Life

Hello everyone!

I firstly have some very sad news, my beautiful Nan unfortunately passed away at the weekend.  She was such a massive support (as were all my grandparents) in my life and we were very close.  One thing my nan always taught me was that I must keep working through any hard times, she was an inspiration to many with all the battles she has faced.

Me, my nan and my sister.

Since she would want me to carry on I have decided over the coming weeks I am going to try and focus on making some sympathy cards as this is a theme I wouldn't usually think of making to.

In the meantime I have a few products which I was working on late last year before our lovely Christmas and New Year.

My framed products. 

This frame shows some Seaham Glass which I found on Seaham beach.  Seaham used to have glass works along the seafront and at the end of every shift the broken and unwanted glass was thrown into the sea, over the years this has been polished by the waves and sand and eventually washes up on shore.  I decided to take it home and have framed it.  Very simple but effective, don't you agree?

This frame matches one of my cushions which you can find here on my website.  It is fabric off cuts which look amazing once they are framed.

I love this frame, I can do many different colours in the hearts, even multi-coloured if you preferred.  I cut each small heart and stick it into my heart shape, I then add 3 small rhinestones in a coordinating colour.

I do have a small selection of frames available to buy on my website.  Each design in the frames are handmade and therefore will slightly vary.  If you would like any other colour ways of the hearts just contact me on my website or on my Facebook page.  I have also added some new products to my Etsy shop today.

Hope you've enjoyed my new products.

Bye for now! 

Abbie x

Happy New Year

Hello everyone!

I've been very quiet around here lately and no other excuse than it's been Christmas and New Year.  I had a fantastic family Christmas spending time with loved ones and seeing some family who we don't get to see as much as we would like, this makes the time together much more precious.  I hope all you had a fab time over the festive season and had a well earned rest.

I have a card to show you which I made using papers which I had bought and stamping a sentiment.

I cut three panels all slightly different sizes of red card before cutting the three patterned pieces which I made a few mm's smaller than the red.  I then stuck them together before placing them onto my card.  I chose a pink ink to stamp my "Happy Birthday!" sentiment and I think this finishes the card off beautifully.

I'm pleased with this card as I think it could suit many ages.

I will be putting it into my Etsy shop soon which can be viewed here.  There's also some of my cushions which will brighten up your home ready for Spring which is just around the corner. 

Also today I've taken some photos today and designed some new cd covers for my dad's duo Eurasianeyes, you can see a sneak preview of the cover on their Facebook page, you can also visit their website here.

Anyway, that's enough from me for today but I will be back soon with some new products which I haven't yet shown you all!  Keep an eye out.

Bye for now!

Abbie x

Catching up

Hello everyone!

It's been a few weeks since I've posted on here and I feel like I've been a little neglectful.  I've been so busy and feel as though I've not had time to sit and think about things.
Firstly I have some pretty exciting news...James and I have booked our wedding and will officially become Mr and Mrs on 12th March 2016!  We've also booked a photographer for the day who we are looking forward to getting to know better before our big day and you can look at David's work on his website.

Another thing is that I will be stocking my first shop from January 2014!  Very excited to get my products out and hopefully will mean things will start to build and grow from there.

In between everything else I've been getting ready for Christmas just as I suspect all of you have, although Christmas shopping isn't quite finished yet I am almost done.  I'm hoping everyone likes what I have got them for Christmas this year.

So before I go just a quick reminder that I have a shop open on my website, also purchases can be made on my Etsy shop.

And here is a photo of one of my favourite cards I've made this year.

I printed my sentiment and lines on the card before adding buttons which act as baubles.  I love how it looks and feel it shows Christmas is always bright and beautiful.  

Lastly, in case it all becomes too hectic before Christmas I'd like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with all the good luck and happiness in the world!

Bye for now!

Abbie x

Quick Post

Hello everyone!

Just a real quick post to let you all know I have more new products and card designs on my website, etsy and facebook page.

A couple of images of the cushion I added.

Front of the cushion.

Back of the cushion which is closed using poppers.

Take a look and I hope you enjoy my new products and designs!

Bye for now!

Abbie x

Listings galore

Hello everyone!

So the past couple of weeks I've been thinking about how to improve all the platforms which I use to promote my business, this included rethinking how I use my facebook page, the products which I have on my Etsy page  and my website www.abbierussell.com.
I spent hours redesigning my website and adding new information and products to the site which paid off as I have had a lot more traffic viewing the site, I'm over the moon with how it looks now and I think it had a very clean and professional look which works well with my products.
Secondly I decided I must start posting more frequently to my Facebook page in order for people to start noticing I am there and forgetting about little me sitting in the corner, this has worked as again I've had a boost in viewings.
Similar things have been happening in my Etsy shop with new products being added every couple of days it seems more people are viewing my page than when I post all at once! I'm amazed how such small changes can make such a difference.

Anyway in between all of that I have also been contacting local and not so local shops in the hope to start stocking some of my products there, hopefully I will hear back from them soon with positive news!  I've also been making more cards which are very simple but I love them and this they are so effective, here are some pictures.

One of the first ones I decided to use red and gold as I feel these are very Christmassy colours, I stamped the bauble and sentiment before adding 6 tiny red rhinestones to finish the card.

Secondly I used purple and silver to create this card, done in the same way I added 6 purple rhinestones to finish this card.  Also the silver parts on the card have been embossed with silver powder, this gives some texture to the card.

To finish both cards I stamped "Happy Christmas" inside.

Hope you enjoyed reading today, I'll be back with more news.

Bye for now!
Abbie x

WOW WOW WOW!

Hello everyone!

Well I have now officially graduated and it feels amazing!! All my hard work from the last three years has paid off.

Yesterday I woke up incredibly nervous knowing I had to walk across the stage in front of everyone, after some champagne for breakfast I felt a little more confident. Still shaking I finally walked across that stage at about 3pm to collect my certificate.

Here are some snaps from the day!

Now a big congratulations to everyone in the Class of 2013 from CCAD and a big thank you to everyone who supported us throughout our three years there! 

I'll be back soon posting some updates of work I've done :)!

Thank you for reading!

Bye for now!

Abbie x

It's been far too long!

Hello everyone!

It's been far too long since I posted on here. I have been so busy that I feel like I haven't even had time to breathe!! I have spent so many hours making products for my craft fair which happened last weekend, although it wasn't as successful as I had hoped it had been I do now have the bug for doing craft fairs and am already looking for another to do.

Here are a couple of photos from my fair and I hope you like the look of it.

On the left side is a collection of the product I did which includes memory boxes, cushions, frames, cards, tealight holders and my pocket mirrors.  On the right is the collection my aunt and uncle did which were driftwood and seaglass images, also some embroidered pieces.

I will be uploading closer images of my cushions and frames in the coming weeks!  Thank you for reading.  Also don't forget to take a quick peak at my Etsy page which has some products on and I will be adding more soon.

Bye for now!
Abbie x