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Get Ready for The Launch!

Posted Jan-25-08 06:18:21 PST

Well, we finally have our own website! With thanks to everybody that's supported us along the way. We hope you'll be just as happy with the new store as we are!

On February 1st 2008 - GET READY FOR THE LAUNCH!

See our Blog at http://thekraftylady.blogspot.com for more info, or drop me an email and I'll let you know where you can find us!

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Please Sponsor Us for Kidney Research UK!

Posted Jan-05-08 05:07:08 PST

We are attending the London Bridges Walk 2008 on Sunday 6th July, to raise money for Kidney Research UK. The walk is about 7 miles long and we’re really hoping to finish it in 2-3 hours!

We hope to raise £250 MINIMUM for this charity, so please, PLEASE donate generously - it will be much appreciated!

This charity is close to my heart because two years ago I had a major kidney operation to remove an infected duplex kidney, (I had three kidneys! Which made me very ill), and it’s charities like this one and the research that they do which helped my operation to be a complete success, and has made me healthier than before!

You can make a secure donation at: www.justgiving.com/thekraftylady and every donation will be really greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

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Don't forget to check our Charity Sales!

Posted Jan-04-08 06:06:09 PST

Well, Christmas has come and gone almost as quickly as it came, (except for the leftovers - our fridge is currently over-flowing with tasty cheese, meats and chocolate...), and the New Year is upon us. We hope everyone had as good a time as we did - so many people suffered from illness over the festove period! I had the flu, but thankfully it didn't stop me from chowing down on a hearty Christmas dinner, and buffet on Boxing Day... 

We've decided that it's time we started using the shop to do more for charity - we already make a monthly donation to Oxfam, and I'm planning on doing a walk in June for Kidney Research UK - a charity I hold close to my heart, as I had a major kidney operation a couple of years back to fix a duplex kidney, (meaning I had three kidneys instead of two!). It made me very ill, and it's with thanks to charities like this one that my operation was a complete success and I can carry on with my life even healthier than I was before.

I bought Paul a couple of Oxfam Unwrapped gifts for his Christmas present, and I highly recommend anyone looking for a gift to do the same. Paul was thrilled with his gift of school dinners for 200 children, and a "market trader makeover", which involves Oxfam teaching farmers how to form co-operatives to get a fair price for their food, and give them regular transport to markets.

Or, you can now donate to charities through The Krafty Lady! We have  number of charity sales coming up - some of them will be for silly things we've found in the cupboard, others are for fab wholesale lots of items we found in the shop - and it's all for a good cause. All of our charity sales are on auction, and I've been trying to pick charities that mean something to us, so please, PLEASE bid generously - we are giving a massive 70% MINIMUM donation to charities, plus our own personal donation on top of that! I think eBaying for charity is a fantastic idea, and we'll be continuing it all year round (there's a possibility we'll be listing new charity auctions every Friday... but I'll keep you posted) - it's a great way to get rid rid of some of your old stuff, too, so why not have a clear out and register with eBay and MissionFish to sell for charity on eBay? I'm bundling some of my old clothes up (I have enough), and starting them at a low, low price, so please get bidding and do your bit to give a little to charity this year!

Just use the left hand search bar in the shop and click on "Charity Sales"...

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A Beginner's Guide to Ear Stretching...

Posted Jan-03-08 09:54:19 PST
Ever thought about stretching your ears? Here’s The Krafty Lady’s guide to how to do it safely (almost!) painlessly… Don’t forget that these are just basic tips - if you’re seriously thinking about it you should go to your local piercing expert who can take a look and give you advice based on your specific requirements - some piercing experts also stretch ears, so it’s worth finding out how much it will be for a professional job. And it’s almost always best to go to an expert if you’re thinking of stretching anything other than your ear lobes!

  • Firstly, you’ll need to have a piercing in the first place. NEVER begin stretching your ears until the holes are completely healed up - it can be best to wait three times as long as it takes to heal before you even think about buying your first stretcher. It allows the skin to heal and strengthen before becoming traumatized by stretching, and will hurt a lot less!
  •  Okay, so you’ve had your piercings a while and you go out to get your new stretchers. A normal piercing hole is 1.6mm in width - this can vary slightly, and it’ll be worth finding out from whoever pierced you before you buy your first stretcher.
  • A taper is probably the easiest and most comfortable way to stretch your ears. You’ll need to know the measurements of the widest and narrowest part before you buy it, and as a beginner it’s best to go for stainless steel tapers as they do not absorb bacteria and infections. Most people tend to start stretching up to 2mm, so start with a taper that is 1.6mm at the narrowest end and 2mm at the widest point.
  • Don’t take it too quickly! Stretching should never be painful and it certainly shouldn’t bleed. Massaging your lobe or holding a warm damp cloth up to it before the process will help circulation and relax the tissue in the lobe. AND ALWAYS WASH YOUR HANDS WITH ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP IF YOU’RE STRETCHING A LOBE YOURSELF. 
  • Lubricant can be used on the taper - but it’s not recommended to put too much on, as it could slip out of your hands. Water itself can be used, or perhaps a mixture of tea tree oil and vitamin E. Push the taper into your ear as far as it will comfortably go, then push it in slightly further until you can feel your lobes warming up and tingling, but not painful - they may sting slightly. Then, use the rubber “o” rings provided to hold the taper into place. 
  • Well done! That’s the first step. Now it’s up to your body to decide how long it will be before you can stretch again. Everyone is different - it can take people a matter of weeks to stretch to 6mm, some people can take months. NEVER rush the process - you could end up damaging your ear for good. And never stretch too far too soon - it’ll hurt! You must always wait for your ear to heal properly before you begin stretching again.
  • Don’t forget that stretching to 8mm or over could mean risk of damage to your ears if it is not done properly, and 20mm or over and there’s no going back! So be sure it’s what you want to do before going ahead with a larger stretcher. But it IS different for everyone.
  • After stretching your ear will probably be slightly inflamed and may sting a little, but as I said before - THERE SHOULD BE NO BLOOD. If your ear does bleed, it means that you have done some tissue damage and it’s best to take the taper out and to let the ear heal completely before you begin stretching again.
  • It’s really important that you keep your ear clean. Dust and skin cells build up in the enlarged hole and create a cheesey discharge (lovely!), so clean your ear with a mild saline (salt water) solution or antibacterial soap - unfragranced soap is even better because it won’t cause any irritation. Do this once or twice a day. Turn your taper gently to prevent it sticking and to clean around the inside of the hole. And always wash your hands before doing so! 
Congratulations! You’ve done your first stretching - easily, cleanly and almost pain-free! Now you can go and have some fun choosing your first lot of funky stretchers - there are loads available on the market so have fun!
If you need any more information please don’t hesitate to drop us an email, but to ensure you get accurate advice go and see your local piercing specialist who’ll be happy to help out! And don’t forget we sell all kinds of stretchers, so check out www.thekraftylady.co.uk for some ideas of what you can wear once your stretchers are fully healed.
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Christmas at The Krafty Lady

Posted Dec-11-07 03:26:53 PST

Hello again!

We hope you're all enjoying the Festive Season so far and managed to get all of your shopping done without getting too caught up in all the crowds! It's been really busy here at The Krafty Lady HQ, and we're doing our best to keep up with all of the orders that have been flooding in - so thanks to everybody who's popped by the shop so far!

I've been busy creating some new Promo Videos which can be found on YouTube, and various other places on the web. They still need a bit of work, but for a days work on some free software they're not all bad! Check them out if you get a chance.

We've also set up Fan Pages on Facebook - just search for "The Krafty Lady" from your Facebook account, and we should be right there! ;-D

We've also made a few changes in the shop - like Immediate Payment on Buy It Nows. We KNOW this change has been really awkward for some people, but we're hoping that it'll cut down our non-paying bidders so your good selves will have a chance to buy the items when you want them - not after they've been relisted! We'll accept Postal Orders into the New Year, but after it's PayPal only, however you can still make a one-time payment through PayPal, with your credit or debit card, even if you don't have  PayPal account, so fear not! We're trying to make buying a more pleasant experience so that you get your item as quickly as possible.

And Finally (for now, at least!), we'd like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everybody who's supported us this year. It hasn't gone un-noticed, and we really appreciate all of the kind comments and emails we've been sent - thank you so much. Without you none of this would be possible, and we won't forget that!

We hope that all of our customers, and eBayers who haven't found us yet!, have a fantastic Christmas and New Year - all the best for 2008, and we'll be back then with more news and funky items, so see you then!

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