Black Cat Mug For Handmade Monday

Black Cats

Happy Handmade Monday all :)

Firstly i'd like to say a BIG THANK YOU to all those who left lovely comments on my Hot Air Ballon Mug post last week - you enthusiastic encouragement is so greatly appreciated x

This week, there is a black cat  theme to my post. Do you like black cats? I know that some people believe that it is bad luck if they 'cross your path'. However, of all the items i have listed for sale in my shops, my black cat mug is by far the most popular, so i guess not everyone believes in this superstition!

I have to say that i think that black cats are gorgeous - that's what inspired me to design my original black cat mug (pictured below) in the first place (it retails at £12 and is available here on my website and here in my Etsy shop).

My Original Black Cat Mug Design

New Black Cat Mug

Due the popularity of this mug i've been meaning to expand my black cat range for a while and this week i made a start with a larger mug featuring a black cat with pretty green eyes. You can see it pictured at the top of the post, and here are a couple of images to show you how the design continues on the side and back of the mug.

Like my first black cat mug, it can be personalised with a name or short message. I chose the name of my next door neighbour's cat for the example (he's not black but is gorgeous!)

For any black cat lovers out there, the mug costs £15 (there is no charge for personalisation) and is available here on my website and here in my Etsy shop. A black cat cushion is likely to follow shortly!

Crafty News

Turning a passion for craft into a successful business

In other crafty news, i found a wonderfully inspiring story this week whilst browsing on Etsy of how a lady called Candace (of Paper Polaroid) turned her passion for craft into a successful home business which supports her and her family. Reading it gave me a much needed boost of belief that i too could achieve this level of success and i contacted her about the possibility of sharing her story with more people by publishing it on my blog. She very kindly agreed and several people have let me know that they found it as inspiring as i did - you can find Candace's story here if you fancy a read.

Craftfest 

This week i signed up for the September Craftfest. It is an online craft fair run by the crafter's network Creative Connections - i've been a member there for a while but this is the first time i've joined in with Craftfest and i'm looking forward to it! There is another in November and depending on how the September one goes i may sign up for that too.

It costs £5 to have a 'stall' which is basically an album of your product photos along with descriptions, prices, and links to where you can by them e.g. your website, Etsy shop etc. Here is a link to my stall if anyone fancies a peek (feel free to leave a link to yours if you have one in the comments here - i'd love to have a look round!)

It seems that the success of the event depends on everyone involved contributing to promotion and there is already quite a lot going on on the usual social media networks - for my part i have created a pinterest board, featuring some of my favourite items from other people's stalls - speaking of which, you can 'favourite' and also comment on Craftfest stalls which seems like a fun idea. I will let you know how i get on with it all!

Coloured Cat Mug - A Sneeky Peek!

I will leave you today with a sneeky peek at another cat mug i've been working on - it is finished, but not photographed properly yet due to climatic conditions!

I will show you it in full next time... have a wonderful week! Don't forget to check out the other fabulous craft blogs over at Handmade Harbour :)