Late spring..

The daffodils are now gone from the garden and it was looking a little bit bleak for a while but now we have tulips!

I picked some gorgeous pink and red blooms from the garden today and they are just lovely, they've given me some inspiration for some earrings in the same colour too.

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In Progress and Finished!

I don't normally photograph things in progress, its normally something that doesn't really cross my mind but I thought I would for the Passionfruit bracelet I just made.

I love making necklaces and bracelets but they can be a bit time consuming due to having to wire wrap each bead on to silver but the finish is always worth it- as it looks so intricate and the wire wrap is very secure. I started with bright sterling silver and the lovely yellow melon beads and some rounds of natural amethyst.

Then I oxidized the bracelet in liver of sulphur (and no I promise I didn't pour it down the sink making the bathroom smell for the rest of the evening, no no no, ok I did!) and attached an already oxidized chain to fit the clasp.

I am really pleased with how the beads match the lovely amethyst and the lovely assymetric affect it has.

Ta da!

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New ideas and new earrings.

I came across these gorgeous yellowy orange melon beads and I just HAD to buy them, I’ve been looking for something a bit different for my shop and these were just the ticket. They are quite big and very bold. I’ve made some ‘Passionfruit Earrings’ with them and I think they match really well with the gorgeous natural amethyst I have used – perfect combination although something I didn’t think of til I saw the beads sitting together in my bead box!

I’m also working on a matching bracelet, slightly asymmetric, with a line of the yellow beads and a line of the natural amethyst – all on oxidized silver. I’ve been busy having a social life (for a change!) for the last couple of days so I’ve been itching to get back to my beads and finish of the bracelet. So check back soon!

I’ve also spotted those gorgeous melon beads in a lovely shade of Turquoise, and they are winging their way to me too, at the moment I think they would look lovely with a milky white bead.

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Baking success and feline antics!

A bit of a mixed last couple of days...

Firstly, I finally succeeded to make lemon drizzle cake! Normally it turns out a bit of a sunken mess, but this time it rose perfectly, was light and the topping nice and sweet and tangy and crunchy. :)

I used this recipe (it doesn't come out as grey brown looking as that picture though, its very much golden and a lovely lemony colour inside).

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4942/lemon-drizzle-cake

It was gorgeous with a bit of ice cream.

We've also had a bit of cat drama in our household! We cooked a lovely roast chicken yesterday too, and kept the rest in the fridge to eat today. Got home from work this evening to find the fridge door broken into and a very greasy and guilty looking cat. She has had to be washed with pet shampoo as she had a greasy head, so that was her punishment. Look at the guilt:


She's in the dog/cathouse this evening!

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We Make London

Something I have been meaning to write about for a while.

I am attending the We Make London craft fair on the 22nd June 2008 at Dragon Hall, Covent Garden, along with over 25 other designers also based on Etsy.

We Make is celebrating UK handmade designs and designers, offering something totally unique from same-y high street products. There will be everything from jewellery to soap, to clothing to prints. Take a look in the We Make Etsy shop for a sneak peek.

I am really looking forward to selling at my first craft fair and the response has been great so I hope there will be an excellent turn out on the day! It will be a lovely way to meet my customers and get feedback on my work and also to meet the other designers who are based on Etsy.

There will be product demonstrations on the day and also opportunities to commission work with the sellers there that day.

I will also be sharing a stall with fellow Etsian janicej - who is an extremely talented illustrator, please have a look in her shop!




Event Details:

Date: Sunday 22nd June 2008
Time: 10.00am – 17.00pm
Where: Dragon Hall, 17 Stukeley Street, London, WC2B 5LT
Entrance: £1.00
Nearest tube: Holborn, Covent Garden

We hope to see you there!

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Busy bee..

I’ve been working very hard lately and my shop is looking really well stocked up and lovely!

I am really enjoying using sterling silver now instead of plated and I think it shows in the quality of the new items I have. Earrings pictured above are sterling silver with lovely rose quartz and the deepest blue sapphire coloured flower beads.

I have also added a necklace to match my Fireflies earrings – using the very fluorescent lemon jade that I have. It is extremely striking:

I have also been a bit more than addicted to oxidizing silver, so more items to come that have been hand oxidized by me!

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oxidizing silver - liver of sulphur

I previously tried to oxidize using the egg method, which was fairly successful but a bit time consuming and fiddly.



So I bought some Liver of Sulphur to have another go, the 'proper' way.

I am pleased to say that although it was very smelly it took about 5 minutes, instead of a few hours, and the results were great.



Items before:























Mix about 5 drops of liver of sulphur into a medium sized jam jar and mix well. Drop the pieces in and keep an eye on them til they get to the patina you'd like. They will drop to the bottom of the jar.



















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I have a feeling I will be oxidizing more and more in the future. I love the look it gives.

I did this in the bathroom with the window open but it can be very very stinky so its probably best to do it in the garden. Also make sure you pour the water down an outside drain if you can, because otherwise the smell lingers in the sink drain for days and days.

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Catch up blog!

I've been busy filling up my shop this week and playing around with snazzy cameras.. so this is a pictorial catch up!

Some new items:

Aqua - sterling silver earrings made with gorgeous sea blue trumpet beads

Spring Snow - milky white briolettes hung from sterling silver.

I had a go on an SLR camera the other day, sadly not mine to keep though, and i was so impressed with the pictures I might have to start saving up.

If you scroll down to a couple of entries ago there is a picture of some blossom in my garden, using my usual camera. Now look how it turned out using this SLR...

Amazing, the colours are so lovely, I might frame this.

I also got a Treasury this week and filled it with delicate and airy things to match the spring weather we've been having (at last!).


Hopefully i will be back soon with more new items! :)

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