Woof Beginnings

Some of you may know Lynda Norton and her passion for dogs. Or you may know her more as Bags of Swank see this amazing tote bag of hers over on Etsy.

It is through Lynda that I became aware of Woof Beginnings and their mega Christmas Auction fundraising effort. I have donated two Squintessential items to this worthy cause.

This one off Purple Octagon bracelet and some gorgeous fossil coral earrings.

They can be found here alongside some other great items.

So what are you waiting for? Go forth and bid…….. Oh and don't forget to check out my site for some great items :) www.squintessential.co.uk

Hannah.x

*Woof Beginnings is a not for profit organisation with the well being of dogs in mind! Their aims are to fundraise and raise awareness of independent rescues throughout the UK. If you wish to help or find out more information please visit www.pleasehelpourdogs.co.uk *

Wedding Bits, Bunting and new new site!

Wow where has the time gone?

This time (12:20pm) last week my hair and makeup was being done in prep for my wedding at Budock Church for 3pm.

At one point there was a worry I wouldn’t get everything done… from the electric going to my dads car breaking down (ahem running out of fuel!) the night before on the way to the rehearsal. Drama, drama, drama!

It might have involved staying up til 2am on the eve of my wedding doing order of services and up at 7am baking cupcakes but it was worth it. The day was lovely and went by so quickly!

So…… what was the handmade elements of my wedding?

· Invitations

· Order of Services- a double sided page and a mini hymn book

· Bunting- 52m!

· Two cakes- chocolate sponge and a Victoria sponge (made and decorated)

· Dozen cupcakes

· Sourcing and designing table centrepieces (glass fishbowls with nuggets and light)

· Place and table names

· Thank you Presents are a work in progress for a few!

I’m sure I’ve missed some bits out! But HUGE thanks go to my friends Donna and Kate for their help, sister in law Em and my lovely other half Matthew. Without them in the last couple days I would have had a breakdown and the wedding stuff unfinished.

Before I forget as I’ve been ill this week it’s given me a major push to get my website live- feel free to check it out and the giveaway on the blog! www.squintessential.co.uk

Now some photos…… enjoy….. for those who are interested will show off more when get the official photos!

Hannah.x

Cards........

Ok... quick update.... talk about leaving things late... craft fair on saturday and I'm still making up stock... what do you think about my cards? I'm not entirely sure it's a bit weird for me not using stamps in some of them.

These are not for sale anywhere yet but if anyone wants one contact me or they might be gone after the craft fair (same for my jewels!)

Thanks for reading. Hope everyone is not have the very foggy time we are!

Hannah.x

Mishaps and Manicness!

Well.......... some of you may know that I'm maid of honour at my friend's wedding the first saturday in August. We had picked and paid for the dress in February and only last month did we find out the shop had lost the dress! Back between the April Bank Holidays.......

Was promised a replacement but it wasn't what the bride envisioned and nor did it fit! So two and half weeks before the wedding no dress...... and the shop refusing to give a refund. But..... I am now getting one made! Lots of fittings to squeeze in.

What else have I been up to........ Mmm.... do you like my invitations? Bout 40 day and 15 evening ones to create and send in and yes each stamp is hand coloured! For privacy reasons I have scrubbed out the pertinent details sorry!

And a sneaky peek at some resin........

In only six days time I shall be doing my first ever craft fair and am I ready...... No not really. Life, Work has got in the way! But see what I managed to create over this weekend 19 items! Sounds a lot doesn't it but no not really..... Not sure if any will make it into the folksy/etsy shops this week so if see something you like send me a message!

My own wedding is about 14 weeks away and sooooo much left to do. Am meeting the florist on Tuesday and the only idea I have is an orchid and lilly waterfall bouquet. Yes I am supposed to be doing this on a budget so any ideas appreciated.

Hope you all are having a lovely sunday.

Hannah.x

The Early Bird....

... catches the worm as the old saying goes.

Today I'm going to highlight one of the promotional threads that is happening on Folksy. The "One Day Sale" where there are quite a few bargains reduced for just one day.

To find these bargains click here and to see a taste of today's watch the pictures....

Mine is this heart bracelet and earring set for only £5! (Usually £8). Have a peek at some of the other great items- as the blog provider is still not working properly click on the shop names at the end to go to their wonderful items.

Mine- Squintessential Sweetheart Bracelet & Earring Set

NOfkantsCurios Flower Vase Brooch

AdienCrafts Covered Notebook

Lily's Night Garden- Hanging Bird Decoration

Thanks for looking everyone!

Hannah.xxx

Celtic Inspiration

Ok I am almost upset that one of the wedding rings I've fallen for can't be shaped around my engagement ring. Why did I have to pick a twisty shape!?

I quite liked this one but sadly the search must continue.

I love Celtic designs so decided to show you some of my favourites I've seen on my travels around Folksy... I am having some minor issues with blogpost at the moment so please click on the link underneath the picture and sorry I can only have one picture per row!

Clover Jewels Celtic Fall Beaded Locket

Celtic Triquetra Hand Bound Leather Journal

I saw these rosary beads today and aren't they gorgeous (slightly off theme but they deserve to be shown!)

Mystic's Realm Rosary Pagan Beads

And this feature wouldn't be complete without some dragons!

FlamedHaired Jewellery Designs Dragon Ball Earrings

I hope you enjoyed this little post- if only for the quirks of blogpost it might have been more spectacular. Any ideas on celtic wedding bands please let me know.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to check out my etsy and folksy shops....

Hannah.xxx

Update.........

Well I didn't realise my last blogpost was back in March! Mmm what has happened in that time..............

Most importantly is I've moved in with my fiance and it's been lovely so far! So nice to have own space and more room for crafty stuff. Not that I've done a huge amount (apart from buying more stock but let's keep that quiet....).

Most of my free time later has been spent on wedding prep and baking! Which is my new obsession.... Somehow I've got it into my head to create my own wedding cake and cupcakes... simple right? No as my fussy fiance will only have chocolate cake! After a disaster with a new chocolate cake recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook I have decided to try not go too mad.

But............. I definitely reccomend the HB book for it's cupcakes, brownies and muffins. Mmm tomorrow I shall be attempting pineapple and coconut cupcakes...

Now... crafty stuff. Watch this space! There is lots to come..... Have you seen my etsy shop? It will hold different stuff to Folksy and then I am toying with the idea of having an album of items for sale exclusively on Facebook. I'm also attempting to be part of Folksy July Jewels.. will share some of the Jewels delights later in the week.

I am working on a special giveaway/comp which shall be before the end of July! Now hope I've not bored you all too much but there will be more regular updates....

You know it's bad....

..... when the cat laughs at you! Yes really.......

Meet Chloe "I'm Always Hungry" the bane of my life and quite possibly one of the most annoying cats ever... but I still love her! She is getting quite old now and very slowly her whiskers are turning white... one by one... It's very strange- I've never known that to happen in cats before.

I can't mention Chloe and not little Phoebe monster.. the noisiest cat. Running away from her does not work she will give chase and miaw/hunt you down whereever or until you trip over one of the dog's toys and slam your head against the wall.....

I think both my cats are dangerous! You would think sitting on the bed catching up on some reading something gentle and not accident prone.... cue... the cat! There I was reading the latest J.D Robb and laughing at some of what the character Eve was saying/thinking when Chloe came up and butting me in the back then put her paw out and pushed me!

Of course... in cat land I'm a source of amusement and there she sat watching... laughing.

Today is Chloe day... does anyone else have stories about their cats?

Here are some lovely handmade goodies! As usual please click on the links to go to the shop.

Would someone like to give these ginger kitties a home?

Audrey's Art- Cat Aceo

SP Jewellery- Black Cat Charm Pendanct

Mrs Moo Designs- Super Cat. Also don't forgot to check out Elvis Cat in the shop!

Until next time.... I may even show you some goodies I'm making for my sister's birthday!

Chloe is now wheezing.. sorry snoring behind me... don't forget to check out my latest ACEOs in my Folksy shop!

No brainteaser today (hear some of you sigh in relief) but soon very soon.... *cackles*

Hannah.xxx

Who believes in.........

in fairies? Or magic in any form?

I've always been drawn to the supernatural and this is reflected in my beliefs, my choice of reading and even tv shows!

Last night for example I watched this week's episode of True Blood and this afternoon what was I doing... messing about with fantasy themed aceos and cards. Currently only the aceo is finished- isn't she cute?




PS- She is also available in my folksy shop- please click the photo to go to her :)

I wondered what else was available on folksy and look what I found.



A fairy in her very own garden by Enchanted Wood and I love... really LOVE the Red Riding print from Harriet's Imagination. (Click the photos to go to their shops).

If only I had a wall to put it on! Now that is something else which has kept me busy this weekend... researching rental properties. One word... headache!

What else have I been up to? Mmm take a peek at some of my latest earrings.... which will be popping up on folksy soon. Or... if you can't wait til then contact me! And can see what can do :)

In case you missed it the answer to my last blog post brain teaser was....... two as you took two apples away!

Now this one has even me stumped for the moment and I can't move forward on my game until I've solved it! The game in question is Professor Layton and the Curious Village.... the 1st in the series! Which I've collected and played in a strange way. The first one I completed was Pandora's Box (the second), I then moved out to Lost Futures (the third) and finally decided I ought to give the first one a go.

Anyway this is it.....

An ordinary analogue clock has two hands, the longer hand moves faster around the face of the clock.

Assuming that the clock keeps perfect time how many times will the long and short hands pass over each other between 12 noon and 12 midnight?

I'm not looking up the answer as that defeats the purpose of the game! But if anyone gets it before me... (edit: and can explain the reasoning) I will give a £1 voucher for my shop (not that that's an incentive!)

Thanks for reading.
Hannah.x

And.... I'm back!

Ok.. things may have been a little quiet or rather a lot on the Squintessential front. No blog since November... no listings since December... and now a rash of listings each different from the other.. New crafts and more to come!


In my absence I haven't completely neglected Folksy really... always had one eye on what's new and see two of my favourite purchases below...

P.s- if you click the links you can see what else is in their shop.....




You may have recognised the sellers? The lovely vintage bird ceramic pot is one of Lilly's Night Garden and the rather gorgeous seal messenger bag courtest of Bags of Swank.

If you've seen my listings this week you may have seen jewellery, cards and aceos! I'm getting married later this year and am in the process of designing my invites so I bought a papercraft magazine chatted to some key people in the field and voila now I am hooked! I also like to think I'm getting better!

What else have I been up to aside from work and college.... mmmm does these give any ideas?





Now some choice listings from my shop and other March Hares...






-Mountain Hare ACEO by Shoogly Beads
-Floral Hair Accessory by Natalie Ofkants
- Rochester Castle ACEO by Maytree Lane

Hope you enjoyed reading!

Now for the teaser of the day.... If there are three apples and you take away two.. how many apples do you have?

Hannah.xxx