More 'Ice Cream'

I told you that these 'Ice Cream' beads were my favourites from the last batch of beads I had for sale. Judging by the emails I got regarding them a lot of you seemed to like them too so I have made two more sets.

Pale pink, green, cream and blue beads encased in crystal clear and decorated with spots. The spacers are etched to a soft matt finish and this seems to have made them look edible - like the little sweets you get on candy bracelets and necklaces.

BOTH SETS NOW SOLD

Number of Beads : 29
Size : Spotty beads are 13mm, spacers are 9mm
Price including worldwide postage : £70.00

First Cambridge Beads

So here they are - the first beads made in my new shed. There will be photos of the new bead abode in due course ..... just as soon as we get a proper internet connection!

Tonight's bead sales will work in the usual way. To buy beads please email me with the relevant code/s and it'll be first come, first served. I will email you back but it may take a tad longer than usual as I'll be emailing via my trusty iPhone.

All of tonight's decorated beads are approximately 13mm diameter and plain spacers are 9mm diameter. All prices include postage to anywhere in the world.

So without further ado .....

'Seafoam' Scrolls

SOLD

Transparent pale aqua and freshmint green beads decorated with white scrollwork.

Number of Beads : 8
Price : £33.00


'Romantica' Scrolls
SOLD

Transparent lavender and lavender-rose beads decorated with white scrollwork.

Number of Beads : 8
Price : £33.00


'The Blues' Scrolls
SOLD

Transparent pale blue and sapphire blue beads decorated with white scrollwork.

Number of Beads : 8
Price : £33.00


'Sand & Sky'
SOLD

Sandy, pale taupe cores encased in a thick layer of crystal clear and decorated with fine stringerwork in a gorgeous periwinkle blue. Perfect for Summer!

Number of Beads : 15
Price : £42.00

'Pink 'n' Choc' Polka Dots
SOLD

Pale pink cores encased with a thick layer of crystal clear and decorated with milk chocolate-coloured polka dots. Yumma!

Number of Beads : 9
Price : £42.00


'Lovely Lovely Purple'
SOLD

I'm always at a loss for names for purple beads. There are so many shades of purple and I get bored of 'Berry' and 'Blackcurrant' and the like so these ones are 'Lovely Lovely Purple'. Pinky-amethyst and pale lavender-blue beads decorated with indigo stringerwork. The spacers are darker in this photo than they are in actual life - in reality they are a gorgeous aubergine kind of colour.

Number of Beads : 17
Price : £47.00


'Ice Cream'
SOLD

These are my favourite ones from tonight's selection. Okay, I know that blue ice-cream isn't really a thing but the name just suits these beads. Pale pink, green, cream and blue beads encased in crystal clear and decorated with spots. The spacers are etched to a soft matt finish and this seems to have made them look edible - like the little sweets you get on candy bracelets and necklaces. Please don't eat these, though! Lots of jewellery-making potential with this large set.

Number of Beads : 29
Price £70.00

Beads for sale on Friday

I will have some beads for sale here on my blog tomorrow (Friday) night at 9.00pm UK time. Due to the lack of internet (which is sending me a tiny little bit barmy) I am unable to update my actual website. I'm hoping the blog sale will be a one off and that the next time I sell beads it will be in the usual manner.

No Internet

Just thought I'd stop by and let you know that I am with shed, I am making beads and they will be for sale soon BUT we don't have a working landline or broadband connection yet. I may sell some beads via my blog at the weekend or just after so please stay tuned and I'll keep you updated.

Settling In

Hello! Chris and I are settling into our new home. It's all very strange and different and it hasn't really sunk in that it's our house yet but it's all good! My shed is arriving on Friday so I should be making beads very soon. We will also have broadband in the next few days and I'll be able to blog properly then. Just thought I'd stop by and say hello and tell you that all is well. See you soon!

Last Oxford Beads

The next beads will be Cambridge ones. I'm just about to set about packing up all my lampworking gear so I thought I'd blog now before time runs away with itself. It's going to be a busy day today but probably not as busy as tomorrow will be .....

I have no idea what's going to happen with internet capabilities but I do have my iPhone so I will try and update here when I can. We've got to organise me a shed (yes - I'll be back making beads in a shed) so there won't be any beads for a week or so but you will be the first to know as soon as I'm melting glass again.

Many thanks for all of your best wishes regarding the move. Have a great weekend and I will 'see' you all soon!

Beads & Boxes

I got up and started work early this morning so I could fit in beadmaking and box packing today. The day started well but then I noticed my stringer going all fuzzy on my bead and I realised that I'd run out of propane. Annoying. I'll have to go and get a refill in the morning.

So most of my day has been spent sorting stuff out and packing it away for the move on Friday. I'm getting there slowly - my bedroom is done, there are boxes in the loft that I never unpacked from the last move, my huge collection of CDs is now on my iPod and all the actual CDs are boxed up (in alphabetical order!), my books are all packed and now there's really just the not-so-small matter of my beadmaking setup to dismantle. I think I'll leave that until Thursday.

Anyway, my mind's a bit scatty at the moment and I don't know when I'll have beads for sale next. It will be sometime this week so do check here and on my website homepage for news.

'Pure & Simple'

There's nothing quite like crystal clear glass - it catches the light so differently to coloured glass. It's simple, it can be teamed with absolutely anything and it looks wonderful when etched. I made this set of hand-shaped hearts and spacers with wedding jewellery in mind. I figured that this batch of ten hearts and twenty round spacers would come in very useful for a jewellery maker that creates a lot of bridal pieces. The larger hearts could be used as pendants or necklace centrepieces and the smaller ones would be great as bracelet dangles or maybe as pendants for bridesmaids. Whatever, someone could make a whole stash of weddingy wearables with this batch of beads.

They'll be for sale over on my website at 8.30pm (UK time) tonight.

'Crocus' Socks

It's been a bit warm for knitting and that's why it's taken me so long to complete this pair. The pattern is 'Crocus' from - yes, you guessed it - Wendy D. Johnson's wonderful 'Toe-Up Socks For Every Body'.

The yarn is Smoothie Sock in 'Pumpkin' from Artist's Palette Yarns and it was a joy to knit with. The stitch definition is really crisp which makes the lace look lovely.

I have no idea what my next sock project will be. Normally I'm about two pairs ahead of myself but I don't think I'll be casting on for another pair until I'm in Cambridge. I've got to pack up all of my knitting paraphernalia ready for the move. Hope I've got enough boxes .....

And the winner is .....

Congratulations to Lauren who was drawn as the winner of the Lonelies beads!

This was my largest prize draw ever! I spent a long time typing all the names out, cutting them up and folding them. Then I stuck them in a bowl and mixed them with the same action I use for making pastry. Then my independent adjudicator (my Dad) gave the names another stir and drew one at random. Well done, Lauren! I shall get your beads off to you just as soon as I have your address.

Many thanks to all who entered the draw. I'll do another one soon so do stay tuned.

Bracelets by Joy & Debra

Joy Funnell made the fabulous 'Tutti Frutti' bracelet above. Isn't it just so bright and cheerful? Joy has used lots of my beads, Murano glass and Swarovski crystals. Yum!

The 'Dusky Dream' bracelet above is another Joy Funnell creation and I just love it. Pinks and purples teamed with Joy's wonderful silver work. Perfection. Please hop on over to Joy's website and also why not have a read of her blog too?

And here's another super-pretty charm bracelet. This berry-coloured beauty was made by Debra Farrell of Magical Creations. Debra has used a variety of my beads along with Murano glass, shell beads and Swarovski crystals.

This 'Berry' bracelet and matching earrings are available over in Debra's online shop. Debra has also just started blogging - please click here to have a read.

There are a few hours left for you to enter my Lonelies draw if you haven't already done so. The draw closes at 7.00pm (UK time) tonight and then I shall be drawing a winner. Thank you to everybody who has entered so far. I've loved reading your comments and visiting various blogs. One of you even decided to write a poem about my beads and I thought I'd publish it here on my blog :

An Ode To Lonelies by Ellie Pep

A string of beads we are, we are,
On this lovely blog you'll see...
We're looking for a brand new home
Where we'll make someone very happy.
Known simply as the "lonelies"
We're special, every one!
We're looking for a brand new home where we can have some fun!
Now we've had a conversation,
We've really thought this through
So listen to us Laura
For we'll share it now with you...
We've heard about a lovely place,
It really sounds like heaven.
We'd like to go there on June the 4th...
We'd like to live in Devon!!

Thanks Ellie. I'm honoured - I think that's the first time anyone has ever written a poem about my beads!

Please check back later tonight to see who is going to win those Lonelies .....

A touch of sunshine

There will be quite a few sets of Luminobeads for sale tonight including these bright and cheerful tangerine-coloured ones.

I have many blogs to visit - so many of you have entered the prize draw and blogged about it and I will sit down tonight and take a look at all the posts.

It's all a bit hectic here. I've been packing boxes and writing lists. Chris and I are moving into our new home next week and there are a lot of things to do. I'm doing my utmost to stay calm and unstressed .....