I Love SpoiltPig

SpoiltPig shop is having an unbelievably super sale at the moment.  Every single item has been reduced by up to 60%  so prices for one of a kind, funky, handmade jewellery start at just £3.50 now!

Check. It. Out.

I was inspired when I stumbled across Helen Arney’s 31 songs for Christmas, 2009. Every day in December, she filmed and uploaded a new song on youtube and asked fans to donate a few pennies to one of her favourite charities, Shelter.

Pretty awesome, eh? So this year, I followed suit and have been swapping my own skills for donations and giving away free jewellery to anyone who can spare a few pennies for one of my own favourite charities, Oxfam.

So far, kind SpoiltPig fans have sponsored me a total of £386.00 – all of which has gone directly to Oxfam. I’ve contributed, time, skills, materials and postage and packaging costs so everyone can rest assured that all the money they’ve spared, will go direct to helping those who need it the most.

I can’t say thank you enough to everyone for their generosity, I haven’t quite made my target yet but I’m overwhelmed by how lovely and encouraging everyone has been. You guys ROCK!

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Anyone who’s spotted me at craft fairs and markets this season might also have noticed that I put together some lucky dip bags to raise a little extra for charity. Thankfully no one thought to ask me ‘which’ charity those were for, because I hadn’t decided yet!

This morning though, the lucky dip money was counted and donations have been made. I hope that SpoiltPig fans are happy with the causes I’ve chosen to support with the £108 raised from lucky dip sales:

Kranti – Empowering India’s trafficked girls through education

Kranti is unique, it’s the only organisation created by trafficked girls and not for them.
They provide shelter and healthcare for many women and educate and empower them to be able to live independent lives and bring about change in their communities.

“Kranti’s model will have a spiraling effect as the Revolutionaries become empowered enough to sponsor and mentor younger trafficked women, be the voices of oppressed women across India, and prove that every woman is an intellectual asset, not a liability.”

“With my 6 years of experience in brothels and NGOs, I know that *I* can change society’s attitudes and make them understand the value of women – I just need the tools to lead this revolution!”
- Maahi, Former sex worker/trafficked girl; Kranti’s leader

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PAIH – Hardship fund for destitute asylum seekers in Glasgow

Positive Action in Housing is a homelessness charity which provides a hardship fund and emergency free shelter for destitute people seeking asylum. Appeals rights exhausted asylum seekers are forbidden to work to support themselves, or claim benefits or homelessness accommodation. In other words they are left absolutely destitute.

On the 21st December, PAIH will also be teaming up with Destinys Angels and the British Red Cross to hand out food hampers, hygeine packs, blankets and cash to help to support destitute asylum seekers over Christmas and New Year.

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Thank you, once again, to EVERYONE for helping me raise all this money for different causes. You can still donate to Oxfam for some free jewellery and if you enjoyed the song from Helen Arney, she has a new Christmas Album out with Paul Richards just now – with £1 from each sale being split between Cancer Research UK and Shelter. I’ve treated myself to one :)

I’ve been busy!
The Folksy shop is now packed full of delightful Christmas presents – new Couture hearts, circus and comic themed pendants and some LOuD statement pieces like American Love and the Star Spangled necklace…

I’m also halfway through my Christmas fairs – 11 down, 8 to go and more to be confirmed!  Very proud of our Winter Wonderland display that I dreamed up, meet my stall buddy Alex…

I won’t lie, it’s been tough.  Half the fairs I’ve attended so far have been a complete bust and some days I feel like giving up and never leaving my room again…but then wonderful events like “Say NO to Plastic” come along and I meet great people, people who’re excited about what I make, and it gives me the confidence to keep on going!

I’ve also been teaching resin workshops in Aberdeen and Glasgow, great fun – had some good laughs so far and will hopefully be running a couple more in January and February before I leave for Mexico!  That’s what all this hard work is going to pay for :D  I’ll hopefully be soaking up the culture whilst running after school activities and teaching English…I just need to get through the rest of these markets and book my flights!

Lastly and (probably) most importantly, my fundraising.

I’ve been working my ass off, making double the amount of jewellery this season so that I can give it away for free!  I’ve been encouraging people to donate a little money to Oxfam this year by sending out SpoiltPig Jewellery in exchange.
So far I’ve had wonderful support and raised a whopping £351.00 – but I’m still short of my target and am really itching to send out more presents!
Please donate if you can.

…is one of my favourite things to do. I hoped that college would help me develop some actual drawing skills but it turns out I just don’t have the patience to learn so I’ve dropped out (again) :(

scribble

No matter. Just because I can’t draw circles or straight lines, have no sense of proportion, can’t judge angles, don’t get shading and toning and lose interest 3seconds into an idea – doesn’t mean I can’t keep doodling and having fun.

I recommend doodling just before bedtime, it’s nice to wake up in the morning and discover what your sleepy brain came up.