Ruby's Christmas Pledge!

My family and I are avid supporters of the RSPCA and recently received a letter in the post asking us to donate to their Big Christmas Feed. Last January, we adopted three very ill and very sad little cats, who had spent Christmas at our local RSPCA animal shelter. When we collected our new cats to take them to their new home, they admitted that they were surprised they surived.

The RSPCA do wonderful work and rely totally on donations. This Christmas they are campaigning for the public to help provide meals for animals, dontating money for "meal tickets".

From all of Ruby's sales from now until Christmas, I'll be saving money from card sales and dontating in December to the RSPCA's Big Feed. Ruby Wren tries to be as ethical as possible with our material choices and packaging, and this Christmas we hope to provide some abandoned animals with some Christmas Dinner!

All purchases, be it from Etsy, Folksy, NOTHS or even in person, will have money donated from the profits. Read more about the RSPCA's Big Christmas Feed at: RSPCA

Luckily, our three rescued cats have grown into heathly, happy little monsters, shadows of their former selves:

Shop of the Week - Jo Heckett

After a week of neglecting my blog due to my Prince's Trust workshop week (which was brilliant!!) I'm back to blogging!

The Shop of the Week feature is always my favourite and with Christmas coming up I've been adding tonnes of new favourites on Etsy to my 'hearted' shops and items. One of my all time favourites is Jo Heckett. I discovered her shop on Etsy over the summer and keep checking back because I love her porcelain items so much! If money was no object, everyone on my Christmas list would be getting their name in porcelain.

Not only has Jo got the cutest items, but she herself is lovely! You can find her on Etsy at http://www.joheckett.etsy.com/ and NOTHS at www.notonthehighstreet.com/joheckett.

Her facebook page is one of the best I've seen from a handmade seller, with lots of behind the scenes photos and plenty of updates! It's one of my favourites: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jo-Heckett/123346152940

Treasury!

I love getting a Treasury over on Etsy...I had one all prepared last time and my internet (which I'd been having such trouble with last week) disconnected just as the Treasury was due to open! Luckily I got one today, yay! Following my Colour Scheme Finds, I decided to elaborate on the brown coffee colours I found last week.

Check it out at: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=85809

News from Ruby!

Following the feedback and comments I've been given from Etsy members and customers, I've decided to expand my little business and have signed up for the Prince's Trust Business Programme. The Prince's Trust, for anyone who doesn't know, is a charity in the UK run to help young people, with Prince Charles as the head of the organisation. The Business Programme is run to help get people aged 18-30 succeeding in running their own businesses.

I applied in Septemeber and was invited to an introduction session a few days later to talk about the Business Programme and what is involved. I begin a 4 day workshop on Monday, where I will get advice on bookeeping, legalities for small businesses, marketing etc. After this week, I'll be required to put my business plan before the Prince's Trust's panel, Dragons Den-Style and I'll get one-on-one sessions with a business mentor for the next few years.

I've heard such good things about the programme and hope to keep you updated via my blog.

In other Ruby related news, I've just listed some of my first Christmas Cards! It's getting to that time of year again! With the worldwide shipping I offer, I decided to get in early with the Christmas Card listing to give everyone enough time to get their cards before Christmas. I've got lots made up ready for the Made by Artisans Craft Fair and hope to get more listed on Etsy shortly!

Click Here for New Christmas Cards

Finds for the Home

This week's Finds for the Home, I've focused my search on houseware accessories...little things that can make a big difference to a room scheme. My most favourite items from those below include the hessian rabbit by Octavi and the chalkboard from KFMgallery...I could write all my little 'to-dos' on that!


1. Velvet and silk pillow
by Antracitproduction $38
Click Here

2. Bird and Flower Wall Decal Sticker
by ArtConductor $17
Click Here

3.Chalkboard with Vintage Frame
by KFMGallery $35
Click Here

4. Sweet Tree. . . Set of 6 Fabric Magnets
by PaperPumpkin $8.50
Click Here

5. Greta rabbit - hessian
by Octavi $15
Click Here

6. Romantic decorative wall art on linen hoop framed
by HAREandDRUM $30
Click Here

7. from the garden
by tinyshoppe $9
Click Here

Colour Scheme Finds

For Autumn, there's nothing better than rich, sophisticated browns! My favourite shades of coffee, taupe and chocolate are the focus of this week's colour scheme finds! I especially love those gorgeous cashmere mittens by jaykayknits!

1. Cashmere Fingerless Mittens

by jaykayknits $50

Click Here

2. The Year Round Wrap in Taupe

by hipknotz $78

Click Here

3. Rabbit Art - Blackberry - Print

by amberalexander $18

Click Here

4. Mims Nap Sack/Shoulder Bag in Schumacher Belgian Linen and Leather

by MimsMaine $130

Click Here

5. Charleston. Smoky Quartz Large Wire Sterling Silver Earrings

by rachellucie $26

Click Here

6. Felt Beaded Bracelet - Cappuccino

by fyberknitics $12

Click Here

7. Modern Dots - Pillow Art - Original - One of a Kind

by sarahsmilecreations $35

Click Here

Jewellery Finds

For this edition of my Jewellery finds, I started with AREjewellery's unique necklace (number 1 below) and followed the pinky-red colour scheme from there...ending up with a collection of beautiful pieces that rather reseble a fruit smoothie!

I love the unique on Etsy and adore the handpainted beaded jewellery from sweetcherrypie (number 3) and the enameled earrings from smashing (number 8) is something I've been drooling over in my favourites for a while now. Be sure to check out corrieberrypie's shop also for the most beautiful product photos, showcasing her vintage-inspired pieces at their best!

Enjoy!

1. Red Splash Long Necklace

by AREjewellery $30

Click here

2. Rosy Rosebud Necklace

by corrieberrypie $18.50

Click here

3. Beaded bracelet, hand-painted in pastel pink, black and orange

by sweetcherrypie $26

Click here

4. Lollipop Trees Ring

by TheIntuitiveGarden $12

Click here

5. Patience Antique Brass Bird Locket and Pink Glass Beads Necklace

by miasophia $32

Click here

6. Organic poppies stud earringsby jewelry

bynatsuko $23

Click here

7. The Secret Compartment Ring (Coral)

by wiyomu $12

Click here

8. teeming (earrings) sunset violet pink and purple

by smashing $29

Click here