Its all about me.....

I know, I sound rather like a spoilt child but its true.  I have been interviewed on the Frithappens Blog go take a look, go on you know you want to.....

Something for me

I made this necklace the other day and decided to keep it for myself!  Its a nice long necklace with sterling silver wire and Karen Hill Tribe silver beads all threaded onto some really soft leather thong.

A Fab day with 49Arts Playing with Paper

At the craft shop where I teach my jewellery making workshops we had an 'In the Pink Night' and I won a fantastic raffle prize which was to spend a day with Diana of 49 Arts.  We spent a whole day making two books

The main project was the large purple hard-backed book.  There is so much involved in the process, from finding the grain of the paper and making sure it runs the right way through the book, to deciding on the cover and inside sheets.  I made my book with the intention of it being a sketch book for my bead and jewellery designs but I can't bring myself to make a mark in it at the moment! 

While we were waiting for the glue to dry on the hard-backed book Diana showed me how to make the smaller notebook.

 Although I am proud of my sketch book this little notebook was almost more satisfying I think because we used materials and techniques that I can easily transfer to doing at home.  The cover is made of a scrap of leather that Diana had leftover from a pair of leather trousers that she was given. 

This little book would make a great teacher gift and the design possibilities are limitless, using all manner of recycled paper and fabric.

If you live in Wiltshire and are looking for a gift for a craft lover I would definitely recommend a day with Diana at 49 Arts

Some Bits and Bobs

Thought I would pop by and put up some pics of bits and bobs I've been working on.  I treated myself to one of Jolene's mini-mo club assortments.  I haven't used all of it yet but this bead is sporting the murrini, 


This bead has a core of light purple with some of the shards melted in which is then encased in clear and the design applied to the top

I bought this top the other day and decided to make a necklace to match 

The next few pictures show beads using a design I am working on whereby dots are applied on top of each other then raked to make a teardrop shape.

These have now been turned into necklaces and will be putting in an appearance in my Etsy shop very soon.

Thanks for looking!

 

Oh What a Night

We went to the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday night and what an amazing night it was.  All Cannings School took part in the Schools Prom!!!  You can imagine how excited the girls were.  It was an amazing night of fantastic youth talent with acts across a whole spectrum of genre.  There is  a photo on the Classic FM website Fay and Erica are on the picture but you would have a hard time to spot them.  The photos only give a tiny insight into the scale of the event. 

Thankyou to all the staff at the school for organising and preparing the children so well and thankyou to the children for being impeccably behaved.

On a glassy note I received a very fabulous mini-mo set from Jolene and managed to fit in a session at the torch today!!  I'll be back with some photos soon.

Fright Night

We don't normally go in for Haloween but as the children have got older they have got more excited about the whoe trick or treat thing.  This year the girls had a couple of fancy dress parties and ofcourse the youngest had to get involved too.

We ended up with a homemade zombie look.  I went into town and bought some witchy outfilts but they didn't fit the bill, they were too 'babyish' apparently.  So, we ripped up some old clothes, scruffed up the hair and applied some facepaints.  I have to say I was pleased with the results especially as there were duplicate cats and witches at the parties afterall anyone can buy an outfit right?.

For the first time for as long as I can remember I joined in the fun too, I was invited to a grown up haloween disco so I decided to go for the witchy look - be prepared to be scared....

A touch of the Wicked Witch of the West I feel.  Anywho, down to the business of beads and buttons.  Although October was a quiet month on the blog, sorry about that, I have been busy at the torch I just haven't managed to take any pics.  Hope to remedy that soon and return with some glassy pics.  Until then, take care xx