Aquamarine, turquoise, freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals and pure silver Thai hill tribe trinkets

“Cracked” faceted quartz crystal accented with Swarovski crystals and sterling silver

Turquoise nuggets, lava stone and sterling silver

Red Bamboo coral and sterling silver lariat

Sterling silver lariat

Faceted labradorite, rutilated quartz, onyx, Swarovski crystal and ornate handcrafted sterling silver

A note to all those who received the free passes from me for the craft fair next week:

Thanks for the huge response to my last email. I have posted all of the invites; I trust you’ve received them. I did my best to accommodate all of your wishes as far as dates, but was limited by what I had. I just wanted to point out a typing error from my last mail!

Those of you who received the mid-week tickets- (they are a blue colour) they are only valid from the Thursday 4th and Friday 5th December. (Not Wednesday the 4th as I had written- sorry!) I felt I had to point this out to avoid anyone coming on the wrong day and their tickets wouldn’t be vaild.

My apologies!

Hope to see you at the show. My stall is in the 2nd hall, and the stand number is A56.

Courtney Designs invites you to attend the National Crafts and Design Fair at the RDS this 3-7th December 2008.  This is a brilliant venue to do your Christmas shopping all in one go, and find interesting, unique or handcrafted Irish gifts.  (The entrance fee is normally €10).

I have a number of free passes to offer to the first to respond. There are two types of passes; please specify which you would like and I will post it out to you.  (Pending availability- there are only a few of the weekend passes left).

The first pass is for the first 2 days of the show, Wednesday and Thursday 3rd and 4th December.  Please note, any visitors who come on Wednesday 3rd December are entitled to 10% off on all purchases in the entire event- from all stalls. If you can make it on the Wednesday, its well worth the effort and the opportunity to save and to have first pick from everything. This is usually one of the busiest days.  Furthermore, if you come on these days, you can request a return pass and can get in again at the weekend, if you choose.

If you can’t make it mid week (although the hours go until 10pm on the weekdays)- you can request a weekend pass!

Respond with your preference and your address, and I’ll post them this week, so there’ll be plenty of time for them to arrive before the show!
You can see more information at www.nationalcraftsfair.ie

There are free gift wrapping service and shuttle buses available.

The dates and hours are as follows:

Wed 3rd 10am-10pm

Thurs 4th 10am-10pm

Fri 5th 10am-10pm

Sat 6th 10am- 7pm

Sun 7th 10am-7pm

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!  My stand number is A56.

You can preview the fairy lights made with natural skeleton leaves which I will once again have on sale at the event at this link: CLICK HERE
*PLEASE NOTE- The lights are now on special offer and I have reduced the price from €28 and €38 (including adaptor) to €22 and €32, which many of you who have been mailing me all year about the lights-  should be very happy to hear!

Don’t forget to come to the National Craft Fair in the RDS this December to buy some new jewels for yourself or a loved one!

Once again I brought my stall to this wonderful show this year. It was a great success and looked better than ever.  Here I’ll attach a few photos of the new stock and the Knit and Stitch show.

This stock will be available on Saturdays in Cow’s Lane Designer Mart 10- 5pm and on Sundays in People’s Park Dun Laoghaire 10-5pm.  Please email or call me first if you are going down especially for something in particular, to be sure I bring it along!

This post is technically a Dancing Dragon post- but I’m in the process of updating my www.dancingdragondesigns.com website and making a clear distinction between the two halves of my business:  the things I make: “Courtney Designs- Eclectic Artisan Jewellery- Designed and handcrafted in Ireland”- and the things I buy/ source from my travels around the world: “Dancing Dragon- unique handcrafted accessories and clothing.”

The updates on the website won’t come into effect until into the new year, but stay posted!

Chiffon and Angora Wool Scarf - colours: Rose (pictured above), Teal and Black.

€60

Freshwater Pearl Necklace mixed with smoky quartz, dual strand (pictured above)

€45

Chiffon and lace top €45 (above)

Freshwater Pearl rope necklace  (single strand) €45 (above)

Headscarves- made from all colours of cotton, gold and silver scarves, lace, etc.

Headscarf prices range from €5 - €8

Very popular selection of cheap and cheerful earrings! Can’t beat a bargain!  €5/ pair or 3 pairs/ €10

Wool flower hand-embroidered purses  €12

Beautiful, intricate hand-embroidered handbags- attached examples of the detail and colours.

There are only a few of these bags to be sold. They are quite large and can hold a lot. A great travel bag.

The details and embroidery are on all sides of the bag.  Very well-made.

€75

Thai Hilltribe hand embroidered handbags.

€28

A selection of Thai Hilltribe silver necklaces and pendants available from my stall.

Rose Skeleton Leaf lights, adorning a mirror. (See previous post for more details about these lights!)

One of my best-sellers!

Lights: €28-€38

This is technically a Dancing Dragon post- but I’m in the process of updating my www.dancingdragondesigns.com website and making a clear distinction between the two halves of my business:  the things I make: “Courtney Designs- Eclectic Artisan Jewellery- Designed and handcrafted in Ireland”- and the things I buy/ source from my travels around the world: “Dancing Dragon- unique handcrafted accessories and clothing.”

The updates on the website won’t come into effect until into the new year, but stay posted!

I have just returned from a buying trip and brought more of the handcrafted skeleton leaf fairy lights- Rose and Open leaf style- in a variety of nice new colours. Many of you have been asking me all year for more of these since selling out so early in the show last year at the craft fair; so I’m happy to report they are fully stocked up. I will be selling them in the RDS at the start of December for the National Craft Fair again this year, along with all of my own jewellery.

Rose Style Fairy Lights- handcrafted from Natural Skeleton leaves from the Rubber tree, dried and dyed and attached to a standard set of fairy lights for a dramatic effect!  This style comes in a variety of colours and sells for €38 including spare bulbs, information and care sheet and plug adaptor.  The other style- Open Leaf- sells for €28 including all of the above.  Here is a photo of this style:

Here is an information sheet I’ve prepared to answer the many questions I receive on these lights regarding length, care, voltage, etc. Please read on if interested.