I have been busy behind the scenes making jewellery for my upcoming craft fairs and home parties.  You can see some of the items I have made in my Folksy shop.  Must dash got loads more to make, here is a pic of my latest bead set. I hope it hasn't been too wet and windy on your neck of the woods ..read more

I was thinking of making this post a summer catch up but we did so much I could be here until Christmas, especially considering the regularity with which I update this blog.... Suffice to say it consisted of lots of trips out, catching up with friends, eating lots of ice cream, a week in France and sun sun sun! I thought I would share a few of my recent makes with you: I made these early in the summer holidays, as you can see I was definitely feeling the summer vibe.  The bottom two beads are made using a beautiful mini-mo club selection.  These beads ended up being added to a bir ..read more

So, July has come and gone!  I must have blinked and missed it.  It was so hectic at school with theme week and the Jungle Book production.  However, the main event of the month was our first visit to the Larmer Tree Festival it was amazing.  We also camped for the first time, weren't we lucky with the weather!  We had a fantastic weekend of live music, great food and creativity  The grounds are beautiful with sculptures dotted around here and there. There was some yarn bombing going on.  The Larmer Tree taxi gave us a lift back to the car w ..read more

You may remember from a previous post that I had made a bracelet but it was too small, I was going to re-string it and did suggest that it might not remain a bracelet.  Well, it has become a very lovely necklace.  As you can see the hand woven beads remain and I have added some big hole beads over some seed beads which give the necklace some movement.  I really like this style of necklace, I made one similar for myself a while ago and I wear it a lot.  This is a lively colourful version which also has some hand woven beads.  I also made a pair of earrings to match t ..read more

My previous post was a brief one because I was dashing out to the 'studio' to make some beads.  My torch-time is limited due to work and family commitments being a drain on my energy reserves so any chance I get to get to the flame is precious.  Sometimes I find I have a clear idea of what I want to make in terms of colour and design and sometimes I have an end product in mind be it a necklace or bracelet.  Other times though I head out there hoping to be hit by a bolt of inspiration.  I bought a calendar  a couple of months ago to help to give me some inspiration when ..read more

One of my readers asked me whether I would show the blue and green spotted beads when I had etched them.  Yes, and here they are As you can see the etch gives a lovely matt finish.  The beads with the white centres look as though they are glowing. This is just a quick post as I have got the kiln warming ..read more

Introducing the latest additions to the household; Toffee Hobnob                                                                                         Cocoa They are beautiful little guinea pigs only six weeks old!  They are settling well into their new home and their new owners are delighted with them.  If you ever need an incentive to ..read more

Today I have the very rare pleasure of being home alone for a couple of hours so I thought I would take the opportunity to show what I have made using the green and black beads in my previous post.   The glass beads were calling out for some beaded beads so I dusted off my beading needle and raided my large stash of seed beads.  I had forgotten how much fun it is to make beaded beads.  The clasp is one of my favorites from Bijoux Beads.  Unfortuanately I am going to have to re-make this bracelet as it is a wee bit small, but it won't take me long.  It will be in ..read more

I thought I would share some pics of my latest beads, we haven't had any sunshine here today so the colours are a little dull. This is a nice bright spring-like set made with aqua and bright green.  These might get the acid treatment to give them a matt sheen.  The centre of the large beads are white so when the beads are etched they have a slight glow. I made this set to match a top I bought.  Again I might etch these, I haven't decided yet. Lastly is the set I made last night.  I have been lacking inspiration so I turned to my trusty 'Passing the Flame' book, a bib ..read more

I have had this design in my mind for a while but not actually summoned up the energy to make it.  That is until the Easter break!  The beads were made by yours truly.  The metal beads are from my local bead shop and the tiny hoops that you can just about see are from Lush. I love the way the large glass beads move over the small black beads giving the piece some movement.  I am hoping to make some more of these in different colours and who knows I might even get around to posting some for sale.  In my head I am going to close my Etsy shop and re-open my Folksy shop ..read more