Jewellery Catch-Up

Phew! So, North Somerset Arts Week is over for another two years. I don't know how long it's going to take for me to recover - I'm SO tired. Tired but very happy. We had 400 visitors through the door (and trampling on Sarah's cream carpet) and they were all very complimentary and lots of them purchased from us which was fantastic considering how much choice there was - over 100 venues!

It's an age since I showed you any jewellery - some that was made has already sold - and lots of it I didn't get time to photograph. But, there's still plenty for you to see:

I've made quite a lot of this type of set, using lampwork beads from different artisans. Both of these feature beads by Tania Grey of Tan, Of Course. They are threaded onto leather with Sterling Silver beads and all the fittings are Sterling.
Continuing with lampwork, these wonderful etched beads are by Suzy Hannabuss of Moonlight Beads - aren't they great? I've teamed them with lots of Sterling Silver, including my favourite mirror ball beads, so this set has great twinkle.
I love this design so much, I've made it with three different coloured beads. The main part is made with top-drilled ivory pearls which give this lovely patten and then coloured pearls to add a zing.
One of my favourite stones - Picasso Jasper. I've put Sterling silver between the rondelles in this one to lighten it... I know from experience just how heavy these necklaces can be!
Another favourite - Spiderweb Agate - here coupled with Black Onyx and Sterling Silver.
And this is Feldspar - which is a new stone to me. I really like the veining on it though, so I think I'll be using it again. Here I've used it with Black Onyx and some lovely Sterling Silver rectangles to echo the shape of the feldspar.
And last, but not least, this marriage of turquoise and silver, which is a favourite combination. I've used both chips and rondelles here with Sterling leaves at the front of the necklace and textured tubes at the back. It comes with a choice of earrings because I couldn't make up my mind...

So, that's a quick selection of what I've been up to. I'll be back with some more soon.

Take care, all.

Much love.
xx

Thinking Summer!

A local shop has asked to see some colourful summery sets - so I've been sat here wearing a vest, T-shirt, sweatshirt, thick cardigan, ski socks and my thickest trousers with the halogen heater about three inches away from me, looking out at the snow and trying to think of warm, summer days. Boy, it was hard!!

Here's the results:

These are mainly shell with glass spacers. I do like the beads with the holes - it's a challenge to find something that fits exactly.

These wiggly beads are an old favourite - and give a more delicate look. The coloured beads are shell.


More shell here with some Mother of Pearl.

And lastly a real zinger! The small beads are shell and the large nuggets are dyed agate. I got them at the Chepstow show last Sunday.

These next two use beads that I bought at the NEC on Monday - and aren't part of the summer range!

This one uses Spider Web Agate which I love. The black beads are Onyx and I've used lots of Sterling Silver which sets up a good contrast.

The name is from Lake Tawakoni State Park in Texas where a communal spiders' web measured 200 yards (180 m) across. Entomologists believe it may be the result of social cobweb spiders or of spiders building webs to spread out from one another.

I, for one, definitely won't be visiting there any time soon!

And this one features one of my all-time favourite stones - Picasso Jasper. These flat cylinders are my new favourite shape - so you'll be seeing more of those in various stones.

This last one belongs to a friend who asked me to repair it. Have a guess how old it is?


Well, it has been in her family for over 100 years having been bought back from Africa. It's so modern looking isn't it?

We did pretty well at Clerical Medical on Wednesday and it was great to get back into selling-mode. We have, today, secured another office selling venue - and this is a BIG one in Bristol. We're really chuffed.

Martha got her snow days - no school yesterday or today. Tom was also off. We didn't get too much snow and what we had mostly melted away quickly. We are kept just that little bit warmer by the Bristol Channel. It's always a degree or two higher here than even a couple of miles inland.

Not sure what we're up to this weekend - I think the forecast is for it to be very cold, so maybe we'll just stay in and snuggle up on the sofa. Sounds like a plan to me.

Hope you haven't been too badly affected by the snow.

Have a great weekend and keep warm.

Much love.
xx

Two whole weeks have flown by! I really don't know where the time goes to.

So, what's new? The workspace doesn't look a lot different to the photo in the last entry, except that the walls have dried out and we've filled the holes etc that needed attention on the other walls. Oh, and we've taken up the tiles from the floor. Next is sanding down the filler and then - maybe - we'll get to the emulsion! Everything always takes so much longer than you think doesn't it?

Mum came to stay the week before last, which was lovely. We made a whole heap of jewellery together and she went off with some to finish off which I should get back on Wednesday. We work well together and, thankfully, have similar taste.

Here's a few bits from the heap!

Firstly, this exciting set:


The focal is Murano glass from the island of Murano just off Venice. I went to Venice for the first time a couple of years ago and just adored it. Would love to go again. Anyway, in the set, I have echoed the colours in the focal with black onyx, gold vermeil and sterling/gold vermeil tubes. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

This one features Spiderweb Agate - isn't it just fab?! There's also some black onyx in there too. This had hardly been finished before my mate, Kathy saw it and put her name on it. I was rather hoping to keep it for myself! Hey ho!

This one features a gorgeous bead by another mate, Julie Fountain of Lush Lampwork. I know Julie is a big fan of Smoky Quartz and so that came to mind when I was thinking about what to do with this one. I think it goes really well with the turquoise coloured lampwork, don't you?

This is a really fun necklace - one that Mum helped to string. I've called it 'What Colourful Teeth You Have, Grandma' because the beads reminded me of teeth and from there my mind went straight to Little Red Riding Hood. Sometimes I worry about the wiring in my brain...

And, with an eye on the calendar, I've started to make a few festive items. This shaggy loop bracelet with its gold jumprings and red and green beads just makes me want to sing a few carols and put up some tinsel.

Mind you, I might be best advised to do it now as I know that I'm going to be mega-busy in the run-up to Christmas and might not have the time for festive singing and tinsel decorating when it gets nearer the time!

This last week seems to have been mainly taken up with admin. Hardly any jewellery made at all. I have been putting together an application to take part in North Somerset Arts Week. This meant deciding on a venue, getting together photographs for the brochure, writing blurbs and directions, and it all seemed to take ages. BUT, it has gone off in the post this morning, so fingers crossed we'll get in. Here's the photograph that has been sent off to respresent mine and Sarah's jewellery... must admit to being rather proud of it.


We've got a busy week coming up: a ladies' evening at Nailsea Rugby Club on Wednesday, back to Axa on Friday and Churchill Craft Fair on Saturday. Should be good. Good job Mum and I got such a lot done!

I hope you are managing to get out and enjoy this fabulous Indian summer we're having. A couple of good friends dropped in for lunch today on their way to Cornwall and it was so lovely to be able to eat outside. We seemed to wait all summer for a chance to enjoy our new garden furniture, so I'm really pleased that we got to use it before it gets too cold.

Right, take care all and I'll try and catch you up with happenings next weekend.

Much love to all. xx