New On Folksy This Week

Here are my new "creations" currently being listed in my Folksy shop this week!

1. Blueberry Pie, 2. Jet Pendant, 3. Silver Leaf Blues Pendant, 4. Spiral Heart Pendant, 5. Lava, 6. Caged Amethyst, 7. Carnelian Twists, 8. Orange Glow, 9. Amethyst Wishes

As you can see I've started making pendants after a great suggestion by a fellow Folksy seller. I have lots of ideas for more pendants plus I will also sell some with leather thongs (just got to order some!) so keep watching this space!

New Wirework book by Sharilyn Miller

One of my favourite Wirework artists, Sharilyn Miller http://www.sharilynmiller.com/ has a new book out this week!

It's called "Wire Art Jewelry" & is priced at $24.95 (about £15) She's published it herself therefore the photos inside are in black & white, which is a shame but I'm sure if the book is anything as good as her others it won't matter that much!

The link from her website to order the book doesn't appear to be working unfortunately but I shall find a way to get hold of it so I can write a review!

Here are some of the projects in the book ~

Double Spiral Bangle

Angels Earrings

Dancing Man Necklace

ALL JEWELRY BY SHARILYN MILLER

That's all for this time!

Tracy x

Folksy Delights ~ Orange Zing!

I don't know about you but I'm fed up with all this rain and wind so......... to cheer myself up I've found these bright, zingy lovelies on Folksy : ~

Click any image to zoom

1. Oxidised Amber pendant by NRjewellerydesign, 2. Orange Brown Felt Handbag by Created And Felted, 3. Orange Bird by mishmish, 4. Orange bead Necklace by Laura Cameron, 5. Orange & Calendula Soap by Saffronbarr, 6. Lucy Tote Bag by Nicknots, 7. Little Orange Ninja Earrings by Lilley's, 8. Flora ~ Autumn Treasure Haircomb by hairbowswonderworld, 9. Acrylic Loopy wall light by Jane Blease Design

I feel warmer already!

Butterflies!

Ok. So it's not strictly jewellery but I watched David Attenborough's "Life" earlier tonight ( I missed it on Monday night) & was blown away by the beauty of the Monarch butterfly! I watched it in HD which made it even more beautiful ..........so I felt the need to find some photos & post them ..................

Hope you enjoy looking at these as much as I do!

Latest Earrings on Folksy!

Here's some of my latest designs in my Folksy shop this week

Baubles ~ Faceted Ruby Quartz on Sterling Silver wirewrapped headpins, suspended from Spiral earwires

Peace ~ Peace Jade teardrops wirewrapped in Sterling Silver & suspended on Spiral earwires

Pearly Dewdrops ~ Freeform Sterling Silver swirls with wirewrap detail & "orchid" Freshwater Pearls

Sasha ~ Faceted Smoky Quartz teardrops with a wrap of Sterling Silver

My Favourite Sites ~ Part One!

LIMA BEADS ~ http://www.limabeads.com/

Based in Ann Arbour, MI, USA, Lima Beads is a bright & funky site selling a vast selection of Semi~Precious Beads in all shapes & sizes, Freshwater Pearls, CZ, Cabachons, Charms, Findings in Sterling Silver, Copper & Brass, Vintaj charms plus lots more!

I've bought from them several times & have always been very happy when my order has arrived (usually  arriving in just over a week, not bad from the US!)

Chicks!

Another great thing about Lima Beads is the community of friendly fellow beaders that exists on the site. When you register with them you create your own profile to share. Lots of us have "Chick" names ~ I'm Spiral Chick, then there's Little Round Chick, Happy Chick, Chicky LE, Coffee Chick............... most of the community are from the US but there's also people from Norway, Belgium, & the UK.

Fresh Picks & More!
Once you register you can enter the interactive world of Fresh Picks, where you create a pick of 16 items that you can then post for others to see & comment on.

The Big Green Bead Machine ~ watch the prices of a selection of goodies drop every 5 minutes & bag them while you can!

 You can also create a Wish List of items that have caught your eye then easily transfer them to your shopping basket.

WARNING!  This site is very addictive & could waste lots of your time (in a good way!)

Design Gallery

 The Design Gallery allows you to upload photos of your jewellery for other Lima Beaders to see & comment on ~ all nice comments, don't worry!

There's so many beautiful creations in the Design Gallery, here are some of my favourites ~

                                                                                                           

Tic Tac Toe by doktordesigns

Tear Of Joy by Lynn G

Starry Night by Lorri G

The Malachite Challenge by Weimai Coffee Chick

Copper Swirls by ChickyLE

Faux Animal Prints Necklace by DivaChick

Out In The Cosmos by JessBell

Afternoon In The Garden by GemsChica Chick

Lima Beads is definitely worth a visit if only to play around with the Fresh Picks, look at all the beautiful beads & check out the fab variety of creations in the Design Gallery!

Bead Happy!

My Folksy Buys ........so far!

I've recently opened a shop on Folksy & have found some beautiful things on there made by very talented UK sellers. Of course I had to buy some of them!

My first Folksy purchase was this stunning glass tile ~

Leaf

Made by Katerina of KKGlass

My aunt loves owls so I had to buy this for her ~ (mine's the pink one at the front!)

Plush Owls

Made by Covetables

I love ceramics so when I saw seller Julia Smith Ceramics featured on the home page of Folksy I had to have a look at her shop!

Tree Rings Bowl
Julia Smith Ceramics

Look what I've found!

Beautiful things on Etsy!
This time ~ Art

I found this talented Etsy seller Sascalia through a blog by a Folksy seller! Sascalia is French and based in the UK. She produces beautiful artwork.
This piece is called  Flowers 5 and I may have to buy it soon as it would look great in my bedroom!

I don't particularly like moths but this piece by Etsy Seller valeriekiser aptly named Moth caught my eye

This piece named The Artful Raccoon by Etsy seller johnwgolden reminds me of growing up in Canada. My Mum also had a suede coat with a lovely raccoon fur collar ~ I thought it was lovely but I was only 5...

I love this piece called Lemonade Storm by Etsy seller MichelleDigital because it's so bright & it has spirals! I'm not called spiralchick for nothing!

And the last one this time is called Scarlet Poppies by Etsy seller printmakerjenn.  I chose it because it's that time of year and we all need a little brightness in our lives!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog!


I'm a UK based jewellery designer living in Eastbourne, on the South East coast. Eastbourne is a busy seaside town, situated on the edge of the beautiful South Downs. It's also famous for the cliffs at Beachy Head ~ a notorious suicide spot!


Browsing the internet looking for earrings one day five years ago is how my jewellery making adventure started. I found lots of handmade earrings & thought to myself ~ I could do that! Armed with a book & the internet I bought the tools & beads I needed & started making basic glass bead & Sterling Silver earrings. I discovered a whole new world of beautiful beads & findings via the internet ~ Lampwork, Semi~Precious, Swarovski, Freshwater Pearls......... I became addicted! I taught myself new techniques & started stringing bracelets as well. I decided to start selling, mainly to justify buying more beads!

Three years ago I was given Sharilyn Miller's book Bead On A Wire & that was it ~ I was hooked on wirework!

I love the freedom working with wire allows, and the fact that you are only limited by your imagination. My favourite metal has always been Sterling Silver but I've recently discovered the beauty of oxidised Copper ~ previously only used as my "practise" wire.


Making jewellery is a kind of therapy for me. I get out my bead boxes, tools & wire, become totally engrossed & completely forget about everything else ~ lunch is forgotten, endless cups of tea are left to go cold & before I know it the day has gone & it's dark outside! I take a lot of time & care over my jewellery, making mostly one~off pieces that I would be happy to buy myself. I'm always looking at new techniques to learn in order to progress my skills & designs ~ there's so much more I want to do!

When I'm not letting cups of tea go cold I also enjoy reading crime novels, swimming, horse~riding, visting family on the Northumberland coast (where I picked up the pebbles I use in my photos) & checking out beautiful beads on the internet

I sold my jewellery on eBay for 4 years before taking a break for about a year. I now sell on Folksy & Etsy which I prefer as they are aimed more for the handmade market .

I love my family, my cats & chocolate (not always in that order!)

I hate rude people & parsnips