Another riveting post

Nothing has changed since I last blogged except for the fact we went to see Dawn French live. Her current show is called Dawn French is a Huge Twat and it's stories from times in her life when she's done daft stuff. It was SO funny and at several points I had to wipe away laughter tears. Wonderful woman.

But yep, Dawn French aside, it's just been beads and bracelets and bracelets and beads here. Oh hang on, I tell a lie; we did get a new kitchen bin because the lid broke off the old one. Very exciting times.

Anyway, here are some shimmy bracelets...

First up, 'Autumn' which is shades of amber, yellow-orange and terracotta with some bronze Czech glass rondelles:

Then 'Fall' which is light turquoise, teal, terracotta and light brown:

Next is 'Lavender' which was inspired by my actual lavender bush:

And the final shimmy is 'Berry' which is various purples with a dash of cranberry:

I've also made this 'Halloween' bracelet which is finished with a Jack-o'-lantern charm.

At the time of typing, 'Autumn', 'Lavender' and two 'Halloween's are available in my shop.

And yes, I'm fully aware that right now the beads in my bracelets are just plain spacers, except for the ones that are spacers with spots on, but I don't care. I'm enjoying the simplicity of them and playing about with colour combinations. Sometimes I like to make beads that are just about the glass rather than anything fancy. I don't know why I'm feeling the need to explain myself but explain myself I have.

I've not forgotten the next giveaway. I need to rethink how I do it because the winner of the last one still hasn't got in touch so I need to figure out a way round that and some kind of back-up plan with regards to potential non-claiming of the prize.

All the pumpkins

I've been making only pumpkin beads for ten days now.

See? Look at them all.

And this isn't even all of them. These are just the ones I could be arsed to photograph.

And there's another batch in the kiln as I type this.

Pumpkins.

Anyway, I've just about had my fill of pumpkins so if you'd like pumpkin beads or pendants, what's left in the shop is probably the last of them for this year.

I've just looked and I last posted in July. Since then, amongst other things, I have run a half marathon and turned forty-one. Last time I blogged I was halfway through Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Well, I finished that and now I've read all of the Harry Potter books and Hogwarts library books (and have started re-reading them), watched all the Harry Potter films - as well as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - and I now own a wand, some Hedwig pyjamas and a Gryffindor sweatshirt. So yeah, you can call me a convert. I've also finished the new Strike book. Job done.

Talking of books, I'm in one! Harriet of Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery has written a book called The Creative’s Guide to Starting a Business.

Harriet’s book contains case studies from the worlds of fashion, ceramics, perfumery, sculpture, bakery, upholstery, photography, lino cuts, jewellery and beadmaking. I’m the beadmaking case study. The book is very comprehensive and I have picked up some useful tips and advice from it. It's also really great to read about other creative people and the way they work. The book is available on Amazon and all the usual places, and also from Harriet's website.

Strictly Come Dancing is underway. I don't watch it but I know that when it's here we are on the downward slope to Christmas and it's time for me to start thinking about festive beads and all that, so that is what I will be working on next. Deck the halls etc blah blah blah.

Boo!

I've only got a couple of these Halloweenish ghosts left now but I thought I'd show you them anyway.

The ghosts are blown hollows made in translucent white glass.

They're weighted nicely so they hang really well on a chain.

I have just two ghost necklaces left in the shop as I type this. Those are £15.00 each and are available here.

A bracelet and some beads

I've spent all weekend in the shed. I know. I'm a crazywild party machine and I need to calm the flip-heck down.

I made the 'Auburn & Amber' bracelet up there which consists of glass of just two colours - a red-brown and a medium amber. I kept the beads simple and the mini baubles are headpins*. The piece is finished with an acorn and oak leaf charm dangle at the clasp. All findings are copper and 'antique' copper plated. The bracelet looks absolutely gorgeous when the sun shines through it ...

There's only one of these bracelets available and it's for sale in my shop.

I also got my Halloween on and made two sets of beads in classic spookytime colour combinations; black and orange and purple and green.

Each strand of beads contains nine encased rounds, ten droplets and eight spacers. Again, there's only one set of each up for grabs so if you like them, grab them. 

I must do a boring what-is-going-on-in-my-life-that-is-not-about-beads post. I know that a couple of you like those. I will get on that as soon as I can. It won't be tonight as Monday nights are Slimming World nights. I still go even though I'm at my target weight. Those weekly weigh-ins keep me and my arse/pudding belly/thighs in check.

Have a marvellous Monday!

*Headpins. Remember how I was going to send folk lampwork headpins to test? Well, I asked for ten people and I got forty. I said yes to half of those. I then sent the first lot of headpins out to half of those and only had feedback from one person. So I've not sent any more headpins out because I can't afford to spend time, glass and postage giving stuff away and getting nothing back. So if you were in the batch of people who didn't receive a headpin bundle from me, that is the reason why. My apologies but I hope you understand.

Autumnalness

I adore the colours about the place at this time of year; rich reds, vibrant yellows and oranges and glorious coppers and bronzes. I made these enamelled beads and turned them into a bracelet as I liked the idea of wrapping all those beautiful autumn colours around your wrist.

And I also made this super-cute pumpkin pendant. It'll add a splash of autumnal loveliness or a touch of Halloweenery to your day.

 

Both of these pieces are available over on my Freshly Baked Beads page right now.

'Halloween' Bracelet

I wanted to make a Halloween bracelet but I didn't want it to be overly Halloweeny. So I just went for black and enamelled green and orange spacers and a cute pumpkin dangle.

This one is available over on the Freshly Baked Beads page right now. It is £35.00 including giftbox and worldwide delivery.

'Halloween'

Green and purple.  It's an odd colour pairing but I always like seeing it.  In my mind it just works.  The time of year greatly affects the feel of the combination, though.  In spring mint green and lavender look fresh and floral.  In summer emerald and purple look bright and cheery.  If you pair olive and indigo in autumn it has that Halloween feel to it and that's exactly what I was going for with these beads.

These will be for sale on my website tonight at 8.00pm UK time. 

Spooky Saturday

As you can probably tell by the lack of bloggage I've been a tad busy. My sister Sally and the kids came up on Thursday to stay for a couple of nights. Much fun was had!

Chris also came down for the weekend and on Saturday morning he and Robyn did a touch of Halloween pumpkin carving. Chris had never made a Jack-o'-lantern before (can you believe that?!) and I think he did a superb job. We put the lit pumpkin outside the front door last night and waited for an influx of trick-or-treaters. Yeah, that never happened - we got a grand total of three visits. So now I have a big bowl of fun-size Twix left. I guess I'll have to eat them. Shame .....

Hey, blog peeps!

It's been a little while but I'm back with some new beads to show you!

These are a variation on the Halloween theme - purple and green but in slightly muted shades. The pairing of soft violety purple and groovy wasabi-esque green makes for some quite sophisticated-looking beads, methinks.

The purple is encased in a thin layer of clear glass so they have a nice depth to them and the stringerwork appears to 'float'.

Any name suggestions for these ones?