Proms and Cufflinks

Recently I attended a 'Prep for Prom Pamper Session' run by Crafty Penny Events at the Hillcrest Hotel in Widnes. I thought the idea was great, the organisation exceptional and the variety of stalls was perfect for the theme.  Lots of networking was done, and many tips shared. Below are photos of my stall at this event.

 
 
I do believe I'm getting better at creating the stall. This time I had my Mum's help.





My husband says that I need to expand and do more items for men. On his urging, this week I've learned to create cuff links. There were a few trials and errors involved, but finally I've got the technique down. I've put them in my Etsy shop.

 
 

 

 

On another note, my Folksy shop has now expanded quite a bit with over 40 items in it now.

The Sun is out at last

Yay, its sunny. And has been sunny for the past few days. The barbecue that has been stuck under the kitchen table for 2 years has now been assembled, and has even been used. Yes, summer is definitely here. I must admit it was kind of a shock to the system. I haven't been concentrating on jewellery making recently because of the weather. I've finally been able to do some gardening, and get all my plants sorted after the winter. Only the carnations didn't survive, so not as bad as I first thought.

I've been making earrings recently. I felt that with the weather being nice I should try summer style pieces, so have used mainly bright colours and shell.

I'm not a big fan of animal print but I think a subtle touch can really help an outfit. Also the giraffe style print is just so unusual. and yes, they were crying out to be made into earrings.

These green prehnite earrings are so subtle and pretty. Again, they were crying out to be made into dainty earrings. I can definitely see them with a posh outfit for a wedding.
 
My final pair of earrings was a new style for me. I think the jasper gives them a really lush appearance. The chain just gives the earrings a touch of elegance.

I have made a bracelet too, because I had some beads left after I had made the bookmarks for the custom order. I've had a lot of great feedback about this piece on Facebook, and it is still available to buy in my Etsy shop. I really enjoy making the wire wrapped memory wire bracelets, and pink is on trend this summer.

Journey of a Necklace

I haven't written for a while because I've had a dip in creativity. I'm sure all you crafters out there can relate. It all started with a necklace. I had this vision of a wire wrapped chunky necklace that would have looked divine. So I started to make it, the first time I did not have a long enough piece of tiger tail (beading thread) after the wire wrapping. This happens sometimes but it was frustrating.

So  I tried again. This time the work was too heavy and snapped the tiger tail. You can imagine my frustration. So I stopped and watched some 'Star Trek: Voyager' instead. I then worked out how to fix the problem with more wire but I did not have the right gauge in the right colour. I improvised, I thought it looked good. Then my husband saw the necklace and said it looked like it could fall to bits in a slight breeze. I gave up on that design.

A few days later, after many episodes of Star Trek, and time spent playing 'Skyrim' on the Xbox, I had an idea. I decided to macrame the necklace instead, and the chunky look would still be there. It worked! I really like how this turned out.

The necklace uses Howlite, Agate and an Agate/Quartz pendant. I submitted it to the 'Wall of Fame' on Jewellery Maker TV. They commented that it was 'beautiful'. After all the heartache to finally make the necklace, I am actually very proud of the finished result.

And I'm back crafting, I have so many ideas now. The only problem is that the weather is now decent enough to start gardening. There really aren't enough hours in the day. lol

Bookmarks

And now for something completely different. A librarian friend asked me whether it would be possible for me to make gemstone bookmarks. Surprisingly, I hadn't thought of doing bookmarks before, amazing really considering my background is librarianship. I looked into it and realised I could. She wanted girly ones for prizes for reading, a great idea and I was happy to help.

 

These are what I made for her, the gemstones look really pretty with the silver plated copper wire wrapping. I think they qualify as girly. They are £3 each, so if you would like me to make you one then just contact me and I can accomadate you.

 

This got me thinking about how I could make bookmarks. I knew they had to be thin, as to not harm the book you are reading. So I decided to experiment with embroidery thread and macrame. I was very pleased with the results, and you can now buy them from my Etsy shop.

 



 

 

My First Wedding Fayre

Tabley House

Last Sunday, I finally went to my first wedding fayre at Tabley House, Knutsford. I'd spent that long preparing for it that it seemed strange when the day finally came. My husband and sister volunteered to come along and help me out. It is a good job they did. When we finally found the carpark, it's not that well signposted once you enter the property, we found that the entrance was a lot further away than 50 yards. This meant that I could not carry a lot of my items in, because I'm not supposed to lift heavy objects.

Tabley House again

Tabley House is beautiful, and would be well worth a day out to look around the house. I was pleased when I found out that the majority of the wedding fayre would be held in the library. A stunning room that seemed to fit the day. I managed to get a good spot, and set up.

The day was worthwhile to network with other wedding providers and find out information from them. 'Hi' to those I spoke to, you'll find my twitter link in one of the tabs.

Lots of the brides where still at the beginning of their wedding planning journey. Some did not have a colour scheme yet, whereas others weren't sure about a date. It makes sense that a fayre will help them with ideas. Their excitement was contagious, and I enjoyed talking to everyone of them. There were more grooms around than I had expected, and obviously the brides would not look at my stall when he was with them.

I gave out lots of leaflets and buisness cards. The idea of recycling the wedding tiara into jewellery seemed to go down well, everybody liked the idea.

I believe that as a first wedding fayre for both me and Tabley House,  it was a success. Though I did not make any sales on the day, I am hopeful that those who I chatted to will contact me at a later date.

I've now booked a pre-prom pamper session in May, I've obviously got the fayre bug now.

 

 

 

Old Tiaras into New Jewellery



BEFORE - my wedding tiara

 

This week in preparation for Sunday, the wedding fayre at Tabley House, Knutsford, 12pm - 4pm, I have demolished my own wedding tiara. The thought came to me that you can spend an awful lot of money on something you will only really wear once. It's the kind of thing that you don't want to throw out because of the emotional attachment but its just taking up space.

I've decided to offer a service to make your old tiara into beautiful jewellery. It will cost approx. £10 for silver plated copper jewellery, more if sterling silver is required. I would have to see a photograph of your tiara to see if I can recycle the beads on it. Obviously, any bought from me can be recycled.


AFTER - a pretty necklace




AFTER: an elegant pair of earrings





I think they both turned out really well, and I can now wear something that does mean a lot to me. Though it felt a shame to take the tiara apart, it was definately worth it.



The Vine and other makes

I haven't really made much this week, with one thing or another getting in the way. I am still preparing for the bridal fayre this month. My Etsy shop is involved in a promotion to get people buying British goods on Etsy. Use code  FREEMARCH13 at the checkout for free postage and packing. There's lots of shops taking part in this promotion, and lots of goodies to choose from.


So this week I've tried the Vine technique on a tiara and a hair comb. I think it looks pretty, the side pattern on the tiara really stands out. It uses lots of different real pearls that I had in my stash, I think the different shapes adds something.

The hair comb looks a lot more delicate because I used smaller beads, faux pearls in all different colours. The vine is fiddley to do but I think the results are pretty.


I was in the mood for experimentation, so I tried macrame with ribbon on a tiara. It gives a slightly different look to the standard headband with beads on it. It was tricky to start with but once I got into it, it was ok.

After all this I went for something simple, classic, pearl necklace and earrings. Dark pink pearls and rainbow moonstone went really well together.

 
I haven't put these on Etsy or my Bridal shop yet but hope to this week. If you can't wait please message me.