Sunset Delight

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Happy Christmas everyone

Over the last week, I have been making the last of my Christmas gifts but the most fun thing I have made is a gorgous necklace using Carnelian faceted nuggets, coated Heamatite and Moonstone chips.  I have used the Heamatite between the Carnelian nuggets and then a double row of moonstone on 0.4 wires around the neck to add texture. 

I have also made a cuff using clear Quartz and burnt orange Agate on a rose gold cuff which matches quite nicely with the necklace and ear rings.

Just to let you know I will be taking a Christmas break and my next post will be on the 10^th January 2022.  Have a great holiday season and stay healthy and safe. 

Jo x 

Seeing Stars

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Good morning everyone

I have been playing with some very pretty blue coated and clear quartz.  The stones are so lovely I wanted to make something that would show them off in the best light.  Being gemstone wheels, the only way to do this was to arrange them so that they faced the front as opposed to side on.  I achieved this by using hematite stars on the blue quartz and they sit with the clear quartz as spacers to balance them.

I think this looks very effective and a different use of the wheel gemstone cut.

Jo x 

Fun Christmas

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Hi Everyone

 This weekend was the last of my Christmas fairs for the year and it has been a very busy one.

For this last fair I needed to provide a raffle gift, so I made a giant paper tea cup and filled it with small bags of sweets then wrapped it up. I love it and hope that whoever received it enjoyed it as much as I did when I made it.

I then made a quick necklace with was so fun to make – Rudolf who has sparkly antlers and a cute cubic zirconia nose.

But the big make this week, which was also quite quick, was a lovely moonstone piece in two colours - just lovely when the light hits it and it shimmers. 

All of these items were fun and easy to make, so I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Jo x 

Quick Makes

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Morning All

 This last week has been a flurry of quick makes because the Christmas Fairs are in full flow and I needed to have some simpler items for my stalls. 

So, with this in mind, I have made the following doughnuts on 925 SS chains – one with Lapis Lazuli, Pyrite and Rhodonite gemstones, another with Swarovski blue circle and jet squares, and finally one made from lemon, cognac and butterscotch Baltic Amber. 

I then made some pretty elastic bracelets - they are so fun to make and wear! Caribbean Breeze shell pearl and frosted sesame Jasper, lemon shell pearl and Mookite, lemon shell pearl and yellowish branded Agate, and pink shell pearl and grey frosted Agate Druzy.

The final make of the week is two little girl heads that just needed to have gems added to them, I used Swarovski bi-cones in red and green.

All of these items were fun and easy to make, so I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Jo x 

Christmas Angels

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Morning Everyone

Well, the Christmas fairs are in full flow and I am sure that if you are a crafter all your time is being taken up with either making or selling your handmade stuff, and I am no different. 

I am finding it a constant battle between making cute stuff which is relatively quick to make and more involved, but really lovely, pieces - so this week I have tried to do both! The first thing I made was a necklace which I have been thinking about for a little while and I am very pleased how it came out. I have used chips of ruby zoisite alongside large red chalcedony nuggets with green onyx and gold spacers. 

The second idea was fun angels in both necklace and earring form. They are made from shell pearl bodies with quartz heads and metal wings. I have made a mixture of both white and pink bodies with silver or gold wings.

I would love to hear what you are making; I just hope you are having fun.

Jo x 

Gingerbread House

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Hi Everyone

Over the last week I have been making a card and paper gingerbread house.  It is a pattern I purchased from Dreaming Tree (https://www.3dsvg.com/) and it was so much fun to make my own.  It took me a few days to make it from the time I started choosing paper and card, then cutting out and the construction and finally the really fun part - the decorations!

I had a great time making it and I hope that you enjoy seeing it, let me know what you think.

Jo x

Rose Quartz

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Morning

This week I challenged myself to use a full strand of rose quartz ovals.  I came up with two necklaces and one pair of ear rings.  I paired the rose quartz with some Beryl and Lepiodolite (which is the softest purple).

The first necklace is threaded rose quartz and Lepiodolite with a drop of Beryl in a silver diamond mount. The second necklace is two drops of the rose quartz and Lepiodolite with the same beryl drop on a long 30” silver chain.  The ear rings match with the silver framed beryl.

If you are enjoying the change into winter let me know what you are making.

Jo x 

Christmas Cards 2021

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Good Morning

It only occurred to me this week that we are almost in November and I haven’t made a start on my Christmas cards yet - so it was obviously time to create some cards. Fuzzy Designs has created a new card for 2021 which is a different style for them, a manga girl, it’s just so cool.

I have created six card designs and I purchased the pattern from Lori Whitlock at the Silhouette online store. They are fun and charming but took a little longer then I was hoping (isn’t that always the case?). Still, they are all done and now I just have to write the ones for overseas friends and relatives, and get them in the mail this coming week.

I hope that you are more organised then I am but enjoying the making of gifts and cards.

Jo x

Up-Cycled Cultured Pearls

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Morning Everyone

Recently, I was given some older cultured pearls in the form of a three strand necklace.  I didn’t like the necklace and the pearls had not been treated very well so I wanted to make something different out of it.

After breaking up the necklace and cleaning the pearls, I made a suite of jewellery that I think is both pretty and modern, and I hope that you like it too.  I think that if you have some jewellery which is no longer your style, then it can be great fun to remake it into something new.

Please let me know what you think and if you are busy making Christmas gifts.

Jo x 

Tassels Galore

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Hi there

This last week I have again (it is never ending!) been looking through my stash with a view to pulling things together for Christmas fairs.  Of course, I got side-tracked while looking through my stuff and found a bag of tassels, which got me thinking and this is the result.

I used a ridged neck torc, wired on the rainbow of tassels and accented it with rough pieces of silver druzy. The effect is stunning with matching ear rings made from multi coloured tassels to finish the overall effect.

Let me know what you are making and any views you might have on my makes.

Jo x 

Kumihimo with style

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Hi Everyone

I have been working on a new pattern for a Kumihimo necklace which has taken me a while to finish.  I used pale peach S-lon thread, gold seed beads with sky blue apatite and green amethyst.   It was quite a complex project, being a fine weave, but I think it was worth the time and effort. The pattern was from Prumihimo (https://prumihimo.com/) and, although it involved some head scratching to figure it all out, I am pleased with the end result.

Please let me know what you think and what you are working on.

Jo x 

Haunted Outhouse

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Morning everyone

As I mentioned last week, I sold my Halloween centre piece almost as soon as I’d finished it, so this week I have made a new one!  It is a cute and fun “Haunted Outhouse”, I just love it!  Again the pattern came from Dreaming Tree (https://www.3dsvg.com/) - it was much simpler than the pumpkin house of last week but just as much fun.

Now that the fairs for Halloween are over, I will be able to devote some time to decorating my home in preparation for the trick or treaters!

I hope that you are enjoying the change from Summer to Autumn and having lots of fun making seasonal stuff.

Jo x

Pumpkin House

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Good morning

I am very excited as this last weekend was my first Halloween fair of the year and I just love this holiday!

I spent the week working on a pumpkin house lantern and I was so happy with it.  The pattern came from Dreaming Tree (https://www.3dsvg.com/) - it was so much fun to make, just needed a little patience.

Anyhow, I attended the fair on Saturday and I couldn’t believe it when the lantern was my first sale, to a lady who purchased it as a birthday gift for a friend – what a great gift! Now I just have to make something new for next week’s Halloween fair!

Let me know what you are making for next holiday season.

Jo x

Simple Beauty

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Hi everyone

Well this week I have made simple but oh-so-stunning jewellery.  The first piece is made from a yarn that is a banana fibre and silk mix, so soft and light it is a joy to wear.  I have kept it all about the colour, and matched it with some large silver rings which give it the weight it needs to ensure it looks great on.

The second suite is made from fluorite which has been top drilled. These gems are threaded and, because of the top drill, they sit on the neckline like a dream.

Sometimes simplicity is more than enough, do let me know what you are up to too.

Jo x 

Kitty Birthday

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Good morning

Sorry, I’ve been very busy over the last week but I did find time to make my friend her birthday cards, one from me and another one from her kitty.  I think they are both really fun!

This week I was also lucky enough to receive a great photo from a customer showing her wearing a beautiful shell pearl and very sparkly disco ball necklace which I made a little while ago.  I think it looks just perfect with the lace outfit, I love it.

Do let me know what you are up to too.

Jo x

Keep The Flowers Going

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Good morning

Riffling through my stash recently I came across some flower fastenings, so I decided to make a necklace and ear rings but, as it turns out, I had enough to make two sets.  The first I made using multi coloured Magnesite and, in the second, I used Autumn Jasper - a very pretty blue/brown gem.

Now that Autumn is officially here I am starting to think about Christmas makes, so let me know what you are up too.

Jo x

Wishbone Ear Rings

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Hi Everyone

Sorry for not posting last week as I was in bed with a terrible cold and this week I have been recovering.

So, while I was incapacitated I have been making some earrings which didn’t require me to sit at my work table.  These wishbone earrings are both fun and stunning to wear, once in the ear they twinkle like mad and I just love them.

Back to normal – or as normal as I get, next week.  Keep enjoying the summer and stay healthy.

Jo x