Clearing out...

I'm clearing out my very large surplus of beads! Its time to freshen up my bead boxes and I want some of these beads to have love in another home..


My destash shop has reopened again, lots of vintage beads and findings to be had :)

English Button Co. - Bead Destash

I hope you find something you love.

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Getting organised...

I do like organising myself, I am naturally a neat person (and maybe some people would call me a clean freak...), and this extends to my jewellery stash too!


I bought some new bead boxes last week and spent a happy afternoon filling them up with beads and metals in a neat way. Its a bit sad but its nice to have them all sorted by colour! Hopefully I'll be more productive now that i can find my beads more easily, rather than having to sort through piles of ziplock bags and jam jars full of beads..


The extra geekiness comings from the fact that the boxes have tarnish inhibiting dividers in them, so my brass and silver stays sparkly!


xx

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new blue things

I've been eagerly awaiting these beads, they are both very special and both my favourite kind of vintage beads.

These are vintage rough cuts or English cut beads, they are rare and very old, I would say probably 1950s. Each of the beads is hand cut so every bead and facet is different from the rest. It also gives the beads a beautiful chippy rustic look that I love.

The crisp blue works so well with brass so I put them together (straight away, I couldn't wait!) with this lovely golden chunky brass chain. The Capri bracelet is one of a kind and in my Etsy shop.


The second lot of beads are these dimpled textured beads that you may have seen in my shop before in different colours.


This time I have found them in a glorious deep midnight blue colour. As yet I'm not sure what to do with them but I'll keep you posted! I have just two of these beads so whatever I do make will be one of a kind or limited edition. They will also form part of my new Autumn collection.

If you are a newsletter subscriber stay tuned for a special offer on my Autumn collection, if you haven't subscribed already you can do so at the top right of this page :)

xx

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First try..

First ring, originally uploaded by lazygiraffe.

I made my first ring this week!
I have been wanting to make rings for the shop and I couldn't wait to try them out once I got my ring mandrel. This one is from a tutorial on MacFarland Designs blog (where she also has lots of other tutorials, I am trying out earwires next) for a simple rosette ring.

This was also spurred on by the loss of one of my rings down the floorboards the other day (I am cursing the landlords inability to lay them without 1cm gaps).

Its good for a first go, the wire wraps could be neater and the back is a little warped, but I love it all the same! I did this using 24g silver plated wire, not brave enough to use the expensive sterling wire yet ;)

I am hoping to introduce some simple beaded wire wrap rings to the shop, made with vintage beads and different kinds of wire. I think copper would be lovely.

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Crafting 365 - day one!

Today I have started Crafting 365 - a Flickr group dedicated to everyday craftyness. I love to take pictures, particularly of what I am doing and I love to log the everyday.

I have started my first day with my new supplies, I am getting stuck into the autumn and winter seasons and I have lots of ideas in my head about what I want to do. Autumn is my favourite time of year.

You can follow my progress in the Crafting 365 group, or on my Flickr page.

I hope I can make the year interesting!

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Sweeties

Anyone who knows me knows that I love sweets and anything sweet, which is probably why I like beads and jewellery making, as so many beads look a lot like sweets!

These new cherry red beads were no exception, they are so glossy and such a striking shade of red, they look just like bubblegum. I couldn’t wait to use them and I found some lovely frosty green flat discs to make them into a lovely bracelet – not a classic colour to match with red but when I put them together with some sterling silver the combination was so summery, the green lifts the red so nicely.

I can see this bracelet looking just lovely with a floaty summer dress (or if all else fails weather wise, this would look lovely with a nice black jumper too!).

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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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