Bead Sale!

I made a start on the mammoth task of sorting out my bead boxes the other day.
I currently have seven bead boxes so keeping all my lovely beads tidy and sorted is quite important, what a shame it doesn't actually happen! I start off with good intentions but new arrivals fail to find a proper home and stay in the bags for months until I do a "sort out". At least I've made a start now and listed 13 lots yesterday in my Folksy shop.

I'm pleased to say all of the semi-precious and the abalone shell beads have sold already but I still have some pretty beads and a TierraCast SP toggle going for very reasonable prices!

Having a sort out does have it's up-side ~ All those gaps I'm going to have in my bead boxes by the time I've finished will just HAVE to be filled! Bead shops here I come :D

~: Still for sale :~

Small Lucite Flowers

Large Lucite Flowers

Mixed Glass Heart Beads - great for Valentine's Day!

Mixed Hematite Beads

Lampwork Glass Beads

TierraCast Toggle Fastener



Bought On Folksy!

Selling my handmade jewellery on Folksy is great fun and gives me the opportunity to browse the many fabulous shops on the UK's best handmade selling site.

I've been busy recently on the Folksy spending front and here's what I've been buying..........

A Macintosh-style copper mirror from The Owl And The Pussycat

I've had my eye on this for a while and after a good few weeks of sales decided to treat myself!

Oilcloth purse from Luvlii - very handy to keep some of my jewellery pliers in

English Yew Wooden Bottle Stopper from Diggi Woodturning

A Christmas present for my Dad!

Polymer Clay Wee Westie and Hedgehog Beads from the very talented Kirsten of QuernusCrafts

A present for my Auntie (hope she doesn't check out my blog and see this!)

Very pretty Golden Bird card from Lilly's Night Garden

Embroidered Notebook Cover from the lovely Fiona of fionaT

 

Folksy Front Page!

It was a nice surprise to see a of pair my earrings in the Featured Items on the front page of Folksy yesterday.

There's a lovely selection of jewellery there at the moment and my Turquoise Lampwork and Sterling Silver earrings featured quickly sold (thank you Folksy!)
They've now been replaced with another pair of my earrings - this Sterling Silver abstract design pair

I'm Loving........Liver Of Sulphur XL Gel

Noticing my supply of Liver of Sulphur chunks was running low recently I thought I'd better order some more. I've found getting hold of the chunks quite hard recently so I was interested to see my usual supplier Joy Funnel of ArtClayUK on eBay was now stocking Liver Of Sulphur XL Gel.

It's a stable gel form with an extended life hence "XL" which is ideal as the chunks tend to lose their effect after a couple of months and must be kept away from moisture. I've used the liquid form of Liver Of Sulphur once before which is available from Kernowcraft in the UK, £2.95 for 10ml but found it wasn't very economical and the results could be a bit patchy, so I was interested to see how I would get on with the XL Gel.

The XL Gel from ArtClayUK costs £6.95 for 30ml and comes in a plastic bottle with a nozzle top. I tend to oxidise maybe five or six pieces of jewellery at a time (I can't face polishing up more than that at once!) and the tiniest amount will give the desired results - I take the top off and dip just the end of a knife into the bottle then dissolve the gel on the knife in the hot water and that's plenty to get a dark grey colour on the Sterling Silver.
So despite the XL Gel being a bit more expensive than the chunks and liquid form I can see it's going to last me much longer so is more economical in the long run AND less messy than the chunks!

Sterling Silver oxidised and polished

Lost Connection and New Earrings

Last Tuesday one of the things I dread happened and I lost my internet connection. Not a good thing when you sell online and especially at this time of year!  A phone call to my ISP informed me "everything's alright our end, you need to get BT to check your line". BT checked the line - it was fine so I reinstalled the modem drivers (yet again) but still no connection. Another phone call to my ISP and they suggested replacing the microfilters - "they only cost a couple of quid" the man said, actually they cost £10.99 each from Comet so needless to say I didn't buy them!
So after yet another phone call to my ISP they said they would send me a new modem - which still hasn't arrived!

In the meantime I had people I needed to email so resorted to using my mobile to get on the internet. Oh my God - how slow! Fine if you've got three other things to do at the same time as waiting for a page to load, they were taking at least five minutes. I did manage to relist an item in my Folksy shop - it took an HOUR! And that was just relisting!

I'm now online again with a shiny new laptop (early Christmas present, thank you Dad!) but I've got to admit I prefer my pc, the picture quality on the laptop is rubbish - all the photos on sites like Folksy are blurred and pixelated so if anyone has any ideas how to improve them please let me know! In the meantime I will continue to wait impatiently for my new modem to arrive..............

New Earrings
It was lovely and bright yesterday so I took some photos of the new earrings I made recently (before my tripod broke!) soon to be listed on Folksy and Artfire.
On a lighter note I did get a nice surprise in the post on Friday - a £200 tax rebate!

Dogtooth Amethyst and Sterling Silver Hoops

Botswana Agate and Sterling Silver

Green Freshwater Pearl and Sterling Silver

Dogtooth Amethyst and Sterling Silver

Go Handmade This Christmas - Nature Lover Ceramic Necklace

Are you looking for something different to give this Christmas? Fed up of the mass-produced stuff on the high street? Why not give handmade!

Giving handmade means your gift will be unique and original, made by a skilled crafter who loves what they do.
Show your love and give handmade this year!

Nature Lover Ceramic Necklace by Go2Girl on Artfire

Kila, the artist behind Go2Girl creates earthy, handmade original necklaces, bracelets, earrings and accessories. Her designs are inspired by nature.

Christmas Gift Ideas - The Folksy Festive Sampler Online

    

The Folksy Festive Sampler is now available to view online and what a lovely surprise to find one of my copper bracelets on the front cover!

There are lots of handmade lovelies to be found in the Sampler and on Folksy so if you're stuck for what to buy this Christmas and fancy something unique, original and handmade why not take a look below

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Folksy Christmas Gift Guide - Winter Warmers

A mini Christmas Gift Guide from Folksy - the place to buy handmade in the UK

 Winter Warmers 

 Woolly and velvety goodness to keep you toasty this winter!

Hot As Hell Fire Scarf from Mrs Bee

Orange Slippers from Clicking Pins

Red Long Winter Socks from Legyviel In Rivendell

Orange Rose Fingerless Gloves from Lynwoodcrafts

Woollen Socks from From Roberts with Love

Handpainted Silk Velvet Scarf from BlueBoxStudio

Orbital Inspiration!

Looking through my Blog reading list the other day I visited wirework jewellery maker Linda Jones' blog The Wireworkers Guild where I found a tutorial taken from one of Linda's books for her Orbital Rings.

I liked the idea so thought I'd have a go at my own variation of the design.

I used 22g (0.6mm) copper wire as it's easier to wrap and using a thick felt tip marker pen wrapped the wire five times around the pen to create the hoops.
Instead of wrapping the wire all the way round the hoops I wrapped it three times at the top, made a hanging loop then wrapped three times at the other side before trimming the wire and tucking in the end at the back.
I used the other end of the wire to make a few wraps at the bottom of the hoops for balance then trimmed the end and tucked it in at the back.
As the hoops were a good size I had enough room in the centre to add a green opal bead which attaches in the gap left by the hanging loop and dangles in the centre of the hoops. I decided not to hammer them as I didn't want the flattened look then oxidised them (of course!) and attached copper earwires.
I'm really pleased with the end result and the fact they are pretty easy to make. I'm planning on making a Sterling Silver pair possibly in 20g (0.8mm) next!
I've just listed this pair in my Artfire shop and they will soon be listed on Folksy too.

Salmon Pink! New Artfire Collection

  A very pretty new collection on Artfire that includes my Rhodonite with Pyrite and copper wirework earrings!

Curated by Sandeeknits

PINK SALMON

Curated By: sandeeknits

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts