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Showing posts from April, 2010

Folksy Friday - I've Gone Potty!

Yes, this week I've gone potty! I've always had a love for ceramics and admire how a lump of clay can be transformed into a beautiful piece of art. Here's my selection for this week's Folksy Friday Yarn Bowl ~ Caractacus Pots Flower Crochet Purse ~ Rebecca Keelor Ceramics WaterLily Dish ~ Prince Design UK Moss & Pewter Ring ~ Gimme That Thing (Chicita) Porcelain Magnets ~ Lauren Ceramics Star Trinket Plate ~ Sarah Designs All available on Folksy!

Something To Make You Smile

From my Flickr favourites :: Cats In Hats                                                    Interview! I'm featured in Narkey Markeys blog  today :D

Turritella Agate - Something A Bit Different

I recently made a pair of earrings using Turritella Agate nuggets and Sterling Silver wire. It's a really unusual stone (in my opinion!) and completely different to any other beads I've used in my jewellery. I Googled it and found out that it contains the silicified fossils of the Elimia Tenera snail and is commonly found in metamorphic rock. It's properties include reducing fatigue and strengthening eyesight, eliminating negativity, awakening inherent talents and attracting prosperity ~ sounds like the perfect stone! I bought my Turritella nuggets from Lima Beads .

You Can Never Have Enough Beads

♥ I love beads, they are almost as important to me as chocolate, and even though I already have.... err.... seven boxes of them (recently sorted by colour which believe me makes jewellery making a whole lot easier) I just can't resist "acquiring" more! You see, there was this lump of money burning a hole in my PayPal account so I've been browsing on Etsy and happily spending! Here's what I bought.......          Golden Cracked Agate Rondels, Copper Beadcaps and Purple Varicite Coins from Etsy shop   New York Bead Pistachio Whip glass rondels from BeadBead Dragon Vein Agate and Fire Agate from StormHoliday Seems to be a bit of an Agate theme going on! Now if only they could instantly transport themselves, a la Star Trek, to my studio (dining room table) it really would be a perfect world!

An Experiment In Wire

♥ Galaxy Pendulums ♥ I love playing around with wire and yesterday had a go at some wirewrapping. I used some blue goldstone beads I've had for a while, got out the copper wire and played! I didn't really plan this design it just kind of evolved.  The earrings were a bit fiddly in parts but that's all good practise for the future. I think next time I'll lose the spiral and maybe curl the end of the wire for a different look. I did think about bending the straight piece of wire over into a loop but then thought I'd probably ruin them so left them as they are! Next time I probably won't have the long straight piece of wire, I'll just make a loop at the top ~ in fact, next time they will be a completely different pair of earrings!    I oxidised them and cleaned them up with steel wool then gave them a quick polish but I didn't want them to be too shiny as I like the darker look with copper. I've called them Galaxy Pendulums as the blue goldstone

Commission #

Last week I received a commission from Kaz of  Cheeky Cherub Designs  for a pair of earrings and a pendant using Kaz's own beautiful Lampwork beads. Karen has bought several pairs of earrings from me recently and wanted a spiral design in Sterling Silver to go with her Lampwork lentils. They duly arrived in the post plus a pair of gorgeous green lentils just for me! This photo doesn't really do them justice ~ they are really gorgeous! Here's the end result I posted them to Kaz today and she is going to take them to the 2010 Flame Off this Friday and Saturday. Here's more of Kaz's handmade Lampwork beads. You can also see more of her work on her Flickr page here

Norwegian Jewels

I first came across Wenche's beautiful jewellery through  Lima Bead's  Design Gallery. She has a real eye for colour and bead combinations and uses her talent to produce stunning necklaces and bracelets from her home in Norway. Meet ......... Wenche Brennbakk My name is Wenche Brennbakk and I live with my two girls and my husband in a small city close to the Artic circle in the northern part of Norway. During the day I work full time as an engineer with environmental issues, but during my sparetime I love to work with my beads making jewellery, and I do it as often as I can. I have spent many late night hours creating new bracelets or necklaces, and it seems like I don't need to sleep when I do that! I really enjoy it!                        Carnelia                       Snakeskin                       What started your interest in jewellery making? I have always loved jewellery, and as a young girl I used to work in a jewellery store. I think my eyes have be

Folksy Friday Featured Seller

Today's Folksy Friday is slightly different ~ I've decided to feature the work of one Folksy shop which this week is .............. Millicent! Folksy shop Millicent is run by Janet Allinson from Lincolnshire and is named after her daughter Milly. Janet worked as a reporter for her local paper for 17 years before returning to her art roots. She got into recycling in 2006 (when her husband began hiding his shirts!) and regularly scours her local charity shops for interesting materials, particularly spots and stripes. Bag Tag Once her finds have been washed Janet is ready to start creating her bright and colourful paperweights, fridge magnets, tags, pencil cases, hangers and bookmarks. Each piece is unique and evolves in it's own way. It was her very cute mouse paperweights that made me stop and investigate her shop!  Retro Mouse Paperweight Folk Bird Hanger Blackboard Bookmark Fi-Fi Fridge Magnet Felt Cone Hanger Heavy Heart Paperweight For more very cute and wel