Sterling Silver and Gemstones

I've been gradually working more and more in sterling silver, and less in plated.  My goal has always been to work exclusively in solid metals, but starting out I opted for silver plated to learn, and with the high quality plated metal available now I found that even with my testing, (wearing all the time, showering, washing up, one necklace even went in the sea!), the silver plate was pretty tough!  I still would prefer sterling though, inevitably it is longer lasting and I want all my jewellery to be keepsakes.

So here are my first sterling silver bracelets, made with semi-precious gemstones.  I started making them in October and have finally got around to posting about them!  I love crystals, and ever since I was a kid I remember using crystals for luck, love and other things I wanted to attract in my life.  I remember my mum giving me my first citrine crystal for energy and positivity.  I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but if it is, I've been designing bracelets for different purposes.  If it isn't, I've also been designing them to look gorgeous!

The first ones are rose quartz for love.  It's pretty pale pink and it doesn't get more girly and dainty than this!

The next one is amethyst, the birth stone for February.  Amethyst is not only very pretty, but it's traditionally its believed to be a powerful healing crystal. Its thought to help with insomnia and absorb negative energy.  

I also have fluorite.  Fluorite ranges in colour from an amethyst-like purple to a beautiful light blue, meaning each bracelet is totally unique.  It's believed to help with spiritual awareness, emotional balance, and combatting negative energy and stress. It's thought to promote intuition, creativity, concentration and help break bad habits. Physically, fluorite is believed to help with co-ordination and to ward off colds and flu. 

Next I have hematite.  It's a really striking gunmetal colour and is believed to help with confidence, willpower and concentration, making it excellent for studying! It is also believed to promote courage, stability and balance.

And finally for now is turquoise.  This is a favourite of mine as it's also my birthstone!  Every December girl should have a piece of turquoise jewellery.  As well as being a stunning colour, turquoise is said to promote wisdom, serenity, honesty, self-confidence and self-realisation. It is believed to be a powerful healing crystal!

I also have garnet, aventurine, sodalite, moonstone and more to make, and am more than happy to take requests for other gemstones!  

My latest project!

It's been a crazy summer!  When I'm not jewellery designing, I work as a musician, and the summer is festival season.  In total I've been at 6 festivals and have one more to go, performing with 5 different groups, and managed to sneak in a trip to Wales for my OH's birthday!  It's been loads of fun, but I'm glad to be home now.  Next weekend is the last camping stint for a while, so keep your fingers crossed for the weather for me... traditionally it rains at this festival.  A lot.  Between these trips I've still been playing at weddings too, so it's been a very musical summer.

But I'm back now and have been busy creating!  I ordered loads of new bits and pieces.  I'd like to share my first new piece with you as I think it's a bit special!

Rehome a Cat - By Buying Jewellery

I decided I wanted to do something a bit different, and being an animal lover with two cats of my own this project jumped out at me.  I have designed a bracelet and necklace to sell to raise money for the RSPCA's 'Rehome a Cat' project.  Here are my two furry inspirations for this!

On average, RSPCA Animal Centres in England and Wales take in around 550 cats every month – more than any other domestic animal. Some of these are injured or sick strays, some are lost pets, and some have been neglected, abused, or abandoned. It costs £8550 to rehome just 30 of these cats.

Each bracelet or necklace is made from sterling silver and genuine Swarovski crystals, and costs just £15, £5 of which is donated straight to the project.  You can see how much I have raised as I go along by checking my fundraising page.  The pieces are listed in my Etsy shop, and each time someone buys one I will donate their £5 through the page, showing their name.  I will also put a little handwritten thank you note in with each one, so they also make great presents for animal lovers too.

Of course if you would rather just donate a few pounds, or whatever you can spare, any contribution is greatly appreciated and can be donated straight through that fundraising page.

Your donation will help to:

• Cover the cost of feed and bedding to make a cats stay with us as comfortable as possible;
• Pay for the veterinary treatment and behavioural care our cats need to recover from their ordeal and be ready for rehoming
• Cover the costs of neutering, microchipping, vaccinations and other routine veterinary care of the cats before rehoming
• Develop special rehoming appeals for our longer-term residents and promote them online and through local and national media.

Plus I think they're gorgeous pieces, so not only do you get something pretty and sparkly, but you're supporting a wonderful cause!  You can purchase them direct from my Etsy shop here - 

Bracelet

Necklace

So please share this with friends and family, and anyone you think would be interested!

Summer update

So it's been a while, and I thought I would update you with some of what's been happening!

I'm now a supply teacher, which means I have had more time to sit and make things and design new items.  I've got some new shapes to stamp, new coloured crystals I can't wait to use, and have recently been on a ring making course (which I will tell you all about in my next post!).  England has been hit by a heatwave as well, the sunshine is glorious, and I'm thoroughly enjoying having a bit more time to do things!  Supply is an interesting challenge too.  I miss having my own class and getting to know a class, but the extra free time and meeting lots of new children and staff is fun.

Anyway, new shop things!  Summer means barbecues and parties, and I love a good glass of wine or a cocktail.  I realised I had these gorgeous hearts just sitting around and thought they'd be perfect on wine glasses.  I've made a load of different colours so whatever the theme, I'm prepared!  :)  All the pictures are clickable.

                                      Bermuda Blue                                       Vitrail Light                                                   

                                           Light Siam                                                   Rose

Amethyst

You could have all the hearts the same colour, or your guests favourites, birthstones, or anything else!

Next up is one of my new shapes for stamping, and I'm running a special offer which I will also be running on other new items too.  Basically whenever I make a new stamped design I would much rather make the one I photograph for someone, not just a name or message picked at random.  I will be offering the first one or two of those items at a reduced price, and they will be the listing photos for my shop!  In this case I am selling three sets of these necklaces at £10 + p&p, which is less than half of the eventual price of £22.50.  

If you're interested, just get in touch either on my blog, or email me at willowbrookartistry@gmail.com.  

I stamp the names on, up the side of the heart from the point upwards.  I could also put a message on if you wanted!  You choose the colour crystals.  

They would be really fitting for mum and daughter, sisters, bridesmaids, daughters or best friends.

I also have this necklace that I made for my Mum, but I thought you guys might like them too!  They're only 1/2" across so they're really dainty.  You can have whatever coloured crystal, or a coloured Swarovski pearl.  They would also make lovely necklaces for children with their names on because they're so small.  

Both these stamped necklaces are made from aluminium, which is cheaper than sterling silver but polishes up to shine just like it!  The other findings are stainless steel, so you know they won't discolour like some plated jewellery.  The chain is silver plated but can be upgraded to a sterling silver trace chain if you prefer.  The jump ring is wide enough for you to use any chain you already own as well.

I love stamping because the possibilities are endless.  I've had lots of requests.  Here are two of the most recent necklaces I've made.

 The one on the left went to Finland, and the one on the right went to the States.

I keep thinking I should get a world map and mark on where I've sent things to - would be interesting to see!

So tell me, what would you have stamped on a necklace?

Kat x

Hand stamped necklaces back in stock!

Hello all,

I've been working a lot on hand stamped pieces at the moment, so these are making their way into my shop.  I love handstamping jewellery because the possibilities are endless.  I had a trial run with a few of these rings and they proved very popular.  This is my latest design, and following a new delivery from the States, they're back in stock!

Apologies for the colour cast on the second photo, the heart is bermuda blue but it was taken on my iPhone.  These are available in silver colour (aluminium - safe for nickel allergies!), brass or copper, with any colour heart you like in the centre!  The rings are 1" across.  

I also have other sizes available, including tiny aluminium rings and the larger sizes which are 1 1/4" across.  (Yes I've also just discovered Instagram...)  You can also have different shaped crystals in the centre - Swarovski crystals are available in lots of gorgeous shapes and colours.

I've got some cute half heart charms too - perfect for 'Best Friends' necklaces, or Mum & Daughter necklaces, perhaps with a Swarovski birthstone as well?  I have number stamps too so important dates can be added to jewellery as well!

I've also been making these beautiful bookmarks.  I know Kindles and iPads are all the rage, but you really can't beat a good book in my opinion! 

The little disc can say anything, and again the crystals can be in any colour!  This one was made for my Mum for her birthday...

As you can see in the pic above, I've got one very empty compartment in my box, so I'd like to hear your ideas on what shape I should get next.  

I am also planning a competition in the very near future to win one of these bespoke necklaces (worth £15), so watch this space!  It will run through my facebook group as well once I have more 'likes', so please do invite your friends and share my page!  More details on this competition to follow...

Kat x

Happy Easter!

Hope you've all had a lovely Easter weekend and eaten far too much chocolate!  I certainly have.  My favourite being the Creme Egg "Splats" I was given.  I absolutely ADORE creme eggs so that was a fab treat.  They didn't last long though...

I thought today I would share with you some of my favourite Easter finds from the world of Etsy...  Here are my top 3 "Eggs-tra special" (sorry) Etsy finds...

First I found this adorable little felted bunny!

Isn't he just gorgeous?  I love the long ears and cute little beady eyes.  This little guy comes from MiaPuPe in Estonia, and she makes lots of little felted treasures, as well as rag dolls and soft toys.  

Next up is this beautiful nest necklace by Les Petit Choses of Lisbon.  Don't you just love the name too?  I really like the detail on the eggs in the nest.  It's made from polymer clay and then hand painted.  Have a look at the rest of the collection too, it's described as "Delicate Romantic Jewelry", and doesn't disappoint!   

Last but no means least are these gorgeous bunny slippers for tiny feet!  They're made by Puddintoes in the US, another fantastic name, and they're just adorable.  I just wish I knew a tiny person to put them on so I had an excuse to buy them.  Shelley has lots of other fun baby things including hats, blankets and quilts.

So there are some of my favourites - what treasures have you found in your travels?  Did you get any cool Easter presents?

Kat x

2013 update!

Hello all,

Hope the new year is treating you well!


I've been busy making new things, even though I've not been blogging...so I thought I'd share some of my new creations with you, starting with this Harry Potter inspired bracelet...

It features a little owl charm (Hedwig), a hat (the Sorting Hat) a castle (obviously Hogwarts!), a feather (Harry's Phoenix feather wand), and a dragon (Norbert the norwegian ridgeback), and Swarovski crystals in the house colours and two black crystals.  

As it's nearing St Patricks day as well, I've created this Luck of the Irish charm bracelet, with green Swarovski crystals and lucky charms!  Any custom orders for themed bracelets are always welcome - I can almost always find the charms to make them :)

And speaking of custom orders, I've also had a repeat order from a lovely lady in the states for some hair pins.  She bought my ruby crystal and pearl pins in August and came back with two custom orders.  I thought they were such lovely ideas they've made it into the shop!

So there's a snapshot of what I've been upto!  

In other news, my house has been taken over by two furry menaces!  Meet Jess and Millie...

Jess is the black and white one, Millie is the tabby.  They're 12 weeks old, very nosy and like to curl up on anything that doesn't move away fast enough!  They're from the same litter and we got them about 3 weeks ago now.  They have already mastered scaling the curtains and chosen their favourite napping spot...

So productivity is way down here and our house plant has been destroyed/eaten, but aren't they just adorable?!  ^_^

New things and old things back in stock!

Sorry for the long and unplanned absence!  I've finally moved house, up to South Yorkshire, and started a new day job.  I'm a full-time primary school teacher now, in year 5 and have a house full of boxes.  As such I've had very little time (or energy) to dedicate to other things!

I have been doing some crafting though, and ordered replacement bits and pieces, and made a few new designs.  Firstly, I'm very pleased to say that I now have my Hunger Games themed charm bracelets back in stock.  These bracelets have been really popular, so if you missed out before, now's the time!  :D

You can now find these bracelets here in my shop at £10.00 plus p&p.

My key necklaces from the last post are now back in stock too, with the full range of birthstones, and I also have wire spiral earrings to match my wire spiral necklace:

And finally, I've designed a Halloween charm bracelet!  Featuring some cute tibetan silver charms with orange and purple Swarovski crystals, it's perfect as a bit of spooky sparkle this Halloween.  I have lots of these charms in stock, so if you wanted matching earrings, that can be done too :)

So there are new things happening at Willowbrook Artistry all the time, even if it seems a bit quiet - do keep checking back! :)