poison apple jewellery and a blunder into the Surreal

poison apple bracelet- onyx and red jade

Well I had my first fair experience today at the Marehay show.. not technically a crafts fair... it was different... not all together bad.. the venue changed about three times due to the rain and we ended up squashed in at the Marehay Miners Welfare.. yes it was as dire as it sounds.... and we were pushed up against the wall in a room with all the show vegetables, so even though the fair was to open at 12 it didn't until nearly two because the judges were so intensely viewing the vegetable entries....the day was filled with muttering old biddies, grumbling old coots arguing the toss over who's cabbage was best, and there were some shop bought beets and corn that were severely disqualified.

My competition in the jewellery stakes was a stall selling very cheap plastic and glass and metal (not even pretty glass in my opinion) I was a bit confused with what wares she was actually selling as she was a bit slap happy with the makeup the satellites she wore for hoop earrings and apparently she left the house before she put a skirt on. Not that I'm a prude but put some clothes on woman. I sold a few pieces about £41 which isn't bad for Ripley, had a few inquiries and handed out some of my moo.com cards.

My sales though were to my Mother in Law, two friends who bought a bracelet each, a lovely mute lady who my fellow stall holders thought was being rude before they figured out she couldn't speak. and A drunken lout who bought a key chain for his girlfriend.

oh and did I mention the pornographic flower arranging demonstrations? three of them in all... all about wide bottoms, tassels, and blowing roses to open them up.. very peculiar day...

strawberries and cream - white jade and strawberry quartz

In preparation for yesterday's surreal experience of attending Marehay Show to have half a craft stall I have been busy making a few bits and pieces of jewellery. I ordered the red jade beads a few days ago and they are delicious looking, beautifully vibrant and juicy looking, like ripe red berries, or poison apples, and pair beautifully with the black onyx coin beads. I got loads of interest buy not buyers for the piece at Marehay show, its not really the thing that biddies and codgers like to purchase, perhaps a bit too goth for granny?

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Gilbert the ghost- embroidery wip

oh and meet Gilbert The Ghost. Gilbert is small and not terribly good at being scary, he likes spagetti westerns, 80's movies, and has an unhealth obsession with musicals.

he is a work in progress from a quick doodle in my go-everywhere- notebook. He is embroidered because I havne't got my paints unpacked just yet. But keep a look out, I'm sure he will find his way into acrylics and vintage book pages sometime soon.

don't forget to leave a comment on my giveaway post!

Playing with Beads and Personalities

teal and sterling silver hoop earrings

I have been a busy bee this morning pottering around in my bead boxes. Not a huge amount to show but I'm very pleased with the two pairs of earrings and the two bracelets I managed to put together this morning. The jewellery items listed here will be added to my etsy shop unless I get any offers in the mean time. H will be home soon from preschool so thus ends my creative time but for your amusement I have added a personality quiz at the bottom of this post. Well it amused me anyway!

yellow jacket- lime jade and onyx bracelet

punk rocker- pink candy jade and onyx bracelet

tourqouise seed bead hoop earring

I found this personality quiz linked on SewtoBed's blog and I must admit this is me.

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's" Your Personality Type?

Peridot, Cherries, and Twigs

peridot and cherry adventurine commissioned bracelet

twig painted page

p.s. don't forget to leave a comment on the illustration giveaway for your chance to win an original or a print.

The Trouble with Earrings

purple seed bead and sterling hoops

can you guess what I have been up to this morning? Aside from drinking copious amounts of caffeinated liquids, i.e. coffee, and quite large quantities of the stuff. I have been fighting with seed beads, to create some purple hoop earrings for my next door neighbour. I hope she likes them because I'm pretty happy with house they have turned out so far, especially the ones with the faceted purple jade beads. Sadly I will not be keeping any as I don't have pierced ears, what my neighbour doesn't want will be going in my etsy shop on Friday.

purple jade beads and sterling silver hoop earrings

Next on the crafting front I'm going to design some labels for posting as M has made the mistake of telling me he has a pack of blank sticky label paper for printing. I'm pretty sure that's not its official name but its what I'm calling it.

update: I'm going to let the giveaway run till Friday and see if I get any more comments before I do the big draw. Thank you so much everyone that has left a comment so far, its been really lovely to read your comments and cheered me up on yet another dismal grey day.

purple seed beads hoop earrings

Rhymes with Orange

orange agate pendant

I put together this pendant a little while ago in the blissful quite of H being at pre-school for a few short hours this morning. It made with a large facet cut focal bead that was labeled "agate" but I have no idea if it is natural or dyed, I'm assuming it is dyed because its such a fantastic orange color. I have also included a few onyx beads, and a fire opal, I think its lovely... if only I had something to wear with it.

the back of the pendant

Purple Jade

dream agate

I have some beading mojo back! Apparently I just had to order some more beads and some toggle clasps and I'm a happy bunny. I'm totally in love with the purple jade beads in the purple jade bracelet.... I have a thing for purple but they are such a lovely mottled mauve-y purple colour how could I have not ordered them, they look fantastic paired with my favourite rounded square silver beads.

The fantasy dream agate beads are very funky too, its a shame that the sun is hidden today because they would look great with a little sun shining through them. They will be going up for sale in the Etsy shop on Friday. And speaking of shops did I mention that I have a small display of my jewellery in a framing gallery in town? Well I do and I'm so proud of it I hope they sell but this town is a bit hit and miss with things like that, all I can do is wait and see and keep making things. Happy Crafting!

purple jade

p.s. am I the only one with "Purple Rain" on my internal radio?

Drawing Straws at Ikea

Katy's pendant

Yesterday I met up with the effortlessly cool Katy at that place of all things flat packed and Swedish. We had a good natter over a vaguely black substance labled coffee, but tasting of no such thing. I gave Katy's this pendant I made from a square cut focal jade bead, and some fire opal beads I had kicking about my bead box. I found the focal bead at SpellBound Beads in Lichfield on Saturday and Thought it would make a lovely gift for Katy, with her love of the colour green, and paired with the vibrant orange fire opal, it makes a bright pendant in orange and green 70's colours, Katy's favourite.

M forbid me to buy anything as we had a walk around Ikea, my only purchase was a little bag of straws to replace all the straws that H has chewed up. Oh and I bought some chocolates for M for the shop at the end. Thats my lot for now H is throwing tantrums and the kitchen is a pig sty.

jade and fire opal pendant

Vintage Swap

Here are the things that I posted off to my Vintage Swap Partner, so if you are looking Mel and haven't received my package yet DON'T LOOK!

My swap partner is Mel from Sky Rocket Sews who likes the colours red and turquoise. I ran out of time to have the painted page put into a mount or a frame but I hope that Mel likes it, Its one of my favourite painted pages that I have done so far. What me obsessed? probably but I cant help it its just so much fun to paint these little pictures on pages from a broken and battered book, my kind of recycling. I hope she finds some use of the key chain, the red agate, and the turquoise/teal glass bead look amazing together. The books were in a bag of books that came from a relatives attic, they were lovely and I thought that Mel would appreciate them, plus I thought they really fulfilled the Vintage Craft Swap.

red agate and teal glass bead keychain

Painted Page flapper with red necklace

vintage ladybird children's craft books

Some Jewellery and Some Thrifting Finds

strawberry quartz and silver pendant

I made the pendant yesterday to match a strawberry quartz bracelet I made for myself a few posts back, I love it, its jangly yet simple and non fussy, which is perfect for me, I love simple clean lines of things, except for my chicken scratch handwriting obviously. I like pink though I don't wear it all that often and yesterday I wore the jewellery with a pink summery top, M wasn't sure what to make of me, as I was deviating from my normal dark colours, blacks, greys, and purples.

prehnite and black agate bracelet with flower toggle clasp

I need to order more toggle clasps as I have only a few left to play with, of them I made the green prehnite and black agate bracelet with this lovely silver plated flower toggle clasp. And the lovely golden rutilated quartz and sterling silver double strand bracelet, with a sterling silver clasp, its truly lovely and I am so very tempted to keep it for myself, but seeing as I have already kept the pendant something should really make it into my poor neglected Etsy shop.

golden rutilated quartz and sterling silver double strand bracelet

Which brings me to the last two images of some treasures from a thrift shop in Santa Rosa that we brought back with us. The clock is a reproduction but its lovely and we got it for $10 and its sitting happily on the mantle above the fireplace. M and I are totally enchanted and amused by it, amused because across the street was a shop selling shabby chic rustic white furniture, mirrors and clocks, etc, and we figure the clock we got for the thrift store would have been more that $75, the clock is only battery run but I think my dad would appreciate that we bought it. Clocks are one of his hobbies, he finds them normally broken ones and fixes them. The buttons are a lovely shade of lilac and will eventually adorn a java jacket that has been abandoned in mid-knit, I will get back to it eventually honest. I think the buttons were around .25 or .50 cents. I probably would have brought back half the contents of the thrift shop if I had a big enough suitcase. I wish the charity shops around here carried things half as nice.

clock

liliac buttons

Watermelon Candy

pink candy jade and nephrite jade bracelet

As part of fufilling the Cupcakes, Candy and Ice Cream Challenge I wrote for the Mumsnet Crafters blog I thought I would use these delicious cotton candy coloured faceted pink "candy jade" beads, which I believe are a dyed type of quartz. My intention was a simple pink and silver bracelet, but apparently the beads had a mind of their own and paired up with some rogue nephrite green jade beads I had kicking around in my beading box. Once they got together I was powerless to separate them again.

strawberry quartz, peridot, and silver bracelet

Next I settled down to crafting a bracelet from a strand of delicate rutilated "golden stranded" quartz, the beads ignored my attempts at taming them and I found myself holding a string of strawberry quartz and half a dozen coin shaped peridot beads. So today's theme appears to be pink and green, I am wearing a green skirt after all, but paired with a black blouse so not everything is the colour of watermelon or watermelon candies I should say.

I may do some painting as well for the challenge, a nice little cupcake , or an ice cream melting in the summer sun. Everyone is welcome to join the challenge, there is no true due date, if you feel inspired by the thought of cupcakes and candy then please leave a comment here or on the mumsnet blog. You don't need to be a mumsnetter to join the challenge, you just have to feel inspired and being possed of a sweet tooth won't hurt.

Most of all have fun crafting. And remember a knit cupcake is far fewer calories than a real one. ......mmmmm...... cupcakes......

p.s. the light is terrible today, all grey and overcast so the pictures aren't so great.

The Ticking of Limes

This morning I dragged all my beads out, and there are quite a few now as I got 3 lots of beads in the post yesterday. The first creation is a watch that I have a commission for, I'm happy with it so far but I'm waiting on some more clear quartz beads that I may swap for the ice flake quartz used in this first attempt at a beaded watch. The second is a watch using white quartz and lime jade, though I think the oval jade beads are more of an acid lemon colour than a lime colour. Its very summery and bright.

My intention is to do some painting and drawing later this afternoon or once I have had more coffee to keep me going. I need to sort the house out its an absolute and utter tip but we are having the bathroom done and its such a mess everywhere I have lost the will to wield duster and hoover.

Some recipes will be popping up soon and this post makes 197 so I think that calls for a give away when I hit 200.. don't you? Any Ideas for a give away? I thought something along the lines of a commisioned bracelet/earrings or possibly a small painting... give me your ideas please.

iceflake quartz and white jade beaded watch

white quartz and lime jade bracelet

It's My Jet Lag and I'll Cry if I Want To

noted

Its my Birthday today and I thought I would attempt to blog a few of my Birthday treats before I fall asleep, the only thing keeping me going at the moment is the coffee I seem to be mainlining, though hopefully soon I will be adding birthday cake to my sugar and caffeine intake. As you can see from the first image I got some beautiful leather notebooks for my birthday, the top one M got me (after several not to subtle hints) its from ArtisanGraham, the middle is an eco friendly nkuku, and the bottom one is a soft recycled leather journal from Barnes and Noble's that I bought myself along with a couple of novels. I really did need a new notebook and now I quite happily have three.

The next three items are gifts from my dad (my mother bought me clothes and a cute pair of polk-a-dot sketchers). The first item was a pendant made from a slice of a mastodon's tusk that will be the focal point of a beaded necklace. A lovely little vintage drawing and painting book , and a pretty little stone box.

The last item pictured is an agate pendant, that M bought me in San Francisco. It just looks like the ocean to me and makes me think of Bodega Bay. Frizbe dropped by with the girls this morning and brought me some lovely little birthday muffins, a little purple purse she knitted, and some lovely hair things too. I would feel spoiled if I wasn't so jet-lagged.

Mastadon pendant

vintage bird drawing book



pretty little stone box



agate pendant that looks like the ocean

Strawberry Quartz

strawberry quartz and silver bracelet

I treated myself to these pretty strawberry quartz beads while we were in Idaho, they were so sewat and summery I had to have them, especially with the dysmal snowy weather.

Candy Apples and Holidays

red carnelian bracelet with apple toggle clasp

I made this bracelet last night while M and I watched Torchwood and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. And as usual the sun has only made an appearance after I took the pictures. We are off on our trip to San Francisco and Idaho tomorrow, well down to H's favourite hotel and flying out on Monday. Thank god we aren't flying with BA this time, though M says he wants to have a look around the new terminal 5.

We will be back at the end of the month, the day before my birthday, so my present will be jet lag! Thank you all for reading my blog, if I get the chance I will update while we are away, so check back from time to time. And of course I will post lots of pictures when we return.

San Francisco here we come.

And Idaho too.

Garnet in Bloom

garnet bracelet with a silver plated blossom toggle clasp

This was meant to be a necklace, well the clasp was intended to adorn a necklace, but as I am woefully short of beads with our impending holiday this clasp has been appropriated into this lovely bracelet. I have just finished wearing it as wandered about the room, Thank god H is napping and M is at work, as I'm sure I looked like I had truly lost it, perhaps I have. I'm really pleased with the finished bracelet, I only wish the sun would make an appearance so I could take a picture with the light streaming through the polished garnet chips.

Sardonyx and Me

amethyst, peridot, and sterling silver bracelet

As we will be going away on holiday on Sunday, I have forbidden myself to order any more beads. Obviously that wont stop me buying any if we just happen to be passing a bead store or two while in California or Idaho in the next few weeks. But it has the effect that I am limited to the oddments of beads and toggles that are in my bead box(s) which is not enough to make any necklaces but I have scraped together enough beads to make these two bracelets.

The first has small faceted amethyst beads and oval shaped peridot, with a bali silver toggle clasp. I know I have done several purple and green items, mainly bracelets but I just adore the colour combination. Something about the vibrant peridot mixed with amethyst just shouts spring to me. Thoughts of Irises, and lilacs, and purple tulips spring to mind.

close up of the bali silver toggle clasp

The other bracelet I made today is this one with the large rectangular sardonyx focal bead in the centre. I fell in love with the bead in the shop and had to have it, but wasn't sure wat to do with it until now. It may get taken apart and remade before I'm happy and M says it looks like a 70's watch without a face. Let me know what you think.

sardonyx, smokey quartz, black agate, and silver bracelet

Three Horsemen Shy of an Apocalypse

amethyst and black agate bracelet

Not a great deal of crafting going on as Plague has revisted our house, H is quite poorly with a cold at the moment and has stayed home from pre-school today. In an attempt to keep him occupied and not to pouty we have packed his little carryon suitcase, painted a canvas, and now he is napping with very little protest. You know you are dealing with a poorly child when there is no tantrum at being sent for a nap.

While he splodged paint on a square canvas from The Works I darkened a small canvas down that I previously didn't like. I'm still not sure about it but I think it does look vaguely better than it did previously. H says my painting isn't pretty becuse I was using black but his was pretty because he used blue and red. I felt inspired to paint this morning but found it difficult to paint while keeping H from spilling things or sneezing into the paint pots.

I should be cleaning the house but thought I would mess around with the new camera instead of my phone camera. So thats what I used to take todays pictures. A vast improvement over the phone pictures I think. The amethyst and black agate bracelet that I made last night looks stunning, and the light wasn't even that great. Baking to do later, something with bananas as I have a fruit bowl full and need to clear it out before we go away.

H's painting on canvas

Crafting to Boston Legal

cherry adventurine and peridot bracelet

russian adventurine (I think)

dolomite and silver bracelet

WIP-
I haven't had alot of time to craft the last few days, and am running low on a few bead essentials. But with what bits I have left in my beading stash I made these three bracelets lastnight. I'm quite happy with then except for the clasp on the adventurine one, its nice but just dosn't work with the rest of the bracelet. On the plus side in the post this morning came an order of toggles from etsy so I will have a play tommorow with my new toys!

I have also been working on some ideas for my vintage craft swap and deciding what to put up for a blog give away so check back in a day or two and see what you can win.

The Briar Rose

briar rose garnet and sterling silver necklace

another view

I completed this necklace about 5 minutes ago. The pictures are of rather poor quality due to the light being rather absent but I'm extremely happy with the finished necklace. I love the rose clasp and the garnet is so vibrant in the 5 minutes of nice light I got when half finished with the necklace. When I get some better images it will be added to the etsy shop though its lovely and I'm sorely tempted to keep it for myself.

Next I am going to attempt to make yet another felt flower to use up this bit of felt that keeps taunting me, and I might even manage to get my knitting out again over this long Easter weekend.

Its M's birthday next week so I have to do some shopping for that...but I will not say what on the off chance that he may actually read this blog...you never know he might... I will say he has bought himself a Nintendo DS light and brain training, and super mario brothers for H when we fly to the states next month. very generous I thought.