Latest Additions

This week I've added a few more memory wire bracelets to my existing collection. They're becoming quite addictive. I find the making of them very relaxing; there's something about threading beads in a sequence and watching the design build, that's very satisfying.

Dotty: A simple, yet striking design. Six wraps in black and white form a nice deep cuff.


Spangle: I love the zesty citrus orange and Lime in these crackle beads. They remind me of the hard fruit flavoured spangle sweets I had as a child.


Autumn Fruits: Many of the wooden beads in this bracelet are vintage ones I've had in my bead stash for many years. I seem to remember I bought them from Janet Coles Bead Catalogue... anyone remember her? This was way before the internet, and I loved pouring over the glossy pages of wonderful beads she had personally sourced on her travels all around the world. Here I've mixed them with apple coral and carnelian.



Christmas: I know it's early, but it will be here before we know it. A four wrap bracelet in festive red and green.

Beautiful Memory

Decided to introduce a few memory bracelets to my shop this week. I like the simplicity of them, the fact they are easy to wear with no fiddly clasps, and one size fits all. But I absolutely hate the way they devour all my lovely beads!

I'm a typical magpie, I hoard my little beauties, take them out, play with them, gaze at them lovingly, then put them all away again. Well that's not strictly true, of course I do use them in my designs, but I'm not used to depleting my entire stock of my absolute favourites all in one sitting!

Simple to make they may be, but it's definitely not a case of less is more where the memory bracelet is concerned, in fact the more the merrier! I adore the deeper cuff style of at least 3 or 4 wraps or more, so looks like I'm going to have to go on a bead buying binge... again!

Mulberry:



Cool Water:



Autumn Berries:



Misty Ocean:


But I haven't given up on my polymer clay roses, and here is my latest....

Purple Passion:

Topsy Turvy Seasons

Browsing the internet for autumn colours for 2009, I came across Under the Loupe, a blog by jeweller Annette Piper, and in particular an article concerned with selecting stones and beads to compliment this years autumn fashion colours. This piece was written way back in March, and I was impressed by her forward thinking, wondering perhaps if I should have been planning this seasons designs and ordering supplies many months ago.

It was only when I saw her most recent post, concerning spring shows, that I realised she was in Australia and her March piece about autumn colours would have been written as they were entering autumn!

The reason I mention this is because I recently went through my Etsy shop collection changing and updating my tags to reflect the upcoming seasons of autumn and winter and deleting all references to summer. Bad mistake! I have potential customers in Australia, and have sold to someone there already. It must be really frustrating for them to be constantly bombarded with references to seasons months ahead of theirs and offered jewellery that is totally at odds with the colours they are wearing.

So, I shall pay a little more attention to my tags and promote some of my more summery colours, because many potential customers will be looking forward to the lazy hot days of summer while we're heading into winter, not to mention those who choose to spend their winters in warmer climates.

Oh What a Beautiful Day

Such a happy day today! The sun is shining, and I managed to forget I was in pain as I drove along singing:

There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
There's a bright golden haze on the meadow,
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye,
An' it looks like its climbin' clear up to the sky.

Oh what a beautiful morning,
Oh what a beautiful day,
I've got a wonderful feeling,
Everything's going my way.......

Until that is, I got out of the car and had to start walking. Ouch! I hobbled round the woods with my dog Bailey, sat on a wet bench and got a damp bum (I was that desperate) and hobbled back to the car. I think it's an inflamed sciatic nerve, but nothing that could wipe the smile off my face for very long. :)

On arriving home the postman brought me another little present... a most exquisite bracelet designed and made by the lovely Alison of AMIDesigns.etsy.com and my smile widened to that of a child on Christmas morning!


I fell in love with this gorgeous bracelet and bought it, even before Alison had time to list it after she previewed it on Flickr! It is absolutely dripping with dainty flowers and melons in an array of autumn shades. Every which way I turn my wrist, the light catches it and the beautiful iridescent colours change magically. I'm wearing it now, the tiny glass beads tinkling as I type. I will have to take it off before bed... or I could just stay up all night admiring it! :)