I haven't posted anything is such a long time so I figured I should update everyone with what I have been doing! I've got lots of new stock on my Etsy page www.etsy.com/shops/ClojoRuthDesigns, so go and have a look and here's a sneaky peak of some of my favourite things that I have recently added.

Mouse Necklace and Earring Set- £60

Stag Choker- £25

I have re-designed all my necklaces so go to my Etsy page and browse the necklace section to see my full range. 

Exciting News!

I was recently approached by a new store opening in Dorset called Gathered Hand Made. Gathered Hand Made is a shop dedicated purely to selling beautiful hand made items and as of tomorrow they will be stocking a selection of my rings! I didn't have long to get the order made so it was panic stations but here are some pictures of my progress...

Nearly there... Mice and hares still need their whiskers though. It's nearing 2am at this point. 

All finished and ready to go, yay! 

Stag Necklace.

I had already made a stag necklace a couple of weeks ago, however after my trip to the bead shop yesterday I decided it needed some tweaking and this is the result! I'm so pleased with it. Unlike my other necklaces this one has a chain and fastening rather than being strung onto elastic, I think it's made quite a difference. See it on Etsy here.

Badger Morning

Badgers in Progress

My work has been selling really well in the shop recently (Jane Smith Glass- Brewery Yard, Falmouth) so I've been felting everyday and working hard to ensure that I can keep a wide range of stock in the shop. This morning I was on a badger mission! Over the next week or so I'm going to give my Etsy shop a big revamp, I'm introducing a new range of stock and removing some things I no longer make- everything will be re-photographed so it looks a bit neater. Keep your eyes peeled, I'll post an update as soon as it's finished.

Fox & Hare brooches

These are some new brooches I've been making recently, the miniature figures have such character and they're fun to make. I think this afternoon I'm going to try to make a squirrel. They'll be available on Etsy very soon! 

New Stock!

I'm excited to show you something I have been working on for a long time, as I've been working (boo) I've not had a huge amount of time to get on with my felting but over the past few days I've been felting like mad and plotting to quit my job (woo!)

So here it is, my badger necklace...

I'm really pleased with the way this has turned out and I think it is a very striking piece of jewellery. I plan to make more and am excited to be expanding my range!

I've made a fox one too, which you can see on my Etsy page- www.etsy.com/shop/clojoruthdesigns

Sparkling Bracelets

I haven't posted in a while, I've been so busy! In my last post I mentioned my re-branding and my new Etsy shop, well it paid off as I have made more sales in the first few weeks then I ever did with my previous shop, so I am hoping that is a sign of things to come! I also recently contributed to a pop up shop in Scotland run by a collective called Babes In The Wood which I sold very well at and was a great success, so thank you and well done to them.

I am also writing this post to show you some new bracelets I have been working on. A little different from my figurative jewellery, but they were a pleasure to make and I am very pleased with them. They are now available here!

I am now working on a range of necklaces which I am very excited about but are taking a lot of work, I will keep you updated and post some pictures as soon as I can.

Lots of Change!

I have been thinking about re-branding for quite some time now as the focus of my shop and creations has changed quite a lot. So I have opened a new Etsy shop and revamped my Facebook page under the brand ClojoRuthDesigns which I think is a little more sophisticated and personal to me at this stage. Here is the link to my new shop www.etsy.com/shop/clojoruthdesigns.

I have also been focusing on lots of new creations. I have begun making a range of slightly larger, more detailed rings. This is my favourite that I finished last night. Delphi the sleeping deer ring...

Delphi is now available on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/154149860/delphi-the-sleeping-deer-ring-hand?ref=shop_home_active

Ring Displays

I made these rings displays for a craft fair I did last weekend. They were inspired by a tutorial I found on this blog http://homemakin-decoratin.blogspot.co.uk/ I made mine slightly differently, but I have the tutorial to thank for the idea! The picture doesn't do them much justice as it was so dark in the hall I was selling in but I am so pleased with them! They make my rings look lovely and I think they look quite professional.

Finished Cruets!

Here are some examples of my finished pieces, I'm very pleased with them. I am particularly pleased with my badgers! I've still got more to come, I think there are about twenty more yet to be glazed. After my exhibition I'm hoping to sell some at upcoming craft fairs and on Etsy. I was hoping to get more finished today but I had to rush to the train station and get up to Bristol, so I expect I'll be having another late night tomorrow night. 

Felted Cruets

Glazed and ready to go in the kiln, lets see what they come out like and get them felted!

Beardy Brooches

Something new I've been working on over the past few days, a little different to my normal animal related things. Here are my Beardy Brooches!

Salt & Pepper

This is something I am working on at university at the moment. I am making slip cast cruet sets, I wanted to include animals and textiles into my work, so I am making the body of the animal/ cruet out clay and adding on needle felted details. The salt shaker will have an animal's ears while the pepper shaker will have the same animal's tail to make a set! I will have pictures of the finished pieces to show you on Wednesday.

Brooch & Ring Gift Set

Here's a commission I finished last night for a fox brooch and ring. I think this makes a lovely little gift, I'm thinking of making more and selling them together as gift sets. This was my first attempt at making a felted brooch and I'm so pleased with it, there will definitely be more on the way.

Summer Flowers

Here's something new I was working on a couple of days ago. A lovely floral ring to put you in the summery mood. I've also made a ring covered in roses, I will share it with you soon!

Hello Deer...

I went to the library recently and took out some lovely wildlife photography books, one book I am particularly keen on is a brilliant book purely of close up, animal portraits. This gave me plenty of inspiration for my next batch of rings. I've been wanting to do some kind of deer or antlered animal for a while and I found a beautiful picture of a red deer stag, so here he is, my red deer stag ring! I'm very pleased with him, he's got such character. He'll be looking for a new home at my next craft fair.

First Ever Stockist!

I haven't shared these rings with you yet, so here is my spring lamb and a little piglet. My rings are really taking off and I'm so pleased. On Thursday I took a selection of rings to my first ever stockist, yippee! Jane Smith Glass is situated in the Old Brewery Yard, High Street, Falmouth and I also have a another potential stockist who is interested in selling my rings, I just need to get a bunch made for them.  I'm going to shift a lot of Owl & Pussycat designs' focus to these felted rings and smaller more accessible accessories and create the stoles and collars on a purely commission basis for now, I'm making lots of changes, it'll take a while but I'm very excited!

A Crafty Brainwave

A while ago I made a load of porcelain buttons, but I was disappointed with the glazes when they came out of the kiln, the colour came out a very watered down version of the colours I intended. However although they aren't colours I would use often, others might, so last night I had a brain wave- I've started packaging them up nicely and they look lovely! I'm going to sell them at a craft fair I've got coming up in May.

More Rings!

I'm still on a ring making spree, I must get back to my knitting! I've made more animal rings in addition to the last ones I posted but I've also made these ones which are a bit different to the animals, so I thought I would share them with you. I love the animal rings, I think they're so cute but I'm aware they might not be everyones cup of tea- these rings are simple and elegant and will add a delicate sprinkling of colour to any outfit.

Today I made three more little animal rings, I love making them! My favourite is the little mouse, she's so cute. I've now put my rings up on Etsy so here they are: https://www.etsy.com/shop/FelineAndFowl?section_id=13451056

Needle Felted Rings!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while, I've not been well. I've been learning to needle felt over the past few weeks and I love it! These cute little animal rings are an idea I've had for a while and have finally had the opportunity to work on. They are securely fastened onto a silver adjustable ring so they are comfortable and easy to wear. I'm so pleased with them, I am starting to work on some more animals. They will soon be available from my Etsy store and at a big craft event I have coming up in May in St Ives, Cornwall. 

I've been eyeing this yarn up for a while and finally gave in and bought three balls- grey, green and white. I love sparkly yarns and I've been wanting to launch a cotton range for spring/ summer so this was meant to be! I've knitted and crocheted with it and it's lovely, I prefer it to knit with as it's quite thready it's a bit of a pain to crochet with. It knits up nicely, I've got a sparkly grey cotton cat on the way.

Who can resist yarn when it's on sale?

A brief update of today: I bought this lovely blouse a couple of days ago and it arrived this morning! I love it, a blouse with cats on- what more could a cat lady want from a piece of clothing? I also got some new glasses so they'll help me out with some fiddly knitting. I wanted to buy some Debbie Bliss chuncky yarn for an idea I've had for a new product, Debbie Bliss is my favourite yarn brand so when I found two balls (DK & Aran) in the sale, I had to have them! I also bought the chunky yarn I went in for, I wanted a sort of claret/ Burgundy colour but they didn't have anything so I bought a lovely deep red instead. I treated myself to some new make-up and fragrance from the Body Shop too, a successful morning I think.

Badgers

As well as being a cat lover I am a big badger fan. Badgers have been pulled into the conscious of many people at the moment with the controversy surrounding the proposed badger culls. So I created this badger stole, I have also made a mini collar version but that design is currently exclusively for my mum. This would be a great accessory to wear to a badger march to protest the culls- get yours here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/125653332/betty-the-badger-stole-scarf

A Crochet Triumph!

As I said in my last post, I've been learning to crochet. While I've been working on a gift for a friend I've also been knitting my usual cats as I need a great deal of stock for a big fair in May. However this evening I decided to put my knitting down and try a pattern I saw recently for these lovely crocheted doilies. I'm really pleased with the result and proud of myself as I only learnt a couple of days ago. It still needs pressing and ends weaving in but I wanted to get it photographed to show you all!

Learning To Crochet

Well it's Easter and I have a fair amount of time on my hands, although I have essays and presentations to write I've got lots of free time. So I have decided to use this time to do lots of crafts. I've been wanting to learn to crochet for a while now, I tried teaching myself but couldn't master it. So last night my mum and I sat down on the sofa, in front of the tele and she taught me to crochet! These are my first granny squares, I'm so pleased with them. I've now started a gift for a friend, it's a little ambitious but going well so far, I'm hooked! 

Little Birds

It's not the best photograph but this is a piece I just finished at university. My brief for this project was to produce a piece in glass using the lost wax casting method. I've been keen to include a knitted element within my work for a while and I felt that this brief gave me the opportunity to do so so. I love these cute little knitted birds. Here's the pattern I used, it's so quick and simple and knitted on straight needles, wahoo! http://knittedtoybox.blogspot.co.uk/2008/04/sweet-little-bird.html

Mouse Galore

I run a knitting circle and each month we do a different charity project. This month we've been making little mouse toys for the cats and Battersea Cats & Dogs Home. I've made extra mice so I can make some into brooches and sell that at my craft fair. They're so cute!

The first ever Mini Cat!

It's not the best picture but, I just found the first cat I ever made (on the right) which led to the creation of Owl & Pussycat Designs. Over six months down the line I think I've come on quite a way with the design since my first attempt. I'm very proud of my little business and feel I have a great deal more to come!

Knitting abroad.

Yesterday I came back from a study trip to Barcelona.  On my first day I visited a beautiful cathedral in the centre of Barcelona. I have visited this cathedral before, so after wondering around and spending some time getting some nice photographs I decided to sit down and take in the quiet. I used this opportunity to get some knitting done. This is going to be another small cat, I've just finished it- pictures to follow!