'Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah'

Crazy name, I know, but these bright and cheery beads told me that they wanted to be called that. Who was I to argue?!

Luminobead Earrings

These groovy earrings featuring my Luminobeads were made by Melanie Poxon of Kookie Designs. I just love the bright blue wire - very funky! Please click here to see more of Mel's work.

Don't forget, I always love to see what happens to my beads once they reach their new homes so if you have pictures of jewellery that you've made with my beads, please do send them my way.

'A Fiori'

I do like pink and green together. It's one of those colour combinations that just works. You can use various hues - hot pink and lime green, candy pink and mint green, deep magenta and dark bottle green and so on, and the colours will just sing together.

I made the dusky pink beads in this set first and then set about finding a green that would work nicely with them. I decided upon this wonderful soft sage green, created by layering glasses. The beads are decorated with tiny white flowers with raised lavender centres. The name 'A Fiori' means 'flowery' in Italian.

The photographs could have been better but there's not much you can do when the August sky is grey and dreary. Flippin' weather - one minute it's sunny and the next it's pouring down. I don't want a heatwave but some August sunshine would be nice!

These beads will be for sale on my website tonight.

Pig Palace

I bought my guinea pigs a swank new house on Saturday. Their old one was starting to get a bit manky and parts of the wood were starting to rot. Also, Martha and Jemima, the two younglings, are growing at a rapid rate and the old hutch was starting to become a tad cramped.

So they now have this wonderful guinea pig sty which is very spacious and best of all, the whole roof lifts up for easy cleaning and it makes catching the furry squeakers a much easier task too!

And yes, that's Jemima and Edith sat either side of the steps that lead up to their mansion. People always seem to find this amusing but my guinea pigs are free range. The whole garden is guinea pig proof with discreet bits of mesh and netting here and there to stop them escaping. I open the hutch door in the morning and they come and go as they please throughout the day and then in the evening I put their dinner in their house (fresh lettuce, carrot and apple every day) and they all head home and I shut them up for the night. Honestly, guinea pigs are the best pets - they don't bite, they don't smell and they're oh-so-sweet and very amusing to watch. Each one has their own little personality. I've kept guinea pigs since I was about eight and I'll be keeping them for many years to come!

Hello

I am here, I've just not got much to say at the moment. I've made a start on the Cupcake orders and I'll have some normal beads to show you tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!