Saturday 24 June 2017

Needle felting supplies review, Glass eyes from Amazon

In the first of my Needle felting supplies reviews I had a look at some glass eyes on wire from Amazon that a friend recommended to me

This is 100 pairs of glass eyes in a cute little box for under £8

It sounded too good to be true - so of course I had to order them

and I was fairly surprised. The wee box is so handy keeping them all together and the eyes are fairly good quality
My only worry was attaching them as the wire is shorter than what I normally use - but I had a glue to hand that works perfectly

If you are interested in these eyes click the image below (affiliate link that dosent cost you anything)




To see any of my other reviews for needle felting equipment and supplies go over to my youtube playlist
And please let me know if there is anything you would be interested in me reviewing for you

I am not sponsored for any of my reviews - I will let you know if in the future any are sponsored

Thursday 1 June 2017

How to needle felt a dragon. Part one, the armature

Finally, you asked, here it is. Stage one of my needle felted Dragon tutorial

This stage I go into all the steps needed to create the armature for my needle felted dragon





For the supplies you need please click on the images, they will take you to my amazon affiliates page which supports my work at no cost to yourself

1.25mm thick galvanized wire






0.9mm thick galvanized wire




Florists stem tape





As always feel free to share any of your creations with me

Thursday 18 May 2017

How to needle felt curls

Have you got a pile of lovely fleece locks or have you made my curls but dont know how to attach them to a needle felted sculpture?

In todays video I show you several different ways to attach curls including how to felt straight fiber if you dont have time to make or order locks

If you make any curly felts please feel free to share them with me


The link below takes you to my affiliate site on amazon,


Monday 15 May 2017

Growing a really small youtube channel

For 2017 I decided to focus on YouTube a bit, I had been watching loads of youtube creators with loads of tips and tricks for how to grow a channel

and I thought 'This is so similar to growing a Etsy shop'

So for fun I decided to try and focus on growing my youtube channel a little. I really enjoy making my videos to teach about needle felting and dog training and I thought it would be good to try and give a little back to the Etsy community by also sharing some of my tips for growing a Etsy store

So how did I do??

Here are the stats of my growth on youtube for the first 4 months of the year

It really shows (I hope) if you really focus on something, take tips from the experts and have realistic expectations then you really can grow in anything online

but it takes consistent work, you cannot just post and sit back

anyway, for anyone who is interested here is my statistics on youtube

Monday 8 May 2017

How to needle felt a cats face



 Today I share my method for felting a cats face
It took me forever to figure out how to make cats faces - it was so much easier with dogs because I had two models to look at right infront of me


Friday 28 April 2017

Etsy Tips. ErsyRank shows us the rise and fall of rankings

Just wanted to share with you my thoughts on this fantastic article from EtsyRank

The geek in me totally loves how they have used all the great statistics they have to look at how the position of an item in a search category is not fixed, it rises and falls because SEO is more than just the tags and titles we work on.
As Etsy has always told us recency, sales, views and hearts do all to differing extents effect our SEO

This shows very clearly how a sale or a renewal can boost an item all the way to the first page of a search and it depends on other factors as to how quickly those items fall away down the ranking.

As I thought this was such a good article I made a quick announcement video of my reactions to this post


Thursday 20 April 2017

Speed Felting a Needle Felted Snow Leopard Wool Painting

I tried out a new art form the other day 2d needle felting - or wool painting
This is my 2nd ever painting, I hope you all enjoy

I created my own transfer by drawing out my leopard with an iron on transfer pen (I used the sulky one in the link below - affiliate link) and I found it surprisingly easy to use
Then I ironed the image onto a piece of felt to give me a guide of where to felt. Then about 8 hours of stabbing later and this guy appeared


Thursday 6 April 2017

How to needle felt with BenMcFuzzylugs. Adding details to you Easter bunny

Todays how to needle felt tutorial video is showing you how to add details to last weeks Easter bunny

Shading in the ears, tiny detailed eyes, a fluffy bunny tail, and his little snuffly nose - here is how to add them




I think he looks much better with his little eyes and its a great project to improve your detail skills 
Please feel free to share if you make little Easter bunnies 

google-site-verification: google7f5f45ee8796ac15.html

Wednesday 5 April 2017

Etsy Challenge. One simple change a day to improve your Etsy SEO and your Etsy shop

For the month of April I decided to run a challenge for all of us


In the first video I give out my starting stats from the last month - so HOPEFULLY by the end of the month there will be a nice change.
The point of the challenge is every day we do one little thing that hopefully adds up to a big change
Also sometimes its overwhelming all the work you have to do in your shop - its better to get in the habit of doing one thing every day than trying to do it all at once. Its actually better for SEO to have constant activity - and you dont burn yourself out

Week one challenge is to use EtsyRank to change one listing every day to get it to an A grade 



Tuesday 4 April 2017

Dog training tips - March Madness

As some of you know I was creating a dog training video a day for the month of march.
It was a whole load of fun and really had me thinking. Subjects from behavioral terms like explaining the quadrants of learning, to what I feed and other random ramblings - I hope you enjoy



























































I hope you enjoy these, thank you so much for all your support. I dont know if I will do a video a day again :D but it was well worth it 

If you are interested in more (better) information then check out this book (Im not selling it, its just an affiliate link - which dosent cost you anything) I really enjoyed it






Thursday 30 March 2017

How to needle felt. Needle felting Easter bunny tutorial

Todays needle felting tutorial video we have a fab project for beginners - the needle felted Easter bunny

This wee guy is so simple, just 2 basic shapes, takes about an hour or less and is super cute 


If you are a total beginner I would recommend checking out some of my basics videos before getting started 

An introduction to the equipment


How to felt a ball

Bunny ears




I have been asked a few times if I sell felting supplies - I dont - but click my affiliate link for Amazon below and it takes you to some people who do sell felting supplies and look pretty good :) 



Monday 27 March 2017

Etsy Tips. Five Tips to improve your tags

Todays Etsy tips video I cover five tips to improve your tags



1 Think like a buyer
2. Use 2-3 words
3. Use tools like EtsyRank to compare the competition
4. Dont aim too hight
5. Find different terms

Thursday 23 March 2017

How To Needle Felt. Easter Bunny Ears

Todays video

Its a bit of a dress up for easter
How to create a removable band with bunny ears on it to dress up your little felt sculptures

In this video I actually show three methods for forming the ears and two methods for colouring in the pink in the middle of the ear

I hope you enjoy - feel free to share any makes you create


Thursday 16 March 2017

How To Needle Felt Tiny Hands

Hands in art can be the most difficult thing - 5 fingers look so crowded it looks like you have sausages and not fingers
and in needle felting its even harder as the fingers are so very tiny you stab yourself or break needles on wires

This is my method for felting small hands from around 1cm to 1 inch with the least hassle


Monday 13 March 2017

etsy Tips, Should I reduce my prices?

Have you ever wondered if reducing your prices will increase your sales?
Today I talk about that - how actually increasing prices can be better for your shop - and most likely SEO is more important than price


Thursday 9 March 2017

How to needle Felt, a miniature schnauzer full needle felting tutorial




Whew, I have finally done it
A full needle felting tutorial of this cute tiny miniature schnauzer

Felt along with me in this step by step needle felting tutorial - over one hour of free tutorial to help you create your own first project  Please feel free to share if you create a little dog of your own










Monday 6 March 2017

Etsy Tips. Find your target market

Have you ever wondered who your target market it?
What is the point of a target market and how can you target?

In todays video I talk about how YOU are your own target market. If you are doing what you love then the groups you hang around in can be your target market, people like you who love similar things to you


Thursday 2 March 2017

Dog training tips, march madness, Punishments in dog training

Todays March dog training tips video

Do you punish your dog? Should you be offended if someone says you punish your dog? What does it mean?


Needle Felting tips. How to Needle felt long hair and vote for my needle felted Fox

Have you ever wondered how to needle felt long hair?
For years I struggled to make my long haired dogs look good.
In this video I share with you my methods for adding long hair

From the shaggy center part of my highland cows, and their fringes
Too fine and fluffy dog hair and fuzzy tails
Horse manes

and stay tuned to the end for a full real time adding fur to a little terriers face

Thank you for watching







Wednesday 1 March 2017

Dog training. March Madness, 10 positive things

Ever been stressed with your dog?
Feel they are naughty ALL the time?
Feel you spend your day telling them off?

Check out my video for a simple solution and a wee challenge


Find out why if you actually look for the good things your dogs are doing you can feel better about your dog, and they can actually be better behaved with no training


If you are interested in training for your difficult dogs I really recommend Control Unleashed 






Monday 27 February 2017

Etsy Tips. Promoted Listings, Are Promoted listing worth it?




Have you ever wondered if paying for promoted listing are worth it?
Will it make much money?
Will it COST much money?
Is there any other benefit to Promoted listings on Etsy?


Check out my video for some answers to your questions, IMO they are very much worth it, they dont cost much and DO bring in revenue and they give you some really useful stats



Friday 24 February 2017

Dog Walking In Scotland. Gleniffer Braes. 23rd Feb 2014. Hurricane Doris aftermath

So yesterday we had Hurricane Doris

Thankfully she was fairly calm with us and I actually had to go up into the hills (braes) to get to play in some snow.
This walk is from the carpark by the pylons at the Gleniffer Braes just outside Paisley

It is only about 1.5 miles but today it was a really tough workout as the ground was muddy under them melting snow.
At the most westerly side of this walk it is often pretty boggy underfoot anyway


The views are stunning as they are all over the Gleniffer Braes

Excuse the shaky video, I was trying hard not to fall over! Some of the walk - and some of my nutter dogs enjoying the snow with zoomies and snow dog angels


As you can see - stunning views around every corner
I will be back in better (different) weather for more photos

But today I very much needed my waterproof trousers! Click the image to see them in amazon 


Thursday 23 February 2017

Needle felting Basics. How to add Jump hoops to turn your felt shapes into beads - and vote for the animal you would like me to show a tutorial of

In todays video I show you how you can take your needle felted paws, hearts and balls and add a jump hoop to let you turn them into super light beads



Also I introduce to to my moon gazing hare and white rabbit 
Please vote on the animal you would like me to create a full length tutorial on. You can vote for any animal on any video.

Please stay tuned for more beginner needle felting tutorials and to meet some more of my animals

Thank you :) 



Wednesday 22 February 2017

Etsy Tips - Etsy Rank - Help with SEO

Have you ever though changing all your tags and titles for better SEO is a massive task??

Do you want a quick easy way to see the problems with your listing and change them?

Are you a swat and like to get graded?

EtsyRank (not sponsored :) ) could be the perfect tool for you

Check out my video taking you through some of the features of EtsyRank


Check your shop has links to all your social media
Make sure your announcements and policies are up to date 
See if you are using all your tags and  photographs
Check your key tags are featured in your titles and descriptions
Spot spelling and grammar mistakes
See how much competition your tags have
See alternatives for your tags
See where your item ranks on Etsy for your tags

All this in one website - its pretty amazing  - check it out

Sunday 19 February 2017

Dog Walks in Scotland. Lochwinnoch, Castle Semple to RSPB

Ratings for this walk

Accessibility              ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐             All on paths, fairly flat
Parking                      ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐             Two carparks, Castle Semple and RSPB
Amenities                  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐             Bins, Cafe, Cycle hire, shop, watersports
Length                       ⭐⭐⭐                        Around 3 miles
Solitude                     ⭐⭐⭐                        Popular around carparks but quieter further along
Livestock                   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐             None
Offlead                      ⭐⭐                              A section beside road
Views                        ⭐⭐⭐                        Stunning views over the water - no different views


On a very sunny Feb 14th I took a walk in Lochwinnoch, Here is a little film of the stunning walk


Obviously I took the dogs with me, and the winter sunshine really showed off their coats lovely :)

Mia loved the walk, no dogs to bother her, lots of kids which she loves :)













And Ben found so many things to roll in :D














I parked up in the Castle Semple visitor center. There is a wee tea room there (but I was good and didnt indulge - although the gingerbread is AMAZING)  That is the star by Lochwinnoch on the map, and then walked anticlockwise onto the road and then up to the RSPB center up along the other side of the Loch

This is a very flat paved walk suitable for any age and ability and although part of it is on the road there are lovely vews the whole way. My walk was just over 3 miles. If you want a shorter walk you can park at the RSPB center and just walk up the side of the loch, that would be just over a mile.

The Castle Semple carpark is fantastic for bird watching


The birds are rather friendly - infact when photographing I often get a swan sneaking up beside me! 

At the RSPB center there are lots of fun things for children to discover and some hides for birdwatching












The paths are good and flat and even in the winter they are pretty with all the moss and the light filtering through the trees












So although it is not the most challenging dog walk there is plenty of pretty things to keep you interested












Even beside the road the views can be pretty
















Around every corner there can be a stunning or cute view




I hope you all enjoyed coming on my walk with me








The camera I used for all of this walk was my trusty Nikon Coolpix L820. Click on the image below to see it on Amazon

Thursday 16 February 2017

Needle felting Tutorials, Cats Paw Beads

Want to make cute cat paw beads??

This is a great beginner level project and once you have the hang of it these little beads are really addictive.

Also check out the start of the video to vote on which large project you would like me to take you through step by step, in todays video I give you a close up at my needle felted dragon


Monday 13 February 2017

Etsy Tips SEO

The advice always given to new shops on Etsy is

'Work on your SEO!'

Have you ever heard that and been confused?

What is SEO?
What factors are important in SEO?

In Todays video I try and cover a basic guide to SEO for small artists and crafters with shops on Etsy 



SEO is search engine optimisation - its the way websites allow you to search for things of interest

Etsy's SEO is slightly different than other search engines so even if you know how to rank for Google or YouTube learning Etsy magic will really help your shop

Some factors to consider for SEO are

Tags and Titles 
Recency
Listing Quality
Location
Customer Experience
Similar items 

I hope this video helps :) Please feel free to like and share (if you like it)

Thursday 9 February 2017

Needle felting Tutorials, Valentines Love Hearts

Thursday Felting Video day


So todays tutorial is a lovely simple project
Love hearts
This is a good beginner exercise to learn to manipulate the shapes of your pieces with either pressure from your hands or the way you use your needle

Give it a try, and feel free to subscribe, like  and comment to my channel over on youtube



Thank you for watching 

Monday 6 February 2017

Etsy Tips, Be The Success You Want To See

Mondays new series - tips I have learnt from my 9 years selling on Etsy

Today is the first one on working like a success



I hope this helps. Watch this space for more tips including SEO, promoted listings and much more


Sunday 5 February 2017

Dog agility training, Old Mill Dogs Jan 2017 training

Here is a little of the fun we have been having in January - starring 3 of our dogs, Molly, Tilly and Fly

The course shown in the video is here

We have been working on wing wraps all month so after a deceptively easy start it gets a bit twisty

As ever there are many ways to run this - one change that flowed very nicely was a front cross after 16 to avoid the off course jump, turning the dog right over 17 which gave a nice flow into 18

If you do run this feel free to share

If you are interested in training your agility dog I totally recommend the control unleashed book, click the image below to check it out on Amazon 



Thursday 2 February 2017

Needle felting tutorials - The Reverse felting needle

In todays tutorial I talk about the reverse felting needle


This is a handy extra tool that can be used to drag one colour through another colour to create some interesting effects and to help with blending

Friday 27 January 2017

Dog agility courses, The Christmas tree

this was a great fun course for Christmas. If you have an amazing imagination it looks a little like a Christmas tree with a star on the top and oddly weaves and a tunnel at the side


It ran fairly nicely with a few challenges, mainly which line to take 14-18. Some teams did great with the handler on the takeoff side of 15 and flicking over 17, others did great on the landing side or 15 if they were able to get a little infront of their dogs

Also which way do you turn the dog over 6? and which way do you bring them round to 21?

Here is the lovely Fly demonstrating this course (not I always film at the end of the day and as soon as I bring out the camera the mistakes happen, but keeping a positive attitude means its still fun for your dog)




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