I love ...

... making seaside beads

A new eBook

I've been rather quiet on the bead, photo and blog front for quite some time but I have been busy in the Lusherie and at my desk.  I've been experimenting, researching, writing and generally obsessing over a new tutorial for bead makers to make these fabulous little (and not so little!) slices of art glass that I've named Bubbles, Urchins and Carousels.  There is actually another type of cabochon in there too, but I didn't come up with fancy name for that one.  Now that it's done I can finally get back to making beads - and have been making up for lost time already!

I sent cabs out to friends that work in different mediums, to see how they would set them, and here are the photos of what they made.

Solder-free settings by George Harper East ... watch out for a tutorial from her on how to make these.

And a more traditional silver ring from George too.

More beautiful silver work by Rita Bennett - a clever clasp and earring pair.  The bracelet beads are Rita's own.

Lynn Davy works with teeny tiny seed beads.  I think she's going to make the green one into the focal piece of a necklace and, as you can see below, the pink one has become the top of a charming little beaded box.

This silver PMC ring was beautifully made by Leigh Armstrong, and so was the polymer clay dragon - with a clever Urchin eye!

Here's another little Carousel set in silver clay, by Lesley Watt of TheaJewellery - I love the texture on the pendant.

All this lovely work makes me want to have a go at setting some cabs too ... watch this space!

If you're a jewellery maker and use cabochons in your work, I have lots for sale in my Etsy shop, or if you'd like a copy of the tutorial that's also in my Etsy shop, and on my website.

A "sew sew" week!

I've been rather distracted this week.  Well, to be fair, I did work all weekend, and I have had a rotten cold, and I do have lots n lots of market stock and no huge commissions outstanding, so I thought I'd earned a bit of time to indulge myself.  

I've been attending a sewing class for the past few weeks and one of the things I particularly wanted to do was make a pattern for a dress that fits me, as opposed to using a commercial pattern.  So with help from the teacher I made a paper pattern from a dress I already own and made it up in calico.  Lots of adjustments were needed, then I made another calico version - and finally I got my hands on some wine coloured needlecord and made my first pinafore dress.  

I learnt how to add darts and how to make and apply bias binding, and I finished it all off with some sweet little lined patch pockets.  Its not perfect but I learnt loads, I have ideas for a couple of little tweaks (more fabric on its way!) and, as you can tell by its general crumpledness, I've worn it for the last two days!

For a little light relief during the final stages of the pinafore, I did use a commercial pattern, New Look 6803, to make this dress, which I then took along to class for advice on correcting the fit around the neckline.  A couple of extra tucks was all it needed and now I love it.  

Just look at the delicious pattern, like little murrini flowers - beady inspiration is everywhere!

Another thing I've been wanting to get to grips with in my class is inserting zips, and after a couple of goes I made the pouch in the first photo to keep all my sewing bits n bobs in.  Its a bit "floppy" so I might try again, but that zip is (almost) perfect!  I used a pdf pattern from u-handbag.com, but I wanted it big enough for my scissors so I got the original pattern photocopied 50% larger.  I found the tutorial a little tricky to use because the photos don't line up with the written steps, so there was much rifling through pages and muttering going on!

Here's a little bit of glassy eye candy to finish with.  A pair of beautiful "by george, it's Lush!" fibula pins.

And some light pulls.  The black and white one is so sweet!

I'm selling at Moseley Arts Market tomorrow, its meant to be an extra special market as it coincides with the Christmas lights switch-on.  I'm very worried about the weather though, we might get rained off or blown away!

Commissions

Here's a couple of commissions I've been working on recently.

Fifteen little sets - it was impossible to get a good single photo of the whole group, but it was very satisfying to see them all together before I sent them off.

And this commission was for a pair of earrings to match a pendant I made probably around 2 years ago.

Busy bead - just for fun!

Jellybeans anyone?

Hooray, Lush Loops connectors are back in stock.  

So I could finish off this stash of Jellybean Bracelets I was working on.

I'm hoping these might keep me going till Christmas!

Hoop-la-la!

Hoop-la-la bracelets using the tutorial on Lesley Watt's blog, The Gossiping Goddess.

Cotton cord, large seed beads and Lush Hoops from my website.

Odd lampwork buttons from down the back of my sofa (metaphorically speaking!).

I got rather carried away with this one, its a double wrap bracelet to celebrate the mad wonky button.

My friend Lesley Jane Dixon makes gorgeous bracelets from the same tutorial - hope you can see her pics in her Facebook album.

New Hoops!

"New Hoops" ... I can't help but think of Julie Walters when I say that, tottering along in a waitress uniform! (two soups ... get it?)

So like I said, I've got some new Lush Hoops.  There's 7 new colours in the medium and large size: a couple of lovely festive reddish shades, Red Red Wine and Vimto; some useful neutrals - Lentil, which is kinda yellow, kinda green, and Sticky Toffee, a creamy caramel colour; Basil is a gorgeous soft green with a hint of blue, I think I'll be using that one a lot; Jade is actually an old colour that disappeared and I'm very pleased to see its return, in all 3 sizes, yay; Bye Bye Baby is a soft baby blue, not quite as pale as Bubble Bath; and finally Milk Chocolate in the Large size.

Click here to see Lush Loops and Hoops on my website.

I've restocked all the Collections and Mixes, and these options include the new colours.  And for a limited time I've also listed packs of just the new colours if  you want to top up your collection without trawling through all the listings.

Lush Loops and Hoops got a mention in the December issue of Beads and Beyond which has just come out, resulting in a flurry of orders and serious depletion of Loops connector stocks!  Not to worry, lots more will be here in a couple of days.

Speaking of Lush Loops, I recently added a new shade of light pink, perfect for girly girls!