Languishing no more

I start to feel sorry for beads in my 'For Sale' box that have been sat there for ages waiting for a new home. It's like they're not getting to fulfil their potential and after months of them languishing in a dark box I take out the beads and turn them into jewellery.

'Rainy Day' bracelet

'Rainy Day' earrings

I've had some polka dotty 'Rainy Day' beads and some spotty 'Iceberg' ones sat doing nothing for far too long so last week I made them into bracelets and earrings.

'Iceberg' bracelet

'Iceberg' earrings

These pieces are currently available in my shop.

Bead creations and Christmas cats

I made some more Stormy Seas jewellery. There are a couple of bracelets...

...and I also made a few pairs of earrings. 

The beads are only about 9mm diameter so the earrings are lightweight and easy to wear.

The Stormy Seas bracelets and earrings can be purchased in my shop. I can no longer guarantee delivery in time for Christmas but I will continue to post orders as I receive them and on days that Royal Mail are doing their thing, so feel free to buy beady things and they'll be with you when they're with you.

In other news, I made a couple of catnip mice, one for Nigel and one for Enca, my sister Sally's cat.

They're made with wool felt and their tails are Icelandic lopi wool. I grow and dry catnip for Nigel every year but I normally just put some in an old odd sock of mine and tie the end up and he's more than happy with his nipsock. This year I decided that I should actually make a mouse to stuff with catnip. I don't know why because this involves sewing, which I loathe. I found a catnip mouse pattern on the PDSA website and I spent far too long sewing these two. I've hidden Nigel's away and I wrapped and posted Enca's with the other presents I was sending to my sister. The parcel of presents arrived with her yesterday and during the night Enca decided she was opening her Christmas present early and by 'opening' I mean ripping apart the wrapping, biting the ears, tail and arse off the mouse and leaving toy stuffing, catnip and ripped bits of felt all over the dining room floor. What a catnip-crazed maniac!

Utter carnage

Meanwhile, Nigel is taking his usual interest in the Christmas tree. 

He absolutely loves it and always tries to climb it. This year Chris has made a reinforced base for the tree stand to avoid it toppling over if Nigel gets too enthusiastic with it.

Adjusting that blue tit bauble

Nigel's off to the vet this evening. He's got to have a blood test to check his thyroid levels. He was at the upper end of the normal range when he had a blood test back in the summer so this is a follow-up to see what's what. He's twelve now and the older he gets the more I worry about him. I spend more time stressing and fretting about the cat than I do anything else in my life! I'm sure other pet owners can relate.

I'm going to go and tidy the spare room now. Half of it is home to my jewellery making and bead packing desk, all my packaging supplies and my yarn stash. It's all getting a bit out of hand and very messy in there and I cannot move without knocking something over or something falling on top of me.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

How is it March already?

I've fallen off the blog again, haven't I? I mean, between my previous post and this one we've had Christmas and are into the third month of a new year, so that's quite a large blog pause.

I had a sad start to the year with the death of my maternal grandmother. Nannie was my last remaining grandparent so her death feels like a generational chapter closing.

Nannie and Mum (holding a very tiny me)

It sort of feels like the year hasn't really got going yet. I've been crocheting doily after doily. The doily stack has reached insane levels of ridiculous but round and round I go, adding picots and pineapples and shells and mesh in a soothing, increasing, concentric fashion.

'Concentric'

'Pinwheel Mesh'

I keep trying to design my own doily but it involves maths which always defeats me and I end up throwing part-crocheted lace circles across the lounge in frustration. I will get there with a doily design, though, for I am human and will not be conquered by hooks and string.

'Sunvale' - a design by Julia Hart

I've added a crochet page to my online shop, not because I want to become a doily merchant but because whenever I post a photo of a doily on Instagram someone will always comment and tell me to sell it. I know that nobody really wants doilies - I don't even want bloody doilies - but they're there in a section of my shop anyway, just in case there actually is someone somewhere who is on the lookout for a doily.

'Whirl' wall hanging

Some doilies lend themselves to being mounted within a ring as a mandala-style wall hanging and I've got a couple of those for sale in the shop too.

'Radiate' wall hanging

I'm still a bit in the bead doldrums. Sales are very slow and hot on the heels of the pre-Christmas postal strikes we had the barmy Royal Mail 'cyber incident' that stopped anyone posting anything outside the UK for almost two months. Both events have been a right kick in the teeth to many microbusinesses and several people I know shut up shop for good because of it.

But still I plod on, making the beads I feel like making, when I feel like making them because making beads is what I do.

'Vintage' Tendril bracelet

'Orchid' Tendril bracelet

I've been working on some jewellery pieces combining my lampwork beads with wirework. At the moment I'm working in solid copper because A) it's a fraction of the price of sterling silver and I can make as many muff-ups as I like without feeling bad about it and B) I just love copper. It's such a gorgeous metal, whether it's left shiny or allowed to build up a natural patina, or if you hurry that patina along. I've been patinating the jewellery I've made with liver of sulphur, or 'egg water' as I call it. (See this post for explanation.) After the piece has reached the level of patina I'm after I polish parts of it back to a shine using fine steel wool which brings out the detail of any fancy wirework and creates a lovely antique shop style finish.

'The Blues' bracelet

'Sand & Sea' Tendril necklace

'Sand & Sea' Tendril necklace detail

Solid copper can react with some people's skin, particularly with sweat or lotions, but any skin discoloration is totally harmless and can be removed easily with soapy water. I wear a copper chain maille bracelet and have had no skin discoloration issues but then again I don't wear jewellery to bed, in the shower, or all day every day. Basically, what I'm trying to say is don't let the copper put you off. Embrace its warm tones and vintage, bohemian look.

'Lemon Curd' Tendril necklace

I've not abandoned sterling silver totally. I had a toadstool moment a few weeks back and I turned them into pendants.

Toadstool pendants

All of the jewellery in this post is available in my shop. I also have a few beads for sale and a few of these, along with some older pieces of jewellery, are available at reduced prices. Head this way to the shop.

It's snowing here today. It's wet mushy snow that isn't going to settle but that doesn't matter because even at forty-five years old I still find the sight of falling snowflakes magical.

I'm going to stay in the warm today and work on a crochet shawl because I'm doing a pattern test for another crocheter. I've never tested a pattern nor crocheted a shawl before so it's an adventure. Always be making, always be learning.

The humble plain spacer bead

One of the things I like about these shimmy bracelets is how they take the humble plain spacer bead to a new level. I have so many oddments of glass and of those some is glass that works best on its own without any decoration, or because it's fussy and doesn't play nicely with other glass. That's where spacer beads come in.

I'm trying to not buy glass (except for clear and a limited range of staples) so I can work through all my odds and ends, and making spacers is a great way of doing that, so expect lots more of these shimmy bracelets. Also, because the beads are small, simple and fast to make, I can keep the costs of the bracelets down. (I make my spacers one at a time, one per mandrel, though. I've never got on board with making loads of them on one mandrel.)

As I said a couple of posts back, sterling silver is becoming almost too expensive so this shimmy bracelet is made with high quality silver plated base metal findings. If I'd used sterling it would cost a huge amount and the weight would mean the bracelet would need to be hallmarked. I've never gone down that route and I don't intend to because I'm a beadmaker, not a silversmith.

I've got some gold plated findings arriving soon which I'm quite excited about because I've hardly ever paired my beads with gold metal. 

The beads in this 'Glacier' bracelet are made from a third of an unlabelled rod of CiM transparent aquamarine blue, a very skinny and therefore annoying to use rod of Effetre Antique Green 852 and some Effetre Light Turquoise filigrana.

I also made this pair of earrings the other day. Again, just two plain little spacers in glorious Double Helix Theia which, in my opinion, is the best and prettiest purple glass you can get right now.

The greenish-blue disc beads are tiny Czech glass ones that I've had in my bead stash for eons. All metal in these earrings is sterling silver. 

The bracelet and earrings are in my shop.

Thank you to everyone who has entered my prize draw so far. There are way more of you than I thought there'd be so that's fab.

If you haven't yet entered, please head this way for more details and to add your name to the draw.

Looking after your jewellery

I enclose the following information with jewellery that I sell but I thought I'd put it here for reference.

Looking After Your Jewellery

When you’re not wearing your jewellery, keep each piece in a plastic grip seal or soft fabric bag. Store in a dark place. This will reduce the chances of your jewellery tarnishing and keeps it from getting scratched or tangled. Handle your jewellery carefully and keep it away from perfumes, lotions, hairspray, household cleaners and chlorine.

Cleaning Your Jewellery

• Plated Metal Jewellery

If your jewellery is zinc alloy, brass or pewter with a silver, gold, rhodium or antique copper plated finish, dip a soft cloth in some lukewarm dish-soapy water and then gently rub your jewellery with the cloth while keeping it submerged in the water. Dry the jewellery with a clean cloth, or allow it to air dry.

• Pure Copper Jewellery

Pure copper tarnishes over time but this can look lovely so you might not want to clean it. If you do, add a teaspoon of salt to some white or malt vinegar, or lemon juice, and soak your copper jewellery in the mixture for a minute or so. Remove the jewellery from the solution and then rinse it with cool or lukewarm water. Do not use very cold water or hot water as this could potentially shock the glass and cause it to crack. Dry the jewellery with a clean cloth, or allow it to air dry.

• Sterling Silver Jewellery

Sterling silver can be cleaned in the same way as plated metal. If it is heavily tarnished you can use a sterling silver cleaning solution or special silver polishing cloth. These are available in supermarkets and jewellers.

• Surgical or Stainless Steel

This beautiful metal only gets better and shinier with age and wear. If you do need to clean it, follow the instructions for cleaning plated metal.

IMPORTANT: Never clean jewellery that contains glass beads using the boiling water, bicarbonate of soda and tin foil method, as you might shock the glass and cause it to crack.

Beachy wearables and new Strike excitement

There's a definite change in the light. I noticed it on Saturday; the morning sun had a mellow glow to it, rather than the bright peak-of-summer glare. I do so love the end of the summer and that gradual slide into autumn in late September.

I made a batch of beachy beads on Sunday and yesterday I spent a few hours turning them into jewellery.

The resulting 'Seaside' bracelet is very similar to the 'Seashore' one that's in my shop but this time I've used antique copper baeds and findings instead of sterling silver.

I also made a long necklace with some of the beads.

I used pearly ivory-coloured seed beads and oval sterling silver spacers for this 'Beach' necklace.

It measures thirty-three inches long and could also double up as a wrap bracelet.

Both the necklace and bracelet can be found in my shop.

I'm off down to the shed now where and I will lose myself in beads and the new Strike book.

The first thing I did this morning was download the audiobook of The Ink Black Heart and devour chapter one. I was like a child on Christmas morning! It's so good to have a new Cormoran and Robin story.

Turning beads into things

Eighteen years I’ve been making beads. That’s ages. I was twenty-six when I started lampworking! At the beginning of this I was already making jewellery and the idea was to make my own beads to use in my own designs, and I did and I do, but the whole way along I’ve been thoroughly sidetracked by making and selling mostly just beads.

'Blue Confetti' bracelet

'Elephant' earrings

Oftentimes I'll have been making beads and thinking about how I would put them into jewellery and what other beads and components I'd put with them, always telling myself that I can make more of those beads and make that jewellery another time, but I never did. Turns out I don't even like doing bead remakes for myself!

'Lustre Dapple' earrings

'Pink Spotties' earrings

So I’m trying to steer it back to my original plan. I’ve been increasingly disillusioned with lampwork – not the actual act of it – but the constant trying to make something new and the feeling of pressure (from myself) to always be making what I think people will buy.Those are two really great ways to stress yourself out!

The other week I decided to make beads that I would like to turn into jewellery. The photo above of a little dish of beads from a few weeks back was the result and I turned pretty much all of them into wearable things, and I really enjoyed it, so that’s what I’m going to focus on doing for the time being. That’s not to say I won’t have any loose beads for sale – I’m sure I will – but there is going to be more jewellery than loose beads. For now. Until I have another beadmaking paradigm shift. Or retire. Who knows? I’m not a planner, I just do stuff.

'Wood Sprite' necklace

'Spotties' earrings

I've got a few pieces of jewellery in my shop now, including all of the pieces pictured throughout this post. I need to make some more bracelets and necklaces as I currently have only one of each for sale, so do stay tuned.

Tied in knots

Ages ago I bought a load of waxed cotton with the intention of combining it with my beads to make bracelets. The cotton got put in a box under my desk and forgotten about.

The other week when Chris and I were tidying up to prepare for him working from home, I rediscovered the box of cotton and remembered my plan and finally I have made some macramé bracelets!

I used to make those friendship bracelet things when I was a teenager, you know the ones made out of embroidery thread and a million tiny knots, so I'm not unfamiliar with the whole knotting thing.

I wanted to keep these bracelets simple; plain beads and basic macramé knots. I wanted them to be for everyday wear, so nothing fussy.

After a bit of faffing to work out how many beads worked best, how many knots in between them gave a balanced look, and getting the beads and the knots to sit as neatly as possible, I decided on this design as my basic macramé and lampwork bracelet.

The bracelets fit a medium 6–6.5 inch wrist but because of the sliding macramé fastening they can be adjusted for a larger wrist, or for a looser fit.

I wore the prototype bracelet all day yesterday and it's ever so comfortable.

I've written notes for potential different designs that will incorporate more beads, in more than one colour, and also ones with fewer beads – possibly slightly larger, decorated ones – so yeah, prepare for more knottiness!