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)

Make sure you visit the shop at www.studiocrafts.net to purchase your own handmade decorations to bring fun and colour into every corner of your home

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Tuesday 11 September 2012

Cooo-eeeee!

Ok, hands up... who's missed me??  I'll pause for a second here to count the multitude of hands...

Well, despite not blogging for what seems like a lifetime, I haven't been resting on my laurels... what is a laurel, don't even know if I have any to rest on.... hmm, must look into that one, don't want to be missing out... what? oh, sorry, I digress...

Yes I have been working flat out throughout the 'summer' and I am thankful that the absolutely awful start to the season way back in April/May didn't cause as much disruption as it may have done & certainly not compared to so many crafters who have had event after event cancelled - often at fairly last minute so no possibility of finding an alternative.

One of the things I don't think people in our situation realise is how reliant we are on good weather for our fairs. However, if the weather is too good it can be counter productive with beaches & coastal destinations winning out over fairs & other events.   There's always that fear that this may be the last sight of the sun for another year & there is that inert desire to make the most of every little drop.

This has been a very strange year. Not only because of the weird weather but also all the wonderful occasions such as the wonderful Queen's Diamond Jubilee weekend with it's extra Bank Holiday (remember that far back?) to the most incredible summer of sport courtesy of the London 2012 Olympics & Paralympics. If you follow me on Twitter (@AlisCraftStudio) you'll know how completely hooked I've been on both!! Wonderful in so many ways but a nightmare in others... so many regular fairs had to amend dates to work around these additional holidays & events that it was a little frantic trying to ensure that everything could be fitted in!

Fortunately, it seemed that as one fair moved forward a week, the event it may have clashed with decided to move theirs back a week thus avoiding that terrible situation of choosing one and having to miss one! Phew!

I'm afraid the dreaded word... dare I utter it... Christmas!! is already looming large on the horizon with sales of decorations already underway and this weekend is likely to see the first showing this year of the Extra Large Christmas Tree which proved so popular last year.  If you didn't get around to ordering one, please don't leave it too late as they do take some time to make... get your order in early & you'll have it in plenty of time to include in your fabulous Christmas display!

Extra Large Christmas Tree - Peelable Window Cling
Extra Large Christmas Tree (14.5 inches x 21.5 inches)
Infact I have been making more & more of these larger designs as bespoke requests for customers.  Any designs can be made larger to fit the space you need to display them in.

Some further examples of some large clings created can be found with a form to request information on larger designs can be found on the website.

One of the things I really love about what I do is, as I am sure I have told you before, the possibility to help with a window problem that a customer has been struggling to find a suitable solution for.  Often this can be to disguise an unwanted view or simply to finally get a design which has been running around their head but not found in existance!

Such was the case with a lovely couple who knew exactly what they wanted to see on their front door - a couple of Koi carp swimming in a pond - but couldn't find one anywhere!  After much discussion to fine tune the details, they are now the proud owners of what I have to say has been one of the designs I have loved creating the most (I may have to make one for myself very soon!)
Koi Pond


Of course, Halloween is the next seasonal event which gives a great excuse to go a little mad with your decorations & I've definitely found more people are joining in the spirit of things.  Any excuse right!!

Head over to the Halloween section of the online shop to have a look at the fun (not scary) designs available!


Another new product is to give a great, inexpensive but very effective advertising solution for businesses or clubs.  Any logo or website information can be created into a window cling to use in your car, shop, office, home, or anywhere else you want to give your business a push.  These are slightly different to my normal clings as they are printed before being converted into clings which ensures a clear reproduction of even the most fiddly logo or club badge!

A couple of examples shown inside cars:
My own company promotional clings!
Thought I should!!
Perfect size to advertise without
causing viewing obstructions
Along the same line as these are promotional keyrings! Great as limited number giveaways or promotional items & can be created from your logo and/or website information.

On a rolling pricing scale dependent upon quantity but from as little as 50p each so perfect as another string for your marketing campaigns!  Just get in touch for more information!
Hope you've all had a great summer & are gearing yourself up for what I hope will be a great run up to Christmas!

I can't promise that my blogging will be more frequent but I will try!  At least you now know that even though I'm not here, I'm still beavering away in my studio or even in a field somewhere in the south east of England!! Check out where I'll be & why not come along & say hello! http://www.studiocrafts.net/events.html