Jo Hannah

Porcelain and Silver

2012-01-31T15:13:00.000Z

Porcelain in Jewellery is very effective - look at the work of Ruth Tomlinson and her beautiful Flora Collection. I recently had a go and found it quite tricky to work with, due to drying out and cracking.

Drying out for Biscuit Firing

I made various pieces using leaves and stamps to produce different effects.

Biscuit Fired Pieces dipped in a Blue Celadon Glaze

Once Biscuit Fired the pieces can be glazed or oxidised depending on the effect you want. I opted for a traditional Porcelain Glaze - Blue Celadon. After Firing it turns a lovely Duck Egg Blue.

Finished Pendant accompanied by a PMC Silver Leaf.

Ceramic Jewellery by Joy Bosworth

Ruth Tomlinson's delicate rings are on the cover

If you are interested in Ceramic Jewellery this is a good book to start with containing lots of examples of Jewellers and Artists who work with this medium.

Would you like to see my Etching?

2011-12-05T19:35:00.001Z

Hello Dear Neglected Blog! How life has a nasty habit of sidetracking us! I have been busy learning new skills and creating new pieces. I found a use for a piece of silver which wasn't quite big enough to form a Bangle. It turned into a Cuff instead and fits so snuggly you hardly feel you're wearing it!

Blacked out off-cut of Silver with design scratched on

The Etched design out of the Acid Bath

Ready for a good hammering

The Finished Cuff

Back Soon I hope! Have a great Christmas everyone!

Cake Pops

2011-06-24T14:42:00.000+01:00

I find myself on a break from Jewellery and indulging in my other passion CAKE! I recently made a novelty cake and found myself wondering what I could do with all the wasted sponge without instantly eating it with my Coffee! What to do with all this waste?

Lovely Sprinkles!

First - put it in the freezer until I'm ready to use it! Someone suggested Cake Pops. I must say that to me Cake Pops seemed like the equivalent of reformed Ham and I'm a Vegetarian! Not really what I'd like to eat but it's for the Kids!

I purchased the Queen of Cake Pop Bakerella's Book, conveniently titled "Cake Pops". There are some great ideas in there but it's an American book with ingredients which don't easily translate. Everything is made with American ready box mixes and Sweets and so on....Thought I'd have a go anyway and blindly continued.

Well here's what I learned from my first attempt:

1. Make sure you Crumb your cake very finely

2. The mixture must be moist and not too dry

3. Your Chocolate Coating must be nice and runny

I used Wilton's Candy Melts

4. Make sure the Cake Balls aren't too big

Uncoated Cake Pops with Sticks inserted

5. don't remove cake balls from fridge too soon

Cake Pops in my Homemade Holder

6. don't ignore all the above as it may lead to your cake Pop falling apart!!

Friday Treat for the kids when they get home

I started with 10 cake balls and by the end had 6 complete Cake Pops - only 4 casulaties! I'm not in too much of a hurry to make them again!

Sea Glass

2011-04-27T13:52:00.002+01:00

I love Sea Glass but have never had much success finding any, until now.

My small stash of finds

I'm probably looking in all the wrong places! I was thrilled to find a handful of pieces on a Dorset Beach more renowned for its Fossils than anything else! They are not great Specimens but they are still the first bits I found myself! My treasure.

Sea Glass for those of you who don't know are pieces of broken glass which have found their way into the sea long long ago. They have been tumbled through time becoming a smooth pebble and an opaque thing of beauty! They are the Jewels of the Sea and can come in many different colours.

Fossils in Dorset

I like the idea of recycling Sea Glass into Jewellery pieces. Turning something that was once discarded as rubbish into something beautiful.

Tweet! Tweet!

I made myself a Twitter Bird Pendant out of Silver sheet. Looking forward to finding the time to make more! Maybe bigger more elaborate Birds! Small steps....

Wax Carving Continued

2011-03-23T11:37:00.001Z

My first attempt at Wax Carving wasn't that successful, the wax ending up snapping into pieces! That's the one on the right (below) prior to it's destruction.

One of my rings did work. It isn't a world class piece of symmetry, I like to think of it as a more 'organic' piece. In fact I'm falling in love with organic shapes as they don't call for such perfection and mathematical accuracy! So here is my ring now it has been cast in Silver.

I am going to stick at the Wax and learn a little more as I only scratched the surface (literally and metaphorically speaking!). I can see the possibilities...

I did manage to put the Resin to use after saying I probably wouldn't do it again! I made a Cake for Red Nose Day which was auctioned off to Staff at my Husband's place of work. I made a little Logo out of Resin to decorate the cake with. Not sure this is the correct use of Resin or that it met health and safety standards, but I can assure everyone nobody died as a result of eating my cake and it raised some cash for a good cause!

Red Nose Day Cake

Resin

2011-02-18T14:18:00.003Z

Ready to go!

I have 'had a go' with using Resin before. It was very smelly and I ended up throwing my creations in the garden to 'air'.

Pleased to say that now you can buy low odour stuff which makes working with it a lot more pleasant - especially when you're working in your home!

As part of a College project I had to create some resin pieces. I acquired some moulds although you can use other improvised things as long as the Resin isn't going to react with it and it will be flexible enough to get your piece out afterwards!. I had some packs of artificial Gold, Silver and Copper Leaf left over from a previous crafting venture which I thought would do well in Resin.

The Gold and Copper leaf Bangles turned out nicely (though not something I'd wear myself!). So did the Rectangle Shapes.

Rectangles

Bangles

I made a fatal error with the Silver Leaf Bangle; make sure you mix your quantities of Resin and Hardener properly and precisely! This Bangle is meant to be hard but I could bend it in half like a piece of rubber!

Big Mistake - Bendy!!!!

The above pieces need to be filed and sanded and polished. An old Nail File, Wet and Dry Sand Paper and some water is used to tidy up the edges, then some Vonax Polishing Compound for Resin and Perspex.

That's that! I was surprised how far my two small bottles of Resin and Hardener actually went. I still have half the bottles left. Not sure I'll be pursuing Resin any further though, at this point...

Wax Carving

2011-01-17T12:38:00.001Z

Christmas seems like a dim and distant memory. Today Monday 17th January is meant to be the gloomiest day of the year - gloomy it is - the rain is pouring! A good day to stay in and potter about. I do find it hard to get motivated but today I did manage to focus on a few things.

I've been having a go at wax carving. I've started with a ring. Basically you cut a piece off a special wax tube and create what you want with the right tools and know how!

I haven't finished yet - still fiddling around with melting blobs and using a MAX WAX tool - which is basically a heated wire which enables you to cut or draw a pattern onto your wax. Wax Carving doesn't limit you to ring making. Wax blocks can be used to carve almost anything you want.

I haven't had anything Cast into Silver yet so I will unveil the results on another occasion!

Now for the unveiling of my first Bezel Setting Ring! I used an Amethyst Cabochon.

It's not perfect but it looks ok when I'm wearing it! This project turned out not to be as difficult as I was expecting and I'll certainly have a go at some more - with large Cabochons so it's not so fiddly!

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-24T18:11:00.001Z

Wishing you all a very

Happy Christmas !!!

A snow inspired Silver Snowflake

We've had plenty of snow even though it's almost gone - I think we can count it as a white Christmas this year!

A Snowy Christmas Chocolate Cupcake!

Eat, Drink and be Merry!

Rings and things...

2010-11-17T14:55:00.002Z

It's a busy time of year. We've had lots of birthdays and scrummy cakes to make, bake and eat! As well as a truck load of Sweets from Halloween to work our way through!

I did find time to make a Rainbow Tiara for a little girl to have fun with at the Dressing Up Box. It's one way of using up all the odd Swarovski Crystal Beads I seem to have accumulated over time.

Now I'm over the need to Bead and need to create everything from scratch - hence my current obsession with Silversmithing. I've been busy at the Bench experimenting with rings and different kinds of Silver Wire -Square, round, D-Shape....

A friend has asked me to recreate this ring made using Square Wire but in a larger width.

I have made a start and formed the shape, sawn through it to make a good joint, soldered and pickled it and now starting to file and sand it.

Hopefully it will turn out as nice as the first one although it has been much tougher to form with the wire being thicker! Lots of Annealing going on (heating the Silver with a Torch to soften the metal).

I will be attempting a Bezel Setting next week......

Lots of Silver Rings in My Wordless Wednesday!

2010-10-20T14:22:00.001+01:00

(Apart from Captions here is my Wordless Wednesday!)

Hammered Silver Necklace

Plain Silver Bracelet

Work in progress...

Catch up!

2010-09-25T17:10:00.006+01:00

After a brief hiatus I am back and ready to be creative once again! It's that time of year when my age turns to another number I'd rather forget about!

Cake from the Boys

I recently visited Kew Gardens (not very far from where I live). I was very impressed by The Temple of the Imagination - or rather the metal flowers adorning it! I would really like this at the bottom of my garden with the addition of some lockable doors so no one could disturb me!

The Temple of the Imagination (photos J.Hannah 2010)

The Temple of the Imagination (Kew Gardens)

These remind me that I have quite a large collection of Silver leaves I made a while ago out of Precious Metal Clay. I still haven't got around to doing anything with them!

Some of my Pure Silver Leaves

I particularly like anything forged out of metal at the moment as I have been learning how to use a jewellers saw and how to create pierced and cut pieces. I am getting through a lot of blades...it's not easy! One wrong move and PING - snapped!.

My Saw with a surprisingly unbroken Blade (for now) & work in progress

Now in praise of people with real artistic talent! I recently commissioned a Pastel drawing by Artist Sarah James of three dogs from my childhood. It was a gift for my Mother and it was nice to have a picture of all three dogs sitting within the same frame! This never happend in life. Sarah only had the most awful pre-digital photos to work from and did a magnificent job.

More interestingly if you visit Sarah's Blog you can see the process by which an Artist creates a piece of work - from rough sketch through to finishing touches. It's fascinating to see an Artist's "Work in Progress".

The Dogs by Sarah James

Finally - if you have a Twitter account please feel free to click on the Tweet button at the top of this post. It took me ages to figure out how to install it! xxx

Cakes @TheMakeLounge

2010-07-08T12:31:00.001+01:00

I finally made it to a Cup Cake Decorating Class at The Make Lounge and enjoyed an expert session in piping and decorating from Cake Maker Janine Rose.

Cake Making is another pleasure of mine but unfortunately I don't get to do it as often as I'd like - as much as I'd like to eat cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

In the class we learnt how to pipe and make sprinkles. I also made a rose out of marzipan!

Attending a class is a great way to pick up lots of useful tips they don't tell you in books!

I also learnt the many applications of edible glitter! Be warned though - it gets everywhere and sticks to your skin for days!

That was nice!

We also got Janine's recipe to take home and now I know the secret of getting my cakes nice and flat without having to cut the peaks off!

(You'll have to go to a class to find out!!!)

A fellow classmate's wonderful creations!

Wordless Wednesday!

2010-06-16T09:30:00.000+01:00

Precious Metal Clay

2010-05-28T11:10:00.006+01:00

I decided that for father's day I would make my Husband some Cufflinks with our three Son's Fingerprints on. Now fitting three prints onto a small square piece of Precious Metal Clay (PMC) is no easy task! I could only fit partial prints but at least it looks like each Cufflink has been touched in some way by each of our little ones! These cufflinks were also a test of my newly acquired Soldering skills!

I have also been painting Leaves from our garden with PMC Paste and absolutely love the result. After a little experimentation (ok - disasters!!) I did manage to produce a few pieces I really love. I discovered that the best result came from a really thick, well veined Leaf.

This Leaf (above) was an early attempt. It looks ok but is quite sharp at the edges and I probably didn't make it thick enough.

I was really pleased with this one (above). The detail is great and I managed to smooth the edges nicely. It is a perfect replica of the original Leaf - only in Silver!

French Knitting Masterclass with Teri Howes

2010-05-21T18:58:00.025+01:00

I have been on a couple of Teri's Courses before to learn how to Crochet with Wire - so when I heard Teri was doing a French Knitting Class I was in!

(Photo above Courtesy of Teri Howes)

My only previous experience of French Knitting was one of those Child's Learn to Knit (with Wool) Kits many years ago now!

But even if you haven't had any experience at all this class is fine for a complete beginner.

The class covered all aspects of French-Knitting with Pure Silver for the purpose of jewellery making!

We learnt how to use the wooden spool and a Crochet Hook to work the stitches. It only took a few rows to get the hang of the technique.

We were then confident enough to add beads to our knit - this was achieved by placing them in the middle of the spool or by threading them onto our wire and working them in.

The shape of the knit can also be manipulated by stretching it as with Viking Weave.

Below is my finished Bracelet!

Get in touch with Teri Howes if you are interested in any of her classes.

Better still - if you pop along to one of the Cockpit Arts Open Studios this summer, you can meet Teri in person along with lots of other Designer-Makers and get to see behind the scenes.

You can also buy stuff directly from the designers themselves!!

Competition Winner!

2010-05-11T14:55:00.002+01:00

Congratulations

Tina Gilmore!

Your name was first out of the hat.

Thank you to everyone else who entered. I really appreciate your visit to my blog!

I have been fiddling about with the layout of my blog. I managed to add a third column after consulting several tutorials. Finally after numerous failures and much frustration I found one that worked for me at Simple Blogger Tutorials. I have also picked up useful tips from Craft Blog Uk. So if you are looking to improve the look of your own blog please check out these sites.

It's a slow process for me though - I am not educated in the mysterious language of HTML! I'll just have to keep picking away at it until I get the result I was looking for!

Bold as Brass Competition

2010-05-04T15:30:00.004+01:00

Well the Viking Weave Bracelet in Brass is finally finished and I thought I would have a giveaway!

If you would like to win the above Bracelet then just leave a comment below and I'll enter you into the draw - closing date Tuesday 11th May. The only qualification is that you are a follower of my blog - so if you're not already please click the Follow button now! x

I'm a big fan of Moo Cards and was excited to receive a new batch of Mini Cards to go with my Viking Weave Jewellery:

I chose one image for my cards but you can have up to a 100 different ones I think!

I look forward to reading your comments!

Experimenting with Brass

2010-04-23T18:45:00.006+01:00

I was hoping to bring you my Cup Cake decorating exploits in this post but unfortunately the Volcanic Ash Cloud has thrown a spanner in the works and I never made it to the class!
Well all the Easter Chocolate is nearly gone. I was lucky enough to receive some beautiful handmade eggs from Fortnum's (I have a great Hubby!!). This little number on the left was one of three in dark, white and milk chocolate. At the time of taking this photo only the milk one remained intact enough to pose for a photo!

Turning to Jewellery - I got hold of some natural Brass Wire and have started to experiment with some Viking Weave. I am loving the colour. Still working it on the stick so watch this space to see how it turns out.

My latest piece is this Pure Silver Necklace and Bracelet set. I am hoping to progress to incorporating some beads and other embellishments to the weave at some point. For the moment I'm loving the simplicity and elegance of the plain weave.

The weather has been beautiful this week! I think I feel a competition coming on!

Wait and see!

Silversmithing

2010-03-29T14:29:00.006+01:00

Making a Silver Box

I have just completed a weeks worth of Silversmithing at Central Saint Martins College under the guidance of Linda Robertson who is a practicing Silversmith.

Our project was to make a silver box. Here are some pictures to show you how the box developed from sheet silver to fully functioning box!

After lots of cutting pieces of silver to size the first step was to form the shape of the box on a mandrel.

The back is soldered to the form

After each Soldering the piece is put into a 'Pickle Bath' to clean it up

The base is soldered in place. A hole is pierced in the side before soldering the lid to the top and then another trip to the Pickle Bath.

Then the really scary part - the cutting of the lid!!!

Of course all these steps also required a lot of preparation such as measuring, marking, filing and preparing the silver for soldering.

Next the bezel which holds the lid in place was made using the same method as the box and soldered in place

Now the really labourious part! Lots of piercing with a saw blade! I lost count of the amount of blades I broke! Some time later I managed to get rid of all the excess silver

all the edges of the box had to be smoothed and blended so that they appeared seemless.

Files, emery and sanding papers and lots of elbow grease later, my box started to emerge as something half decent! I still have a tiny bit of sanding and finishing left to do but I'm very pleased with what I produced!

Now I think my arms need a good rest!

Mother's Day!

2010-03-15T13:24:00.007Z

I hope all you Mothers out there were treated well this Mother's Day! I had a lovely relaxing day with my boys and I also was pleased to be the recipient of these gorgeous Earrings from Beadypool.

I was the lucky Winner of Beadypool's Mothering Sunday Competition. I have always admired Beadypool's work - she only uses Artisan Lampwork Beads and her work is very classy and beautiful. Thank you Beadypool!

All you Jewellery Makers out there should start quaking in your boots as there are two new designers in town! My 5 Year Old Twin Boys made me these lovely necklaces at School for Mother's Day!

I am still happily beavering away at my own little projects. I have recently made some Copper Viking Weave Choker Necklaces to go with the Bracelets.

Coming Soon....

My first taste of Silversmithing!

My favourite thing : CUPCAKES!!!!

Silver and Polymer Clay Revisited

2010-03-08T09:47:00.010Z

I forgot to mention in the title that I have also revisited Wire Crochet too! The Silver Corsage was made for a wedding and eventually was attached to a hair band. The Purple Flower added an extra special finishing touch to a 40th Birthday Cake I made. The Stone is Amethyst - the Birthday Girl's Birthstone. This could also be used as a hair decoration or put in a pretty spill vase as decoration.

I'm still unsure about PMC (Precious Metal Clay). It's possibilities are endless but I find having to work with something so quickly before it dries out a bit of a pain! I did however have another go at Fingerprint Jewellery. First was a Silver Hanging Heart Pendant with three childrens' prints

I used the same prints to make three smaller charms to be attached to a Bracelet

I went on a Polymer Clay Course quite a while ago now and as with most things I shelved it for a later date!

One rainy day the Children discovered my stash and were particularly impressed with having to put the Clay through the Pasta Machine to condition it and roll it out. I ended up playing with a few scraps of clay too and made myself a pretty bracelet. I left the beads with a matt finish but did try out varnishing a few to see what they looked like. The kids' Mood Sand proved very useful for holding the cocktail sticks with the Beads on ready for Varnishing! I have to say I prefer the Beads unvarnished with a bit of Sanding and a polish with a cloth.

A little Hello from me

2010-02-23T13:29:00.018Z

Hello there - I hope you are well! It's been ages since my last blog and thought it was about time I showed my face.

I'm looking out of the window at the pouring rain and thinking this time last week I was in Dubai in the warm Sunshine with my toes in the sand!

I was only there for a short time but it was just the tonic I needed away from the cold and miserable weather the UK has to offer! We soaked up the sun, splashed in water and ate nice food and most importantly spent time together as a family.

I was even lucky enough to have lunch at The Burj Al Arab - the most luxurious Hotel in the world -unfortunately I'm nowhere near rich enough to stay there! The restaurant is the bit sticking out of the side (see pic above) and had spectacular views.

Since I returned I have managed to be a little creative mainly on commissioned pieces! I'm still working on my Viking Weave creations and experimenting with different weaves. I don't know if anyone is interested in my creations but for me that's not what it's about - I just love to make lovely things. I'm still keen to work more with Precious Metal Clay and Polymer Clays as well as learn some Silversmithing techniques.

Competition Winner!

2010-01-20T13:52:00.004Z

Congratulations to

SARAH -

Buddhist Musician Accessories

This Viking Weave Bracelet is yours!

Sorry to the others who entered - please visit my blog again for more giveaways!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-12T12:47:00.009Z

I hope you are all having a fantastic start to 2010.

I made some delicious Pumpkin Pie thanks to Michele providing me with the necessary ingredients - Thank you Michele!

My Misi Shop is currently empty so I can concentrate on being creative and finding THE thing that defines me- whatever that is I don't know

but I hope some day to find it!

The craft I am enjoying the most at the moment is Viking Weave. I have gone Viking Weave mad!

I must look a very odd sight out in Public with my little stick and reel of wire! I love the fact that it is so mobile - you can take it anywhere and need very few tools - it is a very basic craft. I recently saw some pieces of Viking Weave Jewellery in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London - unfortunately I was unable to take a photo - I love the fact that I am doing the same thing as a Viking over a 1000 years ago!

So I've done lots of weaving but as yet haven't turned my lengths of weave into anything other than the odd bracelet like this Copper and Silver one

Competition!

Would anyone like to win the bracelet above?

It measure 7.5" from start to finish. The weave is made with bare Copper Wire. The end cones and the S-Clasp are Sterling Silver (925).

You can enter by doing one of the following:

1. Follow my blog if you're not already!

2. Tweet, Blog, Facebook etc about my Competition

3. Become a fan of my Facebook Fan Page

Leave a comment below and I'll enter you into the draw which will take place on

Wednesday 20th January 2010

This competition is open to everyone wherever you are in the world. Don't forget to leave a contact email or other link to you so I can track you down!

Best Wishes!

Happy Christmas!

2009-12-16T10:55:00.009Z

I just wanted to pop along to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and interesting, productive, creative, exciting and Happy New Year!

Thanks to my American friend Michele (By Your Side) who sent me an early Christmas Present! Lovely Michele was shocked to hear I had never tasted Pumpkin Pie in my entire life!

She very kindly sent me a can of Pumpkin Pie Mix!

Also a HUGE jar of Marionberry Jam (product of Oregon!)

So it will be Pumpkin Pie for us this Xmas and Marionberry Jam on everything!

My MISI Shop is currently out of stock. I will be back with some new creations in 2010. I am currently addicted to Viking Weave and have been weaving like crazy - so expect my new stuff to be of this ilk!

I was lucky enough to be asked to provide Tiaras for a wedding so that has kept me busy too. So far I have completed the Tiaras for the girl Bridesmaid and for the star of the show - the Bride!

There are still a few days left to get you online shopping done so please do visit MISI or Michele's shop By Your Side for Christmas gifts!

Jo x

Giveaway Winners

2009-11-29T12:56:00.000Z

OK! The results are in. I used the Random Generator to give me two numbers between 1 and 10.

The first number for the first prize is number 7!

Number 7 on my list of entrants is the lovely Michele of By Your Side who says she never wins anything!

Congratulations to you Michele - first Prize - a handpainted Jolicious Bag and a Snowflake Charm will be on their way to Portland, Oregon first thing tomorrow!

Now to the second prize of a Christmas Tree Charm.

Number 8 is the winner - that is Beadypool - congratulations to you!

Time for a Tiara!

2009-11-17T13:03:00.000Z

Tiara making and Competition

I've been asked to make a Tiara - always up for a challenge! I was lucky enough to go to a Tiara making class where I picked up lots of useful tips and know-how! This course was at the wonderful London Jewellery School and is also a great idea if you are a bride and thinking of designing your own Tiara. Alas too late for me! I will have to be content with making for others!

I went for quite a random look for the Tiara I produced on the day - I guessed that this would be a bit more forgiving where mistakes occur! You can see the result in the picture above.

The great thing about this course is that you learn to make everything yourself including the Tiara Band and every component. We also made a selection of other hair accessories using pins and combs.

Now I am ready to get on with the commissioned Tiara - so I'm off to the land of Swarovski....

Christmas is coming as you all know. Please visit Misi (Make It Sell It) to buy your handmade gifts!

This is a Crochet bracelet - a commissioned piece. If you don't see something in my shop I am alway happy to make something just for you! (As long as you don't want it by tomorrow!). That goes for most other sellers as well - always up for a challenge!

Thanks to Baggy T's for producing my Jolicious Jewellery bags!

Giveaway!

1st Prize: A Jolicious Jewellery Bag (as shown above) and a Snowflake Charm

2nd Prize:

A Christmas Tree Charm

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment below and I will put your name in the hat. Competition closes on Sunday 29th December 2009.

Til next time! Bye!

Playing with Polymer Clay

2009-10-22T10:54:00.000+01:00

I recently went on a Polymer Clay course at The London Jewellery School and received some expert tuition from Polymer Clay Artist Debbie Carlton.

Debbie gave us an introduction to this versatile material along with many different techniques! What a wonderful material! It has so many possibilities and can be combined with other materials such as Silver.

Here are a few examples of what I produced on the day

This Pendant was a lesson in making texture. I also had a fiddle with the metallic powders which I applied to this Leaf Pendant

Metal leaf can be applied to Polymer Clay too as I have applied to the flower below.

Image transfer was so simple - The leaf image on the heart below came from a photocopy!

More experimenting with the metallic powders, cutting and stamping in these small Pendants

Polymer clay is great for bead making and we were taught how to produce our own beads from the conditioning of the clay all the way through to finishing and polishing the final piece. We played with making different shapes and learnt how to make 'canes' which produce the intricate patterns on beads.

But the really great thing about Polymer Clay is it's really hard to mess up! If you go wrong you just roll it up and start again!

Competition Winner!

2009-10-18T16:40:00.000+01:00

Florence Beads Giveaway

I put the numbers 1 - 10 into the Random.org generator and the number it threw up was number one.

The Winner is

********FAIRLY GIRLY********

Congratulations!

I hope you are able to put the beads to good use!

Sorry to the the rest of you - please come back another time and enter another of my giveaways.

Florence and Your chance to win some Beads!

2009-10-10T12:39:00.000+01:00

Florence

I had a short but sweet trip to Florence in honour of turning Forty! I think I'm over that number now - life just goes on in the end! We were blessed with fabulous weather - hard to believe it was October!

I was pleased to find the Bead Shop I had read about in Bead Magazine some months prior - The Beaded Lily . I had a very nice chat with one of the owners and Lampwork Beadmaker extraordinaire Tim James . Naturally I couldn't leave without a little stash of his lovely beads to use in my Jewellery!

I still haven't found the time to start making my own beads yet - watch this space!

Giveaway Time!

It's time I had a little giveaway - I'm going to share a few Beads from my Florence stash. If you would like to be the recipient of these lovely 4 beads (above) from The Beaded Lily in Florence then all you have to do is:

1. Become a follower of my blog

2. mention this giveaway in a social networking medium of your choice - e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Blogger

Leave a comment at the end of this blog and I will enter you into the draw. I will pull a name out of the proverbial hat next Sunday 18th October.

Thanks!

I have a couple of Thank you's to make. First to the wonderful Michele of By Your Side who featured one of my bracelets in her handmade goodness feature - Check out no.3 in Michele's picture!

Thank you also to Monica at My Funny Bunny who wrote a lovely little piece about me! I made this baby bag charm for her Mega Mother and Baby Giveaway. Keep an eye on her blog so you don't miss the details of that competition!

I haven't handed out any awards yet but if I did these two ladies would be first in the queue!

I have been added a few little things to my Misi shop so please take a look if you get the chance!

Next up for me is a lesson in Polymer Clay Beads. I look forward to sharing the results with you!

Here is one of my latest creations - this wire crochet necklace with Garnet beads

Jolicious is Forty-licious

2009-09-25T09:33:00.000+01:00

This week has been a bit strange. I turned 40! I don't know why but that number seems to be such a milestone. I'm not sure how I feel about it - it's a mixture of good and bad. Unfortunately I have no means of stopping the wheels of time - it waits for no one! I guess I'll just have to accept it!

Anyone who knows me will know I am not a party animal or even that sociable! There was no big party just a quiet Dinner with my hubby who constantly reminds me that he is still in his 30's! We went to Claridges and had some great food at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant. I was even presented with a teeny weeny cake with a candle!

I received a fabulous gift from my friend Anne. It is a Pastel portrait of my three boys done by mutual friend and Artist Sarah James. I took it to the picture framing shop to be framed yesterday and can't wait to get it back to be hung in pride of place!

Sarah has recently set up her own Blog and Facebook Fan Page so please pop over and take a look at her pages - she is very talented.

My birthday celebrations aren't over yet! Next week I am having a long weekend in Florence with Hubby!

Before that I will try and get on top of listing new items in my shop. Here is a sneak peak of some of my new creations

I still have a tiny piece of the birthday cake the boys picked for me, so I might just go and finish it off before the return from school!

Hot Head Adventure!

2009-09-14T09:55:00.000+01:00

I thought that some of you would like to see the results of my Lampwork Bead session with Beverley Hicklin at the London Jewellery School recently. So here goes!!

I really enjoyed the day and I am now the proud owner of a brand new Hot Head Torch! All I need is some time and space when the kids start school on Wednesday to get stuck into my latest venture!

Here of my personal favourites

I will be having a clearout in my Misi Shop soon and restocking with some new creations for the Autumn so I will keep everyone updated with that. It'll soon be Christmas!

All the nice shop Sellers at Misi have clubbed together to create an amazing Autumn Giveaway. If you'd like to enter please visit the Misi Blog and you might be the lucky winner of all the goodies below! There is also a second prize on offer.

Busy Summer

2009-08-31T18:08:00.000+01:00

Highland Adventures!

I've had a long busy summer trying to entertain the kids and not getting much else done in the process - it's good to have a break from the normal routine though! We started off our Summer break on the Isle of Mull in Uncle Jim's Cottage which is converted from an old water mill. It was the perfect place to get away from the hectic routine of Urbanish life!

An old Mill Stone

Scottish Thistle

Beautiful deserted beach!

Let's not forget the lovely Tobermory (but let's keep quiet about the childrens' tv programme filmed here!)

I did take a little project with me! I couldn't go all that time without being creative so I decided to revisit Viking Weave. The process is to weave the wire onto a dowel as shown in the picture (left). Next you remove the wire from the dowel and pull it with all your might through a drawplate and you end up with something quite pretty and pleasing!

The one I did first was a single weave and the result is shown in the picture on the right. I eventually turned this into a bracelet with Silver end cones (below)

En route home from Scotland we made a pit stop at my parents' in Cheshire. We always make a point of visiting an ice cream farm (Cheshire is big on Dairy!). This time we went to Snugbury's where they have the added attraction of a Straw Sculpture - each year they have a different one. Check out pictures of previous years on their website! This year it was Big Ben - London's famous clock. The clock on the straw version really works too!

Today was a bank holiday in the UK. We took the kids for a ride on The London Eye where we had a great view of the real Big Ben!

Giveaway Winner Announced

2009-07-18T10:38:00.000+01:00

I went all high tech to draw the winner of this giveaway and used Random.Org - The number it threw up was number one :

KNITWITS

So congratulations Elaine, the Flip Flop Charm and Beads are yours!

Yet again I feel bad that you can't all be winners. Keep coming back - I'll be having more competitions!

I've had a busy week with my MISI Shop - all those last minute Teacher gifts people have been buying! There is so much great talent on Misi and the community on there is like one big family always there to help each other. The sellers on there are always happy to take on a challenge.

My boys, who will be starting school full-time in September, went to visit their new class yesterday and I had the chance to see how their new chair bags looked. They were Custom made for me by Carolyn of Carolyn's Creations who did a fantastic job. She made exactly what the boys wanted with their names embroidered and pictures of their choice.

We will soon be going on our summer break - first to the Isle of Mull and then Aviemore in Scotland, finishing in Cheshire to see the family. If anyone knows of any great Crafty places or Bead Shops I can visit on my travels please let me know. Keep it quiet though - it's just between us - don't want hubby thinking I've got alterior motives!

July Competition Time and Thank you!

2009-07-08T18:13:00.000+01:00

I won these lovely earrings in Blue Box Studios' first ever blog giveaway! They're lovely thank you!

Thank you also to Hats and More for my Lovely Blog Award! I am honoured that you consider me to be a top blogger! I still haven't passed on my previous blog award from By Your Side so will store this one up too and one day I will return the compliment!

Giveaway!

I am having a final giveaway before I step off the treadmill for a summer break. All you have to do is stop by and say 'Hi' below and I'll pop your name in the"hat" on Saturday 18th July and pull out a lucky winner.

The prizes are this little Flip Flop Charm and a small bag of Semi-Precious Beads for you to use in one of your creations should you so wish!!

This competition is open to everyone including my international followers! So don't be shy!

I'll leave you with a vision of prettiness from my garden. A lovely splash of colour and so in season!

More competitions!

2009-07-04T19:31:00.000+01:00

What a lucky girl I am! I won Dinky Daisy's Competition! It's quite apt that I've been getting my hands on a bit of Crochet of late as all my Prizes are Crochet items - Dinky's Speciality. Look at this lovely little stash -

There is a great tutorial on Dinky Daisy's Blog teaching you how to make a Crochet flower. I can't wait to have a go - having accomplished Circles with my wire Crochet I now need to have a go at 'shape'.

Thank you for my lovely prizes - I love them!

As if that wasn't enough I've also won a pair of earrings from Blue Box Studio! Sue from Blue Box Studio was the winner of my last giveaway - I promise this isn't a fix - I think she used the high-tech Random generator thingy! I'll write more about my prize when I receive it! Thanks Sue!

If you fancy winning something then hop across to The Crystal Lady where you have three chances to win! She is giving away three lovely gemstone rings.

The boys enjoyed the last of the 'heatwave' yesterday playing in the garden. Forget about high tech toys - they had loads of fun with a playful Butterfly who kept landing on them!

It looks like we're back to the normal dreary British weather - it's raining again! It is good for the garden though!

More Crochet with Wire and PMC!

2009-07-03T09:20:00.000+01:00

I had another great Class with Teri Howes at Cockpit Arts who took the group to the next level in Wire Crochet! Now I can do Circles - not as neat as Teri's but she is an expert!!

It's quite difficult to recognise what is a stitch and what is not! I guess it all takes practice and lots of it. Still - I managed to finish the piece before the day ended!

I also had a PMC (Precious Metal Clay) session at the Lo nd on Jewellery School. I learnt a lot on the day about adding texture, setting stones and how to make a ring. My favourite pieces I produced on the day are a couple of Pendants.

I reserve the right not to show you the ring!!!!

Finally, there is a really exciting thing happening in the world of MISI (Make It Sell It). Emma Hogg the brains behind Misi has organised the first ever Misi Craft Event, MISI MAKERS, to take place in Bristol this November. It is open exclusively to Misi sellers and will be a great showcase for all Misi Talent!

New Creations

2009-06-26T09:32:00.000+01:00

I've been very lucky with competitions lately! First I won NiftyKnits's Competition and received this beautiful knitted Corsage. Take a look at Nifty's new range of Star Trek Meerkat Cards which accompany her range of Meerkats - pure genius!

Next I won Mollimoo's Competition and received these fabulous Fabric Strawberry Buttons! There was also a lovely stash of Vintage buttons - thank you Mollimoo!

Mollimoo's shop has a great range of unique hand made buttons - I particularly like this set of duck buttons.

I finally finished my Stained Glass Panel. It's been a tough journey and I didn't think I could do it, but finally I created something! I adapted my design from one I found in a book.

Somehow I managed to turn that into this :

If I can do it anyone can do it! I've also been playing around with the Wire Crochet and practicing new stitches with wool in preparation for another session with Teri Howes. I am hoping to get to grips with more advanced Wire Crochet techniques and produce much finer work.

and the winners are...

2009-06-18T20:23:00.000+01:00

I finally found a use for the pink straws! I know I could have used a random gadget thingy but this was much more fun!

Blue Box Studio

Red Jules

Congratulations you are the winners! Get in touch with your address and these fabulous badges are on their way to you!

I had a go at Glass Fusing recently. I made three pieces - all pendants with varying results. Number one was a complete disaster and melted into a mess. Number two was ok but flawed - eventually ending up in tiny pieces on the dining room floor having slipped out of the hands of Twin B who was taking a keen interest.

Thankfully one piece was a success and gives me hope that I might have another go one day!

Disappointed not to win my competition? You can always pop over to Mollimoo who is having a giveaway. You could win a pack of four Strawberry fabric buttons as well as a few little extras from her own stash of vintage and modern buttons! All you have to do is tell her what you love about the month of June - for me it's Strawberries, Sunshine and the Children playing in the garden.

Blog Giveaway!

2009-06-15T12:16:00.000+01:00

I am quite partial to a Tunnock's Teacake from time to time - being married to a Scotsman it's compulsory!

A while ago now I bought a fantastic bag from designer Gillian Kyle featuring a massive Tunnock's Teacake!

I managed to pop along to Cockpit Arts for their Open Studios with 4 year old Twin B in tow! The deal was he'd behave and keep his hands to himself near all the Designers' lovely stuff and I in return would take him to The London Transport Museum.

Twin B was good and even had a go at some hands on designing at Cockpit Arts. He made his very own badge courtesy of Jo Sheffield the woman behind the Busbie label.

I was particularly drawn to these lovely badges - can you guess why?!!

GIVEAWAY COMPETITION!

If you would like to win a pack of the badges* above you can enter simply by:

1. posting a link to my competition on a social networking site, blog or forum of your choice

2. Signing up to my blog if you haven't done so already!

Please leave a comment below telling me you have entered.

I have two packs so there will be two winners. Entries will be drawn on Friday 19th June!

*Tunnock's Teacake not included!

2009-06-10T10:35:00.000+01:00

There's a fantastic Craft Cafe opened up in my town called Wendy's Workshop and last week I went along to an enamelling class. Here are my first ever attempts!

I quite like this leaf. The glass beads didn't melt as much as I would have liked but they do remind me of three little insect eggs waiting to hatch!

I wanted to make something really colourful and summery. This would have been perfect but for one of the beads that has gone a bit skew. I love the Heart feature!

This one was supposed to let the natural copper of the copper blank show through. I wanted the black and red to look like poppies.

This heart is my favourite. The enamel has pulled away from the edges a little but what the heck - I'll do better next time. I've attached this to a Claret Suede cord and used Vintaj Brass findings. I'm really pleased with the result.

I made another Wire Crochet Necklace with Red Candy Jade beads. I've got another session with Teri Howes lined up so hopefully I can produce more elaborate creations!

Wire Crochet

2009-06-08T09:21:00.000+01:00

I had a wonderful day on Teri Howes' Crochet Jewellery Course on Saturday at her studio based at Cockpit Arts. Teri is a Jeweller who makes the most intricate pieces of work using wire crochet in pure silver and gold and her work is available in numerous galleries.

I hadn't done much crochet before even in wool let alone wire! I soon got the hang of it. I'm still amazed at the intricacy of Teri's work! (see pictures on left and below. Pictures Courtesy of Teri Howes)

Teri assisting a classmate!

Work in progress!

There was a vast array of different coloured wires to choose from - it was hard to make a choice!

The fruits of my day are below. I made a lovely necklace with matt pink wire and an eclectic mix of beads. The fastening is a lovely Vintage button. My next make was a flower which I will probably make into a brooch.

The results are very effective and very pleasing!

If anyone is interested in having a go at Wire Crochet Jewellery, Teri runs regular classes throughout the year. Visit teri's website for more details.

Cockpit Arts is having its Open Studios on Friday 12th - Sunday 14th (Holborn) and Friday 19th June - Sunday 21st June (Deptford). You can see the designers behind the scenes in their studios and have the opportunity to buy a few things too! Visit the Cockpit Arts website for more details.

Holiday and Surprises

2009-06-02T09:39:00.000+01:00

I've been soaking up the sun in Corsica with Hubby and kids (as much as my fair skin will allow before burning!). It was a lovely week of pure relaxation in spite of the 12 hour delay to our flight!

What a lovely surprise - I received a One Lovely Blog Award from Michele of By Your Side. Thank you Michele and I promise to pass it on when I can get round to it!

I received some lovely Mother-of-Pearl buttons from Jewellery Designs by Laura. I was the lucky winner of her recent blog competition. Thank you Laura and hopefully I can create something special with them!

The Crystal Lady is having another giveaway so go and visit her for a chance to win this lovely bracelet.

I'm just about to make some children's bracelets for the shop I supply - apparently they've been a good seller! Here's to more sales!

I'm looking forward to a couple of courses this week - more of that in my next blog! Bye for now!

Bullying

2009-05-20T11:24:00.000+01:00

I'm looking forward to a week off from the normal routine as the kids are approaching their half-term holiday.

I am now selling my Jewellery online exclusively through MISI so if you can spare five minutes please take a look at my shop and tell me what you think. It's always nice to have some feedback!

I've just been playing with some Chain Maille and hopefully will get a chance to finish a bracelet today. My youngest boys (aged 4 - yes Twins!) are quite often sitting with me whilst I am making things. They love to be creative too and have their own stash of beads to play with!

Stepping away from the Jewellery for a moment I would like to draw your attention to an important cause. As the mother of a child who has been bullied I would like to draw your attention to the wonderful work of Bullying UK - the UK's leading anti-bullying charity and safety net for children and families. It's not just children who get bullied - people young or old at home or in the workplace can suffer too. It's great to know there is an organization that can help with advice and support.

This blog post is part of Zemanta's "Blogging For a Cause" campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

Felting and Textile Art

2009-05-14T20:17:00.000+01:00

I never realised that when I shrank my woollens by accident (everytime!) what I was actually doing was 'felting' them! Michele of By Your Side has a really great Tutorial on her blog all about felting a knitted bag. It's amazing to see how much the bag shrinks! Take a look at her pics to find out!

I think you can guess which is the Before and After picture!

I am really loving the work of Textile Artist Aileen Clark who is based in Scotland. She makes the most beautiful pieces in a rich array of colours. I bought this card from her but not sure I can part with it!

Aileen has lots of beautiful cards in her Folksy Shop AileenClarkeCrafts but also has framed pieces of Textile Art.

I love this one in particular

To find out more about Aileen Clarke Crafts please visit her blogspot. I am particularly excited about some Pendants Aileen is experimenting with - hope she goes with a brooch option too!

The only thing I got creative with today was Cake making for my Childrens' school cake sale. Needless to say not all the cakes have made the final count!

Learning new stuff!

2009-05-13T13:24:00.000+01:00

I had a delivery of Cathedral Glass for my Stained Glass Panel project. I realised I had too many Opaques in the last batch and needed more transluscent ones as they are easier for a beginner to work with as you don't have to use a light box to see your design beneath your piece of glass!!

I was pleased to see an interview with Teri Howes in the latest issue of Beads and Beyond. She is a Crochet Jewellery Artist whose studio is based at Cockpit Arts in London. I met Teri on a Viking Weave Course run by Jean Power of Bead Magazine a few months back. I quickly signed up to one of Terri's Wire Crochet Jewellery classes which I will be attending next month. Have a look at some of Teri's creations, they are so delicate and beautiful! I love going on courses because you get to meet like-minded people, learn new skills, pick up tips you can't find in a book and find new inspiration!

I am trying to stock up my Misi Shop with some new things. It's hard to get anything done with the kids at home and not a lot of kid-free spare time. I did manage to make this bracelet today - a mixture of Pink Agate and Rose-Quartz. I think it looks quite summery amidst all the drizzle outside!

Summer seems to have arrived

2009-05-11T11:33:00.000+01:00

We had a glorious afternoon in Richmond Park at the weekend and had a wander around Isabella Plantation, a glorious garden within the park, which was a mass of colour with everything blooming and blankets of bluebells all over the ground!

The kids love the stepping stones but I could only relax when they played on the dry land ones!

My son was sporting his new necklace which I had the good fortune to win via a Twitter Competition by the Childrens Jewellery Company

The Art of Glass

2009-05-07T09:28:00.000+01:00

Thank you to all of you who entered my blog competition - I was very overwhelmed by the response and all of your lovely comments! Can't wait to do another!

The Crystal Lady is giving away two pairs of fabulous Earrings in her competition so pay her a visit if you get the chance!

I am always keen to learn new crafts and recently started a stained glass course for beginners. I bought a lovely selection of glass and can't wait to complete something. I'm still trying to get to grips with scoring and cutting - it's a lot harder than you think. It took me all evening just to cut four tiny squares of glass! I'm amazed at the things people are producing such as the most beautiful panels for their front doors!

Thank you to Lynn of Lewesiaglass for recommending a couple of useful books to me. Check out her shop on Misi - a lot of hard work and talent has gone into her creations. I really like this Mackintosh Suncatcher.

The Emerald Grove In Malvern has just started to stock my Jewellery. So if you're passing that way pop in and say Hi to them!

To finish look at this cute miniature puppy by Martha's Makes. It's adorable! There are lots more cute items designed and made by UK Artist Emily Harris at Martha's Makes shop .

The Winners are...

2009-05-03T10:24:00.001+01:00

The Competiton is over and the Winners have been picked by my Boys!

I didn't have a hat so had to use a basket!

I have three boys and an argument ensued over who was going to pull out the winner - so what the heck - I decided to have three winners!

and the Winners are...

So well done Karine (a.k.a.The Pink Fairy Cake), Hats and More & K S Jewellery Designs - Your choices will be on their way to you as soon as you can send me your addresses.

Sorry to those of you who didn't win this time - I wish you could all win! I had great fun doing this and will be doing another one - so watch this space!

What did the winners pick?

Karine, a.k.a The Pink Fairy Cake, chose a Sea Glass Bookmark

Kristin of K S Jewellery Designs Chose a Lilac Chain Maille Bracelet

Anita from Hats & More's choice was a Green Venetian Pendant

I was the lucky winner of a competition myself. I won a boy's S kull and Crossbone Necklace for my eldest courtesy of The Children's Jewellery Co. I was very chuffed as I rarely win anything. Sorry Helen The Beading Lady for pipping you at the post.

Thank you also to Snowflake Unique for featuring one of my Pendants in her blog!

Jolicious Giveaway!

2009-04-19T18:53:00.000+01:00

I've had a really relaxing Easter. First in Scotland visiting the in-laws then in Cheshire visiting my family. The boys were really happy to catch up with family and to have a change of scenery. They enjoyed their Coke Floats in Nardini's just like Daddy used to get when he was little!

In Cheshire we were just in time for an Easter Egg Hunt in Nan & Grandad's back Garden. Take note of the double baskets - that's optimism for you!

If anyone has mastered the art of getting all three of their kids to pose for the camera at the same time please get in touch!

Now it's competition time!!!

It's very simple - all you have to do is go to either my MISI or FOLKSY shops and decide which item you like best and leave a comment at the end of this blog. On Sunday 3rd May one of the lovely boys in the picture above will pull the Winner's name out of a hat.

The Winner will receive their favourite item from my shop (subject to availability! It's always good to have a second choice!).

So there you go! Easy! Bye for now xxx

Being Crafty

2009-03-29T14:37:00.000+01:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend at Moonfleet Manor. A beautiful family hotel in Dorset. I had lots of kiddie-free time, a facial, champagne, a yummy dinner, goodies and lots of relaxation. I can thoroughly recommend it! (they have a creche and lots of baby sitters!!!). I love my three boys but even I need a break!

I've been busy doing a few custom orders. Such as this bag charm. I really like making the bag charms - I get a real sense of satisfaction. Funny thing is I don't actually have any on my own bag! Silly really as it is a good way to advertise!

Speaking of promoting oneself - I recently took part in The Little Book of MISI. A great idea of Amy of Art by Mimi. She has very kindly put some crafty giveaways together to hand out at craft fairs with samples of work and business cards - primarily to promote MISI shops.

It's a bit similar to the Get Eurofied boxes I wrote about in my last blog but on a smaller scale. A big thank you is due to Amy who has done this all off her own back. She is about to embark on the 2nd Book of MISI.

I'm trying to be organised so I've started to make a few promotional items so I have stuff ready to go when these promotional opportunities arise! I just made this bunch of mini charms which I'll put in little Organza Bags and attach to my new Moo cards!

I made an extra little charm for a friend who is a hairdresser - hope she likes it!

I'm really pleased with my Moo cards and can thoroughly recommend them. People really seem to like them when you hand them one. I got the mini ones and some

stickers too!

I finally got round to immortalising my children's fingerprints in Silver. I'm still trying to perfect the art of using Silver Clay but hopefully will get there eventually.

That's all for now Folks! See you on Facebook, Twitter & Flickr!

p.s. I am thinking of having a giveaway on my next blog! Watch this space! Jo x

Treasure Trove

2009-03-09T13:27:00.000Z

My computer has decided it's going to cooperate today so now I can get on with my blog!

I treated myself to a Get Eurofied Sample Box.

Some of you may already be familiar with Get Eurofied. They sell sample boxes containing samples from European Craft Sellers from sites such as Etsy and MISI .I was curious to see what other sellers had to offer and I'm a sucker for little surprises!

I was very excited when my box arrived and pleasantly surprised by the standard of the contents. I was like a child at Christmas with a box of treasure! It was interesting to see how other sellers represented themselves with a small sample. I had been thinking of doing this at some point myself.

My personal favourite item was a decorated bottle top magnet by Kitty Darkness Designs.

There were lots of useable items in the box which had you bought them all individually would have cost a lot more than the sampler box! I have lots of little things I'll give as presents and others I will keep for myself!!

I also liked the mini-journal from Palepink

This sea glass pendant from Blue Box Studio

Hair Clip from Black Rose

Felt Heart from Vilt a la Kim

Finally...a lovely Sterling Silver Butterfly Charm from Toosis.

These boxes make a lovely alternative gift idea especially for those people who are difficult to buy for! I can't wait for the next box - whether or not there will be something from me in there I don't know - there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day for me at the moment!

A Few Nice Creations

2009-03-01T13:15:00.000Z

I've had to buy a number of cards recently for various special occasions. I bought Handmade because they are so much more special - I bought from MISI of course!

I bought this lovely card from Natalie Richardson

I had the pleasure of being Natalie's first customer on MISI. As a thank you she sent me a lovely handmade Lavender filled heart. I've hung it near my bed because I love the to wake up to the smell of warm summer and sunshine! Lavender always has that effect on me!

All Natalie's products are made with the environment in mind and she uses recycled materials wherever she can. Even her packaging is biodegradable!

I have since been back for more and I'm sure I will be back again!

I got another special card for my niece from The Beading Lady

Helen (The Beading Lady!) is another MISI seller. She makes beaded bracelets and cards, and combines the two so you have a card and present all in one! She creates them for all ages too.

I also love her latest creation - these cupcake charms are really sweet.

As for me -I've just opened up shop at Folksy. I only have three things in there at present but hope to build on it soon.

Here is my latest creation - a small Floral Charm. Don't forget mother's day! (whenever that is!!!!). This Charm is listed at Folksy. :-)

Bye for now,

Jo xxx

Half-term is over...yippee!

2009-02-22T20:33:00.000Z

I spent half-term in Cheshire visiting the family. Hubby stayed in London having to work. The kids had fun at Nan & Grandad's but as always I got little done.

I did however attend the Beaded Tassle making course at The Bead Trail. The teacher was an amazingly talented lady called Elaine Peel who unfortunately doesn't have a website so I can't show you any of her amazing creations.

Tassle making is really simple! Beading them is another matter if like me you have never done any Bead Weaving before. There were two of us in the class who didn't have a clue what to do - the rest all seemed a bit smug in their greater knowledge. We coped....I did have to keep asking for help though - particularly when it came to closing the top of my beaded creation. My results aren't perfect but they are first attempts. They still aren't finished - I'm fighting with the Picot Points- or whatever they are called and getting very frustrated!

I realise that it is not my time for Beadweaving. I have no peace, no quiet, no time - all requirements needed to learn this skill. I'll have to wait 'til the boys are at school full-time as at the moment there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything as it stands!

I haven't got the hang of how to layout my blog yet so be patient!

Bye all - school run starts again tomorrow...

Jolicious Blog

2009-02-15T15:43:00.000Z

Hello everyone. I'm new to the world of blogging and this is my very first one!

My name is Jo and I have 3 boys - age 7 and 4 (twins). I am a stay at home mum but increasingly filling my time with Jewellery making. I'm finding it very hard to find the time to get any jewellery made with the boys running around and being glued to the computer wading through all the different sites that are out there!

It's half-term and I'm at my parents in Cheshire for some much needed respite. I'm going on a course tomorrow to learn how to make beaded tassels at a place called The Bead Trail at Blakemere Craft Centre in Cheshire. I love going on courses and have been on quite a few recently; I learnt how to do Fingerprint Jewellery at the Dulwich School of Jewellery . I really enjoyed working with Precious Metal Clay and a whole new world of possibilities had opened up to me! I plan to do even more courses there when I get time.

I also have few courses lined up with Jean Power, editor of Bead Magazine. One course is learning Chain Maille and the other is Viking Weave. Her courses are great fun and really informative - I'm lucky enough to have been on two already. I'll let you know how I get on.

Will post a few pictures when I return home as I'm on my new laptop and it is bare!

Well slowly I am catching up with everyone else in blogging, twittering, facebooking, Flickr etc etc. How does anyone find time to Create???? I have so much to learn!