Sun, sea and .... flowers!

Well I had another lovely Bank Holiday weekend and this time I spent it down on Romney Marsh which is where I grew up and where my parents still live. The weather was perfect and as you can see from the photo below, the sea was a gorgeous turquoise colour instead of the usual shade of murky brown! We had a lovely walk along the coast and spend most of the weekend outdoors, just as well we made the most of it as it's hardly stopped raining since we got home!

For the last couple of days I have been experimenting with beading lots of tiny flowers - most of them are less than 2cm(3/4 of an inch) across and are quite fiddly to make. I've used seed beads for some, cylinder beads for others and varied the shapes, sizes and colours. A few have crystal middles, some have silver bead middles, others have tiny rice pearl centres and some are still a 'work in progress' as you can see from the photo. They are very simple flowers but I have several projects in mind for these so I am spending time on them now to get the 'look' right for what I have planned.

I've also turned two silver flowers into a pair of earrings today for a birthday present. These are made with silver-lined Delicas and have a sterling silver frosted bead centre which I have had for ages and have only just got round to using. I've made the earwires too, although I'm not great at wirework (more practice needed I think!) I think the simplicity of these long sterling wires adds to the whole overall effect of 'purity' that I was trying to achieve - I like them ... I think I might even make a pair for myself!

A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go!

Yes the latest issue of the UK magazine Bead is out and the second of my series of pendants, Frog Pendant, is one of the projects in there. This one is worked in Peyote stitch using a beautiful shade of green cylinder beads with an AB (Aurora Borealis) finish which gives them that 'glittering lake' look - well to me anyway! This little pendant, complete with pink lily and golden frog is actually part of a set I made called 'Lilies on the lake' - some magical moments spent in King Gardens in Phuket (during what I can only now describe as 'a former life') inspired me to create this.

Don't forget everyone - if you follow this pattern you are welcome to send me a picture of your work and I will gladly add it to my 'Readers gallery of work' The final pendant in the series, Dragonfly Pendant will be in Bead issue 11.

What else has happened during this past week? Oh yes, I received my lovely new SRAJD logo (Self-Representing Artist Jewelery Designer) which I am proudly displaying here on my blog and also on my website. See here for an explanation of the scheme.

I have also become a member of the Etsy Beadweavers Team recently and I am very pleased to be a part of this team as it is proving to be a fantastically talented and supportive group of people. I was fortunate to have my Foxglove Trio necklace included in another Etsy treasury a few days ago, which solely featured some of the members work. Although it has expired now, I have included a picture below as I think it is one of the prettiest treasuries I have seen so far - although obviously I am slightly biased ;-)

Readers gallery of work.

Ever since January of this year, when my first design was published in Bead magazine, I have been receiving e-mails from readers regarding my designs. Some people have even kindly sent me pictures of their completed work using my patterns. I really love to receive comments and feedback and I especially enjoy seeing other peoples versions of my designs. So I thought rather than leave these wonderful pictures hidden amongst my computer files, it might be nice to create a gallery of readers work - and that is exactly what I have done!

I have created a sub-page on my website that is annexed to my 'Published work' page and is called 'Readers gallery of work' - there is also a link to it on my blog at the top of the side bar.

The beautiful set pictured above was beaded by June Josten who cleverly adapted the Floral Fantasy pattern in Bead & Button and created a matching bracelet and earrings!

So, I would like to invite anyone who has created a piece of beadwork based on one of my published patterns to submit a picture of it (together with your name and blog/website address if applicable) and I will gladly include it in my new gallery. It doesn't matter if your version follows the pattern exactly or if you have adapted the pattern or the colour, whether you are an experienced beader or a beginner. There is no contest here, I just thought it might be a fun thing to do and also a way to get your work seen if you do not already have a website or blog.

The designs that have been published so far are Cufflinks - Floral Fantasy - Supernova Choker and Butterfly Pendant with lots more to come!

Cufflinks by Alison Inglis of BeaDangles Jewellery.

This might be a good place to add a note on copyright too! These patterns have been published in magazines, so obviously I am happy to share my knowledge and designs with you - but please note that these designs are for your personal use only and should not be sold or taught without my prior permission ... thank you for your understanding.

A colourful weekend.

Typically, it's a gloriously sunny day here today - because of course YESTERDAY was Bank Holiday Monday! To be honest, it wasn't really that bad, it rained in the morning but the sun did come out in the afternoon - but in true British spirit we made the most of the three day weekend and got out and about even in the rain. I'm so glad we did too, because everywhere is looking beautiful at the moment - everyone's gardens are brimming over with blossom, the fields are a patchwork of green and acid yellow from the oil seed rape and the woods are filled with bluebells, anemone and celandine and yes - I want to bead them all!

I took a few pictures to show you, although they are not as bright as they could be because of the weather - this first one for example was taken in the rain - but just look how bright the yellow of the rape is against the oak tree in the middle and the dull sky!

This field was on one side of the lane and the woodland with a carpet of bluebells was on the other side. The air was filled with the beautiful scent of the bluebells and the peppery smell of the rape flower. Again, the picture is not as bright as it could be as it was raining when I took this - it doesn't do the bluebells justice but you can see what a gorgeous bright green the young leaves on the trees are.

Also our ornamental cherry tree 'Kanzan' is in full bloom at the bottom of our garden and I'm so pleased that the rain hasn't been too heavy so the blossom is still looking beautiful - it's an absolute delight for just 1 week out of 52 and it's so sad when it doesn't have the chance to shine!

So now it's back to work and I'm off out into the garden to find a shady spot to finish my dragon ready to send off to Bead & Button for their October issue - hardly seems like work does it!

Studio 61

Last Thursday I went to a preview evening at Studio 61 - a gallery in the picturesque Peak District of Derbyshire, run by talented artist Karina Goodman. I have some of my work for sale in the craft shop and gallery and it has recently undergone a major refurbishment following a flood, so it was very interesting to see the new layout and meet some of the other artists who have their work displayed there. I went with my good friend Alison of BeaDangles Jewellery, who also has her work for sale there. Karina was keen to see a copy of the April issue of Bead & Button with my Foxglove Trio on the cover and I left a copy with her - I think she is going to display it alongside the Foxglove necklace she has in one of her display cabinets as people have apparently been asking if it is by me!

The new gallery/craft shop is connected to the Art Cafe, which is a wonderful spacious area of low leather chairs and tables. It has a very warm and relaxed feel, a great menu and a further display of art and crafts on the walls and in glass cabinets around the room - all laid out with wine and 'nibbles' for the preview evening!

Karina, Alison and I also discussed plans for a Jewellery Festival later in the year. This should be a fantastic two day event, when myself, Alison and others will give demonstrations of our work. Visitors will be able to browse around the gallery and craft shop, watch demonstrations, chat to the various artists and enjoy the Art Cafe, restaurant or ice cream parlour - and all in a beautiful rural setting ... sounds like a perfect day out!

Experimenting with photos!

So, I've had my Etsy shop for just over a week now and I can hardly leave it alone! I started out with all white backgrounds on my photos - there's a school of thought that says this is the 'best' way to do it as it lets the product stand out and also apparently you have more chance of being picked for a 'treasury' (a kind of showcase) if you have white background photos. But, as my shop started to fill up, I began to think it was looking a bit stark and sterile and so I've retaken some shots with coloured backgrounds and props.

I've spent hours this week experimenting with photos and I've even crammed some of Simon's trousers, shirts and ties into my little light-tent in an effort to create a more masculine theme for some of the gents cufflinks. I've also gone back to some of my favourite backgrounds of hand-made paper and a fresh lily flower for some of the more feminine pieces. The shop currently has a mix of some white and some coloured backgrounds - personally I am happy with it and I think it gives the shop a bit more 'character' - what do you think ... coloured or plain?

An Etsy shop and a new look blog.

I keep hearing mixed reports about Etsy. Some people seem to find it a good showcase for their work and others feel as though it's easy to just get lost in there. It certainly is a massive 'place' - within minutes of me listing an item, I noticed that another 100 items had been listed for sale, so I think it will take lots of hard work to keep afloat. On the other hand, it's a brilliant opportunity which already has a huge following so it has to be worth a try.

If there is anyone out there who isn't familiar with Etsy (Is that possible? Even Mum is asking "How many items have you got listed on Etsy rhymes with Betsy now?") it is billed as "an online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade" - that means I qualify right?

So, I've opened an Etsy shop (see link in the side bar!) and the first thing I wanted to do was get 'the look' right, which meant a new banner. I loved my old black and red banner, but it just wasn't working with Etsy's orange heading so I had to come up with something new and I wanted it to incorporate a piece of my work. After several hours of experimenting, taking pictures, cutting, pasting, layering, rejigging and general faffing I have come up with something I am happy with for the time being. Up until 3 months ago, I had never done anything like this, so I am pretty pleased with the result, but this leads on from my last post - another example of a time consuming activity that is not beading but is necessary for the success of the beadwork business ... well in my opinion anyway, or is it just that I kind of like playing on the pc?

Anyway, as I ended up with 3 different banners, one for my website, one for my blog and one for my Etsy shop, I thought I should simplify things a little and have therefore changed the look of the blog to reflect the Etsy shop - see;- new banner and orange text! What do you think?

For now, I think it will just be a mixture of smaller pieces such as Ladies and Gents cufflinks for sale in the shop, together with the odd 'bigger' piece such as the original Supernova Choker and Foxglove Trio. I'll see how it goes before I make any other decisions.

The only trouble now is, every time I post a picture either on here or Etsy, I feel unsettled if it doesn't match my new orange and grey theme - could I be taking things a little too seriously lol? I don't think it really warrants me only using orange and grey beads in future though - that may be a step too far!