The GKA Market Event July 2013

We are pleased to announce that the first Guild Market Event will take place on our Facebook page between Friday 4th July - Monday 8th July. There will be a range of handmade 'keepsake' items from our Guild members which will be available to order over the weekend event.

If you are interested in taking part then the deadline for submitting your products is Monday 1st July. 

When: Friday 4th July- Monday 8th July 2013

Where: www.facebook.com/KeepsakeArtists

Please make a note in your diaries to pop over to the facebook page and have a browse at the special gifts available to commission from our very talented members.

Father's Day Gift Ideas

Looking for unique personalised gifts for Father's Day 2013 then take a look at some of the handmade items on offer by our Guild members. Father's Day this year is Sunday 16th June so you need to be quick to ensure you get exactly what you want!

We have sorted it into themes and will be adding to it regularly so make sure you bookmark us and pop back to see what is new:

SPORT

Wooden Plaques by HOMEWOOD STYLE

Football clocks by PINENEEDLES

TRANSPORT & TRAVEL

Truck Keyring by PINENEEDLES

Garage keyring by PINENEEDLES

Vintage Car Card by Waterlily Cards

VW Campervan cushion by NICKY'S CRAFTY SEW AND SOO

GADGETS

Ipad Case by KIMMI

Matching Iphone Case and Mug by INSPIRATIONS IN COLOUR

BLING

Message Keyrings by Tiny Treasures

Silver cufflinks by LITTLE SILVER MEMORIES

Keyring charm by LITTLE HANDS, LITTLE FEET

Leather Stamped Message Cuff by REBEKAH HEYBURN JEWELLERY

HOBBIES & GAMES

Puzzle coaster by RED SPOTTY DOG

Chess set from LEADON VALLEY CRAFTS

Print by The Nightingale Gallery

HUMOUR

Shirt and Tie Card By Clairez Cardz

Superhero card by Waterlily Cards

HOMEWARES

Word Art Frame by FAMILY FRAMES

Hanging hearts by WELSH COTTON CRAFTS

DIY Paper Bunting by MAYBEDAISY

From your Monkey/Princess plaques by Kraft Kreations

Word art by Dolly Dimples Keepsakes

If you wish to order any of these items please contact us info@guild-keepsakeartists.com

Also remember to Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/KeepsakeArtists

Follow us on Twiter www.twitter.com/KeepsakeArtists

Follow our boards on Pintrest www.pintrest.com/KeepsakeArtist

Traditional Wedding Anniversary Gifts

Each year of a wedding anniversary, it is symbolic to give a gift of that material, so we have started comprising a list of handmade keepsake items from our members that fit into the categories as the Ultimate Anniversary Gift List! We will be updating this list regularly.

1st Paper

Framed poem with butterflies- LibertyRainne

Folded Hearts by It's Divine In Brighton

Love paper cut by Floppsie Moppsie

Anniversary Word Art by My Family Home

2nd Cotton

Cotton cushion by Welsh Cotton Crafts

3rd Leather

4th Fruit, flowers

Your choice of special flower by Homewood Style

5th Wood

Love Keyrings by pineneedles

Wooden Initial Hearts by Homewood Style

Freestanding Hearts and Initials by JellyBean Home Decor & Gifts

Message Hearts by SimplyWood at Eldermeadows

6th Sugar

7th Copper, wool

Copper Heart Keyrings by Little Boo Keepsakes

8th Bronze, pottery

Bronze coloured casts by Diane Gains Keepsake Artist

9th Pottery, willow

10th Tin

11th Steel

Stamped stainless steel keyrings- Tiny Treasures

12th Silk, linen

13th Lace

14th Ivory

15th Crystal

20th China

25th Silver

30th Pearl

35th Coral

40th Ruby

Nasturiums Card- the symbolic flower by Joosey Bee Designs

45th Sapphire

50th Gold

Framed message by As Pretty As A Picture

55th Emerald

60th Diamond

Embroidered Diamond Card by Creative Stitching

Please pop back as we will be updating this list regularly! If you wish to order any of the above items please get in contact with us info@guild-keepsakeartists.com

Winner: Em's Jewellery

Congratulations Em's Jewellery who won our Mother's Day Keepsake Voting Competition 

with this stamped keyring!

Make sure you check out Em's Jewellery on Facebook for more examples of her hand stamped jewellery www.facbeook.com/emsjewellery

Mother's Day Keepsake Competition

Voting has now begun in The Guild of Keepsake Artists 'Mother's Day Keepsake Competition'.

All the photos have been uploaded to the Facebook album here View the Entries and to vote all you have to do is 'Like' the picture and leave a comment. Likes without a comment will not count unless there is a tie.

The winner of the Competition will have an interview feature on the blog plus will be featured as our cover photo for a Week, which will be changed each day!

Good Luck to all the members who have entered!

heART Awards Winners

Well Done to everyone who took part in The Guild of Keepsake Artists Valentine's heART Awards. The judging panel consisted of our very own Ambassador Team and they had a really hard time deciding who to vote for but here are the winners which we annnounced on our Facebook page on Valentine's Day!

The 'That's Amore' Award goes to Rebekah Heyburn Jewellery with this
piece which is classically romantic, with a slightly modern twist, we ♥ it!

The 'Love Letters' Award was a really tough one to call as there were so many to choose
from but in the end we settled on these engraved initial coasters by HannahSmithStone
as we were so impressed with the workmanship involved!

Our judges were very split on this Award but in the end MaryMakes colourful
heart garland won us over as our Flirty and Fun Make!

We decided on something sweet and simple for our 'aww factor' award,
this freestanding plaque by Angie's Crafty Hearts

The Family Home was our runaway winner for the 'Love @ First Sight' Award,
an incredible keepsake using a lot of skill, creativity and patience.


To see the full list of nominees and their lovely Valentine's themed pieces please visit www.facebook.com/KeepsakeArtists

Help For Newbies

Today we posted our Facebook daily discussion about starting out in business and asked members to share their tips so I thought I would post some of the comments here as reference:

The Guild of Keepsake posted:

"Today's Topic of the day:
Help for new small businesses.
What is the one bit of valuable advice you could give to our newest keepsake business members just starting up? 
Do our members need help if you're just starting up? Then feel free to ask a question below & our little community will try our best to help answer it."

Responses:

Rhian Cable Id say just dont be afraid to ask for help from those who have done it before. When starting up, you're sometimes so excited and full of ambition that small things like insurances etc can sometimes be overlooked. Always good to get some free advice off family and friends who've been there done that Homewood Style xx

Michelle Dickie Use google docs to take customer information, that way they are organised onto a manageable spreadsheet and you have all the information required when you need to contact them  Your Forever Memories xx

Marie Guest-Mcallister Spread the word by social networking to get people to your website! And don't go anywhere without your business cards & leave a few wherever u go, also get some a4 laminated paper with your products on and distribute in windows round town. xx www.facebook.com/DollyDimplesKeepsakes

Emma Lee I would consider myself still pretty new only being a year old. But I'd say don't give up at the first hurdle, keep working and don't be disheartened, keep bringing new designs, ALWAYS network, and interact with your customers (and potential customers) as much as possible. You are as much a selling point as your work! www.facebook.com/rubysandgraceuniquedesigns

Micki Willows Be legal, it's heart breaking when I've heard about successful websites being shut down because they didn't have the right certification (CE mark, food hygiene,cosmetic safety assessment) - contact your local trading standards, and register with HMRC, if you advertise your items for sale you are required to be register, even if you make a loss - good luck :o)

Lilys Patchwork Memories Be organised with your paperwork. Keep track of everything & file receipts / invoices as you go as it helps keep on top of things. Don't let those receipts build up in your wallet! :0)

Cathy Rimmington I would say be very careful of copyright. Companies are coming down hard on small business's especially Disney & hello kitty. Research if your not sure. As Pretty As a Picture x

I hope you will find our little tips useful and if you have anything to share with us please pop onto our facebook or twitter.

www.facebook.com/KeepsakeArtists

www.twitter.com/KeepsakeArtists