Welcome to the blog for Ali's Craft Studio by Alison Lloyd. I am a crafter of peelable stained glass designs & handpainted keyrings and I look forward to sharing with you my news direct from Kent (the Garden of England)

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Sunday, 10 July 2011

Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice...

Well, that is what girls are supposed to like which is a dream for a crafter who is trying to get into other people's heads and make things they will want to buy, but boys can be so difficult.   Fairies, butterflies, flowers and glittery things just don't cut it!


I could make decorations til the cows come home for females of all ages (including a decoration of a cow for that matter!) but for the boys and men, the creative juices tend to dry up a little and I can more often than not be found scratching my head before deciding to make another butterfly as my brain hurts from thinking too much!   Now the more mature guys are a little easier, they actually go full circle and start to like the butterflies (I think they are just agreeing with their better halves!) and, for the more forthright, birds and dogs often seem to hit the mark but the younger generation are a bit of a nightmare.


Therefore, the pretty, glittery stuff has taken a bit of a back seat recently whilst I am on the hunt for less girly designs to work with.   The latest addition to the Ali's Craft Studio stable is a (not so) cute Gecko in either green or black & yellow - you would be amazed by how often I have been asked for Geckos recently so by popular demand, here they are...


Oh aren't they lovable!
They are now available in my online shop here and are already proving popular at the fairs.  I plan to add a snake to this sometime soon and will look for more slippery so-and-sos to join the menagerie!  Of course, boys wouldn't be boys without one (or more) of the following:




 even better to have a glow-in-the-dark version


or a pirate ship (featuring skull and crossbones flag) - starting to see a theme here!


See, sugar and spice and all things nice just isn't for the boys!!  (Well, most of them anyway - I do occasionally get boys oohing and ahhing over flowers and 'pretty' things but they are the exception rather than the rule!) 

See what everyone else has been up to and the wonderful creations they have been making over at Handmade Monday.  

Next weekend is an animal filled day of fun at the Rare Breeds show in Singleton, near Chichester so I am looking forward to that and will report back next week on what I hope to be a busy and sales-filled (rain-free) day!
Posted by at 21:33

13 comments:

  1. cj- catmumdo10 July 2011 at 22:46

    I can see the skull & cross bones being very popular and the pirate ship is great!

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  2. Adaliza10 July 2011 at 22:58

    Did you know that the pirate who first used the skull & crossbones on his flag was Black Bart - a Welsh pirate - honestly! His name was Bartholomew Roberts and I'm supposed to be related to him. So, I love my family design!!!

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  3. Unknown11 July 2011 at 00:04

    I have a son and know exactly what you mean! They get all dramatic if they think something might be misconstrued but as they age (note I didn't say mature) they chill a bit and can enjoy a wider variety of things! Love the gecko's I recently made one in glass that I will have to blog about soon. Depending on age they love Manga, monsters, sci fi and of course planes, trains and automobiles!

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  4. Carolee Crafts11 July 2011 at 06:24

    I ma with you boys are so hard, bugs etc go down well. Love the pirate ship which would do for a big boy as well as small.

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  5. Wendy11 July 2011 at 07:48

    I agree - the boys are harder to design for, but you have come up with some fab designs there. I'm sure they'll be really popular! x

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  6. Shpangle11 July 2011 at 07:49

    I love glittery things lol!

    We have recently been given seven Geckos and I can see why they are popular. Geckos are so cute and becoming very popular as a pet.

    Could you get away with some kind of Transformer/robot related image...they would go down really well especially with the film being released.

    Mick

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  7. Caroline Lovis (Redneedle)11 July 2011 at 10:16

    I know what you mean about the 'masculine element'. I always have to think extra hard when making cards for the male variety - especially teenage boys! The geckos look great and I'm sure the snakes will go down a storm

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  8. Ali11 July 2011 at 10:37

    Thanks everyone - the skulls are popular (actually with both sexes!) Adaliza - I didn't know that! Glad you approve...

    Ali x

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  9. Kazies Magical Designs11 July 2011 at 17:26

    Pirate designs always a good idea even for girls My daughter loves pirates of the carribean I struggle with boys jewellery but I think its because I have 3 daughters the ideas just are not there
    goos luck with your show hope its a lovely day for you xx

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  10. stylesofcooking11 July 2011 at 17:26

    My son has just parted company with his snake and now wants a bearded dragon apparently so i can see why geckos would be a popular design for boys. Other than that mine would probably like anything to do with football! Or something wizardy in conjunction with the latest Harry Potter movie! Or spiders!!!!!!!

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  11. fatmonica11 July 2011 at 20:44

    loving the skulls!

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  12. PuppyFly Boutique11 July 2011 at 22:14

    The boys in my class were really interested in my collection of pocket dragons - they loved the idea of dragons doing things like eating pizza and pulling faces.

    Love the pirate ship and the glow in the dark idea. Anna x

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  13. Steve Smith21 July 2011 at 16:28

    Great work. Love the colours and designs. especially the gheckos.
    Steve :o)

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