A very quick surrender to the Alice in Wonderland hype type post. I have been slinging in the lab hours for the last couple of weeks am I’m fit to bust without my MUSEROUND fix.

1. Beautifully whipped up by Silent Theatre whilst “waiting for that e-mail when Helena Bonham Carter asks me to be her personal costume/accessory designer”

2. Anyone for tea? Meet The Mad Catter – he throws the most amazing tea parties I know, mountains of cakes… overflowing cupfuls of tea… mmm just divine! He even brings his own cup of tea with him too…by The Other Mousie.

3. Alice character notebooks from Niche Handmade. The cover print is from a scan of the endpapers of an edition of Alice in Wonderland, published in 1898.

4. Fluffs Stuffs wonderment. Alice, the white rabbit, the Hatter’s teapot and the Queen’s crown accompanied by a key charm and a black glass heart. Good stuffs.

OK see you Wednesday for a ‘proper’ MUSEROUND {winks}

Today’s lesson is Greek Mythology. Inspired by a couple of film trailers I’ve seen recently (Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, and, the Clash of the Titans remake) I’ve unearthed some titanic crafts for you this week.  I can’t think of a pun with Perseus in…

1. Dionysus’ Muse cameo by Nouveau Motley, A neo victorian wonder emporium. Dionysus is the Ancient Greek god of wine, the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy, and a major figure of Greek mythology. (And No. 1 role-model for students?)

2. ‘Owl on the Sill’ is Steph, jewellery maker based in Norwich, UK. See her Grecian Goddess Earrings.

3. The Athena headpiece is from from Pomp and Plumage, their work is inspired by the nesting patterns of the magpie: pretty, shiny, fancy things intertwined with the mossy, twiggy, rough world of the organic. Athena is the goddess of civilisation, wisdom, strength, strategy, CRAFT, justice and skill (and posters?).

1. Greek Goddess dress by Veronica Reis.

2. Beautifil grecial-styled evening gown by Eleen Fashionista.

3. The Le Sac dress from American Apparel is a very simple jersey dress that can be  done up in loads of different ways to give very different looks. Here’s the ‘grecian look’ tutorial on You Tube. And it’s basically two rectangles of fabric so once you’ve bought one you can make yourself another, and another.

1. A necklace like Jason’s shield, imbued with the power of the sun and shiny enough to see Medusa coming. By Brooklyn Soul.

2. Vis a Vis Jewelry’s handmade bronze coin earrings of Apollo, god of the sun and embuer of said shield (above).

3. Hand made Golden Fleece recycled circle scarf from Benny Kelly.

4. Achilles ring from Grigio on Etsy.

1. Pegasus t-shirt by COUP, the online store of indie designer Elektra. In Greek mythology, Pegasus is an immortal winged horse that sprang from the blood of the slain Medusa and is a symbol of high-flying imagination.

2. Cupid’s bow captured in crystal clear resin - earrings by nelli D . Shot through the heart…OK I know Cupid isn’t from Greek mythology, but come on, it’s nearly Valentine’s Day and there aren’t that many Eros crafts about.

3. This set of 2 magnets includes a Pegasus and Unicorn by Michelle and Her Dog, handmade with love and a touch of sarcasm.

4. Hunter & Prey, a pair of wonderful prints by the wonderful Hiden Seek of our own wonderful Yorkshire.

Facy some extreme origami folding action? Have a crack at this origami Pegasus – not for the faint of heart.

Medusa was a gorgon, who gazing directly upon would turn onlookers to stone. She was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. Aawwww, Happy Valentine’s Day.

1. Gorgon head purse in felt by ferdworthi.

2. Medusa mug from heart layla who has diamonds on the soles of her shoes.

3. Necklace from Le Creazioni di Clarissa a fellow creative soul with  a life sciences PhD.

4. Medusa feathered hair fascinator by mandiesuee.

The cyclops is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of its forehead. The plural of cyclops is cyclopes.

1. Pin back button with Monster Sushi illustration by Notebooks etc.

2. Gary has a lot of time on his hands lately, so he’s decided to take up some new hobbies. He’s learning how to knit and his first project is a nice blue scarf for his Yeti friend Bill. From Kill Taupe.

3. This is a one eyed striped monster made for hugging! Created by Jess.

4. Cyclops ring by Incalesco an emerging jewellery artist based in Melbourne Australia.

I could go on and on on this topic. Instead, I’ll leave it there xx.

It seems everything in the craft-o-sphere is all hearts and flowers (especially hearts) this week, but I’m not into Valentine’s Day with that much enthusiasm. I’m not actually your typical Valentines scrooge moaning about commercialism and the like. You won’t hear me complaining that we only receive displays of Courtly Love once a year – It went out of fashion for a reason, it’s daft. Fellas wielding roses and chocolates, I ask you. But why not be a bit daft sometimes – if you like that type of thing. So, on that note, today’s tenuous MUSEROUND theme is about some more types of things I like. Girls’ best friends: diamonds, lip balm, shoes, handbags. In that order.

DIAMONDS

1. Kalicat, based in London, has trained in jewellery at Central St Martins and Hatton Gardens, in London. I LOVE the Night and Day ring so much. And so I should, it’s my wedding ring. In fact, I think my actual ring might be in that picture. It’s truly the best piece of jewellery I’ve ever owned.

2. A warm champagne diamond in a glowing 18k bezel and oxidized sterling silver by Sara Westermark.

3. Diamond earrings by Oblik Atelier, see the DaWanda shop for more ultra-stylish pieces.

LIP GLOSS

1. Hoggwash Coconut Cake Lip Gloss Pot. Miss Hogg says “What happens when your last name is ‘Hogg’ and you discover you love making sorts of bath and beauty products? You find that you were predestined to be in the soap business and, naturally, to call it ‘Hoggwash’!”

2. Redwood Glossy Lip Tint in gorgeous gift-ready packaging by Flourish Bath + Body.

3. Cherry Blossom Epically Epic Lip Balm.

4. Movin’ to the country I’m gonna eat a lot of peaches… thanks to Clover Hollow.

Ever tried to make you’re own lip balm? I use so much of it I should definitely give it a go in the near future.  Here’s a tutorial from the Not Martha blog.

Here’s another very quick make – a blush lip and cheek tint from the wonderful World Sweet World blog.

SHOES

1. Handpainted Joker shoes by Art & Koi of What?Shop.

2. Ooh I feel a purchase coming on…Happy Cloud mary janes by Em & Sprout. Hey, it’s my 30th birthday next week…anyone?

3. Crochet pumps by Le pied léger, a place where we like to walk, dance, jump, live with a light foot! Sounds fantastic!

4. The Hetty Rose label makes shoes. The collection is based on a theory of re-using and re-working vintage materials in a creative and sustainable way, hand making gorgeous, feminine shoes to fit.These materials are primarily vintage Japanese kimono fabrics: relics of a disappearing world, saturated in significance and hidden meanings.

A little shoe painting tutorial by Toasts on Deviant Art – give your old pair a second wind.  Something for the little ones? A free downloadable cloth baby bootee pattern and tutorial from Stardust Shoes.

HANDBAGS

1. Red clutch by Girl of the Sixties on Folksy.

2. Don’t forget to check out the reverse of this beautifully designed zip clutch, made of hand printed fabric by Orea Duffy. So…did I mention it’s my birthday next week?

3. This clutch is bright, modern, elegant … and so pretty! By Jennifer Ladd.

4. Upstyle Design offers unique, finely handcrafted items using high-end designer fabric.

So, now we’ve covered in brief our girls’ best friends. How about a little selection of man’s best friends.

1. Ceramic Dog brooch from Yorkshire textile artist Louise Taylor.

2. Sarah Waterhouse is a textile printer and designer (and a Craft Candy head honcho) making purses, glasses cases, knitting bags and other home textiles.

3. The Dachshund, a.k.a.the Wiener Dog, is the official dog of Vienna you know. T-shirt by Motmot on dawanda.

4. hehehehe he’s so cute. Mister Wiener is a friendly dachshund made of soft fleece fabric. Care of Flufftail.

And, well, if you must have a more Valentinesy fix…see this round up from the Mad Scientists of Etsy blog.

See you later Joe!

I bought a new satchel today – it’s been a good month for being paid for fulfilling large orders. I already have my ever popular pillar box red 14″ satchel (my school bag) and I am always being asked where I got it. And I’m happy to tell people. Cambridge Satchels is a British company, making tremendously high-quality, heirloom products and I’m delighted to recommend them.

(BTW I got the 11″ navy hand-bag type today)

So, satchels it is today:

1. Cambridge Satchels.

2. Clutterbux on Folksy. I carried one of these army surplus bags all through senior school. Mine was not this beautifully decorated though. Mainly I tipp-ex’d ‘Greenday’ all over mine.

3. Another Folksy beauty in gorgeous soft brown leather from Hold on to your Handbag.

4. The howies Hand Me Down satchel. As howies says “These products have been made to last. So that one day you can hand them down to someone else. And they can carry on their little journeys.”

Want to see some more? Go on then:

1. Sarah North on DaWanda.

2. Small and pretty eco satchel from giant dwarf.

3. I heart Wooly Bison. Their designs really appeal to me.

4. Ready Set Go. Nostalgic name, nostalgic wares. With something extra.

And finally:

1. One of a kind satchels in vintage and recycled fabrics from The Ladyship.

2. Satchelman on Etsy – hand stitched in England.

3. Edinburgh based Soda + Kitsch.

4. rennes le chateau: “Physically attached to her Juki sewing machine, Julia spends most of her time cutting out leather and drinking tea.” Good girl!

Fancy making one then? Nould I leave you without tutorials? Never!

Heart of Mary’s tutorial – messenger bag with zip-top closure.

Beautiful messenger bag tutorial from Fishsticks & Fries.

Tutorial for making a messenger bag from a pair of cargo pants! Go Recycling! Thank you Noodlehead.

Go on, get on with it then!

Here is the link to Etsy’s Seller Handbook, an online tool indexing all the tips and how-to’s for sellers that  the Etsy blog has produced. If you haven’t seen it before it it well worth a read through. Possibly go at it in short instalments, there’s really a lot of information for you to digest and implement there. Happy hunting!