Pinwheel Challenge - jumping on the bandwagon

Lorelei threw down the gauntlet to her blog readers to enter her Jade Scott pinwheel challenge and if selected to receive one of the colourful enamelled components, create a piece of jewellery to be shown and shared today. Not to be deterred by the fact that I don't live in the USA, I decided to buy a pinwheel component and keep my fingers crossed that it would arrive on time for me to take part. And if it didn't, I would have a gorgeous new art bead to work with anyway!

available here

First things first, I had to work out what a pinwheel actually was....were they just the American term for windmills? My friend Heidi directed me here. Aha. The penny dropped....we do have these in the UK too, I have just never heard them being called pinwheels. Not sure I would have known what to call them before. But I do now!

I had such a great idea with what to do with the pinwheel as soon as I saw Lorelei's blog post (and I knew I wanted to try and get a red one if possible) but my initial plan did not pan out. The fun thing about these in real life is that they spin....I was sure that I could work out how to link it up to a couple of Vintaj blanks with rivets and jump rings, and get it to spin around on the back one. But no....I tried but I just couldn't get it to lie correctly. It kind of sagged....not such a good look! I still like my idea, and if Jade makes any again, I will buy another and definitely try again.

So that idea got junked. I knew I still wanted to capture the fun, child-like mood that the pinwheel creates, especially (for me), in vibrant red. I recently bought some natural yellow jade rondelles from LimaBeads and thought they would be perfect. But it needed some other colours to create more of a riot and less of a scary 'hazard' colour scheme....so I threw in a little lavender, turquoise, all on a bed of antique copper. I wonder whether I could have thrown in a little peach-y pink too but I left it without.

I wanted to use a mixture of shapes and sizes of beads, some chain, a couple of different knotted strands. Flowers, rondelles, rounds, teardrops, fancy daggers...I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I love how it feels in my hand and the chunky feel it has when worn. It jangles and moves, which is always a good thing for me. It is colourful and is a continuation of the colour challenge I have set myself this year - push the boundaries, don't play it safe anymore. Of course, you could just see it as an extension of my red/aqua obsession, but that's not how it started, honest! I'm a little bit in love with the two turquoise teardrops with that tiny red flower off to one side....you can't see it (red is such a bugger to photograph, don't you find?) but it is very detailed, with the impression of a tiny flower face on it.

Looking forward to seeing what the official challengees have come up with, and anyone else hitching a ride on the star-spangled bandwagon :-) Check these guys out

SABINE

KATE RICHBOURG

CHARLIE of ClaySpace

SHAWNA TOBIAS

LISA CONE

HEIDI of ExPostFacto

and of course,

Lorelei

I also recommend perusing Jade Scott's etsy shop. Even if there are no pinwheels right now, I guarantee there will be some gorgeous pretties in there, waiting to hit your cart ;-)

A quick instagram

2 knotted bracelets from last night, with a humblebead toadstool charm, and a Jenni Connolly lampwork bead. Autumnal shades of my favourite colours.

Humblebeads

I was one of the lucky buyers to snaffle up one of Heather Humblebead's Groupon-style vouchers a few months back. Here are some of the fab goodies I treated myself to. Can you tell what my favourite colour is...??! 

Heather is a fabulous artist. I'm only a recent 'convert' to polymer clay but I absolutely love it now. Heather is one of my favourite bead artists, full stop. I also adore Barbara of Floridity's work, particularly her cute birdies. 

Who are your favourite bead artists? Is there a medium you were unsure of that you've now come around to and if so, what made you change your mind? I'd love to know!

Craft Fair Aftermath

So, after a VERY slow start, the third Magpies and I Altrincham Craft Fair turned out to be a success for me! And really, I can honestly say, no one was more surprised than me. We started at 11 and didn't sell anything til after 1pm. It's the third of these markets that I have participated in and whilst the first one went well, the second was a bit of a wa-wa-waaaa, if you know what I mean! And I was all prepared for today to be the same. Round about 1pm, I was seriously thinking of not signing up again - there had been loads of nice people coming round, taking cards, picking things up, but nobody buying. It's just hard to know what you are doing wrong in that situation....other people were selling this morning, just not us. But we noticed that people were picking up the couple of stamped pieces I had out, put a few more of these necklaces out and we had our first sale....and our second....and by our 3.30 finish, we'd sold eleven items. Including one of my resin rings I made this week :-) So, I'm no Lori Anderson by any means (this could NOT be my full-time job!) but I feel pretty pleased with how we've done today.

Here's how are stall was looking (before we were open to the public, I hasten to add - Helen doesn't usually look so grumpy!) You can see some bags that my sister-in-law made hanging on the sides, and some GORGEOUS silk and mohair cuffs that my Mum knitted. And yes, they are beaded too :-).  So, what do you all think of my display? I can't really afford to be buying any fancy accessories and props - I bought the three picture frames and Helen spray painted them for me and we fitted in the lace together, and the rocks and wood are salvaged from the shores of Whitby. I was pretty pleased with how it looked, I think it was the best so far, and the book you can see on the LH side was a portfolio with a wee statement about me, my jewellery and the materials I use. I'll maybe publish that here at some point so you guys can 'critique' it. 

And here's a quick collage of some of the things that sold. The blue hair clips were actually navy, but I don't have a shot of them....also, a stamped pendant saying 'We are stardust, we are golden', and a handwoven flower pendant in a shimmery, reddish copper sold too. Plus one of the small copper rings I made this week - with a sweet green butterfly inside.  Putting these items all here I see a theme of turquoise and roses.....but maybe that's just because that's what I like to work with! I thought about everybody's brilliant advice for this time, and did my best to stand up a lot (a but tricky as we're on a slope and it's quite uncomfortable to stand for long periods!) and greet and chat to people. Man, I find that HARD. I know it perhaps seems odd for one who blogs and loves to read and comment on other blogs, but I'm actually quite a shy and insular person in 'real' life....and especially when it comes to selling my jewellery! But I swallowed at least some of my shyness and chatted.

[n.b. this is extra hard for me because I actually often don't really like it when people chat to me on their stalls. I feel under pressure and often walk away because I feel under pressure.....perhaps it's a Scottish/British thing - I know sales and customer service is a very different matter in the USA....something I find interesting and will perhaps blog about another time]

So there you go. I'd love any further advice from anyone who goes to or sells at such events, and any critique on my set up (don't be too harsh!) will be much appreciated! Hope you are all having a great weekend and escaping the torrential rain we've had :-)

x x x

Some new jewellery...

Today has been a really lovely Saturday; for once neither myself nor Helen have had any work on and no hen-do or similar to set off to! A miracle, quite frankly. We've caught up with some of our friends who we've not seen for a woefully long time (months....we're bad friends!) and then went down to one of our local pubs which has lovely old weather-beaten benches - perfect for snapping jewellery in the summer - and took some pictures. Some new pieces - like this sweet bracelet featuring Gaea Cannaday clay, Humblebeads and some beautiful gemstones from PreciousSparkleBeads in beautiful Perth - deep purple amethyst and some highly unusual (and gorgeous!) Cape Amethyst smooth rondelles. 

Purplicious

I also made another few bracelets using some Floridity owls which I have been hoarding - some of my favourites and I'm pretty sad that Barbara doesn't make them anymore :-) Here's one of them - similar to one I sold round about Christmas. I used one in a necklace recently and I've used another in a cool bracelet I haven't decided whether to keep or sell yet.....I will share it here later on in the week. 

Wee Hootie (the II!)

And of course, the day wouldn't be complete without a turquoise bracelet....

Turquoise Knots

Look at that delicious turquoise faceted round! I brought a strand back from Barcelona two years ago (two years! And I started this blog just after I got back from there. Can't believe it has been two whole years!). Love the mixture of gemstones and Czech beads I've used together here, perfectly complimented (I think!) by the Vintaj brass components. 

How's your weekend going? Sunshine with you? Fun plans? I hope so! x x x

Bead Table Wednesday

Ok, I know it's Thursday......it wouldn't be right if I actually posted on the day I was meant to! Just a quick post to show you the ingredients I have been working with this evening. One of my gorgeous porcelain buckles has been put to good use!

Moo Cards

SO, I bet quite a few of you are already converts to Moo....I have seen other folk with these pretty, pretty cards at bead and craft fairs (where I've been as a customer) and always thought they looked very lovely. And of course, they are a common and welcome addition to many an Etsy purchase! However, I haven't really ever sold very much of my jewellery; in part I'm sure to the fact that I have never really pursued that line. 

When I started getting into beading in earnest, I did initially set up an Etsy shop (now ground to a halt) and shortly after a Folksy shop (a UK equivalent of Etsy), 

but very soon after this, I fell into teaching and let any attempts to sell my wares slide. About a year later, I submitted some of my designs to magazines and have happily never looked back! So I have never really had much need for business cards and although I have some, and they are quite nice if I do say so myself, they are quite cheap in price (although not in quality I would say!) from a company I am sure many of you are familiar with(!). 

And I have happily bobbed along, not really trying to sell any jewellery, occasionally someone buying the odd thing from my Folksy site (which on more than one occasion has resulted in a panicked search for said item as I have no recollection of where I put it once I had photographed it!), sending off articles to Beads and Beyond, teaching beading at my local Bead Shop. 

But this December, I have somehow managed to sell quite a bit of my wares! Which was lovely and, I must say, somewhat unexpected.

 A lot of my new college friends have been very interested in little jewellery side line, and a few of them bought some Christmas presents from me :-). So, the point I am trying to get to in a very long and convoluted way is that I thought I might try out Moo! And here is a very fuzzy picture of some of the free-ish sample pack of cards I have ordered. 

I have peppered this post with some of the pieces I have sold in December. Some of them, I didn't even manage to photograph before they disappeared off in their little organza bags! Are you spotting a colour theme?! Anyone who knows me will not be surprised by this green/blue/turquoise theme. I'm really looking forward to my sample cards and (even more excitingly for some reason!) the sticker book I ordered along with it! I always put stickers on my packaging since I bought some very pretty bird themed ones in Edinburgh over the summer. I thought it would be nice to have my very own ones to use instead of just the birdie ones! 

I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever way you choose to celebrate this festive time of year. Mine wasn't too exciting but I caught up with some dear friends and am hoping to clear out my flu bug before I have to go back to work and college. Best wishes for the new year when it comes!

Beads and Beyond

As promised some time ago, here are pics of my current Beads and Beyond project...I am so pleased with this one, one of my very favourite colour combinations!

The lampworks are by Jeanette - I love them, don't you? Encased and frosted red with cool retro polka dots. I think they go so well with all the Czech glass beads I've used from Bijoux Beads, Bead Bead and Precious Sparkle Beads. I was particularly pleased with the ring. I've wanted to make my own rings from scratch for quite a while now and finally with this project, I have managed it! Really simple - the type of thing that you think 'why didn't I think of that/manage to do that before???' Loads of possibilities with that one I think.

I've just seen the new issue of Beads and Beyond (out on the 13th August) and I am thrilled to see one of my wire leaves on the mini photo display on the front! It's so exciting to see your work in print and I think Beads and Beyond is really a fantastic publication, especially since its revamp! My design is second from the left, next to the lovely summery daisy. And the stunning necklace on the very front is by Eve Smith, fellow Scottish artist, with lampworks by Clare Scott. Below is a close up picture which I took of one of my leaves.