Run up to Mothers Day

Hope you're all prepared!  I've been working on a new project, but not the one I originally planned to do!  Funny how often that happens...


I started out trying to make a 'Bee Happy' necklace, but it ended up too big and I was worried the letters wouldn't be strong enough for a pendant if I made them smaller.  Instead I ended up with these!

They're fridge magnets, and I got the chance to try out my glitter varnish.  The silver one is really great, it leaves a totally smooth gloss finish with a bit of sparkle (you can just spray it again for more), I haven't really tested the iridescent one yet.  I covered everything except the wings, rainbows and gold coins with masking tape and sprayed with glitter varnish, then painted the rest with 2 coats of gloss varnish.  Painting the gloss on can be a bit streaky, the spray stuff seems like a better option so I may investigate some plain spray on varnish once I've used up what I've got.  I'm pleased with the results, and I'll definitely be making more!  Probably with names on, and I have sketched ideas for 'Hope', 'Dreams' and 'Peace'.  I'm heading up to Yorkshire on monday though for 3 weeks for a music project, so not sure how much I'll be able to do.  I'm hoping to do another tutorial, but we'll have to see what happens!  If I can't do a tutorial, I'll hopefully manage to do a book review.  I bought 3 books off amazon, two on making polymer clay models and one on metal jewellery stamping.  Really looking forward to reading them but I'm saving them til I get to Leeds!

A Few New Creations

Hello all,


I've managed to get this bug that's been going round.  Yesterday I felt like my tonsils were the size of golf balls.  Eugh.  :(  It wrote the day off a bit.  I got my super strong wire delivered, but I didn't feel very creative!  I can however whole heartedly recommend the healing power of lemon, ginger and echinacea tea with a spoonful of honey and, most importantly, a soft baked chocolate cookie.  Nom.


Instead yesterday I set up my photo cube and photographed my new designs ready to put in my shop.  I've also discovered www.fotofuze.com, an amazingly simple way of removing 'almost-white' backgrounds from product photos and making them really pop.  I think it looks much better than my other pics, but I'm still not sure I prefer it to some of the product photos in my favourite Etsy shops.  It looks very clean, but a bit harsh IMO.  I've seen some lovely photographs done on wood, or pale patterns.  Anyway, here are my latest items!

This is my one of my new charm necklaces :) The tibetan silver coin is reversible, and both parts of the necklace are on separate jump rings so you can wear both, or one or the other.  You can also combine them with my other charm necklaces, like this 'Love Paris' necklace.

This one is reversible too, and again all the charms are on different rings so you can change the order or combination.  I'm thinking about stocking the individual charms too.  I also have another charm necklace, designed for an 18th or 21st, with a pearl, a key and a birthstone.

The other thing I said I'd post about, was my new stamping blanks!  I bought them from  StampingBlanks on Etsy.  They're stainless steel, which is just as beautiful as silver, but doesn't tarnish or rust, and is totally hypo-allergenic.  It's also really durable and cheaper than sterling silver, so I thought I'd give it a go.

First thing I noticed is how shiny these discs are, they really are just like polished silver.  They arrive with the mirrored surface protected by a sticker so they stay in perfect condition, and the reflectiveness makes it easier to line up the letters on the stamps.  I haven't filled in the letter yet, so it's still a work in progress, but I'm very pleased with the initial results and I'm looking forward to my bigger discs arriving.  Well worth considering as a silver alternative!

Finally, I'm offering 10% off everything in my shop 'cause it's nearly Mother's Day, just use the code 'MUM10' at checkout.  :)