Polymer play!

Well....I turned 27 just under a week ago and got some £ for my b'day so I decided that I would realise a crafty dream and start to have a go at polymer clay bead making!

On Wednesday (29th) the day after my birthday I sat and browsed youtube and http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/ ALL day! and was truly inspired by the end of it! So inspired I went on a slight shopping spree! I bought a polymer clay starter kit, some traslucent clay, cutters and pearl ex from http://www.polymerclaypit.co.uk/ and may I say the service was first class! Thanks!

Yesterday, when I got back from my travels I could resist the urge no more and got down to business!!

I first wanted to make a simple 'swirl' cane and cut beads from this. But alas...this went sightly wonky! I reduced the cane too much and my beads turned to circles of around 1mm diameter! Never fear though as looking at the leaflets from the polymer clay pit I found out how to do classic millefiori beads and so used some scrap clay, cut up my cane and made this set...

My very first set of beads!!! Yey! I love these! These are my favourites of all the sets I did over these last two days! They are subtle yet funky! I will be keeping them myself and will make some jewellery for me from them!

Inspired by this I went on to also make this set yesterday too in the same way but using pink and purple cane work and a black background. I did not fully cover my bead this time and so you can see the background behind it.

This morning I decided that I wanted to try out my peal ex powders. I bought these as I want to do some faux stone work but thought I'd practice first. So, I made a bullseye cane and kneeded some blue/red pearl ex into the based bead which was white. I didn't want more rounds so I made squares. Not sure I like them. The pearl ex wasn't really as strong as I would like and they look like retro chewits to me.....well you live and learn!!

I had some bullseye can left so I reverted back to what went well yesterday and finished with some full milli rounds...



Here they all are waiting to be varnished...



All in all I am really pleased with my first attempts! I love the first set and the black and purple set! And its really relaxing rolling clay and painting the varnish! I need to work on my sizing, my centring and my holes but all in all.....good try!! :)

Just two tips...

1) Never put your hand under the blade! It hurts!
2) Never put wet varnished beads on paper...they stick!!

Arrr well....as I said....we live and learn!

Earrings...using tan tastic lampies!

Some simple earrings I made from some fabby lampies! Handmade from a lady in Cornwall called Tania Grey - http://www.tanofcourse.co.uk/

She is one in a million and swapped some of her beads with me for some chain maille kits! They are to die for! I don't want to use them...I just want to sit and play!

Purple apricot....

Orange explosion....

Think Pink....

Chain maille makes....

Hey all,


Some more makes from me! This one is one of my first chain maille makes! Its not a new piece...I finished it in August on the same day I bought it from the BEADSISTERS stand at the Haydock bead fair but just haven't got round to blogging it!

I love this! It is so easy but effective! It funkys up chain maille! Fab!

Since this I have also done a necklace using 4 in 1 (Grrrrr...I hate that weave!) and a pair of earrings from the Dylan and Whyte book but they are still WIPs so will get them on as soon as they are finished!

CBC Beady Whisper

A long....long time ago...on a forum available to all at www.craftsbycarolyn.co.uk a beady whisper was started...well at long last the piccies are here!!!

The thinking behind it was that a group of us got together. I started it all off by sending Helen MC a piccy of a piece of bead work I had done. She made a piece in the same style with her own twist and flair, passed that piccy to Nigel (freebird)....and so on and so forth until it reach Nick (Purple Penguin) and the piccy are all revealed.

So here we are....

My piccy to start it all off - Joanne 1981's honeycomb braclet - using 6mm Czech class bicones:

Helen Mc's honeycomb bracelet using pearls:

Nigel (Freebird) Lovely natural flower necklace!

And finally.....Nick's (Purple Penguin) lovely natural thong necklace with glass beads:

Chain maille

I have at last mastered chain maille! With a little help from my friends at Uk Beaders and the two following links:

http://www.davidchain.com/byz_tut9.htm

http://cgmaille.com/tutorials.shtml

I can now do:

Shaggy Loops

Byzantine Weave

Helm weave

All very straight forward....see the pictures in the last post...but all very exciting! Chain maille is an art form I have struggled to master due to my AWFUL spacial difficulties! But now it seems to have clicked! I am very excited that I have lots of rings and 6 weeks off to play! Expect many photos to come!!

Next on my list....Rhino's snorting....just for the name!! :)

Bead Soup and CHAIN MAILLE...AT LAST!

I haven't blogged for so long! Why...because I've been beading! Haha! It's such a balance...to blog you need to bead...to show off your beading you need to blog! Darn life getting in the way!

Anyway, I have been working on some special pieces. At the end of June I received a package from Jean @ Bead magazine. The package was full of lovely beads! All completely to my taste! Lots of:

*Silver chain

*Silver earring findings, eye pins, head pins and lobster clasps

*Czech glass mix in Blue

*Purple Indian glass tiles

* A 'blue' kit full of different beads etc...etc..

all I had to do was to create lots of jewellery from it! Bead soup! I had completely free choice on how to use them and what to do, what to use and even whether or not I wanted to use my own beads in it.

I decided I wanted to use as many as I could and that I also wanted to use this time to create some pieces that really showed off my style and test out some new skills. Anyway...this is what I came up with...not sure when they will feature in BEAD but I will keep my eyes peeled, usually takes a few issues (4-6 months):

Blue byzantine weave braclet: Blue czech glass ovals and silver plated 6mm jump rings

Blue and white Shaggy loops bracelet:

The beginning of my helm weave necklace! With crackle glass 6mm blue rounds....a definate WIP!!

These three pieces are my real triumphs of the bead soup pieces! I have struggled with chain maille for a while and really decided that I would try my best to have a go and get my head around it! I am really proud of them!

A selection of earrings - Chain and blue czech glass earrings, touquoise glass and swarovski earrings and rainbow wire wrapped earrings:

Silver chain and pearl set - Includes a Y shaped necklace with grey 8mm pearls and 4 mm opal swarovski's and chain drop earrings with 8mm pearls and swarovski dangles.

Purple Indian glass focal Y necklace with silver connector wire wiggles and swarovski bicones:

Hopefuly Bead will like them! So....keep your eyes peeled!

How to cost/present your jewellery?!

Its often been a consideration of how to present my jewellery when selling it and how this contributes to cost. I like to create jewellery that is affordable, wearable and stylish but wont break the bank! So, I try to keep my costs to a minimum so I can pass it onto customers. I look at some people who make jewellery and the prices they offer their stock at and am amazed...ok, its hand made...ok they possibly use silver instead of silver plate but....wow. I know this a controversial topic and that beaders of the world will shoot me down but when you are trying to compete with shops to flog your stock then you must be competetive.


I think, when pricing my jewellery...would I pay that? Would I go into a high street store and pay that price?! Ok, I know they aren't really comparable, mine is hand made, by me, not a little boy in a sweat shop in china...and my materials are not bought in huge wholesale stacks but really are these things on our consumers mind when they buy the stock?! So...I tend to try and make and price my stock between £3 and £20 (£3 for earrings and £20 for a silver and swarovski necklace).

I try to think about what are my costs....how long did it take to make....and try not to charge more than X 100% of my material costs.

So...when it comes to adding in extras it bothers me...such as boxes for presentation or bags etc.

I want to make my jewellery look nice, I want it to look professional and people to get a good impression of it, however, every cost must be factored in. Its a true balancing act.

I have generally tried to avoid boxes and ribbon for my jewellery, although on request by a customer at Christmas I boxed a SILVER charm bracelet with a swarovski and silver charm cluster in a box, tied with purple ribbon (that was my most expensive piece to date....£35!) and nice, special pieces deserve a special touch I think.

My general, budget pieces are a little less packaged though and I think they still look nice.

I generally wrap them in tissue paper - silver or white and tape them. A special touch but not expensive. I generally do not factor this into my prices as it is negatable but looks like a little gift...

A set consisting of a swarovski necklace and earrings I sold at £15. I wrapped in silver tissue paper, the customer was happy and I did not have to factor in £2+ for a box...tissue paper...postage...which would have taken the set up to a price which was getting to the top end of my range and a price I would not feel comfortable charging...the same product but for £5+ more!?!

I did learn my lesson the other week though. A colleague at work offered me some organza bags for my wedding to put my favours in. I accepted and enquired about what she wanted for them. She said she did not want anything for them. Well, I thought it would be nice to pass some jewellery onto her so decided to give her a swarovski pendant....

I would normally retail this product for around £12 but in a tizz and with not having tissue paper in the house I just put it in a small plasitc pop shut bag that I received some beads in. On receving it I also did not explian to her that it was my pendant and about my beading and jewellery making....whilst grateful...I think she was a little confiused of where it came from and its quality! Eeek....a potenial cutomer lost by presentation.

So...what do you do?! The comission I have just finished for my friend and her mum I have used some of the organza bags procured from my colleage as it is for my best friend and her for her Mum's birthday present...no cost either but if I had bought them....then...but then it is special!!! :/

Conclusions then before I stray into my Derren mode! Packaging...makes your product look professinal...but cost is a factor....wthis eats into your profit or is passed onto your customers in an already competetive market....it needs to be a balance!

Birthday surprise...shhhhh!

Also from the back of last week, I made a pressie for my best friends Mum's birthday which is on the 28th June. It was based on the Vintage Rainbow bracelet that is on my blog but I have used softer colours and used wire work rather than stringing. Its gorgeous! I so want to keep it! Its so light and fresh and summery! I might have to make myself one!

I have used 8mm Czech glass faceted beads in clear AB and a range of 4mm Swarovski bicones spaced with silver seed beads. These were mounted on headpins and linked by jump rings. Will have to get it posted now.

Think pink....gothic pink!!!

Last week I had visitors and I had two new comissions from this.

My best mate from Hull asked me to make her a necklace, earrings and bracelet in the same style as I hadmade her a necklace a few years ago. The previous necklace was in green and black and in plastic so I thought I'd up grade this time as my tastes have matured into more expensive ranges since that!

So...I made a pink and black, simply strung in black and pink. The black beads are 8mm and 6mm czech glass and the pink beads are hot pink 6mm czech glass spaced with black seed beads.

They are certainly striking!!! And quite heavy! So...hope she likes them.

Give it away and more will come!

Just had a gathering at my house this weekend. I love it when people come over as it gives me a chance for them to have a raid of my jewellery box! I don't believe in foisting my jewellery onto people, heaven forbid, but if they ask, then they can have a look and take what they want. I'd rather it be worn than be sat in a box!





Anyway my bezzie mate from Hull had a raid and decided she would like... my chain of czech glass mixed beads and the matching bracelet.

I love this necklace, one of my faves, as it looked like mixed sweets and was very eclecitic but light! She also now wants me to make her a necklace in pink and black like one I made her before, just simple stringing and a necklace for her Mum's birthday which is based on my vintage rainbow bracelet. How cool!! :)

Also, she asked if she could have a pair of my earrings - a 6mm black swarovski bead and a flower clear AB Swarovski bead on two chain dangles. I only had one...as I hadn't finished the pair so I said I'd make the other one as I had my beads out for extending the necklace a little for her. As I was making her earrings one of my other friends turned up too so I ended up making her a pair of earrings in the same vain with a flower and a red and black 6mm bicone too! Its like...turn up to my flat....have a new pair of earrings on arrival! :)

My SIL came home from honeymoon too last week and brought with her a pressie of an enamelled M and Ms charm! So, will get round to taking a photo of that and then will get onto making it into a key ring for my keys....keep your eyes peeled!

Simply strung Swarovski

Oh I'm on fire with making jewellery at the moment! Haha!

Unfortunately the big O rang school last week so I have not had time to finish my wire creation for UK beaders yet but I have got around to doing some comissions for a very special customer...my Mum! She came to my flat about three weeks ago now and asked me to make two butterfly bracelets for a gift for two little girls who are being christaned in girly colours. She had also seen my 'purple haze' bracelet on my blog and asked if I could do her a necklace in the same style as she had just bought a new top which it would go well with...well..I can't keep a SPECIAL customer waiting can I so....here we are...

Hope you like them Mum! xx and don't feel left out Dad and Rich....I can make you one too if you like!!! Or knit you something....or possibly some cross stitch to adorn your walls!?!!! xx

Uk-Beaders charms

Ok...wire necklace for the Uk Beaders monthly challenge aside for one day I decided to focus on doing something else.




For the third aniversary of UK-Beaders and the 2nd anviversary of the forum Kitch kitty (lucy) the administrator and owner of Uk Beaders is running a charm bracelet competition. We are asked to create charms to go onto a charm bracelet and then the charm bracelet will be raffled off to one of us on Uk-beaders.





Anyway....here are my contiributions. The theme is Silver and blue or Bronze.

The first, from the left to the right, is an 8mm cats eye bead topped and tailed by 2 4mm swarovski bicones in opal. The next two are charms made of swarovski bicones. They are beaded beads from Issue 5 of Bead magazine. I love these charms and want to make a whole set (necklace etc.) with them at some point. The other two are bronze glass beads - one flat oval and the other round, both 8mm topped and tailed with 4mm swarovski beads in bronze.

I hope they are liked!

The great wire mystery....solved!

Well, I have been making jewellery for around four years now and it's only taken me this long to work out where I've been going wrong with wire wrapping! Haha! I love...I repeat...LOVE wire work. I know a lot of people on the forums and sites I go on do beady stitching and that is fine but I really don't have the time or the focus to do this! I also think a little metal, be it silver, gold or bronze gives your work a really professional look, like someone has just walked out of a jewellers with it! Ok, I may be deluding myself a little here but hey ho...back to the original point. I adore Eni Oken's stuff - www.enioken.com and she is a pure genius and goddess and I have many of Linda Jones books. I have been dabbling in wire work for a while but wire wrapping has always deluded me! I have always found it really difficult to keep it neat and get it to go where I want! That is until a stroke of genius (note the sarcasm which I can't do on a computer!) hit me. I have been using 20 gauge wire to try and wrap with....and I should have been using 24 or 26 or even 28....People who know me will realise why this has taken so long for me to realise....I am not the kinda gal who sits down to read and follow instructuions to the letter...I am more of a hit and hope....have a go and muddle through...type!!

Anyway, at Christmas I invested in a 'Wire coiling gizmo'......droooollll! (I wish I got there first!!!) Its so simple but such a genius idea! Its 2 mandrels in different sizes and a three sided stand (see http://www.coilinggizmo.com/faq.htm ) which is used to create coils and make wire coiling and wrapping easier and quicker. I have been trying to think of what to use it on and how to adapt some of the more 'unwearable' designs into my style of simple and wearable jewellery and it is the UK Beaders challenge this month that inspired me. The challenge is called 'Spring has sprung'. You have to submit a piece for this challenge that involves the use of a spring or coil or spiral. A perfect opportunity for me to break open the wire and gizmo!

So....last night I sat down to make a necklace and earring set I had been cooking up for a while! I consists of a wire ball (not make by me...possibly sourced from Jem Junction I think!?!) focal bead with 5 hand wire wrapped (with 26 gauge!! wire) tassels with purple Swarovski bicones on the end. Oooh this hurt my fingers....I had been cleaning the flat before this and my fingers were dry..even to the point of one bleeding half way through (plasters ahoy!). The wire wrapping was very neat...even though I do say so myself and MUCH easier with thinner wire!! The 'chain'...when finished...will be 4 2 inch coils of 26 gauge wire with 2 purple swarovski bicones at either end mounted onto 20 gauge wire and finished with a turned loop at either end. These are fixed together with jump rings and a set of these are added at each side of the focal to create an 18 inch chain. The earrings are simply gonig to be 3 wire wrapped dangles on a jump ring and attached to an earring post.

I am around 3/4 of the way through the necklace with 5 of the chain bits to go but I am hopeful of finishing it today so piccies will follow and hopefully it will be entered into the UK beaders challenge.

Before signing off for this post I must just point out an ironic thing that has just occured to me! Last night I settled to read the beginning chapter of Derren Brown's book. I love Derren Brown! Growing up with a fabby magician in the house I have always been surrounded by magic and always watched magic programmes etc. and I think Derren Brown's magic is so fresh and really something to make you think. Anyway, I don't read much but the first chapter hits upon another of my loves, philosophy of religon. I am not religous but was brought up in a religous household and still hold a lay interest in philosophy and religion and how religion has become so big and all consuming in our society and why/how people believe so passionately. I got to the end of the first chapter...23 pages and sat musing over the points Derren had made and the way that he had managed to expand his points so elequently into 23 pages....thinking about how novelists and writers manage to write 1000s of words in their novels and how this was done and how I don't think I could do this.....

The irony.....

Ok, I've just written a rather long post on the fact you should use thin wire instead of thicker wire to wire wrap!!! Haha! Prehaps I should change jobs.....!!! :) :)

Laryngitis jewellery!!

Well, I am off school at the moment with laryngitis! I wouldn't even mind but I had a really nice start back after the hols, no major behaviour problems so not a lot of shouting went on on Monday and Tuesday. But, by the end of Tuesday I sounded like Mariella Frostdrop's northern sister and by Wednesday evening after 4 lessons I had NO VOICE! Nightmare for me. Anyway, after a quick drop in at the docs, he signed me off for a week with accute laryngitis.

Well...what can a girl do when she's off for two days....make jewellery!

So, I have been busy and made a blue charm bracelet.

I have made charm bracelets forever but have never caught onto how you get the 'fuller' look of a charm bracelet. This little ounce of knowledge was passed onto me in this months 'Bead and Beyond' and seems simple when you know how!! Anyway, there are around 70 beads on this bracelet - all mounted on headpins. Some were simply mounted with a turned loop and then the excess cut off. With the excess I curled the end to form a coil and mounted the other beads onto these and finished with a simple loop. These were then mounted onto jump rings and then onto either side of the chain and voila!!

Its very summery and fresh, I love it! I have used - 8mm cats eye beads, turquoise semi presious nuggets, blue freshwater pearls, 6mm blue and clear swarovski's, 4mm white cats eye beads, 5mm Millifiori beads and tibetian silver charms.

Bracelets and earrings I promised to add...

I finally got round to re charging my battery on my camera. So, as promised in my last blog, my tibetian silver/Glass/Swarovski bracelets from my 5 hour sesh!






'Purple haze'

'Rosy Apples'

'Vintage Rainbow'

I especially love 'Vintage rainbow' as it includes 10mm faceted czech glass vintage beads I found in a charity shop. They were just double strung - around 90 for £3.50! They are sooooooo totally gorgeous and I've been wanting to do something special with them....and whats better is that I still have around 80 left!!! :)