Holiday and Surprises

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

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

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!

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

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

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...

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 Skull 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!