on the 16th October!

Inspiration Friday

I'm always looking for ideas and colour inspiration and a great place to find just that is Pinterest. 

I love looking at cupcake decorations to get ideas for my jewellery and on Pinterest I can pin them all to one board and keep it as a reference for whenever I need to refresh my brain.

This is my 'Yummy' board from my Pinterest page which everyone can view alongside my other boards filled with products and other things I love.

Have a go a your own inspiration board on Pinterest and have fun :-)

I wish you all a fantastic weekend!

Finished Product

Here is the Necklace I made from the Polymer Clay Cane Tutorial I posted a few days ago.

I hope you like the final result :-)

Polymer clay cane - Mini Tutorial

Hi folks!  I thought I would share with you the process I go through to make a polymer clay cane.

I have finished the cane and have made a bead to show you how it all comes together.  The final results (which might be a necklace I think) will have to wait because I have run out of white clay and am waiting on my order!  Unorganised!

So here is the process:

I start by putting together my shape (in this case a flower).  This is the longest part of the process as your are forming all the individual shapes, a pasta machine definitely comes in handy as you can roll your outline colour into a flat sheet easily.  Then you fill in the gaps with the white clay making sure that it completely surrounds the inner flower to prevent any colour mixing on the outer rim. 

After that you start the process of squeezing your cane to condense it.  While you do this you are gradually blending all the joins together on the outer rim.

Next you start squeezing and pulling your cane from the middle out towards the ends.  You cannot roll your cane yet as it will distort the shape in the middle.  Once you are satisfied that there are no air bubbles and your cane has been reduced enough, you can start the rolling process until your cane looks like a long cylinder.

Next leave the cane to cool before slicing it in the middle to reveal your shape.

Then you cut thin slices from your cane and start placing them around a ball of clay to cover the entire ball.

You then mould the ball and your cane slices together until there are no visible joins and the bead is completely smooth.

Lastly put a hole through the centre of your bead and you are ready to cook!

When I have completed my necklace I will post some pics of the finished product.  I hope you have enjoy seeing how the beads are created, maybe you could try one of your own and let me know how it goes?

New Display

I have been a busy little mouse this week so far.

A local wine shop here in Queenstown has selected some of my products to stock so I have been making the goodies for them over the last few days.  They also want me to put together a display for them (I love doing that kind of thing) so I bought..................cake stands of course :-) 

Imagine a bigger, fancier wine glass on the top.  They will obviously have a better selection than I have in my cupboard :-)

Anyway I am super excited so I just wanted to share it with you.