I’ve a guest post on the Handmade in Europe blog today talking about ways you can use website tools to make sure you get the perfect handmade gift this valentines day.

The Hearts of Glass January sale kicked off today with some amazing clearance prices on my range of Swarovski Crystallized Elements Pendants . There is limited stock of all designs remaining, and all stock must go.

Full details of this special offer and other January Specials will be listed on the Hearts of Glass Facebook Page , so sign up now to stay informed about this and other special offers.

I’m offering free postage on all PayPal orders worth over £25 this Christmas. Everyone is feeling the pinch this Christmas, and every little helps when it comes to present shopping this year. To help my customers out, I’m offering free postage to any customer that places an order worth £25 or more makes the payment using PayPal.

I hope you’ll join me today in remembering the members of our Armed Forces on Armistice Day.

I’ve had a lot of contact with members of the armed force, both socially and through work roles I’ve held in the past, and I’ve got nothing but respect for those that are willing to risk their lives for the protection of others. Something I wish I had the strength of character to do myself.

On this day that is known for remembering those that did not return home, I hope you will also take the time to remember those that did return but came home injured either physically or mentally. Serving in the armed forces can expose you to dangers both physical and psychological and often the families and loved ones of our servicemen and women pay as high a price as those that serve.

If you haven’t had a chance to buy a Poppy yet this year there are two wonderful charities that I have a great deal of respect for that you can donate to online.

The Royal British Legion – Under the motto “Put on a poppy”, their 90th Poppy Appeal highlights the need to support the Afghan generation of Armed Forces wounded and bereaved – now and for the rest of their lives.

Erskine – Founded in 1916, Erskine has provided nursing and medical care for former members of our Armed Forces through two world wars and the more recent conflicts and peace keeping initiatives of the twentieth and twenty first centuries. Re-building shattered lives, restoring dignity and providing first class care to ex-Service men and women both young and old have been the cornerstones on which Erskine has built an unrivalled reputation.

This is the second of my “in use” photos of the week. This one features the Dark Amethyst Large Murano Heart Pendant. I think this colour is probably my wife’s favourite colour and it’s certainly up there as one of my best sellers.

The Full range in this colour consists of the Large Dark Amethyst Murano Heart Pendant (£41.99) and my Dark Amethyst Murano Heart Earrings (£19.99). I also make the Small Dark Amethyst Murano Heart Pendant (£25.99) that sits nicely on a chain for those of you that prefer to make slightly less of a statement with your jewellery.

This picture was taken by Erin Hardee and features Sophie Webb Wearing my Large Dark Amethyst Murano Heart Pendant being worn at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

There’s still more pictures to come, so keep an eye on the site this week.

My Red Murano Glass has been getting a lot of interest over the last few days, with a lot of traffic on Etsy and now it’s been featured in a brand new Jewels of Etsypreneurs Etsy Treasury.

The Large Red Murano Set (£59.99) consists of the Large Red Murano Heart Pendant on a Black Satin Cord (£41.99) and my Red Murano Heart Earrings (£19.99). I also make the Small Red Murano Heart Pendant (£25.99) that sits nicely on a chain for those of you that prefer to make slightly less of a statement with your jewellery.

To celebrate I thought I’d share one of the great pictures Erin Hardee took of Sophie Webb Wearing my Red Murano Heart set being worn at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.

There are a few more pictures of hers that I want to post up, so keep an eye on the site this week.

The first of my bracelet charms are now up on the website. There’s more to come, don’t worry :-) These great little charms are only £1.99 and like the Murano Charms, can easily be added onto an existing bracelet or necklace to add a splash of colour.

I’ve lost several members of my family to cancer over the years, so when I get a chance to do my bit, I try to help out. When you wear it pink, you really are part of the cure. The money you raise funds some of the world’s most innovative and promising breast cancer research projects.

In honour of Wear it Pink Day, Hearts of Glass is offering a coupon that gives 25% off all of my pink jewellery through my Artfire shop. In addition, I will be donating 10% of any profits from pink items to Breast Cancer Research.

Coupon Code: THINKPINK

Coupon is valid until 1st November 2010.

Please feel free to pass this coupon on to friends or family.

Looks like the rise in the self representing artisan is is starting to get noticed. I can’t help feeling that a lot of this is going to fall flat unless we can start handing the skills we are learning (which I’m very sure are different from the skills that our ancestors learned, different tools, more marketing slanted, knowledge of applying for funding etc…) on to the next generation.

Have any of you considered taking on an apprentice?

Did you manage to do an apprenticeship in your craft?

Are you part of a circle of crafters that share information, skills and advice?

I can see things starting to come together now, with more craft groups forming and people being able to share information and ideas. The bigest thing I still notice about “craft” is that it’s so very disparate and exists in pockets with very little crossover. I could understand it if these pockets were skill dependant, but they are very much social circle dependant.

Having run the Craft Fairs in Edinburgh Facebook Group for a couple of years now it still amazes me how many completely disparate groups of crafters are out there in Edinburgh alone. I’m still stumbling accross multiple new organisers of craft fairs every year. When I say new, I mean neither the crafters I know or myself have heard of them, not the fact that they have just started. Most of them have been running fairs for years.

I strongly reccomend that anyone who is involved in craft makes an effort to socialise with other crafters, both at fairs and outside it. There’s so much information and support out there that you will never hear about unless you speak to other crafters and start crossing into those other pockets.

Without that crossover of ideas, passion and skills Scottish crafters will continue to reinvent the wheel and fail to reach the hights of what is possible. If you are edinburgh based I recommend you consider some of the existing groups like Craft Reactor or Granny Green’s Big Night Out elsewhere maybe look for things like a local Craft Mafia or just hunt about online.

Image: federico stevanin / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’m giving away this stunning Rubino Red Murano Glass Star Clip On Bracelet Charm worth £12.99 ($19.99) to one of my facebook fans this Wednesday (27th October).

This is the first of these clip on charms I’ve ever made, so you’ll be the first ever owner of this brand new addition to my range.

To be in with a chance of wining all you need to do is go to my page and “Share” (by clicking the “Share” Button right down the bottom of the page on the left hand side) or “Suggest” (click the “Suggest to friends” text under the logo on the left) the Hearts of Glass Facebook Page to your friends and then post a comment on this facebook post to say you’ve shared.

I’m afraid there’s no other way to see if you have spread the word, so make sure you remember to post the comment on the facebook post. I’ll randomly select one of the commenters on Wednesday night to receive this wonderful first of a kind charm.