Sunday, 29 November 2015

Chic Christmas Colour Palettes

color season

color serve


Baby it's cold outside! 

It's only going to get colder from here on in...

So why not 
let these tasty colour palettes fresh from 
 inspire some soul warming 
 festive makery.

I'm signing off now until the New Year. 

Wishing all of you  fabulous jewellery makers 
and crafty types
a very happy Christmas and New Year!

See you in 2016....! 


setting tones

winter flora

rustic winter

Saturday, 21 November 2015

A Stone For Success, Prosperity, And Abundance - A Good One To Get Into Your Jewellery Designs!




Looking through the crystals and gemstones 
in my bead collection it got me wondering about the 
mythological history and properties of the stones. 
Crystal healers work with a lot of the items in my stash, 
(I should never get ill again...lol!), 
and there must be interesting stories about some of these beauties. 

So here is my first blog post about a specific gemstone. 

Starting off with...

Citrine 

It is often called the 'success stone'
as it is said  to be good for 
manifesting  
prosperity and abundance.

It has also been known as 'The Merchant's stone'
good for keeping in the business cash box 
and seeing the profits rolling in! 

It is also a birthstone for November
providing a less expensive
 alternative to the traditional
Topaz-
according to the internet -
 but the last time 
I bought some citrine
it seemed quite
 expensive to me..!

The beautiful sunny hue of Citrine 
just radiates warmth and positive energy.
It is a happy stone which can also bring good luck 
in unexpected ways to the wearer.

All interesting ideas. 
With such a write up 
who could resist getting a 
bit of Citrine
 into their
 jewellery designs!

Monday, 2 November 2015

Pretty Mermaid Picking Flowers Necklace



Ok, 
so this necklace was meant to be 
a learning endeavour 
- so I have no idea how
 I ended up using some
 of the most expensive 
items in my bead box for it!

Gilt lined seed beads, 
A grade 
amazonite rondelles,
hand carved
 amazonite daisies,
and a fancy 
sterling silver 
flower motif clasp!

Expensive ingredients for what was 
inteneded to be nothing more than a 
'have a go and see how it goes' 
type of project! 
As it goes, 
I am pretty pleased with the results...
which is a lucky thing!

Wednesday, 28 October 2015

Halloween Treats With And Without The Calories! Ghoulishly Good Beading Discount Codes.....

Devilish Cupcakes

Halloween is nearly upon us 
so here is a round up
 of beading
 discount 
codes 
to help get your spooky makes 
on the go....

Spooktacular Clearance sale 50%-70% off 
Pick a pumpkin on the website for trick or treat extra discount fun!

Use cose; HAL25 
for 25% discount 
(not sure when this offer ends) 
Delivery is only 99p per order until Xmas.

JEWELLERY MAKER
25% OFF Citrine
Use code: CITRINE25 at checkout 
*Excludes show products and wont work in conjunction
 with any other offer. 
Ends 30.11.15

THE BEAD SHOP MANCHESTER
25% Off all full price items. 
Use code: 25OCT
*T's&c's apply. 
See website.

SPOILT ROTTEN BEADS
Two offers: 
1) Free bead, charm and wire
 bundle when you spend £25.
2) Vouchers worth up to £20
£5 voucher - quote SpoilMe5 
when you spend £25.
£10 voucher - quote SpoilMe10 
when you spend £40  
£20 voucher - quote SpoilMe20
when you spend £70.
Offer ends 
Sunday 1st Nov 
2015.

Some Halloween savings 
for you there. 
Just in case you fancy
 some treats
 of the more calorific kind, 
I found these sweet cake ideas 
over at Betty Crocker.com! 

My own findings (as per usual) 
not an endorsement, sadly - 
can you imagine being sponsored by a cake company... 
mmm mmm, but good bye skinny jeans!!

Ghostly PEEPSĀ® Brownies

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Crafting For Christmas - How Early Is Too Early?


So, Halloween is not yet  upon us 
but the marketing emails for Christmas 
goodies have already begun...
Craziness!

This got me to thinking about the prezzies I'm going to make.

It's so lovely to give a handmade gift
but jewellery making, particularly bead embroidered pieces, 
take time and if you 
multiply the amount of work  to make a piece of jewellery 
X the many friends and relatives you want to make it for 
and suddenly it seems like time is already running out!

So although it seems FAR too early
 for the ubiquitous Xmas marketing emails 
to be flooding my inbox  
as for my home made gifts - better get started!! 

Wednesday, 7 October 2015

My Beading Buddy



Kitty often likes to 'help' me bead. 

Some of her usual antics include: 
rolling out on my bead mat as I struggle to negotiate 
picking up tiny size 15's. 
Batting the end of the stringing wire I'm working 
with.
 Catching the stitching thread and tugging it away. 
Rolling the beads off  the mat and just 
generally walking over whatever I'm doing and purring around me 
so I have to give her attention instead! 

Today after a little bit of bead batting
she decided that she wanted  to sprawl out on the window sill.