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!

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