A/W 11 sneak peak

I have been a bit "off" this last week so been doing less "stressful" creating and I've created a brand new line for the A/W 11 collection that I'm totally in love with!
To go with this collection will also be some scarves and possibly some wrist warmers.

First off is this cute grey wool wrapped bangle. This is available in brass, gold and silver tones and with or without detailing on the bangle, This is the brass version that is a round edged smooth brass bangle. Also available in a choice of wool colour upon request. These will be £6 each

Next up is a grey finger knitted twisted bracelet. The wool is available in any colour as are the findings. Brass, gold and silver plated and sterling silver and 9ct gold is available. Chain options are also available.
These will be from £10 each.

Next is a grey finger knitted slouch ribbon tie necklace. A choice of wool colour is available on request as is the ribbon colour choice, chain of any colour and length is also available. These will be from £20.

and finally for todays sneaky peak is these gorgeous mint green and cream resin flower rings set onto a brass heart filagree ring base which is fully size adjustable. Other flower colours available on request. These will be £7

Thanks for looking and as always items are available for pre order via twitter @chicuniqueuk or email lizipants@yahoo.co.uk

L xx

Braided Bracelets

So made a start on some cute braided bracelets, just like the ones we all made as kids in a field with a group of friends!
They are made from embroidery thread and come in any colour or colour combination you can think of. Small charms can be added for a small additional fee.
These are suitable for any ages and would be great from children's party bag gifts, suitable for boys and girls and can be a lasting reminder of a great party and token of friendship. Just £1 each and 50p for any additional charms or beads for children and £1.50 for adults bracelets and 50p for any additional charms.
A clasp can be added for an additional fee of 20p and names can be added with letter beads for £1 per name.

Also these larger braided bracelets have a slip knot fastening and can be adorned with glass chips like in the photo of pearls or beads. A cute summer accessory with a more grown up, glamourous feel, thats comfy and easy to wear with summer fashion. Only available for a short time and not available on the store so contact me direct to place an order. The beaded bracelets are just £4 each while stocks last.

Thanks for reading!!

L x

New Accessories

So as we crack on with the new store, as you know I've been designing accessories to add to my collection to fuel the other sides of my craft passion.
Our compacts are proving popular so i figured lets expand a little!.
I have ideas stacked up ready to try, including cotton faux spats for the little to cover short boots or shoes for a bit of funk!
Some lightweight cotton scarves, i have a few different designs i want to try so will be back with photos at some point.
Im considering some paris themed coin purses too
And finally these cute embellished head phones. They come in a variety of colours and choice of cabochon. These will retail for appox £6 per pair including postage.

Thanks for reading and sorry its short... I'm seriously multi tasking right now!!

L xx

Handbag Compacts

With progress on my shiny new shop coming along nicely ive been "trying" to make good head way with my stock and the gift range.
And looky what arrived yesterday... our shiny new customisable acrylic handbag mirrors. I am working on a little pouch for them, thinking one that can also be used as a coin purse too with a parisian feel, i think though with the cost it would be a good idea to offer these as an additional cost instead of adding it on to the mirror price. They wont break and shouldnt scratch much either so not essential to the care of your mirror.
anywho take a look see and let me know what you think! these are available for pre-order if you just have to have one now!!! POA lizipants@yahoo.co.uk

NEW Pretties

Got some shiny new pics to share with all of you. As always items are available straight away when ordered direct through me but if you dont mind waiting a few weeks then they will be available online from our shiny new shop :)

Our first limited edition collection is these tiny wooden hand painted rabbit jewellery. This one is a lovely mossy green with pink spots and is a ring

This little beauty is white with green spots and is a lepal pin/brooch.

And these gorgeous white shaded rabbits are cute earring studs, these are also available in pink. These are a MUST for any rabbit fan and are spot on with the Woodland theme thats doing the rounds with my own twist!

These gorgeous little handmade clay heart buttons are from Cariad Clay, who have a gorgeous little Etsy shop. I have had these for some time now and ive never been happy with anything ive made with them until now!  A gorgeous artisan take on the tradition charm bracelet brings this beautiful silver plated twist chain with a row of 7 hearts.

This is another charm bracelet as above with a different lay out. With this you could fill the space with any charms of your choice or with pearls with a new twist on my multi pearl bracelets.

I bought these in a charity shop  a few weeks ago and fell in love! the style and shape are just amazing but from age and wear the wire cages where are all worn and the pearls have some discolouration and wear to them. i put them on new earring posts, which are also vintage, and re painted the fancy fillagree cages. i havent touched the pearls to keep that old well loved look but would be THE perfect addition to a wedding outfit or for a special event. They are long but hang beautifully and i personally wouldnt wear them for day wear but they are a MUST!!

I was asked by a local cake maker to design some cake toppers for her wedding cakes and to advertise in her cafe which has really sparked a desire to create wedding jewellery. Here is my first EVER hair side. it has a little row of pearls, in this cage very light pink and a red pink tone in a smaller size and i have attached a gorgeous vintage brooch. its still a rough design and this is a prototype but i amazed even myself :)

And finally my MAKE OF THE WEEK this week is this gorgeous caravan cross stitch brooch. These arent for sale but i wanted to share this with you as i LOVE it so much!!! It will be taking pride of place on my Funky Diva Design tea cup bag :)

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to comment and if you need to drop me an email at lizipants@yahoo.co.uk

L xx

Packaging

so with the launch of our new site creeping closer and closer I've been thinking a lot about packaging and supplying an over all LOOK of my items when posting and for selling at crafts fairs.
Ive finally decided i will be creating more season ranges instead of one off items for the new shop too as i do think i miss sales because people come back looking for an item I've already sold and even though the opportunity is there to have it custom made people tend to go for the easy option!
i will do a few items as one offs for trials etc to see how they sell and the custom design feature will still be available ON ALL items but i think i will find it easier to work with as well as shoppers to find what they are looking for.
Now the big thing is packaging.. I've tried so much already, cards, pillow boxes, jewellery boxes, pouches, organza bags.. you name it I've tried it but for the new shop i need to choose something and stick with it.
I have however decided that there will be a deluxe gift wrap service available where you will get a tag, card and a fancy box/bag/whatever! For craft fairs i think I've settled with the jewellery mounted onto branded jewellery cards inside a plastic clear bag with a business card attached, so can be passed on as it for a gift or just for yourself. But for general sales through the website i still have NO idea where to start. Needs to be practical to post, strong or sturdy so it doesn't get damaged in the post. Ive been using little cardboard boxes wrapped in brown paper so the contents don't get damaged but from time to time they still do even using teddy bear stuffing as a filler! I've also used jewellery boxes in jiffy bags so you don't need to be home to receive your package but there was more damaged items than good ones that way!

So with that in mind i set you, my readers a challenge..
The best packaging idea will win an item of their choice
Now go... u have 1 week!!!

to enter simply comment below :)

L xx

The Little Illustrator

Whilst browsing From the Wilde the other day i came across the most awesome tshirt by The Little Illustrator...

This is the print the tshirt is designed from and i have to say I LOVE IT! its an American Apparel tshirt so its gorgeously soft and fits perfectly! And the quality of the print is amazing for a hand printed tshirt, i have shop bought ones worse quality than this! i do however NEED a whole set!!!

The Little Illustrator also has an Etsy store where she sells only her gorgeous prints and at amazing prices! here is a small selection of my faves..

I hope you agree that this is something a bit unique as well as cool and funky.. if you to want to shop with The Little Illustrator head over to etsy  NOW or head over to From the Wilde to see all the cute tees!!!

L xx

Exciting NEW items for Chic-Unique

Up first of the new goodies is out winners necklace for @sarahsscribble she loves rabbits but i wanted to make something that was grown up and was wearable for all occassions while keeping the cute rabbit theme! so this is what i came up with...

ive used brass findings throughout at her request and added some pearls and shaped beads for interest and texture then added the all important acrylic black rabbit charm!

Next up, hot off the press is a pair of brass leaf earrings..

These have been used with the same leaf and bead charms and are hanging from a pair of brass earring hooks... these will retail approx £6 per pair

Nextt we have these gorgeous large layered pearl earrings again in brass..

Next is my new collection of arcylic rings, i think u will agree they are most definatly cute, customisable and stackable!

Next up is my fave theme.. festival! they are a multi layered brass earrings with a contrasting feel

Next is a festival leather charm bracelet..

and finally my fave piece of the day, a large movable gold effect brass butterfly chocker with a ribbon chain

all will be available soon at our newly re-branded store. in the mean time contact me via twitter @chicuniqueuk or email lizipants@yahoo.co.uk to order or custom design a piece :)

L x

Things im in love with right now...

So I've been bad AGAIN and not blogged for like a squillion years and my pics of pure yumminess is seriously mounting up so i figured with a spare 10 mins ill do a little feature of the things I'm loving right now...

Was browsing "Making" magazine the other other and saw this FABULOUS bag! but me being me Ive asked the amazing FunkyDivaDesigns, Anna is on Twitter and Facebook and will soon have her own dedicated store away from folksy and the sort, to make me one of her own style in similar fabric. But in the mean time here's the pic of the bag in question!

As some of you, that follow on Twitter especially, will know is that chic-unique is having a total re brand and the most amazing, talented and outright awesome @Diddybears is currently in the process of totally from scratch designing my store to swap over to the Create.net service, I've had one to many nightmares with Mr Site to put up with it for much longer but having a total design phobia she kindly offered to help me :) But anyway, I've had some new acrylic pieces designed for me with more coming soon for you to have a sneaky peak at!

 Ive been struggling to find mounts big enough to take these huge cameos for a while so i decided to have some especially made for me. They can come in any style and colour and varying sizes so from now on ill probably have all my cameo mounts made for me. They look amazing and add a whole different level of handmade.

These GORGEOUS ( and yes i have nabbed a set!!) stackable acrylic rings are made in one piece and come in 3 different sizes, There is a choice in style, that I've had made as a trial run (24 available at present) tress, rabbit, butterfly, bow, deer and hearts, also available in a choice of colours, blue, pink, green and orange ( but any are available to order!) They are £6 each and available to order direct through me at the mo and will be coming to the new site shortly!!

and finally my charity shop buy of the week... i believe its a 50s silver plated, faux opal bracelet and at a whopping £3.75 ill be wearing it for the foreseeable!!

Thanks for having a nosy...
hope to see you again soon..

L xx

Vintage Princess Jewellery for The Samaritans

The amazing Vintage Princess Jewellery has released a collection of bracelets where a percentage on the bracelet sale goes to the amazing worthy cause The Samaritans. They help millions of people of all ages every year through the hard times when they have no one else to talk to! 

An amazing worthy cause and an amazing thing to do!

Show your support today!

The Bopps are Back!!

Nickelodeon today announces a second series of The Bopps, Nick Jr.’s live action sing-along show for pre-schoolers. The series starts on 27^th June and will be shown everyday at 7.35am in the Wake Up World morning block. The Bopps is produced in-house by Nickelodeon UK.

The Bopps duo are Stan Cullimore (founding member of 80s British pop group The Housemartins) and Keith Littler (producer of hit UK kids shows such as Merlin and Little Red Tractor). Each episode begins with a slapstick comedy sketch usually featuring Stan Bopp playing a trick on poor Keith Bopp. Expect squirrel costumes, invisible bikes and even a magic remote control that changes people’s clothes! The Bopps then perform one of their catchy songs, which will bring out a love for music in pre-schoolers. Songs include Hungry Squirrel, Dizzy the Dragon and The Holiday Song.

Stan Bopp says “I can’t wait to see what kids think of this new show. I think it’s funnier, sillier and boppier than ever before and I just hope they agree.”

Keith Bopp adds “This has been a spontaneous and wonderfully collaborative project from the very beginning.....I’m very excited and hopeful that everyone will enjoy it.”

The album from the first series went to number one on the Amazon Children’s Chart. This summer The Bopps are booked to play three festivals and numerous theatre gigs across the UK.

The Nick Jr. channels are the number one commercial pre-school offering in the UK. The audience ratings up a staggering +63% year-on-year in May 2011.

The Bopps series 2 premieres Monday 27^th June at 7.35am

…only on Nick Jr. (Sky 615, Virgin 715 and TalkTalk 318).

Check out a couple of videos here..

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22037026/THE%20BOPPS_PR%20Clip%2001-desktop.m4v

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/22037026/THE%20BOPPS_PR%20Clip%2002-desktop.m4v