Con-fused Arts

Fitnut, Fit NUTS!

2012-02-23T05:07:00.000-08:00

This is more of a personal post as opposed to Con-fused Arts but at the end of this, I should be fitter and more energetic which can only benefit Con-fused Arts!! This month I signed up to a 12wk Fitnut Charity Challenge. At the beginning, you get an assessment which checks your weight, height, blood pressure, waist measurement, body composition, strength , flexibility and aerobic capacity. To be honest, I wasn't actually TOO surprised with the results. Flexibility, BMI and strength - fine, body composition could be improved a bit, aerobic capacity - abyssmal - back of the class, in fact go and stand outside the headmaster's office!

That's the bad bit, good bit is that apparently the aerobic capacity is one of the easier bits to improve on! So far this week, I have been marching on the outdoor steps like a lunatic, taking the stairs and not the lift! Still thinking of cake though! Oh and apparently I will get a pesonalised exercise plan via e-mail in the next few days so I am interested to see what they have in store for me. My young daughter may well come in handy as a weight!

Basically, this is a way of me passing on any useful tips that I discover along the way and also as I have now told you about it, there is NO backing out!! ha ha!

2012-02-09T00:31:00.000-08:00

Just like Christmas cards that we can re-cycle or pass on to others, we can also re-cycle used stamps that we receive on our mail. Great if you already do this, but not everyone is aware of the good we can do.

It woudl just take a few minutes to cut out the stamps from envelopes and packages (I actually look forward to the therapeutic activity of neatly cutting round stamps), store them and after you have collected a few, they can be sent to various charities.

It obviously depends where your heart lies but there are animal charities such as, Hearing Dogs are taking used stamps CLICK HERE. Other animal charities include RNIB and RSPB Save the Albatross.

Medical charities include Brittle Bone Society and Leukaemia Care. All these charities will ask you to separate UK stamps and foreign stamps and send them separately. As I have a lot more UK stamps, I send those ones away more often and then wait longer until I gather up enough foreign stamps to make it worthwhile sending!

Happy neat cutting (ha ha maybe I need help!)

Pam

New Years Resolutions - YES OR NO?

2012-01-08T03:46:00.000-08:00

Hi,
Firstly, I really want to wish everyone a Happy New Year and not to sound too corny but I urge everyone to grab 2012 like never before and do something with it!

I am sure everyone has differing opinions on New Years resolutions but for a large number of others they can bring a certain stress! Stressing about eating the right food, that you promised the world you would embark on! Stressing about not getting to the gym 3-4 times a week, not quite giving up the cigarettes, the list goes on! To be honest, if I did smoke and wanted to stop, I wouldn't keep endangering my health JUST so I could stop on 1st January!

On the other hand, its a good way to give yourself a kick up the backside and look at what you can change or improve in your life! Personally, I have decided on just a few small things to work on like 1) drinking more water - that I CAN do! No. 2) Accessorising - making more of an effort when getting dressed to go out. (sometimes it is easy to get swapped down in running a house, job, toddler and husband and we know how much work the latter is!) and no.3 is something I am sure we are ALL guilty of and that is overworking and tiring ourselves out. To be the best person I can, I know I need be rested, happy and content.

Whether it is drinking more water, learning a new skill, chilling out more or just being more appreciative, have you decided to change anything from now onwards?

Fairer FOOD!

2011-12-20T01:57:00.000-08:00

20th Dec - Wow! Well Christmas is drawing near, and food is on mind! As well as buying Fair Trade decorations, cards, gifts we can also get Fair Trade food and ingredients to cook or bake yummy food for Christmas. Even one or two Fair Trade ingredients is a great start!

We just had Mulled White Wine with some Fair Trade ingredients. TOASTY AND SPICY!! Shortbread with FairTrade sugar and Fair Trade cinnamon or spices! Or try an alternative to Christmas pudding - Frozen Christmas Pudding ! Even if you can't see specific fair Trade recipes that you like, you can just substitute even one ingredient with a Fair Trade one!

Whatever we do, LET'S MAKE IT A FAIRER CHRISTMAS!

Cheers,
Pam

MORE IDEAS FOR A FAIRER CHRISTMAS

2011-12-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

As well as filling shoeboxes with delightful goodies for a shoebox appeal, there are loads of ways of helping those less fortunate than ourselves! I just did one Google search and found some great events.

Crisis UK is a national charity for single homeless people, you can donate or volunteer this Christmas! Just click here

Shelter Scotland show us many ways in which we can help this Christmas time from "festifying your FaceBook" to having a carol service!

Christian Aid shows us how we can help transform the lives of some of the world's poorest families and help lift them out of poverty!

These are just a few ideas I found online and these only took 30 seconds to find. So if whether you have tins of food, a spare hour or a spare fiver, there are so many ways you can help those less fortunate!

GREAT SIMPLE IDEAS FOR A FAIRER CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
I just wanted to share some ideas to help us all have a Fairer Christmas this year and you may even save some money into the bargain!!

Not sure how many people have heard of Shoebox Appeals but they are a great way to help people in need particularly at Christmas time. They don't cost much to fill but provide children and adults alike with much needed basics.

There are many churches who have shoebox appeals at Christmas but there are also organisations such as Samaritans Purse who give lots of information about making up shoeboxes, what to put in them and where to drop them when done!

Did you know.....?

2011-10-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

What do THESE beads have in common with THIS football??

The word is Jabulani!! Did you know ----Jabulani means "rejoice" or "celebrate" in Zulu and it is the name used for these gorgeous vibrant handmade beads. This distinctive beadwork is a trademark of South Africa's proud heritage. It was ALSO the name given to the 2010 FIFA match ball.

Con-fused Arts have one funky bracelet for sale that uses these gorgeous Fair Trade handmade beads. Check out www.facebook.com/ConfusedArt for so many individual Fair Trade pieces of jewellery.

CLAN (the small tasks add up)

2011-07-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

Well just wanted to let you know about my experience at CLAN Cancer Support centre last Friday. I started off that day feeling a little bit sorry for myself, had a bit of a cold and felt tired. I even thought it amusing that I finally had a few hours to myself (child-free) and yet I had volunteered my "services" to CLAN Cancer Support Centre. I was very glad I did and felt a lot better when I left the place!

A couple of months ago, the first time I was inside the CLAN building, I fell in love with it! An ex-church building that was finally being used for a constructive purpose! When I saw Daybreak advertising Donate a Day, CLAN instantly popped into my mind and I e-mailed them straight away. When I arrived at CLAN, I was welcomed with warm faces and smiles, a feeling of peace and calmness (even though some of these people were battling cancer). The time flew by as I unstuck labels, laminated, guillotined, stuck, more sticking, writing ON stickers, assembled cards & envelopes in plastic. All in all, nothing took great skill but these little things meant members of staff could keep focussed on other tasks.

What you may think is not very much in terms of help may be a godsend to someone else who just can't seem to get to that small task. As you may know small tasks build up and after a while can seem unsurpassable. I challenge us all, if we get the chance, to give an hour , two hours to a charity. I was touched by how grateful CLAN were to my tiny little giving of time.

Pam
Con-fused Arts

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY

2011-06-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

I am always on the lookout for different tips on marketing and social media marketing. Sarah from Activ WebDesign give me an interesting fact/tip during the week and thought I would share it with you all.

Studies conducted by online research analysts have shown that the best days to perform your e-mail marketing is Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On Mondays, everyone is recovering from a hectic weekend. On Thursday and Friday, people are already too busy looking forward to the weekend. Best results were achieved when sending out e-mails between 2-3pm on a Wednesday.

Feel free to leave a tip or comment on something that has worked for you :)

Over and out!
Pam

A wonderful start!

2011-06-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Hi ,
Well I just wanted to briefly update you on another Fashion Show I did last Sunday (12th June). In contrast to the last Fashion Show at RGU University, Aberdeen, this one was not so big however it was no less eye-catching. In fact, I will be bold here and say that the clothes at the Asian Fashion Show were more exquisite, even more desirable and unique. There were outfits for special occassions and bridal wear, all in sumptious materials and colours. Unfortunately I do not have any photos yet of the outfits :(

As many of you may know, I have a passion for helping others less fortunate than myself (the whole raison-etre for Con-fused Arts) and this event was no exception! The Fashion Show was in aid of raising funds and awareness for Mashal Trust which was started up in April 2010. It was great to get some background information into why Mashal Trust was started up and what is planned for the future. Mashal Trust are very serious about educating those in need and particularly underprivileged servants' children. The pilot school which started in Lahore is called Mashraq School. You can find out more by clicking this link.

Fashion, Champagne, Music.......

2011-06-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

Con-fused Arts stall at RGU Wonderland Fashion Show

Alas, no the title is not a description of my everyday life - in fact far from it! But it WAS the description of the evening of Friday 27th May at RGU Wonderland Fashion Show. It was great to see so many fashionistas, poshed up for a great night out. Food was yummy, decadent canapes washed down with a drop of fizz. Music was provided by Kate Dunn and the Redunndants and Druminaboot (African Drumming Group). Both Kate Dunn and Magi of Druminaboot LOVED our Con-fused Arts jewellery and even bought separate pieces.

The clothes and models looked fabulous, even better the RGU Show's programme listed each model and which shop the clothes came from. Easy peasy! As always, I loved meeting new people and chatting about Fair Trade and what Con-fused Arts had to offer. We definitely listen to our customers and after talking to one customer who was very interested in African inspired jewellery, I came back and ordered several new Fair Trade pieces of jewellery, all HANDMADE in KENYA! Check out our Face Book page (http://tinyurl.com/3dyequn) and LIKE US for a sneaky peek of our new African Jewellery.

Thanks to everyone who made the evening very enjoyable and I look forward to the next event. Oh and well done to the students who raised over £9000 for the Archie Foundation! :)

Ramping it up!

2011-05-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Rojo Semillas Necklace - £15.00

Cordon Bracelet - £15.00

Well, I'm not sure how other people feel about Fair Trade Jewellery but we LOVE IT!! At Con-fused Arts, we believe that Fair Trade Jewellery is bold, bright and on trend! As well as, a love for helping those close to home and overseas, I personally love colours, different cultures and getting to know people. After taking some time off to enjoy the role of a new mum, I am ready to ramp up the presence of Con-fused Arts here in Aberdeen and all over UK.

Being a lover of writing lists, I indulged myself this week, thinking this would be the perfect occasion! One small step towards this, was designing more flyers, which has now been done and am just waiting on them from Vistaprint ! I am also very excited to be having a stall at the RGU Wonderland Fashion Show in aid of Archie Foundation, on 27th May, this is a real chance to show people that Fair Trade Jewellery is worthy of the catwalk. Next on the list is to revamp the appearance of our stall, to enhance our beautiful handmade jewellery!

Our Saturday!

2011-05-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

Although the rain did not stay away as I had hoped for, we still had a great afternoon out last Saturday. Walking through the International Market in Aberdeen, we were greeted with wonderful smells and gorgeous sights. I felt like a cartoon where I was floating along following the global aromas! I wasn't quite sure what happened in that short space of time but one minute I was happily confident that a £20 note would see me to the end of the stalls.

Not a chance, by the time I got to the end of the market I had an empty purse, some French tartiflette, Spanish Paella, French cherries, Mediterranean stuffed peppers and olives oh and an empty tray that was home to some sumptious Dutch pancakes and Nutella! But sure, if hubby doesn't see the empty wrapper, it's like I never had them in the first place, right?

Although all the food stalls got me salivating, one stall in particular llit my heart up - it was Zuri Design - FAIR TRADE Jewellery, handbags and accessories from Kenya. I was so excited to see so many gorgeous things in one place and all handmade and from Africa ( A continent I love). Within a few seconds I realised I sell Zuri Design products, at the minute we have a gorgeous necklace and bracelet which can be sort together or separately! The necklace is £10.50 and the bracelet is only £6.50!

A new conscious collection

2011-05-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to quickly raise the awareness of a new ethical collection from H&M called the Conscious Collection. I had a wee nosey at the ladies collection whilst in the shop recently and was pleasantly surprised by the couture feel of all the pieces - floaty light! There are also mens and kids clothes in this collection which are well worth a look!

Ann-Sofie Johansson, H&M Head of Design says “It’s not just about organic cotton any more, the possibilities for creating a complete fashion statement with eco smarter materials are huge now. By designing recurring Conscious Collections we have the opportunity to show in a variety of ways what’s possible using more sustainable fabrics.”

The clothes may not be Fair Trade and not all H&M items are made from sustainable materials BUT H&M are trying, they are aware of the implications of disposable fashion and are taking a step in the right direction! For those who shop on the high street, they may now pause for thought as they are made aware of the choices available to them without compromising on style!

2011-04-28T14:55:00.000-07:00

Great! Now you can see Con-fused Arts Fair Trade
Jewellery out and about in UK. The first two photos are of Kate Dunn and the Redunndants in Newcastle last Sunday. All the girl's jewellery comes from Con-fused Arts and you could own some too. Our jewellery looks great with many different outfits. See how versatile it is and how it can be worn!

Kate Dunn was very impressed with our jewellery and said today on FaceBook "The service was exceptional, the jewellery you chose for us was gorgeous and
arrived in perfect time for the event x"

Our Fair Trade Jewellery has also been used in photo shoots and fashion shows! You can catch us next at RGU Annual Fashion show, 7pm on 27th May at RGU Business School. Promises to be a great night! We will have a stall and our jewellery will also be modelled with clothes from high street stores in Bon Accord Centre for a SAFARI feel!

The early mornings were too much....

2011-04-21T03:53:00.000-07:00

Now that I have your attention, I just thought I would tell you about a great family day coming up on 21st May. It's a DOUBLE celebration at Lochwinnoch, not only is it the annual regatta at Castle Semple Rowing Club but it is also their 40th birthday!! Con-fused Arts are happy to be donating some gorgeous Fair Trade Jewellery for their raffle along with great prizes from others. All proceeds will go into the vital running of the club, buying equipment and expanding the club - this is ALL done by volunteers!

As to the title of this blog - well, I did once have my dabbling in the sport of rowing during my first year at undergrad uni but to be honest the early saturday mornings up in Belfast were not enticing enough. Oh for the less responsible days of youth, yes, I picked my bed over the rowing, freezing water, sore muscles, hauling boats in and out of the river. So, I take my hat off in admiration to the dedication of all those volunteers who run Castle Semple RC.

Fashion show

2011-04-19T07:17:00.000-07:00

Hi, well we are excited to be part of a very successful and high profile fashion event in the Grampian area of Scotland next month. Robert Gordon's University are holding their annual fashion show "Wonderland fashion Show 2011 " which helps raise money for the Archie Foundation www.archiefoundation.org.uk . The Archie Foundation makes a real difference to the lives of the children at Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital. We are pleased to be having a stall at this event on 27th May at 7pm at RGU Business School. It will be great to meet with people, have a chat and watch a great fashion show at the same time! Not bad going! It's great not only to get OUR name out there but to let people know more about Fair Trade Jewellery.

Better in Real Life

2011-04-15T05:10:00.000-07:00

I have had lots of people say to me in the last year, oh my goodness the Fair Trade jewellery is even more stunning than what it looks on the website. Even last week, Kate Dunn from Kate and the Redunndants she e-mailed saying "the jewellery arrived this morning and it looks even more stunning in real life"! Gosh, when we do stalls and exhibitions, our tables are basically cleaned out by the time we are finished! One way of combatting this is by getting photos of real ladies wearing our Fair Trade jewellery for website, this way you can see how trendy, versatile and unique our jewellery is. Well, roll on the 24th April, when Kate and the Redunndants will be wearing our jewellery during the area finals of Live and Unsigned UK 2011 in Newcastle! Best of luck guys!

Music in Style

2011-04-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

Well, this a wee bit of history for us!! The first ever blog for Con-fused Arts woohoo! We have lots of exciting things going on at the minute but in particular our Fair Trade jewellery has just arrived with Kate of Kate and the Redunndants. They are an "up and coming band" and are through to the area finals of Live and Unsigned UK which will be held in Newcastle on 24th April. It is so exciting to show off not only our gorgeous jewellery but our gorgeous FAIR TRADE jewellery. We are passionate about showing that Fair Trade is also fashion conscious and doesn't have to COST THE EARTH! No pun intended! hee hee.